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In July 1924, Gloucestershire Aircraft began work on an improved Grebe single-seat fighter to Specification 37/23 and intended to be powered by the 398hp Bristol Jupiter IV nine-cylinder radial engine. Of wooden construction with fabric skinning and retaining the then-standard armament of two synchronised 7.7mm Vickers guns, and to receive the appellation of Gamecock, the prototype was delivered to Martlesham Heath on 20 February 1925. In the following September, an initial order was placed on behalf of the RAF for 30 Gamecock Is powered by the 425hp Jupiter VI. In the event, a further 60 Gamecock Is were built for the RAF (1925-27), one of these (unofficially known as the Gamecock III) at one time flying with a lengthened fuselage, new and enlarged fm-and-rudder assembly and narrow-chord ailerons. A developed version, the Gamecock II, with a steel-tube upper wing centre section, narrow-chord ailerons and a larger rudder, appeared in 1928. This was adopted by Finland, two pattern aircraft and a manufacturing licence being acquired. Fifteen Gamecock IIs were built for the Finnish air arm 1929-30 by the State Aircraft Factory (Valtion Lentokonenetehdas), these having the lengthened fuselage tested earlier in the UK by the so-called Gamecock III and being powered initially by the 420hp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter (IV) 9Ab or 9Ak and later by the 480hp Jupiter (IV) 9Ag. The last Gamecock Is were withdrawn from first-line RAF service mid-1931, Gamecock IIs remaining first-line Finnish equipment until 1935.
As a model subject the Gamecock presents some interesting challenges,if you look at the design then you will see that there are very few straight lines,the upperwing goes off at a tangent at the tip,the upper wing looking from the front tapers at the centre section,the engine merges into the front of the fuselage and the engine is far from straightforward to reproduce,but all of these are challenges that will be met as construction progreses,they all add to th character and charm of this 1920's fighter.
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Another interesting build Barry, you're knocking them out at a fair rate now.Regards Paul J.
Well yesterday was a glorious day here Paul,the chips were flying outside my workshop as work proceeded on the Gamecock,today it is throwing it down with rain here in the UK so this will delay working on it,I like to keep the dust as much as possible outside !
Barry
It's throwing it down here in East Yorkshire as well, but my new bandsaw just arrived so that brightened things up a little. Regards Paul J.
Nice going Barry. We can always rely on you to keep things moving on the site.
Lou
Thats the spirit Lou,ongoing projects even if they take a bit more time than planned are all worthwhile.
To Paul I hope that you enjoy your new bandsaw,they certainly make light work of tough wood cutting jobs,what model have you got ?
Barry.
I bought a Charnwood W715 10" table top model. It seems to be a solid piece of kit, the table piece itself is very heavy, I hope to set it up tomorrow.Regards Paul J.
The weather was awful again today precluding opening the roller door and working outside with power tools,so I decided to work on the fuselage sides and glue them together,before this particular operation the parts needed careful alignment and pre-drilling for dowels that locate the three portions with accuracy,from past experience there is nothing more flustrating than applying adhesive,clamping up with the consequential slide and slipping of wood making alignment difficult and more so holding in place while the adhesive sets overnight,so the dowels are important especially on such a deep fuselage.
Another tip for glueing portions of timber together is this,take two pieces of very coarse glasspaper the rougher the better,apply the adhesive and while it is still wet allow some of the glass debris from the glasspaper to drop onto the glue as they are frictioned together,now clamp up the wood pressing the granules of glass between and into the wood,once pressed together there will be no slipping and sliding as those small sharp edges of glass grip like a crocodiles jaws !
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With time to spare I decided to start two of Nick Limbers designs from one of those lovely old pulp 'Flying Aces' magazines,Nick was a prolific plans designer back then producing some excellent workable drawings,here I picked the Navy hooded Stearman and the Curtiss Seagull,for these little models I have used some balsa offcuts from previous projects,the enjoyable task of producing some working templates and cutting balsa while the heavens poured down outside and my industrial 1 kw lamp taking the nip from the air in the workshop was comfortable,so today was not wasted and here is a start on some fill in projects to be tackled as and when I feel like it.
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Fantastic work Barry, a master at work! and a very nice day for working outside.Regards Paul J.
Rather than disturb placing text between those pictures which should be fairly explanatory anyway,I will just add a few notes here-
Once the laminated block has cured overnight proceed to taper off the fuselage to plan view,trial check the tailplane as any adjustments are easier to do now,it cannot be overstressed the importance of pre-planning things like tailplane slots,strut and undercarriage location holes which are nearly impossible to get correct once the block is shaped and removed fom the 'block' stage,this way the model evolves and really just happens as you go along,it is also re-assuring to know that no matter what you carve away those accurate holes remain constant to the very end.
Use the useful shadow check as shown to make sure that shapes are the same either side,simply run a straight edge along the top and as you slide it note for any differences which can easily be corrected,the shadow is your best guide to how the carving is going along,use it on the wing aerofoil as well running from root to wingtip,that shadow is the best fee tool that you will ever have !
Wing joner on lower wing simply rests proud in the slot prior to final shaping,once the Gorilla glue has foamed its way into the crevices and cured overnight you can take the rasp on it the next day,that glue is the best thing since fried bread for making dihedral joints.
You can see where I have sprayed the water activator as the lower wing rests in the quickly improvised jig.
The wood on the upper wing came from a piece of mahogany furniture,I can see now why the Phillipinoes use it on those commercial desk top models,it carves remarkably well and takes a nice sand,the lower wings are from some unknown wood from a set of drawers that were thrown out,it is close grained and carves beutifully as well,I use whatever is available and accept any wood that may prove useful,I even season my own timber outside to take the stresses and strains from it.
Barry.
Spot on Paul,I spent six wonderful hours in the fresh air doing what I enjoy most,note the brand new American draw knife in use,its a fantastic tool and makes shaping up so easy as well,the only problem is I do not have a clue how to sharpen it up when the blade fades ? perhaps one of those hand held Arkansas stones,they are not cheap but I always purchase the best that I can afford.
Barry.
Barry, I learned how to use the drawknife carving wooden boat masts in the evenings in Alexandria, Virginia. But another fellow would sharpen the tools during the day, so I never saw how he gave them such a keen edge. I have two drawknives of my own. One is German, and I'll have to see where the other is from. But I have found that sharpening them is frustrating. I can put a good edge on a knife, chisel, or plane, but haven't figured out the technique for the drawknife. I think you are correct in that the usual technique is to fix the blade and move the stone, though a quick check of on-line resources had a variety of different methods.
Garet
Garet I am seriously thinking of investing in one of those blade sharpeners,they are water cooled wide rotating stones with a device that holds the chisel exactly at the right angle,on the left is a large leather wheel for finishing,not sure if they would accept draw knives bit there is a possibility ? I think we should talk more about tool applications and sharpening them,it seems to be a black art and I for one want to know more about the mysteries of keeping a keen working edge.
We could devise our own angle sharpener for draw knives,something along the lines of the blade kept in place with a metal top strip clamped with wing nuts,have a think about it ? there is room for experimentation here.
Barry.
Yes I noticed your drawknife and the other one you used to whittle out the cockpit. I think you must have more control over how much wood you remove with a drawknife, similar to a spokeshave. I may have to try one.Regards Paul J.
Paul do get one and you will wonder how you managed without it,the small knife is a curved blade to get into awkward areas,reallygood,take a look at Axminster tools and click onto wood carving section,this company has a few in from America.
For your work they would be ideal.
Barry.
The all important sacrificial wing alignment jig was made from scrap ply,you can tack this together with a glue gun which is ideal for the eventual tear-down,draw the correct stagger and distance between the wings trasferring it to two eqi distanced vertical pieces,any necessary adjustments can be made by packing or small blocks of balsa wood.
The lower wing was test positioned and a small brass screw holds it into place,I needed to add a filler piece because I forgot about the wing cut out !
During its service career the Gamecock had additional centre section and interplane struts fitted to eliminate wing flutter,I need to decide soon on which configuration is needed ? all would be correct as the aircraft got updated at Gloster's.
The engine assembly was studied in detail and prior to cutting any parts a clear picture built up in my mind of how to go about it,basically we have nine cylinders which taper,these were spun up on my lathe ( how did I do without it ? ) these attach to a centre crankcase and a drawing placed underneath with the different tangents marked beforehand,still to fit are the valve guides,rear exhaust chamber exits to the ehaust proper,the collector ring is a washer from which the respective pipes come from,at the top of each cylinder is the spark plug with HT lead and valve covers,the material for the various pipes will probably be either solder or electrical cable,the rear chambers will need to be hand fashioned,this engine is really a model in itself and essential to the character of the aeropane.
To make the cylinders I used standard beech dowel and simply turned it down to the required diameter,then the taper was added and finally an experiment that worked was the fins cut in with a parting chisel,judge for yourself they look relistic to me anyway.
The engine even in this state took me three hours to get to the asembly stage but was well worth the effort,once the other details have been added then it should look the part especially with a lick of Citadel 'tin bitz' paint.
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Time for the radial engine to receive a bit of detail,the manifold pipes were made from soft solder partially pre-wrapped around a piece of suitably sized dowel,these were then tacked with cyno and then flooded later when they were all in place,the pushrod guides are slithers of bamboo obtained from a cheap pound shop china blind,the rocker cover detailing is simply spots of thickened PVA applied with a craft modelling tool,the crankcase front was moulded from FIMO in the oven,the engine is not quite finished as I need to add the split collector pipes at the rear of the cylinders.
The jig needed a bit of adjustment to get the upper wing sitting the correct distance,I just packed the top of the jig out with balsa strips tacked to the upper cradle,it did the job and then the cabane strut locations were marked and indent drilled to take the brass tube struts,these were glued at the lower end and left unglued at the point where they meet the wing,the plan is to set everything up then lift the top wing to do priming and painting,remember better to add cabane struts to the fuselage first rather than wings to the struts first,thats the way that fullsize biplanes are rigged,you get the decalarge right first then fit the wings and rig those for dihedral/stagger and tension.
The centre section inverted 'V' struts will be added when the wing is removed,the struts are pre-bent then offered up making small adjustments until they just start to press into the lower surface of the wing,a gentle bit of pressure is all that is needed,the jig does all the work in the dry state and is easily adjusted prior to adding anything,I would not be without the jig.
Everything is set up and drying out ready for the next stage and that is to remove the upper mainplane and finish that and the lower wings with primer and paint prior to eventually re-fitting everything,its all about detail planning and thinking things out first with simple sketches or in your mind.
Barry.
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Fantastic work Barry, the engine work is excellent. Regards Paul J.
Thank you Paul,the engine is a model in its own right and I love building them,years ago in the old wartime 'Aeromodeller' magazines they did drawings fo scale model engines made from things like knitting needles and scrap,we have those plans here in our archives and even today they make for great subjects to build up.
Its not what you put into these details more like what to leave out ? otherise you would go on and on and above all a lot of the finer detail is vulnerable to damage.
Barry.
Fantastic engine Barry.
Lou
Great stuff Barry. I especially like not only the overall tutorial but also the engine.
Cliff
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First job today was to mix up some slow drying epoxy and go around all of the joints on the cabane struts to make sure that everything is secure and will not move when the upper wing is lifted.
Although I have previously described propeller carving no harm in re-capping here for completion and to save looking back,firstly the blank is prepared,in this case there is no membrane but I suggest on smaller propellers you leave a bit of extra wood to hold whilst you are carving,this is easily cut off later,check the plan/photographs and note the taper at the tips,does it taper either side ? or as in some early propellers one side only ? this is important to the final look of the prop which holds a lot of the character to any particular aeroplane,also check the blade pitch to see if the engine rotates left or to the right ? is it a tractor propeller or a pusher type ?
Now note the leading edge and add a pencil mark,it is so easy to carve two left hand blades as you get into the carving ! I once did this with a large rubber driven propeller and have never ever forgotton that expensive and time consuming error.
As you carve the blades allow the blade of the knife to follow the contour of the propeller blade especially at the root ie the hub of the propeller,propeller carving evolves if you follow this simple rule,you will find that the blade nearly always looks too thick at the tip,thats fine as you can leave this part until last to thin them out,make yourself an half round sanding block which you will find especially useful towards the root to smooth in that contour,larger blades are easier to incorporate some helical twist but on tiny propellers this is hardly worth it,a curved blade or chisel is easier to use but not essential.
Stain can be used for wooden props but I find brown marker artists pens ideal for this,they can then be varnished if required,the small spinner has yet to be added and can be easily dished with a countersink held in your hands to allow for the pin.
Even boot polish can be used as a stain and looks very effective.
The wheels with equal character to the type of machine were spun up from a piece of Jelutong,I made a few spares either for other models or to pick the best two.
I will probably tackle the undercarriage next with those big shock absorber covers to wrestle with.
Barry.
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Love to see your work progress.
Lou
The undercarriage was soldered up from brass tube and brass craft shop binding wire,the shock absorbers are balsa with Micropore wrapping flooded with cyno.
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The underwing fuel tanks were fabricated fton Jelutong and glued into position.
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/UNDERWING_FUEL_TANKS_INSTALLED.JPG
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Popsicle sticks simply protect the strut indents from build up of paint.
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/A_COAT_OF_PRIMER_FOR_THE_UNDERSIDE_OF_THE_UPPER_WING.JPG
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A simple seat is made from the thin tin off a Red Bull drinks can and a balsa wood base,that tin comes in very handy for many jobs and can be cut with scissors.
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/A_SEAT_FROM_TIN.JPG
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The propeller was varnished with yacht varnish,the engine was highlighted with Citadel 'Tin Bitz' paint,the prop brass leading edges were treated with this useful colour as well.
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/BRINGING_THE_ENGINE_TO_LIFE_WITH_CITADEL_PAINT.JPG
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A trial assembly to see what she looks like,I think the model is well worth the many hours that I have put into it.
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The impact of big solids is shown when they come together.
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The Gloster Gamecock gets its colourful squadron markings,the Audi silver finish sems to have been a good choice to represent silver doped fabric,the markings are all hand applied and time to dip into the Citadel paints,it took me the best part of 10 hours work with shaky hands to get these colours on and te serial numbers still have to be done,then its assembly and interplane struts and something created from an old kitchen drawer and scrap palet wood kicking around in the yard,this has been an enjoyable and challenging subject and shows the real beauty of those pre-war silver biplanes before the war clouds lomed over Europe.
Barry.
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/TRIAL_PAINT_ASSEMBLY_STAGE.JPG
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http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/GAMECOCK_ASSEMBLY_WITH_COLOURS.JPG
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http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/GLOSTER_GAMECOCK_COMING_ALONG.JPG
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What a fantastic piece of work Barry, you must be pleased with the outcome.I am particularly impressed with your hand painted markings. Do you always use the Citadel paints for this ?. They have them in Hobbycraft in Hull and I have often wondered what they would be like to use.Regards Paul J.
Paul they are th finest pigment acrylics on the market,expensive but you get quality paint that covers,I use them all the time for hand brushed markings as they cover well on top of the Halfords spray paints,the biggest problem is sorting out the silly colour names skull white etc but I have managed to match up everything that I need so far,their range of different blues is useful for roundals and other markings,use a good quality brush and apply thin layers,avoid over brushing like all paints until dry and build up in thin layers.
Why not try their matt black for starters Paul ? you can then get the feel of them,wash brushes in water with a few drop of washing up liquid,no odour means ideal for domestic use as well.
Barry.
I will give them a try Barry, the silly names are because they are made for the fantasy figure market, you said to use thin layers, are they ok to use straight from the pot or do they need a flow improver like the Revell Aqua and Humbrol acrylics ?.They work much better after adding the improver without diluting the colour.Regards Paul J.
Use them as they are Paul without flow improver that would break down the delicate colour too much,they are good for brushwork as intended and flow well,store containers inverted and put a dab of colour on the base for identification,the reason for this is they do dry up else.
Barry.
Thanks Barry, regards Paul.
Barry, superb achievement on the Gamecock. Congratulation on another very impressive project.
Lou
At long last something to show for this years album,the Gloster Gamecock completed apart from a few small details which will be added as and when time permits,and so it moves from the workshop to make way for the next project which is underway.
Barry
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/20120519_14.JPG
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Another wonderful model, Barry. I wish I could build them so well and, compared to myself, in a certainly relatively shorter period of time.
Cliff.
Thank you Cliff for your kind comments,the actual build is fairly quick it is the assembly and detail work plus the inevitable painting that seems to go on and on,there are a few blemishes on this which are difficult to rectify being silver,but if you look at any real aeroplane they are far from being very smooth.
Barry.
The detailing can take a long time to fully complete,I just tackle it in between other projects while waiting for things to dry etc,its very much ongoing as well so eventually it gets done,what I do not do is add fussy detail that gets damaged easily,never been a one for antennaes as they never really last long,it is the features that make the aeroplane that are more important that give it the all important character,a typical case here is the long exhaust system on the Gauntlet,this was fabricated from my 'Undertakers tubing' I call it that because the stock was given to me by an undertaker !! it is copper pipe that to a degree can be bent,to do this I push a piece of soft solder in the end,place the pipe into vice and heave like mad,it does not even require painting just a run over with emery paper brings out the copper colour.
The interplane struts although you cannot see them in these views have been clad with Popsicle sticks suitably aerofoiled to section and glued into position on the brass tube struts, and then treated with yacht varnish which is a lovely golden yellow shade just like real struts.
The opportunity also arose to touch in a bit of the silver,to do this I used a fine artists brush and sprayed some of the Audi silver spray paint into the cannister top,then this was allowed to thicken slightly by waiting and the tip of the brush used to spot in any blemishes,the paint then just bleeds into the original finish,it is surprising how a blemish can stand out like a sore thumb,I learned this technique many years ago when I worked for a car dealer,I became ace at spotting in scratches caused by transit damage of new silver vehicles,something that must have saved my employer a lot of money !
Barry.
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/20120521_4.JPG
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Barry, the close up photos are appreciated. They show excellent workmanship.
Lou