Hey everyone, Im getting going on eduards Albatross for a change at the bench, it'll be my first biplane, so far I've been enjoying it but lately I've been lacking motivation in general, my last build was a slog to finish for the Delta wings group build and to keep myself on track I decided to start a build log.
Feel free to lob any constructive criticism, points, or general commentary my way, these birds are all new to me and the Ed kit is a little soft on details (sure wish I had have picked up more WN kits last year)

resin seat from Barracuda, the wood interior is Tamiya buff worked over with oils, some of the parts recieved a clear orange coat for contrast.

I wish more of the engine was visible, if I ever build one in 32 I could see opening up the engine bay on one of these. You can see the added fuel tank (I think?) bracing, and hoses I added in here, the front of the firewall is bare in the kit and all reference shows it pretty visible under the guns.
Thanks for having a look, Ill likely be closing up the fuselage and getting on to painting later this week.
cheers, Eric.

I'm looking forward to seeing your updates. I have an Eduard D V that I'd like to work on soon.

It looks like you are off to a good start.

What you've got there is great. Once the guns and upper wing go on you don't see much behind the engine. Tips for rigging, once you get to that point.

Thanks you two, Phil I cant speak to much on this kit as Im sure the true test will be the wings and rigging but so far its not bad, a little light on detail but everything fits pretty well so far. Thanks for the info Jessie, looks pretty close to the way Id imagined doing it. Im going to hold off on aftermarket turnbuckles and twist my own out of fine wire as you did
So, Fueselage is together, no real drama, fir well, a little filling and a light rescribe brought the lines back. Base colour is down, MRP black tinted with blue-black and the wood base is a mix of Tamiya buff and white about 50/50.

Ive been trying my hand at the woodgrain with oils, getting there sort of


wooden P-47 anyone?

Going to dive into the wood finish pretty soon, fingers crossed!
Eric.

annnnnnnnd there it is, Ill clean up the edges with some white spirit in a little while, and looks like a scribing slip I hadnt noticed needs some love after this dries up

That's an awesome marking scheme. Well done on the wood.

Thanks Phil, theres a million little white stars to go on but they set pretty well, unlike the crux of the build, the lozenge decals.


Its been a battle and I dont have a lot of faith that these things will settle down or look the part, there are some great aftermarket sets out there, and that may have to be the path I take as the Eduard ones are thick, brittle, and dont want to melt down at all. I started the bottom side with micro set, followed by micro sol, then solvaset, then markfit strong, not working how Id like, and not a good bond. The top of the lower wing I laid down with Tamiyas decal adhesive then the gauntlet of setting solutions. Going to have a look at HGW or Aviattic sets I think.

Just-boiled water. Dip in a sponge or cloth (use tongs to protect your fingers) and press straight down for about 20 seconds. Presto! No more decal problems.

I seem to recall reading that the u/c struts on Eduard’s kit are a bit too short. Not worked out how to deal with that yet given that I can’t get aerofoil brass struts any more and I have read enough about SAC ones to steer well clear.

Fortunately I have a couple of other models to work on while I ponder that question.

have you used the Eduard lozenge decals Jessie? Im finding them thick, stiff and resistant to setting solutions, strangely the other decals from the kit on other sheets are pretty nice, suck right down and melt in nicely.

hmm, thanks for the heads up on that Robert, Ill have a look at them while the wings sit

Boiling water will melt them down. If it can do Roden decals it can do those

well its a moot point now as the decals melted together in the near boiling water as soon as they hit, so its either the hammer or the box for a while waiting on new decals. Either way, I'd plan on better lozenge decals if anyone is building this kit, or go for marking without.