Subject: Re: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Pieter Stam" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:39:16 -0800

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Pieter Stam 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2008 8:26 AM
  Subject: FW: Delivery Status Notification (Failure)

      Gallery Template #05

      "Eduard 1:48 Bristol F2b" 

      by "Pieter Stam"
      --------------------

         

            Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 01.jpg here  

      This is the well known Bristol fighter in less well known markings. It was the time of the first world war raging across all of western Europe. All of western Europe? Except for a little country, Netherland. Trough out the war, they managed to maintain neutrality, maybe only because nobody was interested in attacking it. Aviation was one of the many novelties in this war. I will not go into the history of the airwar of WWI, it is well known. As more aircraft took to the skies to battle eachother, more and more of them got lost and some of them came down on Dutch soil. In total, 62 German, 38 British, 5 French, 1 Belgian and 1 American aircraft where captured. Many of the unharmed or lightly damaged aircraft found their way to the new Luchtvaart Afdeling (LVA) or: aviation department. This resulted in a rapid built-up of an impressive rag-tag airfleet. Even some heavy bombers, both German and British where used by the LVA. Most of those aircraft where demolished, or returned to their previous owners after the war.

      This particular aircraft was one of four F2b's that landed on Dutch soil. Registration was: "BR401 RR250" and had a four bladed propellor. It served the LVA from 1917 till mid 1919, when it was returned to Great Brittain. The kit is the 1:48 Eduard one, profipack version. It is actually my very first Biplane. I bought this because I wanted to try some of the dreaded 'rigging' I heard so much about. I was actually shocked once I realized how much of this rigging there actually was to do on this aircraft! Being a profipack, Eduard kindly supplied a some PE parts and wheel masks with it, to augment the four injection molded sprues. I also bought Dutch Decal sheet 48021 to go with it. This was before I learned that Eduard also had a boxing that offered the same markings. 

      I decided that I didn't want to use the PE wicker seat and decided to make my own. Altough the PE seat looks nice, it is essentially a 2D (curved) object and I didn't like it. I read somewhere on the internet that a guy needed two weeks to make such a seat with fishing wire. But the thing is that fishing wire doesn't like to be bend so tightly and it springs right back in its natural shape. That's why I decided to use very thin copper wire, 0.2mm. As I am an electrician, it was easy for me to obtain this. I finnished the seat on a sunday afternoon, wondering why it took the other guy two weeks? The rest of the construction wasn't really exciting. Most parts fitted quite well.

      The rigging is a diffrent chapter. I am used to WWII aircraft with the ocassional radio aerial, but this is something entirly diffrent! After studying some articles on the internet, I saw many models where the rigging appeared out of scale and much too thick. The same copper wire I used for the seat, seemed to curve when you stretch it. I then decided to use very thin fishing wire, 0.12mm, wich is a little elastic and so can take some punishment from my own clumsy fingers. After some tought, I painted and decalled the aircraft completly before starting the wiring. I drilled the holes in de lower wing and CA-ed the wires in place. Of course with a great deal of length too much. I drilled the holes for the struts in the upper wing all the way trough. I then glued the lower wing to the aircraft body. After that, I glued all of the struts to the lower wing and hull. The last step was to put all the appropriate wires through the appropriate holes of the upper wing, placing the wing loosly on the struts. Oh so carefull applied CA through the holes in the upper wing secured everything in place. Of course I observed the geometry of the whole through out the entire process. Rigging the control surfaces was equaly difficult but less challenging in the way of geometry. 

      Click on images below to see larger images

         

            Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 03.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 03.jpg 

            Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 04.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 04.jpg 

            Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 05.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 05.jpg 

            Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 06.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 06.jpg 

      During the build, I realized that such characteristic aircraft just screamd to be put in a diorama. I bought a resin pilot figure from PJ productions. The photographer and the officer where both composed from Eduard's RFC personel set. The photocamera was scratchbuild with some tin foil, balsa wood, iron wire and small lens from stretched sprue. I realize that common pilot's pants in those days was not blue, but it looks nice I think. The uniform of the officer has small insigna's painted on it with gold paint and a pin. It was also the first time that I attempted figure painting. It didn't turn out bad I think. 

      I hope you all enjoy the pictures. Maybe I should add one or two pieces of equipemt to the diorama, like an oildrum or a wooden box in the Future.

         

            Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 02.jpg here  

      Photos and text © by "Pieter Stam"

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