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Thanks dutik. I went with the recommended F.S. colours that were on the AML sheet. 35045, 24098, 35526 and 10032 - matching them as best I could to the Mr Hobby/Tamiya range. Gary

Wingnut Wings Fokker D.VII (Alb) converted to an OAW built plane 1.D.357 which flew as part of the Finnish Airforce with Ilmailuosasto 1, Utti airfield, November 1923. Decals are from AML while the skis are scratchbuilt along with the new panel where the guns are normally fitted.. Brass tipped prop is from the spares box with a new screen fashioned from acrylic sheet, radiator grill from RB Productions and the plane was painted with acrylics and weathered with oils and enamels. Gary

I, for one, have found this publication to be excellent in details and very useful for another build I'm working on.... Gary

Wings are on! I was going to depict flaps down but decided that they required too much work and I didn't have access to the Eduard PE set which would be ideal. Besides, I understand that flaps weren't usually left down as they were prone to damage as they hung quite low. Gun camera port needs tidying up when cement sets, but needed something to fill the hole.... Gary

Throttle assembly and Bowden cables in place. I used 5gm gold fly fishing wire (annealed to soften and discolour them) for the cables with MFH 0.4mm black vinyl tube for the connectors are each end... Unfortunately, Barracuda don't supply an 'Airscrew Control' decal so I painted the lever with oil paint to represent the lettering. Gary

Thanks Michael. Frustrating, but nothing that can't be overcome.... So, The Ferranti Gyro Sight Mk.II with control box and dimmer switch with .010 lead wire for the cabling. Gunsight is inverted here to prove that I did put a cable in there as it'll never ever be seen once fitted to the cockpit so there is definative proof it's there ok A lick of paint later.... The shade is the original PE part from the kit. The 'glass' is acetate sheet cut to size. The two circular projectors on the top were first painted with a chrome pen and then a couple of blobs of Tamiya Smoke were applied to act as lenses. There are decals supplied for the control settings but no data placard on the side so this was hand painted with silver paint and a very fine brush. Also, I've seen some images with 'NO HOLD" stenclled on top of the shade so decided to replicate this. I had nothing suitable to hand, so cut individual letters from a spare decal sheet. No idea if it's correct for this year of plane or if it's the correct size, but looks cool Will start tackling the throttle assembly tomorrow as my eyes are starting to ache Gary

Sorry for the poor pics.. Can you spot what's missing? I expect that all of us, at some stage, have become victim to the dreaded carpet monster. That miniscule piece that leapt into oblivion when cutting from the sprue or spinning off into the void during a little light sanding. But I can't say I've ever had anything go missing from the interior of something I'm in the progress of building I have absolutely no idea how, when, where or why the throttle assembly went AWOL. It was meant to be secured with CA glue (resin part) but I obviously didn't fix it securely enough...... So, that leaves me with 3 options. Use the kit part Use another from Barracuda which is slightly different Modify the above option TBH, 1 isn't much of an option and the basic look will stand out against everything else I've done. 2 involves adding a whole new gunsight with assosciated boxes and wiring. Great option with the cockpit enclosed - not 3 is the easiest as it simply involves removing a little bit of resin where the Bowden cables would attach to the trottle twist grip. So, which option am I choosing? Yep, you guessed it.... Why on earth would I pick an easy option. After all, so far, most of the extra detailing etc has been added after I've done most of the work Gary

Petr Yes, but the lenses would be coloured but still require a reflector to increase the brightness. Gary

Thanks guys So, fuselage halves are joined together and the cockpit is now enclosed - you can still see enough detail to make the extra work worthwhile... Tail surfaces are then fitted. Interesting that Tamiya have you remove the actuator rod from the rudder mount (Part B28) in step 16, yet it is clearly still shown in place in step 21??? I opted to remove it on mine and replace it with brass rod as I also drilled out the fairing and needed the rod to extend into the new opening... Then it's onto the wings.... Undercarriage leg mounts aren't realtistic as function takes precedence over accuracy with the Tamiya kit here. The underside light reflectors are painted chrome using a chrome pen purchased from an art supply shop. Gives a perfect 'actual' chrome finish... Gary

Seems to be a few rumours circulating the Wingnut Wings may be another victim of the Covid-19 closexown in NZ. Richard Alexander has seemingly responded to a post on an Oz based WW1 plane forum that things are not looking good for the company. Wod be a real shame, but goes to show the devestating impact the current crisis is having on everybody. Much rather lose a model kit producer than human lives, but sad news indeed if true. Gary

Thanks chaps Gary

So, jumping forward a little, I think I can call the cockpit finished. Adding the hydraulic undercarriage lines was a little tricky, but with some time and patience, managed to get all four in place. Also added control lines using Modelkasten rigging thread and the pilot, Rupert, was pinched from a Wingnut Wings kit. I did, somehow, manage to lose the Barracuda resin oxygen hose, so had to fashion a replacement from lead wire.

Thank you for the feedback everyone So, onto the elevator control assembly. Scratched using Evergreen styrene, Meng styrene bolts and Gaspatch 1/48 turnbuckles.... Finally, for now, have made a start on the belts, using one of HGW's excellent sets. AK burnishing solution for the buckles etc while XF-57 is a close enough match to paint the white reverse sides of the belts. Oddly enough, the instructions fail to show one of the buckles on the lap straps even though it is supplied on the PE fret? Gary

Thanks Michael. Compressed air tanks and assosciated pipework next. Again, not 100% accurate, but good enough when looing behind the cockpit. Believe it or not, the two small cylinders mounted on the base are actually heads from 1/35 German hand grenades Otherwise it's .010 lead wire, Evergreen styrene and Meng styrene nuts... The instrument panel saw a change of plan. I did buy one of Eduard's L00k instrument panels, but decided against using it as it appears very 'toy-like' in mu humble opinion... So, I just used the kit parts - only changing a couple of instrument decals for ones supplied by Barracuda. Otherwise painted with acrylics and weathered with enamels and pigments....