Onto the next build:



Hans Bohning's rather colorful late war Pfalz D.IIIa, built from Wingnut Wings kit 32006 (that needs no introduction) and Flying Circus Part 2 Decal set 30020.

Small departure from my usual Out of the box "shake and bake" is addition of Aviattic Lozenge set *, which I hope will add to the look of the finished model... HB profile is interesting in regards to both wings being left as lozenge camouflage fabric instead of being partially or fully overpainted... It would be even more striking to have a profile for Pfalz with its tail surfaces left lozenge as well, but I came up short in my scant searches. The profile also offers unique configuration of flare gun / flares mounted on the outside of the fuselage - that should tickle the scratch detailing bone just enough.

The WnW Pfalz D.IIIa kit comes with single sheet of lozenge decals that combine lower, upper and 2 types of ribtapes on one sheet. All kit profiles have at least top of the upper wing overpainted, so there is less top surface fabric decal than there is lower. Without measuring, I assume that there is not enough kit lozenge for HB profile and I'm in luck for having the alternative.

* It's worth noting that I'm getting this decal set as trial / review sample, so my opinion may be skewed in favor of the experience of using it... I am, however, a very thrifty modeler (especially when it comes to one stop premium kits like WnW), so the real testament will be whether you'll see the product used more often in the builds after.

Let the build begin!

Pfalz D.IIIa 8170/17 Ltn. H. Böhning, Jasta 79b, June 1918. (17 victories). After serving in combat with an artillery regiment, Böhning transferred to the Fliegertruppe in 1916. He was injured in an accident on 17 July 1917. On 20 Sept. 1918 he was wounded in the hip when his Fokker D.VII was shotup in an engagement with a D.H.9 over Soriel. When he recovered, he assumed command of Jasta 32b eleven days before the Armistice was signed. Böhning was killed in a glider crash in 1934.

Awesome! Gonna have to follow this un' fer sure!

Thanks for the pilot info snippet! Must remember the men and not just the machines.

Short google search turned up a rather colorful DVa and a DVII - with ace of spades... Going to have to do some more research on those and plan additional aircraft of Hans Böhning!

Onto the build:

Unlike its Albatros brethren, WingNut Wings Pfalz kit is designed with partial frame build that encompasses all of its visible insides (from engine supports down to the middle of the aircraft) and two fuselage "clam" shells that close around it. The pictures are at the point where the fuselage is ready to be closed up.











The fit is very good, though some sanding around the frame and inside fuselage is recommended prior to painting - fit tolerances are very tight. I have added sparkplugs made from stretched sprue and control cables running from controls aft, but not to the guns (gotta leave some room for future growth). The manual provides photographs that show more plumbing and wiring not covered by the diagrams.

This method of assembly leaves a lot of ways to overthink and overwork parts that are left invisible to observation once fuselage is assembled... Though it does make for a decent surprise when unsuspecting viewer peers inside, expecting bare plastic.

Engine is weathered with very old oil wash I save from previous builds - finished plane is weathered with freshly mixed wash and then remains are saved. Paint degrades in the thinner and is good for heavy accumulation effects up to 1-2 months (re-mix well) - it's really grainy and can turn to sludge in places, so watching how it dries is kind of important. Heavy accumulation around the engine and then travels through the cockpit (no firewall) in diminishing manner.

This is turning into a speed build:

The fuselage is mostly complete, short of cowlings and flare / gun rack. This stage of assembly shows the nose as if displayed during engine maintanance mode (if I chose that route) - minimal to no parts modifications needed.

Rather happy with my own mix of "Royal Prussian Blue". Tail planes are assembled and pinned. Guns and clear parts are installed - care must be taken not to get paint on the windshields or bend the Spandau sights.











I've noted that the aircraft displays Aldis-like telescopic sight, but no instructions / clear view of how it was installed (looks high, over the windshield and almost under the top wing) - if it gives me trouble, I will probably omit this detail.

Ivan, your work on the interior is simply beautiful. Well done, thus far.

Best wishes,

Ian

Man,
That looks sweet! It's a shame so much detail is lost when everything is closed up.

Gary

Thanks (and Ian too)! It's part enjoying the process and part knowing it's there - with all the experience of hidden interiors, I'm warming up for a more "naked" build.



Last night I've spent attempting to "pin" the landing gear to add some support to hold up the weight of the plane - my previous Pfalz didn't give me trouble, but I've double guessed previous experience with wanting something more sturdy. I've succeeded in staking each strut end with at least 1/4" deep steel shank, but resulting clean up left for some undesirable looking struts. Angle was tricky and shanks may have been slightly too thick, but I hope to better with practice.

So I've opted to go with Scale Aircraft Conversions white metal parts to get slightly more rigidity out of the legs...

The build progress - the lower wing has been painted and skinned with Aviattic lozenge (lower and top surfaces), engine cowlings installed, partial rigging / control wires anchored













On the lozenge:

The decal is laser printed and translucent. The former means that entire sheet is transparent carrier film, so cut as close to the decal edges as possible. The latter means that underlying surface prep is pretty crucial - bright gloss white as a minimum base and darker shading as a detail, as desired. The pre-shading is a bit of a learning curve, though base application should produce more than adequate results. The shading should be pretty subtle and practiced over a scratch surface.

The decals may be considered fragile during application when compared to Cartograf kit decals, though highly dependent on the process. I found good way that consisted of room temperature water dip for 10 seconds, 10-20 seconds laid out in the air, application over MicroSet mopped surface (previously painted with gloss paint) and additional MicroSet over the top while aligning and getting rid of air bubbles. As MicroSet begins to dry, one application of MicroSol is mopped over the entire decal and let dry overnight. Decal should not be touched once MicroSol has been applied, as that's when I've experienced cracking in the color - with MicroSet alone, the decals sustained pretty heavy handling and held up with no problems.

Only point of contention is temperature of water - a decal "shrunk" a bit, so details no longer aligned - I could only assume that it was caused by overly hot tap water. I was able to stretch it back some by literally holding down one end and tugging over the surface, but problem is avoided by sticking with lukewarm water.

Decal cutouts are very precise, so very little touch up was needed - if decals overlap, they create a dark area where they do because of the nature of translucent film. Use of WnW kit's ribtapes is suggested in the instructions - WnW ribtapes look "fresh" in their color difference, though I found that faint wash of "brown varnish" (my mix is ~15% Purple, ~15% Burnt Sienna, ~70% thinner) right over the ribtape blends them right in.

You can see the shading come through some of the pictures, even if very faintly. I may go more noticeable on the top wing - just because.

Really nice job so far Ivan on this build It's a cool scheme . I did this one in 48 scale a few years back . Looking forward on the next up-date




Terri

Looks,really great so far! Everytime I research one of these WWI pilots, I find lots of images of other fantastically painted a/c. I really have to get into this era!

Gary

Thanks! I picked this scheme for maximum flair and it didn't disappoint! I may have to build a PC-10 doped one next - just to give my sensory overload time to recover




I got my start in Early Aviation because I wanted to paint planes, but didn't want to paint canopies... For the next five years I paint nothing but. True story!

Canopies vs. rigging. I have a question for you. When I first bought the Roland C.II, I imagined I was gonna drill holes through the bottom or top half of each wing and hide my fixing of the rigging between the wing halves. However, my Roland has solid, 1-piece wings. What do you feel is the best way to attach the rigging to what is a surprisingly thin surface?

Thanks,

Gary

Btw, I really think I'll have to try Bohning's Albatross D. Va, if I can master rigging.

There are many ways to rig a cat... to skin a plane...

I rig "through the wing" - a bit of the knuckledragger technique. I drill all the way through the wing at the angle of rigging line, though do account for detail on the other side and adjust exit hole to land of plain part (as possible). Bottom wing can also be drilled part way, enough to anchor the wire. Then I use jeweler's wire and work from the outside to the center of the plane - anchor with CA on the bottom, let set, stretch to desired tension and anchor in the top wing. Cut ends of wire with your best flush cutter, the sand flat and cover with touch up paint. If tension is done correctly, this significantly strengthens your construction but it's also easy to get a slack wire or bend a strut. Drawbacks are kits with extensive detail right where your wire exits the top surface of the wing.

Another way is quite refined - described here in detail with photos by Aeroscale's own Jessica Cooper. You can also buy products like Bob's Buckles or Gaspatch turnbuckles that provide similar solutions.

Here are some options described in diagrams. Turnbuckles are an additional complexity element, though

There is also a way to pre-drill holes in wings part-way and measure out length of each rigging line with a compass.

Is your Roland scale 1/32 or 1/48? Wing thickness in 1/32 gives quite a bit of room to drill into the wing and set an anchor without penetrating through.

Materials range from elastic EZ-line, to fishing line painted black, to jeweler's wire...

Finally, the rigging diagram is very important - if building Eduard / Roden kits, I'd highly recommend downloading free Instruction PDFs from WingNut Wings if they offer the same subject. The former are often incomplete or at least unclear.

Hi Ivan,
Thank you for your quick answer and the two links. They'll help a lot. My builds will be 1/48 scale. The Roland was known to have thin wings so any drilling will be very shallow.

Gary

I like Roland CL.II as first time Early Aviation recommendation - its construction is not as fiddly as most other crates, though enough techniques to get the feet wet... Unless your Roland is D.VIa

On with the build:



The landing gear is white metal aftermarket upgrade by Scale Aircraft Conversions .










Further experimentation with Aviattic lozenge - lower surface of the upper wing, all finished and ready to install once I get the struts ready



and upper surface displaying my run at pre-shading method...

Ivan,
The Pfalz is a beautiful plane given the restrictions and technology of the era. You are making beautiful work of it.

Btw, my Roland is the C.II

Gary

And Finally - the build is complete:

One of the most realistic looking models I have seen in a while.

Great job!

You should be very proud of your accomplishment.

Sam

Ivan,
Just fantastic! I love how realistic everything looks. The metallic sheen on your rigging enhances that.

What a beauty! Great work, Ivan

A lovely DIIIa Ivan and in a very attractive scheme I have not seen replicated elsewhere at shows.

Superb!

Gary

Ivan, your build is absolutely beautiful. I love the paint scheme.

Best wishes,

Ian

Thanks, everybody!

Had a blast building this particular aircraft and I'm thankful for encouragement and compliments at completion... Stay tuned for what's next this Holiday Season!

Looks like I've made a splash on Aviattic index page and the "Recce" (customer gallery) - feels good!