Farman F250

[Balsabasher]

The plans were drawn up from the card model download that Lou provided,if ever there was a simple aeroplane then this has to be it,the lines are straight and bold in typical Farman fashion built by men of iron who truly believed in aviations future,we owe a lot to these true pioneers,just look at that open cockpit ! the wings are simple cantilever construction with a deep chord,the aerofoil is somewhat unusually flat with no doubt a versatile centre of pressure allowing passengers to be seated at various positions of their choice and not affect the centre of gravity too much,these were the days of luxury air travel and not many could afford to fly like todays cut price airlines in aluminium tubes ! real aeroplanes made of spruce,aluminium and fabric doped on,I would not like to glide this one in on a dead engine,the drag up front must have been awful,its a remarkable machine by any standards.

So to the model, the blanks have been cut out ready for shaping and sanding as can be seen here in the initial stages of construction.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

Way to go. A really sudden urge for the mid war types.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

The radial engine construction is started by making a crankcase,I turned mine up and sliced it off ready to take the cylinders,these are made from an old knitting needle wrapped with auto wire,wrap it tightly then flood the whole thing with thin cyno and allow to flash off,when cured its very tough and holds the wire onto the knitting needle former nicely,next make a simple distance jig for cutting off the cylinders all you need for this is a simple 'L' shaped piece of scrap wood with a stop that measures the distance needed on all of the cylinders,simply lop them off with a razor saw,now for the fun part,pin the crankcase onto a board with a piece of polythene sheet between to stop it sticking to the bench,a pin pushes each cylinder towards the crankcase,with a pin drop thin cyno down each joint where the cylinders meet the crankcase,I will describe the detailing in the next sequence.

The blocks for the fuselage/wings have been profiled and the wing tapers marked and sanded to the required shape,run a pen line the full circumference of the wing outer as a guide on both sides whilst sanding,a useful tool here is one of those cheap flexible school rulers that wrap around the wing shape nicely whilst marking up,sold in supermarkets on the stationery aisle.

Barry.

[High Plains]

  Wow.

I look forward to seeing what you'll build and what I can learn from you. You work fast!

[Balsabasher]

The pushrods were made from bamboo obtained from one of those Chinese pictures you get in a dime/pound shop,there is enough material on them to last you for years,the rocker covers are made from cocktail sticks with one side sanded flat.

[Balsabasher]

Started to make the propeller,here is the first stage in making the blank,keep the propeller on the membrane until the very last minute that way it is easier to handle such small items.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

Love that engine.

Lou

[High Plains]

The pushrods were made from bamboo obtained from one of those Chinese pictures you get in a dime/pound shop,there is enough material on them to last you for years,the rocker covers are made from cocktail sticks with one side sanded flat.

That's a really great engine, Barry, and I love the clever way you scratchbuilt it. I'll have to see how to adapt your technique to 1/144.

[Balsabasher]

Thanks Highplanes,just adapt the material sizes to suit your scale,by using thinner wire say fuse wire which wraps readily you can achieve the same results on the cylinders,by breaking down the complexities of these radial engines you can work out the best way to build them,I always think centre crankcase first,then build the cylinders around that and adding the embellishments as you go along,for spark plugs a dab of PVA glue looks most effective when painted,also you can place dabs of PVA on the crankcase to represent the bolts around it,once painted with a mix of silver and black,with some dry brushed highlights to bring out the detail you would never know it was built from scrap bits and pieces.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

After Lous video uploads today I recorded some experimental ones on carving small propellers,let me know if they work from the links here connected to Photobucket.

I realise they are by no means perfect and I need to get my camera placed so that it is accessible and at a better height as I do not have a tripod or can see any connector for one on my camera ? in the old days all cameras had tripod threads but it appears not now,anyway working on more video demonstrations soon,let me know what you think so far ? here are four short clips demonstrating the carving of the propeller on the Farman F250.

http://s180.photobucket.com/user/UDAZONE/media/SANDINGPROPELLERWITHPERMAGRITTOOL.mp4.html?sort=3&o=0

http://s180.photobucket.com/user/UDAZONE/media/PROPELLEROFFEREDUPTOTHEFARMANF250.mp4.html?sort=3&o=1

http://s180.photobucket.com/user/UDAZONE/media/CARVINGTHEREAROFTHEPROPELLER.mp4.html?sort=3&o=2

http://s180.photobucket.com/user/UDAZONE/media/CARVINGPROPELLRS.mp4.html?sort=3&o=3

Barry.

[Peter]

Well Done Barry! I heard the classical music in the background as well. I usually have music playing or old radio shows. Keep the videos coming.

Peter

[Balsabasher]

Tuned to Class FM all of the time Peter,would not work without it,yes there will be more video's as I learn more about how to do them and the best way possible.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

Nice work Barry. May I suggest that we also place these in the tip section.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

Yes please do so Lou,next time I make another propeller I will do another better improved video,transfer them please I do not know how to do that ?
Barry.

[lastvautour]

I will do so. I want to sort out how I will lay them out.

Lou