Official Fokker D.VII painting thread

[Stumptonian]

Sigh ....

[Captain Chum]

I see your still turning out planes Tim. More nice work mate!

[Flying Helmut]

Thanks Wingman!

Output has slowed greatly in recent weeks, but I still manage them now and then.

Yet more currently on the workbench.

[Пилот]

As we all know, there's Fokker D.VII repainting contest going on.

I would like to try painting lozenge free hand. I know it's very, very hard, and there's big chance I'll finally put decals. And at the moment I need help to decide which paints to use for:

4 colour lozenge upper wing
4 colour lozenge lower wing

5 colour lozenge upper wing
5 colour lozenge lower wing?

Also which paints would be good match for light blue, light green and dark green used on Fokkers?

Vallejo's paints would be ideal, but if you can suggest some other maufacturer, it will also be great.

Thanks a lot!

[Oberst Hajj]

As we all know, there's Fokker D.VII repainting contest going on.

I would like to try painting lozenge free hand. I know it's very, very hard, and there's big chance I'll finally put decals. And at the moment I need help to decide which paints to use for:

4 colour lozenge upper wing
4 colour lozenge lower wing

5 colour lozenge upper wing
5 colour lozenge lower wing?

Also which paints would be good match for light blue, light green and dark green used on Fokkers?

Vallejo's paints would be ideal, but if you can suggest some other maufacturer, it will also be great.

Thanks a lot!

Пилот, I think you are going to have better luck checking on actual modeling sites. Here are a couple to get you started:

5 Color Lozenge

From that same site (but kind of hidden as I've not found a direct link to it) is a page that list the FS# for the colors.

And a database that converts FS#s to many different paint brands, Vallejo included. Be aware that not all brands have a matching color however.

And finally and article on how to paint Lozenge... but on a much larger scale.

Hope that helps get you started!

[Пилот]

Thanks, herr Oberst! This is a good starting point!

[Captain kiwi]

Hi I decided to create two small flights from the xmas gifts I received namely 4 Fokker DV11( Goering) and 4 Spad X111 (Madon) The forkers I half paint Prussian blue with black Prussian Eagle and Assassins logo on the upper wing. These I called Prussian Knights. The Spads not yet brave enough to do a full repaint decided to paint the top of the fuselage white and declared them with a royal flush emblem. I called these Escadrille Quinte Royale(Royal Flush) Anyway have a look see what you think
Capt. Kiwi

[HotleadColdfeet]

Some of the best I've seen yet. Bravo!

[Captain kiwi]

Thanks very much fills me with confidence to do more

Capt Kiwi

[Nightbomber]

VERY nice repaints, Captain! Rep fired!

[Captain kiwi]

Cheers Nightbomber
Capt Kiwi

[Teaticket]

Very nice indeed!

[Flying Helmut]

Seriously pretty planes, excellently finished!

[Stumptonian]

Nicely done, Andy

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Good to see your new Flight in the air Andy.
I guess next weeks game had better be late war orientated.
Beware the Dolphins!
Rob.

[LOOP]

Very nice. You got me longing for my workbench
I must steal me some paintingtime soon

[Captain kiwi]

Thanks all for comments .
The photos of all the DV11's are amazing from the black Fokkers right through to the Oberst's Jasta 18's I have standards galore to aspire to and great mentors to help

Capt Kiwi

[Willi]

There are so many fantastic D.VIIs out there. I would like to add a couple. This my Goering to Hauptmann Otto Heidemann, repaint for all us "Blue Max" fans. The lozenge is a bit more colorful and irregular because I had no lozenge decals and had to stipple with paint. The top view is for the WoG Card my brother then made for the D.VII maneuver deck.

[Schlonz]

The Fokker that didn't make it to the contest:

Paul Strähle, CO Jasta 57, September 1918

[Flying Helmut]

Very nice! Well done once again!

[BB401]

The Fokker that didn't make it to the contest:

Paul Strähle, CO Jasta 57, September 1918

Very cleanly executed. Well done!

I hope we start getting the how-to's from other Painting Contest contestants!

[Marechallannes]

Nice one, Schlonz!

[flash]

That would have got my vote too !

[fast.git]

The Fokker that didn't make it to the contest:

Paul Strähle, CO Jasta 57, September 1918

Great-looking D.VII, Alex! I'm both sorry to hear that it didn't make the contest, and pleased that it didn't... it would have made my decision that much more difficult!

[Stumptonian]

The Fokker that didn't make it to the contest:

Paul Strähle, CO Jasta 57, September 1918

Would have made my voting even more difficult!

[Flying Officer Kyte]

I have to agree.
Very clean lines there Alex.
Definitely a contender.
Rob.

[Captain Chum]

Beautiful plane Alex. Made not of made the contest on time but well worth some rep points.

[grumpybear]

The Fokker that didn't make it to the contest:

Paul Strähle, CO Jasta 57, September 1918

Well done nice and clean

[fast.git]

Beautiful plane Alex. Made not of made the contest on time but well worth some rep points.

Agreed. Your work continues to impress. Loved the Sopwith Dolphins, too. Beautifully crisp, lean lines on each.

[milcoll73]

The Fokker that didn't make it to the contest:

Paul Strähle, CO Jasta 57, September 1918

very nice!!

[Blackronin]

I've named this thread a Fokkers D.VII one and now you're wondering what a Fokker Dr.I does as the first picture of this thread...



Well, we have to go back a while now, when we were playing the first installation of Over the Trenches Solitary cooperative campaign.



Andy (Nightbomber) and I were playing the Germans and the same squadron: The Kaiser's Eagles! Andy painted this plane with Joachim's Lisbon colours (the Black and White of Lisbon's city emblem.



Time went by. Life teach us lessons. Andy felt my sorrow and decided to send me my plane. I was really happy. From that moment on, the colours of my WW1 personal planes were set.

Then it came the Fokker D.VII challenge and I decided to paint a fictional plane and this was my first thought. But it was too obvious (as if the second one wasn't).



My Joachim Lisbon plane was ready. I know of a Wing Commander who won't like it. Me playing with a black plane...



So, my double thanks to Andrzej. For my Dr.1 and for my colours.



It will fly high and duel with honour.



And my duo. Soon with a Albatros D.Va to join in these colours.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Very good Quim.
As the old saying goes, von is never enough. Soon you need another to go with it.
Enjoy your flying it my dear friend.
You might meet some like minded pilots one of these fine days, with planes almost as black as your own.
Oh wait! You already did.
Kyte.

[Blackronin]

Very good Quim.
As the old saying goes, von is never enough. Soon you need another to go with it.
Enjoy your flying it my dear friend.
You might meet some like minded pilots one of these fine days, with planes almost as black as your own.
Oh wait! You already did.
Kyte.

Thanks my friend!
Nice to meet this like minded pilots.

[Flying Helmut]

Nice colours, Joaquim!

[Blackronin]

Thanks, Tim! You're most kind.

[Teaticket]

Here was my DVII challenge back up. As there were three in the comp I'm glad I didn't enter this one. This is a Shapeways version, hand painted except for the wing lozenge.

[Blackronin]

Excellent Peter!

[Teaticket]

Thanks Joaquim. I now have a plane to fly with Sachsenberg.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Looks good enough for entry to me Peter.
What made you decide on the choice you made?
Rob.

[Teaticket]

The wife and I talked it over and thought the one I did enter was a bit more bold with the white zig-zag line on red and the large 'W'. It was a lot tougher to paint!

[Flying Helmut]

Personally, I much prefer this Marine one!
Good job!

[Marechallannes]

Nice Fokker, Peter!

[Teaticket]

Thanks guys. It was not an easy choice to pick which one to enter. Since the 3 marine entries didn't do as well as I thought they should have I don't think mine would have fared any better. Looks like I'm a middle of the pack guy. I'll have to try harder next time!

[BB401]

Sorry it took so long for the follow-up. I was way out of town and out of touch for 4 days:



(I am in the back behind the seated BAR man)

Anyways, here is the run down on my contest D.VII

Prologue - what scheme to paint?
I love lozenge, and I am just not happy with how a hand applied job looks in this scale (photo blow-ups are too unforgiving) so I was looking for a scheme with lozenge wings and an eye catching yet paintable design on the fuselage / empennage, and one I hadn't seen done before. I settled on the Ulrich Neckel D.VII, and used available photos on the internet of a few larger scale builds and the wingnut wings photos of their D.VII as a basis for my design.

I know my hand is not steady enough to do striping of that nature, especially under magnification, and I have always preferred to spray since I got my first airbrush as a teen. That means masking and lots of it. How to mask in a way that would minimize bleeding under? I have used plain old scotch tape before on larger scales, particularly as a canopy mask, with good results - lay it down, trim to your desired contours, remove the excess, spray, and remove while tacky. The risk is that it can leave gum residue, and it can still allow some bleed at corner and contours.

My wife works in a medical laboratory, and I asked her if she had a parafilm. (http://www.amazon.com/Parafilm-Roll-...words=parafilm)

I had experience in previous jobs of my own. I know it to be stretchable, sticks without residue, and can be gotten to conform to convex and concave surfaces.

I obtained a sheet and tried cutting it into very thin strips, peeling off the backing, and applying to the fuselage in a stripe pattern. It kept its shape until I needed to stretch or bend it, and as it warmed it snuggled down quite nicely......

The fuselage was assembled, gaps filled with Squadron White putty, sanded smooth, and cleaned wit ha dilute dishwashing detergent to remove all dust, mold release agent, and oils from my handling. Dried, it was then given a light coat of white primer. The base coat was a single coat of testors modelmaster insignia white, and let dry for 24 hours.

Next came the cutting and applying of the stripe mask. First to be tested was the tailplane:



I was happy with my ability to apply the parafilm, and the parafilm's ability to be applied, conform, and be removed without undue bleed under.

Then came the 1 hour plus of cutting an applying the fuselage stripe mask. It was hard to keep track of what I was doing by applying a clear mask over what should have remained white so Icould spray the black, so I colored my strips with a sharpie before I applied them, but then I tended to apply them where the black stripes should be instead of covering the white so I could spray black. Confused yet? I was. I ended up taking a side view reference picture and creating a negative image of it so I would apply the mask in the correct place.

Tedious, Several attempts at some pieces, but as it could easily be removed and another strip cut, it could be accomplished with patience.

Down to the basement for a spray of modelmaster gloss black. Dry time, and back up to pull the mask off with a tweezers:



The parafilm had worked quite well. The only problem was mine - as I wrapped it around the fuselage, It stretched to a consistent width around the top and sides but as I pulled it around the sharp bend of the bottom of the fuselage, I let it become too wide, so the fuselage bottom stripes are not of a consistent width.
In this view, you might notice also the scalloped Fokker wing trailing edges. The Valom kit does not include that, and I just couldn't leave well enough alone, and used a round file to add the contours it was missing.

Having applied the decals to the wings after cleaning and priming them ( Wing decals - Top wing - Valom kit decals for the Paul Wolf / Jasta 13 pattern; Lower wing - 1/144 Direct / Mehusla lower wing Pattern A / Harvest)

I installed the lower wing first:



You may or may not be able to tell, but one thing I experimented with was enhancing the cockpit "roll" around the opening. To get more definition and make it easier to paint well, I took a small length of stretched sprue, wrapped around a small paint brush and cut off a ring of sprue, and used tenax to glue it into a circle. I then curved the circle to fit the contour of the cockpit opening and glued it down. It made it much easier to paint that to simulate the leather edged padding around the opening. I was also unhappy with the contours of the kit supplied exhaust manifold, so I chucked it and replaced with a piece fabricated from brass wire.

Stretched sprue also provided the tailplane supports:



Then it's time to get it on gear. The stripes to gear and etc. were applied by hand to match the available Neckel photos, and I hand mixed by eye to get as good a color match as I could on the landing gear plane.



My chosen method for dealing with the Valom's noted "fiddly-ness" was to enlarge slightly the wing attachment points with a pin vise drill to a more consistent size and depth. I braced the craft in a level attitude, and applied some acc to the wing attachment point on the upper and lower wings , placed the struts and wings together, and steadied it by hand until they were self-supporting. I then applied additional acc with the tip of a pin to fill in and reinforce the joint.

Once dry, I flipped the plan on its back and installed the inner struts by holding them in the desired position with the tweezers and applying acc with the pin, one strut at a time, each until dry.

Once done, I could add the remaining details. The National Insignia were by 1/144 Direct

The day after the decals were applied I oversprayed the entire plane with a testors actylic clear flat. I was not happy with the finish, which was not smooth, nor the clarity, which tended to be milky rather than clear. I would love to know what has worked for all of you! It did its job in evening out the tone, and taking off that "factory new shine".



Here she is in front of the hangar on my work table.



A good side view



And a close up to show the effectiveness of parafilm as a mask. I would highly recommend it for any geometric shapes and masks. What I have not tried to do is use it in situ and cut a complex curve in the film in place....but I do have a second unbuilt D.VII waiting in the box. Hmmmmm.

For the contest, It was photographed on a base originally prepared for miniatures battles, on a cold winter's early morning outdoors, with a cardstock hangar as a prop.
It was a clear cold day just after sunup, so the lighting was ideal, and made for a nice presentation, especially the shadows, and really brings out your colors.

[fast.git]

Damn. Having read through the process, I am so happy I voted in favor of this model! Well done, sir... very well done!

Thank you for the clear step-by-step instructions and accompanying photos.

[Blackronin]

Amazing model!
Thanks for sharing the how to.
REP!

[flash]

A worthy winner

[Flying Officer Kyte]

A very interesting resume on your methodology Bob.
Thanks for sharing this with the membership.
Rob.

[flash]

Here's my humble effort for the comp:

Started life as a Nexus Goering Fok D.VII


I used old GW Blood Angel Red acrylic as it gave the orange/red I was looking for


Over-painted the white bits & stripes


Blackened the guns and struts


All based on this photograph taken in the sixties:

It's a fictional paint job (as far as I know) on a real Fokker D.VII !
8417 now hangs in the RAF museum at Hendon apparently in its correct lozenge finish.

[Blackronin]

I liked this a lot!
REP!