Wingnut Wings 1:32 LVG C.VI

[Mike Norris (UK)]

Hi Lance,
Try thinning the 'Tamiya' sealers with 'Mr. Colour' leveling thinners. It mixes OK and helps to thin the sealers and prevent 'pooling' when applied,
I find it better than thinning with 'Tamiya' X20A,

Mike

[lcarroll]

Thanks for the hint Mike. Ironically I had a bottle of the stuff in my hand a few days ago at the Hobby Store I visit when in the city (3 hours away!) and wasn't sure of it's qualities so I didn't buy it! I'll get some on my next visit.
Cheers,
Lance

[lcarroll]

    Time for another small update and some photos. It's going well but slowly, lots of real world delays and pressures on this Build.
     I decided to leave the woodwork as is and not add the Tamiya Clear Yellow or Orange top coat. The more I looked at the finish the more it appealed, it's quite light and a lot more "wood" then "yellow" in color then the previous photos indicate.
     I prepared the struts, panels, and covers for later in the Build sequence and added some dark brown wash to dirty them up a bit and provide contrast to their features. Next will come a coat or two of Future to prepare the struts for their decals and there's still various details such as the bungees and tires to paint on the landing gear assembly.





The fuselage received several coats of Future and after a few days to cure the decals were applied. Those seam decals along the joins of the fuselage were challenging and took some time to complete. They were applied with generous amounts of Micro Set and once dried were further treated with a coat of Micro Sol. A sealing coat of Future completed this stage.







     I posed the engine in place to get a preview of where this little devil's going to end up.........





     Next comes painting in the fuselage details around the steps, a tiny bit more weathering, and then the cabanes and landing gear can be added. I feel like it's about to start moving along a bit quicker now.

Cheers,
Lance

[lone modeller]

That wood fuselage looks even more convincing with the seam transfers - it could really pass as wood. The radiator also looks truly metallic - your paint finishes really are among the best Lance. In all another real masterpiece is coming together - I am straining to see the finished model.

Stephen.

[lcarroll]

    Thank you very much Stephen, your comments are much appreciated yet again!
    The radiator is Alclad II "Dull Aluminum", they make great products. The strips along the fuselage seams puzzled me a little initially, I thought they were wood strips however after examining the Wingnut Wings Photo Archives and Jamo's excellent photos of the TVAL Replica I think they are fabric like those used on wing ribs. I'd love to know the answer to this little puzzle!
Cheers,
Lance

[mgunns]

This is coming along nicely Lance and nice to see you back on it after a short hiatis.  THe wood Honey Tone is really nice  Gives it an outhentic look, the checerboard decals are a nice touch as well.
Not sure what the Seam Decals are.  Overall a great job and looking forward to seeing  you pull it all together.

[aliluke]

That looks fanastic Lance. I wasn't sure about the pale wood at first but you've sold me. My LVG remains dark on darker - but that's Ok.

It is well worth while - as we both did - getting that horizontal rib painted (or is yours a decal?) in a slight contrast along the length of the fuselage - top and bottom. I looked at many paint jobs that missed that or didn't bother and that let's it down.

With all of other pre-preps you can't be far away from finishing. As others have commented before getting a bit of dihedral uplift on the wings also suits - they tend to lie flat or even sag with this models fitments and that doesn't look quite right. I just propped them up slightly with books during the glue curing process - probably only a 2 degree dihedral if that but better than flat. But I'm sure you have that covered.

Cheers
Alistair

[Europapete]

Hi Lance, This is coming along great. Well done. The seam decals are representative of the fabric joint strips that the real a/c had. They are there to reinforce the play edges. Seen them in real life on the Shuttleworth plane and in photos of the Memorial Flight example and TVAL.  Regards, Pete in RI

[lcarroll]

Mark,
    Thanks for the comments, as I said the light finish sort of "grew" on me. The photos show a variety of overall finishes from light to dark; I chose the light based on the description of 7243/18 in the Duelist Instruction Booklet. One of our members has solved the seam tapes puzzle, Dave in Dubai has closely examined the survivor in the Brussels Army Museum and confirms them as being fabric tapes doped a "brick red color". The photos as I say show a variety of colors so I went with the lighter side of the choices as offered in the Kit and also used on this scheme by Ray Rimell in the original release Build article of this one in Windsock Worldwide of March/April 2009. Thank you for that information Dave!

Alistair,
    As I said above I used the kit decals for the tapes vs. paint. Thanks for the reminder on the dihedral, that step is getting very near. The Jane's "Fighting Aircraft of WW.I" puts the lower wing dihedral at 2 degrees so thats what I'll try for using your "propping" method as well.

Cheers,
Lance
 

[lcarroll]

Pete,
    I replied to the earlier comments as yours was arriving. Thanks for the comments and the additional verification of the nature of those tapes. That's the beauty of this Forum; we have a wealth of info, experience, and informed perspective available through the sharing nature of our little club, what a great experience and resource!
Cheers,
Lance

[jeroen_R90S]

Very sharp, Lance! I like the light wood tones contrast with the black/white markings. Having done the green edges on the Jasta 18 Fokker D.VII with decals, I can sympathatize with the edge tapes. The results are very rewarding, though!

[lcarroll]

Thanks for your very kind comments Jeroen. Yes, those edge tapes are a bit of a "test" but once completed they add a lot to the model.
Cheers,
Lance

[RAGIII]

Looking Stunning Lance! I think you have made very good educated guesses as to the colors. It all works for me!
RAGIII

[dr 1 ace]

Wonderful results, look forward to more progress pics !!

Ed

[lcarroll]

Thanks Rick and Ed. Another day with no bench time to be had; I need to get a grip on my priorities and put "real life issues" in their proper place.........    I'm hoping to get at this with a vengeance tomorrow!
Cheers,
Lance