ophthoidoug

Fantastic build. From pictures of others on the net, my own feeling is that attempting to over-weather actually makes these models look unreal & toy-like. Yours is just right. Will refer to it for guidance while I'm painting my own. I too have fond memories of building an Se5 with my dad when I was a boy. Thanks for posting

Beautiful! Only those of us who've tried, know how difficult it is to achieve that kind of finish... Can I ask you to share some painting details? *which paints you use for the grey/green wing surfaces (specific brand & ID)? *did you use any kind of surfacing or priming agent before painting? *what final satin coat you finished with (specific brand & ID or custom mix)? Thanks for posting this one!

A couple of quick (cellphone) shots of the latest model to clear my bench - Tamiya's big beautiful XVIe - finished in natural metal & South African colors. V difficult to get good quality photos of the finish/shading/reflections ... Unsurprisingly the kit fell together. Markings were a mixture of custom masks, Alleycat decals & Techmod stencils (I rate the stencils v highly indeed!). Painting comprised Mr Surfacer followed by Alclad then faded using heavily diluted (Tamiya) acrylic white & paneling with Comart inks (mostly grey & smoke). Now then, somebody in New Zealand has been kind enough to send me a Camel & an LVG in a large box & I can't wait to get stuck in! Best from SoCal Doug

Guess I'll keep replying in this forum in case others are interested? I'd also like to put a camel on this turret. The Shapeways turret in 1/48 is around $160 (roughly 23cm in length) . (I'm told that) rough guessing based on materials & cutting techniques would likely put a 1/32 turret at around $500 (roughly 35cm in length) but it could be done. Its exponentially more expensive based on a 1.5 size increase in all 3 dimensions as well as the associated material wastage... Not a cheap date (? wonder if we could knock it down by ordering more than one) but it would look spectacular. Going to keep chatting to him & see where it goes ...

*Hope nobody minds the lateral conversation/pics - never sure whether that should be strictly private but I'm always interested things others post?

Hear you about the weekends man! I have 2 toddlers & an old Jeep I'm trying to restore and we're in the middle of construction (not to mention my stash of unbuilt model aircraft that can probably be seen from space). Pasted the only pic of my Arado catapult I could find on Shutterfly. Can't take much credit though because it was shake-n-bake resin kit. I feel much more challenged by the turret. Just emailed shapeways to see if they could make me one in 1/32 (there is for example a large 1/48 USS Texas turret available on their site right now). Whatever your reservations about any small aspects of your build - its an inspiration! For anybody in Southern California - the Airforce is still planning on demonstrating the F35 at the Chino show this weekend :-) Doug

Just amazing!!! My WNW Camel arrived this week & I've been thinking about a similar base to put alongside my Arado/Catapult... Do you have any work-in-progress pics? Awesome build - thanks for posting Doug California

I'm an aircraft builder I'm not even supposed to be looking here :-) Your build is amazing!!

Enjoyed the recent JV44 190 post, will try to upload a few pics of my most recent build using my phone... Very basic build - Hasegawa kit with Aires engine, Gunze colors, markings are a mix of decals (walkways) & masks (insignia & the slogan under the cockpit believe it or not - masked using the Montex set)... V pleased with how it looks in the display cabinet alongside my recent 109 On deck now are the Wingnuts Se5a & ZM Pfeil as well as the (real!) '43 MB Willys I'm restoring in my garage Hope nobody minds me tacking a few in-progress pics & a jeep shot onto the end of my posting (?) Doug

Really nice!! Would love to see any in-progress build pics & hear more specifics about probs with this kit. Its on my list but not yet in my stash...

Looks great! Love this aircraft. I have this kit in my stash, hoping to get to it soon (Wingnuts "hisso" on deck rn). I previously built the (ZM) Ta152 & Horten (& totally agree with your sentiments about clear plastic - sprayed the Horten sprue trees with Mr Surfacer before starting the build) and am happy with how both turned out. The Uhu however was a different experience for me & currently languishes in the stash of kits that may or may not ever be completed. The body breakdown was so (unnecessarily) extensive that I found it very challenging to end up with a decent looking fuselage - too many gaps & joints. Might just be my lack of skill & as I said it's unfinished but at least for now I've given up on it.

Yeah, someone just forwarded the new duelist link to me (Camel + LVG) Best release I can remember! Despite having built a large number of the WNW kits (in fact switching to 1/32 pretty much because of them), I've been super-frustrated not to have bought or built an LVG (now of course out of production). This duel/kit is the perfect solution - a new offering as well as the chance to go back and pick something many missed out on. Great work Wingnuts!

Looks like you might have derailed my own Wingnut Pfalz project by posting that giant Dora ... ;-)

My jaw is sagging! Just amazing Would love to see it next to something to give an idea of size - like a person or piece of furniture? I'm really only a plane guy ... but ... I might just look around for one of these ... Whatever your "loss of mojo" moments may have been, I can tell you that your amazing build is an inspiration to others Thanks for posting all the construction pics Doug

Well I reached out to WNW but despite an initial positive response, then didn't hear much so I caved and bought a Roden kit, allowing me to use the rudder & decals and finally get this project finished. I had initially started the Roden kit before being able to source the (superior) WNW kit but a major Roden problem (in my opinion) was their poor-quality, fragile decals. ... so ... I now have a (near) complete Roden tripehound sheet (sans the tail flashes) and would be happy to give it anyone who's struggling with their own set of decals & perhaps needs a few spares? Best (from a wet & rainy Southern California)

Just amazing work, loved reading it over a cup of coffee, looking forward to the finale - thanks for sharing!

Just bought a CJ2a & parked it on our lower lot - planning a full rebuild, olive drab paintjob & a couple of large white stars :-)

V pleased to see the 129 on the horizon. Will absolutely have to have one. Waiting to hear back from WNW about a replacement decal for my tripehound tail, then I can clear the bench and open up the ZM Pfeil which is next in line.

Just beautiful

Hey Rick I've requested occasional replacement parts over the years - never a full tree. The address I use for Tamiya here in the US is usa_support@tamiya.com They have always been great - always sourced what I needed & always got it to me asap in a carefully wrapped package. Their service & support has been excellent in my experience! Hope this helps Doug

Hi all Almost finished my WNW tripehound Bit of a decal disaster with the rudder "flashes" (red/white/blue stripes) courtesy of my three-year-old and an uncapped bottle of Mr. Thinner! Is there any chance anyone has these specific decals spare (after perhaps building the French or captured version?) I've also asked WNW directly Considered trying to paint them but I don't think I could get a good enough match If all else fails I'm going to buy the Roden kit (again!) & just use the rudder and decals ... Thanks from a wet & rainy Southern California Doug

Something I've looked at but haven't been confident enough to tackle. The glasshouse will make or break the finished model. Theres a v nice (albeit 1/48 scale build at FSM; http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/134417.aspx?page=1 I still have the Aims Mistel conversion in my partially-built-stack-of-shame. Will watch this with interest. Best Doug

Have built quite a few WNW kits (& have quite a pile in my unbuilt stash). Without doubt they're fantastic! The first few on the shelf at my local hobby store were ultimately a scale-breaker for me & I haven't looked back since. The "sold out" theme is however frustrating when compared to other high-quality kit-manufacturers... I'm hugely disappointed not be able to build the beautiful LVG. I hear occasional rumors that OOP kits may be re-released as limited "special edition" runs but nothing concrete (?) I just gave up in frustration on Roden's (Sopwith) triplane (as well as their lousy decals) and sourced the WNG kit on ebay. Cost me $200 + shipping.

Great idea for a project, I'll follow this one... I finished mine as the only all red example to add a little interest. http://www.hyperscale.com/2013/features/ta152h32de_1.htm Fit wasn't too bad for me (except for the tail section) but I think I helped myself by leaving so many panels open and not having to tackle those tricky joints... Used Mr Surfacer to blend everything before I painted it which I think really helped. I've just abandoned Roden's (Sopwith) triplane (&decals!) after much frustration & sourced the OOP Wingnuts kit on eBay, should be with me by the weekend...