fliegertom

I bow to you...Abu

abufletcher

At some point, we WWI builders just have to come to terms with soldering!

abufletcher

Doesn't look like I need to be too picky about the position of the screws holding on the cockpit decking. At least on the Krakaw CI, the placement looks almost entirely random (and none too careful). Also worth noting is the denting on this side showing that it WAS metal sheeting. Finally, notice the small reinforcing strip behind the rear cabane strut. I've now added this to the model.

Mein Duff

Good detective work Watson ! looks like a drunken mechanic drilled those screws ..hope you replicate the denting as well.

abufletcher

It was a good day in the shop! One of those days where you do something easy but it really moves the model along. I finally got to paint and fit (hopefully for the last time) the observer's decking and MG protection skirt. There are about a million little screws on the model already. I used the same primer/rustoleum combo I used on the cabane pylon. Now to get that turret completed!

I haven't yet painted the forward decking since I still need to do some detailing.

abufletcher

A small detail, but one that was calling out to be done. The kit provides a very nice photo-eteched brass "hook" for the claw brake. But the drawing that GF posted earlier shows that it was more like a miniature plow. So I silver solder it to another curved piece of 0.5mm brass and then trimmed it to shape.

abufletcher

BTW, I realized today that since black and white are the only other colors I'll need for the markings, I could also use the rustoleum sprays (available in black and white). This would sure simplify things.

Most of the fittings and such will be done in grey, but I think I'll leave the louvers and hatches in natural metal, just for a bit of contrast.

GianFrancesco

Nice details and excellent workmanship!

abufletcher

I doing a bunch of odds and ends things, since I don't feel like getting seriously into the next process tonight. I did go ahead and replace the UC's 4mm music wire spreader bar with a 5mm brass tube. I just cut off the middle leaving about a quarter inch on each end, then slipped the (pre-cut and drilled) brass tube over the ends and soldered it in place. This is now more scale and allows me to use scale cable connections in a scale location. Was this foolish? Time will tell.

The second photo shows the Mark III version (on the left) of the stainless ball cup created with my newly made jig (or is "fixture" the right word?). As you can see it has a much more clearly defined shape, the dome stands taller, and this allows the screw to rotate to a greater angle. But my oh my these are labor intensive and I don't look forward to making the remaining 7.

abufletcher

I'm not completely happy with the front UC brackets. I think I'm going to have to redo them (or at least one of them).

abufletcher

I just remembered something: Somewhere I have a partially build WB Parabellum kit! I started gluing it together last year. And, now, for the life of me, I don't know where it is! I have another one, but WHERE did I put the one that was already partly built??? [sm=72_72.gif]

Found it! All I had to do was start working on the new kit, and then the location of the old kit immediately came to mind! As I was holding pieces together waiting for glue to dry, I recalled that Chris has included one of the Parabellum kits as a kind of "bonus" when he shipped the kit. And sure enough, when I dug into the box (which I haven't look in for quite a while) there it was.

fliegertom

lass mich raten............das nächste projekt.......Parabellum......lift ?   [8D]

abufletcher

There are so many "next projects" that need to be done! But doing the Parabellum and it's mount seems like a pleasant distraction. I assembled and primed the main parts of the WB kit but now it's on to the "fun" mods! (Modeling rule #18: Never use ANYTHING stock!) Well, of course, I'm going to have to solder myself one of those rectangular sights instead of the weak, round one on the kit. And then there's the semi-circular tray that holds the ammo drum that will need to be scratch-built (of aluminum?). It will also take some work to make the soft plastic ammo belt look realistic. I've got amazing 1/6 scale belt that came with an all-metal Vickers, with brass bullets and a fabric belt. But that's far too heavy. So I'll see what I can do to make the plastic one look a bit more like that. Oh, and I'm sorely tempted to cut off the plastic gun stock and replace it with one carved from mahogany. And, hmmm...I could do mahogany grips too....

One practical task is to design a solid connection between the plastic gun and the (mostly) metal MG support. Otherwise it would just snap off.

abufletcher

I think I need to re-read my own thread! Here are a couple of photos I uploaded months ago!

abufletcher

Here's a crop of the second photo lightened to show more of the detail.

abufletcher

Here are a couple of relevant photos (thanks, GF). BTW, GF, I can't seem to find the AUTOCAD drawings you sent me of your CIII. I believe you once sent me the drawings of your parabellum mount.

Note: My claw brake still isn't quite right. []

abufletcher

OK. Here's a rough sketch for how I can go about building the MG mount. The biggest problem at the moment is that I'm really just eyeballing the sizes. But at least I think I understand the basic geometry. The 4 arms could perhaps also be made of circuit board material (GFR).

Working backwards from the WB gun, the width of the MG at the mounting hole is about 9mm. So that means a bracket with an inside width of 10mm maybe. And that pretty much dictates the width of the large cylinder which support the gun. So, a 10mm diameter tube (preferably brass so the gun mounting bracket can be soldered on). This brings us to the support block. It needs to be just wider than the cylinder, so let's say 12-14mm wide to allow for a 10mm hole to be drilled. But, because of the mounting bolts at the top and the bottom, it has to be a bit wider from back to front. So again, let's say 15-17mm. This piece is then beveled in the front (and I believe also on the bottom behind). Rough estimation from the photos suggests that this block has a height of a bit more than twice the width, so 25-30mm. This block (and the arms) will then dictate the width of the mounting bracket on the ring.

Now I need to look for materials.

abufletcher

Looking at that diagram of the claw brake, it looks like it's made of metal. [sm=71_71.gif]

GianFrancesco

I send you again the same Autocad DWG converted as a pdf and a new one enlarged of the details (swiwelling gun support and do on..) plus a couple of photos of the Schneider Ring gun support; let me know if further help is needed

abufletcher

Just what I needed, GF! Thanks a million! And, yes, those definitely look familiar! I was just about to try to turn my crude sketch into something like working drawings (in photoshop since I'm not a CAD user) but anything I would have produced would have been very crude indeed in comparison to your drawings. Thanks again!

I've copied and pasted into photoshop then resized so that the dimensions shows in your drawings are true size in the jpeg (and thus are true size in a print out). I hope you don't mind. The resolution is a bit muddy (at 72pdi) but they'll do the job very nicely! [sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif]

This is almost like having a big brother to look after me and make sure I don't get into trouble!

abufletcher

GF, could I trouble you to also (re)post a photo of how this came out on your model? I know it's probably buried away somewhere in this thread (or on my hard drive) but I'd love to see it again.

abufletcher

Here's the other pdf resized to true-size. BTW, I don't understand the function of that "sexton" shapes part and I don't see that part sticking out in photos. Also it's very satisfying that your parts correspond closely to how I imagined these parts were from the photos. for example, the reversed bevels on the main block. I couldn't actually see this in the photo but inferred it from the other geometry.

abufletcher

Man, I've got my work cut out for me! [X(]

GianFrancesco

Here are new photos from my "unveiled" Alb (actually I have to cover with a nylon "veil" to protect from dust produced by some works in my house.....); sorry but I too don't understand those details six times drawn and my memory is no more as when I was younger.......!!!

abufletcher

Ah, I see now that the "sexton" part actually replaces one of the arms. I assume the function of this and the handle is to allow the observer to raise the mount and maybe to lock it in position.