forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Topic started by: vincentm on February 18, 2016, 12:02:43 PM
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I've been "away" building WW2 birds for a while, but I was eager to taste wood and wire again.
I love the streamlined engine fairings of the austro-hungarian Albatroses, which give them a kind of "Steampunk" look. Those machines could well have been foreseen by Jules Verne.
In Austria, rather than shifting licence-production of Albatroses from D-III to D-V, Oeffag made the choice to strengthen the D-III airframe and upgrade engine-power. It resulted in three production batches named 53,153 and 253, featuring various changes from the original design, including buried Schwarloze guns, fully enclosed Austro-Daimler engine, and strengthened wing structures to prevent the failures occuring on german-built D-III's and D-V's.
This very bird is an early-built 153, which still had a prop spinner that was deleted on later aircraft. It was austrian ace Georg von Kenzian's mount, on the southern front (Südtyrol) in late 1917. A document of the time, from squadron leader Jozsef von Maier, states that these machines were painted dark blue-green upper and light blue on the underside, and that Kenzian's pennant (which I guess was his family's coat of arms) was light blue and white. The s/n 153-27 confirms an early-built 153.
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag10.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2534)
Once again I will start from a Roden kit, their range of Albatroses at 1/72 featuring accurate and crisp molding. Several sprues are common to all Roden Albies, but the Mercedes engine is replaced with a detailed Austro-Daimler.
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag11.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2535)
First thing to do: scribe the fuselage panel lines. The available plans do not seem to agree on their location, so I had to look for close-ups of real machines and found out that rivet lines and panel lines are apparently often mistaken.
This drawing shows the actual revetment panel lines:
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag12.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2536)
Lines are scribed after being drawn with a pen:
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag13.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2537)
Next step: wood effect inside. A Tamiya XF59 undercoat is covered with slightly brushed "Sienna earth" oil to create veins. Same thing on the prop:
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag14.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2538)
While this was drying up, I printed a small decal sheet, because Kenzian's insignia was printed in red and white by Roden, the digits were not correctly shaped, and I needed a few Oeffag and prop logos, and dashboard gauges:
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag15.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2539)
Painting details: burnt metal and a wash of Humbrol 70 for the exhaust pipes, Humbrol 98 on the seat which has received Eduard belts and a cushion made from Milliput. The stick and rudder pedals still had to be painted:
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag16.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2540)
Walls are added in front and behind the cockpit, the front one with the ammo boxes. A few details are scratchbuilt on the cockpit sidewalls, and the typical Oeffag dashboard is attached to the upper cowling.
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag17.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2541)
Although it won't be visible, you need to build the engine as it will be required for fitting the prop and exhaust pipes. I just built it from the box and painted the top details which might be seen through the exhaust troughs.
Once the fuselage is assembled, the engine and front ring are added, then metal rods for the seat are glued:
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag18.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2542)
to be continued...
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You have made a great start with this kit, the interior painting and detailing is very well done as is the engine.
Des.
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Thanks Des.
I was fearing that the separate fuselage top part would require adjustments, but in fact it makes cockpit building easier as you can do that after the fuselage is closed.
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Looks like a fine build Vincent! Great subject. :D
You mentioned printing some new decals. Can you please explain how you do that? Thanks.
Regards,
Bob
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Outstanding work! Lovely wood tones and the extra details are very well done! Terrific work on your decals and I would also like an explanation of the process?
RAGIII
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Great beginning Vincent.
Cheers
Martin
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Thanks all.
To make it simple with the decals, the best way to get them printed at the required scale, is scanning the original sheet. Then you can re-work it in a paint program, and print them on raw decal.
As an alternative, you may also scan a scale plan, pick up the markings you need from color profiles, flightsim model "skins" or online marking databases, and resize them above the plan until they fit. Then delete the plan and print the decals.
One thing you need to keep in mind is that the image you print must have the same resolution in dpi (dots per inch) than the one you used as a scale template. Hope this helps.
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Brilliant start, Vincent! I look forward to following this one.
Cheers,
Bud
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Looking forward to seeing what you do with this one Vincent.
Warren
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Very good start, Vincent. With your talents, we are in for a
treat. Onward and upward, my friend. :D
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Coming along nicely, and a useful bit of background info too!
Ian
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Very nice work and hard to believe it's in that scale.
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Thank you all. I'm in fact building two at the same time, the second one being for an article for a french modelling magazine. Which means I'm not allowed to post pics of the latter. I can just tell you it will be Jozsef Kiss's mount, that's the reason why I've also printed the "K" on a red disc. These are my fourth and fifth Roden Albatroses, so I'm now aware of the traps to avoid...
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Great looking work! My last one was the Series 253, also with winter cowl. I used the Encore boxing with PE bulkheads, which, combined with the engine made fitting the upper deck quite easy. The nose needed some help and like you posted missed the small grilles and also the vertical dividing line.
I found the winter cowl the poorest fit, but managed to get it on anyway. Looking at your build I'm sure it won't be much of a problem for you :)
I really like those little Roden kits (well most them -the Fokker DVII isn't really my favourite!)
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I too love those Roden kits, I've already built 3 Albatroses, and still have one left, a D-II. IMO they're the best WWI models at 1:72 scale.
The fuselage top was glued in place, then the fin and rudder. The rounded seam at its base was made from Milliput putty.
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag19.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2543)
The engine winter fairing was added. The part was incorrect and required the addition of plasticard, and a bit of sanding to fit:
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag20.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2544)
The lower wing attachment was also strengthened by addition of metal pins. Holes were drilled for the wire hooks:
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag21.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2545)
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The lower wings were glued in place. To get the right dihedral angle (which is rather important for the outer wing struts to fit when the upperwing is fitted), I put small wedges below each of them while the glue was curing.
Then, the lower side was painted light blue (I used Humbrol 65). I then made a mix of 30 and 89 to get the upper blue-green. I poured a bit of it in a paint jar and added one or two drops of white, then sprayed the wings and stabilizer. After that, the ribs were masked with thin masking tape stripes, and the final darker blue-green was sprayed over.
When the stripes were removed, the ribs were too visible, so I made a light overspray with blue-green to blur the ribs a bit.
The red arrow shows the lip around the winter cowling, which was made from strectched sprue and glued with CA in 3 or 4 steps.
This is one of the typical details which give those birds their "steampunk" look I love.
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag22.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2546)
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Beautiful paintwork! Your little Albie is really looking terrific!
RAGIII
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Excellent work, as usual, Vincent!
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Magnificent!
Cheers,
Bud
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Thanks all.
I've added a good coat of Future before applying the decals. The rib shading got faded but remains visible. To the right, a pack of parts including the painted prop.
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag23.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2547)
The radiator was painted brass and gunmetal. Then, I called the guys at Roden with bird names while trying to apply those f... decals. They tear off, destroy into pieces when you try to move them on the kit, or stick to the cloth rather than to the kit...Moreover, the paint was not smooth enough because it was too flat before the coat of Future, which tends to produce a silvering effect. So, when it all has dried up, I had to make some touch-ups with black and white paint, then I used more Future so it infiltrates below the decals and fills up the bubbles causing the silvering effect. The Future also helped the decals sticking a little better. In the end, it worked rather well except around the '2-7' digits on the fuselage. I'll make a small cut right here to put some more drops of Future below.
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag24.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2548)
After that, I'll use oils to give a little more volume to the small kit, but not much more weathering as it looked rather clean on the archive pic I have.
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looks very nice so far,i like the colors.
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Thanks. I also like the contrast between the green and brass and leather. Once again, this one was not planned but it caught my eye when I found a color profile. Those birds are definitely too eye-candy to simply build only historically interesting machines, you'd want to have them all in your showcase...
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Very nice, Vincent! At some stage I want to do one of these with the sworl camo....
Ian
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Looking terrific with the markings in place. Like you said a nice contrast in colors.
RAGIII
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Vincent,
You are a brave, brave man for dealing with those Roden decals! My hat is off to you sir. You've done a beautiful job, I love the color.
Warren
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Vincent,
You are a brave, brave man for dealing with those Roden decals! My hat is off to you sir. You've done a beautiful job, I love the color.
Warren
Just what I was thinking Warren. Well done Vincent!
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Vincent,
Well Done my friend. Lovely shade of green too.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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BTW, I've saved your thread for future build reference. :)
Warren
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Thanks guys.
To say the truth, this is the most simple camo type for an austro-hungarian fighter...The swirl pattern being probably the most difficult to achieve. I guess I would use decals at least for the flying surfaces.
I was not expecting anything good from the Roden decals, so I had sprayed a coat of gloss varnish before ditching them. But it went even worse, because the varnish turned into an additionnal clear film around the items. I had to carefully trim it away with a modelling knife when all was dry.
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I've added the windscreen and gun blast tubes.
Since the aircraft looks rather clean and new on the sole time pic I have (and since it was written off after that, it probably never looked any older), I was light on weathering.
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag25.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2549)
There is still some silvering around the fuselage s/n, so i'll have to further scratch and trim the film and inject Future.
I've just put mud traces on the underside, above the landing gear, along with some panel lines marked with a black oil wash around the engine area.
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag27.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2553)
After that, the whole bird received a coat of satin varnish:
(http://i84.servimg.com/u/f84/11/49/47/92/montag26.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2552)
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Looking really neat Vincent, the colours are excellent and your decals, apart from the silvering, have been applied well.
Des.
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Great looking Albatros! When I use Roden decals, I always apply them over wet acrylic gloss so they stick and don't silver.
It might be too late, but I have a sheet of Pegasus 1/72 A-H serials. If you would like to replace the silvered decals on yours (or paint them over and apply new ones) I'd be happy to send you a few.
Honestly, the silvering does detract from an otherwise beautiful build...!
Jeroen
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Looking good! I like the subtle undersurface weathering!!
RAGIII
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Very good work Vincent.
Cheers
Martin
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Thanks.
Thank you for your offer Jeroen, but removing the decals now they're covered with a coat of varnish, would damage the paint. I'll have to go on with scratching the remaining shining areas...
I've been able to take the build over, installing the semi-buried U hooks for the rigging:
(http://i86.servimg.com/u/f86/11/49/47/92/montag10.jpg) (http://www.servimg.com/view/11494792/2571)
But before I can complete it, I'll have to finish a spanish republican I-16 I had started just before. Fortunately it's in the final stages, I've started weathering it.
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Vincent, how you can even see those bits of wire, I don't know,
but you are doing an amazing job as always, my friend!
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Hi Vincent,
I realise this is a bit of thread resurrection, but did you ever complete your Albatros D.III? It was looking absolutely stunning, so I do hope so!
I'd also like to know what sort of printer you use for your instrument decals. As a very recent returnee to the world of Great War aviation and in particular Austro-Hungarian scouts, the lack of good instruments is a bit vexing!
Many thanks and kind regards,
Mark
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Great work! I built this same kit a little while back -
(https://i.imgur.com/TUL2s51.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/XFqttyr.jpg)
I found the top wing to be a bit troublesome to mount; the interplane struts are too long and push the bottom wings down; as you can see with my model, the dihedral is way off as a result. Recommend doing some test fits and trimming of the struts to make sure you don't run into the same problem that I did.
Great stuff!
BC
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Great work! I built this same kit a little while back -
(https://i.imgur.com/TUL2s51.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/XFqttyr.jpg)
I found the top wing to be a bit troublesome to mount; the interplane struts are too long and push the bottom wings down; as you can see with my model, the dihedral is way off as a result. Recommend doing some test fits and trimming of the struts to make sure you don't run into the same problem that I did.
Great stuff!
BC
Beautiful work, Brad! The wood finish to the fuselage is so convincing, subtle shade changes and just a hint of the wood grain. Superb! How did you achieve the sworl fabric?
Kind regards,
Mark
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Thanks Mark! Rather than hijacking this great thread, i'll point you to my build log - over here:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3936.0
That should hopefully answer your questions :)
Cheers,
BC
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Thanks Mark! Rather than hijacking this great thread, i'll point you to my build log - over here:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3936.0
That should hopefully answer your questions :)
Cheers,
BC
Thanks, Brad, that's really appreciated!
Cheers,
Mark
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Great little Öffag!
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Splendid little birds !