SoftScience

Hi, Ted. What specifically is giving you trouble? As for trembling. Would a desk brace of some sort help? Something to rest your forearm in while you work?

yes indeed. Plywood wings. Evidently the sealant used by Fokker wasn't very weatherproof and the panels would warp and buckle. Thanks guys, for the kind words and "likes".

Or is it a D VIII? I forget which became which after the shoddy wings got fixed, but nevermind. This is the Eduard 1/48 kit built as a supposed machine flown by Theo Osterkamp in early fall 1918. Some joyless types say it is fictitious, but I don't care. I wanted something fun. The kit wasn't that much fun to build. But that isn't Eduard's fault. I started it in 2019 and set it aside back in its box until just last week. The model was crushed in its box, and the landing gear struts had to be entirely rebuilt. It's all very fragile now, and there is some sideways shift of the whole UC when the model sits on its legs. As a result the whole end stage of the build was done with breath held and very slow, careful movements. Same with the photos. Which might be why I didn't notice that I forgot to trim the excess elastic thread from the starboard wing control horn. Oh well. It'll have to be. The model got put in the back of a display case and isn't getting touched, until it needs to be moved to make room for something else. If we're pretending Osterkamp flew such a gaudily painted plane, we can also pretend he had a white pennant tied to a control horn 😛

I've been on a biplane kick lately and have been searching for some 1/32 kits that won't require a home equity loan, like the second-hand WNW stuff on eBay, and Roden's SE5A has been on my list of potentials. I found this thread while searching for an honest build review. You mention spending a lot of time lining up the cabane struts and wing. Do they fit poorly or does the kit'd engineering make locations ambiguous? Your result looks great, I just wonder if somebody with limited strut alignment experience would be in over their heads with this model?

Hot water helped, but I probably should have given it more time in some clamps to really make it stick. For color, I primed it in white and the sprayed on Gunze Super Italian Red

...and another one from me. This is Meng's 1/32 Fokker that took me a really long time to finish. I think I started this model in 2020 or 2021, and I would do a bit, get mad, and put it away. I really suspect Meng got these molds from Wingnut, before the latter was able to work out all the engineering kinks, and they just rushed it out the door. There is a lot to dislike here. The upper wing is badly warped, and attempts to unwarp it didn't seem to hold. The wing warp introduces warp to the struts. Since everything is molded in a somewhat brittle plastic, this meant broken struts. I also managed to break most of the control horns, and had to replace them with PE items (in 1/48 scale, surprisingly enough!). I think I broke the ailerons off at least three times because the attachment here is pretty weak. The fuselage stitching insert is crap, and would have looked much better as PE, and the whole thing just felt like it was not worth the $80+ USD I paid for it. I really wanted it off my shelf of doom, so I rushed things and wrapped it up. Don't look too closely, or you'll see my sloppy execution. But complaints aside, I'm pretty happy with how this looks. Though I don't think I'll be building more biplanes in 1/32. There are certain expectations for fidelity of detail within the modeling community, and which I guess I have of myself as well, but which I don't have the skill, patience, and fastidiousness to meet. A lot of these details are far easier to imply in smaller scales, and I'm all about smoke and mirrors, so I'll be going back under my small scale bridge

Yes, but for one like me, who can barely handle a state of the art, Eduard biplane kit, these short runs with their dodgy struts and locating dimples, are a touch intimidating, and therefore not really an option. Ancient airfix may be more buildable for me. I'll get there eventually, though!

I had no idea there were any kits of this one, let alone one by airfix. What do you mean about the wing making it a demon?

I think they're cute, too. nice work on this one. What are the rails on the lower wing? Racks marker flares?

Hello, Would appreciate some expert opinions on YOUR preferred order for installing struts. In the past month I've had two wing and struts alignments go terribly wrong. The second was just about an hour ago and still stings, so I apologize for any bitterness in my tone. It was suggested to me that I install cabane struts first, get the top wing onto them and then slide in the interplane struts. However I'm not sure how to tell when my top wing is in the right location when it's balanced on the tiny (1/72 here) close-together points of the cabane struts. Twice now I discovered that my top wing is either too high or too far forward, or just too dumbly positioned to make any sort of interplane connection. Am I doing things backwards? Would it be better to get the two wings lined up relative to each other first? I can see trying to pop in cabane struts and having fit issues, turning into a gluey mess. I just don't know. And for people who havent tried biplanes: don't be afraid of rigging. That's easy! Be afraid of the struts! Especially itty-bitty 1/72 ones that break if you look at them funny. Or the faint dimples that pass as strut location marks on short run kits.

I have a lot of great memories of Greenfield News and Hobby. It was a real shame to hear they closed. If I recall, Happy Hobby always had a 2 inch thick coat of dust on everything, and the place smelled like cat pee and sewage. Worse even than the one dump down in Kenosha. But if getting around is an issue for you, I wouldn't waste my time with that place.

Thanks for the kind comments. I'm still a bit unsure of myself when it comes to biplanes (this is only my fourth successfully completed), so your words are very encouraging

The condor was an absolutely lovely airplane. I really wish we could get one in 1/72 instead of yet another 109 whatever. I know, I know, the market and all that. But the market clearly has no taste! Good luck with your project, James. I will be following closely.

This might well be one of the most gorgeous 1/72 builds I've seen in a while. I wish my models could turn out like this. So sharp and bright! I love it!

Were you also discouraged by the obnoxious fit of the clear parts? Also, Milwaukee! Woo! Lived there for 10 years. Still one of my favorite places in the world! Shame that several of your excellent hobby shops have closed in the last decade. RIP Big Bear.