WnW 1/32 Albatros B.II finished

[the great waldo]

Hi folks, I've recently acquired some spoked wheels from Steven Robson for my WnW Albatros B.II and am therefore committed to build it. I made a start, and wanted to share a few pictures. I still need to receive some engine cylinder primer cups and CDL decals from Aviattic, but am bashing ahead with other bits and pieces. I wanted to emulate that translucent look to the underside of the upper wing, and have painted the shadows needed that will be covered by the Aviattic CDL decal eventually.

My Felixstowe will have to wait a little bit longer.
Cheers,
Gary



Is that Honduras or African mahogany the prop is made from
Cheers
Andrew
Great stuff

[pepperman42]

Very nice pit!!!

Steve

[KiwiZac]

That cockpit looks fantastic, Gary! There's some beautiful detail work in there.

[LT1962]

I love the work.

One thing I found with my build of this kit. The struts are very thin and will need to be strengthened.

I built mine a couple of years ago now and it all went together very well. But now it has been sitting around for some time, almost half of the struts have bowed.

Something to consider when you start to work on the wings.

[gbrivio]

Beautiful start, all the details are outstanding.
Ciao
Giuseppe

[gedmundson]

Again - thanks to all for the encouraging words on the build so far!

I love the work.

One thing I found with my build of this kit. The struts are very thin and will need to be strengthened.

I built mine a couple of years ago now and it all went together very well. But now it has been sitting around for some time, almost half of the struts have bowed.

Something to consider when you start to work on the wings.

Thanks for the heads-up. Not sure how I'd strengthen the struts, to be honest?

I did receive a mail-call today and can progress on the kit's engine now that I have the 1/32 scale resin primer cups from Aviattic. Here are a couple of photos with the one on the end cleaned up with a blade. They seem good in size and detail is fine.

I also closed up the back of the fuselage and the fit was quite good - very minimal gap filling with epoxy putty needed.
Cheers,
Gary

[RAGIII]

Looks Awesome!
RAGIII

[pepperman42]

Let me check...yes I have turned completely green with envy...

Steve

[bobs_buckles]

Excellent progress, Gary!
Really nice work. 

Bob

[TimDEFR]

Hi Gary,

Excellent work so far! How did you do those turned wires in the picture above? They look phenomenal.

Best,
Tim

[DaveB]

Wow!

Stunning work in the cockpit, Gary

Regards

Dave

[mess]

Stunning work, Gary!

[gedmundson]

Hi Gary,

Excellent work so far! How did you do those turned wires in the picture above? They look phenomenal.

Best,
Tim

Thanks Tim! If you're referring to the springs on the seat belts -  I wrapped some fine copper wire (0.010") around a 0.021" drill bit about thirty turns, then removed it from the bit. I then inserted a slightly thicker piece of copper wire (0.15") where the drill bit used to be, and bent it into a circle, cutting off the surplus. The end is covered with thin lead sheet.

The copper wire is just strands from old salvaged electrical cords.
Cheers,
Gary

[Whiteknuckles]

Some lovely work on display Gary, great workmanship!

Andrew

[gedmundson]

Thanks so much to everyone who has taken the time to comment on my build so far.

The fuselage needs to be given a wood grain finish, which is dark according to references. I'm choosing to paint my own pattern on the model, and make it slightly lighter in appearance. I've base coated the surface with a buff/flat earth mix of Tamiya paints, and gloss coated that. Over that, I've started to add a dilute oil paint mix of ochre, burnt sienna, and a touch of black, making a medium brown. Thinned with mineral spirits, the mix is being applied to separate panels with an old brush, taped off to finish a few at a time.

The mix is applied, and as it dries out, streaked in a laminar fashion to create a sort-of wood grain look. Hopefully a couple of days drying will allow me to continue more of the panels.

Cheers,
Gary