I was sadly disappointed with the control stick that came with the model. It was very thin and didn't go together well at all. I ended up making my own with brass tubing and rod and a little CA.
I had a plentiful amount of Titanium Silver so I used that instead of Flat Aluminium. The colors are pretty close so I was happy with the result. The fuselage had some issues with seams, it took plenty of sanding and a little putty. I got rid of the back seam, but the belly is still noticeable. I will have to take greater care in joining the halves next time.
So far things are looking very good.
Here is a decent shot of the cockpit;
I have not added instruments at this time. I ordered some instrument bezels from AirScale but instead of 1/32 and 1/48, I was sent 1/48 and 1/72. DOH! I am not sure if its worth complaining.
I really like this shot, it shows some nice detail on the propeller.
The wings are in a camo pattern. The color guide didn't offer much so I tried to match my memories of the colors on the Spad VII at the AirZoo. For the Green I mixed about 3:1 Field Grey and Olive Green the brown is just Flat Brown with a few drops (3) of Flat Black to darken it. I am very happy with these results.
Now comes time for a big decision... do I rig from the top down or from the bottom up? The turn buckles are all on the lower surfaces, so I decided to do top down. Since I think it will be easier to work around the turnbuckles.
Here is the lower wing with two turnbuckles installed, you can also see two turnbuckles in the fuselage.
Here is the underside of the upper wing. I had an inspiration to mix 4mm and 1mm sections of tubing to bind the rigging. After looking at rigging on planes I think this mix will give a more realistic final product.
