SPA Modeler

Stuart wrote:The best flight I ever had when I worked as an A&P was a 20min hop in a D.H. Tigermoth at dusk! Great fun!

That sounds like a great time!

LyleW wrote:These guys have some pretty neat stuff....

https://oldrhinebeck.org/

Nice! And it’s in my home state!!!! 2 1/2 hour drive from me. Field trip this summer!!!!!

Cool. Be sure to take a lot of pictures!

Stikpusher wrote:Biplanes of the stunt variety are pretty common at West Coast airshows. But I can’t recall ever seeing a WWI type in the air ever. There are plenty to be seen at the various museums between San Diego and Seattle. But sadly, none ever seem to fly. I don’t n’t even remember seeing the ones from movies at the old Talmantz collection flying long ago. Although their younger WWII cousins were constantly up in the air for various movies and TV shows.

Stuart, no red Camel here. Good ole RFC/RAF WWI Khaki on this one. But I’ll keep that in mind as a possible color for when Atlantis gets this one released

I'm keeping my eyes open for the Snoopy bi plane kit for sure!

Thanks everyone for such wonderful replies. Great memories! Another Friday night, a balmy one, in Angel City. With a lot of gratitude to John Eaton for the story he shared alongside two delightful images of his Revell Fokker Dr-1. I remain your humble servant. Werner Voss and his Fokker (subject of the Revell kit):



....

Thursday-Friday Progress:



I scratchbuildt the ammo box whatchamacallit, added flight controls, sealed fuselage, added Milliput to sculpt the top of the aircraft properly, then added wire from a Ralph’s Supernarket twist-tie to make the surround for the cockpit opening. Gents, I am over 9,000 posts on SPAM.

That's some very impressive woodgrain and the idea with the twist tie works great.

Nice progress Bruce! I really like that ammo can for the Spandaus. As for me, I tried to decal the instruments on my Camel’s IP. But the WWI instrument decals that I have need to be applied over a white background, so I could not see them once applied over the black instruments. So I decided to take an alternate route using WWII era RAF instrument decals. I then spent the next several hours searching for the decals before I finally found them. Needless to say, that was it for me and modeling for today. Now if anyone can tell the difference between a 1/48 RAF WWI and WWII instrument decal, my hat is off to you. Those suckers are 1-2mm in diameter with microscopic markings.

Great progress guys! I really like the wood tone inside your fuselage, Bruce. And no, Carlos, I don't think anyone will be able to discern the difference between WW1 and WW2 instruments at this scale!

Bruce! Hope all is well! Coming along beautifully. What Clint said, too. Gotta love twist ties. And Dow the rabbit path, I first read “zip ties”. Wonder if they could be used as clamps?

Carlos, a spot on assessment!

John, I bet LSP could spot it!

I am not sure if UCLA will issue an I-20 form for Carlotta to study here so personally no, not at all feeing good about seeing her soon. The International Office will let her know next week.

Soldiering on through the build, I left off the HGW seatbelts which I ordered from Martin some months ago; my intention is to add those after priming and sanding the fuselage since the cockpit opening leaves the seat in a vulnerable exposed position. I tested with foam and tissue to seal the area already.

We had a funny conversation about seatbelt types. At least it is a Fokker! Martin does not currently make quarter scale belts for the Dr.1.





I had to take the additional protective step of adding MR UV Flat Clear over the paint job to keep the paint safer. I did not think at first blush the hardiness of Humbrol would be an issue but in the end any painted surface could be harmed by the sheer amount of priming and sanding that I am doing here. Plus CA splash around the edges to smooth the seams.

In addition, I sculpted the proper amount of “plumpness” to the form of the fuselage, so I have added Milliput. After this cured yes I used a twist-tie to make what would be a two or three piece cockpit edge. So there was a lot of potential for the runny CA I use to splash the interior.

The top of the fuselage is “done barring primer,” which I will need to check how well I have addressed the joins topside. I also decided to swap Gas Patch ordinance for Eduard from the 1/48 kit. This will better match the detail level I am achieving so far.

It looks good. I have a new bells and whistles lightbox I will use to take photos later today.