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I use one since years. This was my first electrical brush and is moving only up and down (linearly) without rotation. Works like charm for sanding of smaller areas, edges etc. I simply glue a new piece of sanding paper when needed. Unfortunately I don't have a second brush (the movable part only) and can't use 2 different grits simultaneously.Not me but I have an old electric toothbrush that I'm thinking of turning into a sander/polisher.
You do do your research!! Love this build.Back again.
PART IX; ENGINES, COWLINGS AND PROPELLERS
One of the assemblies for this model, consisting of 4 parts is the engine cowling with propeller + spinner, and this x2. First thing one will see is that the propellers out of the box are too small. They were from the type Ratier 1634/1635 with a diameter of 3.20 meters. I started checking other models for an appropriate donor and found the Matchbox B-25H. The propellers are slightly bigger (not a big problem to be sanded down) and the paddles are slightly thinner for a B-25, but good enough for my LeO:
View attachment 657188
Left is the new propeller (in black), right is the OOB small propeller.
One of the (many) reasons to love this avion is the fact that you don't see any engines! No pushrods, no cylinders, no nothing!
View attachment 657189
Just a gap between the cowling ring and the hub!
That's good but there is another question to answer before proceeding with "my" cowlings. Going through the photos of LeO 451, I found 2 different types of cowling:
1. A smooth one:
View attachment 657190
2. A second one with small fairings over the cylinder blocks:
View attachment 657191
I couldn't find any descriptions or explanation of the latter. LeO 451 was equipped with 2 types of engines: Gnome-Rhone 14N 48/49 and 14N 38/39. I don't know if this was the reason for the small bumps or not. I didn't find a proof that this is an early resp. late type of cowling. In the Youtube movie mentioned several times before, showing moments of the LeO production in the late 1939 - early 1940 the cowlings are smooth:
View attachment 657192
The model cowlings have some microscopic "warts":
View attachment 657193
The a/c I try to represent was manufactured in 1939, so I decided to sand down the small fairings and have a smooth Mercier-cowling. Here is the finished/painted detail:
View attachment 657194View attachment 657195
The silver ring in the middle will be completely covered by the propeller hub, but imitates the original metal ring as seen on the real a/c:
View attachment 657196
And the engines with the propellers look like this:
View attachment 657197View attachment 657198
I started scratching and weathering the yellow paint and the result was very realistic, but I didn't like it. On the other hand the yellow painted cowlings and empennage were used for approx. a month between June and July 1941 only during the Syrian campaign. With a great probability this high-viz markings were newer and better looking than the rest of the camouflage trough all the time.
That's all for the last few days.
Cheers!
Thanks for your input!The cowling extended for ground cooling and retracted when in flight, sort of like the function of cowl flaps on the Ju87, P-40, etc.
I don't have my stuff handy, so I grabbed this bit from wiki:
"Mercier also used his patented type of fairing for the LeO 45's radial engines. Unlike typical NACA cowlings, flow adjustment was not provided by flaps, but by a frontal ring that moved back and forth to respectively reduce or increase flow, without change in drag."
So your cowls are correct.
Thank you!You do do your research!! Love this build.
Ahh yes, I see the different types now.Thanks for your input!
Yep, the cowl rings are correctly done by the model maker (Heller) and they are in extended position (as for being on the ground).
As another example later LeO 45 models (455, 453) had different engines and cowls without the ring but with cowl flaps:
View attachment 657199View attachment 657200
I was talking about the 2 different types of the same Mercier-cowling with and without those small bumps over the cylinder blocks (see my previous post). Only a small number of photos show them and I believe these are late a/c, manufactured after the Armistice. The production of LeO 45 re-started in April 1941 in the unoccupied territory of France. I'm not sure if this is the correct answer.
Cheers!