Pfalz D.IIIa, Franz Hailer, Jasta 29, Wingnut Wings 1/32

[Rookie]

Stunning engine and cockpit.

Your attention to detail is inspiring! 

Willem

[AngryJazz]

Thank you very much Willem 

I added pins to all control surfaces



The holes for the rigging on the tail are just into the fuselage. I filled them and drilled 0.3mm holes into the slots so the rigging is drawn from the correct angle.



I used Gary's suggestion for the engine cowlings. I cut them to show more of the engine and then added small raised rivets where the rest of them would have been placed.
I then sanded the rivets down to match one's on the existing cowl. I did think about just drilling holes for where they would have been, but I also wanted to try this technique.




Lots and lots of sanding and filling later...

[AngryJazz]

When I was ordering some paints I spotted the Quinta prop decals.

I could not help my curiosity and had to try.

Oh man this was a disaster....

I could not find anyone actually writing about these and how they were used. I did use their cockpit set before, but not decals.
Luckily they give you decals to make 2 props.

I did not take pictures of my first attempt, but ill try to describe what went wrong and what I did for the 2nd.

Firstly the decals have to be trimmed close to the print. It's one large sheet. This was the first facepalm error by myself - should have noticed.

2nd - the decal lifted from the backing sheet in seconds(should have been a warning).

I fitted them like normal decals - Mr Setter below - gently rolled out the excess with a cotton bud.
Then did the back side - same procedure. However noticed the backside decals slightly pushed against the front one. The excess from trimming were causing issues.
No worries - just slap down some Mr Softer and they will conform and ill trim afterwards (like normal decals).

Nope...

They did not like decal softner. Wrinkled like normal decals, but would not settle down again.
Tried al my different solutions, heat gun etc... no success.

At this stage I suspected the decals were lacking adhesive on the back and this was why they released so quick.

Fine ill just varnish over them and sand down the wrinkles and do some touch up.
Also no... They are very rubber like and teared when using the sanding sponge...
Argh fk it - add lots of varnish and try sanding again.

Well turns out Mr Leveling thinner will make them curl up really bad....

At this point I gave up. Sanded the prop back to primer.


2nd try.

Soaked the decals in watered down pva glue.
Applied and let dry - only the front face this time.
Applied acrylic gloss varnish.
Do the back side
Repeat the varnish.
Trimming and touch up with paint.
Spray Tamiya clear brown
Spray Tamiya orange.

This this the result now. Think ill give it a semigloss to knock the sheen down a bit.





Is it easier or better than doing them yourself... Maybe... This is the comparison to the first prop I painted. Think i could do a little better if I tried again.
The most annoying thing with the decals is they the dark "grain" does not match up front to back - so the effect is kinda lost.

[Umlaufmotor]

Very nice - I especially like the engine. The cockpit also turned out great.
I built the Pfalz D.IIIa more than twelve years ago.
It's a very nice kit, but I also remember having to fill in the lower surface where it meets the fuselage.

Servus
Bertl

[Umlaufmotor]

Ah, Quinta propeller decals.
These things are very tricky.
I used them on two models I built for a friend - he wanted them 
I don't particularly like them, they don't match the wood grain at the transitions at all.

A small tip 
DO NOT dissolve the Quinta decals in water that is (too) hot.
first glue the back of the propeller, then let it dry and trim it a little.
Then glue the front decals.
If you have a matte background (white, cream, or light sand colors), you can cover up any glue and grain mistakes with colored pencils.
Once everything is completely dry, you can seal it with a satin clear coat.
A thin coat of natural sienna or ochre oil paint also looks quite good on the propeller.
Finally, sealing it with a satin clear coat mixed with clear yellow, or clear orange if you prefer, looks quite good on the finished propeller.

Servus
Bertl

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[AngryJazz]

Thank you Bertl 

Yeah I will definitely try your method with the pencils - I think it's a better look and most likely easier than these Quinta ones.

[gedmundson]

Great progress, Ben. I feel your pain with the Quinta decals - that's quite the story. I think your second attempt looks quite good. And I think your determined effort to correct everything shows commitment to your build. Looking forward to your updates. Bertl's Pfalz DIIIa was my inspiration (quite a few years ago) for my build.
Cheers,
Gary

[AngryJazz]

Thank you very much Gary 

Catching up again, I have trying to be busy at the bench and not that great with the build logs.

Just catching up - i've tried to be busy the last few days.

On to paint.

Everything was primed white. I then masked the ribs on the wings. Top ribs stayed white and sprayed a dark brown in between for some variation. The underside i sprayed the ribs a darker shade.

Thanks to friend - I went with a yellow nose on the Jasta 29 scheme. It does really add a lot of interest and i'm happy for the information 😄

I had to place the fuselage ribbon decal early since I wanted to mask up the rest of the black stripes and paint them. It seemed like the best way to get the separation of the colors right. The decals placement is not a perfect match to the picture in the manual, but i'm happy with it.

 I still need to bring in more variation in the colors, and weather stuff like the leather. For now i'll gloss varnish and apply the rest of the decals.

[NigelR]

Nice progress here. Those prop decals never looked like a good idea IMO. Part of the fun of making these models is replicating things like wood finishes and prop veneers. If you don't fancy painting the veneers, then Proper Plane provide some nice wooden propellors (but they aren't cheap). 

[Tim Mixon]

I?m loving this build!  Personally, I think the Quinta prop decals look amazing. 

[DaddyO]

Oooooh that's going to be sooo pretty when finished - really enjoying the pictures and the vicarious build.

Made a great job of the prop decals, although I'm a fan of oil paints or real wood for those sort of things I can only imagine how tricky it was to come up with something that looks convincing using decals

Paul

[AngryJazz]

Sorry for the long time to reply. I was sick for almost a week and had a bit of catching up to do.

@Nigel - Thanks! Yeah I thought it was a easy shortcut. Not really... I do like those from Proper Plane, but they are very expensive! The Danish tax and handling feed make them almost 2x the listed price 
I think the whole wood grain is something I haven't really found a way to perfect. Maybe if I would actually do more biplanes.

Thank you very much Tim and Paul for your nice comments! 

Decals are on. The wing ribs are purposely a little less pronounced. I made them stand out a bit too much on my older builds.



Making eyelets from 0.2mm copper wire.



1/48 C-Type turnbuckles from Gaspatch - wrapped with 0.1mm copper wire. This way I can still position them after installing them into place.



Textured the leather and installed the turnbuckles + guns.
The guns could have been better. I forgot just how hard they are to get perfect with the PE. Maybe some aftermarket would have been better.



Our oldest cat were happy I finally got some bench time. He likes to hang out with me and get some scratches.

[AngryJazz]

Working on the rigging.

I decided to give the whole "wrap around" with the rigging wire a chance on this build. It saves me from making tubes to loop back through, but its not that easy to make look right.
Need to get the CA glue perfect while keeping the line tight - then wrap it round itself without losing the tension.
I need a bit more practice, but it's coming along.

[AngryJazz]

And just like that the Pfalz D.IIIa is done 😄

The rigging took a bit longer than I thought to get right. Had to pull out a anchor with a turnbuckle because it snapped on me. Also the wrap around method takes some getting used to.

Per usual not a perfect model, but learned some new things. I'm still very happy how it turned out!

My phone camera still struggle with the colors, looks much more blue than in reality. Will be better when I take out the "real" camera.

Final pictures soon.

[AngryJazz]

And my very limited weathering before I forget. Not going to crazy on this one.