WnW 1:32 AMC DH.2

[FarEast]

More rigging and I was really starting to get eye fatigue - don't you just hate it when you just want to complete that last little bit before calling it a day but  no matter what you just can't get it right and have to do it over, but you know you should leave it but can't and continue to mess it up!

 

Well that was me rigging last night - Rule # 890099 when its late and it won't go right WALK AWAY!

 

So anyway what was I doing? Well control lines of course!

 

After painting up the elevator control levers and attaching Gaspatch turnbuckles I threaded the two lines through the pulleys on the wing struts, these had been drilled out ready for this moment and they slipped through perfectly! I left plenty of length however to enable me to attach them to the elevators.

Next up was the rudder lines - these were a little harder as the pulley line is on the outside and therefore they need to be glues in place on the pulley before attaching to the 3 way splitter that then connects it to the rudder and tail skid. The PE part that came with the kit is rather two dimensional.

 

I started with drilling 5x 0.5mm holes in a piece of scrape PE sprue that came with the kit and then cut to size and sanded.

 

 

I then cut 5 lengths of 0.4mm brass rod and pushed them through and using a dab of CA glue to hold them in place.

 

I then trimmed one end and then fed Gaspatch 'Type C' Turnbuckles over the tubing, cut to size and then using needled nose plies crushed the brass tube to form a cold rivet, this allows the turnbuckles to freely move and create perfect lines when the rigging is attached.

 

 

 

[FarEast]

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?

[wackyracer]

Lovely work on those props and the whole build to be fair. She's going to be a beaut when finished.

[FarEast]

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!

 

[FarEast]

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.
















 

[JonathanReed]

Love it!  Great Job!     

[FarEast]

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

[FarEast]

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.

[Guest DannyVM]

James, i'm speechless......such nice and crisp detail you put into that already nice looking model, simply stunning mate

 

Greetz

 

Danny

[FarEast]

James, i'm speechless......such nice and crisp detail you put into that already nice looking model, simply stunning mate

 

Greetz

 

Danny

 

 

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.

[youngtiger1]

Brother, this is not FarEast but FarOut. Out of the park that is Totally love the prop work, of course, and the rest of it. You got mad skills bro

[Fran]

Still missing a DH2 in my stash and this fantastic build is not helping! 

James this masterpieces is finish already??

 

Fran

[FarEast]

Still missing a DH2 in my stash and this fantastic build is not helping! 

James this masterpieces is finish already??

 

Fran

 

what with the lackluster of responses here I kind of forgot about updating (only 4 members bothered to comment) but as you ask she's been finished for some time now and sitting happily in my display case. However she is on a square base that although I like the finish of for photos it's doesn't look right so I'm making the exact same effect but on a round base and will then take some more portfolio shots.

 

Anyway here is a teaser

 

[krow113]

The work is excellent , the thread immaculate.

 

Why worry about the comments?

 

Before I committed a single pic of my work for the first time on a forum I told myself this was for me , its my model , my thread , mine. No comments needed or required , but thanks if someone chooses to comment. I follow this to the day , and respond politely and in a friendly manner to anyone who does comment.

 

I would suggest that the DH 2 aint that attractive of a subject (!) , and people will look but not comment.

 

Some subjects are like that , tough to get the work done , but attract little attention regardless. I feel your pain!

 

Forums ebb and flow , members come and go , be content with the skill and finished model your thread displays.

 

If you want comments , do something with a B-17 , they always attract attention!

[FarEast]

Thank you for your input, sadly I actually thought the whole point of posting WIP was to get peer review and critique rather than the "atta-boy" responses but sadly having posted 4 builds here all WWI it sadly seems the genre and work is not appreciated - thus why I post elsewhere.

 

Anyway - Im happy with the build but also happy with the other forums that cater to the genre I prefer and will continue to do so and update here when I remember.