giemme Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 Letraset - that brought back some memories! Hadn't heard of them in a loooooong time! It's all looking splendid from here, Alan :clap: Especially the paint job- that BM fellow you alluded to should really be happy by now... As for the masking around the little round caps: haven't you got a cutting plotter sitting around just waiting to be fired up? I seem to remember you have.... Annoying? Moi ? Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 Sir, I write to enquire if - on the basis of the two examples furnished here - you will be continuing to equip aerial fleets, as advertised: The quality of your wood, metal and leather structures in those last two updates is nothing short of astonishing in its range and vibrancy. 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 1) they're beautiful b) I want two of them for myself!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 A couple of great updates there Alan. I do like the way the cockpits have turned out, both inside and with the leather padding. Very impressed with the struts too, although I don't think I'll be able to steal that idea in 1:72! Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 They're bi-planes I'll never build another bi-plane, ever but wow they are fantastic. More points in the Hendie W I N tally. Such much! mmm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritag Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 Everything you do is just so darned accomplished Alan. I'd almost be minded to be offended at such consistent proficiency if it weren't also such a joy to watch and learn 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galligraphics Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 48 minutes ago, Fritag said: I'd almost be minded to be offended at such consistent proficiency Annoying, isn't it? . But absolutely fascinating to follow, albeit a bit hard to get this particular head around some of the more technical bits. One could say the same for a certain thread with a pair of Hawks... 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted July 22, 2022 Author Share Posted July 22, 2022 On 7/17/2022 at 4:01 PM, Dave Slowbuild said: Yet more stunning progress Alan! If it’s hard going for you at times be assured it’s awe inspiring and inspirational for the rest of us! thanks Dave - very kind of you to say so. On 7/17/2022 at 4:58 PM, giemme said: Letraset - that brought back some memories! Hadn't heard of them in a loooooong time! It's all looking splendid from here, Alan :clap: Especially the paint job- that BM fellow you alluded to should really be happy by now... As for the masking around the little round caps: haven't you got a cutting plotter sitting around just waiting to be fired up? I seem to remember you have.... Annoying? Moi ? Ciao I'm glad he's finally happy Giorgio. Yes I do have a cutter sitting around and still haven't bought the software to drive it. Some things never change. On 7/17/2022 at 5:17 PM, TheBaron said: Sir, I write to enquire if - on the basis of the two examples furnished here - you will be continuing to equip aerial fleets, as advertised: <snip> On 7/17/2022 at 9:57 PM, k5054nz said: 1) they're beautiful b) I want two of them for myself!! I'd be happy with just the one. I see that Lukgraph have just announced a 1/48 Wapiti... any bets on a 1/48 504 appearing after I get this one completed? On 7/18/2022 at 2:46 AM, Brandy said: A couple of great updates there Alan. I do like the way the cockpits have turned out, both inside and with the leather padding. Very impressed with the struts too, although I don't think I'll be able to steal that idea in 1:72! Ian Agreed Ian, I think 1/48 struts is about the limit using this method. On 7/18/2022 at 2:50 AM, perdu said: They're bi-planes I'll never build another bi-plane, ever but wow they are fantastic. More points in the Hendie W I N tally. Such much! mmm thanks muchly Bill. I wish I could say I'll never build another biplane but those inconsiderate boogers went and flew a BE2e over in Ambala as well. and guess wot? No 1/48 kit of a BE2e to be found. 12 hours ago, Fritag said: Everything you do is just so darned accomplished Alan. I'd almost be minded to be offended at such consistent proficiency if it weren't also such a joy to watch and learn there's so much butter in that statement you must be building up for a big ask! 11 hours ago, Galligraphics said: Annoying, isn't it? . But absolutely fascinating to follow, albeit a bit hard to get this particular head around some of the more technical bits. One could say the same for a certain thread with a pair of Hawks... Good point. I do enjoy that Hawk thread much more than this one. So much more rewarding. However, I suppose I do have to get this finished sometime soon so I can stop the pain and try something fun for a change. Now where were we? In the last episode I think I left you all salivating at the thought of using letraset in the 21st century. To be honest I really wasn't sure how it was going to go. Before the letraset though I had to add a few other decals to provide some guide to where the letraset was going to end up. I stole the roundels from the Blue Max kit and the serial was made up from the standard Xtradecal numbers sheet - which is always a toughy trying to get individual characters aligned (especially with worn out MkI's). Once those were in position I could see where the AV Roe logo should be placed. The hardest part of that process was trying to align the letraset characters as they are just a smidgin over 1mm tall so being even a small fraction of a millimeter out is a huge percentage of the overall height and could be very noticeable in the end result. Aside from not having characters small enough to do superscript I think I got away with it. FYI: the letraset was just burnished onto some clear decal sheet - no liquid decal film was used - and the finished "transfer" laid down nicely. I added some 'lift here' stencils from the decal stash and used some generic white text placed at the pilots position. The shot I have of H2278 also shows some symbol/stencil just forward of that text so I just cut a small rectangle from some white decal and used that - it seems to have done the trick. Same treatment on the starboard side and a good coat of clear gloss on top. Followed by a flat coat to tone everything down. At this stage that was about all that could be done with the fuselage so it was time to begin work on the wings - the job I was really not looking forward to. A quick dry fit showed that there was a certain degree of wonkiness going on at the join between the center section and the outer wings. A closer inspection revealed this was because there was slightly more curvature in the center section than there was on the outer wings. In other words there was some degree of warp going on, but I couldn't tell you which part was responsible. But this UV resin is wonderful stuff. Despite the misalignment I found that I could flex the parts slightly to make the leading edges line up - the trouble was, it took both hands to do so. I needed another set of hands to control the lightsaber! Simple - did I mention the resin being great stuff? As long as you're not hitting it with UV's you don't need to rush things. I applied resin to the edge of the cabane section, joined one wing to that and set it aside. I then suspended the lightsaber from a handy bracket and set the laser to stun. Then taking my time, I picked up the wing, used both hands to gently coax the leading edges together and when I was happy with the alignment I moved the parts under the suspended lightsaber and held them there for a few seconds. Result? A pretty decent join. I then repeated the process for the other side and the upper wing now looks a whole lot better. The hardest part about the job was not rushing - I'm so used to standard glues I had to consciously keep telling myself to slow down as everything was safe until it felt the wrath of UV rays, and then the bond is almost instantaneous. Stress levels dropped by a step change after that. So much so that I could even be bothered to splatter some paint over the wings. along with the tail surfaces. Believe it or not but I actually masked those fairleads - first time around I tried hand painting but the job was so messy I PC10'd the whole thing again and masked the fairleads for spraying. A dry fit of the lower wings gave some hope that this crazy and misguided build may just work. More PC10 I'm afraid. Though I did use bleached linen on the undersides. Looking at this I appear to have made the two PC10 strips at the cabane section a bit wide, but they're going to be well hidden. I'll know better next time. I have noted that on some of these old biplane things that the wings sometimes have a part number stencilled on the underside - a quick search found some left over decals from my F2B build that fitted the bill. Okay, not accurate but certainly more interesting than just plain old bleached linen. In my one reference shot, there appears to be some kind of stencil just visible on the undercarriage - another search found some tiny white lettering that worked out perfectly. There's just a suggestion of a stencil which is the effect I was looking for. I love it when a plan comes together. While we're being ridiculous with decals, I cut two small stips of black decal and stuck them on the rear cabane struts to give the impression of the black straps seen on the 1:1. By now we're getting dangerously close to actually having to assemble something instead of pottering around frmo bit to bit, but there are a few things still to be done before that can happen. One fo those things is getting the roundels on the upper wong cos it's a lot easier to do it now than it is later when there's all sorts of rigging flying about. Blue Max decals again but this time they gave me a bit of a fright. Despite lashings of microsolsetstuff the roundel stick like a limpet as soon as it hit the wing. It also started to break up as soon as it hit the wing. Darn it. It is slightly out of position, but since I only have the two roundels left I wasn't going to chance trying to reposition this one. Out of position but at least symmetrical. I won't tell if you don't. There were also some heart stopping moments as I sliced the roundel for the wing/aileron break. Oops, forgot to mention that I attempted to weather the leather a little bit and applied a coat of clear satin over the leather to add a bit of contrast to the finish. and played with the skid to see how difficult it was going to be when time comes to fit it. Conclusion? DIfficult! Therefore, in time honored fashion I did some dry fitting to cheer myself up To be honest, at this point I'm doing anything I can to avoid drilling all those darned 0.3mm rigging holes all over the wings. though I did make a start with the first rigging lines. I thought I had better put these lines in before I put the wings on as they attach to the upper wing and are part of my cunning plan to help stabilize and align the whole contraption. There's only a (long) days worth of drilling ahead of me. Now where did I put those drills that I haven't broke yet? 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted July 22, 2022 Share Posted July 22, 2022 To quote someone not a million miles removed from this thread Quote “ “ These weekly updates are something I look forward to; this one is no exception. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 4 hours ago, hendie said: Simple - did I mention the resin being great stuff? As long as you're not hitting it with UV's you don't need to rush things. Ditto: that combination of staying fluid as long as you need to finesse the fit, the instant grab when you're ready to make the bond, and the strength of that bond when it's done are ideal for this kind of work. Somebody needs to make a desk mounting for the laser that works like a pillar drill with a foot switch to trigger the beam: they can certainly take my money... This aircraft is really coming into existence in a big way in that last update Alan - a sum of shape and colour worth all the trouble taken at the design stage. For some reason I find that skid an enormously satisfying thing to look at - especially as you've got that gift of painting things to look like wood which I so admire. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Looking lovely with the paint on Alan. You may want to check references though as it would be very unusual for the PC10 wrap around under the wings to follow the cut outs for the ailerons. It usually follows the outline of the wing/aileron assembly. IE there would be no PC10 visible around the edges of the ailerons where they meet the wing surface. Ian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 6 minutes ago, Brandy said: IE there would be no PC10 visible around the edges of the ailerons where they meet the wing surface. Useful to know if I were ever so monumentally stupid as to make another bi-plane, or at least one with PC10 upper surfaces. I have just realised I still have another Demon/Hart to build And that complete Matchbox Siskin that needs putting back together. 6 hours ago, hendie said: No 1/48 kit of a BE2e to be found. Oh... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 I've missed a few pages Alan, please excuse me! Looking good with paint on the fus, and the Letraset lettering looks excellent. Yes I was a fan of it in it's day! I'm liking this multi build. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted July 24, 2022 Author Share Posted July 24, 2022 On 7/22/2022 at 7:52 PM, mark.au said: To quote someone not a million miles removed from this thread These weekly updates are something I look forward to; this one is no exception. thanks Mark. Now be about the right time to start lowering your expectations... On 7/23/2022 at 12:32 AM, TheBaron said: Ditto: that combination of staying fluid as long as you need to finesse the fit, the instant grab when you're ready to make the bond, and the strength of that bond when it's done are ideal for this kind of work. Somebody needs to make a desk mounting for the laser that works like a pillar drill with a foot switch to trigger the beam: they can certainly take my money... This aircraft is really coming into existence in a big way in that last update Alan - a sum of shape and colour worth all the trouble taken at the design stage. For some reason I find that skid an enormously satisfying thing to look at - especially as you've got that gift of painting things to look like wood which I so admire. now that would be a very useful tool Tony. It wouldn't be too difficult to knock one up - maybe a market opportunity for you there? On 7/23/2022 at 2:11 AM, Brandy said: Looking lovely with the paint on Alan. You may want to check references though as it would be very unusual for the PC10 wrap around under the wings to follow the cut outs for the ailerons. It usually follows the outline of the wing/aileron assembly. IE there would be no PC10 visible around the edges of the ailerons where they meet the wing surface. Ian Thanks Ian, I never realized that. I think it's a bit late for this build though - the bleached linen is very thin and the amount it would take to cover that PC10 would cover any variation I tried to capture on the undersurfaces. It may not matter for this build though as at this point, the way things are going there is a very good chance this may end up on the shelf of doom, or at the very least on the shelf of shame. On 7/23/2022 at 2:24 AM, perdu said: Useful to know if I were ever so monumentally stupid as to make another bi-plane, or at least one with PC10 upper surfaces. I have just realised I still have another Demon/Hart to build And that complete Matchbox Siskin that needs putting back together. Oh... I feel your pain Bill. On 7/23/2022 at 8:04 AM, heloman1 said: I've missed a few pages Alan, please excuse me! Looking good with paint on the fus, and the Letraset lettering looks excellent. Yes I was a fan of it in it's day! I'm liking this multi build. Colin thanks Colin. I was liking it too - up until yesterday. As you may have surmised from my comments above, things aren't going particularly well with the 504 at the moment. Things start off well enough but soon started to go south. Anyways, enough of that and lets start with something a bit more positive. Ever tried to glue a piece of EZ Line onto the end (butt join) of a piece of 0.2mm wire that's been fed through a 0.3mm hole? That's two 0.3mm holes by the way - one on each side of the fuselage. Getting the wire into the first hole is easy, but getting it across the interior and through the hole on the other side is a bit more challenging. Then if you manage to pass that challenge, you've got to pull the wire back through those holes and hope the EZ Line stays attached through the process. I'll bet rigging was a lot easier on the 1:1 My plan here was to use EZ Line for rigging the cabane struts, and I'll use fishing line for the mainplanes. I chose that method because I wanted to rig the cabane section before the mainplanes were fitted as once they're in place, access to the cabane section is very limited. To make things yet more complicated the two front cabane struts are double rigged. I took a cue from Johnny's build and wrapped EZ line around the base of the front struts and glue the ends to the top of the opposite strut. Thanks Johnny! A spare center section was plonked on top of the struts to see how things looked and I was pretty pleased with the job so far. Prior to plonking on the top plank I figured now would be a good time to fit those seats. Thankfully I remembered this in time otherwise there would have been a lot of not very nice words shouted around and control columns were fitted in a vaguely neutral position. Not being one to pass up a challenge I then decide to fit the tubing leading from the fuselage up to that small generator thingy on the fwd starboard strut - the one that can barely be made out on this rather dark shot. There are two lines fitted to the port strut but since they run into the wing I thought I would leave them until the wing is in place rather than have two pointy stabby wires getting in the way of things. Also at this point it made sense to fit the windscreen as there was no way it would be able to wangle it's way into position once the top wing was on. To be more precise, it made sense to fit the windscreen after I had actually made it - I had completely ignored these parts up til now. I used some clear styrene sheet (5 thou maybe?) - two pieces ca'd together and then filed to shape to ensure I got both screens identical. I find the file leaves a thin film as the plastic is 'pushed' over at the edges but a thorough rubbing with micromesh removes the unwanted swarf. (is that rag edge swarf? or something else?) The front screen was fitted using GS Hypo - the precision applicator coming in very handy to keep the joint neat. Since the rear screen is somewhat exposed I shall leave fitting of that screen until the rigging is all done cos we all know it will just be begging to get knocked off and lost. Tail planes were fitted without any fuss and it was round about now that I noticed the seats appeared to be very low inside the fuselage So out they came - thankfully I had used GS Hypo to glue them in and it hadn't fully cured yet, so they came out without too much of a fight. A small block of resin was glued underneath each seat and back in they went with the GS again. Looking much better this time around. Now it was time for the fishing line spaghetti nest, with apologies to Ian for not correcting the PC10 overwrap at the ailerons. If I ever build another biplane... it will be too soon! And on went the top plank. Here was where I discovered I had made a very poor design choice earlier. For that upper wing center section I had modeled holes for brass pins to join/align/strengthen the outer wing to the center section. I also modeled some locating holes for the cabane struts. Now, for the cabane locating holes I had no choice as to their location, but for the wing to wing join, I chose to pick the thickest part of the wing (for strength) and an arbitray location about 12mm aft. As sods law would have it, the cabane location holes were aligned perfectly with the wing to wing location holes. Since I had already joined the upper wing sections with 0.8mm brass pins and the wing was just a gnats hair over 1mm thick that meant the location hole for the cabane struts wasn't really a hole any more. It was essentially a butt joint. Ever the optimist I carried on. One by one the struts got ca'd in place. For some reason things look a lot better in this photo than it does in the flesh. The leading edges almost look as if they align. That was certainly not the case when it first went on. The upper wing is sitting too far aft. I'm also starting to lose the dihedral. Will the rigging bring it all back? Who knows. There is also some warping going on with the wings. After the Wapiti and the trouble I had with those wings I knew those on the 504 were going to be a challenge, as being much thinner they were more likely to warp. I thought I had averted, or at least minimized the problem but now I'm not so sure. Look how those front cabane struts are leaning backwards, and the rear cabane struts have separated from the upper wing. I can pull the upper wing forward to the point where the front cabane struts are vertical, but I'm not sure the rigging will be strong enough to hold everything in position. A bit of a passion killer really. I began the process of feeding the rigging lines through all the appropriate holes and managed to dislodge a strut or two in the process. The struts were ca'd again and I managed to accidentally glue some rigging line at the same time. Obviously, the line isn't taut yet so I'll need to cut those lines, redrill the holes and feed the line though again. Unfortunately one of those lines runs through the fuselage just above the wing root - that's is those two rigging lines you see coming out of the upper wing and they are probably two of the most critical lines to help draw that upper wing forward and hold it in place. This seemed like one of those 'best to walk away now' moments, so I put it down, gave it a look of disgust and walked away. I think there's a good chance I'm going to lose the dihedral, and an equally good chance that the wing isn't going to want to move forward enough. The mojo is seriously wanting on this one. I really don't want to but as a last resort and if I have to, I can print those wings and struts again. If it does come to that, this may go on vacation for a little while and I can attack something different until the mojo rebounds. I'll see how things go today before making any rash decisions. So close and yet so far. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 I had a similar warping problem on my Short 184, which is why I now rig entirely by drilling and threading. With that method it is possible to apply pressure to the wing, tighten the rigging line, then glue. It will hold the wing in position. If you do remove the upper wing to sort the problem, drill it to accept the rigging wires, especially around the cabane struts. You will most likely be able to pull the warp out with the rigging lines. Ian 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 I really hope you can fix that warping, Alan - it's all looking so good... 🤞 Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritag Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 (edited) Well now. I know nothing about the techniques and difficulties of rigging biplanes; but I’ve seen enough hendie-work to be ready to stick a tenner on a successful outcome in due time notwithstanding having no idea how it’ll be achieved and having nothing useful to contribute to any debate. Being useful is wot Ian’s for I do have to say tho’ that the quality of the design, printing, construction, painting and finishing of the 504 continues to delight and inspire in equal measure Alan. Some of the photographs in that last post are just a delight. If she has to go on vacation for a bit before getting over the line then so be it. As long as there’s a hendie-WIP on the go I’ll be happy. Edited July 24, 2022 by Fritag 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 I am, as you know, not a bi-planist but I just don't believe you cannot be pulling this out of its hat Alan. I have realised that I need to make my cabane struts do the work they should and if I can get mine right* you will be able to get it right by working it through too. * No not the Hind but I am using it to work it out my second one coming along later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 I've re-read your last post several times in the last half hour Alan to try and see if any possible solution to aligment/rigging woes came to mind. Short of buying one of those biplane support stand things, the only glimmer I can suggest would be to play around with the idea of 3d printing a set of customs jigs to hold the wings in the correct alignment/spacing whilst rigging, like this crude sketch for the wingtips. It might be possible to create a second set with removable tops and bottoms that can be clipped on to hold both wings inboard nearer the cabane struts for extra rigidity perhaps? Extra work I know but at least you have the wing cross sections already drawn up that could be used to Boolean out the necessary openings from a rectangle. It goes without saying of course that we all have unshakable faith in you sorting this issue, even if it means letting the thread rest whilst momentum builds again. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted August 28, 2022 Author Share Posted August 28, 2022 On 7/24/2022 at 11:31 AM, Brandy said: I had a similar warping problem on my Short 184, which is why I now rig entirely by drilling and threading. With that method it is possible to apply pressure to the wing, tighten the rigging line, then glue. It will hold the wing in position. If you do remove the upper wing to sort the problem, drill it to accept the rigging wires, especially around the cabane struts. You will most likely be able to pull the warp out with the rigging lines. Ian Thanks for the tip Ian. I drill and glue as well, but I part drill the upper wing from the underside, glue in the rigging wire then thread it through a hole in the lower wing then glue. It worked great on the Wapiti but threw a wobbly on this build. On 7/24/2022 at 11:52 AM, giemme said: I really hope you can fix that warping, Alan - it's all looking so good... 🤞 Ciao Fixed. sort of. Better than it was but not perfect. On 7/24/2022 at 11:54 AM, Fritag said: Well now. I know nothing about the techniques and difficulties of rigging biplanes; but I’ve seen enough hendie-work to be ready to stick a tenner on a successful outcome in due time notwithstanding having no idea how it’ll be achieved and having nothing useful to contribute to any debate. Being useful is wot Ian’s for I do have to say tho’ that the quality of the design, printing, construction, painting and finishing of the 504 continues to delight and inspire in equal measure Alan. Some of the photographs in that last post are just a delight. If she has to go on vacation for a bit before getting over the line then so be it. As long as there’s a hendie-WIP on the go I’ll be happy. Vacation over, at least for the 504 - Dunno 'bout you though It is going to get finished one way or another and I'm edging ever closer to that finish line, but this is definitely not one of my better builds - I must be saving myself for that VW On 7/24/2022 at 2:04 PM, perdu said: I am, as you know, not a bi-planist but I just don't believe you cannot be pulling this out of its hat Alan. I have realised that I need to make my cabane struts do the work they should and if I can get mine right* you will be able to get it right by working it through too. * No not the Hind but I am using it to work it out my second one coming along later. I think we'll end up with something looking vaguely five- oh-four'ish but it won't win any competitions. In fact it will be heading straight for the back end of the display cabinet. On 7/24/2022 at 4:40 PM, TheBaron said: I've re-read your last post several times in the last half hour Alan to try and see if any possible solution to aligment/rigging woes came to mind. Short of buying one of those biplane support stand things, the only glimmer I can suggest would be to play around with the idea of 3d printing a set of customs jigs to hold the wings in the correct alignment/spacing whilst rigging, like this crude sketch for the wingtips. <snip> It might be possible to create a second set with removable tops and bottoms that can be clipped on to hold both wings inboard nearer the cabane struts for extra rigidity perhaps? Extra work I know but at least you have the wing cross sections already drawn up that could be used to Boolean out the necessary openings from a rectangle. It goes without saying of course that we all have unshakable faith in you sorting this issue, even if it means letting the thread rest whilst momentum builds again. As always Tony you came up with the winning idea. Jigs. I've no idea why I didn't employ jigs on this build when I did so on the Wapiti build and they worked wonders. Laziness on my part can be the only excuse I'm afraid. Following the wonky wing debacle there was nothing for it but to strip her down and start again. Thankfully everything came apart without too much damage. That was a few weeks ago. This weekend, rejuvenated if not enthusiastic I set about righting the wrongs of the previous hendattempt. Following Ian's advice I drilled through holes on the upper wing and as I already had through holes on the lower wing it was a simple job to thread in the rigging and glue. Almost as simple but rather more mind-numbing and soul destroying was the job or removing whatever rigging remnants were left in the upper wing and breaking another batch of 0.3mm drills drilling another gazzillion tiny little holes in the upper wing. Eventually the holes were done and I could start feeding the spaghetti through the upper wing - this time taking Tony's advice and using a simple jig to locate both wings relative to each other. I also had two through holes in the jig base so I could align and lock them in position using two 3mm brass rods. Warning! - it gets messy in there. The first rigging wires to go on were the cabane wires and I used those to pull the wing down onto the cabane struts. There's lots of lessons to be learned on this build - if I ever choose to build another biplane so don't mention that 28 flew a BE2e It took me almost an 8 hour session yesterday and an hour or two this morning to get this far but at least the wing rigging is done... still the aileron rigging, skid rigging, tail rigging... and I still wasn't completely successful. There is a slight misalignment of the leading edges as you can see below. On the positive side it is not blatantly obvious and you really have to look for it to actually see it. It's still a bit disappointing though. I tried everything but just could not get those edges to align. I have a feeling one of the lower wings is not absolutely perpendicular to the fuselage, but to be honest, the mojo is sapping fast on this build and I just want to get this finished. I want to save all my good mojo for the next build During all that manhandling I managed to break off the tailplanes - without damage though and also managed to break off the windscreen. Getting the windscreen back in place with the upper wing fitted was not a fun job. Neither was fitting the double rigging lines on the two forward cabane struts. I cheated and used EZ-line, and still couldn't get them parallel. I at least managed to keep the dihedral this time around, and the cabane struts are in the right positions. Checking through the references I found I had completely forgotten about the skid. Oh dear, time for some more rigging. yes, more rigging lines. First though, the skid had to be fitted. The joining process was helped greatly by being able to use resin. One leg at a time starting at the rear I applied a dollop of the gloop onto the mating surfaces, took my time to align the struts and only then did I blast it with the lightsaber. Realizing there were plenty more bits of 504 lying around I decided it was time to start reducing the clutter so the engine was pushed into position and the cowling glued on using resin again. Here's a lovely shot where you can see all that exquisite detail that went into the engine design, or not. Nice shot of the cocktail stick protruding out the front though. This was supposed to be a shot showing how I was attempting to fit the undercarriage and get the correct height, or it would have been had it been in focus, therefore I'll just say that here is the beginning of rigging the skid. I won't mention that some idiot glued the inner wheel hub back to front and had enormous fun trying to remove the hub without damaging it. When I finally got the undercarriage ride height correct and glued everything in position it was time to fit the tires and outer hubs. In hindsight I could have made that job one heck of a lot easier - I knew the orientation and position of the undercarriage and relation to the wheel in the solid model - what I should have done but didn't, was keyed the tire to the inner hub so that the tire could only fit in one orientation... with the flat at the bottom. As it was I didn't do that so the only way to align the tires was to dry fit everything, sit it up on it's wheels/tires and when the flats were on the ground I applied some cyano to the tire and hub to lock the rotation. It would have been so simple just to design in an alignment feature, so lesson learned there. I also had a rather major pucker moment when I dry fitted the wheels and turned her over and found that the both wheels wouldn't touch the ground at the same time and happily rocked from side to side on the skid. I'll admit to some slight panic and running through my mind were all these thoughts of what did I miss, where did stuff up a dimension. The I realized that some numpty had forgotten to fit the tail skid which of course, raised up the back end and she no longer got seasick. All was good with the world, 'cept for the nice little bend in the skid forward strut. Oh well. There's lots of touching up to do but there's no point in doing that until the build is closer to the finish line. Now that the wheels are on I can get on with the remainder of the rigging on the skid and from there on to the ailerons, the tail stuff, and all the little greeblies that adorn this bird. She'll never win any prizes and I must admit to being disappointed in the way things have gone, but at least she's on the way to being finished and that's better than sitting on the shelf of doom. To be honest at the close of play yesterday the mojo had drained and I thought it looked terrible but in the cold light of this mornings LED's in the basement she didn't look quite as bad and even looked a little better after I had trimmed off all the spaghetti rigging ends. There's part of me wants to get on with the VW build and that may be playing into this as well so I may start that soon and jump back between the two until this is wrapped up and in the cabinet. I'm definitely not buying another kit from this manufacturer! 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Perseverance and fortitude of the highest order Alan. That last update contained more incident than mortal souls would care to contemplate, let alone read about. You must feel righteously pleased to have pushed through to such a sparkling result. All power to you! ✊ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 Great job in beating this into submission, Alan! And all that rigging... Ciao 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted August 28, 2022 Share Posted August 28, 2022 I’m having to view this on my phone so the pics aren’t big enough to really see the detail but the prose is encouraging. I’m really glad you’re on this again, and in such positive fashion. I’m about to embark on a rigging exercise myself, your piece here will be much help. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritag Posted August 29, 2022 Share Posted August 29, 2022 (edited) Ok so. I’ve overlooked all of the hendie-typical entertaining self deprecation and am left with the hendie-typical fantstic workmanship. Just back from a week of seeing stunning scenery in the Shetlands and segue immediately into seeing stunning modelling…… Edited August 29, 2022 by Fritag typo 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted August 29, 2022 Share Posted August 29, 2022 Well saved! She looks more than presentable to me, but I would tend to agree about the lower wing alignment. Maybe both wings slightly off making it worse. The trials and tribulations of building biplanes are more than made up for (in my humble opinion) by the finished result! Ian 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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