albatros1234

very interesting john. i have been a fan for quite some time and forum member here ,the aerodrome and ww1aircraftmodels.com. i know there are some of us who had been looking forward to the fe8 coming out.perhaps inclusion of the photoetch booms and a vacformed jig would kill 2 birds and increase attractiveness.myself personally would buy an aeroclub fe8 regardless of if i have to make my own jig and solder so.hint hint.i have also been meaning to get another of the new(er) i.m. pups. are those still available? i dont guess there is anywhere one could get a list of available kits/accessories at the moment? regardless i like the look of that photoetch boom rig.the primer or other methods as ca would help for sure. my first thought is perhaps sanding so extruded styrene rod of proper length and diameter down its length and glueing on the outer faces of the structure. spose it would take a few minutes and may be hard to get a perfect half round section but it could be done.

is this going to be for sale? if so count me in.

wnw sells the rfc accessories sprue which includes several lewis guns of diff types with a scarf ring magazines a vickers etc.

me olde mate david lee would say its the worst by far of the revell 1/28 series. i have an article i downloaded about how to fix the profile errors and build a nice dvii. send me a message if you want and i'll see if i can capture the pages and email them to you.

the albatros would be a good first kit. better would be a fokker dr.1 or dvii. they have almost no rigging and are sharp looking aircraft. with the albatros i suggest glue the "v" struts to the top wing and let them dry thouroughly that way they will be solid and not tend to lay over under the weight of the wing. afterward glue the 2 cabane frames on the fuselage and position them close to the correct angle.you can then without much trouble put the top wing on and glue the bottom of the "v" into the lower wing .now just snap the cabane struts into position and let some liquid cement wick into the 2 holes on each side. do you get me? if notlet me know and i will explain it in a diff way for you. putting on the top wing is an skill that takes practice and can be quite frustrating. many guys build or purchase jigs to hold the wings in place while the struts are glued in place. i was hard headed so i fought my first dozen biplanes. remember any biplane that has a "V" or "N" shaped strut or anthing where they are combined as in the inboard set on your spad where ther is a cross member connecting them to make an "H" will be easier than a plane that has a bunch of individual struts. you almost need a jig in that case.the weight of the upper wing makes all the struts want to lean in various directions and will make you shout profanities. on planes that have the individual struts the ones that dont have a wing stagger are easier. whenever you have those 2 elements(stagger and indiv struts) the wing will want to twist and turn while the glue cures..good luck.there are many great modellers here as well as the " great war in the air" forum which is dedicated to only ww1 craft. the albatros would be a good first kit. better would be a fokker dr.1 or dvii. they have almost no rigging and are sharp looking aircraft. with the albatros i suggest glue the "v" struts to the top wing and let them dry thouroughly that way they will be solid and not tend to lay over under the weight of the wing. afterward glue the 2 cabane frames on the fuselage and position them close to the correct angle.you can then without much trouble put the top wing on and glue the bottom of the "v" into the lower wing .now just snap the cabane struts into position and let some liquid cement wick into the 2 holes on each side. do you get me? if notlet me know and i will explain it in a diff way for you. putting on the top wing is an skill that takes practice and can be quite frustrating. many guys build or purchase jigs to hold the wings in place while the struts are glued in place. i was hard headed so i fought my first dozen biplanes. remember any biplane that has a "V" or "N" shaped strut or anthing where they are combined as in the inboard set on your spad where ther is a cross member connecting them to make an "H" will be easier than a plane that has a bunch of individual struts. you almost need a jig in that case.the weight of the upper wing makes all the struts want to lean in various directions and will make you shout profanities. on planes that have the individual struts the ones that dont have a wing stagger are easier. whenever you have those 2 elements(stagger and indiv struts) the wing will want to twist and turn while the glue cures..good luck.there are many great modellers here as well as the " great war in the air" forum which is dedicated to only ww1 craft.

very interesting. i actually have a use already. i have a stalled build of the pld pyro bleriot. i was having a time thinking of how to rig the rear fuselage frame. i was thinking if only i had something like a 90 deg triangle with a rounded bottom to glue in those corners it would be easy to rig. i thought maybe bend a small bit of wire and glue in those cormers so i had an attachment point. i will have to get a set of these to see what size they are in person. they might just be perfect for this application. keep us posted.

very nice job, i like the overall finish,the subtle weathering and expert way you got the decals to blend in.like a painted on marking should. thumbs up!

if the plane is already completely built the easiest way would be to get an 8 gauge guitar "e" string, then cut the pieces to length and glue each end with ca or pva glue. if the top wing isnt attached yet the easiest way would be to drill holes where the rigging should start and the end has to be drilled all the way thru so you can tension it. one step further would be to manufacture or buy eyelets and micro tube and buckle it up. http://www.austinsms.org/article_seaman.php http://www.cybermodeler.com/tips/rigging.shtml http://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com/page26.html http://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com/page6.html the best ways require prep work, making eyelets,drilling holes etc. if you are already assembled completely you are limited to using the metal wire/guitar string simply glued in place.goodluck

i have built a couple eduard spads both 1/72 and 1/48. while i must say the 1/72 eduard spad is the most detailed braille scale biplane i have ever seen i like the larger 1/48 scale better. the detail balance is enough that expert modellers would be content as well as novice modellers wont be overwhelmed. cant beat the eduard 1/48 spad.

as mr. 487 mentions not the most fun thing in the world but do-able. i usually paint the wing one of the colors in the lozenge then clear coat with future, i believe you guys call it johnsons klear. then just be systematic with it. i like to do the wings separately then glue them on after the decals are on. i do the bottom first as this gives you some play. if the lower piece rides up too high the top piece will cap it. what i hate the most is doing the rib tapes. that is just soooo boring.after i get them on i use micro sol(depending on the brand of decals,follow individual instructions) then afterward i coat w future again. when dry i spray with testors dullcote .if you want to do a factory fresh plane you can leave it glossy. i like to build weathered craft so dullcote for me. its not hard just not fun you got me mate?

very nice job mate, very cleanly build and nicely weathered. i believe ive seen the scheme before but never realized there were no roundels up top.

really looks great pete, makes me wish i had gotten a set from rowan.

i built the rpm ft-17 and although a bit rough there is an eduard pe set available plus rpm make an injected individual link track set and i do believe fruil makes some metal tracks for it. it was an enjoyable build and there are a few links by other modellers who have done very nice builds.: http://www.missing-lynx.com/gallery/allied/ft17rs_1.html http://airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.org/...about27006.html http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=mod...&artid=2113

for the booms you can use the piano wire as it is spring steel so it ia not malleable so it tends to spring back into shape rather than bend. as far as struts i have used small piano wire as the core and taken aluminum or brass micro tube then smashed it in a vice making sure to leave a couple mm extended then you file it to shape and the wire extending out of the flattened tube mates perfectly into the divits in the wings although it is best if you open up the holes a bit. i saw rowan broadbent did something similar on one of his builds. he used the rigid wire to make the struts but glue on a bit of reshaped extruded strut material to give the right profile after he sanded it it looked lovely.here is a link: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...D.VIa&st=40

try eduard,special hobby,karaya,mirage,blue max,for 1/48 even the 1/32 hobbycraft spad XIII is decent and avis makes a decent fokker EV besides roden and wnw.special hobby only makes 3 1/32 WWI subjects a nice morane saulnier type n and nieuport 11 and 16. there are others if you like resin kits karaya,spin,omega,copper state,alliance and planet models.enjoy.