1:32nd scale Roland D.II

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all,
The camouflage scheme has now been applied to the upper surfaces.
The schemes were applied by spraying, not by brush.
Therefore, the boundaries between the colours are not hard edged.
The spinner had to be modified to accept the replacement Axial propeller from Proper Plane.
That just required re-profiling the two slots in the spinner.

Now it's onto some detail painting before pre-rigging starts,

Mike

[NigelR]

That looks really good with the paint applied. There's still a little evidence of print lines but hopefully those will disappear under the final less glossy varnish coat.

[rhwinter]

Very interesting build-log, beautifully done! I tend to ordering one kit for me too?

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all,
Just a quick update.
The radiators in the upper wing and the associated header/expansion tanks are painted.
Gloss black base coat followed with Alclad Steel (ALC112).
Mr. Metal Color Brass brush painted for the filler caps on the coolant tank and also the wing fuel tank,

Mike

[Dirigible-Al]

WoW that's a great job.
Alan.

[PrzemoL]

Beautiful

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all,
The aircraft markings have been applied.
The only decals supplied in the hit are the two serial numbers and Bulgarian legend (for the scheme I'm doing).
The Bulgarian legend is printed as a shade of pale yellow, which unfortunately, is virtually invisible when it's applied onto a green painted surface.
Personally I prefer decals whenever possible, although these decals are thicker than most.
Something I believe Mitko is working on.

The rest of the fuselage/wing markings for the kits three schemes are all supplied as masks. 
Applying the masks for the wing insignia is tricky.
This is due to the raised wing ribs tapes holding the masks away from the wing surface.
However, they can be forced down to seal OK.

Now it's onto the weathering stage,

Mike

[NigelR]

I think you've done a great job with the masks, those crosses look great. This is going to look very impressive when it's done.

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi All,
The kit three supplied decals for the kit scheme I'm building are as I suspected.
I did apply them and seal them on the model.
However, the Bulgarian legend is barely visible and the thickness of the decals is obvious.
So, I decided to sand them off, re-prime and reinstate the camouflage colours.
Hopefully I can laser print replacement decals.

However, once again Mitko has been pro-active and sent me a PDF of the legend.
He's also actively seeking better replacements for these decals.

Thanks Mitko,

Mike

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all,
I removed the two serial numbers and Bulgarian legend, re-primed and painted the camouflage.
I used the PDF copy of the legend that Mitko sent to create decals on my laser printer.
However, I did have to use black instead of the lighter shade of the legend on the actual aircraft.
This was because I needed to use clear decal paper, otherwise the whole legend would have had a white background.
The problem using clear decal paper is the printed colours become translucent when the decal is applied, making them barely visible.
Therefore, I used black as that is a colour that will be visible.
Not strictly accurate, but at least it can be seen,

Mike

[PrzemoL]

What a beauty

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi all,
The model has been weathered.
I used Flory dark dirt and grime wash, AK Interactive Kerosene and Oil wash.
Also Tamiya Weathering Master Set A and D for oil and dirt stains.
The upper wing, fuselage and rudder were pre-rigged using Gaspatch 1:48th scale turnbuckles, 0.5 mm tube and 0.12 mm diameter mono-filament.
Finally the upper wing was fitted and was probably the easiest wing fit I've had in 60 plus build.
The elastic bands are to keep the wings together while fitting,

Now it's onto final rigging,

Mike

[PrzemoL]

You tempt me to get one of these... Especially with the announcement of D.III version release.

[NigelR]

It's great to see this come together without any major challenges because that's encouraging for both the producer and other modellers. This will be a great advert for MDesign.

[macsporran]

It's great to see this come together without any major challenges because that's encouraging for both the producer and other modellers. This will be a great advert for MDesign.

Yes, I'm already ready to press the trigger on their new 1/32 Armstrong Whitworth FK3 Little Ack.

Only thing holding me back was that awful 'storage crate' protection on my early run Haifisch.
 Mike's later production has much better access to the bits. I'll maybe let somebody else buy the first Little Ack though just in case.
Sandy