Knights of the Sky II- The End

Mobius,

Thanks for the kind words on my Eduard Strip-down kits.  Your Fokker E.III looks fantastic!  What did you use for the rigging?

Did a litttle bit last night. Painted the engine and applied some weathering. I also started on the cockpit. I painted up the floor useing a tip someone posted here sorry can no remember who. painted it deck tan let it dry then wnet over it with some redish brown. Then hit it lightly with a sanding stick and it looks ok. Installed the control stick and rudder controls. Tonight a session with the photo etch.

                                                                                       Soulcrusher

Greetings all;

As the boys from Monty Python would say, - "And now for something totally different."  Frank gave me the go ahead to show this repair.  ". . .Well at the end of Sept, 2008 I was out at the foundation where I volunteer.  And I was presented with this.

So goest the repair.

Painful as it is to look at I can count my blessings I used brass "STRUTZ"  Clean breaks and it will go back together ok.  Minimal decal damage.

This particular build goes back to January 2003 when we had one of the first (if not "the first" ) Group Builds here at the Aerodrome.  See the original thread here.

The reasoning was that the kit had so many issues we all got together to brain storm our various fixes.  Most kits have one or two issues that we can get through with a simple three or four posting thread.  There are certainly enough people there to help a fellow modeler out.  We were also fortunate enough to have several master builders there.  Everything I replaced in the kit is in the text of the original thread.  At any rate here she goes.  Back into the breach dear friends. . .back into the breach.

Here it is at this point.  Interplane and cabane struts in place.

This is the Battle Axe 1/32 scale kit. The entire kit has been upgraded using Copper State Models Spandau etched metal fret and Tom's Modelworks German interior and Spandau Machine Gun brass etched metal. Further a Tom's Modelworks resin 160hp Mercedes D.III / 170hp D.IIIa has been upgraded to the specifications of the Mercedes 180hp D.IIIaü that was the standard inline power plant in German single seat fighters for 1918. The Propeller is a laminated wood item from the Czech shop of Mr. M. Digmayer available through Copper State Models.

This build will represent Fokker D.VII 402/18 (w/n 2489) accepted in May 1918 and assigned to "Vizefeldwebel" (acting Sargent) Max Holtzem of Jasta 16b. Vzfw. Holtzem had been assigned to this unit on 22 Sept. 1917 and stayed there until the end of the war. A modest man he refused to take credit for any of the combat victories that he took part in. Around the turn of the century children were told that the comet was a departed soul en route to heaven. Holtzem's mother had died when he was nine years old and he had the comet painted on all his Jasta 16b aircraft to denote her spirit as his "Guardian Angel."Holtzem's own description says that this machine was his at the war's end. He says that he "acquired" some benzine and flew the machine home where he hid it. His narrative goes on to say that he removed the guns and later added a second seat behind the cockpit. Max Holtzem later befriended Dr. J. J. Parks President of the Lafayette Foundation and shared his wartime experiences. Two years before his death in 1980 Max posed with the foundation's replica Fokker D.VII in one of our German officer uniforms as evidenced by the photos presented here.

 An amazing and inspiring story. Very fortunate to have had the opportunity for a man with life experiences such as his willing to share them. Thanks for sharing the story of the man and the machine. Looking forward to seeing this one ready for display again.

 Mo

SC- So glad to hear you are enjoying that kit!  I really wish I could build one now, but the list of other current projects keeps growing and growing.

Stephen- Very share looking aircraft, even in it's current state.  Thanks for sharing that story and the photo.

StephenLawson wrote:

This build will represent Fokker D.VII 402/18 (w/n 2489) accepted in May 1918 and assigned to "Vizefeldwebel" (acting Sargent) Max Holtzem of Jasta 16b. Vzfw. Holtzem had been assigned to this unit on 22 Sept. 1917 and stayed there until the end of the war. A modest man he refused to take credit for any of the combat victories that he took part in. Around the turn of the century children were told that the comet was a departed soul en route to heaven. Holtzem's mother had died when he was nine years old and he had the comet painted on all his Jasta 16b aircraft to denote her spirit as his "Guardian Angel."Holtzem's own description says that this machine was his at the war's end. He says that he "acquired" some benzine and flew the machine home where he hid it. His narrative goes on to say that he removed the guns and later added a second seat behind the cockpit. Max Holtzem later befriended Dr. J. J. Parks President of the Lafayette Foundation and shared his wartime experiences. Two years before his death in 1980 Max posed with the foundation's replica Fokker D.VII in one of our German officer uniforms as evidenced by the photos presented here.

that is such a cool story.

i wonder how many other pilots(from either side) took their planes home???

Thank you for the kind words Ludwig & Frank.  Well folks here it is repaired and ready.  Though for some reason I have an itch to put a Model Cellar 1/32  German standing pilot beside it.  Total hours to repair "18".

StephenLawson wrote:

Thank You Mobious;  One further note on Max Holtzem.  He relocated to the USA  after WWI.  Lived in California for many years.  During WWII, I am told he was a quality control inspector on the P 51 assembly line.

 I'd have to call that life's full circle. Not only to have witnessed the evolution of flight, but also to have participated and from different perspectives. Very cool story and a great finish with a splendid repair. Nice save Stephen.

That is a great story Stephen. I rarely will go back and repair any model that had had an unfortunate accident. I find it very depressing to look at it in pieces on the bench. You mentioned useing brass strut rods. Being that this particular build is in 1/32 I am wondering if you know of anyone pruducing brass strut rod that would scale out good in 1/48. I have a 1/48 Classic Airframes Fiat Cr 42 that I managed to break a couple of the tiny fragile strut rods and I would love to finish the kit as it is one of my favorite build. Minus the strut rod problem. Any ideas at all would be greatly apperciated. I was told about Contrail plastic strut rods but they are was out of scale for this aircraft being almost twice the sidze of the kit parts. No progress tonight worked on my me 109 G-6 for Franks other GB. Tomorrow night I plan on attacking the cockpit photoetch on the D VII.

                                                                                          Soulcrusher

soulcrusher wrote:

That is a great story Stephen. I rarely will go back and repair any model that had had an unfortunate accident. I find it very depressing to look at it in pieces on the bench. You mentioned useing brass strut rods. Being that this particular build is in 1/32 I am wondering if you know of anyone pruducing brass strut rod that would scale out good in 1/48. . . Soulcrusher

The ones I use come in various widths manufacturerd by Aeroclub, sold by RollModels. If your kit has struts needing replaced ask for "STRUTZ".  Thanks Frank & Mobious. On to the next build.

Hello all,

A small update for your pleasure. The top wing has had the silber grau treatment. The radiator has been given a distressed look (very similar to its creator ;-) and due to Roden's decals not liking water :-( I have had to cut a mask from friskit film for the crosses. 1 down 1 to go! Undercarriage and wheels done but will need some subtle weathering to complete.

Yours painfully, Von Buckle

Bob,

Could you elaborate more on your decal problems?  I have two Roden kits slated for this build.

lewbud wrote:

Bob, Could you elaborate more on your decal problems?  I have two Roden kits slated for this build.

 Basically the decal broke apart as if it was 20 years old. You might want to test one or two of the surplus decals  before you use them.

Bob

Hi guys, was wandering by and thought I'd drop in to say hello and hoist a frosty one. I went through exactly the same problem with Roden decals last week on an AN-12 I'm building. Luckily the first ones were traffic striping in the cargo bay- it is a big mother. But they shattered in a million pieces like you say. So I sprayed the sheet with clear acrylic fix, and later scanned it. The next nightmare was that the fix somehow reacted with the decal film and turned light brown! I was really depressed as I have no easy way to get new ones. So in desperation I dabbed at it with brush thinner, then rubbed, then really scoured at it, and it cleaned up nicely.

It's been a week and it still looks ok, but I haven't given it the ultimate test yet.

So it could be a Roden problem.

I have read similar issues about Roden's older decals, though some of the newer sets I am told are better.

bondo- Thanks for stopping by!  I have never heard of that fix, can you tell me more about it?  

Bobs Buckles wrote:

lewbud wrote: Bob, Could you elaborate more on your decal problems?  I have two Roden kits slated for this build.  Basically the decal broke apart as if it was 20 years old. You might want to test one or two of the surplus decals  before you use them. Bob

Thanks Bob.  Will keep a weather eye on the decals.

I have a Revell Fokker Dr.1 I started, but did not get beyond the fuselage and engine, due to overwhelming natural disastors, etc.:

/forums/975114/ShowPost.aspx

It is still at the stage shown on the above link.

On the other hand, I might also like to see if I can add add either a HC1/32 or a Revell 1/28th SPAD XIII once I get over the tripe.

I am looking into scrounging some old Aurura kits as well, as I like them much better then the delicate Roden soft-plastic varients.

Thanking you in advance, Frank.

Tom T

Hey Bob, the Pfalz is looking very good. Sorry to hear bout the decal problem, but it looks like you have things well under control. Looking forward to updates.

 I recently picked up the Eduard Airco DH2 WEED, and was wondering if anyone knows if there is a rigging guide for it. There were none in the instructions. Thanks in advance.

 Mobi