Hello, again all -
After having my confidence destroyed after breaking my last build (32nd Roden Spad VII - many thanks to you all for the moral support as it was very much appreciated) I thought long and hard about posting another progress report - I now worry that I might be tempting fate again. However, my younger son (Andrew) has persuaded me to do another. So, after taking breath have decided to fully grasp the bull very firmly by the horns again .................
This will be a build report on Wingnut's latest release of the Fokker DVII. I am currently about 10 days into the build so early days as yet.
The first thing to say is that you need to decide on exactly what version (colours/markings) before starting work. This is necessary because depending on the version you choose, different parts will be required to complete the build. This turned out to be a difficult choice as all the schemes are very good. Finally decided on version 'D' in the kit (as pictured below) for Fritz Oppenhorst of Jasta 71. A brave decision for me because this scheme is pretty much lozenge marking so I hope the lozenge decals work out well for this one. As is usual for me, this will mainly be OOB and brush painted model build.
I have now built up the cockpit/engine support structure as shown below. Fit is very good but assembling this structure was very, very fiddly. I caution some care removing the cockpit frame structure from the sprue - these parts are molded very fine and could be easily broken whilst cutting from sprue or during part clean up prior to assembly. Luckily, I have not managed to break any of these delicate parts - phew! Artist oils (burnt sienna) over ochre base were used to simulate the wood.
The other thing I have made up are the MG's with the PE air cooled jackets. I did these now as on a previous build (WNW Pfalz DXII) managed to crush the jackets during assembly. I therefore wanted to get this out the way early. Luckily, I now seemed to have worked out how to get these together. I worked out that the plastic at the breech end of the guns (where PE jacket sits on) is overly large and required a fair bit of trimming down before fitting. I followed WNW's guide (on their website) on fitting these jackets and hollowing out the muzzles,etc.
Next stop - the engine. Some pictures below on where I am currently up to.
Regards
Dave
