More WW1 Bombers

**Bedlam** · 09-26-2010 14:13

Not to be outdone by Fg Off Kyte and his awesome Handley Page, I've spent the weekend beavering away with my drills and files.

First up is the SRAM kit of the Caproni Ca.3, which actually wasn't too bad to put together:

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The struts are 1mm styrene rod from Hobbycraft, which is obviously not to scale, but this needs to be strong enough for gaming. I haven't modelled the rear "turret", which was basically a wobbly climbing frame perched on top of the rear engine, as it will be too flimsy for gaming.

This has to win my personal prize for the weirdest aeroplane I've ever seen - two wings, two tails, three fins and three engines, one of them facing backwards. Oh, and everyone sits in a boat in the middle with no roof. It's a taildragger but has an extra set of wheels at the front, apparently tied on with bungee cord.

Next is my Gotha GIV. I bought the Skytrex kit, but it's very heavy. Fortunately I still had some moulding rubber left from a different project, so I've cast up a set of wings in resin.

They look like this:

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Should do the job, and the weight saving is huge. Although this is a GIV, it will be doing duty as a GV in the game, so I'm going to paint it up with lozenge pattern camo. I might scratch build a GV engine and make a mould so I can upgrade as many as I like later. I don't think there were many other obvious differences, but I haven't done much research.

Before I can assemble the rest of the Gotha I need to put the camoflage on the wings. If only I had a sheet of night four-colour lozenge decal sheet...

**gregbond77** · 09-26-2010 14:26

That is some excellent work. Can you cast more wings in resin? If so I would like to buy a set for my Skytrex Gotha. Again that is some awesome work!!

**Bedlam** · 09-26-2010 15:26

Hmm. I was originally going to make new wings to cast, but I ended up taking the mould directly off the wings supplied by Skytrex. I'm not sure they would be too happy about me selling them. If you were in the UK I could quietly slip a set in the post if you sent me a stamped, adressed jiffy bag. Not so easy to the States.

Perhaps if a few of us wrote nicely to Skytrex they might start casting the wings in resin for us.

**Crazy Jones** · 09-26-2010 18:05

Nice Job! More photos, please.

**Guntruck** · 09-27-2010 01:11

Very, very impressive. Just looking at the pics I thought Skytrex had started back-engineering some of their older kits so they had resin wings. This would be a definite inprovement.

**Dom S** · 09-27-2010 02:46

Nice work, but if you think the Ca.3 is weird, Google up the Caproni 4, and then the Caproni 60....

**Von Rotherham** · 09-27-2010 03:25

Wow, just wow.

**Bedlam** · 09-27-2010 08:55

Originally Posted by Dom S

Nice work, but if you think the Ca.3 is weird, Google up the Caproni 4, and then the Caproni 60....

Yup. You're right. The Ca.4 is weirder than the Ca.3 by a factor of one wing, and the Ca.60 is just mad. What on earth must the engineers in the workshop have been thinking when the designer turned up with the drawings?!

I'm amazed it even got built, never mind stayed together long enough to get airbourne.

Incidentally, if you look closely the kits are sitting on a sheet of hex camouflage. I had intended to print it on decal paper, but my black cartridge ran out. On further investigation it seems the Gotha might not have used that 4-colour patttern anyway. I'll find out a bit more and hopefully have a reasonably authentic decal sheet to cover my bombers in a week or so. Either that or my brain will have melted from reading all the arguments about Methuen colour guides. Basically the only thing the experts can agree on is that the aircraft were coloured. Probably.

The Caproni Ca.3 will be much easier to paint, since most of them were CDL all-over. I just wish I'd remembered to order some crew from Reviresco when I placed my order last week. The aircraft look a bit weird flying about with empty seats!

**gregbond77** · 09-27-2010 11:43

Originally Posted by Bedlam

Perhaps if a few of us wrote nicely to Skytrex they might start casting the wings in resin for us.

Thanks for the reply, that is a good idea. Again Great work!!

**Mike George** · 09-27-2010 11:54

Try using carbon fiber for your struts lightweight and strong

**Guntruck** · 09-27-2010 14:43

Originally Posted by Mike George

Try using carbon fiber for your struts lightweight and strong

More info please

**Bedlam** · 09-27-2010 15:25

In my local model shop I saw carbon fibre rods, presumably for use as control rods for R/C aircraft. I did consider using this, but they didn't have any that was thinner than the styrene and to be honest the styrene is stronger than the rest of the model anyway. I built a Skytrex Bristol Fighter last night and promptly dropped it. The strutting stayed together perfectly, but the wings were a very odd shape afterwards. It bent back OK, but it's really at the top of the weight limit for putting on a flying base.

Resin wings are definitely the way forward.

**Flying Officer Kyte** · 09-28-2010 01:09

A very good piece of work. I would also be interested in aquireing aset of those wings, in a plain brown envelope please. I can't see why Skytrex could have any quibble about them. After all it may well boost the sales of the Gotha. I was having real qualms about both the Reverisco card wings and the Skytrex ones. Now I will order a Skytrex model with confidence if I can get Styrene wings for it.
Rob.

**Guntruck** · 09-28-2010 01:28

Originally Posted by Flying Officer Kyte

I can't see why Skytrex could have any quibble about them.

Let's see now - you use Skytrex's Intellectual Property Rights (the wings that they have built the master for) and start knocking them out yourself in resin, metal or whatever, and you don't think Skytrex will quibble about it?

"Hello, what's this the postman has delivered? Oh, it's a Cease and Desist letter from Skytrex's lawyers".

Having now got down from my moral high horse, I must say that it would be nice to get a set in resin............

**Bedlam** · 09-28-2010 01:42

I'm with Steve on this. Whilst I think I'm pretty much within my rights to do what I like with my own model, if I start distributing copies of someone else's work I'm going to get told off. Having said that, the wings are no use without the rest of the aeroplane, so it's not as if Skytrex will lose sales - they might even sell more, as Rob points out.

I'm awaiting the card Reviresco bomber. Depending how tricky it looks, I will probably have a go at re-making the card parts in something a bit more durable. As that will be my own work, I'll make it available as an upgrade kit. Don't hold your breath though. I work at the speed of continental drift.

**Guntruck** · 09-28-2010 05:23

Originally Posted by Bedlam

I'm with Steve on this. Whilst I think I'm pretty much within my rights to do what I like with my own model, if I start distributing copies of someone else's work I'm going to get told off. Having said that, the wings are no use without the rest of the aeroplane, so it's not as if Skytrex will lose sales - they might even sell more, as Rob points out.

I am just imagining the lads at Skytrex scratching their heads and wondering why suddenly they are shifting dozens of a bomber that normally sells only one a month

**Dom S** · 09-28-2010 05:34

To be fair I might have sort of, umm, accidentally bought six with my HP. Why yes, funny you should ask, I have been reading "First Blitz" recently....