forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Topic started by: jeroen_R90S on December 25, 2016, 01:23:49 AM
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Well... since I'm working on and off on my 1/72 Jasta 18 Fokker DVII and Albatros DVa, but as the list of things to do gets shorter, and the bag of parts remaining emptier, I've in between started working on my 1/32 WnW Fokker D.VII. This kit was a gift by a very, very kind ModellngMadness reader after reading my review of my earlier Roden 1/72 Fokker D.VII, which, honestly, isn't really one of Roden's better efforts.
The review is here: http://modelingmadness.com/review/w1/ger/koend7.htm
I've done all I learned from this on my curreny 1/72 build, but that aside. The kind soul who sent me the Wingnut Wings kit told me I should at least once have enjoyed one of those, so here I am now, working on my first 1/32 build since my teens. As I was given the Alb built-version, and I found Wingnut Wings did decals for Greim's aircraft, I asked around here on this forum for the strut serial numbers. I could mask and paint the rest, if needed. Very kind fellow forumite Stefan Buss came to my rescue with a partial sheet. Thanks again, Stefan! I hope I'll do the decals justice :)
Most will probably know what I'm building, but to be sure not to cause any confusion:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/2016-12-2415.53.18.jpg)
And this is the scheme I'm building:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/greim_DVII.jpg)
I have, so far, cleaned up most of the parts and put them (labelled or not) together in containers and zip-lock bags. Much more to this than a Roden 1/72 kit! I will shamelessy steal some ideas I saw here, notably Red Baron's interiour improvements.
I started with the axle wing. As "my" aircraft was supposedly 833/18 I presumed it would look kind of like option B from the kit, Nickchen IV, which was 817/18. So I narrowed the axle wing and ran into my first question. Should those "triangles" near to the bungee springs be flush or are they supposed to be like this?
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/2016-12-2415.44.52.jpg)
I then turned to the engine, which is truly a kit of its own. I had it most of the big parts assembled and suddenly decided I could not live with the valve springs...
so off they went, and replaced with wound copper wire from an old computer power cord:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/2016-12-2415.44.57.jpg)
Obviously, the last ones you do always look the best, but there are a few more WnW kits with Mercedes DIII engines on the wishlist, and practice makes, hopefully, one day perfect... ;)
A little dry-fit:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/2016-12-2415.48.19.jpg)
One of the things I noticed is that the water pipe on the intake manifold was too short, and it looks to "run" different than it looks in the instruction book pictures. The rear "bends" not 90°, it appears?
The exhaust was assembled and hollowed out as far as I dared:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/2016-12-2415.46.13.jpg)
It also has some pretty big sink marks filled...
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/2016-12-2415.46.21.jpg)
...as did one of the fuselage halves:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/2016-12-2415.46.35.jpg)
I will shamelessy improve the rudder pedals as Red Baron did, but I'd like to pose the elevator and rudder. Did the whole part you see here turn, or just the upper part? I can imagine the triangle is a sort of end-stop and turned with the whole bar?
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/2016-12-2415.50.32.jpg)
Progress will primarily be on my Jasta 18 duo, but I'll sneak in some time on this one too. It is a lot of fun so far! :)
Jeroen
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You are certainly making worthwhile improvements on this. Very different indeed to 1/72 scale models!
Stephen.
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I will shamelessy improve the rudder pedals as Red Baron did, but I'd like to pose the elevator and rudder. Did the whole part you see here turn, or just the upper part? I can imagine the triangle is a sort of end-stop and turned with the whole bar?
No, the triangle is part of the fuselage frame; the rudder bar bearing rotates around the shaft. Maybe this will make it clear how it works?: (Green parts are stationary, black parts move)
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh640/UncleTony1917/Fokd7gb/file_zpsd65af9f0.jpg)
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Awesome beginning, looking forward to your progress.
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Awesome beginning, looking forward to your progress.
Me too!
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Excellent start to your Greim DVII! Really looking forward to your progress!
RAGIII
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I hope I'll do the decals justice :)
I'm pretty confident. :D
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Nice start and looking good, Jeroen! I'm looking forward to seeing this one progress! A great colour sceme, BTW, Marc.
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Thank you all for the kind words and for taking the time to answer my questions :)
Bo, your picture is most helpful, and makes me realize how simplified the WnW parts actually are... It seems as yours actually
work! I've cut the triangle off and repositioned the rudder bar. When it is all dry I'll add the supports and U-shaped attachments for the cables.
Red Baron, thanks also for the help on the axle wing and rudder bar, I've fixed the axle (should have cut the axle in half and only inserted the outer ends...) and will reverse the rudder bar, now that I know that Greim was a shorter man...
Kind of miffed on my Roden Albatros, so as a diversion (or evasion.......) I may put some work in this Fokker :)
Jeroen
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... It seems as yours actually work!
Indeed they do...
:-D
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:) :)
If I were to try something like that I'd never get anything done... it takes me long enough to build a pair of Roden 1/72 kits already! :)
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:) :)
If I were to try something like that I'd never get anything done... it takes me long enough to build a pair of Roden 1/72 kits already! :)
Do not worry about this, Jeroen. There are skilled modellers, then there are super skilled modellers, then there are gifted modellers, then there are gifted modellers willing to go an extra mile on every detail... and then there are Bo and Co. :)
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Thanks, Ondra! :)
I wanted to build this Fokker out of the box, but somehow can't seem to leave things alone, like the valve springs....
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Spent most of the somewhat frustrating work on my Roden Albatros, but since I was using WNW streched sprue anyway I figured I could do the rudder pedals of this one too.
Cut off the triangle, and re-glued it at an angle. As per RB's suggestion I "reversed" the rudder bar (actually it only means on which side you glue the control cable attachment). Those attachements come from the metal binding wire you get with garbage bags here, it's quite stiff you can can kind of clamp it on the rudder bar and simply add some superglue on the back.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/06/2016-12-2821.25.46.jpg)
Found a picture of an Albatros-built rudder bar that, unlike the one shown in the WNW booklet had only one triangular support? Not that it matters much, since it'll be on the back anyway. :)
Jeroen
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Oh... and another question crosses my mind...
How thick are those engine cowl panels supposed to be? On the model they have an indentation where they fit onto the frame, but I assume the real panels were just pressed/stamped pieces of sheet metal on which the louvres were welded?
When looking through the louvres and holes for the struts, they seem kind of thick. Can I simply sand them flush with the thin outer part?
Thanks again,
32-scale-newbie :)
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Excellent work on the rudder bar and triangular addition. As for the panels I think they are as you surmised too thick. I believe the thicker portion helps hold them in place when the modeler chooses to make them removable. If you plan to permanently attach them or leave them off it should present no major drawbacks to sand them down. Perhaps others will chime in with opinions here as to any structural reason to leave them as is?
RAGIII
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Oh... and another question crosses my mind...
How thick are those engine cowl panels supposed to be?
32-scale-newbie :)
this bothered me too -- of course they are just thin sheet metal on the original, so...
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh640/UncleTony1917/Fokd7gb/file_zpsloabz8uo.jpg)
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh640/UncleTony1917/Fokd7gb/file_zpssvptatrl.jpg)
(http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh640/UncleTony1917/Fokd7gb/file_zpsr3omekw8.jpg)
if you are curious -- somewhere in here I show how I made them...
http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3778.0
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Those thin panels look brilliant... Surprised a bit no aftermarket has released replacements like these in soft brass etch to replace the kit plastic
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Wow, Bo, I'll get out the belt sander! ;)
RAGIII, I think you may be right. This started out as a OOB build in my mind, then I went for Aviattic lozenge for the outsides (ran out of € for the interiour reversed lozenge so will use the kit decals for that), and here I am fiddling with all sort of parts doing anything but an OOB build... ;) As I don't want to start scratchbuilding everything else in the engine bay that is visible on the photo in the WNW book, I'll leave the bottom and sider panels on, but the top cowls off.
I've decided my limit is there, after trying to scratchbuild the throttle linkage... one other thing I might do is the radiator flap, though!
It is fun though, but I'll stop short of Bo's outstanding panels. Impressive work, they look amazing! (I'd amost say, as usual)
I've collected the colours I needed today (well, my wife got them for me), so hopefully when I paint my fixed Albatros struts I can do some painting on this model, too.
Thanks for the answers!
Jeroen
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Perhaps others will chime in with opinions here as to any structural reason to leave them as is?
RAGIII
not so much a structural reason, but be aware it will change the way things fit; the structure of the kit is designed around those 1mm+ walls... so prepare to do a bit of the ol' farmer cut 'n' try
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Thanks for the heads-up, Bo. I'll wait with the sanding until the fuselage is together so I can check the fit better.
Jeroen
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Thanks, Red Baron. I'll keep it in mind when I get there!
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I get a red message box over here telling me this hasn't been posted in for at least 120 days. Since I spent my summer working on our to-be camper van conversion and thereafter on my Jasta 18 duo, that's probably true!
However, I'm not just posting to share that :)
Unfortunately it seems all the posts by Red Baron have unfortunately disappeared from this thread, and also everywhere else. So there goes my "I'll copy some of RB's Improvements". Fortunately there are many other very well done D.VII builds here, so we'll see later.
Most work I've done has been pretty dull; cleaning up parts, pre-painting parts, etc etc.
However, this had me kind of worried:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/04/2017-10-0413.21.51.jpg)
I assume the difference in thickness is due to the fact that that normally the forward panels don't butt agains the framework, but the under- and top cowls?
All of that culminated in this dryfit I did this afternoon. After reading several build logs where there were some fit issues getting the interiour to fit and close the fuslage seamless, I spent an hour or so and a few bits of tape to see how it would go:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/04/2017-10-0414.12.57.jpg)
And, indeed, just a thin coat of paint on the fuselage frames, bulkheads and sidewalls seems to cause an (albeit small) problem closing the fuselage. So some scraping and sanding may be in order later, but better to know it now already.
The forward cowl panels fit a lot better with the radiator and lower cowl panels in place, so that should work out.
(and yes, those wings are painted white already in anticipation for the Aviattic lozenge decals)
After getting a good look thanks to the dryfit I decided to leave them alone (as in, not sanding them thinner) as it's not noticable unless you leave one (or all) off, which I'm not doing. So the insides were painted Revell Aqua "Steel". IMHO those Revell Aqua are one of the best acrylic metallics and they really look nice.
Still thinking about the outside; steel first then green and chip, or paint them green and then chip using steel... descisions, descisions... :)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/04/2017-10-0420.41.12.jpg)
Still drying as of now, but I also painted the engine. More on that later. :)
Jeroen
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Nice to see you back on this one! The panels are looking great! I am looking forward to the next update!
RAGIII
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Thank you, RAGIII :)
I finally got around to updating the broken Photobucket links. Even though there were only a few, it's quite time consuming. Fortunately, this build log wasn't too far underway!
Jeroen
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Good to see another D.VII on the go. Mine goes slowly but it is such a fine plane I'm happy to try to do it justice. I look forward to your updates.
Best
Alistair
P.S.
Red Baron pulled out all of his posts a while back. No idea why. That is a shame his work was well worth a look and then some!
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Thanks, Alistair! :)
Just had a look in your build thread, going to look great! :)
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Question... I've collected enough courage to tackle the machine gun cooling jackets this evening. Using the tutorial in the Hint and Tips section of the WNW website I was actually pleasantly surprised as to how good their PE parts are to work with (being used to thick and stiff stainless Dragon frets...)
I used the kit supplied rod (D6) but have a gap at the bottom:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/11/2017-10-1122.16.57.jpg) (http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/image/QQ79)
Is that supposed to happen? They do fit now, if I roll them tighter they won't slide over the round section of the gun, but butt against it.
The front part has this opening at the bottom, so I'm inclinded to think it it supposed to be this way?
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/10/11/2017-10-1122.17.17.jpg)
Anybody know this?
Been doing a lot more, just not much to show for at the moment! :)
Jeroen
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Nice work on the Machine Guns!
RAGIII
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Thanks, RAGIII :)
I sent a mail off to Richard of WingnutWings and he kind of confirmed the gap should not be there on the real thing, but will be invisible on the assembled model. He also mailed that the new DVII issue had redesigned PE parts, but I don't have that kit, so I would not now what has been changed.
But since it'll be invisible I'll leave them as-is.
How do you paint these guns? In sub-assemblies (so as to get paint inside the PE and on the barrel), or do you assemble them completely and paint will get through the openings of the jacket anyway?
I also worked on the engine:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/11/01/2017-11-0120.39.27.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/11/01/2017-11-0120.39.01.jpg)
Still learning a lot of things on my first 1/32 build -used too thick wire for the air pump lines. (and the diagnonal one attaches to the wrong line on the left side of the engine, shhh, don't tell anyone!) I made the spark plugs from shortended Master bolts (0,7mm or something, they have a 0,5mm pin that fits in the WNW cilinders)
Though the upper cowls are off the priming cups will be pretty invisible so I won't add them, too. I did make a throttle linkage on the carburettors.
As you can see currently struggling to wire the magnetos with copper wire, too. Fiddly, to say the least! Might use thicker monofilament next time; like I wrote, still learning things! :)
Intake manifold is still dryfit to help wire placement and aid with weathering later. Having fun, though!
Comments and critique welcome, like I wrote, still learning!
Jeroen
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Regarding your questions on the guns, Jeroen, I always get a small gap and they fit snugly over the round section on the receivers, the gap is as you say, invisible. I assemble them completely and then spray through the cooling vents in the jacket to paint the barrel and inside, it works nicely.
Cheers,
Lance
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Jeroen,
Outstanding progress my old friend. Looking forward to seeing the next up date.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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Regarding your questions on the guns, Jeroen, I always get a small gap and they fit snugly over the round section on the receivers, the gap is as you say, invisible. I assemble them completely and then spray through the cooling vents in the jacket to paint the barrel and inside, it works nicely.
Cheers,
Lance
Same Here!
RAGIII
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Nice work - you are taking the engine much further in detail than I took mine that's for sure - next one I do I'll try to up the detail...
I didn't have that problem with the guns at all - a later kit?. Painting for them I do by hand using Mr Metal primer and Dark Iron. It is such a thin paint that it gets through the cooling jackets to the barrel easily and the Mr Metal rubs up really well to a dull metallic sheen.
Best,
Alistair
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Thanks for the tips on the guns and the kind words, Lance, RAGIII and Gregory! Though I did manage to roll the PE jackets, now there's the issue of getting them secured without my usual glue smears and fingerprints! ;D
Alistair, when I asked Richard at WNW about the gap he was quick to recognize I wasn't building the new D.VII early verision and those PE parts are different. I guess they fixed that (little) issue, though, as Lance confirmed, it's invisible anyway.
I decided to add some stuff to the engine as Greim's machine flew without the upper cowls -if it had been fullly cowled I'd not need to have bothered. As it is, I did enjoy doing some extra stuff, and the Master bolts are really easy to use for spark plugs -cheap to, 160 of them for 4€! (though the Taurus ones look much better!) Now for the leads going from the magneto's... glad theý're on there now. Fortunately this is the DIII engine with only 12 spark plugs, the DIVa has 24 of them!
I finished the engine up, though it remains to be weathered, and have started detail work on the interiour. Painting bezels and tiny other things requires patience and I do this in small staps, so not muc to see really, so so pictures yet, hopefully later!
One tip that might be useful though, after a few tries at painting the linen ammo belts and failing, I remembered the Albatros DVa OAW came with rib tape decals, including linen ones not for use. They look like the correct width and with some Mr Mark softer look much better than my painted attempts!
Jeroen
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Moving along nicely, await next round of pictures.
Ed
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Thank you Ed!
Took some pictures of the latest work:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/11/12/2017-11-1221.21.09.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/11/12/2017-11-1221.19.12.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/11/12/2017-11-1221.22.26.jpg)
The engine is still drying a bit, so that'll follow later! :)
Jeroen
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The interior lozenge and ammo belts and feeds look great!
RAGIII
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Thank you, RAGIII :)
I did some further work on engine. Painted the last details and assembled all of it as far as I know! I also used an initial wash with thinned oil paints, Payne's Grey with a bit of Raw Umber added.
Then I'll try some of the "sponge" chipping described in my newly acquired book "Stringbag". When that's done I'll be adding some dirt and grime to it, also with oil paints. This bigger scale requires more patience in painting -can't really get away with paint, a dark wash and some drybrush as I do on a 1/72 Roden engine! Still a lot of fun, though.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/11/27/2017-11-2616.11.57.jpg)
Less fun, but slowly getting there I think, is the seat. I know the picture is far from perfect, but should I leave it like this, or are the wear effects too strong and does it need a bit of misting with the base coat? This is the fourth try... about ready to install the seatbelts and call it quits, just to be done with it. ;)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/11/27/2017-11-2616.11.16.jpg)
Comments and tips on the seat more than welcome!
Jeroen
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Hi Jeroen
That seat looks amazing mate. Love the colour. I need your formula!
Cheers
Alistair
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Hi Jeroen,
nice work on the engine, the wireing looks great.
I think the seat looks not overdone. It will be hidden mostly by the belts, for this reason I am a friend of an a bit over done effects.
Bye,
Manni
P.S.: Congrats for your book.
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Seat and Engine look great to me!
RAGIII
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Thanks, guys! :) My the previous 2 modelling sessions this week were spent looking long and hard a the seat, as it's the most visible thing when looking at the interiour. I was happy with the colour, but in daylight it looked too patchy and brushpainted to me... so I bit the bullet and added a thin filter layer or 2 of thinned Humbrol Leather (62 I believe) and I think it looks better now, though the next one will undoubedlty look better!
I also assembled the rear screen and fitted the seat so I could fit the belts, and gave them their base coat last evening. The paint is drying now, still need to tidy them up, paind the buckles and some highlights, and add some washes and weathering. The leather will also receive a sating coat to make it more leather-looking, as the filter turned it matt.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/12/03/2017-12-0315.31.01.jpg)
The picture doesn't show the colours really well, but better than nothing ;-)
[edit]
And a dryfit as of now with the basic parts together... a bit of paint scraping here and there is still to be done to make sure it all squeezes into the fuselage :)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/12/03/2017-12-0320.53.56.jpg)
Jeroen
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Didn't really have a lot of time lately, but today was a somewhat unexpected day off (without the kids around!) and I managed to get a few hours of bench time on the Fokker :) Though mainly small bits and pieces got built, brushpainted and assembled, as I do my airbrush painting in the shed which was too cold and cluttered/ Afterwards, I spent an hour cleaning it out so hopefully I can paint more stuff tomorrow.
The interiour dryfitted again, both to show all the little imprivements and make sure it still fits the fuselage:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/12/22/2017-12-2212.30.17.jpg)
On the right (left in the picture) I added the radiator shutter lever with wire, on the left I added the three rods for the throttle, ignition adjuster and altitude compensator. The latter two to into nowehere, the first onto the large lever thing on the far right of the picture. The top of that will be connected to the carburettor when the engine is installed.
The lever is made from stretched sprue sanded and carved into shape, the rods are straightened steel wire that comes with garbage bags here, stripped of the plastic covering. It's 0,3mm, where my thinnest brass wire is 0,5 and looked to beefy. There is a great photo in the instructions, (I could spend days adding all the stuff you see there!) that shows how and where things seem to connect.
Less visibible, but I wired up the control stick with throttle and trigger wires and added a tape clamp. Some chipping and weathering was also added, I'll post some more of it once the entire interiour is together.
I also painted some gloss varnish + frame colour over the wrapped lozenge decals to tone them down a bit.
I also added some pieces of sprue to glue the control wires straight and true through the openings under the seat:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/12/22/2017-12-2212.31.13.jpg)
And now that I made the radiator shutter control lever, it obviously needs something to connect to... as Greim's machine flew without cowlings I figured this would be quite visible. I cut the shape from a drawing in the Windsock Fokker Anthology 1 from 0,25mm plastic card and added a tiny triangle. I also added a piece of the wire I used for the engine controls as a hinge point.
If you look closely at the radiator parts, I would not be surprised to see this shutter included in one of the "Special Editions", should these ever materialise. There are tiny holes where the hinge is located. :)
Less visible due to the angle, but I also added tiny tabs for the (also missing) radiator supports.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2017/12/22/2017-12-2216.18.33.jpg)
Hopefully some paint and diverse varnishes (gloss/satin for metal and seat, flat and satin for the wood, etc etc) and then the interiour can (finally!!) go together when dry!
Jeroen
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Looking outstanding Jeroen! I like your additions to the interior and radiator very much. If I didn't already have 4 kits under construction I would be tempted too start another DVII!
RAGIII
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Wow Jeroen you sure are up scaling the detail with very impressive results. Much farther than I'd ever go but good on you it looks amazing.
Cheers
Alistair
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Funny, I had no issues with the interior fitting into the fuselage. No scraping necessary although I did take care to ensure everything fit as I net along.
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RAGIII and Alistair, thanks for having a look and commenting! :) As much as I like to do little things like this, I'm now at the point where I'm starting to lose interest so I'm getting it ready for assembly. :) When I started this model I thought I'd do this one out of the box as it looked so good, and here I am, again, adding this-and-whatnot. I just can't seem to leave kits alone... :)
Funny, I had no issues with the interior fitting into the fuselage. No scraping necessary although I did take care to ensure everything fit as I net along.
Thanks for looking in -me neither (so far) -the only scraping I had to do was remove some paint and varnish on a mounting point here and there, if only to allow it to be built with normal cement instead of CA. CA and I aren't friends. I guess dryfitting and taking care everything closes is a result of building 1/72 Roden kits... :)
I just finished the varnishing steps, so when fullly cured I can start to glue some stuff together.
Jeroen
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Iam having a problem writing this as my mind has just been blown away by the detail and painting in your log!
Stephen.
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Thank you for the kind words, Stephen! :)
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Spent a few evenings carefully aligning and assembling the interiour... I used the forward cowl parts to make sure everything was square and straight and other than some paint scraping to be able to use normal liquid cement to assemble it all, it actually went quite smoothly. The only fiddly parts were the ammo boxes, I had to remove not only some paint, but also a bit of plastic from the mountings on the fuselage frames to make them fit without pressure. I continually put it into the fuselage halves to make sure it all would still fit as more parts were added. One little goof was that I put the decal for the optional corner mounted altimeter upside down and also mounted the instrument upside down -but then the upper deck won't fit anymore, so I left it off, replaced by the standard corner brackets.
Flimsy as the frames are, once assembled it's quite sturdy! After that the engine bay was assembled by first glueing in the engine bearers themselves, then adding the lower supports when dry.
Again, other than cleaning the mating surfaces, it all fit quite well -of not a bit fiddly due to the thin framing! After it had all dried I tried dryiftting the forward cabane struts -a perfect fit, hurray! :) During assembly of the engine bay I again used the lower cowl parts as alignment help.
](http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/01/15/2018-01-0520.53.15.jpg)
Then it was time to thread the aileron control wires though the fuselage (I hope that'll work out....!) and glue the lower elevator control lines to the rod. When I was still satisfied I secured the interiour to one fuselage half, making sure it was all the way back, and using liquid cement, closed the fuselage.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/01/15/2018-01-1220.36.08.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/01/15/2018-01-1220.44.07.jpg)
As of this evening the lower side is also officially glued shut and drying -starting to look like something now!
Jeroen
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Excellent progress and looking terrific. I am picking up some great pointers for alignment even though I have built 3 of these!
RAGIII
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It's coming along nicely. The magazines are nicely executed with the belt and rounds clearly defined. Your work is clean and tidy, I hope your elevator control lines come out alright for you. Looking forward to the next update.
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Hey, Jeroen! Great work, will be the next stunner made by you.
Bye,
Manni
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Excellent work as it continues !!
Ed
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Thanks for looking in, RAGIII, Mark, Manni and Ed! :)
So.... after the rear fuselage had properly dried, I (again) tried to fit the wings -still good to go! :)
I also thought about painting the next batch of parts; and went for what worked with my 1/72 D.VII -assemble the axle wing completely and paint it afterwards. The rigging holes are still accessble, and it's less chance of paint mismatch or glue stains.
So I put the struts in their holes and added a dab of Extra Thin Cement, then put the model upside down and let it dry overnight.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/01/21/2018-01-1820.19.13.jpg)
Then I thought about another thing that had been bugging me a bit... The lower chin panel is slightly wider than the radiator that sits atop it, as the upper cowls will need to fit in between. Since I'll leave them off, I was left with a gap, which kind off bugged my autistic part... In the end it proved a simple fix, though you can't just file the entire chin panel narrower. I simply put a strip of tape from front to rear so they would be slightly tapered. If you file the whole thing smaller you'll end up with a step at the rear.
I didn't dare file all the way, as the plastic is already precariously thin there now:
You can't really see the difference as I forgot to take a "before" picture...
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/01/21/2018-01-2015.57.43.jpg)
With that sorted out it was time to put all the parts on sticks and tape, mask off the radiator and prepare to paint quite a bit of parts. However, I was still a bit undecided on the green I'd use for the forward cowling panels... I tried the recommended Humbrol 30, but did not like the look. I liked the contrast as Ronny Bar did on his profile of Richard Kraut's D.VII.
So I took some greens from my stash I liked: Lifecolor UA001 (FS34079); UA002 (FS34102), both of which are actually supposed to be for the Vietnam-era USAF camouflage; Revell 39 (supposed to be WWII RLM71), Lifecolour UA520 (RAF WWII Green) and Lifecolour UA502 (RLM71 WWII).
I put some grey Vallejo acrylic primer by brush in the tabs of some of the kits sprues, then brushpainted all these colours on them over that.
A hairdryer quickly dried them and this is what I got:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/01/21/2018-01-2109.54.47.jpg)
As you can see quite some difference (though the picture is pretty poor, the differences are really there in real life); especially both RLM71s.
I didn't like either and eventually went for Lifecolour UA001 FS34079 -which I just noticed WNW indicates in their latest issue Fokker D.VII Early. (the older kits seem to be missing FS numbers)
A lot of masking and painting later while my wife was away with the kids:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/01/21/2018-01-2114.18.38.jpg)
All paints Revell Aqua; grey-green (barely shows in the picture, I got a new phone and the camera is worse than the old one) with Revell 59 Sky Green (actually a WWII RAF colour) with a drop of 57 Grey added; engine parts Anthracite Black and Aluminium (both Aqua Acrylic as well), cowl panels the aforementioned Lifecolour UA001.
All is hardening out now, hopefully some time this week for the glosscoat and tidying up the fuselage in preparation for painting that, too.
Jeroen
-
Everything is coming together very well! I like your color choices! One word of Caution here: Be very careful when trying to attach the wheels to the undercarriage assembly. The horseshoe shaped bit of plastic that secures the wheels is a very tight fit. I broke a gear strut on my first DVII and learned to install the wheels before the struts. Your radiator width correction worked as I can not tell what you did :D
RAGIII
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Thanks, RAGIII :)
I'll watch out for the wheel assembly, better to know such things in advance! :)
As for the "gap", it's a bit hard to write, as it's a bit wet at the moment.... If you put the radiator part on top of the chin cowl part, the radiator part is narrower. So when you put the forward side panels on them, there is a gap where the side panel does not touch the radiator. What I did was, when looking from the top, thin the side lips from the outside, so that they are (as near as I dared) the same width as the radiator and the gap is virtually gone. When't is dry I'll try to take a picture from the top that shows it far easier! :)
I also built up the new 180hp engine, the built-up 200hp one will go to another kit that I stole the engine sprue from. Basic assembly done, painted and glosscoated with the same improvements as the other one. Wound copper valve springs, scratch-built throttle linkage on the carburettor and air lines running from the air pump. When the decals are properly set I'll glosscoat it again and add the remaining parts and weather it like the other one. (the intake manifold is just a dryfit)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/02/04/2018-02-0415.41.24.jpg)
I also glossed the cowl parts inside and outside so I could give the radiator a dark grey/brown wash with oil paints. Might have to do that one or two more times to give more depth yet.
To ease masking I also glued the upper deck in place, quite good fit actually.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/02/04/2018-02-0416.09.32.jpg)
With all the handling I also managed to break off one of the lips for the support brackets... :-\
Thanks for looking, comments and critique welcome as always :)
Jeroen
-
Jeroen,
Your detail work is truly impressive, this is really starting to shine as it comes together. It's already an eye catcher, I'm looking forward to seeing the final results. Keep at it, you've got a real winner here!
Cheers,
Lance
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Thanks, Lance! I'm my own worst critic (aren't most of us...) but despite a little thing here and there I'm actually quite happy with it so far! :) Hopefully the good karma will stay with this build!
Jeroen
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Jeroen,
Your detail work is truly impressive, this is really starting to shine as it comes together. It's already an eye catcher, I'm looking forward to seeing the final results. Keep at it, you've got a real winner here!
Cheers,
Lance
Ditto !!
Ed
-
I can only echo what the others have said, this is a delight to follow. The engine is a particular highlight for me - it looks great!
-
Thank you, Ed and Zac! :)
Not a lot of text this time, but more pictures to compensate :)
I managed to paint the guns and indeed, as RAGIII and Lance advised, no problems with parts being left unpainted :)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/02/24/2018-02-1410.32.00.jpg)
(still need some small bits attached)
Fuselage primed enamel flat white and polished with 3000 grit polishing paper:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/02/24/2018-02-2410.29.13.jpg)
I tried something I devised to make the rear fuselage less boring white and a bit brush-painted, without overdoing it. I brushed thinned medium grey and dabbed here and there with a sponge.
I then brushed over some pure white.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/02/24/2018-02-2410.53.01.jpg)
Kind of difficult to see, but here it is after overpainting with gloss white:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/02/24/2018-02-2415.51.11.jpg)
And the whole thing painted this way, including the red bands:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/02/24/2018-02-2415.51.00.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/02/24/2018-02-2415.51.26.jpg)
Unfortunately my paint was too thick when applying the pre-shaded brushmarks, so the red bands look better in the photograph than in real life. I hope some polishing and buffing will even it out, but I'm afraid the marks are too thick for that.
Red is a mixture of Revell Aqua Ferrari Red (34) and Purperrot (331) which is a purplish red. It's actually an old German train colour.
Jeroen
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As I wrote, I wasn't entirely happy with the red bands...
Upon closer inspection the KIP tape I used gives fuzzier edges than my usual Tamiya tape (I had the same problem with my Jasta 18 1/72 models) and only when putting the model in my dry box I realized I used the forward leg of the boarding step to measure them out -so now they are a few mm's too far forward throwing the alignment with the cross off, and I can't fit the patch of lozenge behind the cockpit any more.
I can only redo them, or respray with flat white and used the decals. I copied them and they appear to fit quite well. Kind of a bummer after half a day work :-\
Jeroen
-
As I wrote, I wasn't happy with the bands.
They had fuzzy edges, were in the wrong position and had a lot of dust and imperfections in them.
So off they came, mostly:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/10/2018-02-2819.54.02.jpg)
I then re-masked them with the new Tamiya tape for curves and new normal Tamiya tape, then re-painted the white forward part in preparation for the Aviattic lozege decals. I've cut those to size as well, but the bands need a tiny bit of touch-up here and there and the forward white part a bit of polish. Then some complicated masking before a glosscoat. A drawback of all this extra painting is now that that paint coat is getting quite thick, so the stitching details on the bottom are not as crisp as I would have liked.
Takes some extra effort and persistence, but getting there... but after 2 red/white 1/72 aircraft and now this mostly red/white one, please remind me for my next model not to pick one with red and white on it! :)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/11/2018-03-1023.52.28.jpg)
I hope to catch up reading here and posting comments as well, been quite busy and spent most of the little free time I had actually working on this model...
Jeroen
-
The new bands look very nice!
Gaz
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Sorry to hear about your misadventures Jeroen. Your Fokker is looking great with the new stripes. Looking forward to your progress.
-
Your re paint of the bands look excellent!
RAGIII
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Thank you Gaz, Juan and RAGIII :)
Now that the bands are mostly fixed, I'm getting my enthusiasm for this build back, which is always a good thing.
I started our with some tiny touch-ups (again) on the red bands, mostly on the bottom, followed by a very light polish. Those Revell Aqua paints are quite tough, so even though they are acrylics, they can be polished with 3000 grit polishing paper.
Then it was time for some complicated masking of the cowling decking and time for a coat of Tamiya Gloss. I left that to dry a few days (I've learned from the red bands to avoid doing too much in too little time) and pre-weathered the forward part with Raw Umber and Payne's Gray oil paints so that some of it will (hopefully) show up though the Aviattic lozenge decals.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/17/2018-03-1715.24.47.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/17/2018-03-1715.25.06.jpg)
It is a bit overdone, but some experimentation showed it needed to be because it would not show up otherwise.
In the Albatros-D.VII assembly manual is a great photo showing this kind of weathering so I used that as a reference.
Being oils, the fuselage is now left alone, so time to focus on the wings. I wasn't really going to do pre-shading, but a bit of testing showed it would look nice on the lighter underside, on the top I did not do this. I used Revell Aqua Desert Sand, but the decals (especially the pink) would all turn ochre, so I oversprayed it with some white. It's doesn't show up too much, just enough to be noticable.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/17/2018-03-1721.57.54.jpg)
And another evenings' worth of work:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/17/2018-03-1721.57.35.jpg)
The (rather fiddly) fuselage decals are also all ready, so when the paints are dry I can gloss them all over and start putting on those decals to give it some character it is now lacking :)
Jeroen
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Looking good! The oil stains should show up nicely.
RAGIII
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@Red Baron: thanks for the tip, (I have the transparent decals) I'll check again and cut as appropriate. Better to know such things in advance! :)
Did you also cut out the openings for the access panels and such, or did you decal over them (the decals are very thin) and paint them later?
@RAGIII: Thanks for watching -I'm hoping for it, especially since I intend to apply some brown-tinted varnish over the lozenge (as well as some more weathering on the whole thing to tie it together)
Jeroen
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Very interesting weathwering on the fuselage, it looks great!
Bye,
Manni
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Love the oily look on the fuselage. I find making oil staining very difficult.
Gaz
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Thanks, RB, Manni and Gaz! :)
The oil staining is actually a mixture of Raw Umber and Payne's grey, an almost black grey colour. I simply apply a few dabs with a toothpick and smear, smudge and mess it up with a short haired (cut off) brush and some sponge. Then I add a bit of clean thinner and just let it flow, then clean up some off the excess.
Honestly it was about 10 minutes work... the splatters were thinner dirtied up with the paint mixture in a brush and then simply blowing my airbrush (without paint, obviously!) through the brush. This creates a nice splatter pattern.
I actually could have made it a bit heavier, as it does not show up all that well. Part of the learning curve I guess! :)
In the meantime I added some Lozenge decals. As RB indicated the Aviattic wing decals are slightly too wide so they eventually misalign a bit with the rib tapes on the model, perhaps not as noticable with lozenge tapes, but all the more with those blue ones. I did the center part first after checking its fitting, then I tried the left and right bits with the cut-out for the ailerons and found as RB indicated I need to take about 0,5mm off for a perfect alignment. There are a few bubbles and wrinkles -again part of the learning curve, but the bubbles will be taken care of later.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/24/2018-03-2415.08.28.jpg)
The fuselage sides were drawn over from a photocopy of the WNW decals and carefully trimmed to align with the red bands. The small upper part with the cockpit cutout was the single most hard part of the whole decal process -took me 3 tries to get a part with everything lined up and not showing any white. With hindsight I should have cut this in 2 or even 3 sections applied individually, as I have a tiny bit of overlap on the fuselage spine on the red. Perhaps only 0,3mm, but it does show op. Again, part of the learning process I guess, and a bit of weathering will hopefully camouflage it a bit! :) Don't get me wrong though, I'm my own worst critic, but I'm loving where this is going!
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/24/2018-03-2421.07.41.jpg)
Next up is the fuselage bottom, then masking off the red again for some brown tinted overspray after a few bubbles and cuts have been made around the access panels.
Jeroen
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Very nice progress so far on your Fokker, Jeroen. Your decalling looks awesome!
Andreas
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Excellent work with the lozenge application! Looking terrific!
RAGIII
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Nice job with the 'fabric'.
Gaz
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Brilliant, Jeroen, great job!
Cheers
Ondra
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Thanks for looking in and commenting, Andreas, RAGIII, Gaz and Ondra! :)
I'm a bit further along now. The fuselage, which I thought would be the most complicated due to masking and painting the bands and wanting to tint the lozenge brown afterwards is actually coming along quite nicely I think, as this little dryfit with cowl panels and front radiator part shows:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/28/2018-03-2809.30.48.jpg)
(the nose panels are only in their basic paint coat so far and the white round access hatch needs a bit more trimming)
The lozenge wil be tinted more brown and I still need to think about weathering the whole thing to tie it more together, the contrast between the dark nose and lozenge and the bright red and white is a bit too strong for my taste :)
I gave the radiator a few dark washes earlier on and now glosscoated it again (together with the wings) and as I had the oil paints out anyway for weathering the lower wing similar to the lower fuselage under the lozenge I weatherd the radiator a bit to look like some pictures in the WNW instructions. As a final touch I'll add some gloss paints to some of the stains to make them look fresh.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/28/2018-03-2809.35.37.jpg)
It looks a bit stronger in the pictures than in real life due to the lighting -quite hard to photograph the effect.
Then there's the wings which I kind of underestimated I guess. After the complicated fuselage masking, decals, trimming, weathering, etc etc I though the wings would be somewhat easier, but I guess I took it a bit too easy. I trimmed the decals as per RB's advice, but somehow my glosscoat wasn't quite smooth enough and positioning the decals proved really tough. They're a bit misaligned on the front (blue rib tape) and especially the center part (which I did first) shows signs of silvering. I polished more for the rest so these are quite OK. I also had a few bubbles and wrinkles near the rib tapes.
On the other hand, learning this is best done by doing and making mistakes, so when I got to the wing tips I think I got the hang of it:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/03/28/2018-03-2809.33.43.jpg)
The silvering and bubbles are impossible to photograph, I'm hoping a satin coat (instead of the planned flat) will mask that a bit... The alternative is buying another sheet of wing lozenge and stripping it all off :-\ On a more positive note, now that I know what went wrong, the upper bit as well as the entire lower wing will probably go a lot better! :)
Jeroen
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Your Lozenge on the fuselage looks great! I can't see the issues on the wing but I am sure it isn't as bad as you think. We are our own worst critics!
RAGIII
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I think your decals look great. Obviously we can't see the faults you see... but you can, so that's what matters.
Gaz
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I agree with Gaz, for my eyes these are wonderful wings that look great with these AVIATTIC decals. But if you shouldn’t be happy with it, because you see some silvering, redo the whole thing. Covering up with clear coats won’t fix it (bet why I know that...). You need to paint the surface really glossy before applying the decals, then slivering won’t be an issue.
Best wishes
Andreas
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Jeroen,
Borsos' comments referencing the importance of a high gloss finish match my experiences with the Aviattic products; I've had good success adding a few coats of Future to the gloss white finish to ensure a really glossy finish to work on. I also use a setting solution (Microset) brushed on before applying the decal to help it "lay down" to the surface however that can soften the decal somewhat and cause it to stretch if you fiddle with it too much. Last, I find that cutting the decal to smaller pieces makes it much easier to work with and smooth out before it starts to dry.
Cheers,
Lance
-
Thanks for the comments, encouragement and advice! Really appreciated :)
I've been using a needle to burst most of the little bubbles and found Mr Mark decal solvent to work quite well on the Aviattic decals. The silvered areas can't really be helped, but getting rid of the most obvious bubbles persuaded me to chalk it up as a valuable learning moment, leave what's done as-is, and stop decalling until the glosscoat would be better for the remaining surfaces. I'm probably spraying it on too thin, as I don't want to lose the details...
So I (quite litteraly) blasted the lower wings (easy to strip and repaint anyway) with a thicker coat of X-22 and after 2 coats they are much, much shinier than the upper side of the upper wing. So I shot that too. I think that will do the trick, as on the fuselage (though smaller patches) are flawless, as are the latest patches on the lower side of the upper wing are quite nice too, as I polished the paint more after the center part showed silvering.
The remaining wing surfaces are very shiny now and will (probably) yield better results. (cutting them into more managable chunks as Lance suggested might help, too)
When it's all properly dry I'll share the results! :)
Thanks again,
Jeroen
-
Jeroen,
Awesome work my old friend!
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
-
Splendid build so far, in every detail.
Ciao
Giuseppe
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Thanks for looking in! :)
@RB: I've just given it a try, it's de-wrinkling now...... fingers crossed now, so that I don't touch the part anymore!
Jeroen
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Top-tips, guys! :) I tried Justin's tip with the Sol yesterday and some area's tidied up, others less so. At least it got rid of all thel little bubbles and such and most of the silvered areas. Still not as neat as I'd like, but as I wrote, I chalk it up as a learning experience, which has been very useful with the hints and tips I got.
So I went on with the lower sides of the lower wings, and the big center piece on the top wing -the most visible part!
This is what I did:
1) add more gloss so the wings really shine, polish with 3000 grit as needed
2) dab Daco medium decal solvent (equivalent to micro sol) on the rib tapes before applying the decal
3) soak decal in handwarm water
4) apply, and as the surface is now glossy and has the solvent underneath, the decal can be (gently) placed more accurately and even stretched a bit to allow the rib tapes to match.
5) press down with old T-shirt or something in a rolling motion, have to be very careful not to stretch the decal!
Mostly dry, and looking great already.... don't dare touch it yet, so pictures to follow, but I'm happy so far :)
Jeroen
-
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/04/03/2018-04-0320.34.18.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/04/03/2018-04-0320.34.56.jpg)
I'll promise I'll stop posting more boring Lozenge decal pictures from now! :)
Happy,
Jeroen
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Hi Jeroen, please post as many lozenge pictures as you want, they are simply gorgeous.... ;D
-
I like lozenge pictures too!
Very nice!
Gaz
-
lozenge porn...
-
100%!! They look Stormy Daniels awesome...and Im telling everyone!!!!
Steve
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Lovely Lozenge application. Never get too much in the way of photos!
RAGIII
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Lovely Lozenge application. Never get too much in the way of photos!
RAGIII
Ditto !!
Ed
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Thanks for the kind words, guys! :) :)
Applying these is going quite well now, I'm doing 2-4 pieces in an evening moment when the kids are in bed, so they are progressing... :)
-
Jeroen,
Excellent decal application my old friend. Keep these wonderful updates coming.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
-
Thank you, Gregory!
I'm currently more working on my camper van conversion, so not much modelling gets done. I've managed to apply all the lozenge in the meantime, but somehow am not in the right frame of mind to trim the overlaps and find a working way for the wing tips -these have some folds that I don't want to turn into wrinkles by simply slapping decal solvent or something on it.
On top of that my compressor is kaputt, it spits oil/grease through the air line -not good, so I need a new one :-\ I did have some wierd issues with my airbrush a few times the last weeks, but finding the air hose and air valve of the airbrush in grease isn't helpful I guess...
Jeroen
-
So, as it is now dark around 20:30 and my wife has a lot of weekends and evenings to work I've put the van in storage until next april. So after cleaning up the bench and getting a new compressor, I'm back to modelling.
One of my first tasks was finishing the lozenge application on the wings, including trimming and mixing a paint match for the blue rib tapes. I had some slips when cutting the sheet so had a few gaps here and there on the leading edge, as well as the trailing edge after trimming.
The wing tips aren't perfect, but I've managed to make them presentable enough with a bit of touch-up and will overcoat it all later with a brown tinted varnish to tone down the colours a bit and blend my touch-ups in.
I must admit I'm quite proud of the trailing edges, my oil paint mixture was pretty good so it's barely visible (except in daylight at some angles, the decals are gloss and the oils turn matt) about 50% if this is paint.
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/09/26/2018-09-2211.52.40.jpg)
I also masked off the wheels and went to work masking the propeller -that was quite a frustrating job! In 1/72 you can get away with the overall effect of a few laminations, but in 1/32 it's quite a prominent eye-catcher so I wanted it to look good.
I referred to photo's of other models and of real aircraft, but did not quite get the laminations they way I wanted. In the end, the solution proved simple... (well, not as simple as buying a Proper Plane wood propeller!) If you imagine how the propeller was built from layers of wood and then start at the hub with very thin masking tape strips, just look from the side and mask straight up to above. In my case it's a Niendorf that is straight at the rear when looked from the side, so I used that as a starting point.
The process is probably a lot easer to explain with pictures, but my propeller is now a light wood colour and my 0,5mm masking tape is a paper/linen colour so it's just about invisible...
Hopefully in a few days a new update with more pictures :)
Jeroen
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Those trailing edges look great! I have an Alb D.VII, and I've been wondering what I'd have to do to get them to look right.
Gaz
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Thanks! :)
By the way, I got the Greim decals through this forum and there are a few extra's left for the factory new 652/18, the red//white striped Jasta 43 machine, and Raesch's pitchfork machine, also of Jasta 43. If you like I can send them to you, as I don't have any more D.VIIs and won't use them you just need to mask off some square crosses.
Jeroen
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Excellent work on the blue taping!
RAGIII
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Thanks, RAGIII :)
I've done the same thing as Lance on his LVG C.VI, I've oversprayed the beautiful Aviattic lozenge decals, but with a drab brown varnish in my case. As much as I liked the decals, I wanted a more muted effect, more on the fuselage as the wings, so as not to make it too drab/brown.
First, some very careful masking:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/10/09/2018-10-0614.35.48.jpg)
Then a custom mixture from Revell Aqua Gloss Varnish (10) with Revell 85 Brown (0,5) and Revell Brick Red/brown 37 (0,5) to make it a bit more reddish, as otherwise it looked kind of off against the red bands right behind it.
The effect on the wings is kind of hard to photograph, so I've included a strip of the original decals for contrast. Like I wrote, I wanted more on the fuselage and less on the wings (found a few pictures like that):
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/10/09/2018-10-0820.37.15.jpg)
It took me a while to get this done, as I wanted to do this in daylight so as not to overdo it. In the end I may have gone a bit too far on the fuselage, but I can live with it. Despite the brownness I think it looks pretty neat.
I've now masked off some things again to protect it with a further glosscoat, then it's on to some detail painting, some tiny touch-ups (I pulled a few tiny bits off the brown varnish that really show up) and decals -I look forward to that last part as it'll hopefully give it more character. Then it's off to get rid of the new looking red and white to match the toned down lozenge. :)
Jeroen
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WOW! Jeroen, I really like the results. That reddish brown varnish effect is very effective and looks like the real thing to my eyes. Unless I'm confusing my memory of the Knowlton Fokker preserved here in Canada (I've only seen photos not the real thing regrettably) the finish on your fuselage matches it's fabric. I'm definitely going to try this with a D.VII I've got waiting in the assembly line.
VERY impressive work, this is going to be a spectacular model. 8) 8) 8)
Cheers,
Lance
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Thanks Lance! Although I do admit it was kind of a big step without really a way back, I somehow felt I needed to do this, and so far I'm quite happy as well! :) I have, in the meanwhile, coated it all in gloss and am now painting small details. Also gave the propeller it's woodgrain, but it's not dry enough to take reliable pictures.
Hopefully an update later this week!
Jeroen
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Hi Jeroen,
I really like the effects you've given the lozenge.
Gaz
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I think you've hit the mark
Steve
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Nicely done work on the overcoat!
RAGIII
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Beautifully done with the overcoat (and the rest)
-
Echoing all of the above. I used browned varnish on my Fokker DVII and LVG but I think you got the colour better than I did.
That is a great looking Fokker you're making there!
Cheers
Alistair
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Thanks for the kind words, Gaz, Steve, RAGIII, and Juan! I'm quite happy with the outcome too, have gotten used to what I thought was bit too much on the fuselage and comparing to some pictures, I could have gone way farther, and I'm quite happy as well :)
(as an example of too-much, the photo's of Hermann Pritsch "Bowke" show almost no lozenge at all on the fuselage)
I have not posted a lot, but have been working quietly on the model, I managed to apply all the decals, including the little stencils, except for the propeller, as the oils weren't dry enough for an acrylic glosscoat. I didn't use the "borderless" crosses on the fuselage from the decal set, but the ones for "Nickchen IV" with the white border, if you zoom in on the picture of Greim standing near the tail you can see a slight difference between that and the white of the rear fuselage. As I painted the red bands I cut the texts free of them and applied only those -after I was all done I found a spelling error on the weight table; Nutzlast is spelled Nutzlas. I corrected that with the extra weight table provided in te base kit.
I also went with the normal square crosses instead of the uneven-arm types suggested by WnW, as all pictures of 8## series Albatros D.VIIs seem to have had the normal square crosses. Whether they were converted or not remains unclear of course, as is the difference between the tail cross and fuselage cross, but given how much rudders were swapped...? Anyway, that's my guess :)
I just finished glosscoating all the decals to seal them an prepare for weathering, so pictures will come later this week hopefully.
Jeroen
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A bit later as promised, but as an added bonus it's got some oil weathering on it in subsequent layers.
First of all the spelling error:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/11/02/2018-10-2020.17.01.jpg)
After a first round with some oil paints, a bit of a dryfit to see where it stands and comes together. I wasn't entirely happy, up close the effects were visible, but they disappeard quickly when viewed from a little bit further away. I also learned to put on effects a bit stronger than intended, as subsequent gloss and flat coats tend to mute the effect:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/11/02/2018-10-3110.30.12.jpg)
So I went a few steps further, especially on the decals that somehow ended up less weathered than the rest, and the front fuselage near the fuel and oil tank got some extra weathering:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/11/02/2018-10-3114.58.37.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2018/11/02/2018-10-3114.59.52.jpg)
It's not 100% dry here and I picked the angles to make it show up a bit better, so it looks starker than in real life.
I honestly have no idea how I got to this result, as I did it in a few layers with differnet techniques, the only thing I wrote down were the oil paints in various quantities, dots, thinned and unthinned mixes, as well as random mixes that I thought looked good:
-titanium white
-payne's grey (an almost black dark grey)
-olive green
-raw umber
Jeroen
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That is Damn Nice! I was not entirely convinced about the overspray until the weathering was applied. I am totally ON Board Now!!
RAGIII
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That's great, Jeroen!!
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That looks very impressive Jeroen. The effect mirrors the popular photos of the survivor from the "Canadian Fokkers" batch on display at Knowlton Quebec. Lovely work!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/battle-over-future-of-fokker-d-vii-divides-knowlton-que-1.938675
Cheers,
Lance
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I do not know how I have issed this.... However I have just spent a happy period reading through this thread and am blown away by what you are doing. Sir you are clearly an artist of the first calibre I just wish that I had some of your skills.
The colours and finish on this model are first class in every way. This will be a winner when finished, of that I have no doubt. Many congratulations on such a fine build. In future I intend to stay more closely in touch.
Stephen
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Great results that look like the finish in period photos!!
Steve
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Very nice results, Jeroen. The weathering looks great. I use the same technique using oils and I don't know exactly how to do it, but suddenly it looks good, too.
Bye,
Manni
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Looking fine, that toning down of the Tarnstoff. Very goid idea!
Andreas
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That is very good - we need a weathering advice team here. It is the hardest part of model making for me - getting the balance right. You're there!
Cheers
Alistair
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Hi Jeroen
Same lovely work here, the weathering of the lozenge is really nice.
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I apologize for not to replying to everyone sooner, I've been busy with work and the holiday season, and when I had the time I simply wasn't in the mood to do much modelling. As I work in IT I'm not always very motivated (after sitting all day behind a screen) to go and to the same in the evening!
But alas, I would have loved to get the Fokker done before 31-12 but that's not happening. I'm not going to rush this one... I did get further along, as can be seen here:
Propeller
I'm sure (almost) everyone knows how to paint a propeller like this, but I figured I'd share my try here, more to see what I can improve upon, though for a first try I'm quite happy with it actually...
While painting wood basecolour (9:1 white:sand) I also shot the propeller. After looking at a lot of images of Niendorf propellers I started masking out the lines, but didn't get it right so I had to do it 3 times...
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2018-09-2916.53.14.jpg)
Eventually I got the hang of it, and found that if you look from the side and it's all straight, the curves almost follow by themselves (mostly...). This is helped by the fact that the Niendorf has (like the Heine) a flat backside, making alignment somewhat(!) easier...
I then filled the parts that needed to remain light with Revell liquid mask:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2018-09-3015.22.22.jpg)
Then shot Lifecolor Dark Earth, which covered quite poorly and needed quite a few layers, with ridges as a result... it also needed some touch-ups:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2018-09-3017.38.27.jpg)
I then glossed it and used oil paints for the wood grain. After the oils had fully cured, it was glossed again.
I then used my new woefully expensive new toy to cut a mask for the hub:
Measuring the hub:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2018-12-2810.20.22.jpg)
Divide by half, and set the circle cutter up:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2018-12-2810.29.03.jpg)
Apply mask, and mask up the rest of the prop, then spray metal colour:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2018-12-2810.28.53.jpg)
I used a highly advanced template to make sure both logo's were the same distance from the centre:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0513.50.06.jpg)
And after a wash in the hub, decals, and a final satin coat:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0613.56.03.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0613.56.39.jpg)
Engine
The 180hp replacement engine was finished like the 200hp version and after washes and weathering finished with satin varnish, ready for installation:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0614.01.00.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0614.00.38.jpg)
All the other bits...
Many hours of chipping with a small brush, highlighting raised details with lighter versions of base colours, washes, filters, etc etc... but impossible to photograph with the winter "light" we currently have...
So some things that can be shown...
Axle wing (the original colour can be seen on the axles)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0613.55.00.jpg)
Earlier I satin-coathed the green coaming, this was masked for the rest which I'll give a coat of flat varnish:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0610.33.49.jpg)
Painted the hubs satin after weathering, but wanted the tires matt, so used my fancy circle cutter again, making this a 2 minute job:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0611.00.11.jpg)
Fuselage and wings are now (mostly) weathered and nearly there for final assembly:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0614.10.10.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0614.08.36.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0614.04.48.jpg)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/06/2019-01-0614.04.44.jpg)
Happy 2019!
Jeroen
PS Thanks to PrzemoL, Lance, Mguns and others I've somewhat secretly started my next build when I could not work on the D.VII: the WNW USAS Camel to be done as E.W. Springs 148th Aero D8250. Thanks for the inspiration, I'll try to post something if I have anything useful to show ;-)
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Excellent prop, engine, and weathering! Terrific update all around!
RAGIII
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Outstanding work, Jeroen! As all of your builds.
Bye,
Manni
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Thanks for looking in, RAGIII and Manni! :)
Today I got more done, I've been working quite a few extra hours at work and they're not getting paid in money but they are given back in time. However, due to the fact that there is so much going on now there's not much chance of actually using up the accumulated hours!
However, this (friday) afternoon I got to take a few hours off as I'd done my part of a project and it's now in other hands. However, it was not a very fun session. Earlier this week I glued in the engine for good, added the lower radiator pipe, forward, the lower cowls and lastly the and rear side panels (the triangular ones). This afternoon I had intended to add the remaining small bits, as in the scratch-built radiator support bars, and when these were added I had intended to add the final side cowls.
However, those little struts simply did not want to get installed. They slipped from my tweezers, rotated the wrong way, caused glue stains on some other framework parts... it wasn't pretty!
Finally I installed one, but the other pinged off to feed the carpet monster so I had to make a new one and finally installed that, after which it was painted.
When I admired my work I noticed the engine and panel insides were much more weathered than the engine framing, so I weathered that with oil paints first. After that I finally added the last side panels and called the engine bay done.
Well... almost.... I forgot the scratch built radiator flap....
I managed to install that, too, but could not install it's actuator cable with all the panels installed. So I left that off, I was done for now. When all the paint is dry I'll add the rudder and elevator and it's time to install the lower wing.
I'll let everything dry properly first, though. Pictures hopefully this weekend, that is, if I don't drop either the model or the camera on top of it first!
Jeroen
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Excellent prop, engine, and weathering! Terrific update all around!
RAGIII
I am with all that..!!
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Thanks! :)
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And a picture to prove my earlier post ;-) :
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/16/2019-01-1615.02.25.jpg)
In the meantime the lower wing was also attached, after scraping paint from the firewall and trimming the lozenge decals overlap from the fuselage it simply clicked into place and was glued with Extra Thin. A world of difference with my previous Roden 1/72 models!
The undercarriage was mostly finished by now, but I wanted a bit more dirt/mud without going overboard. Though weathered, the model isn't really that dirty. After a bit of thinking and experimenting with several paints and brushes, all not to my liking, I came up with an idea. The wheel obviously rolls over the (dirty) grass and soil, so I simply dabbed Lifecolor Dark Earth on a piece of tape and rolled the wheel through it. Not quite satisfied, as the "muddy" area was too limited, as in, there was nothing on the sides. So I came up with this:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/16/2019-01-1619.58.32.jpg)
Rolled some of the other kit wheel options through that:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/16/2019-01-1620.32.13.jpg)
Pretty nice I thought, the Dark Earth is the aforementioned Lifecolour, the reddish colour is Revell Aqua 85 (Brown), the Lifecolour is quite thin, where the Aqua is thicker. That latter (other than the colour, obviously, which I don't really like as dirt) is more useful for more more muddy models, but not for my D.VII ;)
So I went with the Lifecolour, and then added specks and streaks with a 0000 brush, and assembled the whole thing, remembering the tip bij RAGIII I wrote down earlier in the instructions to add the little horseshoe-shaped retainers before the whole is added to the model. The fit of these is, indeed, very tight! (The tire base colour is Lifecolour RLM75 Grauviolet, don't tell anyone!)
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/01/16/2019-01-1620.30.34.jpg)
And, much like the Camel colour test, the current dark weather makes photography a disaster... this is the best I could do with artificial light :-/
Hopefully she'll be done soon! :)
Jeroen
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That’s an amazing build so far and I am sure it will be a beauty once finished. The tyre-weathering idea is very good.
best regards
Andreas
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Nice Idea with rolling the wheels through the mud/paint. I may try that one in the future!
RAGIII
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Thanks, Andreas and RAGIII :)
I didn't get a lot done lately, been working looooong days doing software upgrades on network switches... However, I work a lot of extra time now so I get extra "free" hours to spend on modelling at a later time!
Did get a bit of small bits here and there, but nothing really worth posting yet...
Jeroen
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I have just spent a very interesting and informative time reading thrugh and catching up on this thread. I am unashamedly going to take your muddy tyre idea and try it out soon, and I really like your wethod for painting the propellor. That does not mention the other excellent modelling skill that you have brought to this kit: the model will be an undoubted winnwer when it is finished.
Stephen.
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Thank you for your kind compliment, Stephen! Really appreciated :)
As others have commented, the D.VII, despite it's lack of rigging is a rather fiddly model. I dry-fitted all struts and wings in the past, and it line up pretty well.
And here I am now, trying to get all the struts to line up again. When I put the cabane struts in (without glue as of yet) I somehow find the outer interplane struts slightly too short.
When I put some paint tins underneath the lower wing, there is a bit of flex, which might indicate it is not too tight a fit (I took special care when glueing the lower wing to make sure it was a tension-free fit).
Anyone else have or had this? Any reccomended way of installing the top wing? On my Roden models I put the N-struts in first, and then simply added the cabanes. On the WNW model this does not seem that easy, due to the strut that goes onto the engine mounts not having room enough...
Here's what I'm thinking about now... glue the rear cabane struts, and the N-struts to the upper wing and let properly dry.
Then fit the forward triangular cabane struts to the model with normal slow-setting glue, not glueing the 3rd leg that goes onto the engine bearers through the cowl panels. Then fit the top wing with the other strut in place and make sure to put some paint tins underneath the lower wing to make the N struts fit, but not glueing these to the lower wing just yet. Then leave to dry so the forward cabanes sit properly.
Then glue the top wing on definitively?
Perhaps someone has some others suggestions for a workable method, so my next post might show an undamaged, aligned, and finished model!
Jeroen
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Me being me I just could not let this rest... so after an afternoon with 4 kids around and then our oldest son passed his swimming test B (he's now working on C), the kids were in bed and the dishes done.
So I took the Fokker back to the cutting mat and started out again. So, after another hour of fiddling and 4 dabs of glue, here is what seems to working. Just in case anyone might run into something like this as well?
I added some dabs of Revell Contacta standard plastic glue in the sockets in which the tri-legged forward cabanes go. I did not apply any glue to the third member supporting on the engine bearers -I found this gives a little wiggle room later on.
I had previously put the top wing upside down on a bit of foam and inverted the model with the cabanes only fitted and carefully put the square pins into the holes on the top wing. The tailplane was supported with some enamel paint tins.
The reason my previous attempts ended in failure and frustration was probably that I tried to fit either the N-struts and / or the rear cabanes as well. The fuselage needs to be at the correct angle to the wing (viewed from the side), otherwise they either don't reach the holes, or fall out.
By doing the forward cabanes first, this is less important.
I can then fit either the N struts or rear cabanes either way around, as a final dry-fit showed.
So I'll leave it like this overnight:
(http://images.plakkers-inc.nl/images/2019/02/06/2019-02-0620.38.50.jpg)
The alignment seems spot-on, but to be sure I measured it afterwards and corrected tiny bit. Even though, by not glueing the 3rd leg to the engine bearers there is enough wiggle room to fit the rest.
Phew... now not to touch the model!
Jeroen
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That’s an amazing build so far and I am sure it will be a beauty once finished. The tyre-weathering idea is very good.
...
I totally agree, excellent model of Fok. D.VII
Ciao
Giuseppe
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Perhaps someone has some others suggestions for a workable method, so my next post might show an undamaged, aligned, and finished model!
Jeroen
Hello Jeroen,
Here's a description of how I did it some 6 years ago (can be found here, but there will be many D.VII builds):
Put the landing gear straight today, but it is still not very steady on its feet.
Then I wanted to fit the upper wing. I first added the cabane struts and wing struts to the model and tried to align everything as much as possible. I used the parts B8 and B12 as the main guidance for the positioning of the upper wing as those parts are connected with at least 2 cabane struts to the fuselage and leave little room for false positiong. The third strut of those pieces were left unglued to be able to place and remove the forward side cowls. With a vernier caliper (?) I measured the exact positions in the upper wing and tried to apply the correct spacing between the upper connections of the cabane struts. Then I placed parts B4 and B5, carefully measuring and positioning. After that the wing struts were placed in line with the cabane struts as they all support the wing below the two girders of the wing.
(http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x412/Ivotb/Fokker%20D-VII/IMG_28441600x1200_zpsebcd379c.jpg)
(http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x412/Ivotb/Fokker%20D-VII/IMG_28451600x1200_zpsebda3ebb.jpg)
Then I put some glue in the openings in the upper wing, placed it upside down and let all the struts fit into the upper wing. I found that there was too much glue in the openings for the 4 cabane strut connections, so I'll have to do some correction work there as it messed up the paint there.
But the wing fitted and it is an excellent and strong connection. Nothing wobbly here:
(http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x412/Ivotb/Fokker%20D-VII/IMG_28461600x1200_zpsb2339b12.jpg)
Earlier I tried some dry-brushing on the tires, but that wasn't a big success:
(http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x412/Ivotb/Fokker%20D-VII/IMG_28511600x1200_zps73606f0f.jpg)
You can read Gothania and flugreifen 960 x 100, but there is too much paint around it, where it shouldn'belong.
Size difference in 1:72 and 1:32:
(http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x412/Ivotb/Fokker%20D-VII/IMG_28471600x1200_zps18cbe164.jpg)
Another shot:
(http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x412/Ivotb/Fokker%20D-VII/IMG_28521600x1200_zpsdee841dd.jpg)
And yes, the forward side cowling can be placed and removed again. Just bend the forward cabane strut a little bit, slide the cowling with the appropriate hole over the strut and put it in the rigth place. It is more or less clamped. Here the upper cowling is still loose and needs some more room on top for the airpump.
(http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x412/Ivotb/Fokker%20D-VII/IMG_28531600x1200_zpsabe8d0e5.jpg)
regards,
Ivo
Succes.
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I am happy to hear you got the wing mounting sorted out. Looking forward to the next excellent update!
RAGIII
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Sometimes models seem to have a life of their own - what fitted yesterday will not fit tomorrow, etc. However you seem to have found a very good solution to the problem - as usual it takes time and patience! Looking ever better with each post.
Stephen.
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Just a quick update...
Thanks Giuseppe, RAGIII and Stephen for looking in!
Thanks also Ivo, there are quite a few D.VII builds here so finding things like this isn't always very easy. Thanks for re-posting that!
I did deviate a bit from your method by leaving the undercarriage and rear cabanes off, but yesterday I installed the outer wing N-struts and now the glue on the top wing is dring, securing it in place. The rear cabanes are very flexible, they just popped in place with a tiny amount of glue.
Now, again, to leave the model alone.... :-)
Jeroen
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It's really been a long while, but slowly I went back to finishing the D.VII. I've sold some kits and wanted to get the Halberstadt Cl.II for Christmas, but my kids wouldn't let me ask it because I already have too many aeroplanes and needed to finish "the big one". ;D ;D
I wasn't really in the mood somehow, very busy year with loads of overtime at work amongst things, but some time ago Alex (my four year old) spotted his half-finished Eindecker that we started for Des' Memorial Group build, but unfortunately did not finish in time. :-(
However, working with him to get it done ignited my interest and I slowly picked up the D.VII again. Lots of small bits, pieces and wires, some to my liking, some not, but here's how she is at the moment:
(https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/27/b8/27b8973c4639100c30595884a2ad08bd.jpg)
(https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/ba/20/ba2074610bda7511ee67f3ec04e5c24b.jpg)
Only about 10 parts and some rigging/wiring needing either installation or the ends clipped, but slowly getting there. Not going to rush now, especially at this stage!
Now to catch up on all those gorgeous builds that were done while I was off doing other things!
Best regards,
Jeroen
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Beautiful D.VII!
The finish line is close now. :)
Robin
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Really good to see you about to finish this one! It is looking Fantastic!
RAGIII
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I only see things to be very proud of.
Andreas
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Thanks, Robin, Rick and Andreas!
I just put on the final touches yesterday evening, just need to wait for somewhat better weather to take the final pictures! Hard to believe I started this four years ago! :P
Jeroen
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Finished! More in RFI :)
(https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/27/40/2740f9a74cffab0c4c84da371ac1034b.jpg)