Wingnut Wings 1/32 AMC DH.9 in HNAS Service

spyrosjzmichos · May 16

Hello everyone!

It's been a veeeery long time since my last 1/32 project.

But here I am, starting a new build—the Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale AMC DH.9.

This will be my first WWI subject and will represent a Hellenic Naval Air Service aircraft that served during the Asia Minor Campaign. The specific aircraft, Spetsai—named after the Greek island of Spetses—was later specially painted for the victory celebration flyover of Constantinople.

Work has begun with the cockpit, featuring the characteristic wooden structure typical of WWI designs. I airbrushed all components with a sand base coat, followed by a red brown layer applied through a wood grain stencil. The effect was unified using oil paints: applied, then gently wiped off with a soft sponge. I used raw umber for the frame and burnt umber for the sidewalls to replicate different wood types.

The leather seat cushions were painted using a similar method. I first applied NATO black by brush, then added scratches using a mix of the base color lightened with sand. A final layer of burnt umber oil paint, partially removed, completed the leather effect.

Smaller cockpit details such as instrument dials, pumps, levers, and push rods were brush painted with silver, grey, or brass. A black wash helped bring out depth and definition, and everything was sealed with a matt varnish.

The engine firewall was painted in a white metal finish, with the upper section rendered in linen to simulate fabric. It was weathered with black oil paint to suggest oil streaks and splatter.

The radiator and supplementary oil tank were painted light grey. For wear and chipping, I used a technique common in armor modeling: light grey chips applied randomly with a sponge, then painting the center with a darker grey to enhance contrast.

Next step: cockpit assembly and engine installation.

Thanks for following along!

LSP_Kevin · May 17

Welcome back, Spyros! Fantastic work so far.

Kev

spyrosjzmichos · May 17

50 minutes ago, LSP_Kevin said:

Welcome back, Spyros! Fantastic work so far.

Kev

Thanks Kev! 😄

Greif8 · May 18

Really nice "wood" effect and other paint work Spyros!

Ernest

spyrosjzmichos · May 18

5 hours ago, Greif8 said:

Really nice "wood" effect and other paint work Spyros!

Ernest

Many thanks Ernest!

spyrosjzmichos · May 19

Hey everyone!
Time for another update!
With all the cockpit and engine support parts prepped and painted, I finally got to put everything together.

I’d heard that Wingnut Wings kits have a really precise fit—but wow, I didn’t expect it to be that tight! I actually had to sand the paint off some of the connection points just to get things to fit right.

Super impressed with the engineering on this kit so far!
I thought about adding turnbuckles for the internal rigging but ended up skipping them since they won’t really be visible once the fuselage is closed.

Instead, I just glued the rigging lines directly in place using EZ Line’s fine stretchable thread.
As a final touch, I swapped out the kit’s photo-etched seatbelts for some fabric ones from HGW Models. Super easy to put together thanks to the simple WW1 design—nothing too fiddly. I gave them a bit of weathering using a few thin layers of brown and black oil washes, dabbing off the extra with a soft sponge each time. Once they looked suitably worn in, I sealed everything with a coat of matte varnish and glued them into place.
With the interior all sorted, I moved on to the engine. Wingnut Wings includes a beautiful Siddeley Puma engine—it’s basically a mini kit on its own! I added a few extras like brass rod for the pipes and some ultra-fine copper wire for the ignition leads.
Next up: painting and weathering the engine!
Thanks for checking in!

AngryJazz_Models · May 19

Wow its looking great! Love the wood and added details 😊

Im building the DH.9a Post War version and its fun to see the interior being almost similar even though the planes look different exterior wise. On the other hand one would expect some things to be the same on the DH.9 line of biplanes 😉

spyrosjzmichos · May 19

2 hours ago, AngryJazz_Models said:

Wow its looking great! Love the wood and added details 😊

Im building the DH.9a Post War version and its fun to see the interior being almost similar even though the planes look different exterior wise. On the other hand one would expect some things to be the same on the DH.9 line of biplanes 😉

Thanks Ben!

Coincidently, I've been using the Stringbag book as a reference and more specifically the featured DH.9a build.
Just checked out your build and it looks lovely!

Quite impressed you went all the way with the interior rigging!

I also noticed you had to deal with a gap on the underside where the belly joins to the fuselage halves.

After some dry fitting I can report I'm having the same issue...

AngryJazz_Models · May 19

1 hour ago, spyrosjzmichos said:

Thanks Ben!

Coincidently, I've been using the Stringbag book as a reference and more specifically the featured DH.9a build.
Just checked out your build and it looks lovely!

Quite impressed you went all the way with the interior rigging!

I also noticed you had to deal with a gap on the underside where the belly joins to the fuselage halves.

After some dry fitting I can report I'm having the same issue...

Thanks!

Very interesting with the fit and the same issues. I have to be aware of this when I eventually get to this version myself. The Wingnut kits really have tighter tolerances than I thought.

Just a heads up - the control surfaces really needs some pins for reinforcement.

dutik · May 19

Really impressive wood finish! :yahoo:

Your whole detailling and painting is impressive, but the wood finish stands out even more! Nice choice of subject, BTW. I've also set this kit aside considering greek markings.

Regards

- duitk

spyrosjzmichos · May 19

1 hour ago, AngryJazz_Models said:

Thanks!

Very interesting with the fit and the same issues. I have to be aware of this when I eventually get to this version myself. The Wingnut kits really have tighter tolerances than I thought.

Just a heads up - the control surfaces really needs some pins for reinforcement.

Many thanks for the tip Ben!

Will be keeping that in mind when I get to that point.

spyrosjzmichos · May 19

17 minutes ago, dutik said:

Really impressive wood finish!

Your whole detailling and painting is impressive, but the wood finish stands out even more! Nice choice of subject, BTW. I've also set this kit aside considering greek markings.

Regards

- duitk

Thank you Dutik!

It's a lovely kit for sure!

Makes me regret not getting more Wingnut Wings kits back when they were in business, simply cause I was scared of WW1 subjects... :BANGHEAD2:

spyrosjzmichos · June 2

Hey everyone! Back with update no. 3!

This time I focused on painting and weathering the Siddeley Puma engine.

The Wingnut Wings kit already gives you a beautiful little replica, but I couldn’t resist adding a few extras—ignition wires, tubing, and even a tiny actuator arm snuck their way in.

I started by priming the whole thing black, then laid down a base coat using MRP’s white and dark aluminum.

For the finer bits, I grabbed a mix of acrylics: NATO black, ocean grey, light grey, and a splash of bright brass.

Tamiya’s black panel liner helped bring out all those little details.

For weathering, I used some trusty Abteilung 502 oils—mainly black and brown—to add oil stains, fuel spills, and a few streaks for that well-used look.

On to the next stage soon—thanks for following along!