Roden Albie rolling off the assembly line

[KiwiZac]

The fuse looks stunning, Ken!

Based on Kolon Mayerhofer's D.III, I think the real Albatros have fewer separate panels than this kit does. (The kit has panel lines where the real ones just have lines of nails.)

I would trust the work of Koloman and the CraftLab team as a reference. Their machines are stunning and, I believe, researched to within an inch of their life before they commit saw to wood.

[lcarroll]

Awesome work, Ken. That cockpit coaming is spectacular.
Cheers,
Gary

    I echo Gary's comments Ken, absolutely stellar work. The detailing you've done is all "top drawer" and that cockpit coaming is the best I've seen. My compliments, it's a pleasure to view this one.
Cheers,
Lance

[GazzaS]

I love to see an Albatros coming together.  Those fasteners around the cockpit knock my socks off!

[Bughunter]

What a great work! Your build are getting better and better!
And your spoked wheels are on another level

Cheers,
Frank

[kensar]

Thank you for the kind comments, everyone.  I'm enjoying this build's slow pace.  I have run out of wood grain decals and could not find exact replacements, so I ordered a set that has a different wood grain pattern.  Hopefully the overall color will be very similar.  In the meantime, I'm working on another set of wheels, to adjust the dish and add a valve stem.

[kensar]

I now have most, if not all the base decaling done, and I'm not very motivated to to another wood grain decaled fuselage right now.  Lots of touch up painting to be done and then the nailing starts!  The two sets of wood decals are clearly different, but the overall look is not too bad.







I have also made another set of wheels, painted, and have installed the tires.



They aren't perfect, but an improvement over the first set.  The dish is more even and they have valve stems.

Nails are next.  Where's that hammer?

[GazzaS]

I like the wood grain decals in the lighter tone.  And those wheels look...   real.   Great work!

[KiwiZac]

I like the wood grain decals in the lighter tone.

Me too - the reality achieved is amazing!

[Bughunter]

The new wheels are flashing me away!
How can I replicate that in 1/48 ?

Cheers,
Frank

[kensar]

Thanks for encouraging comments Gaz, Zac, and Frank.

Making wheels in 1/48 would be quite a challenge.  Machining the hubs and rims would not be so bad, but drilling the holes in the rims and threading a filament through them would be very difficult.

[DaveB]

Wow!

Some really great work going on here - looking great so far.

Interesting what say say regarding wood grain decals .......

Regards

Dave

[PrzemoL]

Wheels are spectacular.
As for the wood, some differences of the pattern and hue are very acceptable. Wood is not a uniform material

[gedmundson]

Ken, I continue to be amazed at your work. The wheels & wood grain are brilliant.
Cheers,
Gary

[RAGIII]

All I can say is that the wood grain looks excellent as does all of the work on getting this kit to this point! The wheels are Way beyond My abilities and are awesome .
RAGIII

[kensar]

I have spent the last couple of weeks putting on the nail head decals.  These are not very easy to use due to the nail heads coming off the carrier film.  They are also printed under the carrier film instead of on the top.  Go figure.







They make an interesting visual detail, but they are not the correct color.  Should be gold, bronze, or steel colored.