CDW

Thanks JCT. Enjoying that RV? My brother and his wife sure do get a lot of use out of theirs. Almost every time I call him, they are out on a lake somewhere, fishing. That couple love fishing more than anybody else I have ever seen. They are darned good at it, too. His friends kid him and say, "Gene could catch a fish by casting a lure in a bath tub." I can tell you from experience, you can be fishing all day long in your boat, never get a bite, and he will pull up near you in his boat, cast a line over near your boat and catch a fish.

Right now, I'm wrestling with cutting out the molded on aileron cable and pulley systems at each of the four corners of the wings, and the two pulleys/cables at the horizontal stabilizers. The kit includes some very nicely detailed pulley/cable systems to replace the lack luster molded on units. Being that the wings are molded in solid pieces rather than upper and lower wing halves, it makes for thick plastic to cut through. Not one of my favorite chores as it's easy to accidentally cut out more plastic than was intended. But the end result will be 100% better than the stock units. I had in mind to do the mid version, modeling the aircraft at the time of the Voss encounter. I do have a second S.E.5a kit to do the latter version with the spinner. Generally speaking, the Squadron Encore kits of any variety are bargains to be on the lookout for. They include detail parts such as resin and photo etch, sometimes historical pilot figures, and decal sheets that make them a bargain compared to their stripped down cousins on which the Encore kits are based. The Roden kits that are the basis for this Encore kit are what i would call 'limited run' kits. It's rather evident looking at the molded parts that the molds are just not up to the high quality standards of more modern, high production molds. These type of molds will only produce a very limited number of copies before they must be discarded. In other words, when the kits are gone, they are pretty much gone for good.

Oil pump tubing added to engine.

Goodness, that's a lot of beautiful work represented in one model. It looks totally busy. Makes me appreciate the knowledge and skill the old sailors must have had to work and maintain a ship like that.

Yes, it certainly does include that spinner...in resin as an add-on choice. Kit comes with three sets of markings, basically an early, mid, and late McCudden aircraft that included the spinner. For those who are unaware, the S.E.5a was a very durable, stable and well mannered aircraft compared to other highly aerobatic aircraft of that time period such as the Fokkers and the Sopwiths. This was due to the fact the S.E.5a was designed with lots of dihedral in the wings. This resulted in a very stable gun platform, but a slow roll rate. McCudden capitalized on the speed and stablity of the airframe by developing superior tactics and gunnery. Killed in combat at the age of just 23, McCudden made all but five of his fifty-seven aerial combat kills in the S.E.5a.

This is the S.E.5a engine, the Hispano Suiza 8 cylinder. Engine is the stock kit pieces with added spark plug wiring from scratch (plastic rod and fine wire). Engine is painted in Tamiya semi gloss black, dry brushed with Mr. Metal Color iron and aluminum. The only parts of the engine that will be readily seen once the model is finished are the rocker covers. There's no reason for me to go too wild on engine detail that's going to be hidden.

Shipping from Czech Republic in less than 1 week? That IS impressive.

Okay, this is the 1:32 Squadron Encore Models S.E.5a as flown by England's highest scoring ace of WW1, James McCudden. This particular kit is from somewhere around or about 2009 and is currently out of production. A copy can be found most times listed on Ebay, and sometimes the asking price is a little too much IMHO. I paid roughly $60 for this kit and that's a decent price for it. Basically, the kit is the Roden model with added resin and photo etch pieces, plus a nice resin figure kit of James McCudden. The plastic parts are a little on the rough side compared to Wingnut Wings kits...you get what you pay for as the old saying goes. Still, I believe this can be built into a pretty decent model. Gonna give it a shot and see what happens. For starters, my kit's fuselage halves are strangely warped. I believe I may be able to straighten these out in the construction process. If not, I have a 2nd Roden kit as a backup which I will rob parts from if I must. Hang on and I'll post some initial construction photos later tonight. v

I just realized I failed to post these "final" pictures of the Albatros a few days ago. Three days late, but what the heck.

Thanks for the nice comments Lou. I don't know for sure, nothing in my references tell me exactly what that object might be, but I am guessing it's a vent for the radiator and possibly where the coolant was filled. I'll bet vossiewulf knows what it is. Maybe if he looks in, he will tell us.

The locomotive is looking very nice, Denis. I am beginning to appreciate how much work goes into an old vintage model like this. A lot of steps involved and it looks like not much is a "drop fit". Of course, this just adds to the modeling pleasure experience in some ways. 🙂

Sharp! Very sharp.

With a model of this size, I would probably use an automotive primer from a rattle can. First, prep the surface to be painted with a light sanding then a wipe down using something like naptha or lacquer thinner to remove any oils or residue.

Super progress Yves.

Thanks to all for your kind comments and for all the "likes". 😎

I tinkered around with a couple of different methods I never tried before on the prop/s, trying for a wood grain, laminated wood finish. The kit comes with four different props, so it allows for some experimentation. The one I liked best for looks, I didn't use. It was done with artist oil paint. It was taking FOREVER to dry though. In hindsight, I should have thinned down the oils with a reducer, like maybe lighter fluid...that would help for a much faster dry time. I settled on using water color pencils for the prop in the picture. Wetting a fine tipped brush in water, then touching the pencil, and applying the water color that way in multiple coats. Those do a pretty good job of simulating wood grain. I think I need a higher quality set of water color pencils though. It was fun and a learning experience.

Albatros D.V D.2078/17. Ottomar Hagenmuller, MFJ 1, late 1917 (killed 5 Dec 1917) Final Photos These will be the final photos for my 1:32 Wingnut Wings Albatros D.V, Ottomar Hagenmuller. It has been a joy of a kit to build. I have two more copies of this same kit and will build each a little differently to represent the pilots who flew them. A note about the kit decals: The decal sheets are about as good as they get. Everything in perfect register, all the colors bright and crisp. The decals are a little thicker than others. I found that the Solvaset decal solution worked best with these particular decals specifically to help soften and settle the decals to conform to the specific shapes and panel lines they were placed over. This is a fine model and I highly recommend it...it's worth the money IMHO. Two thumbs up!

So sorry for your loss. Thoughts are with you and your family.

Kermit's Fokker D.VII

Kermit Weeks takes his Albatros for a ride on a beautiful, sunny Florida day. If you ride east on I-4 out of Tampa toward Orlando, you'll often see Kermit flying one of his vintage warbirds. The man has some beautiful aircraft, I can tell you that with certainty. It's funny watching this Albatros in flight...it really does sound just like a farm tractor.

When I receive the kit, will look it over to see if there are areas that need improvement. From what I've seen, it's great right out of the box.

Hi OC, thanks for stopping by. I just bought the 1:32 Tamiya Mosquito and am waiting for it to arrive. It will take up quite a bit of space. I guess I better start finding a good way to hang these airplanes from the ceilings to display them. 😵

A very very very true statement, sound advice.