forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Topic started by: Dutch522 on April 23, 2024, 11:42:36 AM
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Since my WnW E.I is temporarily on hold due to issues with the decal end of the project, I thought I'd use the down-time to jump to the other end of the Eindecker spectrum and start the Mikro Mir 1:32 E.V/D.VIII kit, which I recently got from UA-Hobby in Kyiv. I've always wanted to build this type, primarily because a) I've loved them for about sixty years (I was never able to find the Aurora kit when I was a kid, more's the pity), and b) I was fascinated by the challenge of capturing the uneven surface of the ply-covered wing. I've been mulling over ways to replicate that wavy effect in plastic for decades:
(https://i.postimg.cc/gJFkhmMh/IMG-4926.jpg)
(https://i.postimg.cc/1zcdQVC4/IMG-4956.jpg)
I spent a week or two researching Fokker construction techniques (Achim Engel's two books on his D.VIII reproductions were invaluable resources), and started by glueing the wing halves together and filling the oversized (and incorrectly placed) panel lines with stretched sprue laid down with liquid cement, then sanding them flush:
(https://i.postimg.cc/Wzh6Cmvg/IMG-1141.jpg)
Starting on the underside, I brushed on a quick primer coat of Floquil/Poly Scale "Mud" (no particular reason, it just happened to be handy), and after figuring out the actual panel lines using photos from the Engels books as reference, used a plan of the sub-structure from Datafile 25 as a guide to draw the spars and ribs on with pencil, and the panel joints with a .005 Pigma Micron:
(https://i.postimg.cc/Gm5r1dGD/IMG-1202.jpg)
That done, I re-scribed the panels, then began trying various methods of making shallow depressions in the surface. First I tried using a rotary tool with a pointed felt tip and jeweler's rouge, then a blunt toothpick dipped in abrasive compound, then a shaped coffee-stirer with padded sandpaper super-glued to it... but none of them really worked. Finally I began lightly scraping "dips" where the plywood was unsupported using the rounded edge of a No. 15 scalpel blade (the areas on the left in the photo below):
(https://i.postimg.cc/3rsL4RQ1/IMG-1214.jpg)
That worked, but despite my lightest touch it still left tiny but visible gouges in the styrene. So I ended up wet-sanding all 164 divots with 320- and then 400-grit sanding film (beginning with the center section above the wing cutout in the photo above).
It took hours, but I'm fairly happy with the results; the mirror-smooth surface of the plastic has been broken up into a subtle but highly realistic pattern of high- and low-spots that mimic the underlying ribs and spars:
(https://i.postimg.cc/y8b3xDwY/IMG-1219.jpg)[/url]
(https://i.postimg.cc/Ss0XLwSB/IMG-1215.jpg)
The effect isn't quite as pronounced as that oblique lighting makes it appear, but it gets the effect across...
I'm planning on finishing the model as one of the aircraft flown by either Stefan Stec or Stefan Bastyr during the Polish-Ukrainian war in 1918-19. Since this is most likely going to be another long-term undertaking I probably won't do a full-blown build log, but I had a lot of fun with this part and thought it might be worth sharing.
Now that I have the technique figured out all I have to do is repeat the whole process on the upper side of the wing...
All best,
Dutch
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wow!
you effort surely payed off!
ciao
edo
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Great efforts. And the results is very convincing - it should not be too overdone, just visible with the light passing almost parallel to the surface - exactly what you achieved!
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Now that is superb modelling, and great attention to detail. Very impressed......
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........ and I'll double Nigel's endorsement Dutch, great effect and tempts me to make a second effort at this kit. VERY impressive work indeed!
Cheers,
Lance
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Yup, that looks really spot-on, Dutch. What an improvement to the kit. If it's a Polish crate I assume it'll be green wings?
You mention the old Aurora kit, I was so pleased to get one as a kid and carefully painted the wing lozenges by hand to reproduce the box art. DOH! Only later to repaint it all green when I discovered it was a plywood wing. Of course that was probably no more accurate as we know now!
Sandy
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Now this is extraordinary! Well done! It looks amazing ;D
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Thank you, everybody, like I said it was a lot of fun experimenting and trying different techniques. Sandy, I'm not sure about the colors of the wing, as I'm still waiting for a couple of references to arrive; the one I'm really looking forward to reading is one PrzemoL recommended to me, Polish Wings No. 25. But if I have it correctly (via War Wings Over Galicia 1918-1919) the fighters used in Poland were all E.Vs except for a sole D.VIII, and the Arma Hobby instructions for their little 1:72 kit show the wings as being green/brown and magenta/blue stain. So that's what I'm leaning towards at the moment.
All best,
Dutch
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Bravo Dutch, that's fantastic!! I don't envy the trial and error, nor the amount of work required, but the results show your time was well spent. Wow!
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Thank you, everybody, like I said it was a lot of fun experimenting and trying different techniques. Sandy, I'm not sure about the colors of the wing, as I'm still waiting for a couple of references to arrive; the one I'm really looking forward to reading is one PrzemoL recommended to me, Polish Wings No. 25. But if I have it correctly (via War Wings Over Galicia 1918-1919) the fighters used in Poland were all E.Vs except for a sole D.VIII, and the Arma Hobby instructions for their little 1:72 kit show the wings as being green/brown and magenta/blue stain. So that's what I'm leaning towards at the moment.
All best,
Dutch
While you are waiting for the book, I can confirm - here the current state of the knowledge has that all Polish Flying Razors had the four-coloured wing.
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I thought that I was a glutton for punishment.... but I think that you win the award for finding the most time consuming and tedious process in WW1 modelling!
The effect looks superb - I hope that it is further enhanced when you paint it.
Thanks for showing us - any technique is useful and who knows, one day I might be doing something similar.
Stephen.
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Amazing modelling Dutch! I am blown away by the attention to detail here :)
Looking forward to seeing more of this project.
Cheers,
BC
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That is a very clever idea!
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Wonderful work Dutch!
Warren
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That is a very clever idea!
Agree! Well done!
/F
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Outstanding results Dutch! I have another kit but I don't think I am ready for that challenge. When I do build another one I will get the Brass aftermarket struts and save Myself some stress 8)
RAGIII
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Just catching up and that definitely hits the mark!
Steve
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Again, thanks for the comments... while the E.I is still in a holding pattern I'm whiling away my time on her younger sister the E.V. Since I'm going to experiment with not only replicating the uneven effect of the Fokker ply-covered wings, but the wood-stain camouflage finish as well, I wanted to begin with a natural plywood base:
(https://i.postimg.cc/YSHxMBtk/IMG-1533.jpg)
It'll only be partially visible under the faded brown/green/blue/violet, so I didn't waste a lot of time on the graining, then it got a couple of coats of Dullcote lacquer since I wanted a bulletproof foundation to experiment on... wish me luck on this one.
(https://i.postimg.cc/VvdqDYW9/IMG-1543.jpg)
And although it's not part of the wing, the fuselage interior does incorporate plywood, so I thought I'd throw in a gratuitous shot of that too:
(https://i.postimg.cc/PrCyMM6G/IMG-1484.jpg)
I had a couple of sheets lying around so I used some Aviattic ply and interior lozenge, the stringers are .030x.010 Evergreen styrene strip that I threw a quick graining effect on.
All best,
Dutch
(Moderators: If this goes any farther I'll start a separate build log, I promise!)
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Interesting to see this one progress. I discovered that Aviattic had some EV streaking decals which IMO look quite good, I have some in my stash for my EV build. I'll be keen to see how you approach this.
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Looking very good Dutch! If you proceed to streaking, camo that is, Please add that portion to the Fokker Streaking thread in Hints and Tips!
RAGIII