Wonwings Diary-a blog with a difference.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Model building in schools.



Look at any group of modellers and what strikes you ? well I bet that the average age group is more than 30,probably higher,the reasons behind this are twofold,namely the hands on experience of working with wood and metal were initially instilled into us at school whether we liked it or not ! some years ago I did a series of talks aimed at school children,I took models to the schools,explained about our hobby,gave them each a small balsa chuck glider and showed them how to trim it out,the look on their faces as the little models whizzed across the classroom was a delight,then I went outside with them and gave a demonstration of a model helicopter flying,or if there was enough room a fixed wing design,they cheered and jeered ! I am not a teacher but just wanted to show them the fundamentals of our hobby,and at the same time learn a little about how schools teach craft subjects,usually I would involve the craft teachers themselves to see their reaction,everyone seemed to enjoy themselves but I am not sure if we made any new modellers ?

The problems today are that we have far too many self made distractions to compete with,it seems that the desire to build objects using your very own hands and skills are not as popular as they used to be,this accounts for the big age gap in groups of modellers,and it shows.

There are many other factors involved here,schools operate tight schedules with set subjects,although they may have a woodwork room it is always in use for general woodwork to allow perhaps a model club to meet and make practical objects,a lot depends on the teachers,if they are interested then fine,but many just do not have the time to fulfill their own jobs let alone run a model club in the evening ? this really is an area for specialist model builders to offer their services and at least try and get the youngsters involved.

The same goes for junior model clubs,once I got the use of a delightful school field,I offered my services to teach some of the interested ones to fly,even visiting local model shops to get prices etc of models and equipment should they wish to have their own models,sadly once again the response was very lukewarm ? there just does not seem the same interest these days in modelling as perhaps 30 years ago,when I was at school I made sure we had a model club ! details were published in the school magazine,we had a small store room to put our models in and had full use of some wonderful flying fields,at that time control line models were all the rage,it was a great set up and so successful that we had a model show indoors with hundreds of models,this raised a considerable sum towards the school swimming pool as well.

So my attempts to interest the youngsters have been numerous over the years,but sadly they have not been too successful,well at least I gave it a go and if what I did managed to get one youngster interested then I will be more than happy.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Eaton Bray Modeldrome.



Today I am going to talk about an ambitious project that happened way back in 1947,imagine the situation the war was over and people could get back into doing the things they did beforehand,everyone was excited at the challenges ahead and the model magazines were booming and had circulations that have never reached such numbers since,once more the many petrol engines with spark ignition that could not be used on flying models during war conditions, and had to be kept running on tethered model race cars,could now be actually bolted into large model aircraft.

But even more than this,other even more ambitious plans were afoot to create a miniature model flying field,somewhere that modellers could meet up,stay overnight and camp out,repair their models in custom built buildings and fly them from grassy areas that were mown like a golf course ! if this sounds like a dream then it was even then back in 1947 but the Aeromodeller magazine set forth and purchased the land at Eaton Bray,the then director was C.S.Rushbrooke,called 'Rushy' to his friends,a larger than life character who got things done,buildings were put up,accomodation arranged and everything put into place for the potential modellers paradise,some pretty important events took place there,for example Howard Boys flew his early Jetex powered flying wings,De Havilland Vampire etc,the early patented jet power unit was gaining momentum,it had to be legalised as a 'firework' and kits and planes were produced by the Astral model company,apart from this many early model rallies were held at Eaton Bray and the place became a mecca for modellers,in fact it was proudly advertised as 'Eaton Bray Modeldrome' in the pages of the Aeromodeller,this continued until 1950 three years of operation until disaster struck,in their haste to get things done the Aeromodeller offices,had forgotton all about the necessary planning permission,the local council demanded that the land be returned back to agricultural status and the project closed.

The Aeromodeller had no option but to shut down the whole operation,and after a period of great joy for aeromodellers throughout the country it closed its doors,never to appear again.

The only thing that has been created since in the UK was the model airfield at Goosedale,near Nottingham,but sadly even this was closely watched by the planning authorities and eventually closed by its owners who sold off the land,so history repeated itself and another really good idea failed.

( The picture shows a band of aeromodellers at the old Eaton Bray Modeldrome )

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Get stuck into the detail.



The one great joy with scale models is that of incorporating lots of detail into our models,depending on the scale then he sky is the limit,but firstly we need to get hold of that detail from the real thing and that is where the fun lies,if you are fortunate enough to have a subject that is still around whether in a museum,or even still flying then you are in,vintage car enthusiasts are also well catered for with numerous museums with row upon row of beautifully restored vehicles.

Whatever your interests then you can be sure that a visit to see the real thing will not come amiss,most museums and organisations are quite receptive to modellers, and will even allow you on occasions to go over the rope barrier to get your pictures,but do not abuse these obvious privaleges and always ask someone first.

If you have to travel some way to see your subject then arrange a visit in advance,sometimes items will have to be brought out of storage,or you could be lucky and invited behind the scenes to see your particular subject,there is just nothing better than being able to see a particular machine close up and in the raw,speaking of which when items are under overhaul or rebuild,then this is a golden opportunity to see the bare bones.

Such places are a treasure for model builders and historians alike,and you will be surprised at the knowledge of the various people in the museums,many will no doubt be perhaps modellers themselves ? they are certainly sympathetic to our cause.

Now for a little bit about how to record your research,with the advent of the wonderful high resolution digital camera we are well catered for,get nice and close with as much light as possible onto your subject,at least you can check your results instantly and if necessary do a re-take,if you find that the environment is just too dark,and believe me this can often happen in storage areas,then resort to your notebook,if you are handy with pencil and paper then do some sketches,a small rule will assist and do not worry if you are not too good at drawing,just enter the details and any necessary dimensions while you have the opportunity to do so,really go to town and make the most of your visit,cover as many different angles as possible.

Dont forget to record colours as well,try and get hold of a suitable colour swatch from a paint supplier etc,study the Meuthan colour charts and note any non standard or faded finishes,whilst your camera will record the colour it will not always be accurate enough to use on your model,sometimes you may be even lucky enough to obtain examples of old fabric or dope finishes on aircraft subjects,or even a tiny 35 mm film container of the actual paint ! especially if your subject is under rebuild or repaint.

This initial research will give you an in-depth knowledge of your subject,and certainly make the build more accurate.

For those that are unable to find their favourite subject still extant or unable to visit these treasure troves,then build up your own fact files from cuttings,photographs,drawings etc,over the years I have built up such a mine of information and placed this into suitable folders for future use.

So go for that detail and get stuck in.

[Guest]

Barry,

I think the idea of a live steam engine to honour Fred is a perfect idea and would be exactly what he would wish for. This would demonstrate for generations to come just what our industrial heritage was all about and how it remains relevent to us now.

The number of people who think that electricity comes out of the hole in the wall and where it comes from in the first place doesn't occur to them is frightening.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Workshop & other winter tasks.



Well it is damp and cold outside,so that time of the year when we need to do a few maintenance jobs both on our models,and in the workshop itself.

Why not cut the clutter and sort out a few shelves and boxes ? space is always at a premium and I bet that everyone has things they have been hanging onto just in case it may be needed ? thats fine but when the item in quetion has been kicking around for close on several years it is time to have a rethink,interests change,and are you really ever going to get that chainsaw petrol engine ever converted to an aero engine ? will thousands odd small pieces of balsa wood ever be useful in a model ? and will that seized fuel pump ever get overhauled ? you see what I mean,time and the desire to get that job done all come into this,so why not try and cut the clutter and make a fresh start for 2006 by getting rid of useless objects that ruthfully will never get used again ?

Next we have our fleet of models,time to check them over ready for the season ahead,when was the last time that you oiled that engine,set the tapperts on those four strokes and checked the fuel proofing around the nose and hot areas of those older models,next we need to check over the radio side,nicads do not like being stored and can get beyond recovery if left unchecked,check for the dreaded black wire corrosion mentioned recently here,if it needs fixing then get the job done properly,keep a record of your equipment and batteries numbering them if necessary so you know their history,do not leave anything to chance and compromise on reliability and above all safety.

So you can see the list is endless,and there will be plenty to do in the coming months in between checking in here at Scale-models,above all be ready for the new season of activities ahead.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-When does high tech become low tech ?



Yesterday I spent the best part of two and a half hours wrestling with my printer,this is an account of the saga-The machine indicated that the colour cartridge was low,so I removed the spent cartridge and popped in a new one,it still would not work so I checked the utilities and it told me that there was no ink in the new cartridge ? I then removed the cartridge something that they do not recommend,sure enough no ink appeared to be coming from the pierched portion underneath,so I peeled back the tape where the filler plugs lie on top of the cartridge and reached for a refill kit that had been on my shelf but never used,then I slowly filled each magenta,blue and cyan yellow in turn,the simplicity of these overpriced things is unbelieavable,simply a lump of foam that has been impregnated with ink,the more complex types have a foil circuit board that appears to have been made so it self destroys after a few refills,but the principle is mostly the same on each type give or take a few differences,basically capillery reaction via the piece of sponge is how it works.

Anyway I placed the cartridge back into the machine and cycled it a few times to get the ink onto the rollers,all that happens is that ink is transferred onto the rotating rollers and when the machine tells it tranfers the required colours,once again very simple,except in my case awful lines seperated the colours,so once again back to the utilities and this time I did a nozzle check,alignment check and colour check in sequence,result no black ink ! so then I replaced the black cartridge but once again no colour,so out it came and once again hardly any colour in a brand new cartridge,not having any black ink to refill this one I had to resort to placing the cartridge in boiling water,this did the trick and softened up the ink inside the cartridge so in went that again and I repeated the procedure,now it was time to do a test print so I selected a picture and fired up 'print' all that happened was a load of gobeldy gook hydroglyphics all 20 sheets of it ! so having wasted a load of paper I shut everything down and restarted from scratch cancelling any previous print commands,this time it printed.

What needs re-designing are the antiquated ink cartridges in use today,once I had an old dot-matrix printer ( remember them ? ) it worked faultlessly and all you did was change a very simple ribbon that was impregnated with ink,no messing it worked every time,the cartridges are too fiddly and dependant on a type of ink that dries up in storage,or better still why not a system where you just pour replacement ink into the colour reservoirs ? the problem is that too much money is being made from the present in-efficent cartridges both by the manufacturers and the after market people,and those that are on the market do not always work first and every time as proved here.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The real Pioneers of aviation remembered.



Looking through my albums,I came across this wonderful old photograph of a Bleriot monoplane circa 1910,this picture which is of great historical significance, shows aeroplane manufacturing in the Humber motor company works at Coventry,note the tradesmen in dope and glue stained overalls,the narrow tyres left on the ground,various wing ribs,struts and timber in the background,the Humbers venture into aeronautical engineering proved not a great success,despite a lot of cash being poured into the venture to licence build the Bleriot design,the aircraft was roaded to Brooklands where it made its first flight,despite advertising in the aeronautical magazines no further progress was made.

When one realises that this picture was taken a mere ten years,following the first flight of the Wright biplane it shows what remarkable progress had been made in that time,another three years on and aeroplanes would be going to war.

So what about Bleriots impact after the cross channel flight ? the world was beginning to grasp the importance of the flying machine like no time before,those fragile first hops across the channel were to pave the way forever,just think if the Wrights and Bleriot could have seen the Concorde ? they would barely be able to appreciate how mankind had advanced through wars,the aeroplane sadly like many other devices became a killing machine,but without those warplanes being designed would we have been where we are now ? very doubtful,the resourcefulness of designers can always be relied upon to come up with the goods in times of need.

So from flapping monsters devised from studying how birds fly,came proper lifting surfaces with aerofoil sections copied from a birds wing and adapted,man just went along the wrong lines at first thinking that copying his feathered friends would do the trick,it took Orville & Wilbur to dispell those ideas.

One of the biggest obstacles that was overcome was the ability to turn the machine,dragging one wing around in various ways at first until the flexible wing warping was adopted,the precursor of the refined ailerons we know of today to enable smooth control whilst in flight.

What a fascinating story of success for mankind,no longer were oceans a dividing factor between nations or islands,man and his large world have become united via flight,that has got to be one of the biggest success stories of the past century.

And where to now ? well already planned are space travel excursions for the wealthy,perhaps one day we will see a fleet of hired flying machines operating on the moon,who knows ?

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The real Pioneers-Part 2



Here is another wonderful picture of the Humber factory Bleriot type monoplane at the Coventry works in 1910,a real piece of social history in itself,not sure who the people are probably works managers and other higher hierchy ? the engine is probably an Anzani 3-cylinder,once again the eagle eyed will spot spare wings and building materials in the background of the picture.

A quirk of events brought on by these old pictures has evolved,it appears that the oldest flying machine in the world is the Bleriot moboplane held at the Shuttleworth collection at Old Warden in Bedfordshire,well it also transpires that this machine was built at the Humber works in Coventry,so the oldest flying machine that still actually flies in the whole world was built in Coventry.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Things that we take for granted,Balsa wood.

Next time that you moan about the escalating price of a sheet of balsa wood,just think about what it takes to get it onto the shelves at your local model shop,this wonder wood of which only 40% is solid substance has the best strength to weight ratio of any wood available,it is not the lightest wood by any means but scores in its resiliance,its ability to absorb shocks and the dreaded vibration in radio models makes it stand out as an excellent product for the modeller to use.Balsa wood was first discovered as a desirable product back in the 1920's and grows in the humid rain forests of Central & South America,Ecuador is the main source where you have not only a warm climate,but plenty of rainfall with a humid environment ideal for the growth of balsa wood,known as 'Ochroma Lagopus' balsa to us,is what is termed a nurse tree,in other words it protects other trees in the scorching jungle from the heat and is really a weed,it does not however grow in one spot but spreads itself all over a jungle usually in inaccessible places,specialists armed with sharp axes and other tools need to hack through the thick bark of the tree before getting access to the balsa wood itself,this is a skillful job and the wood needs to be harvested just at the right time otherwise it just rots away usually from insect attacks,the weed usually takes between 6 to 10 years to grow before it is cut and ready for use by modellers worldwide.The biggest headache is actually the tedious job of getting the wood out of the jungle,this hard and time consuming task is one of the reasons why the wood is so expensive,the best method found is to tie it into large bundles and float it down river for rough cutting at the sawmill where it is carefully kiln dried,this process kills off any bacteria in the wood,it is then graded and sent to America,Australia and the UK where it is once again carefully re-cut into the planks we are more familiar with.

The quality of balsa varies a lot,the best material suitable for modelling contest work can be as light as 4 pounds per cubic foot in weight,on the other hand it has been known to be as much as 20 pounds per cubic foot,this material is used in other applications such as building work and for insulation,even the sawdust is a by-product being used in cattle feeds.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The right sized drawings for the job.

If there is one subject that we get more mail for than any other item,it is for plans for different model subjects and above all varying scales,over the years there have been literally thousands of plans produced by the various plans specialists and individuals.

However when you need to build from a drawing it is usually either just too small,or too large,the answer is simple scale it yourself,shock horror ! I can hear you say,but do not worry as there are several ways to simplify the task in hand,first we need to decide on the scale itself,the easy way is to make your own scale rule,take a strip of card and divide it by whatever scale you need,ie 1/8th,1/16,1/32 etc etc this way you can easily see what the wingspan or length of the fuselage,hull etc will be,by making up a selection of these rules you can finally decide on the size you model will work out and to make comparisons,next we need to find a basic line drawing of our subject,search the web first as there are thousands of drawings on-line even full working drawings of some very old plans up for grabs.Failing this magazine drawings are prolific,as a modeller you should always strive to have your very own library no matter how small, to fall back on,build this up over the years for subjects that interest you personally.

Now is the stage to consider the many excellent professional plans printing and scaling services available,a visit to your local print shop will confirm if they have the necessary equipment to do the job for you,even simple photo copying machines suitable set up to print your drawing in sections will suffice,otherwise get out your old school draughting set,set square,obtain a roll of plain shelf paper and clear the kitchen table.

Tape down your shelf paper and draw an horizontal datum line onto it,then do a similar line onto your smaller drawing,place a line at right angle on the datum,this will be your starting point for any subsequent measurements,say the nose of the aircraft,next set your dividers in divisions for determining the length from nose to the extreme tail,then pin prick the required number of times to get to the scale rquired with the points,then draw another line at right angles to the horizontal datum,right now within these two marks just continue adding other important points,for example leading edge of wing,trailing edge of wing etc,repeat for things like where the cockpit starts and ends,cowling in other words the main points of your subject matter.

Now focus you attention above and below the datum point,measure with your dividers the depth of the fuselage,hull and continue pin pricking with the dividers until you have plenty of points to join up the structure,use a pencil and rule,a set of French curves are excellent to join up the curved portions of your drawing,better still get hold of one of those flexible snakes that hold the shape these are excellent and only cost a few pence from stationers shops,just keep going until like magic the subject will appear to your desired scale.

That is the very basics of drawing up plans,bet now that you wish you paid more attention at school with technical drawing ! its easy really just knowing how to go about things,in my diary tomorrow I will explain how to determine the shapes of formers etc with a time proven method that anyone can achieve.

[Guest]

Barry,

Completely agree that people should not be scared of drawings or scales but it does seem to be a stumbling block with a lot of modellers.

One way of dealing with it is to use an existing drawing in a differrent scale and create your own conversion scale along one edge of it. Then you simply take all dimensions off the existing plan with dividers, put the dividers onto your scale and read off the real dimension from the scale. You then reset your dividers to a 1-1 scale and transfer to the model.

This is exactly the same way that navigators work with sea charts to determine distances (who ever heard of a 1-1 scale sea chart!) and it can be just as easy to use for model plans.

This, of course, saves having to have the plan redrawn in the scale you want your model to be.

Just another angle to consider.

[wonwinglo]

Richard,what a good idea,a lot of people never think to use the scale itself,it certainly is another useful angle on this useful subject.

My theory is that if you can draw a straight line with a rule,project lines at a tangent then you can easily draw up your own plans.

Thank you for this useful suggestion.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-The right sized drawings for the job-Part 2



Yesterday we discussed scaling up your drawings and easy ways to go about things,today we will deal with re-drawing those complex shapes such as fuselage or keel formers,the task is so easy once you have established the required scale that you intend to work to,the drawing above will explain my system which has been used now for many years on my kitchen table drafting board ! Firstly make a tracing of the parts that you need to scale up ( or down ) we start by laying in the first datum line as before,in this case marked as 'xx',to this add the vertical datum 'yy',now within these lines trace in the required former shape,this is the smaller one above for the sake of this exercise,now work out how much bigger the required former shape will be,ie 'xx' plus 'z' for the horizontal new datum end point,and 'yy' plus 'z' for the new vertical datum height,it sounds complex but a study of the drawing will explain my point,now project three or four lines as shown outwards from the interesection of 'xx' & 'yy' as shown,set up a pair of dividers between 'z' and continue to pin prick around the periphery of the formers shape,then simply join up the lines and you have your scaled up former.

To demonstrate what happens in the case of more complex shapes take a look at the drawing to the right,note how the construction lines for the acute curve have been placed further out and in cases intersect with the acute corner,it does not matter really where you place these lines as long as they reproduce the scaled up shape,the important thing to remember is to put enough in to cater for any differing angles.

To test the shapes prior to commiting to valuable timber etc simply cut out card templates,any adjustments can be easily trimmed with knife or scissors,then and only then cut out your parts.

There are far more complex ways to plot formers and ribs but my method suits practical modelling applications,you can even scale up the parts if you wish as you go along,good old fashioned mark one eyeball is your finest tool when drawing,never be scared again of making your own drawings,have fun.

[wonwinglo]

Wonwings diary-Perils of Partworks.

After the saga of the Red Baron project I said that I was not going to bother ever again with any partworks,the quality of this one left a bit to be desired,the flustrations of missing parts,damaged components,poor instructions etc left me wondering whether it was all worth it ? the model went together in the end but not after expending a lot of time and energy,after all when you invest heavily into something like this you want to see the job completed.

Anyway today I had a somewhat bitter experience,once again involving partworks that should serve as a warning to anyone collecting similar projects in the future,this is what happened-

For some months now my good wife has been collecting a series of soldiers,the models do not come cheap at £7.00 per issue,over the weeks there has been various damage which I considered not worth the hassle of sending models back,a bit of adhesive or a careful bend has put things to right,there have been one or two cases of missing models, for which despite requests to the newsagent who supplied the models have not turned up until many weeks later,on one occasion a model was over eleven weeks behind so to avoid missing this I ordered it straight from the suppliers with the added dis-advantage of extra postage costs etc,this morning I went to collect this weeks models only to have the offending issue placed before me,to which I retorted sorry but I already have that one ! the newsagent demanded payment and I told him that no way was I going to pay again for something that should have been supplied by him months ago,he had done a similar thing in the past with the Red Baron,in one instance taken the money for an issue that was faulty,plus the magazine and not come up with the goods,for that after a lot of agro I demanded my money back on the completion of the series,anyway back to the soldier,he went into great detail about how when he sends faulty or damaged models back he eventually gets replacements,I pointed out to him that there had been many a time that these models were faulty but I had born the brunt and done any basic repairs myself,anyway I said you are changing the story because we are speaking about missing issues as opposed to faulty ones,he continued to rant and rave about how was he expected to get his money back ( £7.00) for the soldier that I refused to pay for,I quickly pointed out that he was obviously not appreciative of my custom over the past three years including several hundred pounds worth of business ! as the queue got longer I was even more determined to stand my ground on the issue,the discussion got heated and I suggested that perhaps I should return another day when he could see this in a new light,however he was having no such thing and in the next breath demanded that if I was to continue to have the remainder of the series from him then he would require an assurance that I would pay for any delayed issues that I saw fit to buy elsewhere ! I pointed out that I purchased the items weekly because as a collector do not want to miss a single issue,after all would you buy tonights evening paper and be told that it was not available and you would get it in a forthnight,after being told that I was not listening to him ! I decided to give him a few home truths about business accumen something he obviously did not possess,and suggested that perhaps it was better that I took my trade elsewhere,to which he said carry on,so now I am faced with the dilemma of ordering the rest of the series from another newsagent with the agro of more running around.

So would be purchasers of part-works beware,there are obvious pitfalls of what should basically be a simple system that is obviously not adhered to,publishers,distributors and retailers of these items are no more exempt from trading practises than anyone else,they do appear to be adopting a rather obscure attitude towards these products ?

[Guest]

Barry,

I sympathise but it seems to me that you are a victim of just another facet of todays society.

So many people in business seem to completly forget that they have customers who used to be "right" in days gone by. Nowadays customers exist simply to provide sellers with a living and thier only drive is to make as much money as quickly as possible. Such things as service are now well in the past and no longer to be found in so much of todays life.

One of my pet peeves is a guy down south who supplies strip wood in various woods and thicknesses. Lots of uses for model boats etc and worth knowing. Anyway one day I need a bit more wood so I give him a ring and order about half a dozen strips. He tells me that although the cost of the wood is the same there is now an additional charge of three pounds for the cardboard tube to put the strips in.

When I asked him to cut the strips up and put them in a normal envelope he said it wasn't worth his while to do so. Can you believe the attitude? He will be one of the biggest moaners when his business dies a death because people will take thier trade elsewhere. He doesn't deserve to be in business.

Your newsagent is just another businessman who neither cares nor appreciates your business so he deserves to loose it. Unfortunately you are now left with the hassle of filling the gap but at the end of the day I do applaud you for taking the stance. If a lot more people did then we might get better service nowadays.