Harry P. Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 ok... keep in mind that I have never done this before, so I'm pretty sure I'm doing it "wrong," or at least not the way model airplane guys would do it. But the end result is what counts, not how I got there! First I bought a piece of muslin fabric (no, not Muslim... muslin ). To cover the wing, I cut out a piece slightly larger than the top surface–I will first cover the top surface, bringing the edges of the fabric down and around the wing edges, glue the fabric edges onto the underside structure of the wing, then cut a piece the exact shape of the wing and use that to cover the underside of the wing (and to hide the folded-over fabric from the top surface). First step is to glue the fabric all along the leading edge of the wing on the bottom surface of the leading edge by applying drops of CA right on top of the cloth. The CA soaks right into the cloth and grabs on to the wooden structure. Remember, in this photo you're looking at the bottom surface of the wing facing up, leading edge away from me: Now I take the cloth and fold it under the wing. The wing is still bottom side up, leading edge away from me, same position as it was previously, The only difference is that now I have the cloth folded under the wing. I now take the edge of the cloth closest to me (the trailing edge of the wing) and tape the cloth down to my work surface like so: Now comes the slick part! With the cloth taped down, I take the wing and flip it over, flip it towards me, so that the wing is now laying on my work surface right-side-up with the leading edge facing me... and then push the wing away from me. Remember, the cloth is glued to the leading edge of the wing, but not yet to the trailing edge, and the loose (unglued) side of the cloth is taped to my work surface... so as I push the wing away from me, it stretches the cloth evenly and consistently across the wing from front to back. Once the cloth is stretched, I apply dabs of CA all along the trailing edge of the wing, to "lock down" the cloth: Now all that's left is to trim away some of the excess cloth and fold the edges of the cloth over the edges of the wing structure and glue those loose edges on the underside of the wing. Then I take the second piece of cloth, the one I cut to the exact shape and size of the wing, and glue it to the underside, to cover both the underside of the wing and the edges from the cloth on the top side that were folded over and glued to the bottom side. It sounds complicated reading it in words, but actually it's a pretty straightforward process. Again, maybe not the way it's "supposed" to be done... but this is my first time, so I basically made this up as I went along, relying on logic and common sense. The lower wings were done in the same exact manner: More to come... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Real Nice Wings Harry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Joseph Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 I look forward to seeing the finished model, Harry. I was fortunate to see a reproduction Albatros actually flying several years ago. In fact, I believe it was the same one you showed in your first post. Those planes are amazing to see in the air. At the 31 minute mark, you'll see the Albatros: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share Posted June 8, 2013 I agree, Joseph... those WWI planes are just so cool! And to my eye, the Albatros is the coolest one of them all. It was neat to see it take off in the video you posted, even if it's "only" a replica. Right now I have the wings covered, they're ready for paint. I should have a new update within a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjordan2 Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Looking terrific. Makes me want to haul out my videos of The Blue Max and Dawn Patrol (but the best of those is Howard Hughes' 1930 "Hell's Angels," with staged dogfights filmed without miniatures or special effects, marred by some actual fatalities). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 10, 2013 Author Share Posted June 10, 2013 Looking terrific. Makes me want to haul out my videos of The Blue Max and Dawn Patrol (but the best of those is Howard Hughes' 1930 "Hell's Angels," with staged dogfights filmed without miniatures or special effects, marred by some actual fatalities). Speaking of "Hell's Angels," there's a big scene in the movie "The Aviator" showing the "set" of Hell's Angels (Leonardo DiCaprio plays Howard Hughes). Tons of WWI fighters (all reproductions, no doubt)...a cool "movie within a movie." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 20, 2013 Author Share Posted June 20, 2013 Finally some progress... got the wings painted and the graphics applied. The lower wings, top and bottom sides: Upper wing, top and bottom sides. That squarish thing in the wing is the radiator (remember, the engine is liquid-cooled, not an air-cooled radial): And the fuselage markings: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony T Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Outstanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 How's this bird coming along ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted July 22, 2013 Author Share Posted July 22, 2013 How's this bird coming along ? Got the wings attached, one side of the rigging done, decals done. I need to take some new photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Minarick Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Very nice Harry ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Is this done ? Photo's ??? : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted August 23, 2013 Author Share Posted August 23, 2013 Is this done ? Photo's ??? : ) Still not done. I'll try and take a few new photos over the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Wow, again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Kourouklis Posted August 23, 2013 Share Posted August 23, 2013 Pretty damned amazing, Harry. Hat's off to you on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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