forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Topic started by: FAf on January 11, 2021, 04:57:50 AM
-
Good evening!
I lost a bit of modelling mojo a while back but have been tinkering a little with Eduards Fokker D.VIII kit i 1/48 scale.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image800.jpg)
I thought of it as a quick build to sort of just get through... which means that I missed a few details that I now regret... like internal rigging in the cockpit. I thought of getting other versions of lozenge but given the out of the box idea I stayed with the decals supplied by Eduard. There are some things added, but the only innovative thing has to do with the aluminium ammunition (?) box. I'll come back to that. If I was to model another of these I'd probably go with a lighter wood tone as well.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image795.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image796.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image797.jpg)
After having started I decided on the following scheme.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image801.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image802.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image803.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image804.jpg)
Even though I've been a weak contributer on the forum lately, I do pop in to take a look at all the great work done by others. Looking through forum posts gives me a good feeling and in at least one case it's also given me and idea to test. Over in the scratchbuild section Kensar showed a method to replicate turned metal. Ken's build and method. (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11451.msg217454#msg217454) Thanks for the inspiration, Ken!
I thought that a brilliant idea, but I needed the circles to be smaller. A long time ago I converted an old toothbrush head to take a sanding disc. It works wonders when you have to sand something that is a bit hard to reach. With Ken's idea in the back of my head I now converted another head to take a smaller disc, as seen below. The smaller disc is two millimetres in diameter and put to use on a bit of aluminum tape it looks like this. I think it's pretty good, especially when view slightly less close.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image798.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image805.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image806.jpg)
So, things were moving ahead despite low spirits and it was time to paint the wing. Following the instructions from Eduard it turned out like this.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image807.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image808.jpg)
At this point I was going to drill through the wing to be able to tension the control wires later and broke the drill inside the wing. Sigh! Efforts to remove the drill bit caused more and more damage to the paintwork and at the same time I was starting to wonder about the streaking on the top side. Looking at Fokker E.V builds here in the forum I came across the idea that the wing shouldn't be dark green or streaked in green and looking at Arma Hobby's instructions for a similar aircraft from the same unit and time period as mine, I'm now thing that I will go with green and brown on the top side and blue and purple (?) on the bottom side of the wing. The picture below comes from the Arma Hobby instructions and it is found at Model Paint Solutions.
(https://modelpaintsol.com/wp-content/uploads/Fokker-E.V.-Scheme-2.jpg)
Repainting the wing is in progress.
/Fredrik - who really likes being a part of this great forum!
-
Welcome back! and a great idea with the toothbrush. I have a Proxxon sanding stick, bit it do not rotate, so your toothbrush idea is better for that. Could it also polish paint (with more fine polishing material)? For example for a Fokker E.III front.
This is a nice kit, I build that years ago (shown here in the forum). And I have a different meaning regarding the wing colors ;)
Cheers,
Frank
-
Love it Fredrik,
The metal swirling is magnificent! What a great idea. I’ve got my eye on this kit too...
Guy
-
All is looking great in your interior and also the turned metal! Personally I like the look of the 4 colors on the wings but who knows what is correct. All educated guesses in My Opinion ::) Looking forward to more!
RAGIII
-
Not bad at all Fredrik ! Very impressive work ;)
Alexis
-
That’s an amazing idea regarding the electric toothbrush. I think that could look great also with bare metal foil on the front parts of a Fokker Eindecker.
Great work all around!
Andreas
-
Welcome back! and a great idea with the toothbrush. I have a Proxxon sanding stick, bit it do not rotate, so your toothbrush idea is better for that. Could it also polish paint (with more fine polishing material)? For example for a Fokker E.III front.
This is a nice kit, I build that years ago (shown here in the forum). And I have a different meaning regarding the wing colors ;)
Cheers,
Frank
Thanks Frank! I saw your alternative interpretation of the colours and I might go with that idea. We'll see, but right now I'm testing plywood decals and paint to see what looks best. Apparently these colours were very thin...
I'm guessing that you could polish with the toothbrush as well. I imagine that you could have a whole selection of different heads for different needs. I simply attach my punched sanding discs with double-sided tape. One "problem" is that the toothbrush head goes back and forth and not just around in one direction.
/Fredrik
-
That’s an amazing idea regarding the electric toothbrush. I think that could look great also with bare metal foil on the front parts of a Fokker Eindecker.
Great work all around!
Andreas
Thanks Andreas!
I guess the same for just about any kind of material, but that you might have to adjust the coarseness of the sanding paper.
/Fredrik
-
Thanks Guy, Rick and Alexis! Your support is much appreciated!
/Fredrik
-
Great extension to the original idea, Faf. Your method may work well on curved surfaces, too.
I'll be following this build, as I think the D.VIII is very appealing.
-
One "problem" is that the toothbrush head goes back and forth and not just around in one direction.
Good to know! That brings me to another idea:
I have a Proxxon Micromot hand drill, on a adjustable power supply. I use it to polish metal parts with a brass brush. Something like that:
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTGN4iG7Y8vdEEDlJ7It8EGwcwwX8N4So-nl-kGMSABYeTb4LZE48AMZjatmX0dbKQPfItFlAeS)
I need to reduce the rpm, otherwise all those brass needles fly away ;)
So with an adapter for the punched sanding disc and reduced speed I can use that Micromot tool too.
I forgot yesterday to mention the two wings of your kit. Do you know the reason?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
It is stated in the manual on the first page. One wing has a simulation of a wavy surface, like the wood was wet. It is visible in a side view :D
Cheers,
Frank
-
Great extension to the original idea, Faf. Your method may work well on curved surfaces, too.
I'll be following this build, as I think the D.VIII is very appealing.
Great original idea, Kensar! 😃
Thanks for looking in.
/Fredrik
-
Frank: I used the plywood wing first but with the drillbit firmly lodged inside it, I've now switched to the other one.
/Fredrik
-
Very fine work aith great ideas (toothbrush :)). And I am so glad you chose the Polish scheme.
-
Very nice!! I was in a slump last year and decided to build the same kit as it looked "simple". That is a great idea on the aluminum. I will have to try that on my next one.
-
This is looking great Fredrik! The cockpit is very beautifully done, some neat modelling for sure! Those Polish marking are special! Regards, Marc.
-
Thanks for the support PrzemoL, fredjocko and Monty!
For those of you itching to have a go at the toothbrush idea, please remember that the toothbrush isn't a precision tool and that the first problem is to attach things to the dead centre of the head in order to avoid an oscillating effect. But, if any of you come up with new ideas of how to adapt the toothbrush into a modelling tool, please show your ideas!
I've been reading a little about the theories surrounding the streaked wings on the E.V/D.VIII, and my understanding is that it isn't really streaking like that on a Fokker Dr.I. This is at least partly due to the plywood wings of the E.V/D.VIII. At least some people mention that the colours are stains and that they probably didn't produce a solid colour after application. Therefore I thought I'd apply woodgrain decals I had lying around and then spray that with thin transparent layers of paint and then finally add some streaking using oils.
As an experiment I wanted to see if the woodgrain could be applied on top of the thin layer of paint or if it had to go on first, i.e. the normal way. It turned out that it had to be the normal way.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image000.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image001.jpg)
So I painted the entire wing with Gunze Radome and then I've been applying bits of decal. The top is done, the underside still to go. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out in the end.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image002.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image003.jpg)
/Fredrik
-
Looks ambitious Fredrik!
Looking forward to your progress on this.
Guy
-
The wing looks like newly created by Craftlab these days!
(https://static.wixstatic.com/media/532076_dc03fc5904c7418aa1f630cdb6a33ec0~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1300,h_667,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90/532076_dc03fc5904c7418aa1f630cdb6a33ec0~mv2.webp)
-
That should make a great base for the streaks Fredrik!
RAGIII
-
Thanks Guy and Rick! Colours applied below...
The wing looks like newly created by Craftlab these days!
(https://static.wixstatic.com/media/532076_dc03fc5904c7418aa1f630cdb6a33ec0~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1300,h_667,fp_0.50_0.50,q_90/532076_dc03fc5904c7418aa1f630cdb6a33ec0~mv2.webp)
Frank; That could be me laying down plywood... except that one is too young and the other one's got too little hair (both on top and around the cheeks and chin). Fascinating picture though. I know plywood is thin, but I didn't really think it to be so flexible.
So, this is my take on the wing and it's colours. In the end I didn't go for Frank's idea about colours (take a look at his splendid Fokker E.V build to learn more about that), but for the common idea of green and brown on top and blue and pink (blueberry blue) on the bottom side. It went ok, but then I decided that the blue wasn't right and while removing it I accidentally added a nice fingerprint on the finished top-side.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image005.jpg)
And... those decals are really delicate... so I also removed a little more than I wanted on the underside. :(
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image006.jpg)
Anyway... the large fingerprint on the top will be hidden under the national markings and the other things I could hide prety well using paint. So this is the wing as it is now...
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image007.jpg)
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image008.jpg)
A close up of the topside... I think I like it. And the raster visible in the picture isn't visible in reality, or at least not with my eyes.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image004.jpg)
Next up, masking and painting the national markings and then assembly.
/Fredrik
-
Fredrik,
Beautiful outcome on the wing , very impressive . Every build of my will have a hidden finger print and at least one of Sieben's hairs in the finish .
Alexis
-
That’s fabulous Fredrik!
My models always have a big fingerprint somewhere - just not always hidden!
Guy
-
I think the colors look great!
Willem
-
Your colors look great and the simulated staining is beautifully applied!
RAGIII
-
I really like the muted effect of the wing colours, Frederik, some inspiration when I try this build...
-
Thanks you Alexis and Guy for the support and for sharing your innermost secrets of hidden fingerprints! Thanks RAGIII, Willem and Monty for the thumbs up over the colours!
I must say that I'm quite pleased myself when it comes to the wing and the colours. The wing is probably the best thing with this build as the tale of small disasters continues.
You might know that I like to mask and paint as much as possible on my builds. Sometimes, though, you should realise that masking isn't the best option. This is especially true when you have to mask over decals and especially if those decals covers very large areas like the lozenge and plywood decals on this build. I have already managed to lift parts of the lozenge when I masked the fuselage markings.
I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't help spraying these kinds of decals with clear coats. The problem lies beneath. So with the plywood decals I got some new decal solution marked "Very strong". This seemed to work... almost...
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image015.jpg)
Ok, one other problem with masking over decals is the tack of the masking tape. Obviously my normal masking material is a little bit too tacky, even if I de-tack it. And Tamiya tape did the above... so the next step was to resort to Tesa tape - the pink variant. That actually worked and I was able to cut masks using the machine as well. A problem is that you will have joints if you need a larger area of masking tape.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image016.jpg)
Another little mishap waiting to happen. Masked and ready for white paint. Worked wonders, but then I realised that I had placed the mask to far forward and the fairly symmetrical marking was now not so symmetrical. This led to a series of repaints and therefore also paint build-up along the edges. Annoying, but I really didn't want to strip the whole wing of its paint.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image017.jpg)(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image018.jpg)(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image019.jpg)
In the end, after some work on the paint ridges, it turned out quite well anyway.
(http://almlof.eu/Eduard/Fokker%20D.VIII%2048/image020.jpg)
/Fredrik
-
The sprayed Markings make a huge difference! Now your DVIII is quite colorful! I Love the way this one looks.
RAGIII
-
This is looking fantastic, Fredrik. I really like the look of the wings.
I vaguely remember looking at Achim Engels website where he stained the wings of a D.VIII he was building. It didn't look too pretty, but he said it was done like that.
-
Decals and tape are a real challenge, I know. I have to look for the pink tape because that seems to work.
-
Really pity you lifted up a decal, Fredrik!
I for me hate masking on top of decals, which also caused trouble on my (still not fixed) Dr.I.
To paint shadows on top of a decal I have used a "moving mask" with a Post-It.
The upper side looks great so far.
Decals and tape are a real challenge, I know. I have to look for the pink tape because that seems to work.
I have a pink one form TESA, which is even more tricky then the trusted Tamiya. Not at the beginning, but after a while is get more tacky. I'm very careful with this now!
Cheers,
Frank
-
Masking over decals still scares the shit out me and will avoid it as much as possible . Sucks that it happened on your wing , but you will pull through and dazzle us with a fantastic finish :)
Alexis
-
The sprayed Markings make a huge difference! Now your DVIII is quite colorful! I Love the way this one looks.
RAGIII
Thank you!
I'm just not convinced that it really was worth not using decals... the surface is completely flat, there are underlaying decals, etc. It would have been so much simpler to use the kit decals. But then again, all the red areas match and, maybe, it came out better on the leading edge of the wing where decals would have had to meet otherwise?!
/Fredrik
-
This is looking fantastic, Fredrik. I really like the look of the wings.
I vaguely remember looking at Achim Engels website where he stained the wings of a D.VIII he was building. It didn't look too pretty, but he said it was done like that.
Thanks Kensar!
I did a little google search on Achim Engels and came across his webpage (http://www.collectors-edition.de/f-t-s_titel_english.htm). Lots of interesting information there and especially several downloadable books on the aircraft he's built.
If we belive his way of staining the wings, then I'm not too far off. But I think I was too careful in order to not obscure the wood decals. And maybe I should have used stronger colours?! I'm beginning to think that I have to get another D.VIII and do that one properly.
Cheers
Fredrik
-
Really pity you lifted up a decal, Fredrik!
I for me hate masking on top of decals, which also caused trouble on my (still not fixed) Dr.I.
To paint shadows on top of a decal I have used a "moving mask" with a Post-It.
The upper side looks great so far.
Decals and tape are a real challenge, I know. I have to look for the pink tape because that seems to work.
I have a pink one form TESA, which is even more tricky then the trusted Tamiya. Not at the beginning, but after a while is get more tacky. I'm very careful with this now!
Cheers,
Frank
Thank you Frank and Fvdm!
Frank, you're quite right about the tape sticking harder over time! At first it hardly sticks at all and then, once pressed down and left for a day or two, the grip has increased. I think it works best if you attach it and remove it almost directly.
/Fredrik
-
Masking over decals still scares the shit out me and will avoid it as much as possible . Sucks that it happened on your wing , but you will pull through and dazzle us with a fantastic finish :)
Alexis
And thanks to you too, Alexis! I will try and dazzle you all... not too much left now and there is some building time available this weekend.
Cheers,
Fredrik