Roden Albatros D.I

[GazzaS]

Hello Friends,

    More work...  some of the most tiny kind.

If you follow the directions, they would have you attach both fuselage halves to lower wing at the same time.

If you're like me and think that would be a bit awkward, don't attach the ammo and fuel assy as the directions say.  I found this out the hard way on my first Roden Alby.

So, I attached it to the fuselage...  because there is a rib that runs the length of each side of the fuselage.

I also added stiffeners to the dorsal and ventral fuselage seams.

The Roden plastic is pretty soft.  I set the fuel and ammo assy last night between the halves and let it dry as it didn;t want to stay in place any other way.

The fuselage is made to fit the Alb. III.  So, you need to remove the cabane strut bases.

Believe it or not, there are enough parts in the box to make a D.II out of this kit without buying the Encore kit.  The only parts you need to alter are the length of the wing struts.  The II and III cabanes are already in the kit.

You want some detail?

Part (that's the company name) makes a boffo detail up set.  It has an acetate sheet and skads of PE.

Now...  this is a completely new thing to me.  I even had to put on my custom readers at 4.82X to do it.

Brass bezel rings over acetate guage detail, over the plastic parts:

The pictures are horrible.  The white background makes everything look horrible.  Once I do the oil detailing I'll put up some better pics.

 

Thanks fer looking!

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Simply tremendous work

Keep ‘em comin

Peter

[Kaireckstadt]

4 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Hello Friends,

    More work...  some of the most tiny kind.

If you follow the directions, they would have you attach both fuselage halves to lower wing at the same time.

If you're like me and think that would be a bit awkward, don't attach the ammo and fuel assy as the directions say.  I found this out the hard way on my first Roden Alby.

So, I attached it to the fuselage...  because there is a rib that runs the length of each side of the fuselage.

I also added stiffeners to the dorsal and ventral fuselage seams.

The Roden plastic is pretty soft.  I set the fuel and ammo assy last night between the halves and let it dry as it didn;t want to stay in place any other way.

The fuselage is made to fit the Alb. III.  So, you need to remove the cabane strut bases.

Believe it or not, there are enough parts in the box to make a D.II out of this kit without buying the Encore kit.  The only parts you need to alter are the length of the wing struts.  The II and III cabanes are already in the kit.

You want some detail?

Part (that's the company name) makes a boffo detail up set.  It has an acetate sheet and skads of PE.

Now...  this is a completely new thing to me.  I even had to put on my custom readers at 4.82X to do it.

Brass bezel rings over acetate guage detail, over the plastic parts:

The pictures are horrible.  The white background makes everything look horrible.  Once I do the oil detailing I'll put up some better pics.

 

Thanks fer looking!

That’s a tricky build Gaz! But your experience will help you solving any problem. Beautiful build so far!

[DocRob]

Nice progress on the Albatros. the fiddly PE is enhancing te detail level a lot. I never used Part PE sets, so Im curious how they perform.

Cheers Rob

[GazzaS]

Thank you Rob!  The art PE was nice first off...  well, the 3 bezels I cut from the fret came off nice and easy.  There is a lot of PE there.  I donlt mind having spare parts. 

 

One of their "things" is stuff that is made of layers of PE.  Five or six flat parts stacked to make a three dimensional object.  They even include things like a PE flight column.  But it's too flat to look right.  But there are parts to dress up everything.   Well worth the investment as these Roden kits can only be improved by a little brass.

[GazzaS]

This is more like it!

 

 

To take photos like this, I had to put my light box on top of a large storage container on the dining room table.

 

 

Then I put the tripod on the table with the legs un-extended.  This allows me to put the lens only centimeters from the part I want to photograph.

 

 

I used oils to form some false shadows.

 

You can see there is some 'fluff' around the outer edges of the bezels.  I will tell you, these things are tiny.  Probably only 5mm across.  I tried to trim them close enough with scissors, but probably failed.  I have a punch and die set, but it's an automotive set, and not a modellers set.  I will experiment with it with some left-over material and see if it responds well to punch and die...  then i'll bite the not-inexpensive bullet and buy a punch and die set made for modelling.

[GazzaS]

Happiness is closing up a fuselage...  at least for us on this forum, it's a major step on the road to completion.   I'm almost there....

After a short tussle, I got the HGW fabric belts into shape.  They are really a pleasure to work with compared to PE belts.....  and... they'll never get the sprung look if they become disconnected.

While adding the engine deck, I realized that all wasn't perfect.

If I cement the engine deck to the fuse, there will be quite a margin between both turtlebacks.  Sanding the aft section will result in having some dangerously thin material.  Because of the visible nature of the cockpit, there are complications...  so, I can't just fill it with putty and walk away.

A:  I have no idea what the putty will look like on the inside of the cockpit.

and B:  No idea if I can make it look good or, unnoticeable.

So....  my current plan is this:

1.  I'll put a narrow shim near the back corner of the gap, and use CA to make the first thin skin which once dried will hopefully support the raised turtleback.  I'll let it dry overnight to be certain.  That means I have to wait until tomorrow so I am certain that I won't dislodge the new joins by adding the shims.

 

2.   I'll fill in the area where the shims were with CA...  and let them dry overnight.

 

3.  I'll reverse the wood grain painting process on the CA barrier in the gap, starting with Tamiya clear yellow, and then my wood color.

 

4.  Continue filling in with CA until I can sand it smooth.

 

Anyway....    that's the plan. 

 

Thanks for looking!

 

[DocRob]

Good luck with your plan. Actually I think nearly nothing will be remain visible inside the cockpit. The difference in height can be not more than half a millimeter and the area is in the shadow of the turtle deck and partly blocked by the wing on top.

Cheers Rob

[Kaireckstadt]

9 hours ago, GazzaS said:

This is more like it!

 

 

To take photos like this, I had to put my light box on top of a large storage container on the dining room table.

 

 

Then I put the tripod on the table with the legs un-extended.  This allows me to put the lens only centimeters from the part I want to photograph.

 

 

I used oils to form some false shadows.

 

You can see there is some 'fluff' around the outer edges of the bezels.  I will tell you, these things are tiny.  Probably only 5mm across.  I tried to trim them close enough with scissors, but probably failed.  I have a punch and die set, but it's an automotive set, and not a modellers set.  I will experiment with it with some left-over material and see if it responds well to punch and die...  then i'll bite the not-inexpensive bullet and buy a punch and die set made for modelling.

Really good fotos Gaz! 

Taking into account the diameter of the bezels I won’t do anything. I don’t think that the eye of the viewer will realize that when the whole thing is installed in the pit.

I also avoided up to now to buy a punch-and-die set. They are so expensive and I don’t need them very often.

What helps me is a hole maker you use to make holes into a belt or a jeans. The variety of diameters is not great but within an acceptable range and I had no problems to die out holes in sheet of 1/2-3/4 mm thickness.

And the biggest advantage: It is not that costly and your wife is happy and you can pay it out of the monthly budget of the household...

[GazzaS]

4 minutes ago, Kaireckstadt said:

Really good fotos Gaz! 

Taking into account the diameter of the bezels I won’t do anything. I don’t think that the eye of the viewer will realize that when the whole thing is installed in the pit.

I also avoided up to now to buy a punch-and-die set. They are so expensive and I don’t need them very often.

What helps me is a hole maker you use to make holes into a belt or a jeans. The variety of diameters is not great but within an acceptable range and I had no problems to die out holes in sheet of 1/2-3/4 mm thickness.

And the biggest advantage: It is not that costly and your wife is happy and you can pay it out of the monthly budget of the household...

 

Kai,

   That's a great idea.  Thank you.  I'm just wondering if it will pierce acetate.or stretch it.  I'll experiment with the tools I have...  I might not do anything for a while.

I really need to learn the ins- and outs- of acetate as it looks like a superior way to make WWI windscreens.

 

 

[Kaireckstadt]

1 hour ago, GazzaS said:

Happiness is closing up a fuselage...  at least for us on this forum, it's a major step on the road to completion.   I'm almost there....

After a short tussle, I got the HGW fabric belts into shape.  They are really a pleasure to work with compared to PE belts.....  and... they'll never get the sprung look if they become disconnected.

While adding the engine deck, I realized that all wasn't perfect.

If I cement the engine deck to the fuse, there will be quite a margin between both turtlebacks.  Sanding the aft section will result in having some dangerously thin material.  Because of the visible nature of the cockpit, there are complications...  so, I can't just fill it with putty and walk away.

A:  I have no idea what the putty will look like on the inside of the cockpit.

and B:  No idea if I can make it look good or, unnoticeable.

So....  my current plan is this:

1.  I'll put a narrow shim near the back corner of the gap, and use CA to make the first thin skin which once dried will hopefully support the raised turtleback.  I'll let it dry overnight to be certain.  That means I have to wait until tomorrow so I am certain that I won't dislodge the new joins by adding the shims.

 

2.   I'll fill in the area where the shims were with CA...  and let them dry overnight.

 

3.  I'll reverse the wood grain painting process on the CA barrier in the gap, starting with Tamiya clear yellow, and then my wood color.

 

4.  Continue filling in with CA until I can sand it smooth.

 

Anyway....    that's the plan. 

 

Thanks for looking!

 

I would solve the problem in 2 ways depending on the progress of the build:

If the 2 assemblies are not glued together I would shim the part at the engine deck, cut it to shape and sand it a little. The rest of filling the (very small) left gap will be done by the glue.

If they are glued together already why not use sprueglue for closing the gap? This will for sure close it in a way that you won’t see it afterwards.

And - as Doc Rob said - I don’t think either that it will be at least visible in the end...

[DocRob]

I have something like this and for the few occasions, it worked good with decals and 0,5 mm styrene. The punches are sharpened and the brass part is a spindle to turn the punch, when pressing the handle. It was very cheap, but is useful.

Cheers Rob

[GazzaS]

22 minutes ago, Kaireckstadt said:

I would solve the problem in 2 ways depending on the progress of the build:

If the 2 assemblies are not glued together I would shim the part at the engine deck, cut it to shape and sand it a little. The rest of filling the (very small) left gap will be done by the glue.

If they are glued together already why not use sprueglue for closing the gap? This will for sure close it in a way that you won’t see it afterwards.

And - as Doc Rob said - I don’t think either that it will be at least visible in the end...

They are clued at the engine end.  Only in the cockpit area is it not glued.  Otherwise, that was my plane...  to use superglue.  My favorite filler.

[GazzaS]

21 minutes ago, DocRob said:

I have something like this and for the few occasions, it worked good with decals and 0,5 mm styrene. The punches are sharpened and the brass part is a spindle to turn the punch, when pressing the handle. It was very cheap, but is useful.

Cheers Rob

What is is called.Rob?

[DocRob]

25 minutes ago, GazzaS said:

What is is called.Rob?

On the British Amazon site I found a lot of these with the search term 'automatic belt punch'. I bought mine from German Amazon for six Euros and it includes six punches from 1,5-4 mm diameter and a rod to clean the circles out of the punch tool. The punched holes are perfectly round and you can produce discs as well. Until now, it's the perfect cheapo substitute to one of these expensive sets, as I use it seldom. 
I used it to cut away carrier film from bezel decals, with styrene card, to produce ammunition counters for the Fokker 08/15's and with tin foil and the tool never failed.

Cheers Rob

[GazzaS]

Well....   here we are again.

On small sessions this week, I faired in the turtleback.  Then, last night...  Friday evening I decided to adress my greatest weakness.  Photo etch.

What WNW did with a couple pieces of plastic and two pieces of PE, Roden and Part did with many pieces of PE and some so-so plastic.  The part directions weren't totally clear, and whilst completing the second gun, I realized that the directions omitted an important part.  But by then...  I didn't feel like tearing apart the guns.

The photos are pretty bad, but hopefully, there is enough good in each to show you the parts.  Sadly...  due to the extended amount of  handling, the jackets of the guns look like hell.  But there is really no going back to fix them without major disruption.  You see, even the ring sites are separate pieces.

 

Fairing in the fuselage went well.

I didn't have to lose any plastic material.  I will need to use a bit more interior color, though.

I rescribed as necessary, but I think the kit is missing a line or two in places.

 

 

I supplied a few more closeups.  Every surface detail you can see could be replaced by  a PE part.  But I will use them judiciously. 

some parts are just too difficult to get right.

 

 

[Kaireckstadt]

16 minutes ago, GazzaS said:

Well....   here we are again.

On small sessions this week, I faired in the turtleback.  Then, last night...  Friday evening I decided to adress my greatest weakness.  Photo etch.

What WNW did with a couple pieces of plastic and two pieces of PE, Roden and Part did with many pieces of PE and some so-so plastic.  The part directions weren't totally clear, and whilst completing the second gun, I realized that the directions omitted an important part.  But by then...  I didn't feel like tearing apart the guns.

The photos are pretty bad, but hopefully, there is enough good in each to show you the parts.  Sadly...  due to the extended amount of  handling, the jackets of the guns look like hell.  But there is really no going back to fix them without major disruption.  You see, even the ring sites are separate pieces.

 

Fairing in the fuselage went well.

I didn't have to lose any plastic material.  I will need to use a bit more interior color, though.

I rescribed as necessary, but I think the kit is missing a line or two in places.

 

 

I supplied a few more closeups.  Every surface detail you can see could be replaced by  a PE part.  But I will use them judiciously. 

some parts are just too difficult to get right.

 

 

I can’t see any weekness when I look at the guns. They look perfect from my point of view! 
Also the result of the fairing in looks absolutely convincing.

Good decision not to use all photoetch parts. When they are so small that you can’t even hold them with tweezers I do not install them.

 

[DocRob]

Nice and delicate work, Gaz. The Spandaus's will look good with a matte black coat and the fuselage with it's innards looks great. I also think, it's a good decision not to use all PE possible. I went the same way with my WNW Pfalz. If I would have used all the PE, handling the plane would have been challenging. I always opt for a bit more durability, which pays off while painting, masking, decaling and rigging these fragile birds.

Cheers Rob

[krow113]

Decent work going on...

A little late but thin wall tubing of the right diameter with a sharpened edge can be used to fabricate guage lens'.

Heat the end of the tube and it will go through the clear material easier.

[GazzaS]

10 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:

I can’t see any weekness when I look at the guns. They look perfect from my point of view! 
Also the result of the fairing in looks absolutely convincing.

Good decision not to use all photoetch parts. When they are so small that you can’t even hold them with tweezers I do not install them.

 

Thanks Kai.  Hopefully someday I'll be good at these ultra tiny parts.

[GazzaS]

4 hours ago, DocRob said:

Nice and delicate work, Gaz. The Spandaus's will look good with a matte black coat and the fuselage with it's innards looks great. I also think, it's a good decision not to use all PE possible. I went the same way with my WNW Pfalz. If I would have used all the PE, handling the plane would have been challenging. I always opt for a bit more durability, which pays off while painting, masking, decaling and rigging these fragile birds.

Cheers Rob

Thanks Rob.  There is still quite a lot of PE to do.   It's not just about this model.  It's about subsequent models, too.  Practice, Practice, Practice.  I have a 109 I want to do with a lot of PE in the cockpit and canopy.  I don't want that build to be flawed.

[GazzaS]

3 hours ago, krow113 said:

Decent work going on...

A little late but thin wall tubing of the right diameter with a sharpened edge can be used to fabricate guage lens'.

Heat the end of the tube and it will go through the clear material easier.

That's a great idea!

[Peterpools]

Gaz

Excellent work on filling the turtle deck gap and the MG's look great.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Jeff]

Gaz, do you have a link to "Part" pe site by chance?

[GazzaS]

13 hours ago, Jeff said:

Gaz, do you have a link to "Part" pe site by chance?

Easy as:

http://www.part.pl/