forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Topic started by: GB on December 29, 2017, 02:09:03 PM
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After years of building things with tracks, time for a complete change of direction. Wife got me this for xmas and after a near disasterous foray into WW1 aviation a while back (great learning experience though!), decided to get serious and give this gorgeous aircraft a go. I'm not used to building such things, so go easy on me, but I am here to lean too so please feel free to chime in with any comments - good or bad ;)
(https://i.imgur.com/DgjI7ft.jpg)
Gary
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You have chosen an excellent kit and one that you will find very enjoyable to build. Not an overly complicated kit but care does need to be taken when building it, the rigging looks complex but with a methodical approach you should manage it okay. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you like, we have an enormous number of very talented members who not only are very friendly but are also willing to share their knowledge with you, enjoy your build and I look forward to following along.
Des.
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Love that choice - I got the E IV for Christmas from my work mates. Turns out the E II/III was a superior plane and the E IV a bit of dog - too heavy and prone to overheating. I would recommend the Osprey Publishing "Nieuport 11/16 Bebe vs Fokker Eindecker" by Jon Guttman as a good read. I presume it is quite accurate and tons of photos and painted images. Good luck and I'll be following - the EII/III is similar to the EIV in many respects so I look forward to your progress.
Cheers
Alistair
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Gary - That was my second WW1 build, and the one that got me hooked. It is a great kit. Looking forward to your progress.
Dave
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Great kit and I am sure you will do well! Just remember to feel free to ask questions if you need advice. Someone here will have the answer!
RAGIII
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Great choice in aircraft, do you know which decal option you will be using. Looking forward to your progress.
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Thank you for the warm welcome. Pressure is on now for me not to disappoint :o ;D
At this stage, am opting for von Althaus' E.II - simple scheme, but one I'm drawn to.
As with probably 99.9% of kits I make, this one will not be strictly OOTB and I'll add some 'improvements' as I go along.
First up, the hand pump fuel tank pressurising system needs some attention IMHO. It's moulded so it 'blends' in with the aluminium frame - obviously not the case on the real thing. So I'm remaking the the pipework from copper wire and brass tube...
(https://i.imgur.com/6di0Sij.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/2B1dUYC.jpg)
An early foray into rigging as some is required for the cockpit. I could have kept it simple and used just Easy Line, but I believe in making things complicated when they don't need to be :P
I made my own turnbuckles with....
(https://i.imgur.com/l9HAQNg.jpg)
... which was annealed first in a flame before....
(https://i.imgur.com/zk5UfxD.jpg)
The centre section...
(https://i.imgur.com/UjDFZ28.jpg)
... cut into 2mm sections and the wire inserted into each end with a little CA gel to secure.
Have to admit that my first attempt wasn't that great....
(https://i.imgur.com/QyQhN7e.jpg)
After removing the rest of the parts from the sprues....
(https://i.imgur.com/7z4bnlJ.jpg)
I decided to redo the rigging and much happier with the second attempt....
(https://i.imgur.com/cJ5hv8l.jpg)
I usually depict wood using oils, but am over waiting so long for them to dry, so thought I'd give these a go....
(https://i.imgur.com/fhuAV2z.jpg)
You have to work fairly quick, but gives a decent effect for a first effort. Might try adding some retarder next time...
(https://i.imgur.com/2RlKKVE.jpg)
WnW suggest Tamiya colours for acrylics, but these aren't always the correct shade. Point in case, Interior grey-green XF76. Way too light so opted for Mr Hobby's H70 - RLM02 Gray. Rigging is picked out with flat amuminium with XF6 copper for the new pipework....
(https://i.imgur.com/LIvOCEQ.jpg)
Mistake admission time. Added some flight control lines at this stage....
(https://i.imgur.com/oqczrcS.jpg)
Those of you who have/are building the kit will see the issue. For those who aren't, the cables go though the seat support frame - which I didn't fit first :-\ D'oh!
Not insurmountable, but a schoolboy error. Fixed....
(https://i.imgur.com/dAdrOQ7.jpg)
The seat cushion is painted with Vallejo leather with a dark wash and the drybrushed with Mr Hobby Red Brown. The seat rear is RLM02 with a wash and then the inside is treated with Gun Metal pigments to simulate wear. Lap belts are as per kit, annealed first, primed and then painted with Tamiya Buff with flat aluminium buckles etc and then a wash to dirty them up a little.
Fuel tank and empty ammo belt box WIP....
(https://i.imgur.com/YOgWwoy.jpg)
Before final assembly, everything got a pin wash and some filters to bring things 'to life' and I used steel pigments to simulate wear ofn things such as the rudder pedals.
And cockpit 99% complete....
(https://i.imgur.com/SsIQOkN.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/3mngpyP.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/ymnU7ZS.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/9HCxFYy.jpg)
Still learning a few things the hard way. Especially moulding the harnesses to the seat shape prior to painting ::) Also that AK's xtreme metal Matte Aluminium, while it sprays nicely, isn't very matte :-\
Finally, the intructions see to show some cross bracing directly below the ammo belt box but is very vague. Any ideas?
Cheers
Gary
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WOW! Incredible start. What a great cockpit - everything is extraordinarily rendered. You are way out my league mate.
I'm intrigued by how you conclude Tamiya XF76 is "way too light". I've seen the colour on the steel frames of a TVAL Fokker DVII replica under construction and it is very close to XF76 to my eye (and I'm guessing they know?). How do you figure it to be too light? Just a friendly ask...
Cheers,
Alistair
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Hi Gary - Awesome work - the repressurizing pipe looks great. I see how you made the turnbuckles. How is the EZ line attached to the loops? It looks like you have created loops in the EZ line - did you superglue it back on itself?
Thanks!
Dave
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Outstanding start Gary, looks fantastic. Looking forward to your progress.
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Gorgeous interior Gary! You are off to brilliant start!
RAGIII
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Really nice work on the cockpit and your "woodwork" looks great. I also really like the results you achieved with the frame rigging, beautiful work! I'll be following this one closely, lots to be learned here!
Cheers,
Lance
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Great start, beautiful result!
I will follow, since you provide tips to new materials, which I do not know yet.
Cheers,
Frank
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Thanks all :)
Alistair - I thought that the lighter green was more post WW1? Obviously not ;D
Time now to paint and weather the inside of the fuselage. As well as the usual acrylic paints, I'm using this excellent set from AK to depict dirt, oil and grime etc....
(https://i.imgur.com/LK778xd.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/wdNzgtt.jpg)
Cockpit fixed to one side. Also added the MG trigger cable....
(https://i.imgur.com/6TDsX7U.jpg)
Two halves fit perfectly. Only top half cemented together to start with as per instructions, clamped and set aside to cure....
(https://i.imgur.com/PjwTNsJ.jpg)
If anyone is interested, here is basically how I did my internal rigging. I've used lead wire here as it's easier to photo for the sake of this demonstration.
Easy line (or whatever you like to use) is threaded through the turnbuckle eyelet....
(https://i.imgur.com/vKTuG4t.jpg)
I then create a simple knot....
(https://i.imgur.com/6fQvwvC.jpg)
You then adjust the knot to the distance from the eyelet to suit. A small drop of CA glue (I used the gel type personally) is applied to the knot itself....
(https://i.imgur.com/4sDbja3.jpg)
The end of the line is then trimmed as close to the knot as possible...
(https://i.imgur.com/IAXGmW6.jpg)
And that's basically it.
Gary
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Gary -
many thanks for the internal rigging tutorial. I'm enjoying watching your progress and learning some new things.
Dave
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Thanks Dave :)
Onto the underside next....
(https://i.imgur.com/1Gw4rCs.jpg)
The line of stitching is provided as a seperate part....
(https://i.imgur.com/s2ymgG7.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Ie68QV4.jpg)
If I do another, I'd remove the two cable aperture parts from the stitching part and fit them first as removing the join between parts is a bit of a mission when you have fine detail in such close proximity.
In the end, I shaved off the 'leather' patches to make it easier to sand flat and then made new ones from thin styrene sheet...
(https://i.imgur.com/tR4MRMn.jpg)
The 100hp Oberursel U.1 engine is up next....
(https://i.imgur.com/0AH6o7j.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/onlMF5V.jpg)
Nigh on impossible to get a seamless join between the cylinders due to the fine cooling fins. I suspect a resin motor would be a better option?
(https://i.imgur.com/2O1CHsN.jpg)
Nice and dirty....
(https://i.imgur.com/E143oCY.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/hFM5OxU.jpg)
frontal cowling parts added....
(https://i.imgur.com/1G39v4G.jpg)
The seperate part at the rear for the control line apertures was again, a real PITA to blend seamlessley into the upper fuelage :o
Undercarriage frame...
(https://i.imgur.com/LWTo5dI.jpg)
Dry fitted....
(https://i.imgur.com/1Zx1cqh.jpg)
Gary
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You are motoring along quite well with this build Gary and what you have acheived so far is looking really good, I like the "dirty" engine.
Des.
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Thanks Des.
The undercarriage, rigging, had me stumped initially. The WnW diagram in the instructions is more confusing than helpful IMHO. So after a long search on Google, managed to get enough of an idea as to what goes where and how things are attached.
I made the turnbuckles the same way as per cockpit. WIP...
(https://i.imgur.com/lU8eLfc.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/GJzsosb.jpg)
Kinda getting into a rhythm with the rigging now and it's not as daunting as I initially feared :D
Gary
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Nigh on impossible to get a seamless join between the cylinders due to the fine cooling fins. I suspect a resin motor would be a better option?
Gary
Not necessarily, there would be a mould split line there to deal with. That join on rotary and radial engines is just a part of WW1 modelling
I do like your turnbuckles
Richard
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Thanks Richard.
Good and bad progress this evening.
Managed to get some paint on the fuselage. Pics don't show the shading up - sorry. Will need to get some decent pics when it's light tomorrow.
Started off by basecoating with Tamiya XF-22 RLM Gray. This enabled to be see if there were any blemishes I missed. Also painted the undercarriage assembly at the same time....
(https://i.imgur.com/ekGFrT0.jpg)
I then did some pre shading with Tamiya X-2 White....
(https://i.imgur.com/rSEojy4.jpg)
Mr Hobby H70 RLM02 heavily thinned for the base colour....
(https://i.imgur.com/7fw4Lk4.jpg)
The preshading does show though 'in the flesh'.
Prior to some post shading, I needed to be able to dry fit the wings and the front corner of the stardboard one needs to be cut away to clear the engine cowling....
(https://i.imgur.com/C6MguXU.jpg)
Post shading, inc around the wing roots....
(https://i.imgur.com/2JUdzit.jpg)
All was going well and was happy with how things were going. Applied a couple of thinned down coats of Tamiya X-20 Clear and went back about 30min later to find the paint had reacted somehow in a few patches, leaving a milky colour. Not much I could do except sand the paint back and start again. This time I've left the clear coat off and will try again tomorrow. Sneaking suspicion I may have been a little over exuberant with the AB ::)
Gary
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Your paint work on the fuselage and wings is really looking great! Well done!!
RAGIII
PS: I am hesitant to use Tamiya clear after having a bad experience with it on my Fokker EV build. It left a couple of spots which turned into a PEELING off of the clear finish. I ended up stripping and repainting the wing.
RAGIII
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Cheers RAGIII. Decided against risking using Tamiya clear again so opted for good ol' floor polish instead :D Works all the time when I'm building armour - should have stuck with what I know and trust ::)
Front cowling is next up....
(https://i.imgur.com/ac9u1WE.jpg)
Protective plate is moulded on but you get a much nicer PE option if you wish....
(https://i.imgur.com/5w5FDp2.jpg)
Apologies for the bad pic, but primed parts with semi-gloss black first prior to top coat of Tamiya XF16 Flat Aluminium with a touch of light grey to tone things down a little...
(https://i.imgur.com/w3mOXSv.jpg)
Forward fuselage gets the same treatment. Leaving things to dry before doing anything else here.....
(https://i.imgur.com/VOE3JZX.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Ih878Na.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/w9AkvNM.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/YdqthIg.jpg)
Gary
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Okay, have to confess I've not been looking forward to replicating the turned aluminium effect on the engine cowling etc. I read up on how to do it via Google and had some test runs on a sheet of evergreen styrene, but couldn't get it to look right.
I then had a bit of an epithany and made a trip to an art shop - finding exactly what I needed. I'm hoping I got the look right but will let the pics do the talking and you can be the judge. I've also started adding the decals too as you can see....
(https://i.imgur.com/KugwC9a.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/BLCjM0r.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/GS29fQj.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/mtGfyay.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/Ksy5ZSQ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/2KJ6fZH.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/DypA3lH.jpg)
Gary
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What a great turned aluminum finish! Is that a gel pen?
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Thanks rayb24. I think it's actually acrylic paint. Certainly behaves like it.
Gary
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Great progress. The fuselage shading/weathering, the swirrel on the metal parts and your first rigging are top class.
Borsos
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The swirl looks outstanding! That pencil worked wonders and is now on my list of things I Need! The fuselage shading looks equally fantastic!
RAGIII
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The swirl looks outstanding! That pencil worked wonders and is now on my list of things I Need! The fuselage shading looks equally fantastic!
RAGIII
I'll add my praise as well, that swirl effect is something I also dread however this looks like a great solution; nicely done and I'm going to be "sourcing" a couple of those pens!
Cheers,
Lance
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Outstanding work all-around Gary, you are creating a gem here.
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Thank you for the kind words gentlemen :D
Time to give this a little bite by adding its Spandau. Using kit parts here with a short piece of brass tube to replicate the muzzle.
(https://i.imgur.com/Jsm9UFJ.jpg)
The cooling jacket is annealed and then bent around a suitably sized drill bit. I then soldered the end piece on for strength as it allowed me to file down the edges to ensure they were nice and snooth....
(https://i.imgur.com/i5yVjsV.jpg)
A touch of Gun Metal is added to Tamiya Semi Gloss Black before I used steel pigments for weathering along wit a little gun grease here and there....
(https://i.imgur.com/1jCLS9U.jpg)
I've also made a start on weathering of the cowling etc as you can see...
(https://i.imgur.com/4VhBt0n.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/dramC5X.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/SNY0T1F.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/koWHHKl.jpg)
You can probably tell I have an armour modelling background ;D ;D
Gary
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Good progress today. Tailplane surfaces and skid are on....
(https://i.imgur.com/KYmafrY.jpg)
Rudder cables yet to be added...
(https://i.imgur.com/J8n5QnL.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/N44qq05.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/qMreMwE.jpg)
Main undercarriage assembly also fitted....
(https://i.imgur.com/NsZtYo0.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/5d2vVYZ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/DMPhbPi.jpg)
Next time, I'll know to put the control cables in first while the fuselage halves are apart :o
Gary
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This is shaping up to be a great looking model Gary, well done so far.
Des.
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Coming along beautifully Gary, great shading, subtle but striking weathering, and very clean work.
"Next time, I'll know to put the control cables in first while the fuselage halves are apart"
I've tried it both ways and much prefer inserting the control cables after assembly as you are doing. Having them in the way during assembly, filling, and painting of the fuselage has proved problematic for me at least and often they've been inadvertently pulled out as well! Food for thought if nothing else.
Cheers,
Lance
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Wow Gary, I think I smell castor oil from where I sit. Looking breathtaking.
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Thanks guys.
Cabine strut added along with wheels....
(https://i.imgur.com/RNRUzpT.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/91DTvSL.jpg)
Wheels have also been weathered with pigments to resemble the take off/landing/taxi-ing on dirt fields....
(https://i.imgur.com/hk1dKUd.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/m6sn0sD.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/gh3VLKA.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/JYb0yl3.jpg)
Gary
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Gorgeous painting and the oil staining looks perfect!
RAGIII
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Gorgeous painting and the oil staining looks perfect!
RAGIII
I agree with my Amigo, Gary! She's perfect!
Cheers,
Bud
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Gorgeous painting and the oil staining looks perfect!
RAGIII
I agree with my Amigo, Gary! She's perfect!
Cheers,
Bud
Double agree, that’s one very real looking model and it’s only the fuselage...
Ray
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Great work, I like the "dirty" effect.
Bye,
Manni
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Wow, thank you for the kind words everyone 8)
Made a start on the wings. Some gentle sanding to remove some fine mould seams and the wing compass is not required on this version, so needs shaving off. Wiings are basecoated with Tamiya RLM Grey and then some preshading is done with white and black/brown.....
(https://i.imgur.com/8VM6VDT.jpg)
Veryt stark at this stage, but will tone down under the top coat. Unfortunately, due to the earlier issue where I had to repaint the fuselage, I have insufficient Mr Hobby RLM02 paint left and my LHS is out of stock. Managed to track down some more out of town and am currently awaiting delivery, so wings are on hold until that arrives.
In the meantime, broke out the oil paints to add some tonal variation to the fueslage. I do this a lot with my armour kits and it adds more depth to the finish. I just use 3 basic colurs, placing a dab of oil paint onto a kitchen towel to draw out most of the oil. Small dots are applied to the relevant surface....
(https://i.imgur.com/DLFbzlz.jpg)
(sorry for pics - camera phone is playing up and creating a blue hue off to one side :-\)
I then use a soft wide brush lightly moistened with thinners and lightly blend the oils in. The effect can';t be clearly seen here due to the poor photo, but it is there and does remove the stark finish airbrushing along can leave...
(https://i.imgur.com/08aGpwV.jpg)
You can easily work in more colours as you see fit or dampen the brush more to remove more paint.
I've also put together the headrest that the pilot of this aircraft, Ernst von Althaus, used - adding a small wing but to the top of the bracket to improve the detail....
(https://i.imgur.com/7qoXcZR.jpg)
Gary
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Looking terrific! What are the 3 basic oils, white is obvious. are the other 2 raw sienna and burnt umber?
RAGIII
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Ok, if you wouldn't have told us your experience in AFV modelling, then your oil dot technique would have :)
You are doing a fantastic job here, this bird will be a real beauty.
Best regards
Borsos
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RAGII - Bullseye ;D
Paint arrived a day later....
(https://i.imgur.com/KrXf7hy.jpg)
More preshading....
(https://i.imgur.com/XbIT518.jpg)
I think I mentioned elsewhere that I had an attempt before xmas at a Camel which, while it was a bit of a disaster, was a useful leraning tool. One thing I found was that the large decals can be a bity of an issue when it comes to placement as they tend to be very 'grabby' - especially to a gloss surface. Further reading of the WNW site elicited the tip of using cold instead of warm water. And it worked a treat. The large square markings went on without any issues though I did use some decal setting solution to help them conform to the 'ribbing' etc. Further post shading...
(https://i.imgur.com/ZkymsdG.jpg)
... and set aside to dry before I start to apply some oils. Getting close to the finnish line 8)
Gary
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The wings look awesome! Well Done!
RAGIII
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A work of art thus far, looking really good.
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Oh, a really great build so far! The weathering is done very professional!
Only the weathering on the engine is too much for my taste, since the high rotation speed of the whole engine centrifuges the oil and dust to the outside (that is a rotary, not a tank diesel ;)). So near to all pictures shows some oil, but more or less metallic engines. But this is only my view, it is your model!
Cheers,
Frank
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Gorgeous painting and the oil staining looks perfect!
RAGIII
I agree with my Amigo, Gary! She's perfect!
Cheers,
Bud
So does Amigo # 3 !!!
Ed
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Thank you everyone.
Frank - you are quite correct. I openly admit I've been a bit heavy with the weathering. Guess that comes from years of armour modelling. But given this is essentially my first real build (I'm not counting my failed Camel :-\), I hope I can be forgiven ;) I will endeavour to build something a little less well worm next time!
Getting closer to the finish line, but it'd not all plain sailing (why would it be!!!!)
Wings are done and added turnbuckles....
(https://i.imgur.com/GkSB1LK.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/wgV1Rt3.jpg)
Research on this site turned up info on the turnbuckles being colour coded, so followed that idea.
The windshield was interesting. Found out that the cut out supplied in the kit was too big for the tab at the bottom of the clear part. The length was fine, but is was twice as wide as it needed to be. This reulted in an unwanted gap which needed to be filled. Not an easy job when everything is already painted!!!
(https://i.imgur.com/qnsClHw.jpg)
No photos yet, but have fitted the wings. Issue is they have a tendancy to drop resulting in an anhedral. I did try to bend the tabs a little which has improved things a bit, but it's not great. The rigging on the upper wings, while using Ezi rigging, isn't enough to keep the wings up where they need to be. I'm going to try a different material for the forward outer rigging lines - something that isn't elasticated - to help keep the wings up. I'll also ensure that when I'm rigging underneath, any tension in the lines is kept to a minimum.
Then it's onto the prop. Looking forward to replicating that laminated wood.... :o
Gary
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Awesome painting!
RAGIII
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Looks outstanding, your progress is impressive.
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I’m a bit late to this string but I thought I’d make a couple of comments. The swirl son the cowling are not due to “turned” aluminum, rather from a paste that was hand brushed on. Could have been some kind of anti-corrosion substance. Your method of replicating that is very effective.
I also had an anhedrial issue on my E-III. I plan to shim the wing-to-fuselage join to remove it and stabilize the wings.
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And she's done.....
(https://i.imgur.com/2sDJMdj.jpg)
Added a light flat coat to dull the finish down a little and then added further 'glossy' oil stains etc. Also put some muddy boot prints on the wing roots and the small teddt bear supplied in the kit. Hope you like it and please feel free to critique - good or bad. This is my first 1/32 WW1 plane and the only way I'll get better is by learning from you guys 8)
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=9200.0
Gary
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I really enjoyed following your build and processes! I learned a lot from your techniques.
RAGIII
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A fast and very effective build, congratulation on your beautiful eindecker.
Ciao
Giuseppe
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I’m a bit late to this string but I thought I’d make a couple of comments. The swirl son the cowling are not due to “turned” aluminum, rather from a paste that was hand brushed on. Could have been some kind of anti-corrosion substance. Your method of replicating that is very effective.
I also had an anhedrial issue on my E-III. I plan to shim the wing-to-fuselage join to remove it and stabilize the wings.
Hello Eindecker,
Do you have any references for this application of 'paste'? I've read about it before but not known where the evidence is - or if there is any evidence.
Regards
Russell
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Excellent !
Ed
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Lots of modeling in a short period of time. Outstanding work for a guy coming over from the armor side of the house. The cowl machining is especially nice, I will have to get one of those pens, so thanks for sharing that and your outstanding build.
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:D