discussion Scratchbuilt 1/72 Avro Aldershot

[Steve-the-Duck]

When I have elevator horns, I invariably use brass off cuts dug into the surface. I just know I'd knock plastic ones off just by looking at them!

When it came time for rigging, I made them larger any, just by adding an other piece of brass alongside
And this is the eventual result. MUCH later I realised there were actually two elevator horns below the wing

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

There are two small auxiliary generators on the nose, and a third underthe wing in front of the undercarriage. These were out of the way, so on they went
The windows are simple circles of clear acetate. They were masked before attaching as that was just easier. I first used canopy glue, then sped up the process with PVA. You'll see how successful THAT was later!

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

And now, struts! Well, it is a biplane, after all!
These are Aeroclub strut material, all cut to the same length, with brass rod pins to hold them in place

And then they're on. And straight into my new jig.

My last jig is a huge great thing, meant more for 1/48 and up, but this one is specifically 1/72, even with the gert slab of the Aldershot. I'd already sprayed the dark grey for the nose and upper fuselage. Luckily, the Humbrol silver covers well.

The 'plane number was Insignia White sprayed on first then masked before the dark grey. With the struts in place I could now drill all the rigging mounting holes
The masking strips at the back were to get the registration number straight, which is out of individual Modeldecal lettering. Also, the main roundels were on, so I could spray a semi-gloss varnish and handle with impunity
That was the plan. In retrospect, the fuselage roundels should have gone a little further back. There are a pair of cable runs above and below the exhaust pipes, which I REALLY should have fitted on before this stage.
They're on my damn sketch so I knew they needed fitting!

Here you can see what I mean about the glue residue, which I INSIST was invisible until I sprayed on the silver. Still, that's why I left the masks on!

Now, all the little holes are drilled and we're well away!

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

And on with the upper wing. I recently saw a guy building the old Airfix 0/400 on Youtube, and he uses PVA to attach the spars. Some I used CA, and squeezed, some were touched up with PVA. And some left little gaps which needed just a bit of filler to cover. For some reason, I've no photo of that
The cabane struts were an easy fit, and then a little bit of aluminium pipe to attach the header tank to the engine



And it's rigging time! I still use Albion Alloy 0.2mm rod to rig, mainly because it strays straight, mostly, and can be bent at the mounts, relatively, easily. I now use the thick canopy glue I've got and PVa to attach, rather that CA now, as the latter always marked the silver, no matter how carefully and sparingly I used it. It holds pretty well (except observant viewers will notice on the completed thread one line has detached. Don't go and look now!)

Like I said, there are two elevator horns below the wing. Still easier to attach it at this to work around the roundel in place. Though that did require a bit of touch-up as you can see

 

[kacitgirl]

way above my skillset nice job so far

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

way above my skillset nice job so far

I dunno Kaci. I know for a fact I can't match your paint finishing for authentic metal effects. And those rally car transfers would give me nightmares. I have enough trouble keeping my fuselage codes straight
Not always successfully...

 

[kacitgirl]

we all have our own skill set

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

So, the overly complicated tail skid just bits of brass rod, strut material, plastic rod, and the end of a bomb cradle from a Ju.88
Note also, the blue for the rudder is actually ON the 'plane itself, because of the rudder 'horns'

Finally, the wheels and u/c legs

This is the halfway point for the undercarriage, and the end of the build thread. I'm not going to go into the complexities of all the stuff that didn't go quite right, was poorly planned and eventually okay executed with the wheels and supports
Suffice to say, and this was what REALLY had me worried, the undercarriage supports the weight without collapsing, so, yay

If you've not already been and seen, the completed project is a already posted, over in the, would you believe, the Completed Aircraft Thread
Next up, the Hawker Horsley bomber and Hawker Woodcodk fighter. And a brace of Hurricanes...

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

THIS was supposed to be the last pic, but I managed to upload the wrong one, since deleted

These are the aluminium tube cable runs for the elevator cables, which I SHOULD have added before painting, and adding the fuselage roundels. Well, one last minor error...

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Except, of course, I also forgot the prop!

So, the prop is simply a 40 thou strip, twisted, scraped, filed and sanded.

Then painted wood brown, an orange ink line wash over the top, the metal leading edge strip painted freehand

And FINALLY... well, just before the prop was added

Right. Done now