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Some threads just mentioned the film "Those Magnificent men . . " and I found a trailer on Youtube with the Wright Flyer at the end. So good point to show my last finished stripdown, but not from Eduard as my others. This is the Wright "The Flyer" of the Japanese company Aerobase in 1/72. This biplane was done out of the box, even the base plate was included. Also a thread for rigging was included, but I have used something thinner. The flyer was soldered as usual, but since the parts are thicker, it is much easier to build compared to the Eduard ones. So I can really suggest it as starter into this area. The painting was done with Gunze and oils. The only funny thing was the rigging. According to the manual the task was done, but I found a lot of free rigging points on the model! After a research in internet I found manuals of other kits, e.g. in 1/16, and other sources which enabled me to finish the rigging and control wires completely according to the original Flyer. The pilot Orville was my first painting of a figure, and this in 1/72 Have fun and feel free to ask, if you have questions! Frank Engine and pilot: See the tin solder: The ribs are individual parts:

After discussion about the potentiality of 3D printing for those stripdowns in my Fokker Dr.I stripdown thread (and Grzegorz showed a 3D Fokker Eindecker) this is a good point to show my Fokker E.III stripdown in 1/72. It was mainly out of the box, but I replaced the bars with a brass profile and scratched a gear with help of brass rods. The painting was done with Gunze, Alclads and oils. The best on this model are the white bands to suppress vibrations, made with a third of dental floss (after trying a lot of different materials). At that point the rigging (also inside the wings!) was already done so it was more tricky. The Fokker was done two years ago, but I still really like that little Eindecker! Have fun, Frank Note the additional green suppression struts between the spars The view from below: It is damn small too!

Here comes my third stripdown of the six Eduard 1/72 series, but the other 3 are not yet done. Its a Piper L-4 There was also a complete plastic kit in the box, but only some parts are used, like wheels, airscrew, engine and others ... Some struts and the gear was scratched in brass, which makes the model much more robust. I added also a rigging inside the wing after seeing a fantastic video about building those Pipers in Youtube. The upper part of the fuselage is very very fragile and very tricky to bring all parts together. It is nice, to have also a civil aircraft in that row. Hope you will like it, Frank compression bars not forseen by kit, with small tubes for rigging Completely soldered up to this point: A screw to form ... ... the cylinder heads from aluminium plate

Hello, since I have finished the only 1/48 Stripdown from Eduard and shown it here already with a fantastic feedback, I like to show my first built Stripdown model too. This one is the Fokker Dr.I in 1/72 from the new re-edition kit which also includes some resin parts. The PE is soldered and the model was painted with Gunze, Alclad and oils. This is a really fantastic kit, but the result is a damn small plane! This plane is built out of the box, at that time the engines from Small Stuff were not yet available and a wooden propeller as now on my 1/48 kits is a bit hard to be done in 1/72. The complete Eduard Stripdown series is in my stash, but I have not yet built all of them. Have fun with the pictures (the macro is merciless) and I hope you will like that model too! Frank That is a real 1 Euro Cent! And finally the view from below: As detail picture I like to show a soldered aileron:

a new kit in "Stripdown" line is confirmed by Eduard 1/48 Siemens-Schuckert - SSW D.III confirmed here: http://ipmsnymburk.com/forum/viewtema.php?ID_tema=11559 post 26531

Airco DH-2 Stripdown Eduard1:48 The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat biplane "pusher" aircraft which operated as a fighter during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier DH.1 two-seater. The DH.2 was the first effectively armed British single-seat fighter and enabled Royal Flying Corps (RFC) pilots to counter the "Fokker Scourge" that had given the Germans the advantage in the air in late 1915. Until the British developed an interrupter gear to match the German system, pushers such as the DH.2 and the F.E.2b carried the burden of fighting and escort duties. The D.H.2 first flew in July 1915. The D.H.2 was armed with a single .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun which was originally able to be positioned on one of three flexible mountings in the cockpit, with the pilot transferring the gun between mountings in flight at the same time as flying the aircraft. Once pilots learned that the best method of achieving a kill was to aim the aircraft rather than the gun, the machine gun was fixed in the forward-facing centre mount, although this was initially banned by higher authorities until a clip which fixed the gun in place but could be released if required was approved. Major Lanoe Hawker devised the clip. He also improved the gunsights, adding a ring sight and an "aiming off model" that helped the gunner allow for leading a target.The majority of D.H.2s were fitted with the 100 hp (75 kW) Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine, but later models received the 110 hp (82 kW) Le Rhône 9J. The arrival at the front of more powerful German tractor biplane fighters such as the Halberstadt D.II and the Albatross D.I, which appeared in September 1916, meant that the DH.2 was outclassed in turn. It remained in first line service in France, however, until No. 24 and No. 32 Squadron RFC completed re-equipment with Airco DH 5s in June 1917, and a few remained in service on the Macedonian front and in Palestine until late autumn of that year. By this time the type was totally obsolete as a fighter, although it was used as an advanced trainer into 1918. A total of 453 D.H.2s were produced by Airco. The Model The model comes in a very attractive box with what looks like a 3D rendering of the completed model. Upon opening the box the parts are well wrapped in a poly bag with the decals and instructions loose. The original kit is which is included in this boxing is produced on three sprues in beige and blue grey styrene. All the parts are nicely moulded with no visible imperfections and only a few moulding pips. Due to the nature of the aircraft, some of the parts look pretty fragile and will need to be carefully removed from the sprues and some gentle cleaning up, particularly the tail booms. The difference here is that there is an option to completely replace the wings and tailplane with etched parts, which is the whole point of the stripdown series of models. The build starts with the cockpit, the floor of which is attached to the lower wings, these wing parts need to be removed before continuing with the build. Onto the floor plate the seat supports, seat, joystick and compass, (with acetate compass card), are fitted. A lot of the styrene parts can be replaced with the pre-painted etched parts included in the kit. Also on the painted sheet are a full set of seatbelts, instrument panel and other useful items. Onto one half of the fuselage the rear bulkhead, rudder bar and support, oil tank, engine mount and rear lower fuselage panel are attached. With the fuselage sides glued together, the cockpit assembly can be slid up into the fuselage from beneath. The rear upper deck is added along with two PE straps replacing the moulded items which also need removing. The etched wings are then assembled and these require complex folds and twists to create the desired aerofoil shapes. With everything in place the leading edge strip is then attached. The ailerons are constructed in the same way, but instead of a separate leading edge these have separate central spars. Once the ailerons are complete the can be attached to the wings. The modeller then assembles the central panel, which when folded to shape is fitted with the two upper wings. The lower wings are attached to the fuselage pod. The struts are the standard kit styrene items, but with extra etched detail in the form of the rigging brackets and fittings. The struts are then attached to the lower wing and once everything is set the upper wing can be added. The two piece fuel tank is then fitted to the upper wing central panel. In the next step, the main undercarriage is built up with the aerofoil centre section/axle is attached to the double struts each side along with the one piece wheels. This assembly can be rigged off model and put aside for fitting later. Rigging is a personal thing, but it may be an idea to rig the complete structure before continuing with the rest of the model. The engine can now be built up with its separate ignition harness which needs to be adapted as per the instructions and the additional PE valve lifters added to the top of each cylinder head, and the four bladed prop before attaching to the rear of the main aircraft structure. At this point the undercarriage assembly can also be fitted. The trickiest part of the build is the tailplane and its fragile support booms. The tailplane consists of a similar structure to the wings and has to be folded carefully to shape before having the etched elevators attached, followed by the styrene skid. The same goes for the fin and rudder but is slightly simpler. The booms are can now be fitted to the main assembly with a spreader bar attached to the rear, just forward of the tailplane, which is fitted to the four attachment points on the rear of the booms. Alignment is critical to keep everything square in both the vertical and horizontal plane. The tail booms can then be rigged in accordance to research photos, as there is no detail in the instructions for this section. The final part of the build is the fitting of the machine gun in the forward fuselage along with the magazine racks on the port side and the external rudder cable attachment. Since there is nowhere to put them there are no decals included in the kit. Conclusion The original kit was a lovely looking model of an aircraft from bygone times showing an interesting way of getting around the lack of fitting forward firing machine guns. Whereas the rigging is usually the biggest challenge when building a biplane, this kit has the added bonus of the entirely photo etched wings and tailplane to occupy the modeller. Not one for the beginner it should prove interesting and interesting to the sort of modeller who likes to have something different in the collection, and this is certainly different. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of