Hansa-Brandenburg W.29, Eastern Express, 1/72

[Bertie McBoatface]

17 hours ago, Torbjorn said:

Not that it matters much since my port wing snapped off anyway…

 

Oh dear, this thing is NOT going well for you. 

[PeterB]

I have read a few articles on applying lozenge pattern decs but only ever tried it once on a Fokker DVII. I have several kits in the stash which will need it so I will be watching with interest. I know the pattern was printed on the canvas which was then I believe applied at a diagonal with tape to hold it down to the ribs. I also remember a report that Roden lozenge decs were not very accurate so as most of my kits are that make I may have some fun with AM sheets instead. As ever there seem to be various opinions about the colours used and there were apparently several variations in both land and maritime versions, not of course made any simpler by the fats that there were different coloured versions for above and below the wings. At least this is a monoplane so you only have to do one set! As you no doubt know there are or at least were quite a few different AM sheets available last time I looked.

 

Pete

[Torbjorn]

On 2/5/2023 at 5:29 PM, Bertie McBoatface said:

 

Oh dear, this thing is NOT going well for you. 

About average I’d say

23 hours ago, PeterB said:

I have read a few articles on applying lozenge pattern decs but only ever tried it once on a Fokker DVII. I have several kits in the stash which will need it so I will be watching with interest. I know the pattern was printed on the canvas which was then I believe applied at a diagonal with tape to hold it down to the ribs. I also remember a report that Roden lozenge decs were not very accurate so as most of my kits are that make I may have some fun with AM sheets instead. As ever there seem to be various opinions about the colours used and there were apparently several variations in both land and maritime versions, not of course made any simpler by the fats that there were different coloured versions for above and below the wings. At least this is a monoplane so you only have to do one set! As you no doubt know there are or at least were quite a few different AM sheets available last time I looked.

 

Pete

Only on the upper surfaces too. I have had the pleasure of applying Roden lozenge, I expect this to be no different and therefore have a backup plan with AM lozenge. The kit decal lozenge is a bit too light but I hope that thinned layers of greyish purple will give the right hues. I’m not too concerned with the actual colours since, as you say, they aren’t exactly known and were prone to fading anyway. I only want it to be somewhat similar to the AM sheet I have, to make it consistent with other models I may build. 

[TonyOD]

On 1/22/2023 at 12:42 PM, Torbjorn said:

I wish they had made another choice of name of their company

 

Is "Part" the name of the company? I feel your pain! Build coming along nicely.

[Torbjorn]

14 hours ago, TonyOD said:

 

Is "Part" the name of the company? I feel your pain! Build coming along nicely.

Yep. ”Part” is the entire name.

 

 

Acrylic sheet for the window. The tape shows the actual window size. The pilot’s window is scribed.

Needed a strip of plastic to fill the fuselage between the wings and make a sharp edge where the wing piece snapped

 

I’ve also added the last bits and pieces, some footsteps, brachets and the like. In front of the pilot is a tachometer in a fairing and a for me unknown cylindrical thing. 

 

All is attached except for some pieces that need the decals in place first. 
 

 

[UberDaveToo]

6 hours ago, Torbjorn said:

Yep. ”Part” is the entire name.

 

 

Acrylic sheet for the window. The tape shows the actual window size. The pilot’s window is scribed.

Needed a strip of plastic to fill the fuselage between the wings and make a sharp edge where the wing piece snapped

 

I’ve also added the last bits and pieces, some footsteps, brachets and the like. In front of the pilot is a tachometer in a fairing and a for me unknown cylindrical thing. 

 

All is attached except for some pieces that need the decals in place first. 
 

 

I thought my little A4D-1 project is tiny, that must be itty-bitty...

[flashlight]

Looking great already! Glad that you could solve all the problems, once it will be finished nothing will be noticed any more. Very well done!

[Andwil]

5 hours ago, UberDaveToo said:

I thought my little A4D-1 project is tiny, that must be itty-bitty...

Actually quite large for a single engined WW1 aircraft.  Check out @RC Boater Bill’s Sopwith Pup, that is really small.

 

AW

[Grandboof]

Looking very tidy 

Martin H

[Torbjorn]

7 hours ago, UberDaveToo said:

I thought my little A4D-1 project is tiny, that must be itty-bitty...

As Andwil pointed out, it’s large for a Great war plane, and the wings are enourmous as the designers strived to retain the total wing area and lift of the biplane version (W.12) it was derived from. 

Here’s how she compares with a Pup-sized plane:

 

 

The last bits.

 

The kit comes with little wheeled supports, but these seem based on a photo of a machine captured by British, in the UK. I used the versions that came with the PE but used the wooden-spoked wheels from the kit since the bicycle-style PE has way oversized spokes. A trestle for the tail was put togetger fron strip based on WNW instructions.

 

 

Armament, 2 Spandau and one Parabellum. The cooling jackets from PE was attached by keeping about 0.3mm of the plastic at each end.

 

The Parabellum I took from a Roden kit, should have no jacket. A new gun ring was made since neither kit nor PE was of the right type. The ring from wrapping strip around a rod two turns, brackets/rests from brass. An oigee gun sight was added from aluminium tube. I hate painting guns, but made a start.

 

 

It has come to my attention that the hex camo was probably blue-violet-brown. Have to do a re-think here 😕

[2996 Victor]

This is a fantastic build: I've always liked the W.29, it's somehow very modern-looking amongst its stick-and-string biplane contemporaries!

 

I think I'm right in saying that the lozenge fabric could be with either the flats or the points of the hexagons chord-wise.

 

Really looking forward to seeing this one finished.

 

Cheers,

Mark 

[Col.]

Beautiful work so far 

[Torbjorn]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:31 PM, 2996 Victor said:

This is a fantastic build: I've always liked the W.29, it's somehow very modern-looking amongst its stick-and-string biplane contemporaries!

 

 

Oh yes, it was a shock for the pilots of the Entente stick-and-string machines it encountered. As a testimony to its successful design, direct derivatives of the type served well into the 30s and even 40s. One of the last derivatives, a HE 5,  shot down a He-111 (probably the only occasion of a Heinkel shooting down another Heinkel too) intruding Swedish airspace in 1940, though it was quite obsolete at the time.

 

 

Anyway this is going to take a break for a package to arrive from Britain. I spent enough effort on this thing that it deserves the best: I ordered some Aviattic lozenge. 

Edited February 15 by Torbjorn

[Grandboof]

Fantastic detail work 

Martin H

 

[Torbjorn]

Still waiting for the package, but have been using the time to paint. I’m building nr 2532, which was stationed at the Frisian island of Norderney. The numbers were butchered together from the 2611 and 2292 on the sheet. Fuselage crosses from the spares box.

 

Linen undersides are pinted with Vallejo Aged white on top of darker paints. Rib tapes were accentuated by first freehanding a dark colour (Vallejo Hemp iirc), drawing the tapes with a tan pen and painting a final layer of thinned aged white. This avoids annoying masking and doesn’t make it look exaggerated and cartoonish.

 

The main upper blue colour is AK interactive German light blue from their WWI colour set. The lighter colour used on the undersides and overpainted parts of the crosses was the same with some white added. Nato black and gloss black primer for the floats and struts.

 

The decals behaved nicely I must admit. I used really hot water after reading such tips. The white was totally yellow so I only used the serial numbers and rudder cross from the kit decals. The wing crosses are from a spare Toko W.29 sheet which the shop was basicly giving away. They are of the thinner version used at the very end of the war, and field modifications were made where the previous thicker crosses were simply overpainted -I went with the underside blue according to WNW’s suggestion. Unfortunately I managed to lose the decal I used for helping to mask the overpainted parts so the upper wing crosses have to be painted.

 

 

 

 

Surprising amounts of masking are required. Here the crosses and walkways are prepared, but it doesn’t end there. The metal parts should be of the same blue, but more even and then covered with gloss varnish rather than matt as the rest of the fuselage. Wings are to be semi-gloss too.

Edited February 23 by Torbjorn

[DaddyO]

Just had a catch up of this thread and must say that you're making a cracking job of it.👏

 

Looking forward to seeing the final few steps and seeing what varnish you're using over the acrylics

 

Cheers

Paul

[Torbjorn]

The decals have arrived, but ran into a booby trap when starting to apply them. I decided to start with the tailplane, but when checking the drawings it was quite obvious I had attached the wrong tailplane. Citing the yellow man, Doh!

   

The kit contains two, but neither is suitable to the plane with the markings I have painted on the model. The kit contains the prototype tailplane (I had used this one) and the late production tailplane - “my” plane had the early production tailplanes… So I took another detour to make a new tailplane.

 

The photo below shows all three versions: the new (attached), late-production and prototype. The elevators are not yet attached - I modified the late-production ones, which is why said tailplane lacks them.

 

. 

 

I couldn’t wait with the lozenge, as evident. I need to find paintmatches, because there are plenty of cracks needing touch ups. I also managed to miscalculate the needed material for the leading edge, so I hope patching can be made invisible. The alignement is ok though - the pattern is perpendicular to the centreline, but the leading edge has a wee rake. Following the detailed instructions, now waiting for the decals to dry before trimming further.

[Col.]

Good save on the tailplane. Seeing the lozenge on one wing really changes the look considerably.

[Torbjorn]

I haven’t forgotten. Slowly getting there.

 

Will definitely need to do some paintmatching 

for touch ups.

 

[DaddyO]

Really starting to shape up now 👏

 

(I've had a few of those 'Doh' moments myself, but glad you spotted it before you were too far along)

[Torbjorn]

Floats are on. Wonder what they were thinking when they designed the struts - even if the length had been correct there is no way the plugs would have fitted in the holes due the sharp angle. Not sure what to do here, maybe improvise the missing bit with modelling clay? At the float end you have to remove parts of the float to make it fit too.

 

 

Also, the centreline, longitudinal spar is not included, and neither are the footsteps on the front struts.

 

Made exhaust pipes of brass tube. Will either paint or chemically blacken in situ (or both). I’m currently looking for the pipe I knocked off. After that only anemometer (borrowed from an Eduard kit) and control horns are missing. Then I thought I’d try some weathering. Here she is with the contemporary marine Fokker E.V:

 

 

[Col.]

Sad to see such an unnecessary mistake as the strut length lurking in wait when you're so far on with this one