August 2009 Ping

[R.F.Bennett]

PING!


STATUS REPORTS! ALL HANDS REPORT!

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2795 files in 204 albums and 16 categories with 348 comments viewed 138771 times

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Most Online:    68 - August 07, 2008, 05:36:35 PM
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[lastvautour]

August already, seems just yesterday I was making the July ping.

1/144 Nil

1/72 Nil

1/48 Argus - two engine nacelle carved and one partially sanded. The tail horizontal plane has been cut to shape and awaits carving.

1/32 Starfighter - All components are completed with priming and shape sanding almost done.
       Waco AQC-6 - Major components completed but require sanding. Upon selecting  a specific aircraft (CF-CCW http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/CF-CCW.html ) originally bought by the RCAF, I discovered that a number of changes had been done to the aircraft that do not show up on any drawing. The lower wing ailerons do not exist and the upper aileron is twice as long. The rudder is also a different arrangement. So putty and sand paper in hand they were modified. The engine is finished and installed. The cowl forward lip is being fattened up a bit and the undercarriage is being fashioned.

There are other projects in mid stream however they are collecting duct on the shelf.

Other - The plastic ESCI 1/48 F4B Phantom II is complete and on the shelf. Photos are posted on my flickr account.

[Paul]

Not much progress on solids last month, I got distracted by a plastic kit.  I'm building a 1/32nd scale LVG from Wingnutwings.  I did find a way to incorporate woodcarving into the kit though.  Rather than mask and paint the plastic propeller to simulate laminations of contrasting wood I decided to build the propeller out of laminations of contrasting wood.  I planed and sanded basswood down to 0.027" for the layers.  I assumed that soaking such thin pieces in stain overnight would get the stain all the way through.  Nope, just the outer surface was stained, so I used the dark seams as a guide to re-stain after I finished carving.  The hub and decals were taken from the kit.  I made an extra prop to stick on the end of my rotary engine cook up when I get back to that.

[lastvautour]

Very nice work Paul.

Lou

[cliff strachan]

Nice looking props, Paul.

Cliff.

[Ken Pugh]

F-102 is built and has its gray coat.  A failure with the markings means I will pursue making my own decals, which will slow down progress.

With the jet slowing down I will shift to the monster Hellcat.  The sub-assemblies are mostly built and landing gear parts need to be assembled into complete units.  A little bit of detailing then glue up of the sub-assemblies.

Ken Pugh

[Balsabasher]

Funny how a theme starts and you build a few models around it,the Meteor Racer turned out so well that I decided to make it a stablemate,the plan for the Hawkes HM-1 'Time Flies' was loitering around my desk here and seemed a likely suspect,and so it evolved into the big chocolate painted airplane shown in the latest uploads,there are still a lot more big radial ngined racers out there to model but another subject caught my eye in the shape of the Kling Racer which was the 1937 Thompson Trophy winner,no this one is not a radial but it sure looks sporty !

Two SIPA 70's are currently on the bench and at the finishing stage,these post war small airliners have such a design history that they had to emerge as solids,there were no plans so I drew up my own to 1=36th scale.

I think it about time to consider a big DH.89 Rapide,having built one to 1=36th from George Coxs excellent 'Aeromodeller' plan I think it is time again to reproduce this attractive design in wood soon.

For rainy days I make up basic block packs slipped into polythene bags,when I need to get carving these are excellent to just pick up from the shelf,at the moment there is a Bell Airacuda,Fairchild Argus,Brewster Bermuda and a Stinson Vigiliant.

About time for a whirlybird so I have my eyes on the Sikorsky S-51 Dragonfly as done by Veron kits and the plans of which are in the files here.

There are lots more in the embryo stage which will emerge in due course.
Barry.

[dave_t]

Barry,
       There is a good thread on the SIPA S.70 at the same forum I mentioned before. Here is the link if you haven't seen it....

http://www.airwarfareforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=9497

Can't wait to see your model.

Dave

[Balsabasher]

Yes Dave it was because of your directions to that excellent site that prompted me to draw up the plans from there,the two models are sitting in front of me now in grey primer awaiting paint tomorrow,it is a really cute design that lends itself well to solid modelling,thank you.
Balsabasher Barry.

[dave_t]

They look great and fast work too ! Maybe the first models ever made of the SIPA 70?

[Boomerang]

Greetings from the Antipodes.

Time got away on me for the July Ping.

- Gloster VI - Temporary hold - Episode of crinkle finish.

- Cireva C25 - Progressing - Final shaping and finishing.Further work on the Pobjoy.Simulating ribs and stringers.Bust of pilot

- Curtiss XP-55 Ascender - Kit of parts,rough shaping of fuselage

- Supermarine Type 224 - Kit of parts

Acquiring drawings of several aircraft that interest me and scaling up to 1/48 and 1/32.

Excellent work appearing in the gallery. Barry's prolific.

Cheers

Gordon

[JeffH]

Greetings everybody!  Just a quick note to let you know I'm still around.  

It's been a busy summer and there hasn't been much time for model work.  The Grumman Goose parts have been glued together and sealed/primed, as have the Lockheed 12 parts.  The Beech 18 was the last model I managed to finish, so those two have joined the collection of grey primered models cluttering my workshop.  For something new, I've started work on a 1/32nd Cessna 340, but it's still in the early stages.  I hope to have some pictures to share before too long.

I'll attach a picture showing how I hollowed out the cowlings on the Grumman Goose and Lockheed 12 models.  The cowlings are made by first drilling a hole through a suitably sized piece of wood, then inserting a bolt through the hole.  Next the protruding bolt is chucked in an electric drill (which serves as a lathe); the cowling is then shaped using various grits of sandpaper.

To hollow out the cowling, I inserted the drill bit back into the hole and clamped it in the vise on my Dremel drill press attachment, offset from the tool centerline.  A tungsten carbide cutter in the tool does the cutting.  With the tool running, I rotate the cowling piece with one hand, and operate the plunger with the other and watch the sawdust fly.  As material is removed I reposition the cowling piece to enlarge the hole.  Afterwards, the waste material in the center is ground away free hand.  Dremel makes several tungsten carbide cutters and they work great for applications like this. http://www.dremel.com/en-us/AttachmentsAndAccessories/Pages/AttachmentsDetail.aspx?pid=9934

Jeff

[lastvautour]

I have tried several times to use my frill or drill press to make round cowlings. mine always come out lump sided, hence I carve mine by hand using a template and elbow power. The hollowed  area is done with a drill bit somewhat smaller than the cowling and then the materiel removed using a gouging tool. It is a long process and has mixed results.  Regardless, thanks for the tips. I await your finished projects.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

I agree Lou,no easy task,I have found that forming a circle impression by use of a suitable punch can aid the cutting procedure,on large cowlings then Pizza or food cutters can prove useful,or perhaps a fly cutter spun around against the wood may assist ? this is certainly an area for experimentation.
At the moment the most useful tool to me is my flexi Dremel with a router type attachment which is simply hand held into the front of the cowl,you can slip if you are not careful but that scored ring certainly helps run out.
Barry.

[R.F.Bennett]

PT 09 Finally has a full set of Torpedo tubes and turrets along with a first coat of the final paint.
16" four piper has a new set of brass funnels and a refined bridge, Bamboo masts are fitted.
Strombecker F-86 awaiting canopy, final paint, and decals.
Leo C Motor has a new smaller funnel and awaits detailing.
Working on refined PT09 plans based on PT18 plans found on Ebay.