Airfix Albatross D Va

[Daishi12]

My wife bought this as part of a birthday present for me and I've just got around to starting building it....

I think the molding is from the late 60's early 70's and the plastic is quite soft. I am using this as an experiment for WW1 aircraft and biplane rigging.

For the rigging so far I tried cotton on another kit, this didn't work at all, so I'm trying mono-filament nylon thread.

The mono-filament I am using is about 40 micron invisible repair Norband nylon thread which I saw in my local Tesco in their sewing accessories.

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[Daishi12]

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I also realised the I needed to add a spacer behind the propeller,

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so will need to trim that down in the morning.

I don't think I could have gotten anywhere near a half respectable job without mono-filament and superglue

[BrummieModeller]

Looking good never done a bi/tri plane before but have many in my stash.

The rigging always looks tricky, have you ever used EZ line for it??

Its elastic thread you can get in two different sizes, fine or heavy

[Lee]

Rather you than me! Well done so far

[T3hGuppy]

Nice rigging!!

I've got a Sopwith camel on it way so nice to see how others tackle rigging.

[UKscalemodeller]

Looks great, I have the same kit from Christmas,

How are you attaching the rigging? holes drilled first, superglue? WE NEED DETAILS DAMN IT!!!!


sorry about that, I love WW1 aircraft but rigging gives me a headache

Also I need to look at how to get the natural wood effect on this one.

[Daishi12]

I used a pin-hole in the lower wing, then knotted the mono-filament at the top-front-outer bracing strut. All of the knots were held in position with a dab of super-glue, apart from the lower wing hole. You will notice in the 2nd and 4th pics that I used a pin to loop the mono-filament around. From the lower wing I went to the rear-upper-inner, outer-lower, front-upper-inner, lower wing and finally to front-rear-upper. ---- Phew!!

With a bit of experimentation I found that if you squeeze some super-glue onto an artists plastic palette (pound shop bargain) it stays liquid for quite a long time and you can use a pin or cocktail stick for precision application.

Once the rigging was finished the lower wing was super-glued and left overnight to dry, then the pin was cut away.

[Daishi12]

Quick update on the build process, I haven't had much time to do much modelling with the new kitten in the household (she tries to "help" by looking at what I am doing from about 2½ inches or playing with parts, brushes glue etc. etc. etc. ) but here is the photo update on the Albatross DVa.

I have brush painted all over loosely following the paint guidelines issued by Manfred Von Richthofen who stated that individual I.D. markings should be shown on the tail of the aircraft, spinner and wheels.

I have chosen a colour scheme for an unknown pilot in Jasta 11

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[Daishi12]

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[Daishi12]

I am reasonably happy with the look of the plywood finish on the after fuselage section of the plane as at 1/72 scale gives a good impression of plywood without having to super details grain lines.

I brush painted a couple of coats of Tamiya flat yellow over the primer and let fully dry. After it had dried again over-painted with flat yellow and when it was still tacky I mixed Tamiya flat yellow and Tamiya hull red (about 10/1 mix) and thinned this down with Tamiya thinners (about 3/1 mix) and effectively used a dry brushing technique to indicate a wood grain effect. Once this had dried overnight I used Humbrol Gloss cote to seal the effect.


I will use some Humbrol Matt cote to tone down the aircraft, apart from the plywood.

[wappynutter]

Excellent rigging there Sir, you have done a mighty fine job with it. Love the little pilot too he looks great and at that scale aswell..

Also I need to look at how to get the natural wood effect on this one.

I have been watching Doctor Faust's painting clinic You Tube video of the RF-8 Aero sled build.
These sleds are wooden with steel over plating for armour so to replicate the wood slat finish in the sled he sprays Vallejo Model colour 70856 Ochre Brown.
When dry he brushes artist oil paint raw umber over then removes it with a make-up applicator to get the slat effect. Looks brilliant.
Go take a look at part 1 around 11 mins 30 seconds in.

[Daishi12]

Cheers Andy, the pilot is the out of box figure,I think he has a lot of character as opposed to the usual "I'm sat trying to hold it in" figures

[gosselin2112]

Wow. . . you got a lot patience. I would loose my mind attaching all that rigging. Nice work!