Ron Bell Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 At last year's nationals, I got inspired by Gil Hodges job on the old Aurora Sopwith Triplane. I don't do a lot of aircraft and certainly not in 1/48 scale, but I got a bagged Monogram SE5A to give it a shot. I always liked that aircraft, so why not. I'll do a bunch of photos as I move along so you can all watch this project unfold, for better or worse. I started by texturing all the fabric surfaces using the liquid glue stippling method. I know that in reality those surfaces were almost the same as the wood ones, but I just like the look of it being different. With primer and all the other coats of paint and clears, it should look ok. After coming down from the high of all the glue fumes, I cleaned up the inside of the fuselage. It was actually pretty good with only one release pin mark to fill. The kit has no interior to speak of, so I was off to the races on that. These photos show me building up the framework and basics of the interior. After a search on the internet that yielded very conflicting pictures of what the seat looked like, I found that the kit seat, when cleaned up and thinned down, looked like one of the versions I found. Then I did a basic instrument panel for the pilot to stare at. Now all this was ready for paint. With that done, I glued the fuselage halves together and attended to that seam. More to come as I move along.
Mark Deliduka Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 Looking sharp! I like what I see. I don't do 1/48 scale aircraft, but I also like the Se-5 and will be watching this with interest.
ghodges Posted January 29, 2013 Report Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) My evil plan is working....... :D Great start Ron! That Mongram kit is actually the old Aurora SE-5; one of the many old molds Monogram tried to update in the late 70's. I look forward to seeing you finish it out! GIL Edited January 29, 2013 by ghodges
Ron Bell Posted January 30, 2013 Author Report Posted January 30, 2013 I'm doing this in between other projects, so progress will by by fits and starts. I replaced the kits cockpit coaming as it lacked definition. I used rod stock bent to shape. I added the elevators. There was a sink hole on the base on the fuselage part that needed filling, but the joint between the parts was pretty good and after texturing, it disappeared. I then added the lower wing. A little acrylic filler at the base on the top blended it in well. In adidtion, this is what the texturing looks like now. We'll see what it looks like after paint. However, on the bottom, the center section stuck up in the front by at least 1-2 mm and there were large gaps front and rear. I filled the gaps with shims and filler, However, I had to mill down the front with my Dremel to get it to blend in. And this is where I am at the moment.
ghodges Posted January 30, 2013 Report Posted January 30, 2013 "I had to mill down the front with my Dremel to get it to blend in.".... NOW you're modeling! GIL
Ron Bell Posted February 2, 2013 Author Report Posted February 2, 2013 (edited) OK, I had a break as I waited for paint to dry on the current main project, so I did a little more on the SE5A. The interplane and cabane struts are molded flat on one side. But, it was an easy fix as I just rounded off the edges and a little work with a flex-i-file and they looked acceptable. Both sets are molded in a "U" shape with a large flat part on one end to hold them at the correct angle to make mounting the top wing easier. I wanted to fill in the slot in the wings where these fit in, but I also wanted to maintain the correct angle. So I put the interplane struts in their slots and taped them in place with a narrow piece of tape at one end. Then I set the top wing in place and while holding it in one hand in the correct alingment, I applied Tenax to the untaped end of the part on the wing. I held it for the required 10 count and then set it down and braced if with whatever was handy to let it really set up. When set, I removed the top wing, took off the tape and then applied glue to that end. I then repeated the process for the cabane struts. Finally, putty was applied over the locator areas. I'll sand it smooth when it dries and texture it like the rest of the wing so it should look like just two struts sticking out of the wing. At least that's the plan. Edited February 2, 2013 by Ron Bell
ClareWentzel Posted February 2, 2013 Report Posted February 2, 2013 Great job so far Ron. Keep up the good work.
Mark Deliduka Posted February 5, 2013 Report Posted February 5, 2013 Brilliant idea for lining up the struts. Thanks for the tip. Looking forward to seeing more.
Ron Bell Posted February 22, 2013 Author Report Posted February 22, 2013 I got back to the SE5 and did a little work. Got all the rigging holes drilled and a coat of primer on it. These photos show some of the rigging holes (riveting photog work) and then how the strut inlay filling looks with a coat of primer. And this is the prop. Not as good as I hoped, but not too shabby. And I painted the valve covers and exhausts. Next I fix some flaws revealed by the primer and move on to applying the color scheme.
ghodges Posted February 22, 2013 Report Posted February 22, 2013 That is coming along very nicely! Have you decided on markings? Ball's, perhaps? GIL
Ron Bell Posted February 23, 2013 Author Report Posted February 23, 2013 I'm going to use those of that famous ace, Kit Markings.
ghodges Posted February 23, 2013 Report Posted February 23, 2013 Ah yes! I've heard of him! He's held responsible for the finish of more models than any one else! :D GIL
Ron Bell Posted February 25, 2013 Author Report Posted February 25, 2013 (edited) Big progress. Got the color scheme on and the top wing is going on. These shots show the paint as it is at the moment and some top wing work. I got it in place first using the cabane struts. When then were set, I moved on to the interplane struts. On one side they were right at the locator holes and only needed slight pressure to go in. When then glue has set, I'll do the ones on the other side. The photo shows that there is a larger gap there, put a little pressure and a clamp will settle it down. Don't mind the dust in the photos. That will be cleaned up. Even though there is a gap on this side, you can see that the method I used to get the struts aligned worked pretty well. The cabane struts just popped right into the fuselage and there was almost no gap at all on the other wing. Edited February 25, 2013 by Ron Bell
ghodges Posted February 26, 2013 Report Posted February 26, 2013 The wrap around on the PC-10 is a sweet touch! Lookin' great! GIL
VonL Posted February 27, 2013 Report Posted February 27, 2013 "We must not have...a wing strut gap!" - - GEN 'Buck' Turgidson
Ron Bell Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Posted February 28, 2013 Latest update. I gloss coated the entire model to get ready for the decals, which were to be the ones from the kit. Despite being pretty old, they looked ok, so I took a chance. In this shot you can see just a hint of sllvering on the bottom of the diamond. That will be tended to. The tail stripes decals on any kit can always be a problem as they are never quite the right size, hang over the sides, bunch up, wrinkle and are generally a pain. The kit decal provided a "cut out" for the control horn, but it was pretty much covered up with carrier film. This was also true for the roundels on the wings. I used an exacto to cut these out before application. In addition, on the curved surfaces at the top and bottom, relief cuts were provided so the decal could bend around the edges. These were also cut out with the exacto to make sure they were free. And surprise, surprise, the tail stripes went on very well, especially considering their age. However, you can see the control horn is still white from the undercoat I put on so the colors would be true. Turned out that wasn't necessary, but now I had to touch up all the control horns, which meant matching the decal's red, which was kind of pale. Polly S RLM 23 Red turned out to be a perfect match. You can see that from the picture of the wing control horns. You'll aslo see some silvering that needs work and a thin sliver of the white undercoat showing in front of the red. That needs to be touched up as well. Finally I put a black wash on the radiator louvres and painted the radiator cap brass. Don't know if they were brass, but its a nice accent. Next comes Dull Coat and then the dreaded rigging.
ghodges Posted March 1, 2013 Report Posted March 1, 2013 Much more colorful than I had anticipated! GIL
WildBill50 Posted March 1, 2013 Report Posted March 1, 2013 This is really coming together well. Even though I don't build WWI aircraft This is really a nice build for something that old. Great job. Bill
Ron Bell Posted March 4, 2013 Author Report Posted March 4, 2013 It's done. Here are some shots of the finished project. Not perfect, but not too bad. In this one you can see file marks on the fairing behind the headrest. Photos always show up this stuff. I made the windscreen out of clear sheet, except I don't think the MG would clear it when pulled down for re-loading. The little triangle on the wing is suppose to represent an inspection window they have on each wing to check the control wires
ghodges Posted March 5, 2013 Report Posted March 5, 2013 He shoots- he scores! THAT is a great looking Se-5 Ron! Congrats on whipping an older OOP kit into shape! Hope to see that in Colorado next summer. GIL
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