smcouch77

Hi Guys. I haven't had much chance to build lately. Work has been a real bear. I did manage to get the aileron pulleys made. Hopefully, I'll get to start the covering this weekend.
Steve

MaineBear

Great looking pulleys, Steve. Mine will be some small plastic ones I found on a plastic mfgr's web site; haven't made the mounting brackets yet. What are you doing for the elevator pulleys? Looks like double pulleys there; not as much space to work with like in the wing but have a few ideas. Also working on my gear setup using your photos; they have been a great help.

Dick

smcouch77

Hi Dick. I'm glad the pics are helping. I won't have room for the elevator pulleys. I'm using a capstan to operate the elevators. At this scale, I didn't trust pulleys. I'll use a photo under the inspection glass. Not as nice as real pulleys, but you can't have everything.
Steve

smcouch77

I did make some progress on the wing rigging this weekend. I made the horns and the braces&fittings. Also I got one panel rigged. One down, three to go.
I haven't been getting into a lot of specifics, lately, but if anyone would like more details about anything, just ask.
Steve

smcouch77

This week has been "Brackets & Doodads". All the little stuff that will make it seem real.
The flying wire brackets are made with brass. The outboard brackets wrap over the spars and are pinned and epoxied in place. The mid wing brackets are bolted through the spars. The interplane strut brackets are made from golden rod cable connectors. I flattened the ends, drilled & filed them to shape, and threaded them into the rear spar and a block at the front spar.
Steve

smcouch77

I covered and painted my practice wing. I'm going to use the Replicraft chips for documentation. It's not as brown as I had hoped for, but when I mixed up the formula for PC10 in SE5a in Action, it was a dead on match with Replicraft.
I'm covering with Sig Koverall and using SolarTex for the stitch tape. The SolarTex tears nicely and gives a rough edge without going overboard. I stitched the ribs like the full size, using .15mm rigging thread I got in the ship building section at Hobbytown USA. I tried several different sizes until I got what I think looks scale.
I could use some feedback on color, texture, and stitching. Try to ignore the dust in the poly. I'm building a clean room to spray the model in.
Steve

Rocketman612

My Feedback: (85)

Steve,
I'm not a WWI expert but that looks like a GREAT JOB. Can't wait to see her done.

Pete

smcouch77

Thank's Pete. After 2 1/2 years, I'm ready to "Git 'er done" too
Steve

timfarrar

Steve :

Absolutely great !!!

I was wondering ?
What do you do with the little proto typ stuff you make to see if it looks good enough ?
When you make them and deside if its what you want, do you just through it away or do you have a box that you keep it all in ?

Just currious, I would probably save it for a while anyway.

SEEYA, TIM

smcouch77

Oh yea! I've got a drawer full of stuff. You never know
Steve

smcouch77

Spring has sprung, and so has the grass. So, I have more work to do, and less time to build. I know. I know. I've got to get my priorities straight!
I have found time to "Wheel Bash" some new Williams Bros Vintage wheels. The wheels on my plane are a light grey, so I started off with the white tires. I figure it will be easier to turn the white ones darker than to lighten up black ones.
The first thing was to establish the right thickness of the wheel at the hub. I used a head on shot of the French plane as well as the Replicraft front view. I drilled out the wheels for 7/32" brass axel bushings, and cut a piece of black nylon for the new hub. Then I drilled 32 holes in the hub and glued in small pieces of .024 music wire. Then, I filed the wires flush, and "presto", fake spoke ends. Next I cut a piece of a plastic tube to fit around the hub. It holds the wire spokes and will form the inner ring for the fabric cover.
The real wheel has 32 spokes per side, but every other spoke goes across to the other side of the rim. So, only 16 spokes can be seen pressing against the fabric.
I cut out an area next to the rim and added the extra spokes that will be seen through the access hole for the valve stem, which is a golden rod end.
I made a practice fabric cover, to work out the details. Next I'll paint the rim area and the access hole black. Then I'll make new covers for each side of each wheel.
Steve

smcouch77

There were at least two ways that the wheel covers were attached. Some rims had small holes around the edge. Hooks attached the outer ring of the cover to the rim. Method two was to stitch the cover to the spokes.
Steve

smcouch77

I made some more progress tonight. I cut the lips off of shoe shine cans for the outer rings. I smoothed the rough edges on a belt sander. The rings then were coated with SIG STIX-It. I stretched the Koverall over the wheel and ironed the edges with a trim iron. The centers will be done after the rings are glued in place and the covering stretched. Also, I'm painting the edges before I glue them on. Hopefully that will make it easier to mask off.
Steve

smcouch77

The wheel covers are finished. Now all I have to do is turn the tires grey, add a little mud and grass stain, and get them mounted. I may finish this project yet!
Steve

Phlip

I know how I'd do that!

smcouch77

Hi Philip. Hopefully the tires and tail skid will be the only parts to get that treatment
Steve

smcouch77

I wish I had thought of dyeing the tires first Oh well. There's always the next plane. I didn't have any luck with the shoe polish either. So I tried some artist's oil pastels. These rubbed into the rubber pretty well. I "widened" the rim a bit with a fine tip marker, and added some "mud and grass stain" with the pastels. So, what do you think?
Steve

R8893

My Feedback: (20)

Lookin' good!!! Goal Achieved!

smcouch77

Thanks. I finished the last detail, the keeper rings on the axel. Some of them were left open, and some were capped. I think I like the open look best.
Steve

smcouch77

I did a little more experimenting with thread sizes for the rib stitching. These shots are using a fine sewing thread for both the top cord and the stitching thread.
Steve

smcouch77

Has anyone had any experience using latex paint on scale models? I need to fuel proof it, and I’m having a terrible time getting the polyurethane not to run. Is there any other product I can use?
Steve

smcouch77

I finished the center wing section, and it's ready to paint. Every day it gets a little closer!
Steve

smcouch77

One wing panel covered, stitched,and taped. Three to go.
Steve

smcouch77

Here's a breakdown of how the rib stitching is done on an SE5a.

I've done a sample using heavy black thread so that the details show up. The actual stitching was done with ordinary sewing thread.
First step is to run a thread along the top of the rib. Next, turn the wing over and tack one end of your stitching thread to the side of the rib at the trailing edge. My threads were about 3' long. Then thread the other end into a needle and start stitching. Each stitch passes straight over the top. Then on the bottom, pass the needle back under the thread that runs along the edge of the rib. Pull it tight and do it again...
This might seem like a lot, but all together it took about three hours to cover the wing with Sig Koverall and Sig Stix it, Stitch the ribs, and tape the stitching and edges. Personally, I think it was worth the effort. But then, I'm not exactly right in the head[X(]
Steve

smcouch77

I finally finished my spray room. Now I have a clean place to paint. No more cat hair in the clear coat!!!
I re-worked the tail skid. I replaced the brass plough with steel plate. This should last longer, and I can replace it fairly easily. Also, I'll be able to bolt a steel "cover" over it for practice flying. The blacktop will eat the bottom up pretty quickly. I made the fairings from aluminum. So, the tail section is ready for some color.
Steve