Peter Garsden

Canopy cut to size and glued on using canopy glue which will go translucent when it dries. I find the clear tape the best with the fibreglass reinforcement.

Will paint the chap over Christmas, that is the plan. Next job is the towline attachment. First a 10mm hole through the nose. This is the multiplex attachment which fits into the hole. One has to fix a 1.3mm rod inside an outer. The rod protrudes 3mm beyond the bar and takes the loop of the towline. When the bar is retracted the loop and the towline comes off- very clever and efficient. This is a SLEC closed loop outer left over

When I assembled my pilot he was a few mm too wide so I have to shave some width off his shoulders. His head and arms were separate so making the job easier. I sanded down each shoulder to size then cut a piece of 1/64" ply over the hole for the arms to glue to. I then filled the holes where I had cut away with Milliput which worked a treat.

Well, nearly Christmas and the workshop is verrrryyy cold.....brr.... And I forgot to take pictures of me making the instrument binnacle, which basically a base of 3mm liteply with two ends butt jointed and a piece of 6mm x 3mm spruce glued to the top then a piece of .8mm ply for the front instrument panel. I found a replica Petrel instrument replica on the internet - I had to resize it then print it on photographic glossy paper and attach the instruments to the back then glue the whole thing onto the front after painting it black, and the frame silver. Incidentally silver only shows up over olive green base so that came first in two coats

That glue was so thick Ron, it was like a Mars Bar. Layers and layers LOL.🤣 Next step was to make the corner support pieces out of 6mm ply. Lots of sanding using the disc then more 5 MINUTE Epoxy. Masking in place to stop it sticking of course.

Thanks guys. Am busy preparing to return to work as a child abuse lawyer after a few months off. You are never too old to work. Planning to retire at 70, God willing. Anyway, this afternoon have steamed and bent 2 pieces of 3mm x 6mm spruce to act as Canopy structural rails to be glued to the 3mm end pieces and fortified by 6mm ply gussets - oooh ahhh..... it is easier to bend 2 pieces of 3mm x 6mm than one piece of 6mm square, obviously... then glue them together with 5mm epoxy to hold the bend in position...clever designer this Mr Williams. This photo shows them clamped to the side so that they form the same shape as the cockpit but packed out with pieces of 1.5mm ply to account for springing back once released. Actually spruce is easier to bend than balsa surprisingly.

Thanks chaps. Not an easy build. Anyway the next step is to spread P38 car filler over the joint to give the wings a neat join. In an ideal world you wait until it starts to go off then score the join with a Stanley knife. What you don't do is do something else and forget about it then have to cut through dried filler. This is why there is so much white filler where I cut in the wrong place!

Thought I would do a little assemble to give me some encouragement

I thought I would show the system I used to bend the plywood to shape:- Get the kettle to boil but open the lid before it reaches boiling point and it will continue to boil and the thermostat will not click off. Use rubber gloves. Even so the steam makes your fingers hot. Try to bend the plywood and when it is soaked you will feel it give. Don't bend too far or it will split. It gradually bends with the steam which funnels down the piece. Use wide masking tape to hold the bend. Keep bending and moving the masking tape which shouldn't come off as long as you keep the steam under the curve. Bend the plywood over the curve of the fuselage, and tape it/clamp it in position. Let it dry for a few hours so that it clings to the shape. Glue and tape/clamp it in position and leave to dry

Thanks Mike. Next job is to cover the lower fuselage with 1/32" ply. When I first looked at Chris's photos I thought it went on in one piece. WRONG! Chris confirmed, after I really struggled to make it fit, that it goes on in two pieces. So much easier. I found some really good clamps on the internet which worked really well. Also wide masking tape and clamps. I first made a paper template though you could make two - one for each side. I steamed the ply over the kettle which keeps boiling if you leave the lid open. When it started to bend I strapped up the bend with masking tape to ease the bend. Incredibly one can bend it double. This shows only one half glued in position. I split the one piece in two with my band saw.