Alan Gorham_ Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 Dirk yes of course I can make you a set of masks. I will check out the writing for the nose. I will just have to trace over the drawing with this writing on. The price? No charge for PSS friends...I have the masking film anyway. Just send me a private message with your address in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 Posted by Steve McLaren on 13/11/2019 22:54:21: Thanks Al. Very informative. I will refer back to this later. I think I will try to do more of mine by painting this time. I will see if I can get hold of some of this Oramask 810. I assume that for those of us who don't, have Vinyl cutter, we could put it through an inkjet printer and cut out with a scalpel? Steve I've only just seen this, so sorry for the late reply. I guess you could print an outline on the backing paper of the Oramask. It would have to be a mirror image if it was text of course. I'm not sure printer ink would stick to the masking film itself. As with Dirk, if you want a set of masks making then just let me know. No charge of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirk tinck Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Thanks Alan ,thats very kind !I owe you .mayby this saves time ?I'm not into computers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted November 24, 2019 Author Share Posted November 24, 2019 Yes I can use that. Excellent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 Time for an update! My Sabre has been on, then definitely off again, then maybe back on! I planned to start on 1 November 2019, but on 31 October I ruptured my Achilles and tore my calf muscle in one leg! That put paid to standing in the workshop until around February 2020, but in the meantime, I had to build and equip a new workshop. I was well on the way to completing the workshop, when in April 2020 I caught Covid and was laid low until Mid-May. The next plan was to defer building until November 2020, but that was disrupted by the worldwide Balsa shortage. I finally bought the wood in April this year, but didn't start work until June. So here we go.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 Right from the start I decided I didn't want to plank the fuselage and, because of the work we all did with the mass build Hurricane fuselage, I felt it would be possible to use ammonia to get balsa sheets to conform to the curves of the structure. In order to size up the sheets required, it would be necessary to deviate from the plan of building the fuselage in two halves. Instead, I decided to build much more like a boat by erecting the keel and frames vertically off the building board. That way, I could take paper templates of the sheeting sizes directly off the framework. So here is the first step: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 Anyone who has built a model boat hull using the hard chine method may well be familiar with the next part: Using brown paper to rub over the stringers gives an accurate outline for a balsa panel. I decided to aim for the initial or key sheet to cover three stringers to avoid longitudinal joints on the sheeting. Below is an example of the brown paper laid over the framework and you can see the impression made by the stringer edges. When cutting out the balsa sheeting, you simply offset the template outline by half the stringer width to give a join to the next panel that is mid-stringer thickness. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 After cutting out the balsa sheet, it is soaked in Ammonia and then held in place on the fuselage with masking tape while it dries. It thus takes up any double curvatures and the internal stresses in the wood relax, so that the dried, pre-curved sheet can be glues on with Aliphatic glue to allow sandability at the edges if needed. Here' one of the pre-curved sheets showing the scraf joint towards the tail due to using 36" long sheet: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 And here is some work-in progress of the second sheet: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 I built the wing in parallel with the fuselage work. The full-size aircraft I am modelling was a fighter-bomber, so I had to devise a bomb pylon and release system that went in as the wing was built. I love the jigged system that Martin and Gordon designed. Very quick to use and guarantees a true wing! I used a very fine (0.032" diameter) version of the Sullivan gold-n-cable snake system (part number 577) as the release cable and ran it to a central 9g servo that fits within the wing root profile. Nice and light! I had a bit of a dilemma with bomb pylons. Should I fix them onto the wing, where they might catch on landing, causing damage to the wing, or make them "knock-off" with magnets where they might scrape along the wing on landing, causing damage? In the end I went with making them magnetic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 Like other builders, I glassed the wing before fitting it to the fuselage to complete a major sub-assembly and hopefully minimise hangar rash. I also cut out the rudder as a scale detail, but as time is short, I will fix it in place. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 Just for interest (hopefully) here is a picture of the inside of the fuselage before it was closed up underneath showing the sheeting in place. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted September 6, 2021 Share Posted September 6, 2021 Most impressive sheeting of the fuselage Al, very good going! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 (edited) A small amount of progress showing the airframe being glassed, the (own-design) pilot carved from polyurethane foam, a bit of checking the surface finish with a sprayed on guide coat of paint and the first coat pf primer rollered on! Edited September 22, 2021 by Alan Gorham_ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Cooke Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 Good progress Al, sorry we didnt get to see you and your primer Sabre at the weekend, you were missed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Gorham_ Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 Phil there would have been no point in coming...My right wrist and arm were so bad I couldn't hold a pint! I would have loved to see all the new Sabres in the flesh though. 3lb 4oz ready to fly but without paint! Just need the wrist to heal and we can aim some paint at it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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