I've been working on this one for a while now and thought you might like to see what I have done so far, here are some photos.

Des.

Here are some more photos

Des.

Beautiful work Des, as always of course. Inspiration for future work for many of us as always too.

I must say of the bigger WNW kits this one catches my eye, I love its ungainly ugliness. Seeing your work only makes me want to save that extra few quid and get it instead of a Pfalz even with all that skeery rigging.

Keith

Hi Des:

Truly outstanding work. Like Keith wrote, and inspiration to all of us here, yours truly included. Rigging is outstanding.

Thanks for sharing your work and your tutorials.

Best
Mark

Des,
Just had to add my impressions............what absolutely beautiful work! The interior shots are, in a word, incredible. I hope I can someday just come close to your craftsmanship.

Can you share info on the maps.From where or how did you produce them?

A complete build thread would provide endless learning experience. You Sir are a true Artist and I'll be watching and learning from this article big time!

Cheers,
Lance

Excellent!!!

Thank you gentlemen for your kind comments, they are much appreciated.

A full build log of this model can be found on my website.

http://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com

You can download maps of any area around the world, resize them to what you want then print them out, iron in a few folds then flatten them out.

Des.

Hi Des - nice work as always. Ever thought of "dirtying" your builds up a bit? They are always very very clean Weathering is always a personal preference I suppose, and I do tend to lean towards over-weathering...

BC

Thanks Brad for your kind words.

Weathering is not a thing I like doing, it can ruin what began as a really nice looking model. Some people are brilliant at applying weathering and can make a model look very used and very realistic, but I have seen a lot of models which look like they have been purposely brush painted with a bit of muck, not at all realistic.
I am still practicing weathering on older models and one day, if I get the technique right, will start adding it to my WW1 aircraft models, but for now, my models are aircraft which have just left the factory floor, spit and polish.

Des.

http://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com

Just a quickie up-date.
I painted the control cables and rigging wires with Mr Metal Color 213 Stainless and the turnbuckles with Mr Metal Color 212 Iron, once everything was dry (about 2 minutes) I buffed them slightly with a small soft brush.

Des.

http://www.ww1aircraftmodels.com

Lovely job on a superb kit!

What next?

Gordon

I concur with Stephen Des... Excellent work. Those turn buckles can be a real test of ones patience.

Thanks for the nice words, much appreciated.
The turnbuckles can be frustrating at times, but once you have made the first half a dozen they are quite easy to make.

I have fitted the wing struts, I trial fitted the top wing to make sure the locating holes lined up with the struts. The struts fitted well but as per all Wingnut kits tolerances are tight so all traces of paint have to be removed otherwise fit will be a problem.

Des.

I have fitted the top wing, I followed the suggestion made by Wingnuts to place the model onto the kit box once the wing was fitted, this keeps the wings aligned perfectly.It is very important to remove all traces of paint from the locating holes and the strut locating pins to allow for a good fit, tolerances are tight. I fitted the four (8) flying wires which are attached to the fuselage before fitting the top wing, access to these wires would be difficult once the top wing is on. I replaced the 4 plastic exhaust stach stays with 0.4mm brass tube, this has added a great deal of strength to the wing assembly. The end of the stay that sits on the wing was flattened, a 0.4mm hole was drilled, then a small Grandt Line nut was fitted, this now simulates the mounting bracket and fixing bolt, it will be painted black.

Des.

I have completed the rigging inboard of the interplane struts, I'm using 0.12mm mono and 0.4mm brass sleeves, once each line is fitted I paint them with Mr. Metal Color 213 Stainless, it is all held together with CA.

Des.

Outstanding and inspirational, the extra effort with rigging points and such really sets this one apart.

Though seeing how much rigging there is, it sobered my urge to buy...that and the promised incoming arrivals on the WNW news page.


K

Absolutely beautiful Des, I can only agree with whats been said by everybody else here!

Mikael

Beautiful work!

Des,

Nobody, absolutely nobody works as cleanly as you do!!!

Your work is absolutely beautiful. How do you paint these small details without any paint thickness showing up???

I want to sign up for a class. Really! Can you give us any tips?

Dave

Thanks all for the kind words, they are much appreciated.

Dave - To paint the rigging wires and the turnbuckles I use Mr Metal Color paints, they are a lacquer based paint so are very thin and flow very well without any build up, it is very fast drying so quick brush work is required. Once dry, they can be buffed with a soft brush. I used Stainless for the cables and Iron for the turnbuckles.
The brackets on the struts and engine bearers plus any brackets on the fuselage frame and instrument bezels on the instrument panel are painted with black inkjet printer ink, this is a water based ink, it is very thin and flows easily, brushes well and does not add thickness to the item being painted.

Des.

Des I note you treat your paint the same way I do. I turn mine clockwise every week or two a 180 degrees to keep them from settling too much.

Thanks for taking notice Stephen, every week I turn the tins.

I have completed most of the wing rigging, the undercarriage is also fitted and rigged, the rigging has added a great deal of strength to the wings and undercarriage assemblies.

Des.

Outstanding!
RAGIII

The RE.8 is now completed, it has been a real pleasure building this model, Wingnuts have produced another superb kit.

Des.

It is a real beauty Des – one to be very proud of Congratulations on finishing

Mikael