mozart Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 Spent a happy couple of hours on the Silhouette machine designing, measuring, scaling and cutting masks for K5296. What fun!! R Palimaka, Alain Gadbois, Cheetah11 and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 Great tracing, Max. Contrary to what one might think, lettering is not easy to do correctly, especially the spacing. Yours is spotless! Cheers, Quang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 (edited) Thank you my friend, yes it is important to get the spacing right not least because often it won't all fit properly if you don't! The underwing serials were unexpectedly large and had to be "reconciled" with the roundel size and positions: Great photo this: there's an "interesting" panel aft of the wing/fuselage join and what possibly appears to be a light centre fuselage? Also reinforcing panels outside of the lifting positions just forward of the tailplanes. Not sure what those long thin rectangles (access panels?) might be just inboard of both roundels though? All grist to the mill!! Edited September 4, 2022 by mozart LSP_Kevin, R Palimaka, Rockie Yarwood and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 Amazing what you can find if you're prepared to do a bit of digging: Greif8, Fanes, LSP_Kevin and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alain Gadbois Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 Aircraft in unusual positions are great to reveal details otherwise hidden! It does look as if there’s a light under the fuselage. The rectangular panels on the wings are quite intriguing. They cover partially the wing roundels as if they were added as a modification, or a temporary ad on for some purpose? Hope more info turns up! Alain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
europapete Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 Hi Max, yes, that is a light under the fuselage and a small access panel. Almost identical to the Gladiator setup. The panels under the wingtips are retracted holt landing flares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 6, 2022 Author Share Posted September 6, 2022 7 hours ago, europapete said: Hi Max, yes, that is a light under the fuselage and a small access panel. Almost identical to the Gladiator setup. The panels under the wingtips are retracted holt landing flares. Thanks for that info Pete, must admit to being totally ignorant of the existence of Holt landing flares…..another nugget of interest squirrelled away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 8, 2022 Author Share Posted September 8, 2022 Been having a bit of a chat with a chap over on Britmodeller who is doing a smaller scale Gauntlet, he has checked his references which state those patches are for the emergency flare housings, confirming your post Pete. europapete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 9, 2022 Author Share Posted September 9, 2022 I recently joined iModeler, largely on the strength of one member mentioned previously who is knowledgeable about 1930s aircraft. So we have been discussing the same issues recently to those here on LSP, these are Christopher’s thoughts: “Generally Holt flare brackets were just stuck on the underside of the wing and weren't retractable. There was a reason for this - Holt flares when lit were very dangerous and were known to ignite spontaneously. Aircraft which landed using them frequently had to taxi around the airfield until the flare extinguished otherwise there was a high risk of the flame from the flare catching the wing and setting it alight. RAF practice was to fix the brackets down when they were needed and at no point have the flare in contact with the wing. I am sceptical about the emergency flare housing explanation. Emergency flares would be housed in the cockpit where it was easy for the pilot to reach them not under the outer struts. Your point about the inner struts is a very good one and a more detailed look at the panels suggests access panels for the Frise aileron control mechanism. These were controlled via the lower wing and the location of the panels would be appropriate for this.” I wonder if we’ll ever get a cast iron explanation for the panels but I am content that we have had the debate and aired some opinions, and to acknowledge that the panels are there and will be added to the model. Greif8 and LSP_Kevin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 Hmmm, the plot thickens! R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted September 10, 2022 Share Posted September 10, 2022 Hi Max, I'm fully agreeing with his explanation. I do not see any sensible engineer putting flares in such a location. All pictures I've seen of flares mounted under biplane wings showed quite long poles intended to avoid fire risks for the wings. So, I would take the drawing legend with a huge grain of salt! Thierry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 Thanks Thierry, yes you’re right of course…..nothing is accepted until it’s proven! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 (edited) So we move on! Literally 5 minutes with some 5 thou plasticard and the Silhouette cutter and we have the strengthening areas around "those" wingtip panels (I'm wondering if they are not just solid areas for tie-downs) and the rear fuselage hand lifts: .....and fitted along with some panels just for'd of the hand-lifts: They are a bit too prominent at the moment so will be gently sanded back tomorrow. Two more pics for the library: Edited September 10, 2022 by mozart MikeMaben, Fanes, Landrotten Highlander and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted September 10, 2022 Share Posted September 10, 2022 Another option would be to cut the panel strengthening areas from 3M MagicTape instead of plasticard. The MagicTape has the advantage of being self-adhesive and of the right thickness. I use it regularly for the reinforcement panels on aircraft skin. mozart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 20 minutes ago, quang said: Another option would be to cut the panel strengthening areas from 3M MagicTape instead of plasticard. The MagicTape has the advantage of being self-adhesive and of the right thickness. I use it regularly for the reinforcement panels on aircraft skin. I had thought of simply using the Oramask, which is of course also self adhesive, but cutting the card was very simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now