Ares Albatros D.V Undercarriage replacement

[Gallo Rojo]

Cheers!

Have any of you tried to replace Ares Albatros D.V undercarriage for a better one?
If so, what did you do and what results did you get? (pics and istructions are welcomed)

I've been thinking about using clips to replace the undercarriage using a Valom's one as model/template, and keep the original wheels adding a ring modeled with artisan putty to simulate the tires. Do you guys think it's a good idea?

[Flying Helmut]

It sounds like a lot of work, but the Ares undercart IS crap!

Any result you get is sure to be an improvement.

[ShadowDragon]

I have not replaced an undercarriage of an Ares Albatros D.Va but I have built one for an Ufag that came without an undercarriage. I found a scale diagram for the Ufag that I used as a template. I used wire for the struts and axle and 5mm O-rings for the wheels. I didn't use the small wing that is on the Ares models as many photos show the Ufag without one.

The scale diagram:



And my model with a rebuilt undercarriage. There are other like Tim, 'Flying Helmut', and Rob, 'Flying Officer Kyte', who have done this too.



I prefer the O-rings to the what's on the other Ares models I have. The wire undercarriage seems to be more accurate from photos of Ufags than the Ares square struts with wing on the axle. Maybe there is an example of a real Ufag with those. I should have taken more time sanding the fill for the part of the wheels inside the O-rings, but it's good enough for gaming purposes and more sanding could result in the fill chipping off.

FYI - for those who like to mix colours for matching. The 'light blue' on the Ufag is a tone (grey shade) of light blue. I found that it was best to start with getting the right intensity (i.e., if you converted to grey scale photo the colours would look the same) by mixing a bit of neutral grey in white then I added the tiniest bit (and I do mean the tiniest bit) of phthalo blue to get the right hue. It's easier to add blue bit by bit then to get back to the right intensity if you add too much blue.

[flash]

...Have any of you tried to replace Ares Albatros D.V undercarriage for a better one?
If so, what did you do and what results did you get? (pics and instructions are welcomed)...

Recall that someone did this a while back as the "new" D.Va undercart looked so bad. If I recall they chopped it off, took a chunk off the top and stuck it back on so the height looked right. If I find the thread I will link it.

[Gallo Rojo]

That undercarriage looks great!
one question: is it solid enough to handle game-playing?

[Gallo Rojo]

Recall that someone did this a while back as the "new" D.Va undercart looked so bad. If I recall they chopped it off, took a chunk off the top and stuck it back on so the height looked right. If I find the thread I will link it.

Thanks Dave! If you find it I would love seeing it

[flash]

Not finding it Ezekiel - it was a very long time ago but they simply cut off the undercart at the fuselage, measured the undercart of the original Nexus model, re-sized that of the Ares model to match it and stuck it back on. May need more finesse that that but that is the principle. It did look a whole lot better. Good luck with the project.

[clipper1801]

I think that was the elves of long ago, I will ask them when they come in for coffee . . . .

[Gallo Rojo]

Thanks guys. I'll keep you posted about the project if I finally do it.

[Flying Helmut]

Yes, I recall it was Clipper's crew.

He posted a profile picture of the model, with a line drawing of the real aircraft at the same scale superimposed on it to demonstrate the differences.
There was a significant height issue.

[ShadowDragon]

That undercarriage looks great!
one question: is it solid enough to handle game-playing?

Yes, it’s very strong. Probably stronger than the original. I lined up the pieces and spot glued with crazy glue and then reinforced with epoxy which I used to give the impression of a ring on the end of the struts to hold the axle.

Looks better that the massive square beams on the original Ares. I tried to replicate the Ares undercarriage but I didn’t like it so I replaced with the one above which is to scale according to the diagram above. The Ares isn’t far off but it is off.

[clipper1801]

Here we are . . .

https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sh...er%2C+albatros

[flash]

Knew I'd seen something somewhere - thanks Dave

[Flying Helmut]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm - not the thread I recall.
This one was before I joined the Forum.

Maybe Albatros D.IIIs, not D.Vas?

[clipper1801]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm - not the thread I recall.
This one was before I joined the Forum.

Maybe Albatros D.IIIs, not D.Vas?

Try this one then, not mine, but sounds good . . .

https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sh...s-Albatros-D-V

[Gallo Rojo]

Great links David! They are great!
Clipping the actual undercarriage is not what I had in mind but it's much easier and seems to yield good results

[Flying Helmut]

Try this one then, not mine, but sounds good . . .

https://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/sh...s-Albatros-D-V

THAT's the one I (barely) remember!

Thanks Dave!

[flash]

Ah, that's the one I was thinking of.

[Willi]

Cheers!

Have any of you tried to replace Ares Albatros D.V undercarriage for a better one?
If so, what did you do and what results did you get? (pics and istructions are welcomed)

I've been thinking about using clips to replace the undercarriage using a Valom's one as model/template, and keep the original wheels adding a ring modeled with artisan putty to simulate the tires. Do you guys think it's a good idea?

My Brother and I lamented over the same thing. I did a Baumer repaint that included changing out the undercarriage. I was fortunate in having an extra from a Shapeways Pfalz. See below:

[Karo7]

Very nice result, but I'm too afraid to dismount my original WGF models - they're damned hard to get. I think I will do some Valoms instead.

[ShadowDragon]

Very nice result, but I'm too afraid to dismount my original WGF models - they're damned hard to get. I think I will do some Valoms instead.

I hear that Easter comes early, Florian.

[Karo7]

I hear that Easter comes early, Florian.

[milcoll73]

i used sections of paperclips to replace the thin brass struts for the 2 valom se5as i assembled. it worked fairly well.

[Gallo Rojo]

So ... I've been working on this issue with the help of your advice
Firstly, I tried to cut down the actual undercarriage just to shorten the front strut ... that ended up badly: after cutting down the angle to re-insert the clipped undercarriage changed and it wasn't possible to re-place it in its original spot ... I tried to gently bend it but it broke off. I think this method may work with Neux' WoW models which have more flexible struts, but not with Are's WoG ones.

So I decided to do a 360º turn and just scratch built an undercarriage

I started with this:

AA CLIP.jpg  Views: 20  Size: 113.3 KB  ID: 266372" class="thumbnail" style="float:CONFIG" />

Using a Valom's photoetched part as a model I clipped the clip (couldn't resist) to the right size (8mm), bent it to the right angle to match the holes in the fuselage, and then bent the other side to 'grab' the axle of the wheels:

Here is the result so far:



For comparison: Baumar re-done undercarriage on the left vs Udet Original Ares undercarriage on the right



Now it needs painting and a new set of wheels. For the later, I'm trying to find an o-ring that perfectly fits the actual wheel ... if I don't I'll scratch build a tire using stretcher spure.

Overall, I'm quite happy with my first attempt at scratch-building the undercarriage... But I think that for the next one I'll try to cut-off:
1) modify the clip to create the struts as I did
2) fix the undercarriage to the fuselage as I did
3) cut off the part of the struts-clip that attaches to the actual undercarriage
4) drill holes in the undercarriage
5) fix the struts to the undercarriage

I'll keep you posted