Alain Gadbois Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Good job on the cockpit and the fabric effect especially! Alain dmthamade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmthamade Posted July 3, 2018 Author Share Posted July 3, 2018 Long time since an update, this long weekend the weather was very hot, so i stayed inside for the three days. Only time i went outside was to hit the grill with steaks, dogs, or breakfast. Spent time on the build and was able to build up the wings and all tail surfaces. All these parts fit really well, little if any putty went into the build. I did need some when i filled in the right landing light that wasn't supposed to be there, for this i used a piece of sheet stock and part of the clear cover. Horizontal tail surface parts fit really well, but when fitting to the fuselage i found a lot of gaps. Looking at pics i see the fit was as it should be. Rudder was off center, i bent the tab to straighten. Looking at refs, i saw how pics did have an offset in many, so i rebent the tab back to original.... I did find a way to build the wings up complete then bring the wings and fuselage together. Like i stated, wings assembled nicely. I cut away the big block that was on top of the center supports so a thin sheet was left. Then i filled in the hole under the top wing center to a level that has the thin sheet on the support at the proper level. With not a lot of effort, i can join the two up. I'm hoping this will make assembling and painting a little easier, will paint subassemblies separately, the join and touch up. Now, the build has come to an abrupt stop. I tried to add the stainless steel rigging parts, and completely messed them up!! I don't know how you biplane builders do it, having a real difficult time with these darned things. Could be what stops the build or i will proceed without. Don mozart, BradG, Out2gtcha and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Brilliant! This thing looks so WWI. Rigging it will be "fun". Gaz dmthamade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 I have to admit, Ive tried the PE/stainless rigging a couple of times. It was utter disaster each time. I just wasn't happy with not being able to put the correct type of tension on them without them either looking like they wernt tight, or end up bending the @#$* out of them. I ended up going with Prym "knitting in" elastic thread. This is the stuff recommended by WnW for flat Brit rigging. It has a very consistently flat profile unlike EZ Line which I also use and like, but its just not very consistent in profile. The Prym stuff is indeed very flat, and has a great elastic give to it, having used it several times on WWI builds. Another couple of cool things about the Prym elastic thread, is it is a polymer and is not the elastic your father had in his underwear, and thus wont break down or let loose over the years (ask me how I know!), and it also takes very well to fabric dye pens, so you can color it any way you choose. dmthamade and Uncarina 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 Looks fantastic. dmthamade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmthamade Posted July 3, 2018 Author Share Posted July 3, 2018 Brilliant! This thing looks so WWI. Rigging it will be "fun". Gaz Yeah, that's what we'll call it, "fun".... I have to admit, Ive tried the PE/stainless rigging a couple of times. It was utter disaster each time. I just wasn't happy with not being able to put the correct type of tension on them without them either looking like they wernt tight, or end up bending the @#$* out of them. I ended up going with Prym "knitting in" elastic thread. This is the stuff recommended by WnW for flat Brit rigging. It has a very consistently flat profile unlike EZ Line which I also use and like, but its just not very consistent in profile. The Prym stuff is indeed very flat, and has a great elastic give to it, having used it several times on WWI builds. Another couple of cool things about the Prym elastic thread, is it is a polymer and is not the elastic your father had in his underwear, and thus wont break down or let loose over the years (ask me how I know!), and it also takes very well to fabric dye pens, so you can color it any way you choose. Had a look at the Prym thread, seems to be a Euro thing. I think we must have an equivalent in Canada, given what the use is. I'll have a look around at Michaels or the place you get material...don't know what they're called...Have to say, rigging with the kit stuff is a real beeatch. Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, guys. I'll stop here til I can sort out the rigging stuff. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmthamade Posted July 3, 2018 Author Share Posted July 3, 2018 Had a look around, found a Canadian retailer, Fabricland. I'll have a lookaround this week. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clunkmeister Posted July 23, 2018 Share Posted July 23, 2018 Vey nicely done so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmthamade Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 I finally put some time into the build, progress has been slow. I did manage to paint, clear, decal, clear, wash and dullcoat the build. This is kinda a 10 footer, there's overspray of all three colors, overspray inside the windscreen, cracked fuselage seam... i did try some rigging...don't know how you guys do it, very unsuccessful results for me. I had to go back and try to repair some work i did trying to rig , broke two of the struts. This almost ended up with folded wings, if you know what i mean....this one isn't getting rigged, also found there are control cables to the horizontal stabs and rudder. Yippee. At least i haven't lost any parts, yet. I have most all subassemblies done, have to dullcoat them then assemble. I'm going to have the gun stowed, i don't want to clutter up the sleek lines of the swordfish with a gun sticking out. Some pics of where it sits, now. I should be able to finish the build this week. Don Jan_G, Daniel Leduc, MikeC and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Don, Sorry to hear you've had some difficulties. Rigging seems hard, but once you settle the problem of keeping the model in place and not having to touch the wings with your hands, it gets a bit easier. For me, the most essential tools for rigging are: 1. A biplane jig 2. A lot of very bright light, some from the backside of the model 3. Good magnification. The greatest bonus of rigging a biplane model is some added strength which is usually needed just to keep the upper wing from detaching during casual handling. Gaz dmthamade and Uncarina 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Agreed, rigging can but a real PITA but as Gazza said, a jig helps enormously and I also find several pairs of locking tweezers help. She's looking fine though, keep plugging away! MikeC and dmthamade 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmthamade Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 17 hours ago, Gazzas said: Don, Sorry to hear you've had some difficulties. Rigging seems hard, but once you settle the problem of keeping the model in place and not having to touch the wings with your hands, it gets a bit easier. For me, the most essential tools for rigging are: 1. A biplane jig 2. A lot of very bright light, some from the backside of the model 3. Good magnification. The greatest bonus of rigging a biplane model is some added strength which is usually needed just to keep the upper wing from detaching during casual handling. Gaz I can see how all your suggestions would make the job much easier. "Rigging seems hard", no, rigging IS hard!!! This is my first and last biplane, they just don't have any appeal to me. BTDT, i'm ok with the results so far. 12 hours ago, mozart said: Agreed, rigging can but a real PITA but as Gazza said, a jig helps enormously and I also find several pairs of locking tweezers help. She's looking fine though, keep plugging away! I have to say, the build itself was OK, fit of parts, engineering, etc all good. Just can't get over the rigging hurdle. The kit comes with clear fuselage parts, doing research on the build I could see how a skilled modeler could really fill the fuselage with a LOT of detail, would be an impressive build. Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmthamade Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 Calling this one done (before it gets launched). Spent the last few days looking for the PE sheet because...the gun sights for the pilot and observer are on the sheet. I must have thrown it out when the rigging went sideways...Attached the gear, gun, engine stuff, took some pics and into the case it goes. I still need to figure out some weapon load for it, going to do that at a different time. Don MikeC, Jan_G, Uncarina and 11 others 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Rigging or not, I think that came out excellent! Really looks good from here, and you would never know any of the difficulties you had. dmthamade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 that looks fantastic! love that paint scheme dmthamade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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