Knights of the Sky II- The End

soulcrusher wrote:

Ok no major set backs today. I masked of the bottom of the fuselage and painted it. Then I gave the whole fuselage a coat of Future so I can do some decaling tomorrow. I have left the radiator off so I can install the exhaust pipes last. I had installed them earlier but in the early version they exit right through the side of the cowl and I kept breaking them loose so I am going to install them later. Here is a pic of where I'm at now. Almost like building the real thing. Build a bunch of sub assemblies then put them all together. The fuselage colors all got much darker when I put a coat of Future on it but they will lighten up once I spray some dullcoat over the whole thing after decaling.  Soulcrusher

Nicely Done!  Excellent representation.  I'll go with an A+ on this streaking attempt. Model On!

Wow SC, You've nailed that streaked camo! Me Likey!

 Marco, the level of detail in the 1/72 Eduard DR1 is amazing, and you're doing an excellent build and having fun too.

 MPScotty, looking forward to seeing progress on the Pfalz. 

Here's where I am at the moment.

My Mercedes D. III:

Painted on the little placards.  Kinda fun.

I'll be doing a Fokker D.VII that has some of the engine panels removed, so you'll be able to see a big chunk of this engine.  Thought I'd at least try to do it some justice!  Still going to add a few more things (spark plug wires, and some more piping in the front.)  Will post pics when I get those done!

Starting on the lozenge camo here in the next couple of hours!  Eek!

Guy thank you. I always pick the most difficult paint job and not always on purpose. I manage to shoot myself in the foot alot when there are choices for markings. I always somehow manage to pick the toughest one.

Shephen you seal of aproval make me feel much better that it looks correct. I was waiting for your post. Now I can go forth and know its correct. Thanks agian for you all of your input.

Mobious I apperciate it. It took me a long time and alot of thinking (something I try to avoid when not at work) to come up with a technique. Several failed attempts and some disinformation from Eduard and I am finally done. Man that wast almost like work!

Justin the Mercedes is looking good. I painted mine all nice but then I stuffed in the fuselage never to be seen agian excepy the valvetrain sticking out of the top of the cowling. I'm glad you will at least be able to see more of yours.

                                                                                 Soulcrusher

Just a quick update. I got the decals on the fuselage and I fitted the lower wing and stabilizer just to see how it looked. What do you guys think?

                                                                             Soulcrusher 

SC-- Very, very nice, buddy.

That really turned out nice.  So, so, so very glad that you didn't ditch it.

Um.

So I started my lozenge camo, and couldn't seem to line up my first two panels right.  Here's a pic:

Am I just up too late and am missing something obvious?  ANyway, here are my first two panels put together.  Bad job I say.  I've tried putting it on the other side, flipping it around every which way, and there's just no way. 

Anyone?  What's going on here?

Mr.Druimmy, I've never tried that kind of stuff, but you could try to touch up with some paint where needed.  You can use some water based acylic paint - ifunhappy with the result, you can easely remove it with a q-tip moistened with some window cleaner. This is just a thought.

SC, brilliant job! 

Here's some more photos of the Fokker

I tried to reproduce the txtile look of unpainted canvas on the "wing" between the main gear wheels, using the finner plastic mesh I had around and airbrushing some Pale Sand and Ivory over a white base. The result is very subtle and hardly noticeable! Next time I'll go for an harsher contrast.

Cheers

Thanks, Marco. Your Fokker looks great.  Can't belive that's 1/72!  Wow!

As far as my fabric-covered wing,  we'll see.  I'm thinking that there's something a little more complicated to my problem.  It seems that maybe Roden's pattern is not able to be "flipped" as it should be, and that's what I was missing the whole time.  Hmmm.

Stephen!  Where are you!?  Heeeellpp!  Haha.

Justin,

Those little green spots almost look like some kind of alignment markings.  With a guy like Stephen Lawson in our group though, I am certain that he will know what the real story.  It is also a bit difficult to judge the size in the photograph, but rib tape over the seam might cover it well enough to make them disappear.  By the way, that engine is SWEET!

Marco,

Your Dr.1 continues to come along nicely.  I look forward to your completion photos.

soulcrusher.

That is one excellent job on the streaking, and the initial assembly looks very good. 

soulcrusher wrote:

Just a quick update. I got the decals on the fuselage and I fitted the lower wing and stabilizer just to see how it looked. What do you guys think?                                                                                Soulcrusher

 Soulcrusher, That is a fine looking Fokker. I really like how the streaked camo camout. It looks spot on. Very nice job on the lozenge too.

MrDrummy wrote:

Um. So I started my lozenge camo, and couldn't seem to line up my first two panels right.  Here's a pic: Now, between the two panels, it seems like they'd line up fine, but there are these little... fragments of a darker green color that are in there that I'm just not sure about.  What are these things? Am I just up too late and am missing something obvious?  ANyway, here are my first two panels put together.  Bad job I say.  I've tried putting it on the other side, flipping it around every which way, and there's just no way.  Anyone?  What's going on here?

Greetings Justin;

Lozenge fabric was never meant to line up entirely.  The only reason it does here, is that the wing chord (leading edge to trailing) is pretty much the same from wing root to wing tip.  The opposing sides don't match.  Your doing fine.

[quote user="StephenLawson"]  Fokker Streaked camouflage 1/48 - painted. Here the finished Fokker type streaked camouflage. The wings were hand painted at the factory and the streaked fields varied from airframe to airframe.

To continue, here are some examples of hand painted streaking on Eduard and DML Dr.I kit fuselages.

Greetings all here is a bit more progress.  Note the angle of the streaking tend to vary from one upper surface to the other.  Also elevators and ailerons were done separately on all "production aircraft."

StephenLawson wrote:

Greetings Justin; Lozenge fabric was never meant to line up entirely.  The only reason it does here, is that the wing chord (leading edge to trailing) is pretty much the same from wing root to wing tip.  The opposing sides don't match.  Your doing fine.

Ok-- thanks, Stephen.  Have done a few more panels, and am not being quite as anal about the fitting of them together.  Ha.  Phew.  I was worried for a second!

Thanks again, Stephen.  Like Scotty inferred, having someone like you around in a group build like this really makes a big difference!!

MrDrummy

Ok-- thanks, Stephen.  Have done a few more panels, and am not being quite as anal about the fitting of them together.  Ha.  Phew.  I was worried for a second!Thanks again, Stephen.  Like Scotty inferred, having someone like you around in a group build like this really makes a big difference!!

My thanks to you, Scotty and all gentle folk here.  Its not a problem helping someone who appreciates it.  Model On fellow wing nuts!

StephenLawson, you're doing an excelent job on your triplanes! That streaked camouflage is really great.

I've complete my small triplane, although I should have painted the "4th wing" (the one between the landing gear wheels) differently. It was made of plywood and not canvas, has I originally thought. I only realized this after completing it. Even so, I managed to remove the canvas texture and tried to add some wood grain, but everything is very fragil, and I wasn't successefull. I'm going to leave it this way. Here are some photos:

 I hope you like it.

Cheers

Stephen-- the streaking on those wings looks awesome!!! How much easier is the Eduard kit than the Dragon? 

Marco-- that little triplane is absolutely stunning.  I've never seen something so small and detailed, and again, I'm totally jealous of your propeller!  Great job!!

Here is a bit of fun with the Gunsight Graphics streaked decals on an Eduard 1/48 Fokker D.VII fuselage. (Early Schwerin of course.)

Justin- The Mercedes looks very nice indeed!  Can't believe you're decalling already!

Marco- Stunning work!  What a little gem you have there, especially the photo of her sitting next to the bottle of paint.  Don't know how you managed to acheive such good results so quickly.  Thanks for sharing the pics!

Stephen- I like your progress on the Dr.I, especially the streaking.  The streaked decals are nice, but a bit too uniform for my tastes.  Your painted version looks better IMHO.  Well done!

Marco the DR.1 is simply stunning. Im so impressed im on the search for one now LOL. Great work.

Stephen, The streaky decals do look a little on the 'Uniform' side for my liking but id love to see a good period photo to compare them against. Im with Frank on your streaking. Very nice. And what a production line you got going on. Geez, your a machine mate.

...Guy

Thank you everyone for the kind works, If you guys like it than I think all of the time I spent on getting it right was worth it.

Marco that Dr I is amazing and so small! Very impressive!

                                                                                   Soulcrusher

Thanks, Frank!  I have been decaling all night-- and then awoke from my slumber with but one thought (which also goes to show that I need to get a life...) *GASP* "Did I put the wrong color lozenge on the upper surfaces!?"

Alas, I did.  I have finished the top of the entire upper wing in the lozenge that SHOULD BE on the bottoms.  *sigh*  What a waste of time AND decals!!

Ok, boys.  Who sells good aftermarket lozenge decals?  

Man that is a real bummer there Justin. I am the king of the redo's I can tell you how many paint jobs I have stripped and redone because I did not like the results. Are you doing a    1/48 Fokker D VII? If so I have some extras. Both 4 color and 5 color lozenge patterns from my Eduard dual combo kit.. I would be happy to ship them if you want. I post a pic of the colors and you can decide if they will suit your need. just let me know buddy.

                                                                                        Soulcrusher

What a bummer Justin. I thought it was just me that had those sort of probs. Crusher you are a great fella for the offer. So many top blokes on these forums.

...Guy

 Hey Stephen, the triple play tridecker's are outstanding. I agree with all that has been said already. The decals look good, but the streaked camo you've painted has subtle variances that cannot be accurately reproduced. I really am looking forward to seeing updates on the trifecta tri fokkers.

 Marco, that is a cool tiny build. Huge on detail. Very cool.

 Justin, Sorry to see the lozenge camo mishap. Don't feel bad, I still haven't succesfully completed a Fokker of any kind in a decent looking lozenge camo. And I still need to get started on the E.V soon.

Frank-- those decals look really nice...  now I just have to decide if I buy them, or take up SC on his offer...  I think that my wife would like the latter...

Hey, SC!  Many thanks, man.  If you think you've got enough extra to do the tops of the top and bottom wing, I'll gladly take them off your hands!  If not,  I can literally pay for my mistake and buy some of those fancy decals...  The thing I like about these Roden decals is that they are in strips.  It seems like some of the others are just in big sheets.  That doesn't sound like fun!

Justin I just dug out the Eduard box with the second kit in it. Apparently you can only build one with the five color lozenge pattern like the Fokker I am building now and one with the four color pattern. All that is left in the box is two sheets for doing the upper and bottom in 4 color. I think yours is the four color pattern but either Eduard or Roden got the colors very wrong because the colors on the Eduard lozenge sheet are alot different than the pic you have posted. I do'nt think they will do you any good because they are not going to match the Roden decals at all. Sorry I thought I could help you out but I do'nt thing these decals will match the Roden one at all.

                                                                                Soulcrusher

Hmmm.  I guess it looks like I'm going to have to make some model-type purchases whenever the funds become available. 

BUMMER!!!!

Looks like the D.VII is going to be on hold for a bit...