Bleriot XI - heavily modified!

[altbob]

The coloring of the ribs and spars on the center wing section of the Fiddler's Green plan doesn't match the coloring of the main wings, so I cut and added some wing panels to cover the wing roots. The join is nearly invisible.

[altbob]

Putting on the tail at long last! Naturally it's a working control surface, as will be the elevator (the prop will also spin and the landing gear wheels do turn as well). The wings however, do not actually warp :(

I plan to put another layer of covering on this so that the brass rod is not in any way visible (see close-up).

I had some photos of the hole drilled into the end of the fuselage but they were accidentally deleted. There is a layer of epoxy putty on the end to add some strength to the joint (otherwise I was afraid that it would eventually break off from moving the rudder back and forth). This was all repainted to hide the mechanism and the putty, which has a grayish color.

[altbob]

I wasn't completely satisfied with the rudder/tail, even though it moved side to side, because the brass rod within left a visible bump beneath the paper. So I cut some ribs from cardboard and glued them in place (pic 1 and 2) and filed them down on the ends (pic 3) so that the transition would be smoothed out.

The final photo (pic 4) shows the result with new covering glued in place over the old rudder - the skeleton now casts a very realistic shadow and the covering has a lovely scalloped texture just like the real thing!

Moving on now to the horizontal stab/elevators! Comments?

[elliott]

Just that it's great work and to keep it up.

[altbob]

Beginning work on the horizontal stabilizer and dual elevators, which naturally will be movable control surfaces. Rigging placed in advance. Care must be taken to get the proper camber on the airfoil and avoid creases in the paper that would give away the mechanism when complete.

Not sure if this will work or not. The brass rod in the plastic straw needs to be a tight fit or the whole assembly will wiggle. Also, in my heart of hearts I'd have some kind of rib formers on the ends so that the hollow interior wasn't visible.

[altbob]

Just wanted to give you all head's up. I have been warned by my wife that I must relinquish the dining room table by Thanksgiving, so expect to see some real progress and (hopefully) completion in the next couple weeks!

I am about to attach the elevator, which as designed actually moves (photos soon!), and from there I am on to the propeller. This model certainly deserves a nice one, especially as the prop shaft is designed to spin, and I have been looking at Lief's designs for laminated props. Laminated prop in paper

I have no idea what scale my Bleriot is in, but the prop on the Fiddler's Green plans is 2 and 1/16 inches long. Given the small size, I am thinking the simplified prop will suffice. Going to study this thread carefully and try making a prop soon! Lief's Simplified Laminated Propeller

Fingers crossed, and hopefully not glued together!

[altbob]

Horizontal stabilizer completed (with working elevators) and attached. My model now has a fully articulated empennage!

I considered making some sort of ribs to cap off the ends so that the hollow interior wouldn't be noticeable, but it really didn't work out given the internal tube and rod mechanism already installed and in the way, plus the elevators were already attached so glueing small tabs internally would probably just ended up making a big mess of things. Far too fiddly. If I did this h-stab over I might make it all out of separate pieces with internal spars, ribs and hinges then assemble it all, but then again, if I'm going to do all that work I might as well make this 1/5th scale, install a brushless motor, servos, receiver and fly it! As a "just for lookin' at" model, this is really fine as is.

At least I had the forethought to put the rigging wires in place from the start. Attaching the rigging to the boom was pretty simple. I painted two small paper squares with silver acrylic and glued them on as anchor points, as per Bleriot reference photos I've seen.

I'm bothered by the way the printer ink so easily rubs off or scratches, and I don't like that the edges of the paper appear white. I'm going to experiment with some thinned down acrylic paint and see if I can mix this exact color, perhaps I can do some touch-ups at the end of this project. Have people tried this with any success?

[altbob]

So it's finally come to this, the crowning touch, the propeller!

I really like the prop in the Fiddler's Green plans, but it just won't do to put a flat prop on such a heavily modified model. Then again, due to the scale (I'm guessing 1/85ish, but does anyone know the scale of the "regular" FG Bleriot?) a fully laminated prop seems like overkill, so I am using Lief's Simplified Laminated Propeller design which I admire very much for its beauty and simplicity.

The prop center section was a real challenge for me given the size, but I eventually got it together. It is solidly filled with rolled paper because it's going to eventually be mounted on a brass rod prop shaft that spins freely and I need something solid to attach the shaft to.

As you can see, I messed up and somehow put the first twisted prop blade half on backwards! Pay careful attention to the "front" and "back" in the directions, doh! Luckily I was able to cut this free and start over. I'm glad in a way because on further reflection I really didn't like the coloration used on Lief's plans with this model. So as you can see, I recolored the plan using GIMP to be a closer match to the burnt umber and raw sienna colors that I'm using.

Still not happy with the hub, as it's just gray paper and all the other metallic parts on my Bleriot are painted with metallic paint. I may try using some metal foil, or painting the parts. I also like the idea of drop of dried & painted glue to simulate the bolts, as I simply cannot cut perfect circles the size of microdots.

I like the wood grain too much to cover the leading edges of this prop with bronze foil from an expensive chocolate bar, as suggested by Miles Linnabery. Great suggestion though - I'll have to try that in the future!

[altbob]

Spent the weekend tinkering around trying to improve on the prop before installing it. I wasn't happy with the hub printed out from Lief's plans - too light in color to go with my recolored prop blades. I tried increasing the contrast and reprinting the hub and it was much better, but while that was set aside I also tried making a 3D version with drops of glue on the bolts (painted bronze) and a raised central cap in the middle. I like this a lot more. I also brushed the blades of the prop with gloss lacquer to make the prop really shine (literally!)

Lastly I repainted the ANZANI logo on the engine. The original logo was done with a fine tipped mechanical pen, and the lines were too fat and uneven due to slight defects in the surface of the dummy engine. I painted over with a coat of silver and reapplied the logo using a very fine 0001 brush, and Vallejo black paint. It's about as good as I can make it, given the curved surface and how hard it is to hold the model perfectly still with all the rigging already on.

[altbob]

Well, at long last (and on the evening before my wife needed me to clear the table for Thanksgiving), my Bleriot XI model is finished! I'll need to take some good photos of it, but probably won't get to that for a little while. In the meantime I took a tiny video of the model with the propeller attached and spinning. All it takes is the slightest blow to get it going!

I started this in January of 2014 when I broke my ankle. While it took a long time to finish, in my defense I moved 3 times and built a house while this model was in progress, and it sat on a shelf in my office (out of harm's way) for at least 6 months. I am very satisfied with the result, and the whole journey - except for the part where my leg would swell up every 20 minutes because I was supposed to be in bed with my leg elevated



I'll post finished shots in the main Aviation folder when I have the time to take them, where people are more likely to see this. Cheers everyone!