The Boeing is started. I'll scavenge whatever I can, but for the most part it will be completely from scratch. I have several copies of the plans printed out for the purpose of cutting them up and mounting them to the thin plastic sheet with glue-stick. Some measuring and drawing was required for the bulkheads, which are intentionally oversized so I can sand them down later.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psvxkgsxof.jpg


And then cut the parts out for assembly.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps6yc2zlus.jpg

Side Project: While I'm waiting for some detail parts I've ordered to arrive, I figured it's time for some repair work. The first two models I built for this spree almost three years ago, the Bleriot XI and the Caudron G.3, got warped from me leaving the suitcase in the car for too long one summer day. The damage to the Bleriot was minor, and repaired in a couple of hours. The Caudron, however, was a little worse.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pszfwhedir.jpg

I'm going to have to take it apart and straighten the wings, replace the struts and re-rig it. It should only take a week.

Looks like a prop blade is missing too :(

I know how you feel, Steve. Whenever I look at my models, I notice imperfections and rush them back to my modelling desk :D

I've spent the last week trying different methods of making louvres for the Boeing, with no luck. Cutting, punching, gluing plastic rod - all to no avail. I thought the quarter round rod would work, but it was just a little too thick. I had space for eleven louvres where I needed thirteen. I found some thinner rod, but it was whole round and didn't look right.

Yesterday I found a company that makes a louvre press and punch set, but I couldn't find the actual item on their website. Tomorrow I'll call them. Meanwhile I'm going to try gluing a single plastic strip and shaping it with a file. We'll see how that goes.

After spending a week too sick to even get out of bed, another week too weak to do much more than sit and look at the computer screen, and almost a third week recovering, able to work but mostly unwilling. I've finally coerced myself to start working again.

This is a picture I took Saturday, March 13th. I decided to experiment with a technique I'd only read about - creating the lines where the doped fabric sags inward by scribing the lines from the inside. The tool used is a cheap ballpoint pen, laying the plastic on a soft surface and using a small metal ruler to both guide the pen and hold the plastic still.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psob6pk5jy.jpg

It was the very next day I got sick, so I never removed the picture from the camera to my storage until today.

Today I mounted the interior lining. Most WW1-era planes just have the exposed wood framework with the fabric on the outside. The Boeing 1 was a custom-build, so I guess a few niceties were added. A photo of the interior shows what seems to be wicker panels mounted to the interior walls with latches of some sort. I was going to cut pieces off an old bedsheet, but now I can't find it. I used coarse newspaper instead, gluing it on then giving it a coat of paint and hand-painting the darker streaks to represent the wicker.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psnpwe9xg0.jpg

Last is a picture of the fuselage rib lines from the outside.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps4mir36yq.jpg

After another two-and-a-half weeks off I finally managed to find the time and energy to start again. The cockpit interior is mostly finished. I have to make the instrument panels and seat belts and assemble it, and then move on to the major assemblies.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps2icn6yka.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps3otnrirl.jpg

Only four days this time! I still have to do the instruments and seat belts, but I decided they were best left until after I assembled the fuselage.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psvziwbiaq.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psrvxzdrfe.jpg

Minimalist instrument panels.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psm9mabobl.jpg

While I'm waiting for the new seatbelts I ordered to arrive, I decided to continue with the parts away from the cockpit. The rear deck is made from plastic so thin that even the tiniest amount of plastic cement is making it sag.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...ps5jj6thkt.jpg

I can't fill it with putty, because that is made from the same stuff and might cause even more problems. Remembering making the streamlined fairings for the Voisin two years ago, I think that some hand-painted gray primer will smooth things out nicely. Or I may have to strip the deck off and do it again. We'll see.

Stabilizer. I thought of using a piece of thick plastic and sanding out the spaces between the ribs, but decided to try the 'scribing' method first. Two pieces of the super-thin plastic with the ribs scribed in, glued together to make a fairly rigid but still thin piece. Unfortunately the angle of the light sort of hides the ribs, but it seems to have worked and they should show up later.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psltcbunz4.jpg

Vertical tail finished the same way. Both tailplanes installed and first primer coat. A bit of cleanup is needed.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psx08qk07d.jpg

The scribbing with the ball point pen is working well for you. Looks good!

Seat belts arrived Friday. Just got them installed. It's not photo-etched brass, but a thick decal-like process printed on paper, called 'SuperFabric'. You peel it off with a hobby knife, hold it with tweezers and fix it in place with white glue.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pskgnn4dsv.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...psmtvw8uzz.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...pslsu8l6qu.jpg

The close up picture reveals that I still have some sanding to do.

Very nice detailed work :up:

So much detail on those belts....so small :cool: