RAF Se5a (scale 1:14 ed Martinez Casalta)

[Rubenandres77]

A series of small and temporary jobs have prevented me
from working much in this plane or other projects.

It is very little what I have advanced in the past weeks.

However, I can share a couple of photographs (low quality
due to them being taken with an old cell phone).


Rear of the fuselage. Look how no formers are used.
Instead, blocks give the shape and add sturdiness to the
structure.


Rear of the fuselage attached to the cockpit.



There are no fitting problems if you cut and fold properly.
Glueing is easy, and parts fit very nicely.

This part: 3 hours
Total time: 19H, 15m

See you next time!

[Leif Ohlsson]

What a novel way of stabilizing a fuselage. Very ingenious. - L.

[Rubenandres77]

Originally Posted by Ron40

Looking fantastic Ruben.....Ron

Looks like Ron’s last message in this forum was here in this thread. Well, though he could not see this plane finished at least he knew I was working on it.



I finally have some more time to work on this model.
It is interesting, and has been a good practice. But as you know, I am not going for an ultra-detailed model. I don’t want to spend much time on details that take me much long, or that can disappoint me if I don’t get them right.

So I decided to avoid detailing some things of the fuselage, and will leave them as they are:




But as you can see, I did made some details, like changing the flat black part of the cockpit rim, and use instead a piece of genuine leather for the rim. I hope it adds to the overall finish.




I may be not building a highly detailed model, but I know I’m building a model that is giving me satisfaction.

Stabilizer and tail are finished and assembled. The kit suggested just scoring from behind to form the ribs. But I used the same technique I have applied before: thin paper strips behind to mark the ribs:




I changed the tail skid, and made one with wood; small change because the original one was kind of ugly and extremely simple.




I am not thinking on major modifications to the exterior of the kit. I know I will attempt some wood struts and landing gear supports, and I will also try a wood propeller. Wheels are fixed in the kit, but I will try to make them movable. Apart from that, and detailing the rigging, I will not apply much detail to the main body frame.

Stabilizer and tail are almost finished, and ready for assembly. This will be huge!




Time in this parts: 3 hours.
Total time: 22H 15m

[Leif Ohlsson]

I like the bit about leather coaming. I realize 1:14 may seem big in relation to what paper modelers usually build in (1:33 or 1:50 or even 1:72, all of which seem very common), or plastic modelers for that matter. I seem to remember that the biggest Revell kits of WWI aircraft was in 1:24 or something like that.

But as model aircraft in general go 1:14 really isn't that big at all. I'd say it's about the scale of an ordinary Guillows stick and tissue kit. Never really seemed big to me at the time, quite the contrary. So it's all about what you are used to and what you would expect from a certain category of models.

Anyways, you're building a very pretty model, and doing it very, very well!

Leif

[wag]

Looks great Reuben. I like the leather cockpit coaming-little touches like that make a big difference. Leif, the Revell kits you mentioned were in 1/28 scale. I just recently finished the SPAD which was re-issued several years ago by Revell Germany.


Wayne

[Leif Ohlsson]

Wayne, very, very pretty. The SPAD is the one I never made. Ever since then, I've had en eye out for that colourful Rickenbacker paint scheme:



One of these days I'll get myself the Kampfflieger version and set the printer for 200 percent and "enhanced" colour interpretation...

L.

[Rubenandres77]

Leif and Wayne: thanks a lot for te information and the photos!
It's nice to see this kind of things


I think there’s reason in your words Leif:

I started to build paper models again just last year after a very long hiatus, and had build only up to 1:33. I was not used to big models, and that’s why it feels so strange.

However, there was a time when I built big birds. I know there must be a photo of me circa 1995 with one balsa and tissue glider I built upon the plans appeared in a magazine here in Bogota. And that has been the biggest winged model I’ve built, with nearly 120 centimeters wingspan.

But since it was the first and only time I built anything like that, I never got used to birds that size. This Se5a is strange to me in that sense. But I believe I’ll have to get used to big models again, just preparing for the time when I decide to build the Enola Gay at 1:33.

[Rubenandres77]

In the past days I had some free time, so I used it to finish this model.

Upper and lower wings are assembled almost the same way. Inner structures with a couple of ribs, and a spar to support the wings.



Wings struts. I decided to make them in wood instead of the original paper part.



Undercarriage was also made with wood. The result is much better than the original paper part.

[Rubenandres77]

The original propeller is too simple, and since I already started making some changes I thought a wood propeller with a proper shape would be even better.




Wheels are made in the traditional way: sandwiched layers of cardboard, sanded and painted. The wheels covers were scored from behind to simulate the spokes. This wheels are a bit different to the ones included in the kit. The original wheels were too simple.

[Rubenandres77]

Some photos of the finished model: