Hello everyone,

Here's one more post before I take a little break to spend some time with the family for the holidays.

When I cut out the wings I made them a little long so I could cut them down to the correct scale. Here's the fuselage and wing with the scale drawing.





What I'm checking for is that the wing length and sweepback match the drawing, so the leading edge and wingtip are the main concern here. After a little cutting and sanding to where the back of the wing meets the fuselage, the wing now has the correct sweepback.





Do the same for the other wing.............................





Now the wings and lower fuselage are ready for painting. More on that next time.

Post some comments, please. It's great to hear from fellow modellers.

-Mark

How is this one going mate? Any update for us to see?

Hello again everybody,

I'm back from holiday break. I hope everyone else out there had a great break. I need to dig everything back out and set up my spray booth and I'll have some more postings within the next few days.

Mark

Mark,
Really top notch in all respects. I have a Wings Models Salmson 2A2 and your build is a fantastic tutorial for this medium. If I can pull it off half as decent as yours I will be very happy. I can't wait to see the next update,

Happy New Year to you and all the Wingnuts, Dwayne

Thanks, Dwayne. I appreciate the kind words. I almost bought the Salmson 2A2, also. How does it look?

I just bought "SALMSON AIRCRAFT OF WORLD WAR I" by Colin Owers, Jon Guttman and James Davilla. It is an awesome reference for that aircraft.

I'll be posting more progress soon. Thanks for watching.

Mark

Mark,
I know this is a bit off topic but I've included some pics of the Salmson kit for your perusal. I would say that your reference will come in handy. I don't believe the kit illustrations are to 1/48 scale but they might be. The markings are really cool but it will be quite a while before you get to use them. The metal parts include the interplane and landing gear struts, propellor, Vickers and Lewis machine guns along with some basic gun mount rings and a few other bits. No interior as far as I can see. You will also have to detail out the cowling as none of the venting or plumbing is present. You may also want to check out this build: http://www.internetmodeler.com/2005/april/aviation/Salmson.php. Here are the pics

I'm looking forward to tackling this kit and I think a nice model will result with some hard work.

Good luck, Dwayne

Thanks for all of the info, Dwayne. It looks like it will be a fun build. Lots of room for scratchbuilding (cockpit, louvres, engine, etc.) and the decals are very colorful. The internetmodeller article is very informative. There's a lot of tips and techniques in it. Quite a goldmine.

I appreciate your post. Thanks for sharing!!!!!!

Mark

Hello all,

Sorry for not having anything to post recently. I'm waiting for a part for my spray booth and some paint to come in. It's taking much longer than I expected. Hang in there, when I get my stuff in it will start falling together again. Thanks for checking in.

Mark

I'm a bit slow to catch onto things sometimes and only just read this thread for the first time just now. Amazing build! I think it's a great instructional thread you have going and a very interesting subject.

I think i'm still a way off trying a Vac kit yet- more of a time thing for me at the moment. But there are things to learn from your build that apply equally to regular kits as well.

Good work,

Andrew

Hello all,

My supplies are in and everythings set to get started up again.

I've rigged up the wing floats.............................





I needed to do a little more on the fuselage. There's a strip running up the nose to the "bumper" on the front.



There's a tie off loop on the nose of the actual aircraft. I've used an eyebolt from a model railroad detailing set.





I used the etch mate to bend the loop down.......................



Here it is test fitted on the nose..................



I'll be using a "Lazy Susan" with a glass top I had cut for it for the jig to sit on. I can just take the glass top off and sit it on the table if I don't need it to turn.



I'll check the fuselage and lower wings one more time before I start to paint the fuselage so I can put it into the jig.





Heres' the first coat of "Desert Yellow" up to the tail section.



If there are any rough spots they will be sanded down with fine sand paper to get a smooth finish. Don't forget when you brush on Tamiya paints, you have to thin them down first.

More soon.................

Mark

Most interesting Mark! Have you worked with other paint mediums before or do you just prefer the Tamiya brands?

Stephen,

I've used Testor's Model Master enamels and Acryl paints on previous builds. The fuselage of the Taube was red and white MM enamels and the wings were Humbrol enamels. I like the quick dry times for the Tamiya paints. Less waiting around. I'm going to try the Lifecolor sets soon see how they work.

Mark

Hello again everyone,

I'm going to show how I make a jig starting with the fuselage with this posting.

The first thing is to take the side view and mark the thrust line.



Then measure to the lowest point.



Use the measurement and put a dot on the right and left sides of the paper to create the bottom line. This bottom line will be the sheet the fuselage jig parts will be glued to.



Check everything with the fuselage and mark where the first line meets the front and back of the fuselage with a marker.



Here's the glass for the lazy susan with a .010 sheet of styrene taped to it. The fuselage top view was cut out and taped to the sheet.



Now I need the front marked off with a level line. Mark across the top left hand side of the ruler..................................



Use the straight edge to finish the right side of the line......





On the side view, mark from the point where the fuselage meets the first line to the bow front and do the same for the aft end. The distance is marked with a red "X".



Now on the top view, measure the distance back fron the front end and back end....



Here's the same side view distances (fore and aft) marked with an "X" onto the top view.................



Normally I would use basswood for the jig but I only have balsa on hand right now.



Cut out a measured square....................





Check the edges and sand for the correct width and height if necessary..................



Glue it down..................



The fuselage is a little short so I need to put a few shims under the nose and add a bumper for the nose to touch.



Here's how it looks from above............................



Add a few more balsa squares to the front and back of the fuselage to keep it from wiggling and there you have it.





Now the fuselage is very secure on the jig and won't move while I'm fitting and adjusting the wings.



-Mark

I love following the progress of a Master Modeler. Major inspiration, and pure respect for your talent. Thanks for letting us watch, we all learn from your skill.

warm regards,
Jeff

Jeff,

Thanks for the kind words, I don't consider myself a master modeller by any means. I just do the best that I can with my imagination and the tools I have at hand. I really appreciate it, though.

Here's one more post before I wrap up for the night.

I still needed to make the spool for the wireless antenna. It was unwound during flight and hung below the aircraft with the help of a weighted bobbin on the end.

My punch and die set didn't make a circle big enough for the casing for the antenna spool. So I got out my circle cutter. The smallest circle it made was too big. Here's how I made it.

I cut the smallest circles possible with my circle cutter................................





The circle will separate by bending back the edges.......................................



Here are the rough circles..............................



I drilled a hole into the middle so they would fit onto the cut-off wheel attatchment for my Dremel tool.............................





Next I held a blade against the circles to make them smaller. You have to do a little at a time or the two pieces will melt together...........................



Here's the finished circles with a smaller circle to put between them.....................





I glued it to a mandrel then painted it black.....................



Next I detailed it with a small disk I had left over from the gun cradle and another 1/48 bolt head in the center.........................



I added a handle from a piece of styrene rod. I held the end of the rod against a hot knife to give it a bulge on the end.



The last part was to wrap it with fishing line and add a bobbin from styrene rod.



There you have it. Send out some more comments or questions.


-Mark

Just a quick post.

Here's the fuselage (partially) painted panel by panel. I'm not sure if I like the look of it.



Send me out some opinions, please.

-Mark

Hey Mark,
I would not get too despondant about it yet. I reckon that after a coat of gloss, it will look fine.
Have you used Oils or Acrylics here?

Cheers,

Hugh

Hugh,

I 've used acrylics here. What worked for the interior doesn't suit me for the exterior. I'll strip the exterior down and try something else.

-Mark

Can I suggest Mark,
Spray the Exterior with a medium Dark Brown acrylic, and grab yourself a tube of Windsor and Newton Oil paint. A dark red brown maybe (mahogony? is that a colour in their range?).
Then, I would use a wide brush to paint the grain on the sprayed acrylic using the Oil paint neat. If you find that this is too bold, you can thin the oil paint with White spirit and play around a bit. If you are happy with what is happening, then mask individual pannels to vary the tonal affect. But be careful. The oils take ages to harden (weeks) and handling can ruin what you have done.
I have tried spraying a coat of gloss enamel over the oil, which works ok, but you still need to give it time to harden up (less though than with neat oil).

Brad Cancian is the recognised expert in this method. I have been playing around with it on my BE2c... I don't yet have it down pat.

Anything to add to this Brad?

Cheers,

Hugh

Hello everyone,

Sorry for not having anything to post for a while. I've been working 12 to 14hr. days and just can't make time. Work will slow down in a week and a half and I'll have some new postings.

I hope what I've posted so far has helped a few out there. Thanks to everyone viewing my thread.

Mark

Just a head's up for everyone viewing my thread, I talked to Eric at Copper State Models and he is releasing his 1/48 Grigorovich M-5 with resin and PE. I've already put mine on order.

-Mark

Murphy's law attacks again!
It happened to me with my 1/48 scratchbuilt Nieuport 6H

No problem, I'll build them both! I'll let everyone know when mine comes in. I'll be able to continue my postings next week. Stay tuned.

-Mark

Hello all,

I just posted a new thread for the Copper state models Grigorovich M-5 I just received. I'll have some new postings here tomorrow night.

Stay tuned.

Mark

Mark! ooooh Mark now where did he go? I guess I'll take a nap.