Finished: 1/48 Eduard Bristol F.2B

Well, I got the prop mounted to the front of the aircraft. I think I'll hit it with a satin coat to tone down the brightness.

The prop boss for the carved wood (which isn't perfect, but is more symmetrical than the photo angle makes it appear) is a PE piece from Part. I used a Flory Dark Dirt wash on it to pick out the details, and am really happy with what they supply.

Ideally, I would have recessed it about 0.5mm into the prop face, but I don't have a drill press and mill set, and didn't know how else to pull that off.

I also started to tackle the rigging, and actually am really enjoying it so far!

I used EZ line and extra-thin CA glue after drilling holes for all the mounting points. I used the GLue Looper to apply small amounts of the CA.

The only problem now is that I waited way too long to paint the cabane and interplane struts, and the oils I used to replicate the wood grain are still drying, so I can't proceed, and I just have an upper wing sitting on the jig with a bunch of whiskers hanging off of it.

I did get the rigging lines for the undercarriage (all two of them) installed, making them the first rigging lines I've ever done. Now for those struts to hurry up and dry so I can get going on attaching the upper wing!

My plan is to work from the center out of the wings. The elevator control wires are also external and run from the outside of the cckpit to the elevators, so I will add those actuator arms before I add the upper wing, and leave the rigging loose, since I don't want to horizontal stabilizers and tail installed before I'm done with the rigging, just to keep them out of the way.

It's getting close, and I can't wait to see it done.

-BD-

Very impressive build. Can't wait to see the finished bird

So... Bristol Fighter is coming along withthe top wing mounted, but wow have I learned about rigging...

I started this build with the intent to make an aircraft I don't particularly care about that I got for cheap to practice what I refer to as "biplane skills," which are essentially making wood effects with oils, dealing with that second wing and, of course, rigging.

Well, two of three ain't totally bad, is it?

ANd I did learn what I will do in the future regarding rigging, which essentially will be that I will make/buy eyelets/anchor points and attach those to the wings before I rig the thing, as rigging the EZ Line straight to the wing seems fraught with difficulty and I got super glue all over the place compared to the precision builds I see others producing.

Here are the pics of where I am now.

As you can see, there is too much glue, especially on that last pic. I glued the EZ Line to the Glue Looper more than I glued it to theplane, but I have learned a lot, so I will finish this one, then feel more confident going forward on other biplanes.

It's all very fun, inventing new swear words...

-BD-

I've got a few I can lend you........!!!!!!!

ChrisJH666

I've got a few I can lend you........!!!!!!!

 

Swear words? Lol! I even went into the French vocab for this one. If I run out of those, I'll ask my girlfriend for a few more German ones, so all are welcome ;)

-BD-

Well I finished it. I like to try new things on each build, and this kit was always meant to serve as a test bed for multiuple things:

-Working with pigments
-Carving a prop out of laminated veneer sheets
-Building a biplane
-Rigging!

I'm not going to say I achieved any of those exactly well, but I am generally happy with the outcome, and I learned a LOT.

Takeaways:

-Don't glue rigging line directly to the wings. Make or buy attachment points
-Be careful when placing interplane struts, especially if they'r very slightly different (duh, right)
-Use a Glue Looper or similar to accurately place CA glue.
-Accelerator is your friend, and you can apparently spray it all over the painted surface without damaging the paint, but an eye dropper works a little better
-For a first biplane, build something easier, where at least the bottom wing mounts to the fuselage instead of on six little struts, and there is less rigging.

Anyway, with that, I'll give you the reason you're actually here:

;

-BD-

Excellent biplane. Especially for your first one! You have definitely conquered rigging. 

Nicely done for a first bipe.  Maybe try a little touchup on the small blobs you pointed out with the wood and wing colors. 

Even as is, very acceptable in my eyes. Kudos on the prop.  Might play with the scraps and some stain to put a little more variation in the colors if needed next time.

goldhammer

Nicely done for a first bipe.  Maybe try a little touchup on the small blobs you pointed out with the wood and wing colors. 

 

Even as is, very acceptable in my eyes. Kudos on the prop.  Might play with the scraps and some stain to put a little more variation in the colors if needed next time.

 

D'oh - totally missed that spot on the wing when taking pics. Yep, definitely touchup to come. Thanks for pointing it out. ANd I also want to hit that prop with a dusting of flat to make it a little more satin. I also think the polyurethane I put on it was a little too...something. It just looks off. I think next time I'll use something else.

-BD-

Mopar Madness

Excellent biplane. Especially for your first one! You have definitely conquered rigging. 

 

Thanks!

-BD-

I think it looks great.  There's always touch ups to do at the end on biplanes, at least on my bench.

I use thin CA to attach rigging, and I think your work will actually be multiplied with separate end fittings, it's not easy to get them all aligned right and you will be gluing twice everywhere instead of once.

The last biplane I did was the WnW DH-9A, and there is a section on my build log dealing with my method or rigging.  Maybe it will help and maybe you will hate it.

http://yolo.net/%7Ejeaton/mymodels/dh9a/1dh9a/1dh9a.html

Turned out really nice - the rigging really makes the bird look great.

Good looking bird!

Speechless...I still can’t believe you carved out your own Prop....Gorgeous work all around. I usually spray some accelerator into the cap and apply it as needed with a toothpick. It works pretty well.

WOW!! That is a stuning build. And the hand carved wooden prop?! Holy cow!!  

BK

I just commented on this over on the GB.

I think it is fascinating how you started this as a practice kit you didn't really care for, and ended up doing such a spectacular job on it, and liking it as a bonus.

Also, after seeing your finish at the GB thread, my interest in this project of yours was significantly piqued, and I'm so glad this WIP thread exists because it is nearly impossible to watch the historical progress of a build on a busy GB thread.

I've always wondered about doing a WIP's when I'm doing a GB anyway, but I think you've answered that question for me. It is a good idea. Heck, even we can go back and easily review our own projects.

You made a really nice job of that

Thanks everyone! I definitely want to do more biplanes. And don't sweat the rigging. It's actually not bad at all once you get the hang of it.

Just practice on something a bit easier. I can't wait to do another and use anchor points instead of trying to glue to the wings.

-BD-

Excellent finish!!

I'm working on the Roden 1/48 S.E.5a Wolseley Viper just now and if I can get it to look 1/4 as good as you've gotten your biplane to look I'll be a happy camper.