Steve that harness looks amazing,my eyes hurt just thinking of the assembly process you went thru!
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Hi Steve
Very nice harness - the RB sets are very good and I agree much better than PE belts. I think the HGW harnesses are a little better but it is marginal.
Quick question: When did the Luftwaffe start using the green synthetic belts? I suspect it's another complicated subject and depends on aircraft/place of manufacture/refit etc,etc but thought if there's anyone who can shed a bit more light on the subject...
Cheers
PComment
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I'll have a look at the HGW harnesses. I do like the RB ones but they are fiddly to make.
I use a PVA type glue (Gator's Grip), despite the advice, and have had no problem with it
I'm not sure that the Luftwaffe ever went over entirely to the green synthetic belts (sometimes wrongly referred to as 'Orlon', a name which didn't exist until 1950!). They appeared late in the war and must have entered the RLM's supply chain at this time. I'm not sure if anyone knows which manufacturers received them, or what aircraft they were fitted to. I've used them in a Ta152 and an Me 262 in the recent past simply because I could
Cheers
SteveComment
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Here's the harness in the cockpit which is in turn dry fitted in the fuselage (hence the tape).
I don't add a lot of after market stuff to my models these days but I do think a cockpit without a harness, particularly in the larger scales, looks naked. It is an additional expense, somewhere between 5 and 10 quid usually, but for me it's worth it.
Cheers
SteveComment
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They look great I think. Nice work Steve.Comment
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Hi Steve
The cockpit is looking really good. I agree that the biggest single improvement you can make to the 'office' is by adding a good harness. This one thing transforms the cockpit from kit to replica. You don't need to add extras especially in a cockpit with very restricted viewable area, such as the Dora.
Great work on the harness and cockpit. By-the-way the HGW harnesses are every bit as fiddly as their RB counterparts! The difference is that the HGW belts have printed stitching and labels etc. like I said, the difference is marginal. I have many RB sets with kits in the stash and I won't be swapping them out for the HGW equivalents.
The cockpit looks great and I'm looking forward to the paint finish already!
Cheers
PaulComment
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outstanding with the seat belt Steve ,lov them well done
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Just to show I am actually building this thing.......slowly
That blob of Blu-Tac goes a long way to stopping me breaking of the antenna wire attachment post on top of the fin !
Cheers
SteveComment
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As always, you take care with all the details and history.
And you are building it slowly.....so, is the perfect combination for another Steve's master piece
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Nice one on the harness, I have tried one and it drove me nutty!
Good tip with the blue tack knock of prevention device!
Ian MComment
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Moving swiftly along, I have applied the underside colour.
The CEAR, in conjunction with the photos and what we know about this production block from Focke-Wulf Sorau, give us a good idea what this must have been.
That is surely the standard RLM 76, not the very pale, almost white, version seen on some late Messerschmitt's, or the green/yellow version which appeared across production very late in the war. White Ensign's RLM 76, slightly lightened, is what I've done.
Due to my lack of ability with a camera most of my post shading is invisible and you can't see the thinly applied RLM 76, over an aluminium base coat, on the fuselage extension 'plug'. Maybe on the finished model
Notice that the inside of the upper wing is masked for the flaps. The flaps will be deployed on the ground. This is very unusual but there is a good, historical, reason for it in my scenario.
Cheers
SteveComment
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I can see the pre-shading quite well on my screen Steve, nice work mate.Comment
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I've now applied the camouflage colours.
The fuselage is easy and well documented. It is a standard combination of RLM 75 and RLM 83, as seen on other Doras of this block assembled at the Sorau plant. Really the only decision to make was whether the mottling on the rear part of the fuselage and fin was RLM 83 (which I've gone for) or RLM 81 as some suggest.
The wings are another matter. The CEAR states that these were 'a rather brighter green' than was usual on German aircraft. This has led many to believe that the report's author was seeing RLM 82 for the first time, and this was a fairly new colour at the time. Of course we have no way of knowing that author's experience or how many aircraft he had looked at! Nonetheless, I have decided to apply an RLM 82/83 camouflage to the wings, in a standard Focke-Wulf Sorau pattern. It makes for an interesting model at the very least
Here's the 'raw' camouflage done.
The RLM 82 certainly is 'a rather brighter green'. It will tone down with weathering and varnishes.
Cheers
SteveComment
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Well...I like it this green colour O_oComment
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That's looking very nice Steve. I love how you research your builds to apply maximum accuracy (where possible!)
Me, I just whack on the paint & hope for the best!Comment
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