jono

Thanks for the comments guys It is indeed Rodens Felixstowe, an F2A late if memory serves me right, it has been posted before but I will try and find some other pictures of it if you need to see more rigging !!!!!

Hi Tim, SE5 A's you are a bit limited, Revell did release one in 1/48th scale, its fairly old tooling but I still worth building I am sure, and fairly recently Roden released one or two, these are obviously more expensive but also more up to date

thanks for the words of encouragement guys, dont worry, I am sure it will get finished, as for a quick OOB , I dont have time to do anything quickly !!! the second Staaken released by Roden is the Aviatik built version I think, there were alot of variations of this airplane

this is it so far and I am running out of steam !

the lozenge does appear to be have caused some debate regarding the colour. I know there are commercial sets available for this kit but I think you are looking around the £30 mark , its alot of A4 sized decal ! I have applied mine over a black undercoat and this really has dulled it right down, no idea if its right or wrong but it looks great !

this was done with a mix of lycra and 0.2mm copper wire, we all have our personal favourite way of doing the same thing

Hi Eng Rigging and colours the eternal debate ! I myself have been converted to rig using Aeroclubs lycra thread, its elastic, it stretches and therefore you can make it whatever diameter you feel looks right. Other options are fishing line, stainless steel wire or, as I used to use, 0.2mm copper wire from Lion Roar I think.... As for colours..... I have been using MrKit WW1 colours for sometime now, these are meant to be well researched and accurate (as they all are apparently) and it is surprising how vibrant and loud some of these colours actually are, It is a bit of a can of worms really but the Windsock data files and other such books tend to be a good guide as to what these ancient old airplanes actually looked like but in the back of my mind is always the fact that the majority of research is based upon black and white photo's of aircraft that are nearly 100 years old......so, if it looks right....... Natural wood is a sod to recreate in plastic, but there are methods. My favoured way is a base coat of tamyia buff or Vallejo sand, then, over that, I apply with a broad brush, an artists acrylic, usual raw umber. The key here is not to much paint on the brush, you are after a "streaked" finish after all not total coverage. Its hard to explain it and easier to to if that makes sense. Another way to finish it off is with a coat of Tamyia clear orange. Hope thats of some help ! Jono

I currently have Rodens Staaken R.VI on and around my workbench and it is indeed a monsterous creation, lots of sprues, lots of parts but not without its own build issues. The decals I have been struggling with, they seem too thin and fold over at the first hint of being removed from the backing, and trying to work out wing/strut allignment is not without its problems. Saying that though, it has a high level of detail in Rodens typical manner, four engines of 20 odd parts each, an awful lot of lozenge decal, and a wingspan of about two feet ! The biggest problem will be what to do with it when its built, I thought the Felixstowe was large enough but it seems to be dwarfed by the Staaken.

oh thanks for that info John, I shall save my pennies and look forward to that day

NOOOO! thats fatal, never lift the lid on a new kit, we all know what happens next, just a little dry run here, a test fit there, before you know it the glue is out and the airbrushed primed ! :-)

So who is building what at the moment ? I am making a wonderful job of screwing up Special Hobby's Nieuport Bebe, its going to be one of those that just aint going to work, I have that feeling. I think me and 1/32nd scale just dont get on. Waiting in the wings, Rodens DH4 thats well on its way, Gavia's Pfalz E1 that I really should not have gone anywhere near until the DH4 was complete and Rodens Stakken, this one I am am itching to get into............

Hi Guys, wondering if anyone can help, I am trying to find Aeroclubs 1/48th Dragon Rapide from a few years ago. Dont suppose anyone has one tucked away behind the sofa/in the loft/in the garage/hidden away so the wife wont find it (delete as applicable) that they want to dispose of ? thanks in advance jono

Nice one ! this is currently on my bench at the moment and does kinda look like a labour of love for someone at Roden

Hi Guys, Thanks for all kind words, to answer a few questions, yes, Rodens plastic from this era is very brittle ! not sure why, maybe it was just part of there learning process (remember Eduards early short run kits ?????) main problem was a couple of broken struts on the sprue, one was repairable the other sadly was not so aeroclub strutz to the rescue !, on the plus side though, the level of detail really is excellent, the wings without a doubt, have the thinest trailing edges I have ever seen in this scale, and the engines and lewis guns carry a fantastic amount of detail for such minute parts. The moulds are starting to show there age now though, with some damage on the hull and detail in places that has lost definition. If you want one, get it now !. Rodens decals used to be really quite poor and for a while I thought that this was still the case.....until I applied the underwing roundals with no setting solutions. They sunk down perfectly, maybe this is the answer ? would be interested to know if this is the experience of anyone else. As for rigging, not as bad as it seems as you can cheat quite easily. Majority of the rigging is aeroclub lycra thread with some 0.2 brass wire used on the rudder etc, mounting points were made by drilling small holes in the top wing but straight through the bottom wing. The top wing is then mounted just on the four engine struts, this leaves a massive open space everywhere else so its fairly easy to attatch the lycra to the top wing, straight through the bottom where it can be glued taught, not tight, then cleaned up underneath. When that is complete, wing struts can be added and the lycra just stretches as they are inserted. Thanks again for the comments guys, appreciated

Cheers Bob, might have to invest in your turnbuckles at some point though, think I have tried most things to make them myself. copper wire, sprue, brass wire, circus trained fleas with stamina, the list seems endless........

Hi guys, after much trial and tribulation and at the second attempt for me, here is Roden's Felixstowe, pretty much out of the box accept for some brass "strutz" used to replace the kit parts I snapped !, now I think I need to lay down in a darkened room

thanks for the words Zeke, that one was "enjoyable" to make rather than a form of torture that some kits can be !

Thanks for the welcome guys, glad to see the madness runs throughout us all, must be caused by sitting around surrounded by miles of rigging material and trying to make plastic look like wood. Maybe we have the wrong approach ? All things being equal (or square in our case ) i have attatched a picture of my Eduard "Brisfish" , picture was taken at my local club as my camera skills aint that good !

Hi Guys Hows it going ? Total newbies to forums but been reading with interest the various topics that are posted. Have only recently got back into the modelling bug and although I dont just do WW1 stuff I do feel that if an aeroplane was made of string and fabric is was a REAL aeroplane Currently working on Special Hobbies 1/32nd Nieuport Bebe, but thats in the very early stages. Glad to see the rigging debate goes on and on though, we all have our own way of doing it, mine is currently lycra thread and 0.2mm brass wire. If someone would be so kind as to tell me how I post pictures I'll happily show my last couple of projects, thanks in advance........jono