Knights of the Sky WWI GB The End

Jeeves, that's lookin' real sweet! I especially like the bracing between the fuselage framework...nice touch!

Stephen, that sounds exciting. Please keep us posted! ....and a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you as well, my friend!

Greetings all;

I have in hand four new sets of lozenge decals that will be available soon for sale.  Though I helped consult on these, I have no financial interest in them.  In 1/48 scale they are;

Fünffarbiger Flugzeugstoff  (5 colour) upper surface MD-48001
Fünffarbiger Flugzeugstoff  (5 colour) lower surface MD-48002

Vierfarbiger Flugzeugstoff  (4 colour) upper surface MD-48004
Vierfarbiger Flugzeugstoff  (4 colour) lower surface  MD-48005

In my opinion these are very good efforts. I would like to see one or two colours adjusted in the next run.  But over all these are nearer to the originals than anything available at this time.  There are plans to do lozenge rib tapes but the manufacturing process demands spot on register so these are not ready yet. When allowed to I will offer up the manufacturer's name and address. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Stephen

Finally can add some pics here-- this is from the Eduard Nieuport 11 Profipack kit-

First-- the inside of the left side of the pit-

The throttle quadrant wasn't too bad to put together for a disliker of PE...but my best work so far is the seat.  I wasn't sure how I was going to get it wrapped around the seat bottom- but luck was with me as the butt end of my knife was the perfect template:

That's it for now...I seem to have misplaced my instrument film that sandwiches behind the panel :(

StephenLawson wrote:

Ok Frank, put me down for; 1 @ 1/48 Roden Fokker D.VII with Part of Poland brass etch. Tobe done as a cutaway. 2 @ 1/48 Roden  SE 5a  1 Hisso & 1 Viper powered.  (Part of Poland fret maybe on one of these.) 1 @ 1/32 Roden Fokker D.VI  (Part of Poland fret to be used.) 1 @ 1/32 Roden SE 5a  Viper powered (Part of Poland fret to be used.) (That ought to keep me busy for a few months.)

OMG Stephen!  Looks like you're gonna be glued to the bench for quite some time with those! (Sorry about the pun, Ok maybe I'm not! )  I updated page 1, look forward to the WIP pics! 

Ok Frank, put me down for;

1 @ 1/48 Roden Fokker D.VII with Part of Poland brass etch. Tobe done as a cutaway.

2 @ 1/48 Roden  SE 5a  1 Hisso & 1 Viper powered.  (Part of Poland fret maybe on one of these.)

1 @ 1/32 Roden Fokker D.VI  (Part of Poland fret to be used.)

1 @ 1/32 Roden SE 5a  Viper powered (Part of Poland fret to be used.)

(That ought to keep me busy for a few months.)

You mean you want us to choose one for you? Ooooops.

In that case, the cut-away D.VII sounds neat!

StephenLawson wrote:

What  do you all think?

Is that all?

j/k Stephen......if anyone can pull those builds off, it's you my friend!

Lets see whats next on my desk.

A.  1 @ 1/48 Roden Fokker D.VII with Part of Poland brass etch. Tobe done as a cutaway.

B.  2 @ 1/48 Roden  SE 5a  1 Hisso & 1 Viper powered.  (Part of Poland fret maybe on one of these.)

C.  1 @ 1/32 Roden Fokker D.VI  (Part of Poland fret to be used.)

D.  1 @ 1/32 Roden SE 5a  Viper powered (Part of Poland fret to be used.)

What  do you all think?

StephenLawson wrote:

jeaton01 wrote: Just think of all that metal on those poor old plastic landing gear legs and wheel axle spreader bar. Especially the axle. Hint hint nudge nudge.

Why, yes, Stephen, I have seen those.  I even still have them, but I fear not, for I have slain those little handholds that go in various places on the fuselage.  I am somewhat in awe of myself that they all ended up more or less where and in the approximate alignment of what the instructions say!  As Jimmy Doolittle said, I shall never be so lucky again! 

... and some more progress with the french connection

It actually starts to look like an airplane! Even a quick glance at the pictures will assure you that some serious filling and sanding is about to follow soon... Did I mention that I don't like filling and sanding? Not sure then why I started to do a kit that is known for being old and of rather mediocre fit.

But first the engine needs to be squeezed into the fuselage, and of course it doesn't really fit well. It seems I need to cut away a bit from the beams it is supposed to rest on in order to lower it a mm ore so.

sirdrake

jeaton01 wrote:

OK, minor progress on the German Front, SS DIIIa variety.  I think I'm about ready to put some paint on the fuselage and decals on the flying sufaces, here are some photos.  Building the machine guns came out well, I thought, more satisfying than the interior PE parts for some reason.  I like this stubby little thing, but I find the esthetics of it rather wierd.  The white metal engine came with the kit.  I thinned down the cowl as much as I dared, but I still had to remove some material from the back of the engine and the top of each cylinder to get it to turn. . .

Just think of all that metal on those poor old plastic landing gear legs and wheel axle spreader bar. Especially the axle. Hint hint nudge nudge.

OK, minor progress on the German Front, SS DIIIa variety.  I think I'm about ready to put some paint on the fuselage and decals on the flying sufaces, here are some photos.  Building the machine guns came out well, I thought, more satisfying than the interior PE parts for some reason.  I like this stubby little thing, but I find the esthetics of it rather wierd.  The white metal engine came with the kit.  I thinned down the cowl as much as I dared, but I still had to remove some material from the back of the engine and the top of each cylinder to get it to turn.  It HAS to turn, all the rotaries I built as a kid did.  Or at least that's how I remember it.  Now I'm scheming to make it motorized.  Where am I gonna find a gearbox that small?

Scotty,

No worries!  I have not made much progress as of late, but a lot of the gang here has been working like gangbusters keeping the pages filled with awesome work!  Keep it up fellas!

Daywalker,

I am really getting close to starting this build now.  I actually pulled the kit out of one of my stacks of unbuilt kits and started looking over the parts and the instructions.  I also went through my reference books and found a nice cutaway drawing showing what was metal and what was wood on the real plane.  My idea is to leave the metal portions alone and to paint the wood, fabric, and engine as appropriate.  The other kits in this series that I have built I left in their bare metal state while painting the plastic parts aluminum (except for the engine).  I want this one to be different though, so I will paint it up a bit.  I have a couple of projects to clear off of my desk before I get going on this for real, but hopefully that will be within the next few weeks.  I did not want you to think that I had forgotten about this build.

chef_ben wrote:

Frank, Have you seen this sight? http://www.madmaxmovies.com/cars/interceptor/history1.html I have always wanted to build this car in real life.....had dreams about it  Ben

Ben,

Yes, I have seen that site!  Very cool, isn't it?  I too have dreamed one of these as a real car.  Sure would stand out in a crowd!

Frank,

Have you seen this sight?

http://www.madmaxmovies.com/cars/interceptor/history1.html

I have always wanted to build this car in real life.....had dreams about it

 Ben

MrDrummy wrote:

Frank, where you at, buddy!? :)

I'm still here!  Taking a little break from the Fokker and working on an AM Dauntless at the moment.  Looking forward to seeing your pics!

Thanks everybody for the kind words! 

ruddratt wrote:

Very impressive stuff, sd! I'm curious. The SPAD has a ton of rigging, and I was wondering what material(s) you plan on using on your build.

As for the rigging, I haven't made up my mind entirely yet. Probably I go for straight wire - that's how I always did with 1/72 biplanes. I still have some 0.008" straight wire which is too thick for smaller scales, but should look about nice in 1:28. I have to measure first if I have enough of it left - still didn't find a good source for that stuff here in Germany (or Europe).

Otherwise I might just use nylon thread. Never did it that way before, but I heard just putting it in place and applying a bit of heat to straighten it should be the easiest way. The technique of drilling holes all through the wings, fiddling the wire through and then sanding it again doesn't really appeal to me.

sirdrake   

I'm actually making some progress!!!  No pictures tonight, but I promise that I've actually been building a little bit.

Seeing everyone else's awesome work has inspired me!!

Frank, where you at, buddy!? :)

chef_ben wrote:

MK,  Could you post a close up of the engine area please?  I'd like to see how you did your coolant lines! Ben

Ben Here's some close ups of the coolant lines. There are two small circles on the underside of the Rad. I drilled these deeper and ran a lines from the aft hole to rear of the engine and from the forward hole to the front of the engine.

Very impressive stuff, sd!

I'm curious. The SPAD has a ton of rigging, and I was wondering what material(s) you plan on using on your build.

Very nice work SD!  Looks like you packed a lot of detail into that lil' office.

Ben-

I LOVE that car, and the photo in my avatar is one of my favorites of it!  I have a couple of the Aoshima kits of it, though the front valance is not included to make an accurate first movie car.

MK, thanks for the picture!!

Daywalker I take it you really like that car eh?  A little Mad Max?

 Ben