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Rob Pollock
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DFW C.V Progress 3

May 16, 2018 · in Aviation · · 14 · 1.5K

A little more work, this time with preliminary rigging.

The main image and those following show the empannage work to the control horns - fairly straightforward. You can also see my choice of rigging material; it's fly fishing line, and fine enough to suture a housefly after heart surgery.

Had time too to fit the PE flare racks, which came out pretty well.

The next photo is of the two-part turnbuckle - a 2mm tube section and 5mm eyelet. In this case the eyelet has to be reduced in length a little - tiny to start with and even more so now.

A few images here of the rigging points, including the transverse Xs between front and rear struts. The eyelet is anchored in its respective position (twice at each double point), it's threaded with the line and then each end of the line is fed back through the tube, tensioned, and the shorter tail carefully trimmed with a sharp blade.

And here's what the complete underside of the top wing looks like with all points set and threaded.

This is arguably the most time consuming part of the rigging process. As well as setting the anchor points, they also have to be threaded. The lower wing of course has the same rigging points, but the line is simply fed through the lower points after the top wing is set and to me has always seemed a little easier, on balance.

Since these photos, the wing section here has been touched up (try as I might, it's a little untidy a process in ) and I also used artists' raw umber thinned with white spirit to touch the anchor points to give them a more settled-in look. I also used the umber along the face of the wing and then used a spirit-dampened cotton bud to pull along between the ribs, which leaves a slight discolouration on either side of the ribs themselves, this to simulate the dirt that collected along these rib areas.

Lower wing anchors next, then the top wing and struts to set (prayers appreciated).

Reader reactions:
5  Awesome

14 responses

  1. You have the patience of Job, sir...and the talent to go with it. Extraordinary work!

    • I can only work about 45 minutes at a time with this stuff - an Optivisor at about 10x magnification takes its toll on the eyes and the nerves.

  2. I can only imagine... and imagination is the closest I'll ever come to attempting that kind of rigging! Kudos - looking great!

  3. Splendid work Rob, amazing detail!

  4. Exceptional work, Rob. Without any sense of hubris (I'll try most things even if it totally fails) there's not much that I feel intimidated enough to say, "I don't know if I could even try that". This is one of those times. Amazing.

  5. Great stippled paint work, Rob. How do you cut your brass tube? I always crush them.

  6. Incredible work, Rob. Your patience and skill are really paying off.

  7. really nice attention to details

  8. The flare racks are a fantastic detail and look great.

  9. This is an amazing work of art ! I have spent some time rigging a 1/6 scale Curtiss Jenny, and I thought it was hard ! You Sir are the master ...
    Well done my friend. Well done.

  10. Great patience, i'm filled with admiration : this is 1/48 ! Thank you for explanations and images Rob.

  11. Beautiful detailing, Rob. I looked at Bob's site. I'm like David - I'm not sure I could even try that, but I'd love to. I know what you mean about wearing an Optivisor - it wears you down! Well done, my friend.

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