My 400 series Rufe (404 kitbash)

[Mitch]

What to do after you build all the 400 series... Start kitbashing...

Here is the prototype:


Here is the planning Board:


Here is what I see need to be changed:


...and after reading the specs on the Zero and the Rufe I discovered that the Rufe has a longer WS. Not too surprising since it has to carry the load of those floats.

...and here is the work so far... the Rufe wing in 1/16 scale:

I am using half the ribs again. This time I will be using rib F9 x2 to be the bracket for the wing sponton. I had to make new E2's as the wing is now longer.
I also needed to cut a new F1 as I will need 2 as that will be the bracket for the main float.

Tomorrow... uh latter today I will copy the 500 Rufe plans and scale them up 170% so I can make the floats in 1/16 scale.

For this build I will plan to use Guillows wing brace as The wing will also be supporting the spontoons.

Mitch

[BillParker]

I tripled the 500 series plan, to just over 40 inches and:

[davidchoate]

I like the canopy, and cowl. I am becoming a fan of all balsa construction (no plastics) other than what is absolutely necessary to make it fly.

[Mitch]

I guess everything is BIGGER in Texas... Thanks for the post Bill...

I forgot my camera cord again. So you will have to wait until I get home for pictures.
I decided to make another Zero (Since I have parts for 2)

My second Zero will be a trainer model... If it flies well I will enter it in "Low Wing Military Trainer" here is a picture from the internet:

Just looks like I need to extend the canopy. I have "Hi Visibility" orange paper. I do not know anymore about the plane, so if anyone has any info please let me know. But as of now I will build it as per plans...
My Rufe will have a 30 inch ws, and I am not sure if it will fly with the floats. I plan to make the Sponsons similar to the main float and not solid. It will only be able to swing a 7 inch prop for clearance of the main float. If it does not fly I will remove the floats and have a Zero with a slightly longer ws.

I'll be home next week and start my vacation. There is a flight contest next month in October, so I will plan to have several models ready for that!

Mitch

[Mitch]

I found what I needed on the internet of images for the A6M2-K:

Looks like the canopy is fixed and is open for the front pilot. So I will still need to get another canopy as I want the frame work of the front windscreen and the frame of the rear portion. I am not too far along with the fuselage and will make some adjustments and add a second instrument panel and give each pilot enough room so the student is not sitting in the instructors lap.

Well, another order to Guillows parts dept... I plan to buy some more parts for future projects... Seafire...Me109-H...etc...

Mitch

PS Also just found this...

This is just what I needed... I am already making adjustments to the Zero!
Don't you just love the internet... I enjoy planning and kitbashing as much as building!
BUT... the best part is when you see these creations flying in the air!

What I like about this 'trainer' is that the wheels retract... hence mine will be in the stowed position!

[Mitch]

Hey All Warbird fans... just found a great site... ModernDraw... Great color plates and stats.

http://www.wardrawings.be/WW2/Files/Site.htm

They have a nice 3 view of the Rufe and the Zero Trainer I plan to use as reference.

Lots of other planes also... Mitch

PS: The glue is drying and I am surfing the net while I can...

[davidchoate]

I have built every kit except one in the 600 series except the Cessna 180, and for .99 cents on ebay I got the box, plan, cowl, and stickers. I have more than enough left over wood to build it. Then Like you, I will do variations, and My Bird dog, I think the FAI rubber is gonna make a huge difference. I cut the recommended 36" of it, and took the left over piece and It is so much different in properties than Grey, or blue. I couldnt even breakit!. Where do I buy it again? Its lighter as well, and seems like it'll take alot of winds; and one more thing Mitch. Where do I get ba winder? I can make a stooge I think. I have one othrer Dumas kit, But its like a peanit size Curtis Hawk, and I want to fly it on Rubber, so will not pirate the motor. I need more FAI rubber, NOW !!!

[Mitch]

I got my winder from Orv, the GizmoGeezer. He has a website. He says he has parts to make two more winders. He is in the process of designing a new version as he can no longer get the large gear for the current model. I met Orv at a contest and bought some stuff from him there.

I get my rubber from easybuiltmodels, they have tan rubber in 4 different sizes and that is where I also got my building magnets and get all my paper from them too.

Happy Building and Flying, Mitch

[kittyfritters]

Here's the text of a post I made about the 500 series Rufe back in 2007.

The one thing that you want to remember about the Rufe is that, although you will see drawings of it painted purple in several reference books, there is no evidence from any authoritative source that a Rufe was actually painted purple like the box art. The box art is a printer's error. (Confirmed by Tom Barker.) it was supposed to be orange.

The tail number, on the decal in the box, begins with the letter 'Ko' indicating that the aircraft belonged to the 'Koko Gijitsu Sho' or Air Technical Arsenal which was the Japanese navy's experimental testing center. Since the paint job for Japanese experimental aircraft and trainers, at the time, was all over orange with black cowling, the box art and decals would at least be in the ball park with an orange paint job.

Aside from the all over grey and green and grey color schemes that were used on the Rufe in combat you could also use the all over Navy blue with French markings used on captured Rufes flown by the French in Indochina after the war.

The Japanese sometimes put some extremely colorful personal and unit markings on the rear of the fuselage and tails of their aircraft, but , unfortunately, most of the available photographs are in black and white. The artists who have done color plates must have had the benefit of interviews with pilots, read pilot diaries or extrapolated the colors of the markings by the "lets see, the plane was green, the meatball was red, it was orthochromatic film so the color of the unit flash must have been..." method.


Taking into account the actual colors, unit flashes, personal markings and flaking paint, the Rufe must have been one of the most colorful airplanes in the Pacific theater.

[Mitch]

Hey KF... Thanks for the information... I just got home and had a very busy and fun filled day.

I plan to get some pictures up tomorrow. Now I am very tired. The Rufe is an experiment for me. I hope she will fly. With the short nose and needed ballast for the Zero, I think the Rufe will have an advantage because I can place what ballast I need 4 inches further forward. My plane also has a 30 inch ws and 4 more sq inches of wing area.

I plan also to use some 'artistic licence' as my colors are limited. I plan to cover the plane in purple topsides and light blue underneath. If not historically correct, I think she will very look nice.

Actually I am more excited about the trainer. She will be covered in 'Hi Vis' orange, and her fuselage although has more wood than the Rufe weighs only 12 grams where the Rufe weighs in at 14 right now. (That's just the fuselage skeleton)

The trainer was a very easy conversion as the fuselage of the Zero is the same girth for the next bay back.

Mitch

[zoomie]

there is no evidence from any authoritative source that a Rufe was actually painted purple

Wasn't just the Rufe, and it wasn't just Guillows. .

Some of the DC Comics artists who illustrated WW2 stories in the late 50s - early 60s took broad liberties with aircraft color schemes. One in particular featured carrier-based medium brown Corsairs mixing it up with a group of orange Zekes when out of nowhere appeared an enemy mystery fighter, a PURPLE Tony w/floats who joined the melee. BTW, the Tony w/floats out-dogfighted the Corsairs .

I was about ten y.o. at the time and went to the public library to dig up further information on this plane and color scheme. Nothing then, and nothing since. Oh well...maybe someday a color plate or 3-view will turn up .


zoomie

[Mitch]

Here is the fuselage of my trainer with a part of B5 removed to allow room for the instructor:

The canopy will move further back. I ordered another canopy so I am cutting them up to create what I need to fabricate the trainers canopy.

Here is the trainer skeleton finished... Need one more piece for the canopy. The pilots are from the 'Steerman' I like them as they do not wear the oxygen masks. They will need a little more work with 'Green stuff' and prime and paint. I cut off there heads and re-positioned them to make a little variation.


I scaled up the floats 170% and used a glue stick to layout the patterns on some Guillow's sheet balsa from the kits:


Here is the Rufe with the float underneath in the approximate position:


I have more pictures if any one needs to see something specific.

Mitch

[Mitch]

I know this started out as a Rufe build thread, but the Zero Trainer is a much easier conversion, and I will finish the trainer before the Rufe.

Here are all the Main Components of the Zero K model (Trainer):


The canopy was made from 2 canopies. The pilots are ordered from Guillows and are the 803 Pilots.

All parts shown weigh in at 42 grams (excluding pilots and paper). Although I have some decals, I plan to cut out my own markings as I want the white outline. The stabilizer weighs 3 grams, plan to cut that down some more and get it to 2. The rudder does not register on my scale... so it's 0.

The plane will have 2 instrument panels, I had a few but they are misplaced...

I will be home for a few days before I have to go to school for recurrent training, so I will try to make some progress here.

Mitch... Keep Building, Keep Flying, Keep Happy!

Here are some more shots...




I will be away from home for a week. I will bring my 1/16 Tamiya Pilot and some paints and see what I can do!

[Mitch]

In just a few minutes while cooking diner I trimmed a gram off the tail:


With the moment that that tail has that equates to about 3 less grams of ballast needed = 4 grams less total! That's called compound interest!

I plan to do a bit more work on the tail after dinner, that will be without the power tool.

Tail above is for the Rufe weighs 4 grams. Both are made as per Guillow's Plans.

Mitch... dinner time...

After dinner report:

Don't forget to add in some washout:


I spayed the wingtip with water and am using my metal board and magnets to add the washout before covering. I do one side at a time. I like to cover the wing with washout in that way the paper is already flowing that way...

...more tomorrow.

[Mitch]

Morning Report;

Washout is set on the stbd wingtip, now the port wingtip is getting done.

The tail is finished and both pieces weigh 2 grams! That's together... not each piece. This is the lightest tail I have built so far!


I got a few plastic pieces to trim and need to set in the gun troughs. I will add some in fill in the nose section today...