stevehed

This is a Sierra Scale Models vac form from Louisville, Kentucky, USA. The kit is the Albatros CVII and represents an aircraft on the Western Front from late 1916 to mid 1917. The type entered service in September/October 1916 and was eventually superceded by the DFW CV, Rumpler CIV and LVG CV from the summer of 1917. It was still highly regarded by the crews for short range tasks such as artillery cooperation but performance was no longer deemed acceptable for the longer range assignments.

Bringing this one to a close to clear the decks for the Under a Tenner GB. As others have noted I'm also suffering from GB overlap. Since the last post the undercarriage was constructed from 20x40 strip. The axle is 30thou rod with a cover made from 30x80 strip. I cut a groove with a saw and file for the axle. I don't usually bother with the cover but the CVII has an axle brake and I fancied adding the white metal part and needed the extra width. Wheels are the kit parts which were cut out and had card inserts stuck into the backs. The trap doors for any internal bombs and presumably camera work are represented by a couple of transfers I found in the spares. A tiny bit of rod acts as the weight on the end of the aerial line and the tail skid is white metal and came with the kit. Final work was at the front end with a cap for the water reservoir and the exhaust stack, the spinner and prop are white metal kit parts and the wireless dynamo is from something I found in the spares. No idea what is was or came from. The crew are Airfix with Emil the pilot transferring from Roland CII's and Franz fancied a change from the Hannover. Will post final shots in the Gallery.

Count me in too. I've got a few WW1 options.

So right P. This one has fought me all the way. I forgot to mention the observer's gun ring that didn't like it's intended home. The observant will notice one of the wing struts is not quite in alignment. I'd relocated the others but as one can guess it is the one that was most secure. As an appeasement to the modelling gods in a quest for a quieter life I've decided to leave it where it is. It seems to be working as I've managed to rig the wings and install the undercarriage without any, touch wood, further interventions from outside influences. Can see the end now.

I'm taking the opportunity offered by this years GB's to make some of the vac forms I've had for decades in some cases. I bought three of these as at the time I wasn't aware of any Albatros CI kits. That was in the early eighties. The twenty plus year sojourn then occurred before I built one as a Russian trophy CI. By now I had discovered the Joystick Albatros CI so the BII's got pushed further down the to do list. Until now. There is no price on the box but I have a Scale Models magazine from March 1983 which quotes £3.25 and this does sound familiar. I'm posting to make a commitment to myself so I don't change my mind as thirty eight years is long enough on the shelf. There are no transfers so I'll have to use a spare set from the Revell Fokker Eindekker.

A good choice Adrian. Although there is room for improvement I enjoyed building this kit.

My understanding of the dazzle patterns is that the crews had a lot of input to the designs. I don't think there is any official patterns. I would put any discrepancies down to ground crew touch ups of peeled off sections. Got to admit though that my Roden will get a plain PC10 or 12 finish.

Splendid description of the processes. We can worry ourselves into inertia but breaking the task into smaller units usually simplifies things. Lovely job on the nacelle.

Production has resumed after further distractions. I've managed to get the wings in place after several mishaps. First, I knocked the port lower off and took two attempts to relocate. Then the rear cabane was too short and had to be cut out. Then the starboard inner interplane strut holes were not aligned. I've redrilled the forward hole to get the strut straight and replaced the rear cabane supports. Just to make the day complete the starboard radiator was too low and had to be removed. I think I'm ready to sort the rest of the struts now but what a kerfuffle.

Lovely job. The gallery shots are excellent.

I picked this up from The Aerodrome web site a few years ago. The contributor was Steve Lawson. On 26 June 1915 the Joint Services Committee ordered that aircraft should employ fuselage roundels. The RNAS used red ring devices, with either CDL or white centres up to 1 November 1915 when red, white and blue were stipulated. Wing roundels followed the same patterns. The RNAS added a blue central ring in similar fashion to French aircraft and aircraft sporting these markings remained active well into 1916. There was a gradual change to the RFC type roundel of outer blue, white and red until it predominated as all new aircraft would have been so marked at the factory.

Very good. I really like the wing methodology. Now we can see the lay out better it's starting to transition from boat to aeroplane, in my eyes at least.

Lovely job with the rigging. I'd be happy with half as many wires. Just curious but is the tank on the top of the wing not a fuel gravity tank.

Looking forward to this. The Dolphin has been on my kit bash list for a while but haven't made a plan as yet.

This is the Joystick 1/72 vac form Albatros C1, active on the Western Front circa 1915-16 and into 1917 on the Eastern Front and other quieter sectors.

Have cracked on over the weekend and got this one finished. Not perfect but I've always been more looks like than replica builder. The tail skid was scratched using 20thou rod and is composed of two triangles which lock together. I've used two zero decals to represent the bomb doors and the Parabellum and exhaust stack are white metal and came with the kit. I used strip for the undercarriage legs and rod for the axle. This was secured with a dab of glue and invisible thread was wrapped around the rod and strip in similar fashion to the original rubber bungee cord. It was tied off and a touch of CA secured the knot. Prop and wheels are kit supplied white metal and I've only used the smallest serial numbers. According to WSDF Albatros aircraft were frequently sent from the factory without identification numbers so I have hidden this one under the elevators. There is no axle brake supplied and as there are several photos of aircraft without this device I've left it off. Couple of photos before the main gallery shots. Two for the price of one this time. The other aircraft is a kit bashed LVG CII which was started last year. John Masters Ardpol version inspired me to resume the build as a time filler when paint was drying. It's two thirds of an Emhar Anasal fuselage that has undergone serious surgery with practically everything else scratched. It may have qualified in it's own right but as it was started I thought twice about entering it.

I have never soldered but can see that a more rigid joint would be the outcome. But to suggest an alternative in case of problems I have used brass horizontal booms with Contrail struts as the uprights. CA gel proved more than adequate at the joints and the plastic card elevators were secured to the metal booms by the same glue. My builds are all 1/72 and this method was used on small fry like the FE8 and a large three engined whif that was built from a Vickers Vimy fuselage and HP 0/400 wings with brass and plastic booms. Must be six or seven years since construction and they are both in one piece. HTH

Starting to get somewhere now. Top wing went on no problem although not quite as level as I'd first thought but I can live with it. Once the interplane struts were secure I snipped the cabanes into separate items and reset the angles. Again not perfect but I'm not going to dismantle it now. Rigging is invisible thread. I've got to build the rear skid support struts and I'm going to use 20x40thou strip for the undercarriage legs.

Really coming together now. Splendid looking job on the tail boom. The more I see of this the more I want one.

I've got a couple of the Airfix jigs. They came with the Pup and are best suited for scout size. I have made larger versions from cardboard but I have to admit I like lined paper as a guide. The C1 inches forward and I've got a windscreen and the rear gun ring in place plus Franz has now joined Emil on board. Upper wing was successfully made whole by adding two 2.5mm lengths of 20x40 strip to act as spars. cement to get an attachment and fiddle time to make sure the wing was level and CA to secure the connection. It's now cemented in place using two struts and I'm going to add the outers next and get a secure fix. It looks like I'm going to have to reposition the front cabane struts as they are too far forward.

Have resumed work on this one today. Got distracted by what was supposed to be the fall back build while paint dried. Not much to add but I've attached the radiators and drilled the location holes for the struts. Windscreen and cabanes will be next, not forgetting some rigging holes before the lower wings are attached.

Getting into the part that makes the kit start to look like an aeroplane. Usual make do support structure while the wings set. Have to be careful but I used a thin smear of poly cement to allow wiggle time to get the wing butt into place. Then I allowed it to tilt over so I could add CA gel which firmed the joint lovely. When the wings were in place I realised the elevators weren't straight so remedial work was required. The upper wing halves are joined together by two strips of 20x40 card as the spars. I hope they'll be strong enough to handle as one wing is easier to position than separate wings that seem to have minds of their own.

I'd go for it. Spanwise it's less than the Airfix 0/400 which scales at nigh enough 17 inches. Mind you there can be hidden costs when the big boys are tackled. I have Zeppelin Staakens in the stash, span 23 inches, and a scratch built DFW R1 on the shelf which is also 17 inches. Not forgetting a Roden Felixstowe flying boat. No way these get built and displayed on normal shelves so I had to treat myself to some easy build industrial shelving for the man cave. Best of luck and I'm enjoying the Oertz and having similar thoughts to Phoenix.

Similar thing happened to me. I painted an Airfix Camel brown using Humbrol paint. Not sure which, might have been HU113 or whatever the equivalent was about ten years ago, but there is no doubting it is a shade of brown. Photos came out brown but some had a definite green tinge. Could have been the flash but as I've always been a brown PC10 advocate it made me think.

Great work so far Ray. The Roden seems to be prone to lower wing droop but I see this one has a centre section which I would imagine will provide more support. As for glue hardening in the metal delivery tubes I have a simple solution but as no one has mentioned it I'm wondering if I'm doing something terribly wrong. I heat the tip of the tube with a lighter flame. The glue burns off and normal service resumes.