WNW Pfalz DXII

[lcarroll]

Coming along very nicely Mark. I recently installed the HGW Fabric Belts in my F2b and liked them a lot. I believe the fabric produces a very much more realistic effect, as does yours here. Nice work all round.
Cheers,
Lance

[Dal Gavan]

Very nice work, Mark, the time spent on the cockpit has been worth it, it looks good.  I've marked my kit's instructions with the corect part number, too- thanks for pointing that out.

Cheers.

Dal.

[GAJouette]

  Mark,
Excellent progress to date my old friend .Eagerly awaiting the next instalment.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[mgunns]

Thanks guys for the comments:

No pics at the moment.  I am busy doing the small niggly things to progress on to completion.  At our model club meeting today there were four WNW kits.  One of the guys brought in his kit of the Hannover, and at least five of the other members are working on WNW kits.  These are guys that never build WWI a/c but are busy working on their kits.  So, WNW has managed to attract those modelers who would never have built a WWI a/c model kit into the world of 1/32nd WWI a/c modeling.  Just thought I would put that out there.

Cheers

Mark

[uncletony]

Thanks guys for the comments:

No pics at the moment.  I am busy doing the small niggly things to progress on to completion.  At our model club meeting today there were four WNW kits.  One of the guys brought in his kit of the Hannover, and at least five of the other members are working on WNW kits.  These are guys that never build WWI a/c but are busy working on their kits.  So, WNW has managed to attract those modelers who would never have built a WWI a/c model kit into the world of 1/32nd WWI a/c modeling.  Just thought I would put that out there.

Cheers

Mark

Veeeery interesting :-)

[mgunns]

Okay folks:

This barn burner of a card has been smoldering a bit, but I have made some progress.  I really messed up the PE on the machine guns, just couldn't get the front sights to sit properly on the barrell or line up with the cooling jackets so I opted for the non PE guns.  I dry brushed them with the Testors Silver and I am happy with the results.  Sometimes I can do the PE, other times it just isn't happening and this was one of those times, so rather than fight it, I moved on, put the front sights on the end and am happy with the results being thus:

Now, whilst going through this drill I noticed that there is an error in the directions: on page 8 the "detailed" machine gun is labeled part "D9" which it is:

However, now going over to page 8, the elevator control horns are labeled "D9", which they are not:

They are actually "D11".
Moving along, I have the fuselage painted camouflage and the wings painted white for the lozenge decals.

In reading the data file, it shows this a/c and mentions that the elevators are in lozenge, so I did it with the lozenge.  I also opted to do the wheel covers in lozenge.  Even though there are no photo's of it, I like it, so I did it.  Maybe at some point in the operational life of the a/c it did have lozenge wheel covers.

One thing I noticed when I put the engine in, the handle on the pump on the rear of the engine will not fit with the machine gun moutning bracket.

So that will have to be removed.
I also painted the blue in what in the bottle appeared to be light blue, but after I painted everything, it has more of a turquoise affect.  Oh well, I am not going to redo it.

So far, I have not encountered any fit problems other than mentioned above.  It is really a rather smallish airplane to have two bays per wing.  The next step is lozenge the wings.
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to stay tuned for more exciting modeling excitement as it occurs.

Cheers

Mark

[rhallinger]

Great progress Mark!  I really like the way this aircraft looks.   Your finish and the mix of colors is very appealing.  I'm with you all the way on the lozenge wheel covers and elevator.  I've always liked those little areas covered in lozenge; it just appeals to me.  I can also sympathize on the PE MGs, as I have the same problem once in awhile.  Your stock MGs came out great--the drybrushing makes them look as good as PE!

Keep up the fine work!

Regards,

Bob

[mgunns]

Hello Bob:

Thanks for the comments.  I think the PE jackets are really neat and add that special touch, but I think with work, the non PE guns can look pretty good as well.  WNW's are nicely detailed with deep recesses that dry brushing can really bring out.

Best

Mark

[Chris Johnson]

I like your approach to modelling Mark. If something doesn't work out particularly well, move on to Plan B without missing a beat. It's a good philosophy. Your painting and weathering has made the plastic MGs look every bit as good as 'perfectly formed' PE ones. I'm no fan of the PE parts myself as it's difficult to get them perfectly round. In fact, I've reached the point where if I replace the plastic MGs, it's only with Master barrels.

Looking forward to future updates.

Cheers,

Chris

[mgunns]

Hello Chris:

Thanks for the comments.  I have the aber PE set for the guns, but they look way to fiddly for me.  I like the turned barrels and the pre-rolled PE Jackets, but my gosh!  There are at least 25 other minute parts that do everything but feed and eject.  I may use them at some time, maybe on a Roden kit as the detail on the guns is a bit a soft.  I am not a big fan of PE.  I like how it looks and have used a lot of it on my ship models, but rolling and trying to get the sights to sit right are a bit much at times and other times, they work just fine.  I like to keep the project moving and try not to get bogged down in minute details that will never be seen or will add little to the overall appearance of the model.  I admire the work that people do to achieve those results, like KONG on his NINAK!  What a work of art and a testament to his craftsmanship.  For me, I would never get anything finished and it wouldn't look nearly as good, so I focus on the basics, a little cockpit detailing, paint finishes, decal work, a little weathering, and call it good.  I am not a trophy hunter, I have to see completion, I don't have the patience to have a model on the bench for months on end, not any more.  Just my controversial thoughts on this "Valentime's" day, 2013!   

Cheers
Mark

[Epeeman]

Mark,

The MG's - join the club!  I also had problems with them (when I built this kit last year) and actually managed to crush both cooling jackets whilst trying to fit them.  I did exactly as you have done and used the plastic molded ones.  You have done a really good job in painting them - at first glance I took them for PE anyway!

Your kit is progressing nicely and is really looking the business - don't worry about the 'right' shade of blue - WW1 aircraft colours (as you know) are pretty contentious anyway!

Regards

Dave

[GAJouette]

  Mark,
Excellent progress my old friend and as usual first class work all the way. I've the same kit in my stash and I'll be using your outstanding thread as reference when I get back to modeling again. Keep up the excellent work.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[mgunns]

Hello Dave and Greg:

Thanks for the comments.  I will be at the bench as we have a long weekend here in the great upper midwest in the USA.  I am hoping, (fingers crossed) to wrap it up by Monday.  We shall See.  I have a Machivellian plan for the Hannover in Lozenge.  Stay tuned for more modeling excitement, pathos and drama right here @ ww1aircraft models.

Cheers

Mark

[mgunns]

Okay folks:

A small update:

Applying lozenge decals requires a lot of patience and planning, none of which I am noted for.  That being written, I got the bottom wing underside here:

And managed to wrap up the all the decalling today as evidenced here:

I used Rowan's Sheet for the Pfalz DXII and used the neat zig zag scheme of 2695.

The decals went on quite nicely with no major hicups.  I wish Rowan would have included about 4 extra 2695 serial numbers, but; other than that, the fit was perfect.
I also got the data file #146 to go with it with photo's of the AWM's restoration of 2600 for decal placement of some of the stencils.

WNW provides a lot of neat little stencils and such, but provides scant information as to their whereabouts in their directions.
Upper wing decaled and now on to turnbuckling and wrapping this baby up. 

WNW's lozenge decals for this a/c really went on nicely.  The holes lined up perfectly and the forward edge wrap did what it was supposed to do.  Very nice.  I went over the upper surfaces with a light mist of Testors MM Sand to give it a bit of a weathered fabric look, I am happy with the results.

Thanks for stopping by.

Best

Mark

[rhallinger]

That's exciting progress Mark!  This will be a great-looking aircraft when you're finished.  Good luck with the final steps!

Regards,

Bob