Brandy Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 (edited) Sergey, Steve, cheers! A little more progress today. After a little filler around the cheek fairings to blend them in (the cowling was convex across the outer edge), I starting with another first: scribing panel lines! The D.I nose was a pain, but the D.II was fairly simple with just the one panel line around the cowling. A quick blast of Testors aluminium and we're ready for some CDL tomorrow.... I have also made some 9mm wheels and am waiting for those to arrive from Shapeways. If they are ok they will be made available. They're not intended to be 100% accurate to any specific aircraft, but are more "generic" wheels of the correct size which I hope to use on vacform kits and to replace some of the poor kit wheels from Airfix, Revell, (Merlin!) and others.....basically a replacement for the old Aeroclub metal wheels..... Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 4, 2017 by limeypilot 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 This is a very enjoyable thread Ian You did a great job with the crash moulding The scribing is nice and neat, looking forward to the CDL! Best regards Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 There's an indefatigable spirit about this build Ian. Always a pleasure to return and see what you've been up to since the previous visit. Craftsmanship of the highest order usually... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 I've just looked in on this, hells teeth, but you're doing some stuff to those Merlin kits. I'm getting into a bit of a WW1 phase after reading books on the Somme & Passendale & keen to try some bipes & tripes. Sorry if I missed it but what do you use for your lacing, that really does lift things to another level? Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 30, 2016 Author Share Posted July 30, 2016 (edited) On 7/29/2016 at 11:12 PM, TonyTiger66 said: This is a very enjoyable thread Ian You did a great job with the crash moulding The scribing is nice and neat, looking forward to the CDL! Best regards Tony Thanks Tony! I must admit I did surprise myself at only having to make 2 and not a whole handful! On 7/30/2016 at 0:56 AM, TheBaron said: There's an indefatigable spirit about this build Ian. Always a pleasure to return and see what you've been up to since the previous visit. Craftsmanship of the highest order usually... Thanks! Much appreciated! Nice to know others appreciate the thread - and the work! On 7/30/2016 at 3:57 AM, stevehnz said: I've just looked in on this, hells teeth, but you're doing some stuff to those Merlin kits. I'm getting into a bit of a WW1 phase after reading books on the Somme & Passendale & keen to try some bipes & tripes. Sorry if I missed it but what do you use for your lacing, that really does lift things to another level? Steve. Thanks Steve! I use Part PE, available from Jadar Hobby in Poland, along with quite a few other goodies too I may add! I'm finally getting some colour on these two. The metalwork is done, and I sprayed the CDL this morning.... I ordered the Dark Green and Red-Brown a week or so back, so when those arrive I'll get the upper surface done..... Ian Edited July 4, 2017 by limeypilot 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz23 Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 Very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted August 5, 2016 Author Share Posted August 5, 2016 (edited) I finally received the Misterkit paints I had been waiting on...and decided not to use them! The Albatros red-brown was too light for my liking and the Fokker Olive Green was way too bright. I ended up using Tamiya XF64 red-brown and Pollyscale Fokker dark green. I think it looks pretty good - it may not be perfect but I'm certainly happy with them. If anyone has any details of matches they use for the early colours I'd love to hear. So here's how they look now.... The D.I wing is the one with the CDL patches left for the upper wing crosses. All the other crosses were applied directly on the CDL too and had no white background or edges. The D.II fuselage was masked with tape, but all the rest was done with a piece of thin card, torn to give a slightly ragged edge, held close to the surface to give a not-quite-definite edge. I'm happy with how it's turned out although there's a little bit of touching up to do in places. Of course I had to do a quick mock-up with the wings on..... Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 4, 2017 by limeypilot 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 looks green and brown to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted August 7, 2016 Author Share Posted August 7, 2016 looks green and brown to me! Result! That's what it's supposed to be! Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted August 7, 2016 Share Posted August 7, 2016 Since I started following this, to say I'm impressed to pieces is to understate the facts more than just a tad. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted September 1, 2016 Author Share Posted September 1, 2016 I have got back onto these 2 now but no real progress to show as yet. I started to mark out the strut locations but that showed up some errors in my sanding on the D.I. I had to slightly reprofile the nose between the cockpit and engine to get the strut locations level as viewed from the side, and in line as viewed from above. Nothing major but time consuming, and I'll need to repaint the nose. I now have all the strut mounting points drilled in both fuselages and all the wings, and I've drilled cutouts for the warping wires where they exit the fuselage. Ian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted September 1, 2016 Share Posted September 1, 2016 They are starting to look like aeroplanes now rather than the shapeless blobs of styrene you started out with. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 (edited) Back again on these two as I've just received the decals I ordered from Melius Manu (Kajetan) in Poland. Having previously prepared both fuselages, I applied the stitching decals and the custom nose art to these two today, and I must say I'm pretty pleased with how they look! I also raided the spare decal stash, and my Pegasus and Superscale sheets, and between them have come up with enough correct lettering for the D.I's serial numbers, and all the national markings except the D.II wing crosses. I may have to print my own for those as nothing I have is the right size. Now I can get on and finish them! Ian Edited July 4, 2017 by limeypilot 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 You would never know these started out as Merlin kits! How did you do the milled effect on the natural metal areas? Martian PS: I still think you are mad though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 2, 2016 Author Share Posted October 2, 2016 1 hour ago, Martian Hale said: You would never know these started out as Merlin kits! How did you do the milled effect on the natural metal areas? Martian PS: I still think you are mad though! Hi Martian (??) It's Testor's enamel "steel" painted on with a very fine brush. Not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I think it looks better than just the aluminium on its own. Ian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 (edited) Here is the latest. The "Fok.D" and the "151" come from the MAC Fokker D.VII sheet, the "I" and the "/16" come from the SuperScale sheet courtesy of the Fokker E.IV serials. I'm glad I decided to add the serials now, and not after the wings are on. They were VERY fiddly! Ian Edited July 4, 2017 by limeypilot 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergey Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 👍✌️️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 On 02/10/2016 at 2:14 PM, limeypilot said: Hi Martian (??) Its all Mike's fault, see "Deed Poll" in the chat section of the forum. Martian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 (edited) Thanks Sergey! Martian - ok, now I'm up to date! I think I'm going to use some borderless crosses and paint the white edge, just as would have been done originally. I'll see how that looks...the undersides are borderless anyway so it would make sense.. I have now attached the lower wings to both of these, and added the Spandau to the D.II - I'll wait until the struts and exhaust are fitted to the D.I before I put the MG on. I also tried to make a start on the cabane struts, but after doing one, then dropping it and losing it to the carpet monster, I decided that I should leave it alone and come back later.... I have also made up and attached the radiators to the D.I.. Back to work tomorrow so probably no updates for a few days. Ian Edited July 4, 2017 by limeypilot 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 8, 2016 Author Share Posted October 8, 2016 (edited) I had a very productive afternoon today, managing to complete something I hadn't been looking forward to: the cabane struts! I used 0.016" brass rod to give them a little strength and I'm very happy with the result. One slight hiccup in that I had drilled the middle holes on the D.I slightly too far back, and measured for the rear holes from there, so the rear struts, which should be vertical, didn't touch the upper wing! An easy fix, I just drilled new holes a little further forward, but annoying. Here's the structure: and the result with the wings just clipped into place on the ends of the struts: all square! and the D.II Tomorrow's challenge (I switched shifts with another pilot for tomorrow and Monday so can get some extra bench time!) will be to remake the D.I exhaust to fit around the struts..... Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 4, 2017 by limeypilot 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 that is looking very nice. Great job with the brass rod! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyverns4 Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Fantastic! This pair is really coming on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 Looking ace. I concur with the work on the rod. Very smart. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted October 9, 2016 Share Posted October 9, 2016 The brass rod worked out a treat. Can I ask how you ensured everything would be so nicely aligned when fabricating the struts? I've also just noticed your location - it's brought back some great memories of some time spent in Hyannis a few decades ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 9, 2016 Author Share Posted October 9, 2016 17 hours ago, hendie said: that is looking very nice. Great job with the brass rod! Thanks Hendie, I used your favourite - CA to fit them! 9 hours ago, wyverns4 said: Fantastic! This pair is really coming on. Cheers Christian! 7 hours ago, The Spadgent said: Looking ace. I concur with the work on the rod. Very smart. John John, thanks! It is nice when a plan comes together! 6 hours ago, Howlindawg said: The brass rod worked out a treat. Can I ask how you ensured everything would be so nicely aligned when fabricating the struts? I've also just noticed your location - it's brought back some great memories of some time spent in Hyannis a few decades ago. Nothing very technical I'm afraid - a metal ruler and a pair of long-nosed pliers - and lots of test fitting! It helped that the holes in the wing are a snug fit, so I could fit the struts then literally clip the wing on and check for alignment. Once I had the front load-bearing struts in place the second was simply cut "to fill the gap". Glad you have such good memories of Hyannis - I live less than 2 miles from Main Street! It's a great place to be, although a little quiet during the winter.... Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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