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#1
09-20-2009, 01:24 PM
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Dover Spirit of Saint Louis
During the summer, during grandson Don4’s annual visit, we went to Philadelphia to see the battleship New Jersey and the Franklin Institute, where I picked up a couple of copies of Peter Zorn’s Dover book with the model of the Spirit of Saint Louis. It looked about my speed, and having been carefully watching Bomarc building his world class engines for his PBJ-1H, I scanned the engine parts and tried my hand at putting together the simplified Wright J-5A engine, described here: http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/aviation/4807-baby-steps-peter-zorn-wright-j-5a.html.
I have now begun an actual build of the kit. It is in book form, printed on 0.01-inch/0.254mm paper of decent quality and in two colors: black and silver. There are a few flaws in the silver printing that I have covered up with silver Sharpie (the flaws are still visible, but I can convince myself that they look like patches on the silver-doped fabric, rather than white printing flaws). There are something over 100 parts, counting the little Model T Ford tender. The first photo below gives an idea of the kit. The second photo is the test model of the engine made from the scan. Then the first steps: the wicker pilot’s seat, the fuselage center section, and the engine mount. Don 
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#2
09-20-2009, 01:28 PM
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And so the saga begins......
And great beginnings they are Don! I will be following closely and taking notes.... Mike
__________________
"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it." - George Bernard Shaw
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#3
09-20-2009, 01:34 PM
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Hey that looks nice Don! I have Gremir's Spirit and waiting for the right time to build it, your build may inspire me to do so! (Although I'm looking hard at Addison's 1936 Waco...)
__________________
regards Glen
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#4
09-20-2009, 01:38 PM
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The first picture below gives a better idea of the booklet than the earlier one I used, which also included some reference material and my cluttered writing desk/workbench. Since he was in on the beginning of this project, here is a photo of Don4 aboard New Jersey.
The wing has a box spar which is to be folded up. Mine was a real mess, so I fabricated a new one from 1mm Crescent Board. Don
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#5
09-20-2009, 01:43 PM
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I poked holes in the rear fuselage, dyed some silk thread black with my Tombow art pen, and inserted the wires that will connect with the control horns on the empennage.
Today, I glued up and attached the rear fuselage. In spite of much test fitting, the bends in the fuselage do not quite match up. Par for me, I'm afraid. I hope to get some more work done this coming busy week. Don
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#6
09-20-2009, 01:59 PM
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Looks good Don, I'm sure will make a nice model. I don't think there is a more famous plane and pilot, with ties to so much aviation history. His flying fighter missions in P-38's showed courage as well, he did quite a bit of work for the AAC despite disagreements with Roosevelt..(probably not a good idea to disagree with the President generally)
__________________
regards Glen
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#8
09-20-2009, 02:14 PM
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Thanks for the supportive comments from model builders with far more skill than I have!
Brett: Yes, the printing is metallic. even in the photos, you might be able to tell the difference between the photos of the kit and the photo of the engine, which was built from a scan and is printed out in gray. Don
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#9
09-20-2009, 02:26 PM
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It is looking nice. Makes me want to watch the James Stewart movie again.
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