Going Big GB

Thanks Theuns! It was a tough go, but, worth it.

Fantastic finnish Rob, well worth the effort and time you put into it you should be very proud  :-)

Theuns

Thanks Steve, yes, the prop is painted and woodgrained by hand with a sharp pencil crayon. I'm moving on to the small Scale GB with my 'waiting for ever' Bristol Beaufigher....

Ok, done. I know everybody has moved on, but, I wanted to get this one done and on the books. She was a challenge and I'm pleased with results. I posed it on a custom base with the 'Hansa-Brandenburg' logo from 1917. It was 15 months from the time I started and finally wrapped it up. Don't know how many hours I poured into it, but, it was quite a bit. Anyway, thanks for those who supported me in this build.

Ok, decals arrived, now, energy and time to get back at this project!

Still waiting for the decals from Aviatic!! 

Nah, it wasn't the decals, it was me. I should have used gloss paint under the decals. I just used future. It worked fine with other builds AND it worked under the fuselage decal, but, for some reason, on the large wings, it did not set. I used Tamiya clear gloss under one of the floats and it worked fine, so, no fault on the side of WNW decals.

About WNW, they are increasing their prices soon (March 1st), so, I'd be getting online and getting their stuff now before they go up by 15 to 20%.

Direct quote from WNW NZ:

"Upcoming price changes;

Due to increasing costs and the continued low value of the US$ we will reluctantly need to increase the price of many of our models next month. While the US$ has regained some of it's value in the last year or so (but still not risen to anywhere near where it was when we released our first 4 models nearly 7 years ago) we can no longer absorb these extra costs. These price changes will take effect from 1 March 2016 (NZ time)."

I would love to get a WNW kit, and watching Robs excellent build increases that desire.  I just need to find one that interests me and I can afford.

Steve 

Were it the kit's wnw decals that failed?

I have been reading that the decals in these kits were quite good and laid down well, maybe yours were just a dud?

The more I look at these wnw builds the mode I am convinced to start my se5!

Theuns

I just ordered German Navy hex decals from Aviatic. Quite pricey...half the price of the kit!! Oh, well, they are superior decals and they will look great.

Oh no, it is always bad to have a setback of epic proportions especially in the final strech.....sorry about that :-(

Theuns

DISASTER...the decals did not set and crumbled!! I'm offline on this build 

I'm going to have to source AM decals to finish it off...not happy. I did the exact same thing as my Roland and this time it did not work..don't know why...

The massive decals on the wings are going to take quite a while to set. I'm not doing anymore tonight while they set up. Most of the fuselage is now done.

Thanks Steve...I'd like to have this plane done by next weekend or so...we'll see. The upper wings are all decal, so, no painting..I may be able to get 'er done.

That is looking amazing Rob. Sorry about the ski trip, kinda work here in Boise as well. We'll warm for February at least. 

I'm back. Ski trip was a bust...rain!! Then massive snow storm hit while on the drive back...oh, well, we had a good go last night. Anyway, I've been back at the HB. Interestingly, Tamiya XF83 is the EXACT colour of the plastic, so, you can't tell I laid down several coats. You can tell it's painted by the guns (they are no longer brass ).

Got all the fuselage decals on. Had to set them with future. Anyway, went well. The rear tail plane is massive and took a huge decal:

Some light artist oils provided some delineation of the mono colour and also some staining. Also, the fuselage is plywood with metal top, so, I kept the plywood sides matt and the top I brush applied future to give it some slight sheet (metal look):

Looks great Rob. Have a safe ski trip. 

Both Spandaus mounted on the sides of the fuselage. Engine cowling, rad and tail planes installed. Also got the bottom observer windows masked. Getting some progress. I'm leaving for a few days of skiing, so, I'll start some painting of the fuselage when I return on Wednesday. 

Steve, you know what I used to bend this jacket? The molded Spandau...it is the exact size and shape of what you are trying to bend. 

Big improvement!

Didn't get too much done today. I did, however get the cooling jacket on one Spandau done.

And, here's why. The kit does come with molded versions, but, the ones with the brass jacket just pop, BUT, you only get one chance to get it right!!

Spent my evening sanding! LOTS of joints to sand, all super flat surfaces too, just to make it that much more challenging. Done though, I'm going to complete the entire fuselage, me thinks, prior to installing the wings (despite the instructions). I did that for my Roland build and I had way more control over the final dual wing install. Makes me wish, now, that I would have taken the mono-wing version (W.29). 

Theuns...Check page 6. I did a plywood tutorial there last year. There's two parts, one at the beginning of the page then another, more detailed bit, lower down. You'll recognize it when you see it, but, LOL, it's been awhile!!

Steve..I am getting off easy with rigging. This plane only has an X at the end of each wing between the uprights. I will be using Gaspatch turnbuckle and EZ Line

Please explainf to me (in simple terms ;-)   how you do your "wood work" 

I need to start on my Wnw se5 at some stage but my lack of skills in this dept has kept me back ...

Thanx

Theuns

I'm excited to see you finish this Rob. The rigging is going to look awesome. Do you know what your going to use for the rigging? 

Thanks Steve...the sanding on this beast is gonna take all wknd!