Gil

Hi Tomek, First I'd like to admit that you're one great big showoff - that's because you have something to show off and I'm permanently jealous of your unbelievable skills. I was hoping that just maybe the theft of your notebook would keep you under control for awhile - alas, this was not to be..., Humor and tawdry rants aside I've learned a great deal from your build - really love the footprints. Your work is much appreciated and thanks for taking the time to share your work with us all..., Best regards, +Gil

Glad to see you're visiting the L4 again - beautiful work Tomek. -Gil

I can't stop laughing! You go away and come back with a paper masterpiece making all the styrene fanbois jealous! It's not the medium that makes the modeler, rather, it's the modeler's selection of media that makes the model..., +Gil

I've been away from the Monocoupe's design and build for awhile - doing other things. The following render is from some other work that, oddly enough, seems fitting for the Velie. He's called Monte the Velie Monocoupe Man. He'll be joined by his loyal dog Wing Nut in due time..., +Gil

Hi Tomek, Been awhile since I last tuned in here and look what happened! It makes it a pleasure to be back again. Best regards, +Gil

Ok, you've done it again! Tres Bon et bravo! BR+Gil

Fozz, Your Wife hates this model...., Just thought I'd pass that along..., +Gil

You used PLASTIC! Argggghhhh! Looks like micro fishing gear. You know what this means? Yep! You've got to make the stick and rudder pedals operate the control surfaces! Hah! Just kidding...., well not much..., +Gil

Martin, What a fine model this is turning out to be...., More! +Gil

"Finger Painting!" Messing about with oils on paper, according to Fozzy it's more akin to finger painting. Nice technique! Have you tried mixing the dirting chalk with the almost dry oil base? Wonder if Michelangelo had this sort of conversation while he was painting the Sistene Chapel?..., Fozzy's already put the finger of God through one of his wings - any similar events that you're burning to let us know about?..., In any case it came out great Tomek. Good show! Please proceed with just a tad more alacrity..., Best of regards, +Gil

Hi Martin, Nice to hear you're having a snow year in Bulgaria. It's been 65 degrees Fahrenheit here in California and even the birds are getting frisky..., No rain and we'll be another nice desert beside an ocean..., "not only that but I was checking the masking by pressing down on the wing and my Chuffing finger went through the wing skin!!"..., Mini disasters seem to bunch up like that. I've taken to just stopping after the first one for awhile, at least long enough for the "gremlins" to get bored and go away..., The landing gear really pops! Nicely done. Best regards, +Gil

"Embossing is easier" Hi Tomek, I agree, the technique requires practice meaning multiple trials till you get the hang of it. Best you saved it for a later time. The wings shown in the short tutorial were also tone adjusted in Photoshop to give the embossed look. Embossing and toning together work extremely well - a combintorial trompe l'oeil..., In any case it turned out beautifully! Bien Cordialement, +Gil

Whoa! Now That's Showing Off! And then some. A glass enclosure to keep the tweakers from getting to it and the dust off?..., +Gil

Paint please..., I've been shadowing your build Martin..., Sorry, just can't help it - promise to stop when you're finished..., +Gil

Hi Tomek, I think you should consider the method covered in the last section for your model. It explains that you can bypass using a core by using ribs glued to a vellum tracing paper carrier sheet instead. Scan the original wing sheet and print it on the vellum sheet - this will make positioning the ribs accurately a easy task. The only antsy part is aligning the rib sheet with the printed cover before gluing it up in the top clamp piece/2 mm foam sheet/printed wing/rib on vellum/bottom clamp piece lamination. The DH2 model shown was redrawn from the original model. There was several trials that made it past the top of the dust bin on the voyage of discovery..., +Gil

Wing Webbing Hi Tomek, Embossing is much simpler. 1.) Prepare two airfoil curved pieces from kraft board: 2.) Prepare a foam core blank: 3.) Clamp the foam blank between the two kraft board foil surfaces and bake for 15-20 minutes at ~250 deg F [121 def C] to form foam core: 4.) Glue Rib Strips onto both sides of the foam blank: 5.) Cover the foam core in Tack-It Over and Over glue. Place the foam core inside the paper wing cover working closed the wing tip ends. Enclose inside a 2 mm foam sheet. Finish by clamping inside the curved kraft boards: 6.) Let dry over night or bake at 125 deg F [52 deg C] for an hour. Like I said, embossing is a whole lot easier. I've since found that the foam can be supplanted by using an internal sheet of 100% cotton rag tracing vellum on which the rib strips are placed. The wing skin is then placed over the vellum rib strips and clamped [with the 2 mm on top of the wing skin] into position between the two kraft board clamps. Only one side at a time can be assembled this way but it saves the baking process. Wing assembly then follows the normal sequence..., Placing the thin vellum or "an embossing sheet" under the printed part allows the imagination to wander - a lot..., Bien Cordialement, +Gil

Hi Dr. Dave, They often did exactly that - and no parachute, the command structure thought it would take away the pilot's "will to fight" [war is hell and most of the "hell" comes from your own side]. The cowl was actually placed on the engine to redirect castor oil laden hot exhaust down and away from the pilot. Many pilots had to make unscheduled landings for a "bowel break" from the effects of castor oil fumes. The crankcase is also made of nickel steel, the strongest alloy available at the time. Aluminum castings were notoriously flawed - it wasn't till 1917 that Bentley used it in the BR1 - though it was used extensively in fixed engines to replace cast iron. The war accelerated techniques and alloys for aluminum manufacture making it aviation's de facto metal of choice. I've flown one of the most accurate flight simulators of WWI aircraft - rotary equipped aircraft are down right scary to control let alone fly and don't forget to engage the enemy in deadly dogfights while you're at it. Rotary engines had two speeds, On and Off. Throttling was accomplished through a blip switch which cut the spark to the engine. It is little wonder why this type of engine was so quickly abandoned after the war..., The prop stub appoints perfectly - beautiful job! +Gil

Almost Finished..., Hi Dr. Dave, What a nice first engine build! I have a warm place for these early aircraft engines. Amazing how quickly the type was abandoned after World War I - virtually none were manufactured after 1919 [victim of torque limitation inherent in the type]. The cylinders were machined out of sold billets of nickel steel with cylinder walls amazingly thin at 1.5 mm. You do need a prop though the stand may prevent a full sized prop. Best to use a stubbed blank or just finish the shaft as a machined piece of forged steel. I like the choice of "illustration" coloring.., Bien Cordialement, +Gil

Along Those Lines..., Hi Tomek, Reminiscent of work on a DH2 from my way back machine..., Below is the result. Quite similar to your embossed example! Yours is much simpler though..., +Gil

Hi Tomek, Post Merry Christmas and wishing you a Happy New Year! Best cockpit surround I've ever seen! Of course you cheated in creating this illusion with Photoshop no doubt? Just kidding and rubbing it in. It is that good. Congrats on the accomplishment. On Leif's remark I've been reading the book "Real World Scanning and Halftones" by David Blatner and Steve Roth. It's somewhat dated now making it used book affordable on Amazon. The book contains a mountain of pertinent information to card modeling from the print, printer and scanner view point. I recommend it for all serious card modelers...., Bien Cordialement, +Gil

Still Underway..., For those who have been following this torment, never fear! The quest has not been given up but taken a breather because I'm figuring out how to the interior of a Mig-15bis is constructed. Anyone with factory blueprints please jump in! From what's available [not saying much about that] it seems that the intake channels form the surround of the cockpit and the fuselage wing mounted fuel tank. I've been busy attempting to reverse engineer the model to fit it all within the completed fuselage. It's been fun..., A picture of this pilgrims progress..., +Gil

That Puts a New Wrinkle on the Subject Hi Tomek, A giant step backward? Modeler's have been trying to get the wrinkles "out" and you're putting them in..., Results look good though you're right about the frames being a tad to wide [i do like the sanded out ends though - produces the right effect]. Now for some more please..., Best regards, +Gil

I'm Late..., Hi Tomek, For some reason I missed your tank post till now. The mud detail is interesting but seems "flat" in all the photos. I think it's easier to build to paint. It would allow welding beads to be made from cold porcelain or modeling paste without worrying about media color matching. Mud could be thinned spackle spattered on with a stiff brush etc. The treads will probably require a lacquer based paint so that detail will not be filled followed by the usual distress things..., +Gil

Parting Line The fuselage divided into two halves. A parting line was cut around the circumference at the after wing spar intersection. Interior surfaces sprayed light sky blue. +Gil

Tooling Leather, Gold Leaf & Primer Hi Jerry, Thanks for the heads up on Charbonnel. I'm wondering if there's a plasticizer that can be added to lessen the effect. I'll be using foil that's thick enough that it most likely will not crack, though only time will tell. I will keep the lid and spout scrupulously clean in an effort to avoid the hardened particle contamination problem. It's beginning to make the water based size look attractive..., Decided to give the fuselage a couple of coats of primer. Just couldn't help myself - had to see what it looked like after a #0000 steel wool buff out. Looks amazingly like polystyrene..., +Gil