Author Topic: One Wing Biplanes  (Read 17662 times)

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
One Wing Biplanes
« on: March 20, 2020, 06:41:06 AM »
"In the autumn of 1912, following the crashes of a couple of monoplanes, the Royal Flying Corps brought into force the infamous 'Monoplane Ban'. Though it was rescinded some months later, the damage was done, and it would be over thirty years, before monoplanes entered widespread service with the RAF. But, what if the 'Monoplane Ban' never happened? What if monoplanes became established before the outbreak of the Great War?"

As it says above, this is the idea behind One Wing Monoplanes, to get an idea of what aircraft would have been like, had monoplanes been accepted sooner . . .
Of course, the real reason for doing this, is to build these models without having to mess with all those fiddly struts and things, especially with the older kits, which don't 'self-jig' . . .
Another reason is to play with different colour schemes, such as modern schemes on Great War aircraft. I've not done any of these yet, but I've got some ideas. Another idea I've had is early equivalents of modern aircraft concepts, watch this space . . .
Here are a few I've built already . . .

A Bristol Fighter,



Airco DH.2,



Von Richthofen's Fokker Scout,



Sopwith Pup,



Stearman Trainer,



Albatros D.III,



RAF SE.5a



Polikarpov Po.2.




cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline GTX_Admin

  • Evil Administrator bent on taking over the Universe!
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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2020, 06:55:01 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline FAAMAN

  • 'bin building for years ....... and it feels it!
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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2020, 09:43:08 AM »
They look very cool  8) 8) 8)
Love the Fokker Scout  :-* :-*
"Resistance is useless, prepare to be assembled!"

Offline Kerick

  • Reportedly finished with a stripper...
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2020, 11:07:21 AM »
Very interesting! Love your work.

Offline Old Wombat

  • "We'll see when I've finished whether I'm showing off or simply embarrassing myself."
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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2020, 12:04:24 PM »
Really like the BrisFit, Fokker Dr.I & Pup. The SE.5a looks ... oddly over-scale for the wings ... but then the 5a (biplane) did have quite a high wing-loading for the era, anyway.
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline finsrin

  • The Dr Frankenstein of the modelling world...when not hiding from SBA
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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2020, 01:24:27 PM »
Surprised how well all these look as monoplanes.  Fine complementary paint schemes.  SE.5a has wanna be P-47 when I grow up look to me. :smiley:

Offline Camthalion

  • The man has done a pink tank...need we say more?!
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2020, 06:44:50 PM »
they look cool

Offline ericr

  • He's like some sort of Dr Frankenstein of modelling...
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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2020, 06:48:41 PM »

a good idea for a series of whiffs !  :D

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2020, 08:00:05 PM »
Thanks for the comments, gents . . .   :-[
@Old Wombat; believe it or not, the SE.5a has the same wingspan as a Boeing P-26 Peashooter !
@Faaman; the Fokker Scout started life as the Revell Fokker Triplane, but with the kit wings it didn't work, so I used a set of Revell Fokker D.VII wings, reduced in chord. They also didn't work as low wings,  hence the shoulder wing configuration.
@finsrin; I tend just to use the kit schemes, sometimes I modify them somewhat to make them easier to paint . . .
Anyway, here's some more . . .

Avro 504,



DeHavilland DH.4,



Hawker Demon,



and Fury,




Henschel Hs-123 (with spats !)




cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline Old Wombat

  • "We'll see when I've finished whether I'm showing off or simply embarrassing myself."
  • "Define 'interesting'?"
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2020, 08:25:52 PM »
The Fury & the Henschel look brilliant as monoplanes! 8)
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Brian da Basher

  • He has an unnatural attraction to Spats...and a growing fascination with airships!
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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #10 on: March 21, 2020, 03:22:11 AM »
That's a fantastic concept and your models are most colorful and delightful!

Brian da Basher

Offline FAAMAN

  • 'bin building for years ....... and it feels it!
  • Always thought of himself as a 'straight' modeller
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #11 on: March 21, 2020, 04:26:46 AM »
Ditto wot Wombat said  8) 8) 8) 8)
"Resistance is useless, prepare to be assembled!"

Offline Frank3k

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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2020, 06:52:55 AM »
Those are all great! It's hard to pick a favorite - and I had to ask "wait - was that really a biplane?" because they look so much better as monoplanes.

The Po.2 reminds me of the Short S.4 Satellite

Offline elmayerle

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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2020, 11:18:17 AM »
Beautiful works that are quite attractive.

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #14 on: March 24, 2020, 03:56:52 AM »

Once again, thanks for the comments . . .   :smiley:    :-[
Okay, as I've mentioned upthread, sometimes when I'm building a One Wing Biplane, I find that using the kit parts doesn't 'work out right' . . . so a spot of kitbashing / scratchbuilding / substitution is in order.
These two examples will show what I mean.
First up is a model I made of the Airfix Great War Hannover Cl.III
When I came to work out the horizontal tail, I found that the kit parts were too small ( the real aeroplane had a biplane tail).





I had a second kit of this, so I used the tips of the upper wing to make new tailplanes,





after a little work, these turned out to be much better, and a better size match to the model as you can see below.





The second example is again an Airfix kit, the Grumman Duck. This time the kit wings were too small, and looked silly as monoplane wings.





This time, the solution was to substitute another set of wings, in this case from a vac-form Polikarpov R-5. The wings were built, and the roots modified to fit the Duck fuselage.





Again, the result is much improved from the first version. Here's a picture of the finished model . . .







cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline GTX_Admin

  • Evil Administrator bent on taking over the Universe!
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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #15 on: March 24, 2020, 04:41:36 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

You can't outrun Death forever.
But you can make the Bastard work for it.

Offline Robomog

  • ...had a very bad experience with [an] orange...
  • Would you buy a used kit from this man?
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #16 on: March 24, 2020, 07:17:51 AM »
 The Duck came out rather well !    :smiley: :smiley:

Mog
>^-.-^<
Mostly Harmless...............

Offline elmayerle

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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #17 on: March 24, 2020, 07:30:36 AM »
The Duck came out rather well !    :smiley: :smiley:
Quite!!  Beautiful builds, all of them.

Offline Old Wombat

  • "We'll see when I've finished whether I'm showing off or simply embarrassing myself."
  • "Define 'interesting'?"
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #18 on: March 24, 2020, 07:44:39 AM »
They both look good as monoplanes! 8)
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline Logan Hartke

  • High priest in the black arts of profiling...
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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #19 on: March 24, 2020, 08:02:52 AM »
Looks like the missing link between the J2F and the Columbia XJL.


Offline finsrin

  • The Dr Frankenstein of the modelling world...when not hiding from SBA
  • Finds part glues it on, finds part glues it on....
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #20 on: March 24, 2020, 08:46:21 AM »
Fine builds and interesting study of how well the bunch pass as monoplanes.  :smiley:    Not what I woulda expected.

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #21 on: March 25, 2020, 05:22:52 AM »

Okay, one last one from the 'back catalogue', then I'll leave you alone . . .
So, so far, apart from being One Wing Biplanes, all the models we've seen have been what I call 'straight', that is, effectively OOB. But of course, we can have much more fun than that ! Here are what I call 'compounds', that is, a Whiff based on a Whiff.
So, for instance, starting with the Bristol Fighter that we've already seen,





we can develop a Home Defence, single-seat night fighter 'Brisfit', with a second Vickers gun, and a wide track undercarriage . . .





Likewise, from the DH.4.





I created a high altitude reconnaissance version, the DH.4-U2, with extended wings, and high altitude engine and propeller, developed for a mission to photograph the German fleet and Kiel Canal . . .





And finally, we move on to a scratchbuilt model, the 'DH.7 Hornet', designed to the same specification as the Sopwith Salamander and Vickers Vampire. The flying surfaces come from the spares box, as do the undercarriage, engine and propeller, the tail booms are thick plastic card, and for a further bit of fun, the nacelle is 3D-printed . . .







cheers,
Robin.
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .

Offline Old Wombat

  • "We'll see when I've finished whether I'm showing off or simply embarrassing myself."
  • "Define 'interesting'?"
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #22 on: March 25, 2020, 08:05:22 AM »
The DH.7's a hoot! ;D

But I really like the Brisfit & DH.4 developments. 8) 8)

Okay, one last one from the 'back catalogue', then I'll leave you alone . . .

Why? ??? I'm enjoying this! :D
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline apophenia

  • Perversely enjoys removing backgrounds.
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Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #23 on: March 25, 2020, 12:05:50 PM »
These are brilliant Robin! I especially liked the Fokker Dr.I eindecker and Henschel Hs 123. And I love that you solved the undersized wing conundrum on the Grumman Duck with bigger wings from another biplane  ;D
"It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes." - Agent Rogersz

Offline robunos

  • Can't afford the top wing of his biplanes...
Re: One Wing Biplanes
« Reply #24 on: March 26, 2020, 03:45:29 AM »


Okay, one last one from the 'back catalogue', then I'll leave you alone . . .

Why? ??? I'm enjoying this! :D


Only to avoid wearing out my welcome, after all, I just turn up, then drop four big paving slabs of posts onto the Board, one after another . . .

But, if you are enjoying this thread, here's the rest of the OWB Air Force, so far . . .


A Fokker D.VII, from the Revell kit,





Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz, from the awfull HUMA kit,





Hasegawa Heinkel He 51, personal aircraft of Wolfram von Richthofen, Spanish Civil War, 1937,





A Sopwith Hound, an intermediate type, between the Pup and Camel . . .





Letov S.16 bomber, from the old KP kit,





and Letov S.328s, again from the KP kit, landplane,





and seaplane version.







cheers,
Robin.


EDIT: I've just realised that the D.VII is missing it's guns, which is weird, as I'm sure I attached them when it was built. Watch this space . . .
« Last Edit: March 26, 2020, 03:49:14 AM by robunos »
By the pricking of my thumbs, Something Whiff-y this way comes . . .