Brandy Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 (edited) This is a build I've had on (and off) the bench for a while.This timearound I WILL finish it! EDIT: July 2017 - Since I have to replace all the old PB pic links, I'll simply paste and copy from the other forum that this post was on, to give a little more detail of what was done. Here are the copied posts, in order: Oh well...despite the others on my bench not being finished I couldn't resist making a start! I've removed the locator pins for the engine and pilot, the Parabellum gun ring and all the rib detail from the wings and tail, leaving just the coolant tank and radiator. I've also opened up the starboard fuselage side for the Spandau and exhaust cutouts, along with thinning the sides in those areas and sanded the upper fuselage sides below the observer's position to round it out and remove the squared off look on the mouldings. The Parabellum and ring will be replaced by an Aeroclub item. The engine will be a Choroszy Modelbud item which is on its way (it'll need a little alteration to the induction to change it from Argus As.II to As.III) and decals are on order form Doug Baumann. There is still a bit of work required on the wing and tail planforms, but nothing major. I haven't checked the rest of the parts to the plans yet, so I'm hoping it'll be fairly minor work required - certainly nothing on the scale of the RE8! Ian Since my bench is now clear, I've made a little more progress on this one. Both upper and lower wings, and the ailerons needed a little re-profiling, so the wing tips were sanded to a flat edge, plastic card fillets were added, and then sanded to shape and filled as necessary. The same was done for the centre section cut-out which was way too wide. The wings also required a little bending to get the correct dihedral and flat centre section. The engine has arrived and it's a little beauty! A little work was required opening up slightly clogged areas on the inlet manifolds, and I drilled the exhaust side and added some plastic rod. The rest of the exhaust was carefully removed from what passes as an engine in the kit and these parts will be added towards the end of the build. I've reprofiled the prop a little, removed the kit mounting peg and drilled the engine to accept plastic rod for the prop shaft. The front part of the engine cowling has also been drilled out and thinned so it fits over the front of the engine properly. Slowly but surely.... Ian A little more progress. I've got most of the interior done and the engine painted Not too much more now before I can get the fuselage buttoned up and start figuring out the finish...hopefully Doug's decals won't be too long in coming... Ian The engine is complete and installed and the fuselage is buttoned up. I've corrected the profiles on the tail which were pretty awful, and given the wings a quick base coat to check all is well. Hope to do the same for the fuselage tomorrow morning. I've fitted the MG but I'm not sure if I'll leave it as is or try to improve the fit a little... Ian OK folks, 18 months later (no, it didn't take THAT long for the decals to arrive...) and I'm finally back on this one. I dug it out this morning and immediately decided it needed more work on the wings and control surfaces - mainly just thinning them a little more at the trailing edges. That's all done, I've drilled out the hand holds in the upper wing cutout, and fitted lower wing. While waiting for that to dry properly I thought I'd post a couple of pics. Doug's decals are unfortunately not complete. The wing lozenge is 1st rate, but he decided to do the fuselage as a wrap instead of just providing a sheet to fit as required. Hopefully it will work ok with the alterations I've made around the cockpits. Also the wing midsection lozenge is one wrap around piece, the same colour all across, instead of being lower colours for the underside. At least it will provide a pattern to paint the lower side myself. I'll also have to photocopy it to use as a pattern for the lower tail as no decal has been included for that. I'm looking forward to getting on with this now, it's been WAY too long.... Ian It's a fun kit to build despite (or perhaps because of?) its shortcomings. Just a small update - I began yesterday thinking I was ready to give it a quick coat of primer to check for blemishes and then spent the whole day improving what I had! I removed the weird little lump in front of the pilot's cockpit (supposed to be a windshield maybe?) and reshaped the cockpit opening. Somehow I'd missed that previously - it would have been a lot simpler to have done it earlier. I widened it slightly towards the rear and then brought the back edge forward by about 1mm by adding small amounts of Mr Liquid Putty and gradually building it up. The front edge was squared off a little in the same way. The gunner's ring mounting was added using an Aeroclub part, rounded off at the edges, and added the gun mount using a tiny piece of .020" rod and.... Mr Liquid Putty! How I managed for so long without this stuff I have no idea - it is much stronger than normal putty and easier to file and drill too. I also moved the mounting point for the rear cabane strut about 1.5mm rearwards and 2mm upwards (the original and the newly drilled hole can both be seen on the 2nd pic below). All the rest of the strut mounting holes have also been drilled. The wing struts were separated and mounting pins added, and the undercarriage main legs have been made from .016" brass rod and .020x.030" strip. A little liquid putty along the joining edges, and a gentle filing and the seams won't show! I've also included a pic of Doug's decals - I know this doesn't do them justice but it gives an idea of what I got. As I mentioned previously, the lozenge is very nice, but I'm not sure about the fuselage. The tail section is fine, but I may paint over the rest using the decal as a guide, then overspray it as required. I think he tried to do the decal as the finished "oversprayed" look and it doesn't quite give the look I want - plus the wing section shouldn't be oversprayed, and the lower tail section is missing completely, so that will enable me to match all those sections to each other. I'm not sure that the "wrap" format will work either - we'll see.... I did mention these points to Doug, so hopefully future prints will be a little better - this was, I believe, his first try at these (It's also only my opinion, and others may find this exactly what they need....) Ian Doug's decals are not made to cover the bottom unfortunately so mine will have a blue underside. I had no major problems with the fit of the decals, but they don't stick very well and when I handled it about 5 hrs later part of the tail decal lifted - the same happened around the cockpit today, days later! Hopefully these issues are now resolved.... Here are some pics of the newly applied decals... A couple of spots suffered damage where the colours came off, but since I intended to overpaint most of it anyway it wasn't an issue. After the decals had dried properly (this morning), I mixed up some acryllics to match the lozenge as closely as possible and overpainted the wing centre section, and tail, and painted the nose cowlings, struts, undercarriage and lower tail to match. I was actually very pleased with my handywork until I saw this pic of the upper wing! It looks terrible, but believe me, you can't see the bad lines with the naked eye! I then got out the airbrush and gave the fuselage a blow over of Prussian blue to blend it all in and change the decals from their original purple look.... Next step will be to give it all a dullcoat, and then mask it and spray the wings white in preparation for the lozenge. I should have done this first but forgot, so know I have made myself a problem - hopefully the decals won't lift! Ian Well, I'm getting good at painting the lozenge....I had to redo it a couple of times, then I compared the colours to the Datafile and W&W lozenge I have and the colours were totally wrong! Not sure where the lilac and brown came from, but from what I can see the 4 colour was light and dark green, dull blue, and "dark blond" so...I repainted it all again! I must admit I'm much happier now even though the light green is a little too bright. The dull blue is RLM 24 Dunkelblau and the dark blond is Afrika Grunbraun, both Modelmaster colours. They are an almost perfect match to the W&W decals - it sort of makes sense that colours that already existed would be used 20 years later instead of remixing them, so maybe there are other matches in the RLM series for WWI colours.... I also painted and oversprayed the fuselage underside while I was doing it. I may have gone a little too much on the blue overspray but I like the way it looks, so it'll stay. Next step - not sure yet...I've sprayed the wings white but I'm not sure whether I should respray the upper surfaces in a buff or light tan colour as the W&W decals are so transparent......views from those who've used them would be welcome! Then a gloss coat, drill the rigging holes and add some decals...... Oh, and does anyone know what the rudder colour was for Flieger Abteilung (A) 226? Looking at the pic in the Datafile it is one solid, light colour. Not white as there is plenty of contrast between it and the white of the cross. I'm thinking maybe yellow or light blue? Ian One step forward two steps back.... I kept having problems with the decals, they wouldn't stick or form to the details, and wrinkled up, so I finally took the plunge and ripped them off. They came off extremely easily, just like that old painted-on rubber masking that used to be available. This really doesn't sit well as I also have a set of Doug's decals for my Merlin AEG G.IV - I guess I'll have to hand paint that too. My advice - don't even think about these decals, they're awful - they won't adhere, won't mould to the details, and separate/wrinkle if handled even a week after application. They behave just like a painted rubber sheath! A whole week's work down the drain, (not to mention the cost, long wait and overall hassle of these "decals") - but it needs to be right..... Ian Almost back to where I was! All the lozenge is painted, a little touch-up maybe in places, but ready for the blue overspray again. I also changed the colours slightly: Dark Green is Modelmaster Imperial Japanese Army Green, light green is "coach green", a Polyscale railway colour. Ian Here are the promised pics now that the blue overspray has been added. I'm pleased with the look, but it's not totally accurate for the aircraft I'm modelling. The pic in the Datafile shows very fuzzy edges to the painted lozenge and short of spraying it, which I'm not up to quite yet, I can't replicate that. I've also filed out the area of the Spandau mounting a little to make it sit a little lower and refitted the exhausts. I plan on painting the cockpit coaming, gun ring, radiator and header tank next, and drilling all the rigging holes, then the fuselage decals will go on. I have some Wood & Wire faded lozenge decals, but they may be too transparent for my needs so I have ordered some Aviattic as well. I'll try them both to see which I prefer for this project. Ian Just a small update, a little more detail painting and the fairing for the Spandau added... Ian That's where I'd got to when I started this thread, so back to the original posts... Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 7, 2014 Author Share Posted July 7, 2014 (edited) Another milestone has been reached today.This is my first attempt at anything with lozenge on it, and as such, my first attempt at covering whole wings with decals. I'm using Aviattic ones and they are very easy to work with and look great! I would prefer a little less translucency personally, but that's just me. I sprayed the undersurfaces white, and the upper surfaces Tamiya Deck Tan - I think I'll stick with the deck tan for underneath too in future, white's a little too pale in my view. Anyway, I thought I'd be at this all day, what with making templates, orientating it all, cutting out, and applying but it's gone surprisingly quickly! I've done all the undersurfaces except the lower wings, where I've done only the upper surfaces. I'll let these all dry properly before trimming them all and completing the other sides! I'm not sure quite how I'll deal with my usual drill-and-thread rigging method. The upper wing should be ok as the crosses will cover the exit holes and any tiny touch-up needed, but the lower wing crosses won't. I'm not sure whether a small patch, if necessary, would be invisible or not.....any tips? Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) I have finally got the lozenge decals done. ONLY the rib tapes to go ..... I had to order a scalpel and blades to trim the decals as up to now I have never had one in my toolkit, but it certainly helped - and at $6.75 for 100 blades and a free handle I can't complain about the price! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 Looks good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 (edited) Had an afternoon squinting at rib tapes! This doesn't represent much progress, only the upper surface of the upper wing and ailerons are done, but I'm chuffed with how it looks! I realised too late that I maybe should have clear coated the lozenge first. I never thought of it as I have never applied decals over decals before! I'm hoping there's no silvering.. I have no idea whether the aircraft I'm modellilng had the guide lines for the gunner, and if it did, what colour they were. But since they were warnings I cut small red strips from some spares box decals and put them on. I think it looks pretty cool! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 (edited) This hasn't been a very good week. I managed to break a wisdom tooth at some stage and it let me know about it Tuesday morning. I had the tooth removed yesterday (Thursday) and am now on painkillers that stop me from working (flying). I have found the perfect distraction though...putting rib tapes on a biplane! This job is now complete and tomorrow I'll do a gloss coat and add the fuselage decals. I would love to sit back now and have a beer, but I can't do that either! The aiming stripes on the upper wing centre section fell off, so I redid them with a different set of rudder stripes. They fell off too. So it will not have them..... Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robvulcan Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 WOW That is one of the coolest schemes I have ever seen. Must be quite a challenge to paint that ! Great work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 (edited) Thanks! The fuselage and wing centre section are handpainted, but the outer wings and tail surfaces are lozenge decals from Aviattic. For those not too familiar with WWI types, the original machines were covered using printed fabric which came in much the same form as material does today - on rolls. They were applied to the aircraft in a number of ways - the strips running either front to back, side to side, or at 45 degree angles across the wings. Differant types were covered differantly so good referances are needed. The decals can be got either in single strips as it would be straight off the roll, to be applied as you like, or as a sheet of "joined" strips, which simply requires a template for the wing shape and cut it out of one piece of decal - making sure you have it lined up correctly of course. These wings are covered front to back, with the ailerons and tail surfaces covered side to side. You can see the lozenge pattern running in a differant direction if you look closely! You'll see it best on the above pics of the wings with the ailerons. (The "long" side of the lozenge ran side to side across the strip of fabric, so if the long side faces forward, the fabric was applied front to back!) The rib tapes are also decals (from Wood & Wire), each one cut to length and added individually. Ian Edited July 19, 2014 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) I got all the rest of the decals done today, except the wing crosses which will go on after the rigging is done, and a gloss coat to seal it all. The LF Decals prop logos add a great detail touch... I noticed too late that I put the tail cross on way too low. It'll have to stay there now. Hopefully back to work tomorrow... Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenCJ Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 You have done a fantastic job on this kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 (edited) A small update - I've done most of the extra detailing needed before fitting the top wing. Windshield, radiator shutter (and relief valve on the upper side), flare rack (flares still to be added) and the cutouts under the rear for lifting the tail (which I should have done right at the start but didn't notice :-[ ) have all been added. Next up: the struts, top wing, rigging, and landing gear....am I really getting that close to finally finishing this one? ;D Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted July 27, 2014 Share Posted July 27, 2014 that is one of the most colourfull, incredible and interesting builds I have seen for a very long time. Top stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) Hi folks, I didn't like the flare rack I'd made, so I removed it and made another one, a little smaller. I'm much happier with this one now! I also replaced the Spandau with one from my MAC Pfalz D.III kit as it's a lot better than the Airfix original (surprise). The upper tail is now on, as are the cabanes. I had a little problem with them, in that everything seemed to measure up ok, but it didn't look square - and wasn't! I had already relocated the rearmost fuselage mounting points and very carefully bent the strut assemblies to fit the new mounting holes, but after remeasuring everything, and all coming out equal, I decided just by the look that the left front cabane mounting point was a fraction too low (I had used the kit moulded front mounting points) After raising it less than 1mm it all looks square and I'm happy with it. One of the problems of working in this scale - it's not always possible to measure things accurately, and very small differances do show. MK1 human eyeball to the rescue! The original mounting hole has been filled with a small dab of Mr Liquid Putty and will be painted tomorrow. I also hope to start fitting the rigging wires and wing struts very soon.... Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenCJ Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 Looking good Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) This first shot shows just how small the mounting error was... I'm trying a new method for alligning the struts on this one. I cut a piece of old packing material to match the shape of the wing tips, pilot's cutout, and leading edge, then laid it over the wing, marked the strut holes with a fine marker, and drilled them. I used that to align the cabanes. Now they're dry, I simply fitted the outer struts in the lower wing, popped the strut pins into the holes in the see-through "dummy" wing, and aligned it with the cabanes....simple!...I hope it works out! It looks from the pics as though the holes aren't aligned, but the dummy doesn't have the dihedral of the actual wing, so it's sitting a little high in the middle. Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hacker Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 This is the one I did many many moons ago when lozenge decals were not that readily available. I use stencils from an Finescale articles on doing 4 pattern lozenge. The rest is a scheme I found in an old scale model (USA version) magazine. The rest was airbrushed with various types of paints to match the colours. Sorry to say it is no longer with us as it was lost in a storage fire 10 years ago 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Nice job, Hacker! Sorry to hear it "bit the dust" - maybe this build could inspire an updated replacement? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hacker Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 (edited) Nice job, Hacker! Sorry to hear it "bit the dust" - maybe this build could inspire an updated replacement? Ian Actually was thinking of buying the 1/32 WNW version and doing it again in a much bigger scheme. I do miss it as it was one of my better efforts Edited August 9, 2014 by hacker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 (edited) The idea for the wing alignment would have worked a lot better if I'd paid attention - there is no dihedral on the upper wing so the struts were too long! I finally got the top wing on and the struts fitted using my jig, and the rigging is almost complete. The cabane struts were also slightly off and needed a little tweaking - they still don't line up exactly where I'd like them at the upper rear but they'll have to stay where they are now! Because of the lozenge decals I decided to try a differant method to that I usually use, and only drilled part-way through the lower wing. This appears to have worked ok - I was worried that the line might not have enough grip and would pull out when tightened, but that only happened on one piece, so I think I got away with it. A little heat treatment will be needed on one or two lines - I managed to knock the right side drag line and pulled it out of the nose after I'd tensioned it, so it isn't as tight as it should be...... Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenCJ Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Really nice Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted August 10, 2014 Share Posted August 10, 2014 Man. That contraption looks like something Hannibal Lecter might come up with! I'm very impressed with where you're taking this one.....chocks away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 Thanks! The "contraption" is the Aeroclub jig. It can be adjusted for whatever stagger or gap the wings had. It's not needed on every build, but is very useful when the struts are not right and need to be remade from scratch as the wings can be fixed in position first, then the struts made to fit. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted August 13, 2014 Author Share Posted August 13, 2014 (edited) Here's a little update: Heat treatment done on 3 lines but they're still not as taught as I would like. Can't seem to get them any tighter though so they'll have to stay that way. Undercarriage is on and awaiting rigging, which will be done with 4 thou stainless wire, along with the tail, ailerons, and rear cabane lines to the fuselage (just between the cockpits). I've touched up the holes where the rigging exits the wings and I don't think I'll get it any better - I may need to find an alternative in future... I've also made a start on the engine coolant plumbing which should be fitted later this week.... Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted August 30, 2014 Author Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) Thanks to all for following this build - all the comments were very kind and helped keep me focused on getting it finished. It took nearly 2 weeks of trial and error to get the parabellum fitted. The main problem being that it is side heavy with the magazine and I couldn't get it to stay in place long enough for the CA to dry. I eventually solved this by fitting the bracket to the gun ring, then adding the gun when it was properly dry (and knocking it off again a few times...). I'm happy with the result I've achieved. Although it won't stand up to close scrutiny at competition level, it's been a great learning process. It's the first time I've used decals on the wings and I tried new techniques for the rigging which didn't work as well as I'd hoped. Two of the lines came loose: one of the strut cross-bracing wires, which was removed and replaced with stainless wire, and the rear right side landing wire which will unfortunately have to stay as it is. I haven't added any rigging to the tail braces as it would appear from various pics that not all these aircraft had the tail rigged. Certainly the pic of this particular aircraft shows no signs of any turnbuckles etc which may hint at rigging wires. Here's one pic, the rest are in the ready for inspection page. Thanks again for all the encouragement! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now