1/48th DeHavilland DH10 Based on K&B (Aurora) DH10A By Mike Robinson

Background

Once in a while I like to take an older kit and see what I can do to bring it up to today’s standards. Such was the case with this K&B DH10A I picked up at a swap meet for 5 dollars. It was a reissued Aurora offering and it showed. Opening the box revealed the usual Aurora molding of the time; basically correct in outline, except for the Fuselage as noted later, molded in insignia locations and clunky details. Not only did I decide to build the kit, I also opted to up the ante by converting it back to a DH10, which differed from the DH10A by having the Engine Nacelles supported in midair by struts, rather than by being mounted directly to the wing. This made it necessary to shorten the center wings and lengthen the outer lower wing to be the same span as the upper wings. Luckily Windsock publishes an outstanding reference for the DH10, so armed with that, plus whatever information I could Google, resulted in the model you see here. As I did construction of the beast I took notes and photographs of the progress, and will share them with you here if you should so decide to attempt the same. It wasn’t as involved as I thought it would be, and certainly results in a model you don’t see every day.

Fuselage

The kit was fuselage was scrapped in favor of a scratchbuilt and more accurate fuselage. The master was carved from basswood and then vacuformed from .030 plastic. All interior structure in including bulkheads, stringers, supports, instrument boards, seat bases and floorboards were added from .010, .020 and .030 plastic sheet and Evergreen shapes. The Control Wheel assembly is scratchbuilt, as are all the other controls and fittings. Instruments are from Copper State Models. Gun Rings are scratchbuilt using Evergreen plastic channel and bits and pieces from Fotocut's WW1 Extravaganza Sheet of PE. Outer fabric covering on aft section is embossed .005 sheet, glued over the base fuselage form. Stitching is Part PE stitching. The aft section of fuselage in front of the rudder is offset as the original aircraft was the same way, in a primitive attempt at aerodynamic balancing to offset engine torque. There is also a slot cut into the top portion of the Rudder Mass Balance for the same effect. Due to the high number of crashes attributed to poor lateral control, especially at take-off, needless to say it did not worked as hoped.

This is how it began life.

Basswood Master for new fuselage being roughed in.

Fuselage showing internal structure and kit fuselage plug used to anchor lower wings.

Semi finished cockpit. Fake fuel tank served to hide the wing plug.All that needed to be added at this point was the Control Column.

Wings

Kit wings were used both upper and lower with the following modifications. Upper wings were sanded smooth of all rib detail and then sanded to correct shape. They were then reskinned using sheets of .010 plastic with the ribs embossed from underneath and then cemented to the new wing core. Ailerons were cut loose and reattached using .020 brass wire for hinges. Lower wings were modified by cutting loose the nacelle attachments and shortening the lower center section to match the span of the upper center section. The outer lower panels then had to be lengthened and reshaped to match the profile of the upper wing outer panels. After surgery the lower wings were also recovered with .010 plastic skins and ailerons cut and reattached as the upper wings. Strut and rigging location holes were predrilled, and holes drilled in the ends for steel music wire attachment fittings.

This shot shows the difference between the sanded wing blank and the kit wing. Lots of dust made this day.

Skinning the wings with .010 plastic. The ribs are embossed on the backside with a blunt scribe and a straight edge. These were glued and CA’ed in place over the blanks, with the lead edge faired in using CA as a filler.

Both completed wings lined up in the jig. The tan lead edge is the blank, after fairing in and sanding the CA filler smooth.

Tail Surfaces

The kits Rudder and Fin was woefully too small according to the profile in the Windsock book on the DH10. The Rudder was sanded smooth and an 1/8th inch added to the bottom, resanded to correct shape and then reskinned as the wings. The Elevator and Stabilizer was simply sanded and reskinned as it was accurate in shape and span. Rudder and Elevators were also cut loose and rehinged. Control Horns are .010 plastic cut to shape.

These were made same as the wings.

Engines and Nacelles

Since the DH10A had the engines mounted to the wings, the kit nacelles were not used. A new master was carved from basswood and then vacuformed. The kit's Radiator Shroud and Shutters were then turned upside down and grafted on. The engines are Aeroclub V-12 Liberty engines with exhaust made from .030 solder that was drilled out after installation. The engine struts are .030 brass wire, and the support struts underneath are Contrail. Props are the kit props with PE bosses, surprisingly very accurate in shape and outline.

Completed Nacelles ready for paint.

Landing Gear

The kit's landing gear struts were trashed in favor of Contrail Strut struts and .020 plastic fittings. Axles were wrapped with thread for the bungee cords. The kits wheels are modified by grinding off the face and vacuforming new spoke covers. A Valve Stem access hole is drilled in each cover, giving a three dimensional hole appearance.

Wheel master, mold, and wheel cover master with vacu-formed spoke cover.

Struts and Shock Cord installed. Contrail Strut is a gift from heaven as far as I am concerned.

Struts and Rigging

All kit struts were tossed and Contrail Strut was used, with each strut cut to length as the model sat in the assembly jig. All rigging is elastic thread from Aeroclub.

Struts being installed. Rigging was installed after removal from jig.

Rigging going in. Aeroclub’s Rigging Elastic was used throughout.

Paint and Markings

The model represents an aircraft flown in Egypt in 1919, and is weathered accordingly. The PC10 finish is heavily weathered and streaked to simulate the ravages of the hot dessert sun. Lighter areas and spots simulate repairs to fabric areas. The top surfaces were painted a slightly lighter shade than the sides to further simulate the sun's exposure. After painting, the fuselage and wings were given a wash of burnt umber and light tan oils to bring out the recesses and to simulate grime accumulation.