WNW Pfalz D.IIIa - NOW COMPLETED

[Dutch522]

That's lovely, N, that faux-finish on the wood is perfect. I haven't seen the WNW Pfalz in any detail, and these shots just make me kick myself even harder that I missed the boat on this and so many of those other kits.

Dutch

[gedmundson]

Impressive work, Nigel. The small lines you've added to the interior are a very nice touch.
Cheers,
Gary

[NigelR]

Thanks very much Rick, Dutch and Gary. It's going well so far....

I haven't seen the WNW Pfalz in any detail, and these shots just make me kick myself even harder that I missed the boat on this and so many of those other kits.

The Pfalz is a lovely kit, I missed it first time round but managed to pick one up at a reasonable price at Scale Modelworld last year. I also just bought a WNW Fokker EIV on eBay for a reasonable price, so please hurry up with those decals.....

[Dutch522]

I'm actually working on the E.IV cockpit decals tonight, they're the last thing I need to finish up before the whole shooting match gets launched across the pond to Stroud... can't wait to see what you do with them

Dutch

[AngryJazz]

Really nice work. The little added details make a huge difference. It almost feel like the cockpit of these planes can be a display piece in themselves 

[PrzemoL]

That pit looks gorgeous. I especially like the leather seat...

[NigelR]

Thanks guys!

It almost feel like the cockpit of these planes can be a display piece in themselves 

They definitely can. Then you close up the fuselage and most of it disappears forever!

I especially like the leather seat...

Thanks - that's where my crossover from figure painting helps.

I'm actually working on the E.IV cockpit decals tonight, they're the last thing I need to finish up before the whole shooting match gets launched across the pond to Stroud... can't wait to see what you do with them

Excellent! I'll be doing Boelcke's EIV. I've already found Gary's great build of that plane so will use that as my guide.

[gedmundson]

Excellent! I'll be doing Boelcke's EIV. I've already found Gary's great build of that plane so will use that as my guide.

Thanks for that, Nigel. A word of caution on following that build if you weren't already aware. It was done before I realized the correct configuration of the floor of the cockpit and associated part that sits below (which WnW got wrong). I modified this area on my Immelmann E.II built soon after. Looking forward to seeing your E.IV "Boelcke"

[NigelR]

A word of caution on following that build if you weren't already aware. It was done before I realized the correct configuration of the floor of the cockpit and associated part that sits below (which WnW got wrong). I modified this area on my Immelmann E.II built soon after.

Thanks for the heads up Gary. I vaguely remember reading about that on a build thread somewhere, it was probably yours.....

[Allan31]

Perfect inspiration as I'm about to start my own Pfalz DIII but in 1/48.

[Edo]

I particularely like the leather effect....
very well done!

ciao
edo

[NigelR]

Thanks Allan and Edo.

I have made some more progress here, got the seat belts fitted and the engine completed:







I probably spent far too long on the engine but it will be quite visible on this one as it has cut down cowling panels. I replaced the valve springs with a Taurus set but couldn't use the Taurus cam shaft as some of the rocker boxes had their bolts broken off. So I had to adapt the WNW plastic camshaft and valve lifters, which was a bit of a faff. I also added Taurus manifold nuts on the intakes and priming cup blanking plates, which of course have disappeared into the clutches of Schrodinger. I was going to add the actual priming cups but I am glad I didn't as they would hardly have been visible and I am sure I would have knocked them all off while assembling the engine.

There should have been a throttle linkage on the carburettors. I had an HGW etched part ready to go but it disappeared into the clutches of either the desk mess monster or the carpet monster. So sadly the poor pilot won't be able to control the engine very well. Which is no bad thing because it will run like a dog anyway, because after hours of faffing and swearing I only managed to attach four magneto cables on one side and five on the other. So she will misfire like hell!

Hopefully things will proceed a bit quicker now......

[macsporran]

Seatbelts look great, Nigel - what are they? Brass. paper, foil?

These things are my bugbear - no matter how much I anneal the brass ones and bend them, they always seem to sit up off the seat at the last moment. I usually resort to a spot of white glue, but this can be rather hit and miss.
I recently tried the KitsWorld 3D decals, but these are still a bit stiff looking

How do you do yours?
Ta
Sandy

[NigelR]

Thanks Sandy.

Seatbelts look great, Nigel - what are they? Brass. paper, foil?

These things are my bugbear - no matter how much I anneal the brass ones and bend them, they always seem to sit up off the seat at the last moment.

The seatbelts are brass. I'm not a huge fan of them but after having tried paper seat belts, I have to say I prefer brass. Two things I have done that have helped with using the brass seatbelts are to make sure I anneal them properly and bend them into shape before painting. In the past I just passed the brass through a flame, now I really make sure they are heated up and discolour. This helps make them more flexible.

I then bend them into shape before painting them. The trick here is to bend them in to shape on the seat but then take them off and bend the ends down even more, because that helps stopping them lift off the seat when you glue them. Do lots of dry fitting to ensure you have eliminated the tendency to lift off the seat.

I don't like the look of those seat belt decals myself. They look overscale and rather clunky. Plus I like to paint my seatbelts because that way I can control how they look.

[macsporran]

Thanks for your reply, Nigel.

Yes, I tend to anneal, paint, then bend - with not very great results. I shall try your method of annealing,  bending to shape, then exaggerating the bends, prior to applying paint. Makes a lot of sense.
Never too old to learn!

The 3D things aren't great, very rubbery and glossy-clean. I thought they'd droop to shape but they don't, they remain stiff and flat.

Cheers, mate
Sandy