WnW Albatros D.Va

[cbk57]

Wonderful Build, as to the Spandaus, if you get the kit PE bent exactly right they fit really well, however I find it hit and miss.  I have built a couple sets with acceptable results but they are tricky.  The ends have to just come together, if they overlap then the diameter is too small.  I soldered the last set I did.  I also aneal them in the oven before attempting to bend them.  I put them on a plate and set the oven on broil for ten minutes.

[Zero77]

Thanks !

Indeed my kit PE grills overlaped, so i understand now why they did not fit. Next time i'll try to glue or solder them butt joint.

Though next time i may also try the new Gaspatch ones !

Edited July 4, 2016 by Zero77

[Lothar]

Excellent progress, I really do like what I see - that includes your workbench   Good to know that I'm not alone.

 

Lothar

[Zero77]

Spandau MGs done. I painted them with a mix of Alclad gun metal and steel. Next time, i wont add any steel, it as a bad idea, as anyway i then rub them with graphite powder to give them a steel sheen. I also added a light wash, and rub the edges with a graphite pencil.

I progress slowly, but i'm still waiting for my PE radiators, so i cannot glue the upper wing at the moment anayway. Today i'll try to finish the exhaust.

 

[Zero77]

I'm still waiting for my PE radiators (Hannants is not so fast than it was...), so i continue working on small details.

 

I finished my exhaust and i'm pretty satisfied of the result. It was first painted with Alclad Manifold, then a few transparent coats of AK rust paints (various colors) and then treated with several coats of various pigments from MIG, the first MIG brand (light, medium and dark rust, rubbel dust and smoke black), with some Ammo from Mig exhaust wash, a Tamiya matt varnish coat, and then pigments again fixed with some mineral spirit. It may seem to be long, but it did not take much more than 20 minutes. And it was fun.

I like the texture, even if it's barely noticeable at a distance. But i know it's there.

 

 

I also build a support for the flares. On Weiland's D.Va, this support doesn't look like those supplied in the box. So i took another one in another box, and mixed them to build one looking as close as possible. I added some thinned tamiya putty between the metallic plates so it looks like leather or fabric. I painted the flares with alclad aluminium and the cartridge bases with brass. I made a small hole with a pin to make the primer.

 

 

And i finally glued the engine cowlings. It was heart-breaking as i really liked this engine with all the small details. Too bad ! I know it's there, and most nice details like the valves springs and lifters or the spark plugs (from Taurus) are still visible from the outside.

[Zero77]

Blimey !

I just noticed on the picture that a valve lifter is missing !!! I must have broken it during manipulations.... I hope i can find it....

 

 

Just a question for those who may know : WNW instructions calls out for an interior grey-green color for the radiator. However, on the profiles, they look painted with the upper wing camo color, but it's a bit unclear.

Does anybody know something about that? Camo color? Grey-green? Unpainted?

(it's a Daimler radiator, not the Teves & Brown)

[Zero77]

This week i finally received my HGW photoetched Daimler radiator. Not easy to build, but a very nice addition to the model.

Here is the set, and the plastic kit parts :

 

The first assembly steps : 

 

The upper part is easy (it's just a grille glued onto the kit part) but for the lower part, i prefered gluing only the grille and the frames, and then only after painting, gluing the flaps so i can paint the various parts easily (impossible if one built it all unpainted).

 

With paint and weathering : 

 

And finished : 

 

 

Then i started the rigging. I thought the german aircraft have simpler rigging than the british aircraft, but this one is not really simple. There are a lot of turnbuckles (gaspatch), and the access is not easy. As usual, i placed the wires (EZ line) on the upper wing, and then after gluing the wings, i attached them on the lower wings.

 

[Zero77]

A few close-ups of the gaspatch turnbuckles, and rigging : 

 

The Daimler radiator :

 

 

Then i glued the undercarriage. Now it's virtually done. I just need to paint the propeller (i'm still thinking about a nice way to get a realistic laminated wood effect) : 

 

I slightly modified the cowling straps as the kit PE was inaccurate. I added 2 tiny bits of copper wire to make some hinges in the middle (where they are crossed)

Edited July 16, 2016 by Zero77

[LSP_K2]

Looking pretty nifty here.

[LSP_Kevin]

Fantastic work, Nicolas! Looks amazing.

 

Kev

[DrDave]

This is just great Nicholas

[Zero77]

Thanks a lot for your support !

 

After a whole day of tries and tests, i finally managed to get a laminated wood effect i'm very satisfied with.

 

I used masks (with an elliptic shape) and the usual wood grain technique with artist acrylics.

 

Here is a Wolff propeller i used to make some tries. I also used some vinyl mask for the tries as it is cheaper than the kabuki paper i finally used to mask the actual propeller.

Viewed from the side, the layers have to be parallel.

 

Then when my set up was ok, i painted the first color for the propeller (light wood) and cut the real masks in kabuki paper.

 

And after the second coat of paint (with wood grain, too, of course) : 

 

I crossed my fingers before unmasking, but the result was really worth it, even if it took me about the whole day.

 

And here it is finished with the Axial decals : 

Edited July 18, 2016 by Zero77

[LSP_Kevin]

Fantastic work on that prop, Nicolas! You, sir, are one skilled operator!

 

Kev

[Zero77]

Thanks a lot Kev !

I hope it can help and give some ideas.

 

 

Now the big bad Albatros is done. I started it about 2 years and a half ago, and it was my first WNW kit (first started, but not first finished !). I had to paint it twice as the first time i totally messed up the sponge camo. It was very long and sometimes a bit boring, but finally i'm happy with it now. No regret !

 

 

 

I'll try to take the pictures for the RFI tomorrow. 

[Gene K]

Thanks for the great tutorials, especially on the camo technique (I'm considering a Halberstadt with similar pattern).

 

Also would like to commend you on your photography, as well as your narrative!

 

Gene K