Putty Animal Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 (edited) I've been meaning to post this ongoing build for ages, but sheesh! Its so hard to come up with a title sometimes. I wanted to kick it off with some cracking wordplay, but alas I can’t think of anything 🤔 Perhaps its just best to rip the lid off and get on with it. These are a pair of Pfalz D.III and D.IIIa scouts that I've been doing from scratch over the past 18 months or so. Over the Christmas break I finally managed to get them out of the grey primer doldrums and into their top coats before all the fun stuff starts. Here's where one of them is at right now.... And here's how they got there: The idea was to do a D.IIIa initially. That's the later version with the two spandaus sitting on top of the fuselage decking, plus a larger tailplane and rounded wingtips. A short way into it I suffered scratchbuilder's remorse when I discovered that the schemes I liked best were for the earlier D.III version, with a smaller tailplane, pointy wingtips and the spandaus buried inside the fuselage (!). So I dithered around for a while, and eventually decided to have a go at both. Plucky fellow... The fuselage is basically the same for both versions. So I thought if I could get past my ripping allergy to resin I could replicate it and convert one casting to the other. I started off marking the fuselage profile up on a sandwich of two pieces of 3mm styrene and carved the basic fuselage to shape. Wing stock was made from acrylic so it wouldn't bend and the under-camber was made by scraping the shape in with an old steel ruler that had the end filed to the correct profile. I set the wing up against a straight edge so I could scrape along the whole length of the stock in a straight line. One of the good things about 1/144 scale is there is exponentially less mess and elbow work involved in jobs like this. The fuselage was mounted in a jig, which exactly matched a similarly shaped jig on my drawings. More about that on the first post here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235062073-sparrowhawk-more-like-microhawk/ This made transferring dimensions easy as there were a lot of bits in close proximity, which would have been tricky to align otherwise. Details like the little round inspection panels are made from discs of decal film that have been thickened up with primer. I sharpened the end of some brass tube by reaming out the inside with a scalpel to create a mini punch. The wing ribs were made with primer too. More on that in the Sparrowhawk topic too if you want to learn more. I made a mould in silicone and cast some copies. A bit of a learning curve there, but eventually I got a couple of useable wings. Much better! At about this time I stopped to work on the Miles Magister for the BM 1940 GB. Later however I was able to bang out a couple of fuselages and keep going. One was converted back to the earlier D.III and other bits like the guns and engines were made too. Posting an image of a model next to a coin of unfamiliar currency drives people nuts over at Hyperscale... Well dear reader. That's pretty much where I got with them up until Christmas. During the break I've been able to put some extra time in, and have got them to the painting & decal stage. I was super nervous about the surface finish for the Pfalz silver-grey and scrubbed like I was prepping for surgery when it was time to do the base coat. I bought a set of 1/144 crosses some time ago from a company called Mark I. Most of them are not fit for purpose as the white outlines are well out of register. I hoped I could at least trim one pair down to a consistent width for the tail of Hecht's machine. Then I realised any I stuffed up could be used as a 2nd chance to make the plain black crosses for the Buddecke D.IIIa that I planned to do. I decided to give it a try and it seemed to work. Providing I had enough magnification and a sharp enough scalpel. Speaking of magnification: I took a broken pair of super cheap 6x reading glasses that I use and stuck one of the lenses onto the front of another 6x pair. I now have access to 12x magnification... Look out world! And that pretty much brings us back around to where things are at now. Loads more stuff to do, but they are coming together nicely now. Sorry for the picture heavy presentation. I was hoping to get the saga up to speed as quickly as possible so we can do the rest at a more relaxed pace. Edited January 3, 2021 by Putty Animal 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackson Duvalier Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Wow. Not my scale or subject matter, but your workmanship is impressive. And it looks like you can make kits of them now? Certainly no Pfalz start here. (rimshot!) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunny Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Impressive workmanship sir - at least you didn't lure us here under Pfalz pretences... 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Absolutely stunning work. I'd be more than happy with that in 1:72 let alone 1:144! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Outstanding work--particularly at that scale. There's no lack of detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROBOT Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 (edited) That is unbelievable modeling. You really have to love that subject to do this kind of witchcraft. That's another level I could never achieve... Thanks for sharing! Edited January 3, 2021 by ROBOT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Excellent work, after extensive inspection I can find no Pfalz with it. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Amazing work. Wouldn’t have known it was 1/144 without you saying it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Astonishing workmanship! All I can say is, "Wow!" I'd be happy to finish a 1/72 kit to these standards, let alone scratchbuild an already small subject in a small scale. Fabulous! Kind regards, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Animal Posted January 3, 2021 Author Share Posted January 3, 2021 3 hours ago, ROBOT said: That is unbelievable modeling. You really have to love that subject to do this kind of witchcraft. I would be very sad if it Pfalz to the floor... 🤭 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 They're so tiny! Maybe they should be called Pfalzettos? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Excellent work That engine is amazing at this scale! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverkite211 Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 I can't come up with any puns, through no Pfalz of my own. Oh, wait... Very nice work, very impressive. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmatthewbacon Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 It’s beautifully small and efficiently built...as good as a 1/48 kit, I’d swear: demonstrating a Pfalz economy of scale... best, M. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It's a disease Posted January 3, 2021 Share Posted January 3, 2021 Mate you don’t need catchy wordplay! outstanding stuff! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Animal Posted January 4, 2021 Author Share Posted January 4, 2021 Hehe, thanks chaps! 😁 I've just had a go at making some homebrew decals and they turned out alright. I found a Pfalz stencil font and made the codes and other lettering. The fuselage emblem was made using images of other kit decals for reference. The whole lot was done at 6000dpi in photoshop, as I don't know how to use the other illustrator programs. The whole thing was printed on a scrap of plain clear decal film then lightly sealed with a gentle whiff of clear lacquer. Using a domestic printer, the tiniest stencils are so small that they are just a light fuzz. However the aircraft codes are readable, which is very nice. There's several more to add yet, but its looking fairly good and the decals settled in without misbehaving. I test fitted the final version of the engine and exhaust too. These have a bit more detail picked out in various colours and make it look a bit more busy. I'm content to leave the guns more or less as they are, as they will be all but invisible beneath the top wing. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted January 4, 2021 Share Posted January 4, 2021 This is a bit late. Outstanding work. William Wyler: one of four. Cheers Dennis 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Animal Posted January 8, 2021 Author Share Posted January 8, 2021 Hi DMC, I've got that one too! I was able to add the undercarriage over the last couple of days and test fitted the wheels. The inside faces need a wash of something before I stick them on permanently. On reflection I'm not super happy with the home printed decals. I discovered a hidden setting on my printer that gets rid of the aliasing around the fuselage emblem. Too late for this one though. I'll have to live with it unfortunately. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted January 8, 2021 Share Posted January 8, 2021 (edited) Looking amazing. Most inkjets don’t print at their highest resolution by default as this can be very slow. There are usually options in the driver to print at the highest resolution. Edited January 8, 2021 by Marklo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Animal Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Cheers! Managed to tame the printer at last. I used it to make some decals to represent the raised panel of the underside of the wing radiator. The louvre detail is only 3x5mm but it looks fairly good. I'm interested to see what else can be done with it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 2 hours ago, Putty Animal said: I used it to make some decals to represent the raised panel of the underside of the wing radiator. The louvre detail is only 3x5mm but it looks fairly good. Hi, Can I just say that the louvre panel looks really effective in the photograph, which on my monitor must be at least four times its actual size! Brilliant modelling, and I still can't believe they're 1/144 scale! Kind regards, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Animal Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) Thanks Mark! That is very kind I also did the black fixings on the upper wing with decals too. You can just make them out as little : marks in the photo below. I'll probably tone these down just a fraction with a light glaze of silver oils that I got recently from the MiG/Ammo range of oilbrushers. Finally got the top wing onto the D.III today too. Even with the jig it was a vey tricky job. I think I've got a system going now though, so hopefully the D.IIIa will go a lot easier. Here's a shot taken today. Cloudy weather unfortunately The 1917 2 franc coin is about the same diameter as a modern 10p. Lots more small details to add yet, but it feels like they are on the home stretch. Really looking forward to the next project! Edited January 26, 2021 by Putty Animal 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Brilliant model-making, absolutely brilliant! I can't wait to see these finished. Cheers, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putty Animal Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 On 26/01/2021 at 21:57, 2996 Victor said: I can't wait to see these finished. Me too!!! 😅 I got the top wing assembled on Buddecke's D.IIIa and today started on the rigging using 0.05mm nickel wire. Making a tall pile of books and boxes on my bench until the little beast was sitting at eye level was a huge help. Pieces of .2mm wire were cut first as templates to get the right lengths, then these were used for reference when cutting the actual wires to size. This helped streamline the process so I wouldn't have to make every wire a custom fit. The wire was rolled straight on a smooth metal surface with a thick sheet of clear perspex used as the roller (clear, so I can see when it is straight). The trimmed wire was then dipped in PVA at one end, then placed in position and allowed to dangle. I then quickly dropped the tweezers and grabbed a fine brush to lift the free end up and into position. A tiny dab of thinned down PVA then secured the free end. If it needed adjusting, I used a brush that was damp with water to move the wire around. The camera isn't too kind when you zoom in so close, but you get the idea. Now that I have the lengths for the wires and a bit of a system going, the rest of the rigging shouldn't be too bad. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Phenomenal! These Pfalzs are works of art. There's nothing else I can say! In awe, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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