Barry's Stinson SM 6000B Trimotor *FINISHED*

[AndrewR]

Stretching sprue?....heat it to a soft saggyness over a candle and pull smoothly . If it pulls apart, it was heated too much...try again. Some sprue doesn't work well. Try a different manufacturer.

What he said, and hold the sprue vertically when stretching it. How long was I trying to stretch it horizontally?

[Barry]

I developed an eye infection last Friday (much improved now) so I couldn't see well enough to do any modeling or posting between then and now.
I'm really hoping to finish this up before the end of the GB.

After adding the wings, I faced this....triangles of plastic + putty fixed it.





Also, the wings were a bit club shaped. I had used the trailing edges for alignment, so I cut back the leading edges.





All along, I've been worried about how to locate the side engines in space in the absence of any really accurate strut length measurements







But, Oh Happy Day! There were indents in the wing to locate these two , and where they intersect fixes the rear of the nacelle. Now I've got to vacuform some new cowlings...the kit one's are way too small.

[lancfan]

Good job Barry.

David.

[splash]

That was handy having location marks for the struts, good luck with the cowlings.

Regards Splash

[Barry]

struts done. Almost as much of a chore as rigging.


Initial positioning




Hang the nacelle





Add remaining wing struts...The diagonal white one is too broad and was replaced (see photo below)





add L/G and associated struts





Thank you...Time for some ale.

[VickersVandal]

That's looking great! The undercarriage struts look particularly good.
I agree with you about the hassle of interplane struts. By the way, what do you use to cut the brass? I use side cutters but it won't give a straight cut edge.

[SJPONeill]

I use a razor saw, X-Acto, I think, slices through with a good clean cut...

[Barry]

Me too...specifically one of those that looks like a razor blade with very fine teeth. Also, I recently realized that brass is soft enough that it can be drilled with the ordinary little drill bits that we all use. See the fourth picture above where the axle is pinned and glued to the l/g leg.

[vacant]

Great masterclass in how to to get a first class result. It's all this careful preparation that will surely help make this one a stunner.

[gnomemeansgnome]

Nice!

[Barry]

It's forty five minutes before midnight here in the colonies and here is a very early American Airways Stinson. this was before they became American Airlines and added all the orange accent colours. I've used Humbrol 15 Midnight Blue with a Model Master satin top coat made by mixing clear gloss and clear flat.




Large windows all 'round. Engines and props are from Revell's old Boeing/Stearman PT-17 biplane




I need to tidy up the edges of that doorway.









The diagonal bars in the windows are bits of the fuselage structure.

[VickersVandal]

Outstanding!! An inspiring build.

The transparencies are great - you really get a clear view inside.

[SJPONeill]

Great work on a rare kit and unusual subject...

[vacant]

Superb, both inside and outside with great attention to detail and getting a lovely overall finish. The struts around the engines look like a nightmare to align correctly - and they do. Your technique in getting the windows flush worked a treat.

[DavidWomby]

Great attention to detail paid off, That's just excellent all round.

David