Girocopter part 2: the frame

When I startedt this piece I only had a very vague idea of what it would look like: a chair in front of a boiler with 2 rocket pods on either side. I had a couple of plastic bottles ideal for the pods, so I started with a simple cross of mdf that would slot together to create the chasis. You can see two circles of mdf added to the cross piece so that the bottles can be slotted on. I've found out to my cost that when you don't have a clear plan, which I never do, it's useful to be able to dismantle the pieces so you can drill holes etc. later on so each piece is either held in place by brass pins or slots together.
The piece of dowel will have the boiler and blades added to it. You cna see holes drilled in it so the boiler can be pinned securely in place.

A simple chair made from thin mdf was added next, again pinned but with 2 longer pins which will slot into the figure and hold him in place.

Below you can see the rocket pods, made from a bottle cut in half and covered in strips of masking tape to give a wood effect, the ends are plugged with dowel to allow a propellor to be fitted.

They are slottted onto the mdf cross oiece and secured with 2 brass rods, these were an after thought and both gave strength and improved the look, but involved a complete dismantle to allow the holes to be drilled.

The boiler was made from a few bits of bottle and plastic I had in my scrapbox. They are all pinned to the central dowel . I've also added wheels and a support rod.

With te figure added and the tail fins in place I now have a good idea of the final look. It needs lots more brass bits and tubes etc though.