How I build dioramas Part 2
- Thread starter JohnReid
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JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
Whats wrong with this pic?
Notice on the jig where it says "Front", now take a look at where the engine is placed in the fuselage.Now look where the leading edge is,then the trailing edge.@#$#$$$$$^&*!@# You guessed it the engine is on backwards.Wow what a stupid mistake!!!!!!!It is so easy to lose the big picture when you get too involved in the details.Somehow between Oct 19 and 21 I had a major brain fart of some kind and only discovered it today when I went back to work on the airplane.
Of course everything has been glued in place but luckily I think that the engine mount will be OK where it is, because if it was also involved I would pretty much have to start over again.
Notice on the jig where it says "Front", now take a look at where the engine is placed in the fuselage.Now look where the leading edge is,then the trailing edge.@#$#$$$$$^&*!@# You guessed it the engine is on backwards.Wow what a stupid mistake!!!!!!!It is so easy to lose the big picture when you get too involved in the details.Somehow between Oct 19 and 21 I had a major brain fart of some kind and only discovered it today when I went back to work on the airplane.
Of course everything has been glued in place but luckily I think that the engine mount will be OK where it is, because if it was also involved I would pretty much have to start over again.
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
Thank goodness for "Uncure" and the fact that I didn't use epoxy!
The fix was easier than I thought that it would be and I am just happy I discovered it now and not after the wheels and other stuff were on.
This picture gives you an idea of where the major components should be when the flier is completed.(I better keep this pic near the workbench)
__________________
The fix was easier than I thought that it would be and I am just happy I discovered it now and not after the wheels and other stuff were on.
This picture gives you an idea of where the major components should be when the flier is completed.(I better keep this pic near the workbench)
__________________
JohnReid
A Fixture
I put the flier on its wheels and it looked like it was sitting too high on its rear wheels.I lowered the rear U/C legs by about 5cm and now the engine bearer ,rad and angle of attack of the wings, relative to the ground ,looks about normal.I checked out my references and the legs seem to vary in length depending on the type.In fact the whole undercarriage arrangement seems differ from type to type.
To permanently set the flier on its wheels will probably be my next best step. This will involve redesigning the jig to hold things square while I build the rest .It is finally starting to look like an airplane.
To permanently set the flier on its wheels will probably be my next best step. This will involve redesigning the jig to hold things square while I build the rest .It is finally starting to look like an airplane.
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
I lowered the rear wheels and permanently fixed them to the fuselage.I fashioned a prop of about the correct dimensions(working from pics) and discovered that because the engine mount does not sit exactly in the center of the support tubes that the prop will not clear the upper trailing edge properly.Therefore I cut back the trailing edge by one rib on the top wing only.This mod will also give me lots of room for the bamboo tail fittings where they join the wing.
One of the great things about this build is that I can stop whenever I want and it will still look like an aircraft under construction.A lot of this is a judgment call.
Should or should I not put on a prop? at first I thought that he would not have left such a valuable item out in the open exposed to the elements.Probably not,but with the flier it is almost necessary to show it so the viewer can figure out the configuration(a pusher with the seat up front and the prop in the back)
The flight controls on the other hand are optional , they probably would be safely stowed away even if they where built at this stage ,which I doubt.The original pic of the backyard flier in Chicago confirms what I suspected.The builder would want his flier to look like an airplane as soon as possible.Get the wings on, get it on its wheels,put on the tail assembly and have something to look at and of course keep the neighbors from laughing too hard.
One of the great things about this build is that I can stop whenever I want and it will still look like an aircraft under construction.A lot of this is a judgment call.
Should or should I not put on a prop? at first I thought that he would not have left such a valuable item out in the open exposed to the elements.Probably not,but with the flier it is almost necessary to show it so the viewer can figure out the configuration(a pusher with the seat up front and the prop in the back)
The flight controls on the other hand are optional , they probably would be safely stowed away even if they where built at this stage ,which I doubt.The original pic of the backyard flier in Chicago confirms what I suspected.The builder would want his flier to look like an airplane as soon as possible.Get the wings on, get it on its wheels,put on the tail assembly and have something to look at and of course keep the neighbors from laughing too hard.
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
Except for painting and weathering the U/C is finished.The prop is only temporary and needs further shaping and painting or dark staining.The wood grain is way out of scale and the design is questionable but everything was experimental in those days,I guess.
I have been thinking about how to put the flier in the diorama's backyard.There will be a lot of weathering and landscaping to do under the wings an around the undercarriage.The flier has been sitting in the yard for a few years and in that amount of time things can change a lot.
My plan is to secure the flier on a thin piece of plywood,just enough to cover the perimeter of the airplane.Finish the plywood and airplane as one piece,landscaping,weathering and all and then add it to the backyard.When the backyard itself is landscaped then I can blend the two pieces of plywood together to form an invisible joint.
I have been thinking about how to put the flier in the diorama's backyard.There will be a lot of weathering and landscaping to do under the wings an around the undercarriage.The flier has been sitting in the yard for a few years and in that amount of time things can change a lot.
My plan is to secure the flier on a thin piece of plywood,just enough to cover the perimeter of the airplane.Finish the plywood and airplane as one piece,landscaping,weathering and all and then add it to the backyard.When the backyard itself is landscaped then I can blend the two pieces of plywood together to form an invisible joint.
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
Fuselage/tail assembly.
I modified the jig by cutting off the bottom portion but still leaving the upper for protection for the wings.I then hot glue melted the wheels to a building board.(the glue is easily removed later by re-heating it).
The building board is exactly the width of the tail booms.I could have made a separate jig for the tail assembly but I thought that it would be more fun to build it like the original must have been done.
I know Curtiss used bamboo but others also used ash wood for these booms and spruce for the struts.I will use ash(basswood) for these due to the difficult of representing the growth rings on the bamboo which would hardly be seen at scale distance anyway.
The measurements I used for the tail assembly are from the Aeronautics publication May-June 1912,page 161.
I modified the jig by cutting off the bottom portion but still leaving the upper for protection for the wings.I then hot glue melted the wheels to a building board.(the glue is easily removed later by re-heating it).
The building board is exactly the width of the tail booms.I could have made a separate jig for the tail assembly but I thought that it would be more fun to build it like the original must have been done.
I know Curtiss used bamboo but others also used ash wood for these booms and spruce for the struts.I will use ash(basswood) for these due to the difficult of representing the growth rings on the bamboo which would hardly be seen at scale distance anyway.
The measurements I used for the tail assembly are from the Aeronautics publication May-June 1912,page 161.
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
I cut down the tail jig to the center of the rod so that the tail can easily be removed at any time.The rubber bands hold everything down and keeps it all square until I can make up fittings for the tail boom.The horizontal rod at the tail has been embedded into the tail spar .It will then be sandwiched between the another spar of the same size to create the hinge line between the horizontal stab and the elevator.I don't want to create it as one piece so that I can place the elevator at an angle to the stab which will look more natural.
All four tail booms are attached to this spar, the top two have finished fittings at the upper wing and now must be cut to length and rear fittings applied.I then will repeat the whole procedure for the bottom tail booms.
I am designing this stuff as I go along from pictures that you will find on my photobucket site.Slow but fun!I hope that there are not too many surprises down the road.
For your info : the EAA has a new website that also has a new forum.
Check it out at:
http://www.Oshkosh365.org
All four tail booms are attached to this spar, the top two have finished fittings at the upper wing and now must be cut to length and rear fittings applied.I then will repeat the whole procedure for the bottom tail booms.
I am designing this stuff as I go along from pictures that you will find on my photobucket site.Slow but fun!I hope that there are not too many surprises down the road.
For your info : the EAA has a new website that also has a new forum.
Check it out at:
http://www.Oshkosh365.org
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
I made the fittings from brass tube,cut it to length and blackin-it and then slid the pieces of tubing over the tail booms.Everything has been temporarily nailed it place and not glued.The horizontal black rod is where the elevator will be attached to the stabilizer(yet to be built).
When everything is squared away, I will take it apart and finish the fittings as required to accept the internal bracing wires.
I haven't quite decided whether or not to finish the tail,stab,elevators,rudder etc..I would like to build them but would our owner have really left them on his flier while he was off to war?On the other hand I guess they could have been covered with tarps etc...Because I plan to put a "welcome home "sign somewhere in the diorama it is possible that someone could have removed them prior to his arrival as a homecoming gesture.I could show the tarps lying somewhere off to the side I guess.
When everything is squared away, I will take it apart and finish the fittings as required to accept the internal bracing wires.
I haven't quite decided whether or not to finish the tail,stab,elevators,rudder etc..I would like to build them but would our owner have really left them on his flier while he was off to war?On the other hand I guess they could have been covered with tarps etc...Because I plan to put a "welcome home "sign somewhere in the diorama it is possible that someone could have removed them prior to his arrival as a homecoming gesture.I could show the tarps lying somewhere off to the side I guess.
JohnReid
A Fixture
JohnReid
A Fixture
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