Mike Robinson

Hi Mike. It'll be going to the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport NY, USA. I did an NC4 for them in 2003 (gads can't believe it's been 12 years already) and when the director saw my pictures he asked if they could display it. They take really good care of their displays so I have no reservations. Trafford (the Director) is a modeler himself so he understands these things. http://www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org/home.php Cheers Mike

Thanks again to all I've missed the second time around. Shawn, Guy, Maru, Rod, Dean, Jeff, Ron, Peter, Verbeek, GirlsCanPlay2, Ray, Alain, Kevin and Pete, I appreciate the comments. I've got a few smaller scale subjects sitting on the Shelf of Doom I want to get wrapped up Guy, then I think I'll go after the Eindecker next. Looking forward to doing the engine turning on the metal panels. I have some ideas in mind and want to experiment and see what I can come up with. Thanks for looking in. I agree Dean. It's a very organic look and captures the essence of a wood and fabric airplane. Kevin thanks for publishing. I hope others find it useful and informative. Works both ways Pete believe me. I've picked up a lot of painting pointers from you by reading your articles, and your T-38 still blows my mind when I look at it. Are you going to be at Columbus by chance? Four of us are headed out, hope to see you there. Whether Felix makes it remains to be seen. It'll depend how big Phil's trunk is. The transport box I have for this is ridiculously big. Cheers Mike

Thank you for all the comments guys, I appreciate them very much. Of course Kevin, I'm honored you would ask, feel free to publish it or any of the posts from the WIP thread. Ah ha... I knew you'd cave eventually Wolf lol. I'm flattered it inspired you. In spite of its size it's not that bad to work on, just make sure you clear LOTS of room on your bench. Moving it isn't too bad, as the assembly jig I made for it doubles as a transport cradle. Thanks Brent. Coming from someone that has flogged one of these things that means a lot. I have another in the stash I am going to convert to a Curtiss H-16 with two Liberty's in place of the Eagles, done in US Navy Yellow wings gray fuselage. I'll start that one later this fall, and use lessons learned from this build and apply it to that one. Stay tuned. Cheers Mike

Here's the final photos of the Wingnut Wings Felixstowe I completed. I had posted a few pictures earlier in the WIP Section but these are much better shots. This particular model was completed as aircraft 4291, a Saunders built machine delivered to Killinghome on 4/20/1918. This aircraft, under the command of TC Patterson abd AH Munday, shot down Zeppelin L62 over Heligoland on May 10. In July of '18, she was transfered to the fledgling US Naval Air Service, after which it was painted overall black and had spot lamps mounted under the wings for nighttime operations. 4291 came to an inglorious end (along with the US Sailor responsible) when said sailor used a match to check the fuel level in the main tank. Seeing as this beast is too big to use my regular photo setup with, I had to shoot it outside on a cloudy day. Just as I snapped the pic a fortuitous gust of wind came along. Great timing. Running up Engine 1. I chose to model her as she would have appeared just before being painted black, as the natural look of the wood and linen was more appealing to me than any of the dazzle schemes. I hope you like it and as always, feedback, comments and critiques welcome. Cheers Mike

Brent, what can I say. Knowing first hand the work involved you really set the bar high on this one. The presentation is spot on, everything about it just clicks. Well done sir. Cheers Mike

Only one picture?? You sir, are a meanie Great work Brent. Love the base, the presentation, the finished model. All top notch. Well done.

I can't say anymore than I and others have already said Wolf. Simply gorgeous. I hope I Can see some of your work in person some day and buy you a beverage of choice. Cheers Mike

Great work Sean. Between yours and Guys the model has been well represented for publication. My wings suffer the same affliction. I don't blame the kit so much as I do my choice to EZ Line as it imparts zero structural strength. I was originally going to use mono but believed the structure was strong enough to support the weight. I was wrong. There's a lot of leverage on the center section from those wings and it needs all the help it can get. It's not so much the wing sagging is the issue, but the bowing of the underwing struts and Engine Pylon side braces that makes it evident. Mine will be sitting on the kit supplied trestles just to keep everything where it should be. My next one will be rigged with mono, or fine wire if I can find something that works. Cheers Mike

After seeing it in progress and knowing the challenges of the kit, I tip my hat Guy. Truly spectacular, and highlighted even more so by some great pictures. I think it deserves publication. Cheers Mike

Not sure what impresses me most Peter. The quality of work you are doing, or the speed you are doing it at. Maybe I'm just painfully slow but I'd barely have the parts cut from the trees at this point . In any event, way well done, it looks great so far. Cheers Mike

Beautiful Guy. After seeing your success with the masks for the insignia that's definitely the way to go on my next one. Boy I can relate. All of a sudden my work area seems huge. Cheers Mike

Thanks Guy, I appreciate the comments especially from you and Sean as you both have "been there". Fortunately I don't have that problem. When I built my display cases I purposely made them big as I knew "someday" I'd need the room. Here it sits next to the W29 for size reference. It'll be the second one I'm going to have to struggle with. Cheers Mike

Thank you Loic and for following along. Thanks for the kind words Wolf. Actually it's not that bad. The hardest part is picking it up somewhere where I won't snag a rigging line. I'm building a storage/transport box out of 1/2" Baltic Birch ply that will also serve transportation needs and as a home when I rotate my displays. Are you coming to Columbus for the US Nats by any chance? Oh I see what you are saying Guy. You must be using the double ended turnbuckles with an eye on each end correct? What kind of attachment do you have on your Spitfire rudder peddle? What if you stripped some fine stranded copper wire and used a strand to loop through the turnbuckle and mounting point a few times, drawing it tight each time? They also make a Turnbuckle with an eye on one end and a flat on the other you could simply CA to your Rudder pedal. Or, and this would be experimental because I've never tried it, split one of the eyes with a fine pair of cutters and spread them to form an ersatz clevis? I know I'm probably reaching on that one but it may work. Cheers Mike

Love what you're doing with this John. I really need to get one of these before they go the way of the Dodo. You just aint whistling Dixie there brother. Cheers Mike

Peter, Oliver, Kevin and Maru thank you so much for the comments. I really appreciate them and for you following along. I hope to have some decent pictures with an uncluttered background later this week. Hi Guy. Because I used EZ Line (mistake) it was easy peasy. First I secured the anchor end and the turnbuckle ends. I rigged the underside of the top wing before installing it, and to attach the lines I inserted the line into the eye of the anchor, looped it around and passed it through a second time. A small touch of CA on the end of a pin secured the line to the anchor. Then using cross action tweezers, I pulled the extra really tight back on itself, and used a sharp #11 blade to slice through close to the fitting. This allowed for virtually no left over "nub" of line hanging off the fitting, and being passed through twice helps ensure it won't pull out. I'm thinking monofilament would work the same way. The ones I used required no drilling. The eyes were big enough to pass the lines through twice without any problems. Hope this helps Guy. Cheers Mike