Major components have been cut out.
Pictures to follow when substantial progress made.
Cheers
Gordon
Looking at this picture I would surmise that the wings are silver .Struts and fuselage are white.
Cheers
Gordon
Cleaned up the proposed decals . Still some work needed.
This will be a slow project.
Gordon
At least you can print on clear decals film.
Lou
Was looking at the Instone Airways one which is has white registration on Blue .
Definitely the black on clear is the way to go .
Cheers
Gordon
I also like this airplane. I am looking forward to your production.
Kenji
Have sanded the tail group to shape. Using basswood.
I don't think I'll go down the path of detailing the interior but will do the side windows in clear.
Lots of doped thread needed for the wings.
Gordon
Tail group shaped and primed. Getting ready to apply doped thread method.
Fuselage requires a bit of cleaning up before thinking about the interior.
4 blade propeller roughly done. Pretty happy with the result so far.
Cheers
Gordon
A little bit has been done.
Pretty quick fuselage . Slab sides and curved top.
Still thinking about the interior.
Tail group done . Bit of cleaning up to do.
Wings are next.
Cheers
Gordon
Oops got a little ahead of myself.
Picture attached
Looking good Gordon.
Lou
Got one wing shaped yesterday. I'm experimenting with putting a "slight" under amber in by wetting it and putting it around a former to dry.
Lots of elastic bands.
Going to leave it for a few days.
Gordon
Cleaned up the propeller so it doesn't look like a 4 blade ducted fan.
Have started on fuselage interior. One wing has been shaped and primed.
Found some "O" rings the right size for the tyres.
Picture to follow.
Cheers
Gordon
Wheels have been turned up.
Windows have been installed. I have decided to just clean up the cabin and not do any seating.
In process of making up a cockpit interior.
Pushing on slowly.
Gordon
Novel approach to the interior. Looking forward to more progress shots.
Lou
The hollow interior will certainly add some depth to the model. Following with interest.
Fraser
Thank you Lou and Fraser.
Some progress.
Cleaned up interior. Have made a front and rear former plus a floor for the cabin. With that fitted and closed up it looks ok.
Not going to do interior. Will score the door outline when time comes.
Have made up a "basic" cockpit. Floor ,seat and yoke.
Seat from balsa 1/2 circle with some "grounding/earthing " mesh to simulate a"wicker" seat. A bit of copper wire for the frame.
Acrylic paint to give the wicker impression. Yoke from .4mm ply and copper wire.
Bit more work and then I can close it up.
Started on Undercarriage.
Cheers
Gordon
Fuselage has been joined and given a couple of coats of white primer.
Need to add the channel for the engine controls from the cockpit over the cabin.
Pushing on slowly
Gordon
BAT FK26 so far......
Gordon
Looks fantastic Gordon.
Lou
The open cockpit at the aft end really gives a good scale to the fuselage. It must have been like driving a locomotive from that vantage point looking over such a long cowling.
Fraser
I guess it would have been.
I read somewhere that the idea was that in the event of a crash the pilot had a better chance of survival and therefore give a knowledgeable
Account of what went wrong.
Starting to work on the undercarriage.
Cheers
Gordon
Starting to look like an aeroplane.
Looks a bit rough at the moment.
Lots of BlueTak holding things together.
Gordon
Awesome propeller Gordon. Looking good.
Lou
"pilot had a better chance of survival and therefore give a knowledgeable Account of what went wrong."
early version of a DVDR I suppose :)
GFraser
I guess it was.
Thank you Lou.
Knocked up the exhausts out of 1.5mm brass rod and solder. The brackets along the fuselage I will use flattened copper wire.
Need to make up the radiators and attempt some embossing for the BAT sign that was on the cowling below the exhausts.
Wings are done.
Enjoying it so far.
Cheers
Gordon
Exhausts done. Radiators done. Oil cooler done. Holes in wings for undercarriage done.
More work required on Undercarriage.
Onwards.
Gordon
Lots of fiddly bits done.
Two wind driven pumps on top engine done with a core of .4mm ply and faced with balsa. Propeller from black take away coffee cup plastic.
All horns have been done from .4mm ply with a smear of superglue either side.
Cockpit coaming added. Template for windscreen cutout.
Undercarriage needs to adjusted .
Fuel filler cap added to top wing. Cap added to top of cowling. Cut from bamboo skewer.
The exhaust pipes have a bell shape on the ends. used some PVA impregnated paper . Seemed to work.
Wing struts in progress.
Cheers
Gordon
Great job to date Gordon.
Lou
Thank you Lou. Pushing on slowly .
Gordon
Starting to put the BAT together.
Applied fuselage decals.
Double checking the strut locations and hence holes for rigging.
Exhausts have had the ends fitted. Coat of earth brown applied. Read somewhere that earth brown with a bit of graphite over the top gives a "used" effect. We shall see.
Have to manufacture the exhaust brackets yet. Also two switches for the fuselage on the left hand side of cockpit.
Cheers
Gordon
Great job on the decals Gordon. I use a bit of copper in my paint for most exhaust pipes.
Lou
Fantastic work on the BAT. Watching your progress really make the details evident. As I have noted before, one starts to see an aircraft in a different light as you set out building a model of it. The cockpit looks ready for a pilot, nicely don. Got to admit, the designers of the aircraft may have not thought through mounting the (probably) red hot exhaust pipes beside the passenger windows!! Great looking model.
Fraser
Will try again. All locked up for some reason.
Thank you Fraser .
I think the pilot would have had hearing issues with a 12 cylinder engine burbling away a few feet from your head.
Exhausts and wings attached. Struts and rigging next.
The BAT logo was traced onto some PVA'd and primed paper using Tamiya primer from the bottle applied 3 times with a sharpened bamboo skewer.
Cheers
Gordon
....
....
The pin in the tail is not the tail skid.
Onwards .....
Gordon
Struts done. Undercarriage and propeller added for inspiration. Holes in wings are for rigging ( the next challenge).
Cheers
Gordon
Looks fantastic Gordon.
Lou
Thank you Lou.
Rigging is the next challenge.
Some poetic licence has been taken.
Onward.......
Gordon
Looks really good! A question on paint color. How do you determine the colors of a civilian type aircraft when only black and white photos exist? I am currently in this dilemma on the Orta build
Fraser
Fraser,
Having had a quick look at pictures available for the Orta I can see your problem.
I had the same problem with the Caproni CH1 .
There was a cover painting on a copy of MAN that had the colours which I thought were right .
As there was only one built I went with the only 1/72 model that was around and used that.
With the BAT there have been some models ( scratch built ) built.
So there is a bit of info around on the net for it.
There is one "K-167" which is the second airframe on a Dutch modelling site. This has been done all off white.
There was one that that was operated by Instone airways which was blue and silver.
With reference to the pic on page one G-EAAI was the first airframe. I've decided based on other pic's of it with early straight rudder that the main colour was white. The Upper wing appears to me to be white. There is a distinct variation in tone at the lower wing root which I have taken to mean that the lower wing is silver. The struts are white.
So that's the way I am going to finish it.
I don't consider myself an expert . From various past "discussions" on other forums it comes down to the type of film used etc..,
I won't rake over that.
In the case of your Orta there are lots of possibilities .
I will try and put together some theories (assumptions ) and put them up.
Which aircraft are you considering?
Cheers
Gordon
Fraser,
Some assumptions .....
Pic's found on 1001aircraft pictures and a Russian site.
OO-AMS . I'm not sure if this has been touched up But...
Love the chrome exhaust collector.
It's is painted.
I will assume that they are the colours of Belgium. Red, yellow and black
Overall yellow ? Or a colour similar to the Tipsy a creamy colour. Black over red striping . Black rego.
Underwing rego red.Striping on exhaust red. Gloss black propeller.
OO-AKY. Once again Belgian colours.
Overall cream/yellow. Red fuselage. Yellow? Fuselage reg.
Underwing rego black. I would surmise that the upper colour of the wing is red (wraps around leading edge.
OO-ABI. Natural metal cowling . Overall cream/yellow. Possibly Blue fuselage rego. Not sure on the wheels..
It is a very nice looking little aircraft.
Hope this helps a little bit and doesn't add to the confusion.
Cheers
Gordon
Thanks Gordon. Your analysis if the coloration is going to be a big help. I had not considered that the aircraft of the time would use the national colors.
Attached are two pictures from the web of the exact aircraft I am building. The overall lighter scheme is the one I am trying to recreate. The two tone version of the aircraft appears to be a red based paint (dark) that the aircraft received after it was rebuilt from an accident. The landing gear collapsed after a forced landing...
I received an article from my son-in-law's family that showed both schemes at different times. The lighter one is my focus because of the ARPIC logo on the tail. His company was an early air compressor manufacture that was eventually bought out by Atlas-Copco. The darker scheme has his grandfather at the controls.
Thanks very much. I will now consider and off white or a yellow Belgian flag color or possibly a tan color.
Fraser
Fraser,
I like the family connection.
I am impressed with the colour scheme on the "red" one.
Looking forward to further progress.
The link below has some links in it that you may have already explored. There is a shot of OO-ALL that looks like it's silver . Check the overspray on the inner port tyre.
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/89685
Cheers
Gordon
Found this.
Lou
Thank you Lou !
I did contemplate the "Instone" one .
There are enough challenges with G-EAAI.
Pushing on with the rigging.
Cheers
Gordon
A tonal experiment.
Great job on the ribbing.
Lou
That is great idea to look at the painted model aircraft in a B&W format. I think I'll try that by making a few sample color tests and seeing how it looks in B&W.
Fraser
"The link below has some links in it that you may have already explored. There is a shot of OO-ALL that looks like it's silver . Check the overspray on the inner port tyre.
https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/89685
Cheers
Gordon"
Thanks for the link. I finally got to view it. Great information!
Fraser
Glad to help.
Sorry if I've been a bit slack with pushing on with completion. What time I've had has been put into my son's EDF Hunter.
It's all sheet and block . Compared to a 1/48th model there is a lot of it.
Cheers
Gordon
I am now at the stage of finishing off.
Have managed to get all the rigging completed. Used elastic thread through pre drilled holes. It is clear coloured so brushed with a light wash of silver to knock it back a bit.
All that is left to do is make up a windscreen, add the radiators , oil cooler and wind driven pumps.
When that's done there is some rigging to do attached to forward cabana strut. Then glue the propeller tube in.
Probably all done by end of next week.
Cheers
Gordon
Pictures to explain a bit better.
The white smear on the cowling is a repair when putting pin hole in for rigging. Yellow tape is holding the remaining rigging.
Propeller tube is made up from brass tube from bits box. It is done like a plastic kit propeller.
Cheers
Gordon
That will be a magnificent model when done Gordon.
Lou
I like how rigging ads so much to the look of the model.
Fraser
There is a fair bit of it. I wouldn't class doing it as therapeutic but once all the locations have been drilled and you get on a roll it
Seems to go OK.
Decals added to wings. Control horns added and rigged.
Tail skid added.
This leaves a couple of rigging points, adding the windscreen, radiators, oil cooler and a couple foot pegs on the rear fuselage.
Should be done by end of this week.
Gordon
Currently battling with the wing decals which have some crinkling.
Slowly seems to improving. More Micro Sol.
Gordon
Nearly done. Just leaves permanently attaching the wheels and a windscreen.
Gordon
Magnificent build Gordon. You really capture the realism of the BAT FK26.
Lou
Well done Gordon! - ken
Finally finished. The are some small omissions. Slight deviations and a very small amount of poetic license.
Cheers
Gordon
And a couple more.
Outstanding project You have outdone yourself on this one. An excellent addition to your collection.
Lou
Thank you Lou.
Took a while. Learn a lot. Enjoyed the build.
Managed to turn out an acceptable 4 blade wooden propeller.
Now I can start something else.
Cheers
Gordon
That is a beautiful looking model. Lots of interesting details to appreciate and the workmanship is excellent. it was fun following your build!
Fraser
Thank you Fraser.
Leaned a bit from doing this one.
Cheers
Gordon