1/72 Biplane beginner - Martinsyde F4 Buzzard

[Marklo]

Believe it or not this is the  most effective biplane jig Tupperware or cardboard works well too.

 

The Buzzard is looking very well so far.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by Marklo

[bigbadbadge]

The Buzzard looks great , cracking work 

Chris

[Dermo245]

So a small update on this one.

 

Rigging is mostly done - some of it is good, some is ok and some is really not great at all. I used invisible mending thread bought in a local craft shop.

It's my first time trying it so learned a lot for the future if I ever decide to build a biplane again. 👍

 

AZ_Martinsyde_F4_WIP_10 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

The u/c fit was an absolute bear, not helped by the less-than-clear instructions and obscure mounting points - be warned! The upright struts for the gear needed a lot of persuasion as they don't appear to be the right shape/angle.

 

Just a few more wires to do on the tail and then it will be final weathering and a flat coat.

 

Thanks for looking, happy modelling.

Dermot

[Paul Thompson]

Mentioned this in other threads, so sorry if you've seen this before, but depending on the nature of the invisible thread you may be able to tighten that up in-situ as you can with stretched sprue, if it bothers you enough. For sprue I use the tip of a scalpel or nail file, heated to glowing in a candle flame, then given 5 seconds to cool. You then gingerly bring it closer and closer to the loose wire until suddenly the wire shrinks a bit and goes taught. I've found you can do the same with invisible thread, but for me it works better using a wider blade than a scalpel as the heat source. Obviously, you don't want to practise on the model, and it will only work if the wire is well glues in at each end or it will pull loose. Too close and the wire will burn through, but with practise that hardly ever happens so long as you move the heat source slowly enough towards it. Anyway, just a thought.

 

Paul.

[bigbadbadge]

As Paul said above , but I use a soldering iron to do the same thing.

 

Looks good 

Chris

[Dermo245]

Cheers @Paul Thompson and @bigbadbadge - I saw that same technique on an online build using a soldering iron.

 

I did experiment on some wire I had mocked up but didn't work; I think the scalpel blade didn't give off enough heat. 
Will try it again with something wider, thanks for the tips lads!

 

All the best,

Dermot

[Dermo245]

So I tried @Paul Thompson and @bigbadbadge advice and used a large, flat head screwdriver to tighten the wires as best I could.

Need more practice!

 

With a final oil filter, she's done.

 

Definitely NOT my finest hour! The fit was terrible, some of the parts horrible. And then the 'rigging'. But I learned more while bodging this kit than any other build I've done - next biplane will be better.

I think my favourite part is how the prop turned out - happy with the wood grain.

 

AZ_Martinsyde_F4_Buzzard_2 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

AZ_Martinsyde_F4_Buzzard_4 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

AZ_Martinsyde_F4_Buzzard_6 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Will post some more pics in the RFI. Thanks for following and the words of encouragement and advice.

Happy modelling.

Dermot