"...an out of date Pfalz..."

[Brad Cancian]

Hi everyone - started up a fun little project this week - the 1/72 Encore (Roden) Pfalz D.III. It will be painted up to represent an old worn out Pfalz from Fighting Squadron 11, Spring 1918. Anyone hazard a guess who the pilot is....?



Unfortunately the Roden plastic is quite rough, so needed a bit of sanding to smooth it out. The way the fuselage goes together, with a separate nose piece, is not much fun and requires a bit of filling. Thankfully I have the PART detail set, so I can restore all of the hatches and things that i've removed.

The pilot is one from the spares box, with an Airfix head and a foil scarf.



I'm planning on displaying this one in flight with a stand, hence why the control surfaces have all been deflected. I've hollowed out the very end of the tail, just wide enough to slide a stiff wire through. Should work out ok. Still not sure what to do though to get a spinning prop effect. I have some ideas but the easiest one is to just chop the prop blades off.
 
All comments and ideas welcomed!

Cheers,

BC

[bobs_buckles]

This will be a treat to watch.
 

vB

[Ryan]

Great concept and model.

I'm torn on the rotating prop simulation, I think those PE whirling blade effects look terrible, chopping the blades off would be better.

I would suggest filling the holes where the blades come through the spinner and then masking a black circle where the blade root would have been...then fading the circle with strips of tape and the airburush to simulate rotation.

Or leave blades on and let them rotate freely.

Ryan

[krow113]

 Good work!
  I like the thin rod adding movement to the piece.
As for simulating the spinning prop here are some ideas;
 Wire in an airfixor celluler phone vibration  moter.
 Cut the blades off and just have the spinner.
 Photo etch, too heavy not realistic.
Clear plastic disc a la Frog models I remember from the '70's.
And what I chose for my Tempest piece , clear blades lightly airbrushed.

Works a treat and watching the double takes at shows is fun!

[Radarman]

Brad, Great to see some of your work again. Thanks for the post,
                                                                       Kevin

[lcarroll]

   That's really impressive Steve, a real beauty in fact. The whole display looks like it's moving, an eye catcher and more!
Cheers,
Lance

[Bughunter]

Brad, you should add a undercarriage, or was your Pfalz the first one with a retractable gear?
Great idea!

Cheers,
Frank

[Brad Cancian]

Thanks all - Steve, that prop (and the entire display) looks fantastic! I think I might try something like that.

[BillB]

The pilot might be Bruno Stachel, striving for his Blue Max.

- Bill

[Brad Cancian]

Spot on, Bill 

[Dave W]

Just to continue Brad's "Blue Max" theme, here is said "out of date Pfalz" in action in an official still from the movie.



Still my favourite WW1 flying movie and the one that got me forever hooked on WW1 models

cheers

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia

[krow113]

Thanks for the comps!
Brad:
Technical info:
The base is medite , cut and the edges rounded to at least 1/4" rad. The scenery is 'English countryside' googled , 'blurred' in Corel and printed on vehicle wrap material,  laminated then stretched over the base. 1/16" s/s tig rod for the one piece stands for the models . Both kits having 'plug in receivers' installed during the build up.
Small clear disc for the rocket and computer cut separate blades of K&S engineering .010" clear PETG for the Tempest. I tried  a lot of different profiles before settling on the ones used. Prop spinner 'blobs' of black sprayed then many gloss clear coats. Spinner blade cavities were filled with Mputt , then the blade end pushed in while still soft , making a positive receiver .
Next time;
 Profile the blade with a curve to install more movement into the parts. Curve the rod as you already have done here . No black blobs on the spinner , teardrop shapes would install even more movement

[Beto]

Maybe it's too late to install it, but there are electric motors small enough to be hidden inside a 1/72 WWI model... see here:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&ghostText=&_sacat=0&_sop=15&_nkw=Micro+Coreless++Motor&rt=nc&LH_BIN=1

[jeroen_R90S]

Very tidy, if I remember well this was one of Rodens first efforts under their name and not one of the easier kits.

I like Krow113's solution to spinning propblades quite a lot, I usually remove the blades and fill the gaps, like on this old Italeri Ju188:



I'm not sure if that would work on a 1/72 WWI model, though the Pfalz has a spinner.  For testing purposes I've got a few of those tiny electric motors around too, but never got around to putting them in a model. My idea was to buy small cheap solar panels and a big capacitator so it would be solor powered and I don't have to manually switch it on or off or replace batteries... just so darn little time to execute all those ideas in my head!

Look forward to the next installment!

[Pete Wenman]

Still not sure what to do though to get a spinning prop effect.

I use models as guides for my aviation paintings (on canvas) and so also seek to recreate a spinning prop effect. My current preferred method is to cut a circle of clear plastic to the correct diameter. This then allows me to get a feel of the prop arc when painting.

My partially complete M-5 (note the engine mount is not yet fixed in place, that is this weekends challenge )



Looking forward to seeing the Pfalz develop as, like others, the Blue Max is a firm favourite.


P