Author Topic: KP Roland DII 1/72  (Read 725 times)

Offline DaddyO

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KP Roland DII 1/72
« on: August 24, 2022, 09:36:52 PM »
Morning all

Just started fiddling with this new kit which I picked up at the weekend. Quality isn't great, but I was hoping for a nice simple quick build with the wings both mounted on the fuz, so decided to dive right in.  :)

I decided on a DII rather than the IIa (There are a few differences between them most noticeably the undercarriage position was moved for the later version and there were extra louvres)

All the major components in the kit need reshaping and or refining  ::) so some time has been spent reshaping wing tips, tail etc. and sanding them to an acceptable thickness - they are gradually getting there now (I feel like a sculptor carving from a promising piece of wood)  ;D

The Radiators on the top wing are disappointing so I'd like to replace/refine them. I've got some extra brass form an Albie DV, but the rads are a different size - any suggestions how to produce these (or even better a source for them?)

Cheers
Paul

ps - camera's out of batteries so you'll have to wait for progress picks ;)
There cannot be a crisis today, my schedule is full

Offline Tim Mixon

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Re: KP Roland DII 1/72
« Reply #1 on: August 24, 2022, 11:32:47 PM »
Paul,
I usually scratch build radiators with fine scale hexagonal mesh and brass rod. Then build up the body with Evergreen plastic card.
Looking forward to seeing pics of your project. 

Offline Stuart Malone

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Re: KP Roland DII 1/72
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2022, 02:03:54 AM »
The Radiators on the top wing are disappointing so I'd like to replace/refine them. I've got some extra brass form an Albie DV, but the rads are a different size - any suggestions how to produce these (or even better a source for them?)

Paul,

Can you section out a bit of the middle of the Albie rads to narrow them up for use on the Roland?  Seems just a bit of cutting and soldering (or CA) would do the trick.

Stuart

Offline DaddyO

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Re: KP Roland DII 1/72
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2022, 01:08:28 AM »
Cheers guys
I suspect I'll try creating something suitable from scratch as Tim suggests, but who knows?

Here's the box art from the version I bought although I'm making mine as a Roland rather than one of the sub-contracted Pfalz models  :)



Here are the rads in question (although similar to the ones in the windsock drawings there are several photos which appear to show them having two rows of louvres rather than the single one)



And here are the flying surfaces after extensive sanding and reshaping (Not very exciting, but there you go) The ailerons have the gap covering strips moulded in, but these were often removed so I filled the troughs and cut between them to separate them from the wings. The tailplane has a small wedge of plastic moulded in the centre which is actually the end of the fuselage so doesn't move. I anticipate a bit of filling will be needed in this area so I'll chop off the elevators and add them once the tail has been glued in place and this has all been cleared up.



One other area which will need some work are the louvres on the nose. Not sure how to tackle these yet, but it may be I'll need to carve some sprue or strip for them (which is a pain) or I may try making one and them moulding them (also a pain)  ::)



One plus are the wheels, which are quite crude (shown on the left here) I've managed to find some suitable spares from an Eduard Fokker dVII kit which look much sharper with correctly proportioned tyres  ;D

There cannot be a crisis today, my schedule is full