Warbird construction question (1 Viewer)

[Alex]

If I'm not mistaken, those warbirds are made of solid wood parts most probably mahogany. One of my hobby is woodworking and I was really wondering why they chose this material to construct those planes. If we look at battleships models, the best of the best are made with a double plank construction and not just a raw piece of wood that was shaped to form. The reason is simple, if you just take one piece of wood, it's gonna crack one day or the other with the changes in humidity in the environment... and that is even if the piece of wood is sealed, stained or painted all over.. Plank construction is more complicated cause you have to build a skeleton and then cover is with a shell... So I guess that was not possible for K&C.. So here is my fear for all those collecting those birds, will they crack one day ? Now hopefully mahogany is one of the best wood for that since it's introduction in the Western world 2 centuries ago, woodworkers enjoy the fact that it's one of the wood that will shrink & expand much less than others with changes in humidity levels.

Cheers,

Alex

 

[Gideon]

Most of the older series warbirds I've seen are cracked in various places - this doesn't seem to bother the die hard collectors that much.

These new wildly expensive planes will have cracks in 5 - 10 years no doubt - made even worse by the intricate parts. As the wood contracts and expands you can just imagine what will happen.

I wonder, at their prices, if a more stable odel could have been developed but it seemed K&C was really prodded to produce in wood.

 

[Beaufighter]

Cheers Alex:

The Figarti warbirds are without a doubt constructed of some multi-composite material so no worries about cracking. I sold my older K&C warbirds years ago due to the cracking, etc. and simply due to a narrowing of my collecting taste. However, the newer warbirds are much, much lighter in weight. It was the weight of my older warbirds as in the Mosquito which I believe resulted in the "cracking" particularily at the wing roots due to the stress from the weight from a long lever arm. Hope this helps a bit. Somewhere, I have a description of the materials that Figarti used/uses in their aircraft. I will try to dig up that info.!

Hang Tough,
Beaufighter

 

[theBaron]

If I'm not mistaken, those warbirds are made of solid wood parts most probably mahogany. One of my hobby is woodworking and I was really wondering why they chose this material to construct those planes. ...

If I remember correctly, K&C did not originate aircraft models carved of solid wood, but rather, there were already some small manufacturers who offered such desktop models. I recall seeing such items in the Smithsonian's catalog, for example. I think that we can go back even further and find model makers who offered civilian subjects, like commercial jets, carved from wood.

I think K&C was the first to bring these models to the wider military collectors' market. Since the material already enjoyed accepted use, I wonder if they considered some other material, or thought that there was a potential among collectors already buying their toy solders.

Just a hypothesis.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Njja]

If I remember correctly, K&C did not originate aircraft models carved of solid wood, but rather, there were already some small manufacturers who offered such desktop models. I recall seeing such items in the Smithsonian's catalog, for example.

Brad:

You are right about the Smithsonian I purchsed 3 or 4 of those models from

their gift shop years ago XR71, Shuttle Challanger, B24 and I think a B26 they

were quite nice. I think I still have them sitting around somewhere.

 

[Spitfrnd]

You raise a good point about the wood. As I have noted before, it is not my favorite medium for this purpose since it complicates providing the detail and working parts, not to mention internal views, that I favor for aircraft.

 

[jazzeum]

I have three of the older K & C Warbirds and there is no cracking there so perhaps I'm lucky. I know Louis has many that are obviously in great condition and some like the Boston that have cracks. It could be a function of where the original owners resided.

I have five of the new one and I actually think they're heavier than the old one. However, that's not the issue. Will they crack? I don't think anyone knows. However, they are made different than the old ones. They have some kind of metal veneer over them that makes them look metallic and they have a distinct feel than the older ones. I, for one, think that they won't be as susceptible to cracking but that's just a personal opinion; I have nothing to back that up.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Hi guys,
When I first started my new business in 1997 one of my main product ranges was the handcrafted mahogany wooden planes. The place that made mine was not the same as used by K&C at that time but was from the same town which specialised in this area. I visited the factory a few times and saw the processes.
Basically it was a production line with various stages such as
carving initial shape
bombs, propellers etc,
initial paint scheme,
detailed paint job such as nose art
bases
and at the end of each day each plane was put in a room with heaters to dry the wood. It was this process that would prevent cracking.
I did speak with others importing similar wooden planes and they mentioned some of theirs cracked within a couple years. I did have some of mine for several years and none cracked. Never had a complaint from a customer about cracking. My factory was doing orders for major airlines so would be tough if they had frequent cracking problems.
I can't speak for K&C's current warbirds but I am sure you will agree Andy wlll have found the best quality he can.
Biggest thing I had made was a 5ft Titanic !! Sold 4 of them.
Did not carry on with this product as supply was too unreliable and I had to pay in full at time of order and could be waiting 6 months for them to arrive. That is stress when you are doing a customers relatives plane for Xmas and you have taken a deposit !
Look in aviation magazines and you will see various sellers of these mahogany models (incl the one that supplied me) although probably not to the detail that K&C has gone too.
Hope that helps.
Regards
Brett