Author Topic: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale  (Read 19584 times)

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #90 on: December 01, 2020, 01:07:41 AM »
Like Terri said, great details and No One would know! Very impressive builds!
RAGIII
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"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline William Adair

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #91 on: December 01, 2020, 09:02:06 PM »
Hey thanks  ;D  I'm happy with some of the possibilities that the painted decals offer.  I'll definitely be using the technique more in the future.
I found myself somewhat at liberty today.  Maybe for the last time until Christmas, so I was able to put it to good use (wife's opinion may vary however).  Hopefully not being too hasty, but I was able to get the ends of the D.III in front of the airbrush before the light faded.

I'm going to do Hecht's machine from Jasta 10.  Largely for reasons of nostalgia.  Way back in the early 1980's I came across a model magazine (A miracle! Who even knew such things existed?) which among other things contained an article on the Pfalz.  I wish I could remember the name of the magazine now, but the main thing I do remember is the author wrote at some length about Hecht's machine and its capture.  He also presented a case that the nose was yellow, rather than green or black as had been previously supposed.  As a child who up to that point was haphazardly gumming kits together with reckless abandon, it was a revelation.  The idea of research and accuracy had never so much as crossed my mind before.  But as I read and reread that magazine I found it completely altered the way I looked at model building as a hobby.  I suddenly found where the real fun was!  :)

Anyway I'm rambling.  A nice glass of Barossa Valley red will do that.  Here's a shot of the components so far.  I'll let the paint harden up before I try masking.  I washed the pieces thoroughly, but I don't much trust the resin when it comes to paint adhesion.  If anything looks wrong do let me know.  I'm hopelessly colour blind, so it could well be purple for all I know....   :o


Offline torbiorn

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #92 on: December 04, 2020, 08:36:11 AM »
Have been following silently for a while, but just have to say I’m utterly amazed how much - and accurate! - detail you cram into that little thing.


Thanks for the rambling too - I had a similar revelation, only I had it when I, after a 25 year hiatus, was trying to introduce the hobby to a new generation.

Offline lone modeller

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #93 on: December 05, 2020, 04:19:11 AM »
The colours look fine to me - but then I am no authority on this subject. If you had not told us I could still believe that this was a very much larger scale kit model.

Stephen.

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #94 on: December 06, 2020, 08:42:25 AM »
Really looking terrific! I Love a Good Jasta 10 scheme and this one is a classic! The yellow looks perfect to me. If I were to add a suggestion I would personally use a bit Brighter green. But I really haven't seen the original rudder in color so what do I know  8)
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline William Adair

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #95 on: December 06, 2020, 01:04:23 PM »
Thanks everyone for the support!  I'm getting to the tricky bits now, so hopefully it will all work out.   :-\

RAGIII, I was just popping in to ask that very question about the green.  I used Tamiya XF-67 Nato Green, which somr other WWI modellers seemed to indicate was a good match for the German green.  It looks way too dark to my eyes too, so I'm wondering if there is an alternative. 

Suddenly having typed that; I wondered what WnW would recommend (their website is such a great resource).  Hmm... XF-71.  It looks like a trip back to the local is in order.  Hopefully I can find some pretext to get over there during the week.  My free time is pretty limited from here to Christmas.

Here's a shot of the top wing balanced precariously in place.  The struts have lengths of .2mm wire embedded in them and protruding from the ends, so they locate fairly well.  Hopefully it will save me some dramas later on.


Offline Rookie

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #96 on: December 06, 2020, 04:58:56 PM »
You must have been juweler in a previous life...

Outstanding work and detail. I think you are doing fine on the colorscheme too!

Willem

Offline William Adair

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #97 on: December 06, 2020, 05:02:45 PM »
You must have been juweler in a previous life...

Actually I really am a jeweller in this one ;D

Offline lone modeller

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #98 on: December 07, 2020, 07:33:06 AM »
You must have been juweler in a previous life...

Actually I really am a jeweller in this one ;D

So now we know why you are able to produce such excellent models in the braille scale!

Stephen.

Offline torbiorn

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #99 on: December 07, 2020, 08:15:16 AM »


Actually I really am a jeweller in this one ;D


As someone who prefers buying his tools from shops catering to jewelers rather than the modelling shops, I can’t pass on this one: would you mind giving us some tips on tools? Any type of plier or work holders you find useful for modelling, that sort of thing?

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #100 on: December 13, 2020, 10:23:55 PM »
Thanks everyone for the support!  I'm getting to the tricky bits now, so hopefully it will all work out.   :-\

RAGIII, I was just popping in to ask that very question about the green.  I used Tamiya XF-67 Nato Green, which somr other WWI modellers seemed to indicate was a good match for the German green.  It looks way too dark to my eyes too, so I'm wondering if there is an alternative. 


/quote]

I just looked at the WNW ite and for the Jasta 5 Green tail they call for X28, a gloss green. Looks brighter and close to what I "Imagine" for the Hecht Machine  8)
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline William Adair

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #101 on: December 15, 2020, 06:42:02 PM »
Hey thanks for that!  I was looking at a different instruction leaflet and missed the info on X-28.  I managed to get a jar of it today.  It looks very green indeed to me.  I may need to tone it down just a bit for 1/144 scale. 


As someone who prefers buying his tools from shops catering to jewellers rather than the modelling shops, I can’t pass on this one: would you mind giving us some tips on tools? Any type of plier or work holders you find useful for modelling, that sort of thing?

Hi torbiorn, probably my most essential tools are a good set of digital calipers such as those made by Mitutoyo, plus some Swann Morton 10A scalpel blades with a No.3 handle.  If I don't have those I am lost.  For pliers I like the parallel types shown below.  Although I don't often have call to use them in 1/144.



For holding things I have a small jewellers vise which I often use.  Plus a pin vise with a spinning end (very important) that I use to hold small objects.  I probably use it more for that than as a drill.





Gravers are something I use a lot too, and you can get these at reasonable prices.  This one was given to me by a crazy ex-girlfriend about 25 years ago! 



There's also the little steel mitre block back on page 4 of the build.  That is a must-have for getting pieces square or feeding strut stock into it to file location pegs into each end.

The other one which is a bit of a luxury item but a friend for life is a jewellers pendant motor with a flexible shaft.  You can do fine up-close work with one of these and it is a big improvement over having a Dremel screaming like a demon in your ear.  You can even glue material to a drill bit and use it like a sort of poor man's lathe. 




Offline William Adair

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #102 on: December 28, 2020, 11:27:52 AM »
Christmas holidays at last.  I hope everyone is keeping safe and well.  It took me a few days to rest up after the 14 hour work days in December, but I'm pleased to be able to get back into things now.

I've been putting off the tail skid for ages as its one of those fiddly bits that will be barely seen on the finished models but needs to be fairly correct too.  The result is not too bad.  I do like the way the square peg representing the bungee chord plugs securely into a .8mm hole in the fuselage without needing glue.  I got rather lucky there...!



The tail got resprayed with the new XF-28 green, which was knocked back just a tad with a couple of drops of XF-71 as I was worried it looked a bit radioactive at this scale.  I think (hope) it will pass.   ???
After hardening up overnight I masked the D.III up front and back prior to its base coat of black.  I'm still suspicious of the resin when it comes to paint adhesion, so I used pieces of a polythene freezer bag for most of the surface then backed it up with tamiya tape along the edges.



I used a mix of Mr Surfacer Black 1500 and several drops of 46 Clear, plus a 50/50 amount of Mr Retarder Mild and Levelling thinner.  Very nervous, but managed to get a nice smooth finish on the fuselages.  All the time spent fussing over the masters has so far paid off.



Base coated the wings too.  I think I'll go over them a bit with some fine sanding as there are a couple of dust specks which I can see, but all in all its looking pretty good.  Edging closer to the scary silver...   :o

« Last Edit: March 13, 2021, 12:23:27 PM by William Adair »

Offline Radarman

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #103 on: December 28, 2020, 01:00:43 PM »
William,
All I can say is that's amazing work.

                                           Kevin
We are all victims of history!

Offline Alexis

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Re: Scratchbuilding a Pfalz D.III & D.IIIa in 1/144 scale
« Reply #104 on: December 28, 2020, 11:28:26 PM »
Second Kevin's comments  :)


Alexis
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