DOUGLAS B-23 DRAGON - 1:72 - by TEX MOD

[yankeekilo]

fantastic, looks perfect

[ReynoldsSlumber]

Originally Posted by Positive_Rate

Thanks for your comments, especially how to extract myself from my alignment conundrum.. And you know I think that's a great idea ReynoldsSummer.

Thanks! Best o' luck, boldly moving forward.
On the wing skins, I'm not gonna say boo on whichever way works for you, that seems like personal preference!

Also "ReynoldsSummer," heh, just call me HotReynoldsSummer

[Positive_Rate]

At last!

A major milestone reached. Dry fitted the wings about 20 times and decided to add some thin paper to the top and bottoms of the spars and outboard rib with paper glue. This made it far easier to apply solvent glue to the tops and bottoms of the spars, keeping the wing surface on the spars properly.
Delighted to furnish pics of a fully winged Douglas B-23 Dragon!

I haven’t added the section between the fuselage and the wing as yet until I’ve attempted to sort my dihedral issue. There is only 1 spar running right through the fuselage but just not sure that will give me enough ‘flex’. I’m wondering how much rigidity would remain in the wing roots now the inner wings are fixed? Not to worry, I can carry on with the engines and gear and still come back to the dihedral, then attach the section between the fuselage and the wing. (Is that called a fairing??)

As you can see I’ve shaped and assembled the right engine housing and just checking the sequence to assemble the rest.

I assembled the main gear tyres last night – they’re much too thin I think so I’ll probably add a short cylinder in the middle to widen them.

Regards,
Alan

[Don Boose]

The heritage of this airplane is clear from the appearance of the model. Excellent work!

Don

[yankeekilo]

Originally Posted by Don Boose

The heritage of this airplane is clear from the appearance of the model. Excellent work!

Don

Don!! this model has the corrected nose thanks to your advise on the initial b-23 thread!!

[Positive_Rate]

Hello all,
Excuse the 5 week hiatus. We all need a break from work!

Main Gear

Well I have progressed a few things, made new much wider main gear tyres. TexMod has done a great job here in making a series of 7 discs which when the 160gm paper is glued to 1mm card makes exactly the right width. Without the thickening, the main gear tyre looks like a bicycle tyre, see pics of my earlier effort.

In the pic you see the 7discs of the main gear Tyre.

Pleased also to say after a lot of ehming and ahing I’ve found some 1mm wire, passed the tyre over it and fashioned into a ‘U’. I’ve also cut some 1mm board to ‘sandwich’ between the front and rear sides of the main gear struts.

The gear supporting struts were printed on 160 gram paper and each laminated to make 4 layers. I’ve fitted the right engine body and completed the front part of the engine. (Is it also called a nacelle??). I left it off so I can see what’s happening to my main gear struts as they penetrate the wing.

From the diagram I found where the gear wants to be and made 2 holes ready to take the ‘U’ from the landing gear. You can see where I measured the depth from the engine housing to the bottom layer of the wing.

[Positive_Rate]

Engine Body

I’ve fitted the right engine body and completed the front part of the engine. (Is it also called a nacelle??). I left it off so I can see what’s happening to my main gear struts as they penetrate the wing.

The very front of the engine body is printed as a continuous tab, pity, because you have to now cut mini-tabs to allow it to follow the profile of the next 2 parts which have very different curvature.
In front of the engine body are fitted 2 parts, you need to fit the strip first, this is joined to itself making a cylinder, then fitted to the front of the engine.

The point at which the extra circumference of the main engine housing goes beyond the cylinder is tricky to establish, but see pics. Then the oil cooler is fitted below it.

I was convinced I’d done something wrong but apparently it’s exactly as intended. Note the red marks where the ‘streak’ of oil appears on both parts. Nevertheless it fits well.

Part 29 is the front of the engine and has a tab at the bottom to join it into a cylinder but only 1 tab to join it to the orange engine ‘fairing’. The other tab to join it to the main engine I had to make myself.

Front of the engine assembled easy enough. I like the detail of the piston engine, great job TexMod! Not sure if I'll have spinning props, but I'd like to try.

[Draco]

Positive_rate, it's looking great!
The part were the engine goes is the Cowl, the part after the firewall is the Nacelle (at least in WWII planes with engines on the wings)

[yankeekilo]

you are doing great Alan!!

[Positive_Rate]

Draco, Yankeekilo,

Thanks for your comments, I'm really enjoying the build, when I have the time and can simultaneously apply myself! I love the texture appearance, it's so different from the squeaky clean but somewhat lifeless models we're kinda used to.

Alan