My Halberstadt Cl.II is now complete, and for what it's worth I went through the instruction sheet and jotted down a few notes to summarize my build. Although I found this model a bit of a challenge at times, I have to say that when finished, it has a very attractive appearance and has to be my favourite of all the six German two-seaters I've built so far (...well maybe except for my Taube!). I'll try and get a few photos posted in the Completed section of the Forum when time permits.
Build summary:
1. Seatbelts could use an improvement even if it's adding copper wire wound springs the the existing etched metal ones.
2. Eny enhancements to the engine need to be test-fitted since the space tolerances are very tight. The Barracuda studios insulated intake manifold, for example would not really work without a fight. The engine and it's mount are a tight fit and needs to be centered correctly so that there are no alignment issues later. I used small copper clamps to hold everything together when cementing the assembly.
It is essential to fit the engine mount into the slots of the fuselage on both sides to ensure the engine sits centered, and the frame fits over the front properly.
3. The forward firing MG08 fits very snug in it's allotted space, and has to be dead straight or it will interfere with the cowlings.
4. Part D-16 the tailplane & elevator fit on my build had to have the fuselage fittings trimmed away before it would fit straight in place. Because of this interferance, the thin elevator bowed upward at the outside ends until this was corrected.
5. Step 8 in the instruction sheet has the forward cabane struts added, but doesn't show where exactly and this was the major hitch on my build. A more accurate illustration is on the Late version instructions (which I just looked at) available on-line if you don't have that kit.
6. The flash guard etched metal piece P3 is glued to the inside edge of the cowling part F13, then carefully bent at the top to fit over the intake manifold of the engine. I could only do this my positioning the assembly by the engine ...marking it with a felt tip pen, then somehow bending it around an appropriately sized drill bit. My coolant pipe was too short to fit between the front of the engine & radiator, and needed a 1mm styrene shim added. This was held in positioning by drilling centered holes and using a small wire to align & hold it together with cement.
7. The wheel hubs parts A43 need to be trimmed down so that they fit properly into the wheels. I never use the clip part A1 allowing the wheels to turn unless one wants to play with their model in their sand pit. I cement the wheels together, paint them, and cement them in place after weathering.
8. The MG mount locking arm on part A80 should be separated and articulated by swinging it forward as seen in many period photos. I cut mine off and added a small wire pivot to allow this to be more authentic looking.
9. Reference photos and illustrations in the instruction guide seem to show more details present on these aircraft than the kit actually provides. The goose-neck pipe on the radiator front and propeller guard for the rear MG are good example of this (on my chosen aircraft) and there are enough clues provided to make a more accurate model if one chooses.
10. The WnW hints & tips on how to paint the stipple camo worked well, along with the previous builds I looked up here from fellow modellers. Some experimentation is needed since everyone's airbrush works differently, but I managed to spray a decent splatter with my cloudy yellow paint to thinner ration a bit thicker than normal (less dilute) and a pressure of 9psi and the H&S airbrush nozzle opened a bit wider than normal...lots of variables.
Cheers!
