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Choices ... what to build next - Dornier Do18E Flying Boat


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On 8/14/2022 at 10:41 AM, Michou said:

Beware of the Lufthansa decals in the Matchbox kit.  D-AANE "Zyklon" was the single Dornier Do 18F, with an enlarged 26.30m span wing.  The model represents a Do 18E with 23.70m span (32.9cm in 1/72).  If you want to build a Lufthansa Dornier you will have to make your own decals.

Mike 

Thanks Mike, I think I spotted that nugget of info too. I've never printed my own transfers before, but I'm a digital illustrator by trade, and I'd like to add this to my skill set. I'll find out what our printer is at work and if I can use it, and invest in some supplies.

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I think I'd start with the Mossie; its a familiar aircraft and a nice easy shoehorning back into the groove for you, (certainly would be for me), you need to ease back in. I never start by jumping into the most awkward or biggest kit to get going again; always something familiar and relatively easy.😉

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Well, in the usual glacial process my builds take, not much has happended on the bench, but plenty of chin rubbing though, which always makes for a good thread post ... 🤔

Laser printer compatible clear and white paper is on order. A protective acrylic spray is still needed, any recomendations?

I think I've decided to follow in @Andrew.S very capable footsteps and build D-ABYM 'Aeolus', the Lufthansa flying boat that pops up in photos most often. Maybe the first delivered to Lufthansa? I can see the radio ring needs moving to behind the cockpit. There will no doubt be other mods I may need to do.

I've also downloaded, scaled and printed out some half decent plans and elevations, and I'll use these to mark out a few subtle panels lines on the hull, but I admit, it looks very smooth in all the reference I've found!

 

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Do18E Aeolus D-ABYM by Mike, on Flickr

 

And here is what I have to work with, no surprise to most of us oldies out there who cut our teeth on Matchbox.

 

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IMG_1691 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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IMG_1692 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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IMG_1689 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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IMG_1693 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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IMG_1685 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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IMG_1686 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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IMG_1683 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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IMG_1687 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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IMG_1688 by Mike, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

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Forgive me, I have sinned. I have been too lazy to dig out my ailing old 450D camera, and relied on my convenient iPhone SE instead, which is mediocre at best. Uploading onto flickr I deleted half as they were out of focus. These really are the good ones!

 

First job I felt like tackling was the very wrong paddle blade propellers. I wanted to see if I could work with what I had, so I sanded the blades down to as close as I could get to the more pointy blades. Then to address the very blunt propeller spinners, I thought I'd try 'sprue glue'. This was my first attempt making some! A glass pill bottle was found, and glue and sprue were added, and left a couple of days. The resulting gloop was then globbed onto the end of the spinner. It took a couple of days to dry properly, then I stuck the thing on the end of a drill and attcked it with various sanding sticks. I was surprised at the end of a few minutes sanding the sprue glue was quite soft? Then I figured out the heat from the sanding must affecting it. I stuck them in the fridge and tried again the next day with better results.

 

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Reworking the propellers on the Do18 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Reworking the propellers on the Do18 by Mike, on Flickr

 

 

You can see I'm halfway through sanding the propeller blades on this one.

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Reworking the propellers on the Do18 by Mike, on Flickr

 

Finished results after a coat of primer aren't half bad. I hope another coat of primer and a sand will fix some of the imperfections.

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Reshaping the propellers on the Do18 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Reworking the propellers on the Do18 by Mike, on Flickr

 

 

Cockpit has been hit hard with the artistic license paintbrush. I don't think you will see enough through the bullet proof glass thick canopy Matchbox make to put too much effort in here. A little plastic card added to the bulkhead and floor, and Tamiya tape seat belts. It bugged me that the seats were so basic, I wanted to improve them somehow, but in the end decided as this was supposed to be a mojo restoring build, I'd work with what I had as much as possible.

(Must remember to dip the canopy in Pledge to try and improve it)

 

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Hull work on the Do18 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Hull work on the Do18 by Mike, on Flickr

 

Looking forward to buttoning up the hull, and adding some panel detail.

 

In other news, after I'd done all my weekend chores, I got out on the 100 year old boneshaker for a ride out of the big smoke and into the downs. My fitness wasn't too great before I'd had a double hernia op at the end of June, but now I've been patched back up I'm keen to get back on it. 50ish miles done on Sunday which I was chuffed with, and I didn't walk up any hills, which is pretty good for me on a single speed bike! While all this has nothing to do with modelling, it did mean I had a guilt free afternoon on the bench on a Bank Holiday Monday!

 

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South Downs ride on the Bruneau Durieux by Mike, on Flickr

 

 

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  • Quiet Mike changed the title to Choices ... what to build next - Dornier Do18E Flying Boat

Starting to look like a flying boat now! Well, a boat at least.

 

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Fuselage stuck together by Mike, on Flickr

 

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PK-409, fuselage zipped up by Mike, on Flickr

 

Got the fuselage / hull together after far more procrastination than was actually required. Fit was OK, but I added a couple of tabs inside to help, either side of the cockpit opening.

I then scratched in a few panel lines using one of the plans I'd downloaded, but I don't think they are especially accurate. I used Dymo tape and a Trumpeter scribe, but when I went over a line with the sanding stick it seemed to fill straight back in again with sanding crud. We'll see how successful it's been when the primer goes on.

 

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PK-409, fuselage zipped up by Mike, on Flickr

 

Canopy and the engine tower went on last. The tower was fine, but the canopy needed a little work, and there is still a step at the back where it sits a little high. I should have checked the fit before I heavily sanded this area! I think when I add some runners for the canopy sliders it'll draw the eye away from this a little 🤞

A couple of details have been added. Cleats were fairly easy, as were the runners along the top of the nose. I've got some more of these to add, but I need to double check my reference sources. The runners along the back of the fuselage seem to run straight over the top of where the rear hatch is, which seems slightly odd to me. Do the D models actually have a rear hatch?

 

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PK-409, fuselage zipped up by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Reference shots by Mike, on Flickr

 

Those large double intakes on top of the engines reduced/multiplied to four. I note some photos show what looks like a handrail along there too, but it's not on every photo I have, so I may leave it off.

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PK-409, fuselage zipped up by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Reference shots by Mike, on Flickr

 

My decal paper arrived this morning from Decals Ltd. And I've sketched out as close a copy as I can for the new D-ABYM codes, making new B, Y and M letters. The wing codes and fuselage codes are different weights as well. The wings seem to be a bold font, the fuselage in a medium. And of course 'AEOLUS'. For some reason the 'S' was really tricky, and I'm not happy with it. I'm going to hope it turns out all right on the day.

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D-ABYM by Mike, on Flickr

 

And on the chores front, my garage doors were looking a little rough. Modern water based outdoors paints are rubbish! Just running the scraper lightly over this 3 year old paint removed whole strips of it. They got a primer and top coat on Saturday, and need a second coat now. I was very happy to spend Sunday morning on the workbench after this!

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IMG_1972 by Mike, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, bigbadbadge said:

Nice to get out on the boneshaker and nice work on the model.

After scribing I run some Tamiya Extra Thin glue along the panel line and it cleans them straight up.

Chris

I never thought of that Chris, I'll give it a go!

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This is coming along nicely, I like the prop work.

The "radio ring" is actually a DF (direction finding) loop. It rotates, and the navigator monitors the reception. When reception is strongest he knows where the station is relative to the aircraft and can plot a course based on that.

 

Ian

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On 9/5/2022 at 1:27 PM, Quiet Mike said:

making new B, Y and M letters

This looks very good.


Just in case you need it: the font is DIN 1451 Mittelschrift, I think condensed, if I remember correctly. The MS Font "Bahnschrift" is said to be close.

 

Also, based on my own bad experiences (with older decals and those of a certain Ukrainian manufacturer), may I suggest to scan the original decals set before you use any of it? Just in case, and to be prepared, and one never knows...

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/6/2022 at 2:35 PM, Chief Cohiba said:

Just in case you need it: the font is DIN 1451 Mittelschrift, I think condensed, if I remember correctly. The MS Font "Bahnschrift" is said to be close.

 

Great tip, thanks CC!

 

Well, work has stalled somewhat, as often happens on my bench. Just work and life getting in the way. A busy few weekends and busy at work. Helped a pal stall at Beaulieu Autojumble this year, we stuffed the kombi up to the gunnels, and then kept piling bikes on top of the rack. We forgot we had to navigate a low tree on the way out of his drive 🙄 Anyway, we cleared a lot of bike junk.

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Beaulieu Autojumble 2022 by Mike, on Flickr

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Beaulieu Autojumble 2022 by Mike, on Flickr

 

I was disappointed not to find any bargain kits for sale that tickled my fancy. The following weekend the kombi had hardly cooled down and Susie borrowed it to camp at Goodwood Revival where she was flagging on the finish line. This is her doing her thing on the Sunday. The ATS kit occasionally comes out at Goodwood anyway, but especially poignant this year with the Queens funeral the next day.

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Goodwood Revival 2022 by Mike, on Flickr

(Also, it's really difficult to time your photo to a motorcycle racer speeding accross the finish line under the flag!)

 

It's an incredible event. I rashly decided against a walk thru of Miss Pick Up as there was a queue. But the early morning and evening aerobatic displays by three Spitfires was a real treat.

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Goodwood Revival 2022 by Mike, on Flickr

 

And finally this weekend a reunion for the twentieth anniversary of a documentary project I was involed with. Anyone remember 'The Trench'? A three part program about the Hull Pals in the Somme Battle of 1916. We took a selection of local Hull lads, trained them for a month at Catterick in First World War drill, then lived for a few weeks in a trench made over the old Hindenburg Line in Flesquieres in France. (near where Deborah the MkIV tank was dug up). The program has actually stood the test of time very well, but you'd be forgiven for forgetting it, the BBC only showed it once! I'm not sure they knew what to do with it tbh. Such a shame, as it cost a million to produce. Anyway, everyone has 15 minutes of fame?

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BBC TWO 'The Trench' momentoes by Mike, on Flickr

 

Vaguely back on topic we visited the de Havilland Museum on the way back. Highly recommended! I've done well visiting air museums this year for some reason. Solent Sky, Stow Maries, Old Warden, Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum ...
(And while driving past Duxford we had a great close flypast by Miss Pick Up! Exactly the same thing happened last time we passed by last year. A habit I can get used to!)
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de Havilland Museum by Mike, on Flickr

 

And the 9-5 ... (sometimes much longer ...)  If only I could harness this 3D modelling ability to do something much more useful, like 3D printing a 1/32 Morris J Type ...

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Archviz for planning meeting by Mike, on Flickr

 

Apologies for the off topic post. It's tried to stay relevent by only the loosest of threads, hopefully normal service will resume shortly.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Although the Dornier has taken a back seat, there has been some progress! While dipping my toe in the water of homemade transfer making, on the little DInky J Type for my old man, I also printed out the transfers for the civil Dornier markings, to make the most of the A4 sheet. I was pleasantly surprised how easy the process was, the transfers worked beautifully. I'm looking forward to using them on the Dornier now.

 

Current state of play is that the hull has had an initial coat of primer, gaps have been addressed with PPP. I'll report in with photographs when I get a chance, but will need to get the Dinky job out of the way first, as that has taken over my very small workbench.

 

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Sticking the transfers on by Mike, on Flickr

 

And in other news ... my 9-6 work, playing with 3D models and general pixel pushing. I've made my first interior 'archviz' CGI 360 and walk through video. 📣   I can't help but think this 'talent' (I use the term in it's loosest sense) is wasted on property developers. Surely I should be using these new found skills for good, and learning how to make obscure 3D printable models!

https://kuula.co/share/Ns9BR/collection/79qdP?logo=1&info=1&fs=1&vr=0&zoom=1&sd=1&thumbs=1

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

We are back at the workbench! It's been a while ...  Some of you have followed the enjoyable little J Type diversion, which dad was thrilled with! I'm glad to be back onto plastic and acrylics though.

 

Nothing really noteworthy other than some primer being applied over that glorious 70s lime green plastic. I need to double check before I go further but I think the underneath of the hull, and the undersides of the wings surfaces are a silver of some sort. The hull a pale grey.

 

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Back on it! by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Back on it! by Mike, on Flickr

 

Last night Mrs Quiet Mike has joined her best mate for a cruise holiday for 2 weeks. I'm hoping this means I get to spend a bit more time at the bench! (I'd like to add, Susie doesn't stop me modelling in the slightest. Her own 'vice' is crochet, which strangley can only be done while on the sofa in front of the TV doing an impression of a couch potato ... We both try to keep each other in check with these sedentary hobbies. If I mention she spends too much time getting square eyes she reminds me that I'm currently wearing an optivisor.) Anyway, I'm the cook in the house, but I only make an effort when I'm cooking for others. If it's just me, I can't be bothered and just eat toast or cornflakes. All this time saved can be spent on the bench! I might even get this build finished before she comes back  :shocked:

 

 

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A splash of Vallejo acrylic duralium on Tamiya X1 black. I'm not very confident how tough the paint is, so I'll leave it a while and get a coat of varnish on before I mask it to paint the top hull.

 

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Silver duralumin on the hill bottom by Mike, on Flickr

 

I'm struggling to nail down the exact colour scheme. I think I am painting the hull and tail surfaces in ivory. also the underside of the wings. Top of the wings in yellow, and the engine pylon in black. I love that splash of colour, although I'm not sure when they had their top wings painted yellow. Also the wing upper surfaces and tail seem to be painted much a darker sea grey at some point, and the engine and wing pylon painted the same as the hull, just covered in oily exhaust from the diesels. Is there a diffinitive guide out there? I can't find one on google.

 

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Do18E Aeolus D-ABYM by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Reference shots by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Do18E Aeolus D-ABYM by Mike, on Flickr

 

Plus, the closest we get to flying boats now here on the Solent. It's always impressive seeing a swan come into to land of course! But here is Skye doing her best to work out that discretion is the better part of valour, while I wonder if Dorniers ever visited here.

 

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Paddle along Weston Shore with the mutt by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Paddle along Weston Shore with the mutt by Mike, on Flickr

 

And the charity shop gods smiled on me on the way back. That's me sorted for Christmas!

 

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Silver duralumin on the hill bottom by Mike, on Flickr

 

 

 

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On 11/21/2022 at 2:56 PM, bigbadbadge said:

Crikey,left on your own to model, wow.  The hull looking very smooth with the paintbox, great prep and Paint Mike.

 

Those swans looked like they were getting ready to pounce if Skye got ang closer, such beautiful birds.

 

Chris

 

 

On 11/22/2022 at 2:45 AM, k5054nz said:

Great work so far Mike! I'm excited to see your next update. I do enjoy a good Dornier.

 

You know, if you're not going to get around to that Tabloid I've been very good this year 😇

 

Thanks Chris! Despite being my own boss for a whole week, I've accomplished diddly squat! 🙄  I need to have a word with myself  😂 

 

Zac, that Tabloid is getting near the top of the pile, hands off!   

 

So, this weeks paltry progress. After a few coats of varnish I felt brave enough to stick some pasking tape on.  🤞

 

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Masking the lower hull by Mike, on Flickr

 

And then, just to humour myself, a little pre shading. This will all be lost once colour goes on, I don't know why I bother ...

 

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Some very vague pre shade on the Dornier by Mike, on Flickr

 

The pink I mixed up was awful, it was like trying to sppray copydex. In face I may market it as liquid mask ... 🤔

 

No plans this evening so fingers crossed for some decent progress! But I rather rashly walked into work today with the mutt, rather than leave her at home all day on her tod. That's an 8+ mile round trip ... I may end up sat on the sofa with a cuppa and a book for some of it while I recover!

 

 

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