Fokker Dr.I by Torbogdan - FINISHED - Model Airways

[thibaultron]

My wife used to  write poetry to a service that hosted it free. Then one day, it was all gone! Got a message from the service that basicaly stated, "If you would like a copy of your files, send money." Worse even them your experience with Photo Bucket, at least you can still see them. As I remember the fee was fairly large too, didn't mater, we didn't have the money then.

[Torbogdan]

Some pictures finally! They are not that good but ok. I took them fairly quick just to get some pictures up.

 

Some more vacation coming up so no time to build or update for a few weeks. But these are hopefully better than nothing.

 

So whats left? Well attaching the upper wing, attaching the landing gear (which is causing some trouble as the space between the wings and the body is too tight for the landing gear struts to fit. Will have to do some thinking there. I got a nice tight fit between the lower wing and body only to find out that it is too tight for the landing gear...)

 

Then there is some covers over the "engine compartment" and attaching the wires for the ailerons. Oh, must not forget the raison etre for a fighter, getting the Spandaus in place!

 

Then it should, more or less, be finished. So maybe some time in October

 

[Nirvana]

Tor,I am crying seeing the receipt for gas of yours.

My last fill up cost me 36 dollars for 13.1 gallons.

Now let me try to convert it to Swedish units......

 

That will be 50 liters and 290 kronor for 87 octane gas.

[Gerhardvienna]

8 hours ago, Nirvana said:

Tor,I am crying seeing the receipt for gas of yours.

My last fill up cost me 36 dollars for 13.1 gallons.

Now let me try to convert it to Swedish units......

 

That will be 50 liters and 290 kronor for 87 octane gas.

Now that makes ME cry

We have to pay about € 1,11 for only one liter......................

 

Regards

Gerhard

[Torbogdan]

Ha ha now I noticed that the "practice pictures " I uploaded to learn  how to upload showed! I added them and quickly removed them, I thought...

 

Well yes the gas is quite expensive. Well not that expensive but lots of tax. It is the price of gas and then a special "gasoline tax". After that 25% VAT is added. So a tax on tax so to speak, a Swedish speciality...

 

And no more photo bucket.

[Torbogdan]

After very slow progress during summer (which is good) I started a bit today. I´ve had some trouble attaching the landing gear to the fuselage. The fit was a bit too tight for the pegs on the landing gear to fit into the slots on the fuselage. After some extra sanding, bending and generally forcing things into place it finally fitted!

 

Now it looks like it could actually take off. Well apart from no engine and an assortment of other things

From next week there will be more regular updates. Then everything will be back to normal.

Edited August 8, 2017 by Torbogdan

[Torbogdan]

A quick update. A two metal sheets mounted in place. Third one waiting. Building is still going a bit slow, I´m not getting "quality time" building just minutes here and there. Enough to test fit and att one part during an entire day or something like that. So I´m just posting so you know I´m still building

[CDW]

She's coming along beautifully. Take your time and keep doing things the way you're doing it. 

[Torbogdan]

This long in the process I find the model a nice build. All parts fit together reasonable well. I say reasonable as there is quite a lot of measuring, cutting and gluing. Along the way each 1/10mm mistake in measuring adds up and in the end the subassemblies are sometime hard to fit together. That is not the models fault it is mine. The aluminum sheets over the front of the aircraft are excellent examples of this. I had to cut them up quite a lot to make them fit. Its no big deal but a little annoying when things neeeearly fits. Anyway its a nice build and I have learned a lot so far how WWI aircraft were built and how rudders and such work. But. I must say that if I wanted an really accurate and "correct" looking model I would buy an injection moulded plastic model kit. But this kit with all the interior is just so awesome!

[Torbogdan]

Some commission painting is taking up my spare time for the moment. So my own hobby projects must stand back for a while. But like a well known character says; "I´ll be back"

[Torbogdan]

An infinitely small step for mankind but a fairly good sized step for me in building. Back with some pictures! After finishing a commission job and lots to do at work I could finally do some work just for myself and fun. I added the cover for the fuel gauge, the plywood piece behind the cockpit and have test fitted the padding around the cockpit opening.

 

It feels good to be back

[popeye the sailor]

you've made some really nice progress since I last looked in     I noticed that P.B. struck again.......haven't used them in quite some time.   got fed up and began storing all my pictures on memory stick.   I size my pictures down by 30% so I can post them......for my blog logs I don't have to..they have auto sizing.   glad to see youfound another way to post them......really enjoy see'in your progress    not sure if I'd have the patience for such a complicated model. 

[Torbogdan]

Slowly each piece is assembled. This is the right plywood "cheek" it did not hold the bend after soaking it and letting it dry taped to a bottle, so I glued two ribs to the inside. This worked fine. I used the same method for the part behind the cockpit. I will only put on right side "cheek" in place. I´ll leave the left side open to show the interior. After this I´ll mount the machine guns. Right now building is slow as the pieces need to be put in place and glued and then the glue needs to set before I can go on. So it is basically ten minutes of work and a few hours of drying time. 

[Torbogdan]

The only reason for a fighter to exist is to shoot down enemy aircraft. So now finally it is a fighter! To quote the man himself: "Find the enemy and shoot him down, anything else is nonsense".

 

So the MG:s are installed. The fit was ok but they do not line up perfectly with either the ammo chutes or the spent cartridge collectors. I will either have to bend these parts a bit or add some small parts in-between the chutes and MG:s.

 

In this picture the engine cowling is installed but I just jury fit it. I have not decided if I should have on, in which case it will cover most of the engine or leave it off so to show off the work on the engine. Also I don´t know if I should paint it red. I like the look of the aluminum and it might be a bit difficult to get it covered with a nice even coat of red but red would certainly also look very very nice... Tough choices

[AndrewNaylor]

Hi 

I am still waiting for my replacement kit due to the wing size issue been waiting 3 months now. Any how I have followed your build with great interest as Inhiope the start my kit soon How did you make the front engine cowl? I have just seen it on your last posting but can not recall seeing you talk about how you formed it the kit I received has a flat round sheet and requires some serious work!!!!!

great build 

Andy

[Torbogdan]

The engine cowling is preshaped! It comes in the kit just like you see it. The flat part you refer to might be the firewall between the engine and the rest of the aircraft? You should have had the engine cowl in the kit. If it is not there you should ask for a replacement. 

 

Thanks for your kind words😀

[Robin Lous]

I love this build!...and this plane...and biplanes in general!

 

I'm seriously thinking about this (RC ultralite) one....

Micro Aces D.VII

 

Robin 

[CDW]

11 minutes ago, Robin Lous said:

I love this build!...and this plane...and biplanes in general!

 

I'm seriously thinking about this (RC ultralite) one....

Micro Aces D.VII

 

Robin 

Are you going to build it to fly or for static display? Either way, it should be a lot of fun.

[Robin Lous]

These are made to fly, so I plan to do that.

These planes are made of foam, not highly detailed models, but they look pretty good also.

 

Robin 

[popeye the sailor]

she's look'in pretty sweet!   

[Torbogdan]

Doing some work on the cockpit area. I´ve also sprayed the struts for the upper wing. But the paint "ran" so I had to soak them in solvent to clean it off and spray them again. 

[Torbogdan]

I noticed that I had not properly finished the upper wing. Or more to the point, I had not done the wire and pulley system as I did not find how to do it in the instructions.

 

Fortunately I bought the book "Fokker Dr I, The Aces´Aircraft" by Kowalski and Rýs. A great book! Many thanks to the people who made me aware of the book. 

 

The last picture is taken from that book. There I found out how the system was too look. And finally I knew what to use the small discs/wheels that were included in the kit for. There is instructions on how to build the wing and how to run the cables correctly but not how to build the pulleys themselves. Or at least I cannot find it.

 

Anyway. Since this update I´ve attached the wheels into the metal holders on the wings themselves. I used flathead pins/nails to keep the wheel in place. Also on the outer pulleys there are two wheels there are two wires, one to raise the aileron and one to lower it. To get some space between the two wheels I used left over parts from the fuselage. I took the "Roman Screw" that were for the wiring in the fuselage and used only the "ring part". One wheel, a ring and the other wheel like a sandwich so to speak. This way the wheels are separated in height from each other. It was quite fiddely but I got it in the end.

 

In the first picture you can see one of the "Roman Screws" and above it one of the rings I cut loose from it. 

 

Next update will show some pictures of the result.

[Torbogdan]

I must correct myself. There were very clear and specific instructions on how to build the pulleys. It was just me who could not read... I found it a bit strange as the instructions so far have been very good, that they would have missed this part so to speak. So I went back today to the building instructions for the upper wing and there, of course, everything was spelled out in the last section... I cannot believe how I could´ve missed it.

 

Well, well no big deal, everything is going according to plan.

[JohnReid]

I used my Fokker as part of a diorama build.I depicted it as a crashed airplane on a flatbed sitting in a hangar waiting for the engineers to figure out why it crashed.Seems that the Fokker design for the ailerons was the problem.Fokker almost went out of business over this poor design until they found a solution.

[Torbogdan]

Today I finally continued to build my Fokker! It has been a long break due to work, lack of inspiration and too many other things which had a higher priority and a general lack of willpower to build. But now it s about to be finished. I attached the wires today to the ailerons. I hope to finish it completely this thurs- and Friday. Then I will also get some pictures up. 

 

 

[Torbogdan]

After such a long break it seemed there was a bit more to do than I had previously thought. I hade made the wing tip skids but had left them off as they are a bit fragile. So I added those. Also the tail skid had broken off so I had to reattach it. The wing struts between the top and middle wing are finally attached. The bracing wire between the top wing and the fuselage in front of the MG:s were added. The engine cowling has been spray painted red. An old aluminum beer can has been used to add small parts of "cowling" around the front end of the aircraft. In the last picture a paper part can be seen to the right of the MG:s. After dry fitting I will cut a part like it from the beer can and do the final tweaking before gluing it in place.

 

Earlier this winter I was in London and visited the Imperial War museum and bought a map there to use as back drop. It is called "Trench map, German artillery positions at Ervillers". I will iron it to make it flat and glue it to a board and use it as a base for the finished model. You can kind of see the end result in two of the pictures.I´m thinking about leaving the cowling off to show off the engine. Haven't decided quite yet. I'm also thinking about buying a Pour le Merit replica medal and adding it to the board. I want to make a nice presentation but don't want to overdo it.

 

As it was bit more than I had remembered to do I don't think it will be done by tomorrow as I also have to work tomorrow. Was supposed to have the day off but then the boss called and...

 

 

[Torbogdan]

It is close now! The map has been glued to the picture frame. The propeller isn't finished, it needs more sanding and then varnishing. I also need to strengthen the pro-shaft to avoid it "drooping". I might leave the engine cowl off to show off the engine. I have also ordered a replica Pour le Merite model to add to the base.

 

There is also the last metal cowling to add to the right of the MG:s. 

 

Hopefully it will be 100% finished next week. I started building 3rd of december last year so it has taken slightly more than a year to build. But it has been a very leisurely pace. I could have built it much faster but it is hobby 

[thibaultron]

Looks great!

[Torbogdan]

I was going to finish this yesterday. Then late thursday my boss/watchcommander called and said i needed to work friday (which was my day off). So  no luck. Work this weekend and next week, but maybe I'll actually be allowed to have my day off next tuesday? 

[Torbogdan]

Well, drum roll... It is done!

 

I´m pleased with it. It was a fun kit to build. Some processes were difficult, I would not recommend this kit unless you have some experience in model building and working with different materials. I remember that I did not find the instructions clear in the beginning. I take that statement back. the instructions were very good. Read the carefully and follow the exactly and things will go fine. 

 

A very tricky part was adding the rudder wires through the rollers. Take care when you build the rollers and maybe install the wires before adding the roller wheels. This is the only deviation from the instructions which I would recommend. So instead of finishing the wings with the roller wheels and everything and adding the wiring in the end, install the wiring and then add the wheels. This way you have more space to work with when you install the wiring. So installing the rollers would be the last part you do before the model is finished.

 

The map as I used as a base is from the Imperial war museum. It is a bit "offset" to the frame as I use an old diorama rule that states "nothing parallell to the edge". Technically this is not a diorama but anyway.

 

The medal I put there to make it look a bit more interesting. Also the Red Baron got it, so I thought it would be nice to include it.

 

I will try go get a friend, who is a much better photographer than me take a few pictures of better quality than the ones below.

 

"What ever" you say, we want pictures!  Well here are a few!

 

Edited January 10, 2018 by Torbogdan
adding more text