HOW TO BUILD AIRCRAFT DIORAMAS

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I haven't yet decided whether this will be a stress break in the fuselage or an attempt by ground personnel to rescue the pilot.Any stress engineers or accident investigators out there?

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

Starting mag and throttle installed.Next will come the control column.

[JohnReid]

It is very surprising just how strong this type of construction is. I have actually taken my thumb and applied quite a lot of pressure to this fuselage to prove it.
I guess that the most famous fighter other than the Abatros to use this was the Mosquito of WW2.Two huge Merlins on a plywood body and it was the fastest airplane for many years during the war.

[JohnReid]

[JohnReid]

I will leave the control column removable until the control rigging is in.Now I will try a little weathering of the cockpit area with pastels.

[JohnReid]

The gear will be up next.Quality wise the castings are poor but because my model will be upside down there is no need to strengthen it as I did for the Camel.I wont bother fixing dings and dents either for this accident victim ,a little weathering should take care of that.
Having built all of the Model Airways models,except the Wright's airplane,I think that this kit could actually be made into something quite nice.It would require new tooling and stronger material for the metal fittings.Also a little updating of the instructions and plans would be in order to make the steps involved clearer.
More accurate cutting of some of the laser cut parts to fit the supplied raw wood parts (example ribs to spars)Use of photo etch for fittings as was done for the Jenny.This would probably up the price a bit to the cost of the Jenny but well worth it in my opinion.Probably will never happen but........

[JohnReid]