Lee-Richards Annular Monoplane - Finished!

[Frank3k]

I'm also posting this on the What if forum.

This is the Avis 1/72 Lee-Richards Annular Monoplane; I plan to build it as an early (1914-1915) WWI observation plane. This isn't too unreasonable - the Lee-Richards was apparently a stable, easy to fly plane and there were plans to continue the design past 1913.

The boxtop:


The kit has few parts and looks good in the bag. Unfortunately, it's a short run kit, with some impressive mold misalignment:



Some of the smaller parts will have to be remade; the prop spinner sides were off by almost 50%!

Despite the short run nature of the kit, the fuselage breakdown is designed to hide some of the low tech shortcomings. Here is what I have so far:



The kit doesn't include a passenger seat, so I added an old scratchbuilt seat from the stash. The curved plastic piece in front of the pilot could work as an instrument panel (there are no details on it) but I think it's main purpose is to spread the fuselage sides just enough to fit the top part - which fits surprisingly well.
I added some fine brass mesh to the engine and the steel ball is to keep it from being a tail sitter. I'll adjust it once the landing gear is on.

I thought of 3D printing a Lewis MG for the observer, but he would have to stand up to fire it and get past all the rigging. I'll add a couple of cameras or a camera and some small bombs or illumination flares.

The markings are still up in the air - This early roundel wasn't widely used until well into 1915



I may go with these markings:



Or just add the Union Jack to the sides and wings.

[apophenia]

Wow ... had to look up this one! That is one wild-looking aeroplane 

BTW: The early RNAS scheme for B.E.2a biplanes was the same as your linen-coloured Bristol Scout example. In the case of the B.E.2a, the white-outlined Union Jack was on the rudder (with a black individual aircraft number below on a white rectangle)

[Frank3k]

All linen, small Union Jack on the rudder and the "serial number" is simple and perfect! The Lee-Richards' surfaces were linen or plywood, so one color for everything.

[Kerick]

Now stack two of the wings, slightly staggered, for a biplane version. You know back in those days somebody thought about that!

[GTX_Admin]

 

[Frank3k]

There was an earlier biplane version. The picture is on the Wikipedia page. More here

It was not a good looking plane...

[GTX_Admin]

It was not a good looking plane...

Oh, I don't know.  Maybe falls into the Sexy-ugly category.

[Frank3k]

Despite this kit's low tech molding, I've managed to get to the "time to paint and rig" stage. The wing had two helpful pins at the rear to help set it at the right angle and height. Really helpful!

...Or it would have been, had the mold maker remembered to add the holes to the fuselage. Instead, I used a picture of the real plane to locate the height of the rear section of the wing. There were some minor gaps that some putty took care of. The rest of the build was uneventful, with some minor trimming and sanding to get the wing on and level with the front of the fuselage:



The landing gear was less of a nightmare than I had expected. I enlarged/opened the atom-deep dimples on the bottom of the fuselage. The kit supplies two thin strips of plastic for the front support struts- which will hold most of the weight of the plane. You can see one of the struts on the sprue at the upper right - it's the longer piece of plastic. The shorter piece of plastic is the rudder pedals, which I didn't add.

Instead of starting a battle that I would surely lose, I found some brass tubing of the right diameter and cut a length equal to the two struts. I flattened the tube and bent it in the middle, where it promptly broke. So I superglued a thin wire into the squashed tubes and bent them to the correct angle. They're the V shape in the picture above.

I ended today's work by applying the linen color (equal mix of Badger's Stynylrez mustard and white primers). The Stynylrez really sticks well to the plastic. I also did some slight post shading with Tamiya smoke:



What looks like splotches on the wing are the locators for the bracing wire. I was going to drill them before I started the build, but I managed to break the only drill bit that fit. I just got a replacement set today, so I'll start the drilling and rigging torture tomorrow.

Thanks for watching and following along!

[Frank3k]

The landing gear was about as bad as I expected - a real bitch to fit in place. The brass struts for the nose wheel definitely helped with the overall strength and stability. I did slice off one side of the fuselage while deepening the slot for the struts, but I think my fix looks OK.

Despite the large nose weight, this plane is a tail sitter. I gave the plywood sections a slightly different shade of yellow:



This is a rare example where the plane looks better in the picture than in person. I took out a 5mm dia slice from the side of the fuselage and gluing it back on left a mark; you can just barely see it above the forward gear strut:



My fix - a small round Meng bolt head over the strut connection point (the real plane has something similar there) and a large venturi over the divot. I guess it's to power the batteries for the camera shutters:



The cameras - just some styrene and more Meng bolt heads:



I've since found an picture of a real WWI aerial camera, so I'll have to make some mods. I won't taper the body, but I may remove the handles and add some boxes:



Still to do is clean up the Citadel shader now that it's dry and some touchup work on the paint, especially the wheels. Then the cameras and mount and what I'm avoiding the most: rigging.

[Robomog]

 That is really looking the business, goood luck with the rigging 


Mog
>^-.-^<

[Old Wombat]

I love the craftsmanship that went into things like that camera housing back in the day ... & wish the pride that went with it still existed in the general trades.

[GTX_Admin]

Looking good

[Frank3k]

I'm tempted to make the C-1 in 3D, either in 1/32 or 1/35. It reminds me of the workmanship I saw up in Mt. Wilson (built in the late 1890s, early 1900s) fine detailing down to the smallest brass screws.

The rigging path is going to force me to add the cameras before I do the rigging. Anything to delay the inevitable!

[Frank3k]

Here's the finished plane. I noticed some paint splatters - they're "oil stains"...

Top view, with a Preiser 1/72 figure for scale:



Not much in the way of decals - a Union Jack (right side up...) and N 20, which is "November 2020" the month/year when this model was built.





Front side, with figure for scale. The base is a cheap groundwork set for trains, IIRC.



Thanks for looking! Overall, not a bad kit.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

The flying doughnut? 

Great work Frank! 

[GTX_Admin]

Superb work.

[Frank3k]

Thanks, guys! Being ambidextrous has its drawbacks and for me, it's difficulty telling left from right. It's ridiculous, but one "success" on this kit was getting the flag on in the right direction.

The rigging was annoying, but less than I expected.

[Robomog]

Oh yes !  The rigging finishes it off a treat   

Mog
>^-.-^<

[finsrin]

A rigging challenge and you mastered it.  Like the ground work.  Yellow front of fuselage is nice touch.  Looking good 

[apophenia]

That is gorgeous! And love the 'November 2020' reg 

...Being ambidextrous has its drawbacks and for me, it's difficulty telling left from right...

That is fascinating! And a 'drawback' which I think I'd happily accept in exchange for being ambidextrous 

[Dr. YoKai]

 Sorry it took so long to comment  - it came out great, especially the camera fit. I kept looking at it and thinking
 "What would Gernsback do?"