Viking Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Junkers D.1 - 1:32 Wingnut Wings. The Junkers D.1's main claim to fame is that it was the world's first all metal monoplane fighter. It entered service in very small numbers in October 1918, just before the end of the First World War. Further examples saw action with the German Freikorps in the Baltic during 1919. An example of the kit was received from Wingnut Wings, reviewed here. I was so impressed with it, that I could not resist starting it right away. The cockpit area is quite a 'birdcage' of tubework, but has been broken down into comparatively few parts. The moildings are exquisite, and I started by removing all the interior parts to make into a few sun assemblies ready for paining and priming. A quick dry fit if the main parts shows how well it all fits. The precision is so high that no glue is used here; Interior painting is suggested as either bare metal or grey-green primer. I went for bare metal as I want to show that this was an all metal aeroplane. The two side frames at the top of this photo had a few injection 'towers' to cut off their rear faces, something to do with ensuring that the plastic flows fully through the mold I guess. It is a 30 second job and simple to do, but don't miss it or you'll have problems fitting the cockpit between the fuselage halves. After a spray of Halfords rattle can grey primer, I gave everything a spray of Tamiya X1 Black. I find that if you are going to apply silver paint, by far the best thing to do is apply a black undercoat. A coat of Vallejo 'Metal Color' aluminium followed. (Ok, technically these were steel tubes, but I'm happy with this colour). The fuselage parts were done at the same time. However, such are the close tolerances on Wingnut Wings kits that I have learned that even a coat of primer & paint on mating surfaces can interfere with the fit of the cockpit area between the fuselage halves. Just that little extra thickness can keep it from making a tight join. amazing but true, so I routinely mask off areas where cockpit bulkheads & frames will butt up to. It is only a 15 minute job. but will save you hours later. Primer & then black on; Then Vallejo 'Metal Colour' Dark Aluminium. I'm probably taking a bit of artistic license here, as I want to have a contrast between the fuselage skinning and the framework. It's got nice paint free channels for the frames to sit inthough! I'll let this lot settle down before starting on painting all the little brackets & fittings etc. Thanks for looking John 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jb65rams Posted April 15, 2018 Share Posted April 15, 2018 Nice start. Will be watching with interest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epeeman Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Good start, John I'm going to be following this with real interest so good luck on your build. Regards Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 All internal components are now painted and instrument & placard decals applied. The etched brass seatbelts were painted on the fret and then cut off reay for application. The shoulder belts have cutouts, and fit over lugs on the back of the seat. The lap straps fit into little slots in the bulkhead, with enough length that can be bent over and secured with cyano on the back of the bulkhead. This isn't that easy to see on the instructions, but obvious if you look at the parts. The throttle cables and rudder lines are best fitted to the control column assembly while it is a separate unit. I used fishing line for the rudder cables, and fine copper wire for the throttle lines. The gun cables were started from under the gun mounts on the bulkhead, and will be attached to the triggers on the control column after all is fitted together. Main parts ready for assembly. Unit fitted together with one side panel left off for the photographs. I added a small rectangle of plasticard on the rear of the bulkhead, over the cutout for the rudder lines. I drilled two 0.3mm holes on each side of it to feed the rudder lines through and secure them with cyano. One fuselage half dry fitted. Superb detail throughout and absolutely incredible fit. It all fits like a glove, and is seriously impressive. Finally the main unit has been glued to the fuselage floor. The two fuselage sides will be the next parts to join around it. Like a good book, I can't put this down as I am enjoying it so much. Thanks for looking, John 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Wonderful workmanship from Wingnut I must say. Building work isn't bad either. Chris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted May 5, 2018 Author Share Posted May 5, 2018 Work moved to the engine for a while. I assembled as much as I could into sub units. A base coat of black, and ignition wiring from fine copper wire. Completed engine; Fuselage sides added to the base unit. The fit was perfect. The triangular cut out behind the cockpit is to allow you to get a finger in and press press the side unit over its locating tab. Superb fit of the underside join. Top decking and tailplane fitted next, again the fit is extraordinary. Wings also fit together perfectly. I just ran some Tamiya extra thin into the seams and pressed them together. Beautifully crisp trailing edges, and I love the detail where the aileron fits in. Wings now attached. Once the fuselage is done, the build really moves at a rapid pace. Dry fit of the engine into its bay. I'll leave it out while I prime & paint the main airframe. Thanks for looking John 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Wow! Like many (I suspect), I have acquired some WNW but not yet dipped my toe into building one. With my obvious Naval bias, I expect it’s hardly a shock to find that in my stash I have a “Tripehound”, RNAS Pup and “Ship’s” Camel - and if they ever get around to a Bristol Scout, 1&½ Strutter, Nieuport 10 or Shorts 184, they’ll be snapped up, too. Looking at builds like this just makes me want to start one of them - but I have too many half-finished projects as it is, so a modicum of self-restraint is needed. But you’re not making it easy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_t Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Great start, gotta love a WNW thread 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Really nice work. That kit must be pure pleasure to build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted May 5, 2018 Share Posted May 5, 2018 Looks very nice! Excellent work so far! Håkan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share Posted May 7, 2018 Thanks Chaps, comments are much appreciated. Paintwork has started now, all airbrushed Tamiya acrylics. First up a coat of Halfords rattle can grey primer. Normally I'd sand it afterwards but it's not really practical on this corrugated surface. Then light blue on the undersurfaces. The instructions show that the capping that covers the wing joint was painted white on the underside. Then the wings & tailplane in green and mauve. Next stage is to mask these off and spray the fuselage black. Thanks for looking John 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_t Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Looks great does that. Regarding the air brushing of Tamiya acrylics, do you spray them as is, or do you thin them? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Looking good! Håkan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Superb as usual John. I'll bet the paint didn't take long to dry today then. Chris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsjmse Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Beautiful work so far. Is this the first WNW not to require any rigging?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 5 hours ago, Viking said: Then the wings & tailplane in green and mauve. That looks great but i didnt know Tamiya has a Mauve ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Fantastic work. Andrew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share Posted May 8, 2018 Thanks chaps, a few answers below. On 5/7/2018 at 5:26 PM, clive_t said: Looks great does that. Regarding the air brushing of Tamiya acrylics, do you spray them as is, or do you thin them? Clive, I thin them about 50/50 with Isopropyl (IPA). 19 hours ago, monsjmse said: Beautiful work so far. Is this the first WNW not to require any rigging?! Their very first kit, the Junkers J.1 is also rigging free! 19 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: That looks great but i didnt know Tamiya has a Mauve ? You are correct, they don't! I usually mix my own paints when a shade I want is unavailable. For this model I have used XF-23 Light Blue on the underside, XF-67 Nato Green on the upper surfaces, and my own mix of Mauve from X-16 Purple, XF-53 Neutral grey, and a dash of XF-7 Red. I always keep a few empty paint jars and clean them out. They can then be used to make a batch of my own colour, and kept with my 'regular' Tamiya paints. I usually spray a spot on the lid to indicate the contents. Always make sure you have enough before you start, you don't want to be mixing another batch when you model is only half painted! Cheers John 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Thanks i would like to do some late WW1 german aircraft sometime soon and i know some used the green/mauve colors. Now i know a mix to get there 👍. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 A bit more done. Having studied the instructions I noticed that the tailplane is shown as also painted black, and not the light blue & green/mauve. The Windsock datafile has a good picture of this aircraft taken from behind, confirming that it was the same colour as the fuselage. And on with the black, again airbrushed Tamiya paint; It's getting there, not too much more to do now. I'm not one for heavy panel lines, I think it looks 'arty' and admire people who can do it, but for me it tends to look unrealistic. I'll give it some light weathering though. Thanks for looking John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Looking good! Håkan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epeeman Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Wow! Your working on this at an incredible pace! Great progress, John it really is looking superb. I've just recently completed Wnw s Fokker EII eindecker and I found that to be an excellent kit for fit and a nice trouble free build - this one is looking even better in this regard. Looking forward to your next instalment. Regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krow113 Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Superb. No dust on you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Posted May 18, 2018 Author Share Posted May 18, 2018 Thanks chaps. Latest progress, Guns are made using the photo etched jackets, Undercarriage is on; It has the only rigging required on this model. I drilled out the 2 anchor points on each leg, and the central ring on the fuselage. A single length of fishing line was then secured on one leg, passed through the fuselage mount, and back down to the opposite leg. Stretched cotton but turnbuckles were fed onto the lines, which have been ties & cyano'd, but not yet trimmed off. Probably the easiest rigging job ever! All ready for the decals to be applied. The radiator, gun troughs, and forward cockpit coaming were all very precise fits and required a lot of care to get them sitting just right. The fit of the removable cowling side panels is spot on, they couldn't be better. Next up is decalling, my favorite stage! Thanks for looking, John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted May 18, 2018 Share Posted May 18, 2018 Gorgeous 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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