Topic: 1/3 Scale Bristol F2b Fighter

Ok guys I got my kit in and am going to start my Bristol. I will do a detailed documentation of the build to help Steve along with any changes etc as I haven't did an instruction booklet yet nor tweaked my plans. At this time I have glued together my longerons. It takes 3 sticks of 1/4 sq glued together for the bottom longeron and 2 sticks 1/4 sq glued together for the top. It is actually 2 1/2 sticks for the bottom but I will lay out my plans and double check.

I will post some pics a little later today.

Joe

    .. thread subscribed too... any pictures old bean?

      Subscribed as well.
Looking forward to the build.

Simon

Subscribed too

Is this the one I spoke with you about last year Joe, just as you sent the plans to Jamie. 

I hope so, it looked real nice


Mark.

Looking forward to this one

Jez

Me too 

yes Mark this is the one I been designing. ok guys here we go off and running. This will probably turn into a dual build once Steve gets his kit in.

Here is what comes with the kit. At the moment it is not complete as we wait on the metal parts to get finished.  Besides what you see here, the kit will come with a set of Williams Bros. wheels, Metal Fittings, Vickers and Lewis Gun Kits, Instrument panel and instruments, and a few other accessories yet to be determined and developed.  We are also looking at developing this line of kits by me as short kits with accessories and letting the builder purchase his own sticks as most people can get them at the local Lowes, Meynards, or Home Depot and choose the ones they want as most replace a few anyways.  This will cut down on the price of the kits making them more affordable for everyone.

Ok guys thats the kit parts that have arrived so far. Now onto the build.

Here I will give a detailed step by step approach to building the Bristol.



Step 1:

Lay out your Fuse drawing on your bench. Normally I like to use 3/8" or 1/2" drywall on top of my bench as it allows me to pin or nail into it easier. The other reason is that they come in 4X8 sheets which means no seams to deal with, unlike if you are using Soundproof Ceiling Tiles. I attach my plans to my building surface using Duro or 3M Spray adhesive. After that I use the spray adhesive on top of the plan sheet and glue clear plastic on top of it being sure to smooth out any wrinkles as best I can.

Here is a shot of the fuse Plans around the cockpit area to give you an idea of the plan. you can also see on the plans the metal fittings are shown in position and labelled to make it easier later as there are several similar shapes of fittings on the Bristol.

Step 2:



Next you want to set up your plans so that both sides of the fuselage will be exactly the same when you build them.

Every Person has their own preferences from pins to little blocks of wood pinned in place. I have come across what I consider the best option and highly reccomend it.

What I do is every 2" or 3" use 1" or 1 1/2" Wire Brads. I comepletely circle the outside of the fuse, and one side of all the vertical members. I then place my longerons and other framing pieces in place and nail a second set of brads in place.

The reason I prefer brads is because they wont bend like pins will. Also once in place they will not shift like pinned in wood sometimes does. Then I have 2 options after the first side has been glued down. You can either put a layer of plastic over top your first side poking the brads through it, and then build on top of the first. I occasionally do this technique.

The other option is just to slide the first side out from between the nails and slide in the parts for the second side. Due to the fact that we used brads they arent budging, thus no need to necessarily build over top the first half as your jig will stay the same for the second side.

ok thats it for now. I will post more after I get the first side all pinned down and drying.

i find myself drooling

Ir does look to be an exceptionally well drawn plan and very nice laser cutting, this is gonna be gooooood 

thanks I still have some tweaking to do on the plans as there are a few minor changes to the fuse framing but nothing that will alter anything right now. it is just 2 vertical formers that I didnt have set up scale like so I changed them. Steve already has the plans I will let him comment on them as I am biased lol I think they look like Carp lol I will eventually redo them a little bit.

One thing all my plans DONT look like is I dont put unnecessary BS on them like wood grains. that mudders them up 

I like my plans to look as clean as possible. No wood grain, little to no hidden lines etc. If you are that stupid you cant look at a former or rib and see that a stringer runs through it or whatever then you arent ready to be building at this level. that being said with them being so clean even a novice should be able to build from them as everything is easy to see and not have to sort through unnecessary BS.

Here in the next couple pics, I have started putting the sides together.  You will notice I have left dangling ends. I will cut them off later and sand the ends of both sides together so that they will be even.

Here is another view. As you can see I used the wire brads to clamp the framework together.

And the finished nose section. As I work back in the frame, I need to insert the Lewis Gun Magazine rack now so that I cant have my framework together without any gaps. So far you can only tell seams because they havent been sanded yet.

And because I like to test various glues, I wont be using the Loctite wood glue I used last time. This time I will be using the new Gorilla glue. This isnt the same Gorilla Glue we are used to. This  is Gorilla Wood Glue and doesnt foam up and expand like the other stuff does.  This is more like my Loctite or titebond glues.

i see a very nice basket weave seat on the plan,  what do you do about that?     all looks very nice, by the way

well I drew it now all I have to do is learn how to weave it or find some sucker errr person to make me one lol

but for the ppl may not want to weave one the kit comes with a solid seat kit as can be seen in the kit pics

In the area of the last vertical, there is a lot of lines due to the attachment of the variable incidence stab bracket. The last vertical upright is lined up with the forward most line. The trailing part of the fuse has a triangular peice of 1/4 ply.

Another shot of the last vertical upright.

Here we are looking at the Spare ammo Holder. I forgot to add this at the time of my kit cutting, but it is 1 3/8" wide made from 1/4" ply.

And 2 shots of the rest of the side framed up.

Keep it coming Joe, still no sign of my kit

Steve

got my juices going for another big one... mmmmmmmmmmmmm

got my juices going for another big one... mmmmmmmmmmmmm

There is a 1/3rd scale MR Camel on the BMFA for sale Stuey 

Lead Stuey not into the paths of temptation, he has enough to do, besides that I still wish I had held out for an F2b but as this is a no go area for me according to our Fuhrer I have e mailed Glen Torrance asking bout the SE5a ie price and delivery. Just looking you understand, just testing the water though I have to say if its anything like the D,VI of Mudflaps then ............Well...it cant hurt to ask can it? Ken  ;copper;

well ifn ya want to do a lot of scratch building ken I do abt have all the laytout of the Pfalz DXII drawn up or the roland is pretty drawn up both roland and pfalz would be builders drawings but the wingplans and fuse plans and parts are drawn just not anything else lol


BTW I am thinking of doing an ugly duckling but cant find any good ref for it. does anyone happen to have anything on the GB Blackburn Kangaroo? pls keep your eyes open for me I really wanna draw one up

PS wont really be any posting today as I will just be repeating yesterday making the other side

While Waiting for the fuse Sides to glue it is a good time to put together the Fuel Tank Holder. The top of this also can hold your engine throttle servo and also your battery pack and receiver.  The bar clamps I am using are very nice and they come from Jerry Nelson at Nelson Hobbies.  The fuel tank I am using in the photo is the DuBro 48 oz fuel tank.

BTW I am thinking of doing an ugly duckling but cant find any good ref for it. does anyone happen to have anything on the GB Blackburn Kangaroo? pls keep your eyes open for me I really wanna draw one up

That's going to be a big one then!   About 25' span at 1/3 scale and a twin to boot.    I have a photograph, the spec and a little bit of descriptive text but sadly no 3 view.

Alan

looks like some bloke already made one. I cam across a pic of it at euro something 2008

looks like some bloke already made one. I cam across a pic of it at euro something 2008

Here you go.  1st hit on:

Google Image Search

Best of luck with the Bristol build - watching with interest!

rgds

Mike