forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Scratch builds => Topic started by: Skyhook on May 05, 2025, 02:05:54 AM
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Hi!
The Caproni will be completed in time for the Shelf Queen Group Build, but to get some diversion for the endless rigging I started a new project on the side two weeks ago. I chose an early AEG 2-seater as the subject for the project and this time I decided to go for the translucent wings. According to the available photos, some of the examples seem to have been clear doped with painted metal panels? some others have clearly been painted with an uniform color, which may well have been feldgrau. I will make one of the former ones.
My methods have been the same as with my recent Albatros two-seaters, but instead of the balsa core for the wings, now I have used clear plastic (from a commercial package). It is much harder to sand into shape and I used mostly scraping with a sharp blade sideways for the general shape. When I got the ready, I drew the ribs etc. with permanent markers. I will paint them just once or twice with CDL color to make them translucent enough.
The tail surfaces seem to lack any aerofoil, so I cut and sanded them from 0,4 mm white plasticard. The ribs I did as with wings?
Next i will paint the wings and then make the metal profile wing tank, which makes up the centre section of the upper wing. AEG had folding wings for easier transport.
Btw. This models feels very small and quick build when compared to the Ca. 42 :)
Cheers, Skyhook
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54495923796_3803438091_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r2BRx3)C8BD55E4-8136-4570-8B4E-C239A97A5A08 (https://flic.kr/p/2r2BRx3)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54495923806_c58b3a6f95_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r2BRxd)5F4D1A63-3D82-405B-9205-7C80EAE00E4D (https://flic.kr/p/2r2BRxd)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54495923801_8aa95083e4_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r2BRx8)A2A492AB-73B1-4B79-B2E9-D526A50777A4 (https://flic.kr/p/2r2BRx8)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54496183528_344b5f2eb0_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r2DbKb)73A2FDAD-8AD8-4769-97AA-69F6D2B91DF6 (https://flic.kr/p/2r2DbKb)
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sorry for the na?vet?, but is the clear wing covering a modeling choice or is it based on prototypical materials of the age?
thanks,
sid
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sorry for the na?vet?, but is the clear wing covering a modeling choice or is it based on prototypical materials of the age?
thanks,
sid
Hi Sid!
With the clear plastic wing I try to emulate the typical translucence of the unpigmented fabric covering. Actually most WW1 aircraft with light colour to the wings should have it more or less. On a sunny day the wing fabric will show the structure when looked at from below. That is very hard to portray realistically in 1/72 otherwise than using a clear plastic wing, which is painted thinly over.
Cheers, Skyhook
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Really cool. We see way too rarely an AEG B or C type.
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A great choice Skyhook! I love it when a scratch build covers a type that had never been issued as a kit.
I will follow with interest.
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Looking good!
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Great start! I am impressed with the way you carved the wings. There's no way I could get a consistent result with that much whittling. I think the CDL effect will work well.
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Thanks, all!
Nigel! I used the whittling only for to achieve a genreral profile shape. I used about 0,8mm thick clear plastic sheet from a package for brushes. I cut them to the right shape, then scraped the edges with a knife to get a crude wing profile shape. Then I used different kind of sanding papers to make the profile more even and smooth. The actual wing surfaces I did from a much thinner plastic (the stuff that was used for printing images and text for overhead projectors in the school? the stone age powerpoint :)), onto which I scored the ribs from the inner side with a ballpoint pen on a softer cardboard surface. In the photos you can see that the inner core is only up to the 2nd back spar, aft of that it is just the upper surface plastic against the lower. All glued together with contact glue.
At first I tried to make the core bits curved with a hot water treatment, but the plastic reacted badly to it, producing a wavy edge. In the end I just scored them with several lines running lenghtwise, to the underside. I used a fork handle and a lots of pressure, on a soft surface (a newspaper, on this case). Eventually, the cores had the right wing profile curvature.
Cheers, Skyhook
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Great choice! Liked this type immediately when I first saw the 3-view in the Harleyford, which in turn I was hunting for years.
Will closely look how you will do the special center section and the radiators.
Most B.II appearently stayed with the factory to train pilots, they had a mixture of crosses on wings and AEG numbers on fuselage and no military serials.
Greetings Joachim
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A very interesting build and one I am certainly looking forward to seeing. If I was building it I would be a bit apprehensive about the bulge/arc in the centre top wing above the pilot, I hope you make it look easy.
Alan.
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This is an interesting subject for a host of reasons, not least the wings. I am very interested in your approach and am eager to see how it works. For a couple of weeks work you have achieved a great deal - I wish I could make models as quickly as this.
Stephen.
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Thanks!
Stephen, I have done a lot of these scratchbulids in the past, so a certain level of routine has developed. Now that I have started it again after a decade long pause, it is coming back quite nicely? though it is funny how one forgets certain things and ways?.
But anyway?.for the mid wing gravity fuel tank, I decided to use heat formed plasticard. I used two different tea spoons for the purpose. The bigger spoon was for the bottom part and the smaller for the topside. I heated two pieces of 0,7mm plasticard with a candlelight and used the undersides of the spoons as the male mould. Then I cut them and glued together with superglue. Next some sanding and soon I will use some putty for the seams etc.
Cheers, Skyhook
Ps. Thanks for the photos, Joachim! I had never seen that ?Fliegerdenkmal? one before?.makes me think that possibly the fuselage below the tail was probably covered with plywood instead of fabric? What do you think?
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54502802929_a29f2daee9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r3e7sM)8D617167-4A53-4F5A-862B-967A0713EC16 (https://flic.kr/p/2r3e7sM)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54502802924_bcbc0f39b4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r3e7sG)3F03DD02-DA7F-434E-BB96-DC4C6CB9C563 (https://flic.kr/p/2r3e7sG)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54502974165_4f74206f15_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2r3eZn8)E1A3A03B-8F19-42BF-AF53-62F30097FF1B (https://flic.kr/p/2r3eZn8)
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Really enjoying this so far 8)
I've bought some thin 'Perspex' sheeting to experiment with for wings. It's much stiffer than the same thickness plastic sheet and can be carved to a really sharp edge (Thanks to William A for the tip in his book about 1/144th models)
Paul
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Spoons as formers for moulding? Who'd have thought it! Great work, lovely improvisation.
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Great idea those spoons!
The rear fuselage sometimes look like wood, and sometimes not.
Do what do you like more!
Joachim
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Hi!
As a break from the Gotha madness, I decided to get back to this for a change. I have made additions to it gradually since the last update and now the situation is this.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55055547733_5d31e6458c_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2rT55eB)IMG_0322 (https://flic.kr/p/2rT55eB)
I probably got a new method for making Hazet radiators working and these look quite promising. Before I have always used the method of making the radiators from separate lengths of plastic, scored with a knife to have the right texture and then cutting the pieces to correct length and gluing them to a rod up and down. I have never managed to make a single unit where every vertical radiator element is perfectly aligned.
This time I took a piece of 0,25 mm plasticard, scored the texture and only after that cut the empty spaces between the elements with a metal ruler and Xacto-knife. Then I cut one horizontal end of the radiator straight and then glued a heat-stretched sprue rod to the edge for the lower tubing. Only after that I cut the upper horizontal end straight and glued another rod for the upper tubing.
As a result I got all the elements in right angles as I had worked the whole radiator element as a one rectangular sheet instead of fiddling with separate lenghts of individual vertical plasticard strips.
I will add photos later, to explain myself better?
Cheers, Skyhook
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Looking great Skyhook and it'll be good to see some pictures of your radiator construction (which I think I understand)
Got a couple of aircraft that I fancy building with the same style radiators ;)
Paul
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It's good to see you're back to the B.II Skyhook, excellent work so far.
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Good to see this one moving forward, it looks superb. Lovely work since the last update.
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Thanks, all!
Here?s a few pics to show how I did the radiators.
At first, I scribed a piece of 0,25 mm plasticard with a Xacto-knife, I used a pencil and some smudging to see what I was doing.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55058770040_2816136d23_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2rTmA7C)IMG_0333 (https://flic.kr/p/2rTmA7C)
Then I drew the guide lines. Some elements are practically without the gaps, so I just scored the dividing lines with a knife. After that I drilled the ends of the actual gaps to make the cutting easier.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55058665644_44a49fafca_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2rTm45G)IMG_0334 (https://flic.kr/p/2rTm45G)
After marking and drilling, I cut the gaps between the appropriate elements as needed.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55057511492_7b7fec9d1a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2rTf8Zw)IMG_0335 (https://flic.kr/p/2rTf8Zw)
Next I cut the radiator to the right size and shape, leaving the drilled end intact at this phase. I added the heat stretched sprue for the tubing, gluing it in place with superglue. Important to apply pressure to the radiator, that the elements will be at right angles and at the same level.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55057511477_abb4ced363_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2rTf8Zg)IMG_0336 (https://flic.kr/p/2rTf8Zg)
After that I cut the other end and added the other piece of tubing in its place in the same way. This will look pretty good after painting. I will add the supports to the backside and cut them to the correct lenght. Higher at the rear and shorter at the front. And then the rest of the tubing to connect the radiator to the engine. You will note that regarding the item at right, I did not cut it quite straight, so two of the elements are not long enough. I will glue a filler piece there later?
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55057511527_ac73f253fd_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2rTf918)IMG_0337 (https://flic.kr/p/2rTf918)
There is doubtless many other ways to do it as well, but at least this is definetly easier in 1/72 than putting them together from separate pieces.
Cheers, Skyhook
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Nice work, I think the radiators look very realistic in situ. A very clever solution!
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Thanks, Nigel!
Here is the situation as it is now. The wings and the radiator tubes etc. are in place; next up, the landing gear and the exhaust horn - next weekend, I hope.
Cheers, Skyhook
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55065044507_95368be484_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2rTUKi6)IMG_0346 (https://flic.kr/p/2rTUKi6)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55065946471_f102293021_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2rTZnqc)IMG_0347 (https://flic.kr/p/2rTZnqc)
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Looking great Skyhook 8)
Love these early flyers with their plethora of crosses and side radiators
Paul
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thanks, Paul!!!
I also like those early birds, nowadays more than before. Actually I quite appreciate those early, very simple color schemes especially. They seem to show the actual architecture of the plane types better than more flashy paint schemes of the later years. Although I like both :)
cheers, Skyhook
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Wow, that is looking absolutely superb, a fabulous model! This is going to look amazing when it's done.
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Excellent!
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Thanks for the tutorial on making the radiators - definitely something to keep in mind for future reference.
The model is first class in every way - the more so as it is on God's Own Scale. I have on my "to-do" list some of the different B types - this will be extremely helpful when I finally get around to making them.
Stephen.
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Thanks all for your continued interest!
Now it is basically ready. Rigging and all. A few touch ups with paint to do and tomorrow I will try to photograph it and add to the completed models section.
Cheers, Skyhook
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/55078641944_59e93bdaba_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2rV7rkE)IMG_0697 (https://flic.kr/p/2rV7rkE)
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That looks fantastic, looking forward to some detailed shots of the finished model.
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That looks fabulous Skyhook 8)
(Must have a dig through my model stash to find an early 2 seater now)
Paul
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I'm always amazed at these creations that are not from a kit! Excellent!!! and so cool to see an aircraft in model form that you would not usually see.
I'm also looking forward to seeing more views of your AEG...
Take care
Scott...
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Thanks! Your encouraging support is a fine help for the projects to come. Actually, this AEG is one of my better models in my opinion too?
Cherrs, Skyhook
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A great job done on a lesser known subject. Very well done Skyhook.
Alan.
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First class model - the more so as it is scratch built.
Stephen.
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Thanks!!! I am humbled by the overwhelmingly positive comments... Yes, the B-types are a great subject. I actually have built quite a few over the years. I have a Rumpler B.1 and DFW B.1 in the cabinet, also Albatros B.I and B.II. I feel quite tempted by the LVG B-series now
cheers, Skyhook
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The LVG B types are great subjects, looking forward to a B.I Skyhook ;)
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What a lovely model!
The LVG B.I was the most important military type in Germany from 1913 to mid 1915.
Unfortunetly the drawngs in the Datafile show a fuselage way too short, it is more B.II and C.II. The 144th scale drawing in the Kr?schel/St?tzer book is better overall but needs some correction of the nose.
If you like I could prepare a documentation as I have researched the type since many years and collected quite some material including a new basic fuselage drawing.
Regards Joachim
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What a lovely model!
The LVG B.I was the most important military type in Germany from 1913 to mid 1915.
Unfortunetly the drawngs in the Datafile show a fuselage way too short, it is more B.II and C.II. The 144th scale drawing in the Kr?schel/St?tzer book is better overall but needs some correction of the nose.
If you like I could prepare a documentation as I have researched the type since many years and collected quite some material including a new basic fuselage drawing.
Regards Joachim
Hi Joachim!
Thank you very much. I will gladly take up the challenge. if you have the time and energy, I am very happy to receive any help that would make the model better. I will send you my email as a private message.
Cheers, Skyhook