mbittner Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Sloppy fit. Sloppy fit. Your sloppy fits are better than my final fits. You're a mad man. It looks great! I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Old Man Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Exquisite work on the motor, Mr. King! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 lol. Thanks Matt and OldMan. So far I am pleased with the progress. Hope your knee gets on the mend quickly Matt. The last few nights I have been busy making those weird radiators that are on both sides of the engine. I fasioned them from strips of .005 plastic for the fins and .010 plastic for the spacers, and stacked them up inside of a .010 plastic frame with .060 caps for the header tanks and bottom. The pipe is .030 Evergreen. I also buttoned up the cowl for the last time and put the cockpit cover in place. All the painting is done with the exception of the clear before I put the one decal on and give it a light wash with burnt umber oils, then flat coat it. The next big hurdle will be the landing gear and spoked wheels. I am going to try Sanjeev Hirve's method of lacing my own spoked wheels instead of the PE wheels I would normally use. Sanjeez was kind enough to send ne his method, and the reults are stunning. Well... his are anyways. Mine may end up looking like a web from a demented spider, but I figure I'll give it a go. The struts will also be somewhat of a challenge as it has struts that go everywhich way you can think of, plus an anti tip-over bar on the front. It's dog rearend ugly but it fits the appearance of the airplane. I probably will begin the wheels this weekend when I have time to devote to it. I don't think it's something I can start and then pick up later on. Here's a head on view with most of the stuff in place, but nothing glued yet. The 12 inch rule in front gives an idea of the size of this little beast. It was not a small airplane. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted March 21, 2006 Author Share Posted March 21, 2006 Here's a closer shot of the radiators and engine. I also made the exhaust pipes from .030 solder, they need to be painted yet. The cutouts in the cowl are to clear the cabane struts, which are made from .020 brass wire. The originals were round thankfully, so these were easy to fasion, and all the same length. No major hair loss from these babies. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scout Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 :o Great job, Skyking! It looks fantastic! :o Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 (edited) Thank you OldMan and Scout. I have all the painting and weathering done, I used a burnt umber wash overall to give the fabric and painted areas a "used" look. I tried not to get too carried away, as I believe the life of these airplanes was too short for them to get too weathered before an errant student pilot wrapped it up into a ball of string and fabric. Some grime around the engine, some black and dark brown pastel chalk around the stitching and cowl fasteners, and some dirt here and there was deemed sufficient. This was all sealed in Dullcoat after all the weathering was finished. The wingwalks I made from the 1/32nd plywood I have, but I sanded off two of the 3 plies, leaving a paper thin piece of wood, that I clear varnished, then glued to the wing and weathered it with black and brown pastels. the prop also recieved the copper cladding on the lead edges, and I used a straight pin to emboss the screws. The lower wings, and all tail feathers are glued in place. I have the tailplane struts made but I have not painted them in this phot yet. These were made from .020 Evergreen rod. The cockpit combing I made from rolled up plumbers epoxy putty that was painted black The stitching is from the kit, and it's PE, painted black, then the "eyelets" were rubbed to allow the metal to show and give some depth to the stitching. I put on the two decals consisting of the Serial Number. There were no national insignia on this particular aircraft. I also made a new cooling system header tank after examining the drawings and photos I have, showed that my original part was not even close. Tomorrow night I will install the upper wing and struts, then begin the rigging, and after that is finished I will make a new jig and begin constructing the maze of landing gear struts it had. Here's a closeup of the engine/prop, showing the cladding on the lead edge. I dinged it a few placed to look like rock dings from flying off of unimproved training strips. After it was installed I "washed" it and the center boss with Tamiya Smoke acrylic to tone down the "new" look and give them a weathered appearence. Edited March 27, 2006 by Skyking Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 3/4 rear view showing the tailplane struts, cockpit and combing, and the weathering and wing walks to good effect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 Last one for now, a closeup of the left front showing the weathering and wingwalks. So far I ampleased with how this model is turning out. Till next time, Cheers Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scout Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 How do you weathering a linen? I have all the painting done on the Nieuport 28, but I don't now How can I weathering a linen on wings and fuselage?! :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted March 27, 2006 Author Share Posted March 27, 2006 Hi Scout, There's about a million ways to do NDL, or Natural Doped Linen, it all depends on your preference. Personally I don't care for a weather beaten look. My take is these airplanes didn't have a very long service life, and would get shot down or damaged long before any real weathering had an effect, so I go for a more toned down weathering, just some dust, maybe some engine oil, and perhaps highlight some access panels or hatches. I use a combination of oil washes using Burnt Umber or Pale Gray oils, and chalk pastels brushed on. After I paint the model, I seal it with clear gloss, apply my wash, wipe off the excess, then wait a day or two for it to dry. Then I seal it with clear flat, apply my chalk pastels as desired, then one more final flat coat to seal everything. I think in the Tips section there is an article or two about weathering. Also if you check out Pete Flieschman's WildBlue Models website (http://www.wildbluemodels.com/?src=ARC ) , he has a Tips and Techniques section where he goes into great detail about preshading and weathering, and Pete's weathering is the bar to shoot for. Cheers Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 (edited) The last couple of nights I was able to make some good progress. The wing struts and tail struts are now epoxied in place and the top wing epoxied installed. I set the struts while the model was pinned to the jig and it made life a lot easier. I pre-rigged the top wing with all the bracing lines before I glued it in place, it was much easier doing it with the wing upside down, rather than trying to stand on my head and poke the lines into the predrilled holes from underneath. Before I set it in place the wing looked I fed it Rogaine, as I had "hair" popping up from everywhere :lol: . Once the epoxy set for the struts, I began the rigging, using .003 monofilament for the wires. I pulled all the bracing wires and landing and flying wires through the holes in the bottom wing. You can still see evidence of the "whiskers" from where I cut them off after setting them in place with CA and tweezers to act as a weight to keep them taught. Once all the rigging was done, the wing strengthened up a whole bunch, which made me feel a lot better. With the amount of stagger in these wings I was concerned with them folding up like a parallelogram, but the rigging is doing it's job, just as I had hoped. Next left to do is run the control lines, install the fuel tank and upper wing braces and rigging, make the landing gear and the little beast is done. It is still an extremely fragile little bird, just as the real one was, so this model is going to be mounted to a base to save it from excess handeling. Edited March 30, 2006 by Skyking Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 This shot damn near gave me a heart attack when I saw it. The wing is not curved as it appears, merely an optical illusion from the camera angle and the sweepback of the wing. I saw this picture and went HUH?? :lol: "Holy Crap" and ran back to double check. Needless to say I was relieved when I saw it nice and straight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted March 30, 2006 Author Share Posted March 30, 2006 Last shot for now. I love this view from above. The swept wings really add a touch of elegance to an otherwise homely looking bird. Next pics should be of the completed model, and, if time permits, I will be lacing my own spoked wheels for it. Otherwise I will install a set of covered wheels for short term display until I have the time to make them. Cheers Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mbittner Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 Beautiful, simply beautiful. I'm looking forward to seeing it finished, Mike. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skyking Posted April 4, 2006 Author Share Posted April 4, 2006 (edited) Thanks Matt. By the way, loved the mixed scales on IM. When I saw you had done a SPAD in 1/48th I thought wow he finally saw the light..lol. Well the thing is sitting on the gear now. 8 hours and 22 pieces later the gear is done. It is, without a doubt, the most complicated forrest of struts I've ever stuck together. I jigged the fuselage to the correct height and cut all the main struts from .020 brass rod. These were soldered to a piece of 1/16 sq. brass tube, cut in half across the diagonal to form a brass angle. This was lashed, then CA'ed to the kit's white metal skid, which was heavily cleaned up. I added a .030 brass rod for the axels. The rest of the struts are .020 plastic, glued and CA'ed in place one piece at a time. The wheels I have on there now are temporary. Due to time constraints I have to use these, but I intend to make a set of spoked wheels for it once I get my shop set back up again. There is a show in Buffalo this weekend I want to finish this up for. I have to do the control lines, add a couple of detail bits to the landing gear, weather the landing gear and tires, clean up some "oops" and "awww dammits" , make a base, and for all intents and purposes this little beast is done. Next set of pictures will be the completed airplane. Cheers Mike Edited April 4, 2006 by Skyking Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mbittner Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 (edited) Thanks Matt. By the way, loved the mixed scales on IM. When I saw you had done a SPAD in 1/48th I thought wow he finally saw the light..lol. I knew that would send a chuckle to a bunch of people. Don't worry about me switching scales, though. There's a certain place that would have to freeze over before that happens. And while there is a lot of light there, it's the kind that burns. Well the thing is sitting on the gear now. 8 hours and 22 pieces later the gear is done. It is, without a doubt, the most complicated forrest of struts I've ever stuck together. I jigged the fuselage to the correct height and cut all the main struts from .020 brass rod. These were soldered to a piece of 1/16 sq. brass tube, cut in half across the diagonal to form a brass angle. This was lashed, then CA'ed to the kit's white metal skid, which was heavily cleaned up. I added a .030 brass rod for the axels. The rest of the struts are .020 plastic, glued and CA'ed in place one piece at a time. The wheels I have on there now are temporary. Due to time constraints I have to use these, but I intend to make a set of spoked wheels for it once I get my shop set back up again. As I've said many times you, sir, are a masochist. Even so, it looks great! What a wild set of struts. There is a show in Buffalo this weekend I want to finish this up for. I have to do the control lines, add a couple of detail bits to the landing gear, weather the landing gear and tires, clean up some "oops" and "awww dammits" , make a base, and for all intents and purposes this little beast is done. Next set of pictures will be the completed airplane. Are you going to use your trained spider for rigging? A must with this aircraft. Best of luck in the show, Mike. You should place very well. If you don't take Best Aircraft or Best in Show, then the judges know nothing. Edited April 4, 2006 by mbittner Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scout Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 Skyking : It's fantastick!!! It's look like a real plane! :) Thanks for advice! I'm going to test, these week! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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