Posts: 2746
Joined: 12/12/2001 From: Yuma,
AZ, USA Status: offline
Pic#1 is of the Pup in the Hendon Collection. After seeing these pics in the windsock datafile I decided I needed to add the wind screen.
Pic#2 - In this picture you can see that the leverarm that came with the kit was to straight and prevented mounting of a wind screen. the lower arm is closer to the true shape and is made from a piece of plywood.
Pic#3 - I pruchase a wooden ring at Michaels and soaked it in water and then clamped it to the bench to dry.
Pic#4 - the parts I'm using to construct the wind screen. Light ply and leather.
Pic#5 - Here I have constructed the support structure for the windscreen.
Pic#6 - Applied contact cement to the wooden ring and leather and stuck the leather down to the outer ring first and then wrapped it around the inside.
Pic#7 - It's hard to see here, but the lever arm has beenpainted flat black and I made the two wooden side plates, then stained them brown.
Pic#8 - And here it is with the windscreen mounted, lever arms attached, rear gun mounted built. I also built a better looking ammo belt shoot out of balsa. I never could figure out what I was suppose to do with the two parts in the kit; besides, they looked like dog do.
I still have a few more details to add before she is done. Forward mount, sight, plexiglass screen, and some grease and gun smoke.
< Message edited by splais -- 7/29/2007 2:35:53 AM >
Posts: 2746
Joined: 12/12/2001 From: Yuma,
AZ, USA Status: offline
mounted and aged, still trying to make a gunsight decision. I might provide a few general comments. I find nothing particularly good or bad about the Mick Reeves Vickers gun. Nearly every one of the moulded kits I've found for anything, leave a lot to be desired. this kit was no exception. but as stated someplace above, you can fix just about anything, if you want to spend the time.
If this kit had one claring weakness, it was the poor casting that showed were you were suppose to cut. It was extremely difficult to properly cut out the parts. I had to keep going back and fourth from pictures and drawings and then the parts to figure it out. the barrell was especially diffcult and I did in fact, screw it up a little. the basic receiver and barrel look ok, but your gun will look a lot better if you make your external accessories for it. The kit comes with no sight or mounting brackets. All in all i'd give the kit a solid B based primarily on final looks and ability to upgrade its looks. a few clear (seeable), detail pics, would have been a great help. and one final thought: it appears the 1/4 scale vickers is much more complete, with a sight and ammo belt.
Pros: overall looks, light weight, ability to upgrade exterior, price. Cons: quality of moulding, instructions, assembly difficulty.
< Message edited by splais -- 7/30/2007 4:07:43 AM >
Posts: 2746
Joined: 12/12/2001 From: Yuma,
AZ, USA Status: offline
You all have been incredibly helpful. I'm sure you also know pics always look better than the actual product. My gun came out OK; probably better than I expected and less than it could be. The part I hate is that you really need to do these things two or three times and about then you finally get it right. I'm really just using this old pup for practice and testing; but now I'm kind of getting attched to it.
Stay tuned - I've stated work on the Reeves dummy Clerget engine - what a mess!
Posts: 2746
Joined: 12/12/2001 From: Yuma,
AZ, USA Status: offline
Well I finally got Lt Pritt out of the paint shop and into the cockpit.
For a number of reasons I have decided to restrict this cockpit to the upper half. If anyone reading this has tested colors - I'd like a recommendation for the cockpit floor that will blend in and help mask the fact that the cockpit isn't there. Right now it's painted tan to match covering; but I'm thinking a flat charcoal grey may be better.
< Message edited by splais -- 7/31/2007 2:24:08 PM >
Posts: 2746
Joined: 12/12/2001 From: Yuma,
AZ, USA Status: offline
OK, here we go on the dummy Clerget engine from Mick Reeves. The kit is very simple and appears to be extremely easy to complete. It consists of a moulded half engine and a bag of screws and pushrods, plus a brass tube you cut up for pushrod sleeves.
I know nothing about fiberglassing. I layed up two different layers of glass as you can see and let the epoxy dry between each layer. It did make the engine much stronger. The last pic is of the engine almost ready to drill and paint.
Great job on your Sopwith Pup! Got this link from Frank Sopwith, who also told me you linked my Camel thread (thanks for the nice words) I'll try to show you pics of my Vickers and Clerget
These MRM kits are easy and fast to built and come out really nice If you're looking for 100% scale versions, then please look further or make better ones yourselves I think they look just fine and I'm happy with the results
These are my Vickers under construction, some 0,4mm ply added
Here some of my Clerget, the installation is in a Reeves 1/3 Camel with ZG62PCI and Torquemaster reduction
As you can see I fixed my dummy clerget to the fuselage instead of the cowl with metal strips Here to I enlarged the fuselage to under the cowl and also added 2x 5-cell RX-packs for ballast The dummy is quite heavy due to the glass/epoxy (it's also the best way to put ballast in your bipe; you can't get it much nearer to the front)
Posts: 2746
Joined: 12/12/2001 From: Yuma,
AZ, USA Status: offline
Ralf, thanks.
I like what you did with the top of the rods you can't see anyway. Could you explain what you did a little. for me. I haven't decided on a firewall or cowl mount for the engine yet.
I'm curious, in your second picture what is that small bottle with the word air on it?
Yes, I think if I wanted to I could make a very nice gun using just the barrell of Micks gun kit, but that's for another day.
Posts: 86
Joined: 1/1/2003 From: Shelbyville,
IN, USA Status: offline
I have a 1/3 Fok E1 and it has a dash where no dash should be.......I wanted it to be less noticable. An experienced scale builder told me to paint it flat black. I kind of thought that color would accent it too much, but in fact, flat black made it all but dissappear!
Posts: 2746
Joined: 12/12/2001 From: Yuma,
AZ, USA Status: offline
Thanks, Art - I had thought about flat black, but wasn't sure. I'm going to fix up the dash, behind pilot and maybe sides from waste up; below that I just want things to kind of disappear. My tailsurface servos are below the cockpit floor, which is a removeable plate with the switches in it; and of course "Lt Pritt"
At first I bended the rod-ends on the Clerget as in the instructions When I discovered that they came too close to the cowl I just topped them off (Dremel disc) Then I strapped sewing-thread around the tops and glued them with ZAP
My reason for fixing the dummy to the fuselage instead of to the cowl are the weight and the rigid fixation This way, when the cowl should come loose the dummy won't to hit the propshaft then I used 3 metal strips for this (scrap 8x1.5mm)
If you're looking for a more accessible/maintenance way you should use Frank's version
The bottle is actually a (foam)air filter, because my engine gets it's air from behind the firewall (not heated by the engine)
Posts: 2746
Joined: 12/12/2001 From: Yuma,
AZ, USA Status: offline
Here is the painted engine with the holes drilled. I drilled the holes before I painted. Lord only knows why the instructions say to do it the other way round.
Now you can take about 2 hours while you cuss and throw tools trying to get those short screws through all that fiberglass and into their nuts; or you can use your own 2-56 screws that are long enough to make the job a lot easier. Did I tell you I hate those small screws with slot heads. That's someplace in my list of 'worst rc products ever invented'. While I'm at it, the kit includes a 7.125 inch piece of brass tubing you are suppose to cut 18 cam followers out of. that means each one has to be exactly 10mm or less, or you will run out of tubing; but thats alright because it is just fuel tank stopper tubing anyway. did I also say I'm going to have to repaint the thing from screwing it up trying to get all those little screws in. Maybe when I 'age' th
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RE: Restoring a 1/3 Sopwith Pup(Repairing Elevator C... - 
