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Wilhelm Hipperts Jasta 74 "Mimmi"


Out2gtcha

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Thanks Andy! I do love these types of projects where you just get to build; plain and simple. Very few AM additions, no resin, no extra PE. Just a model that fits well, looks great, and is about as accurate and nice as any model you can build.

Exactly what a modeler who lost his MoJo needed...................

 

So a start finally!

 

I know its not a whole lot, but Ive been having fun just plodding along on the pit. The wood grain stuff is always fun, and with a WnW kit, there really isnt a whole lot to add, so you end up actually building instead of sitting there fixing fit issues or trying to incorporate AM. 

I started off in the normal spot, the pit, per Sir Peters directions, but the caveat to that is, that Im building Hippert's D.VII F, and not the earlier production D.VII (Fok) as the actual kit Im working on..........

So this leads me to bring up the WnW D.VII F instructions on my phone as I build, since there are indeed subtle differences in the build that have to be paid attention to during the early stages of the build to ensure the late F model gets built accurately.

Things like the Spandau height, and some IP config changes were necessary, but not super complex. 

 

Other things that needed changing from the D.VII (Fok) version were things like NOT adding the lozenge decals to the inside of the fuselage, since Hippert's mount had a painted fuselage, I just painted the interior of the fuse with CDL (AKA Mr. Color "Sail") and then put a dark dirt wash on it to dull it down a bit:

 

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While waiting for some of the pit parts to dry, I put both wings together as well, and will probably get both cleaned up tonight:

 

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I then set to work putting some grey/green on the internal fuselage framing parts, then painted up the details (throttle quadrant and mixture levers)

 

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Next up was getting some of the other initial cockpit parts painted prior to assembly. The wood-grain process takes a day to thoroughly dry although its much easier to do when nothing else is glued to it, or around the parts your painting since it all had to be grained in a certain direction. I now thin my oils for wood-grain with Japan Drier instead of oil thinner, and it seems to cut the drying time to hours instead of days or weeks.

 

I started off with the cockpit floor, then added the control stick and actuating rod later after the black dried. At the same time I did the wood-grain on the floor, I also did the wood on the control stick. The instructions called for "light wood" so instead of  my normal desert yellow or other dark brown for the wood base, I painted up the wood-base with the same Mr. Color "Sail:" which actually turned out quit nice IMHO:

 

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Next up was the seat. On the D.VII F, the instructions indicated that the cushion was used sometimes, but in late models, the pilots did sometimes use parachutes, and in that case, the cushion was not used.

Since I see about every WnW model with a cushion in the pit (they do look cool, but wanted something different)  I wanted to go a different way, assuming that the high altitude F model Hippert was flying had oxygen, so I thought he might have used a parachute too. I also thought a wood base looked cool on the seat as well.

Back was painted in dirty Aluminum, and the front in enamel leather:

 

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MORE................

Edited by Out2gtcha
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While the seat and pit floor were drying, I got the firewall and pilots seat-back put together, and painted. I did use the lozenge decals here, as it dressed things up nicely, and made the edges of the fabric area very sharp. The firewall also had a small fabric section at the top that was painted CDL:

 

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The last wood part I had to get done was the IP. Not much to look at here, but it turned out ok:

 

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Lastly, I got the fuel tank painted up and weathered. I dirtied up the firewall, ammo bin and fuel tank a bit more, assuming these areas would be hella dirty as well:

 

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Well, that is my start, such as it is. Not a whole lot, but a decent start, and should be able to start assembling some things tonight, now that a lot of the cockpit painting is dry.

 

Cheers, and thanks for lookin in on me!

Edited by Out2gtcha
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Very nice update Brian

Well worth the wait for you to post!

The woodwork looks fabulous and the weathering on the cdl areas superb. Those kits are little bundles of joy eh!

This is starting off as a superb build brother!

 

Karim

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Thanks guys!   That means something coming from LSP regulars who actually build on a regular basis, and build well.  It really is nice not to have to worry about my AMS with this one, and I think now that Im rolling, it will be easier to carry on since things are moving right along with no real AM to add to speak of.

 

Tonight the plan is to get the wings smoothed out, get the pit together and see how close I can come to getting the cockpit framing up and together. 

 

Thanks again for stopping in on me.

 

Cheers! 

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Thanks Gaz! It feels inspiring just to be back at the bench and get some modeling done/completed. The last few modeling projects Ive had on the bench have been extended projects that for one reason or another didnt get near completion, so it feels good to get something accomplished, even if as small as these completions are.

I got home from work late, and had to get bills covered, so I didnt get a chance to work on the D.VII yesterday, but did check, and the Future on the IP instruments is now dry, so I should be able to do some assembly on the fuselage framing, and maybe even get close to closing the fuse up. 

 

Cheers!

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Sorry for the delay, as Ive been working on and off on this one, in-between the gasping heat and humidity, and dealing with some off hours work issues that sprang up.  I have managed to get the fuselage interior cockpit up, and rigged with control lines. 

 

Pics in a minute! 

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Hard to tell from this pp angle, but Ive been using Dymo tape to tape on the far side of each rib tape, so I could maintain the profile of said rib tapes while sanding the wing joints:
 
20170612_175325-XL.jpg
 
 
 
 
 
Next up I set about getting the pit parts finalized so I could do as much assembling as I could before I needed to rig the pit control lines. I did exactly that after waiting for some of the "glass" (AKA BIG domed Future drops in the compass, fuel gauge and other instruments) to dry on the IP and other instruments:
 
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After the Future dried, I assembled some cut tooth-pics and styrene painted in the same gray/green to extend the control lines, and center them in the holes that you will never ever see again ( lol ). I also like the look of them centered this way as opposed to just being wrapped around the back side of the bulkhead and glued down:
 
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I ended up getting everything in the pit assembled, and ran all the cockpit structural lines in EZ Line since that was easiest, and ran the control lines using Uschi's "standard" rigging thread + Bobs Buckles 2mm cut tubes:

 

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The aileron control lines are just dangling here, as I left them hang, since they will need to be fed through the fuselage covering, and eventually connected up to the ailerons (duh) after getting the wings glued on. 

Well doesnt seem like a whole lot, but Im well on my way to buttoning up the fuselage, and starting the BMW IIIa high altitude engine. 

 

Thanks and cheers till ur older! 

Edited by Out2gtcha
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Thanks guys!  Im not sure, and maybe someone else here can point to it, but there WAS a D.VII build on here that laid out an issue with closing up the fuselage.............................IIRC it involved scraping part, some or all of part of the internal fuse structure off to get a better fit. 

 

Ive dry fit my fuse around the inner section, and although not perfect it does fit with some pressure. Forging on, I might run into some more gotchas

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