wip ~ Fokker Eindecker

Tim West · 14 December 2010, 01:32 AM

Scourge of the skies...for a brief time, the Fokker E series of planes proved to live up to the hype. Not that it was a break out in aerodynamics but rather its "successful" implementation of a forward firing machine gun using a series of linked rods,gears and cables made it possible to fire through the prop! This was a vast improvement over other methods used at the time.

Though slow, the Eindeckers use of wing warping gave it some advantage over its adversaries. Granted Be2c's arent much of a target but add to that, the fact that air combat as we know it today was literally being written by the men flying the Eindeckers, the plane was a formidable weapon...leaving death in its wake.... up and down the British sectors. As was the case, its reign was as short lived as some of its most notable pioneers.

<--click image for more info

Welcome to the re-boot of my Fokker Eindecker wip. I started this wip almost 2 years ago ....Lol, it's taken a little longer than I thought it would to say the least =)

To be honest I really thought this would be a piece of cake. I mean there are great photos available of a E.III at the museum in England. How hard could it be?

It was only after I started this project, I realized how incomplete a lot the info available on the E's can be. Or rather it's fragmented in small bits all over the place. Any one who has looked at these planes can attest to that..

With that my project has grown to a scale yet to be finalized. I keep finding myself going back and adding this or fixing that as I find new clues. It's been kinda fun.

As always, I'm working in Maya and have a goal of learning how to use Maya's nCloth system.

Before I post the screen grabs, I really need to thank Josef Scott, who's helped a lot, as well as Gerry Mos and even Dan San....I used his drawings as my original template.

Thank you gentlemen =)

Oh...the last question posted on the old wip thread was from Forumite Josef who asked if I included the extra width to the first rib section...???

uhmmm no not yet =P but it's on the punch list of fixes. =D

With that... here are two screens from last time...

Hahah...if I only knew what was to come.

Sexy times in a bf109 wing ensemble...more with that in the future.

And now the new stuff! Lol...well I was excited =) I was really at a end with this project but working on the n.28 model really helped break through the doldrums of a long build. I imagine that you plastic builders might feel the same way at times. I actually finished most all of the plumbing now and will be moving on to the wiring next. I am so ready to get the engine bits finished and move on to some other pictures for a change. I feel I have been flicking between the same dozen photos for the last 2 months =/ Like, "well that shadow could be ..well...something" =P

oh yeah the new stuff,

Really, there is new stuff going on in there =) The color and shader is just random. Pay it no mind.

One thing that becomes evident when looking at the wing structure of the E's, is that it's in the way!! From the cockpit, the wings are a serious obstruction for the pilots field of view. The pilot was given some access panels from which to view blind spots from but these were far from perfect.

more below....

Tim West · 14 December 2010, 01:34 AM

cont....

more below...

Tim West · 14 December 2010, 01:38 AM

cont...

mmmmm fodder!

Comments, crits and questions always welcomed.

Thanks for stopping by now, ya hear

josef scott · 14 December 2010, 11:08 PM

Hi Tim,

It really is coming along splendidly! Glad to see you're back at work. I'll write more tomorrow when I have more time.

Tim West · 15 December 2010, 01:32 PM

Thank you Josef

It was nice to put this down for a while and things should start to progress more visually as I start to model bigger pieces.

I look forward to adding to my punch list!

Patrick · 15 December 2010, 07:52 PM

Hey Tim, been following this thread and the BE.2c one for the last few days by lurking. Started a new job & I'm so tired by the time I get home that I'm falling asleep in my chair while reading.

You're doing a great job of keeping multiple projects moving forward at once

and that being said, be interested to see your model of the of the RAF.1a aero engine

. Lots of fun ahead with the cylinders; I do have some pretty good ref pics if you need them, just let me know.

josef scott · 15 December 2010, 09:19 PM

Hey Tim,

Just a couple of quick comments:

The noses/tails of the ribs and the leading/trailing edges of the wings appear to be fairly flush on any skinless wings I've seen.

Quoting Philip Jarrett's article on 210/16, "The gunsight comprised a simple rectangular foresight with a horizontal wire carrying two beads 43mm either side of centre". No vertical wires at all! Seriously.

You already mentioned the extra span between the wing root and 1st rib, so I won't =D

Again, it's looking great! Post more soon.

Tim West · 16 December 2010, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick

Hey Tim, been following this thread and the BE.2c one for the last few days by lurking. Started a new job & I'm so tired by the time I get home that I'm falling asleep in my chair while reading.

You're doing a great job of keeping multiple projects moving forward at once

and that being said, be interested to see your model of the of the RAF.1a aero engine

. Lots of fun ahead with the cylinders; I do have some pretty good ref pics if you need them, just let me know.

Hi Patrick,

Congrats on the new gig =)

I have time right now so I'm trying get some production out. I decided the other day to focus on modeling right now more so than single renders. I want to have a selection of models to play with rather than focusing solely on one airplane. Once I have a bunch of planes, I can do anything =)

In general the multitasking is keeping the projects fresh. Problem is I want to work on them all now! I will prolly do some more on the E for now. I really want to get out the the cockpit area. That'd wrap up all the little tedious crap and loose ends.

Yeah, Im looking forward to doing the Raf 1a. It will prolly be the most detailed part of the Be2c mesh. If it's not any trouble, it'd be nice to see your pics.

Tim West · 16 December 2010, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by josef scott

Hey Tim,

Just a couple of quick comments:

The noses/tails of the ribs and the leading/trailing edges of the wings appear to be fairly flush on any skinless wings I've seen.

Quoting Philip Jarrett's article on 210/16, "The gunsight comprised a simple rectangular foresight with a horizontal wire carrying two beads 43mm either side of centre". No vertical wires at all! Seriously.

You already mentioned the extra span between the wing root and 1st rib, so I won't =D

Again, it's looking great! Post more soon.

Thanks Josef for the feed back. I didnt know about the gun sight, they must be more rigid than I thought. I can do this =) I still might do a Schwarzlose, though prolly not the sync system for it. I need to make some revisions to the '08s system as it is.

I'll review the naked wing photos. I have much better references now =) I need to add the stowage hooks as well.

Thanks again!

ps...still no luck on the dual fuel clock.

josef scott · 16 December 2010, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim West

ps...still no luck on the dual fuel clock.

One day we shall overcome.