Fw190D build

[maurice northcott]

Thanks Dwain

[maurice northcott]

Not a great deal done today – well, what with "thinking time" and "doing time", it took most of the day but I changed a few bits of the fin. Some of this work was adding wood to improve the fit of parts and the other work was a change to the construction of the fin. Where the front of the fin joins the fuselage of the 190 there are some interesting shapes….. not really difficult in themselves but (to me) a really distinctive area of the aircraft, so it has to be as right (as far as possible) to satisfy me. Another change made at the same time was because I considered the construction of the front lower part of the fin leading edge did not lend itself to achieving those distinctive shapes easily. I cut out the front of the lowest rib and the leading edge from the lowest rib up to the next rib. This area will eventually be replaced by a block “tack-glued” in place (for the time being a ¼-inch sheet central core has been glued in). When the shape of the block is finally developed, the block will be removed, hollowed and then glued in for final shaping and finishing. The part of the lower front part of the fin cut out is sitting on the box in the foreground of the photo.

That concludes most of the actual “building” of the model except for the block referred to above, sheeting of the fin, and the supercharger intake on the right hand side of the aircraft. This being a 190D-11, that intake is far larger than the usual supercharger intake in that position on a 190D-9.

Have a good evening all.... maurice

[maurice northcott]

Another day of work without much to show for it.... but hey, after the main construction, that is how scale modelling goes, and I love it . First of all, I wanted to permanently fit the 3/8" raising piece below the translation from the parallel section and the fin leading edge. To do this required quite a bit of checking the photos and drawings then checking and rechecking the fit of the 3 sections that are all related. Also added a little piece of balsa to the rear of the fuselage former just in front of the horizontal stabiliser leading edge. This provides a location of the front downstand of the piece that will be fitted after the horizontal stabiliser and before the vertical stab. Eventually just after lunch I was able to cut a lightening hole and glue it in place (first photo below). As you can probably see I used pva for this - Vitalbond Westbury Express PVA - I have used this adhesive for many years now, and find it superb. Quick grab time and when set, it is crisp and sandable without any of the "rubberyness" (is that a word?) associated with some other pva. I like to use headed pins for this sort of operation because they are easy-to-see and therefore easy to check they are all removed when the time is ready. How many times do you think you have removed all the pins, then when caressing the model, you find that one that was still in it and you have either stuck it in your hand, or worse, damaged the surface of the model.

Whilst this was starting to dry I decided to try out a new (to me) tool that I thought could help with the cutting-back of the epoxy-glass covering. This is a Black & Decker "Mouse" (second photo). So I grabbed the wing and attacked it with the new tool. Crikey, it works wonders, it takes of the surface superbly. That will get some use over the next few days, not only on this model but also others...

Thanks for looking, maurice

[Colin Leighfield]

Good stuff Maurice!

[Martian]

Yes they are a serious little tool but anyone new to them beware of huge amounts of fine balsa dust so it's goggle and mask time plus vacuum your clothes and hair afterwards

[maurice northcott]

Thank you Colin and "Martian". Yes I had thought about a mask when decided to buy the "mouse". I already have one that suits spraying 2-pack paints so I guess that should be ok for balsa dust and the dust that comes off the epoxy glass.... I have lived this long and want to do a number more models.....

Edited By maurice northcott on 25/02/2017 20:15:13

[maurice northcott]

First thing today it looked great for a day at the flying field, but checked the weather forecast – that said it would soon cloud over, the wind increase (above my comfort level) and the temperature drop. They were spot on! So this morning was spent sorting out blocks in the vertical stab to take the rudder hinges, then a leading edge for the fin. It looks quite simple at first, but there is a critical angle cut into the front of the bottom of it – trying to get that right nearly had me trying to pull out what remains of my hair. Anyway, eventually got there with patience, the old bandsaw and a Permagrit sanding block – first photo.

After lunch decided to make up the fin side sheeting. Each side would have to be 2 bits, so these were marked out on the sheet with plenty of excess around the outline. The edges that were to be glued together were trued up with the Permagrit block, then the sheets were taped together, hold them in place with a couple of small pieces of tape, followed by one full-length long strip – 2^nd photo. These were turned up the other way so the tape is now on the underside and then laid so the smaller sheet overlapped the edge of the board and dangled down – 3^rd photo. A bead of balsa cement was run along the joint using the nozzle to push it along (4^th photo) and the dangling sheet brought back up to the top of the board. The cement is pushed out a little and this is spread along the joint line by use of a finger. Apply a slight bit of upward pressure on the joint and apply a couple more pieces of tape to hold that tension – 5^th photo. Now the second side sheet is made up in the same way but “handed”, this to ensure the side with the cement spread along it will be on the inside of the fin. Always use balsa cement for this operation – first it shrinks slightly in going off, making the joint tighter and second (should there be any outside the joint) it will be easy to sand off.

The 2 complete sheet sides (last photo) are now put away to dry out over a number of hours, probably until tomorrow to ensure complete drying.

Cheers, maurice

Edited By maurice northcott on 26/02/2017 15:50:43

[maurice northcott]

A lot of time spent researching again today – this time it was the different bulges on the engine cowling of the D-11 -v- the D-9. I knew roughly where they were and the shape, but last time I researched them was many years ago.

Anyway, the first job in the workshop was to sand and fix the fin sheets to the fin structure. All the tape was removed from the skins and then they were sanded on what will become the outer face. This is to prepare the outer surfaces for finishing before they are fitted. If the sheets were sanded after they were fixed then the area over the structure would remain fixed when sanding, but the parts over open areas would sag between the structure and an uneven surface would result – first photo.

This was followed by a quick sand over what are the insides just sufficient to remove any “nibs” of balsa cement. The sheets were positioned over the structure just to check they would fit and then glue was applied to the structure and each skin was pinned and taped into position. PVA glue was used in this operation – balsa cement could be used, but it does not give as much time for “shuffling” the sheet into correct position.

Eventually the PVA glue cured and the pins and tape removed.

At this point a number of dents were noticed in the sheeting – 2^nd photo ( have circled the dents with a dotted red line). These had been incurred during the sanding operation – quickest way to get rid of these is to apply some “spit” to the relevant area – 3^rd photo. 2 hours later, the dents had disappeared and the model has some more of my “soul” in it. Blood is already in it, so we are in usual territory.

Now we have a fin sheeted on both sides. Before any further work, it was put aside to let the glue dry completely.

Back to the bulges. These were measured and red marks made on the engine cowling of the fuselage – last photo. These bulges are on the full-size, but It is very difficult to see them on photos, consequently it is difficult to size and position them. Moving on, the basic shapes have been marked out on ¼” soft sheet balsa for later cutting out.

That’s it for today, cheers, maurice

[Erfolg]

Very interesting build for me. I have become a fan of the 190-152 series as time has moved on. Starting from such a ugly aircraft, moving to apparently very functional, then to wow, now that is progressive innovative development of a product done very well.

Although all of my attempts have been with much smaller models than yourself, I have found that the fin was much more difficult than i envisaged. A plate of balsa looking totally wrong. All my models use a structure as conceived for a very small FF version by a Canadian , who i believe was called Hardy.

The other issue, is that the fin area was changed a lot more by significant although not necessarily apparent amounts. Although i do not get hung up on these things, I like to capture the essence.

The final issue I had with the D version is the parallel section inserted near the tail. Seeing a full size one, defiantly parallel. The transport joint used for the insertion being at an angle changes the vertical position of the tail assembly and gives a little banana effect. Which i personally struggled with.

I will keep watching.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

"Ugly Aircraft"

Can he get away with that mods ?

[Dwain Dibley.]

It would seem you actually "licked the fin into shape " Maurice............!!

D.D.

[maurice northcott]

Hi Erfolg - thanks for the comments, but as John Stones 1 referred to.... the 190/152's are all beautiful to me.... - if only they could cook .

The fin was first enlarged by the addition of a parallel section on the rear end and the second time by making the leading edge parallel to the main spar (ie more upright). This latter fin shape was used on the152's and some other Versuchs aircraft - but the Versuchs fins were not all exactly the same (I have official drawings of all). Some people refer to the later fin as a 152-fin, but it was actually (as proven by another official drawing) a revised fin for all later builds of the 190 including the A-10 (there are photos of 2 190D-9 with that type of fin, perhaps there were more). Yes, the most difficult part of the 190 series to me is first understanding the shape of the bottom of the leading edge of the fin and secondly, reproducing that on a model - in fact I have been working on just that all morning. Yes that parallel section inserted in the transport joint (which was at 7 degrees to the aircraft manufacturing datum) also raised the rear end by a small amount due to that 7 degrees, thereby creating the "banana" effect. I have been wearing the anorak since 1973 when I started full-depth research into the 190 series, understanding the design etc. I built the original fuselage on a horizontal crutch based on the full-size construction datum (including the raising at the rear end.......

John Stones 1 - Agreed, get the mods involved "ugly" indeed

Dwain - Hahahaha sure did matey

Cheers

maurice

Edited By maurice northcott on 28/02/2017 12:55:09

[maurice northcott]

Morning All

Not a great deal of photos from yesterday, but a lot of researching and thinking done .. all the blocks used have been more closely shaped and first hollowing out done - the hollowing of the fin leading edge is shown in the first photo, together with the X-Acto tool used to do it. This was from the X-Acto "Router Assortment" No. X135. They come in a bubble-pack nowadays of 4 different routing shapes - all very useful. When the blocks are final shaped, the final hollowing can follow.

I had a look at some of my other 190 models compared to full-size photos. The Meister one demonstrates that Meister did not understand the fin leading edge at all, despite their claim on their plan that theirs was the most accurate model 190 ever!!! The 2 Brian Taylor models seem to indicate that Brian (as usual) was  much closer to fully understanding it. Therefore when I start the next one, I will search out his plan and see if I can incorporate some of his method of construction. How many times, over the years have I said or thought "Thank you Brian" !!!!!

In finishing the day off, I applied a bit of Fine Surface Polyfilla where it was needed - 2nd photo.

Cheers, maurice

Edited By maurice northcott on 01/03/2017 08:14:24

Edited By maurice northcott on 01/03/2017 08:15:09

[maurice northcott]

Well, after checking, carving, checking, Permagitting, checking, rechecking, carving, Permagritting, checking etc ad infinitum, by 1800hrs I was much happier than 24hrs before. Still not satisfied though, so probably more carving and Permagritting to come. Anyway, as from tomorrow I may concentrate on other areas to give my eyes, brain and books a rest - plenty more to do. Photo shows where I was at 1800hrs.

[maurice northcott]

Hello All

Well, yesterday, together with somebody else we spent the day measuring, checking etc and think we have sorted out what is the problem. The leading edge of the fin is too broad. I had 3 options to choose from - leave it as it is; modify it; build a new fin. I decided today to build a new fin. I know from the past that when there is a part of one of my models that I consider is incorrect, it doesn’t matter how much I am assured by others that it don’t look too bad, I am never satisfied. So there we are. Decision made, now to get on with it.

[Erfolg]

Oh my God, you do seek perfection.

All looks good to me.

One aspect that I became aware of quite recently, is that due to the sub contracting to both the experienced and perhaps almost competent, for the same components, not all parts were as drawn, often requiring some butchering to make fit.

[maurice northcott]

Posted by Erfolg on 03/03/2017 21:07:12:

Oh my God, you do seek perfection.

Well yes, with particular regard to what I see as Kurt Tank’s beautiful 190/152 series, yes I do seek perfection. It doesn’t apply in the same way on other models though. But that is what I see as one of the best things about this diverse hobby (some of us obsession?) we all participate in - the modeller has the choice of how much or how little effort they put in.

Today was spent at the flying field and later in the garden using the “mouse” on a couple of wings (one being the 190D). As the weather looks rubbish in our area for tomorrow, I should be able to produce the new fin. As it happens, a bit more delving in the old files produced some info that should help with the fuselage/fin translation tomorrow.

[Dwain Dibley.]

Posted by maurice northcott on 03/03/2017 16:22:23:

Hello All

I know from the past that when there is a part of one of my models that I consider is incorrect, it doesn’t matter how much I am assured by others that it don’t look too bad, I am never satisfied. So there we are.

I'm with you on this one Maurice, I wasn't happy with my servo tray, so made a new bigger one , today I fitted a servo and I didn't like the hole so made a new tray with a new neater hole. Minor OCD perhaps but, if it's worth doing......do it right.

Keep up the good work Matey..

D.D.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[maurice northcott]

Thanks Dwain and Tom, I do hope so I have been working on the new fin since this morning - but I had something else necessary to do today as well. All the new fin is now done except applying the sheeting, deliberately left until tomorrow. As part of the learning curve for the new fin I spent a bit of time practising on the old one. You wouldn't believe but I do have a set of full-size coordinates for the same area on the later "common fin", ie similar to the fin fitted to the 152 series, but not for the earlier standard fin.

Another bonus of the research was the finding of a photo of a radial 190 with the later "common fin", so that's another 190 to make....

[maurice northcott]

Hi All

New fin and fuselage/fin translation basically constructed - see photo below. Please disregard the "belling out" at lower section, still got to do that bit. To my eye it is much more akin to a 190 than that thing I had there a day or 2 back. Happy (or at least a happier) bunny.........

Still a bit of work to do on it today, so I will push on..........

[bouncebounce crunch]

Another build coming along nicely, I like how you have shown others to be problem solvers when building models. i at times have been so frustrated with a problem that half build model will sit for months or years because i have lost patience then any interest.

keep up the good postings Maurice.

bbc

[maurice northcott]

Thank you "bouncebounce crunch".

My opinion is that I have been making models (including free flight) from when I was a sprog - I was so young when I started I cannot put a firm age on it. I was inspired by a 1/72 Stirling made by my Father, who served in them amongst others during WW2. That model was carved from a hardwood but not balsa, the canopy and turrets were made from perspex and it was painted in the paints held on the Squadron. From that I became aware of "scale colour" when I was about 8 years.

RC started for me in 1973.

During my modelling life I had a number of tutors who helped me in many ways and In gratitude to all them, I do now like to pass what I have learned onto others.

I do still retain the ability to learn something new and try to do this at least once a day.

Be the fiercest critic of your own work and never, ever give up in the face of adversity.

Love your "nom de plume"

Thanks again

maurice

 

Edited By maurice northcott on 08/03/2017 07:47:45

[maurice northcott]

No not been hibernating - been out on the porch with the old grey dog and whittling. Well, metaphorically, at least. Been gradually chipping away at the fuselage/fin leading edge transformation piece. Been checking so many photos in so many books, and also using a Revell 1/32 plastic 190D - I know where they got their information from and it looks so so accurate, so why not? Never fails to amaze me how time flies when researching anything....

Off to  the Club tonight, so it will be tomorrow I will commence on some other details - the bulges both sides of the front fuselage (Further research indicates these are far larger than previously thought) and the oft-missed bulge both sides of the tailwheel opening. Also fit the fin cap and the parallel section added to the rear of the fin post.

 

Edited By maurice northcott on 08/03/2017 15:05:55

Edited By maurice northcott on 08/03/2017 15:07:03

[maurice northcott]

Hello All,

Please bear in mind I have written the operations for each item below as if it were carried out in one go – they weren’t – each operation on the various subjects was carried out as time allowed. Consequently the various operations on each component was carried out in rough parallel.

All this followed a visit to the dentist L

Well, first up was the easiest, the fin cap. A couple of blanks cut out with the bandsaw then glued and clamped together. Shortly after they were shaped in profile with the sanding disk. Then they were matched to the top fin rib – they were trimmed with the Permagrit and then glued in place with pva and pinned. Shown in the first photo, although camera angle has enlarged some bits and reduced others, same as I told the wife.

Next was the rear fin extension. This was one method used to enlarge the fin area of the full-size 190D. Like most other WW2 fighters, the 190 series suffered from “snaking” and “porpoising” and various methods were tested to reduce these effects. It was a simple parallel section fitted to the rear of the fin post 125mm wide (to scale, almost exactly 24mm). Back to the model – two blanks were bandsawn from ½-inch light balsa and pva applied to one face of one blank (photo 2).

This was smeared evenly over the face with a bit of spare wood (photo 3).

The second blank was offered up to the first, straightened up and kept in place by a couple of pins until the clamps could be applied (photo 4).

The two blanks for the upper parts of the engine cowl bulges were measured and cut out of soft ¼ sheet balsa – I chose soft because I knew they would have to bend a bit. One of them was pinned into place on the forward upper cowl along the hinge line in that position. The rear end tapers off over what would on a D-9 be the top gun cowl, but the D-11 did not carry guns in that position (photo 5).

Photo 6 shows a view from the front to show 2 things – one is the amount of bending needed so that the blank stays in contact with the cowling (I think it will be necessary to soak the blank in water and bend it over a former and let it dry overnight – when doing this I find it best to bend it a bit more tightly than is necessary and it will return a little, but still retaining the amount of bend required). The other thing shown in this photo is a straight edge running down from the blank until it touched the side of the cowling – this will be the approximate line of the lower part of the bulge. I am thinking at the moment that the best way to produce the lower section of the bulge will be soft sheet again, but with micro-balloons filler forming the absolute lowest part where it blends into the cowl. We shall see….

Last are the often missed bulges around the tailwheel retraction area. The rough-hewn tail underfairing is shown pinned in position in photo 7 (first attempt at fin in the background - never throw anything away until 3 models further down the line, otherwise you will find you need it.

The next photo (number 8) shows the tail underfairing flat on the board and should explain pictorially why the bulges are necessary – when the tailwheel retracts, the front of it would retract into the hole in the underfairing (just), but look at the aft end, its far too narrow for the tailwheel, consequently the need for the bulge both sides.

The last photo (9) shows the oversized bulge blanks alongside the tail underfairing. When fitted and hollowed, these will allow the tailwheel to retract. However, I will not be fitting or finally shaping them until after the underfairing is finally fixed.

That’s most of it for today, there was a bit more work done on the fin but I am sure you have seen enough of that to date .. I know I have, but work will continue

Cheers all

mauric