Well four days into the new year and I'm starting my new project; A Canadian Navy Banshee.
Having looked at the list of aircraft in the "Early Jets" category, I wanted to make something that had personal meaning. The Banshee I will attempt is the one that I met in my tech school as the "jet" airframe training aid. Of course it was a big thrill for a 17 year old kid to sit in a real fighter with an ejection seat (still is I guess).
So I Selected the basswood for the wing and a nice straight grained 2x2 spruce block for the fuselage.
The wing is far more curvy with the buried engines at the root. Nothing like my previous models. So I am giving it a go in one piece.
I transferred the laser printed pattern directly to the face of the blank using acetone as a solvent. It worked quite well without smudging etc.
I cut the plan view out first and then sanded to the line all around. I then reattached the forward cutoff with hot glue as it has the head on wing profile on to it. I clamped up the wing vertically on the trailing edge using two blocks either side with a wooden hand screw clamp. This gave me a nice square and stable edge to support the work on the bandsaw.
Keeping the front profile glued in place I shaped the upper and lower wing surfaces using an oscillating sander. That worked very well to blend the wings into the engine nacelles. I would markup the wing surfaces with an HB pencil before each sanding pass and this would help show where the drum was removing material. It's now ready to carve the airfoil and engine nacelles.
Next on to the fuselage block.
Regards
Fraser
A great subject.
Lou
Fraser ,
Love your updates with explanations.
It will be a big model.
Looking forward to further updates
Cheers
Gordon
Yes, it will be the largest 1:48 i've built . The wing span is approx 10.5" and it is about 12.5" long.
The major parts are roughed out and sanded to the lines. I've made the empennage from maple. It should be able to be thinned down and still remain strong; it will be interesting to work with. The next step is probably to notch the fuselage to fit the wing.
Regards,
Fraser
Thank you for the progress shots. The Banshee shows great promise. Where did you find your drawings?
Lou
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/normal_DSCF2706.JPG)
Thanks Lou. I used a three view from the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum website. I compared the drawings to many other three views and chose it as this profile seemed to be more accurate than others. I compared the others by scaling overlays of each to this drawing and since the majority of them agreed to this drawing and it was a good clear line drawing I chose it. It also has the correct empennage configuration as many of the aircraft drawings were early American Navy versions. also I'm thinking that a national museum should have accurate reference material available on the aircraft.
https://ingeniumcanada.org/aviation/artifact/mcdonnell-f2h-3-banshee
The drawing is different than what you appear to have used on your Banshee collection, as mine is facing the other way 😜
Fraser
Indeed, my rush to completion failed to realize my error. The drawings I initially used compressed the fuselage length as it included the fueling probe in the measurement.
Lou
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/normal_DSCF3372.JPG)
I feel unless one is working on the 1:1 versions of any given aircraft, what you see on a plan may vary considerably. in a Boeing drawing I have for a 737 three view, the notes indicate the it is the true developed shape of the wing IE: looking down without the dihedral affecting the span. I looked at the drawing I am using for the Banshee for example and the plan view of the horizontal stab is .125" wider than the front view tip to tip with the dihedral, so perhaps it is the same standard.
Fraser
So I've taken the scroll saw to the fuselage for the dado to mount the wing. I drilled some centre line holes before the initial rough cuts to allow pins to be inserted. With the dado cut out, it is nice to have the pins align and hold the wing in place while I am marking it up for carving. It is going to be interesting carving the exhaust pipe / wing root area. All compound curves :( . I'll give it a go and see how it works out. Additionally the basswood plank was about 1/8" too thin so I will laminate some blocks to the bottom.
This jet was built by some skilled sheetmetal workers probably with a bit of "English wheel" experience!
Fraser
It will be a great looking Banshee. Keep those photos coming.
Lou
Fraser - Coming along nicely. Compound curves are definitely a bear. I found this out when carving the F-4 Toy. But taking things slowly and checking with templates resulted in a good outcome.
Several years ago, I purchased a copy of TurboCad and update it every 3 or 4 years since I only use it for 2D plans. Before I start a model, I always import the 3 views or plans to verify dimensions etc. Some disagreements which I have found are wingspan not to scale with fuselage, section centreline offset to centreline of fuselage, section widths different than plan view width at same point, etc. Because the 3 view is imported as a separate layer, I am able to address these items with an overlay and print out a revised set of plans / views. It takes a little time, but at least provides me with a consistent starting point.
I've glued blocks on the lower surface to get the thickness required to carve the lower cowls. Looking at Lou's smaller scale Banshees, he made a note about using dowels for the aft engine sections. This sounded like a good idea so I turned a couple of aft sections from maple on the wood lathe to what looks to be the right size (based on photos and the drawing). I cut out the area from the wings that the sections fit into. This now gave me a good reference for thickness of the wings at these points as the exposed tailpipe sections give a bit more references of the shape. Once the wing is shaped and the tail pipes are glued in place, I will use filler to fair into the wing. I used a japanese saw to cut the depth of the material to remove at the roots. I did make a goof by cutting to the wrong line at first, so I will need to fill the fuselage side. I'm still working the aerodynamic shape of the roots with chisel, knife and file. Bit more to go, but I am happy with the result so far.
I know that this is hard to shape that wing, however you are doing very well.
Lou
Fraser,
Enjoying the progress shots. I like the way you handle things that crop up.
Cheers
Gordon
Thanks. It is always fun trying to figure out the way to get the results you need.....
Today I did a little more refinement of the wing shape
Filed and carved to shape in image 208. Some ripples in the wing surface left over from the drum sander. The double ended taper file was great on all surfaces, but the palm style carving knife really came into play with detail shaping. Every time I sanded or shaved a line off, I would redraw it to keep track of material removal.
Image 212 shows how I will fit up the engines to the wing. The small filler block is end grain (running chord wise) so it will be easier to shape when finally installed.
Image 220 and 221 are after sanding (and listening to lots of various genre's of music). I am using a large popsicle stick with 120 grit paper double taped to it. Not quite there yet, but the waviness is gone and the shape seems correct.
Regards,
Fraser
Nice carvings Fraser. RCN colours I assume?
Lou
Thanks Lou. That whittling magazine artical sure helped😜. I am going to paint it as s/n 126334 on display in Calgary. That is the same aircraft That was at the tech school for "jet system" training. I think there was a hydraulic flight control system training aid for the Banshee there as well. Of course if you go to school today, they get retired 737-200's and any number of old corporate stuff that still runs to play with.
I use Vallego model paints, so I'll have to find out what grey colours work.
Fraser
Vallejo has an extra dark sea grey for the upper surfaces. Sunward Hobbies has some from Trucolour of the same colour.
Lou
Coming along very nicely.
Gordon
Thank you Gordon.
Made some progress with fairing in the aft part of the engines, canopy shaping, initial fuselage shaping and inlets.
I glued in the ailpipes and used small quarter sections of bass to fill in the gaps. They look rather like small cowlings when I was putting them together. I drilled a piece of bass to the same diameter as the tailpipes, cut the squared tube off and split it into quarters. I then shaved them down to fit close enough to fill the large gaps. After carving them to fair in to the surfaces, I used wood filler to complete the install. More work is required to refine the fairing and sharpen uo the exhaust cut outs in the wing. Also the trailing edges have been left a bit thick to sand down later: less delicate for the handling of the wing for now.
Started to shape the fuselage. I am using the reference holes to pin it onto a narrow scrap to hold it while I shape it. The pins are 3/32 soft aluminium so if I nick them with the tools, no harm is done. Also I can flip it over and end-to-end to position it as required.
The Banshee has four 20mm cannons so they have to fit somewhere in the fuselage. Not so evident on drawings and only if you look at enough pictures taken in the right light can you see them. Essentially they are cheeks on either side of the forward fuselage that need to be carved. Rough carving and then refining the shape and fairing into the fuselage started to make the cheeks make sense . The guns are mounted in pairs, one above the other. Wing is still only dry fit and not glued to the fuselage.
Now to the canopy for something different.
The canopy is from spruce and the blnk was stuck to a 1/4 wide x inch high stick to allow carving. I use a strong double sided tape called "sookwang" available from scrapbooking suppliers. Widths are available from 1/8" to 3/4 inches.
90% of the shaping was done with a stick mounted strip of 120 grit sandpaper. I used two lights either side of the project about 2 feet apart to give a strong shadow. It definitely made the work easier to visulize. Having just the flat shop lighting was not going to help my eyes or the shaping. What looks like pencil shading on the canopy is actually the shadow cats from the lights. Both sides are evenly lite, but the shape shows up nicely.
In pictures 243-246, I passed a wire just above the canopy and cast a shadow line with the lights at either end. Moving it along front to back, the shadow shows the symmetry of the carving really well so adjustments can be made. Sort of like a scanner ;)
Couple of shots how I finished up today. Nothing glued yet, but I got the intakes roughed out. That went easier then I thought it would. I had drilled two rather ugly holes to start with andI then just traced an offset line to define the inner- lip and used a pocket knife and small "V" gouge to shape it.
Any questions let me know!
Fraser
Excellent progress Fraser, and detailed progress report, regards Paul J.
Awesome tutorial Fraser. I would never have thought of using a wire to check symmetry.
Lou
Working on setting up the horizontal stabs. Which of course have an 18* dihedral...not quite horizontal. So mounted the aircraft in the cradle I used for the Mosquito. The pins allow for the rubber bands to hold it down tight. The wedges keep it lateral tight and centered. I mounted a plywood reference plane and a couple fixtures to hold the stabs at the correct angle. By Sliding the stab up or down on the fixture, it positions the root of the stab to the correct height to the fuselage. It is all loose right now. I may use pins to secure the fin and stabs.
Fraser
Nice jig Fraser. Making those are all part of the enjoyment. Thank you for posting those details.
LOu
Fraser,
I like the way you explain things . Model is looking great.
Look forward to the next update.
Cheers
Gordon
thanks Gordon. Work may have to slow down a bit as we are experiencing some cold weather here in Vancouver.
5 degrees c....I know it's not that cold, but my little space heater struggles to heat up the shop if it goes much below 8 c. Working on minor fairing and hole filling right now.
Regards Fraser
A bit of progress this few days in the shop. I mounted the tail surfaces. I wanted to pin the parts onto the fuselage so i needed to drill the stabs and align them to the correct angle So I used my dremel to drill into the stab roots using the DIY dremel holder. I then made up some transfer pins using the same diameter brass rod with a blob of solder on one end. Using the dremel as a small lathe, I turned the solder into a cone. The purpose of the cone is really to hold the pin from pushing into the holes and to give a nice point to mark the other surface. With the pins in the stab I slid it down the previously aligned fixture to mark the pin locations on the fuselage. I freehand drilled the fuselage holes and the brass pins held the tail quite well. I glued the parts in place. Without the pins it would not have been a very strong joint.
I also fabricated the main landing gear from brass stock. The picture shows how the gear was built up. I didn't think it would go very well trying to solder it all at once so I built the lower leg first using the wheel diameter to scale the parts. The axel and the strut were initially left long. The upper leg looks like a thing I would not like to step on....It is a 3/32 brass tube cut to length with a drag strut, side brace and scissor link attached. The braces were cut long and soldered together with the side brace held by a soldering "helping hand
'clip vice. After cleaning them up I touched the assembly to a belt sander to level off the side struts to the top of the 3/32 tube leg. Inserting the lower strut into this assembly allows it to be mounted and aligned on the model and then the two will be cyano glue locked together. The little triangle represents the scissor links. It is solid one piece and it think i'll paint it to look like two pieces.
Still have to make the nose gear. Apparently the aircraft did not have a steerable nose gear. It castored like a shopping cart and relied on differential braking and thrust for steering. Must have been a bit un-nerving taxiing on a crowded carrier deck!
Regards,
Fraser
The assembled strut is fully collapsed ie: there is no extension of the lower leg. Seems I copied the configuration of the museum aircraft. The struts are usually left unpressurized on museum aircraft so they will not settle onto something underneath should they go flat.
Very nice indeed Fraser, excellent detailed tutorial. Regards Paul J.
I know where my next undercarriage is coming from. Marvelous workmanship.
Lou
Thank you all for the comments. Once again it's gotten cold out here. Below zero c with snow coming down. Ah well, this is winter in Canada but my shop is going to be too cold for primer, which is next on the list. Did manage to get the gun barrel channels carved out on the nose before my fingers got too slow🥶🥶
Fraser
From the news the States and Canada are copping a monumental dumping of snow.
Stay safe . Stay warm.
Gordon
I did get this picture of Banshee 334, with bare skin, over the ocean heading for the paint shop for primer.
Still waiting for the shop to warm up. Unfortunately my little heater clapped out so I may have to wait a bit.
Regards,
Fraser
Looking good Fraser. I hope it warms up at your end. The only other solution is to turn one of your bedrooms into a paint shop with a good ventilation system I may be doing that myself. $180.00 vent system is a little steep.
Lou
Coming along Fraser, my gas bottle ran out for my heater, but I managed to get the temperature up with an electric heater and get some primer on. Regards Paul J.
Looks great so far Fraser. Hope it warms up enough soon.
Cheers
Gordon
So I got new heat in the shop. Yay! Not that cold outside now, but it is nice to be able to work on stuff again in comfort.
So heres the first primer coat. I always enjoy when the patchwork of filler and wood becomes one and the model starts to take shape.
So now for fixing the rough spots. Also will have to start on the markings soon.
Take care,
Fraser
Looking pretty good Fraser.
Lou
Coming along nicely Fraser.
Cheers
Gordon
Very nice Fraser, regards Paul J.
Thank you all. I am working on stencils for the markings right now. I am also debating on missiles. I can only find pictures of the RCN aircraft with one missile mounted on each wing. Was this typical or could we Canadians not afford more missiles? 😉
Fraser
Our Banshee only carried a single AIM-9 Sidewinders on each wing tip.
Lou
Thanks Lou! So the remaining pylons were still attached but only the outboard positions were used.
Fraser
It seems like there are lot of complicated shapes to figure out on the Banshee. It looks great so far.
Thank you Dave. Yes this has been a challenge. I relied a lot on photos to get the wing shape close to the correct shape. It actually was easier than I thought it would be. The humps that define the engine nacelles were not evident from any one 3view or photo so much time was spent on those. The four guns also are not that clear on 3views either. They give the aircraft "jowls " as they change the fuselage cross section. Again photos really helped to get the fuselage profile. I must have been fun building the actual aircraft structure with those complicated wings.
Fraser
I underwing pylon were for free fall weapons and unguided rockets. Apparently we were the sole user of the Sidewinder
The following is a quote from Wikipedia
Armament
4 × 20 mm (0.787 in) Colt Mk 12 cannon, 220 rounds/gun (upper pair), 250 rounds/gun (lower pair)[46]
8 × 60 lb (27 kg) High Explosive rockets
or
6 × 500 lb (230 kg) bombs and 2 × 60 lb (27 kg) H.E. rockets
or
2 × AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles (in Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) service)
Lou
In the paint shop.
Beautiful smooth finish Fraser.
Lou
Just realized how big it is after seeing next to an airbrush. Nice carving.
Thank you both. I am still working on it. I always seem to hit a wall when it is time to apply finish and decals. I am also learning to design and print decals for this model. Trust me....I'm not that fast with that yet.
Fraser
Fraser,
It will all come together.
Looking forward to the finished model.
Gordon
I was the same way about finishing models. I made a LOT of models and just painted them with red primer, because carving was the most fun part.
oh my goodness.....I can't believe the summer has gone and I didn't post since April....
I have been working on the Banshee, albeit at a slower pace.
So what have I worked on?
Paint, decals, missiles, masking and painting ( i know I said that twice).
So to provide some updates on the project.
Wheels, I turned these on the lathe. I used a wood from the Boxwood family. It grows like a hedging bush and are generally quite small. The wood is really a delight to turn for small pieces that require fine details.
I turned the basic wheel shape (round....go figure) using a small parting tool. I drilled the centre hole and parted it from the stock. After I had turned a few, I remounted the wheel blanks on a dowel face to allow me to finish the wheel. (technically a wheel is the metal hub part of the entire wheel assembly of wheel plus tire but i digress...)
I used a small skew chisel made from a miniature flat blade screwdriver and that works really well.
Usually i would paint the tire on the lathe as it is easy and provides a nice clean definition. However I wanted the black to show behind the spokes.
Next i made the wheel details of of the forged spokes. I used my silhouette vinyl cutter to cut the spoke design into card stock that was then painted as aluminium and bonded to the wheel.
Next, the gear doors.
Fraser
I made the gear doors from overhead transparency sheet. Its very clear and it is easy to loose parts until you get the primer on them. The sheet stock is only .005" thick and makes nice stiff and flat parts that can be cut to tight tolerances. But if you pick them up wrong with tweezers, the material may bend a bit creating a spring that can launch them across the room if they slip. I assume they go very far as I usually can't find the strays so I always make more than i need.
One of the images show the parts prior to painting mounted to the popsicle sticks. You literally cannot see them directly on the sticks, but the shadows of the parts show up really well. (i'm sure there is a scientific explanation for that. Probably due to the refraction of the light.)
Again to paint them, i use very sticky double sided tape to attach the parts edge on to popsicle sticks so I can hold them and not blow them away with the airbrush.
(SOOKWANG brand) Here's the amazon link for the 1/8" wide rolls. Its like contact glue on a roll and I use it when I'm mocking up as well.
https://www.amazon.com/Scor-Pal-FBA_2sp201-Scor-Tape-27yds-Pack/dp/B071GLQHQ4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1RPPGPEK0YOSF&dchild=1&keywords=sookwang+double+sided+tape+1%2F8&qid=1633851777&sprefix=sookwang%2Caps%2C283&sr=8-3
I will bond the doors to the gear when I have the gear in place. Likely one of the last parts to attach to the model.
now on to masking for markings.
Fraser
I spend a good deal of time just sitting and looking at pictures and drawings to get the markings. Perhaps a bit too much....
I find it fun to design the masks for the markings and to cut out on the silhouette cutter.
Basic process is to design the mask and size it to scale. I then leave enough boarder around the mask to allow me to apply tamiya tape to attach the bigger sheets of masking material. In this case I used fine sheet paper that is used to stuff gift bags. I find it at the dollar store here. I also used washi tape from the craft store to mask areas that need a bit more protection or that are curvy. The tape feels just like the tamiya tape but is a lot cheaper and I have had good success with it. It was off-season themed tape and was in the bargain bin.
when appling the stencil mask, a light tack tape called transfer tape is applied on top of the stencil before peeling it from the backing paper. This keeps the pieces of the stencil in place so it is easier to place it on the model. The tape is then peeled from the stencil leaving it attached to the model.
I masked white circles for the future roundel marking. (Upcoming grief). In preparation for the aluminium leading edges, i masked and applied gloss black as a base for the paint. You think it would have been easy to find gloss black? Nope, sold out and with the supply chain problems we are encountering, it was a bit of a search for it.
So more details to figure out. Ill post more soon. Its finally coming together!!
Take care
Fraser
In word "WOW" fantastic result so far Fraser.
Looking forward to further updates.
Cheers
Gordon
I fully agree with Gordon on your marvelous progress.
Lou
Thanks. I had a breakthrough with decals thanks to Lou! I appreciate the sample roundels you provided. It did allow me to figure out what I should be looking for in the quality and application of the roundels. Firstly I like the white background vs clear. I initially painted the white circles with intention of masking. Problem was the fine detail on the maple leaf would might have been an issue. So i discovered that the exact size of the decal placed over an exact sized white area was not that easy to accurately place. Next time I will leave the white area slightly undersize to ensure the decals fit cleanly. Learning was achieved....
So now I have completed several small detail items and am installing them on the model. The aircraft did carry sidewinder missiles so I thought it would be cool to add those. I made the body from 1/8 dowels and the fins from the transparency material cut on the silhouette. Both the forward and aft fins were cut out with slots to assemble them together in sets. The cutter will allow you to cut the mating slots to the required .005" width fit nicely together. The material allows for such precision.
To mount the fins, I cross cut either end of the body with a scroll saw with a fine (fin...) blade. to ensure an accurate 90 degree cross as close to the centreline as possible, I made a small holder / jig. Basically a 1/2" cube block with a 1/8" hole drilled through the centre of one side. The hole should be a nice fit to the dowel. I set up a guide clamped to the saw table to slide the block against. Insert the dowel and cut along the length of the dowel until the end of the slot locates the position of the aft edge of the forward fin or the forward edge of the aft fins (makes sense, right?) Rotate the block and cut the second slots 90 degrees to the first cuts. You now have a body with slots to fit the fins. I assembled the fins and slide them into the slots. When the fins are in the right position, a drop of CA glue will allow you to bond the joints together.
I airbrushed the missiles white. Looking through as many photos of the period missiles, I could not get a good sense of the markings. I did read that standard markings for inert misses were blue bands. So I mounted the missiles in a dowel to hold them in a lathe chuck. My lathe will turn 50 rpm and this is the slowest Ive seen a small lathe be able to turn as most are 250rpm at their lowest setting. Then i simply applied the blue paint with a brush by hand.
The weapons racks are popsicle sticks cut and shaped to fit. I used self clamping tweezers with a heavy base to install the racks to the wing. The tweezers work great to position a part, rotate or angle it to the surface. I was able to position the part, swing it up and apply glue to the bottom of the rack then swing it back down into place.
So almost done... I'll post more soon.
Fraser
Nice work on the Sidewinders and pylons.
Lou
Thanks Gordon and Lou.
Here is a picture of the sidewinder before assembly. The forward fin set is only showing one half as I did not find the other one. As you can see, it has a fairly long extension slightly narrower than the body diameter to give the fin assembly a bit more rigidity and glue area. Also what look like lines on the fin halves are actually .005" wide slots. if they are too narrow, the fins will not fit together very well.
All for now.
Fraser
Another late night here on the west coast playing catchup with a few projects around the house.
I have been aware of and used UV cured liquid "Bondic" brand adhesive for some time now. Dentists use a similar material for filling work and its very expensive for the quantity you get. A recent chance discussion with my woodturning group revealed that it is available at the local Micheals craft store for cheap as a crafting resin. Of course! its used in 3d uv cured liquid printers too which probably drove the price down.
It is available in flexible and hard curing. A small UV flashlight is required, to cure it. I used tiny drops to secure the gear doors and other parts on the Banshee. It cures in a few seconds at the thicknesses we use for modelling. The adhesive must be able to see the uv light to cure, so it won't work if you try to bond large surfaces together. Perfect for building small parts, rigging, casting windows etc. The nice thing is that it won't cure until you shine the UV light on it so it remains reposition-able and removable until you want it to cure.
Here is are links to micheals and amazon for the material.
https://canada.michaels.com/en/blue-moon-studio-uv-resin-craft-hard-type-resin-0.85oz/10627464.html
https://www.amazon.ca/Ultraviolet-Non-Toxic-Sunlight-Activated-Decoration/dp/B088K1M89K/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=uv+cure+resin&qid=1634023523&sr=8-7
UV flashlight link
https://canada.michaels.com/en/blue-moon-studio-uv-resin-craft-12-led-uv-flashlight/10665684.html
I've included a picture of bonding the hook onto the arrestor hook bar. Count to five with the light shining on it and you can sand or paint it right away. BTW this is the prototype hook and I had to modify it to look right. The red "V" is wrong.
Fraser
Great way to make Sidewinder missiles. I have never tried the UV Resin approach. Thanks for the tips.
Lou
Hello All,
The Banshee has been completed!
I always learn so much about the aircraft just from researching the pictures and drawings. I found the placement of the pitot probe and mast quite odd. It is the perfect position to provide a foot hold for crew or ground personnel....no wonder it was so well striped. The tail hook was also an interesting small piece to make as I could not find good photos of the installation. There did not seem to be a standard stripe coloration. I suspect it may have been up to the ground crew to pick one.
A photo online showed two members of the deck crew hooking up the cable bridals to the nubbins between the engines. They did have that furrowed forehead look of concern as they were holding the cables in place waiting for the cat to pull some tension. It must have been a leap of faith for the pilot that one would not fall off during the shot.
It has been a long run on this model, but I am happy with how it turned out. The carving was the most challenging I have done to date with all of the compound curves on the wing. I also still have to learn better on how to use decals to up my game for the next model. I wonder what it will be......
Thanks for the feedback from the SMM community. I hope you enjoyed the building process as well and I look forward to seeing your builds in the future.
Regards,
Fraser
Magnificent RCN Banshee. You outdid yourself on this one. I love the intake and engine treatments.
Lou
Well done Fraser. Excellent workmanship. I like the finish you achieved.
Looking forward to your next project.
Cheers
Gordon