Will, your BE4 is pretty good so far. Hope you get it in for the competition on time. I particularly liked the fact that you were using balsawood, sanding-sealer, an aerosal can of car paint and the method you chose for ribbing. In fact I sent a copy of your method to myself for future reference. But I was somewhat hesitant in your success in employing the car paint as sealer. I tried it once but at the time it appeared to sand right off in my experiment. I just elected to return to the old faithful store-bought "sanding sealer" made from Dope. Dope seems to have a degree of staying power that has protected models over the years - and there has been a  lot of them.
Cliff.

That is certainly a very interesting idea Mark. Forty-two gauge copper wire "as small as a human hair" is definitely worth looking into.
Cliff.

This is working up to be a fantastic model. I am not up to soldering anything so I am limited in doing that type of undercarriage, however you have the knack. I look forward to some more photos.

Lou

Note to Cliff,use 'High build car primer' its totally different to the standard grey primers,it self levels into crevices and sands up like a dream.
Barry.

Great little model Will,sometimes its good to accept a time challenge like this,its amazing what can be done if you put your mind to things,you have done very well.
Barry.

Thanks Barry for the tip. I've taken the liberty of mailing your info to myself. But I wonder if the different primer that you've suggested will have the staying power of Dope?
Cliff.

Thanks for your kind comments guys.

Mark - I don't think I'll be rigging for tonight's competition!  I may try later on, the fine copper wire sounds interesting, I'd be more likely to use fishing line or invisible thread.  I understand the layout of full-bracing for a 2-bay biplane (I have the RAF Museum book with the diagram for the BE2c), but can't work it out for wing-warping, where presumably there's less triangulation of forces!

Cliff - I used real cellulose sanding sealer to get a reasonable finish to the balsa (a few more coats on the fuselage sides would help, but I needed to get on).  The straight cellulose dope I used on the ribs was a bit thick as it was at least 35 years old from trying to do some rubber-powered planes when I was at school.
The car spray primer I used was just a very thin blow-over as primer.  I've tried the high-build type Barry mentioned but it obscures the details more, so I'd only use it for a slick, smooth prototype.

Lou - my soldering skills are just about "adequate" for wiring or joining odd metal bits together, however I have model railway friends who build superb models by soldering etched metal kits.  The rules are get it hot, clean and think about the order so heating the later bits doesn't unsolder what you did earlier!

Barry - you are right about the time challenge, without a deadline I may not have got started on this model...

Regards
Will

Luckily the undercarriage went on with no problems, more or less straight and level.


A few dings and gouges needed to be filled with green putty.


Then another coat of linen colour, brown for the struts and undercarriage, and odd touch-ups elsewhere.  The finish isn't as good as other models but then previously I've put on 6 coats of sanding sealer instead of the two I had time for on the BE4.

I decided a base would help presentation, so I found a concrete paint sample at work (the paint's on a square of MDF).  I attached some grass mat and a label with double sided tape.


The model aircraft sitting on the base.  I guess its possible this is the only 1/72 model ever made of the BE4!

When I looked this morning there were a few brass spots grinning through on the struts and u/c so I will have to touch up those before heading off to the club tonight.  Overall I'm pleased with how its turned out, I'm sure the next one will be improved.  I would try different material for the struts to get a better profile, the wheels could be lightened somewhat, and try drilling right through the fuselage to provide a proper cockpit rather than just gouging out a black-painted recess - these very early BEs had a large open bathtub for two, apparently it was very draughty.

Regards
Will

Looks nice Will.  Do the model railroad shops have flat brass strip available?  I use that for strut material, suitably filed to streamline it somewhat.   You can also try flattening copper wire, not easy to do and keep it straight but it works for short struts like you have in the cabane and u/c.

Fantastic Will. You should be the envy off everyone there. Congratulations on an excellent build.

Lou

Will what a delightful little model you have created,regarding finish this is not a supersonic high polished type so it in fact looks better for a bit of grain just like the full sized biplanes did,many WW1 types show saggy fabric and pulled in trailing edges where the dope has taken effect,I love the shpe of the subject matter and that superb nose shape,well done !
Barry.

Will, where do you store your photos. I would like to get a bigger image of your finished BE4

Lou

Lou,
Right-click on the image in the post and select "Open image in new tab".  A new tab should appear at the top of your screen---click on that to open a larger version of the photo.

Mark, I tried your approach and it did not work for me .

Lou

Quote from: lastvautour on November 23, 2013, 01:38:16 PM
Will, where do you store your photos. I would like to get a bigger image of your finished BE4

Lou

Lou, pictures are linked from picasa.
Will