First WorldWarOne Airplane

Nice one! Should not be very hard to model. At least you won't have to put up with those lozenge camos! Yes, definitely, paint the top wing as a separate unit, decal it, varnish it then use superglue (just a little!) to attach the struts, one by one. However, as you attach the struts to the bottom wing (again, after painting), use the top wing to make sure the struts are at least going the right way... Just paint everything in white first, then use masks to overspray with the red.

The rigging... No need to drill holes. Produce lots of stretched sprue. As you do each one, let the sprue hang so that the plastic cools and stay straight. Then cut up sections of the sprues and try to keep sections that are of the same thickness. Best if you use a dark plastic to do that, by the way, as those sprues will need to be painted, eventualy, and a dark plastic will be easier on you since it will show much less the areas you've not been able to reach with the brush..!

Anyway, cut a lenght of sprue that's slightly longer than the lenght of the rigging you'd need. Put some liquid glue on the back of a picture, then dip one end of the sprue into the glue. The plastic will start melting, and it is at that point that you need to stick that end onto your model. Stick the sprue first on the lower parts of the wings or fuselage. Position the sprue in the general direction of where it should go and let the glue dry. When it is dry (I usually glue a second sprue before coming back to finish the first one), carefully snip away lenghts of sprue so that you get to the required lenght (maybe a bit longer). Use a toothpick to collect a tiny drop of glue, position it where you want the sprue to end (it will therefore be on underiside of a wing or of the fuselage), then quickly position the other end of the sprue there. Use another toothpick to delicately stretch (if you've been cooling off your sprues in the hanging manner, you probably won't need to stretch it) the sprue into the glue.

The 'messy' part is (can be) attaching the second end of the sprue, and that's why you attach that end to areas where it's less likely to be seen.

To paint the rigging, just use a small brush, with a fairly well diluted black (a bit like a wash, but thicker, darker). The paint will do most of the job by itself.

Hi:
I found a neat looking one that's on display at the RAF museum. Here is hte link:
http://members.tripod.com/~Hans_Vossers/d7html/d7index.htm if you get a page with out a photo, go to the "Pictures on This Page," then go to the Museum pictures. The red and white is on the bottom of the first page. ANy ideas for painting this? Should I paint minus the top wing, then attach the wing? I'm affraid of ruining the paint job when I make the rigging? I don't want to drill a big hole for the rigging, then have to sand, and repaint. Thanks.
Jonas

What kit is that? Eduard? I think you picked up a good subject to start WW1 aircaft modeling! Very few 'strings'. Lots of great colour schemes. Should be fun.

Advice? Well, take it one step at the time, I think. WW1 aircraft are quite involved, because there's obviously open cockpits and engines to detail (although in this case, there's not much of that showing up),... Probably best to build fuselage and bottom wings, paint ,decal, varnish, weather before attaching completed struts and top wing.

If you use a colour scheme that includes the lozenge cammouflage, there are several back FSM issues dealing with that. In any case use lots of decal setting solutions. Don't forget that fabric covered parts of the aircraft was doped, giving a slightly shiny aspect. The D-VII had a large area at the front of the fuselage covered with metal sheets, so there, the paint finish should really look different, and will be weathered a different way.

The 'strings'? plenty of ways to do them. Again check back FSM issues if you can. For my part, I always used stretched sprue, with excellent results all the time.

If you need more specific advice, well, just ask.

Good luck.