Phantom Henry J Gasser by jct - FINISHED - 1/24 scale

[jct]

4 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

I hit the like button only because the chassis was shown..........   

NO Prob...stalling? Na scratching my head...definitely...spent the day fixing damage and trying to get stuff to re-align after the second crash dive...maybe I should make up some decals and call this little bitch Stuka...unnoticed in yesterdays evaluation was damage to the front axle...hairline crack at the drop spindle...the opening doors have been scrapped as the firewall damage/fix prohibited this, no great loss there, IMHO, as the fit sucked big time anyway...broken header location pin, that was a bear to get out of the block 

 

Tanz can be a distraction, she is relentless when she wants attention, plus I don't need to worry about parts that hit the floor cause she eats um!  Had to replenish some good water color brushes cause she thought they was a tasty treat...   

 

The hinge is proving to be a bit of a challenge as I've lost all the kit alignment edges, having glued them solid they proved to be the weak link when it it the hardwood, I'm thinking of carefully routing a rabbit in the rear fender inside edge and body front outside edge to replicate those lost surfaces...or thinning them and adding some 0.10 sheet stock, like I said head scratching, got some errands to take care of for the admiral tomorrow, but I try to get some pics up...

 

...and thanks to all for the likes and comments...no need to concern about liking a negative post, the sentiment is understood and appreciated

[popeye the sailor]

you'll fix it...........this I'm sure!   

[CDW]

1 hour ago, popeye the sailor said:

cool you have history there CDW   I see the article mentions the St John's river...... 

At the time when my forefathers settled in Florida, there were basically just two ways to get here from the north. You either came in by sea (Atlantic Ocean) through a navigable water way like the St. Johns River, or you came in by horseback or wagon around the west side of the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia.

[jct]

OK...so here we go again, got the body and chassis back together with no prob...played with some ideas for the front clip but this is what I settled on...in the circle is a hole drilled in the rad mount...

into which were inserted alignment pins...

and onto which are mounted two pieces of styrene tube, these were glued to the rad support with old school tube glue

corresponding holes were drill in the front clip

two pins were made from a heavy paper clip...

the idea being to install the clip over the tube aligning the holes then simply slide in the pin...once I determine the length I'll clip off any access and ca it in place from the inside, clip should then just swivel on the tube,  we will see 

Edited March 18, 2019 by jct

[jct]

THX for the likes...and comments of encouragement

The stars may finally have aligned for this little guy...good day at the table, the new hinge for the front clip worked out ok after a few test fits

You can see in the first shot that there is some work that needed done to the primer/paint, that was all sanded out re-primed and resprayed 

As I mentioned in a previous post the front axle was damaged in one of the nose dives, so it was reinforced....these pins are just ca'ed to the surface, the axle was way to thin to drill and pin internally, this wont be as strong but should be ok for a static display...aluminum paint will be added to kill the shine and they should all but disappear 

Added some new valance lands to the top of the firewall, CA stiffened card...man my windows are a mess...need a really tiny squeegee

here's a shot with the front clip and the light housings "lens" where made from Elmer's clear glue...added in layers

thinking of tinting some Kleer and laying layer on, has anyone tried that with that stuff?

 

Edited March 19, 2019 by jct
spelling

[popeye the sailor]

superb repair and save      look'in really sweet!  I knew you could do it  

[lmagna]

9 hours ago, jct said:

man my windows are a mess...need a really tiny squeegee

After you clean them use some of the Future you bought and spray them then cover while they dry. Should end up crystal clear.

[Canute]

Yeah, the model airplane guys dip their canopies into that stuff and they come out nice and clear.

[mtaylor]

On 3/15/2019 at 9:19 AM, lmagna said:

And best of all, (Not at LeMans) Dan Gurney having to push his car over the finish line when he had been running well out in 1st place. He still ended up with a DNF as the car has to cross over the finish line under it's own power!

 

They had much better rules in the beginning of the CamAm series of racing. Pretty much no rules! 

I've seen that in drag racing where one car red lights and the other blows the engine.  The driver gets out of the car with blown engine and has to push across the finish line.   

[lmagna]

Like everything else for Ford that year it was not supposed to have happened.

 

Ken Miles, Ford's leading test driver in the GT40 program had won the Daytona 24 hours in a GT MKII, placing Ford as the first three cars and Gurney as one of the drivers in the second place car. For Sebring he was put into a modified GT40 roadster called the X-1. Ford didn't want the roadster to win as he had no interest in promoting that style of car and Shelby didn't want his two lead cars destroying each other by constantly competing for the lead early in the race. Miles was told to do nothing more than keep up. And keep up he did. At the end of the 12 hours it was Gurney, Miles, and Donahue in the Holman Moody MKII entry in 1, 2, and 3 position. Donahue was several laps behind, Miles was not!

 

Then Gurneys engine failed, Some say gas, others give other reasons, but the net result was the same, Gurney found himself in the lead coasting toward the finish line with no power! If he had done like he did in winning the 1962 Daytona Continental and used the starter motor to pull the car over the finish he probably would have been #2 car. But instead he got out and started pushing. This act disqualified him. Miles was shocked when he came around the corner in the last lap and all of the sudden was #1 again for the second major endurance race of the year.

 

The third time for Miles should have been in the 1966 LeMans where he had been leading for most of the race, again in a MKII. If he had won he would have been the first driver in history, (and only one) to have won all three races in the same year. But again he was told to slow down. This time to allow Bruce McLaren in the #2 car and the Holman Moody car to catch up and make it a "Photo finish" 1, 2, 3 for Ford. So  in the last lap Miles and McLaren were neck in neck on the same lap and the Holman Moody car was just behind. At the last second McLaren could contain himself no longer and punched it going over the finish line just in front of Miles. Additionally The rules people said that his car had traveled 22 feet further than Miles car as it had started further down in the #2 spot in the starting line. (LeMans start). 

 

Miles died in testing the "J" car, the predecessor to the first American made Ford GT the MK IV, a few months later so he never had a chance at winning all three again. Gurney  went on to win LeMans with a record distance covered the next year in a MKIV.

Edited March 22, 2019 by lmagna

[jct]

Thx to all fr the likes and participation in this log...this is the next to last post in this build log, baring any unforeseen disasters.

 

 I gutted the head light buckets to redo them...the inside of the bucket was painted with clear burgundy paint, after that dried they were filled with clear school glue...it will probably take a couple applications of clear to fill the buckets after shrinkage...once they are completely dry they'll be installed in the fenders, which is the last piece of the puzzle

I'll post the finish pics once the lights are in...probably a couple days...in the interim...

 

 

 

 I was diggin' through my storage again...I don't recall what I was even searching for now, but came across this...the old Williams Brothers, Curtis Sparrowhawk in 1/32 scale.  These were cool little fighters meant to be deployed aboard the airships USS Akron and USS Macon in the early 30's. (and everyone thought Marvel had thunk up the flying aircraft carrier)

Everything is here except for the clear windscreen, which wont be hard to replicate. I apparently started to build this as there are a few things painted and sub-assembled, but never finished it, no idea how long ago that was, my best guess would  be at least 25 yrs ago.  The decals are a bit yellowed so they are in the window...if we ever get any sun they should be salvageable

this is definitely going into the build queue...always loved the yellow winged taildraggers 

[CDW]

Williams Brothers had some cool 1:32 planes. I've seen them finished and they look super good.

[jct]

3 minutes ago, CDW said:

Williams Brothers had some cool 1:32 planes. I've seen them finished and they look super good.

There does seem to be a sufficient amount of detail to this kit to make it an attractive display, plus its not over huge, guess that is due to the diminutive size of the 1:1...I remember building a 30s air racer, Gee Bee I believe, that they produced...I liked their kits though they had a bad rep

[lmagna]

Building the Sparrowhawk would give you a lot of options. They were chosen to be used on the airships because they were so small and light compared to the other choices the navy had. The Sparrowhawk pilots were responsible for developing the scout pattern that was used throughout the rest of the years where ships carried fixed wing scout planes that allowed them to fly out beyond the horizon on each side of the ships baseline course and find their way back to the ship.  While they were carried on board the airships, (Except the Los Angeles) the crews started removing the landing gear at the fuselage and stowing them for the remainder of the time the aircraft was on board. this made them lighter and faster but also allowed the installation of a teardrop fuel tank where the gear had been for increased range. Gives you another option since yours has the trapeze installed. 

 

What is the decal in the sun trick? I am not familiar with that. 

Edited March 22, 2019 by lmagna

[jct]

Interesting idea, pose her on the trapeze 

[popeye the sailor]

pencil me in on that one          no one could have that bad a rep..........Hobby Craft has them beat!  the plastic was too thick and poor fit......I built their Fokker Dr 1 {I had to modify the fit of the middle wing}.   cool kit.......never heard of them before.

[jct]

They’re not around anymore, fallen by the wayside like many others, as far as I know all they  only did 1/32 scale aircraft 

[CDW]

Besides the line of 1:32 air racers and the Sparrow, Williams Brothers produced large scale WW1 machine gun and radial engine kits, designed primarily for scale model builders in the RC aircraft hobby. They were the only ones who produced plastic kits of this type and were a mainstay in the RC hobby.

[lmagna]

10 minutes ago, jct said:

pose her on the trapeze 

That would be even cooler! The work to build the "landing" trapeze would be a pretty involved scratch build though.

[jct]

True, there is a lot of reference material available ...best way to suspend it though... don’t really want to build a 1/32 scale airship😳. Maybe a skyhook... worth some thought 

[CDW]

33 minutes ago, jct said:

They’re not around anymore, fallen by the wayside like many others, as far as I know all they  only did 1/32 scale aircraft 

Here is an example of the kind of plastic kits Williams Brothers was famous for. I happened to have some of these handy in a storage drawer, ready for a 1:5 scale biplane model I have yet to build.

 

[popeye the sailor]

there are dirigible kits out there.........likely not a lot of parts.  they were filled with air {helium}       why not display it from the trapeze on the plane?

[CDW]

13 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

there are dirigible kits out there.........likely not a lot of parts.  they were filled with air {helium}       why not display it from the trapeze on the plane?

A friend tried to give me his RC dirigible model...the darned thing was almost 30' long! For real. I told him I couldn't afford the helium it would take to fill it. He said, no problem, I have some tanks full of helium to give you as well. This thing was complete with all the RC equipment and everything. It was designed to fly advertisement inside of domed stadiums. I did some reading on the flying aspects of these ships and realized what a huge liability they would be to fly one. I turned down his free gift.

I learned that the professionals who use these things have a helium recovery system used to remove and restore recover the helium after each use. Way too expensive for me to play with, not to mention what would happen if unexpected wind direction sailed this thing over my local international airport. I'd be sitting in a small room in Leavenworth Prison behind bars.

Edited March 22, 2019 by CDW

[lmagna]

10 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

likely not a lot of parts.  they were filled with air

Lets see................. about 25' long by 4' wide in 1/32 scale! As for parts...........?

 

And that's only part of the ship! You have to remember that the Akron an Macon were almost the same length as the Bismarck battleship!

[lmagna]

22 minutes ago, CDW said:

A friend tried to give me his RC dirigible model

I think I would have had to at least had to pretend interest long enough for a "Test" flight. To say that I had actually done it would be a bucket list kind of event. Most of the time they fly those "small" model airships or blimps indoors.

 

The largest airship model I have presently is the Hawk Graf Zeppelin that I would modify as the Los Angeles. I would LOVE to have a Macon in the same or even larger size.

Edited March 22, 2019 by lmagna

[CDW]

1 minute ago, lmagna said:

I think I would have had to at least had to pretend interest long enough for a "Test" flight. To say that I had actually done it would be a bucket list kind of event.

 

The largest airship model I have presently is the Hawk Graf Zeppelin that I would modify as the Los Angeles.

I was plenty interested, just too cautious once I thought it through. It is designed to fly indoors almost exclusively. If I remember correctly, wind speed can be no more than 5 mph outdoors or you run the risk of the wind overpowering the propulsion system, then you'll have a runaway blimp on your hands! OMG 

[jct]

Lets see................. about 25' long by 4' wide in 1/32 scale! As for parts...........?

 

Ya I can see trying to explain that build to the admiral...she is supportive but there is a limit...that pic reminds me of the lighter then air hangers at Lakehurst...was stationed there is the 70s, truly massive structures, especially Hanger 1

[jct]

the trapeze system aboard the airships

[mtaylor]

 

2 hours ago, jct said:

Ya I can see trying to explain that build to the admiral...she is supportive but there is a limit...that pic reminds me of the lighter then air hangers at Lakehurst...was stationed there is the 70s, truly massive structures, especially Hanger 1

Wiki says "Akron, Ohio" at their build hanger. Lakehurst on the east coast and Santa Ana on the west were the operating bases.

 

FYI, the blimp hangers at Santa Ana, CA are still there last time I checked on line.   Huge beasties.  I was stationed there in the late 60's as it was chopper training base and those hanger were used for helicopters.   They have two huge doors (one at each end) and after twice having an F-4 fly through the hanger, they started closing one end of the hanger.    We would still get low flyovers and thought the pilots were checking if the doors were open.

[lmagna]

The Lakehurst hanger was used for building and later housing the Shenandoah and later the Los Angeles. The Los Angeles was of course sister ship to the Graff Zeppelin and was built in Germany. As LTA hangers go it is dated and a bit old and really not well suited to the larger Akron/Macon or even larger Hindenburg airships, but all of the US ships used it at one point or another, as it was really all that was available on the east coast.

 

The hangers in Santa Anna never housed the larger rigid airships to my knowledge, but could and did house multiple smaller blimps during WWII. 

 The Goodyear Airdock in Akron Ohio was built to house the Akron and Macon while they were built. The picture above has to be one of them being built in that hanger.  It is larger than the other hangers listed and is one of the two hangers build with the unique rounded ends that made them larger and at the same time reduced wind velocity around the ends of the buildings. I don't believe the Akron hanger was ever used as an operational base for the rigid airships but I could be wrong.

 

The main west coast base/hanger was Hanger One in Mountain View, CA. (Moffitt Field). It was built too late to ever be used by the Akron but was the primary base for the Macon. It is said to be the largest open supported building in the world and is large enough to house not only the almost 800' long Macon but another just like her at the same time. I think I have a picture in one of my airship books that shows the Macon and Los Angeles inside at the same time.

 

This is the Macon. I think the smaller blimp looking item floating further forward on the left is a Helium surge/fill tank not a blimp. I could be wrong though. As you can see it makes the Goodyear Airdock building in the above picture look small!

 

Oh yeah, as a by-the-way the aircraft hanger on the Akron was mis-designed and structural frames interfered with the use of the two rear storage locations, so she could only carry three aircraft at one time. Two stored and one on the trapeze in the middle.

Edited March 22, 2019 by lmagna