Fokker E. V
The kit engine is pretty good. I replaced the flat PE valve rods with Albion Alloys NSR03. The spark plugs are NSR03 and the plug cables are Wonder Wire.
The front of the engine. After a couple coats of gloss I'll stain it with some dark oils.
The Fokker's wing was plywood that was stained using a streaking pattern. I prepped the wing by cutting open the ailerons and then painting it in a wood enamel color. The tailplane is primed and pre-shadowed getting ready for a coat of white.
I made the seat out of epoxy clay. The MGs are enhanced using the PE cooling jacket provided. I rolled the cooling jacket over a drill bit and then used some MBT06 to replicate the MG Barrel. Gluing the tubing on the seam provided a way to add some strength to the seam.
Closeup of the seat cushion and seat.
The Synchronization cables for the MGs are .005 inch wire wrapped around .008 inch copper wire.
I glued four eyes to each side of the cockpit frame for the turnbuckle attachment points. The Eduard kit does not include the fuel pump and throttle fixtures so I'll add these using brass tubing.
The cockpit is pretty simple. Not sure I would want my head in the cockpit to see the Tach and compass, but no HUDs in 1918 I did add a fuel pump on the right side. It is made from brass tubing and a sprue handle.
I added the bracing wires on the steel frame and the elevator and rudder cables. The cockpit is painted overall German Gray-green primer.
I did some testing to determine if I could create the streaked paint pattern. I used acrylic AK Interactive WWI Light Blue and Lilac on the underside. I found a very quick light coat worked best using a bush. The hard part is leaving it alone for a day before another coat or touchup goes on. I found I could add additional coats as necessary.
The Eduard kit comes with two wings. I'm not sure I liked my first attempt at the streaked camo (seen on the upper wing) so I'm trying a new technique. I lightly spray painted the light blue and lilac for the underside of the wing. When it dries I'll add the streaks with diluted paint of the same color.
The fuselage is together with lozenge decals applied. There is very little visible bracing wire except for the wheel struts. Bracing is GasPatch turnbuckles, home made eyes, Infini Aero rigging and MBT05 tubing.
The gas filler caps were flat PE. I punched some discs out of styrene and glued to the PE on top to give it a more 3D effect. The MGs are from the kit using the plastic breach and PE cooling jacket and charging handles.
2nd Try on the wing. The underside of the wing in light blue and lilac with a coat of clear lacquer. I'll try making the streaked effect with a thinned coat of paint with a little white added and brushed on from front to rear.
2nd try on the wing. The top of the wing in light green and mauve with a coat of clear lacquer.
The top of the wing was streaked using 5 drops of Mauve or Light Green, one drop of white and a couple drops of thinner applied with a wide brush. The intent was a more subtle streaked look.
The two pins on the top wing are stacking studs which protected the wing during construction and shipping. The laminated prop is made using the decals from the Eduard kit and oils. This was the first time I've seen the decals for the lamination.
All of the control surfaces are moved. I did not separate them, just scored them with a #11 blade and bent them. The control cables are Infini Aero rigging and MBT05 tubing. The aileron cables from the cockpit to the top wing are Wonder Wire. I still need to get some dark wash to accent the hinges and panel lines.
The wing struts took a little work to get everything lined up. I drilled the alignment holes a little deeper to keep the struts from shifting. I still need to get some oil stains on the bottom and weather the aircraft. I'll probably keep this aircraft fairly clean.
Finished project. I added a bit of light weathering to accent the elevator, rudder and ailerons and a little on the panel lines of the wing. I used some light dust on the tires.
Can't really see much in the cockpit. If I do another WWI aircraft I would like to try the GasPatch MGs.
The underside of the wing is light blue and lilac, with a bit of streaking. I did a little bit of castor oil stain on the bottom of the fuselage.
Yes you can see the thick spots on the cowl. Maybe I'll have to build a Fokker DR. I to experiment with thinning that out. That would also give me a chance to buy an Oberursel UR. II engine from Vector or Small Stuff.
Commenti
12 27 September 2020, 18:46
René "Lord Bilbo" BartholemyNice bird, I'm strapped in to follow.
Not sure which wing I prefer though...
1 October 2020, 20:04
bughunterNice work so far but some comments:
In the kit there are two wings, because one has a surface corrugations of wet wood (described on the first page of the manual).
Regarding the colors there is also a different theory:
Why violet on lower surface? No other german aircraft has that. And brown/green on top? This was no more allowed at that late time of the war due to danger of mistaken identity with french and brit ones.
Ok, there is a list of four color wood stains known: green, violet, light blue and brown. So we can use light blue on lower surface and green/violet on upper side, so this would match all the other german aircrafts of that time. But what about the brown of the stain list? A wood stain would improve the water resistance, so we can assume, that the wings was stained also inside to improve the resistance against condensation water. They had problems with it anyway and the aircrafts was reworked because of that issue.
So I painted my Fokker according that theory (was also not aware of this and had to repaint the wings during the build) and it looks like this:
Fokker E.V | Album by bughunter (1:48)
3 October 2020, 09:55
Christian KohlLooks great so far. I'm a big fan of these `` flying garden chairs '' myself.
3 October 2020, 10:29
JWBughunter, I've read a lot of the posts on the Aerodrome site and there seems to be a lot of opinions on the E. V wing colors. My scheme was based on some of the posts from Dan San Abbott. I have seen some period photos that definitely show a camo pattern on top. Would a combination of light green and lilac or light green and mauve be correct for the upper surface? I looked at your E. V album before I got started and saw what you did with the build. I like the way you add the laminated props.
3 October 2020, 20:07
bughunterYou are right, there are a lot of opinions and my way of painting it was also only a theory. This happened only 100 years ago and we cannot ask someone who knows, really pity.
And yes, with green and mauve or violet on top I mean a pattern.
5 October 2020, 19:50
JWBughunter, thanks for the help. I did light blue and lilac on the underside so let's try light green and mauve on the top of the wing. The light green and mauve was a camo combination late in the war so it might be period correct.
6 October 2020, 00:57
René "Lord Bilbo" BartholemyComing along very nicely!
Just one more or less personal question: in your pictures, you use a 2 cent coin for scale... Aren't you in the USA?😉
7 October 2020, 21:50
JWBilbo, It was that or the one pfennig coin that was laying on the bench. I did 11 years in Germany and go back regularly to visit friends but live in the US now.
8 October 2020, 01:25
bughunterClean build! Yes, the mounting of the wing was tricky.
One tip for future builds: The holes in the cowling looks like thick plastic. Drill is with a bigger drill carefully from behind until you see a thin wall from the front.
10 October 2020, 19:44
JWThanks for the kind comments and Bughunter thanks for the tip. I noticed the thick cowling on the picture too late. An oversized drill sounds like a great way to accurately take some plastic off the back.
10 October 2020, 20:44
