BATTLEAXE Fokker DVIII Build

mgtaylor · 11 April 2006, 09:20 PM

Well Buzz can tell you about this one, Typical BattleAxe Feature I turned it over and WHolllllAHA ! an 1/8 inch gap between the top of the rear fuslage and the front of the elevator ! Hee Hee !

I framed it out with a cut up plastic store card and filled it with the Gap filler I have found to be the Der "Wunder" Liquid Modeling tool !!!

Dry in minutes and left to cure for an hour or so and a little sanding later and Wholla !

mgtaylor · 11 April 2006, 09:23 PM

ANd heres a little work I got done on the engine having choosen to use the Resin one suppiled with the kit. A few more Intake Pipes to go ! I have to paint them copper when I am done and give the whole assembly a good dark weathering wash. You have to cut, fit and add your own wire pushrods.

mgtaylor · 11 April 2006, 09:29 PM

I also got the PE Stiching added to the bottom of the fuselage last week. I groved out the seam a bit to fi the PE Strip. I plan to fill in the edges a little so when I apply the Lozenge decal and snug them down tight with some Micro Sol Setting Solution I can scrape off the Dried decal off the raised PE Stiching detail and all you'll have visable are the stiches without the brass strip they are on top of.

mgtaylor · 4 May 2006, 04:07 PM

WHOOOOOPS ? I got too excited after sealing the fuselage and rushed into the decaling hoping to get on with the Jig and fit problems of joining the Major Sub assembiles that will finally complete this kit and make it look like a plane.

I rushed and applied the Kit Decals. Oh BA ! THou hast Tricked Me Again !!!

Little did I realize HOW BRight Orange, Deep Purple and Florescent LIME GREEN thier Lozegene Decals were going to turn out UNTIL AFTER I had applied them and I received my set of AMERICAL 4 color lozegene the following week !!

I have another DVIII to build and I thought the Kit Dceals couldnt be SOOO BAd so I would use the AMERICALS on the next one? BUT ALAS after comparing the two side by side it is Obvious how accurate AMERICAL IS and CIrcus Like BA's Kit lozegene Patterns are !

Well it's Like Taking SEVERAL STEPS BACKWARD. I VOW to remove these decals, re-prime if necessarty and RE-APPLY AMERICAL's ASAP.

Until then the Jigs will have to wait?

Yours, MIKE

SteveS · 4 May 2006, 06:00 PM

Hey Mike,

Really enjoying your build!

It's like re-living our online build of the D.VII from Battle Axe. That mix of pain and pleasure that only a Battle Axe kit can give you.

Trials and tribulations to say the least.

Or maybe it all that mixing of CA glue and baby powder filler that's clogged up my head.

I'm shocked that mine hasn't fallen apart on the shelf yet!

Keep going, yer doing fine.

Salute,
Steve

mgtaylor · 8 May 2006, 09:34 PM

Dear Steve Thanks for the encouragement it means a great deal to me. I am just an average builder with too too too many kits to turn back now. It really makes me feel good anyone is enjoying this post and is intrested enough at all to want to see it thru as well.

I'll post the Instruction sheet for this Kit next time for any of you who have given BA a pass for thier high price. I think you may better have an apreication how "Out on a Limb" they leave you after purchasing one of thier kits.

I can't beleive I went through this but I got all the Kit Decals Off, Re-Primed it and gave it a qiick coat of Future and STARTED Decaling ALL OVER AGIAN,, ARRRRGGGGHGGHHH !

Actually it gave me some good time to finsh the engine in the background. It is ready for some weathering and then wiring now.

It also gave me a chance to add some PE Detail Parts from "PARTS" which I ordered direct from Poland at Jadar Hobbies as suggested by another Aerodrome member. http://jadarhobby.waw.pl/ THey have some great detail PE frets for the two Roden Releases and the DVIII shares much with the DVI in common.

Of course looking at the mess on my building table you'll understand how I dumped over my bottle of testers liquid cement. (No Damage to any kit parts and thank goodness thanks to the cutting pad no damage to the desk) I also got a chance to dive into another kit (Roden Dr I) while I was waiting for all that Micro-SOl to cure and do a little pre-build spraying while the parts are still on the sprues.

Ross_Moorhouse · 8 May 2006, 10:21 PM

This is a great online build mate. Thank you for sharing even the ugly moments.

I know what it is like to spill glue all over the build desk... This is what I do now days to help stop this...

Blob of blue-tac and a plastic container lid.

mgtaylor · 11 May 2006, 07:16 AM

Ross, I gotta Laugh. Yes that definiately looks like it works and exactly what I need to try. BUt I still gotta say it looks like something you'd set up for your pre-schooler to use their finger panits so they don't spill them.But Actually thats about how I feel right about now.

Here are the Front and back of the "Instruction Sheet" or Shall I say Lure to suck in the unspecting FLy into the TRAP !!! HA ! Looks SImple Dosen't It? MMMMMMMUUUUUUHHAHAHAHHHAHAHA !

SteveS · 11 May 2006, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgtaylor

Ross, I gotta Laugh. Yes that definiately looks like it works and exactly what I need to try. BUt I still gotta say it looks like something you'd set up for your pre-schooler to use their finger panits so they don't spill them.But Actually thats about how I feel right about now.

I think we've all been there. Don't laugh, I'll give you a week before you make one.

If you think Ross's is funny, check out mine. Years ago I got tired of the weight of the air supply hose causing my airbrush to fall over interrupting an painting session while I cleaned up the puddle on the bench and the outside of the airbrush. And then my hands. I must admit at times, its seemed like I've worn more nail polish than my wife.

I grabbed what ever was laying around and screwed it all together. It started out just to hold my airbrush or a bottle, then later on I cut notches in the top to keep loaded paintbrushs from rolling on the bench. Then I added a 1/4 inch dowel so that I could have a place to stand up my handvise after drilling a hole in its bottom to keep that from rolling around. I keep saying I'm going to make a nice one, but I've been saying that for years.

Salute,
Steve

davecww1 · 13 May 2006, 08:48 AM

Hi Mike,
sorry this is too late to prevent you from pulling off the old decals, but here's a tip that I found works pretty good to get the cartoonish lozenge to look a little better. (works when you are out of Americal Gryphon and running out of time or money!) I mix up a thinned mixture of Tamiya smoke and airbrush the model after all of the lozenge decals have been applied but before adding the rib tapes (for blue or pink tapes, tapes made of lozenge must be applied before spraying). You want to build up a couple of thin coats until the color "looks right" - no scientific method, but it will darken up the brightest colors. After it is all dried, I sometimes airbrush a thinned ivory mixture to represent the varnish and sunlight weathering, this is not needed when representing a factory fresh finish, but in photos of Stark's Fokker D.VII, his aircraft lozenge clearly looks lighter than most other D.VII's. I believe that this is due to the varnish yellowing/fading due to the sunlight.
Hope this helps!
Dave