Santos Dumont 14 bis (1906) by Greg Davis - FINISHED - Model Airways - 1:16 scale

[Greg Davis]

On 10/2/2024 at 3:46 PM, Papa said:

Working on the engine. I question whether the real 14 Bis could have supported the Antoinette engine with the flimsy bracket arrangement modeled in the kit.  Mine couldn’t support the model engine for sure.   I had to glue the kit engine to the firewall and put in the brackets after the glue had dried.  Also, using the plan’s placement for engine mounts I found that the drive shaft would not line up with the propeller.  It took a lot of fiddling to get everything lined up and I think the engine is still a tad crooked.  

 

This is not a high resolution photo - however, it seems to show a engine mounting arrangement very similar to the one in the kit.

I had to rebuild this portion of the model at least once and also made a few adjustments to get everything lined up. 

 

I'm not sure if it is true, but I get the feeling that Model Expo is not going to keep this available too long into the future. Recently, they had discounted it to about $55 in one of their sales.

 

I do like the effect that you are achieving with the tissue covering!

[Papa]

9 hours ago, Greg Davis said:

do like the effect that you are achieving with the tissue covering!

Thanks.   This photo also shows the wing covered closer to the nacelle than the illustration in the instructions. I will have to add more tissue.  I do think there are more engine supports in the photo than the kit provides.  Watch this space for the finished photo of my bis.  Coming soon!

[Papa]

Finished mostly. It is a big model and I don’t know where I can put it.  I had to take it into the garage to finish. Hanging from the ceiling is not an option, admiral’s orders.   

[Greg Davis]

Congratulations! Very interesting rendition of the 14bis! 

 

Before I hung mine, I did consider a flat wall mount - It would still have taken up a lot of room and would project out a ways. I hope you can find a nice place / way to display your work.

 

Greg

[Papa]

I ended up hanging it in the garage.  A simple wall hook I had held it out far enough to suspend it from the front of the nacelle.

[Papa]

On 6/6/2024 at 10:40 AM, Landlubber Mike said:

Fantastic job!  Really well done.  Seems very fragile, so hanging from the ceiling is a good idea.

Thank you.   It is very fragile.  Joints were popping until the very end.   

[PirateWilly]

I will say this about the build. 

 

Gerald Wingrove, in every single one of his books, points out and emphasizes that "YOU SHOULD NOT TRY TO USE THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL TO SIMULATE THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL ON A SCALE BASIS. IT DOESN'T WORK."

 

For my aircraft, I am going to use steam-bent wood. It will be covered, so this should not be obvious. I am not going to use ANY bamboo if I can avoid it. It doesn't glue well, it returns to it's original shape as time passes, and even with steam bending, it is nearly impossible to form. On most of the original early aircraft I have been lucky enough to get access to, the bamboo parts are typically straight, such as supports for the tail surfaces or to link separate sections together.