Morane Saulnier Model L - Parasol - 1/72

With the Felixstowe coming to a close, I decided to try my hand at this one.  It's an Airframe Kit of the Morane Saulnier Model L Parasol.  The kit is a vacuform kit that needs a donor kit for parts.  The donor kit will be a Revell Fokker EIII Eindecker.  I've never worked with vacuform before, so it's going to be interesting.  It will be another early Russian version with some really cool decals.



Started to cut the wing out then decided - yeah - I should post this.






Mike

Hmmmm.... this will be interesting.

I think your biggest challenge is going to be joining the wing and fuselage halves together. Not much contact point methinks!

Good luck.

Best to check on what type of glue to use on vaccu-formed parts. The plastic is so thin some glues could eat away at it. Good luck on a new challenge, you are one brave pilot.

Started cutting and sanding.  I can see there'll be a lot of going back to photos to compare what I'm doing.  So far, the wing halves look a bit thick when matched.  Maybe a little more sanding is due.  Rough sanding is being done with a sheet of 100 grit flat on a tabletop.



The third piece here is the profile which goes into the fuselage and provides the cockpit floor and instrument panel backing.



So far, so good.

Mike

First Vacuum formed model I have seen built. I am very interested in how this goes.

So am I.

The instructions aren't completely instructional, or maybe because I'm a vacuform newbie, but I figured it out.  The profile piece I showed in the last photo doesn't sit all the way in either fuselage half.  But, when you glue it in halfway, it provides a gluing surface for the other half - DUH!  A little filler will be needed across the joint, and I think I'll try to square off the edges more with filler to look better in scale.  I also added a piece of flat stock inside the nose as a gluing aid.





Mike

Ah!! so that's how it's done. Nice one Mike.

Looks good.

The seam looks like it could be trouble to get really smooth. Good luck with a real challenge.

Interesting !
The graphics in the lead photo are pretty wild !

Got the two halves of the wing together by lightly clamping and using MEK.  Gaps were filled, but there is no bottom side detail in the ribs.  So I'm trying thinly cut masking tape that'll be painted over.  Hope it works out.

Good thinking Mike, that should work nicely.

Worked on the engine and cowl.  The cowl is slightly wider than the fuselage, as it is with the actual plane, so I glued a piece of sheet backing to the fuselage. It'll provide a gluing surface for the cowling.


Later it'll be sanded flush with the contour of the cowl.


Rather than scratchbuild the landing gear struts, I used one from the Eindecker.  I cut the outer, side struts shorter and bent the main shaft so it is straight.  The geometry is slightly different than it should be, but it's a lot easier and has a bit of detail on it.


Thanks for listening,
Mike

Just looks like you've got the vacform sails of an airfix kit there and they expect you to make an aircraft out of them lol.

add some sticky back plastic, a toilet roll inner and a yogurt pot and you've got a Blue Peter special

Rather you than me Mike ... i have to say though you're doing a bang up job on it !!!

Pretty poor definition of the vacuu-formed parts. It looks like either not enough holes in the buck they used or not enough vacuum suction (that really sucks!). Little engine certainly helps with what looks to be not a great kit.

Good call on the cowl Mike. Is the engine vac formed too?

Thanks, all. Al, the engine is out of the Eindecker kit thank goodness. I'd hate to see the detail if it was vac'd - the detail throughout is not very distinct.

From what I read about vacuform, there can be both male and female versions. One being plastic formed over a positive buck, while the other is the plastic being sucked into a negative form. The latter results in sharper detailing.

Either way, I'll have had my fill (no pun intended) of vacuform after this project. I just had to do one to experience what it's like. Years ago, when I was working in the steel mill, there was an old fellow who modelled Italian aircraft of WWI and WWII. Back then, after a few available plastic kits, he had to resort to vacuform and scratchbuilding as well as carved balsa. Photos of his work were amazing.

A little more progress here.  The tail pieces of the Eindecker were very similar and had detail, so I used those.  Drilled them for the shaft attachment.  Also started the cable tower.


Got the fuselage and wing painted with ModelMaster Tan Ochre Acrylic.  I planned to use Vallejo Ochre Brown which is a closer match, but again ran into problem with Vallejo.  Locally, I can only get the regular Vallejo, not Vallejo Air.  No matter how I thin it, it ends up clogging and spitting.



The included tail piece isn't the Russian version, so I'm scratching that one.  The top one is the one I'll use.



Mike

Nice work on the tail Mike.

Talk about a challenge, man this is really coming along nicely Mike.

nicely thought out and engineered so far Mike .... taking shape now and looking good for such a poor base kit to start with.

Excellent build, really enjoying following along.

Laid on some decals.  First time I've encountered this.  They release from the paper in about 5 seconds.  When you slide them off, they seem dry.  But when you apply solvaset, they stick quite nicely.  Begemot decals.


Landing gear structures installed.


Added a couple of ribs to the tail with filler.  Bad closeup.


Also rigged the top of the wing with EZline.  It'll be delicate handling after the wing gets attached..


Those 4 legs will be the only thing holding the wing on the fuselage.


Thanks for the comments,
Mike

Neat job on the rigging Mike.