Roden Fokker D.VI 1:32

[Monty]

Yikes, that's fine work on the Spandaus! Those undercarriage legs look so sturdy and beautifully in scale... nicely done, Ferry! ATB, Marc.

[Fvdm]

Thanks Marc

The work continued with the wheels. I tried to allign them but the wheels are on a plastic axle. Plastic isn't real strong So I made brass axles.

Startingpoint



The wheel had to be alligned so I used my glass plate (I cut my PE on this) and i made a jig so the axle can be placed at 90 degrees



The anvil is there to make sure the jig stays at the right place. An anvil is a great tool to have. More later





I think the UC is sturdy enough now. While waiting for the Aviattic decals I worked on the N-struts. The N-struts in the kit are really weak so I toke some brass tube of 1,4 and made my own N-struts.



The holes in the wings needed to be cleared and then the N-struts could be placed.



This is real sturdy. Unfortunately you can't feel it but I have a nice piece of tool to show you. The following picture is not for the people with a weak heart 



If the wings can carry an anvil then it's strong enough, right?

The wings weigh 47,7 grams, 1,68 oz



and the anvil weighs 500,9 gras, 17.67 oz, more then 10 times the weight of the wings.



I think this will never break so I'm happy

Thanks for watching.

Ferry

[Radarman]

Wonderful job on those struts, Ferry.

                                            Kevin

[Alexis]

Looking good 


Alexis

[RAGIII]

That photo with the weight is incredible  Great work on the struts Ferry!
RAGIII

[Bughunter]

Great and clean work!
And I've never seen an anvil on a model before. You show in an impressive way how you trust your work!
And Yes, I also like robust models that can easily withstand prolonged transport.

Cheers,
Frank

[gbrivio]

Very fine work on MGs and struts. The anvil test resembles the static tests on made real planes with lots of sand bags 
Looking forward to following steps.
Ciao
Giuseppe

[kensar]

Nice work with the metal parts - a great improvement in strength.

Funny thing about the Model Master stuff.  At Sprue Bros here in the US, the entire MM Spandau machine gun ( PE, turned metal, and resin) is cheaper than just the PE and turned metal parts alone.  Go figure.

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Metal struts are always a good option in my opinion, well done!

If you like a more aerofoil shape: for scale 1/32 our member Flugzeugwerke offers a tool on shapeways.com:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/N6N2WG6JA/1-32-fokker-d-vii-quot-strut-smasher-quot-tool

In 1/48 it is not so easy, but a colleague with a 3D-printer helped me.

Cheers,
Frank

Hi Frank,
It does seem to be a handy strut tool although I wonder how long it would last.
Also it's limited as to to the size of strut it can create.
Sadly it is difficult to find these days, but the 'Strutter' from 'Albion Alloy's' is the tool I use.
You can create any size of strut and any length and it's made of steel so will last,

Mike

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Thank you all.

Your parts are huge in 1/48 the Master pieces are much smaller The side clamp is really crazy.
The nice thing on 1/48 is, that the PE has spares.
I can recommend to black oxide finishing the parts, it keeps the details better then paint. But it has the disadvantage, that you cannot solder them (the solder will not get black).
See here (and two postings below): https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10717.msg208208#msg208208

Cheers,
Frank

If I understand correctly the burnishing needs to be done before assembling. That means that I'm a bit late now but I'll sure order some burnishing fluid for next time.

This kind of tips and tricks are why I like the forum so much!

Hi Ferry,
Initially I used 'Master' brass machine guns, but as you've found, they can be problematic, regards soldering and blackening. That's why I switched to using the resin weapons from 'GasPatch', which I think are just as good and with none of the brass disadvantages,

Mike

[Fvdm]

Metal struts are always a good option in my opinion, well done!

If you like a more aerofoil shape: for scale 1/32 our member Flugzeugwerke offers a tool on shapeways.com:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/N6N2WG6JA/1-32-fokker-d-vii-quot-strut-smasher-quot-tool

In 1/48 it is not so easy, but a colleague with a 3D-printer helped me.

Cheers,
Frank

Hi Frank,
It does seem to be a handy strut tool although I wonder how long it would last.
Also it's limited as to to the size of strut it can create.
Sadly it is difficult to find these days, by the 'Strutter' from 'Albion Alloy's' is the tool I use.
You can create any size of strut and any length and it's made of steel so will last,

Mike

Mike, if I'm correct the strutter doesn't make an airfoil shape. Or am I wrong? I will try to make a stl-file of the tool. If I have one I want to mill an tool from metal or aluminium. But first I have to learn 3d 

[Bughunter]

I would trust our member Flugzeugwerke, that plastic is enough. He offers also other tools in metal (shapeways can also print metal) where needed.
I have a plastic printed tool for struts and it works. This 0.1mm wall brass tube can be formed easily.

Cheers,
Frank

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Yes it seems with most 'Strutter' type tools, its difficult to achieve a true aerofoils shape.
The 'Strutter' uses the same technique as I think the version by Bob Monroe does, in that a smaller diameter rod is passed through the tube, which is then 'crushed'.
The rod can be left inside the tube and soldered to form locating ends for holes in the model.
The 'Strutter' jaws sit in a vice and tilt as pressure is applied to the tube, which creates the shape.
The larger the tube and rod used, the more the jaws will tilt and the more aerofoil shape can be achieved.
Using smaller rod/tube combinations, such as we would use, means the jaws don't tilt as much as they'll contact each other sooner.
Consequently the shape achieved is more oval than true aerofoil.
I have used various stuff from Bob, but not his forming tools, so I can't speak from experience.
What I have had has been quality, so I've no doubt his tools work as well as any,

Mike

[Monty]

Lovely work on those struts, Ferry! ..and impressively sturdy... Waiting for more! Regards, Marc

[Rookie]

I think it is very brave of you to test the struts in that manner....

Beautiful soldering job and great work on all the parts!

Willem