1/72 scale Bi-Plane / Tri-Plane Group Build

QUOTE: Originally posted by the_nitethyme Hey Everyone ! Great progress going on here ! Duke Nice work ! Bit rough flying with no props Duke ! (Is this a 2nd hand kits from Ebay moment ?) Does anyone else use Ebay for purchasing kits ? Any comments, praise, critisism? Thats all folks, Keep up the GREAT work Kaz

Actually Kaz, I bought the Seagull from a fellow club member at his garage/kit sale. The box was pretty banged up but the parts had been bagged. I guess the propeller fell out of the bag somehow anyway. Who knows? Maybe I'll still find it somewhere among the debris on my desk or in the depths of my carpet. I sure hope so. I may also check my spares box to see if there is a two-bladed prop I can use..

I've never used E-bay, but I do have some stuff to auction off. I've heard/read many stories/articles/analyses about E-bay so I may even go to Ubid or some other auction site.

Thanks again for the compliments. I'll try to get more progress done soon so I can post more pics.

Flying Foot Doc

Thats a great project you have on your hands !

Cheers

Kaz

Helo all, I'm new here, but this GB sounds interesting. Made me go find a kit I have on the 'to build' list. Pulled it out and it is 1/72! It's the Willams Brothers Douglas World Cruiser, the first planes to fly around the world. I'm sure you all can teach me alot. My previous Bipe was a Searman in Navy livery as a scale of a friend's actual Stearman. It took 4 kits to make up the plane and maybe 10 or more paints to model the wood propeller with it's aluminum clad tips. I'll try and find a pic to add to a post. Regards from South Florida, Andy

Kaz,
I use Ebay quite frequently to buy kits though not so much for the "deals" but more out of convenience. Sometimes you can snag a great deal but usually by the time you add in postage, you might as well buy it at the LHS. I'd say 99.99% of the sellers I've dealt with have been awesome to deal with. I've only had one bad experience where I sniped to win an auction for the AMT XB-70 Valkyrie. It cost me US$87.96 plus postage and was shipped just wrapped in paper with those nice bright red "Fragile" stickers plastered all over it. You can probably figure out the rest of the story. Overall though, ebay has been a postive experience.

As for the build, I cracked the box open last night to plan my attack and I may actually get started tonight.

Hey Everyone !

Great progress going on here !

Thanks for all the rigging info ! I am going to find my invisible thread, and get to work over this weekend if I get the time...

I will not be rigging Camel or Spad XIII first. I think, like Frosty said, I have to start with a less complicated rigging system to build my confidence.

Duke Nice work ! Bit rough flying with no props Duke ! (Is this a 2nd hand kits from Ebay moment ?)

Rafael nice work too ! Thanks for all the rigging info. Much appreciated

Jabbe fine work there ! OMG, what a clean workspace !!! I'd like to work on your desk !

I have just discovered Ebay, and have found that I can get a # of biplanes from it !
Have just bid for 4 kits, and have just won a bid for a Go 242/244 Glider. I know, not related to this subject, but I am so excited ! I will build the Gotha for the b/f and his WWII wargaming.

Does anyone else use Ebay for purchasing kits ? Any comments, praise, critisism?

Thats all folks,

Keep up the GREAT work


Kaz

QUOTE: Originally posted by Rafael Pelote Nice D.VII, Jabbe! Regards

, looking forward 2 seeing more !

frosty

Thanks for sharing that rigging method, Rafael. I'll be sure to try it on the Felixstowe. Sure sounds a lot easier than cutting pre-sized pieces of stretched sprue and then trying to get them tight.
Duke, Jabbe, nice looking progress on your builds.

The instructions state that this fokker belongs to "Oblt. Rudolph Berthold. Ja Sta 11, 1918"

I'll take a picture of the box next time I've got the camera out, but it's going to be a nice blue/red/white paintjob.

Nice D.VII, Jabbe! Are you going for August Raben's a/c?

Regards

allright guys, here's a few in progress pics of the Fokker DVII, along with my Tbolt and A-1.

QUOTE: Originally posted by the_nitethyme Funny, I forgot to mention I have both a Camel and a Spad to rig ! Kaz

ouch... u will b starting at the more difficult end of things if u
go w/ either of those as ur first rigged a/c, control wires & bracing wires
all over the place & since many of them pass thru each other, having a
solid rigging plan(as in which wire connects 2 which parts first) is essential
so u don't paint urself in2 a corner, so 2 speak...
if u start w/ a l8 fokker, like the Dr.I, D.Vii or D.vi just 2 get a feel 4 things, u may
experience less frustration in the long run....
4 a bit more of a challenge, u mite try a nieuport 11 Bebe... Toko makes a nice version in 1/72 & there r a few bracing wires between the wings but nowhere
near as many on the SPAD or Camel !
& stay away from the DH-2 pusher 4 now, there r more wires than airframe
on that a/c (one of my personal faves, btw...i'm still a long way off from being ready 2 rig something like that, tho' !)
if u do choose 2 rig the SPAD or Camel, Rafael's method will probably work
better... some folks drill holes all the way thru the wings, then 'sew' the rigging
thru the holes w/ invisible (monofilament) thread, using rolled-up bits of paper
2 keep the thread taut, there's a great tutorial on the IPMS Stockholm website
on rigging a/c w/ this method IIRC...
whichever method & a/c u choose, best of luck !

frosty

Excellent tutorial Rafael! This will be a good thing to have to refer to now and then. I may try it onmy Seagull as well, if I can find out how it was rigged.

Thanks all for the kind words.

Frosty and Kaz: I use a sligthly different rigging method that I think it works quite well in 1/72. I think the real secret of it is the planning ahead. Take your time to realy understand where all the wires are suppose to be before starting construction. This is specially necessary if the subject is a pusher like the DH-2 or if it has external control wires like a lot English subjects from WW1.

What I do is:
1. Drill the holes using a 0,3mm drill on a pin vise. In some a/c you don't need to go all the way through on the upper wing.The photo below shows some of the holes allready on the wing of this Buzzard:

2. I cut pieces of sewing monofilament ("invisible" thread), which I start by gluying on the upper wing using CA. I place a drop of CA on a clean surface and insert the tip of the thread on it, placing it immediatly after in the hole drilled on the upper wing.
3. Once the upper wing is placed (I glue the wires before installing the upper wing. If they bother your, just use a piece of masking tape to tack them to the upper side of the wing), I insert the other end of the "wire" through the correspondent hole in the lower wing.
4. using the "eye measure" and the proverbial toothpick, I place a tiny drop of CA on the wire, more or less on the place where this will get into the hole, and I pull the wire. To keep the wire streched, I use one of those plastic things... (can't remember the name in english. please look at the pics above: it is the thing holding the engine...), and just lay it there hanging until the CA is fully cured.
5. The next day, using a new blade, I trim the excess of the wires and if necessary use a tiny drop of mr.Surfacer and some fine grit sandpaper to smoth everything.
6. I finally paint the outboard of lower wing.

The procedure is the same for the wires linking to the fuselage, but in this case I atache them first to the fuselage and finally the wings.

The "invisible"thread is not really invisible, but a soft metalic grey, so you do not really need to paint it, at least in 1/72!!

I finally primed the Buzzard. The pic below refers to yesterday before sanding the putty and priming. today I hope to correct small surface flaws.

Rafael: good luck on that resin kit. It's gonna look awesome when you're done.

Jabbe: I agree with everyone else. You are doing excellent work! Keep going!

Frosty: yeah, yellow wings. That's what the bird wore while serving aboard Pennsylvania. Fortunately, it is only the top of the top wing.

Speaking of the Seagull, she's wearing her coat of silver paint now:



Found out some bad news too: There's no propeller! There's also no propeller cover for the hub if the Falco's propeller either. I guess that's what I get for buying second hand kits!

While the Seagull was drying, I went ahead and detailed the engine for the Falco and then finished assembling her.

Here is the Engine detail:



And here it is all ready for paint:



Sorry to just post and run, but I have to get up early tomorrow for work again. Enjoy the latest progress!

Funny, I forgot to mention I have both a Camel and a Spad to rig !

Kaz

FrostyGirl you are an !
Thanks for explaining that a little more.
I must, I must, I must get into rigging !

Kaz

Rafael :
looks great so far, nice work on the pit !
Duke:
wow, looks almost done.... yellow wings, eh ?
i'm still recovering from doing the prewar scheme on the texan, LOL !
wooverstone:
good luck w/ the scratchbuilt rudder...
Kaz:
i have used both stretched sprue & stainless steel wire 4 rigging...
use a pin vise 2 drill the holes in the fuse & wings b4 assembly,
go all the way thru the fuse but only halfway thru the wings
just 2 give the wire a small dimple 2 sit in & 2 hold a bit of superglue.
i think it works ok in 1/72, but then i haven't done any a/c w/ a lot of
wing bracing wires like a SPAD or Camel yet !
HTH,

frosty

Duke: From the pictures it looks like it’s coming a long great!

Jabbe: looks like you got a lot done there, can’t wait to see the finish model. From the description it looks good!

Rafael: looks like your going have fun with that resign kit. I like the scratch built detail in the cockpit!

As for me, I haven’t started yet, but I got some research done on the Hansa Brandenburg and looks like I’ll have build a new rudder for her, because it’s inaccurate.

So, here comes:

The Martinsyde Buzzard is a late development of the WW1. In fact, so late that it never got into effective combat. Should the war had continued, and this a/c would have been one of the main fighters within the RFC/RAF, due to very good performance. Being developed in 1918, it served in foreign countries such as Portugal, Spain, Greece, Finland or Russia. Naturaly, I'm planning to do the Portuguese version...

The kit itself is fully in resin and is a little below the standard quality of brands such as Ardpol or Chorozsy. In fact this is quit an old mould, I suppose it dates from the early 90's. However it is much much better than the alternative offering from Dekno.

These first pics show the kit itself. The profile you can see in the bag is the of the Portuguese version i will be making.





The following pics show the basic scratchbuilded interior detail, which was done according to pictures on the datafile, but not into an extensive degree. once the fuselage is closed, little can be seen... I´'ve used Evergreen, steel wire and copper wire (this, because I've runned out of steel wire...)

For the engine I've substituted the resin exaust pipes by Minimeca tubbing.





At this point, the engine is painted and the interior is conclued. I've closed the fuselage and glued the lower wing and the stabilizors. I've cutted off and reposicioned ailerons. Plus the holes for the rigging are 95% opened. I prefer to do this before priming, because it requires a lot of manipulation, and therefore the model will most probably get a lot of finger dirt. It is easy to quickly "re-open" the holes with a broken drill bit, once the primer dries.

I'll take more pics latter on.

Thanks Kaz! Even though you feel that the more you know, the more you don't need the instructions, keep them anyway. I still use mine occasionally!

I got some more work done, but haven't taken pics yet. I got the silver painted on most of the Seagull. Now I got to turn it over to paint the underside. I also got wrapped up in another build, so I didn't do anything on the Falco yet. Once I get a bit more done, I'll post pics.

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=46547

This link has one of the funniest posts re: modelling, I have ever read! It is worth a read.

Kaz

Duke Maddog
Great builds, and great pics !
You have me in awe!!! As I said before, I couldn't imagine constructing wheel supports before combining both wings.
The more I learn to model, the more useless the instructions become!

Jabbe sounds like you have made great progess as well! I am keen to see your colour scheme...

Rafael Pelote thanks for sharing that info with me. I have not put rigging on any of my builds yet, but am experimenting with a 'best-option' at the moment.
I must get some of those pin drill bits!

Havent had a chance to do my decaling yet, but might hold off until I work all this rigging polare out !

Cheers

Kaz

Originally posted by the_nitethyme [ When you say drilling rigging holes, is that for the wing supports, or the actual rigging? Why are you drilling holes? Well, Kaz, I've been drilling the small 0,3mm holes on which i'will place the monofilament for the rigging (all the wires). The method I use implies using 0,1mm monofilament which I pass through the small holes I open next to the struts. Perhaps with the pics I will be able to explain a little better. As soon as I find some time I will download the pics (I'm affraid they are mixed with some 300 other I took during the holidays). Reply Edit Duke Maddog Member since June 2003 From: Rowland Heights, California Posted by Duke Maddog on Tuesday, August 16, 2005 5:51 AM Thanks Josh. It sounds like yours is coming along as well. It should look good with all those colors on it. I can't wait to see pics. Reply Jabbe Member since February 2005 From: Raleigh (NCSU) Posted by Jabbe on Monday, August 15, 2005 10:37 PM Wow Duke Maddog, those are too cool. They are looking sharp! My Fokker DVII is comming along nicely. Most of the hassle is just waiting for the paint to dry. All the red and black is on. Hopefully I'll get the blue coat on soon, as that's the biggest painting part of the project. Once the blue is on, it's pratically done. Joshua Reply Duke Maddog Member since June 2003 From: Rowland Heights, California Posted by Duke Maddog on Monday, August 15, 2005 10:24 PM Thanks wooverstone. I kind of snuck them in here. I'm glad you like my work. Kaz, I actually decided at the last minute to put the wheels and struts on to make assembling the upper wing a little easier. I was looking for more to assemble on the little guy before I tackled the upper wing so the wheels went on. After I put the top wing on, I was able to stand the model up and adjust it's position to where it needs to be. Here is pics of my latest progress on these two kits. On the Italian Falco, I finished mounting the upper wing on it, and also assembled and mounted the engine: Now all I have to do is paint the engine before I put on the cowl and propeller. Then the tough part begins: crafting a clear windscreen for this little beast. Here's another view of it: Now Kaz, if you were surprised to see the wheels and struts on the Falco, wait till you see this: Yep, I assembled the floats and mounted them on the plane. Here is another shot of the plane next to the upper wing: You can see that I'd started the yellow on the upper wing. I have a couple more coats to put on to make it smooth. After that, I plan on spraying the whole thing silver before mounting the upper wing. I'll post more pics when I get more done. I hope you all enjoy! Reply wooverstone8 Member since December 2003 From: Olympia, WA Posted by wooverstone8 on Monday, August 15, 2005 7:11 PM Duke: I’m sorry, I didn’t know you posted progress pictures? So far, they look really great! Good luck on the canopy for the Fiat. Reply the_nitethyme Member since March 2005 From: Australia Posted by the_nitethyme on Monday, August 15, 2005 6:23 PM Hi Everyone Duke Maddog I was so interested to see that the wheel supports went on before the wings were fully constructed. I cant imagine trying to build the upper of the plane with the wheel supports in place. Obviously I am a bit rough!! I am looking forward to seeing more of your pics... Rafael Pelote Hope you had a great holiday I hope that none of the Bushfires caused you any trouble !!! I'm looking forward to seeing what progress you have made. When you say drilling rigging holes, is that for the wing supports, or the actual rigging? Why are you drilling holes? I know, I am a bit thick ! As for me, I hope to get my decaling done today. I am still shaking the last of the dose of influenza I have had, so am still not fully mentos compos ! I have (so generously) shared my bug with the b/f, so he is in bed today, and available for all my innane modelling questions !! Yeehaa!! Cheers all Kaz http://www.users.bigpond.com/kazadz Reply Anonymous Member since November 2005 Posted by Anonymous on Monday, August 15, 2005 4:29 PM Hi Guys, I´m back from vacation and the Buzzard is pretty much on the move. I am now drilling the rigging holes. I took some picts but didn't had the oportunity to downlowd them yet. Will do so within the next coupe of days, I hope. Reply Edit Duke Maddog Member since June 2003 From: Rowland Heights, California Posted by Duke Maddog on Monday, August 15, 2005 11:15 AM Thanks for the compliment Kaz! I should have more pics up later today or tomorrow. Reply « First«2345678 JOIN OUR COMMUNITY! Our community is FREE to join. 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