WIP Sopwith Triplane N533 'Black Maria'

1
May 23, 2020
A short piece 0.7mm brass pipe on a drill shaft plus some 0.5mm pieces on 0.1mm paper to be soldered.
2
May 23, 2020
Another piece added on top. Needs some cleaning.
3
May 23, 2020
All parts together are a control stick. The open ends visible from top are much nices compared to the flat kit PE. Since I have done the same for my Pup, I just can do without need to think about a solution 😉
4
May 23, 2020
Soldered Vickers: I have PE from Part in my stash, so I started the work on this.
5
May 23, 2020
That is a great set and allows many variants.I used here the jackets with a closed front and openings at the end.
6
May 23, 2020
The soldered seam will not be visible later. I will glue the barrel (I used 0.6mm brass) in place later.
7
May 23, 2020
The result of some work: two Vickers front parts. Gaspatch Vickers are also nice, but I like here the real openings with light going through.
8
May 23, 2020
There is one Vickers on the sprues, but since one marking needs two of them Eduard added two resin casted Vickers. May be I use the back part of them instead of lot of PE parts. This is not decided yet.
9
May 23, 2020
The grey wheels are from the kit, but I will use wheels from a Camel kit (there are two pairs provided). The plastic axle will be replaced by nickel silver half axles.
10
May 23, 2020
The Camel wheels had a wider diameter opening, so I made some brass bushings. Now the wheels are straight on the axles.
11
May 23, 2020
The tailplane of the Pup is moulded, as on early Triplanes, but luckily Eduard added the smaller later tail as resin cast. I cut the elevators and reconnect them, but this needs very careful drilling because the tailplane is very very thin!
12
May 23, 2020
And some woodwork is relaxing too, so the airscrew is prepared.
13
May 23, 2020
Needs some polishing, especially on the back side and more layers of clear paints (Clear Orange and Co).
14
May 23, 2020
That are the kit parts for the cockpit, but additionaly some PE parts are provided, e.g. for replacement of the back wall. Out of the box? No.
15
May 23, 2020
A very nice wicker seat is also on the PE sheet. But there is a warning picture on the WNW Triplane web page: "No wicker Seat"!
The plastic one has a thick wall, so I scratched a new one with wooden seating and alu back rest. The edge is flanged over.
16
May 23, 2020
There is a PE for the dashboard, but I decided to try a wooden one with raised instruments.
The instruments are from another Eduard PE set. A lot of brass parts scratched, the white plates are punched from a yoghurt pot. The pulsator is stretched sprue. I have to think about the compass.
17
May 23, 2020
The middle struts are in real (and on WNW kit) one piece, but here they are splitted. Nice color pictures of real Triplanes show recesses so I tried something new: milling of wood. I clamped the struts and inserted the recesses with a flat milling cutter. It worked!
18
May 24, 2020
Started to build teh Small Stuff Clerget 9B 130hp engine. The first 11 parts are mounted.
19
May 24, 2020
There is a spare cylinder, please not the fantastic details on the head, e.g. the deep exhaust!
20
May 24, 2020
The next step was painting the engine and all the small parts with the shown Alclads.
21
May 24, 2020
The result of the painting session:
22
May 24, 2020
Then 18 spark plugs, 18 valves and 18 pushrods takes some time!
23
May 24, 2020
A light wash with oil paints improves the look:
24
May 24, 2020
A size comparison with a Euro Cent.
25
May 24, 2020
And a final view of those 65 mounted and painted parts on the Small Stuff package inlet.
26
May 25, 2020
A new picture using daylight and a optical polarization filter: The oil wash is still there but not so prominent as on previous pictures. The naked eye see metal, but without the filter the camera see more the highest layer oil wash.
27
May 25, 2020
A extra picture for Bernhard for _real_ size comparison!
28
June 19, 2020
New brass struts.
29
June 19, 2020
Pins hold the cross board.
30
June 19, 2020
With half axles it will look nice.
31
July 3, 2020
I showed the seat itself, but the cushion was missing. So I made it with milliput. The seam is made from stretched sprue.
32
July 3, 2020
The seat belts are HGW. After removing the backing paper (right) there are fine fabric parts to be merged with PE. This little kit even provide optional parts! The mounted belts are on the Cent.
33
July 3, 2020
The seat is merged with painted cushion and belts.
34
July 3, 2020
I show also both sides, because it will be mostly hidden later.
35
July 3, 2020
36
July 3, 2020
The kit has a small PE part, but it looks not very real. According to cockpit pictures I scratched a new part from brass profile, pipes, 0.3mm copper and stretched clear sprue (0.4mm).
If you look closely, you will see that the tank is about half full.
37
July 3, 2020
The fuel gauge is mounted beside the instruments panel.
38
July 3, 2020
I created also a wooden food board, merged with kit PE.
39
July 3, 2020
This is a very small handle ...
40
July 3, 2020
... needed for the pump, created from brass and nickel silver.
41
July 3, 2020
As always: A little paint works wonders!
42
July 3, 2020
The fuselage halves are painted, could be done better.
43
July 3, 2020
But will look ok I think.
44
July 3, 2020
For the frame in the back of the pilot I merged kit PE with some wood.
45
July 8, 2020
To finish the cockpit I thought I need a rudder pedal. The kit provided a PE part, but that is very thin. So I made one from wood ...
46
July 8, 2020
... as shown in WNW manual on screen, see my part on the right.
47
July 8, 2020
I added also control wires.
48
July 8, 2020
From the kit instrument panel I used PE and film for two mini clocks, I think this are counters of the Vickers guns. See on top.
49
July 8, 2020
For the trim control of the tail plane I added control wires.
50
July 8, 2020
For the outlets of the Vickers the Datafile shows only one outlet, and Eduard provided PE part 31, but also only one. The outlets itself are flat PE, so I scratched flattened brass tubes (1.7mm) and tinned them.
51
July 8, 2020
After drilling flat holes I mounted them together with the cockpit parts.
52
July 8, 2020
Now are both outlets "working"
53
July 8, 2020
The good news: the outlet pipes are visible. The bad news: the rudder pedal not!
54
July 8, 2020
I decided to go with the kit back part of the Vickers, so mounted the barrels and PE after modification.
The Vickers are only dry fitted, but the seat is glued in place.
55
July 8, 2020
Raymonds working place.
56
July 8, 2020
The back side of the cockpit.
57
July 10, 2020
At first I had to close the fuselage, but as mentioned in the last update the control stick was missing.
I tried to wrap different wires and threads, but don't like the result. So at the end I used paint for the handles.
58
July 10, 2020
The fuselage was closed and after drying I filed a deep recess as mentioned in the kit manual.
59
July 10, 2020
Now the resin tailplane fits.
60
July 10, 2020
Here comes a carnage! Colleagues with gentle minds, please scroll down!
The Eduard fuselage is completely closed at the tail, which is wrong. So I started here to open it.
61
July 10, 2020
After some sawing, filing, carving and grinding I had worked my way through the thick plastic. All edges are bevelled for more realism.
62
July 10, 2020
The tail skid was made from wood and I scratched and soldered some brass parts.
63
July 10, 2020
At the same place there is also a spindle, which can adjust the elevator. This one is made of aluminum, so I turned it from aluminum. At the bottom is a 0.3mm hole into which a brass tension cable holder will be glued.
64
July 10, 2020
All parts are tinned.
65
July 10, 2020
The skid is completed. The friction piece (0.6mm brass is soldered on a 0.1mm holder) is fixed with 0.2mm nickel silver bolts. The skid can slewing in the hinge bearing. And for steering it can move in the axle.
66
July 10, 2020
So all of my new parts are plugged together to create a nice Triplane tail.
67
July 10, 2020
The size is according to the Datafile drawing.
68
July 11, 2020
On the wings I created the windows as on the Sopwith Dolphin. I created at that time enough pulleys for this one too. I start to add the inner windows on lower wing. They are not visible in the Datafile drawing but another Triplane build made be aware of them.
69
July 11, 2020
A detail shot of a (damn small!) pulley.
70
July 11, 2020
I haven't shown yet the mounted stick, here also the inner cut outs visible.
71
July 11, 2020
The lower wing is not yet mounted, but I drilled the holes for the gear. That scratched metal gear fits 😉
72
July 11, 2020
And now a thing, which I tried already on my Sopwith Pup (see projects).
The back of the fuselage, not much realism.
73
July 11, 2020
So I sanded the details away.
74
July 11, 2020
I engraved new details on the back of thin sheet, with a toothpick hardened in super glue.
75
July 11, 2020
And glued on. The end with a kind of ramp was difficult.
76
July 11, 2020
I modified the tail parts further. I drilled also in the upper side of the spindle a 0.3mm hole, to mount a 0.5mm nickel silver pipe with a pin.
77
July 11, 2020
Plugged together.
78
July 11, 2020
The tailplane is only fixed on the front, the spindle can move the back side up and down.
79
July 11, 2020
On upper side the two nickel silver mounts are visible.
80
July 18, 2020
After primed and sanded the fuselage I added a lot of small PE parts for the outlets of rigging and control wires.
81
July 18, 2020
Please note outlets on underside for control of the tail skid, brass pipes as outlets for the control wires of the elevator. At the end of the fuselage I added a part of the PE frame. The kit fuselage is closed, but at least a PE frame was provided for both sides to show there is something.
82
July 18, 2020
For the other side there is a stitching on the PE frame, but a Triplane looks different, see the background picture. I have a lot of stitching and lacing PE sets in different layouts in 1/48 and 1/72 and glued one of them in place but don't like it. Later I found a correct looking strip on a Camel PE set by Parts so I removed the first one and glued the new one on the side.
83
July 18, 2020
Here again the right side in full view.
84
July 18, 2020
For finishing the wings I need two holders for the inner windows, so I formed them from brass foil according to a picture in the WNW manual.
85
July 18, 2020
Tinned, painted black, a nickel silver bolt added and glued to the wooden spar. After adding the window it looks like this:
86
July 18, 2020
For the middle window I had some trouble to find out information about it. A friend provided a picture of the WNW kit wing, so I added a broken Gaspatch turnbuckle.
87
July 18, 2020
The already mounted pulleys got there windows too.
88
July 18, 2020
The kit PE provided only one outlet for the Vickers (etched to half thickness of the sheet), so I created a second one from brass foil. Due do the location this needs to be different anyway.
89
July 18, 2020
After mounting the lower wing, sanding and primed again, both are glued in place ...
90
July 18, 2020
... and all the wings are masked for the shading.
91
July 18, 2020
At first I added some shading with Mr.Paint NATO Black. Here the upper side.
92
July 18, 2020
And the lower side
93
July 18, 2020
After unmasking I tried a new thing for me!
I drew in Inkscape a lot of strips and after some minutes work of the cutter I could start to mask the interspace between the ribs. It took me most of the time to reduce the adhesive strength. Then I added some layers of white primer to get raised rib tapes.
94
July 18, 2020
The result. I masked a bit early, so the tapes removed some shading - how nice!
95
July 18, 2020
And again as macro shot.
96
July 18, 2020
The view from below.
97
July 18, 2020
Macro. The ribs are raised, the spars not. So I hope I can do later a good pin wash.
98
July 18, 2020
For the linen paint a started with a layer Mr.Paint bleached linen followed by Linen varinate 2, especially on the rib tapes. For the final layer I used the WNW recommendation of Irish linen on Collishaws Tripe of 10 parts white and 1 part XF55. For the normal Triplane kit they recommends XF55 only.
The real look is a bit different, hard to take that subtile effect on pictures.
99
July 18, 2020
For the upper side I used Mr.Paint PC12, but here another layer of paint is needed.
100
August 4, 2020
After more PC12 paint on fuselage and wings some test fit.
101
August 4, 2020
The fin was modified with hole and metal fitting.
102
August 4, 2020
I created a soldered bearing for smooth rotation of the engine.
103
August 4, 2020
The Clerget can be fitted to that axle.
104
August 4, 2020
Test fit, there is not much space to move the engine more backwards.
105
August 4, 2020
106
August 4, 2020
The cowling is modified now. It is so thin, you can see the contour of the cent piece!
107
August 4, 2020
The front view with an added additional slot. The drawing is ok.
108
August 4, 2020
View from below. The Datafile drawing shows a logical mistake, the thin slot is on the wrong side (only in this view from below).
Also the WNW manual of Collishaws Tripe shows only two of the bigger slots.
109
August 4, 2020
I added a bit Evergreen stripes to get more space for the engine, now you can see only a small piece of the thicker engine front.
110
August 4, 2020
But the engine fits now below the cowling and it able to rotate!
111
August 4, 2020
I masked the bird to paint a small part of the underside also with PC12.
112
August 4, 2020
Now again a fail.
I tried to cut masks with the plotter to paint the cockades.
113
August 4, 2020
Ok on lower surface (beside to much paint) ...
114
August 4, 2020
But on upper wing the windows caused a failed masking 🙁
115
August 4, 2020
And the biggest fail: the primer on the tail plane. It is a very hard and glossy resin, so it is very hard for the primer to find some grip.
Luckily I tired some test with removing masking prior the real paint job.
116
August 5, 2020
The Tripe was again masked and primed black. The front and inside the cowling I painted dark aluminum.
117
August 5, 2020
The cowling was also primed, then I added the PE ring provided by the kit.
118
August 5, 2020
Dry fitting after MRP Black - I like the contrast of the colors.
119
August 5, 2020
I opened the hole in the airscrew to fit on the Clerget.
120
August 5, 2020
On the underside some small Part PE rings are added.
121
August 5, 2020
Then I went back to the landing gear, which was prepared but not yet finished.

Some brass from PE fret soldered to a block and filed in form (on a 1mm drill shaft).
122
August 5, 2020
Here the four parts are separated ...
123
August 5, 2020
... and glued to the half axles.
124
August 5, 2020
I created a mounting frame from thinnest brass foil and soldered it from the back side to the half axles.
125
August 5, 2020
So from the upper side it looks clean.
126
August 5, 2020
"Bolted" with 0.2mm nickel silver to the wooden board (painted in PC12, some scratches with a toothpick).
127
August 5, 2020
Again in front view.
128
August 5, 2020
Originally my board was too long, now it fits. But due to that the struts stands steeper and were to long.
Corrected that with de-soldering the pins and shorten them. Then the struts was glued to the board. For "rubber" suspension stretched sprue was used.
129
August 5, 2020
After adding a rigging with a Gaspatch turnbuckle to the front of the wooden board I mounted the landing gear to the fuselage. Please note also the side view of the rubber.
130
August 5, 2020
The decals of the fuselage are applied:
131
August 5, 2020
132
August 9, 2020
Around the cockpit I added a stitching from a 1/72 Parts PE set.
133
August 9, 2020
As next thing I had to do the tailplane. With cleaning the resin part I noticed, that it is very flat and the many "ribs" are according to Datafile drawing. The Datafile has also a nice pictures of a half stripped tail plane, with 3 ribs on each side and a wing airfoil. So I decided to transform the big plastic tailplane to the later one.
134
August 9, 2020
With a semicircle profile in front of the control surfaces it matches the drawing.
135
August 9, 2020
I painted it the same way as the wings, and finally I cut a mask from the decal and painted the white marking.
136
August 9, 2020
I know it is questionable, but I used a second mask (no decal in the Pheon set) ...
137
August 9, 2020
... to paint a black marking on lower surface.
It is mentioned in the Pheon manual, but they were not able to confirm it.
I found it on a picture of a replica, and as I have it also on my Sopwith Dolphin it makes sense in my opinion. They wanted to recognize themselves in a dogfight, and without this sign it would not be possible from the bottom. And the model looks more interesting, so it is my interpretation 😉
138
August 9, 2020
With painting it keeps the rib details, it would be more effort with a decal.
139
August 9, 2020
So I was able now to mount all the prepared tail parts.
140
August 9, 2020
141
August 9, 2020
In a shadow side view you can see the free space around the tailplane for trim via the spindle.
142
August 9, 2020
The weathering works as hoped for - the dirt remains in the corners of the rib tapes.
143
August 9, 2020
144
August 9, 2020
I bought wheels from Special Hobby, one option more.
145
August 9, 2020
That are my options now:
A) Kit wheels
B) wheels from Eduard Camel kit (there are two pairs in one kit)
- nice, in scale, but no lettering
C) Special Hobby - lettering, but the tire looks a bit bulky
D) Gaspatch spoke wheels, the best, in scale, with nice lettering.
146
August 9, 2020
Here again both with "PALMER CORD AERO TYRE" lettering.
147
August 11, 2020
Let's continue with some details, treads from the kit and tinned brass pipes as air intake for the carburetor. At one of my models light fell through, so I closed the intakes at the end with a black stretched sprue.
148
August 11, 2020
Mounted in place:
149
August 11, 2020
The wheels "B" (see previous update) are painted and correctly spelled Eduard decals are applied. Need some setter and clear coat.
150
August 11, 2020
Today I painted also the Vickers (built several pages back). I used Alclad Gun metal, but only a very thin layer on Alclad Steel below, otherwise it is very bluish. I like the opening in the cooling jackets.
151
August 11, 2020
I added the control wires on the tail, here the tail skid can be moved.
152
August 11, 2020
And the elevator too.
153
August 11, 2020
To be able to mount the Clerget engine it needs to be completed before so I added 18 thinnest copper wires.
154
August 11, 2020
The wires are mounted to the spark plugs. Note, this is very very small!
155
August 11, 2020
A view from back side:
156
August 11, 2020
The engine is mounted on the axle.
157
August 11, 2020
A farewell picture of the front.
158
August 11, 2020
I added some rigging lines according to a museums machine. The landing gear need two more lines.
159
August 11, 2020
A very small PE plate from a Parts set, with some "text" and four rivets.
160
August 11, 2020
This plate was glued on the cowling and the cowling is also in place.
161
August 11, 2020
The attentive observer might have noticed a "steel rope" in the previous picture, which I used to hide my mess with the extended motor cowling. The "cable" is made of 0.2 mm nickel silver, which I annealed slightly to remove the rigidity and get a used color.
162
August 11, 2020
Some pages before I talked about the extension of the cowling so I scratched a metal part from a PE frame.
163
August 11, 2020
This needs to be painted black on outside.
164
August 11, 2020
And a final view of the actual state with temporarily plugged on wheels and airscrew.
165
August 13, 2020
Now this bird has 3 wings!
166
August 13, 2020
The alignment could be more perfect, but now it remains so. My pinned wooden struts may not be 100% identical.
167
August 13, 2020
The guns was added before, with small resin parts for feeding. Now I added also the scratched gun sight (the kit contain a resin one).
168
August 13, 2020
Of course light is going through.
169
August 13, 2020
A set of 26 PE parts from the kit was already painted.
170
August 13, 2020
Tried to mount those little buggers without to much mess with CA, not always successful.
171
August 13, 2020
The middle wing parts are ok, but the outer ones should be much longer (Should hold the wing in front and behind the strut), but I had no chance to fix it.
172
August 13, 2020
The cowling extension is also painted and mounted.
173
August 13, 2020
So finally I was able to do the rigging, with the remaining RAF wire terminals (produced by Gaspatch) from the Dolphin project. Here the double flying wires.
174
August 13, 2020
The best view on all the lines is from below.
175
August 13, 2020
Also the landing gear rigging was completed.
176
August 13, 2020
And because I just had a run I also rigged the tail.
177
August 13, 2020
178
August 13, 2020
The actual state of the project, the wheels are not yet finished.
179
August 16, 2020
I used the prop boss of the kit, but added another plate on the back. Both are "bolted" with 0.2mm nickel silver. Additional brass pipe pieces helped with the hub.
180
August 16, 2020
Eduard provided a manufacturer logo for the airscrew, but it was white with additional colored details. So I painted it over with clear yellow to bring it more in the original direction.
181
August 16, 2020
A padding on the back of the Vickers is a filigree resin kit part.
182
August 16, 2020
Painted in leather color and mounted. If you look closely, you can see two lead wires on the left side of the strut.
183
August 16, 2020
These pressure tubes lead the measured values of the pitot tube into the cockpit. For the pitot I modified the kit supplied PE, with real pipes. The lines are 0.2mm lead wire.
184
August 16, 2020
A friend provided me detail pictures of a museum and I scratched it according to that picture. Here my model in front of the monitor with the original pitot.
185
August 16, 2020
And the model alone. The control wires on the ailerons are also done.
The position of the pitot was different on the Triplanes, often on right side, but here it is clearly visible on this well known picture. Really pity that the usual Rotherham petrol pump is not installed. The build of the pump would have been very interesting
186
August 16, 2020
After noticing that the lettering was on both sides I added a second pair of decals to the back side on the same position, see on left wheel.
187
August 16, 2020
Since the white of the decals was to strong I filtered the tyres with a drop of green in much thinner (a very thin paint). Then I painted a flat clear coat and added valves (0.3mm lead wire).
188
August 16, 2020
And mounted.
189
August 16, 2020
There are decals in the Eduard kit and the Pheon set for the rudder but with using them you have to paint the edges. Since this is not easy to find the same color shade so I masked and painted with airbrush completely. This way is easier for me to get a nice result.
190
August 16, 2020
After adding the control wires as last ropes of the model the tail is completed.
191
August 16, 2020
Already some time ago I made a outragous error, a big mistake and you were kind enough not to point it out to me. When I noticed it now, it was much too late for a correction!
Who sees the error?

Commenti

16 23 May 2020, 13:38

Simontie
excellent work love the prop & the joystick well done

23 May 2020, 13:47

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
I really like the Vickers from Part. Need to get me some... As always, excellent work! 👍

23 May 2020, 13:53

bughunter
Thank you mates!
Bilbo, be carefull! They're right on the edge of "buildable". It is very easy to hate all those small parts!

23 May 2020, 13:58

bughunter
A scratched dashboard made from real wood and many brass parts is mostly finished.

23 May 2020, 20:45

Christoph Kunz
Oh, oh, the next little precious diamond. Took my seat and waiting for more.

23 May 2020, 22:46

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
Gespannt wie 'n Flitzebogen! 🙂

24 May 2020, 06:56

Bernhard Schrock
As usual: top notch. My favorite is is pic 12: the prop looks really like original. Last pic: very left I see a clear bulb or so... Illumination of the cockpit or is this a kind of „Schauglas" for oil/fuel?

24 May 2020, 07:17

bughunter
Thank you mates!
@Bernhard, this is called "Pulsator", I found the following description in the net: "A glass bulb filled part way with oil leaving a compressible air space that shrinks and swells at a rate dependent on the oil pump speed." Here one from a Nieuport: [img1]

24 May 2020, 09:37

bughunter
Today I spend the whole afternoon to build the Clerget 9B 130hp rotary engine. I hope you will like it!

24 May 2020, 18:45

Thomas Bischoff
.... small stuff - pretty cool!

24 May 2020, 18:48

Alec K
Man, you don't waste any time. Very impressive. I like that wood milling and woodwork in general. And the metal work. And...ah, what the hell, it's all fantastic 👍 😄

25 May 2020, 13:37

Matthew Stec
Amazing work

25 May 2020, 13:39

bughunter
Yes! Small Stuff makes the "Best Resin Around", even if another well-known company says otherwise.

25 May 2020, 13:45

Bernhard Schrock
Pictures 24 and 25: admit it you did use a 2:1 scale one cent coin for both pictures🙂

25 May 2020, 15:24

bughunter
Added new pictures, 26 with a optical polarization filter so it is more the real impression with human eye (compare with 23, much less oil wash visible)
@Bernhard: extra for you a new size comparison picture 27!

25 May 2020, 16:49

Bernhard Schrock
ROFL ... 1:122 scale... really astonishing!!

25 May 2020, 17:08

Roberto Rocat
Amazing!

2 June 2020, 08:53

Treehugger
Ooh. Sweet details.

2 June 2020, 08:59

Lochsa River
an artist at work....settling in

2 June 2020, 11:27

bughunter
Welcome to the show! I started this a bit early due to great support by other modelers, as the other Albatros triplane is not yet finished. But that birds want to have to many decals (can't do this in one go), so I toggle now between both projects.

2 June 2020, 16:58

Slavo Hazucha
Spectacular engine! 👍

6 June 2020, 05:25

Kerry COX
You won't get rich counterfiting 1 cent coins mate, but the rest, well that is a different story. 😉
Love every bit of your work hunter. 👍

6 June 2020, 07:40

Erik Leijdens
As always it look amazing, everything you touch becomes a piece of art. Love that engine

6 June 2020, 07:44

Palo M
Woe, that engine is something else!

6 June 2020, 16:26

Daniel Klink
Bigger than a 1 cent piece? Whats going on Frank you changed to 1/32? 🙂

U just wanted to say wow... all thos nuts and screws ... but in this size evreryone should be able to do this that way...
But looks good so far 👍

6 June 2020, 16:34

bughunter
Oosp, haven't answered yet. Thank you mates for such overwhelming feedback! Highly appreciated!
Since I was in "landing gear mode" on the Albatros anyway, I built a also new one for the Sopwith.

19 June 2020, 19:59

bughunter
Many parts for the cockpit are prepared now. I hope I can mount all soon so the fuselage can be closed.

3 July 2020, 21:45

Alexander Grivonev
This is not model building, this is art....

3 July 2020, 22:50

Alexander Grivonev
Actually wanted to write you a PM and ask what equipment are you using for soldering, how the hell do you manage it doing it so delicately? Tell us you secrets master 😄

3 July 2020, 22:54

bughunter
Thank you Alexander!
There's nothing special. The soldering iron is a cheap 20W from the hardware store, but with real copper tip. The flux is colophony dissolved in alcohol. But the most important thing is surely 40 years of experience in soldering, no joke. I did an apprenticeship as a communications technician before my studies and learned how to solder properly. The exercise came with the years after😉
So practice, practice, practice!

4 July 2020, 15:47

Alexander Grivonev
Ok thank you very much. I am relieved about the 40y experience part😄 I guess you are right, the most important part is practice 👍 Will experiment with a copper tip and different flux.

4 July 2020, 17:29

Bernhard Schrock
The woody parts looks fantastic!!

4 July 2020, 19:20

Alec K
Supreme work as always 👍

5 July 2020, 12:18

Slavo Hazucha
Did you put some fertilizer on that 1-cent coin? It's getting bigger and bigger with every update!😉 Pic 39 & 41 are just crazy... crazy beautiful 🙂

5 July 2020, 14:27

bughunter
Thank you mates!
I need to add the control stick, then the fuselage halves can be closed. Many things build, which are only hardly visible - but we know it's there!😉

8 July 2020, 20:53

bughunter
And for the next update now fasten your seat belts!
There is a nice Triplane walk around on arcair.com by Mike Grand which was a great template for the tail skid - thx Mike!
[img1]

10 July 2020, 17:17

David Taylor
I am all fingers and thumbs at the best of times,looking good as usual.

10 July 2020, 17:22

Christoph Kunz
excellent

10 July 2020, 17:31

Slavo Hazucha
Exquisite engineering & skill display... 👍 While I am cheating myself through a kit and aftermarket parts served to me on a silver plate, you create exact scale copies of machinery from scratch... 🙂 Great work on this one!

10 July 2020, 17:56

Rui S
Very nice work. Looking Great 👍

10 July 2020, 19:00

Kerry COX
Your impressing the whole world with this build hugger. 👍 👍 👍 😉

10 July 2020, 19:04

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
With *THIS* build? Kerry, you should have a look at the previous (and current other) projects...😉
Bughunter won't cease to amaze us with *ALL* of his projects...

10 July 2020, 19:09

Urban Gardini
Fantastic details mate!

10 July 2020, 20:28

bughunter
Thank you mates for taking the time to visit my Triplane build and take the time to answer! 👍
This was somehow easier this time, because I have done nearly the same on my Sopwith Pup. Those bird are very equal in many aspects, but the turned alu spindle is a new feature on Triplane.

11 July 2020, 14:35

Alec K
A moving elevator? A MOVING ELEVATOR?!? I give up... 😄 😄😉

12 July 2020, 11:41

David Taylor
Could you please build something OOB to give us a chance Bughunter LOL

12 July 2020, 17:04

bughunter
David, I tried that with the Motorwagen Benz Motorwagen 1886 | Album by bughunter (1:24) I can say it works, but to build those little details "functioning" is also fun.
Alec, you can be sure the elevator will be fixed on my model, the spindle is only a fake 🙂

12 July 2020, 17:23

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
Ok, maybe a silly question, but here it goes: What is it used for? The moving elevator that is...

12 July 2020, 17:47

bughunter
In the cockpit there is on the right lower side on the strut a big wheel (see pic49). This allows the pilot to move the spindle to trim the tailplane neutrally. I read about the Triplane that it can be flown hands free. This was apparently not a matter of fact back then!

12 July 2020, 18:24

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
I see now, thanks!

12 July 2020, 20:02

bughunter
Interestingly, the Bristol Fighter (the white-red chequered two-seater I built some time ago) has a similar mechanism. But there the leading edge of the tailplane is adjusted by 4 ropes.

12 July 2020, 21:01

Alec K
Ok, I got carried away. Phew. Not that a moving elevator is out of the realm of possible for you😉

12 July 2020, 22:00

bughunter
Alec😉 👍
Added the next batch of pictures of the preparation fro the paint job.

18 July 2020, 10:48

bughunter
So, the pictures of the multi-layered linen paint are added.

18 July 2020, 11:24

Alec K
The ribbing looks super. Rotten luck with the tape. You must have really put it on early😉 😄

18 July 2020, 13:05

bughunter
... or I polished the primer to much, so that the color has not enough grip. I don't know.

18 July 2020, 13:33

Alec K
What primer did you use?

18 July 2020, 13:49

bughunter
As always Alclad Primer&Microfiller. I have it in black, grey and white.

18 July 2020, 14:03

Alec K
👍

18 July 2020, 18:39

Slavo Hazucha
That´s some finest Belgian chocolate texture & color I´ve seen in 2020!😉

20 July 2020, 11:54

Urban Gardini
Exquisite is the word we're looking for!

4 August 2020, 21:34

bughunter
Thank you mates!

5 August 2020, 12:51

bughunter
Another step forward with black paint, finished landing gear and started to apply decals.

5 August 2020, 19:43

bughunter
Next things done 🙂
Which wheels should I use, option D with some "fabric"?

9 August 2020, 18:27

Treehugger
The spoke wheel looks really nice.

9 August 2020, 19:03

David Taylor
coming along nicely Bughunter.

9 August 2020, 19:54

Slavo Hazucha
The marking and weathering looks perfect - all coming together beautifully - in a build where everything replacable has actually been replaced by your master-crafted scratch creations, I guess option D is the only one in the room😉

But really seriously, I'd go for B - the mold is very nice & crisp & I am somewhat skeptical towards too strong letterings... Looking forward to see your pick & this thing going final! 👍

9 August 2020, 20:35

bughunter
Thank you mates! Slavo, the B's are black primed and painted. I found unused decals from my Nightfighter project for the lettering😉

10 August 2020, 17:10

Urban Gardini
I for one hope that you'll go with the spoke wheels!

10 August 2020, 17:50

bughunter
Sorry Urban - one day I will use them, but not on this bird.

10 August 2020, 19:38

bughunter
Sorry Urban - one day I will use them, but not on this bird.

10 August 2020, 19:39

Spanjaard
i run out of superlatives several of your biplanes ago... so I will simply stare in awe, and try to learn something....

10 August 2020, 21:33

bughunter
Thx Spanjaard😉 Made a good progress today, many pictures added.

11 August 2020, 17:55

Christoph Kunz
I'm with Spanjaard, same problems. So I just say BRAVO.

11 August 2020, 18:24

Alec K
Gorgeous!

13 August 2020, 13:39

Bernhard Schrock
153-155: about 6 years ago I finished Hasegawas Clerget engine in 1:8. In comparison with your 1:48 it looks almost no better...

13 August 2020, 14:27

Slavo Hazucha
@Bernhard - I imagine an aviation museum curator suspiciously whistling while secretly walking to a Great War plane to polish it and make sure his real plane on display looks as good as this stuff...😉

13 August 2020, 14:56

bughunter
Thank you mates!
Bernhard, I found your nice dio some days ago on Modellversium during a picture search for Clerget rotary😉 Very nice! And you added the valve springs ...
Slavo😉 👍 👍
This bird has now 3 wings and the rigging is finished! Will take pictures and process them soon ...

13 August 2020, 16:12

bughunter
A big step forward - now with 3 wings and rigged😎

13 August 2020, 17:47

David Taylor
she is a stunner.

13 August 2020, 20:48

bughunter
Thank you David!
You can speed up the build of this triplane if you wear the right shoes! Serial, name and logo - all correct 😎
[img1]
iloveahangar.com/col..low-top-canvas-shoes

13 August 2020, 21:49

Kerry COX
And they reckon that "Red Bull' gives you wings. hahahaha 👍 🙂

14 August 2020, 04:00

bughunter
Collishaws Triplane is done! Added the last batch of WIP pictures. The final album will be added soon.
Since I made a outragous error here a riddle - See the last picture. Who will notice it?

16 August 2020, 11:45

Spanjaard
outrages error indeed.... may i provide you my addess, so you can send this monstrosity so i can hide it forever from sight... except a friend or two, that i will tell i build this myself.... it is the only way i can have beauty like this in my display cabinet😉

16 August 2020, 13:09

Alec K
I was coming up with my own "outrageous error" smartass remark, but Spanjaard beat me to it...😄

16 August 2020, 13:24

David Taylor
Does'nt detract that it is a stunner.

16 August 2020, 13:34

bughunter
Thank you mates!
Please don't miss the final gallery: Sopwith Triplane N533 "BlackMaria" Raymond Collishaw | Album by bughunter (1:48)

16 August 2020, 21:34

David Taylor
Are you going to correct it at the TAIL end or leaving it.

17 August 2020, 15:18

bughunter
Oh, another problem on the tail, I'm not aware of?
The bug I mean is clearly visible already on picture 68. I cannot count and fit the right pulley on the lower wing to the second instead of the third rib. With doing the aileron control wires it became obvious.

17 August 2020, 15:37

Thomas Bischoff
Oh really! Obvious - and I thought you used metric instead of imperial screws 🙂

17 August 2020, 16:03

Project info

Sopwith Triplane

214 immagini

1:48

Completato

1:48 Sopwith Triplanes (Pheon Decals 48004)

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