blimps 1/72nd sopwith tabloid + morane L bash

[Deon]

rigging looks tiptop Blimp and the last pic is a good shot of the dash too

[magpie]

Double flying wires in 72nd! I struggle to do them in 48th. Love the effect on the cowling, very nice job.

[blimp]

thanks guys , nice of you to comment so favorably and the weekend is here ! yipee !!! more moggeling . . .

[/left]

. . . the prop . as the engine is actually a 100hp not an 80 the airscrew is too large , out with the files . new one at the top .

a base coat of some cream colour . . .

followed by some bands of Hu 62 . . .

. . . and some 'clear orange' . a coat of Klear , and then i can polish it properly .

Mmm , a bit orangy , yellow might be better . never mind it makes a nice contrast . tail feathers and wheels left to do and thats about it ! yay .

[blimp]

Agggh ! no modelling this weekend . it's dreaded GARDENING instead . where can i get some 'agent orange' ?

[/left] so it'll be a quick synopsis tonight . i repainted the prop , in lighter tones , only to find my Tamiya clear yellow had comitted hari kari . solid as a rock . another 'tango'ed' prop then , however a thin coat of 'smoke' has tamed it some . it'll do until i get some fresh stuff . i have foiled the wheels and given the tyres a lick of dark grey , some light weathering to finish 'em . this just leaves the tail - horns , control cables and struts ,oh , and a footstep for the pilot to finish it off .

. . . . Phew , i'm crackered , i'm away to bed . g'night .

Edited March 28, 2010 by blimp

[Iain Ogilvie]

Looking good Blimp - love the metal effect - stunning!

Iain

[blimp]

well the Tabloid is done , the first of my GB pair ! - i'll repaint the airscrew again sometime and put the numbers on the tail when i find my new (unyellowed) decal sheet !!!! here's a dodgy shot of it . sorry , the weather is too dull for decent photography .

i'll try for better shots later . but for now it's back to the parasol . . . .

[ollieholmes]

That looks very tidy indeed. Well done.

[seadog]

That looks very tidy indeed. Well done.

Except for the usual oil leak! Well done indeed.

F

[blimp]

He hee , done !

[/left]

i found a real WW1 colour picture of some hangers . . .

. . . but i still need to polish my camera skills

Edited April 7, 2010 by blimp

[blimp]

hello everyone , time to continue the GB silliness - i'm back on the Morane .

[/left]

- the ribs have been threaded onto the spars , the correct number on each side this time , ahem . begining with the front spar i soldered each end , making sure the ribs still touched the leading edge and the ends were centralized to the cambered tips , ditto the rear spar/trailing edge . then i soldered the 'cut out' ends to the back of the rear spar . this makes the assembly quite rigid . i have begun to do the ribs , centre ones first . this is where it gets a bit ticklish , only a whiff of the torch is required , applied adjacent to the join on the 'outside', this prevents the previous one remelting . one end at a time , only another 48 joints to go . easy (not) .

Edited April 8, 2010 by blimp

[blimp]

not as easy as i thought , apart from being so fiddly , the difference in material thickness makes it hard to heat ajoining bits . i've found that the micro torch is a wee bit fierce for this work , so after doing the main structure (and managing to scorch through a rib) i resorted to a gentler form of heat - i dug out an old 'ZIPPO' lighter . using decent 'clean' fuel and avoiding direct contact with the flame i was able to apply heat exactly where it was needed . even so it came out a bit heavy in places , (due to previous overcooking of the solder with the torch) but i'm making headway at last . i'll try 'wicking' some off later , a clean up with a file and straightening up the ribs with the 'ol tweezers and it's ready for the next stage progress so far -

[/left]

. . . . of course , only after i'd done all this , i found a picture of a training 'penguin' showing the true structure of the wing . . .

Poo . . . . the ribs are much lighter in construction than the Eindeckers , i could strip it all and painstakingly rework each of the ribs but i do actually have a life y'know anyhoo , this shot and others i've studied show that the sub spar 'shadows' vary , suggesting that they arn't integral parts of the wings make up but are fabric tapes after all , otherwise they would interfere with the internal wire bracing . Mmmm , more fun .

but first i must get outside and mangle the lawn again - cue the slow drumbeat and lashing noises from Mrs B . . .

[ta152h]

Nice work on the Tabloid!

[T-Tango]

Lovely build on the Tabloid, the Morane looks time consuming, but coming along well now.

[blimp]

. . . It's gone all quiet on the GB front lately , innit ? . . . .

[/left]so i'd better make my report , Sah !

. . . here is were i got to last weekend , notice i've added a wobbly 'spar' thingy and another strip of 'Strutz' towards the trailing edge ( ignore the broken rib ) - just one wing , this is deliberate . . . .

. . . no , i'm not playing silly beggars . your monitor hasn't just gone B/W , here it is in white primer .

- and here , we have stage 2 , what is this ? . well after i paint and rig this wing i'm going to cover it all up ! HA HA HA !

srly , Litespan is a product used by the balsa brigade , used instead of japanese tissue / dope ( Ahhh , the smell of sawdust and real dope . . .) comes in a variety of colours . can i find my stash of 'Antique' ? 'course not . just this tiny scrap - the creamy coloured bit . i did find a pack of PC10 coloured stuff though , you get about 1 sq metre of the stuff in a pack , loads , and only a couple of quid a pop ! - this will be attached with thin CA to the wing . when heated it shinks taut , just like the real thing .(almost bullet proof against paints , laquers , solvents etc too . handy that oh , and under THAT there is a peice of cream coloured styrene sheet . i'm going to do a magic trick with that . . . . wait and see . but first , it's time for some paint .

Edited April 18, 2010 by blimp

[T-Tango]

Ah yes Litespan, didn't it used to be called Modelspan, I've used that in my balsa modelling days, you attach it to the ribs then use a hot iron to heat shrink the sag between the ribs!

I must agree with you, it has gone very quiet on the GB front very lately.

Edited April 19, 2010 by T-Tango

[ollieholmes]

I remember litespan, i think i still have some laying around but i never used it.

[blimp]

hello again my lovelies , this weeks update . . .

[/left] . . . here's that little trick i was on about , take a bit of styrene about 1cm wide . . . .

. . . heat CAREFULLY until shiny , then a quickish pull and voila ! - tape , lots of it . . .

. . . attached to the end of the solid one in the port wing i can now begin weaving it up and over the ribs on the starboard side . a change of plan was called for here , my intention was to cover the port plane before adding the bracing wires and tapes to the other side but the central plywood(?) gusset has to be fitted first . now i'll have to finish it all beforehand , then mask the open side with some damp card to protect it all when i heat the litespan (this is why the 'tapes' on the port side were made of brass ) . i've also added some slivers of carved toothpick to the top of the cutout . here , just prior to being blended into the rear airfoil before the final lick of paint . then i'll be getting nice and grubby with the oil stone and round brass rod , turning it into the square stuff i'll need for the fuselage . that will keep me out of mischief for a while , won't it now . . . .

Edited April 25, 2010 by blimp

[blimp]

. . .

[/left]. . . here , the bracing wires and tapes . just showing on the left , the starboard wing is covered .

tonight i've been on the scrounge for some brown styrene to make the cane capping strips that were tacked over the fabric , onto the ribs . - a flowerpot sacrificed itself , Mmm , a bit reddish , but i've found some sprue . . . this is taking longer to build than real thing

[blimp]

Oh , err . only 'bout a 100 days left for the GB . i'd best start getting a wiggle on !

[/left]

the wing was covered bottom surface first due to the heavy undercamber . it must be glued onto each rib or it will pull out flat when heat shrunk . i used my thinnest CA for this , going around the edges thoroughly afterwards , a quick trim and a seconds pass over with the iron and it was done . the top surface was easier , just tacking it to the edges then going around again more generously .

i made some round reinforcement patches with a home made 'punch' - two bits of scrap styrene held together with some heatstretched sprue rivets , the size of hole was then drilled through , i then inserted a piece of fabric and used the other end of the drill as the punch . - tightwad , moi ? you betcha . these , along with the capping strips were attached with Klear . i think i'll go over it all with a light brownish grey 'filter' wash , to make it look more like natural linen instead of the sqeaky clean bleached look it has now . a gloss coat , then then some cockades and it's done ! . . . now back to the grind stone

[T-Tango]

This is some build you're doing here, all in 1/72 , really coming along well now.

[AnonymousDFB1]

Fascinating WIP thread Blimp

[blimp]

a belated post this week .

[/left]

. . . how to get sore fingers and crossed eyes ! - .030" (.8mm) round rod being rubbed down to .020" (.5mm) square . . . i could buy some but it comes by the kilometer !

coming on . . .

. . . did you notice both of them in the previous picture , neat trick eh?

. . . one kipper coming up . cross pieces to do , then i'll see if i can solder it without it all falling apart again . . .

Edited June 16, 2010 by blimp

[AnonymousFO98]

Amazing as ever Mr. Blimp!

[blimp]

phew , well that'll do for the mo , a few bits to add but the main structure is about ready .soon it'll be time for the giblets . Yay. Edited May 15, 2010 by blimp

[blimp]

hello boys and girls , i'm sussing out the insidey bits now - starting with a thin piece of styrene as a floor , a touch of paint , and a nice shiney bucket for the pilot . from the Eduard WW1 seat set . - the 'Morane' one on the fret has six rows of holes instead of the correct five , but a quick trim with scissors fixed it . basic colours used were Humbrol 71 cream undercoat with some thin streaky 62 brown for the longerons and ply floor , formers picked out with Hu 1322 clear orange (acrylic) , seat was done the same way , but over 74 cdl . the base was applied heavily and then wicked off the centre portion , where the pilots backside wears it away . good stuff this 1322 , it has a strong brownish hue to it , not like tamiya's orange stuff .

[/left]

. . . and from the depths of the spares box , Aeroclub engine + prop , and a home made cowling for a Fokker means the original plastic item is waiting to donate itself - ready to morph into the shape of the resin one from the Ardpol kit on the right . . . but lots to do yet !

Edited June 17, 2010 by blimp