1:32nd scale Halberstadt D.II

[PrzemoL]

Great guide for those who will tackle this kit and will want to get most of it. Thanks, Mike.

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all
The fuselage halves have been painted with Raw Sienna oil paint for wood effect
The basic cockpit assembly is complete with added pipe to the hand pump and throttle and spark advance control rods
The engine is complete, including added:
Ignition leads
Carburettor fuel supply pipe
Cam shaft oil pipe
Throttle control rod

Now it all needs to be weathered before rigging the rudder, elevator and aileron control line and fitting the control column and rudder bar

Mike

[NigelR]

Very nice work Mike, that's come together very well. Looking forward to the next stage.

It's a pity that the build lines are still so evident on some of the parts. But at least these parts won't be too obvious on the finished build. 

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Very nice work Mike, that's come together very well. Looking forward to the next stage.

It's a pity that the build lines are still so evident on some of the parts. But at least these parts won't be too obvious on the finished build.

Hi Nigel,
Yes, but as you say, very little will be seen inside the cockpit once the fuselage is closed up.
Even less of the engine.

Mike

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all
I've added the rudder, elevator and aileron control lines to the cockpit
These are 0.5mm diameter blackened Brass tube with 'EZ' stretch line (Fine), as that line is more visible inside the cockpit

Mike

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all
I added the machine gun trigger cable on the control column and weathered the cockpit and engine
Then the fuselage was now closed up with the support rods for the lower wing fitted
One thing to be careful of is to not break the bottom of the control column, which protrudes from the underside of the fuselage
That shouldn't be a problem once the landing gear is fitted

Now its onto cleaning up the fuselage seam joint

Mike

[KiwiZac]

That cockpit and engine setup looks great, Mike! Beautiful work!

it's important (to me, at least) that you and most of the other folks on the forum take the time to chronicle the bumps and detours on the road. I've learned far more that way than if everything was presented as an already perfect & finished result.

I agree wholeheartedly Dutch. There's a place for both approaches but the way many members here take the time to document and share their experiences makes for a great read and, should one be fortunate enough to have the subject kit in their stash, a great form of tutorial.

[NigelR]

Superb work Mike, that's gone together really well and looks great.

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all
The fuselage and upper and lower wings have been cleaned and primed, ready for painting
I've added most of the kit supplied photo-etch parts, except for the rigging brackets for the interplane struts
The aircraft did not have these brackets and the angle required for some of the rigging tabs will not align with the fitted rigging lines
The fuselage had pre-molded raised 'strips', intended as a base for the photo-etch stitching lines
Adding the photo-etch onto those strips would make the stitching appear too thick
Therefore, I removed the raised strips and added the photo-etch directly onto the fuselage

Mike    

[KiwiZac]

Nice work Mike, and it's interesting to follow your "hacks" to improve upon the kit instructions.

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all
The basic camouflage has been applied, although the photographs do not show the colours as they actually are
An unusual scheme for the time
I still have detail painting and weathering to do

Mike

[NigelR]

This is looking very good indeed Mike, excellent progress and you are a fast worker as well! I think it was sensible to remove those raised strips under the stitching.

[Dutch522]

Great progress, Mike, and I absolutely love that camo scheme. My son Curt received his 1:48 version of this kit, so I finally got to see a LukGraph kit up-close-and-personal… beautifully produced, and there were no broken parts despite the delicacy of some of them in the smaller scale.

Dutch

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all
The model parts have now had decals applied.
The green and brown camouflage surfaces are covered with ‘Aviattic’ WW1 Linen weave effect (ATT32236) decal
The underside surfaces are covered with ‘Aviattic’ WW1 German blue linen (ATT32077) decal
Smaller details have been painted and an airbrushed coat of 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC-311) applied

Now it's onto weathering before pre-rigging the parts prior to assembly

Mike

[NigelR]

Lovely work Mike, and nice use of the Aviattic decals. Are the rest of the decals from LukGraph? They look less translucent than the ones in the Oeffag Albatros kit.

You are going to make a stellar job of this one.