forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Topic started by: gedmundson on June 20, 2025, 06:14:18 AM
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Here are a few preliminary photos of a build on Wingnut Wings Early Halberstadt Cl.II. After starting this project a few weeks ago I feel I can share a bit of slow progress. The initial idea was to build it straight from the box with no after-market additions. But I discovered some Taurus resin accessories for the engine, and also a set of seat belts from HGW stashed away, so I couldn't resist the upgrades. Using a couple of helpful builds on this Forum (thanks to Prze & Guy Goodwin) I've been able to crawl through a tricky process.
I was going to add a resin insulated intake manifold for the Mercedes engine, even though the Barracuda Studios casting is slightly too small to fit the spot it's meant for. It's a good thing I saw that this particular aircraft (Option "E" Dora from 27 Schusta B) didn't have an insulated manifold, of I would have run into big problems down the line trying to fit the MG and cowlings into place.
Cheers!
(https://i.imgur.com/JBZl0e1.jpg)
I chose option E from the instructions
(https://i.imgur.com/276VX5y.jpg)
The insulated manifold by Barracuda Studios doesn't fit the engine properly...but wasn't used since the actual aircraft didn't have it. The cowlings & MG wouldn't have fit well down the line if I'd used it.
(https://i.imgur.com/g1pI5Sm.jpg)
I used Taurus springs & rocker arms along with their spark plugs and primer cups. To get everything to fit, I had to make a new copper line as a substitute for part E21 since it would have interfered with the rear primer cup.
(https://i.imgur.com/R6EcPJt.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/mk5Ww4J.jpg)
lead wire was used for the ignition wires.
(https://i.imgur.com/jBXvP7w.jpg)
I masked the propeller and added two tones of paint to represent the laminated wood effect.
(https://i.imgur.com/oBWGzMW.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/AQUNt3B.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/8a6U3j6.jpg)
I used a couple of valve handles from ANYZ 3-D printed accessories
(https://i.imgur.com/bTCnHt9.jpg)
Aviattic linen decal was used for the rear panel behind the radio.
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That looks fantastic Gary, lovely detail work all round. And well done for using the primer cups! I was going to use them on my Pfalz build but realized there would be fit issues so gave up and just used the blanking plates instead...... It didn't matter on the Pfalz because they would be invisible anyway, but they can be seen on the Halberstadt, so it's worth the effort IMO.
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Great start on this one Gary. Love the feel of the engine
Paul
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The most beautiful start.
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Thanks Nigel, Paul & Prze!
That looks fantastic Gary, lovely detail work all round. And well done for using the primer cups! I was going to use them on my Pfalz build but realized there would be fit issues so gave up and just used the blanking plates instead...... It didn't matter on the Pfalz because they would be invisible anyway, but they can be seen on the Halberstadt, so it's worth the effort IMO.
Nigel - I agree that those primer cups being hard to notice on those engines...and there are three at least on this build that can't be seen...but one cannot just put the front three in (or would that be an alternate "cost & time" saving approach?) I always wonder ::)
I spent quite a bit of time trying to assemble the HGW seat harness components, and since the springs are just a flat piece of etched metal, I made more realistic ones by wrapping thin copper wire around a central piece and bent my own. I also have had trouble with the instructions that HGW give...not always accurate and no hint given as to how long things should be cut. After painting them with a mix of diluted oil paint I attached them to the cockpit frames to try and save on faff and frustration later. Cheers!
(https://i.imgur.com/5hN2uvn.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/776gg00.jpg)
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Well done with those HGW seat belts. I've tried them a couple of times and didn't like them, I found the material they use difficult to get sitting realistically.
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Splendid work Gary. Incredibly detailed interior.
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Beautifully rendered Gary. Can't wait to see the finished model.
Warren Q
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Very nice work on all the interior parts. Great start
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Beautiful detailing!
/Fredrik
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Stunning work you done on the model. Really lovely engine and interior :)
Really like the look of the Halberstadt, but the stippled / overspray on the fuselage is the reason i haven't started one yet. Im very interested how you will tackle it.
Also i wondered if the masking on the propeller is made from a template?
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Thanks to all for the encouraging remarks!
Really like the look of the Halberstadt, but the stippled / overspray on the fuselage is the reason i haven't started one yet. Im very interested how you will tackle it.
Also i wondered if the masking on the propeller is made from a template?
Thanks Ben - the propeller was masked using very thin strips of tape and some curved ends using an old stainless steel erasing shield as a template for the rounded ends. I used photos of laminated Niendorf propellers as a guide to see how the pattern actually went.
And I long debated how I'd do the "stippled" finish on the camo pattern. Most people I'd conferred with recommended the WnW guide which said to over-spray the patches of colour with the cloudy yellow mix at low pressure. But there were a lot of factors to consider. I first mixed the cloudy yellow colour together using the suggested Tamiya acrylic mix...I did not thin the mix with the Tamiya thinner as I normally would for airbrushing. So the paint was straight out of the jars. Setting the airbrush pressure to 8-10psi, I opened the nozzle of my airbrush enough to allow the paint to be sent out with an appropriate "splatter" on to a test area (an old model tank hull with darker paint on it). Because the paint was un-thinned, I had to open the nozzle more than normal to get the paint to come out.
I first sprayed the lower mid-upper wing section with the appropriate camo colours, then applied the stipple pattern using short bursts of the airbrush trigger...slowly adding more where necessary as I worked over the area. My results before & after are in the next couple of photos. Although I thought it was ok, I did thin the paint a bit for doing the fuselage (which I'm currently working on). I think my fear is going too much with the splatter, which can't be reversed without a complete re-paint. So my pattern is probably more restrained than others I've seen. But if I squint hard enough, it looks acceptable to me ;) Cheers!
(https://i.imgur.com/bD0fjHJ.jpg)
Patches of colour applied for the camo base.
(https://i.imgur.com/jimUdzS.jpg)
Cloudy yellow (un-thinned) applied with H&S airbrush at about 9psi in short bursts.
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I think that looks pretty effective to me. Nice airbrush work. I am going to take the cowards way out and use the Aviattic decals when I do mine...... :)
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I think that looks pretty effective to me. Nice airbrush work. I am going to take the cowards way out and use the Aviattic decals when I do mine...... :)
Ha! thanks Nigel - I certainly considered going the Aviattic route on this one...perhaps for my "late' version. But Haris Alis's build on his convinced me to try an out-of-the-box build (sort of ;D) And I think you have a good point about those HGW seatbelts which are such a pain to position realistically. Wanted to add a couple of photos before I closed up the fuselage. There was very little to add in the way of cockpit control cables and lever linkage.
I also trimmed the outer part of the wheels to fit the tires properly. Several of my WnW builds have had this problem so I finally decided to try and fix it.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/HyTd7bZ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/zSvEIdh.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/gqTN9Ip.jpg)
On the left is the untrimmed assembly, and on the right is my completed wheel.
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That's looking very good. I find most WWI kits with wheel inserts need to have them thinned to sit more realistically in the tyre, it's well worth fixing.
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The stipple looks very convincing! I very much look forward to the fuselage ;D
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The stipple looks very convincing! I very much look forward to the fuselage ;D
Thanks Ben - hope my described process was helpful.
After closing up the fuselage I tried my best to mask in and around the engine. The cockpit was easy with some chunks of soft sponge for that. I knew there would be some touch-ups to do near the engine & MG with overspray almost inevitable there. The pattern of stipple was applied with the thicker paint mixture of cloudy yellow airbrushed at about 9psi in short, sharp bursts with the nozzle at a wide enough setting to get the desired effect.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/zqx6Z3T.jpg)
Randomly applied coloured patches mixed as per the instructions sheet using the XF-71 as the base.
(https://i.imgur.com/n90yIJJ.jpg)
The finished stipple pattern applied (which is less prominent after a gloss coat added later).
(https://i.imgur.com/ymFXN9p.jpg)
Over-spray on the engine, MG and struts would be touched up later.
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I assume it's not possible to install the engine / MG after the fuselage is closed up? (This kit is near the top of my pile)...
Great work as always...
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I assume it's not possible to install the engine / MG after the fuselage is closed up? (This kit is near the top of my pile)...
Great work as always...
Thanks Bo, I tried many combinations of test-fitting to avoid having to mask and/or repaint that area including adding the engine later, but the engine had to be fitted to the mounting frame (it will not fit after the frame has been added to the fuselage) & cowlings added (along with the gun) before any of the camo could be painted in place, I decided after long debate with myself. I did pre-paint the cowlings with base colours around the gun and engine and masked where I could. As it turned out I was able to spray on the stipple pattern without a lot of extra touch ups. What absolutely got me was the position of the forward cabane struts - and I'm still trying to write up a bit of a story about that one.
Cheers,
Gary
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It's looking good. Masking engines is one of the issues with many WWI builds, I'll definitely be using the Aviattic decals on this one!
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Thanks - the explanation is great! It looks very much like the how to on the Wingnut page. Very well executed!
The overspray is annoying, but it's not easy to avoid. Im taking notes for my own Halberstadt ;D
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Sorry to post an out-of-sequence update, but the stipple camo question had me getting ahead of things. If this thread is going to be of any help, I'm hoping to add a few points to even help myself later when I attempt the late version. Another note of mention would be the small flash guard provided in the kit that has to be glued to the inside edge of the cowling and bent around the top of the intake manifold. This was a bit tricky, since the instruction sheet has fooled at least one modeller I had noticed installing it upside down.
I also have to show a view of the fuselage before it got buttoned up, and what I think are the proper location points for the forward cabane struts (since I missed this and caused no end of grief which I'm still muddling through).
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/i3RsDQS.jpg)
This was a tricky bend to make (around a drill bit) since it had to line up perfectly with the intake manifold.
(https://i.imgur.com/9q3QSmg.jpg)
I had to add styrene to fill a 0.8mm gap where the cowlings meet at the top.
(https://i.imgur.com/jJlFvJm.jpg)
The arrow marks what I think is the location for the base of the forward cabane struts (but didn't discover this until all was buttoned up and I'd glued mine to the inside of the cowls). The WnW instruction illustrates this poorly. But I should have figured that out.
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Thanks for the tips, these are very helpful.
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Thanks for the tips, these are very helpful.
Thanks Nigel - and safe travels & best of luck with that show in France!
I did replace the clunky-looking turnbuckles on the kit's outer wing struts with 1/48 scale Gaspatch metal ones. And speaking of struts, I snapped one of the front cabane struts in my attempts to solve the problem with their misplacement and ended up having to make a replacement with styrene rod. The repair just wasn't going to work...
(https://i.imgur.com/Fisju9P.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/sPAykoo.jpg)
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More good work. The replacement turnbuckles look a lot better.
Thanks Nigel - and safe travels & best of luck with that show in France!
Really looking forward to it, although the heat may be a challenge..... I hope the models don't melt! I will be interested to see what the WWI representation is like, there's definitely been fewer WWI models at shows in the UK in the last year or so. I will take lots of photos I promise.
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I sprayed a few light coats of Future floor acrylic onto the fuselage to protect the finish and allow a smooth surface for the decals. These went on with no problems using warm/hot water. I did airbrush the black & white band using off-white and NATO black Tamiya acrylic. Some preliminary weathering with oil paints and a few paint chips were added to the metal cowling. I had initially airbrushed the cowlings in aluminum, then added some chipping fluid before adding the camo paint over top. But using the chipping-fluid method can be disastrous if the finish comes off in sheets...so I thought better of trying to risk that and just painted on my paint chips with toned down silver printers ink.
Cheers,
Gary
(https://i.imgur.com/UxZnSHL.jpg)
At this point the forward cabane struts have been removed and a guiding wire added to the engine's water pipe...since that is now the forward support for the mid upper wing.
(https://i.imgur.com/xB02twe.jpg)
After dipping the windscreen in Future acrylic, it was added to the fuselage along with the two bracing wires on either side. These were very tricky to complete once the upper wing had been installed.
(https://i.imgur.com/jwaN14d.jpg)
After adding Gaspatch turnbuckles to the lower wings, the wings were installed into the fuselage. The turnbuckles were attached using small copper loops, allowing them to swing into alignment when the EZ-Line rigging is pulled taught.
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What a great progress, which I missed. Stipple camo looks fantastic. So is the enhancement of the seat harness coils. Well, it all looks great. Another beauty in the making.
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Looking very nice indeed Gary. I totally agree with you on the approach to chipping. It's easily overdone, and on most WWI aircraft the chipping on panels was limited to where the crew would have scraped/scratched them during maintenance.
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Thanks Prze & Nigel!
on most WWI aircraft the chipping on panels was limited to where the crew would have scraped/scratched them during maintenance.
- Absolutely Nigel...and from debris thrown back by the propeller & other aircraft. I always try and have a Less is More approach to the whole paint chipping thing too.
Another observation I made when examining other modellers builds was the offset appearing on the decals for the tail. To avoid this, I pinned the rudder to the vertical stabilizer and applied the decals onto it...then carefully separated the two parts (once they had been properly positioned) to fold over and wrap the edges over the sides. In one case the decal adhesive had stuck the two decal halves together and I ended up in a predicament that needed some carefully applied separation or else yet another disaster would befall this project.
I also discovered that when slid into place, the horizontal stabilizer got slightly pushed apart resulting in the thin elevator having a distinctive bow. It took quite a while to find where it was being stressed into that position, but there was worn paint on the two fittings on either side of the fuselage (with two holes above & below as indicated by my arrow). Once these fittings were trimmed down where they contacted the stabilizer, the fit was much better - eliminating the bow. Cheers!
(https://i.imgur.com/PpudJ3k.jpg)
Proper alignment of the tail fin cross
(https://i.imgur.com/gFVN6B0.jpg)
Area that needed trimming down for the horizontal stabilizer to fit properly
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Fantastic work so far on this project , have made notes on some of the fit of the parts . Have the late version in the stash .
Alexis
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Sublime!
Robin :)
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Thanks for checking in Robin & Alexis.
Fantastic work so far on this project , have made notes on some of the fit of the parts . Have the late version in the stash .
Alexis
Alexis - after working through this build I'm sure I could tackle my late version in half the time! I hope to summarize my findings at the end of the build since I believe the model builds up into a very attractive German two-seater with it's scheme & minimal rigging. And speaking of rigging I've been able to complete the first bit here with the top wing and undercarriage on. I've tried to leave off a large part of the breakable-offable bits to this point, because of all of the handling that takes place during the agony of rigging. I'm using EZ-Line and 1/48 Gaspatch turnbuckles Type C. Cheers!
(https://i.imgur.com/ZiA0Mrk.jpg)
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Wonderful work as usual Gary. Everything is great, especially the paint.
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Thanks Warren - much appreciated.
One of the small tasks I had to figure out was that the water pipe leading from the radiator to the front of the engine was not quite long enough. A 1.0mm donut of styrene tubing was added as a fillet, and held in place drilling centered holes and adding a wire at the radiator end.
I tried a different approach to painting the exhaust manifold, spraying it with Alclad brass, then going over it lightly with diluted NATO black. This was followed before installation with some light grey pastel chalk powder. I'm less inclined to think that the exhaust piping rusted as badly as I see them sometimes portrayed.
The tail end of the aircraft had some very tricky rigging to do. The rudder itself had four control lines, each with a turnbuckle attached that barely fit the small distance before disappearing into the fuselage. The attachment points of the rudder (and ailerons) were pinned using small pieces of copper wire. They are very delicate and inevitable get bumped when I clumsily handle the model.
(https://i.imgur.com/fpWCvMI.jpg)
Pre-rigging photo of the underside with some oil paint weathering and the small fillet added to the coolant pipe to lengthen it by 1.0mm
(https://i.imgur.com/1AwYs3L.jpg)
Exhaust pipes base coated in brass, then oversprayed in diluted NATO black. Paste chalks added later.
(https://i.imgur.com/OcQb2BH.jpg)
A fair bit of faff was needed to get the tail section rigged with control lines. Both Gaspatch and RB Productions turnbuckles were used here.
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Every added bit makes it more and more spectacular.
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Every added bit makes it more and more spectacular.
Thanks Prze - you're very kind :)
I wanted to add a few extras to the upper wing as seen in photos of this aircraft. It featured a goal-post style of guard to prevent the MG gunner from shooting the propeller, and also a goose-neck pipe on the front of the radiator. To make the funnel-shaped end, I turned my DSPIAE sanding pen into a mini-lathe and made the required part with sprue of an appropriate diameter (3mm) using a #11 blade.
Brass wire and styrene tubing was also used for these details. Cheers!
(https://i.imgur.com/2ZvrCOo.jpg)
The funnel shaped end was fashioned from kit sprue in my DSPIAE sanding pen.
(https://i.imgur.com/qE3FlTT.jpg)
The details on the upper wing to be painted by hand afterward. The funnel did turn out slightly larger than in the photos in retrospect, but it's adequate.
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Very nice build. What a lovely Halberstadt.
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My Halberstadt Cl.II is now complete, and for what it's worth I went through the instruction sheet and jotted down a few notes to summarize my build. Although I found this model a bit of a challenge at times, I have to say that when finished, it has a very attractive appearance and has to be my favourite of all the six German two-seaters I've built so far (...well maybe except for my Taube!). I'll try and get a few photos posted in the Completed section of the Forum when time permits.
Build summary:
1. Seatbelts could use an improvement even if it's adding copper wire wound springs the the existing etched metal ones.
2. Eny enhancements to the engine need to be test-fitted since the space tolerances are very tight. The Barracuda studios insulated intake manifold, for example would not really work without a fight. The engine and it's mount are a tight fit and needs to be centered correctly so that there are no alignment issues later. I used small copper clamps to hold everything together when cementing the assembly.
It is essential to fit the engine mount into the slots of the fuselage on both sides to ensure the engine sits centered, and the frame fits over the front properly.
3. The forward firing MG08 fits very snug in it's allotted space, and has to be dead straight or it will interfere with the cowlings.
4. Part D-16 the tailplane & elevator fit on my build had to have the fuselage fittings trimmed away before it would fit straight in place. Because of this interferance, the thin elevator bowed upward at the outside ends until this was corrected.
5. Step 8 in the instruction sheet has the forward cabane struts added, but doesn't show where exactly and this was the major hitch on my build. A more accurate illustration is on the Late version instructions (which I just looked at) available on-line if you don't have that kit.
6. The flash guard etched metal piece P3 is glued to the inside edge of the cowling part F13, then carefully bent at the top to fit over the intake manifold of the engine. I could only do this my positioning the assembly by the engine ...marking it with a felt tip pen, then somehow bending it around an appropriately sized drill bit. My coolant pipe was too short to fit between the front of the engine & radiator, and needed a 1mm styrene shim added. This was held in positioning by drilling centered holes and using a small wire to align & hold it together with cement. (Edit added) I had to install a fillet of styrene to fill a 0.8mm gap at the top front of where the cowlings meet.
7. The wheel hubs parts A43 need to be trimmed down so that they fit properly into the wheels. I never use the clip part A1 allowing the wheels to turn unless one wants to play with their model in their sand pit. I cement the wheels together, paint them, and cement them in place after weathering.
8. The MG mount locking arm on part A80 should be separated and articulated by swinging it forward as seen in many period photos. I cut mine off and added a small wire pivot to allow this to be more authentic looking.
9. Reference photos and illustrations in the instruction guide seem to show more details present on these aircraft than the kit actually provides. The goose-neck pipe on the radiator front and propeller guard for the rear MG are good example of this (on my chosen aircraft) and there are enough clues provided to make a more accurate model if one chooses.
10. The WnW hints & tips on how to paint the stipple camo worked well, along with the previous builds I looked up here from fellow modellers. Some experimentation is needed since everyone's airbrush works differently, but I managed to spray a decent splatter with my cloudy yellow paint to thinner ration a bit thicker than normal (less dilute) and a pressure of 9psi and the H&S airbrush nozzle opened a bit wider than normal...lots of variables.
Cheers!
(https://i.imgur.com/4UAq6c5.jpg)
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Love it!
Really a very nicely built early version of the Halberstadt CL.II.
Very nice also the chosen decals scheme of the "Dora" with the Muenchner Kindl.
Also very nice are the fine details on the upper wing.
Servus
Bertl
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A serious thanks for taking the time to document the tips and potential pitfalls Gary. If this kit were to be reissued in my lifetime :P I will certainly benefit from this thread.
Warren Q
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What a nice build to follow! Very good results too, i hope you're happy with it!
/Fredrik
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Thanks Bertl, Warren & Fredrik - your comments are very much appreciated!
A serious thanks for taking the time to document the tips and potential pitfalls Gary. If this kit were to be reissued in my lifetime :P I will certainly benefit from this thread.
Warren Q
Thanks again Warren - I actually just added and edit to mention about adding a fillet of styrene where the cowlings didn't meet at the top at the front (no idea how that happened). As far as the availability of this model (or the late version) I certainly have seen a lot of modellers (collectors?) advertising their kits for sale as they realize they'll never make them, especially on Facebook. Maybe there's a chance one could find one without paying a high price on ebay for example.
Cheers,
Gary
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What a stunning model you have created! Just beautiful!
Thanks for taking the time to add the notes for us to use on our own build :)
To me the Halberstadt design is lovely and unique, I can see why you have it as one of your favorite 2 seaters ;)