FarEast

Right - no hangover, good I got stuff to do! So the fuselage is bonded closed - now this is a tight fit make sure everything is super clean, excessive paint removed and make sure there is no burring on the pieces as this thing is incredibly tight but makes a beautiful join it's really impressive! But when the 4 sides are joined the overall model is incredibly solid, and the seam lines are invisible! Now here is the clincher, the kit comes with absolutely no wooden decals for the engine bay. So if you suffer from OCD like me then you are screwed! Luckily this is only dry fitted and after some serious oil staining I will apply some Uschi decals to match the rest of the aircraft.

So with the O'Shogatsu Holiday (New Years) here in Japan kicking in and having to take a forced holiday from Motorcycle school (I'm aiming for my unlimited CC license) and also having completed all the work my wife wanted me to do around the house I was finally able to sit down and give the Albatros 100% of my attention. First up was completing all the little internal details. The fuel in the pump and line was created by giving the surface a single coat of Tamiya Yellow. Next up was the observers work station This image really shows off the cracked and rippled/mottled leather around the seams and on the cushion. So with those last pieces down it was time to take one last shot of the cockpit internals and then close here up.

Ok - one of my good friends asked me on Facebook how I got the leather effect so real and I thought I would share it here. The Art of F***ing It Up on Purpose. Now i used to have a tendency to aim for perfection - straight lines, perfectly blended colours etc but lets face it when has nature ever done that? Leather wood, linen are all natural products that are manipulated by man and no matter how hard we try you just can't make a uniformed perfect finish and isn't that why leather and wooded items like furniture are so appealing to us rather than synthetic imitation items? So here is my method of 'f***ing it up' to look real. Disclaimer: Now you will have to forgive me if this technique has already been discovered by someone else - I tend to just do my own thing and post it if it works. I know there are a few lost souls out there that get their knickers in a twist about these things. First off preshading - you'll notice that I don't really give a damn about over spray, keeping a straight line or splodges from a heavy trigger finger- pretty shoddy work. Next up is a quick blast of Deck Tan - thinned to help blend in the black. Spot the thumb print! yes we are keeping that! Time to mix some colours I went for an orangey brown mix and thinned it to about 1:3 ratio - applied in several layers. Hmmm hang on a minute - thats looking rather respectable! The next step is to give it a coat of Vallejo Satin Varnish It has a milky finish to it while wet but dries completely clear. Washes I used the Mr Weathering Stain Brown on this chair and applied a very heavy coat - we aren't going for a pin wash here gents but almost complete saturation! Now by some Vodoo magic the weather solution doesn't seem to like the varnish and it distorts cracks and mottles giving you this effect! This is then locked in with some more satin varnish. Compared to the real deal....I think that's a job well done

Hahahaha no problem its the school teacher in me coming out young Pardelhas! Now sit down, be quiet and open your Wingnut Wings manual to page 5, chapter 2.

So yesterday I got the cockpit fully assembled!

Pardelhas, Don't just look at the pictures, read the text and you'll know what I did. its even highlighted in bold print!

Wingnut Wings 1:32 Albatros B.II Early All present and accounted for - I hear I'm one of the lucky ones! So after a bit of healthy peer pressure from George aka Pgtaylorart I decided to switch out what was supposed to be my Christmas gift for the recently arrived DH.9a 'NINAK' (thank you sir she arrived safe and sound and is resting under the tree - the wife is none the wiser ) So between family duties and window shopping for a motorcycle I managed to make a start on the Albatros B.II Early. Now I have to say the kit is stunning, the detail on the parts is fantastic and more than what you can hope for even for a Wingnut wings kit, however I'm really not a fan of the wooden decals. At first glance they look great and no doubt they they do look really good on the promotional model on the Wingnut Wings home page made by the very talented, phenomenally talented Zdenko Bugan but on closer inspection they are very over emphasized to the point where I can't help but notice it each time I look at them in the packaging - maybe its just me. So with that in mind I will be building mine using a combination of Uschi vander Rosten Wooden decal sheets and oils. So lets get started! So first up the Cockpit floor, after preparing the piece I gave the edges and details a very fine coat of flat black for preshading followed by Tamiya Deck tan. I then gave the center of each panel a very fine coat application of flat white and blended them all in together with the deck tan creating a dark to light effect for each section. Once dried I gave the whole piece a coating of gloss varnish ready for the decals. In regards to the decals I made my own templates from the original decals sheets in the form of a psd file thhat is then printed on to an A4 masking sheet and hand cut, one day I'll buy a digital mask cutter like the silhouette The metal parts were done using Tamiya flat black followed by Uschi van der Rosten Chrome Polishing powders

Mike where will get one in Japan? I'm also thinking of getting one!

Wow that is stunning! One thought regarding the pilot - to make it more authentic maybe you could get a scale sprig of cherry blossom for the pilot??

Very interesting - you only need to look around you to see that light plays many different tricks over surfaces. I actually used Gloss, Semi, Satin and Matt on my Eindecker build - the most notable areas are the leather trimmings and also the wings - glossy where the fabric is tight and then matt in the gullies. Also you can see how the castor oil changes the finish on the turned aluminum of the cowling.(the flat Alum bends the light to make it flatter while also bringing the turned Alum areas much brighter) Also direction of the light plays a huge effect - in this photo I used a single natural light source..... the sun.

Thank you - actually she's finished and I'm on to a new build now which is over in the Group build.... I should get my but in gear and post the final few WIP images but to be frank there is such a lack luster in responses here that I haven't been bothered.

Stunning! My resolve not to get any post war aircraft is slowly crumbling!

Very interesting - sad to hear about the free shipping ending as that may tip the balance in regards to future purchases although I'll have to wait to see how competitive their shipping costs are.

Erik B. I promised myself I would stick to one genre and one brand otherwise the house would look like Industrial Lights and Magic's warehouse.

So last night I moved one step closer to completing the model, I wasn't at all happy with the aileron return springs molds that come with the kit as they seem a little over-sized to me and I decided on making my own. Like the Eindecker's the rigging really is what makes or breaks these flying washing lines and so I decided to give her a little more detail. As the kit is supplied with 4 aileron levers for those that decide on variant E in the kit so I used two of those to attach my brass springs to. Now from here I need to attach these to the wing and it looks like they use something similar to the 'Type B' buckles that then attach to the springs via wire or it could be that the spring wire actually is one piece and attaches directly in to the wing structure. So if any one has any clearer images on this I would be greatly appreciative.

Shoreham has claimed a few aircraft including a Hawker Hurricane....maybe Hawker aircraft should stay clear?

Jonathan, thank you for taking the time to post a comment. Believe it or not it is very much appreciated.

oooh not good! 7 dead and 14 injured 1 critical (I believe is the pilot) http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34027260

No idea yet - been a sleep for the last 8 hours. I have friends who are fellow teachers over at the aeronautical engineering college there and they will fill me in on the details.

Yes, I used to live very close to that airfield and my parents still do. (I got my first ever taste of flying there in a Tiger Moth) However the pilot was pulled alive from the wreckage and is recovering in hospital (Apparently). Shoreham Airport was used during the First World War by the Royal Flying Corps as a departure point for the first Blériotsand BEs to join the conflict across the Channel. During the WWII the airfield operated a variety of military aircraft including Westland Lysanders that were later replaced by Supermarine Spitfires, Hawker Hurricanes, Defiants and Bristol Beaufighters. It was an air-sea-rescue base with Supermarine Walrus aircraft joining other wartime activities in the nearby harbour located about 500m down river from the airfield and was accessible by fast boat as the airfield is located next to the river Adur. The airfield was bombed several times and a Messerschmitt Bf 109 was shot down by ground fire during one such attack, crash-landing near the terminal building. A B-17 Flying Fortress crash-landed at the airfield after being damaged during a raid on Germany. The consequent damage to the old guardhouse on the north side of the airfield can still be seen. Also many of the buildings on site are 'Listed' (Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.) as Grade II.

So today I got all the Magazines, Magazine holders and the Lewis MKII machine gun and mount finished (Minus the glass). However it wasn't a straight forward day on the work bench as I had a slight accident involving the tail skid snapping off fortunately it was a clean break and hadn't taken any of the anchors with it, so a length of 4mm brass rod was used to make a joint and everything was put back in to place. So tomorrow my job list is: Paint and attach glass to the Lewis Gun Attach Aileron levers and cables to lower wings Study in more depth the upper Ailerons that use a bungee return system Attach bungee type Ailerons levers and any modifications that it may require Touch up and apply additional decals Weathering If time and lighting photo session of finished aircraft In the meantime here are some images of where I am.

Beautiful work!

I think this is very apt! So today I started in earnest on the tail plane and rudder rigging no having spent the most of the morning looking at all the images of replica DH.2's and also the Windsock data files I realised that the eyelets on the mold needed to go! Fresh blade, 0.3mm drill bit and some Gaspatch turnbuckles and additional eyelets later and the tail boom was ready. After drilling out and attaching eyelets and turnbuckles I cemented the main parts together and started anchoring the rudder & tailplane to the boom. Once it was firmly secured it was time to start rigging the rear box section. I have to say the manual sent me boss eyed!

Yesterday was a bit of a stop, go, stop, go kind of day. I decided to paint the prop and rudder, however things didn't go to plan! First off my idea of layering Aviattic decals and then removing with thinner the top coat failed miserably and I was lucky enough to save the work I had done previously on it. Back to the drawing board on that one! I think I will just go CDL and then a coat of PC10 and tinted lacquer over the top then applying thee worn weathering effect from there, but I decided to put it to one side and concentrate on the 4 blade propeller. Now some of you fine and very talented gentlemen have been using coloured pencils to make laminated props and they look the business, absolutely incredible finishes, so I decided to see if I could replicate this technique........... 7 hours later - NO I BLOODY CAN'T! So its back to playing to my strengths - MASKING TAPE!' Having removed all traces of my first 8 attempts I coated the propeller with Mr. Finished thinned and applied through the airbrush (You need to clean it out immediately with lacquer thinner or Tamiya Airbrush cleaner or it will kill your brush!) The reason I use it is because it has great leveling properties and also helps Tamiya paints bond to the propeller better. Now I normally mess around and make masks and I had a few left over from a previous batch I made and nope they were not the right size, so rather than mess around stretching and pulling the .psd file I decided to use the very pliable 1mm mask that I use for the rib taping. It's pretty straight forward and apart from the first line of tape I used 1 continuous length for the others and anchored it down on the blade tips. After checking that all the tape was firmly affixed, especially in the center where not only do they need to be perfectly parallel but have a tendency to pull up in the corners when you move on to the next blade, I sprayed a fine coat of Tamiya Nato Brown and then using a tooth pick pushed down the tape in the area again. 3 coats later and a beer it was time to remove the mask. It always reminds me of chocolate! But the lines are way to sharp so after hand painting any corrections that might be needed I applied several more very thin coats of Tamiya Deck Tan. Now as long as you follow the lines you can really soften up some of the lamination lines and this will give the effects of different woods used and will really help when you apply the oil paint. Next up was the oil paint, I use a Japanese brand with a touch of Uschi van der Rosten's excellent Blitz Dry and it really does what it says on the bottle - with two bladed props its not an issue but with a four blade prop I found it was drying before I could get to the 3rd blade to create the wood grain. So with this done and not wanting to risk messing up the wood grain and all on top of the days failed attempts it was late and I decided to call it a night and go at it again this morning, that way the oils would be VERY dry! My daughters alarm awoke me at 5am this morning, so before walking the dog I applied several thin coats of Tamiya Clear Yellow, this really gives a warmth to the finish of the wood and also a slightly satin finish. I forgot to take a photo so here is a picture of some bread rolls I made this morning while waiting for paint to dry After the clear coat was dried I applied a very thin coat of a Japanese product that is very similar to Klear - I'm not sure if the formula is the same but it pretty much does what others have described Klear doing. This layer I applied by bursh and followed the wood grain, after that I applied several more very thin layers using the airbrush and masked up the prop using the excellent and very helpful HGW masks. First I tried the Brass Tip finish but I really didn't like the way it looked in comparison to the rest of the machine so removed it with lacquer thinner and went with Tamiya XF-66 that pretty much coats everything on this aircraft. Slowly and carefully I removed the masking tape and took a huge sigh of relief. Now one of thee other issues is that Wingnut Wings is very vague about the propeller used on the DH.2 so after 2 hours of searching on the web and 20 cups of coffee later I found out that some of the DH.2's were fitted with DMD.Ltd propellers and some kind gent had even posted a picture of his - so on with the decals and another very fine coat of varnish! DONE! now where is that rudder?