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MAC Distribution Fokker D.VII (early) 1:72


Brandy

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I started this build a month or so back for a group build on another forum, and thought I might as well add it to the GB here!

The first 3 posts are copied from my other post and are pasted here as one entry, the last one is the current state of affairs:

1) My will power being what it is, (non-existant) I have decided to enter this GB with one of the newtool MAC Distribution kits. I have a couple of them and they appear to be very good: with crisp detail, comprehensive decal sheets and even a small PE set, although for some reason this doesn't include the MG cooling jackets! I will build the machine of Ltn Georg von Hantelmann, Jasta 15.
I will finish the Hannover first, so there will be no updates for a little while - this post is so I can't change my mind!

 

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Ian

just noticed they spelt Goering's name wrong on the box! oops!

2) I've finally made a start on this one, although nothing worth any pics yet.
I've thinned out the cockpit and engine cowl edges and removed the horizontal frame moulded into the cockpit sides right under the opening as it isn't visible on the real thing. Also given the interior a coat of white ready for the interior lozenge decals.

I'm thinking of using a spare Roden engine that I have in my spares box, but I'm missing the valve train part for the top. Does anyone have one to spare?

Thanks,

Ian

3) The more I work on this, the worse the kit appears to be!
I spent today thinning the flight surface trailing edges and separating the control surfaces.
It looks as though I've ground to a halt almost before I've begun as I need an engine (email sent to Roden) and decals - I thought I had Aviattic 5 colour so I could at least do the insides and get the fuselage together, but I don't, so I'll have to wait on the generosity of Richard and his free decals to arrive! I've also attacked the decal stash to find the correct interim wide crosses for the fuselage and wings.

Almost tempted to start another in the meantime but then I'd be back where I started...... ::)

Ian

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I'm back on this one again! I got a sheet of Aviattic's 5 colour (which I'll need anyway for other builds) so that gave me the interior decals I needed to get on with the fuselage. I also got a Roden engine. I emailed Roden and asked how much they wanted for the sprue with the engines, and 3 weeks later received it in the mail, free!

So over the last couple of days I built up the engine, modified it a little to fit - not much needed: a little trim of the sump and under the front, some plastic card for "bearers" and correct the fuselage parts at the rear of the engine (ie cut them back a little and curve the rear ends of the engine panels) and it fits nicely! The interior decals were added and the interior finished off, and finally the whole thing was closed up. I had a little issue with the seat mount in that it stuck very well to the lozenge decal, but then the seat and decal came off the plastic piece! Nothing a little white glue couldn't fix though. The PE hand grip is VERY fiddly, but looks pretty good - if you can keep the carpet monster at bay.....

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I noticed from these pics that the engine wasn't level, so I corrected that issue before closing it up....

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Now to clean up the joins. A little primer, and the Allmark decals I have in the stash will be added to the fuselage - they'll be oversprayed so I'm not going to use the Aviattic ones here.

I should be able to make some fairly swift progress now.....

Ian

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I finished work early today, so I got a bit more done. The fuselage lozenge is Techmod - it'll be sprayed over so I didn't want to use the Aviattic lozenge. The colours are actually quite close but they're VERY fragile....

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Lesson No. 1: When using PE stitching, apply UNDER the decals - I didn't realise that CA glue would remove the decal ink! Oh well, as I said, it will be sprayed over, so no great problem, but lesson learned!

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Now to paint over it all!

Ian

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I got the overspraying done on the fuselage today.

I must admit I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out, especially as I couldn't mask the decals with tape...I tried, and even after coating the tape with powder so it hardly stuck at all, it still took some of the decal off. I patched it, and sprayed using paper as a mask, with tape only over the top and bottom painted areas....

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I've given it all a coat of clear and should be able to get the rest of the fuselage decals on tomorrow.

Thanks for looking in!

Ian

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Hi Ian,

Nice looking model!

I have found that damp tissue paper can be a useful masking agent if the decals are a bit fragile. Just wet the tissue and blot off the excess water, apply and allow to dry. If it sticks when it is time to remove, just moisten it and wait a few moments. HTH!

Christian the Married and exiled to africa

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I received Aviattic's decals a week or so back so I've finally got back to Fokkering around with this one! I was a little surprised that no tail decals were included in the sheet, but since I already have Aviattic's 5-colour faded decals that wasn't a problem. The rib tapes are a little thick, but better than nothing, and I couldn't cut them much thinner!
The wing crosses are Pegasus as the kit ones are too thin. They are a little too translucent, but I think I'll just have to live with that. I'm not too sure I can cut a piece of white decal sheet accurately enough to put under them....I'll put it down to bad painting on the Jasta - they were in a hurry to get the plane back in the air!

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Ian

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I shouldn't have been worried about the upper wing crosses - they're plenty thick enough, with no lozenge showing through.
The kit struts are way too thick, so I've made new ones from .020" rod.
I should have drilled the wings and fitted them on brass rod for strength - both fell off while sizing up and fitting the centre section struts (of course, not at the same time, the second one came off after I'd refitted the first and left it to dry overnight!) They were of course only stuck to the decals, so the remains of that was cleaned off the joint face and they now seem much stronger...
The strut joints have been reinforced with a drop of CA - I'm hoping they'll be strong enough to enable me to fit the top wing with the model inverted and add the outer struts after..... Tail struts have also been added, as has a small windscreen. The kit PE seatbelts fell out - they were way too small anyway so they've been replaced with PART items - much better!

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Thanks for looking in!

Ian

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I'm hoping to finish this one before Tuesday, when I head home for Xmas with the family in Guernsey....

Good progress on the wings, they're now done except for the control horns and wires. Undercarriage has also been fitted....

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I decided to fit the tail skid while it was sitting upside down waiting for the undercarriage to dry. Then....PING....off it went....
I made up a new one and fitted it, then cut a tiny piece of brass rod for the mount....at somepoint then I must have got a tiny spot of CA on my thumb...

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I'm not sure yet how to go about the repair...blow some blue paint over it and hope, or remove the tacky rear part of the cross, replace it and then blow over it....I'm leaning toward the second option, the damage is not going to be hidden by a coat of paint....

Ian

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Repairs done, rigged (the easy part!) and now I'm calling this one finished, although she's STILL fighting me.
I'd put her in the display case, then noticed one wheel had gone wonky, so I took it out and repaired it. I went to put it back in the case and my thumb stuck AGAIN! Another hole in the fuselage decal! (I also had to repair one on the top of the fuselage where it stuck while upside down to let the tailskid dry!). So she's on the bench to let that repair dry before being returned permenantly to the display case.

Maybe it's the spirit of Joseph Wehner, von Hantelmann's 16th victory...he was from Everett, MA., just up the road....

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A few more pics in the completed models section.

Thanks for watching!

Ian

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