Following the inbox review posted yesterday, here is my impressions for the actual build.

The were a few problems for me with this first part of the assembly, some of them my own fault. I had read on a review of the original French Airforce release that the cockpit framework was too wide, so as there is a lack of positive location points I deliberately made mine narrow - when I assembled the fuselage halves I then had to try and spread the frame to fit!. The bulkhead behind the cockpit is too wide, and I would have had a gap of about 3/16" at the top of the fuselage so it needed a fair bit of filing and trimming to get a good joint.. I have already mentioned the lack of positive location points, thankfully the instruction leaflet is fairly clear as to the locations but it is still open to a bit of trial and error fitting. The kit instrument dials were a pain in the ar... neck as they are so small, and the PE bezels are hard to fit over the top of them. One of mine lost it's print during trimming and another fell off and got lost whilst fitting the cockpit to the fuselage. I also fitted the firewall at this stage to add strength to the fuselage.

Seat with etched belts added:


Cockpit parts laid out for assembly:


Cockpit framework assembled


Rear fuselage with holes drilled (but not yet cleaned up) for rigging;


Cockpit parts painted, instrument faces still to be added:


Cockpit with a brown ink wash, fuselage halves assembled:



Next step is the fuselage joint, tailplane etc and drilling the wings before assembly for later rigging.

Terrible photos, but I've assembled the Lewis gun. PE overlay on the mag and PE sights.





I hate photoetch when I can't even see the blooming parts!

No more photos yet, but I've fitted the rudder and elevators, and dry-fitted the wings to try them out. I know this is a 'limited run' kit so I didn't expect Tamigawa quality and it's within my skills and experience to get a good result, but it literally fits where it touches. Dry fit everything before reaching for the glue !

wow. looks great, especialy that lewis gun

Most impressive so far Dave . Yes PE parts can be a big pain in the rear . Just a note though that the side walls were not wood but fabric as well as the under side . and the head rest is to low . I made the same mistake when I did my build for the Ladies campaign and did come across the info until I had everything closed up .

Model on , you are doing a wonderful job on her so far . I glad you are building this one online it's not a subject which we see that often and in 32 scale to boot !
looking forward to the rest of the build !


To blond to know what I'm doing half the time .
Terri

I've painted them as fabric! My Tamron macro lens has picked up the brushmarks in the paint!

Thanks for the compliments

Thanks Dave. Its clear from your comments that there is a need for an above average skill level to fix this kits issues. Excellent heads up!

When I did the inbox review I could only go by the look of the parts, you only find out the bad bits when you start the assembly. I've already revised my planned build sequence. I was going to add the wings at the end to make painting and decalling easier; but I want a strong joint so the wings will be going on next with plenty of liquid glue and I'll have paint the black nose (1 sqdn version) around the wing roots. The prop shaft will be shortened so that the cowling can be fully assembled and the engine added afterwards.

Not my first Special Hobby kit, but it may be my last!

Thanks Dave ! I didn't know that a camrea lens could do that . The rest looks so good . At frist I was going to say that is awesome wood gain until I remembered my mis-hap .

Terri, the professional macro lens that I use (Tamron 90mm f2.8 ) on my Pentax K20d 14.6mp DSLR will take 1:1 (life size) photos of insects etc. Probably overkill for taking pictures of a model aeroplane! Another lesson learned - I'll stick to a more normal zoom lens for the rest of the pics!

Dave

Next steps:
Horizontal and vertical tail in place. Fragile joints - I used microweld to get a strong joint:



Port wing joint - thanks to Loctite I hope it's strong enough!


Starboard wing joint - Microweld wasn't strong enough so this has superglue as well. Both joints will be cleaned up before painting:


Engine assembled. The PE part (wiring harness?) is a larger diameter than the engine. The engine in turn is larger than the inside of the cowling! A bit too tight for a rotary engine. I've trimmed the cylinder heads and bent the PE to suit so that I can insert it from the front after painting.

That's all the assembly that will be done before painting. Won't be touched for at least 24hours, then surface cleanup and prep, priming etc. Should get some paint next weekend.

Replaced the etched control horns on the tail surfaces with slices of sprue - I just can't use the tiny PE parts.

Added some small brass rings for the rigging - I can't see the PE turnbuckles well enough to use them, and my chosen rigging material won't even fit through the eyes!









11.5 hours so far. I have no doubt that many others more used to 'stick and string' era 'planes would do a better job; but it's as good as I'm going to get it and despite the criticisms I've kinda enjoyed it and that's the main thing!! This is no worse than the standard of almost all the earllier kits that I built 40+ years ago when I started in the hobby - just not as good as we have become used to in recent years.

Hi Dave

I'm still very tempted by this kit - although I know I shouldn't say that, because I've still got the Eduard 1:48 version begging to built. What looks a bit worrying in your photos is that the wing panels seem to be warped (although that may be "barrel distortion" from c/u photos).

I'm always impressed by the "no messing" way you just get stuck into a build like this! I'd still be contemplating where to start...

All the best

Rowan

Is there any other way? ? ?

After 46 years practice I can look at the instruction manual and the parts then work out a build sequence fairly quickly.

I did some research, so I'd seen other reviews before I even bought the kit. One reviewer mentioned one wing being warped, but both of mine appear the same so I'm not sure if this is the proper shape - I can't find a head-on view of an original plane. There were no ailerons and the aircraft was steered by wing warping so maybe they were a strange shape anyway? I just made sure that the inner end of the wings matched the tailplane and left it at that.

Hi Dave

Ohh yes! I can mull for Britain!

"Mull of Kintyre, Ohh mists rolling in from the sea..."

Keep 'em coming!

All the best

Rowan

Now painted. Since taking these the model has been gloss varnished ready for decals.

Wow , most impressive Dave !

Finished. Not without a few more problems though (at least one is my fault, not the kit!). The rudder stripes broke up whilst being applied and I ended up hand painting over the remains of them. I broke the undercarriage on the port side whilst gluing the wheel in place - despite having trial fitted it and enlarging the hole in the wheel hub! If I do any more WW1 aircraft I'll find another rigging material, this was supposed to have been a waxed (non-hairy) thread for rigging models but it looks pretty awful in some of the shots (ok in real life though).

Great job done on her Dave !

Thanks Terri.

I keep looking at SE5s and Camels now as I've like them ever since I read the Biggles books when I was a kid; but I don't have the cash or the nerve at the moment - rigging a monoplane wasn't too bad but biplanes scare the **** out of me!

Nicely Done Dave! And "bi" the way, biplanes are much easier that monoplanes to rig. Really they are. No, really they are. . .

Dave,

Excellent job with a difficult subject. Stephen is right about the Bi-Planes, that is if you do an Albatros or a Nieuport first. The Brit machines are real nice but they can be a challenge to rig.

Great Job, Dwayne

P.S. Rowan, I'm with you on this kit and will put it on my to purchase list. Its a good thing Dave went through all the pitfalls so at least we know what to expect.

Thank you all for the compliments.

Back to wheels next for the Roden RR armoured car, then a ship (1/72 scale Corvette); after that it could just be back to "sticks'n'strings" again.!!