Bleriot XI - heavily modified!

[altbob]

Working on the front-end engine and landing gear mount, again using the Fiddler's Green model for blue prints on all but the canvas areas of the plane.

last photo is a test fit of the engine, which is just primed black right now before painting. Still much to do...

Laboring in obscurity. I should probably restart this thread in "General Aviation" at some point.

[Leif Ohlsson]

Your way of modeling is very attractive - scratchbuilding each part, in mixed material, and based on various sources. It is not a mainstream way of doing things, and all the more refreshing for it.

The problem, as I've perceived it from the start of this thread, is the relative coarseness of the open framework. I realize strength dictates your choice of "timber" dimensions, but the overall frailety of the original somehow gets lost. I'm convinced I could not do better, particularly in your chosen scale, but the problem still is there, wouldn't you agree?

As a positive example your later work on the landing gear & engine frame carries so much more of the original's character. It is really good, and most attractive to see the use of mixed material in it. That is really true to the character of the original.

I've been reluctant to comment so far, since it is rather depressing to criticize something at such an early stage as when I first saw this build. Now that I've seen more of the true quality of your work, I feel free to raise the issue of the framework. And I'm confident you will be able to take it in the right spirit, as a discussion about the best ways and means of bringing the spirit of the original into one's work.

I will try to watch more closely from here on in.

Warm regards, Leif

PS. Never mind about restarting the thread in another section. It was the "Bleriot XI heavily modified" heading that caught my interest, and made me return to it.

[altbob]

Thanks for the comments Leif! I'm glad to have critique and not just people telling me how much they like my work. The critique is what pushes us to learn and try harder

As for timber dimensions, I started this project out using the Fiddler's Green plans as a guide to the thickness of the timbers. I cut a coffee stirrer stick lengthwise into 3 strips, which is pretty thin. To be honest, until I added the stringers and glued the longerons together with the rigging the whole thing threatened to break apart nearly every time I touched it! It is now finally fairly sturdy, but I do see what you mean about it maybe being a bit too study in appearance. I wonder if the choice of wood stain (raw sienna) is contributing to that? I was actually thinking of repainting it a bit lighter in color, but what is stopping me is the yellow color of the Fiddler's Green "canvass" parts that I plan to use. I think it will look odd if the wood parts aren't darker than the canvass (paper).

As I've gone on I am more open to mixing media, and the brass wire seems to have been a good choice for the landing gear support posts. I will also build some kind of wire and wood construct for the tail wheel.

Thanks for the vote of confidence on my scratch-building technique. I've never gone this far with an "improved stock" modification before and every time I sit down to work I have to invent a way to move forward. There isn't really a fully fleshed out plan here. That, and the broken ankle, have made this project move pretty slowly. But I'm enjoying myself so much that I'm almost dreading the day this is complete and just sits on a shelf gathering dust. The building is the fun part!

[jagolden01]

Enjoying yourself is what it's all about! There's no rush, and like you, think others do not want the build to end. It is amazing and gives one ideas.

As to Leifs coments, the act of paInting might have brough out some roughness of the wood when it dried. Possibly a light going over with superfie sandpaper would have taken some of the roghness off. That said, though, I understand how dlicate the framework is from my Airco Dh2 and Demsoielle builds

Looking great!

[altbob]

Good suggestion about the fine sandpaper. The only problem might be that the longerons were made in two parts because the tail boom section was made separately from the front cockpit/engine/fuel tank section, and I used some modelling putty to hide the seams. The putty is not wood colored, so a coat of paint was used to tie it all together.

I'm thinking about a lighter drybrushing to perhaps bring up the texture of the wood and add some lightness to the tail boom areas. But I think I will wait to decide until I do another test fitting with the wings and tail feathers. I'm about ready to do just that once I finish painting the fuel tank and tank yokes and engine.

[Leif Ohlsson]

Bob, I found this site for you, about the restoration of a Bleriot XI. It is the French Classique Air Service - Bleriot XI. Here's their computer image of the engine mount. Very much the way you built it:



There are many, many other beautiful photos on the site.

Best now, Leif

[altbob]

Thanks Lief! Nice later model 7 cylinder rotary engine on that one. I'm trying to stick to an original "W" form Anzani engine on mine.

I have looked at so many Bleriots at this point, and Bleriot blue prints, that the only thing I can say for sure is that no two planes were probably identical. I love that they all have this hand-crafted quality to them. You didn't include the URL of the website you looked at, BTW. Can you pass that along?

I wish I could have made the wooden longerons and stringers thinner and more to scale but I honestly think they would have broken too easily had I gone any thinner, unless I used metal or plastic rather than wood. Maybe next time

[Leif Ohlsson]

So sorry, Bob. Of course I intended to:

Classique Aero Serviec - Bleriot XI (and several other aircraft, finished & inprogress; beautiful site).

And I agree; at your small scale, it would be near impossible to do the Bleriot fragile framwork true to scale in every respect. Even in my preferred larger scale, I wouldn't really know how to go about it. And you're doing a fine work of crossbracing it. I applaud that effort.

Leif

[altbob]

Thanks Leif. I had to chuckle at the comment on that website: "The antique drawings have insufficient detail..." Boy am I finding that to be true!

BTW, now that the cross bracing has been added to this model it no longer breaks every time I put it down on the table too hard or when I hold it in my hands too firmly while working on it! So the bracing is actually functional, not just for show

[Leif Ohlsson]

Hello Bob,

I'm glad you find the rigging functional. That is what I've found, too, for biplane rigging. It helps a lot to maintain the strength of the model & its struts (which otherwise would be very prone to wiggling and breakdown).



I found this nice painting for you today. Here's the thread from a Russian site, Forums Eagle. It contains many fabulous cut-away drawings.

Leif