Greyhead46

After much delay my 5” Williams Brothers Vintage wheels have arrived; although they are not in their catalogue DB Sport & Scale ordered them from America especially for me at no extra cost, excellent service! In the past I’ve used Williams Brothers wheels and although they are quite expensive I considered them to be good “value for money” because of the quality and detail of the moulding. As I’m sure you know they recently went out of business, someone else now produces the wheels, and I have to say I’m rather disappointed with the result. There has been some damage to the mould and because the surface is textured to represent the fabric covering, it will be difficult to remove the blemish without it being obvious. Also the valve detail is poor; it looks as if this is a produced by a separate insert in the mould, perhaps the original has got lost and been replaced with an inferior version. I’ve decided that something has to be done with the wheels. One thing that everybody seems to complain about with Williams Brothers wheels is the weight; they are heavy but in the past I’ve been prepared to put up with it because of the quality. Having “attacked” the wheels it’s obvious why they’re so heavy, the plastic mouldings are a good 3mm thick, so removing ½ the back is a considerable weight saving exercise in its’ own right. I started with the back face for a couple of reasons; firstly, if it turned out to be a complete disaster any repairs would be less on show and secondly it lets me see the internal structure. In fact there is very little internally, the two sides are simply joined at the hub and the outer rim so there will be no problem drilling the “valve hole”. My idea at the moment is to use Solartex to make a cover, if it works it may well look even better than an “original” Williams Brothers wheel but it’s a job I could have done without. The front face of the wheels has the area between the spokes where the valve hole will be removed, I also reduced the length of the “spokes” as I prefer the look of the wheels where only the first section of the spokes shows through the fabric covering. Before applying the Solartex the surface is wiped over with thinners to remove any residue of mould release agent and given a coat of Clearcoat. First I tried to cover in one piece, shrinking the outer edge to make the “cone” shape; there was enough shrinkage to take up the correct shape but it proved impossible to get it even. I eventually cut the disc of Solartex along a radius opposite the valve hole, bonded it around the outer edge and cut off the excess then worked towards the centre using the iron It took me 4 attempts before I got the method right but the finished wheels look just right; not perfect, the “faults” are now as they should be, small creases in the fabric (not obvious moulding faults). The valve hole doesn’t look round in the photo but that’s just the matt black paint, which I’ve painted the insides of the wheels with. The valves are made from lengths of 2mm brass tube with the ends threaded. The valves are heated up then “melted” into the rims so the ends show through the valve holes; just the back to cover now, that’ll be no problem as they are virtually flat discs.

I’ve never been entirely satisfied with the original radiator grill and have been looking around for an alternative; unfortunately I’ve not found any cheap DIY type material so have had to resort to buying some etched brass. The result is a lot more realistic, it’s not true hexagon but it is about the correct size and being so small it certainly looks right. From the right-hand picture you can judge just how small the holes are. Having sorted the method, the second radiator frame went a lot easier than the first and although it’s been quite a fiddly sort of job I’m really pleased with the end result. When everything’s painted PC10 except for the slats themselves they should make quite a “feature” on the front end.

(At this point in the thread I described how I made the radiator slats. However these proved to be unsatisfactory and after a few trips to Redmarshall I made replacements, so what follows is a “cut and paste” from later in the original thread) I made the originals from aluminium glued to thin piano wire rods which in turn were glued to the aluminium frame, with the engine vibration they have become loose and pivot at random so some slats are open while some are closed, which doesn’t look good at all! This time I’m soldering tinplate slats to thin brass rod and making a tinplate frame. When faced with the task of making numerous identical parts, in this case I need 60 slats, it’s a lot easier if you make some form of jig. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate affair; this is just a 2mm ply box with 2 slots and a removable plug. The tinplate slat and brass rod are “tinned” then assembled in the jig for soldering. The wire is trimmed to leave 2mm either end before removing the block and the finished slat. 6 down only another 54 to go! It didn’t take too long to finish off the other 54 radiator slats and then it was onto making the frames. The first thing was to bend some tinplate into a thin channel section. When bending tinplate it’s best to hold it in a vice between 2 pieces of metal, then using something like a metal rule produce the bend by “folding” the tinplate. If you try to bend it using your fingers you’ll get a “wavy” bend and if you use a hammer the metal will stretch and the finished bend will end up with a pronounced bow. I printed out a guide to help me get the 30 holes in the correct places. The holes were then punched through the channel section using a pin and pin hammer. The holes were punched rather than drilled because it produces a slight “collar”, which gives much more area for the solder joint to the radiator slat pin. The slats were soldered to one side first using a strip of 0.4mm ply as a spacer to ensure all the slats have the same clearance with the side frame. At this stage things look very “rough”..... .....but once the second side is soldered in place the excess solder and brass pins can be “Dremmelled” away and all that’s left is a neat row of pin ends. Top and bottom frame sections soldered in place complete the job ready for the mounting brackets. This is much stronger than the original aluminium ones I made; they do of course weigh a bit more but being right at the front of the model it shouldn’t make any noticeable difference. The shiny “tin plate” finish of the new radiator slats just didn’t look right so I toned them down a bit with a coat of silver Solarlac before soldering them to the lugs. They don’t look quite as good as the original ones I made from aluminium but at least all the slats should stay in the same orientation so the overall effect will be better. (We’re now back to the original thread so any photos of radiator slats are also of the original aluminium ones but the rest of the construction was not altered). The railway track pins will be used to attach the finished frame to the brackets that hold the unit to the radiator. Before fixing the radiator slats to the fuselage all that needed to be done was to solder the brackets to the track pins; a simple job or so I thought! This is where I hit another problem; my “new” supply of track pins won’t solder, they must be made from a different metal. Of course for their intended use in model railways it doesn’t matter whether or not they’re solderable so I can’t really complain. Anyway it was quite a job removing them without damaging the frame; I should have checked before gluing them in place but I never gave it thought!

The tank cover side extensions are quite a complicated shape so it makes sense to use a template for cutting the litho plate but taking measurements from the model can be awkward, there always seems to be something that stops you getting the rule in the place you want! A template is drawn as accurately as possible then scanned into the computer and several copies printed out. Cut one out first and check the fit; if it’s OK first time all well and good but most likely you’ll have to adjust the other templates as required, this one needed the front “tab” moving slightly forwards. Selotape the template to the litho plate and cut out, it cuts easily with a scalpel but the blade won’t be much good for cutting balsa afterwards. The false hinges are made as described in an earlier post. Once glued in position the hinges show up very well and really add to the “realism factor”.

When it came to actually making the rear brackets I decided against my original idea and made the strap hinged; I used a thin mylar strip epoxied to the inside of the strap. The brackets are attached to the fuselage by a 14BA bolt through the top flange; I don’t want to drill the longerons so the bottom flange is just held with epoxy, which will be further strengthened by covering with frayed tape. The pinch bolt would have held the bracket together on its own but the mylar is a bit of “belt and braces” and it will also make sure that there’s no “metal to metal” contact between the bracket and the litho plate end of the exhaust pipe.

The front exhaust brackets are very substantial units, but then they need to be, there’s a good length of exhaust pipe to support on the SE5a. I soldered them up from brass tube, squeezed in the vice to make it streamlined section, and brass sheet. When the bracket is fitted permanently the bolts will protrude from the fuselage so that the nuts are on the outside and obviously the pinch bolt will be cut down to size. My idea at the moment is for the exhaust complete with brackets to be attached to the engine, which is attached to the lower cowl sides, thereby making the whole unit removable. The rear brackets are a bit of a problem because they aren’t bolted on from the outside, they will have to be made as 2 parts, the arms, attached permanently to the fuselage will plug into the exhaust pipe, I hope! The “rusty pitted” surface is created by a 5 minute epoxy / micro balloon mixture. It’s spread thinly over the entire surface, where more pitting is required leave a slightly thicker layer and keep dabbing it as it cures, I use my finger for this but that’s probably not to be recommended! When the epoxy has cured, it takes quite a while being such a thin layer, paint all over matt black. This isn’t the final colour, it’s just to make the “rust” less uniform and it also needs to be applied very sparingly, we don’t want any of the pits filled in. A photo showing one exhaust matt black the other with its coat of “rust”, which is far more varied in colour than is evident from the photo. On exhausts that are more than just stubs the rust usually follows a distinctive pattern so the rust is painted to reflect this, there is very little rusting in front of the exhaust stubs. To finish the effect use matt black, rust (Humbrol 113) and mixtures of both and dry brush until you’re happy with the result. I find the best brush to use for this is one with short, fairly stiff hairs and to use progressively drier coats. By finishing off with a virtually completely dry brush the matt black develops a slight sheen so characteristic of exhausts.

Whilst I’m sure that the SE5a wasn’t designed with the sole intention of making life difficult for future aeromodellers, at times it certainly seems that way! Most early aircraft would make do with a simple cut off tube for the exhaust but not the SE5a!! The end of the exhaust is quite a complex affair, the modelling of which involved a lot of “metal bashing” and the construction of a couple of jigs. The end of the exhaust tube has also had to have some work done cutting apertures behind the louvers and holes and the litho plate will need to be faired in with cellulose stopper before painting. The full size exhausts are in 3 sections, the front, which consists of the exhaust stubs and collector, the middle section is a straight pipe and then the rear section. I’ve left the model exhausts in 2 sections, at least for now as I work on the brackets. A coat of silver Solarlac shows up any areas that need more filling, especially where the litho plate joins the rolled paper tube. It may seem strange to go to all this trouble to get a good finish when we want to end up with a pitted “rusty” finish but it is a lot easier to get the right effect starting from a consistent surface.

The engine detailing is now finished; the SE5a had most of it’s engine inside the cowl so there’s no a lot to see! On both sides at the front there’s a copper oil pipe with a large brass fitting. On the left there’s this, (no idea what it does but it’s very prominent). It’s made from a cut down cartridge, in this case a 223, a nut, aluminium tube and copper wire. Last but not least there’s the take off for the RPM gauge on the rear of the right rocker cover; the flexible drive is 22swg solid core copper wire wrapped with button thread.

Hello Albert Thanks for the reply, that's a Laser 70 and it is a good fit. I like to design my models to be as small as possible to fit the engine because I think with power (and chocolate) there's no such thing as too much! I agree you have to be careful with Paxolin but I actually built this model over 12 years ago and I'm still here. Grahame I have encountered a problem with the rear exhaust pipes; I rolled them from paper as usual and left them overnight to dry but in the morning they were all bent. I’ve never had this trouble before but these are quite a bit longer, maybe that’s what caused it? I’ve done one leaving it on the former (an aluminium tube) overnight and that has stayed straight so that’s the way to do it, but of course it means I can only make one pipe per day and I need 4 altogether. With the front exhaust section in position I can tell what detailing needs to be added to the engine; because the “normal” view will be looking down on the model, the spark plugs, which are fairly well hidden by the exhaust on the full size, are clearly visible. They are made from a 2mm nut, some plastic tube, a pin and a length of wire. Being white they stand out quite clearly although the camera doesn’t show them as well as in real life! Perhaps it’s the angle that I took the photo so here’s one without the exhaust in place that shows the finished effect much clearer. The lower cowl is held in place by ¼ turn “buttons” that pass through slots, I've modelled these from plastic strip. The model shop didn’t have any “X” section so I glued 2 “T” sections together then working with small files I shaped the fasteners. They are pushed through the preformed slots in the cowl and secured from the back with a drop of thin cyano. It’s all these little things that make cowls one of my favourite parts to make; they are so individual to each aircraft.

The exhaust starts life as simple tubes rolled from paper; a convenient thing about “rolling you own” is that it is easy to get the correct diameter, just keep adding extra turns until it’s right! I used watered down PVA glue this time and finished off with a coat of thinned shrinking dope. Holes are drilled, slightly over sized, and the exhaust stubs glued in place with the unit fitted to the engine to ensure everything lines up, then any gaps filled. The rounded front is made from balsa. Because the exhaust is round the flanges and holes aren’t; if you’re good at maths and familiar with radians you could produce a template but I found it easier to make a jig! Luckily the front section of the exhaust is near enough 15mm diameter so a piece of copper pipe with a couple of holes does the job. To make two flanges a strip of litho plate is wrapped around the pipe and held securely with Selotape then both holes carefully reamed out. With the litho plate removed any burrs are cleaned off, the rivets embossed and the outline drawn following the shape of the hole. One exhaust is ready for filling, the other needs to be cut in half and the centre flange fitted.

A point worth mentioning is that the lower cowl consists of flat plates so for these I’ve used litho plate that hasn’t been annealed; it’s not as easy to work with but in its original state it will remain flat a lot better. The dummy engine is now glued in position and a start made on the dummy attachment points. The top cowl is quite a complex shape so the first thing to do is to make a cardboard template, initially from the plan then adjusted as necessary to fit the actual model. The left hand side was covered first using non-annealed litho plate cut to the above pattern. I suppose it says something about my building that the template needed some minor adjustment to fit the right hand side but then again I wouldn’t be surprised if the full size cowl needed a bit of tweaking to fit correctly! The cowl is a fairly tight fit around the 2 dummy cylinder heads and with also having to accommodate the cabane bracing wires it is quite a fiddly job to get it into position but once there I think it looks good.

Before covering the top cowl with litho plate the hinge needs to be made. In the past I have tried making non-functional hinges by scoring around plastic rod but they look too perfect for this type of model so I’ll use litho plate and introduce some imperfections (perhaps not intentionally!). First the litho plate is marked out. The slots are cut using a scalpel (No. 15 blade) and carefully sanded from the back to remove the “burs” leaving a very thin slot then bent around a length of piano wire. The flaps are bent out before the piano wire is removed. When the hinge has been glued in position it is faired in using cellulose stopper. The lower cowl sections have had their litho plate covers attached and the insides painted with silver Solalac. I prefer to use coloured Solalac to fuel proof the engine bay because it is easier to see if you miss anywhere, also if you can see the inside through holes etc. it looks a lot more realistic than plain balsa. The sides are attached to the engine plate so things don’t look “square” because of the engine down thrust. The lower cowl in position. I’ll fit the dummy cylinder heads before I cover the top cowl with litho plate so I’m sure everything will fit together.

There is considerably more work involved in getting the dummy engine to a stage where it can be test fitted than I had anticipated; so much so that I’ve decided that I might as well complete the construction before fitting. The exhaust flanges were drawn in PhotoShop and printed onto sticky labels; then stuck to1/32nd ply, cut out and glued to the block, which is a simple balsa box. The lugs for the cylinder head bolts are plastic tube and are actually fitted to the head not the block, they will be faired into the block once they are joined together. The main construction of the dummy engine is finished and it has been given a coat of silver Solalac, which, as usual, has shown up some areas that need a bit more work. I can now get it fitted temporarily to see how much is visible and add or remove as appropriate. A photo showing opposite sides of the engine. At the moment it looks very sparse; it’ll look a lot better once all the “plumbing” associated with an engine like this is added but that’s for later, it’s too fragile to add at this stage. The cylinder heads and blocks are from cast metal painted black and as such don’t have a smooth finish; Solalac is very good for producing this effect. First the wood is given a couple of coats of sanding sealer to fill most of the grain then a coat of Solalac; a second coat of Solalac is applied quite thickly and when tacky “stippled” with the brush. The paint is obviously too glossy as applied, but it shows up the finish nicely; it will have to be “dirtied up” a bit. I’m glad I kept all my broken and cut down 14Ba bolts, they’re just what I needed for the rocker cover bolts, I never throw anything away!

I’ve made 4 brackets, bent from ½ mm steel and silver soldered, to hold the lower cowl sections utilising the screws that hold the Paxolin engine plate. It might seem a bit “over the top” using steel for the brackets but being fastened directly to the engine plate they will be subject to vibration. It’s better to be safe than sorry and the extra weight at the front isn’t too much of a problem. A 1/16th ply plate is glued to the brackets and once again because of the vibration given some physical support by being “riveted” using model railway track pins, then the balsa sides glued to the ply. I’ve tested the fit of the cowl top and everything is OK so before I do any more to the cowl I’ll get the dummy engine to a point where it too can be test fitted. A simple balsa frame and 1/64th ply covering makes a good starting point; being a “V 8” engine there’s twice the fun!

I’ve not yet decided on the best method for making / attaching the cowl. The engine cylinder heads project through both sides so the alternatives are to make one unit complete with cylinder heads or individual sides with the cylinder heads attached and a separate top; both methods have their pros and cons but as the starting point is the same for both, the decision can be put off till later. The initial framework is constructed using the fuselage as the “template” (not the plan) to ensure accuracy. At this stage the framework is quite flexible so it is firmly wedged in position before the 1/16th balsa skin, which will give it its rigidity, is added. The rear of the cowl buts up closely to “F2” and what cannot be seen in the above photo is the cling film used to stop the rear former being inadvertently glued to it. The front former is set back because the final litho plate skin will have slots to clear the cabane bracing wires and fuel pipe so the cowl will have to be slid back into position. The cling film did its job of stopping things gluing themselves together when the 1/16th balsa top sheeting was added. Weighing up the pros and cons of my 2 ideas of how to do the cowl proved more problematic than I thought; I kept changing my mind as to the best method, I’m a man of instant indecision! In the end I’ve decided to go for “Plan C”; the top and sides as separate units all removable, but just how to execute “Plan C” I’m not yet sure, it’ll make the construction more complicated but will have all of the pros and none of the cons of my original ideas. The top section of the cowl is ready for its litho plate skin but I’ll wait until the lower sections are completed and I know everything fits OK before I do that, a 2mm bolt at the front, which will be disguised by the radiator filler cap, and a peg at the rear hold it securely in position. From underneath you can see the method of attachment and the carbon fibre used as reinforcement. The “legs” that held it in position whilst the balsa skin was added have now been cut off.

Hello Albert Thank you for the reply, I think? Grahame The engine will be bolted to this 2mm Paxolin plate that in turn is screwed to hardwood bearers; there are doublers where the bolts and screws go. The Paxolin is plenty strong enough to support an engine spinning a well-balanced prop but in the case of a crash it will break before the engine crankcase mounting lugs. I’ve seen some ARTF trainers with engine mounts made from aluminium easily twice the thickness of the lugs; I just hope they don’t ever crash! Having said that most also seem to use MDS engines so maybe it wouldn’t be such a loss!! Sorry if you happen to like them!!! When the plate is screwed in position it adds greatly to the overall stiffness of the front; not that it was weak in any way before. The carb and exhaust are not “set” for this model, in fact I’ve not yet decided whether to use the standard exhaust or make a custom job. I always use an air filter, when you think about the size of the hole through the carb at full throttle and the amount of dust etc. that gets thrown up during take off I think it makes sense. A small stone would play havoc with the insides of your engine, especially a four stroke; filters are cheap, a new cylinder head isn’t! Paxolin has a degree of flexibility whereas Formica type laminates are quite brittle but as is often the case the perfect material for a particular job has some health and safety issues, in this case quite serious ones; that is why it’s no longer available from your local model shop and has to be bought "trade". I always wear a dust mask when cutting or sanding Paxolin and if possible do it outdoors.

The first job for the lacing is to make a hem on a strip of Solatex; here the fold line has been drawn with a soft pencil and a start made on folding, adhesive-to-adhesive. When the folding is complete the hem is stuck together using the bare minimum of heat for the iron, we don’t want any shrinkage that would cause bending, then the non-hemmed edge "frayed". One strip is ironed in place first but of course the hem remains unstuck and can be lifted to make the stitching easier; this photo also shows the results of the beads once covered. The next strip is ironed in place using the first as a guide, the stitching positions marked and pilot holes made with a pin. I found the easiest way to proceed was to stitch about 5 or 6 inches, leaving the stitches very loose, tighten 2 or 3 inches then continue stitching and tightening in sequence. When the lacing was completed, as far as I can, the whole lot was given a coat of thinned dope to seal everything together. At the wing joints there is an aluminium cover, which is riveted to the front but held by the lacing for the rear section, so the lacing will have to wait until the wing stubs are covered. This will not be until after I’ve confirmed the positions of the wing bracing wires so will be some time yet!

My original drawings just ensure that the construction leaves enough physical space for the radio gear in a position where it won’t be too obvious, the exact positions of the individual items is continually updated as the build progresses but there comes a time when you have to make the final decision! All the interior work is completed for the rear of the fuselage so the sides can now be covered; this involves a couple of things that I’ve never done before. The cockpit decking is fixed using dome headed screws that are then covered with the linen and the fuselage sides are laced, so I did some tests to try out my ideas first but no “in progress” photos because I didn’t know if the ideas would actually work! My first idea for the screws had been to use a thin strip of litho plate embossed from the rear but I rejected this because the strip would show through the Solatex, pins would need holes drilling at least partially through the longerons so that was out. In a previous post I mentioned that I’d bought some very small beads, they’re called “Accent Beads”, from a haberdashery store and these have indeed proved to be the answer. I made a small indent using a blunted pin, filled it with slow cyano and placed a bead into it using a dampened toothpick to pick it up. From this photo you can judge just how small these beads really are.

I’m always amazed at the number of models that seem to have had the radio gear added as an afterthought, decent models spoiled by a row of servos bang in the middle of the cockpit. I’m sure with a bit of forethought they could be mounted more unobtrusively and for the last few days I’ve been busy mounting the servos for the rudder and elevator; not the most “glamorous” of building jobs and as such it doesn’t make for a very exciting post, but nevertheless very important; for the moment the control cables are button thread. What might be of interest is the linkage for the rudder / tailskid; the rudder servo arm has two 2mm bolts / nuts, the “quick links” are cut away to stop them fouling at maximum deflection. The tailskid servo arm has it’s splined boss removed and is fitted on top of the rudder servo arm by the two bolts. The control cables are connected by piano wire links incorporating a “Z” bend to provide some shock resistance This photo shows the double-decker arrangement more clearly. Another thing that perhaps I should point out is that the front servo rail isn’t glued but fixed to the side rails by 2 servo screws. I find it quite awkward feeding servos between fixed rails, especially in the cramped interior of a model, so being able to slide one of the rails to widen the gap is very helpful. When looking at one of my previous servo installations a fellow modeller pointed out that he wouldn’t be happy with 3 servos effectively held by just 2 screws. Well I’ve used this method for quite some time and had no problems; there’s no way the screws would sheer before the rail itself broke and routine maintenance ensures that the screws are always tight

Here’s a “quick build”. It’s the oil reservoir for the interrupt gear; simply a plastic tube with a carved spruce handle and plasticard supports painted all over gloss black. It is attached below the instrument panel and points forwards into the foot well. At the moment it’s full length but because of the way it fits it may interfere with the servos so I won’t actually glue it in place as yet. If necessary it will have to be shortened. While the better half hit the sales I visited the model shop and bought the copper tube for the interrupt pipe and the snakes etc. for the elevator. I’ve now managed to “fix” the positions for the servos and therefore the interrupt reservoir; it didn’t need shortening. Here’s a “pilot’s eye” view of the completed cockpit. Not much of the Vickers or the interrupt reservoir showing from this angle!

Hello Geoff I remember it well except mine was a pig fashioned around a balloon! Grahame Some SE5a’s had an extra hatch towards the rear of the cover; I think I’ll add one to take away the plainness. With the bracing wire passing through the cover and the angle of the top “hinge” I didn’t think that it would actually work as such and would really just be used to hold the cover in place, but in fact it does allow the cover to be easily hinged open, I should have had more faith in the designer! Of course now I need to make a convincing mount for the Vickers, as I will be able to “show it off”. With the extra hatch and the other various fittings added the cover is looking a lot more business like. With the cover hinged open the Vickers is visible in all its glory.

Thanks for the replies. Just be careful Geoff you might catch the "scale detailing" bug, it's very infectious and like Covid can be long term! Seriously though, this is just want I hoped for with this thread and I guarantee you'll get more satisfaction than assembling a plastic kit. Hope you'll post some photos. Grahame One coat of resin was enough to give the required strength but being quite a loose weave meant that it needed a lot of filling but to me this was preferable to working with resin to add extra layers. I can’t say that I’ve really enjoyed this part of the build; from now on it will be OK but it started badly, I think as much as anything because I had the wrong attitude, I knew I wasn’t going to like it and that’s not the way to start things. There are a few more small mouldings needed for the SE5a and for these I’ll certainly try out the brown paper technique first and start with a positive attitude! The inside of the cover. The resulting finish will be smooth enough to simulate metal so no need to cover it with litho plate, this is with just one coat of silver Solalac and not yet sanded. The next job is to make the 2 long “hinges” that attach the cover to the fuselage, they have loose pins, so the cover will be removable but not easily. Once again these are not working hinges, when the model has been painted etc and the cover fitted in place it shouldn’t have to be taken off again (unless I want to show off the Vickers!) so litho plate will suffice. Here’s a series of photos showing the method of making a hinge. The litho plate “blank” The first bends. The second bends. Bent around the hinge pin ready for trimming. The assembled hinge glued to the cover. When gluing hinges like this it’s obviously important to not glue the pin so use very little epoxy to “tack” the assembled hinge in place, take it apart and fill in any voids with more epoxy. The same applies when gluing to the fuselage.

On my Se5a I used stitching as per the full size practice, I've had under camber covering lift in the past and didn't want to take the risk!

Because the Vickers takes up most of the space under the gun cover a built up structure is impractical and the cover itself can only be thin so I decided to use my least favourite modelling technique; a fibreglass moulding. For a “one off” I won’t bother making a female mould so first a slightly undersized balsa plug is made, using the piece of decking I removed as a base, filled and sanded smooth. The plug is then covered with cling film; a useful thing about cling film is that it is in fact to some degree heat shrinkable so it’s relatively easy to get it to conform to the double curves. Then the first layer of glass cloth and resin is added, the only glass cloth I have is very lightweight “wing skinning” woven mat, so several layers will be needed to build up the strength. Whilst waiting for the resin to cure I remembered that a few years ago my brother give me an off cut of coarse carbon fibre matting, quite loose woven so ideal for forming around double curves, just one layer of this should be sufficient. But finding it was no easy task; somehow it had managed to fall down the back of the shelf, fold itself in half and hide behind a cardboard box, if it had stayed where it was put I’d have seen it when I got the fibreglass cloth out and saved myself a lot of trouble! The fibreglass was removed and replaced with carbon fibre. Don’t ask me why I didn’t just leave the original fibreglass in place and put the carbon fibre over the top; I put it down to euphoria about not having to do all those extra layers and too much Christmas spirit (most probably in the reverse order!!). After leaving to cure overnight the edges are trimmed, the front cut away and the slot for the cabane bracing wire cut. I’ve used carbon fibre tows to put 3 “ribs” on the inside to really stiffen the whole lot up. Finally a shot of the Vickers in position showing just how little in actual fact is visible from the outside; the stock is partially visible viewed via the cockpit opening and the inspection hatch.

Now for the Vickers machine gun; about ½ the barrel protrudes from the gun cover and only the rear and right hand side of the stock is visible but I’ve decided to build a complete unit. The extra weight will be negligible and in the event of an untimely end to the SE5a it may be salvageable as a useful item. The barrel cover is 1/64th ply, soaked with ammonia and bent around 1/32nd ply formers that are temporarily mounted on piano wire to keep things aligned. The outer skin is litho plate embossed using an old ballpoint pen with the louvers cut and eased out using a scalpel. The barrel is aluminium tube and the flash suppressor plastic. The whole lot is painted matt black. The trick now is to take a soft pencil, I used a 9b but anything from 4b upwards is OK, and scrape the “lead” to make some graphite dust, apply this and then carefully burnish with a lint free rag. The resulting finish is a perfect “gunmetal”. Here are the basic parts for the stock; the sides are 1/64th ply and the core ¼” balsa. The “eject side” has an 1/8th lite ply spring cover. You can see the rivets, which were embossed from the reverse side using an old ballpoint pen as for litho plate The ammo feed shoot is aluminium It now needs 3 coats of sanding sealer and painting before adding the various levers. The top covers are from litho plate but the levers need more strength so are cut from a “bean tin”. The “eject side” having had the matt black and graphite treatment, which really brings out the rivet detail. The extension at the rear is the connection from the interrupt system and will have a copper pipe attached The levers are pivoted using cut down pins and a 14BA nut and bolt, the handle is stained spruce. Here are a couple of photos of the finished article. An added bonus is the fact that it was built entirely from the “scrap box”, they don’t come much cheaper than that!