Well, after a very busy and moderately successful weekend I have been able to get back to the He.51. I'm really looking forward to getting this one finished and am hopeful that it will turn out as nice as planned.
I've not done a ton of work, but mostly been focussed on some of the really fiddly bits.
I managed to mock up the fit for the top wing such that I have glued the outboard struts in place. Because, as previously noted, the top wing has a slight twist the fit of these struts was not great and I suspect that one of them may be a bit bowed once the wing is on and locked down. We'll see how that goes.
I've also cut and tagged all the necessary lengths of EzyLine that are required for the rigging. I know it seems a bit anal retentive but I find that once I start the rigging I really don't like to get distracted by not being able to find the right line or having to fluff around unnecessarily. Having everything in its place should help keep me focussed.
This closer shot shows not only the lengths for the rigging but a closer view of the tiny elevator tab actuators that I made up from styrene sheet and stretched sprue. They are super-fiddly but they should look the part once glued in place approximately where the yellow arrows point. These two replace the one kit part that was hugely out of scale, being almost 1mm diameter for the rod and about twice the length it should be. Not sure why only one was supplied, reference photos show both tabs had the same actuators so the scratched replacements was the best option.
I'm hoping to clear a couple of hours late tomorrow afternoon to fix the rigging lines to the top wing. Once done I will fit the wing and once dried will pop the lower ends of the lines into their respective location holes. This bit I find to be the most difficult as it needs at least 3 or 4 hands. Thank goodness for CA accelerator!
That's all for this brief update. Thanks to everyone who looks in or leaves a comment.