Max Immelmann's Fokker E.I 13/15 scratch 1/144

[ondra]

Many thanks for your supportive words, Manni!

Last evening I gave the engine and the cowling one more try, took my proxxon and started sanding the cowling walls from the inside. After half and hour I thinned down the cowling enough to fit the engine.

So, on we go on the weekend!

Cheers

Ondra

[Iancshippee]

Ondra, haven’t commented up until now, because i’ve Been at a loss for words, your skills with this size leave me spellbound! Truly inspiring. I have a idea for the engine that’s a bit too late to the table since you fixed it, but anyways, I believe these particular engines had a propensity for shedding cylinders in flight (at least the Gnome 100 did, and they are very similar) so had you not been able to salvage what you had, you could have nipped one or two cylinders off and laid it on the base close by as a repair job. Glad you got it to work though, and can’t wait to see the finished product!

Ian

[ondra]

Many thanks for your generous comment, Ian! The idea with the engine is very good. There is no doubt I will screw up maaany rotary engines in the future. So I will definitely keep this idea in mind, many thanks for sharing!

While preparing for the rigging, I decided to work on another one of the weaknesses of my builds. I use the elastic monofilament by Uschi van der Rosten for rigging, which I stretch and glue with CA. The difficult point is cutting the monofilament off precisely enough at the joint. The experience has shown that scissors are not the right tool for that, as they do not allow me to cut the fibre close enough to the joint.

So I tried to create a new tool using razor blades. By trial-fail method I came to the conclusion that the best way to receive the desired shape is using scribbing needle. After gluing the piece of the blade into a piece of toothpick, I received a decently fine tool that should give me the possibility to cut off the excess of the fibre very close to the joint. I will start testing tomorrow.







Cheers

Ondra

[andonio64]

Fantastic tool Ondra, I will make one!!!!

Antonio

[RAGIII]

Glad to hear you got the engine in the cowling! Your home made tool looks as though it will work great!
RAGIII

[ondra]

Many thanks, Andonio and Rick!

I started the traditional round of procrastination before I star assembling, so I decided to rework the propeller, as the current one does not really have the shape of a Garuda. So I started redrawing.



Cheers

Ondra

[RAGIII]

Your attention to TINY details is always amazing Ondra!
RAGIII

[lone modeller]

Ondra, if modellers of your standard procrastinate it means that I will not have to feel so badly in future when I do! As Rick has written your attention to the tiniest detail is quite something. I admire your patience beyond measure.

Stephen.

[ondra]

Many thanks for your support, Rick and Stephen!

Today I finally found enough power to overcome the procrastination, so I moved on a bit.

I masked the wings for the aluminium panels and sprayed black surfacer as primer.




I work on the new propeller, this one resembles the original Garuda a bit more.




Last but not least I made some changes on the base, now I like it better.



Cheers

Ondra

[RAGIII]

All is looking amazing Ondra. I Love the base!
RAGIII

[ondra]

Many thanks for following the build, Rick, your comments are always very appreciated!

Today I added the woodgrain to the propeller using Burnt Sienna. Now I will leave it to cure until next weekend and give it a coat of Drooling Bulldog mahogany wood stain.





I also soldered the steps for the fuselage. Now I am glad I invested in Valorbe watchmakers files a few years ago. They were very expensive, but they are perfect for cleaning the joints.





Cheers

Ondra

[RAGIII]

That is just AMAZING Ondra! You are a Master of Small Stuff!!!!
RAGIII

[andonio64]

Hi Ondra, the metal work you did is fantastic, where did you find those Vallorbe files?

Also the propeller looks perfect!

Antonio

[ondra]

Hi Antonio,

many thanks! I bought the Vallorbe files from a local guy at a modelling contest, but as far as I could find out they can be ordered online too.

Cheers

Ondra

[lone modeller]

More wonderful work in the micro-scale! Just amazing how you do it all.

Stephen.