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stevehed

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Posts posted by stevehed

  1. 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.

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  2. 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.

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  3. 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.

  4. 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.

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  5. 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

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  6. 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.

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  7. 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.

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  8. 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.

     

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  9. 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.

     

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  10. On 4/12/2021 at 7:17 PM, Marklo said:

    Yes apparently it got to 60m then promptly crashed.

     

     

    I did actually find a webpage with a 1/144 scratch build if it. If were to build one I’d probably stick to that or maybe 1/72 ( but it would be about 15 inches at that scale)

    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.

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  11. 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.

  12. 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.

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  13. mbHJ79S.jpg

     

    I ran out of suitable iron crosses which led to a slow down in production. I made the ear type side radiators. There are sections on the card that have grille patterns to use. I shaped a couple and added 10 thou strips to the outer edges and a couple of pieces of strip as the base which allows a gap between the radiator and the fuselage. Apparently this gap improved the efficiency compared to earlier sorts used on the Roland's for instance. An over engine reservoir is again required and this one is a slightly different design. It was shaped from a bit of card and sits on rod pipes.

     

    I have built WW1 kits for close to fifty years but still regard rigging as a chore which I try to keep to an acceptable minimum.

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    Working my way through the tricky bits before adding the wings. Tail units are butt jointed with struts supporting the elevators. Evergreen 20 thou rod which is also what I used to make the cabane framework. The side radiators are provided as a single piece but the individual units can be separated for better effect and then the water pipes are added to the rear. The side radiators require a water reservoir which sits over the top of the engine. In this case it is simply a pipe which only needed a piece of 35 thou rod. A single pipe at the front and two at the rear complete the layout. I've drilled some rigging holes in the fuselage and hopefully can get the lower wings on soon.

     

    Ian, I like Joystick and think they are compare with the better Formaplane. The early types, such as the Lloyd CII and this kit lack white metal engines but I think most modellers will find enough kit to be able to build something half decent.

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  15. On 4/7/2021 at 9:59 PM, pheonix said:

    Just found this Steve. I too have followed some of your vacuform builds over the years and must write how I respect the way in which you turn lumps from plastic sheet into very good models. This one looks as though it will be very similar.

     

    PS I thought that the character in the Airfix Hannover was Frederik.

    Thanks Steve, you should really try one. BTW Franz und Emil are the observer and pilot respectively. My source is PM Grosz of WSDF fame. Frederick is probably a von somebody.

    • Haha 1
  16. 16 hours ago, pheonix said:

    Just seen this Steve - see my post in the chat thread.

     

    I have one of these on my to do list (scratch builds), and am interested to see how this comes together. Did you replace the engine in the end or just tart up modify the kit parts?

     

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    It's a tart up as I've ran out of engine parts, for example the half Roden pieces that were left over from the Austro Daimler/Mercedes choices in the Albatros D kits. There is a kit supplied white metal exhaust which is handy because it is not the normal run of the mill pipework. As I had spare manifold pipes from a conversion the decision was made to spruce up the kit moulds. Seemed the easiest option.

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