Here is my latest model building exercise. The Wright Brothers 1903 Flyer. Learned a lot from this build: Patience, the importance of letting the glue dry, what constitutes good enough, magnified view vs. normal vision view, more research is not always a good thing. Oh yea, and did I mention patience?
Two things I found helpful in this build were the Smithsonian website and one of those gadgets that are used to thread needles was invaluable when threading all the cables.
FWIW, I would be glad to answer any questions that come up. As someone who has not built models for the last 50 years, I have my fair share of questions, and asking questions and reading other’s answered questions are invaluable to learning more about has changed in the last 50 years.
For the wood, I looked online first, then came up with what I figured would work-a bit of this post and a bit of that post. What I ended up doing was “slopping” on brown Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color, not making any kind of effort to make it consistent in color. I figured that wood is inconsistent so dark areas and light areas would be pretty normal. I then airbrushed Tamiya clear orange over all the “wood” parts, hoping that would give a sort of shellac look to them
Beyond admiring the accuracy and fine work you have put in this early “flyer” I must think back to the guts and passion such men had to risk their lives in such a way as to become true pioneers of flight.
And indeed it was risky, especially with such whimsical materials such as wood and sail materials as canopies on wings all pulled by simple wire and ropes.
I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to try one of those things. Who knows where I would have landed… or crashed into a tree.
Anyway, an impressive clean build.
Thanks for the compliment. What really amazes me is the first time we flew was in 1903. 66 years later we landed on the moon! And considering the lack of computing power that the Apollo missions had, as you said “I must think back to the guts and passion such men had to risk their lives in such a way as to become true pioneers of flight.”
I first tried to build this one when I was a kid. It was an utter failure. No patience. And I never would have done the rigging even if I’d allowed all those struts to set before trying to attach the upper wing.
I did finally build it about 5 years ago. Glad I did considering its historical significance.
Nicely done. I assume this was the context for the “temporary adhesive” thread. Now I understand! This is on my list to do. Your execution is very good. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, this IS why I asked about the temporary adhesive. It was helpful, as I took some items off the sprue to paint them/work on them (getting flash off, fitting them, etc), and wasn’t sure if they were going to get back to the correct spot and fit well. Especially since I lost a couple of small parts and broke one trying to get it to fit and had to fabricate them from some styrene rod that I had. I think if you are “ages 10 and up” as the box says and you didn’t paint the parts or didn’t paint them until after assembly, it would go together more smoothly. Stringing the thread for the rigging was challenging (the instructions pointed out a couple times to be patient and take your time with it). Using one of those needle threading tools from my wife’s sewing box worked really well getting the included thread through the holes required. Not sure why
Interesting mixture of paint, Panel Line Accent and the Clear Orange. I took a note on that, because in a future build I will need to paint wooden bridge floors and some wooden items, although I would hold on the Clear Orange.
But I usually mess the wooden part up with various washes, depending on various weather conditions impacting them and of course also some fuel sooth and other elements that might mist them such as sand, dust and indeed constant handling or driving/walking on them.
Well, you really seem the rigging expert of them all since what I see has perfectly turned out, but I also can imagine how much patience and how much dedication you must have put into it all.
A good job is seldom done in a hurry and simply requires to take a deep breath and go with it as long as it takes.
It can seem tedious, but the end result speaks by itself and this is what really counts: the finished and completed product being a marvel to your own eyes and those of others.
I don’t think the panel line accent would have worked OK if the base plastic wasn’t already a tan color. If it wasn’t already tan I would have painted a light “wood” color of some type, then did the panel line accent.
This is a truly remarkable build. Every detail is just right. The rigging is wonderful. I’ve been using those needle threaders for years and they are a godsend for tired eyes. You should be very proud of this build!
