tiger moth another Dumas

all of the dumas models than i have don't have the correct amount of ribs, i am guessing you are correct that it is to save weight. some of their plans do include the proper locations so the extra ribs can be added and on some they also show the correct scale for the stab. the fokker eindecker plan for example has them laid out.

Remember on the full size the ribs are light and spindly.
The ribs of a Gipsy Moth.
 
Just image building them like that!
 

There's been some documentaries on the history of the RAF recently.
I didn't know about the geodetic fuselage of the Wellington etc.
Fancy building a model with that!

I understand only Vickers were able to use (or understand?) how to create a geodetic design. Was every piece designed individually to create a double curve structure?
Its big advantage at the time was it created what in effect is a stressed skin structure that could be simply fabric covered.

There is the famous line in the Dam Busters film where Barns Wallace is pleading with the Air Ministry for authority to develop the bouncing bomb.
In answer to the question "Why should we believe you it is possible to design such a thing?". He replied "I did design the Wellington bomber" which at the time was the mainstay of Bomber Command. 

Wallis was chief designer for the Vickers R100. Built in 1927 but it was not geodetic like the Wellington or the Wellesley. It was the first big aerodynamic shaped airship unlike the "sausage" Zeppelins. It was considered successful flying to and returning from Canada.
However after the debacle of the Ministry sponsored and even bigger R101 is was held in storage, never flown again, eventually being scrapped in the 1930s.
Interesting "tit bit" the Americans were interested in the R100 and even offered to refill it with Helium for free in exchange for the design details, however at the time the "Special Relationship" did not go that far!   

thats not happening in this household.!>!. not enough rum to take that on
haha

a little bit every day. sometimes moving forward, sometimes redoing yesterdays work.
sometime this works when shrinking tissue, hold down the part on your waste balsa cutouts. 

 

magpie comentted on the red wheel of the dumas model kit. most of their small models have red wheel. i have painted many. i paint the tire with a sharpie. i paint the inner rim what ever color i want and then clean up the mating surface where the tire meets the rim with a sharpie (permenant marker)

here is a wheel from the tiger moth. in this case it came black. i painted the inner rim silver and then used the sharpie to clean up the edge of the tire. just make sure the paint is real dry, draw on something with the sharpie before you do the wheel just to get the ink flowing, then go around the rim once and stop. make sure it is a good sharp point on that sharpie.  it does a pretty good job.

i edited to show one of the infamous dumas red wheel. i did it the same way.

     
 


 

Having had much difficulty getting permanent markers to be permanent on plastic plant labels I didn't try that route. I haven't tried acrylic pens.
The best option I've found is to use laser-cut balsa hubs & fit them with an O-ring tyre.
I'm waiting for some more O-rings but here are some I made earlier.
The blue hub is the acrylic paint from my Gannet, the black is the tissue from the Lysander, the aluminium is kitchen foil.
I've just checked on the VMC site but they don't seem to be stocking them anymore.
Dimension wise the hubs are two laminated 18mm diameter 1/16th sheet, and an 18mm ID 4mm thick O-ring giving a 1 inch dia wheel.