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A heavy mod build of the Roden Seimens Schuckert D-III


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Hey all!

Am new to this forum, but have been a builder off an on since I was 7. (oh my almost 50 years!) To be honest though I didn't build much from 1990 up till about 3 years ago. A friend gave me this kit and I jumped onto it a few months ago because I wanted to do the modification to the front louver panel to make it super thin and correctly opened up. After that I lost interest and had a new kit I really was wanting to build and it went on back burner.

Interest started simmering again a few weeks ago and Kevin gave me the OK to join in on the build so I will post the photos of progress to this point. Not really much work or time invested yet so "technically" I have not cheated on amount of time invested yet. We will see.


Thanks Kev!

Here is the build as it sits:


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That engine is really due for some more work! It is really neat seeing a rotary engine spinning, should be even more so once I detail it out!

In addition I also have some Master Models machinings for the Spandau guns on order as well as some nice cast turnbuckles from GasPower Models. I will post photos of those once I receive them.

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Did you know that there is a real Seimens Schuckert D-III aircraft on display in New York State at Old Rhinebeck? The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome has an astounding museum of WW1 aircraft and a number of flying restorations and replicas. They have a small airshow each weekend in warm weather. They open on May 18th this year and their web site is www.oldrhinebeck.org/

The first time I visited them my mouth fell open at the quantity and variety of WW1 aeroplanes. I had just bought the 1/32 Seimens Schuckert kit and when I saw the real one standing before me in one of the hangars I almost fell over.

If you are planning on taking a vacation this year the museum might be the place to visit.

You can also find the Aerodrome on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldrhinebeckaerodrome/

Enjoy, but watch out for the "Hun in the sun." :piliot:

Stephen

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:post1: I also will watch this post to. Thanks also for makeing look like a Chump. Nice work on that cowl louvres.

 

Cheers

:sorry:Vandy that was never my intention I can assure you. I spent about 6 months doing research on this beast (mainly because I really liked the plane) before even thinking about starting it. The way I did the louvers was after more thought and some techniques I tried out while building on an old Eduard Hannover CL-IIIa in the dredded :o 1/48th scale. The things I was having to do to that beast makes this a cakewalk. The worst part was scratch building a top wing for the Hannover. The old one ended up so warped it was unusable. The new one ended up far better than the old one could have ever been tweaked. I eventually just tired of building on it. (was having to scratch build a correct engine for it) Of course now Wing Nut Wings has the Hannover CL II out in 1/32 and it is quite nice. Will probably pick it up soon.

 

What I do and have done for a living give me a lot of skills. Being a little OCD makes me want to go to the ridiculously accurate when building stuff. In some ways I wish it would be easier for me to just put something together out of the box, but there are always things to improve and I can't seem to let well enough alone.

 

Did you know that there is a real Seimens Schuckert D-III aircraft on display in New York State at Old Rhinebeck?

Stephen

Yup I have seen the photos online of that one. I believe it is a replica. It seems that the only ones that are somewhat genuine are over across the pond. Even then I am not sure, it has now been a while since I did all the research and I have slept a lot since then. If I remember it seems that there is the fuselage with engine of one of the prototypes in the museum in Warsaw, but as I said it has been a while since I did all the looking.

 

Back when I was modeling 20 years ago there was one guy in the Tulsa modelers club that was a stickler for modifying aircraft to be accurate. Granted he only finished one every 6 to 8 months or so (if then). But they were amazing models. Many of the other modelers there then picked up the bar and raised it quite high. I was striving to reach that when the Big D hit me and removed a lot of my zest for doing anything. Took a long hard road and many knocks to get back to some of the things I really like. Compared to the way I built kits back then I am nowhere in the same class anymore. Time and experience have made quite a difference on the building. What you will see me struggle with is painting. While I "know" techniques to paint and airbrush, I am so rusty that it is a struggle at times, and there are so many new paints and techniques being used these days that it is going to be a challenge to do the paint.

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Eagle (the name is Paul- right?) painting is my big preoccupation also. Having started with an airbrush only a few years ago, I STILL do a lot of experimentation, not only with techniques, but also with paint brands and all the associated thinners and such. There is such an array of choices it's mind boggling. To simplify things (as much as possible, and because they work best in my airbrush) I've rather settled (for the most part) on Tamiya products. I still get myself in trouble though now and then. When in doubt, use same name-brand products! :hmmm:

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Yeah Will you have it right my name is Paul. I have gone by Heavens Eagle on the internet for over 20 years though so it is my altar ego so to speak.

Airbrushing is not a problem for me as such. Have worked with airbrushes for almost 40 years now (
geez has it been that long?) Was quite handy with an airbrush before I put the hobby stuff away. When I withdrew from building back in the 90's I just packed away my stash and tools. Didn't get rid of them like so many folks do. Today I have quite a stash that really is in need of thinning down a little.

Back in the day I was doing some production painting of micro tank miniatures. Was it the easy stuff? Heck no! I was painting 2 and 3 color WW2 German armor, some in ambush scheme with the little dots. This was mostly done with an airbrush. That brush was a Badger LG-100 with a large gravity cup. I used it so much the plating became worn off an area where it rested in my hand. Still have it and it is still a good airbrush, but I upgraded a couple of years ago to the new Renegade Krome that Badger put out. It is a much better tool than the older one, but my current problem is that the old paints have either changed or gone away.
:doh:


I was never much of a fan of the Tamiya paints. I tend to prefer the enamels for the base colors. Yeah, the ones that smell bad and can make you light headed if not careful. I use the water base acrylics then for detail and shading. Am having to work up a whole new style with the paints as many have changed. I used to be able to grab a bottle of Testors, Pactra, or Humbrol, add a little Dio-Sol from the Floquil paints as thinner and have great results. Then Polly-s was the acrylic I did the detail work with. Polly-s and Pactra are gone, Floquil is now owned by Testors and there are a number of new paint lines Vallejo, Games Workshop, and Reaper to name a few. Also detailing of models has come quite a way since the old days. Photo etch and resin were just becoming commonplace back when I packed up stuff.

Way back when, I also painted gaming miniatures. This was a challenge and fun. One of the things I always like and what gives me the most satisfaction is when folks do the "How'd you DO that?!" line. Well there have been a lot of improvements in ways to highlight and detail vehicles and figures. A lot of that has come from the gaming community in recent years. You don't have to necessarily like the subject, but look at the detail and how they make the models really pop and catch your eye! So that is being added into my painting now. Ugh! Too much new to learn and not enough time!

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I'm not that big on Great War aircraft, but the Siemens Schuckert D.III has always been an exception. I used to have one (two?) in 1/72nd scale and one in 1/48th scale, now long gone unfortunately. I look forward to your build!

 

Regards,

 

Jason

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Paul I know it was not your intention. :) to make look like a chump. I do that my self :whistle:

I to am getting back into building!!!! It's just you have more wisdom than I do when it comes to modeling than I have. It also seems to be, you may have done it or do something for work like Graphic artist, or Machinist. You also sound Like the guy that taught me to take the big step and scratch build most of my stuff. As I started realy modeling in the early 90's to.

Thanks and I will watch and learn.

 

 

Cheers.

Vandy the Chump

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Great to see you getting the best out of this overlooked kit!

I'm about to release "lozenge" decal sets in this and other scales which could prove to be the "icing on the cake" if you're interested...

Looking forward to your updates

 

Regards, Richard

 

www.aviattic.co.uk

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It also seems to be, you may have done it or do something for work like Graphic artist, or Machinist.

 

Cheers.

Vandy the Chump

It is funny you say that, I have been a draftsman then a technician where I layed out then prototyped printed circuit boards. Along with that I also designed sheet metal enclosures for said electronics and would hand make the prototypes for that as well. Then there was panel artwork and technical illustration. Working with plastic is so very much easier!

 

Currently I am a certified watchmaker and have been doing watch repair for over 10 years. Thus the tiny stuff isn't so very tiny to me. Add to that, I am a tool freak and can make anything new that comes to mind and it all comes together quite easy, though for now the painting part is somewhat RUSSS-TEEEE!

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