gcn

https://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com/page47.html

I paint in the garage and I find when we get to this time of year there is much more moisture in the air and I need a trap at both ends otherwise I get the same issues as you are describing. in the summer I can get away with just the compressor’s moisture trap.

Interesting. Thanks for that. I rushed off to the garage to check Xf-51 against my gunze brown violet (421) but I don’t have it. A comparison chart said they are comparable, so if you want the sheen Then the gunze should suffice. the colour looks good to me and I think I’ll paint my Wingnut camel in Belgium livery in that shade. I was going to add about 25% brown.

I had wood on the brain, the modeller is Andy Moore linky Here there’s a detailed build over on themodellingnews also

Hi Eivind according to the WNW instructions the Pfalz interior was a grey green, that’s what I’ve always painted mine as they are far more knowledgeable than I. However, to get a light wood effect similar to The external wood on an Albatros I use oils. I prime with a lightened desert yellow. Apply cadmium yellow to create the overall shade and then dot randomly with a raw sienna (the reddish one) and drag the dots to create the grain. once dry I apply Tamiya clear yellow mixed with a couple of drops of tamiya clear to keep it glossy. I then apply a highly thinned tamiya smoke mixed with a brown to create shadows and tonal variations. andy wood used Vallejo glaze medium and Vallejo acrylics to create a grain effect on his stunning Sopwith Pup build on here recently. Have a look at that for an alternative.

I have an AMG Hawker Hart waiting for an excuse to get built. This may change if the proposed Lukagraph Nimrod finds its way to me. Gary

That engine looks the business. There’s enough copper in there to keep the scrap man happy. I don’t know why WNW did the back of the seat like that as it’s quite visible. watching with interest.

Thanks, I’ll get in contact with them.

I’ve been out of the hobby for a number of years and previously used my silhouette portrait to make custom masks. Now I‘Ve spent a fortune buying new all the stuff I got rid of I don’t think I could quite get away with buying another silhouette, so who is the go to company these days for custom made masks.

If it’s any biplane then how about trying the ICM Gladiator. You can cut your teeth on the rigging, but you won’t get to try out the wood and linen effects. I’ve no experience of the Roden kits, but I think their Albatros is meant to be reasonable. I’d agree, a SE5a is pushing it as your first attempt at rigging, although saying that the WNW one was mine. I could have chosen better. As has been pointed out scaling down opens you up to Eduard’s range, which are cheap and plentiful. Be warned you may find yourself only building biplanes in the not too distant.

The problem with white, yellow and red is you need lots of coats to get the colour you desire. I found that to spray lots of coats very quickly if I thinned just with IPA then I could continuously spray without having to wait for the paint to dry as it dries almost instantly. The finish isn’t great and can be a touch dusty so a rub down with an old cloth and a few top coats of white thinned with mr color levelling thinner makes it all good. This is over black too. I use either Gunze or tamiya paints.

From what I remember there’s a thread from hyperscale way back when that had a fix of the accuracy issue with the top wing, if that’s the kind of thing you care about. Viking did a rather nice job here

I'd argue that 1/32 doesn't warrant worrying about turnbuckle types and rigging wire profiles, well it hasn't yet on the 12 WNW kits I've built to date, but I appreciate we are all different. I'd go with the brass sleeve and your rigging line of choice For rigging my preference would be EZ line although I'd buy it from a UK source rather than WNW. For the Albatros I'd rig the undercarriage with 2lb fishing line as sometimes the albatros can end up with one wing higher than the other and the fishing line is strong enough to bring them in line.

Find out what paint colour you're trying to replicate and buy a manufacturers jar that doesn't need mixing. Or carefully tip the jar so one drop comes out at a time and do it by eye. You didn't state how you're applying the paint but be warned tamiya can be a difficult paint to apply by brush.

As has already been noted what you are paying is the VAT plus the processing fee. WNW helpfully state the price in NZD which has a more favourable rate than the USD at the moment, but you also pay VAT on the delivery. Although it is free unless a cost is stated they (HMRC) will estimate a figure. The answer to all this is to get WNW to post DDP, but I'm sure they won't do that or it'll be more expensive than it already is. Buying individual kits it's almost worth just going to Hannants, but once you buy more than one they become less attractive. I've never got anything free of tax from NZ

They announced it over a year ago if i remember correctly. No date for release yet but plenty of speculation built on very thin foundations.

I'd argue that the d.vii doesn't have fit issues. Pay careful attention to the instructions and they pretty much fall into place. Don't pay attention and yes you can get into alignment problems. Making sure mating surfaces are free of gunk applies to all WNW kits. Based on what I've built I'd probably plump for the pup or Roland d.vi but pretty much any of the single seat aircraft are a good place to cut your teeth on. I disagree with John regarding EZ line, I think it is suitable as is fishing line as is knit in elastic. Fishing line can be beneficial if you need to add some structural integrity. I've found it useful to line up the undercarriage on the Albatros.

Painting in the garage at this time of year can be quite problematic due to the moisture in the air. I have a moisture trap on my compressor and one attached to the airbrush and that stops most of my issues, although they still need regular drainage to avoid spitting.

No, but I have a camera and a computer so I think I can manage it. Give me a day or two. Again I'd recommend ww1aircraftmodels.com. You will need to register for access to the forum, but a search will bring up plenty of b-logs and piccies, as I'm guessing it will here.

It's an easy(ish) build and a very well engineered kit. The only potential gotcha as far as putting the thing together is its worth sanding the cockpit floor down to roughly half it thickness. People have mentioned fit issues if you don't do this. I did it for my pup and tripe and the resulting fit was perfect. For the rigging if you've never done it before I'd recommend getting an optivisor or equivalent otherwise you'll never see what your doing. I would say the internal rigging is more complex than the externals and in reality you can get away without rigging the internals. Whether you want to is a different matter. Work out what method of rigging you want to use (stay clear of the accurate but insanely hard to get right flat PE). I prefer the brass eyelet and tube method and for the rigging itself the popular materials are fishing line, EZ line or knit in elastic. Pop over to www.aircraftmodels.com and there's a few good tutorials. Rigging is time-consuming, frustrating and boring but ultimately rewarding

For yellow you need a white base. I use Tamiya XF3 thinned with IPA. This allows the paint to dry almost on touching the plastic therefore you can apply coats instantly on top of where you've just been. The quick drying of the paint can sometimes leave a less than perfect finish but a quick coat thinned with normal thinner clears up any imperfections. Alternatively you can add a drop or two of acrylic retarder to the IPA that slows the dry time down a touch ( and makes a cheap alternative thinner to boot). I'd recommend either Tamiya or Gunze applied using this method or have a look at Zero paints. I found their red very easy to apply so I'd imagine the yellow is the same and their paints come pre-thinned.

I bought a bottle as a change from my Mr mask or whatever it's called. I find it quite thin and on application it can be hard to see what it's covered, but generally I quite like it. I did find the gunze stuff could be difficult to lift once dried whereas this comes up more easily.

I've had a H&S evolution for about 8 years now and I'd certainly recommend one. I don't use any of the bells and whistles and I've changed a couple of nozzles and 1 seal in all the time I've had it. I wouldn't bother with the reamer it destroyed one of my nozzles, and I make my own brushes from interdental brushes and a cocktail stick.

Don't get too hung up on the finer points, just build it as you see fit. There's probably very few people who have accurately modelled RFC rigging and lived to tell the tale. elastic thread or fishing line is an adequate substitute.

Instead of ez line why not use knit in elastic it has a flatter profile than ez line, but at that scale it doesn't really matter. The same is true with the turnbuckles. Eyelets and brass tube are more than adequate and do the job well. Cutting .5mm brass tube is a relatively straightforward task with a new blade and gentle rolling soon cuts through. I do it by hand and whilst I end up with varying lengths once in situ you can't notice. Where rigging lines run into the fuselage I'd just drill a hole and thread it through. I tend to do this prior to buttoning up the fuselage as it gives a better result.