1/8 SE5a by Mouppe

[jarrow]

If by "recently" you mean within the last week or so then it was me that you beat and if so congratulations. I recently received the 1/8 Fokker Dr.I so there will be a couple of us building large planes.

I probably start a thread with my build.

Take care,

[mouppe]

Hi Jarrow,

My auction was a buy-it-now about a month ago, so it was not me who beat you! There have been more Hasegawa kits than usual coming out of the woodwork recently- last year the SE5a would go for well over $1200 but I sneaked mine for much less.

As I mentioned, upon opening the box (which by the way is beautifully designed as all the line drawings on the sub-compartments are like a jigsaw and form an outline of the aeroplane) I found out the plans were missing. It then took me a couple of weeks to locate a copy- thanks Bill!- before I could begin.

I look forward to seeing your progress.

Mouppe.

P.S. Here is a good reference site:-

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 and S.E.5a - The Aerodrome - Aces and Aircraft of World War I

[hot ford coupe]

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing these aircraft being built. I'm also glad to see the activity on this particular forum is picking up.

[mouppe]

A nice gentle start to the build with the fuselage sides. One of the beauties of this model is that although it is large when finished, the sub-assemblies are actually quite small.

I work on a cork board placed on a B&D workbench. This allows me to pin the drawings on the board and work on top of them. For glue, I use simple wood glue applied with a 18.5g needle. This is large enough to not get blocked, but not too large to have an uncontrollable glue flow. A spot of CA helps with the initial hold before the wood glue kicks in.

Dremel, clamps and the usual hobby tool suspects complete the desktop.

Mouppe.

[mouppe]

Mind you, the workbench may be small but the workshop is not!

I am really proud of my new workshop so I have to post a couple of shots of it. So much room I could run laps! 5 minutes from the office and ten from home means I can nip over there at any time. And moving all the tools out of the home means less worrying about the kids getting hurt (or breaking things) and the War Department is happier too.

Mouppe.

[modelmaker]

Mind you, the workbench may be small but the workshop is not!

I am really proud of my new workshop so I have to post a couple of shots of it. So much room I could run laps! 5 minutes from the office and ten from home means I can nip over there at any time. And moving all the tools out of the home means less worrying about the kids getting hurt (or breaking things) and the War Department is happier too.

Mouppe.

And so you should be thats a work shop to be very proud of !! I see you are even using proxxon tooling judging by the case you have sitting atop the shelf ? Proxxon is great stuff Its all I ever use as far as hand held electrical tooling.
Also great to see another hasegawa build starting and a wounderful airplane to, I'll follow with great interest

Sean

[mouppe]

Hi Sean,

Long time no speak. What's on your workbench?

I have a couple of Proxxon tools and to be honest they are a mixed bag. Mitre chop saw- great; router- garbage! The shank on the bits is so small I broke one router bit in a matter of seconds.

When I started modelling, I thought small tools were the way to go. Now I prefer to have the heavy-duty stuff. After all, you can usually do the small jobs with a big tool, but you can never do a big job with a small tool.

Best recent purchase? An INCRA ruler. Makes marking so easy and accurate.

http://www.incra.com/images/marking_rules_pic2_zoom.jpg

But I digress,
Mouppe.

[modelmaker]

Hi Again haven't been building that much at all lately I have a 1/12th Airfix Blower Bentley sitting on the bench which is a customer build but I'm jugling that build between restoring a 1/1 scale morris mini.
I kind of burnt out from modelling for a period of time with building for everyone else, once I have the Bentley built and gone I/we thats John on this forum and myself have a big scratchbuilt project in the planning stages which will be reveiled soon I will give a clue it has four wheels!

Pity about your luck with the proxxon gear I don't have the chop saw etc I do have the hand held grinder/ drill and the low speed screw driver and a myrid of their other tools , I've had them all now for well over 5 years and never had a problem .
Looking at your workshop all you need now is a lathe and mill and your set.

Sean

[mouppe]

I know what you mean about burn-out. I stopped for almost a year and then got back into it recently with a Caterham 7 and now, the SE5a which is an amazing aeroplane.

I have a wood lathe on the far left of the workbench, which was a minor mistake. I should have gone for a metalworking lathe, as you can turn wood on a metal lathe but obviously not vice versa.

One day, I intend to learn some CNC programming and will maybe get a CNC lathe and mill then. But for now, I shall stick to the manual stuff, particularly for wood.

So many tools, so little time!

Mouppe.

[hot ford coupe]

Hey mouppe. I've also got a wood lathe. I use it to make large parts out of styrene and Delrin when I can find it. I recently picked up some metal cutting blades that you can reshape for different metal shapes. I got a smaller chuck that I can put 1/2 inch brass or aluminum rods in and cut some parts. I also bought a set of smaller chucks that I can go down to 1/16 inch with. It's not perfect but it's better than nothing.

[troppo]

I`ll be watching this one closely moupe, the SE5A is my favourite biplane of all time.
I built a radio control version for a mate years ago, it was a monster with a six foot wingspan but not a true scale version, close enough to fool you till you look close.
Lucky ******* on that workshop, looks like a perfect setup for almost any scale model building.
Cheers
Troppo

[mouppe]

I should have some pictures of the radiator and engine later today. I had some leftover hardware from my 1/12 Caterham which I am using to detail the engine.

In comparison with the Clerget rotary engine used in the Camel, the Hispano-Suiza in the SE5a is not as satisfying to build or as pleasing on the eye. I am trying to obtain a weathered finish on the exhaust pipes but it is proving tough. I have a silver lacquer base over which I am going to airbrush a rust tone. This is my first attempt at weathering so please be forgiving!

Mouppe.

[Don Garrett]

No worries Mouppe, given your talent and willingness to experiment, weathering will become second nature to you in no time. There are some products out there that actually do rust metal parts. You can simulate effects sure....but sometimes it's best to let nature take it's course with a little help.

[mouppe]

Here are some pictures of my progress.

Since this is a multimedia model, the first sub-assemblies are largely of plastic. The Vickers and Lewis guns (with a Foster mount), the radiator, the engine and the magneto. Everything is painted- even black plastic is painted black.

After this the wood takes over, with the fuselage construction. The wood is mostly cypress with a few bits of bamboo and plywood. To glue the pieces, I use a wood glue and a spot of CA. I do not use any pins or nails.

Mouppe.