Albatross DV World War 1 German fighter aircraft

[Balsabasher]

The Albacore's are in the paint shop receiving lots of work,meanwhile back at the workbench things are not idle as for some time now I have wanted to build a model of the Albatross DV to do justice to the subject.
The scale is to my favourite 1=24th which is easy on the old eyeballs these days and I like the feel of big solids that also look great hanging from the ceiling in dog fight fashion !
Firstly four select pieces of pine board were selected from the bargain bundle that was purchased at the local DIY store last week,missing the knots took some doing but when you are dealing with commercial materials that is something you have to just deal with,card templates made the job easier and before I knew it four wing blanks were before me ready for shaping,now this is where it got interesting because the Albatross has undercambered wings and guess what  my pine boards were warped with built in undercamber ! old Chinese proverb says never look a gift horse in the face,so the happy accident was used to advantage and saved lots of tedious carving or as I normally do laminate balsa sheets over a former and bind tightly to set overnight but softwoods do not lend themselves to this operation and the built in undercamberr was a most welcome bonus.
The trailing edges were effectively scalloped with a abrasive paper stuck to a piece of dowel,this effect was caused by the dope tightening the piano wire trailing edges of the wings and it got progressively more pronounced as the aircraft was in service,you could leave this off as a factory fresh un-scalloped wing if you so wished.
I used a palm sander to put the final finish on the wood,give them a try they are cheap and really work well getting those awkward blemishes out.
The wood for the tail feathers was planed down and the parts marked out,I used Gorilla adhesive for this,it works by wetting one surface and applying the adhesive to the other,it expands three times its volume effectively filling any small gaps before sanding flush.
Now I need to find a nice big block of wood for the fuselage !
Barry.






http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_WING_BLANKS_BEFORE_SHAPING.JPG

http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_WINGS_SHAPED_AND_SANDED_1.JPG

http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_TAIL_FEATHERS_MARKED_OUT.JPG



http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_TAILPLANE_JOINED.JPG

[lastvautour]

Nice project. I know things will work out for you. I did not know about the scalloping. I thought is was manufactured that way.

Lou

[Balsabasher]

The piano wire fits into a slot at the end of the rib trailing edge,then it is bound with beeswax thread,the fabric wraps around the wire and doped and sealed,the effort was worth the weight saving.
Barry.

[Balsabasher]

The fuselage on the Albatross DV is a beautiful shape and holds the real vintage character of this particular aircraft,there is nothing really complicated about it but a bit of pre planning as always does not come amiss,for example if you cut the wing slot and pre-drill the cabane strut positions it makes life easier than if you leave this task until the fuselage has been shaped and rounded later,by doing it at the earlier time means that perfectly positioned points will have been made ensuring accuracy.
It is easy to simply cut multiple saw cuts then chisel out the slots for the lower wing and cockpit side profile.
The cockpit shape looking in planform is not round but oval,for this I drilled two holes carefully then with a half round chisel carefully removed the membrane,it is then an easy matter to scoop out the debris and tidy it up with a Dremel tool,if you wish you can drill all the way through and plug the lower but in my case I opted to stop at approx floor level,either way works but if you do the latter then it is easy to place a file through the opening and tidy things up that way.
Notice that the slots for the tailplane have been pre-cut as well,certainly easier than doing it later !
Biplane subjects present some interesting challenges but nothing is that difficult if you tackle it with confidence and as I mentioned earlier do a bit of planning before hand,the end results are well worth that extra bit of effort in building these lovely old flying machines.

Barry.


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_MARK_THE_SHAPE_.JPG





http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_PROFILE_THE_BLANKS_.JPG




http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_REMOVE_THE_COCKPIT_AREAS_.JPG







http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_CLEAN_UP_THE_BLLANKS_~0.JPG






http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_CUT_THE_PLANFORM_TAPER_.JPG








http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_slots.JPG


http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_DRILL_THE_CABANE_STRUT_POINTS_.JPG






http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_LOWER_WING_.JPG






http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/10005/normal_COMING_ALONG_.JPG

[lastvautour]

The master at work!!

Lou

[Balsabasher]

Yes it is good to keep a photographic record,I also think it helps people as well study how things are made and fitted.
Nothing done today I had a rest.
Barry.

[buccfan]

Excellent step by step Barry, after all that you deserve a days rest! I've just bought some of the gorilla glue to glue some hardwood, is the excess easy to clean off when it has dried? Regards Paul J.

[Balsabasher]

Yes it is Paul and this is a big plus point with it,it cures hard and not rubbery like some adhesives,a friend put me onto it,Gorilla do a whole range of adhesives so make sure you buy the one that requires water on one surface to activate it,the water expands the adhesive allowing it to flow into every un-even surface,do some test pieces first to get the feel of it Paul,being really tacky from the bottle it clings really well,ideal for dihedral breaks when you crack the joint and allow a small gap for adhesive.
Barry.
PS Not sure if this adhesive is available outside of the UK at present ?

[buccfan]

Thanks Barry, it is the moisture activated one that I bought. Regards Paul J.

[Balsabasher]

Excellent Paul and note that it is a big bottle for the price as well so should go a long way as not much is needed on each joint the water does the activation process,try their cyno gel range as well these are some of the better quality ones and have good grab qualities,cheaper cyno is made from the by-products of the quality versions.
I am not connected with them in any way just like the products !
Barry.

[Ken Pugh]

Teach, Barry, Teach!!!

Gorilla Glue is available in the US and I was surprised it was available in the UK.  Guess the bureaucrats haven't figured out a reason to ban it yet.  That glue expands and foams so it is great for gaps.  It can bite you but as long as it is used for its intended purpose, it does a good job.

Ken Pugh

[Balsabasher]

Ken it seems that a lot of consumer products these days are international,we are deprived of things like Floquil but there are signage paints that are very similar.

Oddly enough the first job I wanted to do was to be an art teacher,they decried me because I was left handed,I went onto do other things but in recent years became a Master teacher in metaphysics,teaching has been a big part of my life,thank you Ken.

Barry.

[lastvautour]

Gorilla glue is also available in Canada. Pete Morro works almost completely with it.

Lou

[buccfan]

Another lefty here Barry. Regards Paul J.

[Balsabasher]

All of this dialogue on adhesives reminds us of the inadequate sticking qualities of very early Croid type glues etc,the main ingrediant was fish ! how people must have struggled to attach things like struts etc on early biplane kits in the 1930's ? this is why re-creating some of those old kits and plans is so rewarding today.

Then along came the old fashioned bead type glue that had to be melted in a special pan with a double water container,we had one of these in the school woodwork class ( teacher was not impressed with me making the occasional solid from offcuts instead of boring pipe racks !) and it was constantly on the boil,then wartime brought with it beetle glues and recorcinal resins which started to change the way wood was bonded together,the beetle glues could be detected with a mauve stain on one surface as the activator flashed off,in fact the cabinet makers owed it to the aircraft industry for producing reliable good adhesives.

After WW2 CIBA Geigy research at Duxford UK produced the now famous Aerolite and Aerodux adhesives the latter of which became known to us as Araldite the famous two part epoxy resin,Aerolite was a water mixed wood glue with remarkable water resistance once cured,from then on adhesives were influenced by surgeons in Vietnam who were using a new wonder adhesive to stick skin tissues together,yes you are right the name Cynoacrylate was penned and ever since variations have been on the market as gel,thin,medium and low odour with essential de-bonders to release stuck fingers !

Even the polyvinyl acetate acetate adhesives have moved forward into waterproof versions but they still have not got these quite right yet but no doubt they will.

Barry.