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1/72 Hawker Hardy And Iraqi Audax Conversions


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  • 3 weeks later...

Thank you, gentlemen.

I have got enough more done on these to justify some new pictures, which I have put up in In Progress in the same thread linked to above. Preliminary finish on the fuselage is done, including decalling.

Happy modeling, Gentlemen!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have begun getting the upper wings on these at last. I ran into some difficulties, as the kit supplied interplane struts could not be made to fit, and I have had to contruct my own. I have put up some pictures in a new topic in the In-Progress forum, here:

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=48366

Mr. King, you may be pleased to know I have been driven to essay a jig, albeit a crude one, in order to fit scratch-built interplane struts. Here is a picture of the primitive device, with the Iraqi Audax at rest on it....

IMG_0219.JPG

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That's a great idea Old Man, making a jig to support the top wing. I'm nowhere near ready to build a biplane but when I eventually do I'll try your method. How did you determine the correct distance between the wings? Will you be adding the rigging wires at a later stage?

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Thank you, Mr. Ed.

Biplanes are not nearly as daunting as they appear. There is a great deal of good advice in the "Stupid Biplane Question" thread below, in this sub-forum.

As I noted, I am no expert on jigs, this being my first attempt at one. But the combination of forward and outward slant on these struts made it impossible for me to accurately calculate their proper length from the drawings, and so, since I have to make the struts from scratch in this case, I really had no choice: I had to have the wings in place, so I could make struts that would fit the gap. The thing is kind of delicate to use, because the upper wing is not fixed in position, and I fear to risk the acrylic finish by taping it down.

I determined the seperation from the front view 1/72 drawings of this machine I have, measuring from the bottoms of the wings. Where dihedral is present, you do have to pick the point where your jig will engage, because the gap will vary with the slant of the wings.

I will certainly rig the beasts. There are elastic threads available that I use, though others have different methods.

Happy modeling, Sir!

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Mr. Oldman,

One of the things that makes the hobby gratifying for me is to be able to pass on some tips or techniques others find useful. The jig in your case may look crude, but it serves the purpose and that's all that matters. One thing that I've found works well for jig lumber is 5/8 x 1/8 balsa sticks that you can buy at any decent hobby shop. It cuts easy and it takes pins well, and when you are done with the jig, it breaks apart easily.

The thing is kind of delicate to use, because the upper wing is not fixed in position, and I fear to risk the acrylic finish by taping it down.

A simple solution Oldman. Use straight pins into the endgrain of the brace under the wing, and another on the back side, then use small rubber bands over the top of the wing to "clamp" it in place so it doesn't move. I also use small plastic clamps you can get from Sears for about a dollar each to clamp wings to jigs. There's nothing more frustrating than cutting struts with the wing in place, only to find that one or two is too short because the wing moved when you were taking measurements.

The picture below should give a good idea how clamps and rubber bands can be used. To keep the top wing perfectly level I clamped a metal bar across the top of the upper wing, and though you can't see them because the clamps block the view, the upper wing is rubber banded in place on the upper wing cradel of the jig. It made cutting struts so much easier.

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Many thanks, Mr. King!

I would never have thought of the pin and rubber-band idea, but will be employing it this evening, when I take my second pass at the Export Aufax struts.

I used lathe acquired as fire-place kindling for this, because it was on hand, and I did not want to wait on a trip to the hobby shop to get the thing done. I will acquire some of the balsa grade you recommend this afternoon, for future use: the idea of a breakable jig seems useful indeed.

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This weekend I have completed the main-plane rigging on these little beasties. I am taking the liberty of putting up a couple of pictures here, one a frontal view of the Hardy, the other a close-up of the nose of the Iraqi Export Audax; more can be found in the thread current in the In-Progress forum....

To Mr. King: you have been indeed a great help, Sir. The topicality is part of what got me off center from merely thinking of this project. I have wanted a model of one of the radial "Harts" since I first saw pictures of one as a lad. I have a certain interest in Middle eastern matters, and in the history of English Imperial policing. One of my next projects, after the Spanish Civil War group build, will be a Westland Wapiti, though I have not decided whether it will be one based in Iraq or on the Northwest Frontier (now Pakistan): I recently recieved sufficient interior information, from a great fellow, Mr. Dave Loughhead in Australia, to do the thing right from an old Frog Wallace.

IMG_0290.JPG

IMG_0313.JPG

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