Hi all,
I'm waiting for the propeller to arrive to complete my Siemens-Schuckert D.III model.
Therefore I'm making a start on the 1:32nd scale resin model of the Ansaldo 'Baby' by 'Lukgraph'.
I'll be modelling the first 'Baby' built (Ser No: So 5005) by the SA Aeronautica Gio Ansaldo of Turin.
This aircraft was fitted with a Le Rhöne 9J rotary engine (120hp) with a circular engine cowl.

I've made a start on the 3D printed engine, which I must say is the best finish I've seen thus far from a model company.
The surface shows very little, if any, of the layer striations seen on some 3D printed model parts.
Cutting the parts from their support trees is a bit tricky and because the material is quite hard, removing the tree stubs on such small parts is difficult.

Mike

I am sure this build will be as brilliant as all of your others

Looking forward to it!

The 3D prints are likely from a liquid resin printer - not the older spool feed type - no more ridges

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OOB again, Mike?

.

Hmm this should encourage Lou to work on his Italian theatre!!

Nearly but not quite

Hi all,
The 3D printed Le Rhone 9J engine is complete.
Painted with 'Alclad' Steel lacquer and weathered using by sponging 'Tamiya' Weathering Master Burnt Blue, Gunmetal and Silver.
Complete engine washed with 'AK Interactive' Kerosene, thinned with White Spirit.
Spark plug leads twisted from 0.125 mm diameter copper wire.

Mike

Which museum did you take those engine photos from?

He Heh - Actually once the engine is covered by the circular cowl, you don't see anything from the middle of the cylinders outwards or much of the rear of the engine.
Hey-Ho,

Mike

OK, it's not just me who thinks Mike is passing off photos of actual planes for his models . There's one picture where he added the cowling bracing wire to his Siemens-Schuckert D.III that I still believe is an image from an actual plane https://SimHQ.com/forum/ubbthreads....schuckert-d-iii-1-32nd-scale#Post4531103 . The level of detail in both the paint job and the attachment bracket is superb.

Looking forward to following this build too, Mike.

Oh boy, Oh boy....the plot thickens!! Could it just be "Fake News"

Hi all,
I've been sorting out certain anomalies with the primary parts of the model.
The details will be covered in the PDF build log, but as a heads up:
The resin locating pegs for the fuselage halves cause the assembly to be misaligned, as do those to locate the wings to the fuselage and upper wing centre section.
These pegs were removed and replaced with 0.8 mm diameter brass rod, which with the kit original steel pins provide a better joint and alignment.
Even so I found that with the wing leading edges aligned, the trailing edges were not. It seems the wing chords are slightly less than their mating faces.
Therefore some sanding of the trailing edges of the upper wing centre section and lower wing roots was required to align correctly to the wing sections.
Resin surface irregularities, such as blow holes, chips, edge delaminations and joint seams, needed to be either filled and/or sanded.

The two fuselage halves have pre-moulded external linen stitching, which is not very realistic. Also the stitching at the sides of the cockpit was not present on the aircraft.
In addition, the removable rear fuselage was attached to the forward fuselage at a joint to the rear of the cockpit.
This joint has been moulded on the fuselage halves as a thick ridge, but in reality did not look like this (see the following photograph).
The joint at the fuselage sides was covered with a strip.
These details were scraped and sanded away, in preparation for being replaced with photo-etch (‘Eduard’ WW1 Stitching (EDP32228).

Mike

Why am I not surprised by the irregularities!!

You seem to be a glutten for challenges Mike:

Ok folks, here comes another one straight out of the box!

One day, well maybe

Hi all,
The pilot operated the ailerons on the wings by turning the pilot’s wheel on the control column.
The typical aileron control from a pilot’s wheel was effected by cables.
The control column would be fitted with two cable pulleys, one from the wheel and located on the top of the control column and a second pulley located at the bottom of the control column.
The aileron control cable run was routed around the top pulley then down to the bottom pulley, where the cable run was crossed.
From the bottom pulley the cables were routed out of the cockpit and through the lower wings to their respective ailerons.

Unfortunately these pulleys are not supplied in the model kit, so had to be made.
Each pulley is a 2.5 mm diameter disc, cut from 0.5 mm thick plastic card, and sandwiched between two 3.5 mm diameter discs.
These represent the basic 'grooved' pulleys, around which the aileron control cable run will be routed,

Mike

Mike, what did you use to cut the circular disks?

Hi Rob,
To cut discs from plastic card I use a ‘ThinnerLine’ circle cutter.
There is also a similar tool available from ‘DSPIAE’, although they are pretty expensive.
Both employ a fine cutter housed in holder.
The holder is mounted within a rotating bearing assembly and can be adjusted for the diameter required, by being slid and locked across the bearing housing.
You then place the assembly onto your plastic card and adjust the depth of cut for the card being used.
Then it's just a matter of holding it in position and rotating the housing in its bearing around the outer housing.
The blade cut out the disc - voila.

If you search for 'thinnerline cutter' you should see both devices - YouTube as well.,

Mike

Thanks Mike. I thought you might be using a special cutter. I will look it up.

Hi all,
The fuselage halves had two pre-moulded resin location pegs only and when the fuselage halves were located together, the pegs did not align correctly.
Also, as noted by 'PrzemoL' during his build of the Sopwith 'Baby, once the cockpit if fitted and the fuselage closed up, the fuselage seam will be seen from inside the cockpit.
Therefore I decided to sand away the resin location pegs and drill three 0.9 mm holes into one fuselage half, then fitted 0.8 mm brass location rods.
To align the rest of the fuselage halves I added short strips of 0.8 mm thick plastic card to the fuselage half, in positions that would not interfere with the cockpit fit.
Finally to hide the fuselage seam and to add to fuselage halves alignment, I cut and profiled a single piece of 0.8 mm thick plastic card, which was secured to the cockpit floor area of the fuselage half.
The result is a much better alignment of the fuselage halves wih the seam below the cockpit hidden,

Mike

Hi all,
Just a small update.
The instrument panel is complete.
Oil paint for the wood effect and decals added (not in the kit) from my spares.
The five selector levers were made from 0.4 mm Nickel-Silver tube, flattened then bent to 90 degrees.

Mike

Hi all,
The inside of each fuselage half has been painted and side frame outlines added with oil paint.
The frame cross bracing is 0.08 mm diameter mono-filament with 0.4 mm Nickel-Silver tube and 'GasPatch' 1:48th scale resin turnbuckles.
The bracing still needs painting of the tubes and turnbuckles,

Mike

Hi all,
The basic cockpit assembly is ready to be fitted into the fuselage.
Control wires are 0.08 mm diameter mono-filament, cross bracing 0.12 mm diameter mono-filament.
Turnbuckles are the 1:48th scale resin versions from 'GasPatch'.
All tube work is either 0.4 mm or 0.5 mm diameter Nickel-Silver tube.
Seat belts were replaced with spare Sopwith F.1 Camel kit from 'Wingnut Wings'.
Fuel tank pipe and throttle control rod are 0.4 mm tube.
Aileron control line pulleys scratched from cut plastic card discs, with spacer discs to allow the control line to be able to wrap around them.
Seat cushion made from 'Milliput',

Mike

Hi all,
The cockpit assembly is now enclosed within the fuselage.
The fuselage seam joint and the various surfaces blemishes were first filled, then sanded before being primed.
This showed slight surface anomalies which were re-sanded and re-primed until the surface was smooth.
The right side of the fuselage had pre-moulded linen stitching, which I felt was overdone and unrealistic.
So it was all removed, including stitching further forward, which didn't exist on the actual aircraft.
The stitching was replaced by photo-etch from the ‘Eduard’ WW1 Stitching (EDP32228) set.
Also a joint line was added around the fuselage to the rear of the cockpit decking, to represent where the rear fuselage could be detached.
The rear fuselage was secured to the forward fuselage by turnbuckle type fasteners, which will be added later in the build.
A white primer was applied as this is required prior to applying the 'Aviattic' Clear linen CDL effect decals,

Mike

Your moving fast on this one Mike. Looking great.

Hi all,
Just a few updates for the fuselage as they're not covered in the kit:
Filler cap (oil tank?) and access panel hinge to the top of the front decking.
Filler cap is 0.2 mm plastic cards discs with a 0.3 mm diameter tube.
Both fuselage/wing roots have photo-etch flying wire attachment points added from the ‘PART’ 1/48th scale WWI Aircraft Control Horns (S48-087).
Creases added to the corners of the linen stitched panel, using ‘AV’ Masilla Plastica (401) putty,

Mike

Hi all,
Just a quick update on the fuselage progress.
The metal is 'Alclad' black base with Duraluminium top coat.
Wood panels are 'Tamiya' XF57 base with 'DecoArt' acylic Burnt Umber for wood effect.
Fuselage pre-shaded with 'Tamiya' Smoke X19 with XF55 used to highlight formers.
Top coated with XF 78 for CDL base colour.
The pre-shading and formers are faint but should show up more once the decals and sealing coat are applied.

I still have to gloss coat and apply 'Aviattic' Clear Linen effect decals and seal the wood effect.
Then weather it before starting on the rest of the model,

Mike



Post script:

I've gloss coated and applied a test decal of the 'Aviattic' canvass/linen effect (ATT32236).
This decal has no colour tint, just the canvass/linen weave.
The colour required shows through from the base coat.

Hi all,
The Canvass/linen effect decals have been applied after cutting out the necessary paper templates.
Kit Italian Roundels and Serial number also applied.
Engine and engine cowl fitted.

Next is to weather and seal, then create the various rigging points,

Mike

Nice affect Mike. I’m sure there will be weathering over this, correct?

Hi Mark,
Yes some weathering but not too heavy as it is a sea plane,

Mike

Seems I was asking as you were posting. This one is going to look nice. I like the canvas/linen affect.

Hi all,
Weathering applied using a combination of:
'Flory Models' Dark Dirt clay wash.
'AK Interactive’ Engine Oil (AK 2019).
‘502 Abteilung’ Smoke (ABT005) oil paint.





Now to create the four turnbuckle type locking devices that join the rear fuselage to the front fuselage, just behind the cockpit rear decking panel.



Mike

Hi Mike

The model is coming along very nicely I see.
You are always seek to apply accurate details as much as possible in your models using historical photos and details as guidelines. The Ansaldo follows that trend but I have noticed what appears to be a small anomoly, however you may very well have intended it. I was wondering why you placed the roundel slightly more behind the stitching, than is shown in the photo where the edge of the roundel appears to overlap it on the fuselage.

Best Regards

Hi Rob,
To place the decal as in the photograph would mean applying it over the vertical photo-etch stitching I used.
I wasn't sure if the decal would fully conform over the photo-etch, so I located the decal further back.
As a side note, it's thought that photograph was taken at the flight training school, based at Orbetello.
That particular aircraft had a 'horse shoe' shaped engine cowl, whereas Ansaldo built 'Baby's' had circular cowls.
Therefore it may have been a British Sopwith 'Baby' and if so the fuselage roundel may have been located differently.

Mike

Hi all,
I've represented the four locking turnbuckles at the fuselage joint, using 'GasPatch' 1:48th scale resin 'Anchor Points',

Mike

Thanks Mike. I knew the was a logical answer. I can appreciate your concern regarding the decal seating.

Interesting note about the photo history. So that point about the Sopwith baby is a new one to me. I must research that.

Best Regards

Hi Rob,
The interest of the Italian's for the 'Baby' was not much as they favoured using their own designed aircraft.
Even so, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) served in Italy and flew their Sopwith 'Baby's'.
The first two photos are of engine cowls on Ansaldo built aircraft (early and late).
The last is of a Sopwith built Baby,

Mike

Thanks Mike

Hi all,
I'm working on preparing the wings for the linen decals etc.
This is the upper wing (top surface).
First primed white then masked for the wing ribs and front and rear spars.
Airbrushed with 'Tamiya' Smoke (X19).
Then the outer five wing rib areas airbrushed to represent the Italian red and green under wing colours 'ghosting' through.
Finally airbrushed with 'Tamiya' XF78 and XF57 to give the base colour for the linen effect decals.
I lightly polished across the wing to smooth the surface and to highlight the wing ribs.

Next is to gloss coat the surface then cut and apply the linen effect decals and roundels before a touch of weathering is applied,

Mike

It is really fascinating to see this progress. Amazing work!

And the description of the construction process is very informative and helpful to other modellers.

Kudos Mike for always taking the time to document and explain!

Best Regards

Hi all,
Upper wing top surface finished off.
Gloss coated then 'Aviattic' linen effect decals applied, using paper templates to create the shapes.
'Flory Models' Dark Dirt and Grime clay washes applied.
Smoke oil paint applied behind the location holes for the lifting points and aileron control wire guides.
Roundel wing ribs slightly polished to highlight them,

Mike

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It's going to be another masterpiece, Mike.

.

+1

Hi all,
Working on the undersides of the wings.
As the undersides would show the wing ribs ans spars as darker shadows, due to daylight from above the wings, the pre-shading is darker.
The wings were primed with white, as before and then pre-shading was airbrushed between masking for the spars and free hand for the wing ribs (thinned 'Tamiya' Flat Earth (XF52).
Then over sprayed lightly with thinned ‘Tamiya’ Wood Deck Tan (XF78) mixed with Buff (XF57) to 2:1 ration.
Outer right wing outer sections were airbrushed with ‘Tamiya’ Green (X5} mixed with approximately 15% of ‘Tamiya’ Grey Green (XF76).
The left wing outer sections 'Tamiya' Red (XF7).

Next is to gloss coat, apply the 'Aviattic' linen effect decals and weather,

Mike

Hi all,
While I'm waiting for decals I thought I'd work on the pilot.
As this model is a float plane I thought I'd use the ‘Kellerkind’ Gotha bomber pilot (54095), as he is inflating his life jacket.
Painted with 'AK Interactive' and 'Tamiya' acrylics.
Dirt weathering is thinned 'AK Interactive' Kerosene (AK3029).

Mike

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Brill! I do have to admit though Mike, when I first looked at that figure I thought he was sucking his thumb.

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Good one Lou, and judging by the color of his thumb, he was trying to thaw it out!

Heh he - trust you Lou
Heh he - trust you Lou

Hi all,
As I'm still waiting for decals to arrive I've worked on the trestles and beaching trolley.
The side guard rails of the beaching trolley were broken, so I used tubing to repair and reinforce the rails,

Mike

Hi all,
The main and tail floats had wood panels nailed to the internal structure.
Inside each float were canvass ’bulk heads to separate the float compartments.
Each of the three compartments in the main floats were accessed through a circular cover on the top surface of the floats.
At the front and rear edges of the main floats were reinforced with Spruce end caps.
Across each main float were recesses to locate the float cross beams and these recesses were covered with panels.

These details are not reproduced on the kit supplied floats.

The floats panel and nailing lines were created with a scriber and a 'Rosie the Riveter'.
Base coated with 'Tamiya Dark Yellow (XF60) then overcoated with 'DecoArt' Burnt Umber.
The edge beading was created by lightly sanding through the Burnt Umber to reveal the base colour.
Sealed with 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC311) mixed with 'Tamiya' Clear Yellow (X24).
Photo-etch access panels and strut plates black based then oversprayed woth 'Alclad' Steel.
Weathered using 'Flory Models' Dark Dirt wash then final seal with ALC311.

Mike.

Hi all,
The linen effect decals I was waiting for arrived so I've now finished applying them to the fuselage, wings, tail plane and control surfaces.
The Ansaldo built 'Baby's' were primarily used for training and probably flown multiple times daily.
It's probable they were not kept as clean as maybe the operational aircraft were.
Therefore I've intentionally applied heavier weathering than I normally would,
Ansaldo built aircraft tended not to have the white vertical rudder stripe painted, but instead left it as clear doped linen.
Also, it was common for the upper surfaces of the lower wings to be doped with a drab olive colour, as the glare from a clear doped linen surface could affect the pilot's vision.

Mike

Hi Mike;

That linen effect decal is impressive. It looks so real.

Best Regards

Hi all,
The lower wing, the wing ailerons, tail plane assembly and rudder fitted.
Now it's onto pre-rigging, the struts and then start assembly.

Mike

Your work is always so impressive...I used to do military miniatures when I was a kid; learned about techniques like drybrushing, etc...studied Sheperd Paine's work and built a few dioramas myself. I'm no expert, but I know enough about it to understand your work is top-notch.

I've always admired the detail you put into your models.

Thanks for sharing with us

Thanks - I try.
Yes Shep Paine was a great modeller.

Hi all,
I'm now working on the tail unit, starting with the rear float.
First is to pre-rig the eight bracing wires between the four support struts.
The mono-filament used is 0.08 mm diameter with 0.4 Nickel-Silver tube and 1:48th scale turnbuckles from 'GasPatch'.
Next step is to fit the float and struts then complete the rigging from the fuselage to the float,

Mike

Hi all,
The bracing for the tail float is now done, apart from painting the tubing.
I'm now working on the tail float rudder and aircraft rudder/brace bar (which is not included in the kit).
There are several problems with the tail float rudder, which required modification using micro-tube, drilling of location hole and reprofiling the rear face of the tail float.
Also the creation of the aircraft rudder/brace bar, which also required a hole drilling,

Mike

Hi all,
The tail unit is complete now.
Rigging is 0.08 mm mono-filament for the control lines and float bracing wires - Fin bracing is 0.12 mm.
Tubing is Nickel-Silver 0.4 mm diameter.
I replaced the float rudder operating bar with tubing and had to create the rudder/fin bracing bar (not included in the kit).
The tail plane support struts in the kit is just brass rod, so I made aerofoil struts from tube with internal support rod.

Mike

Hi all,
I've completed pre-rigging the fuselage and wings, apart from the main floats and ailerons.
The rigging is 0.12 mm diameter mono-filament with 'Gaspatch' 1:48th scale turnbuckles and anchor points.
The next step is the fitting of the upper wing before final rigging,

Mike

Hi all,
Just as a heads up.
Last night I posted photos for this build in the same way I have for years, linked from my hosting provider to the forum.
Later last night I went to the forum and found that every build photo, of any of my builds, had disappeared.
Not only from this forum but also from others I post in.
I could see everyone else's photo, just not mine.
A couple of various forum members have experienced this problem over the past couple of weeks.

When I checked on my android mobile and Apple IPad devices, I found my Ipad showed the photos, but my mobile did not.
I then tried Microsoft Edge as the browser on my PC and the photos showed.
Judging by comments made by forum members after I'd posted the photos', they obviously could see them, even though I could not.

The only common factor stopping my photos from showing was Google Chrome, my default browser on my PC and mobile.
I've checked all of the known problem settings, but still no joy.
Therefore I've switched browsers to Edge and everything is OK now.

Just thought I'd mention this in case others run into the same problem,

Mike

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It's odd though Mike that it's only your images that are affected. I can see everyone else's linked pics but none of yours. I can however open the linked images in a new window and see them there. Very strange. And I am using the Chrome browser.

.

For whatever it's worth, I opened this thread in Chrome - normally I use Firefox, at least lately - and the pics showed up fine for me.

Also, just to try other things, I did both logged in and not, and went back to look at a previous build thread. All seemed to work fine for me.

HTH

Yes it's a strange anomaly and only with Chrome users it seems.
Others have reported the same problems recently on other forums I post on?
Again, if I open the Edge browser, search for and open Google and then search for a forum and go to the posts, the photo's show.
They just can't be seen using the Chrome browser?

Hi all,
The windscreen has been fitted using the kit supplied photo-etch frame and template cut out acetate transparency.
The upper wing has also been fitted.
I had the usual tricky problem of locating all of the struts and at the same time making sure the wings are correctly positioned and aligned.
So now it's onto final rigging for the wings,

Mike

Still looking splendid for me. I am using Firefox.
Cheers,
shredward

Hi all,
I think I know what the problem is.
Browsers, such as Google Chrome, are migrating to more secure browsing.
Traditionally, images or web sites linked with a URL address with http:// are being superseded with https://.
This entails someone like me having to purchased and install an SSL certificate for my hosting server, so my web sites and images will show using the various web browsers.

I've started the process of SSL certification and once that's sorted I'll probably need to arrange re-direction of images previously linked to the http:// URL.
Hopefully then me and others won't have the problem of my posted photo's not showing.
We'll see,

Mike

Hi all,
The rigging for the wings has been done, apart from weathering and sealing.
Rigging line is 0.12 mm diameter mono-filament with 0.5 mm diameter tubing.
The crossed bracing wires from the top of the front cabane struts to the top of the fuselage are not shown correctly in the kit instructions.
In reality, the two lines crossed through an 'acorn', similar to that for the Sopwith Camel.
The acorn was made from plastic rod and drilled through with a 0.3 mm diameter hole.

Next is to fit and rig the main floats and after that, fit and rig the ailerons,

Mike

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daaaaaaamn

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Hi all,
I've now completed the bracing wires for the main floats.
Now I'm finishing off the ailerons and their control cables.
The cable pulleys for the upper wing are resin and I don't think are strong enough to take the tension on the rigging line.
Therefore I disregarded them and instead made pulleys from 0.2 mm thick plastic card and 0.8 mm brass rod.

Once the ailerons are sorted I only have a few items to do, such as the pitot tubes, pilots step, float keel etc.
Also I'm waiting for the display case and propeller to be delivered, so I can complete this model.

This will be the last update for this model.
I'll post photographs of the complete build once it's done.

Thanks for everyone's comments and support during this build - much appreciated,

Mike

Magnificent. The level of detail in those two pulleys alone is just remarkable.

I don't suppose you'd care to elaborate on how you did that? I mean, it looks like you took two layers of the 0.2mm card and 'sandwiched' them with a gap between...or is it one 0.2mm layer with a gap of ~0.067 cut around the circumference (which would just be incredible, mind you...)?

Edit: Ohhhh, wait...I think I see. So you used the .8mm tube as a 'hub', between 2 pieces of .2mm card? Even if that's it, still...just amazing.

Hi,
Yes you nailed it.
Between the top and bottom discs is a smaller disc - all cemented 0.2 mm thick plastic card.
Drilled through the centre - 0.8 mm diameter.
Brass tube added using CA adhesive.
The aileron control line fitted around the pulleys is 0.08 mm diameter mono-filament (fishing line),

Mike

Not sure what changed but I can finally see the images linked! Woo Hoo!

Lovely work. In the past I had to wait until you'd finished then check on your site. Firefox user here.

Some brilliant work. Always fascinating to watch a master craftsman in his element.

Hi all,
Here's the shots of the completed Italian Sopwith ‘Baby’ (Serial No. So.5005), built under license by the SA Aeronautica Gio Ansaldo of Turin.

Mike

Mike

Absolutely superb work on the "Baby". I have to confess, I do envy not only the quality of your projects, but also (what I'm sure must be) the satisfaction you get from it.

My gratitude for sharing with us.

Mike the Ansaldo is superb! I like the mat choice. It has character.

Thanks for posting all those pic from different angles.

Best Regards

Mike, as always, an absolute gem. It's always nice to watch the progress and then to see how it comes out with the case scene is always wonderful.

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Fantastic work as always Mike, another objet d'art to add to the collection. I've always had a fondness for floatplanes, and flying boats as well.

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