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Col.

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Had a look through the stash and realised there's not a single WWI kit anywhere. So, without further ado I went onto Hannants site and spent some money.

New toy

Looks as if this one will have to be OOB as I can't find anything about them on the 'net and my reference pile is sadly lacking :(

Always liked the lines of these machines so dare say progress will begin shortly after the parcel arrives. Prepare to be bombarded by stupid questions about WWI machines from an ignorant pleb chaps.

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Had a look through the stash and realised there's not a single WWI kit anywhere. So, without further ado I went onto Hannants site and spent some money.

New toy

Looks as if this one will have to be OOB as I can't find anything about them on the 'net and my reference pile is sadly lacking :(

Always liked the lines of these machines so dare say progress will begin shortly after the parcel arrives. Prepare to be bombarded by stupid questions about WWI machines from an ignorant pleb chaps.

Col.

I have just the reference you need in digital form. You will need adobe acrobat reader 6 to look at it.

Pm me your email address and I will send it sharpish.

Good luck!

Bob Von Holy

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Cheers Nick, this is only the second time I've been in a GB so with any luck I'll actually finish this one in the allotted time - although Bob's kind offer may put paid to the OOB idea.

On the subject of which, PM sent Bob and cheers. :thumbsup:

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  • 2 weeks later...

The kit arrived at the end of last week but this is the first chance I've had to have a proper look at her, so without further ado;

P1010001.jpg

P1010003.jpg

P1010004.jpg

The parts are nicely detailed but there's a couple of things that threaten the OOB idea. First off is the cockpit, which contains a floor and tubular frame-work into which is fitted a solid seat. From what I can see in the Windsock Datafile photos (cheers Bob! :speak_cool: ) there was no floor and the frame was made from perforated angle strip. As for the seat, every other WWI machine I've seen has a woven wicker chair in there and I'm not sure why the M-S type N would be any different :shrug:

The engine looks fairly nice but needs pushrods and could do with the valve gear refining a little, although there may not be much of it seen due to the size of the spinner. Also, the exhaust ports on the fuselage side look somewhat simplified and could do with replacing.

As I looked at the latter it dawned upon me that they must route along the cockpit side, which may explain what appears to be a canvas cover on the cockpit sides that would protect the pilot from burning himself on the pipe.

Having found a couple of good clear photos of the Le Rhone 9C engine on the 'net I'll start there. Well, once a mechanic, always a mechanic ;)

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Had a quick look at the pictures on Hannants site before you posted these - yes it is very nicely produced - thought you would weaken on the OoB idea p as to seats when I looked at the Gotha seats I thought that they had gone barmy with the Pilots seat - it is just like an unholstered armchair. Must be wrong - but no - the Windsock book shows a red leather upholstered seat with arms!!!.

David.

PS Old Bob is a good fellow isn't he - but don't say anything - head may swell even more!

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Thanks for the note about the seat David, may go with the kit part after all. As for the OOB idea, you're right it didn't last long :rolleyes:

Been working on the engine this last couple of days, pushrods and sparkplugs are the only additions.

ENGINE08-24.jpg

That was the easy bit, now comes the cockpit where I disagree with Eduard's interpretation of structure and components.

It's your fault Bob, if it wasn't for that Datafile I'd have taken their word for it and carried on in blissful ignorance :lol:

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Thanks for the note about the seat David, may go with the kit part after all. As for the OOB idea, you're right it didn't last long :rolleyes:

Been working on the engine this last couple of days, pushrods and sparkplugs are the only additions.

ENGINE08-24.jpg

That was the easy bit, now comes the cockpit where I disagree with Eduard's interpretation of structure and components.

It's your fault Bob, if it wasn't for that Datafile I'd have taken their word for it and carried on in blissful ignorance :lol:

Chuckle - yes blame old Bob - he is a masochist and likes everyone to suffe as well - but this is modelling is it not? Like your engine however.

You are making me feel guilty - I just keep avoiding the Gotha - loads of excuses - do me a favour - keep on posting your progress so that I feel really humble! I think also this may induce our Bunny Leader to leave the cabbage patch and commence his RE8 in earnest.

David

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Chuckle - yes blame old Bob - he is a masochist and likes everyone to suffe as well - but this is modelling is it not? Like your engine however.

You are making me feel guilty - I just keep avoiding the Gotha - loads of excuses - do me a favour - keep on posting your progress so that I feel really humble! I think also this may induce our Bunny Leader to leave the cabbage patch and commence his RE8 in earnest.

David

Need to finish Raiden first grasshopper... :ninja:

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Thanks for the kind words David, hope this update helps you toward tackling the Gotha ;)

Having read various experts opinions about the construction of this machine and studied the Datafile I thought it best to deviate from Eduard's kit and leave out the floor and framework parts in favour of some scratchbuilt items. It seems there was a narrow shelf that supported the rudder bar and control column and everything else was fixed to a tubular spaceframe topped with a strip of perforated angle that forms the edge of the cockpit.

After fixing the front and rear kit bulkheads into one fuselage half I had the pleasure to discover the engine fouled the inside of the cowling, thus had to carefully thin it out before the two halves would meet. At the same time the upper edge of the cockpit opening was thinned to get a more scale appearance and a few longerons were added to the area that would have been under the floor.

P1010004-1.jpg

The fabric and metal panels have been painted and dry-brushed so I can start by adding the wooden panel and exhausts tomorrow and then think about getting the framework built up.

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Cheers lads, must admit to considering the Special Hobby kit myself at one point Jay but couldn't find any on-line reviews.

In the end I used the kit seat pretty much as it was in the box Pete, looks alright in there with a bit of dry-brushing.

P10100022.jpg

P10100072.jpg

P10100052.jpg

I'll get the top panel on now and start to think about the metal panels and how to weather them. Some photos show a lot of paint has been striped off due to the oil from the rotary engine constantly leaking but these all appear to be in the earlier black scheme. The example I want to do has red panels and I think that may have been more resilient. More research required methinks.

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That's nice work Col - what happened to your FF?

Cheers Gary. As for the Firefly - it's still on the go mate, waiting to order seatbelts from Hannants as I'm not happy with my attempts to produce a set with some wine-bottle foil. At the moment this one has my full attention though.

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Cheers guys, the Eduard decal sheet is a work of art and the instrument dials are no exception.

A spot of clear varnish over each and it should look the part.

Ain't gonna get much done this weekend but at least that'll give me a chance to learn about my new airbrush!

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OK all you WWI model aircraft experts, I have a stupid question for you.

In keeping with my new-found enthusiasm for these cloth-covered wickerwork aircraft I've been looking at photos of restored and replica machines, the main thing I've noticed is how transparent they are in strong light!

That in turn got me thinking how best to depict such an effect on a lump of plastic and I'm giving serious consideration to spraying very thin lines of pre-shading along the fuselage and wing ribs, possibly using a dark brown.

So, whatcha all think. Inspired idea - and thus most likely subconsciously nicked from someone else's build - or total waste of effort? Would dark brown be too dark or light for under a doped linen top coat? Or can someone guide me gently but firmly away from my ridiculous notion and toward the true path of enlightened early aircraft model-building?

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It is a good point you raise here, but I think it only applies to just doped a/c. If it is painted in any way then won't the effect be lost?

I can see for really early, pre-WW1, a/c with clear doped fabric that some form of highlight for the ribs and longerons could be good, but by the time it is camouflaged probably not.

:2c:

Grant

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I've got a great article in a magazine somewhere, TMMI I think, of a DH.2 where some exceptional work was done replicating the see through effect, I'll dig it out and let you know when I find it.

Russ

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Hmm, good point Grant. As far as I can see the machine I want to model was in the natural doped fabric but had some colour panels on the fuselage which may have cut the amount of light transferring through.

If you can find the article I'd be most interested Russ, always better to steal others ideas than bugger it up experimenting :lol:

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Col,

It was an article in Model Airplane International Issue 10 May 2006. Mike Grant builds an Airco Dh.2, using decals he created to represent the ribs and the top surface roundels, which he then misted over with the doped linen cover. It's a stunning build.

If you PM me I can send the article over to you.

Russ

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally found the courage to break out the airbrush and point it at the kit. No photos yet but most of it has come out alright so far. Got dust on one wing and there's a coulpe of bits on the rear fuselage where the paint has reacted with some surface contaminant but it'll have to wait until tomorrow when the paint has dried before I can do anything.

At least the pre-shading looks ok in most bits.

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  • 1 month later...

Inspired by the latest issue of Model Airplane International and the site being down for a while the Type N got a little much deserved attention last night. Now while I may not have achieved anything worth photographing it has thrown up a couple of questions and observations.

To paint the prop I used Revell enamels for the first time and by heck this stuff dries quick! Hardly had time to get it from the pot to the prop before it was drying on the brush.

The model used in the MAI article is the Special Hobby 32nd scale kit and while there are some detailed differences in the way certain aspects of the aircraft has been interpreted I can ignore the majority. One thing I can't pass, however, is the cowling colours. Eduard depict the spinner and cowls of MS394 in red, as does the profile on page 18 of MAI. Stephane Boirau, on the other hand, depicts his kit with black panels. This latter finish is supported by the Windsock Datafile, which points out how fragile the black paint was during constant exposure to Castor oil leaking from the engine and shows a photo of a machine with the fuselage bands worn by Escadrille 159 that has a considerable amount of the paint missing. Furthermore, it is stated that only the British painted their forward fuselage red to differentiate from the Fokker monoplanes and although, "The French were informed of the new colour marking...there is no evidence to suggest French Moranes were similarly painted." Ho hum. I like the look of the little fighter with red panels but don't think I could live with a model I know to be inaccurate. Besides, the worn black finish has character and helps to add visual interest.

Enough of my ramblings. One thing I have decided is to spray the rudder colours, thus avoiding a potential fight to get the decals to wrap around the edges. Does anyone know the best match from any of the paint manufacturers for Eduard's decals? I'd like to avoid painting all the markings as the decals look quite good.

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