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The trials and tribulations of building and rigging bi-planes


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Well, it turns out I'm not very good at building and rigging bi-planes. Maybe it was my choice for the model. Maybe it's just not my forte. You tell me.

In the meantime, my hat is off to those of you who can build bi-planes, especially in 1/72 scale. Cripes, they are tricky indeed!

Read about my experience.

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

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I feel your pain, I'm at about the same place as you are on my DR VII, one thing I have an advantage in is there are only 3 wires I need to run, but one disadvantage is I'm gluing my wing struts into decals (Full Lozenge)

One thing I would suggest is to not use CA glue to glue the wings, as you've learned it's too brittle and allows no leeway for any type of movement/adjustment.

Some of the experienced Bi-Plane builders that I've been able to "pick their brains", seem to use jigs to hold the wings so they can fit the wing supports, it didn't seem to practical for me as I seldom do Bi-Planes.

Another way to run rigging, it will entail a bit of t/u painting, but drill a hole through the wing, glue one end into a hole, then thread the other end through the "through" hole and pull it tight, fill the hole with c/a sand flush and paint.

Curt

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I'm not the best rigger when it comes to bi-planes, but I made a simple "how-to" showing the Azur 1/72 Vickers Vildebeest that may help.

Rigging How To

I didn't drill holes with this one, but you can use the same process with holes.

Edited by indydog
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Well, it turns out I'm not very good at building and rigging bi-planes. Maybe it was my choice for the model. Maybe it's just not my forte. You tell me.

In the meantime, my hat is off to those of you who can build bi-planes, especially in 1/72 scale. Cripes, they are tricky indeed!

Read about my experience.

Steven Brown

Scale Model Soup

So sorry to hear of your troubles with the Nieuport. I hate it when things like that happen--either to me or someone else. I read your blog entry--sounds like you really had a bigger issue with assembly, and if the assembly stage isn't sound, it is only going to make the rigging more difficult. I have found it helpful to try to sort out the fit issues between wings, struts, etc before applying glue. I know it can be challenging to dry fit such assemblies, but it is possible to do it in stages. For instance, check to see if the strut pins fit properly into their respective holes in the wings, fuselage, etc. Do they seat properly? Make whatever adjustments you need to make to insure the pins go all the way into the holes. If struts are angled, eyeball the angle while holding the strut in the hole--is it still seating properly? Once you have determined the struts are fitting into their corrseponding holes properly, then you can start thinking about applying some glue. I never attempt to glue and assemble the cabane struts and interplane struts simultaneously--that requires more than 2 hands to do! If any of the struts are of an "N" configuration, that simplifies things immensely--they are virtually self aligning and should be glued first--doesn't matter if they are cabane or interplane. The "N" strut automatically aligns itself fore and aft--all you have to worry about is the left-right alignment. That is often possible to do using just the calibrated Mk.I eyeball--or you can make a simple hand held jig from a piece of paper or light card. Sometimes the top wing itself can be used as an alignment jig. When you are satisfied that it is possible to align the struts, apply glue to just the end of the struts that connect to a fixed surface--ie, the fuselage in the case of cabane struts, or the previously attached lower wing in the case of the interplane struts. Apply the glue, true up the alignment, and let the glue dry thoroughly before moving on. Once that first set of struts is securely fastened, then it is possible to carefully glue the upper wing into position. Walk away and let the glue dry thoroughly. You will now have the upper wing attached securely to the model. It will be a rather delicate assembly because it is only attached through one set of struts. Carefully ease in the remaining struts, double check alignment and fit issues. Make any adjustments needed, then apply glue. Let the glue dry. Now that the upper wing is securely attached to the rest of the model you are ready to begin rigging.

IMHO, the easiest, quickest, most trouble free and effective way to rig is to use monofilament line glued into pre-drilled holes. In addition to being super easy, this method will add considerable strength to your completed model. You need to prepare for rigging with this technique before the model is fully assembled. I typically like to build the model up to the point where the lower wing, horizontal and vertical tail pieces are glued to the fuselage--now it is time to paint. Once painting is completed (and I will often add decals at this stage too), it is time to drill holes for the rigging. I like to use a number 79 or 80 drill bit chucked into a pin vise. Drill part way into the bottom of the upper wing, and all the way through the lower wing. Make sure the holes are drilled at an angle that matches the angle of the rigging. Once all the holes are drilled, go ahead and mount the upper wing as described in the above paragraph. Be very careful not to let glue foul your predrilled holes--it can be bear cleaning them out--DAMHIKT! BTW, it is usually easier to mount any inter-cabane rigging before the top wing is glued into position. When the wing/strut assembly is throughly dry, cut lengths of rigging about an inch or two longer than needed. Some guys try to make one length of line go through multiple holes. I never quite understood the value of doing that and found it makes the job a lot harder to do, so I just use one piece of line for each straight line run. Run your lines through the predrilled holes--for instance, run the forward flying wires that go from the root of the lower wing up to the top of the interplane struts. While using a tweezer to hold the end of the line into the partially drilled hole in the bottom of the top wing adjacent to the interplane strut, use a small piece of wire, tooth pick or other tool to place a tiny drop of super glue on the end of the line where it enters the wing. Capillary action will whisk the glue into the hole and almost instantly glue the line to the wing. I like to wait a bit to be sure it is secure. Go ahead and glue all the lines into the bottom of the top wing using the same method. Once the glue has a little time to cure, now you can start gluing the ends of the lines where they pass through the bottom wing. A slight amount of weight will pull the line taught--I like using miniature locking forceps for weight, but I have heard of others using clothes pegs or locking tweezers. Once you have the lines taught, apply tiny drops of super glue. Give the glue time to cure, then use a razor or sharp scalpel blade to trim the excess line away. Touch up with paint and you are done!

I have used other methods such as steel wire, stretched sprue, etc, and IMHO they are MUCH more difficult than the above described method.

Good luck, be patient, and I predict you will be amazed to find how truly easy rigging actually is.

HTH!

Karl

PS--I used the "N" strut example above because it is the easiest to deal with--"N" struts are self aligning fore and aft and they can't twist. Vee struts are the second easiest--they are pretty much self aligning, but you have to be much more careful with them because they can twist and/or rock fore and aft, causing problems with angle of incidence and the fit of cabane struts. It is usually best to glue Vee struts to the top wing--that way they are as self aligning as "N" struts. Single, individual struts are the hardest to align because they are free to move along all axes--but all strut types can be dealt with by making simple jigs from paper or lightweight card. For example, here is a picture of a simple card jig I made for aligning the interplane struts on the Eduard Camel. Jigs are your friends, and the time it takes to make them is repaid in ease of assembly.

Camel_Jig-1.jpg

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I avoided rigging like the plague for a long time, but my desire to have some biplanes eventually got the better of me.

Personally I found I prefer to use wire cut to length, so no heat or drilling required. Just remember to cut long, you can make the wire shorter, but I haven't found a way to lengthen a piece I cut to short. 5 minute epoxy and a toothpick provides a little working time to get it lined up right. I've heard some use Elmers glue, but I haven't tried that yet.

It is still my least favorite part but tolerable.

Choice of aircraft is important too. The Fokker DR1 triplane and DVII have minimal rigging and fairly easy strut alignment. British aircraft seem to be the worst choice (my first was a British DH-2, lots of rigging a ton of individual struts and that crazy framework holding the tail on :crying2:/>/> ), French planes and non Fokker Germans coming in somewhere behind them.

Monograms interwar biplanes (Curtiss P6E, F11C-2 Goshawk and Boeing F4B-4) are very simple to assemble with most of the struts already in place. The interwar biplanes also have less complex rigging than many WW1 era planes.

The P-26 is another good one to practice rigging. As a monoplane you don't have extra wings to worry about so you can spend your time trying to get the wires right.

Here is a Matchbox Armstrong Whitworth Siskin IIIa, also not a bad choice for a first kit, although you do have to deal with ancient Matchbox decals that were none too good when fresh.

Siskin10.jpg

Edited by Aaronw
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Though this link is a couple of years old, it discusses Wonder Wire, a ceramic wire that I use for rigging. The thing about it is that it cannot kink like metal wire, nor sag like various invisible threads. Basically you cut it to length using a divider, and then attach it with white glue. You could use cyanoacrylate or epoxy too I would think, but white glue dries clear and seems to hold it. In 1:72 I don't typically drill holes at each end, but you could certainly do that. There is an address with a source for Wonder Wire in the posting.

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/tools_techniques_and_reference_materials/f/23/t/124726.aspx

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I don't think I saw this thread before, so thanks for the bump.

I would add for the list of tips with rigging biplanes: Fit of the wings is important. Often times you'll find the upper (free floating) wing is molded as a single span or as top and bottom single pieces, but the lower wings join the fuselage. Naturally if you screw up angle of the lower wings you hose the entire build after that. I would suggest tons of dry fitting but also to build the plane upside down. Fit the fuselage struts in place (there are almost always fuselage struts) and tape them down or use blu-tac or something to keep them in place. Then dry-fit the struts into the outer-wings only to hold the lower wings at the proper angle as you glue them to the fuselage left and right. With the upper wing as your jig, you just need to assemble it upside down. When thoroughly dried, the glue should be cured enough to handle the plane and flip it back over to resume your work. I would pre-drill any holes in the lower wing to avoid stressing the glued joint after this step, though.

I find that monofilament is annoying because even if you tension it tight, it will sag based on moisture it pulls from the air. Unless it's in a climate controlled environment you seem to have to constantly heat the wires to re-tighten them!

I started using very thin wire instead, and it looks the part even in 1/72nd scale but it has problems with grip. CA glue doesn't seem to "anchor" it in the pre-drilled holes, and it slips after tensioning. I can even leave weights on the long ends of the wires as they dry, but they still will sag or bulge if I accidentally bump them as I continue work on the model. It's very annoying. I think maybe guitar string with its spring-like nature might have a rougher surface for the glue to grip, but I don't want to have to go that route.

I have yet to get a "perfect" rigging finish, but the one that came closest was definitely the monofilament (fishing line). It does seem easier to work with.

Edited by Mark M.
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