WNW 1:32 Albatros D.V

[digger303]

It is looking great, really coming together under your tutelage.

[bfrd]

Thanks guys! I am still pleased with the overall outcome thus far. I think we all start with a mental image of how a build will proceed. I just had some delusions of grandeur for this kit. Little by little our plan changes.



I think that just about all of us keep a mental list of "what would I do different" with all of the kits we build. I think that really does make sense especially when you are doing something that you haven't done before. For example, this is the first WWI era plane I have built. Each type of kit we build is essentially practice for the next one. I have said this before, but I will repeat it here.

Off Topic

Never be afraid to mess up!

Skill comes from experience and experience comes from mistakes!

So what would I have done differently so far?

The first thing I would have done is more dry fitting prior to painting.

I was scared of the wood grain painting so I started right off the bat by doing that part. Had I realized that the ribs were not "keyed" to the fuselage. The paint makes it more difficult to fit and know they are in the right spots. In hindsight, painting passable wood grain is stupid simple and nothing to be scared about.

I would have taken more time studying the instructions.

The quality of the illustrations and detail gave me the impression that they were perfect. WNW instructions are not perfect. So far in my opinion Bandai have the best instructions. Here is an example of what I mean...

Wingnut Wings


Here they make mention of making sure the direction of the strut. What they fail to mention is that it is nearly impossible to tell the direction from this image and the part.

Bandai


What Bandai does is to call out something specific about the part to call attention to the position. I suppose you could say that these instructions are "dumbed down", but I think at the end of the day you don't get extra points for how hard the instructions were to follow. The only thing that matters is the end result.

I have had too many cases of not getting parts in the right spot the first time.

I very well may have more as the build progresses.

Thanks for watching and commenting.

[Kevthemodeller]

Thanks for all that very useful info Matt I've not as yet started any of my WNW still struggling to get bench time with my current kit. I think WNW issue with instructions is very common where they don't illustrate/show the part in detail so as to tell which way up/round it need to be placed.

[bfrd]

I decided to take a break from the plane and work on the base.

Here are a few shots of the primed base.



Details are amazing.






Next I used Vallejo Dark Earth and base coated the corners and then a bit on the wooden part.







Next I am used Vallejo Wood and put a fairly heavy coat on the planks.



Next, I have used Vallejo Skin Tone to add some highlights.


I then used Citadel dry paints to detail the rocks.


More Vallejo Wood on the er... wood.


I let that dry for a couple of hours and went to work with oil paints. I used a combination of browns and blacks and basically washed the entire base. I then used a couple of shades of green and put in some grass. The radiator was dry brushed using Mr Metal Color Brass.







I will let that dry for a couple of days and see if it needs any more work. I am really pleased how just a couple of hours worked into a nice looking dio.

Please let me know what you think. I am well out of my comfort zone so any advice is appreciated.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Looking good, nice base.
You even make rocks look real

Just gonna Park this one in here for ya....that is Robin Williams voicing George the Kiwi

[Tomcat64]

Superb work on the base Matthew - that looks fantastic

[bfrd]

Thanks guys! I really am pleased at how that turned out!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Thanks guys! I really am pleased at how that turned out!

You should be, it is awesome
just wait until you plank that plane down on there....

[bfrd]

Finally getting some paint onto the plane. But first, need to do some masking. I am installing the upper cowling with just a bit of Krystal Klear as I will be pulling it off later. It is easier to use these than masking the entire engine area.



For the pilot area I just taped straight across. Then sliced the excess using a sharp blade.



One of the ammo shutes is exposed, so that has been masked with a Molotow masking pen. I am really do like these as they dry very quickly. My biggest complaint with micro mask is the amount of time it takes to dry.



For the front I am just putting some tape around the inside. As long as I am careful with my spraying angles this will be just fine.



I used Ultimate white primer every where but accidentally skipped pictures.

I mixed up three custom colors for the wings. A very pale blue for the under side of the wings and then green and purple for the tops. I cheated with the blue and just added blue directly to a partially empty white. The others were mixed in some Tamiya mixing bottles. None of the paints were mixed with any type of plan. I just guessed and stopped mixing when I was happy.



I sprayed 100% of the wing tops in purple. I didn’t want any type of color variation under the green. The best way to avoid this is to completely cover with base colors.





The bottoms are painted in the pale blue color.



Once dried I free-handed the green using the instructions as a rough guide.



Thanks for watching!

[bfrd]

I have just about finished the bulk of the painting. Complete with a nice thumbprint included for good measure.



I just need to brush on the wood grain.

I went ahead and placed the radiators.



Next I drilled out the exhaust. The first step was using a small electric drill.



After some rough work I used a subrigito file to clean up the drill work.



The final step was to add a small amount of TET.



Creeping toward the finish line, but running out of time.

[pourquoi61]

I have a feeling you will get this one done just in time.
Fantastic build.

[Tomcat64]

Nice progress

I'd not come across the Molotow masking pens before - how easy is it to remove the mask once your finished with the painting?

[bfrd]

Nice progress

I'd not come across the Molotow masking pens before - how easy is it to remove the mask once your finished with the painting?

Very easy to remove, just rub it with a finger or cocktail stick!


Hopefully this will be one of many updates today.

I got the wood grain painted this morning. To try and make each panel look like a separate piece of wood I taped off individual panels and painted one by one.




Once they were all painted...


Then translucent yellow...


And finish with translucent orange.


I used a small heat gun between panels and translucent paint. I didn’t have time to wait. I had some bleed on the panels, but I think that just adds to the uniqueness of the panels.

Next I attached the wheels the axles. I love the way WNW does this with clips.



You may notice a slight tone variation in the reds. Since the wheels are in constant contact with the ground I thought they might be darker. To achieve this I painted the red directly on the gray plastic. The rest of the Model was primed in white. If you actually believe that is what happened and I didn’t just forget to prime; I have a lovely bridge that I would like to sell to you- cheap!

Next I painted the struts red.


Then I got her legs under her, or over her as the case may be.


Keep watching, and if anyone has spare time in the day, please send it my way!

[Twokidsnosleep]

You are on fire, go man go!
I am lagging on mine and have to get packing for a ski trip

My pervert is going to ignore the legs over/under her b/c I know you are busy...but I get to bank a silly meme on that for later

[bfrd]

I have hit a snag that I just don’t know how to get around. I can’t get the top wing to fit! No matter how I position it something doesn’t line up. I double checked the struts and I used the right ones. I got it together briefly, but the wings and struts were under stress and eventually popped free. I may post something over to WNW and see if they have any tips, but I am not going to be able to finish.

This is not the way I thought this thread would be ending. None of our smilies seem to convey my level of disappointment.

[digger303]

Nice progress

I'd not come across the Molotow masking pens before - how easy is it to remove the mask once your finished with the painting?

You can get other brands as well. I have a Schmincke brand. It's like the other masking fluids a little bit more liquid. Mine still isn't a very precise when applied, but more controllable than the bottles you can get.

I have hit a snag that I just don’t know how to get around. I can’t get the top wing to fit! No matter how I position it something doesn’t line up. I double checked the struts and I used the right ones. I got it together briefly, but the wings and struts were under stress and eventually popped free. I may post something over to WNW and see if they have any tips, but I am not going to be able to finish.

This is not the way I thought this thread would be ending. None of our smiles seem to convey my level of disappointment.

Wow that is very disappointing and it seemed to be going so good as well.
Is the wing stress across the wing from tip to tip ? If so could it be cut and rejoined to take that stress out.

[Tomcat64]

Nice progress

I'd not come across the Molotow masking pens before - how easy is it to remove the mask once your finished with the painting?

You can get other brands as well. I have a Schmincke brand. It's like the other masking fluids a little bit more liquid. Mine still isn't a very precise when applied, but more controllable than the bottles you can get.

Thanks guys I've ordered up one of the Molotow ones - hoping it'll sort out the pesky curved corners in canopies that always give me problems.

I have hit a snag that I just don’t know how to get around. I can’t get the top wing to fit! No matter how I position it something doesn’t line up. I double checked the struts and I used the right ones. I got it together briefly, but the wings and struts were under stress and eventually popped free. I may post something over to WNW and see if they have any tips, but I am not going to be able to finish.

This is not the way I thought this thread would be ending. None of our smilies seem to convey my level of disappointment.

That really is such a shame to read as you were making great progress hope you figure out a way to get it sorted out.

[bfrd]

I think I will make some sort of a hoist. Set it on the dio base as if the top wing is being fitted. Not sure what else to do.

[Timplastic]

Great work so far Bifford. So you can carry this build on to the end would you like this thread moved in to the aircraft in progress section and leave a shadow topic in place here ,so you can finish it at your liesure ?

[bfrd]

Great work so far Bifford. So you can carry this build on to the end would you like this thread moved in to the aircraft in progress section and leave a shadow topic in place here ,so you can finish it at your liesure ?

That was what I was hoping to do. Thanks!

[Twokidsnosleep]

Broke a wing strut today after finishing midline rigging......these kits are lots of fun

[digger303]

Broke a wing strut today after finishing midline rigging......these kits are lots of fun

Applied too much tension or was it the thumbs ?

[Twokidsnosleep]

Broke a wing strut today after finishing midline rigging......these kits are lots of fun

Applied too much tension or was it the thumbs ?

Is the elastic string, but popped after all attatched.
Lots of thumbs going on
So likely a bit of both
All repaired now

[digger303]

Broke a wing strut today after finishing midline rigging......these kits are lots of fun

Applied too much tension or was it the thumbs ?

Is the elastic string, but popped after all attatched.
Lots of thumbs going on
So likely a bit of both
All repaired now

good to know and good that it's all good now