The group build to end all group builds - THE GREAT WAR

Mike - your Fokker turned out awesome!

How did you achieve the feathered colour gradation on the the tail and hubs?

Best wishes on getting that shoulder on the mend.

regards,

Jack

Jack, thanks for the comments and the well-wishes!

For the tail surfaces, it was a matter of lightly feathering some Tamiya weather powders between the ribs, carefully, without overdoing it. On the wheel hubs, I shot a light dusting of Tamiya Deck Tan into the center over a background color of Tamiya Khaki Drab. Some dark earth and sooty-colored Tamiya powder feathered around the outer edge of the rims finished it off. Glad you like it!

Couple of things:

First, very sweet triplane. It is very good to see that you did penance by giving it an absolutely outstanding camo job. (I belong to an interesting old fasioned WWI model mailing list - mostly bipes. Triplanes are in general considered a kit for the unwashed - basically no rigging you see.)  I've got a little stash of Pay Pal cash and I'm thinking of what to use it on. I think a 1/32 Hobby Boss/Academy tripe would be a good choice. Des Latorre considers it a decent kit and I really like 1/32 for WWI. I could have bought the thing a year ago on Scale Hobbyist for $18. Des just did their Camel and the guy's a genius. Should note he's got his first scratch build on display with (as usual) an extremely detailed photo-build. It's simply amazing and he makes it look like a human could do it (minus the engine: need a mini-lathe for that).  Just in case anyone's missed it, check out http://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com/. I consider it one of the best and most useful site serving the modeling community. Doesn't hurt that Des is a splendid gent. Anyway, I will steal your camo scheme - couldn't possibly come up with a better one. (If I ever build an Albatross III, it will be red.)

Second, if you want to see WWI aircraft in action the holy grail is Howard Hughes great movie "Hells Angels" (1929) which is available at Netflix or Amazon. The plot is insane, although Jean Harlow is there in "pre-code" mode: you can see why she generated lust. That said, the fully reconditioned film boasts extraordinary special effects - a Zeppelin raid early in the film will rattle your tree. But it's the live action shots, which make up nearly half the film, that are amazing. The planes were the real deal: SE-5s are the most common but there are Camels and even some DVIIs (guess they weren't all destroyed.) The stunt flyers included some combat veterans from across Europe and the US - their last chance to play hard in fighter aircraft. (The star player is a Handley Paige bomber that is put through stunt flying that amazes.) Hughes was working in a world where lawyers worked for people that had money and risks were part of the game: no director today would consider putting men into the danger those guys were in. (I'll leave you to decide whether one film of a head-on collision was a fake - as claimed by Hughes - or the real deal as claimed by some reporters.) No CGI will ever come close to replicating the combat scenes in Hells Angels. And it's a priceless source document. The formations and even the maneuvers employed were genuine and the sense of how cramped those battles were comes across splendidly. It makes any modern film look sad. It's just a really terrible flick. (A little like "Birth of a Nation" DW Griffith's racist account of the Civil War. The battle scene advisers were Civil War veterans. The film was made in 1915 so there were still a couple million vets around. So an unusual look at the Civil War and a bad epoch in American social history. Movie is presently available for free streaming to Netflix account holders.)

Last, is this GB going to end? It certainly has been a good one - even if I chickened out on the Emher Mark V tank.

Eric

There really isn't an end date fpor this GB any longer.  If someone wants to through somethibng in the mix... who am i to say no

Good to hear. The subject deserves a permanent home, especially with WNW bringing new people to biplanes and an odd revival in the industry's interest in pre-WWII ship modeIs. (Zvezda's got Dreadnought out: Bronco's turn of the century kits have done well, and now Trumpie has a 1/700 1918 version of their new 1/350 1942 Queen Elizabeth: a 1918 1/350 version will almost certainly follow.)

I've got an Academy Nieuport that is either 1st or 2d on the airplane build list. (Have to warm up biplane skills before doing my WNW Pfalz III. Still don't really get buckles - better to practice on a $15 kit. The WNW kit is almost too pretty to build.) My next build is the ancient Glencoe 1/225 USS Oregon that was a prominent member of the posse at Santiago in 1898 - after sailing from the Pacific -almost as far as the Rooskies sailed to get to Tsushima. It's for the "Castles of Steel" GB, but I'll send a pic here (unless it's a catastrophe) as Oregon was used for reserve purposes during the War to End War. (After which it was made a museum. Then in the war after the war to end war it was put into third rate service and sadly scrapped. To think, Mikasa could have had a twin in Oregon today.)

Eric

The Triplane is looking VERY NICE there Mike!  The photos are quite an improvement as well!

Been working on newsletter for the local club and trying to make a major dent on my Night Fighter build.  Researching the Seimens Schuckert D.III so as to do a build up of the Roden kit that I have.  Also have 2 of the old Eduard 1/48 kits of that plane.  Located some decals for the 1/32 scale kit that are done by a fellow in France.  There are a number of nice markings though I believe that the one I will build I can do some masks and airbrush the markings.  That coupled with the reference I have aquired and the few items that I am going to order from Sprue Bros it should be fairly straight forward on the build.

If I can keep my nose to the grindstone I might even have something at the local IPMS contest here in Memphis, May 26th.

Eric, first off, thank you very much for the nice comments about my DR.I. I've always thought it was a neat little aircraft and was eager to add one or two to my collection. I'm not familiar with the Academy/Hobby Boss DR.1 in 1/32. The only ones I know of in that scale are the Roden kit and an upgrade to Roden's entry released by Squadron.

I'm going to keep my eyes open for that movie as well. Looks like it would be an interesting viewing, especially the way you described the aerial tactics.

....and as Marc said, yep this GB is going to go on for quite a while, which is great news. For that, I'm very grateful.

Thank you kindly, Paul ! ...and yep, that photo discussion we had earlier on this thread was invaluable. Lot's of great tips - I'm extremely happy with the pics I took, but there's still a lot of room for improvement.

Definitely looking forward to seeing those Seimens Schuckerts too!

Sorry guys, I've been doing a little work on the Pfalz and at the same time some work on another armor build.  Looks like more excellent work has been accomplished here!!

Mike - First, I'm very glad the X-Rays didn't show any problems.  Good health is more important than good models!  Second (and a very close second!!) the DR 1 looks just amazing!  You did a fantastic job on it and its inspiring me to do well on the Glencoe kit.  I'm so glad I watched that "Red Baron" movie, because it had DR 1s that looked very close to yours!! 

Eric - thanks for the "Hells Angels" movie tip.  Never watched it, but I do recal some scenes about it in "The Aviator" movie about Howard Hughes (diCaprio).  I'll have to check it out sometime.

I'll post some pics on the Pfalz this weekend.  Tomorrow I'm going to the Silicon Valley Scale Modelers model show in San Jose!  I'll make sure to take pics of all the Great War builds and post them here!

Thanks Ernest!

Been wondering where you've been. I am really looking forward to seeing pics of the Pfalz, as well as the builds from the San Jose show.

....and what armor kit are you working on? Would love to see some pics of that as well.

ruddratt wrote the following:

Definitely looking forward to seeing those Seimens Schuckerts too! 

Well Mike, am not really planning on building the old (and I do mean OLD) Eduard 1/48th scale Schuckerts at this time.  They are of the same quality as my Hannover kit and I don't really feel up to putting in that kind of work at this time.  Besides am thinking of building only one of them as a D.III (late), The other I am planning on doing the mod thing and making it into a D.IV (scratch built wings anyone?).

I am only planning on building the Roden 1/32 kit for now.  It has enough headaches to deal with as it is. The louver panel behind and below the engine needs to have all the louvers opened up and that will be tricky as they are both innie and outie type louvers.  That means that half of the louver is punched out in the original piece and the part on the other side of the hole is punched in making a larger directed airflow.  That is going to be the most challenging part to do it correctly.  A lot of drilling with small drills and some new tricks to thin the panel.  Also the canyons that are engraved in the fuselage to show panel lines are going to have to be filled and re-scribed.  In addition I read that hand hold openings at the rear of the fuselage are not quite in the correct place.

Those are the main things.  I will have to come up with some instrument faces since the kit has none.  (instruments but no faces    )  Not much scratch building should be needed, just rework.

As for painting, I have the markings chosen, just not sure yet if I am going to use the lozenge decals or not (probably not).  Have read that the colors on the decals are not quite correct and I really don't like to use LARGE decals.  Have a plan in place to paint the pattern (of course) but will have to finish a tool I started back early last year.  Built the tool and tested it.  (sort of worked needed a LOT of changes)  Have it worked out now and much simplified (read as IMPROVED)  Painting the lozenge will also allow the ability to pre-shade and make tone adjustments.  Wood pattern for the plywood have a plan for that too.  Will have to dig out some old D&D doors to get the color right for the base pattern.  Then over coat with the darkening coat.  Should be interesting.  

Yeah Mike, I've just been busy with other projects, but the Pfalz is still on my plate!  I'll post photos tomorrow as I'm still working on the armor project and want to "git er done!" so I can focus on the bipe!  The armor is an old Italeri BT-5 for the "Ostfront II" GB.  Here's a link to the GB thread with my latest update:  /forums/t/141690.aspx?PageIndex=9

Paul, man o man you're wearing me out just READING about all the work you're going to do on that Roden kit!!  Sounds killer though!  I'm definitely keeping an eye out for this....you AC builders are amazing and I get to learn all kinds of cool stuff from you!

Well, the SVSM 2012 Kickoff Classic in San Jose was a little disappointing on the Great War side.   Absolutely no WWI armor was represented, and only a couple of bipes from the war:

A very nice1:32 Sopwith Pup.  My photos don't do it justice...the lighting wasn't that good and when I tried to use my flash it altered the colors and washed out some of the subtle shading and highlights.

And a little 1:72 .....???   Shoot, I forgot to check the tag on this one.  Maybe a Spad??

I sure agree that large decals are best avoided. I'm trying to dispense with as many decals as possible even if I'd like to have a manservant do masking work for me. Personally I don't like the looks of the lozenge camo - just too busy - not a purple fan either. But, it does look like the Germans used late war and gunked up all those neat looking planes they were making, so there's no choice. Painting a scheme like that does sound like a tall order though. Has there been any further chat about those MicroSculpt lozenge decals? They're silkscreen printed, supposedly in 48 scale but they come in large pieces that you cut to order. As I recall Wingnut thought they'd look fine in 32 scale. They also make a "linen" decal for allied planes. The Siemens is such a sweet looking plane that it's tempting to look the other way and do it anyway. (What I really need, can't figure why, is a Morane Saulnier monoplane. The craft simply embodies funk. Of course that means breaking Rule #7 - never buy a kit made in the Ukraine.) 

Eric

I don't know about Ukrainian kits, but the kits and after market from the Czech Republic are all amazing. I even have one kit made in Poland and it is as sweet as any WNW 1/32 kit.  Only difference is it is in 1/48th.  Will have to do a review on it with photos.  Definitely worth the money I paid even though it is smaller than the 1/32 kits it is every bit as detailed and nice.  The instructions are on an equal or better than basis to any WNW instructions.

.      ( make note! must do kit review on Mirage Halberstadt CL.II or Great War folks will can my butt!)

Nice photos of that Sopwith Pup and the Spad!

Holy moley Paul, that is an obscene amount of work you got planned for that Roden kit - and painting your own lozenge!? You are a heck of a lot braver than I. I'll stick to the decals for now. It'll be quite some time before I could muster up enough courage to tackle that task, that's for sure. I can't wait to see this build!

Ernest, man, where to start! Checked out your builds on the Ostfront GB - I seriously don't know how you treadheads do it. Both of those pieces look phenominal, and the third is off to a great start. That rust effect is mind-blowing! I have an AFV Club LeFH18M that I plan on tackling once my armor weathering skills are up to snuff, and you can be sure I'll be using your builds as inspiration (as well as picking your brain for advice and techniques!)

Shame about the lack of WWI stuff at the show you went to, but what was on display was first rate. It's really got me anxious to see how you've progressed on the Pfalz.

Managed to get a bit more done on the Glencoe Pfalz D.III.  The cockpit is almost done, I'm waiting to complete engine work before adding all the little bits and pieces that I scratched.  Most likely I'll just knock them off fitting the engine. 

Using the Eduard kit as a guide I added sidewall runners using .010 x .030  and .010 x .040 Evergreen styrene strip:

Did more work on the cockpit assembly:

Scratched an instrument panel using the Eduard PE sheet as a guide.  For the dial I used some generic decals from Decalcomaniacs.  Not the most accurate but better than trying to paint those gauges by hand!

The Glencoe kit has a very simple represenation of the Mercedes III engine.   My first inclination was to scratchbuild some extra detailing so I searched the web for photos of the real engine.  Upon finding some very good pics, my first realization was that the kit engine is really quite horrid, bearing only a passing resemblance to the real thing! .   I also found photos of a Pavla 1:48 resin replacement engine so I did a little research on this and found that Vector made an even better resin replacement!!  Here's a photo of the little Vector engine I pulled from the web:

I decided to take a look to see if any online stores carried either the Pavla or Vector engines and was pleasantly surprised to find that Great Models had the Vector engines in stock and also on sale!   So I pulled the trigger and splurged, ordering two sets!  My intention is to use those nice engines in the Eduard Pfalz and Dragon Fokker D.VII kits.  Then instead of using the lame Glencoe engine I can use either the Eduard or Dragon kit engine for this Glencoe kit!  One of the reasons I've put this kit aside was to wait for the Vector parts to arrive, which they did on Friday!

I assembled both the Glencoe and Eduard engines and put them next to the unassembled Vector resin replacement!  There's no question that Glencoe's just plain sucks , but Eduard's isn't really that bad.  The Vector engine is just superb and its a shame that most of it won't be seen, but what can be seen will be quite nice!

Next step is to figure out how to mount the Eduard engine in the Glencoe fuselage.  Once that's done I can finish up the cockpit details and start painting the interior!

Said in my best Maxwell Smart voice ...."Ahhh, the old swap the Eduard for the Vector trick!"

Good call, Ernest. She's lookin' real good. The IP looks fine - all that added detail is making a huge difference. Keep us posted!

To mount the Eduard engine, I'd do it by making another bulkhead using the Eduard part as a rough guide.

Amazing work, both pictured and purposed.

gotta get my current build off the bench and see what I can do to ...er... with a biplane of the

1st war

WHAAA WHOOO!

Contrary to popular belief... I am still on this side of the grass  Checking in and nice to see that is still a heart beat here too. 

Still plugging away at your 1st A/C Ernest.  Love those Vector engines.  They are real gems.

I figured you wingy guys would know all about these replacement engines!!  

Me, I was just so stoked to find these little gems!

OK fellas, I know it's been a while since I've had any progress to post on this guy (almost a year), but thanks to a load of extra time at the bench, been able to make some major headway on that 1/32 WnW SE.5a. There is no external rigging done yet, but it's time is drawing near, and there's a ton of it on this bird (I got away easy on the DR.I ). Still need to gloss and apply the markings on the upper wing (which fits like a dream), and then the rigging can begin, so here is where it stands so far, along with the finished prop and wing-mounted Lewis gun.

Top notch work on this Mike.  very glad to see this one back on the front lines.

Great looking SE5 so far Mike. The wood grain work on the prop is very subtle and convincing.

Mike, I didn't realize you were working on another bipe!  The SE.5 is looking very nice!  I also am digging the realistic looking wooden prop!  How did you do that?  

No update on the Pfalz . To be honest I was getting a little frustrated with the Glencoe kit due to all the work involved in bringing it to decent standards.  Fitting the Eduard engine requires that the opening in the fuselage be lengthened and new risers scratch built.  I guess I'm a little out of my element with this type of AC kit; should have just stuck to armor!  Anyway, I set the Pfalz aside to work on some other armor builds, but I WILL get back to it before long!

Hey Ernest, a place to start on what you might need to put that engine into the Glencoe kit would be to compare the Eduard and Glencoe fuselages to each other.  Size, shape, and holes etc.  that should give you a pretty good idea of just how much you need to change the Glencoe kit.

Been working on the Roden Seimens Shuckert D.III the last week or so.  Have the louvered panel under the fuselage and just behind the engine all opened up.  To do it right, a lot of it ended up VERY thin, but the innie/outie louvers look fabulous.  I have seen photos of this part with the openings done incorrectly and they don't look right.  It looks quite different when done correctly.  Have the handholds on the fuselage rear sides cut and moved as well.  Basically whoever cut the mold got the positions crossed between the sides.  They are supposed to be slightly below center line and angled slightly down.  Instead they are slightly above center line and angled up.  The fix is to make identical cuts around then and swap them to the other side. Worked quite well.

Might try to put together a post tomorrow and show you all what I have done.

Heavens Eagle

Hey Ernest, a place to start on what you might need to put that engine into the Glencoe kit would be to compare the Eduard and Glencoe fuselages to each other.  Size, shape, and holes etc.  that should give you a pretty good idea of just how much you need to change the Glencoe kit.

Been working on the Roden Seimens Shuckert D.III the last week or so.  Have the louvered panel under the fuselage and just behind the engine all opened up.  To do it right, a lot of it ended up VERY thin, but the innie/outie louvers look fabulous.  I have seen photos of this part with the openings done incorrectly and they don't look right.  It looks quite different when done correctly.  Have the handholds on the fuselage rear sides cut and moved as well.  Basically whoever cut the mold got the positions crossed between the sides.  They are supposed to be slightly below center line and angled slightly down.  Instead they are slightly above center line and angled up.  The fix is to make identical cuts around then and swap them to the other side. Worked quite well.

Might try to put together a post tomorrow and show you all what I have done.

DOH!!   Should have thought of using the Eduard fuselage as a pattern, thanks Paul!!  The work probably isn't that hard, but I think I'm feeling a bit apprehensive about the bipe since its way outside my comfort zone!  I'll try getting back to it soon!

I'm dying to see what you've done with the Siemens Shuckert! 

A Glencoe Pfalz? Who made that one originally? (I'm working on the Glencoe USS Oregon and it's so old that it's origin has fallen into myth. Come to think of it, Oregon served in WWI - you'll at least get a pic.) I've got a WNW Pfalz at home that is too pretty to build - at least not until I'm more comfortable with weathering bipes. So please build a good one. I think you'll find that rigging isn't at all that hard. Getting a good set between the two wings may be a time to request divine guidance.

Eric

Hey Eric, I think the Glencoe Pfalz D.III was originally made by Aurora.  

 As for building a good one...well I'll give It my best shot!

OK guys, I'm calling this one done. This kit was a blast to build, and I have to say it looks pretty cool sitting next to my 1/32 Pfalz. It's got me itching to hop back into my WnW Albatros, but I that'll have to wait until I finish up a few other GB commitments. Anyway, here's some pics. Hope you enjoy!