My way of scratchbuilding from ground up.

[leaded50]

When you wanna make a airplane, where its no ready plans to use, you need set it up your self.
Easiest is if found, 3D view drawing, or pictures in 3D view. If want to make it scale, most every plane its possible find the length/wingspan info on.

At computer picture app, zoom up eg your found 3D drawing to the size (length or wingspan) you want to make your model in. If you want 50" wingspan, zoom it up to the wing have 50". and save.

 

[leaded50]

2. Plan where you wanna have formers, mark them, and make the measures between them:

 

[leaded50]

3- to find height and width of the former, measure at the points at fuselage where you marked to have them.

 

[leaded50]

4. by using picures, and front view at 3D drawing you can see how its shape is along the fuselage, rounded, square, how much, eg.. No, if its not perfect doesnt matter, nobody will react on a radius at a corner who is eg 5% bigger.

 

[leaded50]

5. by followed this, youre will be pretty close to how the original plane is in shapes, and can do similar at your model.... of any airplane.

A good tip is to mark out where the propline is along the fuselage, all the way, then you have a referanceline for angles on wing & stab.

Make more formers, where lines isnt as straigh, as eg at nose of fuselage have more "linechanges" than at where wings are, or to rear.
Wing portion of fuselage needs formers for stabilize/reinforce that part though.

 

[mayan]

I’ll watching this !

 

[leaded50]

6. make a reinforcing - main spar who goes all the way in fuselage, to put the fprmers on. This can be vertical, horizontal, flat, square-shaped, or what you want... point is to get the model rigid enough to hold formers at corret place, and give the design ment to be. Every formers needs fit this, out of same line as this reinforcing/"spar"

 

[leaded50]

here is a few examples from some of my builds, on how it will be with the fuselage reinforcing/spar, and formers set on it:

 

[flamingo]

its like the guinea pig

 

[leaded50]

7. Placement of formers. Formers are needed where the shape "shifts", and plane needs support (eg. at wing) you can bend the foamboard just one way. And to make a rounded nose, both from side and top, you need more formers, and it will be more different skins.
If see on pictures of the plane, you will see it goes from rounded shape to a more square shape close to cockpit windows, a former here will help make that shape on the skin at that place
At the example airplane, i would decided put formers on this places, to get best uniform shape in look as original plane. :

Yeah, sometimes you can take away a few formers after you glued skins together... it depends on strength needed there... or can cut out much of material in middle. As up front here, if not formers to strengthen, it will easier deform in a crash...

 

[leaded50]

Some will note, when zoom up such a drawing, the lines can get pretty thick, and not so easy... dont care about it, keep eg your measures in the outer, middle or inner part of zoomed lines all the way, it will be ok. If by scale, your plane get 3mm lower , nobody sees it, and the plane still will look correct!
Point is to get the parts of plane, to fit correct together against other parts, even if eg a height in fuselage somewhere isnt quite correct, adjust it to get a smooth shape fit rest of your model.

When cutting out parts, eg rounded, you can use your coffecup, a bottle top eg to get all round shapes similar to each other if should be such.

 

[The Hangar]

I’ll watching this !

+1

 

[leaded50]

You can learn a lot sometimes, from paper models. This is a plan on the nose parts before the cockpit. (dont remember which plane) The more parts , the more smooth rounded shape.

AND, by foamboard, remove the paper on inside of skins, to get a smooth outside!!

 

[GrizWiz]

Subbed!

 

[Phin G]

This is like what i did for my A wing but alot better i just sat down and cut out the shape out of a shoe box. 🤣 here is the first prototype

 

[GrizWiz]

This is like what i did for my A wing but alot better i just sat down and cut out the shape out of a shoe box. 🤣 here is the first prototype View attachment 181758

I can try to 3d model you something for plans

 

[Phin G]

I can try to 3d model you something for plans

Omg thank you for the offer but i must decline im sitting here soldering and i also have a 3d printer and stuff to make a model of it. Thank you for the request though

 

[leaded50]

I didnt had a plan to build more planes at moment, but after checking, i found didnt had any pictures to show "how - i do" , so started a new build. RK 800 , a Russian prototype project from -38 on a experimental retractable-wing aircraft.

Here is the internal sceleton. Some of it gonna be changed/ some formers removed when the build goes forward, but at moment necessary to get the skinshapes i want. Just look at the nose... formers every 35mm would give a very smooth rounded shapes.

 

[leaded50]

8. Skins.
To make the skin fit the internal sceleton i do like this:

Plain writingpaper is wrapped around the formers tight, without any wrinkles, dumps eg. Holded up against light from the back...its no problem se where the formers are! AND mark it on the paper. (at blue arrows) (i usually make a line in middle of former, if uses a single former, or between if used two. ) Even where the paper meets at fuselage belly.
If been a little shaky on marking the line, it will easy show on the paper, since all cut lines will be smooth as formers are, and then can adjust when cut out the profile plan for the skin.

Here paper is ready cut out- a tough longer in same angle/curb , since the foamboard are thicker and gives bigger circumference than just a thin paper.. How much to adjust is easy seen when checking with the fomboard part.

When first skinpart are in place, glued, a thin stip of foamboard put on next former, eg with taped to keep in place tight around, the paper done as here will give you exact size, since it then will follow the outer circumference of foamboard, not inner as done first skin here directly on fomer with thin paper, not 5mm fomboard.

You can also do it another way, by cutting the circumference of all formers (and foamboard in the way as the length of belly in my build here) the thickness of foamboard used, after made all skinplans in paper as done on the picture here.

This way you get skins who is individually perfect fit to your internals, even if youre done a small error in angle of a former eg.

 

[BoredGuy]

This is an awesome resource, thanks a lot!