lawman56

Thanks Matt. I guess this is one of those rare situations where the research for the kit may just be spot on!

Thanks, and I agree, there should be a higher level of wheel well detail. Normally I'd scratchbuild some, but I promised myself the only improvements I'd make to what came in the box, was CMK wheels and adding pushrods to the engine. As for scheme, since this is my first "Italian Job", so to speak, I thought maybe I should stay away from those insanely hypnotizing schemes and stick with something somewhat simple. More than likely the mount of Major Giachino of 151 Gruppo.

I guess it's official. After fiddling with my Albatros to the point of almost snapping one of the struts, I decided to shelve it until the fall. Apparently my heart meds tend to swell my fingers some during the summer. Not much, but just enough that I can't get quite the right feeling in them. With the struts on the WnW aircraft being to scale, they're quite fragile, so I thought better safe than sorry. Therefore, (bugles, trumpets, fanfare, etc....), I have started this: I actually started working on it this past weekend, doing a few hours of work each day before I went to real work. First, everything got a nice bath.... Then I sat and just stared at the engine detail. It never ceases to amaze me the level of detail you can get out of resin! I'm further along than this, but in my haste to build, I forgot to load my pics to photobucket. Hopefully, I'll remember in the morning. Thanks for looking!

Maybe you could consider the box "large scale"?

One of these days, I need to get back to DC and drool all over the aircraft again. Considering I'm only in NC, you'd think I'd get my lazy butt on a train, (my other passion), and go.

A good friend has recently fallen in love with the StuG III. So much so, that he's been buying a bunch off ebay! In one of the lots was an Sdkfz. 250/1, which he's not overly fond of, but knew I've been thinkiing of doing some sort of German halftrack. Since he's been picking my brain on diorama building, he gave the 250/1 to me as a sort of "payment" for my knowledge.

Absolutely stunning!!!!!

I'm partial to the taste. I always lick my fingers when I'm done.

Personally, I think it needs more photo etch and some Fruil tracks.......

Thanks Sasho. That pic really helps. I see the leg you're talking about, as well as how yours are seated. Sure looks like mine might be seated wrong. I'll give it a look sometime over the weekend, I hope. I'm one of those "lucky" folks whose job requires them to work Sat & Sun. At least I'm off on Mon & Tues.

I'm not a big fan of little jets, but this looks fantastic! Nice work

Hmmmm. Then it must be something else. I'll try carefully removing the struts, cleaning the mounting surfaces, and remounting them. It is possible that because it's not seated properly, there may be just enough pitch to throw it off. I noticed that it's almost as if I could apply enough gentle heat, the struts would flex enough to mount the cabanes. That tells me that it's something simple, but overlooked by myself. Just in case anyone was concerned, no worries, I'm not going to heat the struts. Just trying to lend a visual to how it acts.

That would be great, Sasho! As for the cabane struts, I've tried every which way to fit them, and they only seem to make sense one way only. The inner, flat tab, slides into the slot in the fuse/cowl so the strut points up. If I place them so the "V" is to the rear, they kinda want to work, but the upper wing is pitched too far, hence my original post. If I place them so the "V" is forward, it's way off, so logic, (instructions and photos also), dictates the "V" is rearward. However, as Sasho has enlightened me as to the strut pins, It is highly possible I've placed the port strut in the starboard hole, and vice versa. I'll definately check that in the morning, (I'm at work right now and don't get off until late). As for the tight tolerences. I noticed it wasn't fully seated, but decided that before I fix that, I should get the upper wing mounting down. This way, if I have to remove something, it's only once. Thanks for all the replies! As I've mentioned before, I'm enamored with the design and fit of these kits, and will most certainly sing their praises as well as purchase others. I've come to three major conclusions, though, at least for me. 1)When building your first biplane kit, it would probably be best to build OOB. At least until you have a couple under your belt. 2)When building your second 1/32 aircraft in close to 30 years, don't choose a biplane unless it's the Junkers. Thankfully I passed on the DH.2... 3)Doing stupid things will trump phenomenal engineering every time.....

For poorly designed kits, you're making them look quite good. Love the originality of the markings.

I appreciate that, Steve. The reason I've gotten slightly burnt out with armor, is just that. Trying to keep it all balanced. This is my 4th armor diorama in a row. What few marbles I had are now rolling around......

And thanks for posting this. I especially like the squadron flash on the fuselage! I'm a big fan of the unusual and non typical, which this sure is!

As promised, after chasing my grandsons through the surf for a few days, my first order of business, (as promised), is to post a picture of the outer wing supports for my Albatros so somebody can tell me what I screwed up. I can't blame the kit, as they're engineered wonderfully. Personally, I think I may have mounted them in reverse, even though I scoured all the photos and directions. Thanks in advance, guys.

I'm inclined to agree, Matt. So far, the few problems I've had, have all been self-induced. Funny how 20 years ago I would have been frustrated and shelved it. Now I look at these setbacks as challenging puzzles!

I'll see what I can do, Dave. It'll be a few days, as I'm off to the beach with the family until Tuesday evening.

First, forgive me for not knowing the exact names of the wing support components, but I'll try my best to explain. So far I've attached the lower wing(s) to the fuselage with no problem, then attached the outside supports to the lower wing and attached the upper wing to them. Here's where I have my issue. While test fitting the inner supports, I noticed that the upper wing seems to be mounted too far rearward. If I mount the supports to the wing, I need to pull the wing towards the rear of the aircraft to get the supports to line with the fuselage mounting holes. Has anyone else had a similar problem? So far my options are to; 1) Pull the wing in line carefully and hope the outer supports don't snap, then tape it in place, mount the inner supports then pray it all holds. 2) Line everything up as I have it, fill in the old fuselage mounts, and creat new mounting holes. 3) carefully try to remove the outer supports and try again. Any help would be appreciated. I already tried leaving it alone and ignoring it, but that didn't make the problem go away....

Thanks Ralph I'll admit, though, this will be my last armor diorama for a little bit. Getting kinda burnt out on the "tanky thingies". It's why I switched to aircraft recently. Hopefully I'll be starting my Fiat G50 in a week or so!

Great looking dio! Nice way to show the engine off.

That looks fantastic!

Thought I'd update my progress. Finished another crewmember the other day. He's technically considered a loader, or ammo handler, but I like to call him, "big bullet that gives him a hernia" guy....

As for my aircraft, as I've only finished one, it would have to be my Tamiya Spitfire Mk.IXc.