Fokker D VII OAW Ltn. Leusch, Gothaforce 1:32

[Jorgo]

Hello friends,

I started the first kit from the new company Gothaforce, Fokker D VII OAW in the markings of Leutnant Leusch, Jasta 19.
The kit is completely 3D printed, which is a completely new experience for me.
At first, you are surprised by the amount of sprues that need to be removed. But the funny thing is that removing the sprues is actually fun. The more you remove, the more the truly excellent details come to light, turning each step into a little journey of discovery.
Recently, there have also been some videos on YouTube that illustrate many of the steps. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5jKB2z64TRM5cJ5hvGC8IFmIwjfZWIhd&si=JfLUN9GHYHEofvxI
The assembly instructions are easy to understand, but you should stick to the individual assembly stages, and as a newcomer to 3D models, that's what I'll will do.

 

So let us start with the engine, the Mercedes D III a?.
There isn't much to glue; the engine block halves are simply slotted together, like Lego. The rest can be joined with UV resin, which I will receive later. CA will do for now, though.
The details are really great.

 

 

 

And here most of the parts of the engine
 


Base colors:
 



Painting the exhaust by brush, in a way that Bertl (Umlaufmotor) told us.
 

 


I didn't like the airbrushed engine block, so I dabbed everything again with different metallic paints using a brush.
 

That looks better in my opinion:
 

 

 


Prepainting of the cylinder bank:
 


Test fitting of the exhaust, no issues:

 

 


More coming soon

Cheers
Joerg

[malaula]

 
 

[FAf]

Excellent work! Both exhaust and engine look great after brush work.
/Fredrik

[Jorgo]

Thank you, Fredrik !

In my opinion, the advantage of this 3D kit is that you don't have to spend a lot of time cleaning up and filling gaps, so you can concentrate fully on painting.

Here inlet manifolds, first painted with copper than black oils to simulate a worn finish










Overhead valve drive and magnetos :








I added red bands around each cylinder, spare decals from a WNW kit. These bands were applied around every cylinder to indicate that they are over compressed. Weathering with oils.











Cheers
Joerg

[richard.kiss]

It looked like the 3D printing layers were showing on the airbrushed engine block. It was worth going over it with a brush.
Yes, the red over compressed markings add a lot to the look, you did a great job with them! Overall, I really like your Mercedes engine!
It seems to me that it?s more finely detailed than what we usually see in the WnW kits.

[Richtrad]

Looks to be a brilliant kit, and your paintwork is beautiful. This is a most exciting thread for me. As mentioned, my kit is probably the last variant to be shipped, so I will be very interested in your experience with the UV adhesive method and the decals

Warren Q

[Jorgo]

Thank you Richard and Warren, much appreciated

Joerg

[NigelR]

Excellent painting and finishing so far Joerg. I really like the finish on the exhaust.

[Jorgo]

Thank you Nigel !

The individual parts of the engine are assembled; everything holds together without glue and is later fixed with UV resin.

 

 

 

 


Some parts of the cockpit are primed with sail colour as a base for subsequent painting.

 


The wood of the cockpit floor is painted with oil paint, with a little clear orange and smoke added.

 

 


The lines on the air pump, which are not included in the kit, were added to the engine. These were made from stretched cotton buds and lead wire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers
Joerg

[DaddyO]

Well that's a proper little jewel. Seems a shame to wrap an aeroplane around it

Paul

[Jorgo]

Thanks, Paul, that's very kind of you. I'll probably leave the engine cover off on one side so you can still see a bit of the engine 😉
Joerg

[NigelR]

Nice work on those extra details, the engine looks great.

[Dirigible-Al]

That engine looks so real!
Alan.

[Richtrad]

I agree with everyone else. This is quite a beautiful engine.
 Warren Q

[Jorgo]

Thank you very much, Nigel, Alan and Warren. I'm glad you like it.
Joerg