Felixstowe F.2a late 1/32 WIngnut Wings

[thug626]

Aug 31, 2024 4:16:22 GMT -5 handiabled said:

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!

Thank you kindly. There is a lot of rigging to go. The wood grain is why I went with this scheme.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

Aug 31, 2024 6:50:26 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

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 

Thank you kindly Joe. We got water restored late afternoon
I fractured three engine struts putting the first upper wing on. That was my fault. Fixed it on the fly. The wings lined right up with the struts.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

Aug 31, 2024 7:22:39 GMT -5 Leon said:

This is looking fantastic Dave!

Thank you kindly!

[thug626]

Aug 31, 2024 7:52:28 GMT -5 buddho said:

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

Thank you kindly! A beast it is!

[thug626]

Aug 31, 2024 8:12:48 GMT -5 armornutii said:

 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.

Thank you kindly! Just take your time with it. WnW kits don’t fly together. They are a slow steady build. At least for myself.
I have no idea on the wood used. If you find out, drop me a line please.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

This variant had Holt landing lights. The basic sprue version was lacking in the lens department. So, I found a few MV Lenses rolling around in my stash.  Much improved!




I rigged and mounted the balanced ailerons.  Each control horn was rigged with a single piece of EZ Line, instead of rigging 12 separate pieces for each aileron.  I drilled out the aileron attachment points, and threaded the line through.  When I mounted the ailerons, I put a couple of short piece of stainless steel wire in each, and "pinned" each aileron to the wing.  The "hinge" points each received a dab of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement.  




I used the note card to give a backdrop to highlight the cross rigging between the struts.  


With the upper roundels on, the decals are done on the aircraft.  Rigging and weathering will be the primary focus at this point. 


Cheers
Dave

[handiabled]

Nice landing light modification. The rigging looks excellent so far!

[brandonk]

Holy cow! That is some amazing work. Rigging scares me to death.

[thug626]

Sept 9, 2024 1:22:00 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Nice landing light modification. The rigging looks excellent so far!

Thank you kindly. All of the cross rigging is done. Now what remains is the flying wires and landing wires.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

Sept 9, 2024 9:32:30 GMT -5 brandonk said:

Holy cow! That is some amazing work. Rigging scares me to death.

Thank you kindly! Taken as a whole, it is daunting. It’s pretty methodical when you break it down. One string at a time is how I go at it.

Cheers
Dave

[keavdog]

Wow she's a big model! Fun watching you go through this beautiful build. I hadn't seen this plane before you started this thread.

[thug626]

Sept 9, 2024 16:15:57 GMT -5 keavdog said:

Wow she's a big model! Fun watching you go through this beautiful build. I hadn't seen this plane before you started this thread.

Thank you kindly! Currently working on the flying wires. The innermost sets are heavy duty. Prior to seeing this kit myself, I had no idea about its existence. I wish I had gotten their Gotha bomber when it was available. Oh well.

Cheers
Dave

[kyledehart5]

Excellent!! I’m a bit behind here but another nice update. Good work on those lenses too

[thug626]

Sept 10, 2024 14:26:04 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Excellent!! I’m a bit behind here but another nice update. Good work on those lenses too

Thank you kindly. No worries. Just glad to have you along on the build. I’ve gotten the bottom side of the heavy flying wires anchored. I need to anchor the far ends of them next. Then I’ll get the regular sized flying and landing rigging done. Lastly will be all of the control lines.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

After a couple of sessions, I have gotten the wing rigging done.  I still have the control lines to go.    

It looks like a "Cats Cradle", but it's actually fairly straightforward.  This outer rigging, if you looked at it head on, is rigging on two angled planes.  Each plane has a fore and aft line that runs at an angle from the top wing to the bottom wing.  Also, each plane has two lines that crosses in the middle.  Fore going to aft, and aft going to fore.  This set up creates several triangles, giving structural rigidity. 


This is the left mid panel, looking forward. 


There are two drag lines per side.  One attaches to the upper wing and the other to the lower wing.


This is the same section shown earlier.  This view is looking aft.  In the upper portion of the picture, halfway between left side and center, you can see one of the pulleys that routes one of several aileron cables.  


Cheers
Dave

[keavdog]

Oh wow - that looks great. But completely reinforces my fear of bi-planes. I wouldn't know where to start!

[thug626]

Sept 12, 2024 19:12:12 GMT -5 keavdog said:

Oh wow - that looks great. But completely reinforces my fear of bi-planes. I wouldn't know where to start!

Thank you kindly! Sorry, I didn’t mean to stir up any phobias.
I studied the rigging diagrams for a long time to get them down.

Cheers
Dave

[kyledehart5]

Oh my goodness. That is amazing. I wouldn’t know how to begin.

[handiabled]

Your rigging work is stellar!

[thug626]

Sept 13, 2024 1:14:30 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Oh my goodness. That is amazing. I wouldn’t know how to begin.

Thank you kindly. Think about it systematically. Most of the rigging is "paired up". Say for example, you have two struts. One on the left. The other on the right One set of wires will run from top left to bottom right. The other set of wire will run from top right to bottom left. That is essentially what is repeated throughout the wing between the struts. Yes, there may be variations on this theme, but it's only a variation. Start your work from the inner most sets of wires to the outer most sets
Did I start with this beastie? On heck no! I built a couple of rigged biplanes to build up the confidence and skill set.

Cheers
Dave

P.S. It doesn't hurt to have good lighting, decent tweezers, and decent quality Opti-Loupes. My 58 year old Mk.I eyeballs need all the help they can get

[thug626]

Sept 13, 2024 3:43:15 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Your rigging work is stellar!

Thank you kindly!

Cheers
Dave

[kyledehart5]

I will attempt one eventually Dave. But have at least one or two biplanes stashed away. It’s intimidating but I know, from fine folks like yourself, that it can be tackled.

[thug626]

Sept 13, 2024 23:21:39 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

I will attempt one eventually Dave. But have at least one or two biplanes stashed away. It’s intimidating but I know, from fine folks like yourself, that it can be tackled.

They will wait for you. Thank you for the high praise.

Cheers
Dave

[thug626]

I started on the control rigging yesterday.  The line doublers (I'm not sure what they're actually called) gave me fits.  It the tiny part near the bottom left of the picture.  One line feeds into it, and the two lines feed out the other side.  Tiny triangular piece with three holes for the lines.  I lost two right out of the gate. That was my parts "safety margin".  No more extras to loose.  If I do, then I get to scratch build them.  

One of the great things about EX Line is that it is so pliable.  It can also be a source of great vexing.  I didn't realize, until I posted this picture, that two of my rigging lines are twisted.  


Cheers
Dave

[keavdog]

The rigging adds so much detail - I can't imagine the engineering/math that went into figuring everything that needed rigging.... or was it just a hunch 🤔 trial & error 🤷‍♂️
Anyway - looking just awesome.

[thug626]

Sept 17, 2024 22:17:01 GMT -5 keavdog said:

The rigging adds so much detail - I can't imagine the engineering/math that went into figuring everything that needed rigging.... or was it just a hunch 🤔 trial & error 🤷‍♂️
Anyway - looking just awesome.

Thank you kindly. The woodworking skills that went into these birds is awe inspiring. There can be no slop in the fittings. Light weight but strong. I think they were still figuring out how to spell “aerodynamics”.
I think I figured out a trick to rig the tiny triangular parts. I’ll put pics up after I’ve trialed the idea.

Cheers
Dave

[handiabled]

Your making this spider web of rigging look fantastic!

[kyledehart5]

Really just exceptional. Looking so great!!

[406 Silverado]

Un.....frickin'.......believable!! It almost looks like you're rigging an old frigate after seeing all of the rigging that you're having to do on this one. The work that you're putting into this one is just off the charts Dave and I'm sure it requires the patience of Job to pull off right. Simply beautiful outcome so far and you've most certainly got my respect. 

[thug626]

Sept 18, 2024 2:59:53 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Your making this spider web of rigging look fantastic!

Thank you kindly. It's funny you say that. When I was looking at the instructions for the rigging from the outer lower wing to the underside of the upper outer wing, that is what I thought. Until the pattern emerged. It took a bit.

Cheers
Dave