Vailly FW 190 1/4.5 (Nick Somerville)

[Ron Gray]

Lovely legs Nick!

[david tilbury]

great to see the 190 on it's legs Nick......coming on great....thanks for the chat the other day

 

cheers

 

Dave

[Nick Somerville]

So, onto the cowl fitting, which I have been procrastinating over as I knew the engine was a little tight across it’s width. The right hand cylinder head rocker cover sits a little further forward than the left side and was a few mm tight.

Firstly I made some rims for the cowl to sit accurately against at the top. These have inset neodymium magnets and matching parts to glue into the cowl when ready. These will firmly hold the cowl in alignment prior to tightening the fixing bolts. Fortunately with this model all four bolts will be easily accessible. Two under the gun cover and the lower pair can be done up with a hex driver inserted through the wing dowel holes (wing will have to be off for cowl removal though).

 

First I removed the area that was making contact with the rocker cover. 

 

 

Then epoxied a G10 patch from the outside allowing the epoxy raise it slightly from the outer surface of the cowl. Also a piano hinge glued in place at the same time.

 

Next some car body filler to blend it all in.

 

 

I fitted a hinge on the other side and blended that in but no hole was required for the rocker cover as it sits further back where the cowl is a little wider. So now I have marginally asymmetric cowl blisters, but once painted I doubt anyone will notice.

Inside I now have 2mm clearance at both sides of the engine so a great relief.

[Nick Somerville]

Having never previously had an RC petrol engine I don’t know if regular tuning of the engine is required once set up. However, I would be surprised if a small adjustment to the needles wasn’t needed to allow for changes in atmospheric pressure on any given day. With the carburettor buried deep in the model I have had to be creative to find an access point to the two needles and idle screw.

After a rummage in the bit n bobs drawer I found a lone gear door hinge that I removed the side that had the pivot pins. Mounted on a length of piano wire between the forward bulkheads, it swings a curved g10 hatch down and provides an easy view and access to the adjustment screws. I am painting the area inside white for maximum contrast and light. 

 

 

The area directly adjacent to the hatch is yet to be finalised as it forms part of the wing fairing at the leading edge. I suspect some of that fairing will overlap onto part of the hatch. A pair of 5mm neodymium magnets keeps it shut.

Edited November 6, 2022 by Nick Somerville

[Ron Gray]

1 hour ago, Nick Somerville said:

I don’t know if regular tuning of the engine is required once set up

My experience of DLE with Walbro carbs is that once setup and tuned they can be left like that!

[Martin McIntosh]

Ditto. Same sort of carbs as on a strimmer, chain saw etc which you never need to touch. If you loose the settings for any reason you can google Walbro strip down and reset.

[Nick Somerville]

After a little head scratching I have made and fitted a pair of canopy rails. Brass tube slotted with an angle grinder (eek) and sandwiched between a split square section carbon tube. There is a round opening in each at the forward end into which a ball link fits in. This should mean I can remove the whole canopy if needed. I have offset  the rails a little to minimise the taper but the top forward part of the canopy will still require splitting and a hinge fitting, as per the full size to allow for the rest of the taper as it is slid back.

 

 

I do like shaping wing fairings and although a little fiddly on this model, due to the pair of panel hinges and various steps in the shape, it has worked out ok. As per the cowl the hinges are simulated. The rear portion is thin steamed balsa sheet and the front balsa infill with a final top coat of Fat Boy lightweight car body filler (lovely stuff to shape). The red blotches are 3m cellulose putty. Good stuff but messy as.

 

A thin litho panel has been formed for the upper area above the vents but won’t be adhered until after glassing the fuselage.

 

Here with the cowl in place. Not easy to see from this angle but that a a fair sized gap where the 4 simulated exhausts will go. Along with the other exhaust exit at the lower back of the cowl and the venting through the cooling flaps I have no concerns of an overheating engine.

 

[Nick Somerville]

Finally satisfied that there was no more to add or do to the fuselage prior to glassing and so got on with what I always find a bit tricky, compared to the ease of glassing wings. While the resin fully cures I have made a start on the canopy frame that incorporates the headrest.
The headrest is connected to the side frame with articulated parts to allow for the change in width as it slides back. 3mm G10 for the rear former and connector. Carbon sq with balsa for the side and light ply with a plastic sheet front for the armoured headrest. The forward canopy frames have also been fretted out from G10, but its very much a work in progress. 

 

[Frank Skilbeck]

On my mates Vailly 190, the canopy and backrest sit on a single flat frame that all slides back, similar to the one in this video , we put the articulation joints on the front of the canopy, if we get to test fly it this weekend I'll take some pictures, meanwhile here's a short clip of us running the Moki up.

[Nick Somerville]

Some progress today on the sliding canopy. I glued up the front and rear frames yesterday and let them set thoroughly overnight. First up I found a flat surface hinge in the odds n ends box and attached it to the top of the front frame with panel pins and cyano. Next a razor saw cut through the top of the frame from the inside up to the hinge with a slight V to allow for the pivot as the canopy slides back. 
 

 

Next up a track was fabricated to hold the rear of the canopy frame in place and this has a release hole at the rear (side tails have release holes at the front of their tracks). The idea is that the canopy can be removed if required but front and back won’t release at the same time.

The top deck behind the pilot has a

.5mm plasticard top layer sprayed silver and a luggage hatch with fake hinge and clasps added along with a few rivets. The plasticard can be embossed with simple details on the reverse before gluing in place. The final colour will be RLM Luftwaffe grey but the silver gives something to weather back to. 

[Nick Somerville]

A little progress on the canopy and cockpit. The sliding canopy fits a treat to my amazement and the articulated mounting of the armoured headrest functions as it should. The forward part of the canopy is now all fixed along with the cockpit coming that has handhold cut outs and the aperture for the gunsights. Just a seat to make up and a few other embellishments.

 

 

[Nick Somerville]

My Best Pilot’s unpainted Gunther Rall (Luftwaffe ace) arrived a few days ago from across the pond. A beautifully modelled and moulded pilot that I enjoyed painting, mixing a few basic colours I had in acrylic pots. He is 1/5th scale so strictly speaking a tiny bit undersized. I have made up his seat from the scrap drawer )just needs a leather cushion) and with these completed I can get on and complete the cockpit area. 
 

 

 

[Colin Carpenter]

U sure that’s not James May , Nick ????😂😂😂😂Regards Colin !!😜😜

[Nick Somerville]

After an enforced break from the workshop for some weeks I have been able to get back in to almost complete the cockpit interior and pilots seat. One thing I have learnt is that it’s worth ensuring that your pilot has firm fixings and so I spent a few hours ensuing I this fella won’t budge, unless I want him to. Fortunately for this model the canopy slides and is removable, so at least access is there if needed. He just needs a control stick to play with now.
 

 

 

[Nick Somerville]

Been working on the front wind shield/canopy parts. Thick acrylic sheet for the bulletproof front windshield and cd case perspex for the quarter lights. A single piece of Lithoplate for the frame which fitted perfectly to my amazement. The pipes are the de-icing system. I still need to simulate/disguise the Robart pin hinges on the gun hood but otherwise it's starting to look the part in that area.

 

 

[Nick Somerville]

This photo didn’t show on my post.

 

[Nick Somerville]

Crunch time for the cowl fixings. After repeated checks, De Luxe Materials constructional epoxy was applied to the two upper magnetic plates and the two lower bolt blocks and they were set in place. I really like this adhesive as it doesn’t move from where it is placed and so hopefully no creep to the adjacent front former (which I had smeared with soft wax just in case). Once the glue cures I can drill through the two blocks from the wing dowel holes and then add captive nuts. One more fixing point still to be added at the top. The cowl is very rigid and will be even more so once a baffle plate has been added, so three bolts plus the magnets should be man enough. 

 

 

The new fan and matching backplate from Fighteraces lines up nicely. The fan I acquired with my plan pack was rather flimsy and Phil at Fighteraces assessment was, “I wouldn’t bolt that to an engine if you paid me”!  The fan he had made for me is not only far superior but also is the correct size and the new backplate is both recessed to match and drilled to match the multi prop fixings. Thanks, Phil.

 

[Nigel R]

I'm pretty sure the full size was dragged around by a bigger propeller than that.

[Eric Robson]

Top secret German ducted fan 😄

[Nick Somerville]

Finally making some decisions and sense I hope of the exhaust. I gave up on finding a way off adding the muffler I had and have settled on this. Note that the fuselage is inverted. The  Three stubs on each side are 15mm copper pipe with olives to give a thicker appearance. A brass rod soldered at the rear allows them to be glued in place once painted. 

 

 

[Ron Gray]

What, no silencer Nick?

[Nick Somerville]

7 minutes ago, Ron Gray said:

 

What, no silencer Nick?

 

As mentioned there isn’t room for the one I have and as I don’t have the skills to make a pair of custom ones I am going to try without.  Have a listen to this: 

 

 

certainly doesn’t sound as bad as a two stroke petrol.

[Ron Gray]

2 hours ago, Nick Somerville said:

certainly doesn’t sound as bad as a two stroke petrol.

Got to agree with you there but I still think that it will be loud!

[Nick Somerville]

A little litho work over the weekend. The stab to fin fairing needed a but of heat to soften the litho enough to work the shape.

The exhaust area was going to be just the G10 beneath but as I have settled in the exhaust exiting here it made sense to provide a little more protection. 

 

 

[Ron Gray]

Some nice work there Nick.