Author Topic: Fokker Dr.1 1/32 Roden and maybe more... (Read 25754 times)

Monty · « **Reply #105 on:** January 01, 2021, 03:12:16 AM »

Well, you can blame Rick for the diversion! He suggested a comparison build of the Meng and Roden kits a while back, and what a great job he has done! I made a comment that maybe I would join in, and so here is the "maybe more" in title since I realised it would be many moons before the Mengnuts kit hit Africa.. but here it is! And firstly, I want to say what a great kit it is, some superfine details, some interesting construction methods, but, as with every kit ever produced, needs attention in some areas... And I must say some really nice builds have already been posted. My comments are for discussion and help, please chime in if you disagree... And some of my comments apply to the demise of WNW so please tread carefully (as I will) as the mods do not need to lose sleep...

When the kit was announced the ex-WNW staff commented that Meng didn't have the moulds for the engine, well, Meng went ahead and made their own mould... The two engine moulds for the LeRhone 9J/UR II are on the box: Meng to the left, totally new mould, and ex-WNW to the right (from their Le Rhone Camel). There is at least 10% difference in the sprues etc so there is no copy-right infringement, but the actual engines, when assembled are very, very similar... as they should be! So very nice, Meng has their own mould, maybe a Hanriot, Mr Meng?? And here is the engine assembled:

It went together so easily, I didn't even break a single push rod... I was also amazed at the similarity of the Fokker and Camel sprues, layout size and attachment points, perhaps I'm going a bit far here in supposing the same manufacturer...

Well, I'm going to really enjoy this one, I hope Meng seell thousands and give us more WW1 kits!

Regards,

Marc

RAGIII · « **Reply #106 on:** January 01, 2021, 03:25:03 AM »

Excellent Marc! Now I am not the only crazy one working on the Meng and Roden kits

Nice work on the engine and not breaking a pushrod is an accomplishment! I managed MY second one without breakage but the first was a disaster! Be careful handling the Horizontal tail. The control horns come off easily. Again So far on My second no breakage but the first one I lost all four!
RAGIII

lcarroll · « **Reply #107 on:** January 01, 2021, 06:26:20 AM »

Well Marc, it was just a matter of time! I'm looking forward to your assessment of this kit as it progresses, I've been really dragging my feet on mine and been plagued by all sorts of delays due mostly to my own errors and a really bad run of no luck at all in the construction thus far. Like Rick I managed to break every control horn on her, knocked the elevator off three times, and had no end of grief trying to mount the guns. Maybe it's my age induced deterioration of steady hands and basic skills coming into play or I was just due for a less then wonderful Build experience! I'll try to get a few photos done and update my Build thread soon, I want to get this one completed and break into the Roden Kit which will be the follow up. Yours has come along beautifully, I hope I can get similar results.
Cheers,
Lance

Monty · « **Reply #108 on:** January 03, 2021, 02:03:14 AM »

This working on two kits at once can be quite a task, Rick, but you provide Lots of inspiration! Who can really resist the Meng-Nuts kit? Well, maybe Przemo, it doesn't have much rigging!
Thanks for checking in Lance, I have been following your build really carefully, and it is a great help - you are making amazing progress and it is looking good! But I think I have a few things to add, as I am fore-warned!

So continuing with the Meng kit, I started with the wings. Yes, all three of my wings had warps. This is not that unusual with wings with such thick single piece mouldings. There are lots of comments about the WNW Albatross upper wing and I had great warps in the WNW Camel wings... So, lots of warmish water, lots of careful, and I mean careful bending and then plunging in cold water... Hold it under a heavy book overnight, check it in the morning and go back to step one... Well, after a few days they all look much better... I am not that enamored with the rib tape and stitching detail on the wing upper-surfaces. Under-surfaces look OK. Particularly the head on period photographs show smooth leading edges, so I attacked them with sand paper and files. Quite a lot of cleaning up made them look better in my eyes. Remember to remove at least one set of the leading edge stacking pads on the leading edge of the middle and upper wings. these pads varied, check your references. Winsock DR.! Special has quite a lot about this, IIRC. I think this photograph shows it.

I also wondered about warps in the fuselage, but I was surprised that so much cleaning up of sprue attachment points and ejection pin markings near the tail was required. ( The blade tip shows where some nasty EP markings were...)

Then I noticed the fuselage halves didn't line up... so I opened up the holes for those little pegs all round the fuselage half, and filed down the pegs on the other fuselage half so I could wiggle the two halves around a bit.. and to my delight if the upper fuselage seam is perfectly aligned that strip of fabric lacing fits just so perfectly in the belly of the fuselage... This is really worth doing, it will save time (and heartache)... More photos soon...

The Roden kit has had some attention...

Ee, Gads! I hear you say. First he tries to do Lt Jacob's kite, and now it looks like Lt Weiss's machine! Well, white is actually the best undercoat for red, so colour change coming up! (Top wing loose). This white coat was unfortunately not a good coat as it had powdering and eggshell (Lots of wind here and dry) so I will need to rub down and recoat... C'est la Vie...

Regards,

Marc

RAGIII · « **Reply #109 on:** January 03, 2021, 02:30:37 AM »

Excellent progress on Both kits Marc! That is a great tip about the mounting pegs. Too late for Me on this one but if I ever build another I will certainly follow your lead!
RAGIII

PS: From what I have been reading on FB sanding down the "Nailed" look is probably correct, at least according to some folks with more knowledge than Me

Alexis · « **Reply #110 on:** January 03, 2021, 03:00:54 AM »

I would say your hands are full now , looking forward on seeing what you do with the Meng kit .

Alexis

Monty · « **Reply #111 on:** January 05, 2021, 04:54:55 AM »

Thank you, Rick, for checking in! Yes, that mounting pin problem was quite unexpected but was easily sorted for me! I have a second Meng kit and will definitely note if it happens there as well! The surface detail - well, this is individual preference, and also depends on your particular painting technique, so all I can say is this works for me! Hi Alexis, yes, I'm trying to get two rather complex kits together at once, but I have reached the painting stage on the Roden kit, I need to let the paint layers not only dry but cure properly before applying the next layer, this is to avoid disasters and is simply how I do it... in the meantime I fiddle with the really nice Meng kit...

Here is the second coat of white on the Roden kit, you can easily compare it to the previous post and see how smooth and regular it really is... Happy with this!

Regards and Happy Modelling!

Marc

RAGIII · « **Reply #112 on:** January 05, 2021, 05:43:22 AM »

Extremely smooth paint and that seam is absolutely gone!
RAGIII

Early Bird Fan · « **Reply #113 on:** January 05, 2021, 06:41:25 AM »

all the prep work has paid off as that looks a really nice surface now

Alexis · « **Reply #114 on:** January 05, 2021, 11:14:22 AM »

Perfekt !

Alexis

Monty · « **Reply #115 on:** January 06, 2021, 05:43:29 AM »

Thank you everyone for the great encouragement... Well, the time has come and I'm seeing Red!

Not a great application of Red, I used Tamiya acrylic gloss red with a touch of Red-brown thinned with their lacquer thinners that contains retarder, and although the coat is shiny and quite thin, it's extremely fragile - there is a "ding" in the top wing already... it's also a bit patchy for me, so this needs to cure thoroughly and then needs a re-coat, I think... So a little delay here... Regards, Marc

RAGIII · « **Reply #116 on:** January 06, 2021, 05:56:17 AM »

Looking Lovely Marc! I like your red and I am sure it will be even better after the second coat. I use a lot of Tamiya paints but just straight up X20a or Lacquer thinner. Usually very stable and scratch resistant. By the way, I forgot to mention how nice your prop and engine look in My previous post!
RAGIII

Alexis · « **Reply #117 on:** January 06, 2021, 06:57:58 AM »

I have to ask Marc , are you using their Lacquer line of paints or their acrylic , the lacquer with the retarder is for their lacquer range only and doesn't work well with their XF paint numbers .

I do like the direction this is heading , very promising Marc

Alexis

Monty · « **Reply #118 on:** January 11, 2021, 03:16:24 AM »

Hi Rick and Alexis! Thank you for checking in and yes, you are both so right! Tamiya acrylics and that newish Lacquer Thinners with retarder is a disaster! The coat of paint is fragile, it seems to react poorly to the coat underneath and the finish is miserable ... So big delay on the 'Baron red Triplane as I let it dry completely, sand it down and recoat... Next time I will use my tried and true formula as in the photograph: 45% paint (in this case white); 45% Acrylic X-20A thinner; 9% X-22 Gloss Clear and 1% Acrylic retarder... This works for me!

But I think I can fix it... The prop isn't quite finished yet, Rick, but it is coming along...

In the meantime I did some undercoats for the wood effects on the Meng kit... I suppose a kit isn't started unless there is some paint on it! Note I mask the mating edges of the fuselage halves - these tolerances are tight! Also a few other props for biplanes there.... (Not all WW1)... And wingtip skids for the Roden kit...

Enjoy your modelling!

Regards,

Marc.

RAGIII · « **Reply #119 on:** January 11, 2021, 03:49:56 AM »

Nice start on the base coat for the wood Marc. As always I look forward to the next update!
RAGIII