whiskytngofxtrt

Amazing work, David!

Simply amazing work, Tony. Inspirational! I'm so glad this popped to the top of the feed this evening...

Impressive work! Looking forward to further development.

Spring Break! Two weeks of vacation from the daily grind of preparing lesson plans, grading student work, meetings, conferences, and union work! Two weeks to get something--ANYTHING!--on my workbench closer to completion! So, back to the Albatros! Working on the wings right now: Getting small parts attached--radiators painted, drilling holes in hinge line, and reinforcing aileron connections with wire: Also doing the same with the elevators:

Quick post--decaling the fuselage tonight! Here's hoping the 2-year-old granddaughter goes to sleep on time so I can get back to it...

I've been off work for throat surgery, and in the meantime I've had time to return to some serious work at my workbench. I shattered the decals on my wings when I tried to mask and spray shadows between the ribs. I had to remove all the paint to get the decal bits off. So, I resprayed the top of the wing, sealed with Future, and put the shadows on. It's looking all right! I know I'll need to tone the markings waaaaay down, so they don't appear so bright that they look like they're floating above the finish. I also tack-glued the engine cover panels onto the fuselage, and hit the whole shebang with a primer to check the seams. Filled a few short gaps with putty, wet-sanded, then primed again. Just small gaps left. Trying out Mr. Surfacer to fill those. REEALLLY excited to be back at work on this bird! Oh--and check out this spiffy tray I rescued from packing material to keep my subassemblies safe: Thanks for looking in--I'm hoping to be posting more frequently again!

Moderator: Can I have this thread moved to "Works In Progress?" Thanks!

Hi, Dave! I got stalled for a few weeks--school board elections, broken air compressor, but the election's over and the compressor's fixed, so I'll be back at it this weekend--I've closed up the fuselage, and I'm preparing to finish the seams before painting it up and weathering it. I'm loving how incredible the detailed Mercedes engine looks, too. Here's a fuzzy pic for now

Amazing work, Dave!

Beautiful work, Dave! Love the finish!

Quick update! I've had a busy summer, with lots of traveling and not much time for modeling. I joined a local IPMS group and started going to meetings in between my trips across the state and the nation this summer, and I had time to share with them what I've shared with you. The Wingnut Wings kits are nothing short of amazing, and seeing one opened and under construction can convince a lot of skeptics. The intricacy, the delicacy of the details seems to call out for trying finishes one has only read about, or adding details that seemed ridiculous before. Tonight, I've started buttoning up the fuselage in preparation for applying the finish to it: The key is patience, lining everything up, and, of course, touching up and weathering as I go! Here's hoping I have more time at the bench now that I'm no longer on "vacation!" Thanks for reading, and keep posting--I learn so much from everyone's progress!

Beautiful finish--inspiring!

Amazing, Wolf!

Wow--a two-fer! Thanks for jumping in with us and sharing your knowledge and techniques. I'll be watching this build! :popcorn:

Thanks for the affirmations, Dave and Maru and Wolf! Wolf, I'm using Tamiya acrylics, mixed according to the proportions recommended on WnW's instructions: XF-71 Cockpit Green is the Medium Grey Green Gloss X16 Purple (x1) plus XF52 Flat Earth makes the Mauve Gloss color. One good thing about having my granddaughter living in my house is I get to liberate old baby food jars to store the paint, and a medicine dropper for accurate measurements... I got some Tamiya Smoke at the hobby store today, so I'll be trying the rib shading this weekend if all goes according to plan!

Okay, so it's been nearly a month since I've posted... I haven't given up! No worries there--I'm knee-deep in detailing the engine. I got the Taurus spark plugs--holy cow, those are tiny! I've read on other threads of a mystical device called a "catch-bib." I must research this, as trying to hoist the li'l dealies with my cheap tweezers resulted in three of them going "tch-PWINNGGG!!!" to parts unknown. I learned that the plugs on the Mercedes D. III engine do, indeed, point in a different direction on the exhaust side than the intake side. This was causing me no end of consternation, as most photos of the D. III and D. IIIa were showing the intake side, where the plugs enter straight on, and I was beginning my work on the exhaust side, where they enter at an angle...several hours of poring over dozens of sources later, and then turning the engine to the other side, revealed this hidden truth to me...For future reference: definitely have the precision tweezers on hand (I do now!), and acquire a catch bib! I've also begun the painting of the wings. I'm waiting on my back-ordered Tamiya Smoke paint to add the shadowing between the ribs, then I can drill the holes for the lovely eyelets I just got from Bob's Buckles. And I thought the spark plugs were small... parts on the tree... cut free, taped down to keep from being sprayed away... undersides sprayed... topside colors roughed-in... tightening the green areas... mauve areas tightened... sealed with Future... markings added... starting with the spark plugs...exhaust side... ...and the intake side... More to come soon! Thanks for following.

Fantastic work--love the interior rigging. It's coming along quite well!

Fantastic work--inspirational!

Fantastic work, Dave--I'm now definitely sold on getting the parts from Bob's Buckles.

Beautiful work!

Wow! What a great start. Triplanes are such fascinating subjects--they pack a lot of complexity into a very small footprint. I've always been intimidated by triplanes, no matter what the scale! I'm looking forward to how WNW pulls together their rendition.

Just to let everyone know I'm still alive and working on it! Now, I'm tackling the engine...pix when paint is dry! Thanks for following!

Amazing, amazing work! Thanks for going into so much detail showing us not just the details from your references AND the details you're making to match them, but the tools and techniques you employ as well! Wow!

Tonight's progress: I have control cables linked to the control stick, but the rudder cables are still floating free. Debating which would be less painful: attaching the rudder bar assembly to the cockpit first and attaching rudder cables, or following the directions and attaching it to the forward fuselage former with the ammo boxes and gas tanks...either way, it's going to be fiddly trying to attach the rudder cables, then slot the end of the aileron control axle into its socket...it's feeling like bedtime, and I have to get up and run early in the morning with my youngest daughter! Back at this tomorrow. Thanks for following.

Thanks, MARU! I'm feeling more and more pleased with it, the further I go...the more I do, the more it looks like it's approaching the quality I always admired in others' work. It is such a rush, working with high-quality materials and great advice from the fine people on the forum. From Squito's DH-9 Ninak thread, I now have guidance toward the look I want on my fabric wings--I am looking forward to liberating some Post-Its and putting them to service!