Hello everyone!

Long overdue, finally I feel I have the time to do an update on my build. Work has been pretty thick on the ground for the past month and a half, but I've still had some time for building the odd moment, so some progress has been made. Here's the story so far...

My last installment left me with some gaps to fill on the nacelle. This proved fairly easy work. The back panel behind the pilot got a plastic shim and some glue to stop it from moving, thus cracking the filler. Then some careful sanding and touching up with paint solved the problem nicely. The nose got several layers of filler, until I was satisfied – and the very visible seam on the back had a small strip of masking tape glued in place, to simulate a rib. Before I put it in place, I painted it up a bit, using coloured pencils. This was also a pretty easy fix.

After this it was time to give the whole kit a base coat before painting could begin. I did this in my usual mode, using Tamiya rattle cans in appropriate colours. After this pre-shading and topcoating was done, with a finish of a layer of future. The matt black surface proved very fragile, so rather than waiting until the whole kit was painted before spraying future – I did this in stages.

Last night I mated the lower wings to the body – using a jig to hold the wings in the right position... So here are some pics of the progress:


Nose with a bit of putty – I usually use what here in sweden is called "spackel". This comes in a variety of grades and uses. This type is very fine and is used as a wood filler. It is water based, non toxic, sticks well and sands very easily.


The back gets the filler treatment, with some plastic to shore things up.


Inside of nose, with the tape bit to cover the gap.


Bits getting a base coat. for this one I used Tamiya "german grey". I feel I get the best results if I use a lighter shade than the top coat, letting me modulate the end result with a darker pre shade and a thin top coat.


Masking the alu-non slip strips on the lower wings.


Loads of bits cramming my desk. There is a lot of wing surfaces to this kit. The PC 10 top wing got a chocolat brown pre shading over a lighter green, letting various shades to filter through in the end result... Not sure if its convincing or not?


The Nacelle in a "finished" state. Obviously there are many details still to put in place here.


I have a bit of touch up to do by the telescopic gun mount.


And the other side of things. The "black" is a bit darker in real life – the flash makes it a bit grayer than it actually is. But I very rarely use a full on black – and this top coat is mostly "Nato Black", with a bit of brown in it.

Well folks, that is about it I guess – A bit closer to the end of the project, with some construction about to begin, and of course – Rigging!

Thank You for looking, any and all comments and advice are as usual most welcome!

Best Regards

Mikael

Nice to see you back at it Mikael. Real life does get in the way sometimes; I am way behind on progress as well.
I like your "Spackle" idea. We call it the same here in Canada and I've used it in home repair and upkeep for years; never would have thought of using it like this but will definitely be trying it out.
Your brown/green shading effect on the upper wing looks great to me, gives it both a worn/weathered look and the preshading sets it off nicely.
A beautiful project, looking forward to more of your updates. BTW, what is the length and span of this beast? My skills aren't up to this kit yet however I'm tempted but not sure it will fit in my case. (that may provide my excuse!?!)
Cheers,
Lance

Thank You Lance for your comments, it's nice to be back in the saddle again

Did'nt realize that "spackle" was universal... There are two drawbacks to the stuff – one is that you need to polish it very carefully before painting. Otherwise it'll show up as a "matt" patch. The other is that it can be brittle if the joint is flexing... Otherwise – give it a go, its very easy to work with!

The span is some 46 cm wide, if that makes sense to you – More than the RE.8 and LVG I think. Having mated the wide black wings with the small nacelle makes it look a bit like a bat. I don't think you'd be disappointed with the kit – it really is one of WNWs best!

Best Regards

Mikael

Thanks for the info Mikael. The span comes out to larger then I can accomodate at this point (18.1 inches) I'll have to wait until I get/build another case as dust is a real problem here.
Should WNW release their DH2 soon I'll no doubt have my first lattice and wire experience on that.
Cheers,
Lance

Smart. looking good and an excellent recovery Mikael.


Bestest.

Keith

Thank You Kieth – your comments area s usual much apreciated

Mikael

Hi Micke
I very much like way you treat this kit, and silently I´ve followed until today.Just awesome paintjob you done there. Looking forward to start up my kit hopefully this year...
Keep up the nice job and pics

Larsa

Hej Larsa – Läget?

Very nice to hear from you  – and thank you for your kind comments. You won't regret starting the kit – its super! (as you probably already know from my ranting and raving in this thread)

So how are things at your end? Any projects on the desk, or do you spend your time in the garden?

Best Regards

Mikael

This year I´ll have non project in my garden,just tending the flowers, so I´m planing to get some new paint on the hobbydesk
Starting up the F.E kit would be a very interseting start, now when I have all the info I can need from you, then we have some old stuff on the shelf as FFe 33 from Techmod and Rodens DH2.
Not to mention all new kit on the shelf, I´ll never stopped to buy them puh.
We see, perhaps I send up pics when the fresh paint is on the desk.
Larsa

Hello all,

Time for another update from me on the Fee. Lower wings are now firmly in place, and I can't help thinking it looks like something out of "The Dark Knight" at the moment.

After some final coats of future, I applied the decals in place – this was, as usual with WNW very pain free with little trouble required for them to settle down. After this, I started detailing the nacelle and putting final touches to the engine package, which was in turn installed in the back. I'm still enjoying this build a lot, even if it's moving a bit slow...

Here are some pics:


Engine in place – I think I've managed to get most wires, pipes and leads in place...




The stitching was carefully dry brushed along with rivet heads.






The exhaust was done with different layers of oil paint, some dry brushing and a bit of rust pigmentes.


To the Batmobile! – Well, maybe not...






Lower wing with some patches from previous damage.


Upper wing dito. The roundels were a really good fit, with rigging holes already in place.


Bits and pieces – I'm going for the large payload under the nacelle.

Since these pics were taken I've done some shading and weathering over the decals. The roundels on the nacelle got a thin spray of black. This was suggested in the instructions – and also, looking at the pictures of the plane, it seems reasonable that they were overpainted at some point.

The model is now flipped on its back in a jig, and I'm installing the landing gear and bomb rack – doing the first tentative strands of rigging.

Thats about it til next time.

Thank You for looking, any and all comments and advice are as usual most welcome!

Best Regards

Mikael

Looking every bit as good as I expected it would. really lovely work Mikael.

Keith

Mikael,
As always very nice, spectacular at this stage already. The engine is particularly eye catching, really like the colours (Copper bits and exhaust)and the "dirtying up" is well done to say the least.Also you captured the distributor wiring beautifully.
Another "OEFFAG 153 Jewel" emerging methinks!
Cheers,
Lance

Keith, Lance - Thank you very much for your kind words, very much apreciated guys!

Mikael

Hi all,

Another update. I've been able to work a bit on the Fee most evenings, so things are moving along, slow, but steady. The nature of the build does not allow for too fast work – and also I want to enjoy the process.

I've done a sort of jig, by using a plastic box (that I think had chocholate sweets in it to start with). By trimming down the folded sides of the cardboard box the kit came in, I've created a snug resting place, that allows me to work around the model. I rest the plane on its back or belly, and it will allow me to attach the booms once I get to that stage.

First stage of the final assembly and rigging was done with the Fee upside down. Boms and landing gear + other small bits and pieces were added. Most rigging here was done using EZ line, which proved handy for especially the complicated bomb rack under the nacelle. I would not like to try rigging this with fishing line – the fragile legs would most certainly break and bend.

Anyway – here are the images:


The red strands are the bomb release toggles. I added the colour for some visual interest.





I side stepped the instructions a bit here – first of all I did not add the landing gear until after the lower wings were attached. I also added and rigged the bomb rack under the nacelle before the landing gear.

The assembly continues, now with the plane on its belly – I'm working on the details and rigging, starting from the center of the nacelle, working my way outwards and upwards...

Thank You for looking, any and all comments and advice are as usual most welcome!

Best Regards

Mikael

Progressing nicely!

Understatement.

An engine with copper...and yellow bombs, it's beautiful.

Your Fe.2b is really amazing.
We wait impatiently for the next pictures.

Louis

Mikael,
Superb!
How did you get the EZ Line thru the buckles, or am I seeing it wrong?
Cheers,
Lance

Stephen, Keith, Louis, Lance - Thank You ever so much for cheering me on!

@ Louis, will update pics as soon as I can, promise

@ Lance, no you're seeing it right. The EZ is threaded through the tubes and eylets, but its only through the tube once. I've found it impossible to loop it back - so I've cheated a bit here, going for the look rather than the function. I do like the EZ, but its not always simple to handle... Hope this makes senae to you.

Cheers all!

Mikael

Mikael,
As always spectacular Master Level skills and craftsmanship my old friend. Absolutely beautiful paint work and details.Very impressive.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

Hello Gregory,

Always very nice to hear from you my friend – I hope all is well. Thank You for your most kind comments on my build – greatly appreciated indeed!



Mikael

Hi all,

well I'm up to my armpits in rigging lines. It really is a massive task to rig the whole plane, though I would say, not overly difficult. WNW have really tried their best to make things as easy as they can in this department. Most, if not all rigging holes are pre drilled in the mould (I drilled them a bit deeper just to be sure). The tail booms have solid attachments, that are easy to use. So its really the amount of rigging and the time that it takes.

To make the task a bit less daunting, I have divided the rigging into five zones. The first one was the landing gear and bomb rack. The second was the middle wing, then the tail, and then each of the outer wings. This makes it a bit more manageble. At least in my head :-)

Yesterday I also suffered a setback. The evening before I had finished rigging the tail, and just as I set the model down – i noticed that the end bit had warped a bit. Obviously I had tensioned some of the lines a bit much – not a biggie, I just needed to cut and redo some of them...

It was then that I noticed a more serious problem. The tail booms come with very well defined locating pegs. The upper booms end in a square peg, that is supposed to slide into the upper wing... So why were my pegs still out in the open?

A major DOOH! moment followed. The epoxy glue had long since set, would anybody notice? It was not very noticeable, but the angle of the tail was slightly too slanted backwards, also causing a slight bow to the upper boom... Hmmmmm – I would notice, and I knew I would be annoyed every time I looked at the model – Gahh, would the epoxy glue give, and would the whole wing come off in the process?

After a bit of agonising, I first took the scissors and cut most of the tail rigging away. Then firmly but with a delicate touch I tried to price the booms out of their upper location. After a surprisingly little amount of force a satisfying crack opened up both joints. It turned out that the epoxy had held, but the paint had let go. Luckily I had not scraped the paint off the parts before joining, and this turned out to be a very lucky fluke!

After sharpening the pegs, they slid into their location as they should, and I could once again rig the tail up.

When I turned the desk light of last night I was back where I had started – with the difference that the tail now sits straight as it should!

Here are some pics from a few days ago, I'll try to shoot some more this weekend if I can:




Notice the square endings of the booms in the open? – Not good at all!




I keep knocking things out of place in the process – I fixed this one, but yesterday it came off yet again. This illustrates why this build is hard to move any faster.


It looks very messy, but in fact all lines are prepared – it only takes a few minutes to tension them sorting the mess out.


Putting the middle wing panel up first and rigging worked. It was not too difficult to set the outer wings into place after this stage. However the middle bit is not steady enough not to twist, so you need to be very careful if you, like me, rig with fishing line.

Well, thats about it for now, I'll be back with an update when I can.

Thank You for looking in, any and all comments are as usual most welcome.

Mikael

I know what you mean wen you say *you would know* It's always just a matter of time before you have to fix it. Lucky but well executed recovery. and that rigging well, I wouldnt tackle it.

beautiful as always

K

Mikael,
Your a brave soul indeed my old friend.Congratulations on your outstanding and safe repair. As Keith said " Well Executed Recovery". By the way your rigging ability is amazing.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette x 10

Thank You guys for the well wishing comments on the recovery!

@ Keith, it has been said before, we are our own worst critics!

@ Gregory – Thank You for the beers my friend, they came in handy during this weekend of midsummer celebrations

Mikael