sandbagger

Hi all, The wings supplied in the kit are cast in resin and have internal metal reinforcing rods to prevent warping of the wings. Comparing the wing shapes and detail to reference material shows that some aspects of the wings require changing to make them closer to that of the actual wings: The wing ribs tapes are too heavily cast. The wing trailing edges do not reflect enough the ’washout’ droop at the inboard sections of the wings. The leading edges of the upper wing halves are of different thickness. The top surface of the wings appear to be too ’bulged’ around the central area. The upper wings have a degree of warp. So to correct these will require some work, Mike Examples of wing 'washout' and lack of visibility of the wing tapes The kit supplied upper wings

Hi all The pilot figure with flight jacket and gloves (moustache added at clients request) Also resin covered pictures of the ships plaque and Federico Martinengo These will be located on the display base Just waiting for the propeller now to complete the model Mike

Hi all As my build of the Macchi M.5 is drawing to a close I'll be starting the next model. This will be the resin 'Lukgraph' model of the Halberstadt D.II, Serial No:810/16 Vzfw. Erich Schutlz of the Royal Jagdstaffel 25, operating from Kanatrlarci, Macedonia in early 1917 Mike

Hi all The model is now mounted onto its display base. Just the figure and propeller to complete this build Mike

Hi all The model has moved on a bit since my last post. The upper wing has been fitted and all wire rigging done. I just have the outer wing support struts to make and fit. These will be made from 0.9 mm formed Brass tube. Also I have to fit and rig the two ailerons, under wing floats and propeller Mike

Hi all The engine installation for the Macchi M.5 is ready to be fitted to the hull. The propeller will be fitted later in this build, The frame bracing wires are 0.08 mm diameter mono-filament with blackened 0.4 mm diameter Brass tube. Turnbuckles are the 'Gaspatch' 1:48th scale metal versions. Mike

Hi all, Some progression the Macchi M.5. Painted using 'Tamiya' acrylics and oil paint for the wood hull. 'Aviattic' linen effect decals applied to flight surfaces. Personal markings are custom made by Mika at 'Arctic Decals'. The model, especially the engine still require weathering. Mike

Hi all I've replaced the kit supplied 'Z' struts between the engine support frame and underside of the upper wing. The kit struts don't align correctly with their attachment points and not every strut has a protruding locating rod. The replacement struts are Brass tube (formed to an aerofoil profile) with internal rod. Mike

Hi all, I've added the following, which are not supplied in the kit: External compass shroud External base for gun sight. Support struts for lower wing floats (Brass tube and rod). Support struts for the tailplane (Brass tube and rod). Lower half of the rudder post, Mike

Hi all, The basic engine modified and with additional detail added in Brass, Mike

Hi all, The 'HPH Models' 1:32nd scale resin model of the Italian Macchi M.5 float plane. This is a commission build for the Commander of the Italian Frigate 'Federico Martinengo'. His ship was named after the Italian naval pilot of WW1, Federico Carlo Martinengo. I've previously built a version of this model and have a build log on my web site. The only real differences between the two models will be the aircraft markings. As such, I'll not create a detailed build log for this model here on the forum, just progress shots, Mike

Hi all, The shots of the completed model are now up in 'LSM Aircraft Finished'. Thanks for your support and comments during this build, Mike

Hi all, The Hanriot HD.1 of the Belgian pilot Willy Coppens of the 9th Escadrille, Belgium, 1918. Thanks for your support and comment during this build. As usual a fully detailed build log (PDF) can be downloaded from my web site. Mikes WW1 Aircraft Models Mike

Hi all, I'm waiting to complete the display case. However, the model and figures are completed. I'll post the final photographs soon, Mike

Hi all, The rudder, ailerons and upper wing have now been fitted. All pre-rigging was also put in place. However, previously when test fitting the upper wing, I found that the kit supplied 3D printed cabane side support struts were too short. When located, they were approximately 1.0 mm clear of the fuselage. So I modified the fuselage cabane strut assembly to lower the upper wing slightly to allow the struts to locate fully. Now, with the upper wing fitted, I found that the struts were still too short. Therefore, I decide to discard the kit supplied struts and create replacement struts. These were made from 1.2 mm diameter Brass tube, formed into an airfoil profile and with internal 0.3 mm diameter Brass locating rods. Onward upward, Mike

Hi all, The fuselage cabane strut assembly has been fitted. The rudder pre-rigging has been added using 0.08 mm diameter mono-filament, 0.4 mm diameter clear tube and 0.4 mm diameter blackened Brass tube. The ailerons have also been pre-rigged using 0.08 mm diameter mono-filament and 0.4 mm diameter blackened Brass tube. Mike

Hi all, Partial construction before pre-rigging. Mike

Hi all, I've weathered the paintwork. Airbrushed thinned 'Tamiya' Smoke (X19). Airbrushed 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC311). Applied 'Flory Models' Dark Dirt fine clay wash. Removed the wash to leave slight staining. Airbrush sealing coat of 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC311). Now it's onto pre-rigging before assembly, Mike

Hi all, As I said previously, the 3D printed tail skid snapped in half while I was test fitting it Rather than trying to repair and use the tail skid, I decided to scratch a replacement. This was made using 1.4 mm diameter Brass tube and 0.5 mm diameter rod. The tube was flattened to an airfoil profile and reinforced internally with the rod. the kit supplied tail skid support frame has the bottom of the rudder post. This is too long as the tail skid was attached at the bottom of the support frame. Therefore the rudder post was shortened and a hole of 0.5 mm diameter was drilled up into the post. This hole was used to locate the support Brass rod on the tail skid. Once secured to the support frame, the 'bungee' type suspension cords were added, using 'EZ' White (heavy) stretch line. Mike

Hi all, I've replaced three of the colours as I wasn't satisfied. Light Green - ‘Hataka’ C093 Green (FS34258) Dark Green - ‘Hataka’ C301 Dark Olive Green (FS34096) Beige - ‘Hataka’ C060 USMC Sand These have yet to be weathered so will dull down slightly. I've fitted the single, central machine gun, using a modified 'Gaspatch' 'Vickers' 11mm 'Balloon Buster', as used by Willy Coppens. This was p[ainted with 'Alclad' Gunmetal (ALC-120) then dry brushed with 'Mr. Colour' Super Iron 2 (SM203). The propeller was base coated with 'Tamiya' Flat Red (XF7) and Full Red (XF19) mixed 70/30% ratio. Windsor & Newton’ Griffin (Alkyd) Vandyke Brown oil paint was then applied to represent the wood effect. The hub plates were brush painted with ‘Mr. Colour’ Stainless Steel (213) the ’AK Interactive’ Kerosene wash (AK2039). The interplane struts were base coated with 'Tamiya' Desert Yellow (XF59). Windsor & Newton’ Griffin (Alkyd) Burnt Sienna oil paint was then applied to represent the wood effect. Whilst test fitting the tail skid, it snapped in half - no surprise given the brittleness of the 3D printed parts. So that now needs to be addressed, Mike

Hi all, The propeller shaft on the engine is too short to allow the propeller to be fitted and be clear of the front of the engine cowl. Therefore, I cat away the propeller shaft from the engine. Using as a guide, the mark left from the shaft, I gradually drilled into the engine up to a size of 1.4 mm diameter. A length of 1.4 mm diameter Brass tube was cut and secured into the propeller locating hole, using CA adhesive. This allows the propeller shaft to be fitted into the engine with the propeller clear of the engine cowl, Mike

Hi all, I've applied the required decals for this particular aircraft. I found that as long as the decals are applied over a single colour, they do cover the painted surface under the decals. However, the lighter coloured decals, especially the white colour, do show the painted surface through the decal. This is more evident where light coloured decals are applied over contrasting coloured paints. I've airbrushed a clear coat over the decals to seal and protect them during handling. They will be airbrushed again later in the build during the weathering phase. As the camouflage scheme is French, I painted the top of the tailplane and elevator with a base coat of 'Tamiya' Medium Blue (XF18). The engine and engine cowl have also been fitted. I found that the engine propeller shaft is not long enough to clear the engine cowl to locate the propeller. So that's another problem to be sorted out, Mike

Hi all, The decal sheet supplied in the kit covers all of the schemes. However, the individual decals are printed as part of the entire carrier film on the sheet. As such carrier film will probably show around the applied decal. Therefore, each decal will probably have to be cut out as close as possible to the edges of the decal, before applying to the model. Also, some of the decals seem to be slightly semi-translucent, meaning the painted colours underneath will show through the decals once applied. This is not good for a kit of this price, especially considering different painted colour schemes and the intricate shapes of the various decals. 'Cartograph' decals these are certainly not. Anyway, the basic French five colour camouflage scheme has been applied. 'Tamiya' acrylics used were: Beige - Desert Yellow (XF59) Light Green - Olive Green (XF58) Dark Green - Dark Green 2 (XF70)/NATO Black (XF69) Chestnut Brown - Flat Brown (XF10) Black - NATO Black (XF69) Undersides 'Alclad' Duraluminium (ALC102) oversprayed with 'Tamiya' Light Blue (XF23). Mike

Hi all, The upper wing had a dihedral angle of 3 degrees, the lower wing was horizontal. Test fitting the upper wing revealed that the cabane side support struts were too short. The interplane struts fitted correctly. Therefore I removed the two rod support lugs on the 3D printed cabane strut assembly. I then drilled and inserted 0.4 mm diameter rod into the top bar to give the required wing half separation. This allowed the upper wing to be slightly lower and rest on the cabane top bar. The upper wing test fit after this was correct, Mike

You could wait for the Copper State model to be released ? Mike