Wingnut Wings 1/32 Halberstadt Cl.II (late)

[Allen Dewire]

Greetings from a wet and windy Bamberg. It rained all day, so that meant table time for me and an update (of sorts)...

Count me in on this one.

Welcome aboard Noah Garry! Plenty of room with food and drink available. Sorry, but it's too windy to fire up the barbie though...

Great stuff, already on the improvements!

Thanks Tim and there are a few things you can improve over the stock kit. Not a lot really...

I will definitely be watching this build. Best of luck to you.
John.

Thank you John and glad to have you looking in. I need all the luck I can get here...

Well yours will be at least number 2.

Ok Colin, was there another WnWs kit built on here earlier or am I missing something?...

I really can't comment on games associated with WWI, but I do miss playing Red Baron on the computer. That was a fun game and I always lost anyway.........

As I said, the motor in the kit is detailed, but there are some things missing. I decided to add the spark plugs and wiring because the thingy wouldn't fly without them (in real life). Here's what I started with,


0.7mm hexes punched out of 0.2mm sheet plastic. The 0.3mm rod was left over from my Somua Riehenwerfer kit, so I cut it into 2mm bits with the RP Toolz chopper. The fun began when I went about trying to glue the bits onto the hexes with TET. It worked most of the time and I really wished I had three hands. Words flew and in the end I had these,


14 spark plugs!!! Ok, so I ain't Bosch or Champion, but they were done and almost looked the part. I let them dry for a while and in the meantime, I started painting some of the other things with the hairy stick. I found my AK aluminum paint was trash and my Tamiya aluminum wouldn't brush either (but we know that). I also needed a way to paint the hexes of the spark plugs silver and a brush wasn't going to work. I remembered I had a Molotow pen in chrome color. It has a 1mm tip, so I gave it a whirl. It worked, so a while later we had made some overall progress,


Hard to see the chrome bases of the (chunky) spark plugs on the left. the two others were the worst of the bunch and only to be used if one of the good ones pinged off into space. The magnetos were done in bakelite color and satin black with brass caps. I also did the rocker springs in alu and a wash of black. I have to say that whoever molded these WnW kits did a really great job. The plastic is not too hard or too soft either. A quick scrape with a hobby knife and any mold lines are gone without damaging the part. That is pretty impressive!!! Next up, was painting the cylinders so I could add the spark plugs on each side. AK's Satin Black is really nice for hairy stick work here. After it had dried, I went at it using MIGs slow dry CA to insure they would stay in place and keep them straight...What a beatch that was!!! Damn hands were shaking and the plugs were trying to stick to the tweezers, but in the end, I won the battle,

12 (chunky) spark plugs on the cylinders. Only one actually pinged off into oblivion and one got drowned in CA. I actually tried to shape the plugs to make the top sides thinner, but even with a small sanding stick, it was impossible to hold them in the tweezers. After I add the wires, the 3 meter rule will be in effect anyway. I need to make a paint order as I need some Vallejo metal color aluminum or some flat aluminum from MIG to finish up the motor. There are 4 (or more) decals that have to be added to it too...

That's all for now folks! Stammtisch tonight and off to the Nuremburg Toy Fair on Saturday to see what's new in our hobby. I'll take some pics to post too. Thanks for looking in and have good one!!! All C, C, and abuse greatly appreciated...

Prost
Allen

[Tim Marlow]

Lovely stuff. The icing on the cake that is! I remember playing red baron as well……..i always turned too tightly and pulled the top wing off the airplane.
Top tip….if you do that in a triplane it can still fly…..not very well, but it stays up there

[colin m]

Ok Colin, was there another WnWs kit built on here earlier or am I missing something?...

Yes, I built a WnW Bristol F.2B fighter back in 2018. It was part of the WW1 group build.

[Jim R]

Excellent stuff there Allen. For a kit of this quality it's worth going the extra miles. Spark plugs look the part, time well spent. Have fun at the fair.

[Tim Marlow]

Yes, I built a WnW Bristol F.2B fighter back in 2018. It was part of the WW1 group build.

Worth looking up, it was a bit of a masterclass!

[Andy the Sheep]

A bit late but I'm not going to miss a WnW kit build.

[adt70hk]

Outstanding work.... Although for what they cost you think they would be supplied!

[yak face]

Superb scratchery allen , its little things like this that will lift an already superb kit to another level , cheers tony

[Allen Dewire]

Yes, I built a WnW Bristol F.2B fighter back in 2018. It was part of the WW1 group build.

Wow Colin, that was before I took the dive into wing thingy's in 2019. I went back and read through your build and finished item posts. Absolutely fantastic work Sir!!! As Tim said, it was masterclass. I can only hope I can do mine half as good as yours. Might I ask, if you remember, what size rigging line you used? I'm lucky as my plane has less rigging than yours did...

Lovely stuff. The icing on the cake that is! I remember playing red baron as well……..i always turned too tightly and pulled the top wing off the airplane.
Top tip….if you do that in a triplane it can still fly…..not very well, but it stays up there

Worth looking up, it was a bit of a masterclass!

My best memory of Red Baron was when you pulled out of a dive, all the parts would creak and squeak before the wing broke off!!! The sound effects were great. For it's time, the game was so cool and I knew I could never be a good WWI pilot playing it. Taking off was a huge problem as the thick manual had nothing written in it about how to do it. I can't remember how many times I pushed the wrong button on my joystick, released a bomb, and blew myself up sitting on the runway...

Excellent stuff there Allen. For a kit of this quality it's worth going the extra miles. Spark plugs look the part, time well spent. Have fun at the fair.

Thanks Jim! It is a test of nerves and my skills to do the mods, but fun, all the same. The fair was great, but small compared to the last time I went. maybe next year it will be bigger...

A bit late but I'm not going to miss a WnW kit build.

You are never late Andrea and it's always a pleasure to have you joining the party...

Outstanding work.... Although for what they cost you think they would be supplied!

True Andrew, but even for the price, a kit really can't include everything. Trying to mold them would have been a nightmare I think...

Superb scratchery allen , its little things like this that will lift an already superb kit to another level , cheers tony

Thanks Tony and I am going to give it my best (never went to) college try. If I mess up, I still have a few in the stash to attempt a better result. Colin set a pretty high bar with his build though...

I've ordered some paint and a set of resin turnbuckles from Gaspatch. I don't have enough sanity to do what Colin did on his and twist them up myself. I took the easy way out! I also ordered some Infini 0.13mm black elastic rigging. Hopefully, it's the right size and I'll get the 2 orders before the end of the week. I did do a bit more on the motor and wired the spark plugs,


One definitely needs three hands for this. The heavy brass block did make it easier with only two though. I wanted a good hold, so I used CA to attach them to the plug ends. One of those times the CA decided not to set quickly, like it should. I ended up using 3 different types before I got the job done. After the CA had dried thoroughly, I cut the rest of the sprue off each plug. Not having a warm and fuzzy over the strength of the attachment, I went back and applied a drop of CA on top on each plug. In the end and with a drop of black paint,


We had this. The wires are too long and a bit wonky in their bends, but none fell off and they do look like spark plugs. The other side,


None of these came undone either yet, so I guess I got lucky. I also don't think Bosch will be calling me to work for them any time soon!!! I'm still not decided what color to paint the cables. They could have been black, brown, tan, off yellow or maybe blue. I wasn't around back then, so maybe a little artistic license could be used. I like dark blue myself and it would be a nice color variation to the black of the cylinders...

I really can't do any more or assemble the motor, until my paint order comes. In between, I have been working on my Panther dio too. We still have temps below zero, so hissy stick work is out for time being. I thank you all again for your comments and interest in my Halberstadt. Till next time...

Prost
Allen

[scottie3158]

Thanks mate you could have started this before I started mine as yours is a 1000% better already and I cant steal ideas from you. :tongue-out2:

[Allen Dewire]

Sorry Bro, but you have me beat there. This is new ground for my old butt and I have no clue. I can understand It is a bit difficult to do what I'm doing in 1/48, but a man with your skills would nail it if you wanted to!!! Now, please keep going with yours, so I can see how to do more with mine...OK???...

Prost
Allen

[scottie3158]

Sorry Bro, but you have me beat there. This is new ground for my old butt and I have no clue. I can understand It is a bit difficult to do what I'm doing in 1/48, but a man with your skills would nail it if you wanted to!!! Now, please keep going with yours, so I can see how to do more with mine...OK???...

Prost
Allen

We are in the same boat mate and you were quite correct it is an Albatros I am changing my sherry provider.

[Mark1]

Wow Colin, that was before I took the dive into wing thingy's in 2019. I went back and read through your build and finished item posts. Absolutely fantastic work Sir!!! As Tim said, it was masterclass. I can only hope I can do mine half as good as yours. Might I ask, if you remember, what size rigging line you used? I'm lucky as my plane has less rigging than yours did...



My best memory of Red Baron was when you pulled out of a dive, all the parts would creak and squeak before the wing broke off!!! The sound effects were great. For it's time, the game was so cool and I knew I could never be a good WWI pilot playing it. Taking off was a huge problem as the thick manual had nothing written in it about how to do it. I can't remember how many times I pushed the wrong button on my joystick, released a bomb, and blew myself up sitting on the runway...


Thanks Jim! It is a test of nerves and my skills to do the mods, but fun, all the same. The fair was great, but small compared to the last time I went. maybe next year it will be bigger...


You are never late Andrea and it's always a pleasure to have you joining the party...


True Andrew, but even for the price, a kit really can't include everything. Trying to mold them would have been a nightmare I think...


Thanks Tony and I am going to give it my best (never went to) college try. If I mess up, I still have a few in the stash to attempt a better result. Colin set a pretty high bar with his build though...

I've ordered some paint and a set of resin turnbuckles from Gaspatch. I don't have enough sanity to do what Colin did on his and twist them up myself. I took the easy way out! I also ordered some Infini 0.13mm black elastic rigging. Hopefully, it's the right size and I'll get the 2 orders before the end of the week. I did do a bit more on the motor and wired the spark plugs,

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1193935[/ATTACH]
One definitely needs three hands for this. The heavy brass block did make it easier with only two though. I wanted a good hold, so I used CA to attach them to the plug ends. One of those times the CA decided not to set quickly, like it should. I ended up using 3 different types before I got the job done. After the CA had dried thoroughly, I cut the rest of the sprue off each plug. Not having a warm and fuzzy over the strength of the attachment, I went back and applied a drop of CA on top on each plug. In the end and with a drop of black paint,

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1193937[/ATTACH]
We had this. The wires are too long and a bit wonky in their bends, but none fell off and they do look like spark plugs. The other side,

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1193936[/ATTACH]
None of these came undone either yet, so I guess I got lucky. I also don't think Bosch will be calling me to work for them any time soon!!! I'm still not decided what color to paint the cables. They could have been black, brown, tan, off yellow or maybe blue. I wasn't around back then, so maybe a little artistic license could be used. I like dark blue myself and it would be a nice color variation to the black of the cylinders...

I really can't do any more or assemble the motor, until my paint order comes. In between, I have been working on my Panther dio too. We still have temps below zero, so hissy stick work is out for time being. I thank you all again for your comments and interest in my Halberstadt. Till next time...

Prost
Allen

Looking very good so far Allen

[colin m]

Wow Colin, that was before I took the dive into wing thingy's in 2019. I went back and read through your build and finished item posts. Absolutely fantastic work Sir!!! As Tim said, it was masterclass. I can only hope I can do mine half as good as yours. Might I ask, if you remember, what size rigging line you used? I'm lucky as my plane has less rigging than yours did...

Thanks Allen, but from what I've seen of yours, this is going to be something very special. For rigging I used 0.165mm monofilament and the control wires were 0.085mm

[Allen Dewire]

Morning all, from a foggy east side of London Bamberg...A small update to follow...

Looking very good so far Allen

Thank you Mark, but still along way to go though. Oh, and please take back your fog Sir!!!...

Thanks Allen, but from what I've seen of yours, this is going to be something very special. For rigging I used 0.165mm monofilament and the control wires were 0.085mm

Thanks for the info Colin. I did manage to get some Infini black to use. I can't say if this will be special or not. My skills are up to the job, but sometimes the nerves aren't playing along at all...

After getting my paint order, I could move on and try to assemble the motor after it was painted. There were 3 decals to add to the motor block. WnW's decals seem really nice, but I found you have to leave them in water for longer as stated, or they won't come off the paper. I had also decided to paint the plug wires blue for contrast. Like I said, they could have been various colored ones used and I wasn't around to see them in 1916. The motor so far,


The other side,


I gave the intake wrap a coat of Vallejo European dust wash to give it a worn look. I might give it another too. The MIG old brass paint worked well on the fuel Injector thingies. Next up was the headache children known as the magnetos,


I really had to scratch my head and have a cold one, to find a way to get the 6 sprue wire ends together as tightly as possible. I ended up making 2 looms from some thin sheet, punched out with a 0.8mm hole in them. The fun got even better as I tried to get all of the strands through the hole in each one. With that finally done, I slid them back as far as I could towards the cap and dripped cement on the ends. Using my fingers and then tweezers, I got them as small and rounded as possible to let them dry. I had painted the wires on the cap blue earlier. When they were almost dry, I gently bent them with my fingers to achieve a 90° angle. These will be trimmed to the proper length needed and CA'd to the tube ends on the motor. I also painted the urn looking thing and let it dry......

In the meantime, I decided to start cleaning up parts for the cockpit. Our Dave Lovell is building Roden's Old Bill pigeon bus and has had to deal with large 1/72 sprue gates. This is what I had to deal with in 1/32 parts,


The part on the right has sprue gates, but the part on the left, has sprue walls!!! Careful use of the fine cutters worked for them and clean up was easy too. It's funny, with this kit there are super fine gates, huge ones and every size gates in between, so care is needed when removing parts. Here's another nice thing about the busy instructions of the kitset,


You have 3 motor options and WnW's make clear what one has to do. If you look at the part, you can see the imprint of the 160HP cut out next to the one I drilled out for the 180-200HP motor. I suggest you cut out the hole with tip of a new blade and carefully trim it as close as you can, to it's 4.5mm size. Then use the 4.5mm bit to finish the job and keep it perfectly round...

That's it for now folks and there's plenty more still to do!!! Thanks for stopping in and have a great week...

Prost
Allen