Fokker D.VII early (1/72, Roden)

PrzemoL · 8 February 2008, 01:34 AM

After a rather complicated structure and boring camo of Camel I chose something different - a simple structure and colourful painting of Berthold's Fokker D.VII early.
Unfortunately Roden made a horrible jigsaw of this. Nothing fits well here, fuselage halves, tail, bottom wing - everything requires serious surgery. And there are typical flash and unpleasant deformations of part surfaces on some spots. And I want to add Part PE to it!
Well, after some busy evenings I managed to make the fuselage halves thin enough to fit the truss inside. The photos show it before closing. There was also something wrong with the dimensions, so I had to cut off a piece of the truss in the front part because it precisely obstructed the hole for the exhaust.
Right now I have already closed the fuselage which required a lot of putty and sanding, what is not quite finished yet. More to come, hopefully, after weekend.

ManfredL · 9 February 2008, 10:03 AM

You're much braver than I am and your skills are excellent.

Bought all of Rodens 1/72 DVII, started one, stalled at 75% and sold the rest. Not bad mouthing Roden and I was impressed by the detail and love they put in but for the reasons you gave its too much frustration for me.

I had hoped for the DVII to be relatively easy in 1/72 and thus to be able to build a lot of different schemes. I dream one day Revell does a refurbished DVII like they did with the Dr1 in 1/72. That would be the start of a whole Jasta

.

StephenLawson · 10 February 2008, 01:43 PM

Just to help put abit of light on the subject. The Part of Poland fret though well detailed ( or the 1/72 kit) is a bit short in the nose area the frame should come up closer to the #1 cylinder. I did not have this problem in 1/48 but a friend of mine came up against the same hurdle / obstacle in his 1/72 build. He determined that the thickness of the plastic was the main culprit. It tended to push the Fret design down into the ehaust hole. We that love detail must always face the inevitable carving and modifications that come with our AMS (Advanced Modelers Syndrome). You have done a fine job on this build I look forward to its completion. Model On!

PrzemoL · 11 February 2008, 12:28 AM

Thank you, gentlemen

That is what I supposed, Stephen. If the nose part were longer there would be no obstruction with the exhaust.
Well, I would say it all required more patience than skill. Some cutting with sharp blade, sanding with coarse paper and then finer, and after two or three evenings the truss fitted the fuselage well. Anyway, I have now the mainframe with lower wing and stabilizers put together, filled and sanded, almost nothing from the truss is visible anymore, just a small part in the cockpit area. Only I had no time to take photos.

StephenLawson · 11 February 2008, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrzemoL

"Thank you, gentlemen

. . . I have now the mainframe with lower wing and stabilizers put together, filled and sanded, almost nothing from the truss is visible anymore, just a small part in the cockpit area. Only I had no time to take photos."

Thats why I open up the fuselage by removing the skin. I have several more dioramas in mind with these.

Kofoed · 11 February 2008, 02:36 AM

Amazing, PrzemoL. I still can't figure out how you do this in such a small scale.
I'll be following this with great interest.
The grey, is that the final colour or just a primer?

Thanks,
Kofoed

PrzemoL · 11 February 2008, 05:19 AM

Well, Stephen. I admire those who show the internal structure. But this is not what I like in my models, I prefer to see the entire airframe. In the same time I have a sort of satisfaction knowing that the interior is there, the photos are to remind me of this!

I do not know, what grey do you refer to, Kofoed. If it is about the truss, it is silver though not quite visible in the photos - it is the final colour.
The scale is not so bad to work with, I am accustomed to it. This D.VII is quite large, especially when compared to Dr.I or to Camel.

Kofoed · 11 February 2008, 05:49 AM

Thank you, PrzemoL. It was the truss, and I see now on the reflections, that it is more silvery than I first thought. That's nice.

Thanks,
Kofoed

Lufbery · 11 February 2008, 06:49 AM

Excellent! I'll be working on this one, with the Part set soon too.

Thanks for posting your photos, I'll be using them as a reference.

Regards,

PrzemoL · 13 February 2008, 12:03 AM

The most tedious part is behind me. The main airframe is ready for painting. I decided not to use the PE side panels since those on the model elements look well enough for me. The guns and the radiator grill are just put on temporarily.