Greetings all.
I am starting my new project. My son flys these aircraft for an all floatplane airline here on Canada's west coast. So it's a DH2 Beaver!
I am attaching pictures and descriptions of the build as I progress. Many of you know the techniques, but I am going to show them for the benefit of newcomers. Of course these are only a few ideas and not the way anything must be done. Hey, I'm not a professional model builder ;)
Using 1:48 scale will give a wing span of 12". It will be basswood (also called lemon wood) and will require a piece 1 inch thick, 4 inches wide and 16 inches long. The fuselage will be built up from two, 2"x8" pieces. Try to use wood that is fully 1" thick as it will allow for the floats to fit without needing to add a piece to fit the float width.
Picture 1. (3292)
I have cut the fuselage blocks to size and am going to glue them together. A soft artist charcoal was used to blacken both faces to be glued. Doing this will provide a perpetual centerline during the carving of the model. I had used a light coat of spray paint on my previous Mosquito, but the charcoal was faster as it did not need to dry.
Picture 2 (3301)
Placing the side plan.
I drew a centerline on the side to position the side-plan view.
I used a paper punch to make two holes over the plan centerline and intersection of a station line. Cut the backing of the tape with a razor across the plan at about mid point. Without removing the backing I aligned the plan centerline by viewing the side centerline on the block through the punched holes. Hold either half of the plan tight to the block, lift the free end up and remove the backing from the tape. Now lay the plan back down ensuring the centerline has not shifted as viewed through the hole. Then press the plan down firmly and repeat with the remaining end.
Aligning the top plan on the block centerline to match the side plan.
I used a "saddle square" to transfer the station lines from the side plan to the top of the block. Make sure the top plan also has station lines that correspond to the side plan. If not, mark them on the top plan.
Prepare and apply the top plan piece as described above. When laying the plan on the centerline, shift the paper back and forth to align the station lines and centerline through the punched holes.
Beaver continued
Picture 3 (3298)
Using a 1/16" twist drill on a drill press to ensure a 90 degree hole, drill a hole at each intersecting station-line / centerline on the top and side. The holes will provide an excellent leveling and alignment reference when used with 1/16" pins inserted through them. Note the drill is too short to pass completely through the 2" block but it will have gone through the fuselage.
Picture 4 (3304)
Important – do not cut the top profile with any pins installed! This picture shows the pins in place in an "exploded" view after the block top plan has been cut.
The top profile of the fuselage has been cut free and sanded to the lines. Then the two scrap sides are secured back into their original positions using 1/16" pins.
With pins holding the sides in place and providing a flat stable face, cut the side profile out and sand to the line. Then remove the pins to free the roughed out fuselage.
The floats can be cut out using the same procedures as above. I did not use the split block and charcoal method to mark the top centerline as I felt the block was small enough to work with a hand drawn line.
Speaking of hand drawn centerlines...
Picture 5 (3305)
To draw or redraw a reference line, insert a pair of pins through drilled holes on the face. The pins extend far enough from the other side to allow them to be held in a vise for support. Use a flexible ruler against the pins to redraw the line as needed. Try to angle the pencil away from the rule about 1/32" inch to account for the pin diameter offset
pictures
Beaver continued
Picture 6 (3310)
You may notice the floats still have a plan stuck to the side. After I cut out the top profile, the waste was so thin at the max width of the float that they were unusable to pin back together as described previously. Since I still had the reference holes in the block, I used those to align and apply a side view to the curved face. I hot glued the wedge shaped pieces cut from the top view to get a flat and square surface to work with on the band saw.
The major parts are laid out here for illustration. The fuselage stations, float stations and airfoil templates have been made from 0.010" styrene. They have been attached to Popsicle sticks on the back side using double sided tape to provide stiffness. Since each station line was drilled in the block, it allows a better reference to position the templates. The templates were cut using my Silhouette vinyl-cutting machine.
Also note the engine in work for now. More about that as it may be a bit of a project on its own......
Thank you for the tutorial Fraser. Everyone, not just novices will enjoy your posts.
We have a float plane group build at http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/SMF/index.php?topic=139.0
Please post some completed photos there when you are finished.
I look forward to more updates.
Lou
Will do. I'll post when I am a bit further along. Thanks
Fraser
Looking forward to further updates.
Be interested in how your engine turns out.
Cheers
Gordon
you do great work,what is your background?mine came from plastic kits,i use plastic kit instructions to find out the details and where they go for my solids, also i belong to facebook pages and learn how others do things.
Hello Larry.
Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. I'm a newly retired aircraft mechanic and a lifelong aviation enthusiast. Small things have always fascinated me and I enjoy looking at the detailed hand work put into models. I enjoy wood working and problem solving so figuring out the build on the solid models is a lot of fun for me. The SMM forum has inspired me to try my hand at building using the techniques shared by the members.
Regards, Fraser
A bit of progress on the DH2 Beaver.
Here are a a few pictures.
2520 shows the v-fin held in a hand clamp for carving. I had to make another vertical fin leaving the large tang on the bottom to get a better grip for carving. I made the fin from spruce which I enjoy working with. After carving, it was cut free along the pencil line for fitting to the fuselage.
2521 The h-stab after shaping. I marked out a slot on the fuselage to cut out using the scroll-saw.
2522 The h-stab fit into the slot. I double-side taped a wedge on the fuselage side to allow it to remain level and square while cutting on the scroll-saw. The clear packing tape works as a blade lubricant and you get a smoother splinter free cut.
2524 On floats. Well not quite. The fuselage is sitting on temporary popsicle stick spreader-bars without any struts. I think I will mount the wings the same as the Storch using brass pins and epoxy. I can't seem to get the hang of carving a single piece wing with the dihedral built in.
2527 Front on shows the concave fluting on the float bottoms. It was fun to carve using a 1/4" (6mm) #5 gouge and sanding blocks. Also I got a bit out of spec on the cowl shape so I built it back up using thin layers of body glazing putty. I might have further plans for the cowling details, but we'll see.
Regards,
Fraser
Excellent job on the Beaver Fraser. You captured it perfectly.
Lou
Wing and a miss....
Turns out the drawing of the airfoil shape was totally out of whack. My son had mentioned that he did not recall such an under camber on the Beaver. So looking at many photos, I guess that's correct; no under camber :( i found a website containing the airfoil numbers for almost anything with wings. https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html The DH 2 Beaver is a NACA 64A416/4416 Great, but what does it look like. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NACA_airfoil shows how to develop the airfoil shape given the NACA number. I basically stopped at the first formula as my slide rule jammed up.... So i found http://airfoiltools.com/airfoil/naca4digit Using the last 4 digits of the specification 4416 , plug it into the online boxes. First digit 4 percent Second digit 40 percent (you add the 0 after the 4) The last digits 16 percent. Select send to airfoil plotter and there is, a neatly drawn NACA airfoil shape. Save it in a PDF or what ever file type is listed. Worked fantastic. I could scale the airfoil to any size to fit the model.
Long story short, I made two new wings. Now I've got a practice set :D
Fraser
You now have experience on bi-plane wings.
Lou
Bit farther along on the Beaver. All major components are fitted. just need more detail on the cowling. finished marking the lower flight controls on the wing with the corrugations. Refined the technique used on the Storch ribs. Turns out to be around 160 or so on the lower surfaces. Having fun so far......
Fraser
Looking good Fraser.
Lou
Coming on nicely Fraser. Regards Paul J.
Looking forward to the next instalment Fraser
Gordon
Fraser, where did you get your drawings.
Lou
Hi Lou. I generally do a google search for 3 view drawings. I simply downloaded that drawing amongst a few dozen others that I thought were interesting. For this drawing i did a search again using the file name attached to it to see what popped up. It appears that "Beaver Model Aircraft Drawing 1-2.jpg" was uploaded to SMM in 2013!
Fraser
After posting to your thread I found the ones you are using. I have them scaled to 1/32 scale. It gives me a bigger than normal model at 18" span. Thanks for the response regardless. I was taking a run a few Sundays ago and stumbled on to this beauty and had to make it.
Lou
Great! I have been a bit derelict on working on my beaver due to it being a rather busy summer, even in these COVID times. I'm trying to keep me models to 1:48 as i find it interesting to see how they relate to each other in size. Also to note, my son thinks the two bladed props are cooler than the three bladed versions. All in the sound I guess..
Fraser
So I was trying out a new wood lathe today. I made some wheels just to see how they would work out. I started with 1/2" maple dowel and only used a 1/8" parting tool. I used craft paint silver and a black sharpie for the tires. They scale to about 24" at 1:48 so now I will look for an airplane to fit🤔
now the picture?
Looking good. I often wish I had a lathe.
Lou
Nice job Fraser, I have a small wood lathe but have yet to try it in anger, I'll get round to it sometime. Regards Paul J.
I bought a mini lathe a few years ago, and it completely changed woodworking for me. In addition to making it possible for me to craft tricky parts like cowlings, spinners and wheels, it opened up all sorts of craft projects. Now I turn my own fishing lures, replace broken wood fixtures — I even built my own 5-string banjo. There's nothing in the world like having the right tool for the job.
I subsequently discovered the even smaller "jeweler's lathe," and, figuring it could be used to make even smaller model parts, bought one on-line through e-Bay. Unfortunately, despite much experimentation and effort, I've found that it really wasn't designed with turning wood in mind, and despite many efforts and consultations with machinists and shop wizards, so far my efforts with it haven't been crowned with success. But I haven't given up hope entirely. Maybe one of these days I'll find some kind of aftermarket fixture or retrofit that will turn the trick...
Many years ago a friends machinist father showed me some Machined pilot Pins used on rivet countersinks. They were about 3/8" long with a 1/16" diameter shaft and a 3/32" rounded end. The lathe he used was a full sized 12" swing metal lathe. He told me "Sometimes you need big tools to make small things". I have really found that to be true in a lot of crafts!!
Fraser
It has been awhile since I had progress on the Beaver, but here is the process on the engine.
I spent an inordinate amount of time thinking how I would make the parts and assemble the engine model. Through pictures I was able to determine the main features to make for the R985. Cylinder proportions, and pushrod locations seem to define the look.
There are some very fine models produced by the SMM group and there are many ways to get the effects of the details on the radial engines. So I thought I'd give this way a try.
Picture 1. As mentioned before, I have a small wood lathe. Actually it seems huge when compared to the model cylinders to be made. For cutting tools I used a full sized skew chisel and a 1/8 parting tool. The cylinders started as 5/16 hardwood dowel, which required a smaller chuck than the lathe has. Looking on the web I found an article on making wooden collets to hold small work. It is simply a pattern to cut radial lines into a plywood disk to fit the desired range of dowels to be held. Tightening the lathe chuck to the collet grips the dowel. When the piece is finished, loosening the chuck allows you to pull more dowel through the collet and repeat the process.
I turned the diameters down using the 1/8 cutoff tool. I would gauge the diameter for the head and cylinder barrel to about 1/8" and 1/16" respectively. Then using the skew on edge like a knife, I would cut the grooves to simulate the fins. Then the cylinder was parted off with a fine Japanese saw.And repeat. I made about 25 or so as I figured I would loose some and wreck a few others, plus quality control rejected a few.
The engine case was turned in a similar way using another collet.
The production sequence of a cylinder is shown in picture 2.
- Forming and fins defined.
- Cylinder parted off.
- Groove cut in head to define the rocker covers. I used a small triangular file and sandpaper.
Picture 3. Now, how to space the cylinders around the case and hold them in the correct orientation of the rocker covers? I used a modeling clay fixture. First a template was printed of the cylinder spacing approximately the diameter of the model (7/8" diameter). I then cut a ¼" thick slab of modeling clay and placed the template on it. Using a sharp pin I marked the center of the case and the top and bottom of the cylinders then removed the template.
Picture 4 I pressed the engine case into the clay to about a 1/32". Then using tweezers, I pressed each cylinder into the clay at the pin-points ensuring the rockers were orientated correctly and the base of the cylinder was touching the case. The cylinders should also be on the same level around the case. Vola, the cylinders don't roll out of alignment and are "clamped" for gluing. Next I shaped the sump that sits between the two lower cylinders and applied thin cyano to each cylinder base. The cyano does not stick to the clay. Once it has set up, the model can be freed from the clay fixture. Work around the cylinder heads then push the case from the back with a pencil through the clay.
Picture 5 Once the model is freed, clean the clay from the backside using toothpicks and a small stiff bristle brush. The cyano may have formed a "flashing" if it laid on the clay surface so use an exacto knife to clean that up
cont...
Picture 6 shows the unpainted engine after removal from the clay. I painted the engine overall with light grey and then used dark grey to paint the case and sump. After it was painted, I applied the ignition harness ring fashioned from thin wire to the case.
Picture 7 I am making the push rods from thin lead wire. I found the wire in the fly-fishing section of a sporting goods store. I marked out the length using a stop and cut it with a razor blade. This stuff is dead soft, cuts without any effort and does not launch itself in the great abyss of the shop. Again, I made lots of them because they still seem to disappear.
Picture 8, they do bend if mishandled. I used a popsicle stick to roll them over the board to straighten them up. Basically at this point is went around the engine applying the pushrods with tweezers after dipping the head-end of the wire in cyano. I then went around and replied cyano to the ends to ensure they stayed put.
So in picture 9 you see the completed engine next to a Canadian quarter. The elk appears to be scale sized at 1:48 too.
cont...
Thanks for posting a very detailed and interesting tutorial. The engine looks superb, excellent detailing on a small scale. Regards Paul J.
Beautiful engine. I have done 1/32 engines but none as small as yours. Great workmanship Fraser.
Lou
PS I re-posted your engine to Scale Aircraft Engines in the group/cook up board.
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/SMF/index.php?topic=365.msg19507#msg19507
Thank you both for you kind comments. From lessons learned on this one the next might be better. But, I have to finish the beaver first. Now working on the prop.
Fraser
This is a photo of the engine I will be doing along with a clear shot of the prop.
Lou
The orange does provide a nice contrast to the grey cylinders.
Fraser
I was surprised to find an orange crankcase. Normally they are grey regardless of the aircraft colour. I will be starting my engine shortly and hope to complete the Beaver by year's end.
Lou
Excellent workmanship Fraser
Gordon
Great work, going to be a nice model. Thanks for all the information. Marsh
Still slogging away. Finally started to put on the white paint. Now I have to make the masks for the markings.
What colour scheme are you contemplating?
Lou
It will be a red and white. I'll keep the scheme a surprise in case i change my mind :)
Fraser
Looking forward to it.
Lou
Will you be making one of those wonderful metal frame work for attaching the floats?
Lou
Hello All. I have actually been working on the model for a period of time, albeit in fits and starts. It has been a fall of health issues within my family that have thankfully been fully resolved. I have commented on the on going work by the members (great stuff by all!), but obviously have not kept up the updates with the beaver project.
So I will catch up with the Beaver construction and challenges met.
Fraser
As you may re-call earlier I had some reworks to do on the wings due to the airfoil error. Well I guess looiking at something long enough shows up some un anticipated problems.
I had carved the fuselage with the nose as one piece. I didn't like the shape of the nose and inlet, so I made a new cowl, turned from a piece of maple. I cut the original nose off and fitted the new cowl in place. It was faired and looked pretty good. Since I turned the cowl separately I thinned out the wall of the cowl to give the inlet lip shape (smaller than the inner cowl diameter). This looked better so I pressed on to making the engine and propeller.
Well of course the engine diameter is bigger than the inlet of the cowl. I had originally planned to assemble the engine partially, install it to the model then attach the remaining cylinders. After making the engine I decided that was not going to be good idea. So i had to cut the nose off...again.
The attached pictures show the removal of the new maple nose cowl. The cut line was marked out using a pill bottle cap as a guide. I used a block of wood double taped to the inlet to provide stability to cut the nose off using a scrollsaw. It actually went very well.
I glued the engine to a black paper disk that i then dropped into the cowl and glued ithe assembly into place. I reattached the nose and faired it in again to the fuselage. Prior to this I double side taped a disc over the engine inlet to allow painting and not wrecking the engine as well.
cont...
With the nose looking proper now {i hope} I reprimed the model with grey primer. Now I was ready to start putting the white down. I am a bit disappointed with the white coverage. It still wanted to look a bit grey due to the primer color underneath. Well I kept adding more coats until it looked pretty much white.
So now I thought I would start to assemble the struts for the floats. I queried Lou about the alignment of the fuselage and floats. I tried to do it with a block and rubber bands. The problem i had was as i approached the fuselage to to mark, drill and align the struts was not working for to well for me.
I had previously soldered up the forward "V" strut and needed a solid alignment of the parts so they could be measured and marked for fit.
I would equate the relative scale of my model assembly attempts as working on a full size aircraft trying to install the parts with a front end loader. I would bump the side and it would twist and roll on the blocks. So after a significant break, i decided to make a holding fixture for the floats and fuselage.
The picture shows what I came up with. I had a small length of 1" aluminium channel that I used as the base for the fixture. I positioned the floats on a wood block sized to fit in the channel so that could be moved fore and aft as required. The popsicle stick holds the floats to the block but will not interfere with removing the model after the struts are installed.
The vertical post has a slot that allows for vertical adjustment. The slot is wide enough to allow for a small amount of lateral movement of the horizontal bar. The horizontal bar can also be rolled to level the fuselage to the floats.The hand clamp s securely holding the fuselage in place and it can allow for a small pitch adjustment as well.
Once everything was in the proper alignment, I marked witness lines between alll the moving parts so it can be put back in the same configuration later. Yah, I know to looks like a lot of tooling around the model, but hey I really only needed the dividers and tweezers. The journey to find that out just what worked meant I tried different tools that kind of pilled up in the photo. :)
I also mocked up he "V" in wood to check the angles.
So i continued to fit up the struts. This aircraft has a different aft strut / step configuration . Many have a "V" style leading to the door. The problem is the bottom step is rather narrow and this other configuration is a bit easier for the walk ons to get to the door. Of course this configuration looks like a metal storage rack on the aircraft with all the longer step bars.
Fraser
So, looking at the full size Beaver, the struts are not really faired and the fuselage connection is basically a fitting / fork and bolt out in the open. So I decided to attach the struts with pins into holes in the fuselage. Of course to drill the small .050" holes i wanted to use my dremel type tool. I've always used a large drill press, but I wanted something to work with on the bench. So I devised a sliding holder for the tool with a vertical bed to hold the parts to be drilled.
It works pretty good and is quite sturdy. Again it is an aluminium channel with a bracket on top to hold the tool. I cut slots in a piece of plastic cutting board that were a nice fit to the channel. I cut a groove to locate the parts to be drilled. I eventually just held them in place by hand rather than clamp them. As for the drill bit, I found after the first holes I drilled, a small centre drill was the right size and it did not wander as the jobbers drill did. Well worth using one of these centre drills for small parts and they are only a couple dollars. Plus they won't break so easily.
Well Im going to take a break for now. More details to come shortly!
Take care All.
Fraser
I found the struts to be the hardest part to do. Yours is coming along nicely. That jig is a model on itself. Nice work.
I look forward to more progress shots.
Lou
Nice Job Fraser, and thank you for the detailed reports. Regards Paul J.
The Beaver is nearly done! Once i have completed the display stand, I'll post more photos of the last construction details and the finished model when ready for roll out.
Fraser
Looking forward to it. Will the Beaver be the last model of 2020 or the first of 2021.
Lou
And so the Beaver is completed. The final assembly has been done and the stand for the model is completed.
I'll jump past the images of the painting as it is really just masking and stencils. Had a bit of an issue with the first prop..I made the blades too small. Oh well, popsicle sticks are cheap so I replaced the blades.
The Beaver I chose to model is the Harbour Air "Canada 150" paint scheme. This airplane was painted for the Canada 150 year celebration in 2017. It is still in this paint scheme as it really draws a lot of attention around Vancouver. It has a bigger brother, an Otter, painted the same. This airplane is also special to me as my daughter and soon to be husband chartered the plane to a secluded BC lake for their wedding engagement photos!
The photos show the model finished now, both on and off the "stand".
It has been a fun build and it hope you enjoy the pictures.
Fraser
Harbour Air Beaver "Canada 150"
Harbour Air Beaver " Canada 150" on the stand. The aircraft are launched into the river from these modified trucks. Essentialy the front of a four-wheel-drive with a custom hydraulic lifting dolly. This is the fancy version:it has the roff. Some don't, but give the west cost rain, i don't think they are the favoured ones. Coolest one I saw many years ago was the front of an old Ford Torino. They were a v8 Front WD car.
The model was a basswood body and the dolly was built from 1/8 square brass tubing soldered. I turned the wheels from maple.
Fraser
Mate in a word Brilliant!. Absolutely brilliant . Love it . The trolley is a work of art in itself.
Well Done !
Cheers
Gordon
Thank you Gordon. I thought it would be fun to use the beaching gear as a stand.
Actually I found a link to Harbour Air's Instagram page and there is the engagement picture on one of their posts. https://www.instagram.com/p/BktdXpqF7Cg/?igshid=klj505dpibh0
And one of the airplane on the trolly ( beaching gear)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCG0jmYhI_O/?igshid=eu3j454xebxl
Fraser
I think Gordon summed it up already, excellent job Fraser, regards Paul J.
Outstanding scheme Fraser. Masking must have been tough. An excellent addition to your collection.
Lou
Thank you all for the kind comments.
Lou, the Beaver was masked and painted the same what it was likely done during the real aircraft's scheme, in pieces. The fuselage was masked with a large outline stencil of the maple leaf. Since the tip of the leaf wrapped over the top of the fuselage, it would have been more difficult if the wings were on and it was on the floats. So it was relatively easy to mask in pieces. I also used washi tape surplus from Easter to cover he larger areas. Seems to work really well.
Fraser