Entex 1/72 1910 DeHavilland (Early Birds series)

(The completed model is here:)
http://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2013/07/de-havilland-1910-biplane-1-entex-172.html

This is another vintage classic, depicting once more an early bird of the Pioneer Era.

As with the Bleriot XI, the only way to reasonably build this one is just (Beatle-style) letting it be. The same sort of general clunkiness permeates the model but redeeming factors are the old age of the kit and its character of a Golden Oldie; so let’s just do another “homage building”. The resulting replica, again as with the Bleriot, will be enough for it to be recognized and occupy its place in a collection aiming to give a visual account of aviation history.

Those who are familiar with the obscure origins of this hobby and the Paleoplastic period of manufacturers will know that Entex also offered several other models of Pioneer aircraft. Other brands like Pyro, Renwal, and the French Brifaut* (thanks Diego for enlightening me on that one), also produced examples of Early Birds.

The kit itself: accompanying the sprues are the instructions, this time fortunately in English and a sheet of very thick paper meant to be covering material. I’ll take with a pinch of salt the recommendation of using that paper, thick and rough, and especially the suggestion of applying aeronautic dope to it to improve its surface and eliminate wrinkles, as one would do with a flying model. I wouldn’t bet on the chemical compatibility of the kit’s plastic and the dope. The instructions contain small illustrations, are kind of vague (surprise!) and omit clear rigging diagrams. Allow me to emphasize that: the instructions are horrible, in many ways that will be revealed as you advance with the construction groping your way. The box, though, shows small 3 views that provide some orientation in that matter, beware, though, that that 3 view contains many mistakes too, among the most flagrant an incorrect power-plant and therefore a bogus linkage system to the props. Look at some photos if you feel so inclined.

I have scratchbuilt a good number of these old machines, and frankly I consider it is the way to go if you want a good replica, that said I welcome the opportunity to build these naive vintage kits, which is fun and has a certain je ne sais quoi.

Before even starting construction I committed a mistake: I looked at references.The Flight magazine online archives have some pages that describe the plane, include images and a good plan of it. You may feel tempted to tweak here and there in order to provide for a more realistic outcome.
Tired of looking at the stupidly small graphics on the plan, I scanned it and referred to them in the comfort of the magnified image on my monitor.

 *Brifaut also produced a model of the Ader Eole that seems quite cute -although also unavoidably clunky- according to photos. For what I can see on the Net collector’s items like that go these days for prices that are way, way beyond what the kit has really to offer, not considering its historic value of course.

 Exhibiting not-so-clever engineering: the "good" face of the mold will eventually point inwards:

 While from the outside you will see the "bad" or flat face:

There was some flash present as one would come to expect, the wings were the areas where it most abounded.
It took a couple hours to remove it, level the surfaces which had also many little ejection pin marks, and sand both wings to ease the edges and ridges created by the molding process. The upper wing came with cracks in three points, which were fixed before any work could commence. If you look carefully you will notice that one strut "grabs" the aileron, thence technically blocking its movement, the delights of master-makers with no hint on aviation (and design supervisors too busy watching TV):

A photo of the kit's ridiculously small pilot alongside the kit's radiator and Manolo Schubertus Nakamurakara Kierkegaard, The Hieratic, my test pilot (whose stature is normal):

Flying surfaces after cleaning and sanding:

The fuselage formers are glued to one side:

 Then the sides joined:

 The radiator exhibited an abnormal thickness, so it was sanded down in half:

The kit three-part incredibly ridiculous rendition of the DeHavilland engine in all its splendor. Not only is a misshapen spawn with absolutely nothing to do with reality, but the kit wants it installed the wrong way, instead of sideways as it was mounted on the real plane:

Well, that was really beyond acceptable, so I broke my "let it be" philosophy aimed to this particular kit and scratchbuilt another engine following photos and diagrams of the real thing. Oh, my, I told you not to look at references....
The accurization of the engine led unavoidably to revise the linkage to props and ancillaries, which are all wrongly depicted and incorrectly positioned in the kit, of course (didn't I tell you not to look at references...)

To the fuselage frame some other components are added, not following the instructions which are anyway misleading, confusing, inaccurate and frankly almost useless:

 A trial covering begins, NOT using the kit's paper which is a disgrace:

 Be careful to attach the covering material to every contact surface on concave underside, otherwise the paper will span the gap as it shrinks and present a flat surface:

 The aft stabilizer has a notch which allows it to be glued to the fuselage end. In another example of bad engineering and poor judgment you would have to cut through the paper after covering to expose the contact area, marring the finish since the adjacent bays have a wall missing:

 The area is consequently boxed-in, to allow the paper to glue to something -this flying modelers will understand easily-. The styrene added pieces will later be sanded flush with the general contour:

The stab correction already sanded and radiator thinned and painted:

 The covering trial in proces:

 The new engine ready:

 The propellers in the original plane were counter-rotating to eliminate the effects of torque, a fact (another one) that the masters' maker obviously ignored and that went unsupervised by the designer, so one prop was cut and its blades re-mounted on a new hub mirroring the other one:

 Reproducing the missing strut from stretched sprue of the same kit:

 Cleaning the mold lines on the struts -and of every other single part-:

 Painting the struts:

 A group of parts ready to put aside in wait for the final assembly:

The fuselage frame is given a two-tone wood color paint job:

Engine and wheels are now in place in the fuselage:

 The other flying surfaces are covered. The upper wing (which came cracked and was repaired) became loose again at one of the joins, due to manipulation, so the covering had to be taken off and the process re-started:

Once the upper wing was re-covered all remaining flying surfaces followed suit and were stretched:

 

Did I mention that the instruction sheet is useless? then allow me to say it again. When you arrive to he installation of the main landing gear the locations of what it seems to be parts #14 is a mystery. When I looked at models on the Net, creative solutions were found for that area. I followed the only two plans I know of (Flight magazine and the De Havilland Aircraft book) and came up with my own view of the matter.

Here are some miscellaneous ancillary parts that were cleaned up:

Now, more building conundrums: in (yet) another sample of poor design, the kit has the struts that attach the wings to the fuselage arranged in a way that is first not-to-the-original, and second leaves the wings at 0 incidence. If you fiddle with that, you will have alter the angle of all struts (easy peasy) and the notches present on those struts which contact the fuselage longerons (drat!). Another long day ahead....and not to add something extra, but just to correct more flaws.

I just couldn't stand those missing cross-members in the kit's design, and decided to add them. It can't be helped, one thing is an old venerable kit with the limitations of its time, the then concept of standards and the available technology, and another is a bad kit, then and now:

The elevator control linkage was added, good luck dealing with it, you will need Houdini to thread it inside the fuselage:

The diagonal braces are added at this stage:

 The flying surfaces are misted with an off-white color, to enhance realism:

The different struts are glued angled to the lower wing, to allow later on for the right incidence. There are three types of struts, so be careful:

 The wing is glued to the fuselage frame. Needless to say, nothing coincides with nothing, and you have to fiddle your way until you position the wing correctly (and not as the the kit has it) thanks to the re-carving of the notches on the back pair of struts where they touch the fuselage longerons. Patience and a keen eye are required at this stage (and with this kit, at every stage):

The landing gear is per-assembled, the tank is given a vent, a cap and a fuel line (don't ask me why I bother). The part on the left, the fuel tank rack, had to be discarded due to -again- poor fit and replaced with styrene rod glued in place:

 The upper wing is put in place:

 The wheels are inserted into the LG train (better you do it now, or it will be never):

 The LG in place, a very fiddly assembly.
I can say, at this point, without a shadow of doubt, that this is one of the most poorly engineered kits I ever built.

New prop shafts were made:

 The prop shafts and engine connecting shafts are put in place:

After the 20 + rigging sections on the fuselage, now the 40 + rigging sections for the wing are being put in place. Delightful! other elements to be mounted later on surround the cell:

The fore and aft planes are in position: