GrahamB

Very nice, Ray. What a tiny model. As for rigging - I've found that the usual EZ line can be de-stranded quite easily (no pun intended) down to its constituent threads - much thinner than Caenis. Also, the brown EZ line when de-stranded makes good "rope" for signal halyards and similar in 1/700 scale. Cheers, GrahamB

Wonderful!

Lovely job on this one. Don't see that many builds of it either. As for rigging with, say, Gaspatch turnbuckles (I use 1/48 on 1/32 kits as I think they look more in keeping with photos) and Easyline/UVR thread, here is what I've learned: 1. Make sure that the eyes of the (Gaspatch) turnbuckles are fully clear - in some they may be partially or totally blocked - as soon as you detach them from their base. They may need careful drilling out (very brittle and hard). Better to do this now than find out when you are half-way through the rigging. 2. Make little copper wire loops (I use 13-strand electronics wire - usually brown sheathed) as per Bob's Buckles at one end and cut to about 2-3 mm. Make the loop-hole as small as you can without being tight on the turnbuckle eyelet. 3. The biggest problem with Easyline is making the wire run straight from the eyelet. Careful gluing of just a tiny tip can do it but is not very secure. With the Eindecker just finished, I held a turnbuckle unit on a flat surface with tape, made simple hitch with Easyline (de-stranded a bit) (or UVR for control runs) so I could hold the spare piece and main run (cut to more than the length required) to get the alignment with tiny dab of superglue. 4. This can then be attached to rigging point (make sure drilled hole is deep enough) ensuring no glue gets on the turnbuckle-loop bit. 5. The other end can be passed through other rigging point (loop of some sort) and tied in the same manner . I hope this helps. Cheers GrahamB

Hi, after a long time of little modeling progress I've finished my WNW Fokker E.IV. As usual, a delightful model to build - especially the interior. It is "upgraded" with a Taurus engine, some HGW fabric seatbelts, and Gaspatch (1/48) turnbuckles. It was painted with a combination of Tamiya/Gunze acrylic lacquers, Drooling Bulldog lacquers and Schminke inks. It is supposed to represent E.IV 161/16 (Lt. Muller) of Kest 6 in April 1917 - WNW option D; i.e. it is a late survivor and I have interpreted the paint scheme liberally - using the photograph - to show the accretion of the various camouflage practices from 1915-16/early 1917. For example I've interpreted the pale tone on the starboard wing as lilac: 1. Basic factory unbleached linen for fuselage (except dorsal), ochre varnished/dyed flying surfaces and upper fuselage. 2. Light streaky field application of green and brown on fuselage sides. 3. Overpainting of upper wing crosses (and tailplane) with light brown, light green and lilac, leaving inner part of wings in factory finish. 4. Camouflaging of the aluminium cowl and fuselage decking with dark green and red-brown. I've also tried to represent the various oil staining seen in various photos on both lower fuselage and wings. It is rigged with de-stranded Easyline for main wires, UVR for control lines, the turnbuckles attached flexibly to small copper-wire loops. Thanks for looking. Cheers GrahamB

Yep, I'm an ex-Aerodromer. Posted a series of articles on Methuen-RGB-commercial (Resene) paint matches, among others. Cheers GrahamB

I would suggest RLM75 as by this time RLM74 was being phased out. The colour and tone are about right too. Also, overall RLM 75 upper surface on Heinkel He219 with dense RLM76 squiggle (not RLM75 spots over RLM76 as in many older references - didn't the authors ever use their eyes?) and on Ju388, at least. Cheers GrahamB

A contributing factor to the perceived lightening (or "chalking") of RLM63 (re RLM02, that Nick correctly says is yellower/browner anyway) seems to be that the RLM61/62/63 series were applied in a thinner coating than later schemes (or the pigment density was lower) - I think this has been mentioned in a couple of the recent Luftwaffe colour tomes. When seen in proximity, RLM61/62/63 airframes appear considerably lighter in tone than RLM70/71 versions, even though the difference in tone - say between RLM61 and RLM71, is not that great. FWIW, I would go with RLM63 (grey-green, not a silvery grey) over RLM65 (probably the earlier, purer, blue seen in colour chips, rather than the more greenish variety usually shown on models and illustrations) for the two-toned Bf109 in the Spanish Civil War. Cheers GrahamB

Really nice and an attractive model. Good recovery from potential disaster too. The complex nature of the front end of this beast has probably discouraged model manufacturers before but WNW have aced it. Cheers GrahamB

Thanks for this - somewhat equivocal though. I disagree with the point about pedantry - if a paint colour is advertised as matching a specific standard then it should absolutely do so, otherwise what is the point of standards? Sure, you can tweak anyway you like and paint a model any-old-how, but at least the correct starting point should be there. I agree though with their "usability" - good coverage and airbrush-friendly. Very similar to the Drooling Bulldog lacquers. I can't see myself using enamels or Vallejo-type acrylics anymore for airbrushing and moving to these thin lacquers (and Schminke inks) is the way to go. Cheers GrahamB

Does anyone have any experience/opinion about the general accuracy of the Mr Paint lacquers against known standards (F.S. & RAL for instance). It is only that I've just bought their no. 234 Olive Drab FS.34087 and it looks nothing like my F.S. chip - being much darker and browner. I have a copy of the F.S. standards and a RAL fan-deck (plus Methuen etc) but don't want to commit to buying more Mr Paint (RAL matches etc) if they are going to be "off". Many thanks. GrahamB

A lot of character in this aircraft/model. Nice one. Cheers GrahamB

FWIW, I remember building the Tamiya 1/48 Buffalo about 20 years ago in a British scheme (possibly one allocated to the FAA) and decided from photos that the ex-Belgian airframes in, presumably US Dupont, Dark Earth and Dark Green, were modified (added segments) by the addition of MAP DG. The difference in tone was quite distinct. Can't remember the source - possibly just the Squadron book.

Glad to be of help. I'm also learning and trying out things as I go along with the WNW kits (and other rigging - including 1/700 ships). I'd probably do monofilament rigging in preference to various elasticated threads but find the method of returning the thread through a short length of brass or other tube difficult and I don't like/find unconvincing the final appearance - even in the best examples. What is needed IMHO is some kind of heat-shrinking plastic tube that squeezes onto the line. The main problem with the Easyline/UvR thread method is getting the knot (simple hitch) at the apex of the eyelet so that the main thread will run off straight ahead. Sometimes a third hand (my wife's!) can be useful to hold both loose ends tight and applying the tiny dab of superglue. Good luck with your next projects - Gotha and AEG too big (and expensive) for me. Waiting for the bird's nest/cat's cradle of rigging that is the promised WNW Taube! Cheers GrahamB

Beautifully done, Peter, and in the LVG scheme I really like too. As for your turnbuckle problem - here is an easy (although fiddly) solution to make them flexible: with Gaspatch turnbuckles (I use their 1/48 variety not 1/32 for my WNW as they look more subtle and in keeping with photographs - even though the 1/32 may be "correct" in scale), thread a short length (say, 2cm) of fine copper wire (mine are from 13-strand plastic-sheathed electronics wire) through one of the eyelets, double it back and twist as per Bob's Buckles to form a tidy loop - not too tight though - around the turnbuckle's eye; cut twisted length to about 2mm. This can then be inserted into the pre-drilled rigging point but be careful not to glue the eyelets. Done - nice flexible rigging point, whether you use monofilament or de-stranded Easyline (as I do). Cheers GrahamB

Very nice indeed. A much-neglected aircraft in my view. We need an accurate kit in 1/72 to replace the Supermodel version - and a (cheaper than resin) 1/48 injection kit. Cheers GrahamB

Spiffing! Glad to see the noble art of scratch-building, a la late Harry Woodman is being kept alive. Cheers GrahamB

Hi Nick, about the Huntley article - I had overlooked this one as well, as one can infer that it is literally about painted 'lozenge' patterns - per the 1917-1918 fabric versions. It is also fun as so many of the colours and Methuen call-outs can be achieved with simple black/white/yellow mixes - although you have to be aware that some model-paint blacks and supposed neutral greys (like a couple of Schminke inks that I've been experimenting with) have a touch of blue pigment in them; this means you can end up with a more greenish colour than expected, rather than an ochre-brown-beige. Back to grey-green. It has been mooted several times that this may have been a variant of German feldgrau, applied as a coloured dope, paint, or even pre-dyed fabric. WnW offer it as a candidate for one of their Eindecker versions. Cheers GrahamB PS re the blues and greys on Eindeckers - I don't think this has been pinned to any evidence other than the original combat reports and it obviously cannot be inferred from b/w photographs. However, as Huntley mentions, the French had captured blue-dyed rib-tapes stocks during this time and it is not impossible that some covering fabric was produced as well. By the end of their period in front-line surface pale blue paint may have been applied on under-surfaces as it was being painted on the Fokker D.II. During the 1915-1916 experimental schemes might have included some field-applied greys. We will probably never know.

Do you have proof of WW1 ships' paint on fabric? The subject is overall colour on Eindeckers, not wooden floats. Cheers GrahamB

Hi Nick, just caught up with this thread as I'm currently building a WNW Fokker E.IV. I'm sure that the grey-green colour on Austro-Hungarian Eindeckers is speculative - but not impossible. Methuen call-outs of this based on fabric samples sound dubious - especially from the con-artist Gerrard. Also for me, having looked very hard through available photographic references on the type (Datafiles etc), is that the standard overall "beige" is load of old cobblers as well, for the large part. If you want to have an insight into German 1915-1916 camouflage look no further than Ian Huntley's article in Scale Aircraft Modelling 14 no.10 (July 1982) that drew mostly on French Intelligence reports. I had started a draft 'article' to go on the ww1aircraftmodels.com forum to accompany my model when finished (getting towards final assembly and decal-ling) but will pm it to you anyway. Jack G - as for ships' paint on delicate fabric aircraft - come on! Cheers GrahamB

Hi Reini, this is valuable and interesting. Photographic evidence shows that the German/Luftwaffe Ju52s in the RLM61/62/63 scheme definitely had RLM66 on the lower surfaces. Cheers GrahamB

Very nice - great to see this version and paint scheme in model form. Two minor points - the DF loop needs to be larger - as per the g3e version; i.e. almost as tall as the aerial. Also, the undersurface colour would (if the upper scheme was RLM61/62/63) be RLM66 - the night equivalent of RLM65.

A great build and finish - very nice modulation of the paint etc. But, what are the colours supposed to represent? RLM70/71? RLM71/02?

Beautiful work but don't forget the torpedo defence nets next time! This is something that Trumpeter seems to have ignored. Cheers GrahamB

Unbelievable. Absolutely premier models. I'd like to see more of these early ships in plastic too. Cheers GrahamB

Thanks guys. The Weihe is a good subject, with a lot of last-minute things to add, with all the struts, antennae, lamp, generator etc. I added some small support struts to the main tailplane items - not included in the kit. Cutting out the windows and fitting the kit's parts was tricky - I added the side passenger door from 5-thou card. It is a surprisingly large aircraft - it is longer and has a broader wingspan than a Dornier 17! I've another in the stash and have the OWL conversion to a Fw58 night-attack/harrasment version. Cheers GrahamB