1/32 Albatros W.4 (late) Floaty Conversion

[Mickc1440]

Definitely joining the rabble for this one Allen, good luck

[yak face]

Sorry I’m late sir but ive got a note from my mum . I’ll be watching closely allen , looks like another epic build in store for us hungry rabble !

[papa 695]

A very nice start.

[Tim Marlow]

Interesting…..got to love a floatplane……such a weird idea when you really think about it. Great start, full of your usual meticulous research and planning.

[Guest]

a floatplane……such a weird idea when you really think about it.

How so? IMHO it makes perfect sense: there is water all over the place in many parts of the world, and it will automatically be (mostly) flat, whereas finding a long enough stretch of flat enough ground to land on/take off from can be much harder.

[Allen Dewire]

Evening from the The Mole,

Looking forward to the lozenge camo!
Pete

Oh, thanks Pete......I feel the love!!! The truth is, I'll have to cut and measure it all out from a A4 size decal sheet...

Watching attentively Herr Schlactermeister (excuse mis-spelling!)
Steve

No probs Steve!!! Call me anything you like, but not late for dinner. Oh, and I think it's Schlachtmeister...

I've stopped pulling up chairs, I've upgraded to the magic carpet Mk7 due to having to fly between builds. You guys create some amazing masterpieces!!!

Damn Doug, I think I need to get me one of those too!!! Don't know much about masterpieces, But I do know I can't keep up with all the great builds on here either...

Yo Dude!.....are there any seats left? I'm in for this "floaty boaty wingy thingy"! Sounds like a clear cut case of "I can't make up my mind".......oops! So, are the wheeled assemblies under the floats in the pic. a permanent part of the bird or is this a shot of the bird on dollies to move it around on land? Not seen one before.......very interesssssssting.

Always a place for you Buddy, and welcome on The Mole!!! The wheel carts were used to move the wing thingy's around after they were taken out of the water. They also used railcars and little flatbed trolleys too. The Mole had RR tracks to move the planes out of the hangers, to the cranes, so they could be put in the water to take off. I'll post up some pics as I go along...

Definitely joining the rabble for this one Allen, good luck

Thanks Mick! I'm gonna need lotsa luck on this one and enjoy your stay, here on The Mole...

Sorry I’m late sir but ive got a note from my mum . I’ll be watching closely allen , looks like another epic build in store for us hungry rabble !

No need for the note Tony, as I haven't gotten very far anyway. Welcome to The Mole and don't get too near the edge, you could fall into sea. Can't say epic, but don't any of you rabble get fed at home???.....Just wondering...

A very nice start.

Thank you Ian! I think the start is always good and then it heads straight into the loo after that...

Interesting…..got to love a floatplane……such a weird idea when you really think about it. Great start, full of your usual meticulous research and planning.

Thanks Tim! You're right about float planes when you think about them. Especially right after the dawn of aviation itself. It must have taken some really good training and a big pair of cahoonas to do it back then and not wipe out in the water. I would think, the slightest irregular wave, wind or similar, could have forced one or both floats under water...Not to mention the float wood coming undone if you hit the water too hard when landing too...

How so? IMHO it makes perfect sense: there is water all over the place in many parts of the world, and it will automatically be (mostly) flat, whereas finding a long enough stretch of flat enough ground to land on/take off from can be much harder.

Very true Jakko, but think about the time frame and the technology long ago. Powered flight was a new thing and then came the Great War. Half the pilots couldn't land on grass fields without problems, let alone, having them try to land (and takeoff) on water...Trying to land at Zeebrugge, in an Albatros W.4, would scare me to death, still!!!...

Before I got serious in the construction, I thought it would be a good idea to to take a group pic of all the distinguished rabble guests who have gathered to watch this build happen,


Now seriously guys!!!!!!! This is a model building exercise, not a damn Saturday night pajama party..........I mean, whatchu all got in them pipes??? Some of the Boss' greenhouse stuff??? Why is Cohan glued on your helmet Mr. Smiff??? And who's that playing pocket pool in front??? You all know who you are.............Damn kids today!!!.....................No respect......................

Now, back at the build....I mentioned the poor ribbing on the wings and did a quick think about a way to improve them. Some firms make decals to simulate them, but you know my luck with those. I got hungry and decided to make some Spaghetti,


Ribbing made from 0.13mm Evergreen sheet plastic. They're 1mm wide and 30cm long and I should have enough to do the job, including brain farts. I also did some more thinking about a good way to make the wings longer. The conclusion was to scratch a middle section 8cm's wider from sheet. To this, I could scratch the airflow radiator, correct the shape of the pilot cut-out and then glue the wings onto it. The hack job,


The underside,


The center piece is 5.2cms and has to be 8cms. The pilot cut-out is too round and wide. It needs to be more a V shape and narrower. I will be using pieces from it as forms for the 0.13 sheet coating and wing form/shape. The bottom wing has a new set of probs and is a bit more difficult to lengthen,

I can't make a new middle section like the top wing. There are details, mounting nubs and the curvature of the fuselage too. I will make 2 cuts on the rib next to the details (1cm from the inside edges) and add 2 extensions 1.6cm each. Looking above, the extension will give me the correct wing length and line the strut mounting points up evenly. Sorry if I haven't described what I'm doing correctly. you will see it as I progress to clear up any questions. The easy thing was correcting the upper wing flappies,


Once I have the lower wing in pieces, I can cut the flappies out and add the hinges and such. So far, so good...

Tomorrow is a holiday here, so I can play some more at the table...Oh wait, I'm retired!!! Thanks for looking in and please dress a little better for the next installment!!!.. All C, C & abuse welcome and have a great night!!!

Prost
Allen

[outrunner]

Nice bit of modification going on there.

Andy.

[Neil Merryweather]

Ooh you really are hitting the ground ground running Mr D!

[Tim Marlow]

Going well so far Allen. It’s nice to see the Bamberg annual Popeye lookalike competition is in full swing as well……I assume you are the matinee idol front and centre?

[Andy T]

Straight into the mods and chopping, love it!

[Scratchbuilder]

Youngerthanme,
Sitting on the Mole ready for your entrance into the dark arts - look into my eyes grassnibbler :flushed:......
Can I get my Fokker out and play with it?
Olderthanyou....

[Guest]

Half the pilots couldn't land on grass fields without problems, let alone, having them try to land (and takeoff) on water...Trying to land at Zeebrugge, in an Albatros W.4, would scare me to death, still!!!...

When the sea is calm that should be OK, I suppose. I wouldn’t want to try it for much of the autumn, though … On a clear day, you can see Zeebrugge from the beach in the village where I live. It can get pretty stormy around here

[The Smythe Meister]

Going well so far Allen. It’s nice to see the Bamberg annual Popeye lookalike competition is in full swing as well……I assume you are the matinee idol front and centre?

Ha,yeah,good spot!!...
.... If ever there was a subject for one of Mini Art's figure sets, with a pair of "Dodgy poses" in it, it's GOTTA be those two on the far right!!

[scottie3158]

Bring it on Mr. D. your off to a great start.

[Allen Dewire]

Back for the attack folks, but first a few things to clear up.......

Nice bit of modification going on there.

Andy.

Thanks for dropping in Andy! The fun is just beginning...

Ooh you really are hitting the ground ground running Mr D!

Yes Sir!!! You got to be running real fast when you trip and fall flat on the fressa' in a build Neil...

Going well so far Allen. It’s nice to see the Bamberg annual Popeye lookalike competition is in full swing as well……I assume you are the matinee idol front and centre?

Sorry to dis-hearten you Tim, but I took the pic and therefore, not in it. This build is happening at Zeebrugge and not here at home. We, in Bamberg would't allow this lot in the city. We do have rules you know!!!...

Straight into the mods and chopping, love it!

Thanks Andy! And it's gonna get worse before it gets better Sir...

Youngerthanme,
Sitting on the Mole ready for your entrance into the dark arts - look into my eyes grassnibbler :flushed:......
Can I get my Fokker out and play with it?
Olderthanyou....

I'm there Olderthanme!!! Oh, and you can play with your Fokker any time you like, Mike...Just don't make a mess on the floor!!!...

When the sea is calm that should be OK, I suppose. I wouldn’t want to try it for much of the autumn, though … On a clear day, you can see Zeebrugge from the beach in the village where I live. It can get pretty stormy around here :smiling3:

That's really cool Jakko! About how far away is Zeebrugge from where you live???...

Ha,yeah,good spot!!...
.... If ever there was a subject for one of Mini Art's figure sets, with a pair of "Dodgy poses" in it, it's GOTTA be those two on the far right!!

You might be right Mr. Smiff, but they would have to make them in 1/32 and not 1/35...Now Andy, you still haven't told us why Cohan is glued on top of your helmet...We wanna know!!!...

Bring it on Mr. D. your off to a great start.

Thanks Bro! I can only hope it gets better, before I crash and burn...

Work continues with a lot of head scratching, brain cramps and use of the DMMMF and the GGFGS items to make progress. I broke out some 0.25mm sheet and some 0.13mm sheet to have a go at making the extension for the top wing. I also studied an original plan from Albatros to see how the wings were made,


Yea, I studied this for about 30 seconds and said 'forget it' as I didn't even know what the hell I was looking at with all the #'s and angle-of-the-dangle nonsense!!! On to Plan B.......
Starting with the thicker 0.25 sheet, steel ruler and a lead pencil, we did this,


Thank god for erasers!!! When it looked about right, I hit it with my hobby knife,


Then a match-up with the original piece,


The pit opening looked better and more to the correct shape. The rad opening looked pretty good too. Now to make sure I hadn't screwed this up, I did an overall check to see if the top wingspan had the correct length (using the DMMMF),


Yippee!!! The span is 29.7cm and that is what it's supposed to be in 1/32. Then I grabbed the 0.13 sheet and traced this piece onto it. I left a bit of overhang for the curvature of the wing design and the rad,


After more scratchin' my melon and other private parts, I had to find a way to make the curves. This is where the cut out section came into play. With my trusty razor saw in hand, I went at it and made these 3 from the 4 cuts I did. 2 in the middle and 1 on each side,


They still need some clean up and some sanding down to reduce their thickness. I have to rekon with the sheet thickness to be added on them. The glued 1mm rod is a spacer for the curving of the top sheet to the bottom sheet. There will be more inner support added and the ends will be drilled for brass tubing to connect them to the wings for strength. Here's the idea,


With careful gluing and patience, it should work out. I have rolled the sheet some to form it like the wing was made. I'm pretty happy with this progress and only hope I don't muck it up!!!...Now either I am the luckiest SOB on the planet, or just the dumbest, I couldn't believe what was left from my sawing escapades earlier. I didn't measure anything and just sawed the them by eye. The two leftovers turned out to be just what I needed for the bottom wing extensions. One is exactly 1.6mm wide which was required, and the other is 1.7mm wide,


This is where they will be added to the wing. I just need to remove the 1mm from the one on the right. I have to finish the top wing first, before I start on the bottom wing. A great day indeed and it was definitely time for a cold one, or more!!!.........

* Dr. Merryweather Magical Math Formula
* Gus Go Fast Guesstimation System

Thanks again for looking in and have a great weekend folks...

Prost
Allen