Brian Seymour Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 There were a couple of other jobs that came to light before I could get on with the covering: the nose ring and hinging the inner gear doors. The front of the nose ring needed a facing put on it to blend from the back of the spinner plate to the fuselage. I have built in 3° right thrust into the motor mount which leaves a gap of ~5mm on the left hand side. Scrap from the 6mm thick components was chopped up and glued to the front face of the nose ring: Then the motor was fitted along with the spinner back plate and 80 grit sand paper was run behind the the spinner back plate to gradually sand the the face to be a perfect fit to spinner back plate. The diameter of the spinner back plate was marked onto the front face of the nose ring and the outer edges of the nose ring sanded to match it. I sanded a bit too much in a couple of places so a couple of dabs of filler were applied and sanded back to make a nice blend: You can see from the picture that the cowl has been covered with brown paper. This was pretty simple although I did try to use a single sheet first of all but once I saw that it wasn't going to work out I binned that and completed the job with 3 sheets. Hinging the inner gear door was a bit fiddly but not too traumatic. A pair of small hinges were glued to either side of the lower keel. I tired to bind these by drilling 4 holes through each pair of hinges and threading fibre glass tow through them but it ended in a right mess. Instead, I used CA filler in the holes to act as rivets, possibly a bad idea but I'll drill it out and try again if it doesn't work out. On the doors, recesses were made in the the outer face and the face on the hinge line to accommodate the hinges. Given the experience fitting them to the fuselage, I followed the same procedure and then ran a skim of filler over the mess to cover it up! I'll sort out the FMS/Graham Stone style wires/linkages when I have got a bit further on. You never know I might get round to doing what I planned and lining the cockpit, I did run a seam of filler around the cockpit fairing but haven't taken any pictures. I think that I'll crack on with covering the fuselage next but you never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 The covering is well under way, I used brown paper for the fuselage. This was a bit trickier than the wing as it is a big compound curve but four strips (top, bottom, left, and right) did for the section from the tail to the cockpit. The wing fairing and cockpit fairing were quite tricky due to having concave surfaces and I struggled to get the iron involved but a few chopped up strips were glued on and smoothed out by hand - in hindsight, a dry brush may have been better for smoothing out. I eventually got round to lining the cockpit with balsa and covering it. Again, the iron couldn't be used so the brown paper was applied with just glue and hand smoothing. As covering was the order of the day, the ailerons, elevators, and rudder covered with Solartex. Cover Grip was used to aid adhesion of the Solartex and it was breeze to apply. The next stage of covering/finishing is applying a coat of thinned (50/50) cellulose dope (non-shrinking). A coat was applied to the wings, I had forgotten just how quickly it goes off and the wing was soon given a swift buffing up with 400 grit sand paper. I'll give the wing another coat or two of dope before I applying the primer. I couldn't resist putting her together for a sneak preview: This is my first go at brown paper covering and there are few rough bits for sure but I reckon that a few coats of dope and sanding between the coats will smarten her up a treat. On the plus side, it has been much quicker, easier, and less messy than skinning with fiber glass. Next job will be to get the fin and tailplane glued in and their fairings made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICHARD WILLS Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Lovely job Brian , The brown papering went well . People fuss too much about the ovelapping joints etc , but as i always say , none of them will be noticed when the camo is on . So many people turn up here and look at my original Spitfire , and immediately say " i could never get a finish like that " , I then tell them to run their hands over it . They are always surprised at the rough feel . Too much fussing juts adds weight , so stick the basic plan . Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Just love your approach to this building lark Richard, it really is a refreshing change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 Cheers fellas, the overlaps are easily visible due to the paper being slightly transparent but I expect a coat of primer to make them invisible. Good point about the camouflage, my current Macchi has a multitude sins that are beyond the keen eyes of my fellow flyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Johnson 4 Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Very impressed with the 3d printed parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted January 23, 2018 Author Share Posted January 23, 2018 Cheers Paul, credit to Glynn, he applies a finishing technique to smooth rippled surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 If you tear the brown paper rather then cut it the overlaps are far less visible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Superb build - cant understand why I have missed it and a refreshing change from the usual mainstream warbirds. Just wish it was 1/6 scale.. Martyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 Nice tip thanks Dave, I noticed that about torn edges when some of strips ripped as I was smoothing them out but I didn't have the bottle to do it deliberately - I will next time Cheers Martyn, a 1/6 scale version isn't out of the question but it'll take me a couple of years. I'm putting this to one side for a few weeks to get on with the club Winter build but I am still hopeful of getting her finished and flying before April. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Johnson 4 Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 Posted by Brian Seymour on 27/01/2018 11:30:20: I'm putting this to one side for a few weeks to get on with the club Winter build but I am still hopeful of getting her finished and flying before April. Geees Brian That's worse than a midseason series break.....! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted September 16, 2018 Author Share Posted September 16, 2018 I have neglected to keep this thread updated over the past few months, mainly due to only having brief spells of working on her. She's almost ready for painting, a couple of coats of primer have been applied and sanded back. You won't fail to notice that I ran out of grey primer, I should have gone and bought another can but I had a can of cream coloured primer to hand so I used that. I'll give her a dusting over with primer so that the base colour is consistent, probably the cream colour as there is still plenty left in the can. Before painting I'll get her put together ready to fly so that the control horns and linkages get painted at the same time. I had my original one flying at the weekend. We didn't get the camera out until the light was fading so the pictures aren't all that great.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Johnson 4 Posted September 16, 2018 Share Posted September 16, 2018 Nice pictures ..She has lovely lines and looks fabulous in the air. How does she handle in the wind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 Cheers Paul. She is pretty good in the wind, is was a bit breezy when I flew her, 10-12mph, and she was excellent. I also flew my VQ Models Fiat G59, which is a great windy day model, and the Macchi seemed marginally more stable. To be far, it was windy without being particularly turbulent so ideal for warbirds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted September 7, 2019 Author Share Posted September 7, 2019 I managed to qualify for the nationals with the Macchi, the original one as I haven't got round to finishing the latest one. Bob Fletcher kindly took and passed on some rather good photos of her: I hadn't been to the nationals before, I enjoyed the scale flying competitions leading up to the nationals and qualifying for the nationals was a nice bonus. Flying in the nationals was an almighty buzz, the organisation is fantastic, and the whole event was simply mind blowing. Credit to the BMFA, so many events going on, so much to see, and all running like clockwork - it has to be experienced to be believed! I have made a couple of simple changes for competitions; switched to a 3-blade prop which is a Ramosa Vario-prop 15 x 8, and I have locked the tail wheel to assist with the ground handling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 Sorry I missed you I had wanted to have a chat. Trouble with competing is it takes up a lot of your time, and can miss other events. Congrats on making the Nats Cheers Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RottenRow Posted September 7, 2019 Share Posted September 7, 2019 I would like to add that Brian's Macchi flew superbly at the Nationals and his final position in the results table really didn't do justice to his flights. As well as flying the actual manoeuvres very well (both the mandatory and his chosen ones), the sections of flight between each of them was also flown in a very scale-like and smooth manner. This is, or should be, taken into account as part of the 'realism of flight' score. If I didn't already have far too many models to build / finish I would be sorely tempted to build one myself! Well done Brian for taking part and setting an example to those of us who keep thinking about entering the scale comps. but don't quite get around to it.... Brian W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Johnson 4 Posted September 8, 2019 Share Posted September 8, 2019 Hi Brian, Thanks for sharing that, having achieved that is a real feather in your cap. The best thing about these forums is where we have an opportunity to learn from others knowledge, experience and innovation. I discovered and especially appreciate how much extra effort that involves. Looking forward to the final pictures of the Mk2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted September 9, 2019 Author Share Posted September 9, 2019 Thanks for the kind comments. Nice one on your control-line win Danny, I did intend to head over but the weekend seemed to finish as quickly as it started! Cheers Brian, I struggled with the ground handling which hit the scores but once in the air she flatters my flying. I found flying-only for the indoor scale national a great introduction to the competitions, the models are cheap and easy enough to get flying and the other competitors are a great bunch to spend the day with. Paul, the stuff I have picked up from your Spitfire, Bf109, and Bf110 builds has been grand, your finishing quality is truly something to aspire to - cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 I have got to mention thanks to Ady Hayward who helped and coached me at the Warboys national to get me a qualifying score and his help and advise at the nationals resulted in better scores than I would have had. Thanks also to Brian for calling my manoeuvres at the national. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bisset Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 That is a really beautiful model. What a shame that Warbird Replicas are closing down - or have closed? I don't suppose anyone else will take on the jigs.drawings or whatever. Drat, another fine kit missed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Seymour Posted September 19, 2019 Author Share Posted September 19, 2019 You are in with a chance of getting a set of parts, use the Email Enquiry on the Contacts page of the Warbird Replicas website:- **LINK** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martin collins 1 Posted October 22, 2022 Share Posted October 22, 2022 Not seen this thread before, WOW, what a tasty looking model and beautifully finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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