WNW Post-War DH.9a NINAK - Done!

[RAGIII]

Great work on those troublesome roundels. I will try your process when I get to that point on My Camel! Did you coat them with any type of decal film prior to removing and applying?
RAGIII

[eclarson]

Great work on those troublesome roundels. I will try your process when I get to that point on My Camel! Did you coat them with any type of decal film prior to removing and applying?
RAGIII

Thanks! I did not coat them with anything.  What decal film is present is very thin and there is none visible at all around the roundel edges.  I think the brittleness is due primarily to the inks used, the white in particular, as I had the same issue with the large black crosses on white squares from the WNW Taube kit.  The black-only decals (for the Taube) and others not having white involved did not exhibit the tendency to crack.

Eric

[Alexis]

Is this a problem with new WNW kits and their decals ? If so ....I'm going to need a new hair dryer  . Don't have one in the hobby room and it is a tool , can always use more tools . I have only built two so far and didn't have this trouble with them .

Beautiful job on the decaling and painting , can't wait to see her with the wings attached .



Terri

[eclarson]

Is this a problem with new WNW kits and their decals ? If so ....I'm going to need a new hair dryer  . Don't have one in the hobby room and it is a tool , can always use more tools . I have only built two so far and didn't have this trouble with them .

Beautiful job on the decaling and painting , can't wait to see her with the wings attached .



Terri

Hi Terri,

Cartograf prints the decals so the problem would lie with them.  The first I heard of a brittleness issue was with the WNW Camel roundels but then I found the big crosses on the white background from my Taube cracked very easily too.  That's what makes me suspect the white ink.  On the other hand, I've heard from people who have had no problems.  May have been particular decal batches.  Anyway, the heat from the hair dryer combined with the solvent softens them nicely.  Just have to handle the decals very carefully when first moving them into position.  BTW, brittle or not, I use the hair dryer regularly when applying medium to large decals.  It works wonders getting them to settle over uneven or curved surfaces.  I first discovered this applying the lozenge decals to my WNW LVG years ago.

Oh, and thanks for those kind words!  Still have some work to do before attaching the wings but hopefully it won't be too much longer.

Cheers,
Eric

[kensar]

I have only one experience with WNW decals so far and I have the impression that in order to make the white opague, they put a lot of pigment in the white areas, making them very stiff and brittle.  Decal softener and heat did wonders in making them lay down properly.

[eclarson]

Time for a status update on my Ninak. Tail and undercarriage have been installed and rigged.  No control lines yet as they'd just get in the way at this point.
Seen in the last photo is a small detail not in the kit and often overlooked - the radiator shutter actuator - which was scratch-built from Evergreen styrene rod and strip.
Rigging lines are a mix of EZ Line Fine and Infini Model elastic rigging wire.  The lines are unpainted as I like their appearance as is, particularly from normal viewing distances.
Maxima Chameleon 3 lb monofilament fishing line will be used for rigging the wings as it will provide needed strength and rigidity to the structure. 













Eric

[RAGIII]

The tail surfaces and bracing wires look excellent. Nice catch on the radiator shutter control, looks great!
RAGIII

[eclarson]

The tail surfaces and bracing wires look excellent. Nice catch on the radiator shutter control, looks great!
RAGIII

Thanks!  Interestingly, WNW molded the exit hole in the fusealge for the radiator control lines and a small indent on the radiator side from which the arm protrudes but stopped short of including the parts.  There are some excellent color and archival photos showing this detail on the WNW site and though they are of the war-time variant, I figured the same control would be needed on the post-war version.

Eric

[kensar]

Progressing well, Eric.
Maybe you mentioned this before, but what is the open hatch on the bottom of the fuse for?

[eclarson]

Progressing well, Eric.
Maybe you mentioned this before, but what is the open hatch on the bottom of the fuse for?

Thanks Ken.  That's a camera port which is covered by a sliding hatch (not installed yet).  The camera is mounted in the fuselage behind the observer.

Eric

[AndRoby67]

Great looking model!
I love the "dress" that you choose and the high level of modelling skill!
Many compliments!
Roberto

[eclarson]

Cabane struts and fuel system gubbins are in place.  Attaching wings and rigging are about to commence! 





Eric

[RAGIII]

The details are really outstanding. The pipes connected to the pumps in particular Lovely smooth paint finish. All is Fantastic!
RAGIII

[Alexis]

Lovely attention to the details  Man , I really like that shade of blue 



Terri

[eclarson]

Like my fancy rigging helper?   







Eric