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Member Projects => BalsaBasher's Board => Topic started by: Balsabasher on October 13, 2013, 11:58:52 PM

Title: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 13, 2013, 11:58:52 PM
Cut the templates for a 1=27th scale DHC.2 Beaver.
Barry.



(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_TEMPLATES.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 14, 2013, 07:36:05 PM
Wheels or floats?

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 14, 2013, 11:21:36 PM
Wheels I think Lou but may make the floats with the model just in case I feel like converting it later on.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 15, 2013, 12:32:21 AM
My 1/24 Beaver is on floats because I could not build a landing gear strong enough to support its weight.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: 1.JaVA_LGorrit on October 15, 2013, 08:09:43 AM
Great choice for a model.
I had an opportunity to hop in one of these a couple of weeks ago.
Our Airforce's Historical Flight keeps one flying.
I'll try to get he pictures from my old phone.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 16, 2013, 09:02:20 AM
Cut the huge blank for the fuselage yesterday so thats a start on the wood,in the background are the blanks for the Pawnee fuselages which have been cleaned and squared up prior to carving.
I am in production again !
Barry.

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_BLANK_2.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_BLANK.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 16, 2013, 02:10:07 PM
Barry, like things so far. One of the good things about the Beaver is that the fuselage was a box and relatively easy to make.

Jorrit, could be your next project??

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: 1.JaVA_LGorrit on October 16, 2013, 02:37:44 PM
Quote from: lastvautour on October 16, 2013, 02:10:07 PM
Jorrit, could be your next project??

Actually that is a great suggestion...
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10080/dhc_beaver.jpg)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 16, 2013, 04:29:00 PM
I might join you. There are so many colour schemes for the Beaver, sadly the Canadian Forces did not buy any. However there many civilian versions.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 16, 2013, 06:35:46 PM
I don't wish to highjack your thread Barry, but here is the 1/1 and 1/24 scale versions of my Beaver.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 16, 2013, 06:40:00 PM
Where did you get your drawings Barry? I can't find them in our gallery.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 16, 2013, 08:15:31 PM
Yes I will organise the drawings of the Beaver Lou to go into the gallery,they came from the old magazine 'Model Aircraft' same as the Piper Pawnee plans as well,discovered them purely by accident whilst downloading some more drawings,yes I remember your model of the Beaver Lou and took a liking to it back then.
Talking of drawings we used to have a big list of the ones in the gallery but tried to find it today no luck ? wanted to check to see if the Pawnee had been accepted.
Thank you for the military Beaver picture thats a very attractive scheme as well,well with Gorrit enjoying himself on the Mossie anything could evolve in the future.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Oceaneer99 on October 16, 2013, 09:32:08 PM
Barry, yes, the Pawnee is accepted for the contest.

Garet
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 16, 2013, 09:46:11 PM
Thank you Garet for the confirmation,thats great news.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 16, 2013, 09:49:43 PM
More work on the Beaver today,cut the blanks for the wings and tail surfaces (these are laminated),also made a start on producing the engine cowl by turning it up on the lathe from Jelutong.
Barry.

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_WING_TAIL_BLANKS.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_COWL_TURNING.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 16, 2013, 09:56:33 PM
What is the Model Aircraft number? I have the site in my favorites but can't get an index to tell me what is where. Found your Piper Pawnee in issue 6107.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 16, 2013, 11:33:56 PM
I will check it out tomorrow Lou and get back wit the number,some good plans there.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 17, 2013, 11:01:12 AM
Lou it is the March 1959 issue that carries the excellent DHC.2 Beaver plan.
Code MA5903.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 17, 2013, 11:06:10 AM
Quote from: lastvautour on October 16, 2013, 06:40:00 PM
Where did you get your drawings Barry? I can't find them in our gallery.

Lou

It looks a very robust model Lou like the full sized version,great colour scheme as well.
Barry
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 17, 2013, 03:31:39 PM
I found the drawings and your are correct, they are good. The best I have seen so far on the Beaver.

Lou

Notes:
1.  To whom it may concern, we have on line permission from Zoe Quilter to use the data as long as it is for non profit.

2. The bottom of the drawing has somehow duplicated itself. I will adjust shortly.

3. Due to the scanning process, the left half of the drawing is skewed approx. 1/2 a degree so those seek super accuracy beware.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 18, 2013, 12:39:53 AM
Yes Zoe Quilter has been most helpful to fellow model builders supplying these wonderful historic drawings which must have taken many hours to upload,anyone who likes to read about real aeromodelling could do no worse than to read her life story and her quest to preserve it as it was back then,I like these old 'Model Aircraft' plans because there are no fussy frilly bits just basic outlines what we require,a bit like the old drawings in the pre war 'Flying Aces' they make you want to build them.
Barry.

Here is the Beaver fuselage blank plus the wings and tail parts all ready for shaping.

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_BLANKS.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 19, 2013, 06:33:53 PM
The DHC.2 Beaver continues to take shape,the  undercarriage was made in the same way as the Pawnee with dural cut with tin snips,flattened to straighten it out on a small modellers anvil and tiny holes drilled where the wheels will go,then it fits into a pre cut slot and was fixed with epoxy,the legs will be built up with wood cladding then shaped in situ to represent the massive Beaver utility undercarriage,then the fairings will be made up with milliput.

The cowling was turned up on my lathe,still teaching myself to use this and learn something new every time I get engrossed in turning something up ,made three cowlings while I was at it and picked the best one,the spares can always be used on other models or modified and it was good practise trying out different chisels and parting tools that I keep picking up from car boot sales etc.

A slot was cut for the tailplane and a brass tube tailwheel was fabricated all ready to take the wheel,a trial fit together was done wth the as yet unshaped big high aspect ratio wing just resting on the top.

There is still some blending and shaping to do around the nose,the shape there is very subtle and I was back and forwarding looking at photographs on the internet.

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/MARK_OUT_THE_NOSE.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/THE_UNDERCARRIAGE_HAS_BEEN_GLUED_INTO_PLACE.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/SLOT_THE_UNDERCARRIAGE_INTO_PLACE.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/SHAPE_THE_FUSELAGE.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/ASSEMBLED.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/TURNING_UP_SOME_COWLINGS.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/ON_ITS_LEGS.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_ASSEMBLED.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/COWLINGS_ALL_READY_FOR_SEPARATION.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Peter on October 19, 2013, 06:38:09 PM
Fascinating stuff Barry and very informative.

Peter
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 19, 2013, 06:47:56 PM
Glad that you like it Peter,I like to describe things just as if you are in my workshop looking on,some techniques may  be very basic but if it helps and encouages anyone to build a solid then thats a real bonus.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 19, 2013, 07:43:10 PM
Nice method of doing cowls. That is one tool I never could get used to. Nice work.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 20, 2013, 06:43:20 PM
The Beaver had its wooden side fairings fitted to the cantilever metal legs prior to shaping them up,I used metal filled epoxy to fix these in place then sanded to shape in situ,another hefty fairing goes over the top of this one where the lift struts are bolted,this machine can land on unprepared strips on gravel roads in the middle of the jungle and with tundra tyres can land on rocks and mountain sides,its a real workhorse.

The nose has been worked on and blended into the cowl with a bit of contour filling with Squadron putty as well,once dry it will get a good sanding,the oil cooler under the cowling was made up and fitted.
The propeller carving was started the aim a nice clean metal two blader that will be painted silver with a spinner added as well.
Barry.

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_UC_LEGS.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_UC_FAIRINGS.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_NOSE.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_PROP_CARVING.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/DSCF4587.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 20, 2013, 08:18:56 PM
Looks great. Have you ever had problems with cracks using that brand of putty?

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 20, 2013, 08:59:31 PM
Lou there are many generic Squadron puttys on the market some of which are inferior quality to the genuine one marketed by Squadron and will shrink badly causing cracking,make sure that you use the original formula much copied but never equalled,never had any problems at all so I rather suspect that you had a copycat version which look exactly like the Squadron products and probably have unstable fillers.

I used to use a product called 'Brummer stopping' this was fine until they decided to make it from polyvinyl acetate instead of the cellulose formulae which would rub down easily,but not the newer version,the same with plastic wood once made from cellulose but now with PVA as its base ingredient,that was the solid modellers favourite until they changed that formulae,everyone is out to ban cellulose products and if you need some to restore a vintage car for example you have to sign a declaration at the paint shop.

I use the Squadron product because there is nothing on the commercial market for filling wood that I like,it uses Tuenol which also has its health risk problems inf inadequate ventilation is not in place.

Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 20, 2013, 09:31:42 PM
Time to start thinking of potential colour schemes and two have caught my eye,a nice bright orange Trans Antartic Expedition Beaver Serial NZ6001 so need to check out what orange paint is available ? choice number 2 is Royal Canadian Air Force all yellow scheme serial number 16112 this has a red cowl and fin tip with RCAF-112 on the fuselage sides with serial on the fin in full underneath the maple leaf,yellow is near to cadmium yellow so plenty of auto paints available to that shade.
Barry.


(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/DHC-2-NZ6001_TRANS_ANTARTIC_EXPEDITION.jpg)

Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 20, 2013, 10:00:06 PM
Sorry, but the Royal Canadian Air Forces never flew the Beaver. Strange since the aircraft was such a wonderful craft. The bright yellow Beaver wing the RCAF maple leaf roundels is a "What If".

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 20, 2013, 10:19:15 PM
(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/93066.jpg)

That is a pity it looks good in those colours,looks like a 'What if' then Lou.

Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 21, 2013, 12:58:10 AM
I don't why the RCAF never bought any. We had the DHC-1 through to -8 but no -2 Beavers. To bad.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 21, 2013, 01:07:28 AM
This one is yellow!!
http://www.dhc-2.com/id649.htm

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 21, 2013, 07:29:00 AM
Thanks Lou that is a good simple scheme that looks attractive.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 21, 2013, 05:26:45 PM
The undercarriage upper fillets were fabricated from scrap,these were angled and glued into place,then small splinters of wood were used to fiil any voids before Squadron putty was smoothed all around the joints and left to cure overnight on top of the computer before contouring and sanding.

Two propellers were carved back to back,one a useful spare,the wheels were fitted by making axles from small aluminium nails trimmed off with snips and epoxied into the undercarriage legs,a tiny tailwheel fixes onto the brass tube flattened on the anvil to make the tailwheel fork,the wing was shaped adding the characteristic bit of undercamber by rubbing with glasspaper wrapped around a large round sanding block,after pondering about the wing fixing I went for the centre slot technique which works well on high wing types,you can easily adjust the correct wing incidence in this way as well,tomorrow a bit of dihedral will be cranked into the wings after slots are cut on the lower portion of the mainplane and tiny wedges added to retain the correct dihedral angle,then everything trimmed and sanded smooth.
Barry.

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/FILLET_FOR_UC.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/FILLET_SMOOTHED.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/UNDERCARRIAGE_FILLET_AND_WHEELS.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/WHEELSFITTED.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/PROP_FITTED_WING_IN_SLOT.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 21, 2013, 05:59:06 PM
Superb Barry.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: 1.JaVA_LGorrit on October 22, 2013, 08:36:03 AM
This is coming along really nicely!
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 22, 2013, 05:59:34 PM
The wing has been glued to the fuselage after cranking in some dihedral angle into it,to do that I made a sawcut half way on the centre membrane then made up some tiny wedges which were soaked in PVA adhesive and pushed into the slots,allowed to dry and sanded  flush.

The weather is too humid for doping but I did manage to get a coat of sanding sealer on while the sun was out,next job is the wing struts.
Barry.

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_WING_ATTCHMENT.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_SANDING_SEALER.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 22, 2013, 08:36:21 PM
That is going to be a fantastic model Barry.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 22, 2013, 11:54:09 PM
Thank you Lou,its good when they turn out as you want them to.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 23, 2013, 09:44:40 PM
The Beaver was given a good sand down and the struts made up from popsicle sticks sanded to aerofoil section and epoxied into place,as I wanted to spray the model with high build self levelling primer a improvised spray booth was set up in my wood store shed by just propping up some plywood sides,the weather is awful here at the moment and not really good for spraying and I normally paint outside but the temporary arrangement worked well.
The spinner has been built around the propeller with lots of filing and sanding,the primer has showed up some flaws which will be rectified and filled then sanded before the next primer coats are added,the painting can take weeks to do,building the models is the easiest part !

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_GREY_SPRAY_BOOTH.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_GREY_IN_SPRAY_BOOTH.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_PROPELLER.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/POPSICAL_STICKS.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 24, 2013, 12:27:29 AM
Looking fantastic so far. I await the final finish.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 25, 2013, 07:55:37 PM
The Beaver had a good wet sand,boring work that has to be done but the ski's presented a new more interesting challenge,these were made from three laminations of miralyte 1/64th ply pulled tight around a simple former then sat on the computer to cure,final result can be seen after sanding,its going to be a ski equipped antartic survey machine so the skis are appropiate.

Barry.

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/SKIS_FOR_BEAVER.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/SKIS_BEAVER_FORMED.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BIND_UP_LAMINATED_SKIS_BEAVER.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 27, 2013, 07:27:51 PM
Fitted the skis,these are ski/wheel undercarriage of which there are several variations some enshrouding the complete wheel,others fit around the wheel so the aircraft can be landed on snow or ice even conventional runways,hydraulic rams have yet to be fitted from bamboo slithers.
Barry.

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVERS_SKIES.JPG)

(http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BEAVER_SKIES.JPG)
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 28, 2013, 02:48:59 PM
You are making excellent progress.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 29, 2013, 08:42:12 AM
Lou its had five coats of primer so far but the weather is holding up painting,also need to visit Halfords to get some more high build primer paint stock which I normally buy in lots of a half dozen at a time,then there is the colours which you never seem to have the right ones for finishing.
My glider dope which I made up sanding sealer from is dwindling as well and the gallon tin is over 40 years old with a rusting tin ! they no longer make cellulose products locally so will have to find an alternative,its expensive stuff now about £85 a gallon,oh for the days when you could go to the local model shop and buy it,cheap talcum powder for the admixture is easy to find on the local market and a big wooden spoon to stir in the talc is all that is needed,a touch of oil of wintergreen keeps the condensation at bay in the sanding sealer but only a few drops no more,a smidgin of castor oil allows it to flex without any cracking as well.

Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Mark Braunlich on October 31, 2013, 01:57:37 PM
Great thread and nice model Barry.  Thanks for bringing the Model Aircraft article/drawings to our attention and thanks to Lou for posting them.  Making that built-up fuselage in 1/72 would be great fun.  Attached are pics I took at the Bush Plane Museum in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario this Sept.  I like the yellow Beaver on floats.  They have the prototype Turbo Beaver there as well which would make a super rubber powered model.   Maybe I will draw that up as a future project.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 31, 2013, 03:35:00 PM
Thank you for these lovely pictures Mark,a Turbo Beaver is on my list,and yes it would make a superb rubber job.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on October 31, 2013, 07:30:44 PM
Found more pictures of CF-OBS. This interest in Beavers is calling me.
Now what scale???????????????????????
Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on October 31, 2013, 08:02:39 PM
The luggage carriers over the floats are interesting,these could be easily made from dowel,I thought that your interest in the Beaver had been re-kindled Lou,it certainly makes into a model with lots of character.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Mark Braunlich on October 31, 2013, 08:19:51 PM
Those are water tanks Barry.   See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHqA7zHQBz4
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on November 01, 2013, 06:17:20 PM
Just watched the video. With its low speed and great stability put that water exactly on target would be very beneficial. I recall seeing the Beaver and Otter while being posted to Goose Bay. It was impressive in what they could do with them.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on November 02, 2013, 12:15:36 AM
Well you learn something every day,a Beaver water bomber,thank you for that link.
Barry.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: lastvautour on November 02, 2013, 12:22:20 AM
I wish I had owned a video camera in Goose Bay. Lab Air was trying to land a Beaver (on floats) on a wheeled dolly because they had waited to long to fly back to the docks before the ice set in. He actually did land the darn thing, but elected to put it down on grass. The floats and aircraft were not damaged. It made for an interesting afternoon. They lifted the aircraft up, changed to wheeled skis and carried on.

Lou
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: cliff strachan on November 02, 2013, 06:42:58 PM
Lou, I can't help recalling the many "Dolly Takeoffs" that I witnessed in Thunder Bay over the years. Unfortunately I've never taken a photograph. The procedure was that Mr. Wieben of Superior Airways (or one of his other pilots) would arrive in a high wing monoplane from some remote site in the  north in the fall landing on the grass adjacent to a runway on floats. It was the procedure in the spring that provided the most excitement. With the aircraft again on floats, a man standing in a barrel affixed to a moving truck but now holding onto a rope attached to the tail of the aircraft -to keep the aircraft on a steady course down the runway - the aircraft executed it's takeoff. As the aircraft left the airport runway, the man in the barrel let go of the rope, and the spring takeoff was accomplished. The rope business was intended to try to alleviate any unnecessary runway lights being broken.

You can see why a photograph would be a necessity.

Cliff.
Title: Re: DHC.2 Beaver
Post by: Balsabasher on November 02, 2013, 07:38:11 PM
What a fascinating account of these interesting take offs,apparently it is fairly easy to land a float equipped aircraft on wet grass,the Beaver is some aircraft.
Barry.