My Aurora Warbirds Project

The squadron as of October 31.  I need to buy a cabinet for these warbirds.  The coffee table is full and I've been informed that the squadron needs to relocate to another airfield!  There are 7 more planes to  build: 3 of them are larger two seaters (Bristol Fighter, Albatros, Halberstadt) and then there's that Gotha Bomberwhich will be the finale.

Yes, a new larger airdrome is certainly in order! That collection is looking sharp!

Good looking group of aircraft!! Never knew these kits existed and I've been at this now for a tad over four decades. I've gotta get out from under my rock for a while......

mustang1989

Good looking group of aircraft!! Never knew these kits existed and I've been at this now for a tad over four decades. I've gotta get out from under my rock for a while......

 

I understand about being under a rock--I hadn't built a model plane in almost 40 years--which had something to do with me choosing these 'relatively' simple kits from my childhood as a start so I was totally under a rock! The fighters have 27-30 parts and, as far as I can tell, the scale is fairly accurate, although I think the Albatros that I just finished is noticeably over sized.  Mold quality is decent, but the undersurfaces of the wings are not ribbed and there certainly isn't any fabric "sag" effects.   Some of the struts have given me fits, but that probably has more to do with my shaky fingers than manufacturing issues.  The decals were shot, as I expected after decades in a box, and the pilot figures were mediocre at best, which is why I went for aftermarket decals and pilots.    Here's a bit more about the Aurora WWI fighters--which I lifted from The Aerodrome.com 

I bought some nifty oil paints (Abteilung 502) and decided to practice on the SPAD which was too glossy despite a couple of coats of flat clear.   I've almost completed the Pfalz DIII, but this build is quite different from the previous ten, owing to the fact that I lost the top wing for my Aurora Pflaz.  How I could lose a piece that big is beyond me.. I suppose it's in another box, which I'll eventually locate, but I had to plow ahead if I'm going to finish these squadrons before Christmas.  In any event, the Pflaz should be done tomorrow when I add the landing gear and finish the decals and coating.

I like they way you're building them; you're really keeping in character with the original kits.

Wild Bill

I like they way you're building them; you're really keeping in character with the original kits.

 

Thanks!   That was one of my goals when I began the project.  I just finished the Pflaz which will have a big asterisk for reasons that are probably obvious.  ;)  

Warbird #11, The Bristol Fighter F2B is coming along.  I didn't have the shade of military gray green I wanted, and I decided to go ahead with a lighter color even though mixing something closer to the picture guide (in an Eduard kit) wouldn't have been that difficult.

This particular Aurora kit was a reissue, probably from the early 70's.  The box noted that this kit had "new,easier wing assembly"  (yes) and "full rigging instructions" (well, sort of).  The raised squadron and national markings were gone--a welcome improvement, but the underside of the wings still lack the spar outlines and the pilot and gunner figures are primitive.  As with the past builds, I replaced the figures and used Eduard decals.  I will probably add a second coat of weathering (Abteilung 502) to darken the wings and fuselage.  No more work on this plane until the oil paint dries in a couple of days.

I finished the Bristol Fighter this evening.  The kit went together a lot easier than most of the other Aurora planes I've built to date; Aurora made some modifations to the reissued kit to make it much easier to attach the wings.   Of course, I had to complicate things by losing one of the landing gear struts.  Although I had 2 sets of landing gear struts in my Eduard Bristol Fighter kit, neither was an easy fit...a fraction of a mm off is still a fraction of a mm off when it comes to any piece especially one that has to support the model.   Anyway,  I got it done, and I'll start on the Halberstadt CII tomorrow (or more accurately, continue on that kit.

That I was able to test fit the top wing on the Halberstadt CII and (almost) get it to balance without a drop of glue is a promising sign.. I think.

The early winter weather is conspiring against me as I need to shoot the fuselage with gloss clear, and the only stuff I have is Tamiya TS13--my partner has made it abundantly clear that rattle can spraying will not be allowed indoors, and I really can't blame her.   What brand of high gloss clear works well in an airbrush and will coexist peacefully with a flat acrylic finish?

In the meantime, here's a picture of the CII pilot (aftermarket, not the one that came with the kit!)  and the aforementioned dryfitting:

Man you're a momster on these kits, really getting them together quick. Beautiful builds so far and the figures were good adds.

 I spray the Vallejos in the house without issue so far. I do thin the gloss varnish down 25-50% with their air brush thinner. It's not my favorite paint by far but it is spouse safe lol

TheMongoose

Man you're a momster on these kits, really getting them together quick. Beautiful builds so far and the figures were good adds.

 I spray the Vallejos in the house without issue so far. I do thin the gloss varnish down 25-50% with their air brush thinner. It's not my favorite paint by far but it is spouse safe lol

 

Thanks!   I ordered Vallejo varnish in both gloss and matt.  I wouldn't even need the gloss, except I haven't figured out how to apply decals to a matt finish.. if indeed there is one.   Cheers!

BigskyMark;

       Now you are one who would inderstand me. I am doing the same with the civilian ships from Way back. Like the Lifelike/Lindberg Line. The old Aurora stuff under the same label. Also a lot of the old Revell stuff. Monogram when I can get it. Oh, and whatever else is considered fair game in watercraft. I do a lot of conversions so I have hulls sitting everywhere. From a 9' R.C. capable Aegis Class ship to a teensy little sailing ship in a bottle. It was an old Marx product!

    To get the kind of ships I want requires that I jump brands. I even have some old Imaii stuff from the Seventies and early Eighties! Many of those are Large sailing ships I have no room for, so they will be sold off soon. I really have fun doing this. When I did the " President Wilson" from Life Like years ago, it had been rebranded from Pyro.

    So you see, my fleet runs the gamut in scales too. I just recently acquired the Revell sister to my "Canberra" from Revell, There is a problem here though. although it states the scale on the box, they are no where the same scale. Plus the second one is molded of much thicker plastic.

    I have started an Aurora buildup of Birds from Korea and earlier. Plus the experimentals. In the latter I believe I have gotten them all. Now, I have time to build them! I really do like your building style and subject matter. Darned good job on all of them.

Tanker-Builder,

Thanks for your comments.  I certainly can relate to your projects.. they sound like a lot of fun.  

I'm enjoying building these Aurora kits immensely.  Who knows, I may even start on a few of the Eduard and Roden kits when this project is completed.  I'm on the 12th out of 16 planes now. After I finish the Halberstadt, I'll build the Nieport 28 and the Albatros CI.  As for the last two, a massive Gotha Bomber and an oversized (1/40 scale)  Fokker Eindekker, they may have to wait until 2021.  

The oil paint is finally dry (I think), and I completed the Halberstadt this morning.  I wasn't familiar with this plane at all prior to the project, which made the build interesting as I learned a bit about the plane and the company that built it.

The final two kits for this year will be the Nieuport 28 and the Albatross two seater.

Excellent work Mark.  I love to see out of the box builds, especially of these old kits.  Your doing them justice to build them so well.

Scott

scottrc

Excellent work Mark.  I love to see out of the box builds, especially of these old kits.  Your doing them justice to build them so well.

Scott

 

Thanks Scott.  I'm not in the same skill league as most of the folks who post on this forum, but I'm having fun, so that's what counts.. at least for me.  :)    I' still amazed that I built any of these planes at the age of 9 or 10; the kits are simple, but in most cases the struts and spars are so fiddly that I wonder how I ever had the patience to finish a kit way back when.  Who knows, maybe I'm just imagining that I did.. memory can be a tricky thing at my age!

In the meantime, as per my usual work order, I've started painting a pilot figure for the Neiuport 28. It sort of resembles Eddie Rickenbacker so it will have to do;  I still have a few spots to touch up and some more torso and leg surgery to perform.

I'm waiting for a set of replacement decals for the Nieuport, but I thought I'd try a recommendation for restoring yellowed decals by taping them to a south facing window.  I'll find out in a couple of days whether sun bleaching will work on decals that are over 50 years old.  I think I'll have to apply some decal film as I'm sure the orginals are as fragile as they are yellow.

I'm trying to cross the finish line before my artificial deadline of year end.  In any event, I finally finished the Nieuport 28 notwithstanding a bigger than usual problem securing decals that I could apply somewhat successfully.  Of course the originals were hopeless, yellowed and curled beyond repair, but the set that came with a Roden kit proved to be almost as fragile even though they looked brand new.  Anyway it is what it is.  Next up will be the Aurora Albatros CIII, which will bring my project to a close.

scottrc

Excellent work Mark.  I love to see out of the box builds, especially of these old kits.  Your doing them justice to build them so well.

Scott

 

JohnnyK

 

 

scottrc

Excellent work Mark.  I love to see out of the box builds, especially of these old kits.  Your doing them justice to build them so well.

Scott

 

 

 

 

I agree 100%. These beautiful old kits need to be built out of the box. No fancy stuff.

 

 

I do love these old kits, and while I nitpick about some of the details, or lack thereof, these Aurora warbirds have held up well over the decades (decals excepted which is understandable).  In any case, no fancy stuff in any of my builds other than replacing pilots.  Perhaps in a future life, I'll learn how to rig a biplane, but right now that's way above my paygrade.   In the meantime, the last of the bunch, the Albatros CIII is on the jig.  Right now, the top wing is just balancing on the struts, but it looks like it will fit relatively easily (I hope).

I finished the final plane, the Albatros CIII this afternoon.  Along the way, I've accumulated more than a dozen Eduard and Roland kits along with a couple of Revell Germany kits and 1 Mirage Hobby kit.  I suppose I should think about building those some day as well!

Oh that is sooo cool! Love the final pic in the circle. Sure looks like you did a great job on every one of them. Lots of mottling to the paint just like one of those tatty old birds would have been in combat.

That is a fine finish on the last build, and a very nice display for the group.

I chat a bit (or a lot) about my project and the planes that inspired me to build these warbirds:

 https://youtu.be/wPo8jL6iafE