Building the Valom SE5(a) in the WGF style

I've recently showed my Mannock SE5 in the official painting thread. As mentioned there, my aim is to match the original "Wings of War" look with minimal additional effort. That means no rigging, a minimalistic pilot figure, and a somewhat simple paintjob (be warned: there are silver guns, too!). I use my smartphone cam and the included image editor for my convenience in creating the single posts in time - so please excuse the possible inferior image quality.

So let's start:

Parts used:
Attachment 264963
Red: not used
Green: suggested cuts to acquire the sprue parts for the peg and the pilot

Additional parts needed:
- 1-2 staples
- 1 tick/pin

Tools used:
Attachment 264964
Notes:
- The white block is made of Styrodur. Its used for arranging and fixing the wings, before the struts are added.
- The sandpaper has a grit size of 1000. I let the sandpaper soak in water before I use it.
- Plastic glue: I've startet modelling with a needle glue, but over the years I preferred the one with the pencil. In my opinion it is superior in controlling the amount of glue to apply.
- the driller has a diameter of 1 mm (1/32")

Cut off all needed plastic parts with the help of the pliers. Try to cut off the parts as close to the sprue as possible to avoid damaging the parts:
Attachment 265175

The cut off plastic parts:
Attachment 265176

Use the pliers to cut off the last big sprue parts. Clean the parts by stroping them with the knife. Clean especially the cockpit opening, as this part is easy visible on the finished airplane:
Attachment 265177

The two fuselage parts have a slot on the bottom rear. Ignore it, as it is barely visible afterwards (2). Don't clean the area where the bottom wing will be placed (1) at this stage. We will clean it in a later step, when it is easier to adjust the position of the wing by cleaning the complete fuselage:
Attachment 265179

Carefully file the areas where the fuselage will be glued together:
Attachment 265180

The two slots in front of the bottom wing help positioning the landing gear, but they are to small and have to be made slightly bigger with the help of the knife:
Attachment 265181

The position of the landing gear:
Attachment 265182

The slot after the treatment:
Attachment 265183

Clean the fuselage in soap water:
Attachment 265184

Hold the fuselage with the tweezers, apply the glue with the pencil and put the parts together:
Attachment 265185

Use the small wooden pegs to fix the fuselage parts. Check especially the front opening, the cockpit opening and the end of the fuselage for correct alignment.
Attachment 265186

Strop the area between the elevator flaps to remove a little bit of the part. This is needed later for the correct positioning of the rudder:
Attachment 265187

File the underside of the rudder to achieve a smooth contact area when gluing the part to the fuselage:
Attachment 265188

File the inside of the rudder to provide a correct positioning:
Attachment 265189

Heat up the needle for 1-2 sec. with the tealight and push it carefully in the holes of the wings to make them deeper. Don't worry if you push through the wing. A small amount of filler fix that and the roundels will cover the outer spots: (Alternatively you can use a small driller instead of the hot needle)
Attachment 265190

Clean up the melted plastic:
Attachment 265191

Wash all plastic parts with soapwater:
Attachment 265192

File the front of the fuselage to achieve a smooth area for the glue:
Attachment 265193

Attach the radiator:
Attachment 265194

Use a peg to fix the landing gear wing:
Attachment 265195

Attach the wheels. I prefer attaching both wheels together for easier alignment of them. I also prefer to attach the wheels in this early stage, as they help positioning and holding the landing gear build:
Attachment 265178

Session lenght: 2h (including making images)

Nicely done Florian!!!:sAprvd:

Excellent, clever use of the peg to hold the landing gear wing, I have wonky wheels because I didn't think of this.
Look forward to the next installment.

Beautifully explained Florian. Looking forward to the next part. I have a Valom kit which has been sitting in a cupboard for a long time now. I think I shall try and follow your examples - see what happens. thanks. REP inbound.

Clear and concise stuff, Florian! :clap:

Thanks for posting. I look forward to more of the same.

That's really great, Florian. Well done indeed.

Thank you all for the motivating comments. I had the intention to make a tutorial for the build of my D.VII Berthold a few month ago. I made images of the whole build with a digi-cam, but didn't find the time to put them in a thread.

The method I use now is much more convenient. I hope to make the second part with applying the bottom wing, elevator and rudder, this night.

I will adjust the paint job on my recently build SE5a to the match the comming release of the WGF models and show the process on the SE5a shown here, too.

Part 2:

The area where the fuselage parts are glued together have to be cleaned:
Attachment 265285

First I do the "rough" work by stroping the line with the knife. Be careful not to carve in the fuselage:
Attachment 265286
Attachment 265287

This step is fully optional for a WGF-style miniature, but it's kind of a modeling routine for me. I file the line carefully with the wet sandpaper. I move the paper in a circular style, until there's a smooth surface. Be careful not to make a B-firing plane out of the SE5 by filing the MG away:
Attachment 265288


Now the connection line is clean and smooth:
Attachment 265289
Attachment 265290

The bottom wing doesn't fit in the gap. This was an issue on both kits, so it's kind of default. A perfect alignment of the bottom wing is mandatory to achieve a correct position of the struts and the top wing in the following steps:
Attachment 265244
Attachment 265245

File the rear part of the gap for the wing, carefully. The file has to be guided 90° against the fuselage:
Attachment 265246

Use the grit of the cutting mat to review the correct alignment of the wing and fuselage before gluing. Here the alignment isn't correct:
Attachment 265247

File the front part of the gap for the wing, carefully. The file has to be guided 90° against the fuselage:
Attachment 265248

Make a further "dry" review. Now everything is fine:
Attachment 265249

Check the other axis for correct alignment:
Attachment 265250

Glue the parts together by applying the glue on the fuselage. Correct the alignment of the wing and fuselage while the glue is setting, if needed:
Attachment 265251

Attach the headrest with the help of the tweezers. Be lavish with the glue as an exception, to fill a potential gap between the fuselage and the headrest:
Attachment 265252

Attach the elevator. Give the glue on the elevator and push it into the fuselage slot. The alignment on both kits had the same issue - seems to be another default. Gently bend the elevator to achieve the correct position:
Attachment 265253

Now everything is fine:
Attachment 265254

Apply glue on the rudder part and put it by using the tweezers on the fuselage. Use the line between the fuselage parts as orientation:
Attachment 265255

Check the correct alignment with the help of the grit:
Attachment 265256

Cut out the landing bar - this time as close as possible to the PE-part:
Attachment 265257

File the landing bar to provide a good surface to surface connection when applying the glue. Try to almost completely fix the PE-part with the pliers to avoid bending of the part. Wash the part:
Attachment 265258

Apply glue on the landing bar part and put it by using the tweezers on the fuselage. Use the line between the fuselage parts as orientation for the alignment:
Attachment 265259

The pegs on the wings protect the landing bar while the glue is cures:Attachment 265260

Session lengh: 1h (Inc. Images)

Super stuff! :clap:

The first five pictures only show as "Attachment"s, though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Flying Helmut

Super stuff! :clap:

The first five pictures only show as "Attachment"s, though.

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Thank you for the hint. I have uploaded the images, again.

Part 3: (the fun part)

Although I was consciously generous with the amount on glue on this part, there is still a little gap:
Attachment 265382

I applied glue all around the headrest to fill the gap. The glue flows in the gap more easily than applying a filler. The excess glue will be filed away, later:
Attachment 265383

The resin exhaust is cut off from the sprue and cleaned up. Be aware, that the file dust of resin is poisonous (instead of plastic file dust, which is healthy for your lungs ;-)) and can cause cancer - so use the wet sand paper to bind the dust. The resin exhaust will be glued with super glue which is applied with a needle or a piece of wire. The glue spots are under the motor part on the fuselage and just under the two recessed spots:
Attachment 265386
Attachment 265384
Attachment 265385

Cut a straight line into the styrofoam:
Attachment 265387

The distance between the wings is 9 mm:
Attachment 265388

Cut a second straight line in the foam. The distance to the first line should be around 10-11mm:
Attachment 265389

Now you can push the model in the foam to improve the correct positioning of the first pair of struts:
Attachment 265390

Check the top wing from different perspectives to review the correct position:
Attachment 265391
Attachment 265392
Attachment 265393

Take the MP1 Strut with the tweezers, apply superglue only to the lower end and place it in the holes. If the top wing was place correctly, the strut should "snap" into the right position:
Attachment 265394

Same procedure with the MP2 Strut:
Attachment 265395

Remove the top wing:
Attachment 265396

Use a peace of wire to apply a small drop of super glue and put the struts MP1 & 2 into position:
Attachment 265397

Review the correct position by comparing with the other pair of struts:
Attachment 265398
Attachment 265399

Apply super glue on all four struts and place the top wing into position. Arrange the position of the wing until the glue is dried:
Attachment 265400

Drill a small hole in the underside of the fuselage, just below the middle of the area where the pilot is placed:
Attachment 265401
Attachment 265402

The inner struts of the kit are to small. Make some new out of staples:
Attachment 265403

Inner front struts:
File the staple on the upper side to a small pin. The lower side is filed to a slanted shape, to improve the position on the fuselage:
Attachment 265404
Attachment 265405
Attachment 265406
Attachment 265407

Apply super glue in the upper end go the inner strut, puh it into the top wing an place it in the correct position. Apply super glue with the help of an needle on the lower end, afterwards:
Attachment 265408

Inner rear struts:
File the staple on the upper side to a small pin with an angle of about 45°. The lower side is filed to a slanted shape, also, to improve the position on the fuselage:
Attachment 265409

Apply super glue in the upper end go the inner strut, puh it into the top wing an place it in the correct position. Apply super glue with the help of an needle on the lower end, afterwards:
Attachment 265410

All struts are in place now:
Attachment 265411
Attachment 265412

File the excess glue around the headrest with the sandpaper:
Attachment 265413

Cut a piece out of styrofoam which is little bit smaller than the fuselage (mine, on the image is to big, as it has the same wide as the fuselage):
Attachment 265414

The cut should left enough space for the struts to lean against the foam:
Attachment 265415

The wheels and axle in position:
Attachment 265416

Place the first struts in position with super glue:
Attachment 265417

The finished undercarriage. Note the position of the struts on the axle. It is different compared to the suggested position in the instructions:
Attachment 265418

Apply filler on the holes of the wings, if you have drilled through them, accidentally:
Attachment 265419

Cut off the axle of the propeller, as is is far to long:
Attachment 265421

The peg is made of a sprue, which is carved into a conical shape. The upper side is 2 mm wide, the length is 4 mm:
Attachment 265422
Attachment 265423

The finished peg:
Attachment 265424

Drill a shaft into the peg:
Attachment 265425

Cut the sprue to a length of 8 mm:
Attachment 265426

File the upper part to the shape of a WGF pilot. The lower part should be filed into a flat v-shape to fit in the fuselage. Drill a shaft into the pilot:
Attachment 265427

The pilot and the peg, connected with a piece of a paperclip:
Attachment 265428

The filler on the wings where filed away with sandpaper:
Attachment 265429

Review the position of the pilot and peg from different perspectives:
Attachment 265430

The finished undercarriage:
Attachment 265431

I applied glue around the peg, to fill a small gap. The excess glue will be filed away, afterwards:
Attachment 265432

Review the position of the pilot and peg:
Attachment 265433

The wheels and undercarriage is glued into position with super glue. I apply the glue on the front struts first. The rear struts are glued, after the positioning of the undercarriage:
Attachment 265434

The propeller is glued into position:
Attachment 265435

The parts for the Lewis. Rail (made of a stable), gun and magazine:
Attachment 265436

This shows, how the Lewis is place on the rail. Note the slightly bended rail, to fit better on the top wing:
Attachment 265437

The finished Lewis:
Attachment 265438

The rail for the Lewis is glued on the top wing with super glue:
Attachment 265439

The MG was placed in position with the help super glue and tweezers:
Attachment 265440

After the plane is finished, the glue around the peg is filed away with the sandpaper:
Attachment 265441
Attachment 265442

Session lengh: 4h (Inc. Images)

wish this thread existed before i tried assembling the valom se5as i worked on. wouldve saved me some sweat!

That’s fantastic work, Florian. I loved your use of the grid and the styrofoam blocks. A++++ job.

Thanks for posting this, I know that one of the metal plane kit suppliers provide jigs to fit the Wings and struts but your styrene jigs are a great idea, for the brass bits including the undercarriage.
The way you have laid out the pictures is far better than a verbal description.
I have the Fokker Elll kit to make soon so this has been a very informative posting for me.
Cheers :sAprvd:

I will add the comments tonight. My next kit is a Valom E.III, also. The next part is about painting.

Attachment 265453

Excellent work, Florian! :clap:

Having seen all the problems that you had to overcome with the preparation and fitting of the parts, it makes me very disappointed with the quality of the kit.

Part 4: Painting and decals:

First I applied multiple coats of Vallejo white primer:
Attachment 266340

Unfortunately the white base coat began to crack. This was the first time I had this problem. Maybe the spray can was to old or to cold or the humidity or temperature wasn't ideal.

I don't wanted to invest further effort by stripping down the paint. I hoped that the damaged areas could not be seen after the paint was applied and that the varnish prevents further areas from chipping off:
Attachment 266338

I use a wet pallette for mixing the paint. I always dilute acrylics with water and apply them in multiple thin layers to avoid brush strokes or covering of fine details. I typically need 2-3 layers until the paint covers completely.
Attachment 266341

The colours shown are made by Reaper Miniatures, but were relabeled by a German publisher, but the English names are identical.

Under side: 50/50 mix of Polished bone and Amber gold:
Attachment 266343Attachment 266344
Attachment 266342

Upper side: 50/50 (new PC10 -> Mannock) or 65/45 (weathered PC10 -> Lewis) mix of Muddy green and Dark skin:
Attachment 266345Attachment 266346
Attachment 266347

Propeller and outer struts (Mannock). 50/50 mix:
Attachment 266348

Outer struts and wheels (Lewis). An off-white tone is often more appealing to the eye than a harsh pure white:
Attachment 266349

Pilot and exhaust:
Attachment 266350

Tires and outer struts (Lewis). When painting small areas, I add a small amount of retarder into the paint, to get a more creamy consistence. This helps applying the paint and prevents the paint tip from drying:
Attachment 266351

Machine guns:
Attachment 266352

Motor parts: Vampire grey (Reaper)

The painted model, so far:
Attachment 266353
Attachment 266354

Now a gloss varnish should be applied to protect the paint. I did this step on Mannocks plane. The following photos show Lewis plane, were I skipped the varnish for test purposes, as I've red, that the silvering of decals is prevented by the decal softener, not the pre-varnish. That's correct, but the decal softener dissolved the paint, so I don't recommend skipping the pre-varnish.

Decals:
Here you can see the cover(?) layer around the decal. It is to big and has to be cut of with a small scissors. Be carefull there is a fine white surrounding around the roundels - don't cut it off. Generally avoid to cut directly by the decal print, as the decal tent's to crack. The Valom decals need only 10-15 seconds soaking in water until ready to be applied. After positioning of the decal, I carefully push a paper towel on the decal to soak off the excess water. Than I apply the decal softener, let it react and carefully push the decal around the rounding s and in recesses. I redo this step until the decal fits right to the shape of the model:
Attachment 266355
Attachment 266356
Attachment 266357

The decal on the rudder needs special attention, as it doesn't fit very well. Make a dry check and cut a slot into the decal to achieve a perfect position. Redo this step until you're satisfied with the result. The area between the two rudder decals has to be corrected with appropriate tones of red/white/blue paint, afterwards:
Attachment 266358
Attachment 266359
Attachment 266360
Attachment 266361
Attachment 266362

All decals gave been applied:
Attachment 266365
Attachment 266366

Now it's time to add a further coat of varnish to protect the decals. This will help fading the decals with the paint, too. I suggest the "bulletproof" (or beer'n'brezel proof) varnish for perfect protection for gaming miniatures: apply a coat of gloss varnish, let it dry thoroughly, and then apply a coat of matt varnish.

The finished planes, ready for combat (note the different PC10 appearance):
Attachment 266363
Attachment 266364

Session lengh: Painting 1,5 h + Decals 1 h (both inc. Images)

My next builds are the Valom Fokker E.III. Maybe I post some of the tricky steps in a slightly shorter tutorial.

Yikes! I hope that it works out that you can cover those spots. Unusual...but as I found out with the E.III using old materials can be trouble.

Painting in thin layers gives an excellent result - and teaches patience. ;)

I wonder if it was mould release agent that caused the undercoat to flake off,sometimes it's a good idea to wash plastics in a soapy solution to remove any surface coatings from the injection moulding process.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vagabond

I wonder if it was mould release agent that caused the undercoat to flake off,sometimes it's a good idea to wash plastics in a soapy solution to remove any surface coatings from the injection moulding process.

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No, I can foreclose this, because I always wash miniatures and model parts with soap water. I think the can wasn't shaked well enough, because there was only little paint left in it. Additionally the can was standing in the cold basement. I should have put it in a warm water bath before spraying.

Nice Work Florian. I think you may have forgotten to mention how long the 'fun' part took. I need to compare your hourly rate to the current NEXUS/ARES value. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SeaJaySee

Nice Work Florian. I think you may have forgotten to mention how long the 'fun' part took. I need to compare your hourly rate to the current NEXUS/ARES value. :D

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I've added the duration for the last two parts. I guess you can deduct 33-50% for taking pictures, and adding notes on them. I needed about a further hour after every part to select photos and adding comments.

If you calculate a hypothetical loan per our to the purchase cost, Valom models lead the ranking of the most expensive plane option. On the other hand: I love model building so the invested time was very rewarding for me.

Thanks for the great instruction and advice , I will consider making and painting my first model (and will be this one if I do).
Thanks
Mark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Karo7

I've added the duration for the last two parts. I guess you can deduct 33-50% for taking pictures, and adding notes on them. I needed about a further hour after every part to select photos and adding comments.

If you calculate a hypothetical loan per our to the purchase cost, Valom models lead the ranking of the most expensive plane option. On the other hand: I love model building so the invested time was very rewarding for me.

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And there's the rub. Having seen this you may have persuaded me to invest in some Valom kits. I've warned myself off them with some of the reports of how difficult they are to assemble but your pictures make it look straight forward and you've shown some neat assembly tricks. I do love a 1/144 kit but my collection is mostly Revel/Dragon jets.

Thank you Mark. If you never build a model, I recommend neither to begin with a biplane nor with the 1/144 scale. You should avoid metal parts and short run kits for your first try, also.

Take a good quality kit in 1/72 or 1/48. Maybe one of the new Airfix kits (out of a new mold) or one by Eduard (Weekend Edition or just the sprues from their website). I suggest a plane with a simple design like a Me 262, a Gloster Meteor or a Dassault Mystere.


It would be a pitty, if your first attempt is frustrating and you abandon this fascinating hobby, therefore.

My first model kit was a Fairy Swordfish Floatplane and the struts and float undercarriage annoyed me so heavily, that I avoided model kits for years.

Hi Florian,

Just building my Valom SE5a now. I've noted all the deficiencies in the kit that you've mentioned above. If you've had the same issues at least I can believe it's not something I did wrong. ;)

Thanks again for having done this post. :salute:

Thanks for this Florian, l have had the SE5a/Albatros kit for around a year, still in the box. Despite now owning two Ares SE5a's l will still build both using your very helpful guide, much appreciated.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oldgamer

Thanks for this Florian, l have had the SE5a/Albatros kit for around a year, still in the box. Despite now owning two Ares SE5a's l will still build both using your very helpful guide, much appreciated.

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Thank you Philip for your kind words. Good to hear the guide is a help in building those little micro planes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Karo7

Thank you Philip for your kind words. Good to hear the guide is a help in building those little micro planes.

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I’ve also read through your build post carefully... multiple times. My D.VIIs and Spad XIIIs arrived and I’m sizing up the project now. You tips and techniques will come n very handy!

That is incredible work, it has made me realise that my skills are not of the required level to pull that off. I will have to manage my pocket money and buy some of the rereleased SE5s

Missed the start of this project, but just went through and impressed with the modelling, use of pegs and styrene.
Painting well done so all together excellent work.

What a great ‘how to’! How did I miss this one? Now bookmarked!

It's an old thread, but it's one of the best 1/144 build threads I've seen. Florian is an excellent craftsman, and I have been referencing this build often.