Newbie Alert ...................

[Andi Little]

Hello All ............

Followed a link of sorts and fell over this place - Very Impressed!

A long time modeller, but not of early aircraft!! Which is a shame because I'm really attracted to them visually [terrified of actually flying you see]. I suppose I've always been loyal to my own genre of modelling [Motor cars et-al] simply because I've invested a lifetimes worth of commitment to it - got a helluva stash of kits ... I'll never get around to building a fraction of them.
And yet I find myself buying 1/48 scale aircraft - "light aircraft actually, and largely civil too" but I can't help but be attracted to the "openness" of the really early stuff - I love being to able to peer into and through it, and the details are all on the outside. This of course also terrifies me, and is probably one of the things that's put me off the little buggers in the first place - but I must, it should be said - sate my curiosity and at least give them a go.
That's not me sounding non-committal - rather me taking out a bit of insurance in case I cock it up completely!!

I seem to have got stuck into a 1/48th scale regimen, although I'm incredibly impressed with the 1/32nd stuff I'm seeing - it's terribly expensive though isn't it?? - also not sure if I could do them justice: plus my house is very, very small.

That'll be me then!! - hope to meet you all soon on the threads.

[michael]

Hello Andi and welcome 

have a bash at a wnw you wont be disappointed!

they are quite pricey but not in comparison to tamiya for instance, plus it takes me months to complete a model,
so i get my money's worth. For me it's a pretty cheap hobby.

cheers

michael

[Ian from Doncaster]

Hi Andi,

Welcome to the forum   I guess if you are an experienced modeller than you will have no problem transfering your skills to this genre

What's your first build going to be?

[DaveM]

Hi Andi,
welcome to the site,good bunch of lads on here to be sure.Course I remember you,how could one forget when you were drummed out of the club for not buying the newsletter editor tea and biccys,Lol!
i'm sure,with the level of skills that I've seen your car builds exhibit,that you would have no problems with the old rag wings.WingNuts kits may seem expensive,but when you open the box,all thoughts of the wallet being emptied vanish,the quality is that good.I've ordered mine direct from NZ,been clobbered a couple of times by HM customs and Parcelfarce(thats the rip-off bit that rankles the most!!!),but they are available from Hannants.
You'll enjoy the company here,don't be afraid to ask questions and have fun.Hope to see you on the 24th.

Dave.

[Des]

Hello Andi and welcome to the forum, I am very happy that you have joined and I look forward to your participation with the forum and it's members.

Des.

[GAJouette]

  Andi,
Welcome aboard my friend. It's great to have you with us.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[IanB]

Welcome aboard Andi, I may tap your expertise when I finally pull out the Airfix 1:12 Blower Bentley in my stash....

Ian

[bobs_buckles]

Hi Andi,
 Welcome to the forum 
Enjoy!

Vb

[coyotemagic]

Welcome to the forum, Andi.  It's always great to have a vehicle expert aboard to share his knowledge.  If you're a 1/48 guy and you like civil aircraft, Roden has a couple very nice, inexpensive kits to ease you into the world of biplanes.  They have a DH-4 passenger plane:
http://www.roden.eu/HTML/431.htm
and a DH-9:
http://www.roden.eu/HTML/435.htm
Cheers,
Bud

[Andi Little]

Many thanks for all your warm welcomes and felicitations lads - appreciate them.

Couple of things have happened - a, I've managed to have a much more thorough ferret about - and there's some real cracking work going on - truly inspirational at the least.
And secondly, I've ordered a kit on the advice of the article on the homepage. Nothing too drastic yet - but I've ordered a "Special Hobby 1/32 Morane Saulnier Type N Kit". It did come recommended as a good introductory kit, and it also seemed reasonably well thought of in the reviews I tracked down - it's multi-media aspect doesn't faze me but I think the notion of building it in the hard glare of all you characters might .... 25-quid inc' shipping didn't seem too bad??
I also have just had arrive a "1/48 Scale Eduard Albatros DV Red Baron" which reviewed quite well too - but it does look terribly tiny to attach all that fabulous detail to?? I might wait and start with the "little bit larger" 1/32 Morane.

If I'm to do this as some kind of sacrificial build ... do I just open a build thread and have at it?? I will be needing lots of advice and encouragement I forewarn you.

Should be here in a day or two - I'll be letting you know then!

[uncletony]

If I'm to do this as some kind of sacrificial build ... do I just open a build thread and have at it??

Yes -- and please do. The more build logs the better. We are all learning, no matter what level. It takes a little leap of guts to post up your work, but fear not, the folks here will be gentle.

[NP]

Hi Andi, and welcome.

Someone will come along and put me right if I'm wrong, but in re: the Eduard Abby if I recall correctly there are two issues with the moulding to watch out for.

Firstly, the rear flanges (the bits that flare out at the end of the fuselage tail) that are supposed to marry up with the tailplane are slightly off, which is to say if you glue the tail exactly on to those flanges it wont be square to the rudder.  That drove me nuts and very nearly to the optician to get my eyes checked trying to get right before I saw someone saying the same thing (kit issue). 

Secondly, the machine guns and the back of the engine run into each other; I've always had to chop a bit off the back of the engine so it does not obstruct the guns.  Apart from that its' a nice model and not a bad choice at all for a first 1/48 biplane, IMHO.  In fact if you make a DVa, the wing struts for that have supporting braces at the front which help to line them up at the right angle to fit the locator holes in the underside of the top wing.  Oh, if you want to "go the extra mile" Pheon models do do replacement undercarriage and wheels which are more accurate than those Eduard did.

[Andi Little]

Bo and NP - many thanks for the encouragement and information. I do appreciate it as I'm feeling quite the beginner. It's such an alien subject for me you see? A lifetimes worth of experience and reference is by the board: it's actually quite unnerving and yet invigorating all at the same time!!

I think the guy I bought the Morane off has fallen asleep - no notification of it even being dispatched yet!

So...............



I is bin playin'!

One of the things I'm most fearful of, and yet attracted too [like most folk I guess] is the rigging. I had a look online and that fine brass tubing seems to be made of unobtanium? Most all the obvious sources had run out of those small sizes - and truthfully. ... for the life of me: I won't be able to justify a silly price. and silly shipping on top anyway!!

So.............

I did have a play to keep oneself amused - as one does! What you see is pretty much what i've come with so far as an alternative? If only at the mo'.

I rolled my own tube from tissue - the thin ones a bit too thin - good for the rigging though ... see dangly bit!
The larger one is too large methinks, and is not far short of telephone wire insulation - which is too big by far.
In the end I just rolled a length of tissue around the neck of the eyelet - it seemed to look "not too bad": - better for a splash of "brass".

Anyhoo - just thought I'd let you know I'm trying to keep busy until I can "have at it"!


Cheers a bit.................

Oh oh ............... PS ........... that lump of steel is an old engineers apprentices test piece, and is an "exact" 1 inch broad and 1:1/4 tall - [in this instance] ............. I just got used to chucking it into pic's for a size reference.

[Pete Nottingham]

Hi Andi;

Welcome to the forum, you say you are having trouble getting brass tubing, I see you are from the UK, you could try Historex Agents and look under Griffon Models, they do a range of tubing sizes.

http://www.historexagents.com/shop/hxshop.php

Cheers

Pete.

[pepperman42]

Welcome Andi. Enjoy the forum. It will increase the learning curve substantially. Interesting experimenting you have going too.

Steve