rvictor

Hi Dave, One of the two frets I did get, have some nice lacing, which was much more detailed than the kit rendition.

Today's progress... I removed all of the inside attachment points, and sink marks, then painted the area white (not shown). Tomorrow I will start the woodgrain effect using artist's oils (I plan to paint almost the entire plane in artist's oils). I removed some of the exterior details, such as stitching and foot step. I will add these all once the fuselage halves are joined. Finally, since I have to scratch build an instrument panel, I got to work on that, using the datafile. It looks like there is a woodgrain to the IP, so I added this by scribing with a blade. The photo below is before final cleanup. There is some fuzzy plastic visible (now gone).

Hi Dave, I see these wheels in the Datafile in several pictures, so I feel better about them now. Besides, my budget for this has been spent.

Hi Dave, Well, the good news is that I do have the Tom's set you refer to (and also the 1/32 guns set), so I will just proceed with that set. I will have to make my own instrument panel. :angry:

Well... I sat down this weekend to work on this a bit. I have been cleaning engine parts, etc., but wanted to really get started this weekend. I go to work on the seat and instrument panel, and I discover that I am missing fret A from my Part PE detail set! Only frets B and C are in my set. How I missed this at first I do not know... I spent hours going over the instruction sheet and the kit instructions doing a comparison. You would think I would have looked over the PE frets and notice it, but I did not. No problem I think, so I e-mail Jadar Hobby (Part PE has not contact details and sells their stock through Jadar) to ask that fret A be sent. Well, that didn't work. The guy e-mails back that he won't send it, and that the place I purchased if from does not exist and that they don't sell to them. What? Then how did I get it? The other two sets I purchased at the same time are complete (I checked), so someone just forgot to put fret A in my Sopwith set. I guess I'll have to buy another at a later date. :angry:

Hi Dave, Understood... and a little relieved. I would love to use the nice, spoked wheels, but not just to cover them up. If the references indicate that the kit wheels are okay, then I will use them. I had thought of the tire markings, but I think at 1/32, it would be difficult... and I wonder if they would be seen? They are not on this tire set (most recent Hobby Craft "Clerget" release).

Hi Dave, Great information, thank you! The wheels in this kit are not like those in the art depiction. They have a round cut out at the bottom for the stem access on the tube. These seem to be very common, and I did not notice at first the different cover, which is depicted in the drawing above (note no hole at the bottom for stem access). I do have a set of spoked wheels I can use, and perhaps I can cover them with wetted tissue paper to replicate the covers? Sorry if I am not clear... my WWI aircraft terminology is certainly lacking.

Hi Dave, You're not preaching... your're helping. I want to get this as "right" as I can the first time. Thank you for the cowling info. I do understand now. I also appreciate the information on the Sopwith logos and also the plywood color (I had a color in mind for this). In your photos of B6313, do the wheel covers appear to be those depicted in the artwork above? If so, then these kit wheels are wrong, and I will need to come up with a fix for that.

Hello Dave, I did get a PM from you, but it was just mine quoted back. Thank you for trying though. I cannot quite picture the "engine turning." Do you mean the bumpy surface on the cowling of the Spirit of St. Louis? This is (I think) the previous scheme of the B6313 (before the "N" change). Is this more correct? I do have the decals for this version as well. While I wait for the datafile to arrive, I will be doing some of the safer sub-assemblies. Again, thanks for your help.

Hi Dave, Thanks for writing. I agree re: parts 24/25/26, and plan to use just the base of those parts. I do not have any clear sprue, so I might try epoxy resin applied in successive applications... I am not sure on that yet. I also noted the domed switches. I am thinking I may be able to give them the domed effect after I remove them from the fret (we'll see ). I also see the small oil pressure gauge you refer too, and I think I can add that. After I get it fully together and painted, then I will add the small wires (I think they will get in the way when painting). Also, this is the plane I am building...

Hi Dave, Please do not apologize for helping me. I really do read your postings thoroughly, and I appreciate everything you add. Here is the Part PE scan of the IP and assembly. It seems very close to the rendering you referred me to, while the kit IP seems to be based on the restoration plane's IP. I did not catch that it was a restoration the first time (thank you for pointing it out to me). Is it okay to admit that I am a intimidated by this build? I know that there are parts I will do very well (PE work, construction), but I am afraid when I eventually pull out the airbrush, I will ruin many hours of hard work. Also, I ordered the Windsock Datafile for the F.1, and I am sure that will help a good bit when it arrives

No worries, Dave. I appreciate the advice. I have been trying to figure out the instrument panel... the references I have of two different F.1s, show different IPs. One is very similar to the Part PE replacement I have (almost spot on, in fact), and the other photo seems to show an IP similar in shape to the Hobby Craft version. While HC has the basic shape correct. the positioning of the instruments on the panel does not appear to be correct. I am assuming that there must have been "upgrades" to instrumentation in the F.1 cockpits, and this accounts for the discrepancy. I have read also that really, no two planes of that era were alike given availability of parts, pilot preferences for instrumentation (or lack thereof), etc. So, I guess I will go ahead with the Part PE replacement (which is a marvelous thing, really) and hopefully all will go well. Thanks to everyone for your support.

Hi guys, Well, this is going to be my first ever airplane build... my first ever non-figure build, actually. I only have three kits just now, and I have been waiting for all the extras I purchased for them to arrive, and since this is the first complete package I have in place, it seems a good kit with which to start. I am using the Hobby Craft F.1 with Clerget engine in 1/32. I have the Part PE detail set for it (three frets of wonderful), and also some sets from Tom's to add if needed. I plan to build B6313, W.G. Barker's plane. My kit is missing the marking's sheet, but I found two very good articles online, which detail the different markings of this plane. So, watch this space, I guess... I have studied all of the instructions and other references, and am ready to start this later today. I hope to be able to post photos as I go along (I created a Photobucket account). If you guys see me going all wonky on something, I hope you will chime in and stop me before I make too much a mess of things?

Really nice, Mike.

I want to compliment you on this fine job. I am very impressed. I hope you do not mind, but I have been saving your photos to use as a guide for when I find and build this kit myself.