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

Marc, that was a fairly common pattern on Fokker aircraft. Seen it used a lot on the D.VII's, and on the DR.1's, you'd be hard pressed to find one without it..........speaking of which, my DR.1 Dual Combo arrived today. Man, what a kit!! Six incredible color schemes and enough parts to build two complete aircraft. I cannot wait to get started on this!

...but alas, it will have to wait until the E.V and the Hanriot HD.1 are finished (but when one considers the new time line of this GB, looks like I've got time ).

Ernest, the tracks looked pretty darn goos the 1st crack at it but they are even better now.  Very nice.  Since it is not complete yet I have to alter something another forum member may say... I love your Whippet and want to date with the hope the relationship will grow.

Mike cool technique.  Not be all that familiar with the WWI stuff I have not seen that camo before but it looks real sharp.

Glad you like 'er so far, fellas. It was a bit of trial & error - I had considered acrylics and gave 'em a shot in spite of my wife's warnings about them drying too fast. She was spot on, and I had to strip the wing down to plastic and start all over again. The only change I'll probably make is to add just a touch of violet oil paint to my OD mix to 'brown' it a little more.

Rob, I'm going to have to figure a way to do that pattern on the fuselage (figuring it may just involve scaling the wing technique down a bit). Got the same kit Waikong built for this GB (which he did an outstanding job on), only in the dual combo package, and all schemes have streaking on the fuselage (to different degrees). Good thing about the oils is if I fudge it, it can be wiped off easily and I can have another go at it.

Mike, that streaking technique looks good. I had to do the same camo for my Fokker and the streaking really gave me some headaches. At the end, it was ok, not completely happy with what I did.

Ernest, the tank is coming along REALLY nice!

RUDDRATT - Don't know much about these early aircraft but I do like looking at them especially when their so well done  Great looking cockpit and radial engine.  The top wing is outstanding.  Trying to think what I can use that technique on for armor?  Like you results so much I may just have to have a faded striped tank  But really, it looks great.

Probably not much of a question for all of you flyboys but how do you get that pattern on the fuselage?  Thats one of the things I like best about these early aircraft, their color and markings. 

ERNEST - I love it!!  Thats all that needs to be said, your build says the rest   More please

Looks real good Ernest! I've yet to get the hang of using filters, but you seem to have the technique down to a science. The worn metal on the tracks looks awesome too, and the shading on the tank body really takes it to another level. It's been a joy watching this one come together!

OK, I added a brown filter using MIG Productions Brown Wash, then followed a few hours later with a filter using Sin Industries Tan for Tritonal Camo.  Dry brushed a touch silver Rub N Buff on the high spots.  I had to adjust the lighting so you can see the effects of the filters so the silver highlight don't show very well, but they're there!  I think I like it.....

Applied tonal highlights to the upper surfaces and then pre-shaded (post-shaded?) panel lines and edges with flat black.....

Then blended it all together with a mix of the base color and the highlight color.....I want it a bit lighter to offset the weathering to come.

I'll let it dry overnight and add the red & white stripes tomorrow, add decals and then start the weathering process.....hopefully it will be done by the end of the week.

Mike, that is one cool technique you used on the upper wing!  I really like the effect of the blended oil paints, sort of like a "tiger stripe" camo pattern.  The interior and engine work are outstanding!  Great work on the Fokker!!

OK fellas. Got an update as promised. Even though it's not an official entry to this GB, I can't think of a better place to show it. Been working on a shelf sitter started quite a while back, Eduard's 1/48 Fokker E.V. Neat little kit.

This was as far as I had gotten before I boxed her up, basically the 'pit and the engine, buttoned 'er up and built the guns....

Got all the fiddly bits attached (sorry about the fuzziness of some of the pics), got 'er weathered up, and attached most of the rigging...

....and this was going to make or break the build, that being the upper wing. Saw a technique online about replicating the streaked camo seen on a lot of Fokkers and wanted to have a go at it. The wing was given a base coat of MM RLM02 and shined up with Future. The camo called for three oil colors. Two were easy - titanium white and burnt umber. The third, olive drab, I had to mix, and did so with a combination of mostly yellow ochre with a little chromate green and lamp black added to it. Some japan drier was added to all three colors to improve their flow and speed up the drying time. They are then brushed on in streaks, randomly alternating the 3 colors, like so....doesn't look like much at this point, but it gets better, trust me.

Using a wide flat brush, I started blending the colors in the same direction as the streaks, constanly wiping the brush to remove the excess, until it looked like this.....

I have to say I'm really happy with how they came out, and can't wait to try it again on my Fokker Dr.1's.

Ditto what the others have said. Man, those tracks are flippin' amazing!  I'm going to remember that technique when I get back to working on my Dragon 1/72 Sherman.

Ernest think if you want a more brown tint would go with a wash like you have said.  That way you would not lose the metal color you have.  I think they look really great as is and I like that metal color a lot.  I would only brighten up the high points.  The color you mixed for the hull is really nice!  It really shows the detail on the build.  Very outstanding work on it.  I am really liken it

Wow bufflehead!  The tracks really look good in the photo!  You might try a slightly moistened paper towel around your finger with the Windex.  As to the coloring on the tracks it does look good.  Only have one suggestion, that is if this is a tank that is "in action" the high points of the tracks would be fresh steel color from wear.  Other than that it really is looking good!

Rob, thanks for the kind words and I'm glad the Plastruct tip helped! 

Assembly done (finally) and primered.

Don't have any MM Russian Earth Brown and I typically don't use enamels so I tried mixing up a similar color using Tamiya acrylics:  50% Khaki, 40% Olive Drab and 10% Olive Green.  Although the mix looked like the right tone in the bottle, it seems a bit dark to me once sprayed on the model.  I think I'll lighten the mix quite a bit and hit the upper panels with to brighten them up!

I'm experimenting with the tracks and trying a method that Mike Rinaldi has been using, altered a bit to suite my paint supply.  First I sprayed Humbrol Metal Cote Gunmetal onto a section of the tracks (bottom section in case I mess up!).  I used Metal Cote because when it dries the Metal Cote can be buffed or burnished to a metallic sheen.  After a couple of hours I sprayed a light coat of Tamiya acrylic Flat Brown, followed by a coat of Flat Earth.  I let this dry about 15 minutes and then I used a small flat brush moisted with Windex to gently remove the acrylic paint from the high spots and flat areas around the bolts.  My goal was to slowly remove the upper acrylic paint to expose the underlying enamel Metal Cote.  However, using the brush was VERY slow, so I switched to a Windex moistened cotton bud and gently dabbed at the areas I wanted to remove the acrylic paint.  For some reason this worked much better.  I let this dry and then used a very stiff bristle brush to burnish the exposed Metal Cote.

I'm not too sure about the results.  I had hoped for more of the flat brown to show through, but all I can see is flat earth and dark metal.  I'll try applying a couple of brown filters to make it look more like tarnished, used steel.  Opinions fellas?

Been going full-bore on the Eduard Fokker E.V - got all the fiddly bits (PE control horns, tail skid & rigging attachment points) attached, and today I'm tackling the wing (this bird only had one - a parasol setup). Am going to try a technique I read about online blending oils to replicate the streaked camo that appeared on many Fokker designs. Will definitely have some pics up later.

MARC - The stitching is a great idea and makes an excellent detail..WOW  .008 bit......can you still see after those holes.

ERNEST - Sorry for the long delay of my reply.  You did a wonderful job with those tracks.  The whole build is AWESOME!  I did not have to modify the inner section of the links as you did.  Believe it was because the MK IV had more of a straight lay of the track except at the idler and sprocket.  Did not even use the idler and sprocket on the MK IV.  I plan on getting another set of these tracks and a Whippet and will use your build log here as a great reference.  Have really enjoyed watching yours come together.

Painting on the MK IV........First pre shaded with flat black and then, Yes, used MM enamel Russian Earth Brown # 2124.  It looks more brown in the bottle and that is what I was going for but the more paint that went onto the MK IV the more green it looked.  Used W&N oil for wash and pin wash.

Thanks for letting me know of the Plastruct hex rod.  The shops around me only have Evergreen.  Now at least I know what to look for and will order some.

Happy is an understatement, Marc. I'm on cloud nine! The hardware from this era is quite often overshadowed by that of the more popular periods, which is puzzling when one considers the diversity of the choices available. It's nice to finally see it with a place of its own.

Damn Mike, you really ARE happy this GB has been revived

I can't even imagine what Ralph Nader would have said.  "Whippet-Dangerous at any speed"

waikong

That is one weird looking tank, here's a picture I took of the beast at Aberdeen Proving Grounds Ordnance museum before they closed.  If it wasn't for the sign in front, I wouldn't have easily figure out which is the front.

Yeah waikong, when I first saw this tank in a modeling magazine a few years ago I couldn't tell front from back!  Had to do a little research to find out the vehicle's orientation!  Also, like Paul says, its hard to believe the fuel tank is right up front and is the nose of the tank!  I guess they didn't have much in the way of anti-tank guns back then!

Did just a little more work on the Whippet tonight, but not enough to post pics.  Maybe tomorrow I'll have something worthwhile to post.

OK, it's for sure Marc, if you would also add that Eduard 1/48 Hanriot HD.1 to my build roster.

Marc - yep, let's keep 'er goin'! With all I've got planned for upcoming projects, looks like I'll be sticking around here for a while. Been also working on a shelf queen (an Eduard Fokker D.V), so even though it's not part of my build roster, I'll be posting some pics of it here. Been reading about a neat technique for replicating the streaked Fokker camo using oil paints and plan on using it as a test bed before I attack those DR.1's. Am also very tempted to throw an Eduard Hanriot HD.1 into the mix.

Ernest - heck yeah! Those tracks look friggin' awesome! It's been a joy watching your build progress!

That is one weird looking tank, here's a picture I took of the beast at Aberdeen Proving Grounds Ordnance museum before they closed.  If it wasn't for the sign in front, I wouldn't have easily figure out which is the front.

Thanks for the comments guys.  Waiking... Patience?  Brother, you have no idea. With each sticth my patience wears thin but the insanity doesn't allow my to stop.

Ernest DAY-UM.  That is really a hotel sierra piece of work.

And for all you statistics fans...

Posts to the GB in Nov '11...2

Posts to the GB in Dec '11...0

Posts to the GB in Jan '12... 44  (avg. 5.5/day)

8 straight day in page 1 of the GB forum.

OOH-RAH

Wow bufflehead!  The Whippet is LOOKING GOOD!  Those tracks do make quite a difference!  I am impressed!

It is kind of strange though that the fuel tank is in the front of the tank and it has such a LONG front!

Just a strange looking tank.

Model Cellar tracks done!  Apparently these are the exact same tracks that are installed on the Mk.IVs, just not as many links, 67 instead of 92.  panzerwaffe used the MC tracks on his 1:35 Emhar Mk.IV Male (pgs 37 & 41). Like him, I found them to be quite nice!  Molding is crisp, practically no flash and mold seams, pin marks are only on the inside surfaces that are not seen and the sprue connections are small and well placed.  About the only nitpick is that the treadplates are thicker than scale.  I've seen some modelers thin down the edges of the treadplates, but I chose not to do that as it would have taken longer than I wanted to invest.  In the end I am extremely happy with the way they look.  For those interested here are the steps:

1. MC instructs you to add a shim around the inside edges of the inner and outer sponson plates before they are attached to the hull.  Otherwise the treadplates will ride on the edge of the sponsons when in actuality they ride on al the litle bogies within the sponsons. Photos (included with the MC instructions!) show that the treadplates are a signifcant distance from the sponson edges. 

2.  The sprockets and idlers are no longer needed except to properly space the inner/outer sponsons from each other, but modification is necessary otherwise they get in the way of proper track fit.  You are instructed to remove most of the outer parts.

3. After the treadshoes and treadplates are cleaned up, you are instructed to dryfit just the treadshoes in small sections. These fit together with a friction fit much like Dragon's Magic Tracks, but they lose their tight fit quite quickly. 

Exaclty 67 links were required, but it did require a bit of manipulation with the spacing of the links.  Also I found that the links didn't want to wrap around the sprocket and idler areas very well.  Turns out that some ridges on the treadshoes were the problem.  Where the links meet the corners of these ridges contact each other preventing the links from making a tight pivot.  By simply cutting off the corners on both sides the links can make a nice tight bend! 

Of course I didn't figure this out until I had the left side tracks already done, but at at least it isn't too noticable.  You can see a bits of gaps between the treadplates on the left side in the last set of photos.

Treadshoes assembled and fitted.

4. Add the treadplates....easiest part of the track assembly!  So much nicer than the kit tracks and the proper treadplate spacing is evident now.

I assembled each track assembly in two sections, much like I do with regular tank tracks.  I put a bit of slack around the sponson to allow for shrinkage, which always seems to happen with my indy link tracks and cause me grief when refitting on the painted tracks!   NOT THIS TIME!!   I hope.......

Now all I have to do is add some of the last fiddly bits (grab handles, angle iron track cleaners, port covers and she'll be off to the paint booth!

unbeleivable! ACtually stiching the thing, you are bringing this up another level. Hat is off to you patience and skill

wing_nut

Also, while technically i have not started this... I have technically started it.

Ordered some micro drill bits to redo the stitching on thge side of the FE-2b.  Drilling .008 holes with a #92 bit and "lacing" with .006 Uni wire.

 

Wow!  Now that's some detailing!

Paul, yep, it sure is. One of my favorite movies as well. When I considered how much paint we modelers 'shoot', it just seemed appropriate.

Hey Wing Nut, you are taking on some of my insanity!  Looking good so far.

Ruddratt I believe your quote is from Kelly's Heroes:

-Oddball- "umm We have our own ammunition, It's filled with paint.  When we fire it, it makes pretty pictures. . . . . . scares hell out of people."

I love that movie.  Donald Sutherland as a pothead during WW2.

Hey Rob!  Glad to hear from you!  I was just reviewing your previous past on your Emhar Mk IV Male (and admireing your build again!) to see what problems you encountered with the Model Cellar tracks!  Turns out the MC Whippet tracks are exactly the same as the Mk IVs, just less links are required.  I'm almost done with them, WIP photos to follow in a bit.

As for the styrene hex rod:  I use the ones made by Plastruct.  Evergreen apparently doesn't make hex rods, but I can usually find Plastruct styrene products at my LHSs in the same section as the Evergreen products.  I buy the .5mm, .8mm and 1.0mm sized rods, but use the .5mm the most.

Questions:  in your previous post on painting the MK IV you stated that you painted it using russian Earth Brown? I don't think I've heard of it before.   Is this actually a brown color because it looks more like a khaki-green in your photos?  What paint mfg/type is it? 

I really like the hue and tone of that paint job and was thinking of using Tamiya Khaki+Khaki Drab.  I was looking for something similar to your paint job.

Dang, Marc. Modelers like yourself, Paul, and Ernest just blow me away. Where do you guys come up with these ideas? Awesome stuff!