News Feed

Robert Podkoński
Good job so far, Bruce. Keep it up! (I love the panel lines 😉 up to scale... )

Bruce Huxtable
Many thanks, Robert. Variations of silver to follow next.

Bruce Huxtable
So, a variety of grey-with-silver shades applied to selected panels, then polished as it dries using a wide, flat brush. Buffed with cotton wool after thoroughly dry. Trying to create variations, with subtly.

gorby
Good to see a different take on camo. 😄 😄 😄
I like the Cromwell, it looks psychedelic.
Doing a pink T34 is still on my to-do list.

Bill Newcomer
The rear has kind of a mid sixtys Chrysler Imperial look to it.

Bill Newcomer
Lots of body work I see.

Nigel Chapman
Sorry Bill, missed your comments due to wrong settings.
Just been looking at Chrysler Imperial rear pictures, and your right there is a sort of similarity. It's something I never considered. Bodywork has been fun and a good learning curve

Nigel Chapman
Catching up with this build so got the interior completed after some mods to the dashboard and steering column. Rear bed is made up of drink stirrers painted then sanded for the worn look.

Danny Meer
Looking good allready 👍

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Danny. So near yet so far. Not happy with the fit of some components so rebuilt the prop shaft and modified the radiator. This is slow going

Danny Meer
Everything to keep us busy during the cold winter days😉

Nigel Chapman
Thanks for the thumbs ups guys.
Your right Danny. What would I have been doing if not modelling ??

István Szücs
A really "woww-build"! Great idea! Congrats!

Nigel Chapman
Thanks

Nigel Chapman
Prop-shaft problems with a bad fit so lengthened it and cut out the middle of chassis for extra depth then bridging the gap with scrap plasticard.

Nigel Chapman
Mated the chassis to body but not happy with end result. The wheel/tyre combo looks strange and the front end is not low enough.
So put on back burner while I look for another suitable chassis and some low profile tyres.

Nigel Chapman
Right plan B using 1:24 Revell MK1 Golf GTI chassis, engine and running gear.
Actual layout is not far off so hopefully minimal cutting will be required.

Nigel Chapman
Spent the afternoon cutting and trimming with the Dremel to get the chassis to fit. I have to say this is working really well (so far!). Middle section will need further adjustment to fit flush.

Nigel Chapman
More grinding and cutting and the chassis fits just fine.
The entire front clip and engine bay looks spot on. Why didn't I think of this earlier?

Brandon H
Very cool. I like your style, Nigel!

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Brandon. I'm even contemplating a change of colour

Christian W
What sanding, cutting, cementing, modelling, sanding, sanding, sandig 😄
Very cool idea and ralization- The bed looks fantastic.

Nigel Chapman
Thanks Christian, you missed another sanding!
Real pleased with the bed - very simple to do. It reminds me those old wooden speedboats.

Christian W
Totally. That came into my mind too. The interior is also great. Like one piece. Well done.

Dominik Weitzer
what a heck of work! i'm very interested of the finish.

Nigel Chapman
Me too!! Not sure about the wheel base. I think I may have to narrow the front and rears chassis parts so the wheels fit in the body. Even with the VW wheels and tyres it's a tight fit.
Some research is required before any surgery takes place.

Nigel Chapman
Bought a Dremel flexible shaft which has proved invaluable for this project. I've had to grind material from the inner body and interior tub to achieve the stance I'm looking for and to get a good fit the chassis parts.
So far the VW tyres/wheels will fit on the front using kit parts.

Nigel Chapman
More chassis mods and tweaks. Rear end narrowed and spare wheel area removed. Black piece is from an AMT Ford van floor

Nigel Chapman
Slow but steady progress. Front end is now done after more grinding to ensure a proper fit for the front clip.
Material removed from the front roll bar mounting area so it now fitts flush within the chassis.
Rear end parts narrowed slightly. Fuel tank had to be narrowed to fit the rear roll bar which now has a nice snug fit for the lowered look.
Hopefully the car will now sit nice and low at an equal height all round!

Chaz Gordon
The flex shaft is my number 1 dremel attachment. To really make the most of it, get yourself a footswitch. I got a £10 industrial one from ebay and wired it in the middle of an extension lead. My dremel is always ready for action now.

Nigel Chapman
Ah, brillant idea. I never thought about doing that. I'll se what I can find

Chaz Gordon
This is the one I Got. Needed to use a connector strip to connect the Neutrals and earths together, but loads of space inside to hold it all in there.
https://ebay.co.uk/itm/22283..pid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A2334524

Nigel Chapman
Brilliant, thanks.

Nigel Chapman
Slow but steady progress. Chassis now ready for paint.
Paint stripped from body using Isopropyl alcohol.

Brandon H
Hmmm, so you did decide to change up the body color. What are you thinking instead?

Nigel Chapman
Yep, the Gold just didn't do it for me so now I've got some Rover Pageant Mid Blue

Brandon H
Nice!

Nigel Chapman
Managed to finish painting all the suspension and engine parts. It seemed to take forever!

Bill Newcomer
Suspension parts usually do not get many colors. I paint them all near the beginning of the build so I can get to the 1+1 gluing stage.

Nigel Chapman
Moving onto the bodywork. A couple of coats of primer to highlight the needy areas. More filler applied and slowly but surely I'm getting a decent base for the topcoat.

Nigel Chapman
Wow! Just over a year and I'm resurrecting this project. Bodywork has been much improved over the last month with more filling and sanding. I've bought a pack of various graded wet n dry paper up to 1500 which has helped big time. Still not perfect and a learning curve but I am happy with the result.
Second round of painting using the new paint booth.

Nigel Chapman
Resurrected this project [again] as it had been lying around for 2 years and the body was still not right in places the longer I kept looking at it.
24 hrs in brake fluid and paint was stripped for a second time (!), the photos show the end result.
It's not as bad as it looks and some areas could do with some extra work.
I have been looking at bodywork techniques so bought some Holts Cataloy knifing putty from Halfords for £2.99.
Applying it is an art form as it sets quickly so good practice on this body. Small amounts and one pass with the spatula seems best.
After sanding I've decided to refine the bodywork particularly the bumpers and rear.
So it is a restoration, remodel or build? 🤪

Alec K
A biplane?!? Taking a seat for sure. Your engine looks nice and greasy 🙂 👍

Jakub Fiala
Thank you, Alec! Yes, this is my very first project of WWI plane 🙂

Mark Sherwood
Good luck. 🥸👍

Simon O'Gorman
Really impressive.

Jakub Fiala
Thank you, Mark and Simon!

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Alec K
Cockpit looks excellent Jakube 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Jakub, the construction progress so far looks very good.
Maybe you'll find a liking in WWI models. 😉

Jakub Fiala
Thank you, mates!
Ludvíku, i must say, that i am enjoing it so far. But there will be more challenges later( riggings, lozenge....) So, i will see. But i believe, that WWII will remains my priority 🙂

bughunter
I'm a bit late in commenting do to my holiday - nice work so far!
Since there are some pitfalls: do you want a fun build or should it be correct?
Which specific serial do you plan to build?

Jakub Fiala
Thank you, Frank!
I want to build 8244/17 of Jasta 54. This marking is, according Eduard instructions, just a reconstruction based on the description in the flight log, revealed in the Jasta Color book. So, in my opinion it will be difficult to buid it 100% correct 🙂 However, I will of course be grateful for any advice and recommendations

bughunter
Ok, on a Pfalz D.IIIa the engine is different. The very simplified Eduard (the pipe work on the lower end of the cylinders is the water, what you have painted dark red - but this is not much visible later) engine shows a older 160hp Mercedes D.III. This is especially shown by the valve train, which can be seen on top of the engine.
Two bolts on top, and the valve in the middle: [img1]

The later 185hp Mercedes D.IIIa was also available for some Pfalz D.III, and nearly all of Pfalz D.IIIa pictures shows this stronger version. The drawings I know too. The engine is a little bit bigger, but the valve train looks very different - four bolts and the valves rockers comes out of the side:
[img1]

Roden has a better representation of this engine (same sprue on all kits), and it is also more correct in size. That means I cannot get it into this model 🙁

No worries mate, only an expert will notice on the finished model 🙂

And regarding the wings: I strongly recommend Aviattic decals. The ones printed on clear paper (normal) and the ones printed on white for rib tapes. Or you use the Eduard rib tapes. I have some build logs explaining the usage.

Jakub Fiala
Thank you very much, Frank, for your help!
While going through the photos and drawings of the engines, I noticed that each type is different, but I was quite confused as to which engine was the right one. In the end I didn't deal with it and just tried to scratchbuild some visible details that are missing from the kit. For example the air pump, pipes and hoses leading from the radiator on the upper wing etc. I use the WnW manual and kit ( borrowed from a friend of mine) as the main source of information 🙂

Thanks for the advice on decals. I'll try to get the Aviattic ones. But I don't know if it will be easier for me to use the lozenge decals from the kit, which are already prepared in the shape of a wing. I will see...

Alec K
Regardless the path you take, I am sure this will be a superb build 🙂👍

Michael Kohl
Following with interest.

Jakub Fiala
Thank you, Alec! I hope I won't disappoint you 🙂
Welcome here, Michael.

bughunter
Yes, the WNW manuals are a good source! You can download the manuals as PDF, the web site is still available.
But I suggest to download all what you need (also for other projects) soon. The site was away for a while already and I heard rumors that it was paid then for some additional time only.

For the Linux users among us, I suggest using "wget" with the recursive option so you can get all the PDFs, reference images and more to your hard drive without making millions of clicks,

CaptGPF
Ditto - following!

Jakub Fiala
I heard the same, bughunter. Nobody knows, how long the WnW site will be available.

Jakub Fiala
I added a few external details from PE, Evergreen, and my favourite plastic yogurt container 🙂
The fuselage with lower wing is almost ready to paint.

bughunter
Good progress!
It's nice to see some reused ideas! 😉

Jakub Fiala
Thanks!

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
Am I too late to take a seat? 😊

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Jakub Fiala
Thanks and welcome here, guys!

gorby
Fantastic work so far.

Jakub Fiala
Thank you, Gorby!