Scratch build DFW Mars

[lone modeller]

Evening All,
 
I have posted in the announcements section that I had missed this until now: I have been seriously distracted from modelling for a time now and had not seen this GB. i already have a project in hand which is inappropriate as a subject and more than half finished, so I am going to start a new one specifically for this GB. I will be slow at first as I want to finish the other project, but I think that I can complete this one well before the deadline.

The subject is the Deutsche Flugzeug Werke (DFW) B1 Mars. This machine came in one of two variants: a monoplane and a biplane - mine will be a biplane. Both were two seaters and were intended for reconnaissance. They entered service prior to the outbreak of hostilities in 1914 but saw service in the early months of the conflict and so meet the criteria for the GB.

I have made a start by gluing two pieces of basswood (lime) together which will be shaped to make moulds for the fuselage.



While the glue is setting I can proceed further with the Short project!

Thanks for looking.

Stephen.

[RAGIII]

I Love the unstarted kit  I look forward to your Tribute Build!
RAGIII

[enathan]

Looking forward to your build log!

[Dirigible-Al]

Well done LM, the DFW Mars is a great subject. If memory serves me right a biplane version was purchased by and served with the British, the Ottomans also had at least one too.

[NigelR]

Very interesting project, looking forward to this.

[lone modeller]

Thank you gentlemen for your kind comments - they are much appreciated.

Enathan: thank you for the correction - I have amended the heading on this thread. I am not sure how I managed to confuse the two types.

Alan: yes a machine was delivered to the UK in May 1914 and went first to Farnborough and then to Eastchurch where it was based when war broke out. Apparantly it was sent to the north of England in August in case it was mistaken for an enemy machine.

[Flamingo]

What an interesting project! The Mars is such an ugly dinosaur it is almost beautiful.
The british machine had the number 154, so it was a naval plane.
Do you use the Woodman drawings?
This picture is from Deutsches Museum, Munich
If you want more references please check your messages.
Greetings Joachim

[lone modeller]

evening All,

Although I am still working on the Africa/Hibernia/Short S 37 I have also spent some time working on the DFW Mars  Here is an update on progress with that project.

I carved the fuselage male mould and cut a female mould from plywood. The two fuselage halves were plunge moulded from 30 thou plastic card:



The moulds were cut from the card, and I have also cut out the wing blanks. The upper wing was swept back so I have had to cut that in two pieces which I will join together later. I have marked in pencil where the ribs will be cemented later:



Thanks for looking.

Stephen.

[RAGIII]

Wow Stephen! Another Great example of your scratchbuilding Skills! Fuselage and wings look great.
RAGIII

[NigelR]

Another amazing example of scratchbuilding in the group build. I feel slightly embarrassed just assembling a WNW kit.....

[AngryJazz]

Very nice work! Fun to see all the skills required for a scratch build 

[lone modeller]

Evening All

Belated thanks Rick Nigel and Ben for your kind comments - I really appreciate them.

Now that the S38/HMS Hibernia is finished I am returning to the DFW Mars build. I have glued 10 x 20 thou strip on to the wing blanks to represent ribs, and have given them a preliminary sanding but I have still got to add Mr Surfacer to smooth out the edges. This shows the strip as applied but before sanding:



Above is the lower wing and below the upper wing halves:



I cut out the openings for the cockpits and inserted 30 thou plastic card strips to the inside of the front fuselage halves. The latter will provide a better anchor for the exhaust pipes which will be added at a later stage:



On the outside of the front fuselage I cemented small pieces of 30 x 40 strip to represent cooling louvres. I glued the pieces of strip in the correct places and then sanded off the leading edges to create a curved half-rounded section:



The cockpit details were simple for two reasons: the original cockpits would also have been simple - just wicker seats and a control wheel and rudder bar, and some simple instruments. The second reason is that I could not find any details of what had been there so I had to guess what things looked like. In any event very little will be seen on the finished model so there was no need to worry too much. Having joined the fuselage halves I removed a small section from the nose and cut a piece of 60 thou card which replaced the original nose. I did this because I wanted a frim location for the propellor shaft later and a slightly more angular nose:



I have also cut a slot in the rear fuselage to take the horizontal tail surface later.

The cockpits of the Mars had bulges in the top of the fuselage. This was because the fuselage was very narrow and the shoulders of the crew would have been very cramped if extra room had not been provided. To achieve the bulged sections I have cemented two curved pieces of 30 thou card over the apatures in the fuselage - these extend down the sides so that I can shape them:



More to come later. In the meantime, thanks for looking.

Stephen.

[RAGIII]

Really taking shape Stephen! The details are looking great!
RAGIII

[NigelR]

Nice work on those louvres. The wings and fuselage are looking good as well.

[lone modeller]

Evening All,

Many thanks Rick and Nigel for your kind comments - they are really appreciated.

After the curved plastic additions to the fuselage had set overnight I was able to drill holes where the cockpit openings would be and enlarge them with half-round and round files. I also needed to add quite a lot of filler to the bottoms of the fuselage additions and especially the rear of the rear cockpit opening to smooth everything and get a more accurate profiles. The coaming strips were added from 20 thou rod. I also inserted the horizontal tail surfaces into the slot that I had cut in the rear fuselage:





The wing and aileron ribs have been filled with Mr Surfacer 1000 and sanded to profile:



The next step will be to add the lower wing halves to the fuselage and fill and clean the joints, and join the upper wing halves so that  painting can begin.

Thanks for looking.

Stephen.