Christmas butterfly.

[SG500]

I felt like a challenge just before Christmas so decided to take a few badly damaged SD 2 parts and see what I could do with them. Im sure the purists would disagree with me doing up relics like this, apologies in advance, but it does mean they get saved from the dreaded rust.

Having rummaged through the spares box I came up with:

An end paddle that was fixed to the wing cradle. The wing cradle was broken with 3 out of 4 of the spindle supports broken.
An end paddle that was missing its bracket to hold it to the wing cradle.
A brake wing that was squashed flat with broken hinges
A brake wing that was also missing its hinges

The photos below show the progress of the project.

Photo 1. The 2 brake wings before. The flattened one is to the top of the photo. Broken wing cradle with good paddle. Broken end paddle minus bracket.


Photo 2. Shaped end paddle. Shaped brake wings.


Photo 3. Hinges made out of tin can.


Photo 4. Hinges attached to brake wings with chemical metal.


Photo 5. Repaired wing cradle. Due to the extent of damage at the spindle supports the springs unfortunately had to be fixed to the wing cradle for extra strength.


Photo 6. The new bracket made for the broken paddle was made from a tin can.


Photo 7. View of wings before sanding.


Photo 8. View of wings after sanding.


Photo 9. View of wings after painting


Photo 10. View of wings after assembly.


I was fairly happy with the result, it looks a bit rough but then thats to be expected given what it started off like. It took about an hour a day for a week to do this one.

Dave.

 

[xxxx]

Hi Dave,

What type Chemical Metal do you use ? is it expensive ? how do you work it when solid ? Many Thanks. Have several projects of my own and need some advise.

Regards

Marcus

 

[SG500]

Hi Dave,

What type Chemical Metal do you use ? is it expensive ? how do you work it when solid ? Many Thanks. Have several projects of my own and need some advise.

Regards

Marcus

Marcus I use "Isopon Metalik".
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...'s ISOPON Metalik Paste 250ml&source=shopping
You can get it in Halfords for about 6.99 for 250ml.

It comes as a paste which is mixed with a hardner. It takes about 10 minutes to set at which point it can be cut reasonably easily with a knife. After 24 hours it sets rock hard and can be sanded, drilled, polished etc.
It contains quite a lot of metal filings mixed in with the filler so once sanded and polished it does look like metal.

Its really good stuff.

Dave.

 

[skull181]

That's sound that Dave, it's in much better state now and should last for years to come rather than lashing it in the bin....

A very nice Christmas present to yourself :congrats:

Great workman ship.

Did the green ones have the red stripe?

 

[SG500]

That's sound that Dave, it's in much better state now and should last for years to come rather than lashing it in the bin....

A very nice Christmas present to yourself :congrats:

Great workman ship.

Did the green ones have the red stripe?

Thanks.
Yes they came with yellow stripes and red stripes.
See post number 124 on this link, Millsbomber has a great example of a green one with both coloured stripes.
dave.
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threa...and-M83-COLLECTION/page13?highlight=butterfly

 

[skull181]

I like the double yellow/red stripes Dave....I think my next one should have them too :laugh:

 

[butterfly]

I like the double yellow/red stripes Dave....I think my next one should have them too :laugh:

Pete, here is a link to an example of the yellow/red stripe SD2 that I have in my collection, thought you may like to see what they look like.
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/56030-Grimsby-dropped-butterflies?highlight=grimsby

regards Kev

 

[SG500]

They're really beautiful specimens Kev, nice piece of history.

Dave.

 

[skull181]

Here is my latest addition.

Again, this one too is in a poor state, but I'd rather have a go at restoring it if possible.

I love the history of these little bombs and even in this poor state, they still look sinister.

Fingers crossed. :hmmmm2:

 

[skull181]

Dave, sounds daft but, where any of these bombs painted white?

Landing in the snow, they wouldn't be seen....just a thought.

 

[SG500]

Dave, sounds daft but, where any of these bombs painted white?

Landing in the snow, they wouldn't be seen....just a thought.

I've never seen any that were white.
Dave.

 

[butterfly]

Dave, sounds daft but, where any of these bombs painted white?

Landing in the snow, they wouldn't be seen....just a thought.

The SD2's were used extensively in Russia, but none were painted white. In fact the Germans opted to paint them bright yellow with red stripes so they could be seen quite clearly. Now this might sound strange, however when they were used offensively, that is prior to an advance, the fuzes were the airburst/impact type 41 or 41A. These were designed to explode, if they did not then they were either dropped too low, or the fuze failed to operate as intended. When the Germans advanced the unexploded SD2's could be as lethal to them as they were to the enemy and easy recognition meant less casualties. The Russians (or whoever was on the receiving end) may also benefit from the bright yellow paint, but at the same time caution would have to be taken in areas where they were known to have been dropped.
The anti-disturbance fuzes were only used 'behind enemy lines' for example Malta, UK etc, in these cases the colour was field grey. The whole idea of this was so that they couldnt be seen. No point in having an anti-disturbance fuze in something that stands out - would be like putting a warning sign next to a S-mine or similar.

I have read a lot about the yellow painted SD2's being used on fields of corn or in the desert and the field grey ones for fields and trees, but these reports are not correct, the colour scheme was dependent on the action they were used for.(basically offensive or behind enemy lines/defensive ) Having said this, it is not unusual to find photos of yellow painted SD2's in a UK setting, I suspect (though not proven!!) these to be either 'set up' photos done to show where they could be found using recovered SD2's, or that they were stocks intended for use in say Russia, but redirected for use in the UK.

Of course another reason that you wont find white coloured ones is that the SD2's would be ineffective in snow. Soft ground of any sort rendered the impact fuzes ineffective and the anti-disturbance/clockwork fuzes would simply bury themselves in the snow and if they did explode the resultant blast would be somewhat restricted.

hope this helps
regards Kev

 

[skull181]

I never thought of that, being ineffective in the soft snow.

Cheers Kev.

 

[skull181]

I never thought of that, being ineffective in the soft snow.

Cheers Kev.

I couldn't let the chance pass by without having a go....:rofl:

Out came my favourite Butterfly Bomb and the good Lord provided the snow....

With very impressive results :hmmmm2:

 

[butterfly]

I couldn't let the chance pass by without having a go....:rofl:

Out came my favourite Butterfly Bomb and the good Lord provided the snow....

With very impressive results :hmmmm2:

Thanks Peter for posting these photos.

Its clear to see just how effective the bright yellow paint was for recognition purposes, both in the shrubbery and on the ground/snow. The ones painted field-grey would be much more difficult to spot in a similar situation.

Now Peter for your next 'mission' you need to plant some wheat in the border and take some photos of it in the standing corn .....although it may be concealed by the corn, I think the bright paint would still stand out enough?? ......at least to dismiss the idea that the yellow painted ones were produced for dropping in the desert and fields of corn as I have often read.

The photos look great

regards Kev

 

[SG500]

Great pictures Pete, now take it inside and make sure its dry before it goes all rusty...or were you looking for the aged look on your butterfly

Dave.

 

[skull181]

It's back in the house, nice and warm and dry.

If you look closely at picture number four, you can see where a furry flying thing gave it the once over...:flybye:

Quite happy with it too, he was!