Knights of the Sky II- The End

Making slow progress on the Fokker. Way to many fiddly bits in the cockpit for my taste but at least most of them can be seen after assembly so I do not mind so much. It seems like I have been working on the engine and cockpit forever. I thought I would post some progress pics so Frank can see I am actually working on it. I still have to install the seatbelts but I'm almost ready to close up the cockpit.

                                                                                         Soulcrusher

soulcrusher wrote:

"Making slow progress on the Fokker. Way to many fiddly bits in the cockpit for my taste but at least most of them can be seen after assembly so I do not mind so much. It seems like I have been working on the engine and cockpit forever. I thought I would post some progress pics so Frank can see I am actually working on it. I still have to install the seatbelts but I'm almost ready to close up the cockpit. Soulcrusher"

If you do rigging outside the fuselage, don't forget to add some fine wire to represent the rudder, aileron and elevator cables inside the cockpit.  This will kill a model in competition very quickly if they are not there.

It's great to see Stachel get a mention...can we work Ursula Andress into the discussion as well ?

Great book, I've read it a few times.

Cheers

Tony

heres a few bits and pieces i've managed to get my hands on over the last couple of months...........

ludwig113 wrote:

heres a few bits and pieces i've managed to get my hands on over the last couple of months...........

Excellent score ludwig!   The D.VII needs some attention in the fuselage depth and a larger rudder & fin.  The rest all get reasonably high marks.   Ignore the D.VIII rigging instructions for the cockpit.  The Spad has one access door too many on the right rear of the fuselage.  Most people didn't like the PE struts.  I liked them.  They are easy to flesh out.  The undersurfaces of the Dr.I wings need to be sanded down a bit. But still accurate and great kits to build.  All of the excellent busts were mastered by Mike Good (model Cellar & Jaguar figures) Model on! 

Ok Frank, Ive started this kit (Well cut a few bits off the sprue) Ive not built a Roden Kit before but from what ive read its not a bad kit. The rigging is a bit daunting but hey, thats what its all about, isnt it? Pushing ourselves.

Stephen, any help or advice from you would be seriously appreciated, before i get too far involved. Especially with regard to the rigging.

Crusher, thats the same kit i built earlier, and its a honey. The only 2 areas that gave me a little gyp were the fit of the ammo cans to the guns. It seemed like they were too far to port and i had to shave a fair bit of the fitting were it goes into the left hand gun. Secondly, it seems obvious, but treble check you have NO Anhedral on the lower wing LOL. Shouldnt have even said that one, i think it was down to me being a cackhanded ox.

...Guy

SC- That is some mighty fine work, are you certain you have never built one of these before?  How did you weather the metal on the engine?  I like the look very much.

ludwig- Excellent score!  Always wanted to get my hands on those kits with the resin busts, just never have.  I built the D.VIII last year, not a bad kit with some TLC.

Luftwoller wrote:

" Hey Ho, me again. Im toying with doing Roden's Gotha G.V but im a bit concerned about the rigging side of it. Ive read several reviews of thier earlier kits and they come with Rigging diagrams. Also How would i go about the actuall rigging? I read somewhere that you have to drill tiny holes at the base of the struts for the rigging wires to pass through. Ooh so many questions. Hopefully someone can help. Ill Start the kit any how and hopefully when the time arrives ill have the info. Oh and some decals. Mine are missing from the kit.. . .Guy"

Luftwoller wrote:

". . .Stephen, any help or advice from you would be seriously appreciated, before i get too far involved. Especially with regard to the rigging. . .Guy."

 Greetings Guy,

Never , never -ever drill into the struts.  On biplanes , triplanes. . . The rigging was usually attached to flange plates sticking out from the interplane strut end caps. Drill into the wing or fuselage at the approx. angle the rigging path will travel.  While I have an extensive rigging how to on my website the short version is Here.

Here is one fellow's build.

Click Here.

Guy thanks for the heads up on what to watch for. I'll make sure I check the areas you have mentioned so I do not create any problems for myself.

Frank thanks for the compliment. I painted the engine with several shades that I mixed myself from Tamiya XF16 alluminum and gun metal. Then I gave it a all over wash with some artist oils lamp black to dirty up the whole thing. Then I followed it up with a heavy acrylic wash to create some shadow effect. Finnally I mixed up some gunmetal and added a little alluminum to create the shade of iron for the cylinders. To bad alot of it will not be seen but I like the pratice and I know its there.

Stephen thank you once agian you are a weath of information. You have made it so much easier for someone like me with no experience on these WWI to build a decent model.  I am sure I will have alot more questions before this GB is over. Going to read you link in detail latter when I get home after work.

                                                                                        Soulcrusher

Thx Stephen, i will read that in my leisure tomorrow. Much appreciated. Came accross your Straaken Oooooh Eeeeee. Theres a whopper.

Ive started on the Gotha and Roden have done a pretty good job id say. Apart from the injector pin marks on the inside of the fuzz (The size of small Mountains) the fuzz sides look pretty good. Theres loads of bulkheads so dryfitting is a must. Ive woodenised the interior and built both of the engines Hopefully on the G.V you get to see a little more of the engines than the G.IV or Soulcrushers DVII (You will never see that decal on the side again once fitted chum LOL) Heres a couple of pics,

...Guy

Yes Guy I am aware much of my beautifull engine will not be seen when I close the two halves but it was coming out so nice I just kept adding the detail. I do have two complete kits and that includes 8 fuselage halves. I could possibly open a panel. I am going to take a good hard look at the kit to see. If it is not to hard I might just cut a panel out on the left side of the fuselage. I will decide in the next day or so.

                                                                                         Soulcrusher

Guy- Nice work!  Sure is great isn't it that you can build over here without fear of the dreaded HOMEWORK.

Well, no longer Mister!

You now have a homework assignment.  You must PAINT the lozenge pattern on that beast. LOL

 Hey ludwig, the DML's look like very interesting kits! Nice Score.

 Soulcrusher, the DVII is looking very good.

 Luftwoller, nice to see ya back at it!

 Looking forward to seeing more progress updates from all!

Thanks Mobious it is my first attempt at a WWI plane in a long time. Just trying not to screw it up to bad. Got the fuselage halves closed up tonight and started having fun with the lozenge decals. These will definelty be done in mutliple sessions as it can be a bit tedious. So far no major glitches and it looks like clear sailing ahead. The only thing I am worried about is getting the upper wing mounted cleanly without ruining the finish. Whish me luck!

                                                                                               Soulcrusher

Well I managed to cover the upper wing surfaces of both wings with the lozgene decals with no major mishaps. I plan on letting them dry and then having fun adding all of the rib tapes. Made my first major goof on this kit. The engine apparently is sitting a little to high between the fuselage halves not letting the front radiator panel sit all of the way down. I should be able to add a little plastic card to fill the gap and sand it smooth. This is definelty not a kit that you can build quickly. alot of waiting for glue and decals to dry. I knew I would make some mistakes having no experience with these birds but I am still enjoying it, I always enjoy learing new tecniques. I post some pics when I get all of the decals on the wings,

                                                                                              Soulcrusher

Oh Geez, id forgotoon about the rib tapes LOL. MAJOR PITA!! It just seems lke the job is never ending. As for the lozenge decals, i found them ok really. Just use loads of 'Set' to float them into position, too little and they stick too early causing all manner of probs LOL.

...Guy

Mobius,

I was just catching up with the group and happened across your question regarding the Eduard Weekend Edition DH2.  I built that kit for Knights of the Sky round one.  Unfortunately, there were no rigging instructions, and I have not run across any other sources.  I had to build mine out of the box, but would consider adding rigging later.  By the way, I commented during my build about the Eduard decals losing the "weathered" appearance when hit with a coating of Micro Sol.  Earlier in this build I showed before and after photos as I touched them up with white pastel powder.

Ludwig,

I purchased the entire series when they first came out, and have only managed to build Lt. Kempf's and the Red Baron's Dr.1's.  At a couple of shows over the last two years, I have managed to pick up an additional Spad 13, Fokker Dr.1, and D VIII.  When these kits were introduced, I thought that they were just outstanding.  Eventually, I will get them assembled, along with all of the other kits in my stash.  So many kits, so little time. 

 Hello MPScotty, I picked up "Scale Aircraft Drawings Vol1." it has drawings of the DH1 which is the 2 seater version of the Dehavilland design. There is an awful lot of rigging, and the individual struts look like a potential alignment problem. Thanks for the warning about the Micro-Sol and the decals. I should be getting the little pusher underway shortly.

Hey ho, Im still slogging on with the Gotha. I got the fuzz sides together. This was more tricky than id hoped for. It seems that every bulkhead needed fettling LOL. It went together in the end though. Theses kits have a nice large gun tunnel that enabled the rear gunner to fire at targets below the plane through this tunnel. Nice on the real thing but on the kit it had the potential to be a PITA....It wasnt though and went in really well. Hopefully a good dose of Mr surfacer should prettify everything up. Heres where i am so far,

While the sides are going off i set about the engines. The panels that surround the engine were fitted without too much hassle and PE radiator covers were added. It was then sprayed Army green,

With the remains of the paint still in the gun i sprayed the lower half of the bottom wing. I did this to see how the lower lozenge decal would look as id read that the decals looked fairly bright. I hope that the green paint under the decal will darken it up a treat,

Finally, my plan is to go with the 'Erika' decal scheme. Whatcha reckon?

more soon,

...Guy

Hi guys.  I put my Fokker D-VI into the conversions category at the San Antonio IPMS contest yesterday but the competition was stiff and she didn't place.  However, my Albatros D-V was given the Tom Ward Memorial Award for the Best WWI Aircraft.  Here's a photo in case you haven't seen it before.

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been around much. Wife has been home all week with a bad bout of the flu, so my duties around here have kept me away from the bench for the most part (but I have managed to squeeze some in - pics to follow shortly).

Scott, you're a braver man than I to tackle all that rigging on your DH.2.

SC, the D.VII is looking mighty fine! Opening up the panel to see all that engine detail might be a way to go. Plus, it looks as though you've got all those wing decals under control. A little at a time is definitely the best way.

Ludwig, very nice score on those DML kits! I have the S.P.A.D. with the stars & stripes, but picked up a nice decal sheet from Aeromaster with some interesting schemes to use instead of the kit markings.

Guy, man what can I say!? Outstanding work on the Gotha so far. The 'pit and the engine look great! Very nice scheme you've chosen, too. Keep us posted!

OK gentlemen, here's where my E.V stands so far. The 'pit is done. I decided to cover the seat in lozenge as mentioned in Stephen's write-up. Added as much rigging and wiring (done with stretched sprue) to it that I figured would be visible once she's buttoned up - turned out to be a lot more than I had origionally planned. The control yoke is scratchbuilt to closer resemble a Fokker type, as is the pressure pump. The engine is done as well (the kit engine is a gem!), basically OOB with the addition of plugs & cables (made from stretched sprue and fine copper wire). Comments and critiques are always encouraged.

That E-V is looking fantastic.  Keep up the good work.

Well Guy it looks like you have really been crackin' on that Gotha. I suppose you will be finished by tomorrow? She is looking great so far.

Mike thanks for the compliment. I am learning as I go so mistakes will be made I am sure but I am hoping to keep them to a minimum. I thought I had a fit problem with the radiator panel but it turns out I mixed up the two different versions that are supplied in the kit. I grabbed the other radiator out of the box and it fit pretty good. I spent today smoothing out a couple of small imperfections in the fuselage. Then I started adding the rib tapes to the upper sides of both wings. Very tediousand slow going now I just have to start the whole process on the bottom of the wings. I had no idea how time consuming these WWI birds could be but they are starting to grow on me. I started checking out some of the other Eduard 1/48 offerings and I might be adding a couple to the stash. 

Mike your E.V. is looking great. The cockpit is well done and the seatbelts look very realistic hanging there on the seat. I can never seem to get mine to sit right without a lot of fuss. the engine is a little gem. can't wait to see it all together.

                                                                                     Soulcrusher

Guy- Wow, how do you build those so fast?  A Gotha would take me YEARS to finish!  Well done.

Donald- Sorry to hear about the Fokker not placing, but that award you gathered with your Albatros was well deserved.   I mentioned this over on your thread in Aircraft but I'll say it again- your build of that aircraft is what prompted me to buy one for myself.  Thank you!

Mike- YOWZA!  I have been waiting to see pics of your E.V, and those most certainly do not disappoint.  There is just something about your choice of colors and textures that make everything look so REAL, I am still scratching my head trying to figure out how you do that. Breathtaking work, I wish I could acheive that level of realism.

SC- I'm anxiously awaiting those photos!   I am really pumped to see how you're getting along on that D.VII.