1/8 Demoiselle Aircraft

Bar

Cool!  What are you using to solder the brass together... solder?

Keep posting pics!

m@

Yeah I'm using solder, but from what I understood from other modelling sites maybe this is actually not a very good setup. I think it's fine for the engine parts, but for the frame parts it's not very strong(flimsy parts and stress on it), perhaps due to the fact my soldering iron isn't very powerful. And I understood silver solder is better, I use plain tin/lead. I could probably try to "braze" (not sure if that's the right word (I'm not english)), which will allow also for  cleaner joints I think. So limited in tools but no way near limited in fun making this stuff :)

Here's the side of the engine that has 4 holes which will hold supports that hold the cylinder housing eventually.

Bar

Bar74

Yeah I'm using solder, but from what I understood from other modelling sites maybe this is actually not a very good setup. I think it's fine for the engine parts, but for the frame parts it's not very strong(flimsy parts and stress on it), perhaps due to the fact my soldering iron isn't very powerful. And I understood silver solder is better, I use plain tin/lead. I could probably try to "braze" (not sure if that's the right word (I'm not english)), which will allow also for  cleaner joints I think. So limited in tools but no way near limited in fun making this stuff :)

Here's the side of the engine that has 4 holes which will hold supports that hold the cylinder housing eventually.

Bar

Brazing or silver soldering really calls for hot equipment- usually a torch.  A good 250 watt soldering gun should be able to handle anything you need to solder.  Solder should do the job fine.  I assume this is a non-operating engine, so you do not need the heat resistance a braze or silver solder job would provide.  A gun (I'd get one of those dual power- say 125 & 250 watt) will be great and much cheaper than the cost of silver solder or brazing equipment.  Silver solder is expensive, too!

Thanks for explaining that Don. For now I'll stick with the tools I got. I did get a tube cutter, man that beats using a saw :)

Here a pic of the actual airplane that I'm aiming for and more progress on the engine. The only ready made tube parts are the top piece and the 4 corners where the piston comes out, the rest is made of sheet metal, which kinda shows, but it's a rather large size anyway to get in stock.

Bar

Bar74

Thanks for explaining that Don. For now I'll stick with the tools I got. I did get a tube cutter, man that beats using a saw :)

Here a pic of the actual airplane that I'm aiming for and more progress on the engine. The only ready made tube parts are the top piece and the 4 corners where the piston comes out, the rest is made of sheet metal, which kinda shows, but it's a rather large size anyway to get in stock.

 

 

 

Bar

Many years ago I was into RC, and belonged to an RC club in St. Louis.  One of the members built a scratch Demoiselle, and it got a lot of press coverage in model mags.  I am not sure if he scratchbuilt the wire wheels or if they  were commercial ones (I think there are large ones available).  But at the smaller scales those wheels are the thing that keeps me from tackling pre-WW1 aircraft I'd like to build.  The wheels are as much of an effort as the whole rest of the model on some of those planes, like Bleriot and Farman and the like.

Hey Don,

Are there any pics of that Demoiselle online that you mentioned?

Ah the wheels, yes, I know what you mean, thought that would be kinda hard to make, I had no clue howto, you can buy them but expensive and would feel a bit like cheating since I'm making everything else from scratch.

So I'm having a go at the rims, I have an idea that could work, just made this ugly looking thing (needs to be trimmed and viled), have a look and tell me if this looks promising. Strangely I'm not worried about the spokes, the rim is the hardest I think. I took some metal washers and formed the shape of the rim by hammering it and then soldered the ends together.

Bar

I just realized, I need more washers, I had 2 in the center and a larger one on each side, but adding another larger one on each side would really force the brass in the right way, as now I have an uneven rim. Hope that makes sense, otherwise look at the sketch here.

Bar

Bar74

Hey Don,

Are there any pics of that Demoiselle online that you mentioned?

Ah the wheels, yes, I know what you mean, thought that would be kinda hard to make, I had no clue howto, you can buy them but expensive and would feel a bit like cheating since I'm making everything else from scratch.

So I'm having a go at the rims, I have an idea that could work, just made this ugly looking thing (needs to be trimmed and viled), have a look and tell me if this looks promising. Strangely I'm not worried about the spokes, the rim is the hardest I think. I took some metal washers and formed the shape of the rim by hammering it and then soldered the ends together.

Bar

Yeah, the model mags- RC ones- did have a few pics, but I do not have any now to call out which ones and dates.  This would have been about 1980.  The builder's first name was Vern, but I forget his last name.  I suppose a google image search might find a few of the pics.  Even just a search on Demoiselle might find a few in the hundreds such a search might find.  Demoiselle and RC might narrow it down.

So I lost my patience with the wheel :) Learned a lot but will have to make a new one from scratch. In the meantime check out the progress on the engine.

Bar

Here is a "how to"on making wheels using plastic, that might be a more easy material:

http://www.wwi-n-plastic.com/Book/harry/chapter3/18-wheels.htm

Thanks for the link Borg, but I had to do another attempt at brass wheel making, and it worked out ok! Took me a while to get back into it after the last failure.

Instead of the intricate bicycle spoke lacing I opted for the most easy lay out (some call it cheating) and used much thinner spokes also, I had it made in about 2 hours. Now one more of this one and move on to the rest of the plane.

See photo here, 2 inch wheel. Failed attempt on the left side.

Second wheel done today, rubber washingmachine seal acting as tyre!

Is that it take us to the edge and jump? Talk about museum quality work WOW.....

Hey Bar74,

               Hows your model project comming? Hope ya drop in to let us see any  new developments.

Hey, thanks for the interest, haven't had time to work on the plane, still intend to get back at it though :)

That's understandable I have some projects laying arounf as well but aren't sure when to get back to them..... Where in the world do you live???

Im in The Netherlands, winter is approaching so should be more time for model work.