sky

It's a complicated business, for sure, Art. And one with a mountain of shifting variables to contend with! But the short version is that you want to print things at an angle if you can, keep supports away from delicate bits if possible, and delicate bits pointed away from the build plate. Check out this explainer video for the basics, which might help make anything I've said make a bit more sense!
 
 
Kev

Thank you gents - you are really too kind
 
Well, I got to my favourite part in the build - the cockpit & instrument panel
 
I don't know why, but I have always enjoyed this the most, I guess thats how airscale started..
 
I just got in a groove so no in progress pics, but the parts are made from PE, 3D, custom decals scaled up from our own airscale ones (of which I have about 100 sets now eek), wire, plastic, metal, some hiroboy switches and some of our metallic placards
 
...first up a control box on the left side of the cockpit which includes a bunch of circuit breakers..
 

 
..next, the centre console which includes an RAF radio fit - no idea what it is but its in the Pilots Notes pictures
 

 
..the left hand instrument panel switch panel & mount..
 

 

 
..then the right hand side panel & mount including UK oxygen fit..
 

 

 
 
..for the main instrument panel, it sits up and proud under the windshield and I think a lot of gubbins can be seen (unless covered by a canvas boot thing) so I made it as it can be seen..
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
..loved doing it and think I could just make these instead of whole areoplanes..
 
TTFN
 
Peter
 
 
 

Hi all,
The Bristol Scout 1260 model is more or less complete.
Added details include open access panels, refueling funnel with removed tank filler cap, external starter switch and all rigging.
Also an over wing Lewis machine gun with gun sight, butt latch on decking panel and trigger cable.
Finally a pilot and mechanic figure stood on a trestle.
 
I still have to make the display for this model.
Once done I'll of course post final photographs and upload my PDF build log to my web site.
Thanks for your support and comments during this build,
 
Mike
 

Hi Peter,
 
once again, I'm sitting here with a smile on my face marvelling at the details and the work you put in. Plus every time I check in, I get to learn something in the way you do things or how they are made on the real birds.
 
As said before, I'm from the 1/12 car crowd (...) but have bitten the bullet recently and got me some WNW 1/32 WW1 planes (Sopwith Camel F.1 "Le Rhone", Sopwith Triplane Raymond Collishaw and a BMW engined Fokker D.VII F Hermann Göring) - to drop the outcast flag  - and my intention was to simulate cloth and real materials before paint for those. However, I am not sure what cloth would match that 1/32 scale. The Solartex texture you have used seems to work perfect for 1/18 but at almost half that scale? I doubt that would be suitable. And it's impressive to see, that the plumber's tape you have used even shows the texture of the Solartex underneath, brilliant!
Now without having had Solartex in hand, does it compare to stockings in terms of tightness of the weave / coarseness of the fabric? "Asking for a friend" ;). Actually no, I'm asking as that is my current plan (as far as plans go anyway) for the moment to replicate the cloth fuselage and all. And that is hoping that the texture won't be drowned out in paint - luckily one of the models came with an extra half of the fuselage for testing...
So if you were to digress and go for say 1/32 what material would you use to achieve a similar cloth effect there? 
 
That aside, I've just come to realize my last comment here was three years ago - in your Spitfire thread :).
 
Cheers,
Roman

Hi all,
The clay wash has been removed to give the effect of a well used Bristol Scout.
A final sealing coat of 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC-311) was airbrushed to seal it all,
 
Mike
 

 

 

 

 

Hi all,
Well, the decal pre-shading test didn't turn out too bad I guess.
Airbrush primed with 'AK Interactive' White primer (AK759).
Polished with a 'Flory Models' Green polishing stick. 
Airbrushed with 'Alclad' Aqua Gloss 600.
Pre-shade decals applied using 'Xtradecal' Parallel stripes black set (XPS1).
Light coat of 'AK Interactive' White primer (AK759) airbrush to fade back the decals.
Airbrushed with 'Alclad' Aqua Gloss 600 as a sealing coat.
'Ghost' roundels airbrushed on underside of upper wing using tracing paper masks (don't stick and lift decals).
Light coat of 'AK Interactive' White primer (AK759) airbrush to fade back the roundels.
Airbrushed with 'Alclad' Aqua Gloss 600 as a sealing coat.
‘Aviattic’ Bleached CDL (clear backed) (ATT32044) decals applied (cut to shape).
Kit supplied decals applied (serial number made from ‘Xtradecal’ RAF letters and numbers set (X32021).
NOTE: All decals applied with added PVA adhesine in the decal water (helps to stick the decals down without, if any, silvering)
 
All of this still needs weathering, detail painting and final light sheen final coat (to lessen the gloss).
 
Mike
 

 

 

 

 
 

Hi all,
Final rigging is complete.
I tried this time using resin Anchor Points, but won't bother in the future.
Although they will take tension in the rigging line, they break away very easily if only slightly knocked.
I'll continue to use the metal versions from 'Gaspatch', even though most unfortunately have blocked 'eye' ends, which effectively renders them unusable.
I've used 1:32nd and 1:48th scale One Ended version turnbuckles from 'Gaspatch' on this build.
 
There's still more bits to fit and figures to paint, but I'm getting there,
 
Mike
 

 

 

Hi all,
Weathering applied using 'Flory Models' Dark Dirt fine clay wash.
Now it's onto pre-rigging,
 
Mike
 

 

 

 

 

 

With Pete entering the Demonic fray, now might be a good time to post the detail pics that I took at Shuttleworth, rather a lot I'm afraid:
 















































 
Thanks to John Shipman standing beside me, I had permission to climb a conveniently placed set of steps to get this pic of the ring and bead sight and the Aldis sight.  The SW kit only provides the ring and bead, so a little improvisation will be required for the Aldis sight.












 
















 











 
The flatness of the wings as remarked on by Richard is very evident.  Hope these are useful, perhaps he could be persuaded to join in and make it a triple mini-Demon GB?  

I am slowly progressing with the decaling.  Based on my experience with the lozenge decals I on decal one side of the wings and let that dry for 24 hours before tackling the other side.  Decaling the fuselage is a new experience and I am doing that in three steps, bottom, then sides followed by top.  The decals have performed very well and fit pretty close.  I will still need to make some small fixes in a few areas once I am finished with the primary task, but nothing has been a "show stopper" thus far. 
 
 
 

Engine mounts next.
One small modification to the kit parts - the circular piece in the middle of the picture and its mount was removed.

 
The kit parts added and painted. The only extra in this picture is the piping along the upper engine bearer made from two pieces of solder.

 
Using a great photo found of AU-J found on the web, the left side received some extra piping made from copper wire and solder.  Still a couple more things to add but getting there...

 
With the engine just placed into the mounts, clearances were checked to make sure that the extra bits on the firewall and mounts did not interfere with the engine or alignment.
 
 
Considering this is my first attempt at adding so much extra piping and wiring, I am pretty happy with the result.  Just a couple of wires here and there to add after the cowl framing goes on.

Hi Sky,
I've had LF models propellers and found them to be OK but generally the centre hubs are over scale.
Also they don't come with hub plates as far as I remember.
As such I've mostly used 'Proper Plane' propellers on my models.
Despite the situation out there, Alexey and Olga will take orders and dispatch anywhere.
Payment, for example, can be by 'PayPal'. 
You'll need you give Alexy time to produce the propellers as he's a busy man and not always able to work with what's going on.
You'll get notified when dispatched.
I'm in the UK and it's our postal system that's causes delays.
I think delays may occur once the orders leave Europe and get to the destination country.
'Proper Plane' are quality, which you pay for, but I think are the best on the market,
 
Mike 

Hi all,
Fuselage more of less complete now.
'Flory Models' Dart Dirt clay wash and 'Tamiya' Weathering Master Set A and C.
'AK Interactive' Kerosene wash used under the fuselage at the engine.
Decals applied and sealed with 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC311).
 
Now it's onto painting and pre-rigging before building continues,
 
Mike
 

 

 

Hi all,
A few more updates.
Bombs and bomb control quadrant and cables added.
Hand operated fuel pressure pump added.
Engine exhausts with retaining frames added.
Windscreens added.
Upper wing straps added.
Ammunition drum rack added.
Pilot and observers machine guns added.
The tail planes and elevators added.
The fin and rudder added.
Kit supplied 3D printed wing skids replaced with 0.6 mm diameter blackened Brass tube.
 
The kit supplied CFS Mk.4 bomb sight has been binned.
It was so frail it literally fell off in bits!!
I'll need to make a representation of one instead.
Also the propeller will be fitted (last).
Finally the rudder and elevator controls and cables are still to be added.
 
Mike
 

 

 

 

 

Hi all,
The twin flying and landing wires are now fitted, as are the incidence wires between the interplane struts..
I still have the two drag wires and two side bracing wires (each side of the aircraft) to fit.
Now the 32 separate infill strips between the flying and land wires to do,
 
Mike
 

 

Hi Kev,
Yes.
'Aviattic' have a full range of pre-coloured linen effect decals, which are white backed and applied over base primer.
The 'clear' versions are applied over a light base colour, such as white or grey etc.
If the model has multi-coloured camouflage, the best option is to use the 'Aviattic' Linen Weave Effect (ATT32236) decal sheets (no colouring or white backing).
I paint the model then gloss coat with 'Alclad' Aqua Gloss 600.
Then cut the various template shapes using tracing paper and use them to cut out the various decals required and apply them.
After I seal with a semi-matte clear coat for applying weathering etc,
 
Mike

Hi all,
Just a small update.
I've added photo-etch mesh to the front and rear of the 'Windhoff' radiators.
The photo-etch was heated slightly to create a heated look and then given a dark wash.
I've also added the bottom drain cock, made from 'Taurus Models' engine fuel primer.
Finally I added the radiators upper and lower attachment plates to the fuselage,
 
Mike
 

Hi,
 
here are some notes on my "Physico-chemical-weathering" process. The 262, Junkers D.1 are test beds for this technique. Some of you asked for more details, so here they come. I hope you will give it a try and please let us know what you achieved!
 
Chemical stage 1: Base coat, e.g. dark green from Tamiya. Use colors with acrylic resins like Tamiya and Zero Paint.
Make tests of the described procedure prior to paint your model!

 
Chemical stage 2: Apply a thick coat of hairspray and let it stay for 30 secs. Then rise with warm water. The alcohols and solvents in the hairspray will chemically alter the base coat. See change of color between the upper 2 pictures!

 
Physical stage 1+n: Carefully treat the surface with tools like wooden chisels. Be careful not to score comletely through the paint work when using metal tools!

 
Rub, score, scratch and strike the surface till it looks worn and used. Apply chipping with songes, straight scratches with a curved blade dipped into thin paint. Apply panel washes before applying the hairspray. Add sprinkels and more washes as desired. Add streaking effects by airbrush using heavily diluted Tamiya flat black and redbrown.

Hi Roman,
For this engine I grey primed all parts.
Masking tape was applied around the base of the cylinders, which were then airbrushed with black.
The engine sump and the rest of the parts were brush painted - crankcase and sump with 'Mr. Colour' Stainless Steel (213).
Once complete the whole assembly was airbrushed with 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC-311) lacquer.
 
Mike

Hi all,
The engine is completed.
It's the basic kit engine with just a few enhancements, as most will be hidden by the the fuselage.
I've added:
Ignition lead support tubes (1.0 diameter brass tube).
Ignition leads at the spark plugs and magnetos (0.3 mm diameter lead wire).
Coolant expansion tank and pipe (modified WNW engine cylinder and 0.4 mm diameter Nickel-Silver tube and flexible black tube).
Coolant supply pipe from water pump to cylinder integral gallery.
Carburettor control rods (blackened 0.4 mm Brass tube).
Air vale at rear of camshaft housing.
Fuel feed pipes to base of the carburettor.
Spare WNW data plate decals.
 
Mike
 

 

This little Fokker is finished!
 
Not without a bit of drama though. I wasn’t sure if I was going to share the drama but why not eh? I don’t mind you all having a bit of a laugh at my expense just not too loudly Ok?
 

 
The upper wing went on without a hitch and then the upper cabane strut rigging wires were pulled tight. They were then painted Gunze Mr. Metal Steel, like all the rest of the wires, and the centre sections of the turnbuckles in polished brass. Then came the aileron control lines which filled me with a bit of trepidation and justifiably so. I had originally thought it would be easiest to attach them at the bottom and then feed them into their holes in the upper wing. Take it from me, don’t do it that way, ‘cause it made it very difficult to work around the cabane struts and then find the holes in the upper wing! After contorting my neck, hands, tweezers, and trying to look through my magnifying lamp to see the holes, and after a half a dozen or more attempts to secure the loose end of the lines, I finally gave up. But not before I managed to knock the rudder off and then break the right aileron free. When re-attaching the aileron I broke the upper portion of the control horn off too. This is when the air turned blue…….. and I invented a new language that I’m sure the neighbours heard, didn’t understand, but recognized as pure frustration. After calming down I went at it again but started by removing the lines from the fuselage cowling and installing the lines in newly drilled holes in the upper wing first. That required a new level of contortions as there was virtually no room for a drill bit in a pin vise. I honestly can’t remember how I managed to get the holes drilled. I understand that severe trauma is often erased from ones memory! Nonetheless feeding the lines in to the fuselage cowling proved easier but still presented a challenge. I honestly got to the point where I considered leaving them out altogether but I wasn’t about to be beaten by a little Fokker. Finally all four lines were in place and each tensioned with a heated dental tool. I really should have thought this process through a bit more but hopefully next time the lesson will ‘ave been learned! I have a few more WnWs kits in the stash……….
 

 
The engine was attached to the firewall and then the firewall was glued to the fuselage followed by the engine cowling. The prop was painted a light tan colour with Tamiya’s acrylic paint and then Raw Umber oil paint was used for the wood grain effect. I first removed the prop hub and then replaced it with another hub from one of the spare props supplied with the kit. The axial propellor logos came from spare WnWs decals and the data stencils on the prop are from Aviattic.
 

 
All in all this is a great kit and I would highly recommend it to anyone with a bit of experience in building WnWs products. Again, I dedicate this build to all the men and women at Wingnut Wings who brought us some of the very best WW I models bar none!
 

 
Cheers,
Wolf
 

And the Pups are done.  I'll do proper "glamour" shots in RFI in due course, in the meantime here it is, and it's that very rare thing, a model that has turned out just about how I envisaged it.
 

 

 
Many thanks for all the encouragement along the way.

Matt,
they are part of the regular Aviattic decals for the Mengnut kit. Have a look at the images for the ATT32295 decals. You'll see the burnishing decals left of the rudder there. I'm not sure if there is an individual decal available just for that, but I believe I have seen it being a part of all their Richthofen decals for the Mengnut kit.
 
Wolf, this is yet another build that will go into my reference build archive folders. Just the engine shots alone hit it right out of the park for me and the rest with all the details of what to look out for or how to fix is very much appreciated . Looking forward to the next installment!

Matt,
they are part of the regular Aviattic decals for the Mengnut kit. Have a look at the images for the ATT32295 decals. You'll see the burnishing decals left of the rudder there. I'm not sure if there is an individual decal available just for that, but I believe I have seen it being a part of all their Richthofen decals for the Mengnut kit.
 
Wolf, this is yet another build that will go into my reference build archive folders. Just the engine shots alone hit it right out of the park for me and the rest with all the details of what to look out for or how to fix is very much appreciated . Looking forward to the next installment!

Hey all,
 
Finally got all the major sections masked off and finished...had to do a few re-do's due to the metallic lifting, I dont know what contaminated the surface of the rear section of the fuselage, but whatever it was has given me a right trial in patience and perseverance to keep going on it.
 
I have used the masks and sprayed the code letters on, and was going to do the same for the Star and Bar Insignia, but since I have some decals for them, I am going to use them instead of chancing anymore dramas with paint lifting.
 
Anyway, here's how she looks at the moment, still have to do some touch ups to these area's, next step is decals.
 

 

 

 


 
Thanks for looking,
 
Cheer's,
Jeff.