Knights of the Sky WWI GB The End

Stephen- Thanks for the additional photos of that model.  Absolutely incredible!  I still can't get over how real the wood looks.

ollie- That is very cool!  Do you get to see it in the air often?

This crowd may be interested, and could provide the critique necessary for improvement..

Eduard's 1/72 Flyboy Nieuport 17, with some slight modifications...

I am using the kit decals and some from my spares to do Sgt. R. Lufberry's crate...

Here is the most recent update pics with rigging now almost complete...the upper wing is just resting there...

A big thanks to Mr. Lawson for the info on the Nieuport! 

Here is the rigging material...picked it up @ Michaels craft shop...

Daywalker wrote:

". . .ollie- That is very cool!  Do you get to see it in the air often?

I am sure he does!

Ollie did they move the pulley cable view ports to the underside of the tail unit?

I sure do see her flying fairly often. The hold two airshows a month between May and October. Website here:

www.shuttleworth.org

Re the question about the tail,

I dont know off the top of my head but i will have a look at my photos later and see if i can come up with something. If not i am going to visit Old Warden this week so i will take some photos for you. 

JoeRugby wrote:

". . .A big thanks to Mr. Lawson for the info on the Nieuport!. . ."

 No worries, glad I could help.

Greetings all;

I was asked recently a series of questions by a fellow who frequents my website.  The following is just a bit of information that can be helpful to newer modelers.   Generally speaking there are several reasons we see differences between kits and airframes from WWI.  As Dan San Abbott has said the real deals were made on an assembly line.

For real aircraft We know there were general drawings and these were often later redesigned for structural concerns, engine variations and etc. 

For models, they are made from the best information(?)available to the kit design team.  In recent years even certain Datafile drawings have been called into question.  The top WWI manufacturers Roden and Eduard use these as a normal part of their design process.

 Namaste All,

 Agree 100% with research. Often wondered if some modelers consider the computer as one of the more essential tools. Used nearly as often as an Xacto knife if not more. Searching Youtube for WWI aircraft/aces videos found a wealth of documentaries on the subject. Of course the printed material is always nice to have at hand, but can become a bit expensive. Especially if one is just starting into a new area of interest. As suggested with out the knowledge of how/why certain items were used, sometimes the reference material can be incorrectly applied. Given any option at interpreting reference, Eye 4 One, will surely get it wrong!

 Here's a pic of what's been accomplished on the Roden 1/48 DVII in 2 weeks

 Nearly lost the flight stick after squishing the cockpit with an elbow.

 Best Regards,

 Salut Everyone,

 Well after reading several post on the subject and rereading them again, the confidence was at an all time high. Immediately set out to tackle these fearsome items. For an armor guy, decals are generally small and only several are applied. These were something else. Two whole sheets to cover the upper and lower wings, Top and Bottom. Hope these images don't degrade this wonderful thread, but had so much fun with so many decals. Had'em stuck all over. Bits and pieces of the lower fabric on the upper surface. Stuck to the desk drawer. Even had them on the coffee cup. No idea how you aircraft guys retain your sanity after an adventure like that, but it was soooo fun. Like Alice in Wonderland.

                  These are the results of "Chasing the Hare"

          1) The "Top" lozenge decals in place...

          2) The "Bottom" decals in place...

                  Added cables to the rudder pedals

 That's were the DVII is setting at now.

 Thanks for looking and comments and suggestions welcome...

 Best Regards,

Joe- Man, that Nieuport is TINY!!!  Making excellent progress on it, keep up the great work!

Stephen- Interesting bit of info, thanks for sharing!

Mobious- Beautiful work!  Woodgrain looks spot-on from here, and the decals appear to be going well.  Well done, those lozenge decals can be a bear!

Moebius, great work with the decals. Always remember: it could be worse. The Revell 1/72 has b/w decals with the pre-printed pattern which you have to *paint* after putting the decals on...

SirDrake

 Hello All,

 Wanted to thank everyone for the encouragemant. Just finished up the ribbing attachment strips. First time ever using a mic. to set decals. Wow! Eyes are bloodshot

 jeaton01, Next build with lozenge decals, the dog is getting shaved first! No stray dog hairs.

 sirdrake, Built a 1/72 Fokker Triplane last year and can not imagine setting the decals, then painting the pattern on. Would be cross I'd for a week and cursing like a sailor.

  Daywalker, The woodgrain is something that was carried over from armor builds. Decal application wasn't. Not many decals on armor. Really enjoy the WWI aircraft, hope to build more. 

 Thank you all for viewing and the comments...

 Best Regards,

Hi Stephen, et.al.,

So, I have been following Stephen's build of the Roden Se.5A.  VERY nice work as usual!

...and I thought:  Ya know what you guys need??  You need a 1/32 Billy Bishop to with it!!!

 This will be Model Cellar's September release:  1/32 Billy Bishop in Leather flying coat, wearing 'Fug' boots, holding his flight helmet and smoking a cig.  I hope to have this out within the next 2 weeks.  (First I need to tend to the "Washington Show" this coming weekend and then I can finish making the production molds).

So, now the cat is out of the bag =).   Have a look and tell me what you think

Regards,

Paul

www.ModelCellar.com

WOW !  These builds are great !  True motivation and inspiration!!!

Here is the Ni17, the pictures are a bit rough, so I will be updating them soon...too knackered to do so now...

Paul, Excellent! 

Joe very cool build.

Paul, Joe: really looking nice!

SD

Excellent looking figure Paul, thanks for the notice!

Joe- An absolutely beautiful build, thanks for posting the photos!  I updated page one for you, well done!

 Hello All,

 JoeRugby, The Nieuport looks awesome. a very nice finish. Looking forward to more pics.

 Modelcellar, The figure is great and the details stunning. The leather jacket is outstanding. Very cool...

 Best Regards,

The American connection is ready they tell me.  Heads up folks.  Here is what they look like. 5 colour Day intermediate Dark pattern at left.   And the 4 colour at right. I have added some texture to the four colour wings. More later.   Remember there are two known variation of the 5 colour.  There is the dark (seen here) and the very dark (as done by the Eagle Strike - OOP.)

Frank Please add two Fokker 1/48 D.VII, with a mixed parentage of Eduard, Jager & Roden parts to my build list.

jeaton01 wrote:

It's so hard for me to imagine all those airplanes running around in circus wagon colors like that.  What a sight it must have been.

John, what was the nickname of the German Fighterwings & units that traveled up and down the front?  (Sometimes on rail cars.)

 Hello All,

 Stephen, The pair of DVII's look good already. Looking forward to progress pics on the texturing.

 Jeaton01, The drab colors are from the BW reference pics. Would have to agree they would have been a sight in the skies of Europe.

 Best Regards,

Stephen,

Once again I am amazed by your work.  I may have to try one of those lozenge patterns at some point, as I do have a couple of kits that would use them.  I have one question regarding lozenge patterns though.  I have the old Microscale decals for top, bottom, and also stripes for where the material was sewn together.  I have not seen those sripes on decal sheets aside from the ones that I have.  What is the story with them? 

Greetings Scotty;

You are talking about rib tapes.  The wood frame of the wing ribs had cotton strips nailed and tacked inplace on the wing rib caps.  The fabric covering was applied nailed & sewn in place by hand.  The wing was then doped.  Then rib tapes were laid over the rib caps and doped themselves to seal them.Tapes were located over the wing ribs and all edges of the fabric covering attached to the wing skeleton.  Light blue was used by OAW (Schneidemühl) and Salmon pink and possibly Violet was used by Albatros (Johannistahl)  lozenge fabric tapes were used by all three manufacturers of the Fokker D.VII.  If the fabric was damaged this attempted to keep the damage from crossing over into other areas between adjacent wings.  All aircraft with fabric coverings used them or another form of rib cap was battens.