Barneydhc82 Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 (edited) In the early 1950s I worked as an apprentice mechanic at the Windsor Flying Club and two of our fleet were Dehavilland Canada Chipmunks. A delightful aircraft to fly but a nightmare to maintain. One of those was CF-CXE and there were many times when I skinned my knuckles on the darned thing. Fast forward to 1980 and CF-CXE was in the hands of George Spence of Burnaby, BC and operating out of Langley, BC. One afternoon while having lunch at Delta Airpark, George and his wife Elenor were wanting to return to Langley but CXE would not start so George, knowing of my relationship with the beast asked me if I would have a talk to her..CXE..not his wife!. I had many attempts at starting that ^%$#*&5 Gipsey in the past and after a bit of verbal abuse, I gave George the thumbs up and CXE started after two blades...she must have recalled some of our discussions from the past! In 2002 I got to Fly CXE again after 50 years and while going through my stash of kits, I came across an Aeroclub 1/48 scale limited run injected kit of a Chipmunk T-10 which I will now try to build as a DHC-1 as operated by the Royal Canadian Flying Clubs Association member organization such as WFC. There are few pieces of plastic and a few bits of white metal and a vacuform canopy. The anti-spin strakes on the rear of the fuselage are removed I glued the wing halves together then added a centre control "tunnel" which was not present in the kit. The seats are pretty basic but close enough I tossed the white metal gear legs and soldered up a new set to reflect the CDN type. The torque links will be added later. The horizontal stab was modified by adding pieces of .015" plastic to the centre section to fill the horrible gap. More later and wait for the finish...it will be different! Barney Edited February 8, 2011 by Barneydhc82 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 A bit more work on the Aeroclub Chipmunk..with a lot more to go! I've added flap and brake handles, radios and a few other bits including making new seat back panels and instrument panels. The original intent was to produce this model as CF-CXE in Early RCAF markings but after a lot of searching and finally talking to Patrick Martin, he informs me that CXE did not return to RCAF service after being on loan to the Windsor Flying Club. So Plan B is in effect! It will be marked as 18065 which was owned in recent years by another friend at Langley, BC. 065 is now in the USA and hopefully it will not end up like a good many other Chipmunks that went south. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 More work accomplished on the Chipmunk..too cold and windy to go flying! I made up two instrument panels to reflect the actual RCAF panels using Mike Grant instrument decals. These panels are small so I added a holding stem temorarilly to be able to hold the darned things. The panels are made up of two pieces of .020" card with the instrument holes punched out with the Waldron punch and die set. With the model assembled and the panels in place I had to tackle the big gaps in the wing/fuselage joint. I used 3M blue vynil tape stretched over the wing and fuselage then filled the wing joint with Milliput which was shaped with a wet finger and dental tools. Barney The small white dots on the wing are.010" plastic pieces to simulate the gas filler cap and gas guage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 With slightly warmer weather I thought that today would be OK to try out the new airbrush on the Chipmunk...and it took all of about two hours to mask and paint this little beast. The Yellow is Polly Scale brushed on with a wide Sable brush. The dull aluminum on the areas covered in fabric is Alclad II Aluminum which simulates the "doped" areas while the polished metal is Alclad II Airframe Aluminum. I still have quite a bit more work to do but the major stumbling block right now is carving a mould for a vac-form Canadian canopy...the Brit/original ptopotype canopy is for test only. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alvin5182 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Barney: Coming along "nicely" ! Can't wait to see the finished product. Looks to be a bit of a beast of a kit! al davis (alvin 5182) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 Thanks for the comments Al. It certainly is a beast..very thick castings on the fuselage , sink mark on the entire trailing edge of the wing ahead of the ailerons and flaps...and so on... Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alvin5182 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Barney: I always wanted to get the Aeroclub 72nd scale Canadian canopy but never "got around to it". Am I kicking my butt now, in light of what's happening with Aeroclub. And there's the injected Spitfire VC wing conversion! Can you say "procrastinate"? Oh well, live and learn! Al Davis Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 Al: There is always the Airfix bubble topped CDN Chipmunk in 1/72 scale. I did one many, many years ago and it is now in the museum at Langley...along with all of my other 1/72 scale stuff. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Emvar Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Barney, Like your work!! Like it lots. Emil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 Thank you Emil. I've loved and hated the Chipmunk since about 1951 when I first started working on them..but they are a most delightful aircraft to fly. If it were not for the Gipsey engine, which is a very high maintenance piece, it would be my first choice of a toy. I have many hours flying the wee beast and remember a WW2 Spitfire pilot telling us that the Chipmunk was the poor mans' Spitfire. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Great work with the Alclad, Barney. I see you managed to rectify the problems you encountered while spraying your CF-104. The finish is outstanding. Keep it up. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 Mike: The Alclad II went on beautifully but the plastic was not as smooth as it should have been. My eyesight is not that great for "up and close" work..old age is a bugger but the alternative really sucks! The decals are now in place and I'll post some pics later. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 2, 2011 Author Share Posted March 2, 2011 Decals now finished except for the very tiny 4" numbers over the fin flash. At the present time they would have to be applied seperately and I can't even see that small let alone apply them. I still have the canopy to carve and vac-form and then it will be finished. In Patrick Martin's book on finish and markings, this aircraft is shown with 4" yellow bands around the fuselage...but prior to May 1955, the Chipmunks were as I have finished this model. The yellow bands only lasted until Sept 1955 when the Chief of the Air Staff ordered all training aircraft be painted overall yellow. This is a much nicer scheme. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 9, 2011 Author Share Posted March 9, 2011 An update on the bubble canopy: I used some .040" sheet plastic to provide a side view, top view and of course the shape pf the canopy frame. All of the pieces were glued together then filled in with balsa which was carved to shape , sanded smooth then finished with multiple coats of Mr Surfacer 500. This was polished, mounted on my homemade vac box and the fun began. My first attempt, the plastic, .030" PETG, was not hot enough and the skirt did not pull down. The second attemp the plastic was too hot, bubbled and pulled down OK but too many tiny bubbles ...then trying to get the mould out proved to be a real challenge. I'll have to give this project more thought and try again...later. Sorry this is taking so long but I'm in need of some incentive if anyone has any to spare! Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sean Bratton Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 Incentive? How's this for incentive? If you don't hurry up and finish this the next time the gang meets at Harold's you'll have to catalogue his stash all by your lonesome. You're welcome, Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Thanks Sean...that really hurts! But you are right so now I have another idea for vac-forming a bubble canopy for the Chipmunk. Because of the bulging sides, it will form OK but then I can't remove the mould..so..cut off the winshield and form in two pieces with modelling clay in between the two. More later. Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
alvin5182 Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Barney: Brilliant idea! Al Davis Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Barney I've been lurking all along. Superb job on the paint, especially the natural metal part. I must admit it looks weird to me - I only saw yellow Chipmunks. My father said he liked flying the little aircraft (I think it was in Gimli in 1968) when he cross-trained from Nav to Pilot. Were the attitude indicators really that good in them? I imagined they would be quite rudimentary (i.e. the black bowling ball from the T-33), and not the nice black/grey ones in your model. Those instruments and the cockpit detail you added really make this model stand out. Good luck with the canopy! I can sympathise with your losing your motivation. Looks like this kit is way worse than the 1/32 T-33 and 1/72 CF-100 I just finished, and they were discouraging enough. We're all rooting for you - and don't take any heed to young Mr Bratton's threats... he's bluffing! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 13, 2011 Author Share Posted March 13, 2011 ALF: Thanks fr the kind words of encouragement. The Chipmunk had standard Atitude Indicators...3" instruments but they also had that honkin' great horizontal ships compass that weighed a tonne.. I'm just waiting for the canopy mould to thoroughly cure before I try vac-forming another. Because of the bulging sides it is impossible to get the mould out of the plastic once it has cooled so by seperating the bubble and windshield on the same sheet of plastic I should be able to cur them apart then remove the bubble. I was at Camp Borden during the period '67-'70 while PFS was there and was instructing in the ATC school and working in the tower. During this period there were many enjoyable hours flying the Chipmunk including a few trips with the PFS Tigers demonstration team. As for the paint scheme, this was standard on the Chipmunk during the time from introduction in the RCAF until May'55 when there was a slight change and then again in Sept '55 when the CAS ordered them to be averall yellow. In the last couple of days I've started another little Yellow Peril but I'll post this one under a new topic for the GB Barney http://www.barneysairforce.com Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 Done at last!!!!! After agreat many frustrating attempts at vac-forming a bubble canopy, I finally succeeded and now the Chipmunk is on the shelf with my many other "trainers". All that was required to get the canopy finished was to heat the plastic a lot more than I had during the first dozen or so attemptss. So fellows..here is the CHIPMUNK! Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sean Bratton Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Nice chipmunk, Barney. The canopy turned out great after all the trouble it gave you and the colour scheme really sets this one apart. Cheers, Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks Sean, it was a bit of a challenge but that is why I have all those bumps on my forehead Now I have to finish the Aeroclub Tiger Moth Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Snowbird3a Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks Sean, it was a bit of a challenge but that is why I have all those bumps on my forehead Now I have to finish the Aeroclub Tiger Moth Barney Barney, any chance of a second or third canopy coming off the assembly line. I have the old vac Aeroclub chippy just begging for a Canadian canopy. Please advise, sorry for the hi-jack. Tony, Comox,BC Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 Tony: I could try again...providing you cover my medical after I bash my head into the Aeroclub brick wall. I used the kit windshield..carefully ran a piece of tape over the frame, cut with small scissors and trimmed with a sanding stick Still wanna try??? Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Barneydhc82 Posted March 24, 2011 Author Share Posted March 24, 2011 Here's a couple of pics taken on a very warm sunny day at Langley, BC Airport Barney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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