Spitfire Children's Toy

[Model Maker]

I have another nephew whose son's first birthday is approaching. Thought it would only be appropriate for him to have a toy plane as well so decided to try my hand at a simplified Spitfire. Scale is 1/32. I wasn't sure about whether this was too big or not for a 1 year old. But seeing my other nephew's 1 year only playing with the Mustang, it looks about right.

Thought I'd try to incorporate a little more dihedral in the wings and include some taper compared to the Mustang toy. Will also include some airfoil shaping on the wing while still keeping everything on the robust side. Will also try to include some of the flair at the back of the wings where they attach to the fuselage. But if this doesn't work out, it will be easy to chop this away.

Picture below shows the rough cut outs for the fuselage, one piece wing and horizontal stabilizer. I opted to include the vertical stabilizer this time as an integral part of the fuselage to eliminate joint lines. Rather than finishing the plane with shellac, I'll try using "Tried and True" varnish. It's United States FDA approved for contact with food, so it should be fine as a child's toy. I hear it must go on sparingly otherwise it won't dry properly. When I've completed the carving, I'll post the plans based upon the final assembly.

[lastvautour]

Looks very promising Ken. Keep us posted.

Lou

[Model Maker]

Fuselage has rabbet groove cut for wing and mortise cut for horizontal stabilizer. Wing and horizontal stabilizer rough shaped. Final shaping to be performed after being glued in place. Components assembled to check fits and alignment.

[lastvautour]

Nicely done. Love the progress shots.

Lou

[Model Maker]

Thanks Lou. I'll keep the progress pictures coming.

Had some available time tonight so completed the "block carving" (ie finalizing the general shape) of the fuselage vertical and horizontal centre lines.

Picture 4 shows the fuselage with the tang held in the clamping vice. Picture also shows the tools to be used for finalizing the blocked shape - rough files and chisel.

Pictures 5 and 6 show the blocked shape of the fuselage with all template station lines drawn. Also included in the pictures, are the measuring and drawing tools used. In the past I've had problems using a 12" plastic ruler for the drawing the station lines. It was too wide and long to maneuver.  So I took a 12" ruler and cut it down the centre line and cross cut at the 6" location. This created 4 smaller rulers which are much easier to handle and more flexible for following the curvature of the fuselage (especially the cockpit).

Next steps will be to shape the fuselage at the various stations using some cardboard templates.  I'll complete the wing fillet shaping after the wing has been glued in place.

[Model Maker]

Fuselage has been carved close to shape. Wing and horizontal stabilizer have been dry fitted prior to being glued to the fuselage. Final shaping of wings, horizontal elevator and fuselage will be completed after all parts have been glued together. Propeller will be shaped just prior to tang being cut off.

[lastvautour]

A master craftsman at work.

Lou

[Model Maker]

Lou: I'm not sure about being a "Master Craftsman". I'm more like a Student Carver. But thanks for the compliment.

Toy is just about finished. Have posted photos of latest progress

Photo 9 shows the plane in the clamping vice ready to finish the wing fillets. On the left side are the gouge chisel and rat tail file I used to shape the fillets.

Photo 10 shows the carving in the clamping vice ready for sanding. On the left side of the vice are the Velcro sanding blocks I use. On the right side are some rubber forms which I picked up from Lee Valley. There are several shapes to these rubber forms (convex, concave and pointed in various sizes). They are not very expensive and I find them great due to their semi rigid nature. I'll post some additional info on these in the tools section in a day or so.

Photos 11 and 12 show the profile and front views of the finished carving

Photo 13 is the finished carving with one coat of "Tried and True" varnish applied. It went on very well. The literature indicates I will most likely need to apply 3 or 4 coats in total to give the finish some depth. I'll carry on applying coats (minimum 24 hr. drying time) and post a final picture of the finished carving. The plans require a little tidying up, so I'll post them when I post the final photo in a few days time.

[lastvautour]

Wonderful.

Lou

[Boomerang]

  Looks terrific!  Gordon

[Model Maker]

Thanks for the feedback Lou and Gordon. It is greatly appreciated. The carving was fun to create. I was very pleased (dare I say lucky) with the display of the wood grain in the pine material.

Four coats of "Tried and True" varnish have been applied. Some folks have reported drying time issues with this product. But I very carefully followed the manufacturer's application instructions of applying very thin coats, rubbing with a cloth after 1 hour to remove any excess and waiting at least 24 hours before applying the next coat and had no drying issues. Although difficult to tell in the picture due to my poor photography skills, the 4 coats have created a nice satin finish. Over time I expect the finish to mellow into the typical orange patina associated with linseed and traditional varnish.

Photos 14 and 15 show the completed toy. Next step is to wrap it up. Hopefully it will provide many hours of imaginative play.

As indicated earlier, I have attached the plans to the first posting of this thread.

[lastvautour]

A wonderful gift.

Lou

[Boomerang]

Well Done ! Ken

I'm sure it will give a lot of pleasure for years to come.

Gordon