1:32nd scale RAF BE2c

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
Back online and with the same URL links,

 

Mike

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
Here's the re-profiled fuselage rear decking panel.
This was done by sanding away the decking panel, the cutting a new panel shape from 0.2 mm thick plastic card.
That was glued in position then sanded with the flats of the fuselage stringers re-instated by scrapping.

 

Mike

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
A few more areas of the model that anyone building it might want to be aware off.

1. The instructions have no call out for the parts, apart from the supplied photo-etch parts.
This could cause some confusion with the cockpit, as parts are supplied to make a trainer version.

2. The instruction give the impression that the lower wings butt up to the sides of the fuselage.
In face there should be a gap between the wings and fuselage, exposing the front and rear spars and attachments.
This is important as if the lower wings are not positioned correctly, the interplane struts to the upper wing will tilt inwards at the bottom, when they should be vertical.
I've added a brass rod through the fuselage for extra support and added tube spacers for the necessary gap between wings and fuselage.

 

 

 

 

 

3. The rigging diagram in the instructions fails to show the interconnecting aileron control wires between the upper and lower ailerons.

 

 

Also only one drag wire is shown from the engine bearers to the upper wing, whereas there were two, one to the top of the forward cabane struts and a second to the top of the forward, inboard interplane struts.

 

 

 

4. The rigging diagram in the instructions shows only two bracing wires for the fuselage cabane struts, whereas there were actually four.
A wire was attached to the tops of the two rear cabane struts and also the forward cabane struts.
These wires were routed through openings at each side of the pilots decking panel and into the cockpit, where there were attached to the cockpit side frames.  

 

 

 

5. The gravity fuel tank (behind the engine) and the main fuel tank (under the observers seat) were interconnected with a fuel transfer pipe.
A fuel supply pipe was also connected between the gravity tank and the engine.
That pipe won't be seen on the model, but the gravity to main tank pipe can be seen from the observers cockpit.
I added this pipe using flexible black tube.

 

 

6. The 3D printed tail skid is intended to be butt glued to the rear, underside of the fuselage.
I felt, given the size and weight of the final model by prove to be too weak.
Therefore I reinforcred the centre strut of the tail skid using 0.5 mm diameter rod.

 

Apart from that, it's all going quite well

 

Mike

Edited May 17, 2022 by Sandbagger

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
Another fix required.
The rigging diagrams in the kit instructions fail to show a single bracing wire fitted outboard from the bottom of the inboard front interplane struts.
This wire was routed diagonally up to the underside of the front spar of the upper wing, midway between the inboard and outboard interplane struts.

 

Mike

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
A few updates.
I've primed then masked off the wings, fuselage and other flight surfaces, then pre-shaded the internal structures.
This was over sprayed with white primer to 'knock back' the pre-shading.
The linen effect decals will be applied before the kit markings.
The fuselage nose was painted with 'Tamiya' Neutral Grey (XF53) and the cockpit decking panel and under fuselage with Dark Yellow (XF60), in preparation for applying wood effects.

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
The Clear Doped Linen (CDL) decals have been applied on the fuselage, wings, ailerons, fin, tail plane's and elevators.
The 'LukGraph' supplied CDL decals supplied with the Premium kit are very much like those from 'Aviattic'.
They are quite strong and adhere well to the model surfaces.
The kit supplied marking decals were applied onto the CDL decals.
The Serial No.2635 had to be made from spare decals, as the kit does not have the markings for this particular aircraft.
The black stripe marking for No.13 Squadron was from the 'XtraDecal' black strip set (XPS1).

 

Now onto applying the wood effects to the fuselage,

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

[Sabrejet]

On 06/05/2022 at 16:40, Sandbagger said:

Hi all,

With careful sanding (to avoid breaking through the corners) the kit nose can be re-profiled,

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

I'm really enjoying the build of this kit, warts 'n' all. Overall it looks like a lovely thing and aside from a few gripes, I like what I see (I shall be getting the BE.2e for sure!)

 

However I've looked at a lot of WW1 photos of the BE.2 series, and especially the cowling area, and I am happy that Lukgraph got the shape correct. However I think the proviso should be that the cowling is OK for some BE.2es, as it is evident that shapes did differ between aircraft. Whether that is down to different manufacturers or not, I can't say for sure. I've also seen different arrangements of cooling holes in the front face of the lower cowling, which I assume were made at local level, but equally could have been manufacturer-originated. So here is a shot of a BE.2e cowling that I think agrees in shape with the kit item:

 

 

Unfortunately I don't have a s/n for this aircraft but have seen similar cowling shapes on aircraft built by British & Colonial.

[Sandbagger]

Hi Sabrejet,

As always it's difficult to accurately determine what's right or wrong with aircraft built 107 years ago.

Especially when the only aircraft left are either reproductions (accurate or not) or museum pieces that may or may not be totally original.

Photographs I've posted previously in the thread have me convinced the cowl should be more rounded and less like that of the R.E.8 aircraft.

Admittedly some manufacturers did put their own 'stamp' on aircraft they produced, but usually only with paint schemes, style of serial numbers, positioning of roundels etc. 

However, you may be correct in that the cowl could have varied from the BE1, 5 and 6 through to the BE2a to BE2g versions, as well as the BE12.

That said, manufacturers even back then, were supposed to build aircraft to specification.

There is also the 'perspective' when looking at photographs. The shot below is a BE2c and yet the shape of the cowl looks different from the shot you posted, even though the angle of the shots are similar.

I guess at the end of the day it's an educated guess by individual modelers as to what to do in cases like this,

 

Mike

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
Wood effect Applied using 'Windsor and Newton' Griffin Alkyd Raw Sienna.
Some shadowing applied to wings and fuselage using 'Tamiya' Smoke (X19).
Cockpit padding brush painted with 'AL Interactive' Brown Leather.
Nose number 1 airbrushed with mask cut on a 'Cricut' Air 2 cutter.

 

Now onto further weathering,

 

Mike

 

 

 

[shortCummins]

excellent wood effect Mike

 

did you mask the linen? if so how did you protect the CDL decals?

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

[Sandbagger]

8 hours ago, shortCummins said:

excellent wood effect Mike

 

did you mask the linen? if so how did you protect the CDL decals?

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

Hi John.

Yes I did.

However, to avoid lifting the CDL decals, I first sealed them with a clear coat.

To mask I used 'post-it' notes, as the adhesive is very light, even more so than de-tacked Tamiya masking tape.

I did have two unrelated decal problems though.

The 'XtraDecal' black stripe proved to have  very weak adhesion over the CDL decal and the front end of both stripes lifted and had to be replaced.

Also, when applying the wood effect, I removed some where it wasn't required, using white spirit.

Some leached around the lower right wing root onto the bottom of the fuselage and more or dissolved the CDL decal in that area.

I had to carefully cut away the damaged area and apply a CDL patch, which you might make out in the first two shots,

 

Mike     

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
Well it happens 😠
I accidentally spilled a bottle of White Spirits over my modelling workspace and, unfortunately the model.
I tried to dab it off but it had already dissolved areas of the applied decals on all of the models parts.
As I had no CDL decal replacements and no wanting to purchase and wait for replacements, I decide to go to Plan B.
This required the removal of as much of the decal as possible, leaving some in place as weathering effect.
The fuselage took the main hit, but fortunately not inside the fuselage.
So I've stripped all of the decals (CDL, roundels and black stripes).
The black stripes were airbrushed and replacement roundels and 'lift here' decals were applied.
My plan is to apply 'Flory Models' Dark Dirt and Grime fine clay wash (which I normally apply anyway).
Hopefully the wash will compliment the residual CDL decal to give the model a well worn, war weary look.

 

We'll see,

 

Mike 

[Robin-42]

Been there, done that! Looking forward to the recovery.

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
PLAN B.
Damaged CDL decal, fuselage decals removed.
Black squadron stripes airbrushed, fuselage and 'Lift Here' decals replaced.
'Flory Models' Dark Dirt and Grime clay washes applied.
Sealed with 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC-311) clear lacquer.

 

Hopefully a more dirty, 'war weary' finish.

 

Mike 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
The kit supplies a photo-etch carrier for three spare ammunition drums for the Lewis machine guns.
Various profiles and photographs show these carriers to have storage for different amounts of ammunition drums.
The photograph below show a captured No.13 Squadron BE2c with a four drum carrier, as does the colour profile I'm using for this model.
Therefore I chose to make this type of carrier from 0.2 mm thick plastic card.
This was primed white then airbrushed with 'Tamiya' Dark Yellow (XF60).
I then brushed Windsor and Newton Raw Sienna (Griffin Alykld).
The four ammunition drums are those from the replacement 'GasPatch' Lewis Mk.1 stripped half heatsinks (32-32052) set.
They were airbrushed with 'Tamiya' Gloss Black (X1), then with 'Alclad' Steel (ALC-112).
The rounds were brushed painted with 'Mr. Colour' Brass (219) with 'AK Interactive' Brown Leather (AK3031) for the hand straps.

 

Mike

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
The engine is now fitted, including the upper auxiliary fuel tank and it's tube connecting it to the main fuel tank under the observers seat.



The kit supplied top cowl is supplied as either resin or photo-etch, but neither seem curved enough at the top when fitted.
Also the RAF 1a engine had baffle plates fitted between the engine cylinders and these are not provided for in the kit.
Therefore it looks like I'll need to make the cowl and baffles instead,

Mike

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
A few more observations of areas of the model not included.

 

Later versions of the BE2c had an access panel on the right side of the fuselage and rear of the pilot’s cockpit. This panel is not included on the kit fuselage and will need to be created.

 

 

Later versions of the BE2c had either one or two circular access panels on the left side of the nose, on the triangular panel. This panel is not included on the kit.

 

 

 

 

Also most BE2c aircraft had a twin pitot tube fitted to an outboard interplane strut. Also not included in the kit.

 

Mike

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
The weapons are now finished, although the observers Lewis will be finally positioned on its swivel mounting once the rigging etc is completed.

The Lewis machine gun for the observer was mounted on a tubular swivel arm located centrally between the observer and pilots cockpits.
The Lewis machine gun for the pilot was mounted to the side of the cockpit and angled to fire obliquely outboard.

 

Both weapons and the spare ammunition drums are the ‘GasPatch’ Lewis Mk.1 stripped half heat sinks (32-32052).
The observers weapon has a 0.3 mm diameter rod fitted to allow it to swivel on the gun mounting.
Similarly the pilots weapon has a rod fitted to locate it into a hole drilled into the side of the fuselage.
I chose not to use the kit supplied photo-etch mounting for the pilots weapon as is was way to flimsy.
Both weapons were primed with 'Tamiya' Gloss Black (X1) then airbrushed with 'Alclad' Gun Metal (ALC120).
Then ‘Mr. Colour’ Super Metallic - Super Iron (203) was dry brushed over the weapons.
Finally 'Tamiya' Hull Red (XF9) was applied to the handles and 'AK Interactive' Brown Leather (AK3031) to the drum straps.
A light wash os 'AK Interactive' Kerosene (AK2039) was applied over the ammunition drums.

 

Mike

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
On most BE2c aircraft, linen was wrapped around the four fuselage cabane struts and the landing gear struts.
This was done to protect the struts and to help prevent the wood from splitting.
To represent the linen wrapping I used cut thin strips of plumbers Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tape.
This tape is by nature very thin and will self-grip to tools and your fingers, so patience and repeated cutting will be necessary.
The tape was secured in position using thin CA adhesive.
Then airbrushed with 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC311), treated with 'Flory Models' Grime wash and finally clear coated again.

 

Mike

 

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
Well, the most difficult part of this model build, the top engine cowl, is done.
Without going into detail (as it's covered in my build log), I had to effectively scratch the cowl.
The kit supplied photo-etch or resin cowls were discarded.
I used the centre section of the photo-etch panel, annealed and bent into shape.
The retaining straps from the cowl onto the cylinder head bolts, the cylinder baffles and the fire wall were made from 0.2 mm thick plastic card.
The centre support strut under the cowl and into the engine block is painted 0.4 mm diameter tube.

 

Now it's onto pre-rigging,

 

Mike

 

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
Just a few updates.
The bomb racks, wheels, interplane struts and propeller.
I'm now finishing off the eight 'Hale' heavy case Mk.II/C bombs,

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
A couple more updates.
The photo-etch camera mounting, which represents the CFS Mk.II/C mounting.
Also the three fuselage windows are done.
The photo-etch frames for the two square side windows were secured in position over the created openings, using thin CA adhesive.
I then infilled the frames with 'Microscale' Krystal Kleer, which once cured leaves a transparent film.
The opening in the larger rectangular window is too large to apply Krystal Kleer straight off.
Therefore I cut a very thin strip from the supplied windscreen acetate sheet.
The strip was just long enough to span across the centre, underside of the photo-etch frame.
This effectively creates two smaller openings for applying the Krystal Kleer.
The frame was then added to the fuselage in the same manner used for the side windows,

 

Mike

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
The eight 'Hale' 20lb heavy case MkII/C bombs.
The red and green stripes were decals taken from another model kit.

 

Mike

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
The pre-rigging is done.
The aileron, rudder and elevator control rigging will be fitted after the wings have been fitted and final rigged.
That way the exposed control lines have less chance of being damaged during handling.
Also the landing gear and rigging will be fitted later,

 

Mike  

 

 

[Sandbagger]

Hi all,
Tricky to fit but now the pre-rigged upper wing has been fitted.
I've kept the temporary elastic bands over the wings.
This is to keep them the wings restrained until the rigging is done.
The solid lower wings can flex slightly on their locating rods, which can cause the strut joints to separate.

 

Now onto the final rigging,

 

Mike