dimanche 26 juin 2016

Newbie Concorde Build

As I mentioned in my note on the introductions thread, my first completed paper model build was Ralph Currell's beautiful Graf Zeppelin. I started Shreiber Bogen's OHEKA II sometime before and she is nearing completion.

Attached are a few pics of my new project: the Ralph Currell and Erik the Groen Concorde; my work area--an old wine box that conveniently holds my tools and parts; and my OHEKA II which is nearing completion.

Since it seems that the forum likes to see new modelers get their feet and I think posting would inspire me to be more consistent in my efforts I am going to post occasional photos from this build and a few notes about my experience building it. I am normally a detail nut; but I am also practical. Accordingly, I am going to defer to the fact that I have a family, work, and a long commute. My goal with this build is not perfection but development of basic modeling skills on subjects that interest me. If anyone finds this interesting, that is great. If not, I think that documenting the build will help me get more out of the experience and that is enough.

I am building the kit in the in-flight configuration with visor up and landing gear retracted. A coat of Rustoleum brand clear matte sealant was applied to the parts sheets in several thing layers (printed side only). I ran the parts on a tired old color laser so the print quality is mediocre but again, my objective is not perfection.

For today:
As with the Currell Graf Zeppelin, an easy to understand instruction sheet with great diagrams.

Fuselage parts cut, formers assembled, and the first fuselage segments have been glued together. Despite studying the parts/instructions in some detail before commencing assembly I still managed to forget to cut the slits for the wing spars in the main fuselage segment. Happily, it was easy to do this work after assembling the parts.

Focus here: increasing precision/consistency of cutting technique. And trying to shape/glue nice fuselage segments.

Specifically, I cut all parts down the middle of the black lines outlining the parts. I found a piece of doll rod that was very close to the diameter of the long fuselage segment, and wrapped copy paper around it to help form the segment and glue the joint.

I found that using a Stanley "break off" blade in a handle gave easier/cleaner cuts on straight edges on the 68 pound paper that I printed my parts on than I achieved with the #11 blades in my Xacto. I picked up a lot of great new cutting techniques today from First Cuts that I will apply going forward (no heavy card here, hurray).

I have never built a plane (though the Graf Zeppelin is somewhat similar to this point--assembling formers for the main body of the subject). Clearly some alignment issues despite efforts for a smooth fuselage, but I don't think they will hamper getting this put together so the show goes on. Even at 1:144 scale, the fuselage segments assembled are sleek and impressively long.

Next up: completion of the fuselage and assembly of internal wing structures.

Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_2401.JPG (62.8 KB)
File Type: jpg IMG_2398.JPG (30.5 KB)
File Type: jpg IMG_2402.JPG (129.1 KB)


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