Steve Fox

Hi all Just a brief update on the build over the last few weeks. Once again the jobs in the yard have slowed me down. My flying buddies ,40 thousand odd bees have been flat-out making a ton of the Golden nectar. About 40 kgs. I thought it was going to be a poor year given the dry cloudy summer we had. Most of it will be given away to family and friends over the next few months, there is never any shortage of honey lovers. Back to the Morane A1. The fuselage is primed off and very pleased with the results. I am at the stage where I need to close up the cockpit area to move forward. So I decided to do some of the cockpit detail which has consumed rather a lot of time over the last two weeks making lots of small things. I posted a few pictures of the instrument panel a couple of weeks ago so here is an update. Also I worked on the wheels to give them a more detailed look. I came to realize that the Williams Brothers wheels are not really scale so to speak. Again I am not wanting to be exactly perfect in the detail, but to make a good effort. Well that's about it for now, a little fly out at the field on Sunday. Certainly getting cooler now Cheers Steve NZ

Hi I have been enjoying a couple of your build blogs. What excellent work in restoring those models Cheers Steve NZ

Hi WOW A master class in scale building Bravo 👏 Cheers Steve NZ

Hi Yes ,you will be coming out the other side into spring , Jealous!! Thank you for your comment 🙏 Cheers Steve NZ

Happy as Hi all, wellvery pleased with the results o the fuselage. Thank you guys for all the great advice, it is well received. I took a break from the fuselage for a couple of days and decided to work on the cockpit as it will be getting closed in more and maybe awkward to get at. Not overly pleased with the hinges, but all I had. Thee hinges with the pva glue once dry will get doted with brass paint for another area. Secondly is that I realized that the two machine guns kinda of sit low in a bit of a trough in front of the cowl, so I will need to alter that area to suit. Not that I am a scale perfectionist, but I do like to try where I can to get the look right. I managed to discover some brass flanges which fit snugly over the brass tubing for the wheels which looking at the full size seems to be a good fit. Well that's about it for now. The weather is cooling off and we have already lit the fire in the evening several times now. Seems to be an early autumn this year. The summer wasn't much to write about, mostly cloudy and dry. Cheers Steve NZ

Hi all, just wondering if someone could direct me to drawings or pictures of carbane fittings for WW1 planes. Between the fuselage and wing. Just wanting to make a scale effort if it is feasible Cheers Steve NZ

Thank you for all the information, I have not used this method of covering before, but I like how it is turning out!. Thanks again

Hi John I contacted a supplier and they can supply non taughtening dope in a quart which I am not sure how much that is in volume, but I will look it up. Not too badly price so will get it. Apart from that the covering of the fuselage has gone well. A couple of troublesome bits around the tail skid but easily resolved. Just couldn't seem to get a good bond to the Balsa there. Cheers Steve NZ

Thank you for your advice John, that's awesome. I wondered if that was the case about the strength side of it. Cheers Steve

Hi FlyinFlynn thanks for the link ,I will definitely be taking a look tonight. I think a bubble canopy would work well.. Do you know much about using dope? I have some thinners for some strong dope I want to use. I assume the thinner will lessen the strength of it as it is a powerful brew. Your thoughts would be appreciated Cheers Steve NZ

Yes Flyin Flynn I really like this type. It has it all going on Good looks and could have been good competition against the German fighters if it hadn't been withdrawn because of structural issues which lead to several deaths with the wing folding in flight. The pilots that did get an opportunity to fly it liked it. I think to it was over looked by the British by poor documentation from Haigs staff. Haig stated in notation he didn't want it. It is thought that he mistook it for another variation that was a trainer ??. After the wars end several came into private hands and actually set a world record for consecutive loops by one pilot!. Another one was involved in air racing and that currently resides in France. I love the colour scheme for it. Cheers Steve

Hi all Well again a busy week in the yard, I have a list of projects or should I say demands from the one who dreams up all the ideas. But after 42 years I just get on with it!. Most of my spare time has been spent on going over the pull pull for the rudder and elevator to make sure everything is in order. Also tidied up the exit holes so they will be a nice tidy affair But the great thing is I have started to cover the fuselage with the Koverall!!. I feel like a dress maker doing it with all the fabric around the fuselage. Going on nicely now that I have the hang of if after a unsure start not having worked with it before. So that's all this week Oh I found a couple of Morane Saulnier AI pic that I hadn't seen before online Cheers Steve NZ

My sole effort over the weekend! 1 tail cone produced. A few lighting holes, saving weight where I can Cheers Steve NZ

Hi all ,not much to report this week as lots of yard work going on, heading into the autumn now, so firewood is the order of the day to get stored away for winter. You guys will be moving towards early spring almost I guess Still experimenting with colours for the Morane trying to get a reasonable match for the original French 5 colour camouflage scheme. Should start tohave the fuselage covered in the coming week. Just have the rear tail skid to make and a good sand down and dust off. Starting to get the hang of the Koverall now after a bit of trail and error. Cheers for now Steve Fox NZ

Repairs completed and has come out slightly lighter in weight. I will have to weight until later in the week to fly as a fair bit on work wise Cheers Steve NZ