Allen's 1/32 WnW Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 (early)

[papa 695]

Just catching up on this Allen, some cracking work.

[colin m]

An engine, great work, I do love an engine.

[scottie3158]

Allen, very nice mate the extra detail adds a whole new level.

[Allen Dewire]

Evening folks and I truly apologize for the late replies. It seems the older we get, the less time we have for anything. I have still been playing at the table, but ketching up on here isn't going too well...So,

Glad you are feeling better and are back at the bench.
These WnW kits look pretty darn good. Pity I missed that boat.
Great work on the cockpit and the motor.

Thanks Boss! I really love these kits and if you get lucky and keep your eyes peeled, you might be able to snag one at a reasonable price. Tonight in evilbay, an AEG G.IV twin engine bomber, WnW #32042, went for €138 + postage. That's pretty cheap!!!

Great to see your back up and well you know ,I dont /can't run anymore. Certainly looking the part great attention to detail also many thanks for making the whole thing a enjoyable read through your progress so far. Dave

Your most welcome Dave and thank you for the kind words. I'm having a good time, but I still wish a day had 36 hours in it. Then I might be able to get more done Buddy...

Just catching up on this Allen, some cracking work.

Thank you Ian! I can't believe you are killing building 2 bi-planes with one stone Sir. And they are both looking fantastic too!!!

An engine, great work, I do love an engine.

Me too Colin! Everybody loves a Benz and I really like your little Fokker build too!!! Thanks Sir...

Allen, very nice mate the extra detail adds a whole new level.

Much appreciated Bro!!! I'm trying to have some fun here, but it takes too much time to do. I should keep my head out of the research and just build it. You run out of rivets yet, Paul???

So, I have been driving on here with the Hansa and things are getting done. I always forget to take pics, so the following is a little wacky and maybe boring. I will try to take better ones tomorrow of the newer progress. I finished up the Benz and added the crankcase decal. I also added the decals to the dashboard. Still a couple to add though,



I also started prepping the MG for the driver. The kit includes molded and etch barrel sleeves, but I really like what Master Model had to offer as a replacement. The cooling jacket is pre-formed and the barrel is very fine too,


You nip off the plastic barrel, drill into the gun body and you have the above. With some CA and AV Metal Color Steel, you end up with this puppy,


I just need to add the front sight and paint the inside of the side panel it's mounted on. I decided to do a test fit of the Benz in the fusi as the Lukgraph resin motor is a bit different in make-up than the kit's motor. As I stated in an earlier post, I had to trim the motor mount plate to fit it. The test,


It was pretty tight and some adjustments were in order. It sat too far back because the front curved cooling pipe was hitting the radiator. You can see it better here,


I just nipped it off as it wasn't used on this particular wing thingy for the cooling system. The rear one was used and had a cooling hose that ran forward to the radiator. It will be fitted after the motor is CA'd in place. So far, everything is going the way it should! Back to doing all the little things that need to be done. Gun sight and last decals on the dash,


That's what makes these kits so good and can also drive you crazy too...Lotsa tiny details and decals, but mostly, the amount of tidbit painting that's needed. It's time consuming and hell on the hairy sticks, as you are using lots of different colors...Last weekend, we had a decent warmer day and with high winds. I have to hang the booth hose out of the window to vent. Luckily the high winds were blowing in the right direction and I managed to shoot the linen color on the wings and flappies. I used a mix of Tamiya XF-57 Buff, added some XF-2 White, and added 50% X-22 Clear to it. Thinned with X-20A in a 60-40 ratio, I went crazy with the hissy stick. I Let everything dry for a day and a half. In the the meantime, I went at the HGW seatbelts and finished them. No pics of this or the linen paint job. I then got brave and started the naval lozenge decals on the upper wings and rear flappy,


I went a different route this time and slobbered Micro Set all over the surface with an old brush before applying them. This worked a lot better than it did with my Halberstadt lozenge decals. Once in the proper place, I dried up all the excess with a paper towel and used Q-tips to remove/smooth out the air bubbles underneath. Worked out really great and the decals didn't tear. After they dried, I hit them with Micro Sol to get them to snuggle down. I had to do this a few times to get the edges to settle. I'm real happy with the results and can only hope the upper wing bridge and the bottom wing decals come out the same...

That's it for now. I have done some more and will try to remember to take pics tomorrow. Thank you all again and sorry for my lack of comments of late......Ketchup, ketchup and more ketchup is in order...Have a great week good people and stay safe!

Prost
Allen

[JR]

Dude 1, nice work all round, that lead wire from Plus Model looks evil stuff to handle at that size. Loving the lozenge decal work.

[Steve-the-Duck]

What to praise most?
Engine? Brilliant
Guns? Fantastic
Getting the huge lozenge transfers to set so well? Top marks, sir!

[Ian M]

Those wing decals came out great. Love that IP too.

As for buying one.... meh.

[tr1ckey66]

Beautiful work as ever Allen. I love following your builds!
Keep up the great work

ATB
Paul

[BattleshipBob]

Very, very late Allen my apologies!

Superb build as usual, love the look of these WW1 planes

[Jim R]

Everything looking really good Allen. Glad you're feeling better. All the detail painting is really paying off. Those wing decals look to have gone on well.

[JayCee]

Looking superb already, Allen, and only half built !
John.

[Neil Merryweather]

Great to see you back in harness bro!

[Scratchbuilder]

Tag Youngerthanme,
Just caught up with your 'new' build, and pleased at the outcome of all the work you are putting into it.
Sorry to hear you are a bit krank, you with your noggin and me with my knee, but let's hope the pair of us are on the mend. The medicine man has filled me up with inflamatories, so the head has shrunk and the knee is bigger, pity they did not stop a bit higher up....:tongue-out3:
Anyway keep up the good work, will have a beer for you (Polish - good stuff, free from neighbour)...
Prost
Olderthanyou.

[Allen Dewire]

Afternoon world,

Dude 1, nice work all round, that lead wire from Plus Model looks evil stuff to handle at that size. Loving the lozenge decal work.

Thanks Dude 2! Be gentle and the lead wire works fine. Just don't squeeze it with the tweezers when handling it. There is something about Lozenge decals you gotta love!!!

What to praise most?
Engine? Brilliant
Guns? Fantastic
Getting the huge lozenge transfers to set so well? Top marks, sir!

Much too Kind Chris! In 1/32, it's a lot easier to do than in your scale. At 1/72, I can't even see half the parts, let alone detail them. Decals in 1/72 could be easier though. I surprised myself that mine went on so smooth. 2 1/2 biggies to go Sir!!!

Those wing decals came out great. Love that IP too.

As for buying one.... meh.

Thank you Boss! Come on now, one kit isn't going to break the bank. It's only a bread and water diet for a week or two. You know you really want one Ian...

Beautiful work as ever Allen. I love following your builds!
Keep up the great work

ATB
Paul

Thanks so much Paul! You and the fine folks here with your great builds is what keeps me going. Of course my love for these WnW kitsets makes it even more fun...

Very, very late Allen my apologies!

Superb build as usual, love the look of these WW1 planes

No need to apologize 'Admiral' Bob. You have enough happening right now with your Mum and I know it's been keeping you busy my friend. I love these WWI wing thingy's, especially the sea planes. I guess that makes them a floaty thing too...Thanks for checking in and best wishes to Julie too...

Everything looking really good Allen. Glad you're feeling better. All the detail painting is really paying off. Those wing decals look to have gone on well.

I'm trying my best Jim! The Mojo is flying, but I ain't getting any younger. I have 7 brushes, hanging bristles down, in clips on the side of my table. 5 are in use almost every day. Thanks Sir, and I have my fingers crossed for the last 3 wing decals...

Looking superb already, Allen, and only half built !
John.

Thank you John! It's more like 1/4 built with all the little stuff for it. Once I get the Fusi thing closed up, masked and painted, it should be a lot further and hopefully down hill to the finish...

Great to see you back in harness bro!

Thank you so much Fred! It's really fun and I think I am getting somewhere. How's the Fuselages going? I gotta check in on them. Oh, and say Hi to Ginger for me too Buddy...

Tag Youngerthanme,
Just caught up with your 'new' build, and pleased at the outcome of all the work you are putting into it.
Sorry to hear you are a bit krank, you with your noggin and me with my knee, but let's hope the pair of us are on the mend. The medicine man has filled me up with inflamatories, so the head has shrunk and the knee is bigger, pity they did not stop a bit higher up....:tongue-out3:
Anyway keep up the good work, will have a beer for you (Polish - good stuff, free from neighbour)...
Prost
Olderthanyou.

Great to have you Olderthanme! I do hope your are getting better and the meds are helping. About the higher up.....Remember, "what can't get up, can't get out"...Are you making any progress on the wing thingy or are you just doing the 'Dough' thing now? Free beer is always a good thing too!!!

Some progress has happened and I did take a few pics too. I wanted to finish up the pit so I could finally close up the fusillier and mask it up for the paint. That meant I had to get the seatbelts done and installed. Also add a bit or two and test fit the Benz again,


I added the steering wheel and weathered up the belts with an AV European Dust wash to tone them down. I really like the HGW seatbelt kits and I have used them a few times before. They are finicky and patience trying, but worth it in the end. It has been a while, so when I nipped them off the sheet, I found the they were difficult to thread through the etch buckles. Ok, it was also funny that there are no instructions in the set, other than a picture that shows the parts and how they go together. When I came to gluing them, I wondered how this would work, them being so thick. DOH!!!!!!.....I had forgotten that you have to peel the backing off of them as they are a laser cut textile material. Getting old sucks!!! Looking at the Benz in place, it looked like the exhaust pipe outlet closest to the pilot was blocked by the strut frame. Test fit time,


Alright!!! It fits around the strut frame. No worries there anymore. The two supports in the middle will be removed when they get painted. Back to the wings and the bridge,


Seeing as I wasn't around back in 1917, this was the closest I could get to a doped linen color (formula in my last post). The round thing in the wing is for the compass decal. It'll get touched up when I apply it. Then, it will be the naval lozenge decals. The upper wing bridge plate,


If you closely, you can see the decals don't go to the inside edge of the wing. The bridge plate decal is wider than the plate and will cover the gaps in the join and overlap the other decals a bit. A pretty good idea, but I hope the overlap portion will snuggle down onto the under decal. I can't screw this up as it is most visible being the top wing. The 2 sets of 4 tiny circles in the middle are the cable mounting points with one cable. This allowed the crane to hook on the cable to raise/lower the plane in/out of the water. There were two types of these. The other one has 4 single eyelets and used 2 cables. Here's the idea,


This is a Friedrichshafen F.33E, but the principle was the same for all Naval wing thingy's...Next up was the observer's LMG 14. Again WnW'S gives you a choice of plastic cast or an etch barrel sleeve,


They also give you spare ammo drums and this cute little etch bending rod for the sleeve. One must always remember to gently roll the etch on a soft surface to form it using a dowel or the like first!!! I didn't (another brain fart) and went about trying to form the etch around the plastic rod. No go at this station, as the etch was wonky, even after I rolled it in my rolling plate from RPToolz. Another dumb move on my part. I unrolled the etch, flattened it out as best I could and went at it again. It's round but off-canted if you look closely. Oh, and the etch from WnW's doesn't need to be heated either. Cuss jar half filled now!!!...

As an aside, WnW's did/does put a lot of effort into the making of this (and other) kits idiot proof. Me excluded!!! Let's look at the floats here,


Notice the attachment points on the cross struts. No way in hell could you put these in the wrong way. Once they are in, you add the upright struts to the fusi,


Again, no way you could screw these up without noticing your error. With those installed, you just need to add the outward struts to the bottom wing undersides,


And again, they are pretty damn idiot proof. If you try to put the left strut in the holes on the right side, the strut faces down, away from the wing bottom. I found that to be pretty ingenious on the part of the kit designers. Just think of a person sitting at a computer, sipping some of New Zealand's finest, designing this excellent assembly method for the kit and hoping China won't screw up when they mold it. Must have been a pretty cool job back then!!!

That's it for today folks. If I haven't caught up on your build yet, please give me a little more time to do so. There are so many great builds/projects going on right now. Thanks for looking in and the wonderful comments. They keep me going when the going gets tough...

Prost
Allen

[Andy the Sheep]

I'm pretty sure the person sipping his New Zealand finest at the computer was a modeller before being a kit designer; if not, I'll try to sip that NZ finest too....
Wonderful progresses, Allen.