This peanut scale Martynside S.1 has proved a good performer, not surprising with a weight of just 11.25 grams, and plenty of wing area. The model uses pre-shrunk tissue, giving a slightly rumpled appearance, but Chris reckons he has saved a good 3.5 to 4 grams compared to a conventional build using tight tissue and the wood needed to support it.
Great detailing and finish as usual from Chris - here are some details:
Finish is green tissue with beige chalk and bleach for the light yellow areas - chalk and tissue roundels, inkjet union jacks, pen serial number to look like the haphazard original. Chalk and tissue on the various struts. You can see the paper pads between the struts and the wings. This allows significant crashes to be repaired at the field when the paper separates without pulling the plane apart. This, plus the lycra thread makes for a very practical pile of sticks in terms for crash recovery.
Wheels are balsa with EVA tires, nylon axles and nylon landing gear strut attachment to the cabanes. This adds up to a surprising amount of give in the landing gear despite the fixed mounting.
Lycra is used for all the rigging and control cables. The prop is 1/64" ply on tonkin cane shafts and a plywood and brass hub. There is some tungsten inside the hub for a bit of nose weight. A K&P bearing is used without the flange. Blue foam (Floormate 200 from the UK) cylinders and pilot. Acrylic paint on the foam.
The pilot took Chris a whole day to carve. He started by cutting up a 1/24 scale plastic car driver figure to get a 3-D model on which to base the foam guy.
The pilot story: Louis Strange flew this S1 with the very odd color scheme. The plane is said to have eventually had a lewis gun mounted above the upper wing, which lead to Strange's most famous adventure. But the only photo Chris had seen has no Lewis on it. Strange is also reported to have dropped "petrol bombs" in one of the very first bombing attempts by the RFC. This was convenient because Chris wanted to have this ship "armed" for WW1 events. Thus the flaming bottle.
Chris reckons the pilot figure may be a case of modeling EW (excess whimsy), but I like it a lot!. The flame (such as it is) is from white esaki colored with blue, yellow, orange, and gray markers. The bottle is from Blue foam with a paper handle.
Ryan STA
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