Wingnut Wings 1:32 Roland C.IIa (Early) Feldflieger-Abteilung (A)292b

[FarEast]

Yes I know it says 'Late; on the box, but before you post that Wingnut Wings doesn't make a 'Early' adaptation of the Roland C.IIa technically they do!  The guys and gals were kind enough to include absolutely everything you need to build all variants of the Roland C.II and C.IIa aircraft in both of the kits.

So with everything I need to build one hopefully if all goes well this build log will help others to who want to build an early versions of this aircraft.

Hmmmmm lots and lots of spures!



But....... I don't need this one (sprue I) as it contains all the 'Late' Additions to the internal and external modifications!

Bye-Bye!

 

Now the easiest way to build the 'Early' version of the C.IIa is to use the C.II instructions, if you don't have the kit don't worry as you can download it from the Wingnut Wings website for free.

So with the PDF open on my desktop it was time to go to work!

First up the nice leather armchair:

• Flat black primer followed by a grey primer
• Orange brown and wood grain base coat
• Orange highlights applying several layers to build up the depth
• Dark Sand highlighting on the edges and worn areas
• Wood grain washes (I did two)
• Mr. Weathering Brown wash
• Mr. Weathering Ground Brown Wash
• Mr. Weathering Multi Black wash.

base was done with all the preshading on all parts done first, followed by the layering of the floor sections - I taped this off and then did the greens - once dried washes applied. The seat belts are the PE parts that come with the kit, positioned and shaped before anything was painted and then painted separately and added once the chair was finished with another wash to create shadow where it rested.



The rib and auxiliary fuel tank were done in the same manner.



The small floor details were painted in and then everything glued in to place.



Next up the older type control column. I wanted to add some field modifications so having seen others wrap the wheel I decided to do the same.

 

 

 

Parts assembled and base coats down I had to call it a day, not bad for an afternoons work!


One to finish on:



 

[rick geisler]

Excellent start! Your seat leather, weathering, and Work on the control column is outstanding!

RAGIII

[Fran]

wow!!! Great work James! Love the control column! 

[FarEast]

So in between my sons sports day and the traditional Yakiniku party with friends afterwards I managed to get page 1 of the build finished.

Working out the correct decals to use on the radio was a bit of a headache but fortunately as I have both kits I was able to compare the two sheets and select the right ones for the 125W-Tonfunken-Sender/Empfänger AFS35 (Type C Wireless) I was a little disappointed by the lack of information on this part and on the C.IIa Late the radio is tucked away and given very little attention in the instructions, the C.II booklet is almost as bad so I was luck to find several images one very nice one showed a rather worn radio unit with the brass coming through the interior green paint in places as well as the brass backing plate to the dial selections and I decided to place my attempts somewhere between the factory fresh shown below and the rather battered and used one (Sadly I don't think I can share it due to copyright issues)







Next up was to get all the other little parts finished and in place ready for today's attentions and I hope to get all of the interior done. However the wife has other plans and I've already cut down a barren olive tree, transplanted a lemon tree to a better location and cut down more foliage than the Amazon Rain Forest, all before 9am! I just need to clean up the mess then its back to the work bench!




 

[FarEast]

A pretty good session on the work bench today after finishing up in the garden.

There aren't that many aftermarket parts for the Roland - I love the HGW Super Detail sets and I've used them on both the Eindecker and DH.2. Sadly however there just isn't one for the the C.II and C.IIa, so I went about using the stock parts.

First up was the 'Spark Advance lever' I just used a series of drills in decreasing size for the holes and then a scalpel blade to remove the flash within the frame.



Next up was the 'Starting Magneto' while rooting about for brass rod I suddenly realised that I had the fantastic Taurus Models German Magneto Set that he had so kindly given me for my Birthday - so after breaking out the x20 magnifying lenses I assembled the kit. (You'll need the glasses for the screws!)



From there I continued to assemble the kit as instructed.





On the console I made switches out of brass rod although for some reason the camera did a poor job of picking up the detail.


 

[FarEast]

Superdetailing to the Nth degree. That certainly shows that you're having fun.

Fun to watch too. Beautiful job, James.

 

Hmmm, nothing wrong with your camera, I suppose - but such a small dark item 

on a very white background will give your exposure gizmo a glaring headache...

Try a neutral grey background for the small dark stuff, I'd say.

 

That said: I do admire your clean pure photography.

 

George

 

George, thank you for the kind words and taking the time to reply it's always very much appreciated.

 

So last night I did a little work that I wanted to get finished on the weekend but ran out of time.

 

The first job was to drill out the early floor plate so that the magazine could be fitted. Now again this is where great planning by the guys and gals at Wingnut Wings comes in to play as they have already marked where the hole needs to be drilled making the job much more easier!

 

 

I then removed the small amount of burring by running a fine brush with Tamiya polystyrene cement around it. This also liquefied the paint again which flowed over the freshly cut plastic. I then finished off the area with a multi-black wash. (not seen)

 

 

The next step was to clean up the  injection marks on the firewall that the magazine attaches to. These were rather pronounced so need attention.

 

 

This will then allow the magazine to fit flush - after dry fitting the piece I used a pencil to mark the location as this will act as a guide for the preshading as I prefer to paint these two pieces separately as I'm thinking of messing around with the magazine.

 

 

I also took the time to get you all a much better picture of the cockpit console and it's switches.

 

 

Right time to look for some 1:32 scale German Ammo belts!

 

 

 

 

 

[FarEast]

Just a tiny update.

Last night I removed the ammo from the magazine and then using a base coat of Vallejo black primer I coated the magazine with Uschi van der Rosten polishing powder.

I sprinkled the powder on while the primer was still tacky and then using a large flat brush brushed off the access powder in one direction and continued to do so until I achieved the desired effect of brushed aluminium.



 

[Fran]

fantastic work as always James!

[FarEast]

So another Saturday and another good session at the work bench.

First of all some metal parts on the firewall. I used the Uschi van der Rosten Chrome Polishing powders for this.
 

• Flat black base coat
• Apply powder while paint is still wet - I pour it all over the part to saturate it
• Immediately start brushing the powder away. I brush in one direction only to achieve a brushed aluminum or worn look.

Dump powder on and brush excessive away.

 

Brush in one direction for 'brushed aluminum look' or polish with powder saturated cloth for high gloss.

 

Job done


Next up was the observers chair, now as this is a flip up chair and constantly being moved, sat on, knelled on and generally abused I thought I would make the scuffing of the leather a little more prominent - This is before the washes to were applied to blend the colours in.



After the washes



So then it was time to put into place the rest of the ribs and engine mounts.








I also started on adding a little extra detail to the parts that would just be free floating otherwise.



Making sure it all aligns.



 

[FarEast]

So with that done and little else to do internally until it's time to close her up I moved on to the Daimler-Mercedes D.III engine.

Now I'm awaiting some parts from Łukasz Laskowski at Taurus models, the original plan was to build this 'Out of the Box' however that all went out the window when I saw the difference in quality of the stock magneto vs  Łukasz' Taurus part. So I'm waiting for the following;

Complete timing gear with valves springs and lifters for Mercedes DIII
Priming cups for Mercedes DIII/DIIIa
Intake maniflod nuts for inline WWI engines

But I was still able to make a start on it and prepare it for those parts.

The engine block was done the same way as other aluminum parts, flat black base with Uschi van der Rosten powder applied immediately and brushed. The water pipe was done using Vallejo Copper and then dry brushed with Uschi Chrome powder to highlight the edges.



Next up was the Intake pipes - this is a very easy modification, I use a domestic masking take that is very thin and pliable to wrap them and secure in place with a few dots of CA glue. This will receive a coat of Mr Surface primer before painting to lock everything in.





 
 

[FarEast]

A tiny, tiny update and one that melted my brain!

Good god knows how he manages to fabricate them but today I installed the Taurus Models 'Spark Plug for inline engines'

[FarEast]

Another tiny update!

Having got all the spark plugs in place I suddenly thought "Hang on its going to be a bit tight in there!"

So I decided to drop the engine and oil tank in and dry fit the internals to the fuselage, low and behold there is a rogue spark plug.



Now I had to go over all the reference materials I had, to find not only images of C.IIa in the earlier configurations but also the left side! Trust me there are few and far between that have been published. In the end I found one image that showed how the spark plug was attached, which makes sense really but I want to be accurate - basically while the others are on the vertical the front is on the horizontal.

so with all the plugs attached there wasn't really anything I could do until my Taurus order arrived.

PING PONG (what can I say its an Asian door bell!)





So with my order in hand, Thank you Lukas! i went to work removing the parts needed - I managed to get the intake manifold parts in place and on the kit, it was a chore and really should have done it before painting/building but hey.... .more photos to follow!
 

[Woodshedwings]

A real pleasure to follow. The attention to detail and care exhibited in this build, is inspiring. Makes me want to do WW1 again.

[guitarlute101]

Great work and detailing James!

 

Mark

[FarEast]

Saturday's session,

Well I got the Daimler Mercedes D.III engine with all the bells and whistles from Taurus models built and installed, a few bits and pieces finalized and it looks like I can call it a day on the internals!





I also finished the modification to the magazine.





So with all those finalized it was time to put it all together.












 

[FarEast]

The Sunday session!

So after pouring over the image I have of the aircraft I intend to build as well as others of early variants of the C.IIa (Not the C.II) I came to the conclusion that the aircraft I plan to replicate has 2 unique air vents to the fuselage.

Time to get cutting!

Louvers partially sanded down - easy does it!



New access panels attached and the two vents on both sides of the fuselage added.


 

[FarEast]

The Sunday session!

So after pouring over the image I have of the aircraft I intend to build as well as others of early variants of the C.IIa (Not the C.II) I came to the conclusion that the aircraft I plan to replicate has 2 unique air vents to the fuselage.

Time to get cutting!

Louvers partially sanded down - easy does it!



New access panels attached and the two vents on both sides of the fuselage added.


 

[FarEast]

So the next step was to fill in all the unused drill and mount points internally and then spray a base on the lamination lines and mask.





From here I then applied several coats of the internal 'Grey' and then all the small additional items.



I added a few other features to the build that aren't included such as pipes and control rods, sadly they won't be visible once the fuselage halves are attached but hey, its all part of the sickness right?

Before the final washes were applied



Matching up perfectly.






 

[rick geisler]

James,

Your interior work is amazing! Very inspiring!!

RAGIII

[FarEast]

It's not all blue skies! 

So I was talking with the amazing guys over at Wingnut Wings regarding this build and the parts I should use for the aileron control flaps and rudder stabilizers and Richard says this:

"That's looking really nice.

I note you appear to have cut horizontal slots in the front of the fuselage. This is not a detail I have noted before on any Roland C.II or C.IIa...

...but there are a couple of data plates in the exact same position on Roland C.II & early production C.IIa which might be mistaken for slots on pale coloured aircraft.

I don't know what reference photo/s you have so perhaps your aircraft does have special slots. Anyway, I thought I'd mention it just in case. "

uh..... 

So back to the books and interwebs and I come across exactly what he is pointing out! Things had been going so well and here I am with four horizontal slots in the fuselage!

So this morning I spent my time, filling sanding, recoating and finally repaint and weathering. I also took the opportunity to remove the molded access panel on the fuselage and replace it with the additional ones supplied in the kit so that it is all uniform.





Annnnnnnnnnd breath.........Now time to close her up!

[FarEast]

What with Halloween party at the school and also my friends fancy dress party I spent a lot of time last weekend and in the week getting my costume finished, I've learned how to sow, rivet, and leather works!  





So back to the the proper stuff!

So I joined the two halves together and went to work removing the seams - but only where they are needed to be removed as due to the process the spine and the belly of the aircraft must have a seam line visible where the two halves are joined.



With a few coats of Mr. Finisher 1500 I was very happy and started on the Pre shading and base coats.



So now for the scheme - as you know this is an early C.IIa and its based on this aircraft.



Now since I started this build I have been thinking about how to go about making the scales - hand painting was out of the question so I decided on masking.

Pre shading and base colours down



Masking done



Baby Blue Coat



Mask removed and all the colours blended



So being happy with that it was time to start on the fuselage, I got about half done before I needed to call time.

[Fran]

CRAZYYYYYY!!!!! James, you`re insane!!! Can`t wait to see the final result!

[FarEast]

Thank you everybody, each of those scales is handcut in groups of 6 as I wanted to get a better effect that each one is hand painted on the aircraft, I make them up in batches and alternate where they are used so they don't sit next to each other.

 

So far I think there are well over 200 on the fuselage already and I'm 75% done. Hopefully I'll be finished before the weekend so I can start the painting process.

[FarEast]

So last night I cut and laid the last of the masks on the fuselage. I will study the reference photos a little more to make sure I didn't miss anything but she's pretty much ready for paint.

 

For those interested there are over 600 scales covering the fuselage.

 

 

 

 

[FarEast]

I have a very nice set of bamboo tweezers for that job.