Bobs Buckles

There is another Canadian, James Ivan Wilson, he served with 166 squadron and was killed in action on 20 October 1943 flying Lancasters, he hailed from Hamilton Ontario.  He is buried in the Berlin War Cemetery. His service number was R/186325.  If your uncle was actually in the RCAF, this has to be him because it seems the other chap Ivan Wilmot Wilson was a civilian?
 

 

Popcorn at the ready!
Cheers!
 
vB 

You guys - better compliments do not exist.  Thank you.  Maybe I need to make anther one!  Ha, that will be the day.  Two things:
 
1.  My plan of course is to install this thing into a F4U-1A Corsair.  I plan to have not only the forward cowl panels removable, but the engine compartment panels between the cowl flaps and the firewall bulkhead would be removable also.  This easier said than done, but if done the engine will not be hidden by any means.  Also, that engine compartment is jam packed with systems, which hide some of the aft sections of the engine.  But if I can successfully reproduce all that clap trap, I think you won't mind that the engine is where it is.   
 
2.  You might get your wish sort of.  If in the process of carving up the forward fuselage I essentially ruin it, a very real possibility, then the engine is going to stand on its own.  But a museum?   Does P&W have a museum?  I know the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola has an absolutely magnificent F4U.       

vB 

evening everyone
 
thank you so much for your kind comments, they really do mean a great deal and inspire me to better myself
 
 
 
Thank you Clark I am afraid I have no idea, perhaps if Tim sees this he can answer
 
 
so, lets start with some little bits..
 
I added the coloured raised instrument bezels on the instrument panel in advance of getting the instrument decals at the end of the month..
 

 
..also made up the compass ready for it's dial..
 

 
..and it's bracket & stand..
 

 
..moving onto bigger things, after a long time i had to get the wingtips sorted... I tried litho as seen here as I was struggling to get plastic to comply..
 

 
..in the end this just wasn't suitable - after priming I could clearly see differences in profile and 'look & feel' to the plastic sheet it was next to, plus it marked & dented really easily so back to the drawing board..
 
..in the end I tried the same plastic sheet and after redoing the tips at least 5 times, filling some seams at least 20 times, I finally got them done..
 

 

 
...the gentle fabric effect can't really be seen in the white-out of primer, but it is there..
 

 
..and the bottom faces.. I hope you can't see any seams
 

 
..next up the fin and rudder...
 

 
note the visible tube leading & trailing edges where the fin & rudder meet, also the ribbing effect & rib stitching and the hole in the fin where the stabiliser bracing wires go, so quite a lot to try and capture..
 
..I made up the core from card, added a brass hex trailing edge as there seem to be formers giving rise to this shape - here it can be seen with the prepared skin ready to attach. The skin has been lined with a ballpoint, and marked out to set out embossed rib stitching...
 
..there are also hinge points with tiny holes for pins (2 on each) made from small brass 'U' channel..
 

 
..after skinning, the fin was primed - here the mounting rods can also be seen though masked....
 

 
..onto the rudder, I chose brass sheet to keep a strong but fine trailing edge, this was soldered to the rudder post which had had it's corresponding hinges added - the holes are so I could wire the assembly together while soldering..
 

 
..here the hinges can be seen in more detail - getting four hinges and eight 0.4mm holes to line up was lets say...challenging..
 

 
..starting to take shape, but still lots of fettling & checking..
 

 

 
..ribs were added & the skin was done in one piece with the scored ribs going right around the rudder post like the original - also seen here is the scalpel blade ground to make a tiny flat tip to make the embossed stitching..
 
..before the skin was added, rectangular holes were made for the hinges by scoring with a pin through a template..
 

 
..contact adhesive was used to apply the skin, with CA at the trailing edge and where it fairs into the rudder post..
 

 
..and after priming / dry fitting..
 

 
..starting to take shape..
 

 
..stabilisers next, I am also staring in the face of doing the upper wings which I can't say I am hugely excited about, but I have learned a lot so they should be fine
 
until next time..
 
TTFN
Peter
 
 
 

vB 

Very nice weathering.
One fine looking bird.
 
vB 

Hi all,
The Ansaldo A.1 ‘Balilla’, Serial No:16558 of pilot Tenente Leopoldo Eleuteri of No:70a Squadriglia, operating from Gazzo Padovano during the September of 1918.
The forum build log is here:
As usual I've uploaded my PDF and bookmarked build log to Gallery 3 on my site (link below).
Thanks for your support and comments throughout this build,
 
Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Modelling of the highest order!
Well done, Kent! 
 
vB 

Well, that's an eye opener and no mistake! 
Superb!
 
von B 

Well, that's an eye opener and no mistake! 
Superb!
 
von B 

Hi all,
I'm waiting for the display case to complete my model of the Nieuport 28C.1.
Therefore I thought I'd start on a model that's been in my stash since it was first released.
The resin model kit is one of the best made and presented 1:32nd scale WW1 aircraft kits around and is available from Richard at 'Aviattic'.
This model will represent the Ansaldo A.1 ‘Balilla’, Serial No:16538 of pilot Tenente Leopoldo Eleuteri of No:70a Squadriglia, operating from Caccia, Padovano, during the October of 1918.
He was the only pilot to shoot down one enemy aircraft whilst flying the 'Balilla'.
 
'Balilla' (little boy) was the nickname of Giovanni Battista Perasso, a Genoese boy who started the revolt of 1746 against the Habsburg forces that occupied the city in the War of the Austrian Succession.
The legend is that while some Austrian soldiers were dragging an artillery piece along a muddy road in the Portoria neighbourhood of Genoa, the artillery piece got stuck in a moat.
The soldiers forced onlookers and passers-by to dislodge it.
Disgusted by the scene, Perasso allegedly grabbed a stone from the road and threw it at the Austrian patrol, calling on those around to join him.
This act set in motion a sequence of events that eventually caused the Austrian garrison to be evicted from the city.
 
Mike
 

Ok, so razor has it's legs now
 





 
- glued the wing, added oil leaks, dust, wire to ailerons and elevator, put engine and can say that the model is ready


 
more photos will be soon

- model was painted black



 
- masks are removed



 
not bad, very small amount of over-spray that can be easily fixed 
 
to be continued...

Morning ladies
 
 
 
Thanks Cap'n - I did try tissue on a test mule, but it is just too fragile for what I need to do - I have an alternative, but more on that later..
 
..after a little interlude on the wings, I went back to the cockpit..
 
here, behind the instrument panel, you can see some shapes for the ammo boxes and feed / eject chutes - they are the diagonal lines above the left & right bits of the panel, and the ribbed metal panels below it - it turns out the mysterious cogwheel assemblies to the sides of the upper IP are also related.....
 

 
..I went back to my chap with some drawings to see if he had any for these, and lo and behold we have these two..
 
the box..
 

 
..and the feed chutes - note the cogwheel gubbins can be seen here...
 

 
..I made scale drawings from these drawings and cut out the shapes in litho - with these i used plastic stock to  bulk out the shapes & skin them..
 

 

 
..same principle for the boxes and their attatched feed chutes... here I am aligning the chutes with the real-world position of the guns in the model via stock blanks..
 

 
..also satisfying to find the cogwheel thing I made aligns perfectly - i just need to figure out how to break them out of this sheet and fit them (or not, I may just leave as the IP covers most of this...)
 

 
 
..here the guns have been painted, they have also been adjusted as the R/H gun cocking handle is actually inboard, plus both cocking handles have been shortened as per pics...
 
..also the mounting frame has been constructed from soldered brass parts with some castings ground from tiny aluminium blocks..
 
 
 

 
 

 
..it is critical to ensure all these sub assemblies work as a whole and fit with each other, so everything was dry assembled - here the seatbelts have also been made from rolled lead..
 
..I can't actually assemble it until the IP is complete as there is no way to add it after assembly - I should get the instrument decals sometime in January so all this will be shelved until then...
 

 

 

 

 

 
..so likely back to the wings - I have been experimenting - the tips are hard as there are compound curves the sheet doesn't want to take, and in one good skin, I found the Tamiya thin pooled in places (because I sloshed it on) and deformed the thin skin - so lots more to try / learn...
 

 
..until next time..
 
TTFN
Peter

Thank you Bob!  I am going to try some of your rigging hardware on my next WNW build to see if I can up my game in that area.
 
Ernest

Beautiful work.
I like the subtle weathering. 
 
Well done! 
 
von B 

Beautiful SE.5a.
One of my favourite schemes on my favourite British aircraft from the Great War.   
 
Well done! 

 
vB 

Thanks Andy! Nichenson has been extremely kind in offering me the parts I need from his B-25 kit.
 
 
Bob, it’s great to have you along!
 
 
Thanks Dennis! It’ll be like old times with our B-17 builds, only I will finish this one before finishing “Little Miss Mischief”.
 
Cheers,  Tom

Popcorn at the ready!
Cheers!
 
vB 

Nice pair of cats, RB!
Very nice 
 
vB 

Hello everyone, the latest kits from the workshop: