Royal Aircraft Factory Fe2b in 1/144

[Bandsaw Steve]

‘I want to do my best though’…

 

Hmmm,  Is THAT the trick? 🤔

[pheonix]

Agree with Ian - this is a huge leap forward from the Pfalz pair - and they were mini works of art in their own right. Gobsmacked!

 

P

[Putty Animal]

Thank you!  I hope I can keep the momentum going.  There's lots left to do, but all the rest of the details feel like cake now that the major assemblies are done. 

The tail codes were a bit of a problem, as there is nothing out there in 1/144 that can be used for them.  I found a fuzzy screenshot of wingnut wings' decal sheet however and was able to reduce it in photoshop and use it as a guide to draw high resolution ones of my own.  I printed two of these out.  One on white and another on clear decal film.  I used a regular domestic laser printer and set it to grayscale and Best quality.  It printed out nice and clear. 

 

Both sheets were brushed with a light coat of satin acrylic clear to seal them.  The plain black "85" was put on first and settled in nicely with my favourite MRP Mr Mark Softer.  I allowed myself plenty of spares!  

 

 

 

The next bit was the tricky part.  Using a fresh scalpel blade I roughly cut out a nice looking A and 7, leaving a generous margin of space around them.  These were soaked off of the backing paper and placed on a dark surface... (an old plastic gift card if you must know).  I then popped my Borg eyepiece in and carefully chopped the excess white away from each of them.  This took a number of tries but eventually produced a couple of pairs that I was happy with.  Rather amusingly, my head was practically touching the bench as I was doing this.  My wife happened to walk past while I was doing this and thought I had nodded off...    

 

Anyway, here's a shot of the finished tail codes.  I also managed to get some more rigging in place along the booms and made a start on the control pulleys on the wings.  

 

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by Putty Animal

[pheonix]

Balck codes with white outlines.....in this scale? Exceptionally incredible!!

 

P

[Putty Animal]

Hopefully it'll be all over by Christmas   

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by Putty Animal

[Quiet Mike]

My brain keeps telling me this build can not be this small, and that matchstick is actually one of those joke pens. I couldn't get this good in 1/48! 👏

[pheonix]

Balck codes with white outlines.....in this scale? Exceptionally incredible!!

 

I have seen several models in this scale but this beats them all for delicacy and realism. A brilliant piece of modelling in every way.

 

P

Edited September 6, 2021 by pheonix

[Silenoz]

Darn, this is nice....

[Tim R-T-C]

She's a beauty for sure 😁

[Murdo]

That is really superb work!!!

 

 

[Andwil]

 Absolutely brilliant.

 

AW

[Putty Animal]

Thank so much!    I'm really looking forward to getting the undersides done so I don't have to keep flipping the thing over onto its back.  I'm running out of places to pick it up from 😬

 

I made some bomb racks from styrene strip and glued these in place with PVA.  A bit more (!) rigging was added to the undercarriage and out from the lower wing to the pulleys near the ailerons.  The wheels got a tiny wash of grotty coloured oils to pick them out as well.  Plus the nacelle grab handle and wingtip skids were made from 0.15mm wire and glued in place.  I still need to make the control horns and add a couple of last wires before this bit is done.

 

 

Then carefully turned it over for a look...  

 

 

Another dozen rigging wires went into the booms too.  That's the last of the bracing wires, so I should be able to permanently attach the tailplane soon.  Then it is onto the control cables.  I'm pretty happy with the "sit" of it though.  

 

 

 

And my 1917 shilling arrived in the post today!  

 

 

 

 

 

[Andwil]

Good lord that could pass for 1/32 if it wasn’t for the coin!

 

AW

[pheonix]

Totally agree with AW: how large was the lorry that delivered the (oversized) shilling?

 

P

[AdrianMF]

Just looking at it makes me chuckle, it’s that good.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[TheBaron]

I don't know how you did that. I mean, you've shown us obviously, but that is a micro-miracle.

[Brandy]

This is absolutely astonishing. It would be highly praiseworthy in 1:72 but 1:144? I am seriously lost for words.

Stunning work!

 

Ian

[Putty Animal]

Almost there now. During the week I was able to add the control cables and rigging to the top wing and along to the tail.  I think there's maybe six more wires to go now.  

I also made the windscreen from some super thin cellophane and added the two Lewis guns (been wanting to do that for ages).  Here's a dawn shot for a bit of a moody backdrop:

 

[ajmm]

That’s an epic shot.

You must be so pleased with this and how it’s turning out. I just think it’s hard to see how you can ever better this build. You’ve set your own bar fairly high now sir!

[Silenoz]

Damn... this is nuts in 1/144 scale but a tremendous job you've pulled off.... brilliant work...

[Putty Animal]

20 hours ago, ajmm said:

That’s an epic shot.

You must be so pleased with this and how it’s turning out. I just think it’s hard to see how you can ever better this build. You’ve set your own bar fairly high now sir!

 

Hi ajmm   

You're absolutely right.  I'm really happy with how its coming out, but I'm having a bit of a modeller's crisis wondering what on earth I will do when its finished.  Something a lot easier I hope!

 

[Putty Animal]

Getting towards the end, some of the tasks that remain are some of the most difficult.  The course-setter bombsight on the side of the nacelle was definitely not what I signed up for.  Its tiny and ludicrously complicated, but it was there on A857 so I had to do it.  3mmx1.3mm and 14 pieces of wire and sprue in total. 

 

Here's a shot of it glued in position.  I hope I never have to make one again!  😭

 

[Silenoz]

I'll take my hat off to that....

[Marklo]

Has to be one of your best. Absolutely stunning especially so considering the small scale.

[Murdo]

And again...