DocRob

Thanks Gaz, and no, the mini Fokker isn't so difficult to build and paint, beside the spoked wheels, which are needed for only one of five different planes. Yes, everything is tiny, I've seen bigger dragonflies, even in Europe, but the kit is well designed and helps the builder with clever engineering and you get away with a bit more of simplification, at least, I hope so . Cheers Rob

Thanks Amigos, the decals are provided with the kit and they are printed by Cartograph. I had some not so good experiences with Cartograph decals lately, for example some from WNW, but these are a joy to work with. They have good colour rendition and fit like a glove. The Lozenge looks better, than what Eduard provided with their kits. For the Eduard Siemens Schuckerts I built, I used Aviattic decals, because the Eduard colours looked way off. Cheers Rob

The Fokker is done and RFI'd, so on with the Fokker. In this case with the 1/72 incarnation from Arma Hobby. I prepared many parts along the big Fokker, like the streaked wings and others, only scaled down with finer brush strokes and more thinned colours. The plastic and fit of the kit is mediocre. There is some flash and therefore more cleanup than expected, but nothing really disturbing. Other things are better realized, than with the bigger kit, like including a little jig for the wheel struts and mould the V-shaped wing struts directly onto the cowling. The fuselage, after applying the inner decals and details like the tiny seat with PE seat belts, received a coat of gloss white and got the perfectly cut and good to work with Lozenge decals applied. I opted for the spoked PE wheels, which were a pain to assemble, but the use of the wheel hub of the big Fokker as a bending template, helped getting the cones right. That is where I am now. Not shown are the wings already with Polish markings and Gazpatch 08/15 MG's which are readily painted Cheers Rob

Sublime as ever, the cab looks great. Can't believe, that you have the patience to scratch that beast completely, but the result will be a stunner. Cheers Rob

Impressive result. I was tempted sometimes by kits in 1/700 but resisted. I have two in 1/350 that's a small as it gets to me. And there is always the risk of being banned here . Cheers Rob

Thank you Gaz and Mike. As for the next project, I'm a bit undecided in the moment. I have to finish my Arado 234 nightfighter and am tempted by MaK Küster in 1/20 as a canvas for painting and weathering training. I got a wooden ship, the Duchess of Kingston held up by UPS since weeks, I might want to start and there is the big WNW AEG. IV in the loop. As a little filler, I first complete my Fokker D.VIII parallel build in 1/72, that's what I'm actually working on. I will add some pics later. Man 1/72 is not my scale, but it's also a lot of fun and easy to handle. Cheers Rob

Very nice little dio. The figures look believable good and I like, how the 109 blends into the surrounding sand. Cheers Rob

Thank you Peter, lets see, what's next, I can't decide at the moment, but first the little Fokker in 1/72 for fun. Cheers Rob

Nice haul. If I'm not able to score another Pfalz very soon, I have some decals left from kit # 32006, where I used only the ones for Buddeckes plane (scheme A). It would be a shame, if this most elegant plane of it's time will not be build, because of the lack of decals. Cheers Rob

Congrats, you'll love it. Will you WIP it Jeff? Cheers Rob

Thank you Mike, indeed, the idea of colourful camouflage is a little overboard with some of the German planes of the time. On the other hand, this is wat makes them interesting to build, at leas t to me, who is not a great friend of dull PC10 or grave RLM 66 . Cheers Rob

Nice work on the Focke, Jeroen. You are a brave man, adding PE to the canopy, a thing which always scares me. Do you glue it with Future or do you use CA? I will not use HGW vinyl type masks anymore, as they never fitted properly, when I used them. Cheers Rob

Wow, it looks so real, I have to second Carl about the black body and the engine has the great realistic appeal of real metal. Cheers Rob

Amazing attention to detail. When painted, it will look like the real thing. Cheers Rob

Great effect with the rib tape. I wouldn't have thought, that the thin decals show through the paint that much. The mottling is muy bueno too. Cheers Rob

Also not model related, but I'm so freaked about it, that I has to share. Today arrived my custom made leather jacket from Greece. It's made from distressed Italian cow leather and from old US-Army tents from the 1940's. The cut is leaned on old motorcycle dispatch riders jackets. I know, LSM is no fashion mag, but I had to... . Cheers Rob

Danke Kai, I appreciate it. I had so much fun with the project, that I have to find a good fit as a next build. I think the 1/72 sidekick of the Fokker will be first, as most of the painting work, like the wings is already done. Other possibilities are, to build and paint my recently started 1/20 Ammoknight along with the 1/20 Ma.K Küster or to finish my Fly Arado-234. I'm also tempted to start either the 1/48 Gotha G.V or the WNW AEG G.IV and there is also a wooden ship, the Vanguard Duchess of Kingston on the way somewhere between the UK and my tiny island,... Cheers Rob

Thanks Gaz, there are some projects, which challenge me with all the needed input, but never frustrated me like this one. Sometimes a build like the Fokker is better than a shake and bake kit to gain confidence. It also helped to envision a detailed picture of the finished Fokker in my head, including solutions for what I considered the biggest challenges. Cheers Rob

You are speeding now with the P-51 and it looks great. Sorry to hear about the cowling issues. As Kai says, on the Ta-152 this was pure horror. I couldn't find a solution for openable cowlings even with PE bent hinges. It was a nightmare. It seems like most of the ZM kits are better left open for good fit. When cowlings come into into play, it gets interesting. Cheers Rob

Gracias Señhores, today I worked a little more on the 1/72 twin of this one, but it will sport a Polish livery. Man, is 72 scale small. I haven't built one since I was a kid. Cheers Rob

Hello friends of the colourful fighters of WWI, the Fokker D.VIII is finally done. It was a long and sometimes tempting, but always rewarding project. I had so much fun during this build and learned a lot of new techniques, like soldering my own struts from brass and cowering whole fuselages in decals instead of paint. I used lots of aftermarket items, where the kit showed it's weaknesses and shortcomings. They are mentioned in the building log. I would like to thank all of you, who came along the trip with a special mention of the two build logs, I often referred to, one by our gifted and resourceful member Mike Sandbagger and the other is available on the Aviattic website, written by Dave Hooper. Fokker E.V / D.VIII Parasol Mikro Mir 1/32 - Page 7 - LSM Work In Progress - Large Scale Modeller And here she is in her full galore. I will add some outdoor pics later, when there is blue skies. Cheers Rob

Muchas gracias Amigos, the end got a bit tricky, but all in all it was a pure pleasure build. Maybe I do a second one in bright yellow with black diamonds all over. It payed off to build everything really robust, because the Fokker needed more handling than every other plane I built. Nothing broke, except one elevator strut (plastic not brass ). I love the feeling, that in the end there is no rattling sound inside the fuselage, because of loosened parts. I used two build logs a lot and they were very helpful. One is from our Mike (Sandbagger) and the other is written by Dave Hooper and can be found on the Aviattic website. Cheers Rob

Outstanding skillful build, I raise my hat. Cheers Rob

That's a nice addition to your Sherman lineup. They all look great. Cheers Rob

I'm freakin' out, the last pic post, before the Fokker will get a RFI post . Tomorrow, I will have to do some touchups here and there, inspect the whole plane through the magnifier and it will be done. The little things, I made last, where not so much fun in general. The minimal rigging, especially the rudder and elevator wires gave me headaches and eye strain . I added ignition wires and because my 2mm diameter brass tubes arrived together with my new saw and mitre box, I added the air intakes from blackened brass. Cheers Rob