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Thread: Scratchbuilt Fokker E-III

  1. #1

    Default Scratchbuilt Fokker E-III

    Hello again,

    first of all, thank you again to all who warmly greeted me when I had reported for duty the other day. I was saying something about building a 0-400... Before that, I wanted to try my hand at something smaller and easier - which turned out to be harder Them things are SMALL and my eyes are simply not what they used to be. Just today I was looking at some of the miniatures I painted some, oh, 15 odd years ago... I could barely see the eyes - and then, I had painted them?

    I've built my share of aircraft models, mostly 1/72, but this Fokker E-III is my first aircraft build from scratch. I learned a lot, mostly about what not to do

    I started with the body, made from what people here call polystyrol.

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    Wings from the same material, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, undercarriage and wheels were cut from a thinnish cardboard - my first mistake. Note the prototype pilot... it turned out he was quite too big. Too fat.

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    Assembled parts. Here it doesn't look all that bad after the first coat of thinned PVA glue. As it later turned out, one coat wasn't enough. At this point I got my first supply of styrene from the UK and made the engine cowling and the engine out of it. Great material! Note the new pilot at the bottom. A smaller guy made from the foam and thin cardboard for arms

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    I carved the propeller from styrene, the machine gun and the inverted V in front of the pilot (that one turned out to be too thick! A bit of paint and.. voila...

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    I like the engine...

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    The "polystyrol" surfaces are too rough. Lesson learned...

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    The first enemy in range. No decals yet, waiting for Dom's shipment to arrive

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    ...which begs the question: should I hunt for decals around or make my own? I have access to an excellent Xerox colour printer/photocopier/scanner and I found decal paper in one of the UK shops. Any thoughts/advice more than welcome!

    Now on to the 0-400... I have to say, I've been more than inspired by magnificent efforts shown here in the Hobby Room, read a lot of useful things, so I hope something useful will turn out. I think I'll stick to styrene and see what happens. I need them bombers, my campaign is falling apart as it is... I can hear my adversary (my son) sniggering in the corner. And there I went, built him an E-III!?

    Jure

  2. #2

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    Nice plane. good looking paint job. Well done!

  3. #3

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    I've built 1/72 and that was small. You did GREAT, GREAT work on the 144 scale E-III, I wish I could do that.

  4. #4

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    Very nice work.
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  5. #5

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    Firstly congratulations on your model Jure. For a first effort it is fine. You may find that integrating your basic material with some more robust materials for the supports and joints will give it a longer playing life, but that is all a matter of the abuse you expect it to get in play. As far as decals go, I'd say give them a try out. You have always got Dom to fall back on if it goes wrong, but as a learning curve you can start out on a simple decal and work up to whole body camo if you find you enjoy doing it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
    There is a lot of info on decals here on the site, and if you need any help we are only to glad to give advice.
    Enjoy the experience.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  6. #6

  7. #7

    Thumbs up

    Yes Jure, thats a great effort for a "first try"
    As you said nothing like experience to help in later efforts.
    Look forward to seeing the 0/400.

  8. #8

  9. #9

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    Very nice work!


    Quote Originally Posted by Jure View Post
    Them things are SMALL and my eyes are simply not what they used to be.
    I know what you mean, I just picked up an OptiVISOR with 2 1/2 x lenses. Really helps a lot. Just do a Google search for "optivisor da-5" There are also versions with stronger lenses, but these seem pretty good for me.

  10. #10

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    Jure!

    You did a great job! That came out very nice!


    rich

  11. #11

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    Not bad Jure! Not bad at all!!! Keep 'em coming!
    Ken Head - "The Cowman"
    “You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams

  12. #12

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    Thank you all for the kind words

    Rob: thanks for the advice, cardboard for the undercarriage and flight surfaces is definitely out. I also need to find a decent filler and varnish somewhere. As far as spray cans go, it's become nigh impossible to obtain anything from abroad since these things are now treated as explosives and will not be shipped, period. Model and art shops usually carry some stuff but more often than not it turns out to be suspect in terms of usability for modelling.
    I've been through the decals threads and will definitely try to make some of my own. My trusty old Photoshop 7 should be more than adequate for the job.

    MrMark: OptiVISOR looks like a terrific idea, thank you! Just the thing I need.

    Jure

  14. #14

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    I always use plasticard for my wings Jure. It is lightweight and easy to file and cut with a scalpel. You can glue it with plastic kit glue or super glue, and heat bend it to shape easily too.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  15. #15

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    Nice build!

  16. #16

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    Such Skill. I wish I had half....

  17. #17

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    Niiiice!
    I really like the result.

    And I'm quite take aback from the roughness of your polystyrene: it look exactly like the stuff that comes from Shapeways!!!



  18. #18

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    Great work Jure - thanks for sharing it with us.

  19. #19

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    Great work Jure

  20. #20

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    Great job those little planes can be a right pain.
    I have scratch built a number of 1/144 scale aircraft
    Check out my albums
    I use plastic card for wings and fuselage, plastic rod for struts and plastic tube for wheels scarf rings round fuselages etc.
    As a filler I recommend the humbrol one also humbrol glue.
    I brush paint mine using Humbrol and tamiya enamel paints.
    Decals are a mix of some hand painted some inkjet printed and some are aerodrome accessories ones.
    The 0/400 is probably easier to build.
    Use 2mm plastic card for the wings and fuselage sides and you get a very robust plane.
    Put some internal braces into the fuselage to stop it from being crushed.
    Use 2mm rod for struts on bombers 1.2mm rod for fighters
    Hope this helps
    Linz
    Last edited by Linz; 11-14-2011 at 12:15.

  21. #21

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    Much obliged, gentlemen. I'm cutting the parts out for the 0-400. Plasticard, 2 and 1mm, need to find the 2mm rod for struts. Amazing stuff, this card. The more I use it, the more I like it.

    @ Bilbo: yeah, not enough sanding, the surface seemed deceivingly smooth, especially after one coat of thinned down PVA. Optivisor on the way, that should help some.

    @ Linz: Thanks for the advice, it sure does help. And... wow... your builds are fantastic. Found the 0-400, too! If mine comes out half as good as yours, I'll be happy

    Jure

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    I don't know if anyone else has seen this book but it seems to me to be made for the scale modeler (hand built planes)
    scale aircraft drawings vol 1 ww1 from model airplane news.
    i will be trying my hand at scratch building some next year.

  24. #24

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    I'm travelling around through my wingmen threads that were given reputation points and seeing gems like this one that I haven't seen before. Truly great.



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