Dogfight double pt. 2: Gladiator

[colin m]

All looking great Peter. I've rigged a few WW1 bi-planes, but in 1:48 scale were I make eyes to attach the rigging to. Unfortunately, in 1:72 I find it's just a case of a load of blind holes and very careful application of CA glue. I have tried 'zip' kicker in the past, but don't bother these days.

[stillp]

Looking good Peter. No need to apologise, by the way, your model, your rules! Might be worth fitting the rigging to the upper wing before you attach it? Working between the wings is awkward and that way you only have one end to fit in the small space.

Thanks Tim, I was also thinking of applying the decals to the lower wing, and maybe attach the rigging to the lower wing before assembly. I'm thinking that the second end of the EZ-Line will be more difficult to attach, so if I mess it up the mess will be less visible under the upper wing.

All looking great Peter. I've rigged a few WW1 bi-planes, but in 1:48 scale were I make eyes to attach the rigging to. Unfortunately, in 1:72 I find it's just a case of a load of blind holes and very careful application of CA glue. I have tried 'zip' kicker in the past, but don't bother these days.

Thanks Colin - which CA do you use? I was going to use gel with kicker, but I've just found out my kicker has dried up so I might try with a fast-set CA.

Pete

[stillp]

Well, I've spent an hour or so practising gluing EZ-Line to some sprue. Absolutely zero success, with 4 different brands of CA. I can get it to stick a length of EZL to a bit of sprue, but I need to glue the end of the line into blind holes, so there's no way to put pressure on it to start the CA curing.
I'll try to find some activator tomorrow, maybe if I dip the end of the EZL in activator it'll work.
Pete:disappointed2:

[adt70hk]

Hope you work out out Pete.

[colin m]

which CA do you use?

I've used ZAP CA, thin in the past. I've just checked mine, it's solid ! As I think you've discovered, a thick super glue offers too much resistance. With the thin stuff, you can push the EZ line etc, into the hole, and drop a tiny amount of thin CA onto the hole, which will wick its way into the hole. Then breath on it. Apparently the moisture in your breath can accelerate hardening of the glue.

https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/1oz-ca-super-thin-zap-pt08-p17826/?utm_source=Google%20Shopping&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=78672&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwJuVBhCAARIsAOPwGARDcwyfR5pYSspXnq5RsHaf4E7lcIuZLmWACDBe_930JlXhLSLoYN0aAjIzEALw_wcB

[Tim Marlow]

Sounds like a good plan Colin. I also huff on thin CA to get it to go off. Never yet used accelerant. The moisture in your breath catalyses the reaction necessary for it to set.

[colin m]

Sounds like a good plan Colin. I also huff on thin CA to get it to go off. Never yet used accelerant. The moisture in your breath catalyses the reaction necessary for it to set.

I don't recall were I learnt the breath trick, so it might have been you !

[Tim Marlow]

I don't recall were I learnt the breath trick, so it might have been you !

Perhaps we learned it off of each other Colin LOL….

[stillp]

Picked up some thin CA yesterday, and made myself an applicator:

I've drilled some tiny holes in a piece of sprue and will have a few practice goes later. Just finishing a cuppa, then I'm off to the Shuttleworth Collection to have a good look at their Gladiator. Actually it's a Sea Gladiator, but the rigging will be the same.
Pete

[Tim Marlow]

Picked up some thin CA yesterday, and made myself an applicator:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1177772[/ATTACH]
I've drilled some tiny holes in a piece of sprue and will have a few practice goes later. Just finishing a cuppa, then I'm off to the Shuttleworth Collection to have a good look at their Gladiator. Actually it's a Sea Gladiator, but the rigging will be the same.
Pete

Post some pictures Peter, it will be interesting. I wonder if it will be painted in the temperate FAA shadow scheme LOL……apparently Faith, Hope, and Charity were……

[Allen Dewire]

"Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire, Jack Frost nipping.......". Sorry Peter, the brand name of your CA caused me a momentary lapse of reality there.....

I hope the Ca works and holds the EZline in place for you. I have a WNW Halberstadt CL II in the stash I would like to build before I go tits up and it's the only wing thingy I own with rigging. They recommend using EZline too, but don't mention how to attach it......So, I'm watching intensely at this.......

Prost
Allen

PS, hope you have a good time at the Shuttlework Collection............

[stillp]

Allen, Chestnut is a useful brand over here for all sorts of stuff, mainly aimed at woodworkers.
Tim's technique of poking the EZLine in the hole then adding the CA seems to work, trying it out on some holes in a piece of sprue. Whether I can hold the EZLine in the right place is another matter!
This is what I need to achieve:
I'm not sure how I can replicate the rigid struts that separate the forward and aft X-shapes that run between the cabane struts and the outer interplane struts. That'll need to be something light yet rigid. I've got plenty of pics showing how the bracing is attached to the wings, and I also took a lot of pics of the engine.
Oh, and for those people who've never been to the Shuttleworth Collection, here's a pic of a Hurricane, Spitfire and Lysander parked up together:

Not all aircraft, there are some lovely cars too, this Railton being my favourite:


The Collection is surrounded by beautiful gardens, with some interesting 'wildlife':

Now how often do you see a white peacock?
Visitors coming tomorrow, so I won't get much modelling done until Monday.
Cheers
Pete

[Allen Dewire]

Thanks for the pics Peter. I hope your test works for you. It looks like it's not going to be easy to do the rigging. At least now you have some good reference shots to do your best with it though. The collection looks really nice and well kept. I wish we had something like this closer to home than the Stammheim museum here. They are more into armor stuff with a few wing thingy's on display too.....

Prost
Allen

[stillp]

The collection looks really nice and well kept.

Everything there works/flies/trundles, it's not just a collection of static objects.
Pete

[stillp]

Time for an update. I did a bit of practising with gluing bits of EZLine into sprue, with mixed results. I can get the first end stuck, but the second isn't so easy. AlsoI was really struggling to break down that 'forest' of rigging on the 1:1 Gladiator into a series of mini-tasks: "length Xmm between A and B" sort of thing. I couldn't get a picture in my mind of how to go about it. I decided that the top wing needed to be attached first, which was a bit of a struggle but it came out alright. I thought I'd taken some photos but can't find them, so here's one of my great-granddaughter instead!

Anyway, I found another forum where someone mentioned the 'Airfix rigging diagram' - I checked on Scalemates for the instructions for the stand-alone kit - mine's a Dogfight Double - and sure enough there's a rigging diagram:
Unfortunately, it's wrong, or at least different from the one I photographed. It also doesn't give any clues about the length required, and seems to be referring to parts supplied in the kit - perhaps PE? So, I was about to give up on rigging, but then I remembered the motto "If at first you don't succeed - cheat!" and bought an aftermarket PE set from Hannants.

I'm not very experienced with PE, but can usually manage without too much trouble. Most PE is just extra detail, and if it doesn't cooperate you can just leave it off. This rigging is different though, it's all or nothing. It came with its own set of problems: for one thing it's steel, and my favourite tweezers, unknown to me, are magnetic. Also there seems to be a mistake in the PE instructions, if I'm reading them right then they've got two part numbers swapped round, and there's a reference to a part that doesn't exist, or if it does then it's called something else on the PE fret. These are minor problems though, compared to manoeuvring bits of PE into the right place at both ends while trying not to spread CA all over the paint job.
This took me a full day:

That's one side mostly completed. I still have to add some reinforcing plates where the rigging wires join the wings, but they'll be relatively easy as they're just small rectangular flat plates. I'll start the other side when my nerves have recovered!
While waiting for the PE to be delivered I started to build up the engine, which I'd left until late in the build to avoid having to mask it. The exhaust collector ring is always a bit of a dilemma - what colour to paint it? In the past I've used various metallic colours, but none seemed quite right. This is what I'm after:

After a coat of Vallejo Steel, I built up a series of coats of Tamiya Smoke - I lost count of the number of coats, my Smoke has been thinned too much, and I'm rather pleased with the result:

The colour seems a pretty good match although the gloss needs dulling down a bit. I'll give it a coat of Galeria satin later on. The lower part of the cowl includes the exhaust pipes, which have had the same treatment - the Dark Earth will be added, probably by brush while I'm doing some touch-ups.
That's all for now, thanks for looking in.
Pete