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Playing in the Sandbox Group Build Sept 1, 2024 - Jn 1, 2025

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It’s been awhile since I really had my model mojo” going. Along the way, with various fits and starts with various ongoing projects, a few new truths began to emerge:  Standard WW2 fighter builds bore me to death.  Tamiya plastic bores me to death.  I discovered I love building wood model ships in 1/64 scale. I love resin the best.  Unique subjects never done before in man scale interest me even more.

Then with Joy’s Dad passing, our getting the 56 Meteor up and running again, and then dealing with all our issues, the bench seemed to fade far away.

My last real Passion Build was the RCAF Lanc conversion, which, let’s face it, was really a group effort.  So I also figured out that I have a soft spot for civilian, or quasi civilian aircraft. Preferably in Canadian Service.

One of my dream builds has been the Fokker Super Universal. It, along with the Fairchild 71C, and the Junkers W34, proved the viability of modern life in the Canadian North. All three aircraft had the same formula: single engine, float and ski capable, taildragger monoplanes with Pratt and Whitney radial power.  Of these, the Fokker was by far the most numerous, proving to be a roaring success, which wasn’t surprising, being that it was designed specifically for the harsh realities of the Canadian north.  

So let’s see what we can do with the big Super. 

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4 hours ago, Wingco57 said:

On wooden wings?;)

I’m not sure if that was delamination, water damage, or a trick of the light, but it sure looks strange. 

I don’t think I’ll replicate that as it’s only in one or two pics.

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What I need are some really, really good pics of the cabin interior and the cockpit, controls, pilot seat, etc.

there a few pics of the restored aircraft’s panel, and one or two pics of the factory promo pic of the cabin, and a vintage panel pic.

pretty much nothing else at all.

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Yep. I have the panel pic, and most of the Fokker and Fleet of Canada pics are on the Finch and the bigger trim motor airliners. The Super Universal seems a bit tough to find, because of its uniquely Canadian and Alaskan history, far away from the limelight.

Also, in case people didn’t know, Japan produced its own unauthorized version of the Super Universal as well, and they served all through WW2.

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If you don’t appreciate working with resin, you won’t appreciate this stuff either.

The plastic here acts quite similarly to resin. It can warp while curing, but unlike resin, it can peel away when sanding.  This is NOT a solid block, instead it’s a built up piece of various latticeworks. Sanding too far can allow for holes and cracks to appear.   I needed to reduce the tailcone size, so some excessive work was needed, followed by a liberal application of Milliput.

It’s importrant we achieve exactly the right crossection, so some minor changes were needed. But, as they say, we have first blood, so onward and upward. 

Notice the slight angle change of the top of the fuselage right aft the wing?  That was something Mike and I both missed, so I cut down the top of the fuselage and will sand the wing turtleneck on an angle to intersect.    Previously, we had it as a solid continuous line fro trailing edge to tailplane.

oops.

 

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2 hours ago, Martinnfb said:

like this?

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So am I to assume that the channel to the left of the hand pump is the stick?  I have no clue if I’m dealing with a wheel, a yoke, or a stick....

And if it’s a stick, it sure seems like it’s set up for single pilot operation, with a pilot sitting dead center. 

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46 minutes ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Ernie, you're off to a great start. Thanks for the info on how the printed materials react. That's something I haven't tried yet. 

 

Carl

Carl,

From what I understand, a 3D printer shoots a very small line of liquid plastic onto a bed, and builds it up, pass after pass, until the end product is achieved. As a result, 3D prints have a “grain”.  Material is added, not removed, so the interior is often hollow. As a result, you can “break through”, as I did, but the magic of Milliput saves my day again.

Also, that is what accounts for the ‘grain’ on the surface of the parts, which needs to be treated like a pebbly surface on a bad low pressure injection kit and needs to be knocked back and the surface scribed with prototypical surface details such as panel lines, inspection panels, gun service bays, etc.

In it’s hobby form, using less than NASA grade printers, it’s not a perfect art. Yet.   But in a few years, watch out!  In the meantime, it’ll give you good forms to base a project on.  Consider it an already cut out vacuform kit.  You need to open it up, prep and detail the surfaces, then scratchbuild all the details such as cockpit, engines, gear bays, landing gear, etc, etc, etc.  plus, you’re on your own for clear parts. The Fokker has all flat clear parts, so it’ll be a nice, fairly basic project.

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PHere’s most all the interior pics I’ve found so far. Along with Martin’s panel pic. The cabin pic is a Fokker factory pic, and you can see that Fokker and Noorduyn went to town making the cabins look like Pullman berths.

I expect these Canadian workhorses soon lost the fancy broadcloth interiors in favor of plywood floors and interior walls, and hard leather benches.

 

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