thibaultron

Frank,
 
I've been following along, hitting the the 'like' button alot.. and just have to pipe up to say your hull framing, planking, and fairing are superb.  Very very sharp work.  I find Kathryn's hull framing and planking a fascinating alternative to what I've seen on other Skipjacks. 
 
Elia

Thanks, John - yes, it does seem like there's more and more...and more detail to come!  Will she ever fly!?  ;-)  
 
gsdpic:  thanks for joining in. The prop was a more interesting piece to build, it being in a laminate of wood sheets. I had built props from solid blocks before, also a challenge though not as initially scary to face down.  I found that grinding the main shape, as seen from the side, using a Dremel tool, worked really well. Then I could face it from the front and back to get the angle of attack right. After that, a lot of fine sanding brought it to the final shape, followed by 4 to 5 layers of shaded poly. I am happy with it. I am considering a metal leading edge/tips. I am still thinking on that.
 
~john
 

Cool build.  I've seen this kit on the website and been intrigued by it, but do not have it.  Your progress all looks really good, but I am most impressed by the prop.  Seems it would be tricky to get it symmetrical but you seem to have accomplished that.  Following along...

Thank you for dropping by, Piet. Good to have you along for the ride. Building models has been in my blood for a long long time, be they planes, trains or boats. This is a respite from the ship building I have been doing and plan to do in the near future. Funny enough, the progress I am making on this Camel is considerably slower than that I would make on a ship! Still, it is a worthy build, detailed, slow, patience demanding, intriguing, and a learning experience. I'd like to say I have worked on old plane restorations, but I cannot. I fly planes, enjoy being around them, and love the history. The opportunity has not yet presented itself for me to get into restoration... yet ;-)
All the best,
~john 

Hey John, what a pleasant surprise seeing your Camel project here and also the Fokker triplane.  It's been a dog's age that I have visited this site, too may other things taking up too much time. I read through your entire build and have enjoyed it very much.  She's really looking very good, nice work.  Brings back many memories of working on and even restoring a few old airplanes. Not quite as old as the Camel is but some in the 20ties and 30ties.
 
Yeah, my whole working life was in aviation, from 1952 till my retirement in 2009. But now enjoy building ship models and enjoying it.
 
In the meantime keep up the good works and I'll drip in so once in a while.
 
Cheers,

I have both his rigging books, great resource!

A short update from the beach, well almost
 
The pilots seat is in place. I have also done all of the wiring (except one cable!) for the engine and the controls. Lots of wires going here and there and not much space to work in. Sometimes I would have needed a mutated third and fourth hand. But now it is almost done. Just one cable from the engine to the magneto left! The fuel gauge "face" will be added to the fuel gage itself on the tank. it can be seen in the top picture, a grey round thing on a rod so to speak. The grey boxes in front of it are the ammo cans and spent cartridge cans.
 
 

 

 

Plastic small scale:
 
http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/forum/59-aircraft-modeling-forums/
 
http://cs.finescale.com/f/
 
RC aircraft:
 
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/index.php
 
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-airplanes-226/

Thanks Michael.  The photos come in very handy - I don't think I'd be able to get the same results with only the HAER drawings.  I'm glad I was able to spend a little time on Kathryn when she was docked in Deal Island a couple of years ago - although I wish I had taken photos of some other items that I hadn't thought of at the time.

Hi Russ - thanks.  And thanks again for your vigilance - keep it up!  I checked out the model from a lot of different angles, and don't really see any issues with the port side - very strange.  I'll keep looking when I'm back to work on it in a week or so.

Love the full size pictures for reference.  It's a great comparison.

Following this build. As a note, both sparkplug wires should run between the gear and crankcase. The way you have them running, they would be cut when the engine rotates.

Le Rhone and Clerget Hagasawa 1/8th scale engine builds. you'll have to copy and paste two of them.
 
https://mbiqmodels.com/2016/03/09/fokker-dr-1-hasegawa-18-part-2-engine/
 
 
 


https://mbiqmodels.com/2014/10/12/sopwith-camel-f1-hasegawa-18-part-1-clerget-9b-rotary-radial-engine/

 
 

 
 


 
https://mbiqmodels.com/2014/10/27/sopwith-camel-f1-hasegawa-18-part-2-prop-interplane-and-cabane-struts/
 
 
 
 

The top wing has been polyurethaned (silk finish without color). I am now starting the arduous work of capping the wing ribs, lovingly, one by one. This will take some time. Please stand by ;-)
~john
 
 

The starboard sheer line looks fantastic. The port looks very good with the one issue you noticed. I see it. Not sure what is causing it. However, the model looks great. The method for carving the chine is a good one. I will file that away for future reference. Good work.
 
Russ
 
 

Thanks Druxey.  Here are a couple of photos I took of that area.  The top of the sheer strake is at the same height as the top of the cutwater, so it looks like the thicker sheer strake is feathered in to the outer stem.  I think the area above that is actually the log rail and then a covering for the top of the knighthood.  In the photo it looks like a slight bulge that   The width of the aft edge of the outer stem is the same as the hull planking, then tapers forward to the width of the cutwater.
 

 

 
And here's a photo that shows the same area during the rebuild.
 

Looking more elegant each time you post, Frank. Glad you could correct the run of the sheer. BTW, how do the sheer strakes fair into the stem?

Thanks Rich.  I guess the only good thing about the heat is that it makes a great excuse to stay in the shop all day.

Have a great trip! This heat is intolerable.

Part 26 – Hull Planking – Bottom Planks
 
There was a comment by Russ in the post on side planking, indicating that there seemed to be a problem in the starboard sheer strake, where the top of the strake had a bulge in it.  This was a correct observation, and thanks to Russ for pointing it out.
 
I think that this type of feedback is one of the real values in starting a build log.  Other modelers can sometimes see things that we can’t, possibly because we’re too close to our model.  I know many people are hesitant to point out issues lest they seem critical, but I welcome this kind of comment – it helps me become a better modeler.
 
I could also see the bulge in the starboard sheer, but I wanted to make sure the correction didn’t cause an issue in the opposite direction.  I also wanted to find any other issues in the run of the sheer.  So I ran chart tape along the sheer, trying to make sure it ran fair regardless of what the sheer actually did.
 
                        
 
The tape did point out the problem that had already been discussed, but it also showed a couple of other areas with the same type of issue.  The following photo shows a similar issue on the port side.
 
                        
 
These issues were corrected by careful sanding, using a hard sanding block.
 
The most difficult part of the bottom planking was bending the garboard strake over a fairly short distance.  The HAER documentation indicates that with the fore-and-aft bottom planking there is no need for staving or a chunk forefoot, and the garboard plank is twisted at the forward end to meet the stem.  This can be seen in the photo on page 238 of ‘Chesapeake Bay Sailing Craft’ by Robert H. Burgess.  It can also be seen in the following photo of Kathryn taken prior to the recent rebuild.
 
                        
 
However, the forefoot was changed during the rebuild, since staving was used instead of twisting the plank.
 
                        
 
Since the model is following the construction shown in the HAER plans, the garboard strake needed to be twisted to the required shape.  After soaking the plank in boiling water it was clamped in place.  A hair dryer was used to accelerate the drying time, and the plank was left clamped until it cooled completely.
 
                        
 
When the bottom planking was completed the chine needed to be rounded to its final shape.  A scraper for this purpose was made from a piece of steel. 
 
                        
 
Using this scraper made shaping the chine fairly straightforward.
 
                        
 
Kathryn still needs more sanding and scraping, followed by priming, before painting can begin.  The outer stem and cutwater also need to be installed and shaped to match the lay of the planking.  The following photos show the current state of the model.
 
                        
 
                        
 
                        
 
                        
 
Hmm - after loading the prior photo I see what looks like an issue with the port side of the sheer strake - it seems to flatten a little.  I'll need to check the model and see if this needs correction.
 
 
                        
 
                        
 
We leave tomorrow for a fairly long road trip (hopefully to cooler temperatures!) so Kathryn will be put aside for a while. 
 
Thanks everyone!

Thanks Druxey.  Russ is correct, and the fix will be fairly easy.  I'll be spending some time looking for other areas to correct before painting.
 
Thanks Rich.  Welcome back.  This week will be a good test of the new A/C for your shipyard.

Agree with you that any type of CNC machine process would be a ridiculously expensive exercise for any one-of model manufacture. 

Yes, that's what it is.
 
But two topics here:
 
1. For any CNC machine, one starts with a 3D CAD model of a part. This is fed into some sort of tool path generating software, wherein you define the part's orientation and the size of the rough blank. Using the s/w, you then define what the rough and finishing cuts look like, based on the cutting tools used... the s/w generates the path that the cutting tool will follow. For simple 3-axis mills (including router tables with an adjustable Z-axis), I believe there is even free s/w available.
 
2. Going beyond the basic 3-axis machines, you have 5-axis and even more complicated machines available. Something like a half hull can be machined on a simple 3-axis; a complicated carving, like a 3D sculpture, a figurehead, etc., could make use of 5-axis. It gives the machine the ability to twist and turn the part under the cutting tool... search Youtube with "5-axis CNC" and you'll find plenty of fascinating videos of this. 
But 5-axis machines are very specialized, expensive, and take very skilled programmers to set up... so your machine-carved figurehead will likely be very important to you, for you to take this path!

In functional boat and ship models, many modelers use brass props made of stamped blades soldered to machined hubs. Nicer props, having a more realistic shape, are made by casting in brass or bronze. The process used for these is lost wax, or investment, casting. Usually, the waxes are made by injecting wax into a rubber mold; the rubber molds can be made from a carved or machined master.
 
Should you need a unique prop design, you’ll need to commission a master and a mold; don’t forget to allow for casting shrink when you specify the master! Need a left and a right? Twice the masters and molds.
 
Another option? 3D print the waxes- no need for masters, no rubber molds, and complete freedom to scale and mirror the design.
BTW: You can also machine the waxes on a 5-axis mill… but that’s another challenge.
 
But if you can create a 3D CAD model of the prop, and don’t mind machining the bore yourself, you can use very convenient 3D printing services like Shapeways to source your own custom props.
 
In this example, I made some props for Monterey Clipper fishing boats, using the Yuba-Hicks “weed cutter” design that many of these boats carried. While it’s possible to draw a convincing prop from scratch with some basic knowledge of prop blade shape, I had the benefit of the original factory drawing to work from:

 
CAD rendering of the design:

 
Raw cast bronze prop from Shapeways-  2.5” diameter:

 
From the same CAD model, a 2.25” opposite hand prop (on left):

 
Machining the bore and threads on my lathe:

 
Prop with a 3D printed Hicks engine model:

 
The 2.25” prop went on this 1:8 scale model Monterey:

Even easier... look for larger stranded wire made up of fine uncoated strands. Done.
 
But not quite... straighten the wire: clamp one end in vise, and firmly pull the wire until you feel it yield just a bit... let loose, and the wire will be straight!