Build Complete!

Well I have finished the build.  I still need to touch up the paint then seal and weather everything but all the parts are together.  This was a fun build and I am still learning...  here are the pictures.




The glamour shots..




These are some detail shots.  You can see what I mean about touching up the paint.  You can also see my turnbuckles up close.

I should get the weathering finished just in time for the Pfalz Group Build on GWitAF. http://www.greatwaraviation.com/forum/index.php?topic=621.0

Strutting Around

So I thought to get some advice one the best order for assembling the wings.  I posted the question to http://www.greatwaraviation.com/forum/index.php and got a lot of help.  On my first Nieuport 17 I glued in the struts and the cabane struts and as soon as the glue started to hold I smashed it all together and started sewing it up with rigging to hold it in place.  This time was a little different;


First the cabane struts were attached to the fuselage.  This is the back strut holding the windscreen.  The front struts took a little work to keep straight.


The wing struts I attached to the upper wing and let set.  Once everything was solidly held I turned the plane upside down and glued the wing onto the cabane struts and the wing struts onto the lower wing.  I obviously needed some weight to keep everything in place and together while the glue set.  After a couple hours I took off the weight and put the plane away for the night.




Here are some shots of the rigging on the wings.  You can see a couple scrapes that I need to touch up.  I could use a great deal more practice on this.



Here I am about half way through rigging up the the control wires for the tailplane.


Here is another engine shot... <grin> I am still proud of that.

Closing In!

I am posting as an update just to show that I am working on things still.  I have slowed down but not stopped.

I have done some more work on my instruments.  I love these decal from Airscale I will probably have to buy more soon.  You can see that my attempt to use Future as a gap filler didn't work.  I have now tried a little CA (I figure its called Zap-A-Gap for a reason).  The CA filled the seam but it is too hard when it sets. so the sanding is uneven at best.  It looks like I will go back to putty from here on out.


Here I am.  My three year old shutterbug was helping dad out once again.


This is a bit of rigging I missed on my last model.  I didn't see it in the rigging diagram that cam with the Academy kit; but it seems obvious now.  I left the lines extra long because this will be such a tight fit.  (Thanks Des for that idea.)  You can also see that I added holes for the Aileron controls.  The pieces didn't fit well on their own last time.



A couple side views.  You can see the turnbuckles for the flying wires.



I did a dry fit on the propeller.  The decals here are from a Mustang kit.  I know it isn't accurate; but they needed something.

Miss-Fits and other Size Issues

I wanted to start off with a mention for my new home http://www.greatwaraviation.com/forum/index.php .  There are some amazing builds and a lot of great advice to be found there.

I have had some fit issues with the Nieuport;

You can see tow things here; my altimeter is much too large and the internal frame is not fitting into its slot on the port side.

I centered the instrument and was able to better center the frame.  I have learned that the frame and the control stick should actually be up against the seat.  This will have to be corrected in the next model.


I have started to make new instruments.  These are out of regular sprue and are about a third the size.  This should be a better fit.


After much sanding; there is still a slightly visible seam.  The flash makes it look much more prominent then it truly is.  I have tried a thin coat of Future to see if that is enough to cover the flaws.  If it isn't then I will go back to another round of sanding.


These are the turnbuckles for the landing wires.  The turnbuckles are 4mm lengths and the stays are 1mm.



I am using 4mm stays on the flying wires and 1mm stays on the landing wires.


I have attached the first horns to the tail plane.  These are also 1mm cable stays.


You can see several bubbles in the decals.  I have used several rounds of Solu-Set but they won't go away.  The poor quality decals have been the only disappointment with this kit.  I am hoping that between finish and weathering I can make these disappear.

Cockpit Overkill!

So how much detail is too much?  I am starting to think that I have gotten carried away with a cockpit that is barely visible at best.  I finished the internal rigging and ran control lines.  I just think that maybe I am spending too much time on stuff that won't be seen.  It is fun though and in the end that is why I do this.


I decided to open up the brass chute.  I first drilled some small guide holes then went after it with my Dremel.  I know these were open; but I think in the future painting will be adequate.


I went with the rigging over the throttle after all.  It wasn't hard getting the piece off, but I liked it better lying flat against the fuselage.  I attached some line to the control stick for a rudder cable.  I think the placement of my pulley was too high.  Here you can also see the start of the rudder control assembly.


This is a better shot of the rudder control; I added foot loops and drilled small (0.3mm) holes into the ends for the wires.  My lines are again 2lb Maxima Chameleon line colored silver.  I attached this with a small drop of thin CA.  Many thanks again to Des at http://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com/ his recommendation of using thin CA for rigging and small details has been a real game changer for me.  It runs right into the little gaps and sets up nice and fast to hold where you want.





These are shots of my half completed cockpit.  You can see that I ran the control wires all the way through the fuselage.  I think I will change my mind on this and cut them off in the third box section.  I am unhappy with my control stick.  I liked the last one I did better (kind of like the seat cushion).  I think I need some smaller brass rod to make this look good.  I also want to put bends in the cross pieces to connect them (visually) with the aileron controls.  Not too bad for a couple hours work.  I am still not an artist like Des or most of the guys (and gals) at the http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/ but I am getting better with each project.

Horns and Pullies

I have started adding eyelets for my rigging on the wings, and begun the interior rigging in the cockpit as well.  I tried to create a pully system for the rudder cables.


Here is the interior rigging on the starboard side.  I added the cable behind the seat as well since area was visible in my last model.


I started making a pully using some larger diameter sprue and a hole-punch on some brass sheet.  It looked good but was much too large.  I ended up with a small bit of an air release tab and a much smaller piece of brass.  I drilled a 0.5mm hole through everying and then used a broken bit of a 0.3mm drill bit as an axel.  It doesn't look as nice; but I think the size is much closer.


I used a drop of CA to mount this in the front of the cockpit.  I know it isn't centered; but since I build the interior into the starboard side it will make things easier to rig.


This is another discovery; rigging holes in the horns.  Once again I am not certain if I didn't notice these before or if they are just missing from the Academy molding.  I drilled the holes through with a 0.3mm drill bit to prepare these for rigging.


Here are the control horns with cableing attached.  I used my standard 2lb line colored silver with a Sharpie marker.  I plan on adding turnbuckles to these lines so I just left each with a 3 inch tail.  I hope this will give me enough to work with.


I added the throtle control to the port side interior.  I did want to have it inside of the rigging so I put it in first.  Now that I look at it; I think I want the rigging to pass under the throtle control.  This may pose some problems.  I still have to rig the port side interior then start putting the interior parts together.

I am trying to decide if I want the control cable to run all the way through the fuselage or just have them end under the seat...  I will have to decide before I complete the interior so you should know by my next posting.