A Second Try at Details

I have to start off with a correction and a recommendation.  I mentioned a couple months ago that I ordered photoetch instrument bezels from AeroClub and was sent 1:72 instead of 1:32.  I decided that it was important to me to get the right parts so I emailed John.  I was willing to pay for shipping and to return the 1:72 bezels; but he said no and sent me the correct part right away.  If you are even considering build WWI aircraft (or WWII for that matter) I strongly encourage you to pick up these extras.  You will not regret it!


So here are my Airscale instrument decals and my AeroClub bezels.  The decals are very accurate, but since this will be hanging from my sons ceiling I have gone for looks over accuracy.


These were trimmed off some sprue from my extras box.  I believe they are the air release holes but they are nicely oversized compared to the rest of the sprue.


I sanded the rough spots and brush painted with Tamiya X31 Titanium Gold.  This is the Wingnut wings recommendation for brass parts.  When the paint was dried I airbrushed on some Future to prepare for decals.

 
So here they are more or less finished.  Only one decal is actually an altimeter and it is German.  But they look good.  I did tweak the decal on the right as I was adding the bezel but that is why I did two.  I have also added some Future to act as the instrument glass.  Overall I am very happy with the results.


I am not sure if you can tell; but I did a wash of Vallejo Oily Steel on the engine.  Mostly I am including another shot here because I am so damn happy with how it turned out! >grin<  While I am a huge fan of Tamiya paints especially when airbrushing; I really love Vallejo paints for brushwork and washes.  I just wish I had a local source for more of these.


I am not so proud of this wood grain.  I read of some people using acrylics for the wood grain and thought to give it a try.  I was not pleased.  I went back with oils, but the clean-up from the acrylics did more damage to my base coat then I realized.


I am happy with the wood grain on the propeller.  I still have no idea how some manage a two tone effect here, but I will figure that one out...  The picture on the right also shows where I had to fill in the sinkholes.

I went with a darker wood grain on the spars this time.  I am much happier with this effect.  I again did the lead foil wraps instead of using the decals that come with the kit.  I think the substance of the lead foil just adds a more realism.


Here is my seat.  I have noticed that the belts on all the kits seem very wide.  I think I over did the effect here but I will work on this with future models.  The seat cushion turned out well.  I did a leather color XF52 Flat Earth (again from the Wingnut directions) then I dipped it in the same wash that I used on the engine.  Finally I did a drybrush of Red Brown XF64 to finish it off and a little Future to protect it. 
I took a great deal more care with the wheels on this project.  They were pretty much just thrown on the last plane.  I airbrushed the centers then brushed XF69 Nato Black for the rubber (Wingnut Wings again).   Its funny how you can be perfectly happy with Flat Black for tires until you see something that is better.  WOW again I am amazed out how a little color change can make such a huge difference.

The heat wave has come to an end so I will probably be crawling out of the basement and tackling my honey-dos for a while.  Hopefully this will give me some time for my 0.4mm brass tube to come in.

Rotary Redux

I took some extra time cleaning up the interior.  Since I will be adding the internal rigging I don't need the mold lines.


I made an interesting discovery; I don't know if it because this is an older molding or if I just didn't notice it on the Academy model but there are marking for the holes in the seat back.  Of course I had to make use of them.


My seat cushion isn't looking as nice this time.  I hope that after painting and remembering to add a seat belt it will still look good.


I jumped ahead to the engine.  I felt inspired after reading the instructions for my Sopwith Pup from Wingnut Wings.  They use a bit more color on their engine so I thought I would give it a try.  This is the biggest difference; the copper exhaust.


I don't know if it is appropriate for a Nieuport but I like the way it looks.  I also thought I would give spark plug wires a try this time.  I colored my rigging line (2lb fishing line) black with a Sharpie and attached it with CA.  I actually dipped the line into the CA and then as I held it in place ran a drop of accelerator down the line help it stick.


Here are a couple shots of the finished product.  I am really surprised what a difference a little color and some fishing line can make.



Finding the markings on the seat back was a nice surprise; finding sinkholes in the propeller wasn't.  So I will fill and sand and fill and sand then maybe I will do some wood grain...

Rule of Rigging

So I am about to start another Nieuport 17.  I still have an Academy Nieport 17 kit but this one will be the original from Hobby Craft that I picked up on eBay for $11.

You can see that the box is beat up and in terrible shape; but the insides are all there and look to be in good condition.


I have spent the last two days making turnbuckles and other parts for rigging.  In working on my last biplane I quickly came up with a rule of thumb for rigging:
Figure out how many parts your build will require; then double it!
When this rule is followed you save a great deal of agony from tweezer launches and feedings of the carpet monster.  On my first build I started to get a little frustrated when I would loose a rigging part and have to make another then loose the new part as well.  I took a break for a couple days, made up plenty of extras and went back to having fun.

While the partial buckles I used in the last model were acceptable, I feel that they are missing something.  So this time I am using full buckles and connecting them to the plane with partial buckles to get a more accurate effect.

Here are my new turnbuckles.

Here are some turnbuckles with mounting tails attached. I have used 0.5mm (0.3mm ID) brass pipe and 34 gauge (0.16mm) wire to make these.  I am hoping to get some 0.4mm (0.2mm ID) pipe from my local hobby shop soon (it is on back order).  I want to use that with some 38 gauge (0.1mm) wire to make smaller turnbuckles for the rudder cables and the interior support.  If it doesn't arrive in time I will use one size throughout.

Lastly here is a picture of me taken by my three year old son.

Last Words

So my first Nieuport 17 is finished and hanging from the boys ceiling.



It isn't a piece of art and it would never win a prize; but it was a lot of fun to build a I learned a great deal doing it.


Here are some close ups showing off my turnbuckles and my wood grain painting.


These shots show off a little of the cockpit detail.  More of the cockpit is visible then I thought; so I am glad I put some extra effort into it.

After I hung this up; my wife asked if I could "cover the whole ceiling with planes?" >grin< I told her that I would be happy to but that I will have to build them first...

She also suggested doing one in pink for Sonya's room.  I have an odd Spad XXIII kit that might just look good in pink.  But first I have a couple more Nieuport 17s to build; and maybe a Sopwith Pup; then there is my thought of doing an Albatros D.Va for the model show in September...