1/16th Fokker Dr1 scratchbuild

[xken]

Welcome a board! Looks like you are off to a great start. I will help in anyway I can.

trying to copy the style of xken

It is really not my style I just did the way they were built originally; just smaller and with differnt materials. No one has a monopoly on creativity. The Dr I was my first attempt as well.

Do you have good plans to work from? I posted a link to WW I drawings check it out. Here is link:http://www.arizonamodels.com/referen...r/Dr1/Dr1.html

Keep the pictures coming. If you need anything let me know. For now the only major glitch I see is that the seat structure needs to angle in towards the center a bit and a smaller diameter tube. There is a nice drawing (top view) showing this. Thats the beauty of soldering ; it can always be changed.

For brass stock if not available near you visit www.specialshapes.com they do however have a $20 US minimum; so plan ahead.

Ken

Here are some pictures of mine at this link.
http://www.largescaleplanes.com/arti...n/Dr1/Dr1.html

[DonnyW]

Thanks for the welcome Ken,

I will confess..I was studying those pictures in your link very closely as I framed my fuselage. I am aware my “documentation” for the DR1 is very weak. I have the Windsock datafile on the DR1 and using its 3 views for measurements but it’s not very clear on interior detail like the fuel tank layout etc. Your photos are my best reference in that area

Rightly or wrongly, I’m not to concerned with absolute scale for my first attempt. Its been built out of impulse more than anything else. I’m keen to keep my momentum going in the hope I will regain my modelling enthusiasm.

This is the only other part that I have made for the model. I made it about a year ago, and its supposed to be a Le Rhone engine. It was just a simple exercise in using my small cheap and cheerful lathe. I had just bought it and was keen to try turning some metal.

The engine wasn’t planned for any specific model until I thought of starting the DR1. a couple of weekends ago. I’m not too sure any DR1’s had that type of engine?..unless from a captured aircraft? .. but hopefully… from a distance.. only a WW1 enthusiast will know the difference ..and I will get away with it.

[xken]

My email is xken@sssnet.com send me an email; I am at work right now and I will see if I can send you some better drawings to work with when I get home this evening. Ken

[whodaky]

Hey welcome Donny. I am a hot rod model builder, but love seeing the other stuff guys are doing.
Xken's work is a real inspiration to me. He also is so willing to impart his ideas and experience to us all.
Keep them images happenign Donny.
Geoff aka whodaky

[JohnReid]

Wow! nice work.I will be following this closely.

[Lancair IV]

;';;';

[hot ford coupe]

Hey Donny. Your work looks pretty fantastic to me. Glad to have you here.

[Don Garrett]

Donny,
Do you feel welcome here at SMC yet?
Do me a favor and lose the newbie thing...we have no newbies or experts. We're all just modelers more than willing to share info and skills that have been picked up over the years. ScaleMotorcars doesn't have a bunch of rules that you have to follow to belong to an elite coffee clutch....the important thing is that you have fun, if you want to duct tape a model airplane together using soda straws.....go for it and strut your stuff big guy.
Hang your hat by the door and pull up a chair, as a member you are in the same league as the guys that are old and experienced enough to fart dust.

[DonnyW]

Thanks everyone for your welcome to the forum and showing an interest in my build. A special thanks to Ken for the links and also sending me some details of the layout behind the engine area. I wasn’t sure what went where in there and thought I would have to “wing” it (sorry about that pun) I feel very welcome now Don..so I have thrown the newbie hat away :-D

I am self taught in my modelling methods and there are many ways to do things so thought I would spend a little time explaining how I work with brass. It doesn’t cost a fortune to start out and with a bit of practice, its quite easy once you know the techniques.

Here is a photo of my tools used for the fuselage.



Most important is the solder. It “glues” everything together. I use what is known in the UK as silver solder. (It is not the same solder the US call silver solder or Stay Brite. I think the US refers to it as silver brazing ?) The solder I use melts at 620degrees centigrade, too high a temperature for an electric solder iron to melt. It requires a gas mixture of Propane and Butane gas to get enough heat to melt the solder. The brass must be almost but not quite red hot for a good joint.

The reason I use this solder rather than the lower melt point ones is because it is very hard. Far harder than the brass itself. The brass that will tear rather than the joint break. Also, because the brass has to be almost red hot for the solder to melt..its very easy to keep the heat away from other joints close by. They could melt if I was using lower melt point solder.

The solder requires flux to clean the metal before it will grip. The flux is in the form of a white powder and is mixed with water. You cannot silver solder without the flux as the brass will oxidise as its heated and the solder wont stick.

To make the joint..the brass is cleaned with the needle files or fine sandpaper. The flux paste applied with a small brush. The brass is then heated with the gas torch until the flux melts and turns a “honey colour and consistency” This is the indication the work is now hot enough to touch with the solder. Too much heat and the brass will melt. Too little and the solder wont. It is a close tolerance so you have to practise, especially with very small parts, but you soon get the hang of it.

A vermiculite insulation tile is a must. It allows you to lay the work flat so you can heat it. The tile reflects the heat back onto the work and also stops you burning the table beneath it. My tile is ½” thick and I work on the dining room table without so much as a single singe.

I cut the brass tube with a xacto knife. It scored the surface and I then break the tube..rather like glass cutting. I also use a small hacksaw and pliers, various weights to hold the brass steady, and some crocodile clips to act as heat shields

This is a photo of the rudder being constructed. To “work” the brass tube, it has to be softened. I heat it until its red hot then let it cool slowly. It will now easily bend into the rudder outline shape. To harden it again..its heated and cooled suddenly by immersing in cold water. I do this after I make every solder joint so the brass is quite hard once the job is finished. I try to make as much of the rudder as possible by keeping it flat on the tile. It holds itself in place while I solder it that way. Note the crocodile clip heat sinks preventing the joints on the rudder hinges from melting as I solder near by.



Phew..it took longer to write this lot out than to make the rudder.
Is a detailed explanation of my work methods of interest to you ?
Its not the only way to do it ..but it seems to work for me

After the rudder was constructed ..it looked like it just had a round in the ring with Mike Tyson. Don’t worry..thats normal. It needs a good clean to get rid of the burnt flux which is still corrosive. A toothbrush in hot soapy water cleans it then a couple of hours in a glass of Coke Cola really makes it sparkle. Here it is on the rear end of the fuselage. It pivots nicely on the little brass hinges made from two pieces of brass tube soldered together in a figure “8”.

Thanks for looking
PS..if you try this method..keep a bucket of water close by.
I still burn my finger tips occasionally

[Tage]

Beautiful work. The solder joints look wonderful.

I am interested in expanding into brass also.
I picked up a resistance soldering unit from ebay, for a fraction of the price.

With the addition of the Triton handpiece, tiny work is no problem.
Micromark has the hand piece.

Good soldering to you all, and to all a good night.

[DonnyW]

Thanks for dropping in Tage and wow..thanks for the info on a resistance soldering unit. I was curious to know what it was because I have not heard of them before, so did a Google search. It sounds the goods and if I get interested in this type of work.. it would be a great complement to my existing work method .. in fact .. a necessity.

I admit I was struggling a little on the stabiliser’s wire ribs. The temperature required to silver solder was so near the melt point of the thin brass wire. It popped like fuse wire if I wasn’t careful and I couldn’t get quite enough heat to “run” the solder. Still .. the job is now done. I will be happy once the rear elevators are made. I think the wooden parts are a nice contrast with the brass ..in an artsy kind of way ;';;';

I had to redo some things since the last update too. The rudder horn was lowered to the correct position and I changed the bracing wire to a thinner grade for a little more realism. Its 20lb wire fishing trace from the local angling centre. I also bought some of their brass wire used for fly tying. Its very strong and thin. You can see it used in the zig zag bracing of the rudder ribs. It will be handy to bind the stabiliser to the fuselage. That way it can be cut off and dismantled if required

[DonnyW]

Fed up burning brass and inspired by all the rib making in John Reed and Lancair’s builds, I was keen to see how I would fare on the woodwork at 1/16th scale. I turned the model round to do a little front end work and built the axle wing. The ribs are made from 1/64th thick birch ply and were a doddle to do. I cut the ply with sharp scissors and the thin rib caps wrap nicely round the contours without snapping. I wet the ply before bending it round the edge which stops splintering and also accelerates the setting time of the thick cyano glue that I use.

I used squashed aluminium tubing for the axle support struts. Now I wish I hadn’t as they are a bit to thick for scale but I guess once the wings and things are on ..they wont be too noticeable. I have still to make the bunge axle spring system.

Here is a photo of the model after another weekends work. The engine is only placed there in a fun way to see how it’s all coming together

[Don Garrett]

Donny, when it comes to sratch building a work of art.....scale follows form, if it pleases your eye it's right on.

[DonnyW]

Thanks Don..and I agree.

A model is a work of art and as such..it can have a style based on the builder's personality and background ..just like a painting or any other form of art.

With the wheel struts, I'm trying to introduce aluminium into the model to compliment the brass and wood. I envisage lines of aluminium for the wing struts too..and the seat. I think that's what I meant when I said I was trying to emulate Ken's style. I think he has a very unique "feel" to his models. However I also want to stamp this Fokker with my individuality and no just copy someone elses.

Hope that makes sense ?

more pics of progress soon