Fiddlers Green

a perfect Bufallo, better than mine, adding some details brings a lot!!

Well, my spinning prop used to be part of the excessive PETE plastic packaging that came with a couple of handfuls of baby spinach leaves. I cut a circle out the lid that matched the diameter of the prop. I drilled a center hole big enough so that it would slide down over the spinner but not make contact with the cowl. Before gluing to the hub, I used an emery board to make make 3 ever widening arc shaped scratched areas starting at the center. Then I applied and quickly wiped off some dark grey acrylic paint to darken the "prop shadows". To glue it to the spinner I used gloss acrylic gel medium available at craft and art stores. It starts out white, but it dries crystal clear and stays flexible unlike white glue. Works good as a paper glue too if you need to have some extra working time to maneuver parts or align surfaces properly.

_________________
Regards,
Don

Currently working on: 1/72 FG Wildcat
Recently completed: 1/72 FG Crosby CR-4

Here are a few photos of my FG Military Piper Cub. You'll notice it isn't an L4 Grasshopper. I'm annoyed with myself because I downloaded and nearly finished building the free Piper Cub dressed in military colors before looking into my FG WWII folder first to see if that Piper Cub (which really is a Grasshopper) was different from the one in the light aircraft folder. Oh well, live and learn. I enjoyed the build regardless, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Except for that whole "it's not really a Grasshopper" thing.

I would imagine that most of you have probably already built this fun little airplane. Mine is a 1/72 scale version printed on 110 lb cardstock. I had some problems forming the cowl properly: the underside isn't supposed to hang down below the fuselage so much, but that thick ol' paper just wouldn't cooperate. I also found that the wing struts were too short to reach the black locating dots on the underside of the wing by more than a mm. Other than those two issues, everything else went together just fine. I packed the fuselage with toilet tissue during the build process so it wouldn't deform from all the handling.

I added a little extra detailing to the airplane: The exhaust pipes are made of 1mm cardboard stiffened with Crazy glue and filed to shape. I also added those "scoopy" looking things that sit atop the cylinders out of regular bond paper, painted black. The propeller is made from a wood coffee stirrer and dyed olive drab.

Inspired by jzman, I applied my meager design skills to create a paper base using MS Paint. I decided to do a little rudimentary ground work, and made a field refueling scene to show off the airplane. The pork chop shaped groundwork is made of 1mm cardboard textured with some fine grit, then painted brown and drybushed with a khaki shade. I glued down some static grass, a bit of root to represent a fallen tree branch, and some tiny natural plant bits. I designed the 55 gallon drum myself using MS Paint again. The hand pumpis made of paper, and the hose is a piece of fine wire with black insulation.


Taken with my daughter's camera. Nicer quality, but somewhat distorted.


Another one with my daughter's camera

_________________
Regards,
Don

Currently working on: 1/72 FG Wildcat
Recently completed: 1/72 FG Crosby CR-4

great job and really great pics

Super job Don! I had exactly the same slight problems as you when I built mine, although your finished model looks MUCH better. How did you make the wheels?

Impressive work, Don! The greebles and nurnies, when added to a model, always go a long way toward making a model into a work of art.
Lep

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"TANSTAAFL !" "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!" Lazarus Long AKA Robert A. Heinlein

Currently working on: FG Wippet 1/72
Recently Completed: FG FT-17 Dio 1/38

Looks amazing! Wish mine had turned out that nice

Thanks for the kind words fellas. The wheels were easy. In this case I glued 1.5mm of cardboard between the inner and outer wheel discs and then shaped the laminate into a rounded profile with an emery board. The hub cap is just a 1/8" disc of doubled card.

_________________
Regards,
Don

Currently working on: 1/72 FG Wildcat
Recently completed: 1/72 FG Crosby CR-4

that is great looking!

Another modeler who makes me look bad.

All kidding aside, great build and display.

Here are some photos of my Fiddler's Green V1 Flying Bomb. I printed it at 52% on 110 lb card stock to obtain a 1/72 scale model. With the model so small, and the paper so thick, I was able to build it without the use of any glue tabs. After rolling each fuselage and jet engine part, I butt joined the long edges along the center belly line for a nice smooth look, and then when they were all thoroughly dry, I butt joined each segment together. After installing the tail wing, I packed the fuselage with toilet tissue as I went along, stopping along the way to insert the front wing. I sandwiched in an extra layer of card into the engine supports to provide a little extra thickness. Since my buzz bomb was to be depicted in flight, I made a clear plastic disc to represent the spinning countdown anemometer on the nose, and attached it with a small headed straight pin. A V1 in flight just has to have a fiery exhaust, so I drew up a 3D teardrop shape in MSPaint, and colored it with shades of yellow and orange. I got lazy and only made 4 petals, so it's not as rounded as I would have liked, but it looks ok I guess. A bit too cartoony, maybe. As always, my apologies for the poor picture quality.





For the display stand I found photo on the internet of a British toddler being carried through city rubble by a rescuer.



I think it's a London Blitz photo rather than a V1 aftermath photo, but it's still appropriate for the subject. Using Photoshop, I gave it a sepia hue so it would look more like a vintage photo. I glued it to a mat board backing, and then made a swoopy arc of clear pete plastic to support the photo and model. I'm pretty happy with the way the whole thing turned out.







This is my third Fiddlers Green model, and I have to say I'm really enjoying building them.

_________________
Regards,
Don

Currently working on: 1/72 FG Wildcat
Recently completed: 1/72 FG Crosby CR-4

Don,
VERY nice modeling! Your imagination is an asset to your craft.
Lep

_________________
"TANSTAAFL !" "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!" Lazarus Long AKA Robert A. Heinlein

Currently working on: FG Wippet 1/72
Recently Completed: FG FT-17 Dio 1/38

Very nice and very original! Well done .

your imagination with display is helpful to the rest of us, keep it up so we can get more ideas!

great work! Looking pretty good for only your 3rd FG model