Fokker Dr.I by Torbogdan - FINISHED - Model Airways

[Torbogdan]

I have decided to take a break from model ship building and build an aircraft. As it is not a ship I won´t put the log in the ship section. I hope it is ok to put it here as this is the "general topic" section as I understand it. I also understand that people visit this website to view modelships and not aircraft but maybe someone might find this of interest. It makes more sense, to me, to post here than to become a new member of some other site. 

 

I hope it it ok but if it is not admin can just move the log to a more correct place or remove it altogether.

 

Anyway. The model I´m building is Model Airways 1:16 Fokker Dr 1 triplane. the aircraft flown by the red baron Von Richthofen.

 

I have started to construct the main spar of the upper wing. Instructions are so far good but sometimes a bit unclear. For example the spar is made up by four parts glued together to form a beam. As I understand it the two parts making up the "thickness" of the beam is to be glued on top of the lower part. But it could be glued to the front and back also thus making the spar slightly longer and thinner instead of slightly shorter and thicker. Looking at the pictures  gives some indication but I would have preferred one extra sentence explaining this.

 

 

My little building corner. I wish it was much bigger, it kind of limits ( I think) the size of ships that can practically be built)

 

Some pictures of the drawings

 

 

 

 

 

[amateur]

Airships are also ships

Question: the drawings show the construction as build (the framework of the body, the ribs in the wings, with the cut-outs to keep the weight low)

Is the kit also 'as build', or is it only showing the outside of the plane as it was?

 

Jan

[amateur]

I checked on the internet, it is different: the model is only showing the inside!

Great model to look at when finished!

 

Jan

[thibaultron]

I too have this kit, and will be following the build. Model Expo is very good at helping modelers, email or call them for an answer to the spar construction.

[reklein]

Dry fit the spar and compare it to the holes in the ribs to get the right configuration.  Have fun with this kit. I built the Jenny and it was a fun build although time consuming. Which is what its all about anyway.

[Torbogdan]

Thanks a lot! Good advice, I did not think of that. That´s why I like this site, there is always someone who has experience and willing to share it and give friendly advice.

 

I couldn´t agree more with that it will be time consuming but like Reklein, thats the whole reason I want to build it! Also to learn new techniques and working with new/different materials.

[thibaultron]

Reklein:

 

Did you remove the char inside the wing ribs? If so, how.

[Erik W]

Cool!  I love the Fokker Dr.1.  That kit looks like a challenge.  I like the complex look of WWI aircraft without fabric.  After seeing these unique markings, I had built this 1/48 scale Dr.1 years ago.

 

 

 

Erik

[Torbogdan]

@ERik W,that is very nice model of an iconic aircraft. Very good work!

 

I have started to glue the stiffeners in place. Went well. I lightly sanded the side first to remove some char, ( I don´t know if it is really necessary but did it anyway, didn´t take long).

 

Glued the stiffeners with white glue and used a brush to apply the glue. I was careful to have glue from top to the bottom of the spar so that it is not only a "blob" in the middle of the spar. Because the the stiffener might break loose when I sand it. Then I decided to cut one loose and dry fit it. I cut the stiffeners and the small tabs that hold the spar itself but it did not come loose… It took me a minute or two to realize there are stiffeners on the opposite side also… So flipped it over and cut those stiffeners and the spars popped loose!

 

I sanded all the edges a bit to remove some char and dry fitted and it went well. ( the picture shows the spars but before I sanded them)

 

 

 

[thibaultron]

Here are a couple links to other builds, one the DR1 and the others of other Model Airways kits.

 

http://www.lazuli.com/n_projects/n_dons_projects/n_fokker/index.html#

 

http://www.modelshipbuilder.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?16206

 

http://www.ipmsgreatplains.org/camel.aspx

 

I liked the way the DR1 biuld added some color to the model, but not too much.

 

I have the Sopwith Camel, DR1, Newport, and Wright Flyer kits.

Edited December 4, 2016 by thibaultron

[reklein]

Its been a few years since I built the model,maybe even as much as ten years. Probably I sanded the ribs as there were small bumps left after removing from the fret. I'll see if I can find photos.

[reklein]

My wife found the photos as she is the designated archives keeper. Looks like I only sanded gluing surfaces. Here's the pic.

[skipper1947]

I have the Model Airways Jenny also, though it is currently sitting at the top of my reserve stack of kits. I was a little intimidated by it. I will watch your build with interest.

[reklein]

This is an old build,maybe around 2011. sorry. Someone had asked weather I sanded off all the laser char. If you're interested I could PM you a few photos of the build.

[thibaultron]

Reklein;

Thanks for the pictures. I looked at the MA pictures, and they left the insides of the ribs with the char, as did all the other buit pictures I could find.

[thibaultron]

Construction of a modern Newport replica.

 

http://www.aviationmaintenance.edu/blog/great-war-aircraft-project/aim-chesapeake-ww1-nieuport-24-building-continues/

[Torbogdan]

Did some work today on the lower wings. If you build this, this is my advice, study the instruction booklet carefully! It will help a lot. Read, understand what you read, think and then start working.

 

Read a bit further than just the step you are currently at, also look at all available pictures and drawings before starting to assemble things.

 

That said, it is going well. The thingamajing in the middle is the plywood leading edge piece. It is a thin piece of plywood that wraps around the leading edge of the  wing. It says to soak it for at least 30 min, that is good advice. I used very warm water and let it soak for a while, I then began to bend it, testing the flexibility and back into the water for a while and did this back and forth until it was soft enough and could be bent around the jig.

 

So, soak and bend a little, soak and bend some more, soak and bend yet some more and so on. Also listen carefully to quickly hear if the plywood starts to tear or break. If you hear "breaking/tearing" noise immediately stop bending and soak some more.

 

[Torbogdan]

No picture update. I´ve mounted the veneer leading edge and glued it in place. Looks good so far. This will take some time to dry so in the mean time I have started to clean up some of the metal parts. There is some flash and and such that needs to be removed.

 

I like this model but it is difficult, I would not recommend it to someone without quite a lot of previous knowledge and skill. 

 

Working slowly and carefully is the way to go. I hope

[hof00]

Nice!!

Have 1/8 DR!, (Hatchette/Partworks), on the go.

Haven't touched it for some time but have all 3 wings built, Engine, etc.

 

I'll get there.

[Torbogdan]

I´ve built a little on the lower wings. The are getting close to being done. Some work remains but slowly getting there. So far the work have been slow because there are many small parts that need to glued and then have time to set before it is possible to move on. So in an evening it is not possible to work a lot, maybe 20 minutes of work and thats is the rest of the evening the glue needs to set. 

 

Also the model requires skill and patience, it is not an easy build. At least not if you want it to look good. It is not necessarily difficult per se but one have to be very careful and work slow and that is, at least for me, difficult

 

[Torbogdan]

The lower right wing is done.

 

Ended up quite well. I sanded a bit too much on the leading edge but overall I´m satisfied. I did learn a lot constructing this part of the aircraft so all the rest will be better. As usual I defend myself with the fact that at "normal viewing distance", maybe 1,5 feet, it looks good! Looking real close you will see all the small mistakes but thats the way it is.

 

I must also note that the instructions are good, at first I thought them a bit unclear but as I have learned the "aircraft language" (what a root spar is for example) they are easy to follow. 

 

I did one small change though, the instructions says to have several small pieces at the back end of the wing between the spars (the 1x1mm)  rod. Instead I cut notches in the spars and used one long piece. I felt that was an easier way to have a long straight line of rod/s. With several pieces the chance that it will look crooked is much larger I think. Just be very careful when you cut out the notches so they are in a straight line. I used a sanding disc in my Proxxon and just grinded the notches.

 

[hof00]

Hi Torbogdan,

What is the quality of the "Castings?"

I read a review some time ago that stated that the Casting quality was poor.

 

Cheers....HOF.

[Torbogdan]

The castings are generally "almost acceptable". They are not good considering this is year 2016. Some parts are ok but many, especially, engine parts are not good. In quality I would compare them to a metal wargaming figure cast in the -80 so to speak. some parts have quite a lot of flash and metal studs (where the metal was poured) that needs to be removed. Some parts for example the cooling jacket for the MG:s could have been made in photo etch instead of cast. Overall I´m not impressed. They will do but I would have preferred better, and expected it.

 

But as with you I had read that the castings was not so good so I was prepared for what I got. So the grade for me on a scale from 1-5 with 5 being top notch and 3 ok this is a weak 3.

 

Lower wing is done by the way! No picture as it basically is two wings from the post above. I´ve started with the middle wing.

[Torbogdan]

A short update. Between the flu, Christmas and work not much have been done during these two weeks. But today I got some work done on the middle wing. No picture update? Nope, it won't show much and as the instructions are (almost exactly) "build second wing as first wing" not much new will be seen.

 

There are of course some building differences but not yet, right now it is "same procedure as last wing..."

 

When I get to a new process or problem I´ll include a picture. Anyway, it is going well. I´m sanding all the parts to remove the char so that the edges that will be glued together will get a better fix. 

 

I´m being careful thought to put all the pieces on the work table in a pattern how they shall be glued to make sure I make one left and one right wing. Nothing would be so embarrassing as  thinking "Oh I´ve done this before, no problem" and realizing too late that I got two left wings...

[Torbogdan]

After Christmas and New Years I´m back working on the Fokker. I´ll try to get a few pictures up tomorrow. Work continues on the middle wing. Constructing this is basically, as I´ve written before, same as the lower wing. 

 

It takes time for the same reason, set time for the glue. It is more or less glue 1-2 pieces in place, wait for 20 minutes for the glue to set, glue another 1-2 pieces in place, wait and so on.

 

I hade a small mishap with the forward large plywood piece on the left wing. I was a bit to fast bending it and ended up with a few ugly cracks in it. I´m not sure if I should contact Model airways for a replacement or use this one or scratch build one from left overs. It was a stupid mistake. Classic, "I´ll do this fast no problem, it should work..." It did not work. Sometime speed is good, at other times it is not.

[thibaultron]

Get a replacement! That policy is one of their big selling points for me.

[Torbogdan]

Today I mailed Model airways and asked for a replacement part. I also finished the middle right wing! The left one will have to wait until I get the part. I tried to use some scrap plywood but it was not large enough.

 

So until I get the part I´ll start with the upper wing(s). Lots of repetitive work, luckily I´m very good at doing the same thing over and over and over again...

 

I think what I did wrong with the cracked part was that I soaked it well but used Luke warm water. The other parts I used really warm water and was more careful when bending. So next time hot water and more patience.

 

 

 

[Torbogdan]

The wood strips for the center beam for the top wing was all twisted and warped. I soaked them in water and put them on a flat surface with a heavy weight on them. Now they are nice and flat. Just to be sure they stay flat I think about adding a few ribs or wood strips on the inside to make them more sturdy and stiff so they won´t warp when glued together. 

[Torbogdan]

Once again slow progress but the center beam for the top wing is now finally done. I hade to add "braces" to the inside to keep them straight. Even after being soaked and put under pressure until dry the warped a bit. So I took a thicker piece of strip and glued it to the inside to "force it flat". It worked and now the center beam is usable.

 

Next step is to add all the spars.

[Torbogdan]

Sometimes life gets in the way of hobbies, and these are the facts for me at the moment. Building will continue and so will the updates but maybe at a slower pace. I do not have all the time i want to pursue my hobby for the moment. So what i want to say is that I´m going to build the model but might not update or build as much/often as I have with my previous builds. 

 

So do not despair it will be finished! But have a bit of patience