Sopwith Pup "Breadner" 1/16

[Leif Ohlsson]

OK, so I have at least started thinking about my chosen subject, the Sopwith Pup flown by L. S. Breadner, No. 3 Naval Squadron, April 1917.

I will adhere to the rule not to add or detract anything substantial, or use any exotic techniques, keeping to the spirit of letting the buyer get a good idea of what he or she gets.

I will allow myself the occasional pin, or rather a dozen and a half of them, a few toothpicks, floral wire of varying thickness, and just some teeny, weeny bits of plastic tubing for wheel & engine bearings. Plus rigging thread straight from the sewing & handicraft shop. Nothing fancy.

I have taken the liberty of printing the instrument panel twice with the intention of placing a piece of transparency between the layers, plus I have printed an extra set of wheel sides. This should be alright, since they could very well be cut from any old piece of paper with the help of a pair of compasses.

I will further allow myself common gouache water color, some gouache varnish to cover up edge painting and small paint touch-ups, plus common water soluble matt varnish for final finish. I will also use Depron instead of thick card for reinforcements, but that won't change the appearance of the model as it came in the download.

And, to make it really clear what the customer gets, I will build the model in 1/16 scale (206,25 percent of the original 1/33), without any extra reinforcements (I think & hope, but we'll see). In any case, nothing visible will detract from the original kit - it will just be a lot easier to see.

The parts printed beautifully, crisp & clear, and I am quite happy so far. They also fit almost exactly on to the scale drawings I have. The only small deviation seems to be that the fuselage height & cowl diameter is a little bit on the small side, otherwise everything is more perfect than usually.

I managed to get everything into 11 common A4 sheets. In order to do that I hade to angle the bottom fuse part and it j-u-s-t fitted in that way. Very rewarding. I will also build the wing reinforcements as two equal halves instead of full span as in the kit.

An important note on the quality of the kit is that you can open this original vector design in a vector graphic programme (like Illustrator) from the pdf you get. This is really commendable, since it enables you to enlarge & rearrange parts without any loss of quality at all. Take a bow, Chris, and designer Marek, for allowing this! (The only small exception is the instrument panel which has suffered from what I believe must have been an original enlargement from 1/48 to 1/33, and now I doubled the blur...)

This won't be a quickie, but I do aim to finish within the timeframe of the competition, and if I manage to persevere it will be my contribution to Chris' efforts to show customers what they get. And also what they can do with these very nice kits, with comparatively little trouble, if they want to give a fine model away as a present to their children or grandchildren - it is really something to hold a model plane this size in your hands.

Leif

PS. Note the framed painting in the background. That is the real thing - the cover image of the model enlarged to exactly 1/16. Very easy to do, and a good thing to have on the wall in front of you while building. Vector models are really nice that way - you can upscale however much you want, and they are still as crisp & clear. Paper format is A3 length, and the width cut down to what the most ordinary of inkjet printers will accept.

[dansls1]

I look forward to following this build - knowing your techniques and attention to detail / accuracy, it is sure to be a treat!

[cjwalas]

I'm also very much looking forward to your build! I'm always ready to learn more from the masters!
Chris

[eatcrow2]

Really going to be paying attention on this one!!!! Hope to pick up all sorts of "tips & tricks" from this build......

Cheers..

[member_3]

Leif, I (for one) vote that you be allowed any and all transgressions just so we get to see one of your stunning builds.

[Leif Ohlsson]

Ron, don't do that - the "any and all transgressions" means diversions galore, which means my already low perseverance goes completely out the window. I was really trying to discipline myself into a state of mind where finishing one decent model, no frills, was the important thing.

So, could we cut down on the hyperbole a little bit and just be friends enjoying the same good things ... please.

And many thanks for watching!

Leif

[cgutzmer]

OOOOHHHHh this will be very nice! I dont mind scaling changes so long as it does not change the essence of the build :D and upscaling will really show the quality!

Waiting for more!
Chris

[Texman]

Oh, and DOWNscaling doesn't show the opposite end of the quality spectrum? (hee hee!)

Ray

[member_3]

<<heavy sigh>> - OK, but I was looking forward to the animatronic 1:16 scale pilot! :(

[cgutzmer]

Not sure about downscaling to your usual size texman - it at least needs to be visible :P

Ron - you put that pilot in there and make it available as a download I will allow it ;)

[Kugelfang]

I can't imagine that anyone with such a neat and tidy work area has any problem disciplining his mind. Looking forward to watching the Pup grow.

--jeff

[Leif Ohlsson]

I mentioned the instrument panel as a weak spot, at least when enlarging. It seems that the original model probably was 1/48, at least judging from the general design mode (no reinforcements to speak of, etc.). The quality of the panel suffered since, if that is the case, it was enlarged 300 percent from the original pixel-based instrument panel.

Interestingly, I had already saved a marvellous instrument panel layout from Arizona Models (http://www.arizonamodels.com/product_info.php/products_id/81). (Download the free instructions as a pdf (http://www.arizonamodels.com/manuals/instruments-sowith-Directions.pdf).)

When I superimposed the image in the instructions on the panel in the kit they were absolutely identical in proportions and instrument layout. Obviously, this had been the source for the original designer or repainter as well. So I made a new repaint.

The result is shown enlarged in the first image, with the existing enlarged kit panel for comparison. However, the effort may not be entirely worth it, since it is so small, see second image.

Just as a teaser, have a look at the detailed Arizona Models kit for the Sopwith Pup cockpit in the last image. We are not doing that now, but you must allow me the new instrument panel, Chris - pretty please...

Doing this was really educational, since I learned the process of making compound curves (cutouts for holes) and clipping masks (cropping to an outline) in Illustrator. There were limitations - you cannot cut a hole in an imported texture, like the wood background. This has to be done in Photoshop by creating white circles under the pixel instrument pattern.

Instrument hands were made in Illustrator. Note also that I wanted brass instrument fittings instead of the black ones in the Arizona model photo. Although I might change that in order to conform better to the WYSIWYG-rule.

Leif

[cgutzmer]

Its the same but better - yes, go ahead. I am going to contact arizona models and see if I can link to it/use it :)
Thanks!
Chris

p.s. course if you let me use your repainted copy I will be all set ;)

[Leif Ohlsson]

Of course you can, will send them to your regular email, one brass, one grey, two scales 1/16 and 1/33. Just didn't want to suggest it in case you didn't think the small size (even smaller in 1/33, don't forget) made the butter worth your salt.

The imagery gets kind'a entangled here...

Leif

[cgutzmer]

Thanks - I have enough salt I can spare :)
Chris

[Leif Ohlsson]

Good! But why, oh why did you edit away the "same butter but better" bit!? Or did I just imagine that? Oh well, all gone into cyberspace now, making us booth look like blubbering fools, with the "salt" stuff and all... :) - L.

[cgutzmer]

I didnt edit that! ??? :)

[Leif Ohlsson]

I'm starting to see things... too many hours with fiddly parts on the screen. Imagined you wrote "same butter but better", and licked it up as a new piece of language game. Back to the fiddly parts. - L.

[Leif Ohlsson]

The other day I got rid of an old notice board, which had been around for decades, including several moves between apartments. Not being able to find a new one at several shops, I rescued the old one from the bin, cut it up and had one new smaller notice board fit inside a flea-market frame, plus two building boards, one small for details the size of fins and stabs, and one the size of my cutting mat for larger stuff like fuselage and wing frameworks.

It is very good for pinning things on to, since it is made of soft building board, plus a layer of cork which makes a harder and quite even surface on one side.

Now for something to pin onto it.

It took me a couple of days to get the hang of how to design an inner structure for the Pup to fit exactly inside the parts of the kit, but here it is, broken down in parts.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13213&d=1240495853

I copied the cockpit parts on to the structural parts, and modified bulkheads to fit inside the new structural framework.

All parts were laminated on to ca 2 mm surplus Depron from the artists shop (packaging material for large sheets of paper). With 200 g paper on each side, the thickness is close enough to 2.5 mm to calculate with that even figure.

The top view was printed separately. Parts will be pinned down to it to ensure alignment. The idea is to combine the best of two worlds - classic stick & tissue methods, and paper modeling. I miss those sessions pinning down thin balsa strips!

None of these parts, except the originals copied on to them, will be visible in the finished model, so the WYSIWYG rule still applies.

Now to work.

Leif

[treadhead1952]

This is some serious modeling, I will have to keep an eye on this for future reference purposes. Looking forward to your progress.

[eatcrow2]

Pretty inspiring work, and great write up explaining what your doing!!

[cgutzmer]

Thanks - this is awesome!
Chris

[Leif Ohlsson]

Waiting for some uninterrupted time to start assembling the framework, I made the instrument panel. My way of doing it is to print at least three copies (and a few more for spares), in order to have enough parts for three layers:

+ Bottom layer to be used "as is"; but only instrument faces will be visible. Instrument faces covered by ordinary clear office tape.
+ Middle layer with instrument faces cut out (holes). This is the main layer most visible.
+ Top layer used to cut out instrument frames with identical holes for intrument faces (very optional), plus miscellaneous buttons and panels (if present).

The instrument faces are only for those who can handle the thin & wobbly parts resulting. I am full of admiration for people who accomplish all sorts of tiny rings around instruments, but I'm out on both counts; part become too small and difficult to cut for me even in 1/16 scale. So no instrument frames, apart from the printed pattern on the main layer.

This is really a quick & dirty method for the average modeller.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13289&d=1240563302

Above, the holes in the main layer have been cut out and edgecoloured. The instrument faces of the bottom layer have been covered with clear tape.

If you want to be really quick & dirty, just tape over the bottom layer entirely. I think white glue will adhere sufficiently well even to office tape; it works well enough on overhead transparent film.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13290&d=1240563302

Here the two main layers have been glued up and edgecoloured. One tiny little knob or switch has been added from the top layer.

Cut out the main layer (the one with holes) rough, and use the holes to align the part when glueing over the bottom layer. Take care not to apply glue on or close to the instrument faces. When dry, cut out the glued composite precisely.

In other instrument panel layouts, there might be several levels of sub-panels. If so, print additional copies of the original panel as needed.

If the backside of the panel is visible, roll up small massive paper cylinders in varying diameters, and cut them to varying lengths. Paint black or grey to simulate instrument casings.

The Pup deserves this treatment, but it's not part of the original kit, so not this time...

Leif

PS. You can't see it here, but the instrument hands have been set to typical Pup speed, rpm, and altitude. Thanks Charlie, and Shrike, for accurate figures! And the mission takes places slightly before noon.

[cgutzmer]

Very cool! :)
Chris

[redhorse]

PS. You can't see it here, but the instrument hands have been set to typical Pup speed, rpm, and altitude.

That's neat!

[ct ertz]

OK, I will be doing that neet trick on my build! Too cool!

[Leif Ohlsson]

So this is what the pinning exercise resulted in - the fuselage framework pinned & glued upside down on the building board. Classic building technique for both stick & tissue models, and full-scale aircraft of this type I imagine, since it takes advantage of the straight line of the top of the framework.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13340&d=1240680596

One thing I didn't calculate with when designing the framework was the need to cut the two fuselage formers in two halves - one lower section flush with the top of the framework, and two smaller curved upper halves, which have to be re-instated in the next step.

The cut-off upper sections can be seen lying on top of the bottom, together with various other small fuselage former parts, which have to be inserted when the framework has been cut loose.

Not least among them the cockpit floor, which has to be built up with all the cockpit details in the kit - chair, rudder pedals & stick.

Irritating not to have realized the need to draw two sections for each former, but not a great problem. I also forgot that the underside has the similar depth as the rest of the framwork, so the lower bit of the front former had to be trimmed when in place. I realized this soon after the picture was taken.

I'll remember this for the future. I still think there are good reasons to get back to this kind of design.

Leif

[Leif Ohlsson]

Loosening the pins, was a bit of an initial disappointment - I hadn't been able to pin the parts down as securely as I thought, so the upper surface wasn't as flush as could be wished. Quite a bit of sanding was needed.

Then I discovered that the thickness of the laminate was closer to 3,0 mm than 2,5 mm, which might spell a bit of trouble down the road. Didn't discover this until I glued the paper underside to the composite insert. It didn't fit as planned, so I had to make a bit of sensitive cutting - shaving down the laminate without cutting through the glued-on paper part skin.

Anyway, here's the present status of the framework:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13343&d=1240684189

The cockpit floor with interior details has been inserted, as the engine support beam (I'm pointing at it with the tweezers), and the instrument panel support beam.

The shaved-down bottom part can be seen in front of the framework, waiting to go on.

To cover up the partitioned rear cockpit former, I printed a new part and glued it outsid the two original parts. At the rear you might make out the small top part of the rear former.

All in all, that's all for now. Next major step is glueing the bottom framework section, with glued-on bottom part. Then the engine former.

That will take a little bit of time.

Leif

[Leif Ohlsson]

Meanwhile, I'll allow myself a few closer looks at the cockpit section. It doesn't look too bad, after all:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13344&d=1240684709

The cockpit details are what the kit provided. I'm not so sure that I've got the rudder pedals on the right way, but then I'm not too sure they looked like this anyway. Rudder lines have been added, and the stick is a toothpick instead of flat card. Otherwise as per original kit.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13345&d=1240684709

Here's a bottom view, mainly to demonstrate the two paper rolled-up tubes for the wings. Original placement to fit wing support wires, although tubes are not specified in the kit. We'll see what can be done about the wing ends of the attachment. Haven't figured that out yet.

Are you starting to see why I am pursuing this way of building? Imagine a couple of more - and better drawn - cut-outs like the ones at the front, and what do you get? Right, a proper framework - although a lot of problems still have to be solved to get there, among them a fail-safe method of rigging the framework with crossed wires.

Anyway, that's my reason for trying out this approach.

Leif

[eatcrow2]

Great photos.. with a nice clear writeup on what your doing, and how your getting there.. Following this with pleasure.

[Don Boose]

Excellent work, as always, Leif!

And the pup is one of the most attractive airplanes of all time.

Don

[EricGoedkoop]

Nice work, Leif.

A neat trick - although maybe not applicable here - is to print the framework and cross-bracing in black on the outside of the solid interior "box" aft of the cockpit. There's really no need to do full-blown structure back there, but on a light-colored fuselage the printed longerons, uprights and wires will be subtly visible through the skin. Works great on CDL birds.

Regarding cross-bracing for the visible sections inside the cockpit, I'll bet you'd be able to drill (or poke, even) through your Depron structure at the corners and run the lines through fairly easily. Looks like there's enough meat there. For 1/16th scale I'd try 50wt filament silk thread. Ordinary white glue will hold it. The only danger is that it may loosen up and sag a bit if the fuselage is subjected to stress during subsequent construction. In smaller scales I'm perfectly content to just print 'em on the interior skin.

I'm watching this project with interest. We're about to move so I'm out of commission, modelling-wise. Your work here is making me anxious to start something soon.

[B-Manic]

Big, Bold & Beautiful bird Leif!

[EricGoedkoop]

And the pup is one of the most attractive airplanes of all time.


Amen to that!

I've sworn off things with guns attached to them, but Hawker's Runabout is on the to-do list.

[Don Boose]

If I am not mistaken, Pups without guns survived the war in air shows and general aviation, so there is probably scope for some non-military repaints.

Don

[EricGoedkoop]

Post-war, Sopwith attempted to sell a two-seat version called the Dove as a sport and touring aircraft. There's one at Old Warden which I think is original:

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/7/4/4/0800447.jpg

Apparently, the idea was a bit of a bust; there were so many surplus aircraft available on the cheap that folks just bought old Pups (or whatevers*) and converted them to two-seaters themselves.



*The NASM Snipe, formerly Old Rhinebeck, formerly Roosevelt Field, for example.

[Leif Ohlsson]

First - Don, Eric, I'd like to get back to you at a later time on the subject of the Pup as such, and the development of my own particular feelings towards it.

Thanks Eric for the beautiful photo of the modified two-seater Pup. Didn't know about that. Any good pictures of the Hawker's Runabout, or even a drawing, around?

Meanwhile I totally remade the instrument panel, since it is just the wrong size as delivered in the model.

I was wondering why I had so much trouble cutting out the holes for the instrument faces. Shouldn't be like that, not in 1/16, and not with those large faces used in this early aircraft.

Looking closer at the Arizona Models 1/4 scale model the reason was all too obvious:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13388&d=1240779376

As you can see, the instrument panel should cover the entire width of the fuselage. I should have suspected it, if nothing else by the shape of it.

So, back to the drawing board enlarging it. The new version was much easier to cut out, and I even managed two instrument rings, the bubble instrument, and the plaque, plus one knob.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13389&d=1240779376

Also, I used overhead film for glazing, instead of just tape (which still is a good method, though!). And I made a backside for the panel (but no instrument casings at the back, which would be nice another time).

Here's what the instrument panel looks like mounted on the support beam in the framework:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13390&d=1240779376

If there are other Pup builders out there, here's what the little kit I prepared looks like:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13391&d=1240779376

Attached, there's a pdf-file for anybody interested in using it.

Leif

PS. And yes, I had to use the spare provided in the kit...

[Don Boose]

What a wonderful posting! I enjoyed reading it; enjoyed the description of the problem, the solution, and the process of building the instrument panel; and downloaded the pdf for future use -- either for a paper model of the Pup or for a stick-and-tissue flying model.

Don

[EricGoedkoop]

Thanks Eric for the beautiful photo of the modified two-seater Pup.

I do believe that's a Dove that was built as such. The Shuttleworth Pup is/was actually a Dove that was converted to a Pup. I'm not sure if this is the same aircraft converted back to it's original state or a second Dove. Somebody will know, I'm sure.

Any good pictures of the Hawker's Runabout, or even a drawing, around?

I wish. You know how I'm only fond of the obscure ones - it's tragic, really. The Flight archive has a few items: one photo and a mention in the letters here (http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1954/1954%20-%200219.html), and a few details on the first page of J. M. Bruce's 1954 article on the Pup here (http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1954/1954%20-%200016.html).

[shrike]

The Dove pictured above is a replica, or at least is described as such in the prang report of 16 July 2000.

The Shuttleworth Pup was indeed converted from a Dove - - odd in that the Dove with only 10 built is a rarer bird than a Pup (1770 produced) but that's an argument for another day.

[cgutzmer]

Thanks!
I will make sure the panel gets in with the pup kit(s) and also make it a freebie download on my site if thats all right with you?
Chris

[pahorace]

This is an interesting building, and as always an exciting tutorial.
Thanks Leif.

Orazio.

[birder]

Thank- you Leif for the instruction, I wish I had a couple panels back in my hands now...:)

[Leif Ohlsson]

Progress report - small steps: The bottom, exhaust funnel, and the firewall have gone on. This is me trying to be exact drilling the hole for the rotary engine shaft:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13555&d=1241100625

I made a mistake in glueing on the bottom as a composite of depron and paper part. The idea was to make the paper part - which protruded 3mm+ beyond the depron - a sort of guide. But it is too weak, and shows traces of being pressed down.

It would have been better - of course - to glue in the depron bottom, sand properly, and then just add the paper part bottom. And I should have started with the firewall, then the exhaust funnel, and the bottom last. Would have made for less visible edgecoloiuring. Learning experience.

Checking for alignment of the drilled holes. I think it can be made to work:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13556&d=1241100625

The wooden dowel is just for checking. Axle will be plastic pushrods, one inside the other, and pianowire for stiffening. In the background, parts for the engine have been drilled and are awaiting assembly.

Leif

[Don Boose]

Very impressive and precise work, Leif. It is a pleasure to see this big model take shape. Your Depron technique makes for very strong and sturdy construction.

Don

[eatcrow2]

Sure do enjoy watching this take shape.......

[Leif Ohlsson]

I'm making the engine of the Pup a Le Rhône, and using only the original parts.

Although I glued two extra layers of cylinder fins outside the original part, which seemed outrageously thin. An the cut-down extra layers might give an illusion of fins.

I also used up my allowance of pins to enhance the engine. Such a small detail - and yet so visible and attractive for very little trouble. Hides many imperfections too, since you tend to look at the valve rocker shafts:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13607&d=1241203616

The shafts are not pins but a kind of nails I never saw before. Looking for suitable ordinary nails in the hardware store, they suggested these. The closest translation is "framing nails", and they don't have any heads.

The most peculiar part about them, however, is that you don't cut them - you just break them. Hence the flat set of pliers in the background. This I found out by accident, trying to bend them. Impossible. And very hard to cut. But breaks easily. I can only surmise that this is part of the technique for framing - you drive them in with the hammer, then hit them at an angle, and they just break off. Very nice!

As for the engine, I hade to perform a little bit of surgery when it was all made up. Turned out my thick firewall will make it a bit crowded under the cowling, so the cylinders risked getting in touch with the frontal, curved end of the cowling. Solution was to cut the rear part of the crankcase, already glued in, to half its original length.

I measured, and now I think it will work.

Leif

[Don Boose]

What a beautiful rotary engine! And the photo of the work in progress is a work of art in and of itself.

Don

[Leif Ohlsson]

I already mentioned that the engine shaft is a composite of inner & outer plastic RC control pushrods bought at the hobby shop, plus 0.75 mm pianowire inside to give some strength and rigidity to the whole thing.

Here's how I started:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13608&d=1241204159

This is the rear end, and it's the end plug, or the most aft part of the rotating section of the axle. A 0.75 mm hole has been drilled through outer and inner plastic tubes, and a piece of soft floral wire inserted. This is to be cut off and filed flush with the surface of the tube.

Then comes the bearing part which is glued inside the fuselage, and a similart section which is to be glued both to the inner, rotating part of the axle, and the engine, plus later on the prop.

I hope this explains the principle:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13609&d=1241204159

I'm pointing at the pianowire, which is to be cut to length and glued inside the inner rotary part of the axle.

And here's the whole thing glued into the fuselage:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13610&d=1241204159

Note that the engine support beam, which is at its scale position, is very much functional.

The engine, with its plastic tube, is just shoved on to the inner rotating part. Later on it will be glued to it.

And the prop will be glued to the protruding part in front, plus of course to the engine.

Leif

[Leif Ohlsson]

This is just to show off, first the engine as it looks as of tonight:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13611&d=1241204578

And then working much like it should:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13612&d=1241204578

I am of course cheating as yet - it is not glued to the long, inner shaft. But it will be fine, I hope, I hope...

Leif

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thanks, Don! And hey, very nice to meet you in person, "as is", so to speak!

Leif

[member_3]

Hey, wait a minute! Don is using a photo of me as his avatar!! Is that legal??

[Leif Ohlsson]

Hey, Ron, very nice to meet you, too, in person, then!

Leif

[Don Boose]

Leif -- I thought it was time to grow up and replace the 51-year-old photo of me as an 18-year-old Cornell Navy ROTC midshipman with one of me as I look today.

Nice try, Troll! Have a great Navy Day!

Don

[redhorse]

With your skill and craftsmanship, I'm pretty sure it will turn out perfectly.

[B-Manic]

Beautiful. Leif just beautiful, as usual. I look forward to seeing it completed.

[Leif Ohlsson]

Jim, Douglas - thanks for the appreciation! And nice to finally meeting you in person, Ron! Completion, though, is something I'm not allowing myself to think about yet. So many interesting and challenging parts left to do and plan for: the cowling, the whole covering bit, the wings, thinking ahead for rigging wire fixtures, the landing gear... Modeling is all about anticipation, don't you think, rather than completion? Here's a little bit completed, though:

The propeller is simple but rather effective, as it comes in the kit. Front & back are identical, except for a small curved line close to the hub on the front part. If this is scored it enables you to get some of the curvature of a real prop in correctly.

Reading about Don's way of making props (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/aviation/3155-help-fixing-up-me-109-fiddles-green.html#post43074), I substituted a 2mm dowel for the wire (wire is also specified in the kit):

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13695&d=1241367020http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13700&d=1241377889

It is easier to sand down the dowel to a tapered flat towards the tips, than flattening wires. For smaller models toothpicks, or cocktail sticks works well.

The back parts went on well, with no trimming necessary:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13696&d=1241367020http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13701&d=1241377889

Since the dowel was inserted full length through the hub, it now had to be drilled. It is easy to slip with the drill when hitting the round dowel inside the hub, so the whole prop was strapped down properly:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13697&d=1241367020http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13702&d=1241377889

The prop fits well on the engine, and the whole composite rotates just fine, lubricated by a little petroleum jelly (Vaseline):

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13698&d=1241367020http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13703&d=1241377889

I am pointing at the section which has to be scored and folded. This is a good way of making props, credit to Marek for that!

If anyone is interested in trying out a setup like this in smaller scales, I've added an example in 1/87 scale under Tips & tricks: Rotating props in small scales (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/3159-rotating-props-small-scales.html#post43094). It is really the same principle, only smaller parts (a pin for axle, and a small plastic tube for bearing). A rotary engine with prop attached could well be stuck onto the pin/axle, and the whole unit then inserted through a 2mm hole in the front bulkhead of a small model.

Leif

[Don Boose]

Excellent, Leif! The propellor mechanism appears to be well designed, but your experience, skill and additional engineering played a key role in producing this functioning and aesthetically-satisfying rotary engine and airscrew.

Don

[OldMan]

Perfect... just perfect!

[THE DC]

Very nice build explaination for the prop.

My compliments on not only the finished product, but the craftsmanship going into it!


The DC

[pahorace]

Hi Leif,
is truly a pleasure to see this thread (and related).
Will come out one extraordinary model. ;)
Thanks for all your suggestions.

Orazio

[cjwalas]

Leif, your craftsmanship is a joy to behold. Simply wonderful and informative.
Chris

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thanks guys! I have been busy a couple of days trying to draw joining strips for the cowling. Meanwhile, here are some photos of the first rigging wires, to the landing gear. First we have to decide at what end the turnbuckles were:

14005

This is the Shuttleworth Pup, and I think I can spot turnbuckles at the lower end, towards the axle and wheels, while at the bottom of the fuselage the wires seem to go in through the fabric to an inner attachment point. So, the same for the model:

14006

This is the attachment point for the center wire - a small piece of paper wound with the silk thread, already tread through the bottom with a needle.

I read that Pete (eatcrow) went the other way, and attached the wires at the rudder end first, then tightening them to a piece of stick inside the fuselage (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/marek-marathon/3030-marek-marathon-morane-saulnier-ai-5.html#post42844). Seems a good way, but not possible in this case.

14007

Here, the first attachment point has been glued inside the fuselage. Adding two more wires for cross-bracing, we get this:

14008

Those attachment points can be seen here, where I couldn't help myself but fantasize about future models:

14009

Note how well a 9-volt battery will fill out the space for the fuel tank. The little motor comes from the slender variety of hair-dryers, picked up at the flea market. Runs well on 9 volt.

For comparison, here's what the real Pup looked like inside:

14010

Note the fuel tank position - ideal isn't it? This is just to demonstrate the freedom you have when modeling in 1/16. But the motor & battery will have to wait for another time!

Leif

PS. Thanks to Chris (cjwalas) for teaching me how to insert attached photos inside the text as small thumbnails. Just didn't know how to do that until now.

Short tutorial:

* Attach photos as usual.

* Click in the text where you want the thumbnail to go.

* Find the little paper-clip symbol, and pull down the menu. Choose which of your attached photos you wish to go in that place in the text.

Very nice; thanks Chris, and I do hope the situation for you and yours, with the fires and all, will be relieved soon with as little damage as possible!

[eatcrow2]

Amazing work Leif!! Your write ups with photos are really a pleasure to see. I learn something every time you you update.

[birder]

Very precise work Leif, and the results show it! It looks to me as this is a fun build for you, yes?

[Yu Gyokubun]

It's really exciting to see your thread, Leif. I stay away from fabric cover airplanes because it looks most difficult to build but you are building it with ease. I can't wait to see how you deal with fabric covering;)

[Leif Ohlsson]

Peter, ditto, ditto - and you have some marvellous ones at your own website!

Glen, yes, I have been enjoying this so far, no pressure to find the ultimate solution - just build a model that looks like Marek's original design.

At the moment, though, I'm having trouble with the cowling. Have read Carl's (Golden Bear) article (http://www.papermodelers.com/articles/index.php?title=How_to_make_cowlings) on the subject and feel totally incompetent. Couldn't do anything like that, so I drew a set of joining strips. Did not turn out well at first attempt, so it is back to the drawing board.

This time I'll go for Gil Russell's confirmation (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tutorials/2323-rotary-engine-cowls.html) that the Maly Modelarz Sopwith Camel method (designed by Pawel Mistevicz) of making cowlings with joining strip at the middle section and glue tabs in two directions is a good way to go. And I've already tried that once, and agree. So I'll draw up a set like that.

Yu, very good to hear from you. Admire all of your builds, and hope not to disappoint you! My only aim is to get this passably built, and perhaps also to show that it is rewarding to build in this scale. Even if you don't make anything fancy, the impression of a sizeable model is great, and it is also - at least usually - forgiving to less experienced builders.

Leif

[treadhead1952]

Now thats' some serious threading and fiddling to get all that in there, but it would be grand to have it motorized. Lurking away watching you work your way through this one.

[Texman]

Well done Leif, always learning something from you!

Ray

[Leif Ohlsson]

Those of you who have made the acquaintance of Mr. Claus and his simplified laminated propeller (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/design-threads/2618-laminated-prop-paper-9.html#post253959), may have identified the Sopwith Pup and perhaps noticed that this build had been resumed.

The clock on my wall has just turned December 1st. As good a time as any to start publishing the building journal, which stretches back to the finishing of the DHC Chipmunk (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/aviation/16374-dhc-1-chipmunk-wak-model-enlarged-1-16-a.html) a month or so ago. This is how it starts (and from now on the journal will be published as written, parallell to the build, not knowing the outcome of it at the time of writing):

Warming up again

The last post showing any building at all in this thread was more than two years ago. Clearly, I was in a very exuberant and self-confident mood at the time. Less so now, but hopefully with a certain determination to continue this build for yet a while. We'll see.

The first thing I did after scrummaging through old boxes and computer folders for Sopwith Pup parts and files, was to use parts from the Pup kit to better calibrate my printer (see: "Calibrating your printer, screen, and scanner (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tutorials/16489-calibrating-your-printer-screen-scanner.html)").

Then I started thinking about what I wanted to make of this build - which I owed to Chris at Ecardmodels at any rate - and decided that I wanted to learn (1) how to make engine cowls for rotary engines, and (2) how best to rig a biplane model.

While thinking a lot of how to go about this, I sort of stalled by making a few things that didn't require tackling those two issues - yet.

A good warming-up task, I thought, would be rudders, which are really simple in this model - just skins on top of a foam plate, roughly shaped to slightly less than the contour of the stab and fin respectively.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109455&d=1322694351

(Above) No separate rudders or anything in this model, which I believe originated as a 1/50 scale model (http://ecardmodels.com/product_info.php?products_id=769), then got enlarged to 1/33 (http://ecardmodels.com/product_info.php?products_id=297), and now had been enlarged by me once again, this time to 1/16.

As long as there are no fit problems, this is also the beauty of vector-designed models - you can enlarge them infinitely withous loss of graphic quality - panel lines and details stay as crisp and thin as in the three times smaller original, as do the colours and markings.

There's one little detail worth mentioning here - the rudder horns, which are drilled and reinforced for taking the tension of the rudder wires later on. They were made by adding a layer of double-surface tape to the uncut parts, and then inserting a piece of overhead transparency before folding them up. Here's a series showing the order of doing it:

109456 A piece of double-sided tape is taped to a pane of glass, sticky side up. Parts to be folded-up stuck on to it.

109457 Fold-up parts cut out.

109458 Parts folded around the transparency.

109459 0.5-0,75mm holes for tying up the rudder control wires drilled before cutting out the parts.

109460 Rudder horns - elevator & fin double-sided, aileron ones single - have been stuck on to pins for painting.

Nex time I will not use the double-sided tape, but non-water based glue. The double-sided tape just made the two sides of the small horns slide slightly against each other. It wasn't a real improvement on glue.

[birder]

Will follow your progress with interest Leif...this will be a pretty model also I'm sure:)

[birder]

Leif, wondering if you agree, would this thread be easier to find if in aviation section? (any suggestions Rick)?

[Leif Ohlsson]

Yes, please, absolutely. If there was any possibility of changing the headline as well, that would be wonderful. Suggestion: "Sopwith Pup in 1/16 scale"

Thanks for suggesting it, hope Rick sees this...

Leif

[cardist]

Hi Leif,

Missed this one first time round. Looking forward to following.

Bernie

[Leif Ohlsson]

Hello Bernie, glad to see you here as well!

On the 2nd of December, the second installment of the build journal:

Cowling - another attempt

As mentioned in the last real building post (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/marek-marathon/3047-marek-marathon-sopwith-pup-breadner-1-16-a-7.html#post44121) of this thread, two years ago I had started drawing up revised cowl parts. Here's an instruction I made up:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109616&d=1322784955

(Above) I remember the idea roughly like this: (1) try to make the joints of each section coincide with natural panel lines, (2) all sections to be backed up by glue-strips, (3) last gluestrip to act as a foundation for the first fuselage skin section, and (4) first section to be made as an extra flat disc, helping to hold everything together in a circular shape. This to be cut out later on, leaving only a very thin front rim to the cowling. It took a while to get back into that mode of thinking. Cutting out the set of parts I hade drawn up, made it easier:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109617&d=1322784955

(Above) This is how things started to come back to me. The fuselage will continue to the left, while the front is to the right, at the red pincers. I still think this may be the most interesting part. Let's see how I must have been thinking:

109618

(Above) Clearly there was a front plate, which was supposed to be glued on to a slightly larger version of itself, with glue tabs added. Then there was a circular piece of foam, of the same diameter as the frontmost part. All these were to be glued together, but glue should be applied to the thick foam piece only a bit in from the rim. That way, when all the white in the front piece was cut out after finishing the cowling, the thick piece would just fall away, including the small section of larger diameter than the white. Complicated, right? That's what I thought, too, returning to it now. Could have been one of the reasons I got tired of the whole thing two years ago.

(Revisiting it now, I can't help comparing the idea with what Mark ("HMCS") came up with in his Regulus thread (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/aviation/16667-building-apa-168s-1-32-regulus-missile-5.html#post246725).)

109619

(Above) Let's try it. The second section, red part, has gone on. So far everything looks good from the back...

109620

… as well as from the front. Rolling down the glued joint against the gluestrip resulted in a very good joint, since there was something you could roll against (thick foam plate, plus gluestrip).

109621

(Above) This is the middle section glue strip, plus red and grey sections. Seems to work just fine.

109622

(Above) The gluestrips are cut up into tabs. Obviously I didn't have the stamina to draw all of them in the computer. (Was that what made me tire of the whole thing? - this way works just as well.)

109623

(Above) Adding the last section, I now noticed that I had failed to turn the gluestrips of that section the right way up, with the grey pattern inwards, since this is a visible part at the bottom. Oh well, it was a good try anyhow. In this photo, the innards have been stuffed with loose discs of foam, cut out the exact diameter of the engine firewall.

In hindsight, I would say that this method works comparatively well, all in all. But of course I couldn't leave well enough alone. For better or for worse…

[Gil]

Hi Leif,

Here's a contribution from before the break: http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tutorials/2323-rotary-engine-cowls.html

Thinking about building a "buck" to form the compound curves in the paper used to form the cowl[?]...,

You have me thinking about making lap joints by scoring and peeling a half-thickness from each side of an "overlapped" join area. No joining strips they're in place on each piece - thin enough to be formed easily to its adjoining neighbor without any deviation caused by "lumpy" joining strips. Left open at their ends the assembly could be draped over and shaped using the buck. A card modeling analogy of the full scale forming technique...,

Just thinking out loud ...,

+Gil

[treadhead1952]

Hi Leif,

I am glad to see you got back into this "grand sized" Pup model. I am also happy to see that you haven't lost a step in your tutorial writing skills either.;)

When I was making up my 1/72 scale Sopwith Baby's, I was able to get away with forming the cowlings over a mouse pad, making them up in strips and then sanding and gluing repeatedly to even out the seams until they were smooth overall. For the larger scale that you have chosen, your method definitely seems equally workable.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/treadhead1952/EmSopwithBaby070.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/treadhead1952/EmSopwithBaby066.jpg

[Petrina]

The wheel looks too big, or is it just me?
If the propeller were smaller then we could cut down the diameter of the wheel.

Probably way off here but I am sure someone will set me straight.

[cdavenport]

Leif, your work on this model is stunning! What is your plan for rigging? If I may be so bold, give Stainless Steel wire a try. So simple. If you are interested let me know and I'll calculate the correct scale wire size.

[Nemesis7485]

I do love these large scale builds.

[Leif Ohlsson]

Gil, I apologize for not giving you proper credit for the cowling method. Of course it is your idea and your method I practice here. I remember looking with envy on your immaculate spackled and painted cowling (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tutorials/2323-rotary-engine-cowls.html), while deciding that one more try without paint was worth it. As you will see soon, it all ended up with my painting it anyway, so I might as well have spackled, too. I will go your route the next time. I remember a long time ago coming upon those beautiful Humbrol metal enamels which can be polished. What a gorgeous result they will produce! Also much interested in your new idea, although it sounds a bit scary to me…

Jay - a pleasure to know you're watching. Your cowling looks really exquisite in that small scale. Another argument for spackling & painting.

Charles - I am much looking forward to your comments about the rigging method, and to see and learn more about your alternative with stainless steel wire.

Steve ("Nemesis") - I'm glad you like large scale paper models as well. I just visited your UK site, and your gallery of the Curtiss Hawk P-6E (http://www.ukpapermodels.com/albums/thumbnails.php?album=17) (the one with the claws and talons for landing gear cowling). Very interesting, and would have deserved a tale of its own here (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/gallery-announcements/17291-curtiss-p-6e-hawk-wak.html), too, wouldn't it?

The clock on my computer has just turned to the third day of December in this part of the world. Time thus for the third installment of the build journal:

[Leif Ohlsson]

This time I had caught on to an idea all the foam discs gave me. Why not glue them up, sand them to shape in the dremel, and do the whole cowl-building job on a sort of plug?

109698

(Above) Sanding the plug. The mandrel this time is a long 3mm bolt & nut, with large washers. Works very well for larger stuff. Two end-pieces of card have been added, one at each end, marking the diameters to aim for at each end. The foam discs have been cut out some 1,5mm larger diameter than intended for the finished thing, since glueing up the parts and drilling the center hole almost certainly will make the assembly come out not perfectly aligned or perfectly centred. Sanding an exact size plug will result in a smaller size than aimed for. (Trust me, I did it to begin with, and had to redo the whole thing.)

109699

(Above) Parts layed out again. This time preliminary glueing of parts on to gluestrips has already been done. Note the cut-out smaller circle from the front layer. This is to enable the front piece to be positioned (not glued) on to the plug in the background. The cut-out part will be used again at the end, providing a base for the circle-cutter, when cutting out the center of the front part.

109700

(Above) Building the cowling much like before, the plug worked fine. The cowling in progress were stuck onto the plug whenever some rolling needed to be done. All looks pretty good at this stage, I now think.

109701

(Above) Here I have painted and varnished the finished cowling, and the front center is cut out, using the small circular part cut-out at the start. I am dubious as to whether painting really is an improvement, but I will still use this version. Perhaps a second layer of matted varnish will take away a bit of the excess sheen.

109702

(Above) Inside has been painted, and is now varnished.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachments/aviation/109703d1322867084-sopwith-pup-breadner-1-16-cowling-14.jpg

(Above) Dryfitting the cowl on the model demonstrated how tight the fit is and how the cut-outs worked on the original. The engine still rotates, although not perfectly freely. Some scraping against the cowling takes place at times. Since this is not a motor-driven model, I'll sort this out the next time around.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109704&d=1322867084

(Above) This is what the cowling looks like right side up. Previous attempts below. None of the cowlings are really bad (the bad ones got thrown away in disgust long ago). In the future, however, I may try for less rigid glue-strip layers. Shaping of the sections has not been really successful (I did try). Two layers of 200 g paper glued together is quite stiff and don't shape easily…

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109705&d=1322867084

This is what an original Pup cowling from the Standard Motor Co Ltd looked like. I think I will have to try convince myself that this is what I've modeled. Other makes of Pup cowling, like the Sopwith original, were fare more rounded, and that was actually what I was aiming for.

Be that as it may, the cowl can now be tested against the first of the fuselage skin sections.

[birder]

Looks good, I go the easy route as you know, but if the cowl was similar to picture your cowling is accurate! Also nice to know the rocker arms and all will fit in there, too.

[Gil]

Gil, I apologize for not giving you proper credit for the cowling method. Of course it is your idea and your method I practice here. I remember looking with envy on your immaculate spackled and painted cowling (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tutorials/2323-rotary-engine-cowls.html), while deciding that one more try without paint was worth it. As you will see soon, it all ended up with my painting it anyway, so I might as well have spackled, too. I will go your route the next time. I remember a long time ago coming upon those beautiful Humbrol metal enamels which can be polished. What a gorgeous result they will produce! Also much interested in your new idea, although it sounds a bit scary to me…

I haven't tried it yet because it sounds scary to me too. Some progressive modelers have adopted it with spectacular results that it may be worth trying.

The technique relies on finding a type of paper that can easily be "split" and fulfills all the other paper modeling requirements. One thought is that coating the paper with acrylic sealer preserves the print surface whilst the paper is being tortured into shape - wet with PVA glue. This would be the ultimate in "purist" paper modeling...,

On the "spackle" side I've found that thinning the paper modeling paste to a slightly thinner consistency allows it to be applied with a foam brush. Stroking out the applied mixture fills low spots while creating a smooth near gloss surface. A couple of light coats with light sanding in between works well in creating a light, robust paper assembly. In fact you can apply aluminum foil to it once it's rubbed out with #0000 steel wool...,

Bien Cordialement, +Gil

[treadhead1952]

Hi Leif,

I'd have to say you did a fine job on that cowling from Standard Motor Co. ;)

Looking forward to more of your "Pup" build.

[Don Boose]

Leif -

I'm glad to see you continuing to work and to continue to use innovative techniques on this splendid model of a very appealing airplane.

The cowling looks terrific.

Don

[Leif Ohlsson]

Gil - I suppose you have seen Brian Johnston's recent thread "Edge-to-edge joints, a technique from metalworking (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/17248-edge-edge-joints-technique-metalworking.html)". I seem to remember that you've been up that path as well at some time?

Jay, Don - thanks for watching over me. It is appreciated.

Now, on the fourth day of December, the next installment of the build journal, bearing that same number:



(4) Cowl mounting

The exact position and angle of the cowling was dryfitted against the first fuselage skin section:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109766&d=1322953419

(Above) Note that if the cowling had just been glued in as per drawing or design or the marks I supplied it with internally when making my own parts, there would have been a very great risk of an uneven gap between the cowling and the skin section. The skin section HAS TO go on in a certain position backwards-forwards, and theres NO adjusting the angle against the cowling.

The cowling had to be fitted on without glueing neither that, nor the skin part, since otherwise there would have been no way to find what was the correct place to glue the cowling. Tricky.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109767&d=1322953419

As it happens the best position I could work out coincided very closely with the design (credit to Marek for making something so well that it stood up to enlarging three times!). Once that position was checked, the fuse skin part was carefully removed so as not to move the cowling, which then was spot-glued in three places (above).

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109768&d=1322953419

Once the spot-glues had dried out, the correct position was checked again, and the cowling glued all the way along the rim, against the framework. Now it would be possible to really start working on the fuselage skin parts.

[Leif Ohlsson]

As my clock turns to the fifth day of December, dawn has already broken in the Far East. It will be another eight hours or so here in my part of the world, and yet another six to nine hours for you Westerners.

The time here has come to add some skin to the fuselage frame of the Pup. But first some thinking ahead, preparing details which hopefully will make rigging easier, when the time for that comes around:
(5) Fuselage skin & rigging

Skinning the fuselage starts with attaching all rigging wires on the inside of the skin parts. I have found four threads on the site relevant to this task, and I have tried to apply the content of those threads that I've been able to absorb:

• "Rigging Aircraft with Tippet (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tutorials/6912-rigging-aircraft-tippet.html)" by DrLaser (a full-blown tutorial; very relevant)
• "Biplane Rigging (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/38-biplane-rigging.html)" by Bill (more of an early discussion thread)
• "Turnbuckles for rigging (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/8034-turnbuckles-rigging.html)" by Bomarc (tips on a good source for aircraft rigging details)
• "Rigging EZLine versus Ceramic rigging Fiber - has anyone tested both? (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/16181-rigging-ezline-versus-ceramic-rigging-fiber-has-anyone-tested-both.html)" by Wilfried (discussion of rigging material and sources, mainly for ships but equally applicable to aircraft)
• I also noted Pete's ("Eatcrow") way of making attachment points for rigging wires (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/marek-marathon/3030-marek-marathon-morane-saulnier-ai-5.html#post42844).

The principle of rigging biplanes, as far as I've understood it, is that load-carrying wires are attached to a fitting at one end, and to a turnbuckle attached to a fitting at the other end. Turnbuckles are generally placed at the lower/forward end of a wire. I decided to replicate the turnbuckles by just a simple loop of rigging thread, to which the wire will be tied. It is an experiment to see how that looks.

The rigging wire I use is high-quality sewing silk in different shades of dark brown and grey, simulating wheathered and/or rusty steel wires.

For the cockpit section, I needed to make the simulated turnbuckles for the flying wires, i.e. those wires which carry the lifting power of the wings in flight. They are attached to the fuselage at its lower end, by fittings close to the landing gear. The flying wires are doubled, which means I needed four loops on either side:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109850&d=1323040132

(Above) Small loops of rigging wire were tied over one of my steel rods to ensure equal diameter. To pull them through the pin-hole in the fuselage skin, a no. 14 crochet needle was used (the smallest I could find at the haberdasher's shop). This is an exquisite tool, and I highly recommend it! This was the first time I actually used it.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109851&d=1323040132

(Above) Top fix the loose ends on the inside, I glued them, taped them, folded the loose ends back over the tape, and taped again. This, I now believe was overkill, since the loose ends on the inside would have been glued to the fuselage framework anyway together with this skin section.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109852&d=1323040132

(Above) This is how the turnbuckles/loops look from the outside. Eight of these and the cockpit section of the fuselage skin was ready to go on.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109853&d=1323040132

(Above) As always, you've got to plan your glueing of these large pieces. The plan here was to glue the topside in place first, then one of the side flaps. Then - and this is what we see here - the holes for the lower wing mounting on the glued-down side, has to be made by sticking a large pin through the fuselage tubes from the other - still open - side. Then the other flap is glued down, and the process repeated by sticking the pins through the holes you just made back through the tubes to make new holes in the remaining side, now also glued down.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109854&d=1323040132

(Above) So heres what the cockpit skin section looks like, with 2 x 2 loops for flying wires. It is very interesting actually being able to see the soft rounded shape of the skin at this part of the fuselage. I have been staring at drawings and photos for decades of this feature, but never seen it as clearly as when actually building a model of it, to be turned around in your hand and gazed at from all possible angles.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109855&d=1323040151

(Above) Time for the tail skin. The task here was to fix four loops to be used for stabilizing the fin & stab, plus doubled rudder control wires, plus elevator control wires on each side. This time I just glued the loose ends to the skin inside. I could do this with some confidence since this section of the skin will be glued entirely to the frame, fastening the wires very securely, I think and hope.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109856&d=1323040151

(Above) A total of four loops and eight control wires, as seen from the outside. I am pleased so far with both how the rigging proceeds, and how the parts fit. Quite amazing that an originally 1/48 model can be enlarged three times with this good result.

[treadhead1952]

Hi Leif,

I am quite impressed with all the planning that had to go into figuring out where all those turnbuckles had to go to start with. Now I am waiting to watch you sew it all up together. ;)

[Leif Ohlsson]

Jay - yes, this time I learned to be a bit more patient and think ahead. Right now I'm thinking of all the ship-builders, like Glen & his James Tuft 1/96 barquentine (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/ships-watercraft/5987-james-tuft-1-96-barquentine.html). What patience and knowledge and planning rigging a model like that calls for!

On the sixth day of December the stab and fin get sewn up. Good exercise for what's to come later, with the wings:

(6) Stab & fin mounting - with rigging wires

The stab and fin require similar small attachment points, but the task here is a little bit more difficult - there should be one small loop extending from extending from each side, and nothing in between. Here's my attempt to come up with something appropriate:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109914&d=1323126223

(Above) A knitting needle in a vice serves as my poor man's substitute for those fancy stands flyfishers have. I'm trying to tie a figure eight. This is one of those time I'd really like to learn some useful knots, however fancy they may be.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109915&d=1323126223

(Above) The figure eight, two-loop thread is hooked up between two tiny crochet needles. I cannot recommend these more warmly. A No. 15 crochet needle which I picked up the other day at the fleamarket for a pittance actually has a smaller diameter at the tip than a sewing needle! You stick it through the small hole you have punched in the part, hook up the thread, and pull back through the hole - it is so beautifully simple that I almost laughed everytime I did it the first times!

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109916&d=1323126223

(Above) The double loop is divided equally on both sides of the fin, with the knot actually inside the part...

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109917&d=1323126223

(Above) … and the surplus ends are cut off, after a small dot of glue has been applied from both sides.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109918&d=1323126223

(Above) Six double loops have been inserted in the fin and stab, and the stab glued to the fuselage. Your building mat really is excellent for sqaring and aligning a part like the stab. Line up the fuselage along a convenient line, and squaring is easy, taking sightings from the top, and the front. At a small angle you can square up the stab horizontally against the edge of the mat.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109919&d=1323126252
(Above) Things very quickly start to look like a magpie's nest when you add a couple of theads. I'd really like to learn a knot which will allow me to tension the thread while at the same time tightening the knot. I had to make do by looping the loose end twice around the eye of the fixed loop, apply a little glue and hold tight for a minute. Then I could make the real knot without loosing tension.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109920&d=1323126252

(Above) Things start to look up as soon as you can cut off all those loose ends. This little pair of scissors is just amazing - you can cut off the sild s-o-o-o close. Beautiful.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109921&d=1323126252

(Above) The No. 15 crochet needle at work pulling thread through an elevator horn. Here, too I would dearly like to learn a suitable knot. The thread should go around the horn, I thought, to simulate some kind of fitting, and then continue through the traling edge. In the same trailing edge hole comes a similar thread from the other side, upwards. Both ends thus can be tied around the trailing edge proper, and the surplus thread cut off, like in the left of the photo.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=109922&d=1323126252

(Above) Rudder control wires came last. They are double, and cand be tied in a similar way around the back of the horn, after being brought through the howl from each side. Without the No. 15 crochet needle I would have had to use a sewing needle, threading it twice with the loose ends, an prying up the hole to much larger diameter than now.

Evaluation: The idea was to try out loops of thread as a way of giving in impression of turnbuckles and other fastening hardware. I'm not so sure I've got that far yet, but I do believe this technique could be developed. It would be even more appropriate in smaller scales, of course. At 1/16 one could possibly just get away with small turnbuckle models without making them seem too clumsy.

Note to self: An idea for the future would be to make up a small stock of very thin paper tubes, possible from sketching paper, then cut off appropriate lengths (ca 3-6mm depending on whether it is a turnbuckle or a fixed attachment point) and pull a loop of thread through them. That would make for a nice turnbuckle impression!

[Nemesis7485]

Absolutely amazing work. I really enjoy following your builds.

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thanks Steve! Now, on the seventh day of December I learn how to flesh out a cockpit rim a bit more:


(7) Detailing interlude: Cockpit rim

The more I looked at the cockpit rim I thought it was a pity that the leather rim wasn't fleshed out more. There were two rim parts included in the kit, and I thought they were to be applied one above, and one below the simulated plywood layer. But it all looked rather flat in 1/16 scale. So I printed up a number of extra layers:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110043&d=1323212479

(Above) Five extra rims were printed, and each one was offset a quarter of a mm inwards compared to the previous one. That is the beauty of vector-drawn, downloaded models - you can do that. This is a good time to say that it really pays to get acquainted with your graphic programme(s) - whichever they may be. It is a real boon to be able to do simple things like duplicating parts, changing them just a little bit, and print them on a separate sheet of paper.

Anyway, the last and thinnest part was cut out and glued on to the previous, slightly thicker and uncut part. The exercise was repeated until four parts had been glued to the last uncut part, which was identical to the original rim. Before cutting this out, the pile was covered with a mixture of burnt sienna gouache and glue.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110044&d=1323212479

(Above) Another layer of gouache paint and glued was applied when the pile had been glued on top of the original part. The rim looks unseemingly glossy while wet, but will soon matten up to a nice leather sheen:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110045&d=1323212479

(Above) To enhance & protect the simulated leather surface, a layer of full matt varnish was applied. I could have gone over this rim once or twice more with a gouache-glue mixture, but I'm now satisfied this is a good general method, which could be applied to many details in need of fleshing out.

[Ron0909]

Leif, that's a very ingenious way of creating that padded leather cockpit rim! This is a solution that will work so well for me:) I've tried everything *but* this way like using slit wire insulation etc. etc.
Really looking good my friend

Ron

[Leif Ohlsson]

Ron - I'm glad you think you'll find some use for the glue/gouache mixture. Perhaps for your beautiful Bellona (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/ships-watercraft/17031-shipyards-hms-bellona-10.html#post256729)? If you have any acrylic modeling paste (as recommended by Gil) that really puts some body into the mixture. You can substitute the paste for the glue, just mix paste and paint. Perhaps one could do without all the extra paper layers, and just carefully brush it on with a fine brush, in several layers, letting it dry between? I think I'll try that next time.

For today's installment, on the eighth day of December, I start thinking about how to make a sturdier landing gear than for the original model:


(8) Landing gear struts - preparing for rigging wires

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110131&d=1323299483

(Above) The landing gear design obviously was made for a scale of 1/48. At triple the scale both the landing gear, and the wing struts, needed some beefing up. I used the wire bending sketch in the background to draw an inner frame with an outline 0.75mm inside of the outer parts. These were printed on ordinary copy paper and laminated with manila card, ca 0.25mm thick. The wire frame was laminated between two of these card layers. In the foreground the frame for one of the legs is finished, while the second one is glued up in the background.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110132&d=1323299483

(Above) The challenge was to press down the fairly thich and stiff card layers to meet up on both sides of the wire frame. Rolling with a steel rod against a glass plate at the very edge of the building table, while the glue was still wet, helped. Extra glue was applied in the slit, and the legs rolled in this way all over again, until they were deemed ready to receive the actual outer, original part layer:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110133&d=1323299483

(Above) This layer was much easier to shape by rolling. The 0.75mm overshoot proved to be just about right to enable the outer layer to more or less completely cover the card and wire frame.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110134&d=1323299483

(Above) I attempted to make a couple of turnbuckles for the landing gear, just to try out the idea I had. A section of a thin paper tube rolled on a pin has been threaded on to the no. 15 crochet needle.


http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110135&d=1323299483

(Above) See how easy it is to thread the silk through this paper tube. Note also how wide the tube seems in relation to the crochet needle. I should learn how to make smaller tubes!


http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110136&d=1323299516

(Above) Three turnbuckles threaded on to the pin I used to make the paper tubes. As yo can see it is a heavy pin, and I should use smaller, regular size in the future. A number of small paper tubes were cut off for a special reason:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110137&d=1323299516

(Above) The turnbuckles have been glued into the wheel axle cover. On the backside, surplus length of silk has been glued and taped with thin stripes. Note the small stubs on the landing gear leg, made of the small tubes in the previous photo, plus pins sticking right through the landing gear legs.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110138&d=1323299516

(Above) The legs stuck into a scrap piece and a surplus extra printed part of the bottom to get the correct distance. Wheel axle with cover drying up under weight in the background. Holes for the axle have just been drilled, and the small stubs cut off.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110139&d=1323299516

(Above) Glueing the landing gear legs to the wheel axle assembly, I thought an makeshift jig was in order to get the correct pressure. Everything was now left to dry out completely before continuing with touch-up painting, further detailing and mounting to the aircraft itself.

[treadhead1952]

Hi Leif,

Some more wizardry to get around on this big scale project of yours. I really like that Cockpit Padding idea, I am at that point on my little W4 project and can see I may have to come up with something similar to look right. With the rigging set up you are working on once you do add the lines to tie things together, they should offer a lot more strength to the overall airframe, just like the real deal.

[Don Boose]

You provide us some excellent new techniques and show how to use some old ones (wire to stiffen struts and landing gear parts) to best effect. Just now I am a little distracted with work, including the writing of a lecture that I give tomorrow morning (evolution of U.S. command relationships in the Pacific since 1941), but eventually, I intend to pour over this entire thread very carefully. It is another Ohlsson classic.

Incidentally, I have long used that method of putting wire in the middle of struts, but at the scales I usually work (1/50 by preference), I find it very difficult to achieve symmetry on both sides of the wire. More practice needed!

Don

[Zathros]

I love the scale you build in. You also have great photographic skills. I have a question, do you harden wire by pulling it till it "gives" and all of a sudden you have these really hard stiff sections that are great for many things? It was a method we used when I worked in a little factory that made the "Flags" that fell down to show an analog aircraft instrument was no longer working. That was how we made the shafts. It is amazing how hard the wire gets and it holds shapes very well like that. You probably knew this already.

I do wonder where you store all these huge planes?!?

[bernoullis]

Leif - Stunning stuff ..... as usual! The precision, the detail, and the immaculate finish, particularly of those landing gear struts, is a wonder to behold. Are you sure you weren't an engineer sometime before your retirement? ;)

Don:... (evolution of U.S. command relationships in the Pacific since 1941) ...Would that lecture be using a certain 'Day Of Infamy' (date) as a starting point? I recall the first time, as a child, that I read Walter Lord's book. It was amongst a small but eclectic collection of books* that sat on my parents book shelf - I was absorbed by it!

(* - a collection of books which included the 1962 book 'We Seven' ..... and many years later I am a Mercury/Gemini/Apollo 'nut'!)

[Leif Ohlsson]

Jay - glad you found the padding idea useful. And you're so right about the rigging. In spite of being only by silk threads, it not only adds to stability, but more or less creates it, I would say. That is one of the main points I hoped to get across by this build - and yet, I did not trust it myself at one point, with near-disastrous result. More of this later.

Don - your stopping by is always appreciated, thank you for kind words. I wish you luck with your lecture today (this may reach you before that, but then again you may have other things on your mind this morning…).

Zathros - thank you for kind words and for the tip about pulling wires. From Gil I once learned about pulling a wire, and then banging on it with a hammer to straighten it, but hardening I did not know about. The funny thing is I'm actually going the other way. All the wire you will see here is very soft floral wire, very easy to bend into shape, and not stiff at all. In fact, the one time I got into real trouble in this build was when I tried to stiffen up a strategic joint by using too thick wires. But more of that when we come to it. For now things are still going smoothly enough. (P.S. I don't have that many models, since I talk more than I build, but those few I have hang from the roof, mostly above my workbench; some have got given away to Church auctions and the like.)

Bernoullis - thanks for watching & enjoying! I was surprised myself when I saw the photos of the landing gear legs. They are quite OK in reality too, but do look extra fine here. The rounding comes out very well, I agree.

So, on the ninth day of December the landing gear gets glued in place, while the wheels are made & mounted, enabling the Pup to stand on its own two wheels:
(9) Landing gear - completion

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110263&d=1323420409

(Above) Skids often turn out to be the really vulnerable part of paper models. So this one has a backbone of a framing nail, seen to the right. Solid as a rock now, it is.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110264&d=1323420409

(Above) Back to the main gear, it has now been mounted to the fuselage, and the rigging started. These wire ends have been hanging from the framework for two years, but now they finally got tied to their intended points. Note the left-hand finger grip for getting silk thread through very small loops. The thread has already gone through once, and the other round is on its way. The correct way to hold the loose end (or at least my way…) is to make a loop of it through your finger tips, and pull this loop through the small fixed loop with the crochet needle.

This grip enables you to get the thread through small tubes and loops incredibly easy. Note that there is no tension at all to the turnbuckle or to the model; all the tension is in the thread going through the quite loose small eye in the turnbuckle. Come to think about it, it has a lot of likeness to those small metal-wire sewing thread threaders - same principle really. (Glen, if you're watching, I'm thinking of you when doing this work - would a crochet needle be helpful to you as well, rigging that fine barquentine of yours (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/ships-watercraft/5987-james-tuft-1-96-barquentine.html)?)

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110265&d=1323420409

(Above) I've always wanted to try simulating the bungee-cord shock absorbers of early aircraft. Now I got my chance!

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110266&d=1323420409

(Above) Wheels were sanded in the Proxxon dremel, both at the same time, with a small distance between them to enable sanding both sides on both wheels without dismounting them. The mandrel is a 2mm bolt and nuts, with extra scrap pieces of card on each side and between the wheels to protect them.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110267&d=1323420409

(Above) Machine work continued with drilling 0.5mm holes through both the outer and inner parts of the wheel axle. The inner part is made of an inner 2mm plastic tube, and an outer casing of 3.2mm plastic. Small sections of the outer casing being drilled here will be cut off to work as wheel retainers. Each wheel will rotate independently on the thinner axle, which is glued to the outer casing in the main, center section.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110268&d=1323420432
(Above) The wheel retainers are fixed to the inner axle by pins stuck through the 0.5mm holes just drilled. The pins will be cut off and the whole outer assembly painted.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110269&d=1323420432

(Above) Time now to turn the Pup right way up and let it rest on its own two wheels and tail skid! The wheel retainer pins have been cut off and the whole axle stub painted in grey. Quite a realistic metod of mounting the wheels, as I understand it.

[Nemesis7485]

Fantastic precision work as always. A pleasure to watch!

[Tapcho]

The landing gear look pretty convincing Leif (although it's missing some authenticity, but that's not your fault, it's the kit that takes liberties). Benefits of bigger scale is somewhat easier assembly because the parts are bigger, but it doesn't give any mercy on details. The bigger the model, the more ruthless is the eye. You are doing a heck of a job keeping this gem very pleasing to the eye. Good work and I will folow the process to the grand finale.

Tappi

[Ron0909]

Leif,
I need to really study your rigging methods. The tail skid and your under-carriage look like the real deal flipped upside down with giant fingers poking at it with massive pointy objects! I've been thinking of re-rigging my albatros 2 seater as my turnbuckles are way too large and your method seems perfect. It might be impossible as it's built already but your method will be followed on my next. On another note...I envy your shop! I need to study your Proxxon device too :)

[birder]

Nice Leif, looks super. Thanks for the kind words of the Tuft project:), it has been a pleasant model... to make thread rigging go through small places (blocks mostly as are sometimes stubborn) I learned from the ship guys to soak the tip of the thread in ca glue and it forms it's own needle...great trick. I'll often saturate the thread for a inch or two if going to do alot of use, trim tip sharp if needed. Your tools look perfectly good also, and I have acculmulated lots of little forceps and such....but not any crochet tools so far

[cgutzmer]

stunning! thanks for sharing the great pics! they really show the detail work very well.
Chris

[Leif Ohlsson]

Gentlemen, thank you all for sharing my pleasure with this build so far! Tappi - you're right about the landing gear, it isn't quite scale-like yet, and I'd much like one day to properly replicate a typical antique-style landing gear, with bungee-cords and split axle. It is difficult, though! Ron - the drill stand is a good thing to have with any dremel, since you can turn it 90 degrees and use it for sanding, etc. - saves me growing a couple of extra hand. I'm glad that at one point we had enough money coming in to let me make this investment. Wouldn't have been able to, today…

Your comments will be reflected on this, the tenth day of December, as we take time off to think about how things are working out. And the Pup receives some additional nice detailing:
(10) Evaluation so far - plus prop & gun added

I am pleased with the general methods tried out here, but not yet with how I managed to apply them:

• The loop of thread method for creating strong points to which tensioning wires can be attached is excellent. I don't think there really is a need for figure-eight loops; a single large loop can easily be adjusted to jut out equally much on both sides of a part, such as the fin & stab.

• The method of making simulated turnbuckles from thin paper tubes is worth trying to develop. I must learn to make thinner, smaller tubes, though. The crochet needle will easily pull double silk thread through thinner tubes. If you look at the turnbuckle at the center of the landing gear, I think it is still slightly too prominent:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110366&d=1323508523

• I bungled the wire tensioning of the landing gear slightly, by not checking that it was fully centered. I must remember that this kind of rigging is fully functional - one of the diagonal wires became more tensioned than the other, which threw the whole landing gear slightly out of alignment. The main reason was that I didn't take enough time for the job, wanting so much to see the finished result. This will certainly be a reminder as the wings are approaching. Haven't a clue as yet how to go about that in the best, most controlled way.

By now I thought the Pup was shaping up so nicely that it deserved some really nice detailing. So the model got to inherit an early version of the layered prop (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/design-threads/2618-laminated-prop-paper.html), plus the Vickers gun, originally made for the Sopwith Camel (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/aviation/2177-experimenting-kitbashing.html), although the design of it originates from the Orlike SE5A:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110367&d=1323508523

In addition, the model has got its carburettor air intakes mounted. Now, I've got to draw up some additional parts, namely the gun belt feed housing, the spent cartridges chute on the other side, plus most importantly, the padded windscreen attached to the rear of the Vickers gun.

[cardist]

Hi Leif,

As always, your tutorials are informative and helpful and I always look forward to the next instalment. The methods you have highlighted, particularly the rigging technique, will be put to good use in my own builds.
Your prop is an excellent kit in its own right, I have used it myself with great success, and I relish telling folk at shows where I display my card models that it is made from paper.

All the best and happy modelling,

Bernie.

P.S. I have just re-started the PWS 50 build and hopefully will see it through to completion soon.

[Leif Ohlsson]

Hello, Bernie, & glad you found some use of the rigging tips so far. I really like this job, too, now. In the future I'll try to make much smaller loops for fixed points, and thinner paper tubes for turnbuckles. A judicious amounts of well-spaced knots on thread makes for a pretty good impression of many rigging details (clevises, etc.) in the scales we are working with. Glad to hear also that you will see the PWS 50 to its conclusion - I am really looking forward to that!

As for the Pup, on this, the eleventh day of December, the nicely detailed gun gets some more nice details. On the real Pup they were most prominent, and in this scale they deserve to be modeled a bit better:
(11) Extra gun details

Here's what I drew up as details for the gun, padding and windshield, plus chutes:

110536 A lot of padding plus windscreen metal holders (twice over, to have some spares); one ammunition belt feed housing, and a chute for empty shells. In the foreground a double set of metal windshield frames go on to a piece of double-sided tape.

110537 The inside of the frames are cut out, and edgecoloured.

110538 The protective paper is peeled off on one set of parts, and a piece of transparency is pressed on to the tape.

110539 Same procedcure for the other side of the frame(s).

110540 Here I have already glued up eight layers of padding, which is getting its messy coat of glue and gouache paint. In the background one windshield frame, with transparency, and a number of attachment parts, including spares, wait their turn.

110541 The idea here is that the inside parts should work as a sort of shelf for the sections to be bent over the sides. Let's see how that works:

110542 Pretty well in fact. I will use this method for small parts in the future. The bent parts can be pressed down quite hard against the inner "shelves". In the background the windshield - with its padding and attachement points - is assembled.

110543 Everything in place. From this photo it is quite evident that I will have to try to add some added mixture to the leather paddings to even them out.

110544 This is much better, isn't it? I used a mixture of gouache paint and acrylic modeling paste, diluted with water to a fairly fluid state. This was then applied with a small brush, not laying it on, put sort of making short small pushes with the brush (I'm sure there is an artists term for this…). Done like that the mixture evened out by itself. I'm glad this technique now works, since I can rely on it in the future.

Beside the gun, the crude control handle now looks very primitive. I am sorry now that I didn't do a better job of it. A bit of wire, wound with thread, would have done the job.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110545&d=1323586894

(Above) Couldn't help myself but added yet another layer of the same mixture. I've got to leave well enough alone now. As the mixture dries up, some cracks may be appearing. This may not be for the worse. I might just give the leather a coat of matt varnish and fill them up in the process, hopefully leaving some nice leather crinkles!

[treadhead1952]

Hi Leif,

Excellent job on the tiny details, although in this scale, "tiny" is a relative term.;)

That rigging is going to look great although I would hate to be you when it comes time to "sew" things together. It can get to be a nightmare to make everything even and straight. Perhaps leaving one side loose while stringing things together to get all the pieces in place and then doing two sides at the same time to keep them even may work.

[birder]

Boy that prop is pretty, Leif. It is funny that whatever scale you work in there seems to be no shortage of tiny parts:) Convincing leather look as well

[Leif Ohlsson]

Jay, Glen - the "sewing together" is actually getting unavoidably closer, although reading the journal it becomes evident that I tried to postpone it as long as possible.

On this, the twelftth day of December, the wings get started. The top wing centre section will be the guinea pig for a sturdier wing framework. The Pup also gets the original wing profile it deserves:
(12) Wing center section - construction

I could no longer find any excuse not to start on the wings. So there was nothing else but to take the plunge. I really longed for the center section to be in place, and I thought I could use that as a practice for a new wing framework. In Illustrator, the new wing & center section I arrived at looks like this:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110669&d=1323680074

(Above) The main thing here is that the new profile in fact is identical to the original Sopwith Pup, as based on a German drawing (http://www.finemodelworks.com/arizona-models/reference/Thumbs/Aircraft_Fittings/Aerofoils/Aerofoils.html) from a periodical of that era. As for the rest of the construction, I hope it will become clearer as we proceed.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110670&d=1323680108

(Above) Here's the part, and the underside of the framework. Paper tubes are placed at the same distance as the tubes for the bottom wings already mounted in the fuselage. Ribs & solid sheets are foam laminated with ordinary copy paper both sides. At the location of the original spars two multi-layered manila folder card strips are glued. This is to provide a foundation for the struts, and to increase stability lengthwise.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110671&d=1323680108

(Above) The centre section framework is glued in place on the bottom section of the part. The bottom surface has been rolled on to the ribs to get the correct undercamber. At the rear edge two open paper wedges are glued ca 2.5mm from the trailing edge. The aft section of the framework has been sanded to conform to the rib profile. This is very easily accomplished with a foam frame.

The sanding of the framework is only necessary for this centersection, since I needed something solid to shape the center cutout on to, when closing the part. For the rest of the wings, a much longer trailing edge wedge will keep the trailing edge open on its own, and the foam middle part will be shorter, ending with the rear manilla card strip.Note to self: Add a manilla card strip inside the trailing edge wedges for the rest of the wing, to force it to keep open. Three layers seems about right.
http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110672&d=1323680108

(Above) The part has been closed. Note the empty space at the leading edge. I think this is a good feature, since it provides some flexibility - just close the part at the trailing edge, roll the top from the rear to the front in order to glue it to the ribs, and let the leading edge end up where it naturally belongs.

I am pleased with the general principle here, and will continuie to redesign the rest of the wing frameworks along these lines. What makes me particularly satisfied is that the original part size works for the correct Sopwith Pup profile, in spite of being designed for a much different profile.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110673&d=1323680108

(Above) Contemplating on how to go about mounting the wing centre section, I made a mockup - the real the centre section is resting in front of the aircraft - and stuck the struts in place to see what it looked like.

What I'm thinking about here is, whether to try to tie all the attachment points for rigging wires (not the wires themselves as yet) on to each strut, top and bottom, before mounting them, or whether I could glue up the struts and centre section applying glue only in the holes so to speak, and tie off the attachment points in place.

Right now I'm thinking that the latter way may in fact be viable, and that the struts could be glued more permanently in place by applying extra glue in the joints later on, thus also fixing all the tied up attachement loops and simulated turnbuckles. Fingers crossed, here we go:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110674&d=1323680108

(Above) The real centre section has been stuck in place, with just a little bit of glue added to the strut ends. Here I am checking that the building mat can in fact be used for aligning the centre section. This is a view I will have to check very carefully many times throughout the rigging. Tensioning each rigging wire there will be a risk to threw the centre section out of alignment. And then the entire top wing will be out of alignment, and this will likely translate to the bottom wing as well.

Very finicky business this. I'd better rest a while before starting rigging!Note to self: You can do the cross-bracing in front without the wings mounted. But the two side cross-bracings must wait until the wings are in place, since the stagger has to be adjusted just right to make the landing wires cross the double flying wires right smack between the two flying wires! Good thing that I came to think about this now, and not one day later…

[Don Boose]

This narrative and set of images continues to provide enlightenment and the pleasure of seeing a craftsman at work.

The wing construction looks quite formidable.

Don

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thanks, Don - your lecture went well I hope?

On this, the 13th day of December - when we Swedes have this quaint custom of celebrating a Sicilian saint who is less known in Italy, St. Lucia, and who most Swedes in fact believe is a Nordic mythological figure, by carrying candles in our hair, fortunately mostly electrical these days, eat ginger bread, specially baked pretzel-shaped buns, and drink a lot of mulled wine spiked with liquor, all of which my wife and I decidely take less part of in these days of recently having retired from workplaces but not yet entered a home for the elderly, both of which are places it would be impossible to avoid it - I learn a bit of how to rig the Pup's wings which will come later:
(13) Wing centre section - rigging

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110758&d=1323767358

(Above) In the lid of the metal box a couple of simple loops to be tied to the upper struts. In the foreground raw material for turnbuckles are being varnished. I rolled these paper tubes of grey ordinary copy paper as thin as I could, on regular pins, but I still couldn't make them too small for the tiniest crochet needle, no. 15:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110759&d=1323767358

(Above) Note how easy a section of the paper tube still slips over both the crochet needle and the loop of silk thread. I will have to practice for a long time until I will be able to make a paper tube so small the crochet needle won't go through it...

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110760&d=1323767358

(Above) The simple loops have gone on to the top of the struts. It was easier to work on the model if it was turned upside down and elevated to a more comfortable height. The struts are now permanently glued to the centre section. The turnbuckles for the lower attachment points are waiting their turn:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110761&d=1323767358

(Above) The turnbuckles at the lower strut ends are in place, two on the front and a single one on the rear one. The loose ends about to be cut off here really need to be as long as is practicable to make the necessary knots. The ones shown are minimum, and I will make them longer still the next time.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110762&d=1323767358

(Above) This is how it works - pulling the diagonal wire as shown makes the centersection lean a little bit too much to the left from where we stand. This will have to be compensated by tightening the other diagonal wire. Both wires have been permanently fastened at the top, and just looped twice around the turnbuckle fastening point at the bottom. Holding the stabilizer, ms. Lilian Bland in her 1910 flying aeroplane building attire is helping with the sightings. This is her size of aircraft.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110763&d=1323767392

(Above) I made a note to myself earlier that I should wait with the tensioning of the two sets of side x-braces. However, I did not feel comfortable with the centre section being unsupported except sideways - the rigging wires are very much functional, and do stabilize the structure. So I studied the full-size sideview incorporated in the kit and found that the rear struts should be absolutely vertical when correctly aligned. This is what I am trying to achieve here.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110764&d=1323767392

(Above) At the same time, you've got to check the topview to ensure that the centre section does not become twisted while tensioning the two side x-braces.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110765&d=1323767392

(Above) OK. Done the best I could at present. Ms. Bland is mightily impressed - this is a far more advanced aircraft than she ever saw before leaving the profession of being an aeroplane constructor in 1910, first for a Ford automobile dealership in Ireland, and later for marriage and running a farm in Canada. I would have wished for her to be around on the scene for a bit longer… Evaluation so far:

I am still pleased with the general method of constructing attachment points first, with or without turnbuckles, and then attach the real rigging wires, although I will make smaller loops in the future. I am also satisfied with the simple method of simulating turnbuckles, and will try to learn making even thinner paper tubes.

Here's what I would do different, and will do so, the next time around:

1. The centre section rigging is not entirely functional, in that the attachment points should be anchored in the wings, and in the fuselage, not just around the strut wire ends. The way I've done it now, the wires do not carry any real load. The attachment points were in fact also more difficult to get into positioin, than they would have been had I remembered to add them to the fuselage and centre section skins respectively before glueing those in place. I will remember this for the future, in particular for the wing outer ends which are next on the agenda.

2. The front cross-braces do not in fact go on the outside of the top covering plate. Have a look at a full-size Pup replica:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110766&d=1323767392

(Above) Note that the wires are attached to the same attachment point as the strut lower ends, inside the cover. This is very common on biplanes with rotary engines, and it would have been entirely possible to replicate, if I had only thought of it in time.

On planes with their fuel tank in the space where the cross-braces attach, such as the Swedish Tummelisa, a special open channel had to be built into the tank for these cross-brace wires. That would have been considerably more difficult to replicate correctly!

[Leif Ohlsson]

On the 14th day of December the wing frameworks are designed and constructed:
(14) Wings - design & construction

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110801&d=1323849519

(Above) I did a number of things to the big wing parts while they were still uncut from their sheets:

1) On the lightbox all rib positions were marked on the backside with pencil, as well as the main leading edge fold line, and in fact the complete outline of the wings. This is important in order to get base lines from which to measure and draw precise pencil lines marking the positions of trailing edge wedges and spars.

2) The ailerons were cut out and the separation cut increased to ca 0.5 mm. All cut edges were edgepainted (several colors since the aileron separation lines cuts across both PC10 (khaki drab), clear-doped linen, and national insignia). Then the cut-out rudders were taped back in place (small pieces of tape on the non-printed sections of the sheet). The 0.5mm separation cut was covered with black paper strips on the inside/backside to fix the ailerons back in place permanently, and to simulate the rudder gap. I should of course have done the same on the elevator and rudder; it's so simple, yet effective!

3) All ribs were inscribed from the backside with a very broad crochet needle (ca 3-4mm at the blunt edge), against the soft back of the mouse mat. You can see the rib pattern resulting on the front side. This, I believe, is fairly realistic for a WWI era fabric covered aircraft.

4) Extra copies of all small metal plates and reinforcements (strut bases, control cable lead-out openings, etc) were cut out, edge-painted and glued in place.

The big wing parts were then cut out, edgecoloured along the outlines, and laid aside for the moment.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110802&d=1323849519

(Above) The wing-manufacture assembly line in full operation. The new wing frameworks I drew up are taped to two glassplates. The design of the framework is based on experiences gained from making the centre section. It includes trailing edge paper wedges, spars of multi-layered manila card, wingtips of manila card, ribs of foam, and small tubes for wing-mounting wire pieces. (See the "Rolling paper tubes (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-tricks/16965-rolling-paper-tubes.html)" thread, which originated from experiences gained here.)

Parts were fixed to the jig with small strips of masking tape. Some of the parts drawn, such at the trailing edge and wing tips, will not go on until the framework is glued onto the bottom of the parts proper. But let's start with the frameworks:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110803&d=1323849519

(Above) Here, all ribs have gone one, and small pieces of foam are cut to size and glued in one by one. You have to do this individually, since the original distance between ribs varied (and I didn't manage perfect precision either…).

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110804&d=1323849519

(Above) This is what one of the framework parts look like, fresh from the jig. Foam really is a most excellent material for this kind of job. Soft, VERY easy to cut and, for the spacer pieces, no need to laminate them with paper since they are cut to measure anyway.

Getting this far on the wings in fact took several days all in all. The making up of the framework as described here was the quickest part and only took one day; the rest was preparation. After managing the frameworks, I laid them aside for the moment and returned to the parts (skins).

[georgerutherford1861]

Very, very nice work. I'm afraid I don't have the patience to make this kind of build, but I do have the patience to watch it when done right, as this one most certainly is!

Doug

[birder]

Nice wing structure, in fact the whole project looks great:) I'd like someday to build the inside structure with some type of way to be visable....so many plans....however was able to watch the Boeing 40 built here and the wood inside the wings was very pretty, seemed a shame to cover the detailed design:)

[treadhead1952]

Some more great teaching there Professor. I like the way all that rigging is working out for you. Even though it may not be anchored the way the original full sized ones were, there is no doubt about the amount of strength and stability it will produce in your model. All this work with the turnbuckles is getting my fingers itchy to make another early bird to try them out on.......

[rmks2000]

Leif,

These build threads are just outstanding. Thanks for putting the effort into explaining your build process.

[romanmodels]

Exsedlingly good build. my maternal grandfarther's uncale had a ford delership in the potteys north midland here i the uk and whent to canada in 1900 to farm as he had tb

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thank you all, gentlemen! Glen, I'd very much like to accomplish one good cut-away model as well. Who knows, one day, both you an me…
There are a few kits by Orlik - the SE5-A and the Sopwith Triplane are the ones I know of - which are already designed for this option. The execution of it, however, is left to the builder's imagination.

Jay, I'm afraid you itching may take a turn for the worse today, as on this the 15th day of December we watch how all the attachment points for rigging wires were constructed. This meant making a lot of small turnbuckles from rolled paper and silk thread.


(15) Wings - wire attachment points

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110915&d=1323936466

(Above) Making the eight attachment points for the aileron connection wires (at the trailing edge, between the upper and lower wing ailerons on the same side, and to the aileron horns upper side of top wing & bottom side of lower wing, both sides) I tried out a smaller diameter crochet needle to tie them around.

There are eight attachment points on the wings for aileron control wires - two per wing panel. Then there are eight further attachment points for flying wires, and four for landing wires. And four control wires for the ailerons, to be glued to the inside skin.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110916&d=1323936466

(Above) I fold the wings with the help of two slats from a couple of dismantled french windows. A lot of wood to be gathered there, useful for many things. In this case they are rather good, since the edges are well rounded already. Before this I wet the fold line very sparingly, and let it dry for a little while.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110917&d=1323936466

(Above) These old wings need to be undercambered, so shaping had to be done both ways. All holes in the panels have been drilled, and all small cut-outs required done, so these wing panels are now ready to receive their wire attachment points.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110918&d=1323936466

(Above) Back to the fittings assembly department of this little aeroplane factory. Here we see the first stages of making a new generation of turnbuckles. The raw material is now 45g sketching paper (which is good for tracing, very thin, almost like cigarett paper). Cut to the length of an ordinary pin, ca 3cm, just 1.5cm of this width is enough to roll the thinnest paper tube I've managed so far.

Here, the largest and most clumsy of the first batch is painted silver. I made an exception here and used Humbrol's enamel. I think gouache grey would have been just as good and will try that some other time. I could not glue up these thin tubes the way thicker tubes are glued up, by unrolling the last section and adding glue in a string, then roll it back. Instead, I brushed diluted white glue all over the rolled tube stuck on a pin.

The rolling of the tubes is done between your fingers, not on the pins; these are only for stabilizing the finished thin tubes while glueing and painting them.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110919&d=1323936466

(Above) A 6mm section of these rolled up tubes - corresponding to ca 10cm in full scale - will make up the body of the turnbuckle. A looped and tied off piece of silk thread is pulled through the tube using the No. 15 crochet needle you see here. It will get through any paper tube I can roll, however thin. Very, very easy to thread all kinds of rigging with this tool!

I looked it up, and it seems the American Boye company is no longer making any smaller crochet needles than No. 14, which equals 0.75mm. The antiquarian No. 15 I picked up by pure chance at a jumble sale would equal something like 0.65mm thickness. Measuring it, I got an appropriate 0.65mm along the widest part of the hook at the end (top-to-bottom, if you see what I mean). The width of the hook is more like 0.45mm.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=110920&d=1323936484

(Above) The looped end of the turnbuckle is then thread on to the left pin, and the body of the turnbuckle pushed up towards the looped end, with glue smeared on the silk thread. The two loose ends are tied to a loop around the pin to the right, thus forming the other eye of the turnbuckle. In due course, the loose ends will get tied to attchment points in the aircraft, while the rigging wire will be tied and tensioned to the first eye.

[Tapcho]

That wise-clamp-pin thighy is looking great and it's a great reminder to us all how one can put up a working rig for almost anything with just ordinary things. This stage of your build statrts to resemble more fly tying than modeling. Can't wait to se the finished rigging because your thorough methods and carefull preplanning is destined to produce outstanding results. Thanks Leif for this educational update and the previous ones too for that matter.

Tappi

[Hiob]

Wow, that's an amazing job! I really enjoy it so far :)

[mldixon]

Astounding work Leif. And the documentation is top shelf as usual. Paying close attention and learning. :)

[Don Boose]

Leif -

I hope that you had a festive Santa Lucia Day, even if you forewent the glögg and the candles in your hair.

With each model, you get closer to replicating the details of a full-sized aircraft. And you always choose such appealing aircraft to model! It is a real joy to read through your narrative and to see the large, clear images of the work (not to mention the charming addition of Ms. Bland with her own historical aviation connections).

The lecture went very well, thank you (and if I may, let me mention to bernoullis that the first slide of the lecture showed the U.S. command arrangements in the Pacific on the morning of 7 December 1941). Now I prepare for the course on Theater Strategy, which begins immediately after the New Year.

Don
bernoullis (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/members/bernoullis.html) http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/images/statusicon/user_offline.gif
Member

[Leif Ohlsson]

Tappi - it's funny you should mention flyfishing. I always envied those guys sitting in a cabin somewhere, an open-hearth fire blazing, tying away on their colorful flies. You must have visited a fly-fishing shop, I imagine - what a plethora of lines and useful material they do carry!

Hiob - your appreciation means a lot; I've seen what you can do.

Mike - you recognize what I've learned from you, I'm sure!

Don - good to hear from you, as always. I hope to get back to Ms. Bland presently, with a more formal introduction. Right now, she just sort of nestled her way into this build. Understandably so, since it is taking place right under her nose…

Now, on this, the 16th day of December, the Pup gets its wings skinned:
(16) Wings - skinning

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111013&d=1324023819

(Above) Wing skins and frameworks are meeting up for the first time. Glue is applied to the rib bottoms only - not spars or anything else - and the framework positioned on the bottom of the wing skin piece. When correct positioning is ensured, the whole assembly is turned upside down on a class plate at the edge of the table, top skin section hanging down over the table's edge, and the bottom is rolled on to the framework to ensure the correct undercamber.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111014&d=1324023819

(Above) Just demonstrating the method of fastening landing wire turnbuckles on the inside of the skin. Small strips of thin sketching paper have been glued over the strands of silk emerging from the turnbuckles on the other side. The same goes for all wire attachment points.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111015&d=1324023819

(Above) Wing tips of manilla card have been glued in place and the bottom section is shaped around it. These tip reinforcements were made in order to preseve a proper undercamber also of the tip bottom sections, and to provide some sort of support when rolling down the top sections of the tips later on.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111016&d=1324023819

(Above) Demonstrating the experimental trailing edge wedges, also seen glued in place in the background. At this point I think the overly complicated shape of these wedges are unnecessary. I will revert to a simple fold in the future. But I do believe the trailing edge reinforcements as such are a good thing to avoid sagging or wavy trailing edges.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111017&d=1324023819

(Above) Closing the upper side, glue is applied only to the rib top sides, plus a thin string along the trailing edge. Not to the trailing edge wedges, and not to the tip sections. Positioning the trailing edges to meet up exactly and pressing down very firmly at the trailing edge (note the heavy-duty weights), the rest of the skin is rolled on, from the trailing edge towards the leading edge, one way only. This way the leading edge fold will get positioned where it belongs naturally, since there is half a centimeter empty space at the front, the ribs being cut off so to speak. Very easy. Alignment comes almost automatically, And no stress at any time here.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111018&d=1324023836

(Above) Closing the wing tips starts with smearing glue on the inside of the slits on the top side of the tips, using a piece of surplus manilla card strip as a tool. Then a string of glue is applied on both top and bottom insides along the edge.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111019&d=1324023836

(Above) The tip is then closed by rolling down edges. Slightly wet through by the glue, the very edge sections can be rolled down so that they in effect are folded inwards. This is helped out by the preforming made of the tips a long time earlier, before the framework was applied in fact. Finally, the very edge is edgepainted again, to hide any discrepancies. Evalutation: The underlying framework is sound and it is great to have the original Pup profile. You do not need all those ribs, but since they are so easy to make, why not go once step closer to the full-scale construction? I believe the trailing edge stiffening wedge is well-motivated, but will revert to the simpler version tried out in the centersection in the future. I am very pleased with the consistent use of wire attachment loops, with the turnbuckles, and with the way they are glued to the inside. I am also happy with the simulated rudder splits, which are most effective visually, yet easy to make.

[cMags]

The techniques in this thread are incredible. So much so, that I'm tempted to bump one of my biplanes to the top of my build list to try my hand at these (adapting for 1:72 scale of course). Great job Leif! A very valuable contribution to the community!

[cardist]

I have always had problems with wings, although I am improving with practice. Your techniques highlighted here are inspirational and certainly do-able. Again, many thanks for sharing.

Bernie

[ashevilleangler]

Leif, As always your build thread is both educational and awe-inspiring. I am especially interested in your rigging techniques and the scale turnbuckles. That along with the discussion of fly-tying materials has got me to thinking about the possibility of using small dry fly hooks with eyes aligned with the hook shank (not the usual turned down eye) to help make very convincing turnbuckles. The hook would be snipped or broken about 3 mm from the eye end. Then it could be mounted in the fly vise so that a very fine thread could be wound around the shank and glued in place with CA glue. The tag end of this thread would be left long so that it would be mounted just like the ones that you are using. A flat thread or a coarse one then could be wound around the hook shank to give a smooth or ribbed effect as desired. The hook of course would need to be very small say a size 20 midge hook.

If you or if anyone for that matter would like to see an example I would be happy to give it a try and post in a new thread separate from this one.

Curt

[Leif Ohlsson]

cMags, thanks for appreciating the tale. Your commenting led me to the thread where you've collected all your builds (http://tinyurl.com/cmagsbuilds). Very pleasant visit, and an excellent idea - I shall try to follow your example!

Bernie - glad to hear that this might be helpful, and thank you for saying so!

Curt - of course I would be very much interested to see an example of your fly-hook turnbuckle, and learn how to accomplish it! And so would many others I imagine. Looking forward to it, in this thread or elsewhere.

As for the Pup, on this, the 17th day of December, we learn about the first failed attempt to mount the wings - and the build goes on hold for quite a bit of time before it is resumed:
(17a) Wing mounting (aborted)

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111091&d=1324112965

(Above) Mounting the wings started with drilling the holes for the dihedral wire guides...

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111092&d=1324112965

(Above) … and sanding the root ribs to the correct angle. I made up a simple jig, with measurements from scale drawings, and taped it to a glass plate.

--- At this point the journal ends rather abruptly and there was a pause in both building and writing for something like a month. The reason was that I failed in a premature attempt to mount the wings, and got scared of the model.

The beautifully rolled paper tubes stuck into the drilled holes were unravelled by trying to drill slightly larger holes in them. The learning lesson here is that you should take care to mount rolled paper tubes in a direction so that drilling them will not result in the drill unravelling them (but instead, if anything, rolls them harder, from the inside so to speak).

Another mistake was to use too coarse connecting wires, in a misplaced fear that load-carrying connecting wires were needed. If you build the wings in the realistic mode, like I did this time, the connecting wires simply will not carry the load of the wings or maintain their dihedral anyway - you will have put your trust in a functional rigging.

I did not abandon the build, but did'nt dare go near it either for quite some time.

[Leif Ohlsson]

On this, the same 17th day of December, we therefore instead get a belated introduction to Ms. Lilian E. Bland. You have already seen my little toy doll version of her. When the interrupted build of the Pup is recommenced, she will take a more active part in it. So, meet Ms. Bland:
(17b) A belated introduction to Ms. Lilian E. Bland

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111093&d=1324113271

(Above) Meet Ms. Bland, posing in Summer 1910 with her Mayfly, having just mounted her Avro engine which she brought back from England to Ireland herself, by regular train and car. Adjustable prop, and many other nice features. The clumsy wheels are just for transporting the aircraft around while working on it.

My wife, who made the clothes for my doll of Ms. Bland worked from this photo. A pretty good likeness, don't you think, all things considered?

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111094&d=1324113271

(Above) Here's on of the very rare photos showing Ms. Bland about to start on one of her several short flights or hops. This photo also enables a good view of the rather ingenious control system of the Mayfly.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111095&d=1324116112

(Above) Off an on I am working on this 1/16 scale drawing of the Mayfly. From her place on a shelf in front of me, my small Ms. Bland constantly urges me to continue this work, but something else always seems to be coming in between.

Here's a close-up of the drawing to get an impression of how intricately the Mayfly was constructed:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111098&d=1324116203

It is most fascinating to follow Lilian Bland's enthusiastic correspondens to Flight magazine 1910-1911. I have collected her writings, and those about her, in the attached pdf-file. The source notes will enable you to download the relevant pages from Flightglobal Archive (http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/index.html).

[rmks2000]

Leif,

I hope to see you return to this build. Nontheless, it's been a great thread. Looking forward to the Mayfly design. One request - please show as many views of the rigging when you build it. The rigging on three-views confuse me and I would like to see how you interpret them. It will help me when I build my kit of the Blackburn triplane.

[Leif Ohlsson]

rmks2000 - well, for once I did not give it up, so here's the sequel to the build of the Pup. Re your question about rigging, I'd be happy to comment in your own build thread. Just give me a heads-up when the time comes. And is there a first name or something to your signature? It feels so strange to call you by a number of initials and figures…

One good outcome of the break in the build was the simplified laminated propeller, described here (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/design-threads/2618-laminated-prop-paper-9.html#post253959).

Having introduced Mr. Claus of Laminated Propellers Ltd., and the season being what it is, I then felt an obligation to at least attempt to give him a proper vehicle for delivering his new product in time for his busiest season, so that he did not have to rely solely on his traditional means of transportation.

On the 18th day of December, the journal therefore tells the tale of how the wings of the Pup finally get to be mounted. When the journal is taken up again, note how reluctant I was to approach the mounting as such, doing all sorts of preparations instead. Which was probably a good thing anyway.

We also renew our acquaintance with Ms. Bland, who from now on will take a more active part in finishing the Pup:
(18) Wing mounting (second attempt)

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111158&d=1324196792

(Above) The restarting of the build was commenced as carefully as last time, with small parts, like the
the struts. Here they are getting their loops, simple ones on top, turnbuckles at the bottom. Lilian Bland is supervising the work, keeping track of the remaining details in the parts bin, mostly struts and turnbuckles and big spools of rigging wire.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111159&d=1324196792
(Above) The rudder horns are hanging on a pin stuck into the parts bin. They have got loops for tying the pre-glued control wires running from the wings to. In the background, one of the horns have received the wire that will run from the horn to the end of the aileron. But that is for later. For now, they are just dryfitted. They will not be glued in place until the wings have been mounted.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111160&d=1324196792

(Above) The last turnbuckles have been attached to their fastening points at the landing gear legs. These are for the double sets of flying wires. The rear set will in fact go right through the bottom wing, close to its root.

This is very true to scale, a fact it has taken me a whole life until now to understand how that works. It's not until you actually have to rely on the functionality of the rigging that you come to really think about how and were and why these wires in fact are attached, and what members in fuselage and wings actually carry the load.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111161&d=1324196792

(Above) The aircraft was now turned upside down, resting on the top wing center section. Four wing jigs were constructed with the help of the accurate sideview which comes with the kit (although you have to enlarge it to full size yourself).

The jigs ensure several things - alignment in all directions, absolutely correct stagger, parallell wings, correct distance between wings, and even the exact position for the bottom wing to join the fuselage. The holes for the joining wires were marked and drilled after dryfitting the wings as demonstrated here. Nothing has of course been glued as yet...

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111162&d=1324196792

(Above) Here we go, then. This is how the fit of the top wings are tested. Note thin and short joining wires, only 0.5mm thick floral wire, very soft and useless for carrying any loads or maintaining angles. This has to be accomplished by the rigging, which thus will have to be absolutely fully functional.

Immediately after this testfitting the top wings were glued in place and the whole assembly minus the bottom wings were left to dry very thoroughly.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111163&d=1324196814

(Above) Meanwhile, the struts were glued to the bottom wings. Two simple jigs were made from the sideview, same as the main jigs. These hopefully will maintain proper angles when the bottom wings eventually shall be dryfitted and glued.

The parts bin now is empty, but for the four aileron rudder horns.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111164&d=1324196814

(Above) This is just to document that the bottom wings, too, now have been glued in place. This was not a process I enjoyed, in spite of taking so many precautions. Cajoling the wings into correct position, through the tight-fitting jigs, actually required some considerable force, particularly when the wing struts were very tight fitting (possibly just a tad too long). I have read of quite skilled modelers who have crushed their intricate models at precisely this stage.

Nothing like that happened here, but I'm glad this part is over. Much rigging will now take place with the aircraft still in this position.

[Leif Ohlsson]

On the 19th day of December the wings get rigged, all of which is done with surprising ease. And the result is equally surprising:
(19) Wings - rigging

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111231&d=1324290025

(Above) Rigging started with cutting down the supporting jigs so that they just formed a cradle harboring the model loosely. I wanted to get rid of all the forced tensioning the jigs had created. Any rigging done with that still in action probably would have gone slack or too tensioned when the jigs eventually were removed. And I needed some space to move in there, between the wings and wires!

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111232&d=1324290025

(Above) Rigging in progress. Without the two tools shown here - the LED spot light, and the ultrafine knitting needle - I simply would not have been able to get off first base here.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111233&d=1324290025

(Above) With all the flying and landing wires done, plus the strut cross-braces, it was safe to liberate the Pup from its jigs, and turn it right side up. This is the first time I see it with wings mounted, and standing on its own two wheels. Only aileron horns and control wires, plus the connection wires between the upper and lower ailerons, now remain.

Finished!

So, suddenly - quite unexpected - the Pup was finished. The final rigging details went smoothly, and I even replaced one of the center-section wires, which had gone slightly slack. Here's my finishing photos, quite hastily rigged up. Ms. Bland was kind enough to step in and demonstrate various aspects of the Pup:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111234&d=1324290052

(Above) I believe this is the view of the Pup I like best, with the strange windscreen-padded crash protection, and cockpit rim. They turned out alright.

You will notice the imperfection in the top wing-center section joint. Nothing doing now, and I don't think I could have done better - this time. There was no way of noticing this in the upside-down mounting position.

Note the flying wires passing through the bottom wing root, which is a nice true-to-scale feature seldom modeled. It is wort stressing again that all rigging is fully functional

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111235&d=1324290052

(Above) "This is how you start the engine", says Ms. Bland. "Don't forget to turn it over a couple of times with ignition off."

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111236&d=1324290052

(Above) One of the standard views, I believe.

That's it. Finished. What a surprise!

[Ron0909]

Leif,

What an astounding effort and creation! Thank you so much for taking us through it step by step (along with Ms. Bland's 'Vanna White' product placement hand gestures:))
Seriously Leif, I have learned so much of the fine art of rigging and large scale problem resolution that I almost find myself in your debt!

Sweet Pup!
Ron

[georgerutherford1861]

Excellent work! In my opinion, there can never be too many WWI models to look at!

Doug

[Gil]

Hi Leif,

I want to thank you for a beautifully told and illustrated Christmas story. It harkens back to the days of the illustrated Christmas story that most newspaper syndicates traditionally ran at Christmas though this one is more along the vein how boys make toys..., A most memorable endeavor.

Again Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Bien Cordialement, +Gil

[rmks2000]

Absolutely beautiful! I've got to read this "story" again.

Bob

[birder]

Congrats on completion of this fine model, Leif! Looks great the effort to rig it adds considerable realism and that prop is just beautiful:)

[HMCS]

wow that is awesome,.. certainly one of my fav ww1 planes of all time! you build is certainly nothing short of spectacular!

[isievert]

Just awesome! We all say it may no longer looks like a paper model with all the details and fine craftsmanship. I guess all here are hoping that our skills, one day, will at least measure up to this level because there is no way this build can be surpassed soon! You are up there with the truly elite paper modelers.

[Leif Ohlsson]

Ron, Doug, Gil, Bob, Glen, Mark, I. Sievert - warm thanks!

Ron, I had to look up the 'Vanna White' reference, and now that I get the joke I think Lilian Bland would have both laughed and dismissed it. That is simply not her! The 'Vanna White' pose and caption style must be blamed on a lazy copyeditor prone to stereotyping (that would be me). Here's an attempt to make amends:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111339&d=1324372352

(Above) Lilian Bland repairing a boat engine during her time as a married farmer in Canada. Note the tools and the oil can on the box at the right. Is that a cigarette butt glued between her lips, or a small gadget that mustn't get lost while tightening some engine nuts & bolts?

See what I mean about Vanna White not exactly being her style?

Gil, I'm glad that you caught on to the Christmas story aspect. In fact, keeping with that tradition obligates me to add a couple more installments. So, returning to the Pup, on this the 20th day of December I go back and touch up a mistake which was rather hard to ignore:
(20) Repair work

Once noticed, it is difficult to overlook the mismatch of the top wings with the center section. Repair work was done by cutting open the glue joint at the rear and front, and reglueing the joint (without removing the wings in any way or touching the rigging already made; just slightly bending the leading and trailing edges to meet up a bit better):

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111340&d=1324372352

(Above) Four lathes of scrap wood were cut to size and taped over with office tape (in order for residual glue not to adhere). They were then clamped to the wing front and rear to force the wing into correct alignment while the glue was drying.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111341&d=1324372352

(Above) Much better now! While studying the previous photo I noticed a number of small white spots which neede touching up. So now that's done too, and the model has been returned to the care of Ms. Bland, and its new temporary location on the shelf on top of my workbench. I can look at it now without itching to do something about it:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111342&d=1324372352

And, as a PS in that vein, I'm aware that I should have made a pitot tube on the right forward strut, with lead-in tubes up into the top wing, and down the centre-section strut. But for that to have been meaningful I should have remembered it while making the struts. Trying to amend that now would just be an invitation to disaster. So, enough, no more!

[Tapcho]

First I thought that the BW picture was a screenshot from 'African Queen' but you continued the lifestry of Ms. Bland. Vanna White notion was hilarious, I had a good time reading it.
I almoust mede some remarks after your previous post and now I'm happy I didn't. You finalised all the spots and made all corrections I had in mind despite the pitot tube ofcourse.
Construction extraordinaire, pardon my french here, extremely nice result and extra points from starting the project again and finishing her. Sometimes a thinking pause just makes everything better doesn't it? Merry Christmas Leif and have a Happy New Year too.

Tappi

[cgutzmer]

Awesome work! Love this plane and you created a spectacular example!

[Leif Ohlsson]

Tappi, Chris - thanks for enjoying the final result. On this, the 21st day of December, the journal reflects on the method of rigging used for the Pup. What could be better than starting with a reference to Curt, the 'Ashvilleangler's', very professional method published on the site yesterday here (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/tips-techniques/17627-turnbuckles-fish.html):

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111469&d=1324457803

Now for a comparison with the Pup's turnbuckles:


(21) Evaluating rigging details

I had two main objectives with this build - besides finishing the model, telling this story, and generally enjoying myself - namely to build a better cowling, and get proficient in rigging biplanes. How did it work out?

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111470&d=1324457803

(Above) I've already said that the cowlling is worth a third or fourth or whatever attempt. This is the third one or so, and it can definitely be improved upon. I think even I could do better next time, by taking care to shape the sections before joining them with their gluestrips.

There are a couple of rigging details in this photo as well. These are my turnbuckles, made of rolled sketching paper and silver painted afterwards. As you can see from the photo of a real Pup below, the original turnbuckles - even the largest of them - are still smaller than I modeled them.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111471&d=1324457803

So, next time around, I will attempt to roll them even thinner, and paint them in a more dark iron-like color. Otherwise I am very satisfied with the general method of ALWAYS making attachment points in the structure (small loops to tie turnbuckles or wires to; or - if control wires - wires of surplus length hanging from the point where they would exit the fuselage or wings). In fact I would NEVER have managed to rig this model satisfactorily without them. They require a lot of thinking ahead - which I missed out on in a couple of instances - but they give you a lot of control over the rigging process.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111474&d=1324458101

(Above) Another close-up of the turnbuckles. Still looking pretty good, even if I say so myself. Note particularly that the landing wires are attached to the wing, not the strut. This is both functional and true-to-scale. Cannot recommend this procedure too highly. I'll admit that I forgot to do it myself with the fuselage strut crossbraces; I should have made attachment loops for them as well in the covering, but failed to remember the need for it at the time. Won't happen again. I hope, I hope...

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111475&d=1324458101

(Above) Finally a view of the tail, where I first tried out the rigging wire method. Not quite so small loops here, as I learned to do later, but still quite effective. In fact, a couple of judiciously spaced loops and knots will look a lot like a small turnbuckle or a clevis, which might be a tip for those building in smaller scales, like 1/33.

[Don Boose]

You are really pushing the envelope, Leif. And I like the synergy resulting from your application of Cecil's Compleat Angler approach to turnbuckle construction.

The last image of Ms. Bland and the pup's tail feathers is superbly evocative of the era.

Don

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thank you, Don! I am glad you will be along also for the final steps of the journey…

I have known all along that this build was about more than just to finish a model - I have deliberately been trying to conjure up an encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Past. Hence the format of this tale (which Gil already has caught on to).

You see, I have this nostalgic, bittersweet and fleeting memory of a newly assembled Guillows Sopwith Camel in balsa, and the smell of a Christmas tree that already had lost its magic, although I desperately tried to hold on to it. There was something there I felt I ought to deal with, finally. I shall have to face up to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come before we are done.

But on the 22nd day of December the journey is still pleasant, as the journal goes back some fifty-plus years in time to meet the Ghost of Christmas Past, and I reflect upon my relationship with the Sopwith Pup and aeromodeling in general:
(22) The Ghost of Christmas Past

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111561&d=1324539168

(Above) These are two of the publications which - for better or for worse - shaped my view decisively, from early years, on issues like war, aircraft, and model building. The Quentin Reynolds book, 'They fought for the sky', I read at what must have been the age of 13-14 years of age, tops. I know this, since I read it before I got my subscription to Aeromodeller Autumn 1959.

The February 1960 issue with the Pup on the cover was only the third I received, and I regard it as the highlight of covers during the four years or so my father paid for this exclusive subscription, arriving monthly from England. It must have been extremely exotic (and expensive) in those days.

What I can say is that publications like these both taught me English (which was excellent), shaped my view towards war and conflict in a traditionally romantic way (which I don't appreciate as much these days), and - above all - laid the grounds for what has turned out to be a life-long interest in aeromodeling. I'm very happy with that finally landing me in paper aircfraft modeling.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111562&d=1324539168

(Above) I don't think I have studied any single modeling article more closely than the one by Kenneth McDonough about his free-flying Sopwith Pup with pendulum rudders. Does anyone know whether those free-flight pendulum elevator controls ever really worked? A question which has been haunting me for more than fifty years now…

Kenneth McDonough is also the artist behind the cover of that issue (some paper model designers are multi-talented that way, too; Tadeusz Grzelczak (http://wsmk.konradus.com/f1aut.php?autor=grzelczaktad) and Pawel Mistewicz (http://wsmk.konradus.com/f1aut.php?autor=mistewiczpaw) come to mind). I remember tracing that cover many times, attempting to colour it in more lively colours than the two-tone brown which Aeromodeller at the time was restricted to.

[Gil]

Hi Leif,

We share similar aviation formative years though mine was enriched with the likes of Robert's Surplus at the old Oakland Airport and all the surplus WWII and Korean jet fighters, Pratt & Whitney's, odd Wrights, radar units, radiosondes and other unbelievably neat "stuff" [they used to kick me out at closing time].

Pendulum rudders..., They were something I never tried but was always fascinated by the idea. I had no idea of control system theory at the time and figured that from a purely mechanical observation that they should work. The problem as I found out from those who did try them was that air was not smooth but fairly bumpy which upset the control feedback loop. Those who tried it spent countless hours trying to make it work which in the end it didn't..., Notice how popular radio control became once it was miniaturized and the cost dropped within the range of most modelers. But looking back I must of spent a good two weeks of my young life studying and dreaming about such a "nifty" mechanism...,

Bien Cordialement, +Gil

[ashevilleangler]

Leif, Thanks for the nice plug about my turnbuckle idea. I think yours turned out beautifully.

Curt

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thanks, Curt. And Gil - thanks for the glimpse into your encounters with the Ghost of Christmas Past! Also for clearing up the pendulum elevator control query. I thought as much; never really could imagine how a model would even leave one's hand without the acceleration seriously upsetting the pendulum control. And of course all the eddies in the air pointed out by you.

Would you like now to meet one of my Ghosts of Christmas Yet to Come?

One such unveiling ghost for me has been the gradual realization over the years that war in the air is, and always has been, something very far from what I for a long time childishly wished to believe.
On this, the 23rd day of December, we thus confront the story of a man who flew the Pup in one war, survived, and went on to organize the infinitely more destructive airstrikes of another war. Reading it for the first time not long ago was a disconcerting experience, in spite of all I have learnt since my long-gone original encounter with the Ghost of Christmas Past.
(23) The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Researching the Sopwith Pup again for this build I came upon a text by Arthur Gould Lee, one of those few pilots who survived WWI. Arthur Gould Lee in fact went on to become an Air Vice Marshal, retiring after WWII and writing several excellent books about his early experiences as a war-time pilot.

His survival as a WWI pilot probably had got a lot to do with the fact that he crashed during training (after a stall at take-off induced by engine failure) and broke his leg. This resulted in his gaining a much larger number of hours in the air than most other pilots before being sent to the front in France. Once there he wrote continuously and vividly about his experiences in letters to his wife. In due course some of this material got into books by and about him. Here's one such incident, recounted in Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No. 67: "Sopwith Pup Aces of World War I".

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111781&d=1324634284

The date is 4 September 1917, and the then Captain Arthur Gould Lee is returning from a patrol over German territory at 1700 hrs in his distinctively marked ("Chin Chow") Pup B1777, when he spotted a solitary RE 8 being harrassed by an Albatros D III over the Polygon Wood in eastern France:

'I've got a Hun at last! And all on my own. And confirmed. An Albatros V-Strutter, a D III. Coming back alone from a patrol, the formation split up and we made our separate ways. It was a lovely evening, very clear, with a pale blue sky. I was gliding down just this side of the Hun balloon lines - for once "Archie" [anti-aircraft artillery] couldn't be bothered with just one aeroplane - when I saw an RE 8 approaching on my left front, about 500 ft below. And tracers were spitting from the observer's gun. It was then that I realised that he was being followed, and attacked, by an Albatros V-Strutter from a range of about 150 yards, also firing short bursts. Before I could react, the Hun ceased firing and turned east. I assumed he'd broken off because he'd spotted me. The RE 8 whizzed past below, the observer waved, and the Albatros continued on a level course eastwards.

'Suddenly, I woke up and dropped into a wide sweeping curve that brought me dead behind the Hun, and 200 ft above him. It seemed incredible that he hadn't seen me when he turned aside from the RE 8. It looked so easy, I suspected a trap, and searched carefully around, but there was no other machine in sight. I came down closer and closer, holding my fire. My heart was pounding and I was trembling uncontrollably, but my mind was calm and collected.

'I closed to within ten yards of the Hun, edged out of his slip-stream and drew nearer still until I saw that if I wasn't careful I'd hit his rudder. His machine was green and grey and looked very spic & span. He had a dark brown flying helmet, with a goggle strap round the back of his head. I aimed carefully through the Aldis between his shoulders just below where they showed above the fairing. It was impossible to miss. I gently pressed the trigger and at the very first shots his head jerked back. immediately, the aeroplane reared up vertically. He must have clutched the joy-stick right back as he was hit. I followed upwards still firing, until in two or three seconds he stalled and fell over to the left, and I had to slew sharply aside to avoid being hit. He didn't spin, but dropped into a near-vertical engine-on dive.' My only point in quoting this very well-written story by Arthur Gould Lee is that it depicts something far from the romantic picture of gallantry and camaraderie even across the front line; and of the rationalization of fighting mainly in immediate self-defence; 'if I don't kill him, he will kill me', etc. The piece quoted, in my view, is a good description of how a cold-blooded killer creates himself, in response to what his peers and the spirit of the fime demand of him; of how the mindset of an efficient hunter-warrior is born. For me it serves as a corrective to what I wanted to believe when I grew up, and, sadly, for too long after that.

I wish to stress that this is not meant as a criticism of Arthur Gould Lee; quite the contrary. From what I have read he is a particularly keen and insightful portraitist of precisely the mindset of war-time pilots, as they were shaped by the times and the exigencies of their period. For relating those insights I am grateful to him. They give a particular urgency to the deeper meaning of the holiday we have ahead of us.

I have found no other photo of Arthur Gould Lee than this one:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111782&d=1324634284

For more information about Arthur Gould Lee and the books he has written, see 'The Aerodrome' website, here (http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/lee.php) and here (http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/2002/13066-arthur-gould-lee.html).

[Don Boose]

I still have my collection of Aeromodeller from the 1950s and early 60s, as well as that famous Quentin Reynolds book, and many issues of RAF Flying Review, not to mention my prized Harleyford Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War edited by Thetford and Riding.

It is wonderful to see those images and to hear of your recollections.

Don

[Leif Ohlsson]

Don - it's so good to learn that I share a certain set of memories and influences with you as well as Gil - down to having saved at least a couple of the same years of 'Aeromodeller' all through a lifetime where so many things have been discarded or lost!

Glad also to have you around for the 24th day of December when we, as the tradition here in Sweden calls for, open the last door of the Sopwith Pup Advent calendar, and find that the Ghost of Christmas Present kindly has abstained from unveiling any more unsettling aspects of our hobby.
(24) The Ghost of Christmas Present

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111882&d=1324708103

(Above) Mr. Claus of Laminated Propellers, Ltd. (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/design-threads/2618-laminated-prop-paper-9.html#post253959) (right) accepts his promised improved and modernized delivery vehicle in time for his scheduled Christmas run, starting already tonight in northern Europe, and continuing through the night and morning in the rest of the world. Ms. Lilian E. Bland (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/aviation/3047-sopwith-pup-breadner-1-16-a-13.html#post259056) (left) of 1910-11 'Mayfly' fame is happy to present the factory-fresh aeroplane.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=111883&d=1324708103

(Above) This photo was purchased earlier by the same Mr. Claus of LamProps and has in fact already for some time been used by his company to publicize their products, but I have no hesitation about publishing it again here, this time in larger than usual format. I've been using it myself in this format as a desktop for the whole while of publishing this journal. I doubt that I will ever manage a better or more well-composed model photo. At the time, I just clicked it; no idea it would turn out this well.

Warm thanks for watching, and contributing, to this, what turned out to be a virtual paper modeling Advent calendar!

Leif

[And here endeth the Sopwith Pup build journal, as it was written concurrently with building the model, at each stage not knowing that we would indeed arrive here on this very day.]

Merry Christmas, to old and new friends,
to one and all followers of Papermodelers.com!

[Gil]

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/9854/merrychristmasall.png

[wag]

This has been a great thread to follow, both to follow the master modeler's techniques and the whimsical characters we've been introduced to. If anyone is interested those Aeromodeler plans are available on outerzone
Outerzone : Sopwith Pup plan : download free vintage model aircraft plan (http://www.outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=985)
Wayne

[Don Boose]

A wonderful Christmas present, Leif!

I look at these delightful images in the company of three of our five children and the two grandsons with Handel's Messiah playing in the background and the smell of the Christmas Eve turkey wafting through the house.

We have also received Saint Lucy's Day photographs of some dear Swedish friends with their beautiful daughter dressed as the Lucia. I also treasure some photos of this 80-year-old retired Swedish infantry colonel dressed as the grey-bearded Jultomte and surrounded by his own grandchildren.

Best wishes to you and to all who read this thread for the holiday season.

Don

[OhioMike]

Outstanding build Leif! Thank you for the education!

[Hiob]

I really like this build! Well done Leif! After what I saw I can only say; You have a skill man! :D

I wish you many beautiful models done in 2012 :)

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thank you, all! - Leif

[GAJouette]

Leif,
Very impressive project my friend.You truly are a Master at your craft.Thanks for this outstanding thread,it was a joy to read and no doubt be of inspiration to me to reach the same skill level someday.As I'm typing this with my 3 year old granddaughter on my lap I've got to tell you although Ol'Granddad is highly impressed little Lillie is less so.But she does like the doll and Ghost of Christmas Past figure.Don't feel bad though Lillie isn't much impressed with my projects either. Both of us are looking forward to seeing you Mayfly project though.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thank you, Gregory, for getting in touch. Hug to Lillie! - L.

[bernoullis]

Crikey, Leif, your dedication to the rigging on this Sopwith is just staggering! :eek:

I raise my to hat, and nod my head, in deference to your truly amazing and committed modelling work! :)

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thanks, Bernoullis, I'm glad you liked the rigging part. That was one of the objects of finishing this build, to learn and demonstrate a feasible method of rigging. - L.

[Gene K]

Leif,

I'm revisiting some of my favorite threads, and this one is definitely at the top!!! You're a treasure, and I thank you for the modeling joy you've brought to me over the years.

Gene K

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thank you Gene, and you're most welcome. This one was a treat, wasn't it... :) - L.

[Gene K]

This one was a treat, wasn't it... :) - L.

Definitely. So my next enjoyable re-reads will be your large scale Chipmunk (http://tinyurl.com/yb7wr8w2) and DH88 (http://tinyurl.com/y7mlhf9s) builds.

I never did find your P-39 build (http://tinyurl.com/yaumhal9). :mad:

Gene K

[John Bowden]

I never did find your P-39 build (http://tinyurl.com/yaumhal9). :mad:

Gene K

That was on the old Card Models site...

[Gene K]

That was on the old Card Models site...

Thanks, John, but when I tried Leif's link to the Wayback Machine, it didn't go any further back than the "cover picture". Any suggestions?

Gene K