Wolf Buddee

Wow Doc, The body looks spectacular with the white stripes! Cheers, Wolf

Nice work on the Yak Kevin, I have this kit in the stash as well with some resin upgrades and the Yahu instrument panel. I’ll be following along with interest. Cheers, Wolf

You’re absolutely right about the WnWs Lancaster. I had the money all saved up for the Lanc and held off buying the HK kit as I was waiting for the WNWs one. I even asked Richard Alexander about it’s imminent release. He said they had lots of test shots but it wasn’t quite ready. Then the curtain dropped and suddenly it was all over. Selfishly I could have cried at the loss of the Lancaster but I lamented the loss of WnWs as a whole and for those that lost their livelihood much more! Extremely unfortunate. The website is still up and running so who knows? Their archive photos of both the early and late Dr. 1s is really helping with my build. Maybe we’ll all get really lucky and there’ll be an announcement they’re back at some point. Kind o’ like winning the lottery. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks Peter, So far the recovery has been slow but the results of her last surgery have been far more encouraging than her 1st. It’s the first time in years she’s been able to stand straight and walk without significant pain. We’re definitely seeing improvements. Unlike your P-39 build this one is progressing rather painlessly. I’ve always maintained that WnWs were the Tamiya of WW I kits. So far so good my friend. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks Gary, Very kind words which are much appreciated. Cheers, Wolf

Wow Peter! I’ve just read through this thread and I seriously applaud you for your efforts so far. Your work on the cockpit is awesome and as everyone has already mentioned your build, if what you’ve already accomplished is any indication, the finished model will be brilliant! It’s my turn now to say “keep ‘er comin’” Cheers, Wolf

With my wife just having had her second back surgery I took a week off to stay at home with her. When I wasn’t needed I had time to scurry downstairs to work on the Dr. 1 cockpit some more. The cockpit metal tube framing was painted with Model Master British Interior Green and the fuselage sides were done with Tamiya’s lacquer spray gloss Racing White which is reasonably close to unbleached linen. The Racing White was covered in Microsculpt fabric effect decal and the plywood section with wood grain decal. The right cockpit sidewall was modified a bit by removing the long black handle that was moulded integral with the tube framing. It was flush with the framing and should sit proud. I used brass tubing and nickel plated wire which was attached to the drilled out end of the “T” handle with the thin red stripe. Photos I found online and drawings from Kagero show the Dr. 1 also used a pulse o meter so one was added using a Taurus Models item. Taurus Models has theirs listed as British but I couldn’t see any difference. Copper wire running from the bottom of the pulse o meter finished it off. The right cockpit side wall is essentially straight out of the box. However I did drill out the center of the small red handle as it’s moulded solid The seat bottom is covered in wood grain decal from Aviattic. Cheers, Wolf

Yes indeed Peter, Some nights are like that. I’ve always been more of a night owl than an early bird but some nights it’s hard to fall asleep. I think it might have something to do with getting older, LOL! Cheers, Wolf

Thanks Bill, I’ll do my utmost to not stuff it up somehow but so far so good. Cheers, Wolf

Hey Peter, I’m holding you to holding me to finishing this one, LOL! Cheers, Wolf

Easy Peasy Gary, Say you’re attaching a length of monofilament thread or fishing line to an elevator control horn. I use a sharp #11 blade to put a small indentation on the side of the control horn near the top. That gives me a pilot hole to keep my drill bit from wandering. I use a 0.0075 drill bit to drill the hole which is a good size for 2lb fishing line to go through. I often follow the 0.0075 bit with a 0.0095 bit to enlarge the hole to make threading the line through a bit easier. Slip one of Bob’s Buckles tubing on to a length of your line and then feed the line through the hole in the control horn. Then pass the end of the monofilament line around so that you can feed the line back in to the tube essentially forming a loop. Make sure the line goes all the way through the tube so you can grab both lengths. Then slide the tubing up to tighten the loop up to the control horn but not too tight. You want the line to be able to move at the control horn so the angle of the line is natural when securing the other end wherever it’s supposed to go. Add a small drop of extra thin CA to the horn side of the tube and capillary action will flow the CA through the tube and secure the line firmly within the tube. Cut off the excess monofilament line and Bob’s yer Uncle. Sorry, bad pun! I add the CA to the horn side of the tube as it makes trimming the unwanted end of the line as close to the tubing as possible much easier with my Tamiya decal scissors. I hope that all makes sense. Cheers, Wolf

That looks awesome Rob! Love the contrasting colours in the interior. Very Sharp! Cheers, Wolf

The cockpit floor has been finished and I’ve started adding some of the control lines for the rudder, elevators, and ailerons. I’m using 2lb (or in metric, line for little fish) fishing line and Bob’s Buckles micro tubing. The tubing I find absolutely essential (for me anyways)for securing the fishing line to the column and rudder pedals. The wood grain is decal material and I used 4 small rivets from Top Studio to represent fasteners securing the plywood floor to the metal tubular frame. One detail that stood out to me was the compass is moulded within it’s gimbal at an angle so that it sits level with the aircraft on the ground! Way to go WnWs! That’s attention to detail. The compass face is from Airscale as is the brass bezel. The Airscale decal was more detailed than the kit decal. Cheers, Wolf

Thank-you Tim, Mengnut just seemed to be the most appropriate term I could come up with, LOL! Cheers, Wolf

Much appreciated Peter, I’ll keep ‘em comin’ as quickly as I can. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks Gary, Unfortunately I tend to start more builds than I finish but this one won’t fall in to that category. I’m absolutely determined to see this one all the way through. Cheers, Wolf

With the engine complete I started in on the cockpit and again it’s beautifully detailed. I decided to make a few small modifications though but certainly nothing too drastic. Just enough to add my own touch to the build. The accompanying photos and the notes inscribed within should show what I’ve done. The tachometer, that sits just below the ammunition container, has a kit supplied decal face while others were replaced with more accurate ones by Airscale. Cheers, Wolf

Hey Ernie, good to hear from you! Meng’s plastic is a bit softer but not by much so it really isn’t an issue. You just have to be a little more careful when removing parts from the spruces. I use a fine razor saw with very little issues. There are a few small imperfections in the moldings. The most notable are at the bottom of the fuselage in line with the ground handling loops. Nothing a bit of sanding and a splash of Mr. Surfacer 500 can’t fix. All three Wings have a slight bow but that’s easily fixed by dunking them in hot water for a few minutes and then manually manipulating them straight. All in all there’s not that much there to detract from the kit and for it to deserve a bad wrap. What is there definitely shows it comes from the WnWs stable. However Meng’s instructions are a far cry from what Wingnut Wing’s gave us and I consider them adequate at best. There’s also the small matter of the broken cockpit coating but that again should be easily rectified. What you get in the Meng, warts and all, 1/32nd scale kit certainly shouldn’t dissuade anyone from getting it. Consider that you’re also getting the F.1, the early and the late Dr.1 all in one box! From what I understand, the 1/24th kit was being developed by WnWs as well so it’s not entirely a Meng offering either. Cheers, Wolf

Thank-you Rob, The kit engine is beautifully moulded and definitely doesn’t need replacing. Especially when you consider most of it will be hidden behind the cowling. You won’t even get to see the back of it unless you turn the model upside down. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks for checking’ in Peter! Always a pleasure hearing from you. Hopefully I’ll do this kit justice. Cheers, Wolf

Thank-you Sir! That is the same kit I have with von Richthofen’s bust. I am going to build the Baron’s plane with the upper wing surface, wheels, struts, a portion of the upper fuselage and tail in red. 127/17. I’ll be using Aviattic’s aged streaked varnish decals. I ordered them before Aviattic released specific decals for this aircraft so it may not be 100% accurate but I wasn’t going to go to the expense of buying another decal sheet. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks GazzaS, Two in the stash.......twice the fun eh? Cheers, Wolf

This is my take on the Meng 1/32nd Fokker Dr. 1 I would like to dedicate this build to all the men and women at Wingnut Wings who found themselves without gainful employment after WnWs closed their doors. This kit has WnWs written all over it but unfortunately never made it to market under their banner so I’m very thankful that Meng decided to bring it in to production. I’ve started with the engine but unfortunately didn’t take any pics during it’s assembly. I added detail to the rocker arms, replaced the spark plugs with Taurus Models items, replaced the push rods with copper wires to give them a more scale like appearance, and added the spark plug wires using EZ Line. The engine was primered and then painted Alclad II Steel with the induction pipes done in Alclad II Copper. The engine was then given a wash of Tamiya Flat Black heavily diluted with Future to help bring out all that wonderful detail. Cheers, Wolf

I love the camouflage pattern on this one Martin! What theatre of operation did this operate in? Awesome modifications my friend. Cheers, Wolf

Wow Peter, What a great start. Despite your recent health issues creating challenges with mobility and dexterity it doesn’t look like you’ve missed a beat on this. Cheers, Wolf