And now for something completely different

[maltadefender]

Hi all,

After a busy summer with the Battle of Britain GB and my Malta collection, I went a bit further back this time... a combination of being inspired by the number of 'stringbags' being built at the moment and a loft discovery of the old Revell 1/28 Fokker Dr.I kit clicked into place and here we are.

My interest in aviation really kicked off about 25 years ago with World War 1. No idea what grabbed me about the period particularly, but it did... and as a student I visited as many of the surviving pilots as I could and recorded interviews that I made into my final dissertation and presentation. I made friends with about 10 pilots - mostly British, but not all - and read absolutely anything and everything that I could. Amongst the many books consumed were the fictional stories, most of which were pretty ropey stuff. Out of all of them only Derek Robinson really worked for me, although he often gets so involved in polemics that the genius of his plots and dialogue get a bit lost sometimes. As a result I had a crack at writing a story of my own to entertain myself, and this is the main aircraft from that story.

Hauptmann Gustav Loencke

Jasta 92

"Somewhere in France..."

January 1918

The kit was a 30th birthday present from my former father-in-law. I brush-painted the 'streaky' upper surfaces and then it got put away until the end of last week. I seem to remember that one of the books I'd read said that later Dr.Is were clear doped with the blue applied on the lower surfaces and the streaks painted over the clear-doped linen uppers (rather than being painted all blue and then streaked on the upper surfaces like F.1 102/17 and 103/17 had been). Anyway, that's how I did it - and now many years later I've finished the job.

I'm quite pleased with the rigging, and although I don't think a career as a signwriter beckons I got the fictitious markings pretty much how I wanted them - and without damaging the original paint as I'd never e able to match it up after all this time! I need to work on my propellers but thanks to the Forum I know what I should be doing at least. Getting the top wing on straight was a nervous job, but this is such a brilliant old kit that any major pluses in the end result are mostly down to Revell I'd have said!!

Hope you like it...

[woody37]

Looks great. You've captured that weathered look well

[crookedmouth]

That's nicely painted and I'd employ you as a sighn writer!

[Paul RH]

Very nice...I like the weathering effect

[maltadefender]

Thanks, chaps - glad you like her!

I've no recollection of how I scrubbed the paint in like that. I think the wings worked better than the fuselage... just fighting the temptation to get another one too soon! I've got a whole imaginary Jasta.

Sits twirling the little 1/28 motor round... a very theraputic thing to do... and comes up with a long list of things that money should go on before any new triplanes...

[Dr.Jellyfingers]

That's really good, love that sepia photo

What's your technique with the wooden props, I've done a few and have one or several on the horizon !!

Si.

[maltadefender]

Thanks DJ,

I used a tan base coat, marked on where the striations should go in pencil and used leather brown detailing before topping it off with clear yellow. I used enamels as they were all I had in the box and next time I'll definitely use acrylics - the clear yellow is brutal stuff, partially 'melted' the divide between tan and leather and dried very strangely - that's as good as I've got it with lots of gentle sanding down.

Even so it's quite wood-y, and a million times better than anything I did in my youth!

[robvulcan]

thats very nice dude. ive been wanting to have ago at the revel and airfix 1/72 ww1 bi planes and tri planes as i like the ww1 era myself, however im a bit nervous of how to asemble the wings, any tips on how to do it well, i remember my childhood attempt at the airfix tigermoth, guess what it went in the bin.

lovely paint work that propeller looks like its real wood.

[maltadefender]

thats very nice dude. ive been wanting to have ago at the revel and airfix 1/72 ww1 bi planes and tri planes as i like the ww1 era myself, however im a bit nervous of how to asemble the wings, any tips on how to do it well, i remember my childhood attempt at the airfix tigermoth, guess what it went in the bin.

lovely paint work that propeller looks like its real wood.

Thanks Rob.

The simple answer to getting the top wing on is patience... and I still managed to have a tantrum! I know a lot of guys on here with more experience get the struts on in advance but I've never been able to get them so that the wing sits straight and level when it goes on. I reverted to my old method, which is a bit like keeping lots of plates spinning on sticks, of cementing the struts on then immediately dropping the top wing on, manipulating the wings until they're straight and level and then after 15 mins of holding them in place put a stack of books around them overnight to make sure they didn't move.

I'm exhausted just thinking about it!