Well Terri,

Have been taking a little time off from the machine this week....a little work though.

1. tried rolling my own flat wires.....fa-geddit........
2. Pulled qtips REALLY small. yeah, can make them flat, but I think I'm gonna need some structural wite....I gotta have it be able to hold things. Rolling flat is a pain because one can't really get them STRAIGHT...
3. I think I'm gonna use the shortie turnbuckles, along with any PE hardware....except for the PE turnbuckles.
4. The ONLY real question right now is the wire itself. "Invisible" monofilament is so small, nobodies going to see it anyway. I MAY use some wire, silver wire to simulate the RAF wires.
5. Been working on another place nobody looks at, the real fuselage belly. Really bad Roden fit there. I SHOULD have used stiffeners but didn't. Got a ton of putty to get the area level and flat. Thats a lot of fun.
6. I have also been acquiring....."stuff" for my future Abbie build.
7. Sooooooooooooo, I haven't totally disappeared yet.

Thanks for thinking about me.......I've been keeping an eye on all the Compadres.....running around here.

Regards
Steve

Steve, check with Stephen. He found some internet ordered fishing line in kevlar that seems to fit the RAF wire bill. He sent some to me a bit too late for my SE build but I am sure you could order and use this stuff! It is perfect for 1/32nd scale. You can super glue and use just like any other fishing line. IHTH,
RAGIII

I have been following this build, but kept silent to reduce the "I really don't know what I'm talking about" factor because the british guy wires are not an area where I have a lot of knowledge. But here we go. How big were the british guy wires? Divide the size by 1/32, and I think the human eye would not really be able to tell if they are flat. A 1/4 inch guy wire in 1/32 scale would be 1/128 of an inch. Maybe we need Stephen to run out to his garage and check the diameters of the aircraft he has hidden, in case the Kaiser comes out of hiding.

Another solution is to take some fishing line, and scrape it with a No 11.

The build is going great. I am looking forward to seeing it completed since this one is sitting in my closet, waiting patiently to be called to duty at the front.

Thanks Carl,

I have monofilament that I "could" use. It's the correct size. What I am leaning towards is a silver steel wire. Problem being it has to be strung to the tension it will sit in forever. Which leans me back to monofilament............silver if i can find it. But then silver seems to be a present-day restoration feature........don't want that "Glint" from the wires over the front.

Regards
Steve

I was sitting in the kitchen this morning sipping a nice hot cup of Earl Grey when something caught my eye. My wife has some monofiliment that stretches. It is used for beading kids bracelets. I tested it and it seems to stretch to maybe three times its length. "Honey, do you mind if I borrow this?"

We can use this and put some tension on it and it shouldn't sag. With tension, it should act much like the real wires did and add structural support. I am sold on it even though I do not currently have a string bagger in progress to test it on.

So here we go...

Wait for it...

Stretch Magic, .5mm/.019 inch diameter, Bead and Jewelry Cord. Got it at Hobby Lobby.

Steve I was the net the other night and came across this photo , I know I'm late with this , but i thought it was a cool pic . Not sure if this is an SE5a .

Carl,

Might have to check the local craft stores tomorrow. Ive got time, not that close to actual rigging yet.

Today was mundane.......gap fill, putty, sand, polish, Mr Surfacer, sand, polish. Fuselage seems fit well but with absolutely no locking devices. A ton of CA poured into the fuselage to strengthen weak seam. (the term "poured" is a slight exhageration....)



Regards
Steve

Terri that is a VERY cool pic...............I've been to the website, thats where a lot of my references come from. Mine won't be "opened up" that much............

i don't think I saved that particular pic...........oversight corrected now.

Thanks Terri

Steve

Hey , there was a lot of neet pic's on that site . How goes the battle so far ?

Hmmm... Nothing nicer than a cup of Earl Grey first thing in the morning.

My Wife and I were at the local "Mall" on Saturday visiting one of the few banks in the world still lending for home building (Watch this space)... And we were a little early, so I wandered off to the local camera shop to see if they had any empty film canisters (great for paint mixing) which they didn't... because no-one uses film any more...

And then a few shops down is a little art and craft shop... So I thought I would have a look there... And they had beading stuff. I saw the stretchy cord stuff... But as I was unsure as to how stretchy it was and also was a bit put off by the diameter (I think that 0.5 might be a bit heavy for 1/32... BUT it will be great for 1/24), I decided not to get any yet...

I might have to make an investent on spec and see how it works.

Cheers,

Hugh

Hey Terri,

While watching paint and putty dry, I've been spending time researching my next project........the Abbie. yeah I know, got a lot of workt to do on this one.

Have also just been busy with "other stuff" this past week. Will get abck at it. One nice thing about a "GB".........one keeps getting refocused.

Working on seams........... Glue, putty, sanding.

Don't think I'm gonna go with stretchy wire. I'm thinking more and more about straight steel wire cut to length. Might just call that too hard when i try it..............and go with a monofilament and my turnbuckles.

OK, back to work.

Regards
Steve

Love and Not-so-Love

Here is a photo from todays work on the SE5:

1. The leather cockpit padding, not so bad, i don't think. Sitting here watching the Milliput drying, then sanding later, adding stitching.

2. The leather seat cushion.....now that i don't love. I don't love MY work on it, will have to see after some sanding and it MIGHT get to the painting stage. But I REALLY don't like the cushion in the first place. No self respecting "Yanking and Banking and slipping" fighter pilot is gonna sit on one.....he needs lateral support. But.....for now gonna go with the cushion.....just maybe not this one.



Regards
Steve

Hey Steve,

You seen these? Might be a little over scale...

http://www.bredavik.se/flyingwire/Pricelist.pdf

Cheers,

Hugh

I can smell that drying Milliput and got that good look in the eyes. let´s get an Milliput and beer night, kneeding Milliput and drinking beers
What´s wrong with the seat I can just give you one tip, when doing the buttons use a tiny tube, press the tube gentle into the putty and you have 3d buttons.
Just give them a slab off paint and then take a new look. If you´r not happy you can always bring out the putty again and make some gloves to cover upp the cusion.Hint,Hint

Larsa

Larsa,

I'm working on it...............trying to cover up a sows ear with paint. Seat?? we shall see. Cockpit bumper.....looks ok with paint.....so far. I had to get the first coat of paint on it so i can close up the cockpit.

Here's to Milliput and Beer.......

Going to get a photo showing off the different wires for rigging, for comparrison purposes.

Regards
Steve

Oh, I better get some milliput. Are people who use milliput called milliputians

Waiting for some more pictures of this fantastic build. I like the seat cushion. And I do know a great cushion when i see it.

OK.....did the milliput AND beer thing. Only one coat of paint on the leather bumper, just a "place-holder". Lewis Gun ammo can and a few other fiddleys and i close up the cockpit.



Question for the expertan..........Seat belts............I am assuming that they did NOT use the shoulder harness in WWI. Is that a correct assumption?

Regards
Steve

Nope... I have a diagraam of the SE5a Seat belt arrangement somewhere. I will find it and post.

Cheers,

Hugh

The Sutton Harness did not come into use until after summer 1918. Though some pilots did employ homemade shoulder straps that were added at the unit level. This seemed to have be a preference of the pilot. From the factory SE 5 & 5a types only had lap belts through mid 1918. The Sutton was such a"good harness assembly it was later modified and even used in WWII Spitfires.

OOPS..........started painting some of the "long lead" items.........on my "on deck" kit.



I'm back to the SE again. The longer i can stall, the longer it is before I have to face the Rigging.........

Regards
Steve

Steve , your SE5a is coming along very nice . How did that seat cushion turn out ? I do like the one you made , far better then what I would ever do .

You just had to start the D.III did you ! Just couldn't wait . Should have maked on the box ( do not open until X-mas )

Now i really want to start mine but have to much on the go right now .

Terri,

Seat is coming along well i think. Working on the back cushion now as well as the backboard and seatbelts. Got to tell ya......that setup looks really uncomfortable without any real lateral support. I'd even take whicker. Once the seatback and belts are in, I Close up shop.

The "Abbie"....................interesting.......EVERYTHING I've done with the SE I've been at LEAST semi-happy with. The Abbie........NOTHING as met with my satisfaction. NOTHING. And i haven't done that much. I've already scraped ALL the paint that I put on.....off and starting again. I've GOT to at least like each area to even proceed. I've done so much research on it that I HAVE to make it presentable.

Anyway.....I slapped myself in the face for being complacent. Abbie is back in the box....almost, and back to the SE.

Regards
Steve

Well, I can certainly understand wanting to get started on that Albie. Truth is, I will soon be joining this GB with an Albie of my own. Hint, it will be striped red and white, with the initials OAW. Today, I visited the Air and Space museum in DC. Home of the Stropp Albie. Man that is a beautiful bird. Building scale representations is easier when you actually have seen the real thing. Monochromatic picture just don't do this guy justice. I also picked up the Osprey SE5 and D.VII Aces books. Great vacation. Thank the heavens its over.

Carl,

I was "Forced", it "called" me. I had to star a little bit of it. At least the oil paint will be good and dried.

As far as the SE..........I'm waiting for more oil paint to dry, the seat back and cushion. Will attach the sutton harness and then close the sucker up. Then the fun really starts. Photos will be forthcoming.

I won't be getting back to the engine.....and radiator shutters for some time. That will be easily accessible as the cowling will be off.

Regards
Steve

I'm STILL waiting for oil paint to dry...........whew. Make a few changes and have to wait all over again. I don't think I enjoy leather.



Once I get these suckers inside along with the harness, then I'll close it up and get down to work.

Here are a few new exterior shots:





Regards
Steve