forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Topic started by: NigelR on February 09, 2024, 02:14:50 AM
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I've just started a slow and steady build of the Roden Strutter using the Aviattic decals and add-ons. Just working on the interior at present.
My subject aircraft has a CDL fuselage so the I attempted to emulate the roundels showing through on the interior. I sprayed the interiors white, sprayed the roundels (a little heavier than I intended) and then misted some white over the roundel to make it a bit less obvious. I should have gone a little heavier with this.... My circle cutter could not cut a small enough circle for the central red circle, so these are a bit wonky. Anyone know of any good circle cutters?
I painted the framing by hand. Although the supplied masks are very clever, I am better with a paintbrush than scissors and found painting the framing quite easy. I added a bit of pre-weathering as well.
(https://i.imgur.com/xSkJp8r.jpg)
I then applied the interior CDL decals (which are quite subtle over the white), added some rigging from EZ Line and added more weathering. Note I have added a flase floor from plasticard to cover up the join in the fuselage:
(https://i.imgur.com/3Hjitce.jpg)
Finally here's the lovely resin instrument board which I spent too much time detailing. Although the supplied decals are nice, I used some Airscale ones which I have had in my stash for years.
(https://i.imgur.com/ujdZZLt.jpg)
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Great start, Nigel. Like that see-through roundels.
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That’s a gorgeous instrument panel Nigel………looking forward to seeing your build unfold.
David
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Loving it so far Nigel.
That instrument panel is worthy of a display all by itself :)
(Have a chat about roundel cutting tomorrow)
Paul
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Beautiful work, Nigel. That instr panel is wonderful.
As regards applying more white overspray on internal roundels I don't think you needed it. SimonCornes' detail shots from the RAF Museum Strutter show how strongly the roundels showed through (over in the Aircraft ref section.) Admittedly this is in a brightly lit hall but no brighter than outdoor sunshine.
Sandy
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Thanks everyone, I'll post more updates over the coming weeks.
Have a chat about roundel cutting tomorrow
If in doubt - ask a professional signwriter! Will do, I hope you have some clever tools for me.....
As regards applying more white overspray on internal roundels I don't think you needed it. SimonCornes' detail shots from the RAF Museum Strutter show how strongly the roundels showed through (over in the Aircraft ref section.)
Thanks for this Sandy, it allows me to be happy with what I did. BTW, it was your build thread that alerted me to the need to do this, so many thanks for that as well!
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Wow amazing start! I really like how the roundel is done on the inside.
Looking very much forward to this build :)
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Brilliant work on that instrument panel Nigel. I also agree that your interior paintwork looks great. Here is a link to a circle cutter I recently purchased on EBay. It’s from DSPIAE, all aluminum construction, works great!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/296042075165?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=irezurfeqqk&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=GQ4-MqwKT9u&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Tim
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Brilliant work on that instrument panel Nigel. I also agree that your interior paintwork looks great. Here is a link to a circle cutter I recently purchased on EBay. It’s from DSPIAE, all aluminum construction, works great!
Thanks Tim, that circle cutter looks fantastic so I just ordered one.
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Lovely Instrument board , very nice job!
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A bit of progress here, slow as always...... I could do more on the interior but I am going to stop here as I don't want Schrodinger to get his hands on too much detail.
(https://i.imgur.com/17S07Xw.jpg)
I cut a new front floorboard from plasticard based on the photos of the RAF Museum Strutter in the Datafile. I also used some HGW paper seatbelts for the first time and I have to say I wasn't that impressed, I definitely prefer photoetch. However, as I didn't have anything suitable in PE these will have to do.
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And in an even bigger shock, I surprised myself and got a lot done this afternoon. Got the interior all buttoned up:
(https://i.imgur.com/aW1mCym.jpeg)
The Aviattic resin instrument panel and additional details are superb. It was quite easy to fit the instrument panel on the original Roden mountings, and I even managed to add the teeny-tiny instrument lights (look carefully and you will spot them):
(https://i.imgur.com/k1f61Ua.jpeg)
Things should proceed a bit more quickly now as it's decalling and gluing together all the big bits.....
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Looking good Nigel. Shame all that lovely detail on the instrument panel will be lost from sight once the wing goes on :(
Can't wait to see her all decalled up and ready
Paul
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Wow!
Nice work, Nigel. Your cockpit looks amazing.
Regards
Dave
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Lovely looking interior!
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Very impressive work! Your different tones and textures worked out well.
Steve
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This is an absolutely beautiful build, Nigel, top-notch work. Those roundels look amazing, and I hadn't really had a chance to look over the Aviattic "bundles" yet, but I'll definitely check them out after seeing that panel.
And congratulations on your well-deserved win of this years's Schrödinger Trophy, the simultaneously real/non-existant award for Best Details That Will Never Be Seen Again Once the Fuselage Gets Buttoned Up (BDTWNBSAOFGBU for short, as we on the Steering Committee refer to it) :D
Dutch
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Beautiful Nigel, your interior is as good as it gets and truly a masterpiece! Keep up the stellar work, this is already an absolutely stunning model and I'm looking forward to the latter half of the project.
Cheers,
Lance
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Thanks everyone, much appreciated! It's gone well so far, I hope to make more progress next week, will report back.
Looking good Nigel. Shame all that lovely detail on the instrument panel will be lost from sight once the wing goes on :(
Thanks for reminding me :( ;D Of course the machine gun and associated padding will also block the view before the wing goes on.....
And congratulations on your well-deserved win of this years's Schrödinger Trophy, the simultaneously real/non-existant award for Best Details That Will Never Be Seen Again Once the Fuselage Gets Buttoned Up (BDTWNBSAOFGBU for short, as we on the Steering Committee refer to it) :D
Thanks a lot/no thanks at all.
Why is it that Schrodinger is holding the top wing in his hand ready to pass it to me.......?
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There's a lot going on here to comment on but, man, that oil staining on the fabric looks superb! Beautiful work!
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There's a lot going on here to comment on but, man, that oil staining on the fabric looks superb! Beautiful work!
Thanks Zac, I've been working on the oil staining effect over the last couple of builds. By a happy accident I found that the AK Interactive sepia panel liner I was using to outline the wood parts makes a very nice stain effect if applied carefully. It give that nice "soaked in" look. I then just touch up the central parts of the stains with sepia oil paint to give a little more depth to the stain.
I'll be doing similar on the outside of the fuselage as it's all CDL.
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I'll be doing similar on the outside of the fuselage as it's all CDL.
No pressure, but I'm excited to see that!
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Very, very impressive work on your interior, Nigel.
Cheers,
Gary
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Wow, that interior is looking very good!
/Fredrik
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Thanks very much Gary and Fredrik for the kind words.
I have been making slow progress on this build, much slower than I hoped but life threw several unexpected curve balls at me which has slowed me down. But hopefully I will have some updates soon.....
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I am back on this build after some life-related distractions. I've got several of the components decalled and ready for assembly, I am now working on the fuselage/lower wing. I am doing A1083 which has a CDL fuselage, so I need to do a bit of preshading to show some of the structure underneath the CDL. After many hours (I HATE masking!!), the fuselage looked like this:
(https://i.imgur.com/kAr2fCW.jpeg)
I am a top level nerd, so you might notice I have masked off the roundel and fuselage stripe. This is because IMO these areas will not show the underlying structure in the same way as the CDL, because they are overpainted on the CDL and therefore have different opacity. I am using Aviattic decals which have the roundel and fuselage stripe on the CDL decal, so these areas need to be masked off. I hope I got them in the right place.....
I then airbrushed some Army Painter Soft Tone ink over the masked areas. I felt the effect was too extreme when I removed the masking tape, so I lightly oversprayed with
white to tone it down. Here's what it looks like now:
(https://i.imgur.com/hfAlAGU.jpeg)
I'm happy with that. I will add some oil staining along the fuselage edges, spray the aluminium and wood areas, and then it's on to decalling the fuselage and lower wings.
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That's really nice prep work. Just so it's clear in my thick skull, the Aviattic CDL is the clear backed stuff correct?
Steve
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That's really nice prep work. Just so it's clear in my thick skull, the Aviattic CDL is the clear backed stuff correct?
Thanks Steve. Yes, the Aviattic CDL decals are on clear paper, so anything underneath will show through. The Strutter sets have the roundels and other markings printed on "cookie cutter" sets, so these are part of the clear CDL decal rather than white-backed decals you apply on top of the CDL.
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After many hours (I HATE masking!!), the fuselage looked like this:
(https://i.imgur.com/kAr2fCW.jpeg)
I don't understand what you mean... hate masking?! 😁
The results look great and very promising, so well done if it tested your patience.
/F
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I don't understand what you mean... hate masking?! 😁
That made me smile..... I sit at the feet of a master (who does have a nice mask cutting machine...... ;) ;D)
The results look great and very promising, so well done if it tested your patience.
Thanks. I guess I got kind of zen at the end but the strips of masking tape kept picking up bits of fluff that I had to carefully pull off. And I wish I had that third hand....
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High nerdery indeed, but it's looking great. And at least this part will be clearly visible when the project gets done... ;D
Dutch
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Excellent preparation for the Aviattic CDL. I’ve seen a few builds where the pre shading is way overdone and the decal doesn’t cover it well. Your attempt looks killer good though. Beautiful work on the interior.
Hoping the DSPIAE mask circle cutter worked out as you expected. I’m always nervous about recommending products. Especially expensive ones!
Tim
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Really nice work on the interior, Nigel. I don't think anyone likes masking, but I consider it an art in itself.
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Thanks Dutch, Tim and Ken. I am making good progress, more photos soon.....
Hoping the DSPIAE mask circle cutter worked out as you expected. I’m always nervous about recommending products. Especially expensive ones!
It is brilliant! Took a little bit of working out but it cuts perfect circles easily. I used it on those roundel masks.
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Lovely progress on your Strutter, Nigel -
Good shading effects too.
Regards
Dave
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Well, after life throwing a few curve balls at me, I have made some progress on the Strutter. The fuselage is fully painted, glossed and ready for decalling:
(https://i.imgur.com/FEDOsUb.jpeg)
I have several of the smaller components painted, decalled and ready to be fitted. I used a Vector resin Clerget as the the plastic one in the Roden kit had moulding flaws which made it unusable:
(https://i.imgur.com/aW7yH98.jpeg)
Here's the upper wing and stabilizer which are covered with Aviattic decals:
(https://i.imgur.com/PTaxs1B.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/nZSN1S8.jpeg)
Hopefully the fuselage will be decalled by the end of the week.....
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Coming along very nicely young fella ;D (Ready for the Poole show?)
P
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Coming along very nicely young fella ;D (Ready for the Poole show?)
Thanks! I'm hoping Yeovil, but definitely ready for Poole (he says hoping no more curve balls come his way.... ;))
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It's looking terrific Nigel! That engine is gorgeous.
I hope the other things you alluded to are not causing too much distress.
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Oh, dear, this one just keeps getting better and better... those wings are amazing. Can't wait to see how the fuselage comes out.
Dutch
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Thanks Dutch and Zac, it's going well so far.
I hope the other things you alluded to are not causing too much distress.
Thanks Zac, we are getting through them. I'm fine.
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The decals look great on the model! These are large decals, how difficult are they to manoeuvre into place?
/F
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The decals look great on the model! These are large decals, how difficult are they to manoeuvre into place?
/F
They can be a bit challenging because they are thin and quite "sticky", so if you get one bit folded over it can be hard to fold it back. It's quite difficult to slide a large wing decal around, so you need to start off with one part well aligned. I usually pull about 1/2" of the leading edge off the backing paper, get this aligned correctly on the wing and then gently slide the rest of the backing paper out (while holding the leading edge in place). The decals are very forgiving, so it's quite easy to adjust and stretch them to fit provided you get most of it in (about) the right place.
Like everything, a bit of practice and also planning helps - if you work out a sensible sequence of application it makes things easier.
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Thanks Zac, we are getting through them. I'm fine.
I'm glad to hear it. My PMs are always open if you need to chat :)
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OK, some more progress here, I am heading towards the finishing line. The fuselage is decalled and varnished, all the ancillary parts are assembled and painted, so it's on to final construction and rigging next.
Here's the fuselage with the Lewis temporarily in place:
(https://i.imgur.com/5gj6E9L.jpeg)
Here's a closer shot of the Lewis gun. Not great photography but hopefully you can get a sense of the wonderful detail of the GasPatch gun included in the Aviattic bundle. I added some etched Scarff ring details from the HGW set.
(https://i.imgur.com/o2BTak2.jpeg)
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Great work, Nigel! And thanks for the answer about the decal placement, you certainly seem to have mastered it!
Looking forward to the coming steps!
/F
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Very convincing colouring of fuselage linen! All in all, a great build.
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Wow. This is absolutely gorgeous stuff, Nigel... she's going to be a show-stopper.
Dutch
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Thanks for the encouragement guys, much appreciated :)
Here's the latest progress. Top wing is on, rigging has started:
(https://i.imgur.com/MLZT3sy.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/i7i3r6B.jpeg)
I have to say this was the easiest top wing attachment of any biplane I have built so far. Provided you get the cabane struts on the right way round, the engineering is perfect. The cabanes aligned with the fuselage attachment points perfectly and the interplanes just popped in place (they needed a bit of the length trimmed off at the top but this was easy to do).
I was hoping to finish this by Sunday for a show in the UK but this won't happen. At least I have another show the following weekend to aim for.....
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Catching up again...
Wow the colors, linen, staining... everything is just looking stunning! Very well done Nigel ;D
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This really is coming along rather nicely Nigel, top job! I'm excited for the next installment.
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"the easiest top wing attachment of any biplane", that could be a great selling point!
It really looks good and I saw the model for a good price somewhere recently... maybe my next purchase?!
/F
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It's finished, completed thread here: https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=14378.0
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Gorgeous work! I love your paint work and weathering, just top notch.
Warren