Felixstowe F.2a late 1/32 WIngnut Wings

[kyledehart5]

Absolutely brilliant!!

[thug626]

Aug 21, 2024 17:16:26 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Absolutely brilliant!!

Thank you kindly! No bench time today. I had to plug up some holes under my deck to keep the nutria out. Nutria = aquatic rat (only bigger)

[406 Silverado]

This gets better and better every time I look at it. WOW!!!

Dude.....sorry to hear about the nutria!! Yikes!!

[406 Silverado]

Just out of curiosity, and I missed this earlier but what are those two much smaller props on that device in the mid fuselage area Dave? I'm guessing that is something to measure airspeed?

[handiabled]

Aug 22, 2024 5:25:44 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Just out of curiosity, and I missed this earlier but what are those two much smaller props on that device in the mid fuselage area Dave? I'm guessing that is something to measure airspeed?

IIRC it's a wind driven fuel pump.

[thug626]

Aug 22, 2024 8:32:23 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Aug 22, 2024 5:25:44 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Just out of curiosity, and I missed this earlier but what are those two much smaller props on that device in the mid fuselage area Dave? I'm guessing that is something to measure airspeed?

IIRC it's a wind driven fuel pump.

You would be correct!

Cheers
Dave

[406 Silverado]

Now THATS interesting. Never would’ve guessed that in a million years.

[armornutii]

   Checking in on progress...DUDE you are not selling the " don't buy one vibe" ....the more I look the more I want one baffling me on my bench LOL. BEAUTIFUL work. Nutria = aquatic rat only bigger? Beaver?

[thug626]

Aug 22, 2024 10:29:12 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Now THATS interesting. Never would’ve guessed that in a million years.

There is a hand pump on the flight deck next to the radio operator. I imagine fuel was hand pumped until the wind driven pump had enough airspeed to be functional.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

Aug 22, 2024 11:02:00 GMT -5 armornutii said:

   Checking in on progress...DUDE you are not selling the " don't buy one vibe" ....the more I look the more I want one baffling me on my bench LOL. BEAUTIFUL work. Nutria = aquatic rat only bigger? Beaver?

WnW kits build up nicely. Unfortunately, since they are no longer produced, the prices on Evil-Bay are absurd. Copper State manufactures some very nice kits.
Maybe not as big as a beaver, but still pretty damned big

Cheers
Dave

[406 Silverado]

Aug 22, 2024 14:21:27 GMT -5 thug626 said:

Aug 22, 2024 10:29:12 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Now THATS interesting. Never would’ve guessed that in a million years.

There is a hand pump on the flight deck next to the radio operator. I imagine fuel was hand pumped until the wind driven pump had enough airspeed to be functional.

Cheers
Dave

 Now I was already asking myself that question as to how the engine was going to get fuel while still on the ground and you just answered that question too. 

[thug626]

Aug 22, 2024 18:04:48 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Aug 22, 2024 14:21:27 GMT -5 thug626 said:

There is a hand pump on the flight deck next to the radio operator. I imagine fuel was hand pumped until the wind driven pump had enough airspeed to be functional.

Cheers
Dave

 Now I was already asking myself that question as to how the engine was going to get fuel while still on the ground and you just answered that question too. 

On the flight deck, aft of the radio operator, there are 3 large drums of petrol, all plumbed together. The air driven pump you noticed attaches to one of those petrol lines. The center struts have petrol lines that run to the 25 gallon petrol tank, located in the top center wing panel.

So, I am speculating that the hand pump may prime the tank with enough petrol for the aircraft to build up enough speed to then drive the wind driven pump.

Seems like an awful lot of moving parts in something made of wood, metal, and cloth. Built to land and take off from water. Yikes

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

I had the beginnings of decals today.  

Port side decals settling down with some Solvaset.


Rudder flash.  Not the biggest decal I've worked with.  I ended up having some patchy rough spots.  Not sure what happened there.  I'll see what it looks like in the am. 


The rudder is only dry fitted here. It needs its rigging first.  The aircraft number is a separate decal.  


This is with the lower wings dry fitted.  These are the "short" wings.  


I could not dry fit the upper wing panel in just yet, but as you can see, it's almost as long as the fuselage.  And that's only one of them  


Cheers
Dave

[handiabled]

Wow this looking great! Your last shot really emphasizes the size of this bird. I seem to remember a few decals on my RF4C build doing the same thing as your rudder decal. If it is an effect of silvering I'm pretty sure I was able to get them to get along with life coating them with Future. I'll see if my notations I kept about that kitbash mention them at all.

[armornutii]

   That is one BIG BEAUTIFUL bird..WOW. There are a ton of really pretty airframes over the years but there is just something about early kites that pull at the heart strings. Thanks so much for sharing.

[406 Silverado]

I'm hoping that the decals on the rudder turned out good for you Dave. Man.....that bird is frickin' MASSIVE!!! Where in the world are you going to display that bad boy?

[kyledehart5]

Man this is so fantastic. And it’s so big!!! What a beast of a project. You’re doing wonderful work on it.

[thug626]

Aug 29, 2024 1:08:22 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Wow this looking great! Your last shot really emphasizes the size of this bird. I seem to remember a few decals on my RF4C build doing the same thing as your rudder decal. If it is an effect of silvering I'm pretty sure I was able to get them to get along with life coating them with Future. I'll see if my notations I kept about that kitbash mention them at all.

Thank you kindly! For a brief moment in time I was going to dry fit the upper wing panel. When I realized that it is a very snug fit, I decided against it for fear of breaking things trying to get it back out. I am going to have to clear out some room on the bench before I start on the wings. Once in a blue moon, I will get this issue with a decal and Solvaset. More often than not, if I just leave it alone, it'll sort itself out. Currently sipping on java before having a look at it.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

Aug 29, 2024 4:04:43 GMT -5 armornutii said:

   That is one BIG BEAUTIFUL bird..WOW. There are a ton of really pretty airframes over the years but there is just something about early kites that pull at the heart strings. Thanks so much for sharing.

Thank you kindly! I am inclined to agree with you about early aircraft. I remember when The Vintage Aviator Ltd built the Albatross their flying replica. The workmanship in the woodwork was nothing short of beautiful. Thank you for having a gander.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

Aug 29, 2024 4:11:06 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

I'm hoping that the decals on the rudder turned out good for you Dave. Man.....that bird is frickin' MASSIVE!!! Where in the world are you going to display that bad boy?

Good morning Joe! Thank you kindly. I am enjoying my morning cup of java before laying eyes on the rudder this am. Java first, then formulate back up plans only if necessary. Conceptually, I knew this was going to be a rather large build. Now that I see it physically, its freaking huge! As to where to display it, that is a problem for Future Dave. Present Dave has other fish to fry I figure this, if I can figure out where to display it, then I'll have a place for several 1/32 aircraft to be displayed. Lancaster, He-219, several Spitfires, and a 1/35 Kate with the Akagi deck. All first world problems.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

Aug 29, 2024 4:48:06 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Man this is so fantastic. And it’s so big!!! What a beast of a project. You’re doing wonderful work on it.

Thank you kindly. After dry fitting the lower wings last night, I realized that I HAVE to clear out space on the bench, or I am going to start banging and dragging parts. Which will translate to broken parts.
Hopefully, I can get to priming and painting the wings and struts today. That will be dependent on when the locators show up, as we have a hidden water leak under under concrete in the middle of the house. That scenario puts it well outside my skill sets.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

I'll warn ya now, this is going to be a photo dump. Our water has been out for about a 12 days now. Fourth leak in five years. The good news is that none of the leaks are where any of the remodel occurred. The bad news is that it is four leaks. Anywho.....
This week has been having all of the various location agencies out, and today the plumbers came out and restored our water supply after an all day ordeal. Thank you Reynolds Plumbing.
On to the build.

This is rigging that runs up over the engine.




The upper colors are laid down.  


Props painted and clear coated.  These will receive hair spray for some fine chipping.


Outboard pontoons.  These are wooden and clear coated.  Well, painted to mimic wood. 




These are PE toe kicks.  I soaked them in a burnishing solution.  Then primed, painted and clear coated them.  


Part II to follow for pics.....

[thug626]

part II of the photo dump.

The lower wings are on.  The props are only dry fitted.






The props were painted grey.  So, I figured that the paint might be a bit worn.  I'll file this under artistic license.   The copper sheeting was painted using ATOM copper.  This was sealed with Vallejo Metal Varnish.  Clear gloss coated with Vallejo. Then given a light coating of hair spray.  Then painted with Mission Model Dark Gunship Gray.  


I finally remember some Ammo Decal brushes I had to help settle these roundels down.  They worked perfectly.  After brushing out the decals, I gave them a generous dousing of Solvaset. 


It's official, this is the biggest build I have ever done.  I snapped a couple of the engine struts setting the port wing in place.  Quickly and easily repaired.  


I still have no idea where I am going to park this when I am done.  


Cheers
Dave

[kyledehart5]

I’ve run out of words long ago Dave. This is so good. It’s just incredible and the SIZE. Just too cool. I love it.

[handiabled]

It's huge!! I really like your simulated wood paintwork. With all of the detail you added, and once the rigging is done, it will take quite a while for the eye to wander all over this gorgeous bird!

[406 Silverado]

OUCH!!! Sorry to hear about the water leaks Dave. The fourth water leak in five years??!! Man that is just nuts!! Hope you get water back soon bud.

 Your progress on this continues to amaze me and you're right.......real life problems first and THEN figure out where to display this. lol 

[Leon]

This is looking fantastic Dave!

[buddho]

Top notch work on everything. This is one beauty of a beast!

[armornutii]

 2 things....WOW that thing is MASSIVE ...and WOW, I better steo up my game if I'm going tobtry my hand on a WnW kit.
  Thug your wood simulation is spot on by my eyes, and those proos really capture the laminated wood used to manufacture the real ones. I have forgotten what species were used but the light/dark sure provides a beautiful visual interest.

[thug626]

Aug 31, 2024 3:12:49 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

I’ve run out of words long ago Dave. This is so good. It’s just incredible and the SIZE. Just too cool. I love it.

Thank you kindly! It is a beast!