1/32 Special Hobby Fokker D.II (Josef Jacobs Jasta 12 1916)

[macsporran]

All the blue now applied and dried.
Fuselage masked prior to spraying the metal nose panels.
Sandy

[Tim Mixon]

Looking forward to seeing this one Sandy.  That blue color should really pop!

[macsporran]

Thanks Tim. Yes the blue color is the total reason I'm building this kit!

And it has now been applied. Ta-daaaa!

Fuselage metalwork has had a coat of Tamiya XF46 aluminium and the detail brush has been used to apply squiggles of Mr Metal Chrome to replicate the effect of the machined 'turned' finish. I have applied a little more weathering with Vallejo washes but there is still significant filling and sanding once the lower wing is attached so we'll keep this to a minimum at the moment.

Once the blue was on, I couldn't resist adding the black crosses to make the blue pop.
... and I am delighted with results so far!

You'll see that I differ from Osprey in my interpretation of what was actually painted blue. I'm with white fields for the crosses and unpainted metal areas - mainly coz I think it looks great!"
Sandy 

[DaveB]

Sandy ,

That's really excellent work and progress.  I really love your turned metal look on the cowling it's spot on.

Regards

Dave

[kensar]

That's looking really good, Sandy.

[KiwiZac]

Ooooh, nice work Sandy! She looks great! The metalwork is excellent and the blue really pops - it reminds me of those faux-camo schemes used in inter-war films.

[Rob Hart]

The metal work looks terrific! I'll be borrowing your technique to use on my own future builds.

[guitarfool]

Looking great! I can't wait to see what it will look like when it's done - definitely not your average color scheme!

[macsporran]

Thank you everybody - yes, the idea of a royal blue plane with white fields and a turned-metal nose is what really grabbed my imagination to begin with and the colours are certainly fulfilling my hopes!

Now the worst (or one of the worst!) stages of this adventure. Attaching the lower wing securely while trying to fix the accidentally snapped spar. All attempts to fix the spar by gluing it failed. I should have filled the fuselage slot, cut and drilled the wings, back at the beginning and would recommend this for anyone attempting this kit.
Note to Special Hobby: for wing attachments like this, please look at how, say WNW, have moulded a chunk of fuselage with the wing in (eg) their SE5a - for future releases or re-issues.
Anyway I'd added additional plastic tabs in through the slot, under the cockpit floor and now was time to epoxy the wings in place. I put everything under weights and supports to set overnight.

It looks hopefully strong enough - there's quite a bit of filling and sanding. so hopefully it won't fall apart, but we'll see. I just need it to last until I can get the top wing in place and get some mono thread through the wings to hold it all securely.

Like the swan - serene on the surface but paddling like f**k underneath - she looks OK so far!
Sandy

[macsporran]

'Everything OK so far' - as the man falling past the 30th floor of the Empire State Building said!

Wing is as secure as it will ever be with epoxy fully cured so onto filling and sanding.
More PPP added and I'm really liking how quickly this stuff sets solidly. Also, how you can work it with a wet finger into all the crevices then smooth the surface. This reduces significantly the amount of coarse sanding - which is very welcome here!
Fine sanding completed and we're ready to start drilling mounting holes for step (seen here) and undercarriage (next).
As mentioned previously there is little indication for where these holes should be, demonstrating the short-run nature of the kit.
After touching up the paint I can add a bit more engine muck. I am aiming for a fairly clean machine just after it has been repainted blue, but these notoriously filthy aircraft would still be pretty messy.
Sandy

[macsporran]

Grateful as I am to Special Hobby for producing a kit of this rara avis it certainly is not a shake-the-box model. Cannot complain at the price but some areas do tax the imagination as to how to go about assembly.

The cabane struts, as mentioned previously, consist of two forward inverted 'V' struts which are fairly fragile but will do the job adequately. The rear cabane support however is an inverted 'U' bar which holds the pulley rings for the wing-warping mechanism. It is extremely flimsy and has no locating marks for attachment to top wing. It will be crucial in determining the angle-of-attack of the upper wing (and parallel to lower wing). I need to attach the 'U' to upper wing to test fit wing height, etc but can't just glue it in place in case adjustment needs to be made.

So, I resolved to drill the 'U' and insert steel pins to locate in holes drilled in wing to test fit and adjust. This is where my cheapo ebay USB mini-drill is invaluable. I mark a spot with a sharp point and then the drill gently does its work without applying any stresses to the delicate bar. If I were using pin vices to open the holes I would almost certainly bend or break one of the legs while drilling.
(I've not used either my mains or my battery Dremel since getting this magic little drill which you hold like a pencil. They're relegated to the garage now!)

Anyway, phew, holes drilled, steel pins CA'd in place, trimmed, then plugged into drilled wing.
Sandy

[macsporran]

Okay, all the bits are ready, I can't to get an idea what it will look like with top wing in place!

Phoaaa!
Sandy

[KiwiZac]

Sandy, this is looking cooool! I love it! Tremendous work so far!

[macsporran]

Thanks Zac. Bit under the weather at the moment with a hefty bout of man-flu! Once the nose stops dripping I'll get back onto the wee blue beastie.
Cheers
Sandy

[macsporran]

This kit is fighting me all the way! I've cleared out all the rigging drill holes and commenced mounting of the top wing.

Perhaps it's my own stupid fault but I've never been a great fan of jigs. When I've tried them previously I've usually managed to catch something on extricating the model resulting in collapse of all my careful work! When making vacforms and suchlike in the past I would fashion cabane struts from flattened brass tube (or strutz if available) to give a strong anchor, stick the wing on and true it up, then attach interplanes at leisure. I'm trying to do the same here but using the flimsy plastic struts provided.

After much frustration I'm finally happy with the attachment and can get on with popping in the interplane struts and starting a little structural through-wing rigging to give it all some strength. Thankfully the wings have been nicely moulded by Special Hobby and have no warps or banana bends, which helps enormously.
Sandy