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

Hey jgeratic1; mustta' been early morning, he has no shadow (not a crit), the shading and colours are excellent. BTW, nice job on the base and accreditations!

Given the figure, you got the 'leaning' spot on. i sure hope your guy lived to tell the tale!

Great work pal!

Wow, another completed build! Great job Richard! You figure guys never cease to amaze me!

DoogsATX

The excitement continues in this morning's Pupdate!

First...Gator's Grip glue, while generally excellent, yeah, not so much for eyeholes. Too much give. Ended up having to CA all the eyeholes back in place, including one that broke after the other side was already rigged. That one...well, if they made 1/32 duct tape and zip ties, the fix would have been the rough equivalent.

So...eyelets of ultrawire + .004 monofilament + 0.5mm nickel tubing. String the mono through the eyelet, then run both ends of the mono through a small length of tubing as though it's a bolo tie. Run the tubing "up" the monofilament until it's a short distance from the eyelet. Apply small drop of thin CA to the top of the tubing. 

Here's where I learned a valuable lesson - use one pair of tweezers to hold the "main" mono line taut. And a second pair to hold the "spare" line away at an angle. Otherwise the thin CA will run between them and they'll stick.

Run main mono line through holes in the bottom of the frame. CA at the top, trim at the bottom. 

Overall...making the holes was far and away the most tedious part of the operation. That, and dealing with the forward eyelet, which broke away after everything was rigged. Couldn't reposition with tweezers, so I ran a piece of ultrawire through the eye, pulled taut, and twisted. The extra ultrawire around the frame held the eyelet fast and gave the thin CA more to grab. Still...when I rig the plane, eyeholes and other connection points wil have PLENTY of depth.

 

Doogs;

You mentioned "First...Gator's Grip glue, while generally excellent, yeah, not so much for eyeholes. Too much give. Ended up having to CA all the eyeholes back in place, ...", if I got that right, CA crystalizes and isn't as 'plastic', the Gator 'gives' or stretches a micro too much?

Also, does the Gator have anywhere near the capillary flow of the CA?

Thanks

***completd pics***

Alrighty, colour this one as done.
Please excuse the darkness of some of the photos.  Although taken in natural light, the forward leaning of the figure made it a tad difficult to get decent frontal shots.

Thanks in advance for any comments and crits.
 regards,

Jack

Hey Marc - can you pull the Nieuport 17 down? I'm still planning on building it, but with the decal situation (Academy's decal reputation + no really great aftermarket options), I'm going to give it over to the Wild Wings GB and paint it up in the two-tone blue camo the 56th FG used with their P-47Ms. Figure that would take it a bit away from the WWI theme.

I WILL be adding another kit. Not sure what yet, exactly. Curious to try out a Roden kit, so maybe the Spad VII or Nieuport 28 (or Soppy Tripe).

Doogs -  hey man, I've seen your work and I know what you can do - it's awesome and I knew we were all in for a treat with the 'Pup once you got your teeth into 'er, but some of the stuff you've put into your build, I was like "holy &%$#, I never would have thought of that!" Stellar work!

Marc, be very careful with those wing adjustments - at the same time, you have to monitor the spacing between upper and lower so it doesn't throw off the fit of the struts.

Marc - awesome! Another bipe coming out to play!

I rigged up the other side of the cockpit frame last night...took the lazy route since I got a case of itwon'tbevisible-itis. Looking very forward to moving on to things like the actual cockpit tonight.

Also read, either on this or the Camel thread, someone who knew Rickenbacker, and that apparently they often-as-not used ropes for seat belts, since the actual belts wore out. Think that could be a LOT of fun...especially since the WnW PE belts  seem ridiculously out-of-scale. Well, unless the seatbelts were copies of the heavyweight champion belt... 

PLASTIC HAS BEEN CUT, MOLD LINES SANDED AND PIN MARKS FILLED.  IT HAS BEGUN!

In simpler terms... I've started

Mike, your warning has been well heeded.  The wings are NOT flat.  Not being sure which ejector pin marks inside the fuselage will be visible... I filled 'em all.  Sanding them is going to be a girlie dog.  The side of the seat look more rounded in the photos so I added some sheet plastic to the side to thicken them up.   "Film at 11"

ruddratt

Doogs, man you're really raising the bar in this GB. That is some incredible stuff! I love the 'pits on these WWI birds, and yours has really lit a fire under my kiester to get cracking on mine.......so I did!

Got the engine built, and the base coats are on the fuselage halves as well as on many of the office components....should have some pics up soon.

Dude - coming from you, I'm taking that as mega-huge praise! After the work you did on the Pfalz...can't wait to see the Hisso!

Have to get cracking on the frame rigging on the other side tonight...thankfully I found the new bit set I received a few days ago (small black case, black car seats = bad combo!). Hopefully they're a bit higher quality than the ones I've been muddling along with.

Have to admit, I'm having real trouble with the cowl panels. The rubber cement chipping didn't work out the way I wanted (too stark/uniform), and neither did sanding back to the silver. About to give up and go for the old silver pencil/drybrush combo method.

Man, these bipes are addicting!

Marc, nice pickup on the Macchi! You gonna be building if for this GB?

Jack, great work on the figure, and that base is awesome! Gotta hand it to you figure guys!

Doogs, man you're really raising the bar in this GB. That is some incredible stuff! I love the 'pits on these WWI birds, and yours has really lit a fire under my kiester to get cracking on mine.......so I did!

Got the engine built, and the base coats are on the fuselage halves as well as on many of the office components....should have some pics up soon.

DoogsATX

Just found what I need for rigging work...

'); // -->

 

Hey, your work is about as close to micro surgery as I've seen.

As for the video, if the manufacturers of the manipulators have their force-feedback calibrations right, a person can aquire the sensation of actually 'feeling' the work at 'hand.'

If i ever need another ripped knee ligament rejoined, i'm calling you!

Jack, and Dogs:

Great work to both of you!

Nate

Just found what I need for rigging work...

Doogs - I like it!  Thanks for  taking the time for the pics and detailed explanations- I'm definitely learning something new here.

Well this should be the final update on this one: 

I thought I had a good idea by using decal paper for the collar patches.  Every attempt at placing them on the figure would result in having some of the printer dye leeching out from the edges even though there was three layers of future acrylic.  In the end the decals were left with the backing paper on and were white glued in place.  I did peel about half  the thickness away to help with scale effect.  A flesh base coat has been brushed on the face and hands.  Now the fun really begins - the face can either make or break a model figure.

The wooden base is an Elisena product from Italy.  The sides were masked off with tape.  While mixing up  Celluclay, I added a small amount of fine ballast from Woodland Scenics.  Before applying this onto the base, the top was sanded  and white glue spread over for better adhesion.  To one side I created a mound and embedded coarse ballast.  I also shaped the ground to a slight incline in the direction the figure would be running.  To the flat surface is added more fine ballast, random sprinkling of static grass and a few medium ballast.

The whole surface was sprayed flat black followed with an earth colour for the ground.  The pile of rocks was sprayed with a grey and then some field gray where the grass was.  Afterwards I drybrushed with lighter tones of the base coats.

regards,

Jack

That looks smokin' hot.

The excitement continues in this morning's Pupdate!

First...Gator's Grip glue, while generally excellent, yeah, not so much for eyeholes. Too much give. Ended up having to CA all the eyeholes back in place, including one that broke after the other side was already rigged. That one...well, if they made 1/32 duct tape and zip ties, the fix would have been the rough equivalent.

So...eyelets of ultrawire + .004 monofilament + 0.5mm nickel tubing. String the mono through the eyelet, then run both ends of the mono through a small length of tubing as though it's a bolo tie. Run the tubing "up" the monofilament until it's a short distance from the eyelet. Apply small drop of thin CA to the top of the tubing. 

Here's where I learned a valuable lesson - use one pair of tweezers to hold the "main" mono line taut. And a second pair to hold the "spare" line away at an angle. Otherwise the thin CA will run between them and they'll stick.

Run main mono line through holes in the bottom of the frame. CA at the top, trim at the bottom. 

Overall...making the holes was far and away the most tedious part of the operation. That, and dealing with the forward eyelet, which broke away after everything was rigged. Couldn't reposition with tweezers, so I ran a piece of ultrawire through the eye, pulled taut, and twisted. The extra ultrawire around the frame held the eyelet fast and gave the thin CA more to grab. Still...when I rig the plane, eyeholes and other connection points wil have PLENTY of depth.

EBergerud

I've been reading the boards on WingNut and everybody agrees they're splendid kits. And easy as long as you eyesight better than a professional racing driver's. (And experience with biplanes doesn't hurt.) Course you found the Zvezda LA5 a piece of cake so maybe you're ready for Le Mans. I'm starting a biplane too - hope my pin vise isn't too clumsy an instrument. Never thought of using an airbrush as a drill. Think you're Pup's off to a very nice start. Keep the pics coming to those of us down the food chain that still find the rigging stuff something like black magic.

Speaking of rigging, I'm thinking of doing Koenig for this GB, but sanity may intervene.

Eric

So far this one hasn't been too bad. Mostly a lot of techniques I've never tried before (woodgrain, rigging...). If it weren't for my going off the reservation in a few spots, the parts are in my opinion no more fiddly than, say, the Accurate Miniatures Dauntless. 

I highly recommend the old airbrush needle, though. It's an awesome all around tool. I use it as a punch for locating drilling holes, as a scraper, as a spear for tiny PE parts, glue applicator...next to my tweezers and xacto, it's probably the most-used tool in my arsenal.

wing_nut

Which are you impressed with?  The glue or the wire?

Looks good doogs.  And tedious. What, if any,  of top rail of that frame will be visible inside the cockpit? Could you have drilled through at an angle from outside the square and made the tails a little long to go through and trim off?  If you have not done the other side yet, patching a couple of tiny spots may be easier than poking holes for a shallow attachment point.

Heh...impressed with the glue, but now that you mention it, I've been very impressed with the ultrawire, too. It's got that springiness to it that some wire has, but when you bend it, it holds its shape exceptionally well. 

As for the rest...what can I say? The Pup brings out the tedious in me. First the control yoke wrapping, then replacing the broken control column, now these. But in this case, there is a tiny bit of method to my madness.

First - I'm not sure how much of the top rail will be visible once the upper deck goes on (my guess...not much), but I'm also viewing this as a nice trial run for the later wing rigging (and if I muck it up, it'll be mostly out of sight!).

Second - It's tough to be really certain where all the outside of the frame contacts the fuselage, floor, and decklid pieces. That's one thing - this kit isn't very test-fit friendly. Figured, though tedious, drilling into the squares themselves would be the safer bet from a bigger fit perspective.

Third - I used the airbrush needle as a punch in the upper run, then drilled with the microbits. In my experience, and quite possibly due to having a bad set of bits or something, but those really small bits suck at actually opening holes (and wander all over the plastic). The needle gives them something to bite into.

Fourth - on the lower run, I actually discovered that, with minimal pressure, I could actually drive the airbrush needle straight through the plastic and make holes without drilling! I'll be running the monofilament out these holes, then trimming the excess away.

I've been reading the boards on WingNut and everybody agrees they're splendid kits. And easy as long as you eyesight better than a professional racing driver's. (And experience with biplanes doesn't hurt.) Course you found the Zvezda LA5 a piece of cake so maybe you're ready for Le Mans. I'm starting a biplane too - hope my pin vise isn't too clumsy an instrument. Never thought of using an airbrush as a drill. Think you're Pup's off to a very nice start. Keep the pics coming to those of us down the food chain that still find the rigging stuff something like black magic.

Speaking of rigging, I'm thinking of doing Koenig for this GB, but sanity may intervene.

Eric

So you know the old saying... Walk before you run.  This may be an all out haul a$$ go but Picked this up at the show yesterday.  All resin... a 1st... in 1/72.  The parts are so beautifully cast.  The tailing edges on the wings as so sharp I could shave with them.  And darn near thin enough to read through.  And not a single bubble in any part.  Luftwoller built one in 1/46 for the Knights of the Sky II in '09 and it is just so cool looking.

Which are you impressed with?  The glue or the wire?

Looks good doogs.  And tedious. What, if any,  of top rail of that frame will be visible inside the cockpit? Could you have drilled through at an angle from outside the square and made the tails a little long to go through and trim off?  If you have not done the other side yet, patching a couple of tiny spots may be easier than poking holes for a shallow attachment point.

wing_nut

The rules.. I mean suggestions state if you wanna start...GO

But for those that good internal clock...1 MONTH FROM TODAY is the official start date.

Sweet! By then I should hopefully have the fuselage closed up!

Been making solid progress on what I'm now coming to believe is quite possibly the hardest (at least the most intricate) part of the build - rigging the cockpit bracing wires.

Unlike the wings, there are no pre-drilled holes here. Just thin plastic (maybe 1/16" at the most...), with precious little room to work with a drill.

I ended up using, often as not, a battle-damaged airbrush need to "punch" the hole rather than relying on the rather precarious drill. 

Eyebolts were made by twisting ultrawire around a small diameter wire (0.3mm I believe), and glued into the holes with Gator's Grip. I've been nothing but impressed with the stuff so far, so I'm curious to see how it holds up to rigging duties.

I'm planning on using .5mm nickel tubing and monofilament for the bracing wires from the eyebolts. Should be moving on to that this evening. Fingers crossed!

I should be done with my panzerjager in plenty of time for the official start. Gotta switch gears from armor to aircraft.

Nate

The rules.. I mean suggestions state if you wanna start...GO

But for those that good internal clock...1 MONTH FROM TODAY is the official start date.

2nd time, eh?... Must be the time zones...

..............................................................

ohh i get now after i read it the second time

A classic.

Shoulda "Gone Fokker"... The Dr 1 and D VII have about three wires, lol...

Reminds me of a story...

Seems there was this old, Veteran fighter pilot that was asked to speak at the local VFW Ladies Auxilliary meeting one fine evening and share some of his experiences as a fighter pilot to the ladies, and then maybe answer some questions from the floor.

 As he was introduced, the Post Commander quietly reminded him to watch his language in front of the ladies, as he knew that that particular Vet had a rather "salty" dialogue, especially when talking about dogfights during the war...

As he finished up his speech, he opened the floor to Q & A... One of the ladies asked him, "Colonel, what was your most frightening experience as a fighter pilot?

He thought for a moment and then answered, "The most frightening?.. Well, no doubt, one experience is burned into my fff... brain... One afternoon, after we'd let the damn, whoops, sorry ladies, that one slipped... and we'd let the bombers go and were returning to base, and I'd become separated from my flight because of some bad weather... 

I flew back and forth for a bit along the coast of France, trying to pick up a landmark, when I looked down and spotted twelve Fokkers comin' up at me from below!  Then, always aware of the "Hun in the Sun", I looked up, and sure enough, there were twelve more Fokkers coming down at me! I was helpless and scared shiii... err... To death!

At this moment the Post Commander stepped in, trying to be helpful, and said, "Ladies, just a breif explaination,  a Fokker is type of German Fighter plane,  isn't that right, Colonel?

The old Colonel quickly replied, "Yup, you're right, and these Fokkers was Messerschmitts! "...

dupes

Ohhh man...don't know what I've gotten myself into here! Between the stuff you guys are posting up, and looking at a bunch of Nate's work firsthand this weekend, I'm a bit worried about what I'd be able to contribute. Rigging will be the death of me, I'm sure!

Hey, this is my first bipe, and I'm shaking every time I even look at it! If I can tackle it, I have no doubt you can as well!

Hey, thanks Marc! After looking at some of YOUR work this weekend, I'm sure you will do just fine!

Nate