DaddyO

Nice to see one of these made up Paul. Typical KP from what you say - okayish plastic and crap decals, but interesting design with the tapered wing and missing wing strut to increase the field of fire I understand. Nice to hear a different interpretation of the colours as well 🙂 Paul

Lovely work on the old Historex figure. Great to see another 'character' horse being done. I used Historex bits when making my ancient steed for the Scythian King based on burial remains of a royal line of horses which were close in conformation to the modern day Akhal-Teke (Long necks and back with a similarity to the Arab in head shape; narrow chest and prominent hip bones and tendons in the legs) Looked distinctly odd when finished compared to a modern horse. All good fun though and I'm enjoying your build so far. (I assume you've read Bill Ottinger's book on Historex conversions?)

Old freeflight trick when trying to get superglue to go off on cold damp days outdoors is to add some baking powder to the joint (not bad as a crude filler either) Paul

Never used the Cricut, but I worked as a signmaker pretty much my whole life so use vinyl cutters all the time as well as Coreldraw. These days I always export from Corel as an AI file to cut from, but Corelldraw can export in a wide range of formats. As long as the file you are using to cut the stencil from is a 'vector' format (ie made up of lines rather than pixels)you should find there's something that you can use in Corel. Paul

I'll second the DR1 suggestion (The Eduard one was my first build in over 40 years) I'd also suggest the Eduard Nieuport 17/21/23 (all basically the same aircraft with minor changes) It's a well engineered kit that goes together well with colourful and simple paint schemes (It was my second and third models) The cabane struts are quite delicate, but everything fits together well and rigging is about as easy as you can get on a biplane that has rigging 😉 You can also pick up a dual combo box cheaply which means you'll have a spare sets of pieces if anything goes wrong. Personally I'd steer clear of the old Airfix kits (which can be built up really nicely, but show their age) Roden kits are nice, but to get the best you'll need to spend a bit of time with them. Choroszy are an adventure in resin. Most of the KP kits aren't great if I'm honest, but look good if you are prepared to ignore the detail parts and spend a lot of time on them. (I've made the Swallow, DH5 and a couple of others) The KP one that might suit you is the Roland DII; it's not a great kit by any means, but both wings attach to the fuselage rather than use cabane struts so setting up the wings is easier and it has simple paint schemes. It's also cheap enough, but the decals in mine were crap 😔 (I ended up scrapping the work I'd done and built the Pegasus version of the same aircraft instead) I'm usually on the WW1 SIG display at model shows if you manage to visit any - feel free to come over and say hi Paul

Nice start Pete and not much rigging to sort out on this one.😉 Paul

Lovely model choice and a great display idea.👍 Funnily enough I'm currently reading about these postwar experimental aircraft and their pilots. They were real rock stars of the day with news of various achievements and records making the headlines and powering a host of schoolboy dreams of flight. What surprised was how poorly they were paid generally for such dangerous work and the lack of response to genuine concerns that were often raised about an aircraft's aerodynamic or ergonomic shortcomings. Britain's aircraft industry still being on a war footing and showing off the newest designs to sell to the rest of the world was more important than safety in a lot of cases. Aircraft often being displayed before they were fully safe and proven. The beautiful but deadly DH108 being a prime example (All three prototypes were lost in fatal crashes) Not meant to be a party pooper, but interested in these early jet designs and their development. Doesn't stop me admiring a beautiful model of a lovely looking aircraft 😉 Look forward to seeing more progress Paul

Stunning work Joachim I've a soft spot for these early types (especially in 'Gentleman's Scale') Congrats Paul

Hi Pete That makes sense. Jigs are home brewed.😃 I just make one up to suit the model I'm currently working on. Couple of photocopies of plans and 5 mm thick foam board offcuts (I make individual boxes from the same material for transporting to shows so there's always a few bits laying around, but it's cheap enough to buy anyway) For aircraft like the Nieuport 17/23 or SPAD I've kept hold of it and used a few times for successive models, but for odder models (like the DH5) I ain't going to build another any time soon so I just chuck away after use to save on storage. Must get around to the EV at some point, but trying to balance the sides by making a few more allied types at the moment 😉 Paul

FWIW i only build 72nd WW1 types and it's almost always easier to make up and complete (including decals) the main components before final assembly. Various suppliers make suitable decals if you struggle with the Roden ones (Type in 'Lozenge' on Hannants to see a range). You've not mentioned PVA for attaching the struts which is an option since it won't affect the decals and dries clear and slowly enough to move pieces about. In all honesty I wouldn't dream of trying to assemble the wings/struts without some form of jig to hold the pieces in the correct position - you'll find it so much easier. It can be as simple as a bottles and blue tac affair or you can use lego bricks. Personally I make one up for each model using a few scraps of foam board with photo copies of plans on them cut to allow the wings to slot into position. Here's the one I used on the Sopwith Swallow which has a similar kind of layout and the more complex DeHavilland DH5. Using a jig means you'll be able to use superglue and if preferred 😉 Cheers Paul

Happy to add my name to the list since this is pretty much what I always build 😁

Nice one 👍

Happy to throw my hat into the ring with this one. Got several of the D types on the shelf although I'm drawn towards one of the two seaters personally I don't need much excuse to add another Albatros single seater to the shelf (Maybe a pair of early ones . . . )🤔 Paul

Cheers Pete 😁 It's a mix of Vallejo Pale grey and Vallejo air aluminium for the 'solid' areas and the same mix with a touch of black for the fabric areas (There's a noticeable tone difference in photos) This one has a cut down cowl displaying a Small Parts engine and bits of the PART etched set added as well as sanded brass for the UC legs and a hand carved wooden prop. Rigging is 1lb monofilament Paul

Coming along nicely. Just finished the DIII version by Roden myself and although I made various mods to mine the basic kit is sound (as are most of Roden's offerings). I understand that the wing shedding on Albies and others was due to wing flutter which was little understood at the time and difficult to replicate during tests. Significant, to me at least, was that various highly skilled pilots stuck with the Bavarian company's offerings even when Albatros' were available (Berthold springs to mind immediately) I suspect it was a harder machine to get the best of (I've read various pilots talking about heavy controls and difficult handling at the limit) For me personally I think it's a better looking aircraft than most of its contemporaries and wings that stayed firmly attached would have been reassuring 👍 Paul