Peterf's 1/4 scale Falcon Models Tiger Moth

[PeterF]

I have seen many ways that the crash pads have been built previously. Carved from a balsa lamination and then covered, carved from pink foam and covered etc. The Duncan Hutson model has them moulded integrally with the turtle decks so only need covering. I thought that I would make mine flexible rather than rigid, thinking I would cover a foam block that I had shaped.

When looking round for a starting piece I found some old foam tube that was meant for a 4 cell NiCd receiver battery, which was just the right size. I split this length ways to give me the two crash pads. I then cut some 1/64" (0.4mm) ply to a curved shape so that when it was sat under the turtle deck it would extend into the space above the instrument panel and extend outwards the required amount when covered with the foam rubber. The foam rubber was then cut on the free edges to match the same curve as the ply. The next bits takes some thinking about, but the foam is placed onto the ply in the opposite direction. The middle of the bottom of the foam is glued to the ply and when set, the sides are glued to the bottom, which means pulling the foam around the curve in the ply, so that it now follows the right shape. Unluckily, I did not photograph the first gluing step to explain this, hopefully the sketch will suffice. The top is then trimmed back to be the right length to meet the turtle deck and the underside chamfered to a 30-45 degree angle. The middle of the top of the foam is then glued down, followed by the sides, which need to be pulled forward to follow the curve in the ply plate. Trial fit the pads at this stage.

The covering is with a sheet of 0.4mm latex rubber with a matt surface. The edge is cut to match the curve of the outside of the foam and glued onto the top of the ply from the middle to the edges, stretching the rubber so that it sits against the edge of the foam rubber. Once it is attached to the top of the ply, wrap it under the foam, around the outside curve and back to the top of the ply. Glue to rubber to itself, starting at the middle with some stretch and then plugging and teasing the outside edges around to keep a taut covering over the foam. Trim the loose material off and then make sure that the ends are glued shut.

Foam battery protector split into 2

Initial cutting and gluing operation

Bottom of foam glued to ply

Trim upper edge to 45 degree

Top of foam glued down to ply

Test fit

Bottom edge of rubber glued to middle of ply

All of bottom edge of rubber glued to ply

Middle of rubber stretched around and top end glued to ply

Top of rubber glued to ply all around, the foam is now completely covered

Start trimming

Installed

 

Edited By PeterF on 02/04/2018 18:23:43

[ron thornhill]

Hi folks, I have been following this post with interest and am impressed. It was I who used magnets on the root covers, I set the magnets flush into the cover and the rib. I did toy with the idea of the canopy clips but they seemed too much of a faff. For my crash pads I stretched leather over balsa pads. There are photos in a very early post, it's been over two years now since I finished my Moth.

[PeterF]

Ron, good to hear from you again, I am amazed how long it has been since you completed your moth. Thanks for the magnet idea, it had sat in my mind all that time until I got to this point, just forgot where it came from. I hope you have enjoyed your moth and that it continues to fly well.

[ron thornhill]

no I remember now, I used pink foam for the pads.

[ron thornhill]

Pete, I'm afraid it is in need of a bit of repair. I can build ok but not fly too well, had a bit a tip stall trying to turn at scale speed. Have not flown anything since.

[PeterF]

Ron, sorry to hear that, I think most of us feel the same way about our building vs flying skills.

[cymaz]

Posted by ron thornhill on 02/04/2018 18:31:37:

Pete, I'm afraid it is in need of a bit of repair. I can build ok but not fly too well, had a bit a tip stall trying to turn at scale speed. Have not flown anything since.

Sorry to hear that..

[Manish Chandrayan]

Peter

Thanks for the detailed how to on the crash pads. A factoid on the crash pads. These were stuffed with horse hair for the cushioning. Now I will try my hand at making a set using great many ideas shown by you.

Ron,

Sorry to hear about the mishap but we modelers are always ready for such, the moment we have our models leave ground. I am sure you will have her repaired and flying soon

[PeterF]

Posted by Manish Chandrayan on 03/04/2018 17:48:49:

Peter

A factoid on the crash pads. These were stuffed with horse hair for the cushioning.

Manish,

If I find some Shetland Pony hair and redo the crash pads on my model, will that make them scale?

[PeterF]

More of the scale details have been added.

The wing walkways are sheeted from 1/64" (0.4mm) ply with 1/32" (0.8mm) strips on the edges. These were heated to form a permanent curve on them. Then some 5/32" x 3/16" balsa strips were added in the middle of the walkways, again being wetted and heated to create a permanent bend. The non slip surface was Solarlac with a dose of flatting agent and some micro balloons which gives a good finish. The walkways are screwed down with 0 gauge csk head screws from Model Fixings.

The oil tank screws on the plane I am modelling have some very large thick washers. I put some 1/4" (6.35mm) aluminium in the lathe and milled a flat on either side, drilled it our for the 0 gauge screws and then parted off some washers. The oil tank drain is a small piece of aluminium turned to make the nozzle and a 6BA bolt with a washer glued onto it.

[PeterF]

I have now added the venturis and the magneto switches. Both have been machined on my small Taig (Peatol) lathe. Initially I was thinking of buying pre-machined venturis, but I decided to have a go myself and they have turned out OK. I messed the first one up part way through and had to start again, but now I am retired I have the time to do this sort of thing and learn more about machining. The are made from two parts, the venturi itself and the mounting post / flange bracket and the two are bolted together with a small 2mm bolt inside the mounting post. The magneto switches were turned on the end of an 8mm bar with two slots milled in with a small 2mm end mill, with holes being drilled at angles for plastic rods for the switches.

[PeterF]

I assembled the plane this afternoon for the first time since covering and painting. I have found that I will need to rework the landing and flying wires as I could not attach the wings to the fuselage properly. With the addition of the two layers of covering at the interplane strut and metal fitting locations (covering plus pinked tape patches) the wires obviously need to be a little bit longer or something like that.

I have weighed the plane and without batteries it comes to 6.26kg (13lb 13oz) and with the batteries 7.43kg (16lb 6oz). There is a bit more scale detail to add, but nothing heavy so it should not get above 7.7kg (17lb) which is good for a fully detailed flight ready 1/4 scale Tiger Moth. The one downside is that the plane balanced perfectly at the rod across the rear of the fuel tank without the batteries in place. These sit at the rear of the engine compartment so will make it slightly nose heavy, which will need checking when I get it flight ready.

I still have to add luggage door locks, fuel pipework and fuel tank fittings, a decent spinner, pitot tubes, ASI and slot cables.

[Manish Chandrayan]

Those venturi's look great, you can start making them commercially if you wish to.

The model has come out alive now. Not far from first flight

[Martyn K]

That looks superb.. Absolutely wonderful

[Manish Chandrayan]

Posted by PeterF on 06/04/2018 20:57:15:

Posted by Manish Chandrayan on 03/04/2018 17:48:49:

Peter

A factoid on the crash pads. These were stuffed with horse hair for the cushioning.

 

Manish,

If I find some Shetland Pony hair and redo the crash pads on my model, will that make them scale?

I guess that will make it super scale

And for Indian Moths I am sure if they needed to repair/redo the crash pads in India it would have been stuffed with coir fibre, so I shall stuff mine with that material which is easily available and in plenty 

Edited By Manish Chandrayan on 11/04/2018 14:27:22

Edited By Manish Chandrayan on 11/04/2018 14:28:02

[PeterF]

Another topic noted that West Wales Models are closing. They claim to have the last Flair Tiger Moth kit left in the country. I am not sure if they mean Wales or the UK. Other than the Duncan Hutson kit which is now sold by Sarik, there is little choice for 1/4 scale kits.

**LINK**

[stu knowles]

£750! I though that the one for sale at £400 was enough... though I have spent much of my life in Yorkshire. Deep pockets / short arms.

[cymaz]

Posted by PeterF on 13/04/2018 15:30:35:

Another topic noted that West Wales Models are closing. They claim to have the last Flair Tiger Moth kit left in the country. I am not sure if they mean Wales or the UK. Other than the Duncan Hutson kit which is now sold by Sarik, there is little choice for 1/4 scale kits.

**LINK**

West Wales models have a good range of small arms/ rifles.

[alan alldritt]

You could always purchase a Paolo Severin version at almost £6,000 plus shipping - engine extra - £750 seems like a bargain!

[alan alldritt]

I almost forgot to congratulate you on a wonderful model - I tried to purchase same from CS and he said he would put me on a list if he decided to un-retire - no hope of that me thinks.

[Martin McIntosh]

You could purchase a large share in the real thing for six grand!

[PeterF]

Thanks for the compliments one and all.

Detailing continues, is there any end to what can go on one of these. I have machined up a scale spinner from barstock. The rear is recessed to fit over the washer and prop nut and fastens onto the prop adapter with an M3 csk allen screw set into the buttom on the front of the spinner. The prop adapter I have is bored M3 internally at the end so that made attaching the spinner easier. I have not fitted an external nut on the tip of the spinner like the real plane so I have a spinner more in keeping with BMFA guidelines for safety. This has a better profile than the one I bought many years ago.

I have made up the luggage door catches and lock. The lock is a bit of tube turned to a radius on the end face and parted off, glued onto a litho plate disc that has a key shaped hole cut into it. The catches are based a build log of a Flair Moth on the RCMF forum (howls of traitor) which have been modified to more cloesly follow the shape of the catches on the particular plane I am modelling. These were cut from 0.5mm aluminium sheet on my small jigsaw, with two layers of sheet held together with double sided tape to make them the same. These were tidied up, drilled, bent to shape and screwed into mounting blocks that I had glued into the fuselage before covering (I did plan some things ahead).

I have also added a rear view mirror onto the cabane struts in front of the front cockpit per the plane I am modelling. This is a small piece of dolls house mirror, 1.25mm thick, cut down to 14mm x 15mm, which is then wrapped into a piece of 0.5mm aluminium sheet that had been precut to just come around the front of the mirrored glass by about 1mm overlap to hold it into place. Prior to wrapping the mirrored glass an M2 machine screw was passed out of the back of the aluminium sheet and glued in place. The head was ground down until it was quite thin and the aluminium sheet pressed back a little so that it did not push into and break the glass. This was then mounted onto a piece of aluminium milled from a solid 5mm square rod. The whole assembly was then attached to the cabane strut per the full scale using 0.5mm aluminium straps wrapped around the strut with a cushion of rubber that is slightly wider and bolted tight at the open end, clamping the aluminium supports for the mirror. You may also see an empty loop at the top of this assembly, this is ready for the fuel pipe when fitted. The whole assembly was bolted up with 10BA bolts and thread locked.

Machined spinner

Parts of the luggage door catches after being cut on the jig saw and holes drilled.

Luggage door catches and lock completed

Rear view mirror mounting detail

Working rear view mirror, the angled frame at the front corner of the windscreen can be seen

[Manish Chandrayan]

I am sold on to that rear view mirror fixture. Absolutely fantastic.
Are the luggage hatch catches functional?

[cymaz]

Stunning detailing..

[PeterF]

Posted by Manish Chandrayan on 14/04/2018 03:07:04:
I am sold on to that rear view mirror fixture. Absolutely fantastic.
Are the luggage hatch catches functional?

Manish, my luggage door does not open, but the catches could me made functional if made from steel or tinplate, the aluminium is too weak.