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Kit: Scratch (1:48)
These show my progress on the wheels and undercarriage. The wheel spokes come from Toms Modelworks French set. The tyres are styrene halves glued.
The undercarriage is a bit of a guess work. The skid-like member supports flying wires for the lower wing, but there is no clear photo that shows how it is attached to the main undercarriage.
Some more progress. This is the gun ring/mount. I chose to make it from brass wire. I started by first preparing the fuselage top from brass sheet. I cut two cockpit openings in it, bent it to shape and soldered it to the fuselage members.
Next I shaped a .033 brass wire into a ring, sanded it to an almost semicircular cross-section, bent it and soldered it over the gunner's cockpit opening. This is the gun-ring mount.
The next step was to prepare the top ring from .022 brass wire. Next I soldered 4 uprights (.015 wire) onto the mount base. After much fiddling and failed attempts, I got the top ring soldered onto the uprights. The remaining 4 uprights were then soldered in - this was much easier - solder the bottom end, snip the upright to size, gently push it under the top ring, and solder the top. re-melt the bottom joint to relieve the stress of the bending.
The final step was the middle ring. It is simply .006 wire wrapped around the uprights and soldered.
The whole affair was long and troublesome, and I dont think I will repeat it on the second hull. The remaining three cockpit openings will be 'lined' with plastic sheath from an electricity, or phone wire, slit down the its length, and pushed into place.
A few more photos of progress on the Khioni. The cockpit controls are soldered brass, all stock except for control wheel spokes which I cut out of a fotocut PE (sorry Fred).
Kit: Eduard (1:48)
This is the Eduard 1:48 kit. A full article on the build was published in the Nov 2003 issue (Vol 19-6) of Windsock International.
I replaced some parts, notably the fuselage, wing, wheels, empennage, prop... Interior details are based on photo in the Datafile.
Markings are Russian Civil war, Soviet army, ex-IRAS. Decals are custom-mode by Bob Pearson. It was supposedly personal aircraft of I K Spaterel.
Carbine is a Mosin-Nagant (the original photo featured a Berthier). Ken Schmitt painted and finished it for me. My thanks to him and the many list members for their help and advice.
Kit: Aeroclub (1:48)
This is the Aeroclub 1:48 kit.
A full article of this build is due to appear in the Nov. 2004 issue of Windsock International.
I replaced most of the white-metal parts and most of the nose area. Wheels are 48-spoke asymmetric, and are scratch-built with monofilament. Guns are from PART P/E. Weathering is done mainly with dry weathering powders.
Markings are from the book 'Red Star 3' by Geust and Petrov. They represent a White Guard aviation unit with Wrangel's Volunteer army during the Russian Civil War. These are the colours of St. George. Decals are by Bob Pearson.
My thanks to Steve Perry and August Blume for help with the markings.
A draft write-up on wheel construction is available as a zip file.
The triplane was a single prototype built by Aleksandr A Bezobrazov in Russia in 1914. The plane structure was significantly modified over its life time of 3 years, and this model probably represents a composite of its various features.
The model is scratch-built from stock material except for the propeller boss plate and the instrument bezels which are from after-market photo-etch. Primary materials are brass, styrene, and wood. Rigging is .004" and .003" monofilament.
Fuselage is brass frame covered with styrene skin. The front of the plane is covered with brass sheet . For the rest, I attempted to retain the translucence of the fabric. The wings are styrene skin on spars of steel wire. The wing and undercarriage struts are steel wire sandwiched in veneer wood.
I had a choice of an 80 HP Gnome rotary and a 60 HP Anzani Radial engine - I chose the latter because it is uncommon (and one less cylinder to assemble!). The engine cylinders fins are simulated by stacking brass and styrene discs. The propellor is carved from 4-ply veneer wood, and represents a Lange (as tentatively identified from photos). The wheels are built with brass hubs, filament spokes, and styrene ply tyres.
References : - Russian Aeroplanes 1914-1918 By Mikhail Maslov, Icarus Publications, 2002 - Article in "Tekhnika i Oruzhie" issue 1/1995, by Soviet Historian Ivnamin Sultanov