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WNW Sopwith Camel F.1 USAS
- Thread starter SdAufKla
- Start date
centaur567
Well-known member
Moose and squirrel would be proud!! Funny how armor weathering helps our aircraft weathering skills. Gary S. XLV MMXXIV
SdAufKla
Active member
Alrighty then... Rigging part two.
As with so many modeling projects that are done in prefinished subassemblies and parts, there comes a time when it all seems to start to come together at once, and... voila! It's an airplane!
Here's the pre-rigged upper wing. This work went really quickly. The eyelets have been installed some time ago, so I just needed to cut a bunch of short pieces of Albion tubing (.5mm OD x 2.25mm L). Lacing the lines up was very easy.
I also pre-rigged the front crossed bracing wires for the forward cabane struts with their "acorn" tensioner. The tensioner is a kit part, and after cleaning it up, I cross drilled and connected the top and bottom rigging "dimples." I laced these with pieces of Infini Models elastic line inserted through the holes. I've left this unglued to the lines so it can freely move and self-center later. The acorn is 7 mm below the top wing when correctly installed, so I used a 5 mm thick spacer and rigged the top line under slight tension. When the bottom line is rigged later, it should pull the acorn down to its correct location. It should also be able to move freely side to side on each line to self-center. (At least that's my plan... LOL!)
I also installed the interplane struts and the Aldis gunsight and windscreen. I did test fit the Vicker's MG barrels one last time to be sure they will fit under the windscreen. I want to leave them off as long as possible to keep them out of the way.
Here's a closeup of all the gunsight and windscreen fuss. I drilled out the ends of the gunsight, painted the holes a bright silver and added some gloss clear to simulate the lenses.
The right / starboard interplane struts. The pitot tube air lines were replaced using the same materials and methods as the ones on the forward starboard cabane strut. The round Ruston & Proctor manufacture's logo decals are from the kit. I masked and painted the six white "victory" stripes from E.W. Springs' aircraft. WNW provides a decal for these, but after the trouble I had with the thick white ink on the decal roundels, it just seemed easier and quicker to paint these.
The port interplane struts with their Ruston & Proctor logos. Easy peasy; lemon squeezy as the head Gas Monkey Garage monkey always says!
The top wing goes on now... No reason to procrastinate any more...
This was admittedly a bit fiddly. But, I worked from one end to the other and eventually got all the struts into their holes at the same time.
Now, in fairness, this is NOT how the instructions show doing this. WNW suggests adding the center section to the four cabane struts, then add one end of the top wing and its struts at a time. This is no doubt much easier to do. However, I wanted to be sure that I had all three pieces of the wing were aligned and hard dried because I was concerned about trying to deal with any possible alignment issues with a bunch of wing and strut parts all being glued up at the same time. Any hoo... If I had any trouble (not much) doing adding the top wing, it was self-inflicted.
A couple final looks at the rat's nest I have going on now! You can see how the free-floating acorn tensioner will (hopefully!) self-center once the bottom line is tensioned and anchored.
It seems that the general "rule" for finishing up the rigging is to work from the inside out, and from side to side. So, start with the cabane strut bracing wires. Do one wire on one side, then do its opposite/mirror wire on the other side. Back and forth, side to side, one wire at a time... Ok. Sounds like a plan. We'll see.
And that's all for now, folks! Happy modeling!
As with so many modeling projects that are done in prefinished subassemblies and parts, there comes a time when it all seems to start to come together at once, and... voila! It's an airplane!
Here's the pre-rigged upper wing. This work went really quickly. The eyelets have been installed some time ago, so I just needed to cut a bunch of short pieces of Albion tubing (.5mm OD x 2.25mm L). Lacing the lines up was very easy.
I also pre-rigged the front crossed bracing wires for the forward cabane struts with their "acorn" tensioner. The tensioner is a kit part, and after cleaning it up, I cross drilled and connected the top and bottom rigging "dimples." I laced these with pieces of Infini Models elastic line inserted through the holes. I've left this unglued to the lines so it can freely move and self-center later. The acorn is 7 mm below the top wing when correctly installed, so I used a 5 mm thick spacer and rigged the top line under slight tension. When the bottom line is rigged later, it should pull the acorn down to its correct location. It should also be able to move freely side to side on each line to self-center. (At least that's my plan... LOL!)
I also installed the interplane struts and the Aldis gunsight and windscreen. I did test fit the Vicker's MG barrels one last time to be sure they will fit under the windscreen. I want to leave them off as long as possible to keep them out of the way.
Here's a closeup of all the gunsight and windscreen fuss. I drilled out the ends of the gunsight, painted the holes a bright silver and added some gloss clear to simulate the lenses.
The right / starboard interplane struts. The pitot tube air lines were replaced using the same materials and methods as the ones on the forward starboard cabane strut. The round Ruston & Proctor manufacture's logo decals are from the kit. I masked and painted the six white "victory" stripes from E.W. Springs' aircraft. WNW provides a decal for these, but after the trouble I had with the thick white ink on the decal roundels, it just seemed easier and quicker to paint these.
The port interplane struts with their Ruston & Proctor logos. Easy peasy; lemon squeezy as the head Gas Monkey Garage monkey always says!
The top wing goes on now... No reason to procrastinate any more...
This was admittedly a bit fiddly. But, I worked from one end to the other and eventually got all the struts into their holes at the same time.
Now, in fairness, this is NOT how the instructions show doing this. WNW suggests adding the center section to the four cabane struts, then add one end of the top wing and its struts at a time. This is no doubt much easier to do. However, I wanted to be sure that I had all three pieces of the wing were aligned and hard dried because I was concerned about trying to deal with any possible alignment issues with a bunch of wing and strut parts all being glued up at the same time. Any hoo... If I had any trouble (not much) doing adding the top wing, it was self-inflicted.
A couple final looks at the rat's nest I have going on now! You can see how the free-floating acorn tensioner will (hopefully!) self-center once the bottom line is tensioned and anchored.
It seems that the general "rule" for finishing up the rigging is to work from the inside out, and from side to side. So, start with the cabane strut bracing wires. Do one wire on one side, then do its opposite/mirror wire on the other side. Back and forth, side to side, one wire at a time... Ok. Sounds like a plan. We'll see.
And that's all for now, folks! Happy modeling!
Heavens Eagle
Well-known member
So far so good Mike! Looking really good!
I see you are using a jig to build this. I figured a couple of years ago that a good quality jig would be a must for these flying box kites. Made a bunch of custom aluminum stuff for my use for the large planes and some other stuff that is more generic. If I had not made a jig, my Albatros D.I would not have been built as well as it turned out. There was a nasty problem with the center A frame strut where it stood a little too tall. Being able to assemble and hold everything together in proper alignment was the solution to fix the problem. When glue time came all I did was use the jig to line it all up and hold things exactly then add solvent glue to the joints and go away for a day for it all to dry solid. I am sure it will make a huge difference when I build the Felix Stowe.
I see you are using a jig to build this. I figured a couple of years ago that a good quality jig would be a must for these flying box kites. Made a bunch of custom aluminum stuff for my use for the large planes and some other stuff that is more generic. If I had not made a jig, my Albatros D.I would not have been built as well as it turned out. There was a nasty problem with the center A frame strut where it stood a little too tall. Being able to assemble and hold everything together in proper alignment was the solution to fix the problem. When glue time came all I did was use the jig to line it all up and hold things exactly then add solvent glue to the joints and go away for a day for it all to dry solid. I am sure it will make a huge difference when I build the Felix Stowe.
Brokeneagle
Master at Arms
Fantastic work! I am also enjoying the lesson in rigging as I have not built any of my WNW planes as yet.
Ian.
SdAufKla
Active member
I was a bit skeptical, to be honest, as to whether or not the assembly fixture would be necessary or even especially useful. However, I've found that it really does help, in particular, as you say, with alignment (its main function). At the time I thought I might be wasting my money on an extravagance, but now I'm glad I got it.
I am also finding out that it's also really useful when it comes to just handling and moving the model. The thing is just so delicate, especially after adding any rigging. The fixture gives me a good way to hold the model while turning it every which-way to work on it. At times it feels like I'm trying to put a framing square and level on a house of cards to see if it's plumb, level and square while at the same time trying to nail the cards together. LOL! The fixture has been super convenient for simply handling the model during construction.
I'm sure that more experienced biplane builders have a bunch of expedient solutions and techniques to deal with these issues, but a purpose made fixture was what a neophyte like me needed. It's hard enough to figure out what I need to do without also trying to imagine expedient solutions for holding the model while aligning the parts.
SdAufKla
Active member
Don't be intimidate or discouraged, Ian! The rigging takes some thought and patience, but it's not especially hard. Tedious, yes, but the basic techniques and methods are, in and of themselves, not particularly hard.
WNW has very comprehensive diagrams on the rigging in the instructions. They also indicate ALL of the rigging points on the model parts with either fine dimples or molded on hardware with tiny rigging holes already in place (very delicate, but there nevertheless). Their suggestion is to use one of the elastic thread materials (EZ Line, Infini Models rigging line, Usche rigging line, etc.) anchored with CA in simple blind or through holes drilled in appropriate locations (as indicated on the parts). I had anticipated a lot of trouble trying to just figure out WHERE all the rigging goes, but really, WNW provides all of the information needed for that.
All that is really needed is a pin vise, some #80 drill bits, CA glue and a spool of elastic rigging line. If the modeler uses a combination of blind holes to anchor lines one one end and through holes to pass the line through, tension it and then glue the other end, the rigging wouldn't be too hard at all. Add on some dabs of PVA (white glue) painted to simulate the hardware, and the final results would be very nice, I think. Drilling the holes and gluing the line in place with CA are pretty basic skills once you get past the number of lines, which on the Camel, seem like a lot more than there really are. Not counting a the bracing wires inside the fuselage, there are less than 50 total bracing wires or control lines on the Camel. Sounds like a lot, but they're grouped in three locations, the tail, the landing gear and the wings. Take 'em one at a time, and the results look a lot more complicated than the actual work.
I've obviously gone with a more complicated rigging technique (using twisted wire eyelets, monofilament line, and metal tubing ferrules), but this is not at all absolutely necessary. I'm also an otherwise very experienced modeler, so I was actually looking for something new and challenging with this build. This approach did add a couple more levels of complexity, making the eyelets and cutting the tube for the ferrules, and then figuring out where and how to add the eyelets. However, for all of the control surfaces (rudder, elevator and ailerons) I've used (or will use) the elastic rigging thread since the control horns are too delicate to stand up to tensioning the monofilament line.
However, the WNW's kit is so very well designed, engineered and produced, that parts fit is exquisite. Everything goes exactly where it's supposed to. (It does demand some care and attention with basic parts cleanup of mold seams and sprue attachment points.) The assembly of the kit itself has been very straightforward, and, IMO, it's well within the abilities of most intermediate skill level modelers. Rigged with one of the elastic lines, building it is totally doable by most modelers. Certainly not a good choice for a "first" kit, but with some practiced basic skills and moderate experience this kit shouldn't intimidate anyone.
SdAufKla
Active member
So the rigging is mostly done. All that's left are the control cables for the ailerons, and from my experience thus far, those should go quick and easy.
After yesterday, I wasn't sure how long the rest of this would take. However, I only needed a couple of hours today, to include cutting another dozen sections of micro tubing to use for ferrules. Honestly, I was surprised when I was finished at how fast and relatively smooth it all went.
Everything pretty much went as planned. Even the acorn tensioner on the forward cross brace wires was done in nothing flat.
Here the MG barrels and engine cowling are just dry-fitted for no other reason that I wanted to see how they looked... LOL!
I'd like to thank all of the "Unknown Aviation Modelers" who have gone before me and taken the time and effort to share their techniques, methods and materials with the rest of the community! It REALLY DOES WORK just the way you said it would!
Next up are the engine and prop, the bomb rack and bombs, and the wind-driven compressed air fuel pump. All little projects in their own right, but ones that I'm looking forward to since they don't involve any of this biplane rigging alchemy!
Happy modeling!
After yesterday, I wasn't sure how long the rest of this would take. However, I only needed a couple of hours today, to include cutting another dozen sections of micro tubing to use for ferrules. Honestly, I was surprised when I was finished at how fast and relatively smooth it all went.
Everything pretty much went as planned. Even the acorn tensioner on the forward cross brace wires was done in nothing flat.
Here the MG barrels and engine cowling are just dry-fitted for no other reason that I wanted to see how they looked... LOL!
I'd like to thank all of the "Unknown Aviation Modelers" who have gone before me and taken the time and effort to share their techniques, methods and materials with the rest of the community! It REALLY DOES WORK just the way you said it would!
Next up are the engine and prop, the bomb rack and bombs, and the wind-driven compressed air fuel pump. All little projects in their own right, but ones that I'm looking forward to since they don't involve any of this biplane rigging alchemy!
Happy modeling!
Duke Maddog
Well-known member
Man, you got some mad skills Mike! Way to go; that is a thing of beauty!
SdAufKla
Active member
So, time for a little update...
I've completed the landing gear by adding the Rotherham wind-driven air pump (used to pressurize the fuel system) and wheels. The pump needed a short air line made from brass wire. The wheels were a surprisingly poor fit, quite loose on their axles, which themselves were quite thin and delicate. Some care is needed to avoid any toe-in or out and to make sure the camber is equal side to side. I'd also suggest allowing these to dry hard overnight before handling the model.
The Cooper bombs and bomb rack have also been added. The bombs are probably the worst fitting parts in the entire kit. They seem to be accurate enough, and the design of the parts is pretty good, but their molds seem to have been cut too shallow in the tail fin area which creates steps in the molded parts. All of that results in gaps down the lengths of the tails between two opposite sets of fins. These gaps are a PITA to fill and contour to match the taper of the tail. The fins are also quite thick and "chunky" looking, so they too a lot of tedious sanding and filing to thin.
The kit decals fit quite nicely, but because of the complex curved shape of the bomb casings, they did need a bit of decal solvent to eliminate puckers at their rear edges. I added PE bomb spinners from the HGW British WWI weapons set along with some PE bits for the bomb rack. I had to modify the bomb rack parts since the PE set is somewhat "generic." In hindsight, I'd recommend the Eduard PE set made for the WNW Camel kits. (The HGW PE is made by Eduard, anyway.)
The prop is just in basic colors here. It still needs some contrasting detail painting and washes on the hub and its data decal.
So, this is where the kit stands now. All of the rigging is done, to include the aileron control cables (done the same way as the control surfaces on the tail). The MG barrels and engine cowling are still just dry-fitted in these photos.
Aside from the engine and prop, I also need to add the clear covers for the aileron control cable inspection ports on the wings. I'll use the kit parts for these (unless I have some significant fit problems - which I don't really expect). I'll also add the pitot tubes to be made from .4 mm OD aluminum tubing.
I do plan to make a small, grass covered base and add a pilot figure. I'm still looking for the right figure, though. I'd like to add a standing figure wearing a Sidcot flying suit. I'm surprised at how very (very!) limited the choices seem to be in this regard.
And that's all for now. Happy modeling!
I've completed the landing gear by adding the Rotherham wind-driven air pump (used to pressurize the fuel system) and wheels. The pump needed a short air line made from brass wire. The wheels were a surprisingly poor fit, quite loose on their axles, which themselves were quite thin and delicate. Some care is needed to avoid any toe-in or out and to make sure the camber is equal side to side. I'd also suggest allowing these to dry hard overnight before handling the model.
The Cooper bombs and bomb rack have also been added. The bombs are probably the worst fitting parts in the entire kit. They seem to be accurate enough, and the design of the parts is pretty good, but their molds seem to have been cut too shallow in the tail fin area which creates steps in the molded parts. All of that results in gaps down the lengths of the tails between two opposite sets of fins. These gaps are a PITA to fill and contour to match the taper of the tail. The fins are also quite thick and "chunky" looking, so they too a lot of tedious sanding and filing to thin.
The kit decals fit quite nicely, but because of the complex curved shape of the bomb casings, they did need a bit of decal solvent to eliminate puckers at their rear edges. I added PE bomb spinners from the HGW British WWI weapons set along with some PE bits for the bomb rack. I had to modify the bomb rack parts since the PE set is somewhat "generic." In hindsight, I'd recommend the Eduard PE set made for the WNW Camel kits. (The HGW PE is made by Eduard, anyway.)
The prop is just in basic colors here. It still needs some contrasting detail painting and washes on the hub and its data decal.
So, this is where the kit stands now. All of the rigging is done, to include the aileron control cables (done the same way as the control surfaces on the tail). The MG barrels and engine cowling are still just dry-fitted in these photos.
Aside from the engine and prop, I also need to add the clear covers for the aileron control cable inspection ports on the wings. I'll use the kit parts for these (unless I have some significant fit problems - which I don't really expect). I'll also add the pitot tubes to be made from .4 mm OD aluminum tubing.
I do plan to make a small, grass covered base and add a pilot figure. I'm still looking for the right figure, though. I'd like to add a standing figure wearing a Sidcot flying suit. I'm surprised at how very (very!) limited the choices seem to be in this regard.
And that's all for now. Happy modeling!
I can hear it sputterin' to life now! 
Duke Maddog
Well-known member
Brilliant work Paul! Wow!
Heavens Eagle
Well-known member
That is really looking excellent Mike!
