Bish

Nice work GM. And i am going to show my ignorance here. When i saw the hull/fuselage, i had to check what byou were building then had to have a look at what it was. I am guessing by this

The bottom of the hull is made from 6" wide mahogany planking, by boat builders.

your not reffering to the model. How did you do that.

I painted the whole thing insignia yellow. Then I masked off about 2/3 of it and painted the rest black, using 6" wide (at scale) strips of tape, and a 30 deg triangle. Next I removed all of the tape and oversprayed the whole thing with the finish color, diluted burnt sienna.

Then three coats of Future.

Looks cool I think.

Next the innards. More like a boat than an airplane.

Sasho and GMorrison: Wow those look incredible!

And thanks guys, however I went to put the landing gear legs on last night and after an hour or so I couldn't get them even halfway straight and aligned. Had to put 'er back in the box before I lost my temper...

Wow, guys - excellent work here, everyone.  It's cool watching these all come together.

John/Marc - Thanks for the encouragement, but I apparently am better with the glue than I am with measuring.  The only thing I could get to break off was part of my nail.  On to the injected engine!

Bish - You're living my dream, man...I wish I had the courage to tackle that monster.

Gamera - I think you're on the right track with the PollyS Aluminum.  I've used Tamiya Flat Aluminum for the same thing and it looks OK.

I have the wood graining done and ready for clear coats.  I'm slowly piecing the interior together.  Man, I'm spoiled by Wingnuts kits - I'm having to tweak and fiddle nearly every part for detail, fit, and secure mounting.  Not that Roden isn't good, but...

Take care everybody.  Keep these updates coming!  It keeps me motivated to try and keep up!...

GM, that is stunning work on the hull. It does look so much like a ships hull, i had to check, so i can well imagine what the insides look like.

Chuck, so do i. And my other half finds it ammusing.

Ok, the easy bit is almost over. Just about ready to paint before i do the rigging. As you can see, the inside sections of the wings are on. My plan is to paint and weather as you see. Then add the rigging followed by the outer parts of the wings. Then mask and finish off the paint. Thats the best way i can think of.

You can see here the pre made holes for the rigging. The instructions have it done in one long line for each wing. The raised square pieces are the recesses for the support struts.

I lost one of the support struts for the right engine so i need to replace that as well as mask and a bit more sanding.

GMorrison

I painted the whole thing insignia yellow. Then I masked off about 2/3 of it and painted the rest black, using 6" wide (at scale) strips of tape, and a 30 deg triangle. Next I removed all of the tape and oversprayed the whole thing with the finish color, diluted burnt sienna.

Then three coats of Future.

Looks cool I think.

GM - Definitely looks cool, and what a great process!

Jack - Good to see you! With you and Bish out and about, we're looking at 15 of the 18 birds on workbenches.

Marc - I still have a nagging cough and a runny nose, but it hasn't turned into something worse, thankfully. I've had the debilitating cough in the past though, so I am there with you. Get well!

Excellent work, everyone. 

Tim Kidwell

GMorrison

I painted the whole thing insignia yellow. Then I masked off about 2/3 of it and painted the rest black, using 6" wide (at scale) strips of tape, and a 30 deg triangle. Next I removed all of the tape and oversprayed the whole thing with the finish color, diluted burnt sienna.

Then three coats of Future.

Looks cool I think.

 

Jack - Good to see you! With you and Bish out and about, we're looking at 15 of the 18 birds on workbenches.

Thats a damn good ratio for any GB.

Bish

Thats a damn good ratio for any GB.

It sure makes for a lot going on! I love it!

And speaking of "damn good," the 0/400 is coming along very well (almost used smashingly, but thought  better of it as I might get called out for some sort of technical foul). It's going to be very impressive when all is said and done.

Be honest: Have you flown it around the house? Even a little? 

Tim Kidwell

Bish

Thats a damn good ratio for any GB.

 

Be honest: Have you flown it around the house? Even a little? 

Of course not, i am a grown man.

And likewise, i don't move my half built AFV's around the desk takeing out Russians left right and centre.

Man, you fellas are knockin' my socks off, from the DH.9 to the F2.A, the D.III, the Bristol, and, heck,  ALL OF 'EM,  great work guys!!

Bish, I am LOVIN' that 0/400 ! Fantastic work that is, and to think it's your first bipe - that's really impressive!

Jack, looking forward to seeing that engine, and it's great to see you joining in on the fun!

Shiv, ouch man!! Take it easy and heal up - this GB is gonna be going strong for a while. The Roland is a neat lookin' bird. Can't wait to see some pics.

Cliff, sorry to hear about the issues with the gear. I'm sure things will go a lot better in your next attempt. I think you got the main color nailed. I'm really anxious to see this build!

...and yeah, 15 out of 18, those are some serious numbers!

Man there's som stunning work starting and finished in here. I'm not in your GB but here's my only and first 1/72 "Fokker Eindecker" by Roden.

i1204.photobucket.com/.../0-Fokker0Eindecker52.jpg

Here I scratchbuilt the spoke wheels...

i1204.photobucket.com/.../0-Fokker0Eindecker40.jpg

i1204.photobucket.com/.../0-Fokker0Eindecker41.jpg

i1204.photobucket.com/.../2011_TigerFest-Winnings-1.jpg

O man,  I started rigging my D.III last night, what fun to try to get CA to stick on the end of a .004 dia  thread.  On that note is that dia too small for a 1/48.  before I get to far along.

John

John, I think you are in the correct range of rigging wire size, according to this diagram:

www.flickr.com/.../set-72157604984202028

As for adherence, I think having a drilled out hole at the attachment point helps to hold a puddle of glue so it doesn't dry too quickly.  I'm thinking a gel type crazy glue would do well here.

regards,

Jack

Checking back in after being AWOL for a bit. I have been following the GB regularly and with great interest, and I have to say I'm awed, inspired and downright envious of the incredible work being done here. You're all hoisting the bar to an impressive height. Having finally cleared away enough of life's little annoyances to get a start on my Eduard Sopwith Baby floatplane, I'm keen to try to catch up.
I opted for the cast metal engine option included in the kit, as it's a great improvement over the plastic version. But it's still just naked cylinders and crankcase, so I started by adding pushrods and rocker arms from styrene rod and scrap.

Then I casually read the instructions for the umpteenth time...and realized that, in my enthusiasm to get on with my build, I'd left out the little photoetched ring that goes UNDER the pushrods. (Of course.)
Not an auspicious start...but perhaps my dues are paid up with the modeling gods (at least for the moment). Having temporarily found myself out of CA adhesive, I'd done all the assembly with a clear vinyl craft-glue type adhesive (since none of the parts would be subject to any real stress or strain). Not having to battle CA joins, it turned out to be a fairly simple matter to cut the photoetched ring in half and carefully slide the halves in under the pushrods. Only one set popped off in the process, cleanly and easily repaired.

I flattened a bit of brass wire to use for the intake manifolds.

After painting everything steel and adding some washes (black first, then oily brown on the cylinders), I added spark plugs and ignition wires from stretched sprue. The final result:

Not much, but it feels good to finally make a start. Onward and upward.

Greg - Welcome back! Good looking start.

Shiv - Better your ribs heal and the Roland take a backseat. Ruddratt's right: We're going until the end of July, so there's plenty of time.

I made a total hash of rigging the control yoke today. The suture thread got turned the wrong way and just wouldn't sit right. I had to cut it all off and reattach it. It's passable now, but FRUSTRATING. On the upside, the seat belts look fantastic, if I do say so myself. Very pleased.

We ordered our turnbuckles from Gaspatch last night. Once those come in, I'll finish rigging the cockpit. But in the meantime, I think the wings would be a good place to work.

Everyone give themselves a pat on the back and drink a cup o' your favorite beverage tonight. You've all earned it.

Looks pretty convincing, Greg.

And by the way, what is all this BS about no movies tonight??!!

jeaton01

And by the way, what is all this BS about no movies tonight??!!

Whatever do you mean? It's a double feature.

jeaton01

And by the way, what is all this BS about no movies tonight??!!

If someone's threatened to take away movies tonight, tell us who and give us back the firing pins! WE RIDE! <The Magnificent Seven theme plays loudly in background>

Tim Kidwell

If someone's threatened to take away movies tonight, tell us who and give us back the firing pins! WE RIDE! <The Magnificent Seven theme plays loudly in background>

"Reminds me of that fella back home who fell off a ten-story building. As he was falling, people on each floor kept hearing him say, 'So far, so good. So far, so good.' "

Well, it's the Tim and Aaron Show I'm atalkin' about, and if things keep go'in this aways a certain DH-9a is gonna be takin' out a cuppla D-7's who aint got no firin pins at all!  (imagine the Duke speakin)  I may even get Dark Powers to be my Observer on that sortie.

And with that out of the way, I've been working on the Liberty and the engine mount parts.  Doing the ignition wires right now, and for my shaky old fingers this is what you call an extreme sport.  I've always had shaky hands, I remember painting the deicer boots on the old Revell A-4 in about 1957 and finally figuring out that if I braced my hands just right and made the shaking go parallel to the leading edge I could get acceptable results (for an 11 year old).  (It took a few more years to figure out that A-4's didn't have boots!)

The parts breakdown is very helpful for painting, all the aluminum parts are separate from the black, except for things like the rocker arm detail but the definition is very good on all the little details.  Look at the valve spring detail.  I did come across the second thing in the kit that shows perhaps a little too much speed in development, the first was a reference to some pe parts for the rudder bars that are not supplied, on the engine 4 oil filler/breather elbows are supplied, and there are places to put them on both sides of the crankcase, but the instructions have a caution that they only go on one side and you have to fill and sand the holes on the other side of the crankcase.  OMG.

Wow, nice work there Greg and Jeaton, I love the injection wires Greg!

I have the landing gear on the Nieuport, still looks a little crooked to me but maybe it's my eyes. Still it's better than what I had before.

well for anyone doing a mercedes  DIII engine I found a site that might help

http://mwmiller.theaerodrome.com/alb/engine.htm

hope it helps

Great set of pics there.  And it does help since I am about ti get rolling on that.

 HERE"S A HOT LINK to the sight.

gregbale

"Reminds me of that fella back home who fell off a ten-story building. As he was falling, people on each floor kept hearing him say, 'So far, so good. So far, so good.' "

"We deal in lead, friend."

John - Regular programming resumes today. Very nice work, by the way!

The new vlog post is live for you guys.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Wow...great job guys!  Best one yet in my opinion.  Cool seeing everyone's work too.  This Group Build thing is fun!  I hope to have pictures of actual progress this weekend so I can recover some of my confidence.  Everyone have fun, and have a great weekend!

Props (no pun intended) to Tim and Aaron for another excellent vlog. I really enjoy those.

Tried something new. (For me, at least.)

Since the Eduard Baby's fuselage molding is pretty flat and featureless...

...I thought I'd dress it up a little by adding a bit of 3-D detail, in the way of stitching and lacing. The tools: paper-thin styrene sheet (Evergreen .005, I believe), a metal straight edge, and Trumpeter's "Hobby Rivet Maker" rivet tool, which I purchased a while ago, but had thus far never used. I used a regular cutting pad for a backup surface.
For each line of stitching needed, I made several passes with the rivet tool, relying on random chance to "overlap" the rivet tracks slightly, to give something that looks (vaguely) like seam stitching that's been taped over and doped. Then, using a new #11 blade, I sliced these lines of stitching into strips.

Then, using brush-on liquid cement, I applied these strips of stitching to the naked fuselage. (Obviously, there's a bit of PE lacing there as well, from and old Tom's set.)

I suspect the effect would be more to scale on a 1/32 bird, but even for 1/48, it doesn't look bad. (I tried to get low-angle lighting in the photos to show the raised effect, so the shadows look harsher and deeper than they ordinarily do to the eye. I'm hoping that with a touch of light sanding, a coat of primer and dark-toned topcoat, they'll look about right.)

May get a bit more done this weekend. Hope everybody's builds are going smoothly.