Steve's Models

[Sailor Steve]

I already have one. I'll be doing another, but right now I'm working on the old crappy planes from 1914. The Dr.I doesn't come along for quite some time.

[Sailor Steve]

Engine and tail surfaces mounted.

[Sailor Steve]

Yesterday I mounted the upper wing, but forgot to take a picture. This one was difficult because the wing is in two pieces that attach to a triangular cabane (the struts that attach the upper wing to the fuselage, as opposed to the struts that attach the upper wing to the lower wing, which are called struts). The cabane was in two halves that had to be properly aligned. I didn't get them right the first time, which left the wing crooked. I had to carefully pry the cabane halves apart without breaking them, and put them back together correctly. Gluing the struts between the wings wasn't easy either, and the spray accelerator that makes the superglue dry instantly ate some of the paint off the upper wing, so I had to go back and respray it.

Today I got the landing gear mounted, so all that's left are the details (propeller and delicate "rhino-horn" exhaust stack), markings and rigging. The wheels were solid, to represent fabric-covering, but most of the photos show no fabric. I hollowed out the wheels until all that was left were the tires, then used some etched-brass spokes I bought some time ago. I'll probably spray a gloss coat on it tonight and tomorrow do the rigging first, as the exhaust will be easy to break of with all the handling it's going to get.

[Sailor Steve]

And another one is in the suitcase. Propeller mounted, exhaust mounted, rigged, markings applied and ready to go.



It's funny how sometimes it's better without the flash than with. Above is with flash. I only kept it because the one below is blurry.





Front view with Axial propeller logos.


Pilots, engine, radiator and "rhino-horn" exhaust.


Thursday they're moving me out for the reconstruction. There won't be any new planes for a couple of weeks.

[Jimbuna]

Nothing 'should' ever beat natural lighting but circumstances sometimes dictate otherwise....the joys of photography.

Nice new addition Steve

[Cybermat47]

Brilliant job Steve!

There used to be an Albatros C.III (the last one!) in New Zealand, before the people in charge of the museum had it burnt

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Cybermat47

There used to be an Albatros C.III (the last one!) in New Zealand, before the people in charge of the museum had it burnt

I have a sudden hatred for people who run museums in New Zealand.

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!!!!!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Cybermat47

Brilliant job Steve!

There used to be an Albatros C.III (the last one!) in New Zealand, before the people in charge of the museum had it burnt

Was that the one based at the Omaka Aviation Museum?

[Sailor Steve]

Finally ready to get started on the next one: An Aviatik B.II, another "unarmed" two-seater, this time Austro-Hungarian. These early aircraft were technically unarmed, the observer carrying a rifle or carbine. If they were fitted with a machine gun the observer was still in the front cockpit, so he had to fire over the pilot's head.

I still haven't found the compressor, but everything else is in place, and since this is another vac kit I have a lot of cutting and sanding ahead anyway.

The Kit

[Cybermat47]

Hooray for the Austro-Hungarians!

[Sailor Steve]

Fuselage halves cut and sanded, interior assembled, lower wings cut and sanded.

[Jimbuna]

Working at a fair pace Steve

[Sailor Steve]

A quote from the 'What are you doing now' thread.

Originally Posted by Red October1984

This reminds me...I need to finish up my P-40...

I just remembered a funny story from a couple of decades ago. I may have already told it. I hope not.

It was in the 1990s that Acadamy came out with the first P-40B kit. Prior to that there may have been a vac conversion kit, but we converted ours manually. When the kit came out Rocky and I noticed a couple in a local shop. We immediately went to the owner and told him we would take what he had, and wanted to special order twenty of them, ten each.

"Ten?", he asked, "Why?"

"We use them for an airwar game. I need one for Flying Tigers, one for US Pacific, one for British, one for British North Africa and one for Russian."

"That's five," he said. "Why ten?"

"They never went out alone. I need to provide planes for my wingmen, too."

"Okay, that's ten. Why twenty?"

Rocky immediately said "What if Steve doesn't show up one night?"




I still have seven of them sitting on my shelf right now.

[TLAM Strike]

In case you missed it Steve you just hit 10,000 views on this thread.

Oh and I noticed you work with vacumeform kits. I got one of a Su-7 sitting on my shelf but never had the guts to try and build it.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

In case you missed it Steve you just hit 10,000 views on this thread.

No, I didn't. I look every now and then, but somehow I missed that one.

Oh and I noticed you work with vacumeform kits. I got one of a Su-7 sitting on my shelf but never had the guts to try and build it.

If you've built regular plastic models, vac kits aren't really that much different. Score the plastic along the edges and gently break out the pieces, then sand them until they're flush. There's more work involved because of that, and you have to be careful, but if you are careful it can be a fairly straightforward job.

On the other hand there are so many great kits out there now that vacs are falling by the wayside. A good modern plastic kit can already have so much detail that you don't really need to add anything. A vac can leave you scrambling for plastic wheels and other parts. The upside is that a lot of vacs come with plastic, resin or metal wheels and struts that are better than some of the 'regular' kits.