Airco DH.6A

[Tomek]

Hi all,
My introduction wouldn’t be complete without showing you my work.
This was my first attempt at the WWI subject, and it was a huge learning experience. I enjoyed it a lot though!
It’s a british trainer DH.6A built from the Orlik paper kit in 1/33 scale (standard scale for paper aircraft models). The kit in general quite accurately captures the subject, however there were some areas which needed modification. I wasn’t able to fix all the kit’s inaccuracies simply because of lack of experience and skills. The biggest flaw of the kit which wasn’t corrected are cabane struts, or specifically how they are attached to the fuselage. Additionally I tried to enhance my model with scratchbuild elements. These included Curtiss OX-5 engine, radiator, propeller, wicker seats, instrument panel, wheels, tail skid, and many more tiny details. I used EZ-Line for rigging, and made my own turnbuckles out of stretched hollow plastic q-tips. I simply mixed a technique shown by Wojtek Fajga’s technique with Des’ tips.
Finally I experimented with weathering. I tried oil-dot-filter, soft pastels and washes.

















Thanks for looking in!

[pepperman42]

Excellent work Using those techniques and a step over to sheet plastic and drawings would result in some amazing scratchbuilds!!! The process is very similar.

Steve

[coyotemagic]

Wow, Tomek!  I'm truly awestruck.  She's absolutely stunning and rivals anything I've seen in any medium or scale.  I never new paper models could look so real.  Brilliant work, mate.
Cheers,
Bud

[michael]

That is nothing short of stunning!!!!!!!!!

michael

[uncletony]

Wow, fantastic and a cool subject too

[Epeeman]

Really excellent and very different!

Regards

Dave

[Des]

An awesome build Tomek, I never realised that paper models were so well detailed, it looks as good as any plastic kit, simply amazing.

Des.

[Tomek]

Thank you guys. You're too kind. Not everything turned the way I wanted, but that's a lesson for the future projects.

Dave,
I must say I wasn't paying attention if there are DH.6 kits in other mediums. Are there any plastic kits in any scale for this subject?

Steve,
I guess your right. Some paper kits should lend themselves well into paper to plastic projects. This hasn't been done often, but I've seen few very successful attempts.

Des,
The kit was rather simple, so I tried to add more detail to it. There is nothing close to WnW kits in paper model world and modelers need to enhance models by themselves if they want to take it to another level. That usually means a lot of scratchbuilding

[Chris Johnson]

I sure hope that you'll consider doing a build log on your next project so we can see how you build these paper models to such an incredibly high standard. Amazing.

Cheers,

Chris

[kornbeef]

I have to agree with all above comments, She really is beautiful. Hard to believ its basically paper and great scratching too.

Keith

[lcarroll]

Tomek,

Everything previously said and more. This is the first real insight I've had into the paper medium, and I'm very impressed! Like Chris, I'd really like to see a build log in future, lots to be learned for sure.
Cheers,
Lance

[NinetythirdLiberator]

Tomek,

Gobsmacked...I believe is the term.   

I'm selling my tools, airbrush and all my plastic.  I surrender!!

Fantastic as everyone has said.  Please give us some tutorials on these fantastic paper models.  What a lovely finish 

Dan

[PrzemoL]

Absolutely beautiful. And made from cardboard!

[ALBATROS1234]

i'm amazed. it looks very lifelike for a paper kit. you must have scratchbuilt much of the details. the engine in particular is very nice. this is the same type engine for the jenny? you are an artist.

[Tomek]

Thanks again. Your feedback is much appreciated! I'm blushing.

I'll definitely post a build log on the forums. I have to do it after such reception  . Some may change their mind about quality of my modeling, lol. As I said, it's still far future, but I'm already looking closer at Thomas Morse S4C as the most likely candidate. Will see...

Red Baron,
I must confess that it was very difficult to get colors right on the photos. What you see is close to my naked eye, but not exactly the same. Sometimes overexposure cased this greenish effect which can not be seen in real object ... Sorry about that.

PrzemoL,
I think, you ,among few, shouldn't be surprised by a paper model. After all, Polish publishers of paper kits are the best! Czołem!

Hi Albatros,
You are correct. The OX-5 engine was typically installed on Curtiss JN-4 Jenny. Originally DH.6 was fitted with RAF 1A engine, but shortage of these forced changes in design. I haven't found any photos of this particular machine, but based on the information in Datafile, I was able to trace the serial number to a factory which fitted majority of their airplanes with the OX-5.
Maybe I'll share my reference photos of Jenny and OX-5 taken in the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, NY . I see there is a dedicated space here for such things.