I recently started building airplanes, few of them biplanes. On this one, a PO-2 by ICM in 1:48 I have run into a bit of a problem. All four stets of struts are angled, relative to the lower wing, towards outside. How do I instale them and get the correct angle? The only thing I can think of is to glue them to the top wing, let the glue dry for a minute or two and then fiddle with them untill I get the correct position.
Any other better suggestions?
Many thanks…
There are commercial jigs ,or racks if you will, for the proper installation of bi-wings that you can buy or make yourself. If you peruse You Tube videos the info can be found there.
I am not a bi-plane fan and have built only 1 myself so the cost of a jig was nonsequiter. I simply aligned the top wing and super glued it while holding all in the near proper configuration. Hope this helps but I’m sure the bi-plane experts have better ways.
You can make those jigs yourself out of either card stock or styrene. Just takes a little drafting skill to lay out correct angles. Sure do like the way Revell did it on the Stearman, and Accurate Miniatures used to do it on their biplanes. The cabane struts were molded onto the fuselage. Once you have the wing mounted to the cabane (centermost) struts the rest is easy. Just to make sure, it is also a good idea to make some templates for where the outer (interplane) struts go, to ensure that the gaps are even while the glue (suggest slow drying CA) sets.
UMM has some on this page, I don’t have one so I can’t give a review but I’d like one myself. You will have to copy and paste the link: http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/index.php?cPath=21_162
Here’s how I did a Roden Gladiator. You just need lots of popsicle sticks!
Thanks for the suggestions gentlemen.
Jeaton01, love the idea with popsicle sticks. Now I have a great excuse to buy them and eat 'em all [:)]
They are actually craft sticks from Michaels. Don’t want to make a biker guy gain weight!
Great idea with the crat sticks jig there Jeaton, I’ll file that one and ty for posting
I’ve got a drawer-full of those suckers…that I use as paint-stirrers and diorama construction materials, and a dozen other uses…but that’s a use that never occurred to me! Well-done, that man!
As to the biplane wings, I always start with the cabane struts. Measure the spacing where they meet the top wing, and set them in the fuselage good and sturdy and even according to the old Mk. VIII Eyeball (and the ever-handy ruler)…then pop the wing on, and add the outboard struts with whatever adjustments are necessary. Keeps everything ‘squared’ and even, (nearly) every time…
This thread has got me to thinking. Maybe I need to try a biplane like an F4B or an F3F. Something pre-war and colorful.
Give in to the power…Come over to the dark side.[6]
If you can find them, Accurate Miniatures are great kits. And cabane struts are molded in. I know they offered at least two golden age biplanes, forget which ones. I think one was a Grumman, the othe a Curtiss.
LOL, when people ask me about why do I bike and run and swim I like to tell them the usual BS about health etc. The reality is…drums rolling…guilt free eating [:)][pi][D][B][::DD0][^][t$t]…see the pattern here?
Just do the best you can. The 10 digit tool has to be trusted.
This one made me drink beer to excess, I suppose. But it came out well. Bird chopper.
This one took about a year, but if you go slowly and carefully, using the tricks you have, it comes out OK.
So it’s like spoking a wheel. Don’t expect to be good at it right away, but these are cheap plastic toys, right?
Eyeball as you go.
GMorrison, those are fantastic builds, especially the second one. Now I just may go crazy[:)] and try it.
Well here it is, I think it turned out reasonably well, I think the agles of the struts turned out well.
The wings look pretty good but the landing gear may be off, wing low on the pilot’s left. Or is it just the picture.
Unfortunatelly, it is not the picture, the plane is really low to the left. I either installed the landing gears a bit off or they moved slightly while the glue was drying.
Perhaps if you saw halfway through all the struts at the ends you can align the airpane and reglue. The geometry suggests that it needs some rigging to stiffen it some, those are difficult angles.