I have never been much of a WWI modeler, but there are some really interesting subjects out there. I have no idea what I am doing, but I'm giving it a shot. My choice of subject is the older Eduard kit. I cleaned things up last night sitting in front of the TV, but the lighting was poor and judging by what I saw this morning.... I still have some work to do. Nothing done to it yet. More to follow. Expect your brains to be picked folks.. Thanks, "Q"

Welcome to WWI modelling Q, any questions just post them, theres a wealth of knowledge here and always available to share.

Interesting choice of subject too.

Keith

Welcome Matthew. Been a while since I last saw you, but I spend most of my time over here or on the Darkside of modeling (Automotive). We will all be here if you need our help. But I think you are more than capable of turning out a fantastic flier. I like your choice. Welcome to the GB.

Greetings and welcome "Q". Interesting topic indeed, will be looking forward to seeing this little guy progress. Enjoy the build and the great company here on Aeroscale.

Best

Mark

Thanks for the warm welcome all. It has been awhile since we've seen each other hasn't it Carl? I wasn't able to get anything done on my entry today as I was helping a friend and fellow modeler with some life blahs. He's better and sitting at his bench building I'll be diving into my build here as soon as this and a couple other posts are taken care of. Thanks again for the warm welcome, much appreciated. "Q"

My hat is off to those of you who build these...these....things! I don't know how you do it. I accept the fact that I chose one of Eduard older kits and the instructions are anything but easy to follow, but OMG... I dealt with the cockpit stuff tonight..well, almost all of it. I still have some small items to figure out and then place before I can paint and seal things up. My eyes went goofy on me or I would stay up and continue the battle. It fits well for the most part. The angled wires got a bit tweaked during handling, but are soft enough I should be able to get them back to where the need to be. I added some shims to the interior of the fuselage to help with alignment when the time comes. I have a new appreciation for those of you who deal with this stuff on a regular basis..

More to follow. "Q"

Welcome to the GB Matt ! Nice to see you hanging out here ( about time ! )

The older Eduard kits are a limited run type affair that will test your skills . However , they are really nice kits even if they are out dated by today's standards .

You seem to be on the right track and she is looking good . You can always remove the flat bracing wires and replace them with stock rod or a fine fishing line .

Any Questions just ask , more than enough helpful folks hanging out here !

Yes. Those early Eduard kit instructions were a bit hard to follow at times. Time, eyesight and dexterity are your personal hurdles that can impair an enjoyable build. In the planning stages use the kit instructions to document what you have done, will do, wont do by colour coding your steps with pastel high-lighters. Pink=complete, yellow=delete Green=scratch-build/alter & blue= replace with an existing kit item.

I'm taking notes. Thanks for the tips and suggestions. I toughed it out and got the cockpit completed this morning. I painted it and installed it. It's not the Mona Lisa, but it's painted in the colors called for. I can see where a lot of pre-planning is needed with these builds. With WWII and modern stuff you can assemble it all and paint later. Not so much with this stuff. Argh. Anyhooo, The fuselage is drying as I type. Trying to figure out my next move... more to follow. "Q"

In case things go horribly wrong with my MS Type L, I have this as a back up. Limited rigging, and a scale I can Identify with... "Q"

Hi Matthew:

It is coming along, and it looks like you did well on the cockpit. I am not a fan of PE and stay away from it as much as possible. Yes, it takes some planning to get these shelf or contest worthy. After a long 30 year hiatis from WWI modeling I approached the Revell 1/28 Fokker DVII thinking it would be a walk in the park, wrong. It is still in the box. This is shaping up nicely.

Best

Mark

It looks like you are building her up very quick. These older kits are not known as fast builders. Good work.

Thanks for the kind words guys. This is definitely not in my comfort zone, but I plan to stick with it. I figure if I can get through one that maybe I'll take on another one, etc. and expand my interests/skills. While the cockpit on this one is anything but pretty...understatement of the year.. lol, there isn't a lot that can be seen. I'm going to chalk this one up to learning what to and not to do when building this type of aircraft. After removing the clamps from the fuselage I saw that there were some pretty large steps to deal with. I guess my shims didn't keep things aligned. But, since there aren't any panel lines to worry about sanding away, the putty was deployed and quickly filled the steps. A little block sanding and I should be back in business soon enough. I have pre-drilled all the holes for the rigging. I was going to try and replicate the turn buckles, but I think I may just run the lines into the holes and call it even. At least until I'm more comfortable with working on these rigged subjects. Thanks again for the encouragement and kind words, much appreciated. "Q"

Fokker D VIII? am i missing something?

Misprint on the box art. I never noticed it...lol. "Q"

A little more progress on my build. I tackled the landing gear this evening. Talk about frustrating. I got it installed, but man that was labor intensive. I had to make a compromise with the center support bracket/brace. It is supposed to meet in the middle, but no matter how far I splayed the landing gear legs out, I couldn't get it to where it needed to be. Going to call it even at this point as I don't want to risk screwing this thing up by forcing matters. Also made some progress on my little ESCI D.VII. There is literally nothing to this kit. I have a contest to attend tomorrow so all work will have to cease until tomorrow evening...maybe Sunday. Moving forward...... Thanks, "Q"

You seem to have a talent for these Early Aviation subjects Matthew. I hope you will pick up some of the higher quality kits and give them a try. You have a good approach towards these subjects, and they really look good. I hope to see you around here more often after you finish these two builds.

Thanks for the kudos Carl. I hope I do too.. Lots of interesting subjects to be had. Thanks again for the compliment, much appreciated. "Q"

The landing gear really turned out nice, you exhibit a lot more patience than I could muster for that. I echo Carl's sentiments hope to see you around here more with more subjects.

Best

Mark

Holy smokes that's a lot of photo etch that comes with the kit. The build looks great.

Ted

I remember building this kit and backdating it to a German License built Pfalz A.I

If mine comes out remotely looking like Stephens I'll be happy. Thanks for the kudos thus far all. Much appreciated. "Q"

I made a little more progress today. Even though the kit is one of the older releases, it comes with a nicely cast white metal engine to replace the kit plastic one. I added the "wiring" or whatever the pieces are to it this morning. Also got the tail skid added. I had to whittle a piece of stock down to size as the kit part was a bit short and wouldn't span the distance between the forward support and the rear one. Last, but not least I got the wing supports/struts installed. Currently dry fitting the wing. I need to re-position the holes I drilled as it sit crooked now. Shouldn't be too hard to deal with though. Should be moving into the paint booth before too long.
Does anybody have any suggestions for coning the spokes for the wheels?
I tried placing them on a soft foam rubber surface and lightly pressing down in the middle of spoke assembly to make them into that distinctive cone shape, but it didn't work out too well, so I flattened them out again. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. "Q"

Elevators in place and top wing test fitted. I was able to even/level things out. It's beginning to look like a plane now. "Q"

Coning the wheels, if you had another kit with injected wheels you could use them to form the PE if they were the correct or larger size. If not possibly cut a disc of plasticard, take a slice out and Cyano it together to form a cone shaped former? Rummage in the spares box for something roughly like what your looking for?

Just an idea or 2, hope it helps

Keith

Lovely work so far, glad to see the needed amedments havent phazed you.