BE2c wings- whole project added to this album.
The ribs are threaded onto 1mm brass tube. Once the ribs are in place the tube is boxed in with 1.5mm styrene channel. The leading edge is 1mm quarter round styrene rod and the trailing edge 1mmx0.5mm styrene strip.
The wings will be skinned with Tamiya 0.1mm Pla Paper. Here is the centre section of the top wing before trimming the skin.
Two matching brass templates were made. With holes drilled at the spar locations making identical ribs is possible. There 59 ribs needed so this took a while.
Both lower wings structures are made. The original wing had to be replaced after an accident.
Skinned with Evergreen 0.13mm styrene sheet.
Rib textures created by rubbing each rib with a cotton bud.
The engine and cowlings are glued in place after a lengthy struggle
Ignition wires added using lead wire.
The RAF 1a V8 engine taking shape.
Engine manifold from garden wire and styrene rod. The cylinders are from a Wingnut Wings engine sprue. I can't remember which one.
Test fitting the engine. The engine mounting beams are square brass tube, using brass rods through the centre of each to help mount the engine level.
The gravity tank is glued on place. Here's a picture showing the instrument panel. Close ups are never very kind!
Adding punched rivets to the gravity tank cowling. These are placed using a paint brush and Future floor wax.
The finished gravity tank cowling. Including all the rivets this has around 100 parts, took days to make and nearly drove me mad
The lower engine cover was vac formed. Overlapping panel simulated by masking the line and respraying. Paint was allowed to fully cure before removing the mask leaving a slight raised edge.
Engine side guards from aluminium sheet. The rivets are solder balls in pre drilled holes. The rolled edges simulated with wire.
Vac formed cowling primed and undercarriage added.
Vac formed cowling. To prevent the part being too thin I had block most of the vac table holes with coffee stirrers.
Wheel cover preparations.
The last structural section of the fuselage is finally made from styrene and copper tube.
Crude assembly jig for the undercarriage. Just some holes drilled in a plastic container.
The fuselage skin added with 0.13mm styrene sheet.
Fuselage rigging added with wire.
Inspection windows were made from aluminum sheet and the 'glass' taken from a custard tart box.
Brass rods are added, the cabane struts will slide over these later in the build.
All internal details and bulkheads from bamboo coffee stirrers are added.
Instrument panel and firewall test fit.
This section of fuselage frame carries the engine controls. Between the frames is a belt from tamiya tape that will sit on the fuel tank cover.
Cockpit coaming test fit.
The observer's wicker seat and pilot's metal seat are added.
Scratch built Lewis gun is finished.
Scratched Lewis gun.
The Lewis gun ammo drum being made from washers and Tamiya tape.
Cockpit coaming from styrene sheet bent over a balsa former then treated with hot water before plunging in cold so it will hold its shape. Marking the centre line is very important for making the cockpit openings later.
Cockpit and inspection window openings cut out.
Scratch built observer's wicker seat and metal pilot's seat. Cushions made from milliput.
Propeller made from bamboo coffee stirrers with boss made from punch aluminium and styrene discs.
Pilot's seat is made from aluminium sheet with fold lines scored with a scalpel. This took many attempts to get right.
31 more wing ribs made for the top wing and wooden struts filed into a more accurate shpe
A little look through wings to see the structure. It will be painted with a thin layer of MRP CDL colour to try to preserve the translucency.
A little test fit of the lower wings. The wing spars have a brass tube core that slides onto brass rods.
The top wing elements finally completed. Here is my crude jig for setting the dihedral.
Using clear UV resin as filler hasn't ruined the translucency thank goodness!
The wing tips needed modifying to make them symmetrical. The resulting damage was filled with clear UV cured resin.
A cheap UV lamp bought online was big enough to enable me to fill the whole wing a section at a time with clear UV resin. So glad I learned about this stuff recently!
Comments
18 14 May 2023, 20:58
Richie WilliamsThanks Michael, Robert and Frank, it's great to have such kind feedback. I'm hoping to get this finished before the project reaches the 2 year mark in August!
Richie
24 May 2023, 06:54
Richie WilliamsWill do Michael, I'll try to get the lower wings both made and test fitted in a week or so. Just the top wing and a few details to make after that.
24 May 2023, 09:33
Richie WilliamsThanks for dropping by Ben and Dominik, I hope to have an update soon. I made the rookie mistake of making separate albums for different stages of the build. I will try to add all the in progress to this album if that's a good idea.
Richie
24 May 2023, 17:06
Richie WilliamsAfter a huge amount of work, mostly fixing mistakes. The top wing is finally completed. I can start painting soon. 😀
29 June 2023, 22:38
Richie WilliamsMany thanks Ben, it's been a tough but fun build so far so I'm glad you like it.
Cheers Bughunter, I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the MRP CDL. The tail feathers are painted and came OK so I feel optimistic. Thanks for dropping by!
30 June 2023, 10:35
David R. MeizosoFantastic job! I'm glued to the chair watching this beauty come together!
30 June 2023, 18:51
Richie WilliamsThanks so much Ethan and David, that is very kind of you. I'm a very slow worker so nothing will happen very quickly here! 🙂
1 July 2023, 20:29
Album info
I added all of the in progress pictures to this one album. It was all getting too confusing with everything in separate albums. It's a bit more than just wings now.
