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jablackwell
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jablackwell got a reaction from Duanelaker in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from Mirabell61 in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
David: nice to have you on board!
Ron: thank you for the review. I am happy that the MA kit is wood: I am enjoying that a lot. The wing ribs are about as accurate as laser cutting can make them without them getting too fragile. Seeing real Sopwith's in the shop, all their components are more fragile... they were pretty light weight with thin components.
This week finished the wings' wooden components and am about to add their compression bars and tensioning wires. I am ...just... almost concerned about cutting free the ailerons. We'll see how that goes!
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from popeye the sailor in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
The method worked pretty well.... that is, keeping the straight edge in place while aligning the ribs. Status: the fore and aft spars are in place, the ribs glued and aileron spars also in place. The lower wing has been cut in half, ready for their re-joining with the correct dihedral. That will come after tension stringers have been added. More to do!
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jablackwell got a reaction from popeye the sailor in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
All,
The wing ribs and caps are complete for the bottom wing now. Phew! That was a workout in patience. It is time to run the fore and aft wing spars through them (skewer time) and then fit the leading edge. Then for both wings it will be time to add small details: spreaders, wiring, pulleys and such for the ailerons. I decided to go with a straight edge clamped to the work surface to help with alignment. We'll see how that works out. The recommendation is to thread the spars in first, then sand the leading edge. If the cutting was done well enough, using a straight edge at the front should be doable.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from Duanelaker in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
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
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jablackwell got a reaction from popeye the sailor in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Continued work on the top wing with the tips and leading edge now added. Some detail work to complete.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from CaptainSteve in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Working on the inner wing framing today. Placed the leading edge on the plans and worked on a joinery issue: the leading edge is in two pieces (as were the main and secondary spars). Got the leading edge joined and glued, and now testing the fit against the front of the ribs. A little sanding here and there will be needed to get the leading edge of the ribs flat, then it is glue time. Aileron spars done. Dry fitting the wing tips as well. They'll need a little bending.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from Rik Thistle in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Thanks for joining the build, John and Grant.
Good point about scale. I'll post a couple of images here for you to give an idea of the size-of-things. The little charcoal cube is 1cm.
The model is 3/4" = 1' (1:16) scale of the F.1 Sopwith Camel. The wingspan will be 534mm (21") and the longitudinal length (prop to empennage) 584mm (about 14").
Construction materials: basswood, brass, Britannia metal, steel, rubber tubing, copper tape and tubing, thread.
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jablackwell got a reaction from CaptainSteve in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Top wing making more progress tonight: majority of ribs glued onto the two main spars. This will dry overnight before continuing with the leading edge, ailerons and other details. After this, the bottom wing,,,, The last image shows the rib details: they are laser cut and then capped with curved planking.... these were most time consuming to do well. The gluing was painless. The plans are covered in regular wax paper, parts held with pins as needed, and then glued using standard yellow wood glue that had been thinned 30% with water. This flowed into the remaining gaps well, and it is solidifying nicely. A remaining issue will be to clear coat this first, before any color/stain/varnish is applied, as simple one-step staining will not work where the glue has already sealed the wood.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from CaptainSteve in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Hi Ken,
Glad you've stepped in to watch the build. I, too, enjoy planes: they are my first love. Your work is astounding - what joy to work on such a large scale. From the few images I have seen on your site, one can readily see the attention to detail. Good work! For this build I am not thinking about covering, though I might be tempted as I move along. My last aircraft, a 75 Stearman, I did cover, largely to show off the color scheme. The Stearman is also internally not to-scale, but rather was made to fly as an RC. This Sopwith is definitely not flying. I would cry to see her crash! Too much detail to show off. So, maybe it'll have some sort of large diorama.... we'll see.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from omarcs in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
.... and where I am today: working on the upper wing. There are a LOT of laser cut wing ribs that need sanding and such. It is a messy bit of work with the char going all over the place. I have finished adding the rib caps to each rib, and am now working on getting them aligned into their spars. That's it! More as this progresses.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from Rik Thistle in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
The prop is made from a laminate of laser-cut pieces, then sanded to shape.
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jablackwell got a reaction from omarcs in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Taking a break on the ship builds for an airplane. I have the mighty decision to build the Syren or something else as the next ship, and I think I want to watch others complete theirs before I embark on that voyage. This is the Sopwith Camel F.1 from 1917 kit from Model Airways. I've always enjoyed aircraft, flying them (real ones and models) and building them (models), so this looked like an interesting and more accurate than regularly seen kit. So, some images. They build starts with the engine, a rendition of the Clerget rotary. The kit parts are cast Britannia and also some brass. I used epoxy and CA for this portion.
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jablackwell got a reaction from Canute in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
<chuckles> Yep, Bill, that would be one awesome and swift method to cut those ailerons right off! Once and for all! <hehehe> I was actually thinking about that as I was sawing them apart, one swipe, after swipe, after swipe, with the saw blade. It was slow, and even a little bit damaging, but easily cleaned up and repaired as needed. I am adding the hinges now for the ailerons, and that is also presenting its challenges. For all the airplanes I have made, this one is a workout.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from Torbogdan in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from popeye the sailor in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage.
~john
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jablackwell reacted to David Rice in US Brig Syren by David Rice - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64
Tweaking before starting to plank.
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jablackwell got a reaction from thibaultron in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
<chuckles> Yep, Bill, that would be one awesome and swift method to cut those ailerons right off! Once and for all! <hehehe> I was actually thinking about that as I was sawing them apart, one swipe, after swipe, after swipe, with the saw blade. It was slow, and even a little bit damaging, but easily cleaned up and repaired as needed. I am adding the hinges now for the ailerons, and that is also presenting its challenges. For all the airplanes I have made, this one is a workout.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from FatFingers in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage.
~john
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jablackwell reacted to reklein in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Those aren't easy kits . I built the Jenny a few years ago and scratch built a Curtis 12-E One step up from the wright bros. anad the first plane to fly in Idaho' Fun projects but ya gotta be patient.
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jablackwell reacted to md1400cs in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
John,
Very nice indeed.
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jablackwell got a reaction from CaptainSteve in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
All,
The wing ribs and caps are complete for the bottom wing now. Phew! That was a workout in patience. It is time to run the fore and aft wing spars through them (skewer time) and then fit the leading edge. Then for both wings it will be time to add small details: spreaders, wiring, pulleys and such for the ailerons. I decided to go with a straight edge clamped to the work surface to help with alignment. We'll see how that works out. The recommendation is to thread the spars in first, then sand the leading edge. If the cutting was done well enough, using a straight edge at the front should be doable.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from popeye the sailor in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
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
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jablackwell got a reaction from CaptainSteve in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Continued work on the top wing with the tips and leading edge now added. Some detail work to complete.
~john
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jablackwell got a reaction from md1400cs in Sopwith F.1 Camel by jablackwell - Model Airways - WOOD
Working on the inner wing framing today. Placed the leading edge on the plans and worked on a joinery issue: the leading edge is in two pieces (as were the main and secondary spars). Got the leading edge joined and glued, and now testing the fit against the front of the ribs. A little sanding here and there will be needed to get the leading edge of the ribs flat, then it is glue time. Aileron spars done. Dry fitting the wing tips as well. They'll need a little bending.
~john
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