Started construction of one of my Christmas presents yesterday. Not the real thing of course but a wooden model of the same. Came as a flat pack of three sheets of micro-plywood, laser cut with 145 punch out pieces. It's 210x178x122mm when fully complete. No glue is required as all the pieces effectively have precision fit mortice and tenon joints, half laps and wooden retainers for items mounted on shafts such as propellers and the like. The construction is probably not unlike the real thing in the fuselage and wings although the superstructure will remain open and not covered in canvas and dope as in the real machine. The kit came with detailed assembly instructions and a small piece of fine sandpaper for removing any burrs from the pieces when removed from the sheets. Each sheet is annotated with reference numbers for each part.
Here it is out of the box.
This one is after a couple of hours of construction yesterday afternoon.
Fuselage is done, tailplane and rudder, cockpit, engine bay, complete with a seven cylinder rotary engine, prop shaft and two blade propeller. It has two upper engine cowl mounted machine guns. I have fitted the lower wing, you can see the construction which probably replicates the original. I have to fit the wing risers for the centre and upper wings which still need completing.
Another couple of hours should see it complete but not today as I am otherwise engaged.
