100th Anniversary of WWI GB

Got just a little bit done of my 1/72 albatros this weekend,  more than is the last 2 weeks.  just got the lower wing glued on.

John

Mike that "pit" looks awesome!

Rigidrider your biplane looks great!

I have been working on my Renault, here's a couple pictures of the engine.

I also have a couple more sub assembles together, and the floor primered.

Um...ok, where the heck did it go???

Man... there is some SERIOUS fine modeling going on here! I mean... Ruddratt... is that baby going to actually fly??? WOW. Well I have a bit more to post with a bizzar twist at the end,,, Here we go...

I was able with just minor adjustments to get the engine to sit properly in the frame...

I couldnt get nor get the wing struts to look right so I took some round tooth pichs and semi flattened them in a vise and fashioned them to take their place,

Building a biwinged aircraft is kind of new to me and Im having to rearrange the order in which I usually do things, so figuring that paint would be next to impossible after assy, I began the paint.

Ruddatt gave me a source for some amazing looking turnbuckles and I have it saved for possibly the next build, but couldnt at this time bring myself to spen that much on a trial kit, so I am trying to make my own on this attempt.

These pieces will be my aileron actuators when assy.

And here they are assy. BUT... here is where things have taken a turn that I have never experianced...

As I had started the paint and some of the sub assys, I placed my lazy suzan I use to paint on, at the entrance to the garage on a TV tray table, to dry in the sun while I assy, the previous pictured parts, at my bench in the garage where I like to work. It took less then 5 mins to assy the little parts I had made from various plasti struct and when I turned around to check on my paint... It was gone. I never left the work area, and I have looked all around the area where it sat and the yard, it just disapeared. I dont know whether to laugh or cry...its just gone. Well, I'll look a bit more further out, but, well, just damn.

Bish and Dale: Thank you for the kind comments.

Mike: Thank you as well... I'm just hoping I can follow the example you have set with your Eindecker.  Your Tripe looks beautiful.  I love the split tone effect on the rear wooden bulkhead, its very convincing.  I am also a bit humbled by your ability to convincingly work those p/e seat belts.  They look like the genuine item.

I hope to have a bit more to share this evening.  I've been continuing to test paint combinations and techniques for the turned metal effect, and hope to have something to show for my efforts soon.

Blue

Great work Mike, some amazing detail in these kits, very inspiring in deed.

Thanks for the kind words Mike!! Your progress thus far has blown me away as well!! The bar is set incredibly high for sure!!

Got some progress on the Tripe.  The 'pit is done and I'm happy with how it turned out.  All the control lines and bracing wires are EZ-Line.  They provide some nice guide holes for all the control lines under the seat, but it was after I terminated them there I noticed that the area behind the seat was going to be quite visible, so I had to rig up a way to extend them to the back edge of the cockpit tub.  Different color oils were used to get that woodgrain look that was finished off with a Tamiya clear orange top coat. All metal finishes are Alclad II  Duraluminum.  The detail painting is Reaper paints and it was all weathered with Citadel washes and Tamiya weathering powders.

Been a while, but man oh man,  really been enjoying watching what you fellas are turning out!

Marcus & Steve - you ship guys are amazing!  The Konig & the Dreadnought have been a pleasure to watch come together.  The hull and those guns look great on the Konig, and all that PE on the Dreadnought would make me nuts, but you fellas make it look easy (which I know it ain't).

Wayne - just fantastic work on the Mk.I.  The weathering looks spot on - really makes that detail just pop!

.....and for you aircrafts guys.......holy smokes!!!  That is some serious work you guys are cranking out!  John, that is really nice paint work on that Albatros.  Doug,  both the 'pit and that engine you're doing for your SPAD look sweet!  First time I've seen a full engine go into a SPAD and I'm looking forward to it!  Rocker,  that woodgrain on your Nieuport ...... WOW!  Ditto for your Roland as well Rob!  Hard to believe they're first attempts for you guys.  I'm very impressed!  Blue, it's been a treat watching your progress on the Eindecker.  The finishes you're achieving look flawless, and your attention to detail really shows. 

All in all,  really nice stuff fellas!!  Keep it goin' !

Rob, and Blue - that's some very good looking work you guys are doing!

Blue, for that metal cowling, could I suggest having a word with ruddratt. He produced a superb effect on this area when he built this aircraft for the FSM WW1 GB last year. You can't see it in this pic and I am not sure what page to look at, but I know he will be happy to help.

cs.finescale.com/.../152456.aspx

Small update:

One of the distinctive features of the Fokker Eindecker is the turned aluminum cowling seen in the picture below:

The prevailing theory seems to be that the builders "turned" a disc of soft pure aluminum into the stronger duralumin sheet metal for anti-corrosive benefits.  Looked cool too.  

I have been playing around with a couple of techniques to replicate this finish, and made a pass at it using the  combination of paints (Tamiya Flat Aluminum & Tamiya Chrome Silver) recommended by Wingnut Wings.

I sprayed the Flat Aluminum base, and then brush painted the Chrome Silver swirls.  The challenges are two-fold: first, despite heavy use of Mr. Color Leveling Thinner, I had a hard time keeping the Tamiya paint from thickening up while brush painting, resulting in heavier swirls than I wanted.  Second, the difference in the two paints is primarily in the amount of light they reflect, so it can be tricky to see what you are doing unless the light is at an oblique angle to separate the two colors.

Overall, I like the effect, but am leaning towards stripping it down and taking another stab at it, either with the same paints (but a greater attention to keeping my swirls thin), or with a different, still-to-be-discovered-by-me technique (I have one or two that I hope to try on some scrap plastic today).

I figured since this was a group build, I'd show the process rather than jus the results.

Elsewhere, I have also started working on the Taurus resin engine:

All I can say is "wow".  The level of detail on this tiny motor is pretty amazing.  Until I actually received the kit, my brain couldn't appreciate how small these parts are:

In case the match doesn't provide perspective, my cutting mat is a 1/2 inch grid.

I managed to separate the most delicate looking bits, the valve rocker arms (two of which can be seen on the emery board next to the crankcase) from their resin blocks without breakage, which was a relief.  I nearly lost one to the carpet monster, but swearing, praying and crawling around on my elbows and knees with a magnifying glass saved me.  I still have the propeller shaft, cylinder heads, tappets, bushings, spark plugs and push rods to go.  Plus ignition wires and valve springs.  I'm looking forward to working on this.  Very cool.

Blue

Thanks Bish, gonna get back on this project on the weekend...more progress to follow.

Rob, that's awesome. Love the effect of the wood and metal. Great work.

Hey Big Blue...thanks..alum is Vallejo Air aluminum with an acrylic blk wash, then finished off with an enamel aluminum drybrush on raised details.

Marcus, Bish, Doug & Chuck: Thanks for the kind comments.

Rob: Great start on the Roland; your wood & metal work look great!  What did you use for the aluminum?

I hope to have some more updates soon.

Blue

Thanks Sasho, I`ll look ahead in the book!! Cheers for that!

Hi Rob,

good start on the Roland, but you hould think about the control wires right now, before gluing everything :) They are quite visible in the end, for everyone that wants to take a look at the cockpit and really add to the build.

best regards,

Sasho

Goodday All...first off, the level of work happening on this GB is absolutely stellar and I hope I can keep up with the outstanding quality!! I have done 4 GBs since I signed on for this GB way back in its early inception and I'm happy to now be focused on my Roland. Just finished step one after a week (long dry time for artists oils ) The first step of this WnW Roland gets the ground work done for the front of the cockpit.

Footboards - Valejo wood with artists oil burnt umber. MG magazine:

add in the front wall:

Spent belt box, fuel tank and all parts prior parts assembled...thus ends Step 1!

Beautiful cockpit, Blue!

the engines look like the size of a wwii fighter fuselage on that staaken  wow

Blue... That cockpit is amazing!

Doug

That's a sweet looking cockpit there Blue. Some amazing detail in this, wish I could get wood to look like you have on the prop.

Blue,

That cockpit looks fantastic, great detail and colors.

Marcus

Well, two nearly straight weeks of amazing weather and a concurrent family vacation have been wonderful, but have really slowed my progress on my Eindecker.  I do have a small update to share, but first want to congratulate the other participants on some great looking work.  I have been enjoying your updates in lieu of actual modeling myself.

Steve, the Dreadnought is coming along nicely, and I'm certain will be very impressive once finished.

David, I am looking forward to seeing your St. Chamond build.  I don't envy the work you have ahead on the tracks!

Wayne, your tank came together quite nicely.  Looks like your new airbrush is working out well!

Marcus, the hull looks fantastic, and the extra detail you are adding to your build will surely pay off.

Doug, great work so far on the Spad; the engine is a nice little model unto itself.

Rocker, great start with the woodwork.  I am always impressed with you folks who can pull off the 1:72 scale biplanes since I can barely find my way around in 1:32!

Sorry if I missed anyone... if I did, it isn't a reflection on your work, but rather about how I have done a poor job keeping up with the GB thread.

Ok, here is the small update I promised:

As you can see, I have nearly finished the work on the cockpit, with a just a little bit of rigging to do across the front of the framing once it is put together (the cockpit is just press-fit for the pictures), and perhaps some additional detailing of the control stick.  I can see in the last picture that I need to touch up the paint on the back of the pilot's seat (I may be ready to try out those HGW fabric belts as I am getting sick of wrestling with photo-etch and delicate paint.)

The side bracing wires are monofilament and silver Sharpie, and the turnbuckles are from pieces of slide fit aluminum tubing that I cut, assembled, and colored with a gold Sharpie.  I will need to tighten one or two of them up with a blown out match once I actually assemble the interior as those thin framing tubes have a bit of flex in them.  

The control rigging is EZ Line (silver Sharpie again) and nickel silver tube.  I also rigged what I assume will be the wing-warping control lines from the control rod under the seat (you can see the mono sticking out from underneath the assembled cockpit).  I think that they will just run to a pair of turnbuckles where the longer wing rigging will take over, but I wanted them to be long enough for me to work comfortably when the time comes.  I have also drilled the attachment point at the bottom of the control stick for future rigging.

Finally, I gave the propeller a few coats of clear once the oils had a chance to dry (yellow/orange mix, followed by a brown I mixed from clear yellow, red & blue).

That's all for now.  Thanks for taking the time to read this, and keep up the good work all.

Blue

Nice work there Marcus.

I mainly use enamels and find the airbrush cleans a lot easier than after using acrylics.

Dale,

Thanks for the feedback.  It took me a few tries also.

doug the Neiuport looks good!

Marcus the hull looks good. I use MM Enamel paints almost exclusively, they really seem to lay down smooth for me. The separation line between the colors look nice and straight. When I did my ship it took a few tries before I was happy with my masking.

Just a quick update on what I have gotten done since the last post. 

Added the torpedo doors (4) on the hull plus the door on the bow.  Glue the deck in place, there were a few gaps at the stern on both port and starboard side.  A little Tamiya green putty and white glue took care of them. 

The hull is 95% painted.  Had a little grey paint dust settle on the hull bottom when I picked up the model while spraying the upper hull for a better view and the suction from the spray booth pulled the over spray onto the hull.

Been spending a lot of time cleaning up flash, mold lines, and such.  For the great reviews I read and heard about ICM products this the most cleaning of parts I have ever done so far.

Anyway here are a few pictures of the hull and deck.  Will start on the deck and lower superstructure this week.

This is my first time using Model Master Enamels.  I must say I like them very well, no problems using with the airbrush.  The airbrush seem to work better after cleaning it with enamel thinner after the first use. 

Marcus