RE: SR Eindecker
 

Don, I'm sorry I made a mistake on that web site it's www.aerodromerc.com. Their scale wings often have ubdercamber and they have substancial offering.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Looks like tons of classic model building fun. Not sure I'm ready for electric WWI yet though. :D

BTW, the other site you gave was certainly odd. Though I must admit I was intrigued by what sort of aircraft I would find under "Latino models" and "Afro-American models." ;)

RE: SR Eindecker
 

I Built mine starting last year and completed in February 2005, G-26 powered. Great Kit and great fun to fly.

I documented the build process here: http://www.pfarrout.com/eindecker_build.htm

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Those are some GREAT in-flight shots!!! Love the one with the eindecker above the moon and the one with it chasing the 747! Also some very useful construction ideas in the built section.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Thanks for the kind comments on the photos. I took the pictures while Andy Kane did the great job of positioning the plane with the "props".

BTW my new project (not yet arrived in the mail...) is Glenn Torrance's Hanriot. Now that's going to be a winter project :D

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Nice job on your Eindecker!!! I started mine Friday evening. 6 hours to build both wings and ailerons(not sanded). I've just about finished the horiz. stab. This is a dream to build. I will be covering with antique Super coverite, vinyl crosses, an a G38 on CH ignition. I have a 1/3 scale Pup and am redoing the wires with turnbuckles and will also use them on the Eindecker. Thanks for the heads-up about the flying and landing wires. I will post some pics in a few days. Regards to all of you that have contributed info and guidance about the eindecker!!! It is much appreciated!!! Thanks.Dave.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

I'm about a week from finishing the one I'm building. I'll have a complete write-up on my site when it's finished. I have a lot to say about it.

What I can tell you in advance of building it. The kit is excellent and recommended. But it's not perfect.

1) If you want to do a good job on it, the 2 weeks SR says it can be built in isn't at all accurate. I have several hundred hours in mine.

2) Lots of laminating. I think the kit shows the limitations of laser cutting. Some parts could have been cut from the correct thickness wood if they were willing to not laser cut some of the kit parts.

This is where mine is at now. The photo with the wings on is from a couple weeks ago. The entire plane is clear coated with matte clear. All that is left to do is finish the machine gun, glue on the cockpit combing (I painted it - black is the wrong color) and then final assembly.

The pilot's eyebrows need some work too.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Nice flying shots of your eindecker! I'm taking mine out tomorrow. I have been waiting for 2 weeks for the weather to clear. [:@]I have fixed the control horns on my elevator and rudder and stiffened up the bungee on the landing gear. I will probably be back where I was at the beginning of the season. I was doing some loops and had even done a roll!! Although it just about fell out of the sky when I did it. I'll bring my camera and try to get some flying shots.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Please don't try to do both at the same time! :D Personally I'm always split on whether it's more important to me to be the one who pilots a new model through its maiden flight or to take some quality photos of what may be the only flight. Since I'm the only one at my Japanese RC club flying on Mode 2 that makes me the only possible pilot so I guess I'll have to find a camera-savvy friend.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

I know how you feel Don, You want to get those pics just in case something goes wrong but I always seem to get wrapped up in the flying.

I went to the field today and no sooner did I get the wings on the plane and the WIND... Gusts between 20-25mph[:@] It really wasn"t an enjoyable flight but it seems I have solved the porpoising problem. When I landed I heard applause from the guys. I was just trying to get it down so I could change my underwear!!:D

Anyway, I didn't get any flying shots because I only had that 1 flight.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

You definitely did well getting it back down safely! My field has a near constant 90 degree crosswind blowing across the runway into "the pits." So who know when I'll find a good day to maiden my Legionaire. Now of course I could always cheat and take off into the wind but that means sending the model in the direction of a sharp 30 foot cliff where our field drops off to a rice terrace below. Granted that a biplane will probably be in the air in less than 10 feet but it's still kind of creepy -- like taking off of a carrier.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to those photos (eventually). [8D]

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Cafeenman, your model looks extremely well crafted. But I do see one of my pet peeves that might easily be corrected:

The machine guns were always embedded in the top deck and not just sitting on it. This makes your gun a full 1/4" or so too high. You've obviously done a very professional job at building an detailing this model so it's unfortunately to see it seeing there in such a non-scale manner. Actually if you look at the forward attachment point of the WB gun you'll see a short straight part and then the part that angles backwards. The part that angles backwards would be below the deck. About a 1/3 of the body of the MG will also therefore be below the deck. The solution is either to actually cut a hole in the deck (more scale) or if this is not possible then remove a quarter inch or so of the lower part of the gun.

I see this again and again on otherwise outstanding looking scale models (for example on all the kits from 3 SeaBees) and it can be so easily remedied.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

abufletcher - Yikes! Thanks for the info. The gun is wrong for the model. I left off the flash supressor and made a new front site using scraps from photo etch for a plastic kit. I waited until last to mount the gun because I couldn't find any decent references. In fact, the gun was always off center on the E1 where I could see it but the mount was still not clear enough.

I don't know what I can do about it at this point. I can cut into the top decking somewhat but I'm concerned as the only thing holding the wing on is the deck (which is held by the wing - strange setup).

Thanks for the compliments. I'll see what I can do about fixing the gun.

- Paul

RE: SR Eindecker
 

I had noticed the new front end and rectangular sight on the MG. In many ways with a sport-scale model like the SR Eindecker (or the Legionaire I'm building) you don't necessarily shoot for exact scale but rather a nice impression of scale. Most people will never be aware of any discrepancies anyway so we might as well be "artists." I've already taken many liberties with the Legionaire but I'm hoping that it looks "really scale" to most people thanks to some nice touches on the surface, for example rib stitching. I know that Platt says this is like dressing up a pig but I figure any techniques I can learn and practice on this model will make the next really scale one a bit better.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

When I said I need to finish up the gun I meant glue on the ammo cover and fuel proof. :) Thanks a lot man... :(

:D

RE: SR Eindecker
 

PS. I don't see getting the gun much lower without cutting away the longeron which I think would be a bad move structurally.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

PPS. I said I painted the combing. It cracked badly so I used a wire brush to remove it and will live with it being black.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

The paint is very well done CafeenMan and everything else looks great as well! Very impressed. :) Love the pilot's colours especially. So realisitic on the gun as well. :)

RE: SR Eindecker
 

So how are you doing that "worn metal" look on the gun? Looks great! I imagine you've already glued the gun down so I'll just shut up at this point. :D

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Newbie here but I thought the gun pivoted in some manner? Am I wrong?

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Only with the aircraft as a whole! ;) That was really the whole inovation behind a MG firing through the propeller arc. For the first time all a pilot had to do was point his aircraft at the enemy and fire. Of course the gun mounts did allow precision adjustments to the sighting of the guns on the ground. I believe this was accomplished with screw like devices that would raise of lower the gun.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Sue - Thank you for the compliments. The pilot is my first serious attempt at figure painting and I'm very pleased with how it came out. Note where a bullet winged the pilot's left cheek. :D

I learned a lot. One thing in particular is that it pays to wet a rag with thinner and wipe the paint off and try again until you're satisfied. The face is a base coat of "flesh" acrylic. Then it was brushed with various oil paints followed by lots of dry-brushing. The eyes were more oil paint and then a final top coat of satin clear to fuel proof and remove the gloss.


That is actually very easy and there are several techniques that work. First, never use black paint for anything that's supposed to be black. Use 80%ish gray instead (4 parts black, 1 part white). That always looks better. After the base coat dried I used a 100% black wash to darken shadows. I followed that with random burnt sienna washes and a dirt (tan) wash. I dry brushed with light grays.

Another way is to rub the edges with a regular pencil. The cooling sleeve was sprayed with a shade of Testor's metalizer. I don't remember which, but it didn't matter since I had no idea what the right color was. I had to dry-brush it several times using white oil before the highlights were visible. Again, I sealed it all with klass kote satin clear epoxy.

I managed to cut another 1/4" off the bottom of the gun. The gun is overall 3/8" lower than in the first photos I posted here. This has complicated things since there is a nylon bolt glued inside the gun to hold it down and remove it for repairs if necessary. Unfortunately, cutting away the plastic revealed CA and micro balloons that were originally used to glue the bolt in place. The glue will interfere with the nut used to hold the gun down. I'm not taking acetone anywhere near this gun. It would take hours to remove the glue and I'm about positive I'd end up hitting the paint by accident more than once in that time. I tried chipping it out of the threads but it won't budge.

My choices at this point are to try to break the bolt free and glue in a new one or just glue the gun in place and cut off the bolt.

Sue - The gun had a syncronizing gear that would interrupt the firing of the gun when the propeller was in the way.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Cafeen, the man and the gun both look really good. I have a friend with the same plane and it's almost finished. I have flown the protoype plane and it's a good flyer. I think you'll enjoy it bunches!.

RE: SR Eindecker
 

I just started with the SR kit of the E-1. I would like to make it a true wing-warper but the rigid wing structure won't allow it. Maybe use a closed-loop cable system that utilizes the wingwarping cable path but terminates at the ailerons?

RE: SR Eindecker
 

Really nice work on the canopy details and pilot Caffeenman! What do you think the final weight of your eindecker will be??


I scratch built a smaller 1/5th EIII a while ago and used wing warping on it. Even with the scale airfoil the wing is surprisingly rigid and I had to use a strong servo to effect any appreciable amount of warping. My guess is that you'd need a right powerful servo for the SR wing as it looks very sturdy.
How would you go about setting up a closed loop system to the ailerons??