Lindberg JN-4 Jenny

Hey Don, just checking on you! I've been distracted for a few months on other 1/1 projects, kinda missing in action on the model scene.

Wow! The project is looking good! You do good work and carry on.

Max 

1943Mike

You're doing a wonderful job on this kit! And, yes, some interesting rigging involved .

Any problems with fitting the engine?

 

No!  I had first made engine bearers for the cowl side but they didn't fit engine.  I found by accident that pressing the crankcase nose into the cowl front section held it pretty well, and the bottom of the crankcase just touched the cowl bottom, so I used gel CA at those two places and it is holding well.  The engine fit with no cutting of the upper cowling piece.

Looking really nice, Don.

Don,

This unique build is really looking nice.

Scott

You're doing a wonderful job on this kit! And, yes, some interesting rigging involved .

Any problems with fitting the engine?

Got the tail empanage on and rigged, and the gear struts on now.  Wow, this thing has rigging on the rigging!

Amazing build Don. Thanks for sharing!

1943Mike

Looking really good Don. How did you scratch the new tire halves? Just curious since I may have to do the same.

 

Toshi

Wow, that looks fantastic!  Making my own decals is just something that I’ve not attempted at yet.  Someday soon I’ll look into that.  I do have a question; “Is this decal processing difficult to make?”  Thank you in advance.

Your friend, Toshi

 

By processing I meant the work with the graphics software to  re-arrange the numbers. I use my graphics program, Paint Shop Pro, on my computer.  There are a number of graphics programs out there that can do the job.  You need to be able to select a number (I use a rectangular selection tool), copy, and paste it to a different (empty) spot on the image (or to a new image).  I select each character I need for the new number, copying and pasting to the new number.  Any graphics program that allows that is fine. It does take awhile to learn to do those operations, but since one of my other hobbies is photography, and I have had image editing programs for over twenty years now, it has become second nature to me.  I think an hour did the squadron emblem and the registration number.  Probably more than half of that time was the squadron emblem- that took some fancier operations.

Hey Don, your perseverance is paying off in spades.  That bird is looking great!  Love that you got the squadron insignia on. 

Making your own decals still kind of blows my mind.  What a huge advance for plastiholics!

Hey Don,

This is looking very good so far. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Looking really good Don. How did you scratch the new tire halves? Just curious since I may have to do the same.

Don, this is looking great. And your perseverence in getting the squadron logo right really paid off. It's exciting to see it all come together.

cheers

-J

Wow, that looks fantastic!  Making my own decals is just something that I’ve not attempted at yet.  Someday soon I’ll look into that.  I do have a question; “Is this decal processing difficult to make?”  Thank you in advance.

Your friend, Toshi

Got some progress.  Got major assemblies painted and decaled.  Still have to flat coat decals, and do some touchup.  The kit decals were in bad shape, disintegrating, so I copied them onto inkjet (white) paper.  So, I have to paint the edges (the white coating on the decal paper shows slightly around the decals.  Have to carefully paint the brown around the wing decals.

The homemade decals for the fuselage worked fine.  That last image from above worked out fine to make the squadron emblem.  The kit decals had all the digits I needed to make the plane number- I copied the sheet and re-arranged the digits and printed copies to clear decal paper, at same time I printed the squadron emblems.  No touchup needed on those, they went down great.  I use decal paper from Micro Mark.

Need to do final assembly now, doing the gear will take some sort of alignment jig to get model to sit straight.  And building those wire wheels is always a big job. I wish Tom's (or another supplier) would supply tires with their wire wheel kits- the wheels and tires with this kit were one piece, so no way to sandwich wheel spokes between tire halves.  had to scratch new tire halves.\

GAF

 

 

Don Stauffer

Of course, color accuracy is limited by lighting and camera settings, but my opinion currently is that the wings, top and bottom, are the same color as that brownish stripe on the fuselage.  I mixed up a color from Testors flat brown and British crimson, but afterwareds decided I could have used Testors rust without the work of mixing!

 

 

 

Not sure "rust" is the proper color, but it's hard to tell from photos.  

Meanwhile, here's a bit of success.  Apparently, the aircraft was from the 46th Aero Squadron, and an article on a reproduction of it has some nice pics of the emblem.

http://earlyaero.com/a-look-at-the-restoration-of-curtiss-jn-4d-sn-386-feature/

Hope these will be of some use.

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/curtiss-jn-4hg-hisso-jenny-military-usa-army-air-service-units-46th-aero-squadron

Gary

 

Thanks, Gary.  Those references will definitely help!

Don Stauffer

Of course, color accuracy is limited by lighting and camera settings, but my opinion currently is that the wings, top and bottom, are the same color as that brownish stripe on the fuselage.  I mixed up a color from Testors flat brown and British crimson, but afterwareds decided I could have used Testors rust without the work of mixing!

 

Not sure "rust" is the proper color, but it's hard to tell from photos.  

Meanwhile, here's a bit of success.  Apparently, the aircraft was from the 46th Aero Squadron, and an article on a reproduction of it has some nice pics of the emblem.

http://earlyaero.com/a-look-at-the-restoration-of-curtiss-jn-4d-sn-386-feature/

Hope these will be of some use.

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/curtiss-jn-4hg-hisso-jenny-military-usa-army-air-service-units-46th-aero-squadron

Gary

Don,

What a nice old ship!! I always thought the Lindberg kits was better than the Aurora one.

Of course, color accuracy is limited by lighting and camera settings, but my opinion currently is that the wings, top and bottom, are the same color as that brownish stripe on the fuselage.  I mixed up a color from Testors flat brown and British crimson, but afterwareds decided I could have used Testors rust without the work of mixing!

Here is the Smithsonian site:

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/curtiss-jn-4d-jenny

Nice group of pictures, but no information on the emblem.   Since it was acquired directly from the Army in 1918, it probably is a training squadron emblem.  Is it possible that it is not a horse or mule, but some kind of devil?  I seem to recall something vaguely...

Here's a picture of where this aircraft came from.  Could be a picture of the squadron.

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/dayton-wright-dh-4-family-photograph

This is an interesting photo as it shows the colors of the underwing.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffdm/3019014960/

I'm glad that old kit has finely found a home with you.  I'm sure you'll do it proud.

rangerj

There are a couple of good pictures at www.rcgroups.com. You can go there direct or get there via search Curtiss JN-4 Jenny - RCGroups. I did a few ships with full rigging, like the Constitution and the America by Revel, many years ago. I did them for a friend and have not had the ambition to do that again.

I like the 1930s vintage biplanes aka the yellow wings era aircraft. With the advent of modern molds and such I bought a few WW1 aircraft e.g. Spad, SE5 Fokker D7, etc. I did all of the old Aurora bipes ages AGO and would like to do a few of the more modern kits. Way back when I did the Aurora kit all of the rigging was done with stretched sprue. Now I use the very fine winding wire out of a small electric motor. I hang a weight on the wire to make it straight and then use it to rig the aircraft. I have not tried the PE rigging "wire" yet. Any commonts on this method would be appreciated.

Best wishes on your build and I look forward to it. I liked that old Lindberg kit. 

 

I couldn't find them.  Which forum were they in?

I don't use wire for rigging.  Have a friend that does.  To hard to cut wire to the exact length.  If it is included in kit, or aftermarket, fine, but if I am scratching the rigging, I can't seem to get it right.  So I use monofilament thread (regular stranded thread on 1:32).

jeaton01

If I'm looking at the same JN-4D then I don't think it's a mule, Don.  Looks like a dog or something like that with 5 tails and 5 toes on each foot.

 

Thanks, John.  That is a pretty good shot.  Nice and square on.  Not many pixels, but I'll see how good the interpolation algorithms are in my graphics program!

There are a couple of good pictures at www.rcgroups.com. You can go there direct or get there via search Curtiss JN-4 Jenny - RCGroups. I did a few ships with full rigging, like the Constitution and the America by Revel, many years ago. I did them for a friend and have not had the ambition to do that again.

I like the 1930s vintage biplanes aka the yellow wings era aircraft. With the advent of modern molds and such I bought a few WW1 aircraft e.g. Spad, SE5 Fokker D7, etc. I did all of the old Aurora bipes ages AGO and would like to do a few of the more modern kits. Way back when I did the Aurora kit all of the rigging was done with stretched sprue. Now I use the very fine winding wire out of a small electric motor. I hang a weight on the wire to make it straight and then use it to rig the aircraft. I have not tried the PE rigging "wire" yet. Any commonts on this method would be appreciated.

Best wishes on your build and I look forward to it. I liked that old Lindberg kit. 

I didn't realize JN-4's were in the Mule squadron. Knowing nothing about that squadron I googled both the museum and mule squadron and was only able to come up with the emblem of a kicking mule on Nieuports so I don't imagine that's the emblem you're for which you're searching but here's the link anyway:

https://us95th.org/?page_id=43

If I'm looking at the same JN-4D then I don't think it's a mule, Don.  Looks like a dog or something like that with 5 tails and 5 toes on each foot.

Only small item I can add is that there's a forum entry I found (single source) where the writer said that the aircraft came from Hazelhurst Field.

Need some help, guys!  I am going to paint and mark the plane as the one in the NASM.  I need to get a good image of that mule squadron emblem on the fuselage. I thought if I can find out what squadron that is, I can do a search on that squadron.  But all I can find is merely the description of what model Jennie it is.  Anyone know more about that particular aircraft other than what a google search reveals?

Or, if anyone has photographed the plane, especially that rear fuselage area, maybe you have a better image than what a google image search of NASM J-4 Jenny reveals.  I need a shot pretty close to square-on relative to the fuselage side, and not too many obscurations.