A new friend, Don wants to make a few Trackers, Banshees and HO4S-3 for his 1/240 scratch built Bonnie. I will provide detailed instruction on the construction of all three.
Lou
Much more to follow.
The following is an email I sent to Don to start up the project.
I will be happy to help out. I suggest you join Solid Model Memories by contacting Garet at Administrator@solidmodelmemories.net Tell him I sent you.
The site is easy to use and others will help as we go along. I have started a topic at http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/SMF/index.php?topic=1383.0
If you need some direction on navigating the site, let me know.
If that is inconvenient for you, I will still guide you by email and give you links to photos on the SMM site just like the other ones.
I personally use clear pine for making my models but you can use any soft wood other than balsa as in that scale it is too hard to fill in the wood grain. My 1/350 Bonnie is recycled mahogany baseboards and the 1/144 Bonnie is mostly clear pine.
I await you further email.
Lou
The dimension in inches have been sorted out as per the attached file.
Lou
The first to tackle is the RCN HO4S-3. I used leftover pieces of 1 inch pine board(7/8 " actual size). I measured the fuselage to be 7.5mm (9/32") wide. After marking the proper dimension the wood was chiseled/planed/sanded to size. Once satisfied with the surface, I cut out and glued the fuselage outline to the wood. As this is Don's first solid carving, I will proceed slowly.
Lou
I then cut out the shape keeping the top and bottom perpendicular to form a block form. I do this with every model I make. I remove the wood from the top fuselage area leaving a bit to provide some strength to the tail area. The bottom was cut with a razor saw to make is easier to remove large pieces of wood. You will note that on the last picture, I have carved away the keel and tail rotor shaft. These will be made and added later. The tail fin was sanded to shape rather than carved as it is fragile. If it breaks, we will make it separately make the fin as well. I use files or sandpaper glued to flat pieces of wood.
Lou
A quick comparison of my 1/144 and 1/350 scale HO4S-3.
Lou
Next trace the top outline of the fuselage and remove the excess wood. Go slow to avoid taking to much off. Trace outline of cockpit fairing and lower rear fuselage.
Lou
Next is cutting out the windscreen area. Drawing lines that follow the forward base and top of the windscreen and slowing cut away material. The forward fuselage remains untouched at this point. Once cut out, trace the outline of the windscreen and check against the drawing. Although not pictured here, trace the roundness of the rear lower fuselage and cut away excess materiel.
Lou
That's impressive work at that scale Lou, great tutorial as usual, regards Paul J.
Thank you Paul.
Lou
I next drew the line of the rear upper fuselage and bring out the shape. I need to do more work here later.
Lou
Just to take a break from the fuselage, the wood for the rotors was shaved down to the width of the blade and sanded to the final shape using sandpaper glued to a paint stick. It was purposely left longer to be able to hand on too for the final sanding. The blades were then sliced off like bread. I score each blade at least a dozen time to ensure the wood wood not split off. Individual sanding was also done on the sandpaper stick.
Lou
The tail rotor was done in the same fashion. This method allows to do many more individual blades.
Thanks Lou,
I'm enjoying this.
Cheers
Gordon
Happy to please. I am also having fun with it.
Lou
Great method for the rotor blades Lou. Regards Paul J.
A simple jig to line up the rotor blades. One must be careful with the glue as the plastic is not very thick and glue will want to stick to the paper. A thicker plastic disc or supports to lift the blade higher will help. After several tries, things worked out.
Lou
I like to mark off the area to be removed when shaping round surfaces. Since this was a small fuselage, the sanding stick was used to round the lower fuselage. The keel was cut out using the drawing outline and sanded to final shape. I wrapped 320 grit paper around the X actor knife handle to get the curved area that joins to the fuselage.
Lou
The undercarriage is made up from straight pins inserted into the fuselage. The struts will be inserted following being bent to the proper angles. The smaller dowel perfectly matched the nose wheels while the larger dowel had to be sanded down to the main wheel drawing. The wheels are sliced off the dowel using the thinnest and sharpest blade available. In this case an old(but sharp) one edge razor blade was used. I used moderate pressure and rolled the dowel back and forth.
The second last photo shows the tail fins. Again, attached the part to tape and sand down to size. I then split the part in two.
Lou
All parts cut and partially sanded. I will use acrylic paint to seal the wood and sand using 600 grit sandpaper. I made extra wheels as these will surely fall to the floor and get lost forever. The long thin piece will be cut down and used as the tail striker.
Lou
Lou - You truly are the master of miniaturization!! Looking great!!
The rotor is very impressive. One thing I frequently do with small wooden parts such as the wheels, is let them soak overnight in a small covered container of thinned shellac or thinned varathane / varnish. I'm not sure whether it actually works, but my thought is the shellac or varnish will thoroughly penetrate the disc and when dry assist in strengthening the thin discs to prevent breakage. I suspect some folks may also use CA glue for the same purpose. I just don't know how well the CA would wick through the end grain before it sets up. The thinned shellac or varathane should wick all the way through since it won't start to dry until the wooden disc is removed from the container. You could also try this for your rotors if you are worried about breakage.
-ken
I frequently use super glue for that purpose.
Lou
The final part is the tail rotor transmission housing and shaft. The housing is scrap wood and the shaft a straight pin. Paint is Tamiya acrylic Dark and Medium Sea Grey. The undercarriage is straight pins cut and bent to shape using the drawing and photos as a guide. Decals have been ordered from CanMilAir as 1/240 is too small for my skill level if white is required.
Lou
Hi Lou, my first time on site and thanks to you and Garet. The detail you have provided in this tutorial is outstanding and I want to get at it as soon as possible.
Thank you Don. Please feel free to request additional info if you want it.
The attached shows the first attempt at gluing the wheels on. It looked OK when I place them but the photos show a different story. Good comparison between 1/144 and 1/240.
Lou
P.S. Don, mailman picked up drawings. I am interested in finding out how long it takes.
Made some window from clear decal film. I still need to spray a bonding coat but they should be ready before the markings arrive in the mail.
Lou
Looking great Lou.
Gordon
Cockpit window decals affixed.
Lou
Bill from CanMilAir advised decals were ready for shipment so maybe by next weekend we will have a completed "Horse". Remaining home made decals for fuselage windows and engine cooling mesh are on but a bit shinny. I may use dullcoat once I have the CanMilDecals on.
Lou
Looks great Lou, regards Paul J.
I should have checked what the photo looked like once loaded. here is a slightly better one.
Lou
While waiting for "Horse" CanMilAir decals the CP-121 Tracker has been started. Since the drawing I am using has no full view of the top or bottom, I cut the top drawing along the center line and taped it to the bottom view. The fuselage was cut as close as possible to the edge and glued to the scrap piece of wood. The combined top/bottom views are glued to cardboard and will be cut to form templates for tracing onto the same piece of wood. The nacelles will also be traced directly to the wood. I hope to see the HO4S-3 decals tomorrow.
Lou
Major components to the Tracker are cut, I changed my mind on tracing the wings on wood and glued the drawing directly.
Lou
The Tracker blocks are cut and thickness marked on the attached.
Lou
Each part outline is traced on the blocks before cutting to shape. Work slow as the parts are small and it is easy to take away to much materiel. (the voice of experience) The trick is to cut close and sand down to the measurement you want.
Lou
I am amazed at your work and the tutorials you post are remarkable, everything I need to keep going. It never occurred to me that there could be decals for the windscreens and that is a relief, I was wondering how to paint them on. Your drawings are a great help in carving the fuselage. Thanks again.
I already printed extra and will send you copies of the window decals as I make those myself. I will also add instructions.
Lou
Marking off where the nacelles and wings will sit in relation to each other. The rear fuselage is marked for carving out the vertical fin.
Lou
The wing has markings for the fuselage and nacelle locations. Here the wing spar is carved out. Care and frequent checking with the fuselage to ensure a good fit. The fuselage was marked to accept the wing once the spar has been cut out. I forgot to take a photo of the fuselage before cutting out the upper portion for the spar. The area removed from the fuselage is saved to form a cap over the wing rather than carving out a new piece.
Lou
The vertical fin is carved and final removal of materiel is done with sand paper sticks. The fin is delicate and broke off about half way up. Once the superglue had dried, I continued with the sanding.
Lou
Placing the fuselage against the drawing I located where the horizontal fin would fit and used a flat rat file to cut out a slot. I had no intention of removing the upper area of the fin. It broke a second time and will have to be glued again. I then sanded a slot in the horizontal fin. I will sand the horizontal fin to its final shape and attach with superglue. Once dry the tail area will be much stronger.
Lou
Just a quick comparison with a 1/72 Tracker.
Lou
Great progress Lou, re the tail fin split, that's a problem I find when working the thin parts, trying to find wood with the correct grain so it won't split or distort when they need to be thinned down. Best regards Paul J.
One piece fuselage tail fin combination are the worst for structural strength. But in my opinion, the pro outweighs the con.
Lou
PS Christmas showed up early in the form of a HO4S-3 decal sheet. The major items are on and the remainder should be on by day's end.
CanMilAir decals sheet # 208 really sets things off. So the HO4S-3 is completed.
Lou
And again. The last photo shows my 1/144, 1/240 and 1/350 sitting on the rear deck of my 1/350 HMCS Bonaventure.
That looks amazing Lou, excellent work . Regards Paul J.
Thank you Paul.
Lou
Back to the Tracker and a big oops. While sanding the wing airfoil shape I broke the spar. Hence I decided to just notch the nacelle rather than make a spar at the attachment point.
Lou
The nacelles are carved and sanded a bit before using superglue to secure them to the wing. The fix to the broken spar is the placement of a new spar. I used a small file to make the slots and once putty and sanding is done, the wings will be glued together with superglue.
Lou
Wood filer has been added to the top of the nacelles and will be lightly sanded to shape blending the nacelle to the wing. The same has been done to the forward area of the tail plane joint. A drop of glue has been placed on the crew cockpit window to create the bubble effect. Several coat of glue may be needed to get the desired result.
Lou
Looking great Lou!!
The glue bubble looks great. I would never have thought of that approach. I'm always amazed at the scale you work in for some of the models. Based upon the sections on the cutting mat, am I correct is assuming the length of the fuselage is approximately 6 cm?
The fuselage is 5.36 cm long. I have a scale calculator I use for all my scale measurement. Just a simple excel spread sheet. This one is in inches, but it is easy to convert to cm. I enter the 1/1 data as inches or centimeters and the formula does the rest.
The glue drop is Barry's idea.
Lou
A few swipes with 250 grit paper sorts things out. Close up photos show the requirement for addition putty and another few swipes.
Lou
Search light is 1/6 dowel found at the local fabric store craft section. It still needs a bit of sanding but things are coming along fine. Next will be the undercarriage.
Lou
Just to show what sealer I am using this time. Also note the port nacelle forward joint is not yet puttied. Actually it was but on clocer examination I found the nacelle had been incorrectly positioned, so I relocated it.
Lou
Well executed recovery work Lou, regards Paul J.
Undercarriage started with sanded dowel wheels and straight pin struts.
Lou
A quick coat of sealer before light sanding and assembly.
Lou
The wings and fuselage are glued and await putty and blending by sanding. The undercarriage has been started by sawing dowels with a one sided razor blade. Straight pins are cut and super-glued to the wheel discs. The twin nose wheels are one piece dowel with a jewel saw notch for separation Undercarriage doors are scrap wood thinned to approximate to .3 cm (first photo). Doors will be lightly sanded after the glue sets. The last photo has a .010 X .060 Evergreen plastic strip that can be used as an alternate to cutting such thin wood for the undercarriage.
Lou
Propeller blades are cut from the remaining .3 cm wood. Each blade is held in place until the superglue takes hold. The undercarriage is temporarily in place for a photo op. The last photo is acrylic grey being applied as primer. It shows the imperfections and additional sanding required.
Lou
Nice work Lou, have you used your new lens for these?. Regards Paul J.
Not yet. The misses won't let me take it to the work area for dear of dust.
Lou
Just a peek.
Lou
Broke the vertical fin again while doing final sanding. Wood glue this time. It takes longer but fills the crack better. Props have been given a thick coat of sealer.
Lou
Looks good Lou
Another Banshee ?
Gordon
First one in 1/240 scale. I tried in 1/350 scale and gave up after many failed attempts. So being a bit bigger, I hope to be successful.
Lou
The MAD Boom and arrestor hook recess is cut our. The hook is thin wire while the MAD Boom is 1 mm bamboo dowel. It is hard to photograph such small details.
Lou
Painting by brush and then adding masking tape. The vertical fin needs masking after the horizontal deicer boots plane are painted.
Lou
Looking good Lou. Regards Paul J.
Thank you Paul. I need to redo the masking of the windscreen and upper windows need to be a bit bigger. The imperfections sure show up on those close up photos. I had not realized the poor workmanship at the tail surfaces joint.
Lou
Just waiting for decals.
Lou
The first set of props fell apart, so here we go again. As an alternate I made some discs using clear decal film over plastic pie cover.
Lou
Radome is a dowel shaped and cut with the razor blade. Care must be taken as cracking is always possible. This is my second attempt. The wing pylons are .010 X .030 in Evergreen strips. Decals arrived yesterday but had commitments. I hope to find time to complete the Tracker this weekend. CanMilAir decals up to their usual quality.
Lou
Now, the Banshee.
Lou
Very nice indeed Lou, looks great with its ship mates. Regards Paul J.
Thank you Paul.
Lou
All drawings are glued to the blocks. I wanted the top of the fuselage to be flat without having to carve it out so I added a blcok for the canopy once the fuselage was sanded level.
Lou
The blocks are carved however the first vertical fin was discarded and made with the grain running for and aft which is not my normal approach. I listed the thickness of each block as a starting point and sanding will take then down a bit later.
Lou
The horizontal stab is one piece and needs a lot of tender love and care to get it to look decent. It is a step by step procedure using an Exacto knife. Careful sanding is used to get the airfoil shape.
Lou
The fuselage is shaped using the drawing as a pattern. The drawing is not glued as laying down on the curved surface distorts the shape. Sight down from the top and mark the areas for removal. Once shaped, mark off the canopy shape and cut vertically for the canopy to emerge. I screwed mine up and will be making a separate canopy later. The forward fuselage is shaped using 250 grit sandpaper.
Lou
The main fuselage top is sanded to shape and the wings are cut out using the frontal view. The contour of the airfoil is not started as of yet.
The lines on the top of the wing are to help me in shaping the airfoil.
Lou
PS note my new canopy.
The wing wing was roughly shaped and new drawings glued on. The trailing edge is still 1 mm thick. The fuselage is notched to accept the wing. After some test fitting and removing a bit here and there I notched the top of the wing and removed more materiel from the fuselage so the wing is just slightly higher than the bottom of the fuselage. I will add a plug to make the lower fuselage fit to the wings.
NOW that was the easy part. Next the engine recess and bulges.
Lou
Looking great so far Lou.
Cheers
Gordon
Thank you Gordon.
Lou
Taking a side trip away from the engines is notching the rear fuselage for the tail feathers. The vertical fin is glued on but the entire assembly will wait till later.
Lou
Cutting the wing for the engines is tedious. I had to glue the tip of the trailing edge and then glue print paper on top to avoid further breakage during sanding/filing. The opening was done using a small file. The nacelle humps are a half dowel sanded to a beveled front end. This is a trial and error until you get the desired effect. The wing thickness was reduced starting at the mid point towards the the trailing edge. I am not pleased with the tail pipe and will try a bigger dowel for the other wing. I will then pick which ever looks better.
Lou
Wow! you truly are a master modeller.
not meaning to pinch your post put here is the smallest model I have done.
Biggles
Great detailing work Lou, excellent tutorial as usual. Regards Paul J.
Biggles, nice little model.
Lou
Paul, thank you for the supportive words.
Lou
The hardest is making the engines. I changed to a larger diameter 1/8" dowel and sanded it down to fit. I enlarged to wing slots and flattened both sides of the dowel leaving the exhaust cone tapered. The exhaust were drilled out with a 3/64" drill bit. It is hard to get both sides to match so this is currently the result of 3 attempts and even now they are still a bit off. This is very hard to notice with the naked eye but this new micro lens sure pick out the errors.
Lou
The new canopy has been attached and sanded to shape.
Lou
Photo op with all parts in place. Tail feathers still just sitting there. A comparison with Academy 1/72 F2H-3.
Lou
Very detailed!
First coat of primer. Still need undercarriage and pylons,
Lou
Undercarriage is being fashioned from bamboo and poplar dowels and mahogany stick. A bit awkward in this size even viewed in my new magnifying glass. Airframe still needs some sanding.
Lou
Nose wheel strut broke when attempting to bend it. A new struct was made and superglued to the existing wheel and yoke. Struts are sanded bamboo dowels taken from the dollar store place mats.
Lou
Undercarriage doors and pylons are .010 X .030 Evergreen plastic strips purchased locally. The main gear outer door(closest to the undercarriage leg) was made from .010 X .060.
Lou
Final sanding under the mag glass is done and the Light Sea Grey Model master paint is applied over the entire model. Once dry, masking of the upper surfaces will be done for the Dark Sea Grey and silver leading edge. The intake will more than likely be a decals. Masking of the canopy will need a steady hand.
Lou
The drawings under the flying Banshee are 1/144 and 1/196 scale.
Impressive work Lou, well done, looking forward to the finish paint scheme. Regards Paul J.
Thank you Paul. Decals have been ordered from CanMilAir.
Lou
Looking forward to the finished model. Looks great Lou.
Gordon
Thank you Gordon. Maybe you will do Majestic Class HMAS Melbourne some day. It had a much more varied air arm fleet that the RCN.
Lou
Canopy masking and paint. I need to touch up the anti glare panel as it should taper at the front.
Lou
The metallic leading edges do not show up very well in this photo. I need a photo box like Garet had sometime ago.
Lou
Undercarriage on.
Lou
Lou,
Maybe not the Melbourne but a Sea Fury, Sea Venom and a Gannet are in the mix for some time down the track.
Also pondering a Sycamore.
Cheers
Gordon
Gun ports added. CanMilAir advised the decals were in the mail.
Lou
Banshee roll out at 6 PM Jan 28 2016. CanMilAir decals went on well despite my fat fingers. At 1/240 scale, those ejection triangles are pretty small.
Lou
Additional photos.
Lou
The 1/240 HMCS Bonaventure tutorial is complete. The tutorial never closes, so any future questions are more than welcomed.
Lou
Comparative scale photos.
Lou
Lou:
I've been following your progress on these three models over the past while. They are certainly impressive!! I can only imagine how a squadron of each will look on the flight deck of the Bonney.
-ken
Looks great Lou, an impressive decal operation. Regards Paul J.
Thank you Ken and Paul.
Lou
Lou, I have been following your tutorial and the results have been beyond my expectations, I have a "horse" well on the way and look forward to starting a tracker and banshees. I have to say that I was on the verge of packing it in and your instructing technique saved the day. I'll send you some photos of the project. Many thanks. Don
I look forward to your photos Don.
Lou
Here are three photos on Don's (AKA airtype22) wonderful Bonnie and HO4S-3.
Lou
Found a neat place for the 1/240 scale air group. A candy box.
Lou
A perfect fit!
Peter
These are follow up photo's of Don's Bonnie.
Lou