The second set of holes is to put a simple keeper through.
Once it has all been smoothed over with a file and painted, the hinges can be glued to the top of the superstructure, so that the mast folds down forwards like the original.
Another working part!
The characteristic bipod mast seems fairly simple, and hardly worth a separate page!
Just cut a strip of metal, bend it and solder a bit of copper on top. But it will, of course, get in the way of everything and is bound to get hit. So why not make it hinge down, like the original?
Here is a simple cutting pattern for the mast bipod - I haven't bothered with the copper wire, it's just a couple of pieces cut to give branches about 1 1/4" long...
Here it is assembled, with a lick of paint...
Wrapping the copper wire around the vertical mast looks a bit messy. Next time I shall just solder it straight across....
and some simple hinges...
Remember to solder from outside the hinge, otherwise you have a lot of clearing up to do...
