Author Topic: Fokker FI.103/17... another one for Dave. (Read 5805 times)

Vickers · « **on:** October 20, 2024, 04:10:45 AM »

I got started on this Roden Triplane shortly after finishing up the Rhys-Davids S.E.5A and it was going smoothly, so I think I'll have this one done just in time for the group build closure. Using the LeRhone 9 from the Special Hobby Nieuport 16 with some Roden bits cobbled onto the back. I have a Vector version enroute from Europe to replace it, but it won't be here in time for this model. Also, Gaspatch Spandaus and the Aviattic Voss special w/cowling- looking forward to trying out those "death of the hobby" camoflage streaking decals. I've also ganked some of the parts from the Meng F.I sprue like the tail surfaces, ailerons, and wheels. Scratchbuilt a few bits bits like the ammo feed chutes, since the Roden parts are too narrow for the Gaspatch ammo belts. Thirteen days to go before the clock strikes midnight, so I gotta scoot back to the bench!

I'll be checking in on everyone's builds during the breaks from the bench. Onward and upward!

Vickers · « **Reply #1 on:** October 20, 2024, 12:24:27 PM »

Here's where I am as of close of bidniz today. Got the doubled cables and turnbuckles on the side frames, gin'd up some paper & tape seatbelts, and applied the funky wood Aviattic decals to the inner fuselage sides. Hopefully, I'll be closing up the fuselage by midday tomorrow.

Allan31 · « **Reply #2 on:** October 20, 2024, 12:49:32 PM »

You have my utmost respect starting this with 13 days and ticking. I WILL be following this for sure !!
Best of luck.

Brad Cancian · « **Reply #3 on:** October 20, 2024, 04:33:10 PM »

Go man, go! Wonderful work so far, looking forward to this one getting over the line. You can do it!

Cheers,

BC

FAf · « **Reply #4 on:** October 20, 2024, 04:40:01 PM »

Wonderful in all aspects! You're really racing through the initial stages, but I suppose that's necessary given the time frame.
/Fredrik

NigelR · « **Reply #5 on:** October 20, 2024, 07:49:29 PM »

You've set yourself a challenging target, but it looks like you might make it. Great start, very nice work on the interior. Keep going!

Vickers · « **Reply #6 on:** October 21, 2024, 07:39:29 AM »

Quote from: Allan31 on October 20, 2024, 12:49:32 PM

You have my utmost respect starting this with 13 days and ticking. I WILL be following this for sure !!
Best of luck.

Quote from: Brad Cancian on October 20, 2024, 04:33:10 PM

Go man, go! Wonderful work so far, looking forward to this one getting over the line. You can do it!

Cheers,

BC

Quote from: FAf on October 20, 2024, 04:40:01 PM

Wonderful in all aspects! You're really racing through the initial stages, but I suppose that's necessary given the time frame.
/Fredrik

Quote from: NigelR on October 20, 2024, 07:49:29 PM

You've set yourself a challenging target, but it looks like you might make it. Great start, very nice work on the interior. Keep going!

Thank you, Allan31, Brad, Fredrik, and NigelR. I appreciate the encouragement!

Time is nigh, but I'm just going for steady progress each day and fending off any impulse to rush it. Not to sound like a whiner, but Roden's instructions leave a bit to be desired- I had to keep referring to the WS Datafile and a few other resources just to ground truth what I thought the instructions were illustrating. Oh well, figuring out where everything should go is all part of the fun I suppose. Today was all about the office, a little bit of control cable and trigger cable stuff, and a whole bunch of test fitting of the remaining bits to figure out their relationships with the middle wing and upper fuselage coaming. Fashioned the big instrument that hangs from the starboard side of the ammo box. I might marry up the fuselage halves later today and rotate the ammo boxes in and attach the firewall. Then again, first thing tomorrow should do nicely since there will still be plenty of time for preshading and exterior paint.

macsporran · « **Reply #7 on:** October 21, 2024, 08:48:17 AM »

Great work, V - and fast too.
Your paper and tape seatbelts look really good, better than my PE attempts.
Nice one
Sandy

Vickers · « **Reply #8 on:** October 21, 2024, 12:34:14 PM »

Thanks, Sandy. I don't care much for metal seatbelts. I've scanned various pe seatbelts and I print them out, back them with tape, and then cut them out. Sometimes I use the pe parts for the metal bits. My printer's acting up, so I just traced around the pe parts from a WNW Fokker and cut them out.

NigelR · « **Reply #9 on:** October 21, 2024, 06:29:10 PM »

You're making good progress here. I found the Roden FI to be a bit of a struggle, so best of luck!

Vickers · « **Reply #10 on:** October 22, 2024, 09:50:24 AM »

Today's progress. Got the fuselage together- bit of a putty hog- and had to figure out a way to create the lower lip for the Aviattic cowling. So, I sawed off that bit from the extra cowling in the Meng kit- which appears to be appropriate for one of the "V" prototypes. Had to shave down the bottom edge of the Roden firewall to get it to fit. Luckily, the LeRhone 9 didn't present any fit trouble in there. A bit of test fitting looked promising. Then, on to the preshading which I hop won't disappear under the decals, the blue base color (which of course James McCudden described as "silver blue") using Aeromaster's "Russian Light Blue" enamel. After that, a coat of Pledge with Future Shine mixed 7:3 with 91% isopropyl alcohol.

Well, I may call it a day and proceed with the Aviattic decals in the morning. It's been a long enough day at the bench and I don't wanna overextend myself and screw things up. In other words, it's Beer:30 here.

Vickers · « **Reply #11 on:** October 22, 2024, 02:25:22 PM »

Okay, after dinner and a couple of marzens I found that I still had some residual energy for the bench. So, I applied the Aviattic camoflage decals. My hat's off to Aviattic- these don't even act like decals. They're more like some kinda skin. Super durable and lay right on down. I used plenty of Microset so that I'd be able to massage them out a bit and some Microsol wherever I thought they might need a little help over spots that had some molded relief. I'm happy with the result. Insignia and specific markings going on in the morning. Sorry about the overtly warm lighting. It looked good through the viewfinder, but next time I'll go with colder light.

NigelR · « **Reply #12 on:** October 22, 2024, 06:47:42 PM »

Wow! You are a fast worker! That's amazing progress in such a short space of time, well done. This is really coming together well.

Allan31 · « **Reply #13 on:** October 22, 2024, 08:55:56 PM »

Great fun watching you hammer through this, like fast forwarding through the slow bits of a movie.
Awfully relieved you are a green cowling guy and not a yellow.

Vickers · « **Reply #14 on:** October 23, 2024, 01:39:17 PM »

Quote from: NigelR on October 22, 2024, 06:47:42 PM

Wow! You are a fast worker! That's amazing progress in such a short space of time, well done. This is really coming together well.

Thanks, NigelR. I don't normally work this fast, but Halloween approacheth and it is a rather simple variant. Not like a DH.2 or Bristol fighter.

Quote from: Allan31 on October 22, 2024, 08:55:56 PM

Great fun watching you hammer through this, like fast forwarding through the slow bits of a movie.
Awfully relieved you are a green cowling guy and not a yellow.

Thanks, Allan31. I've never been able to see a yellow cowling in the existing images of FI.103/17 and I don't reckon that Voss felt the need considering that the rest of the squadron were flying Pfalz D.III's. Perhaps the mechanics never got around to it and Voss seems to have been more concerned with tactics and technical matters like airframes, powerplants, and armament.

Spent most of the day removing an old dishwasher and installing a new one. Anyhow, here's as far as I got tonight. I was just starting to install the MG's and it was becoming a bit of a struggle snuggle. Then, on a second attempt to attach the starboard ammunition feed it went "ping" and got launched across the room. Or so I thought. Clearing off every object on my hobby bench and even searching behind my tool box and display cases based on it's last known trajectory, I finally resigned myself to the fact that I'd have to make another one. Wiping the dust off my hands, I felt something tiny on my shorts and sure enough it had glued itself to me and had been stuck there throughout the exhaustive search. I'm just glad that I don't have to make another one.