sandbagger

Hi all, I've removed the wood effect decals from the fuselage as they proved to be extremely easily damaged, even after being sealed. Maybe a bad set of decals, but I've never know decals to chip, tear or lift off the surface after being sealed!! It's as though the have no adhesion at all. Anyway I'm reverting back to using oil paint to represent the fuselage wood panels. Mike

Hi all, An example below of the 'translucent' decals supplied in the kit. When applied over other decals or paint, the colour below shows through. This means a white base colour needs to be applied, both under individual decals as well as for the wood effect decals. I had thought of various way to get around these translucent decals. Applying the wood decals, then white paint or white decal over the wood decals where the kit decals are to go, then applying the kit decals. Applying the wood decals then using masks to airbrush on the various kit markings. Applying the wood effect by oil brushing then airbrushing the kit markings. Although all of the above are feasible, they all involve either two or more layers, which might leave a 'ridge' around the finished markings. That would be tricky to eliminate without damaging the markings and surrounding area. Applying the wood and kit decals separately onto a white base coat is not going to be easy and will be time consuming, but hopefully there won't be any noticeable ridges and it'll all look uniform. We'll see Mike

Hi all, The fuselage has now been prepared for application of the decals, which hopefully will be a combination of wood effect decals and kit decals. If that doesn't work out I'll revert to creating the wood effects using oil paints. The actual aircraft had a Latin legend along both sides of the fuselage - ‘FRANGAR NON FLECTAR’. Some translation for this are: 'I am broken, I am not deflected' ’I’ll break but will not bend’ 'I will break, not bow' 'I am broken, I am not deflected' This is not supplied as a decal in the kit, which is not surprising given it's not even shown on the kit colour illustrations!! As there is no aftermarket for this I have to resort to creating a mask set, which I've done on my 'Cricut Air 2' cutting machine. Hopefully the mask won't peel off and decals or paint when I remove them, as airbrushing this legend is literally the last job on the fuselage. I've added the 'dome' in front of the windscreen and what appears to be a rudimentary gun sight. The purpose of this 'dome' is unclear. I've primed the fuselage in white as the decals are somewhat 'see through', so need a white base under the roundels. Also the wood effect decals need a white background. I've added pre-shading along the wood panel nail lines, which I created with a 'Rosie the Riveter' tool. Mike

Hi all, The cockpit is now complete. As I found with the engine, the cockpit required a lot of modifications and additions to bring it up to looking more like the actual aircraft cockpit. Basically, the modifications and additions made were as follows: Fuselage inner side walls heavily thinned and both assembled machine guns modified to allow the guns to sit in their correct positions in the cockpit. Forward bulkhead repositioned as the kit instructions were incorrect. Support bar for the instrument panel and climb indicator replaced with micro-tube (kit part too short). Cockpit rear padding created from ‘Milliput’ (kit photo-etch part unusable). Cockpit forward edge padding bead added (not in the kit). Pilot’s seat – addition holes in the seat back. Pilot’s seat – slots created for the seat belts. Pilot’s seat – seat support frame created (not in the kit). Pilot’s foot board assembly modified to allow the control column to be positioned further away from the pilot’s seat. Pilot’s seat top attachment to rear bulkhead added. Panel switches replaced with micro-tube (kit photo-etch unrealistic). ‘Taurus Models’ starter magneto added (not in kit). ‘Taurus Models’ starter magneto safety switch added (not in the kit). Tachometer ‘scratch’ replaced (kit part too large). Engine half compression lever and control rod added (not in the kit). Fuel contents pipe to gauge added – ‘PlusModels’ lead wire. Oil pressure pipe to gauge added – ‘PlusModels’ lead wire. Micro-tube used for control rods (Half compression control, Spark advance control, Fuel mixture control). Cockpit window ports created using clear acetate sheet and in-filled with ‘Krystal Clear’. Rudder control cables added (0.4 mm Nickel-Silver tube and 0.12 mm mono-filament). Hole drilled through right side of fuselage (at engine forward right support strut location) – for cockpit controls to engine. Control column machine gun triggers replaced with micro-tube (kit photo-etch unrealistic). Machine gun trigger cables added (‘PlusModels’ lead wire). Other than that, the cockpit was built straight out of the box!! I forgot to take completion shots of the cockpits internals before closing it up. However, there is the one shot on the cockpit floor assembly finished. In the following photographs, the two ‘white discs’ are the cockpit window ports – the ‘Krystal Clear’ was still setting when I took the photographs, Mike

Hi all, The cockpit has been modified to correct and add components not supplied in the kit. Corrected: Positioning of both machine guns (rearwards into the cockpit and closer to the cockpit side walls). Replacement instrument panel support bar (kit part too short). Control rod for Mixture control and Spark advance levers replaced (too weak). Tachometer replaced (kit part too large). Added: Fuel panel switches (0.3 mm tube). Mixture control and Spark advance control rods (x2) (0.4 mm tube).. Starter magneto ('Taurus Models'). Starter magneto safety switch ('Taurus Models'). Replacement Tachometer (from sprue). Half compression operating lever and control rod (spare photo-etch and 0.4 mm tube). Cockpit front edge padding ('ANYZ' 0.5 mm braided line). After painting I will add: The fuel contents and oil pressure pipes to the instrument panel. Wiring for the starter magneto and safety switch. Tachometer drive shaft. Instrument decals (not supplied in the kit). Transparencies for the two 'windows'. Flight control cables. The shots below show the primed cockpit components dry fitted (except control column). Mike

Hi all, I've gone as far as I can modifying the resin kit engine to better resemble the actual 'Isotta Fraschini V4B’ engine. The shots below show it primed and dry fitted, including replacement exhaust pipes made from 1.4 mm diameter tube. It's the longest engine modification I've undertaken thus far, but hopefully it'll be worth it. So now, it's time to move onto modifying the cockpit area !! Mike

Hi all, Two pipes were connected to the underside of the coolant return pipe, located at the top of the engine. The two pipes were routed across to the other side of the engine, between the end and centre cylinder banks. The purpose for these two pipes is not clear or to where on the engine they were eventually connected. As the pipes were connected to the coolant return pipe, it would seem hot coolant from the engine was carried in the pipes. My only assumption is that these pipes supplied hot coolant to the housings of the two carburettors, thereby ’pre-heating’ both of the carburettors. This would have helped preventing icing up, which may have been more of a problem for seaplanes more than land based aircraft. The pipes were made from 0.8 mm and 0.5 mm diameter tube. Mike

Hi Hubert, If you look closely you can see some are at angles, although what the actual firing order of the cylinders was I have no idea. I made some push rods slightly higher/lower than the adjacent push rods to 'represent' the pivoting valve operating levers and their valves at different positions (open/closed). As I have no information this was done with some 'poetic license', Mike.

Hi all, I've added the external oil pipes at the propeller end of the engine. These made from 0.7 mm and 0.4 mm brass tube, Mike

Hi all, Just a quick update for the engine modifications. The valve operating gear is now done - made from 0.2 mm and 0.5 mm thick plastic card.. The shots below show the dry fit of: Carburettor and induction manifolds Ignition lead support tubes Coolant supply and return pipes. All that's left now are a couple of external oil pipes and it should be ready to start painting and building the engine. Other items such as ignition leads, engine placard plates etc can't be added until the engine build is completed, Mike

Hi all, I've been working the last few days on ways to better represent the valve operating gear for this engine, as the kit supplied photo-etch is not very realistic. After trying converted photo-etch, card and other methods, I decided to go with this. This is not meant to accurately 'reproduce' the engines valve gear, but more to 'represent' it as the kit engine does not lend itself easily to this modification. The operating levers are made as two separate levers from 0.5 mm thick plastic card. The levers are shaped then joined at the centre and secured to their individual operating shafts. The bottom of the push rods were marked on the engine then drilled with a 0.6 mm diameter drill. Nickel-Silver rod of 0.4 mm diameter was cut and secured in each drilled hole and against the end of the levers. Finally a 0.51 mm hexagonal nut (from 'RB Motions' was added to the top of each rod. Once all of the push rods are done I need to add the pivot lever between each pair of rods. Mike

Hi all, Twelve spark plugs with ignition leads. Made from 0.5 mm diameter tube with 0.28 mm diameter copper wire (annealed) leads. Fitted into 0.6 mm diameter holes drilled into both sides of each cylinder bank. Now it's onto the really tricky valve operating gear, Mike

Hi all, A few more updates for the carburettors and induction manifolds. Hollowed out the air intakes at the bottom of the carburettors. The induction manifolds cut/joins have been filled. Added the carburettor barrels (made from a tooth pick). Added 0.5 mm diameter plastic rod into the induction manifolds and carburettor barrels to represent the interconnecting fuel supply pipe and auxiliary pipe. Added control lever for the throttle butterfly valves in the induction manifolds (control rods to added later). Added three nuts to each intake manifold header pipe. Obviously it all needs cleaning up and priming, but for now I'll move onto creating the 12 spark plugs, Mike

Hi all, On the side of the engine crank case and between the two carburettors is a blanking plate. I believe this plate was fitted to seal what was previously the oil filler pipe for the engine sump, but not used on this version of the engine. To represent this blanking plate, I cut a disc of approximately 2.5 mm diameter from 0.2 mm thick plastic card and secure it in position on the sump using thin CA adhesive. Two oil filler pipes were used to replenish oil in the engine sump and were located on the engine crank case on the opposite side from the carburettors. Each was fitted with a cap. Two 2.5 mm diameter discs were cut from 0.2 mm plastic card and secured on the sump. The centre of each disc and into the sump were gradually drilled up to 1.3 mm diameter. To represent these filler pipes, 0.8 mm diameter rod was slide into 1.2 mm tube. The tubes were annealed then bent to the required angle. One end was roll cut to remove the outer tube leaving rod exposed. The other end was cut completely through. 2.0 mm plastic rod was cut to to create two 5 mm lengths and a 0.9 mm diameter hole drilled through the centre of each. These were attached on the exposed 0.8 mm rods and secured with CA adhesive. The top of the 'caps' were then filed down to a height of 1.5 mm and sanded around the top edge.. Lastly the two 'filler pipes' were secured in the crank case holes with CA adhesive, Mike

Hi all, I thought I'd explain why I'm attempting to detail the engine as much as I am. Normally if the engine is partly or totally covered by airframe or engine panels, there would be less reason to detail the engine as much. However the Macchi M.5, even with the engine under tray and side panels fitted, was mostly visible. The particular aircraft I'm attempting to model is 'FRANGAR NON FLECTAR’, Serial No.7288 as flown by Tenente DV Alberto Bartolozzo, Officer Commanding No.260a Squadriglla, operating from Venice during 1918. That particular aircraft did not have the engine side panels fitted and so the entire engine was fully exposed. The engine is a primary focal point for anyone looking at the model. Therefore I felt that it was important to rectify the apparent omissions and errors with the kit supplied engine. Mike

Hi all, The kit supplied engine carburettors and their intake manifolds are not correct for this engine and need to be drastically modified to make them represent the actual engine. The photographs below is one of several that show what the fuel supply components on the engine actually looked like, which is not how the kit engine parts are made. Basically: The two carburettors need to be separated. The two carburettors need air intake openings. The two inlet manifold pipes need to be modified. The vertical drop pipes were cut away from the three ported header pipes. The three ported header pipes were cut and extended using a 0.5 mm diameter pin, so that the three ports aligned correctly with the cylinder heads. The vertical drop pipes were shortened and had a 0.5 mm diameter pin inserted in the tops, which were inserted into a hole drilled in the underside of the extended three ported header pipes. This was done to correctly align the drop pipes to between the cylinder banks. The joined kit carburettors were separated and each attached to the bottom of the drop pipes with 0.5 mm pin. Finally the 90 degree bend that was cut away from the drop pipes were used to create the air intakes under the carburettors. There's a way to go on each of the two assemblies, such as filling and sanding and the addition of the interconnected fuel supply pipes and throttle controls etc. Those components will have to be scratched, Mike

Bostik 'Blu tac' is good for general use and for masking areas such as open holes, around cockpit rims (with 'Klingfilm' pressed into it to cover the opening). However it has an oily component, which I think helps release it from the surface. If left in position for too long it can leave a mark, which can affect the applied paint if not cleaned off. I use 'Uhu' white tac, which has the same properties but has no oily residue, Mike

Hi all, I believe the cooling system operates as follows: A coolant pipe is attached to one side of the engine. The pipe connects each of the three cylinder banks. Coolant is drawn through a pipe from the bottom of the radiator by the pump. The pump then supplies coolant through the engine pipe into the cylinder cooling jackets. The coolant passes up inside the cooling jackets and out through cylinder connectors to a return pipe on the opposite, top side of the engine. From there the coolant flows back to the radiator to be cooled. I created the pump to cylinder feed pipe using 0.9 mm tube with 1.1 mm diameter collars. The flexible pipe to the pump is 0.8 mm diameter lead wire. The larger return pipe is 1.4 mm diameter tube with six 0.8 mm holes drilled into one side to align with the six 90 degree pipe connectors, made from annealed and bent 0.8 mm tube. Holes of 0.8 mm diameter were drilled vertically down into the engine lugs at one side of the valves on that side of the engine. The connectors were then located into the engine and return pipe, Mike

Hi all, On each side of the engine are flat section tubes that are attached at the bottom of the cylinder heads. These tubes retain and support the six ignition leads on each side of the engine. The kit supplies photo-etch parts which need to be bent to represent the two support tubes. However, when created, these photo-etch tubes are much larger than shown in the photographs. Also, once bent over, they create a flat, double thick 'plate' rather than a flat section tube. Therefore I decided to create the two support tubes using micro-tube. Two brass tubes of 1.6 mm diameter, annealed to soften them then semi-flattened in smooth jaw vice. The ends were filed to a 60 degree angle then two holes of 0.5 mm diameter drilled into the inboard sides. Brass pins of 0.5 mm diameter were secured in these holes and corresponding location holes drilled into the base of the cylinder banks. Mike

Hi all, The engine was fitted with a water pump for the cooling system. On the actual engine the pump was located forward (radiator end) of the engine, below the magnetos and engine sump/crank case joint. I wanted to represent the water pump and its pipe work, but due to space restrictions, I had to locate it higher on the engine than was actually the case. The kit engine has a pronounced 'step' in the engine sump at the end facing the radiator (forward end). This 'step' is intended to fit under the installed radiator. I've cut away this 'step' and fitted two propeller shaft housings from my spares box to recreate the previously rounded end of the sump. To one side I've added a modified water pump, again from my spares box. Still more to do - plugs and wiring, ignition lead support tubes, oil filler pipes and what pipe work and controls I can fit. The whole assembly still needs cleaning up and painting of course. Mike

Hi all, Work continues on modifying the kit engine to represent what the engine actually looked like. I've now added a 'camshaft' below the 3 vale lever shafts from 1.8 mm diameter tube. Also added a pair of 'Taurus' magnetos and a drive shaft (from the spares box). Finally the drive at the rear end of the engine (1.0 mm tube and drive head modified from spares). It's all a bit rough at the moment and I still need to add water pump and if possible and oil pump, plus their associated pipes (where possible). Also the ignition lead support tube etc. Mike

Hi all, The radiator assembly done. This needs to be done now and added into the radiator housing and engine bottom fairing. Then I can start to work on the missing components at the forward end of the engine, such as magnetos, pipes etc, Mike

Thank you Sir D.G - I'm sure others, like me, really appreciate your comments. Hi all, The valve operation on the 'Isotta Fraschini' V4B engine is strange by comparison to other in-line engines of the period. Normally the inlet and exhaust valves on each cylinder would be operated from a single overhead 'camshaft'. However photographs and drawing for this engine show three separate shafts, each operating the valves for its cylinder bank. I can only assume the drive for the three shafts is located below them in the lower half of the overall housing, which is not represented on the kit part. The kit part, including the inlet manifolds seems to have been modelled more on that fitted, for example, on the Daimler-Mercedes in-line engines. I've modified the overhead operating shaft by cutting it into the three sections, removing the kit shaft and replacing it with 1.8 mm diameter tubing. This required some re-profiling of the operating shaft mountings at each end of the engine (radiator and propeller shaft ends), including 2 mm extension to fit to the end vertical drives. The tubes still need to be blocked at each end as the shafts were solid, not tubular. This has also shown up several other areas of the engine that require attention (so far): Both inlet manifolds and the two carburettors are incorrectly moulded - the manifolds too long and wrong shape - the carburettors are joined, but in fact were separately located. No spark plugs location. No water pump supplied in the kit. Mike

Hi all, Many thanks for your kind comments, Mike

Hi all, Many thanks for your kind comments, Mike