Bri2k Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 Wow that's some great progress there Old Man! I've enver seen anyone rig a biplane prior to installing the interplane struts. I'd imagine this method would give you a lot more "finger-room" to get the job done. Very innovative! I just love the colors you use on your builds. I think your choice for PC-10 here is absolutely spot-on! That's some fine work sir! Thanks for posting the update! Bri2k P.S. Thank you for your kind words. It's nice to know others appreciate what is often for us a solitary past time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 Last night I pressed ahead and fitted the struts in place. Things went pretty well, I think, with only a couple of glitches, only to be expected with so many seperate operations to be done. I shaped the struts out of 1.5mm x .5mm strip, cutting each individually for its holes, though the required lengths remained pretty constant; what variation there was related to the depth of the remaining locating holes, not the gap between the wings. Here and there I will tweak positioning of some incidence wires, but as all are now firmly anchored in the glue plugging the holes, I do not anticipate any difficulties. I have cleaned up the uppersurface of the upper wing and lower surface of the lower wing, and am beginning their final finishing. I am going to leave the spacers on till finish of those surfaces, including decals, is complete. As you observed, Mr. Bri2K, this does give a good deal more finger room, or rather tweezer room. I would be hesitant to try it with a kit, because of the extensive clean-up required on the most visible wing surfaces might well damage moulded detail, and require its duplication in patches. But on this, since I made the surface myself, I have no trepidation in that regard: if I made it in the first place, I suppose I can match it, or at least blend to it, well enough.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bri2k Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 That is coming along swimmingly Old Man! I'm a huge fan of your rigging. I only wish I had the patience and steadiness of hand to do it that well myself. I imagine that birds rigged with your method have a lot more structual integrity to them than ones rigged via the standard "glue thread or piano wire between the struts" method. Just like your other builds, when completed, this FE-8 will look so lifelike it could leap into the air off your display shelf! Your work is an inspiration, Sir. Bri2k P.S. What did you use for PC-10 and CDL? I recently picked up some Poly-Scale PC-10 that looks like it will do double-duty as Olive Drab, but your color choices always seem so right to my eye. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted January 29, 2006 Author Share Posted January 29, 2006 (edited) The tail assembly is now complete. This is the most nerve-wracking bit of modeling I have yet engaged in, and I am fast running out of ways to hold the thing in future work. The booms are 1mm round Plastruct rod: the top two were affixed first, to the tailplane and then to the upper wing; the lower two were cut to match the space that resulted, and the struts, cut from 1.5mm x.5mm strip, added afterwards. The rigging in the boom assembly is part of the structure and final position of the thing, as I varied the stretch imposed on the elastic line in various directions to achieve the desired result. The cross-wires parallel to the wings between the booms (I confess ignorance of the proper technical term) are not elastic but "invisible thread" monofilament, to prevent the booms belling out under the tug of the drag and control wires, as they certainly would be doing otherwise. One note: except for the near plan-view shot, the pictures show the machine in a somewhat nose-down attitude, as the nacelle of the F.E.8 slants decidely upwards in front of the wings. Edited January 29, 2006 by Old Man Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bri2k Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Wow another masterpiece in the making! You are a very brave soul indeed Old Man to tackle such a project! My hat is off to you and your talent! That intricate rigging is not for amateurs! Bri2k Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 I noticed a bad error in the tail rigging, which I have now corrected. Before taking the pictures, the port upper drift wire to the booms broke from its joint to the upper boom. Being in a hurry to catch the fading daylight for the photographs, i did not take the time to closely examine, but simply caught up the loose enmd and affixed it, without checking its path through the wing struts and rigging. Instead of going direct from the front outer interplane strut, it had got into a position where it passed around the outside of the the rear interplane strut as well. This made it much too tight when fastened, and it warped the boom assembly leftwards and upwards in consequence. A sharp lesson in "haste makes waste", as well as the flexibility of the structure in queation. No permanent harm has been done, and I am proceeding to the undercarriage and propellor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 Greeting OldMan. I love it. I used to be picky about my WW1 subjects and which ones I would do, being somewhat partial to German and Austro Hungarian subjects, but after building the DH-10 I've learned that the British birds have a uniqueness and character all their own. You've really captured the look of this. My hat's off to you. Nice job on the rigging as well. I follow your preference for rigging some portions of the airframe before final assembly. It makes it easier to poke your fingers and tweezers in and around without hearing that merry little POINK of a rigging line snapping. My modeling days have been somewhat limited, but I have managed to begin construction of a Lohner BII resin kit from Copper State Models. How much work I can get done remains to be seen, as Maggie and I have made an offer on a house and I may be moving sometime in April, but hopefully I can sneak in a few moments here and there. I am also trying to get my USS Texas Turret finished as well. Keep us posted Oldman. Cheers Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted February 1, 2006 Author Share Posted February 1, 2006 Good to see you about the place again, Mr. King! I am glad to know all is well, if busy, and glad as well you like the result of my efforts so far on this wee beastie. I have always had a fondness for the English machines of the Great War, and have always been particularly interested in the first half rather than the latter. I can still remember how delighted I was to see the old Revell DeHaviland 2 in a hobby shop, along with the Eindekker and Morane N they put out at that time. It still bothers me there is not a first-line kit of the B.E. 2 available (though I do have a Pegasus 2e in the cupboard). I am pleased with the way this technique for rigging worked out, and intend to use it in future scratchbuilding projects. I think that I will in future, though, leave the outer areas of the upper and lower wings that the holes go through blank, and only put in the rib and spar representations there after the interplane rigging is complete, as I suspect this will make the clean-up easier. I got the undercarriage on today, but will not have a chance to take pictures till Thursday, and consider completion this weekend a possibility, at least. I am looking forward to seeing your "turret Camel" completed; that will be a very impressive display piece! I am sure you have some references for the Lohner, but as wife recently purchased an old copy of the Harleyford Reconnaisance and Bomber Aircraft 1914-1918 volume for me, I will look through and see if there is anything that might be helpful. My next will be a Fokker DI, and I am hoping to get enough information to do a Maurice Farman Type 11 after that. I am having a hard time finding a picture that shows a serial number of a machine serving with a known French unit, though I have found a site presenting (in French) a history of esc. 62, which flew Farman's till 1916, that has some information and photographs that might suffice in a pinch, and one or two other leads. Happy modeling. Sir! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 I have got the undercarriage and under nacelle details on now, and so the reduction in places I can hold this while working on it proceeds a-pace. The next major step will be rigging the aileron controls, which will reduce grippable points considerably further. The wheels are scratch built, the centers carved from discs of 1.5mm sheet, with seperate tires from rings of 1.1mm rod. It was laborious, but easier than painting kit wheels. The undercarriage vees are each a single piece, cut from a rectangle of .5mm sheet. The cross-piece is from 1mm sheet, carved to indicate the axle. The tail skid was assembled on the model from bits of .5mm rod, and 1.5mm x .5mm strip. It was not designed with the convenience of future modelers in mind.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mbittner Posted February 3, 2006 Share Posted February 3, 2006 Excellent job, OM! Very nice. Keep up the great work! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted February 13, 2006 Author Share Posted February 13, 2006 F.E. 8 completed.... More pictures can be found here, in Critique Corner.... http://www.arcforums.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=79984 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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