Greetings fellow aeroscalers and builders

Time for me to start my buildlog for the KoTS part 2. The RE.8 is done, and I've nearly put the slow moving SPAD VII to bed as well.

My chosen subject has been a favourite of mine for many years, but this will be my first attempt to build one.

To those of you who are unfamiliar with the Fee – here's a short resumé.

An updated version of the earlier FE.2a, that first flew in january of 1915. Initially powered by the 120 hp Beardmore, which in reality was a licence built Austro Damlier engine. Later versions had the 160 Beardmore as its powerplant.

Pushers were designed to get away from the problem of somehow having to shoot through the propeller arc. This was before the syncro gear was in common use – The design not only gave a free range of fire, it also gave a very good vantage point for the observer.

Despite the size and ungainly apperance the FE.2b was effective in its role as a fighter, bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. It arrived to the front in late 1915 – and became an effective weapon to counter the Fokker E types.

As 1917 came, the daylight skyes became dangerous for the now outdated plane. However, far from being withdrawn from service, it was reinvented in the role as a nightbomber. Carrying up to 350lb/160kgs of bombs and painted mostly in a black dope, it kept flying until the end of the war.

A later version of the FE, the FE.2d was meant to become a replacement. However the intended powerplant, the Rolls Royce Eagle, was diverted to other uses.

The kit I'm doing is the brand new WNW in 1:32. For those of you who've read some of my posts in the past, will know that I've really looked forward to this one – especially the nightbomber version.



Really nice Box art!



Contents looks most promising!



This will be my chosen profile  – I just love the makeshift look of the bomb attachement hanging under the nacelle. Picture is of course taken from WNWs excellent instructions with Ronny Bars profiles.



And this is some inspiration, that I just recently re-read. If you haven't read this – do. Its a really great book depicting the desperate fighting in the nightskies over the western front, told from a FE.2b pilots perspective. Incidently, the illustration on the cover shows, what looks like a FE.2d version...

Right, thats my start. I shall endavour to update as often as I can. Though, with lots on my plate at the moment, it may be sporadic.

Thank You for looking – any and all comments are most welcome

Mikael

Hi Mikael,

I also recently purchased a WNW late FE.2b and hope to be working on it soon. It is indeed an incredible kit. I look forward to watching your progress! I'll be trying to track down a copy of that book too.

If you've not read it yet, Osprey's "Pusher Aces of WWI" is a good book and is what sparked my fascination with the likes of the FE.2b and DH.2.

Cheers,
Eric

I'm really looking forwards to seeing what you can do with this Mikael.

Keith

Hello Mikael:

I too will be watching this build with "Special Interest" rather sinister sounding isn't it? Anyway, I noticed a real similarity between the cover art of the book and the box art of the kit. Do you think there was an inspriation there? I am getting the book of Amazon for a mere $3.50 U.S.

Thanks for the tip

Best
Mark

Mikael,
I'll be watching closely as well; always lots to be learned from Oeffag 153's Build Logs. Good modelling to you on this one!
Cheers,
Lance

Eric, Keith, Mark and Lance  – Thank You for your kind comments – I hope I'll be able to live up to them as the build progresses.

@ Mark – I'd say there's the off chance that the artist of the box art had this book in mind when he did his preliminary drawings

Oh – I should ad as well that the book is fictional.

Best Regards

Mikael

Hello Mikael:

I got the book yesterday from Amazon, and I ordered the late Fee kit as well. I will be following along as you do your build. I wasn't smitten by the model, but, there is a certain style to it that I find interesting, let alone a bit challening.

Best
Mark

Hello Mark

Perhaps you'll be smitten once you've read the book – I was

Not too much progress to report as yet (the whole family has been down with stomach flue for most of this week)

– I've clipped away most bits for the interior, and cleaned them in preparation for the first paint coats. Fit seems to be up there with the best WNW standard – and, unless I come up with some strange conversion idea – it should be fairly easy to put everything together.

A couple of things have come to light though – First thing has been discussed here and elsewhere: The fitting of the wooden panel behind the pilots seat. I guess this was the best way to solve it in terms of kit engineering – and the fit does look good – but there will be a prominent step between the panel and the side of the pit – when in fact they were both part of one continuos curve. I've seen two solutions to this problem. One presented by "Jcoatney" here on aeroscale: Early FEE build This solution is to put the nacelle halves together with the back panel in place. Then sliding in the rest of the cockpit from the bottom...

The other solution I saw over at the Greatwaraviation site, and it was by PrzemoL. He split the panel in half gluing them onto the nacelle halves and fixing the step – Then once the body was glued together, he fixed the "new" seam behind the drivers seat, which is potentially a much simpler operation.

At the moment I'm leaning towards option no. 2 as my preferred mode of operation...

The second "problem" is in the WNW instructions step 2. It calls out for RAF Mk II compass in the middle of the dash for version "A" and "E". I'm building "D" – and I can't find a clue as to what the option for this one is, or the which parts to use? The next step shows a compass? hidden by a wooden screen, which I gather is a map holder...

Anyone have the answer – please feel free to give me a hint.

Thats about it at the moment.

I'll get some more progress done before I start putting any pictures up.

Thanks for looking – any and all comments are as usual very welcome.

Mikael

Hello again,

I've also had a bit of a think in regards to do a setting of some sort for the FEE once its done – perhaps adding a motorbike or something to ad some interest. WWI motorbikes in 1:32 seems a bit thin one ground though – heres some I found on the scalelink site motorbikes

Does anyone have experience with Scalelink – or any other suggestion as to where to find motorbikes for this period?

I also woould like to ad a pilot and perhaps a mechanic too – this on efrom Latorre looks good: pilot

Now if modelcllar would release their 1:48 british pilot and mechanic in 1:32 as well... pilot and mech

Best Regards

Mikael

Hello Mikael:

A diorama with Robson and Callaghan readying for a night mission would be neat. Callaghan pointing a finger at Robson threatening him to go back if he makes one screw up. The book is fantastic, thanks for posting the picture. I am sure the box art folks at WNW read the book as the gunner is sitting on the edge of the compartment in the box art, per the book. Why Not?

Best

Mark

I have that book, and enjoyed it, build on.

That is a very neat idea Mark – I like it! I'll have a look for some figures that could fit that bill!

Glad you liked the book  

Mikael

Hello everybody,

Time for an update, though not a very exciting one as yet – I've been busy with the preparations for the wood finish inside the cockpit. First cleaning the various bits, then prep them with Tamyia XF55

This kit does actually seem to be fairly uncomplicated (if you can see past the massive rigging and tail booms of course) The RE. 8 that I recently built, by comparison, had some 23 steps in the instruction booklet, while this one "only" has 15. Even though this is a two seater, there is not a massive amount of things going into the cockpit – and because of the small size of the fuselage – I guess it feels a bit more manageble... We'll see how I get on as I progress further of course.

As mentioned earlier I'm doing a bit of a "fix" for the panel behind the pilotseat – and as you can see below I went with the "split panel" approach... Hopefully this new seam will be easier to handle once the nacelle is put together

Here are some pics:


I'll try to simulate the darker and layered inside of the nacelle – see here for what I'm looking for: Vintage Aviator Fee (not all had linen on the inside it would seem) Hence the masking...


Close-up of the seam. I was'nt compleatley happy once the first layer of XF 55 went on. Better now I hope!


Various wooden bits waiting for some oil paint, and later Tamyia clear orange/yellow.


More of the same...

Hope to be able to do the wood painting this weekend, then some drying time.

Thank You for looking – any and all comments are as usual most welcome

Mikael

Mikael,

I'll be following with interest. I'm working on an early Fee and I am looking forward to how you approach the different steps.

One thing.... Part I16, which is the bottom panel of the nacelle is labled as an armoured plate. In the early fee instructions, it is suggested to paint it steel.

You are of course right, the instructions for the late fee does not give any colour notes on the top of this plate. Very little, if anything will be visible from the top of the cockpit, with the various wooden floorboards installed. I will give the top a light coat of steel before I install it, just to be sure.

Thanks

Mikael

Mikael,
Ah the birth of another excellent project my friend. Looking forward to following along and to the next update.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

Gawd , was wondering when you were going to be staring this one . Been talking and waiting for the kit for a while now . Nice to see some paint to plastic ......


Terri

Nice start. Can't wait to see this one!

Gregory, Terri and Mike  –Thank You for your encouraging words – hope I will not disappoint with the continuation of the project.

I managed to paint all the wooden panels with oils this weekend, so they are slowly drying now. We're having pretty damp and cold weather, so I guess it might take a while.

While I'm waiting for the paint to dry, i'm starting with the engine. I'm going to dress it up a bit – adding the fine oil pipes, and plug leads + soem other bits and bobs. I do like this part of a project

Best Regards

Mikael

Wow it is a very detailed kit!

Absolutely Stephen, I'd go so far as to say that this is one of if not the best WNW kit so far (OK i'm a bit smitten with the subject, but still)

I've got quite a lot of paint on now, and the wood has dried - pics will be taken and posted soon. Am really enjoying this one so far...

Mikael

Mikael,
I think the seed of a new diorama from your talented bench has been planted my friend. I agree Mark's idea for a diorama is an excellent on in deed. Best of luck with whatever diorama plan you go with,no doubt it will be an outstanding project.Looking forward to seeing more and following along with the greatest of interest.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

Thank You Gregory my friend – always nice to read your comments, they are much apreciated

We'll see what type of setting it will be – I'm currently on the look out for some suitable figures, but there does'nt seem to be that many options yet...

Best Regards

Mikael

Hello everyone,

Finally time for an update with some pictures of real progress. I've been busy putting together the subassemblies for the cockpit and as I was waiting for the oilpaint to dry, I started kitting the engine out...

Here are some images of my progress to date:


The tank below the pilot seat, and the floorboard. Most, if not all of the radiator will be invisible once the assembly is done. Still its nice to weather things a bit...


And the other side. The copper tubing will conect to the water pump on the engine.


Inside of the nacelle. I used oils for the plywood. Once this was dry a coat of Tamiya clear orange was sprayed over these bits. As you can see I wanted to show a different texture for the nose section. This is made out of layers laminated strips of wood and canvas...


The observers floor with the locker and "firewall" As this version has single lids, I opted to show one open exposing the lewis drums.

Here WNW has done a slight hicup in the instructions. They call out for the floor part A17 to be connected with the pilots floor part A21 before joining the locker and firewall assembly A18 and B7 with the floors. This does not work. You have to assemble the locker and wall to the floor part A 17 before joining this with A21.


The other side of things. Here you can see where the pilot will have his feet on the controls just behind the curved wall of the Lewis drum locker.


Instruments. WNW really makes it easy for you to build this up.


The engine is a gem in its own. It does however miss some of the tubes and pipes. Well I really enjoy putting these in myself anyway


Engine in a state of some more progress – as you can see I've added spark leads as well as pipes. The camera bounces a bit in the metallic finishes here, making them appear pixeled and rough – which in real life they are not.


Magnetos and rockers in place. I still have to dirty everything up a bit with oil and grime. Also there are still some bits and pieces missing in the piping department.


And engine seen from the other side.

I was very exited to learn that Beardmore was a company from Glasgow, Scotland. I used to live in this city for a few years, not too far away from what used to be the Beardmore forge on the Clyde. This large company built all sorts of things from locomotives, ships and aeroplanes (Sopwith Pups for instance). However after looking a bit further into the history of this particular engine, I learned that it was built by one of Beardmores subsiduaries.

Thats it for now – I hope you enjoy watching the progress, I'm certainly enjoying this build a lot.

Thank You for looking – as usual all and any comments are most welcome

Mikael