Wooden Airscrew for recovery of Mojo

1
January 12, 2024
This church was always shown on the different logos of the "Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke".
2
January 11, 2024
The front view.
3
January 11, 2024
The back side.
4
January 11, 2024
A side view shows the amount of layers.
5
January 11, 2024
It is very hard to take a picture which shows how thin the blades are.
6
January 14, 2024
The kit prop is 3D printed, as many other parts.
7
January 14, 2024
But the main problem is, that it rotates in the wrong direction!
As I do usually my own wooden props, such mistake can be corrected easily.
8
January 14, 2024
The kit PE are nice and contain seat belts as PE parts.
But I used a Eduard set (made with support by HGW), so my belts are real fabric with steel colored buckles. No paint used yet, a oil wash will be done later.
9
January 16, 2024
For the seat belts a seat is needed - here provided by the kit in two separate parts 3D printed.
After primer and leather paint I glued the cushion in.
10
January 16, 2024
Then I continued with the wings, here a aileron. There is a pin for the control wires in V-style.
Good that the manufacturer thought about this detail, but I cut it and drilled a hole into the aileron.
11
January 16, 2024
New brass pins looks better and provides a safe mount with a hole for Gaspatch rigging. Here a turnbuckle in plugged in.
12
January 16, 2024
On lower surface I darkened the ribs itself.
13
January 16, 2024
After preparation and white primer I shaded the ribs on the upper side with masking and airbrush.
14
January 16, 2024
The upper side of the wings is painted in blue gray now.
15
January 16, 2024
I tried some different blue grays. Gunze H42 Blue gray was the best match, with naked eye in daylight even better as on this picture.
16
January 17, 2024
I have not used the decals of the kit. The white fields and the crosses were done in multiple masking sessions (Cheers to the cutting plotter!).
17
January 17, 2024
Here is a closer view. For the white fields I used MRP White and MRP Insignia White on top.
18
January 17, 2024
After some drying and masking I applied Drooling Bulldog Pale Blue to the lower surfaces. I have darkened the ribs too much and had to recover this with mire white and linen. The look is ok now.
19
January 17, 2024
All upper surfaces, now with crosses.
20
January 18, 2024
Here a picture from Lukgraph to show all the 3D-printed parts, which comes now into the game.
21
January 18, 2024
The result of a lot of work of careful cutting, cleaning, priming and painting: wood base, wood grain, clear yellow/orange; details in black, steel, brass, copper ...
22
January 18, 2024
A part of the previous picture in closer view: Nice details on the ammunition feed. Here is the back part of the Spandau MG plugged on.
23
January 18, 2024
Top the kit Spandau. I rolled and soldered the jacket (there is also a front PE part).
But as the jacket is open at the end and the barrel is bend I will use a Gaspatch MG, see below. It provides nicer details.
Note: the brass front from Master is not an option here, as here a early Spandau 08 is needed.
24
January 18, 2024
I modified the mount a little bit so that the Gaspatch fits now.
25
January 18, 2024
Additional little 3D printed parts for the cockpit. I added only the copper "pipe".
26
January 18, 2024
Many parts are mounted into the frame.
I modified the seat mount on lower side so it is now more forward. Belts are also in place.
27
January 18, 2024
From now on I have to be careful, because the control stick sticks out at the bottom.
28
January 18, 2024
The cockpit frame is now in place and fixed with CA. The forward framework and engine mount is also on the picture ...
29
January 18, 2024
... and now mounted too.
30
January 23, 2024
The manual requests to use 0.5mm wire to connect the tail planes. Ok, they are very thin, I would not use a bigger drill. Done that.
To connect both one should use the provided wire?! But there is only 0.5mm copper wire in the kit which is too soft. The holes in the provided PE parts are much bigger!
My solution: 0.5mm brass wire, a 0.7mm brass pipe slide on, with the control horns soldered one. Finally small pieces of 0.9mm brass pipe soldered into the PE holders.
31
January 23, 2024
All parts plugged together. Later I will cut slices into the fuselage to glue the holders in.
The axle has now a thickness according to the manual. BTW: not the first time I have done this. Some Fokker and Morane.Saulnier used an identical solution.
32
January 23, 2024
Next chapter: Struts. On the left the printed struts in "ABS resin", in different length. The struts are stronger as normal resin and have holes at the end to glue a provided copper wire in (see on the right). Problem: they are with 1.2mm thickness much thicker as the filigree struts on the drawing and the photos. Maybe the need to be that thick to hold the wings even in the stronger resin.
My solution: as often squeezed brass micro tubing. See left of the drawn strut. 0.7mm thick, with a 0.5mm brass wire insert.
33
January 23, 2024
The 8 struts in the different sizes (I hope the length of the kit struts is correct!) prepared for later paint job.
Here you can also see that the depth of the black struts is only slightly greater than the thickness.
34
January 23, 2024
The gear parts are also printed in this black stronger resin. Very wide, with some print marks.
But what I do not like is the gear is the axle construction. There are no pics welded into the bend strut - the struts were welded on a lower thicker pipe!
35
January 23, 2024
Many pictures confirms this.
I guess I will also replace the gear by a metal construction, as often on my models. It will also more robust in long term for a safe transport.
36
January 25, 2024
Not all my solutions works at the first try. On the right I replicated the lower board of the landing gear to replace the kit resin by wood. I must admit that the kit part was closer to the drawing in the Herris book, but I had not understand how the suspension could work.
Later, after I made the struts I understood the principle and made a new wider board, according to the Windsock drawing.
37
January 25, 2024
The landing gear legs are soldered again from brass. This time not that complicated compared to a Sopwith gear, but complicated enough. 0.6mm wire in squeezed 1.2mm brass tubing.
Later I soldered 0.45mm nickel silver wire to hold the board. I wanted to use tubes, but those were not strong enough. I wanted also as small as possible due to the holes needs to be drilled into the wooden board.
38
January 25, 2024
Plugged together. Close enough for me to the drawing.
39
January 25, 2024
Very same picture, but with the 0.8mm steel wire as axle, provided by the kit.
40
January 25, 2024
The wood is primed and varnished, the legs are metallised and glued into the wooden panel.
41
January 25, 2024
Again with wheels, on a picture of the real plane.
You can see, that the suspension running "inside", that is simply not possible with the kit solution. The manual shows some yellow windings in a very vague way.
42
January 25, 2024
The new gear is painted blue gray. I masked some of the wood with liquid so I was able to remove some paint to show it in a used state.
The axle is fixed with the suspension to the gear. I used a dark one because it looks dark on the picture and to have some contrast. The steel rope (thin wire) is acting as travel limiter for the suspension in case of a hard landing.
43
January 25, 2024
The finished new full scratched landing gear is plugged on to the unfinished fuselage. I can be stored now for later mounting. I only need then to add the suspension.
The picture shows also another kit problem: it contains 80mm steel wire in thickness 0.8mm. I used 42mm for the axle. On the picture you see two pieces of that wire to hold the lower wings. Even if you allow it to protrude only 3mm on both sides, there is not enough in the kit due to the width of the fuselage. Another piece is needed to mount the rudder.
44
January 26, 2024
The instrument panel is a one piece affair. 3D printed with all the details. The detail painting was not easy because of the size.
Luckily there are instrument decals provided with two spare sets - nice for other projects!
45
January 26, 2024
Here the prepared panel alone. The glass on top of the instruments is "Kristal Klear".
46
January 26, 2024
The Mercedes D.II engine.
47
January 26, 2024
From the other side, with all the details on.
48
January 26, 2024
Dry fit, dry fit, dry fit! Here the pump on the bottom causes a conflict. You can open up the fuselage there, as there is a cover with a bulge, as need also on the original.
As this not a stand alone engine, I removed the pump.
49
January 26, 2024
On the left a Mercedes D.I from Taurus, on the right the D.II from the kit. Paint job started.
The Taurus one has more details seems to be in scale - no chance to use it due to the size. The kit one seems to be a little bit smaller to fit into the cowlings.
Taurus has the lower end of the cylinders correct.
50
January 26, 2024
After a lot of detail painting ignition wires are added.
51
January 26, 2024
The other side.
52
January 26, 2024
Three decal provided by the kit added (but not mentioned in the manual or I have overlooked it). The a oil wash was applied.
53
January 26, 2024
Another great kit part! The little pipe in the middle is thin as a hair!
54
January 26, 2024
Also primed and painted and mounted to the Mercedes engine.
55
January 26, 2024
Engine and panel are added to the fuselage.
56
January 26, 2024
The exhaust is also painted and mounted to the engine prior fixing the engine.
The fuselage is closed now, but glue not yet applied.
57
January 26, 2024
Parts of the engine are still visible.
58
January 28, 2024
The fuselage is closed. So I was able to put all the prepared parts together. The upper wing need to go more forward.
Once again I was surprised myself: the four inner struts alone can hold the upper wing!
59
January 29, 2024
With the fuselage now closed, I made two cuts at the tail. That is risky because the outer parts could break easily!
Then I glued the prepared parts (see earlier pics) into the cuts.
60
January 29, 2024
This photomontage in a side view shows the maximum deflections of the tailplane.
61
January 29, 2024
The tailplane surfaces could easily be added later after painting.
62
January 30, 2024
The fuselage is primed and sanded multiple times. Then I added lids and PE parts. The field for the fuselage cross is painted with Insignia White.
63
January 30, 2024
Here the 3D-printed maintenance lids in recesses (see older pics) in closer view. I added only some metal paint to get a different contrast between dark metal and light wood (white) withe the blue gray top layer.
My fear has materialised: I lost the lower part of the control stick (see pic 27) during all the handling 🙁
64
January 30, 2024
The other side. There is a cover behind the MG.
65
January 30, 2024
On lower side a lot of PE. Not only the stitching but more parts below the front part.
66
January 30, 2024
Finally I painted only the fabric part of the lower surface light blue. It is not shown in the profile and can be guessed only from the photos.
That's artistic freedom, but there are photos in flight of other aircraft in which the front wooden part is camouflaged and only the rear fabric is painted in a light color.
67
February 1, 2024
An advantage to cut own masks are an easy two layer masking.
The outline was copied and reduced a bit in size and cut too. So I can use the inner part to hide the cross while painting the rudder blue gray.
68
February 1, 2024
Fast forward: The second layer removed and replaced a day later by the outer part of the second cut to paint the black cross.
The rudder blue gray was painted together with the fuselage. So what to do during the drying period?
69
February 1, 2024
Next chapter: the Gaspatch MG. There are some options like different barrels and gun sights. After checking my references I glued the selected parts in place and painted it.
70
February 1, 2024
At first I used a dark Alclad metal, followed by a very thin layer Alclad Gunmetal.
71
February 1, 2024
I also continued to work on the airscrew and painted different clear paints like Clear Yellow and Clear Orange. After checking the references I decided for decals for the airscrew manufacturer Germania.
72
February 1, 2024
After drying over night I added a layer of clear coat.
Here in comparison to a part of a photo of a Halberstadt D.II. The hub is another story ...
73
February 1, 2024
The kit also contains some PE parts for the lower wings, which serve as foot plates and maintenance covers. They are now in place.
74
February 1, 2024
The masks are removed.
75
February 1, 2024
After the Blue gray on fuselage was dry the markings were masked and painted.
76
February 1, 2024
The stitching was painted in a brown stripe, as shown in the color profile.
77
February 1, 2024
I painted the recesses for the control wires with a dark paint, drilled holes for the control wires and added kit PE parts on top.
78
February 1, 2024
The stitching in closer view.
79
February 1, 2024
An overall picture of the fuselage.
80
February 1, 2024
As shown before I have not used the kit landing gear, but there are some fittings on the 3D printed gear.
My gear needs that detail too, so I created some from a empty PE frame.
81
February 1, 2024
The landing gear in finally in place, with the new fitting on the upper side of the legs. I will add some paint.
82
February 1, 2024
Now a teaser with prepared parts are plugged together.
83
February 1, 2024
Looks like a fighter already!
84
February 2, 2024
As on other projects I added some fasteners made from brass wire. Of course the direction in closed state is aerodynamic flat.
85
February 2, 2024
On the left (the black primed one) is a 3D printed lid to cover the pump below the engine. Nicely done with hinge, but still some 3D artefacts.
But this has problems: I brake it during drilling for the two fasteners. And it was a bit small to cover the big hole below the fuselage 🙁 May be I sanded the fuselage halve not enough. Solution: I made ne alu lib with a ball punch.
86
February 2, 2024
New lid in place, also in comparison to the drawing. The hinge is brass wire, the two fasteners are added too. The lid is painted, but the paint is fresh.
87
February 2, 2024
Prop boss plates with 6 holes are needed, but I have only PE with 8 holes. So I turned a PE remain on my lathe and drilled it here.
In itself the right tool for this task. If only the dividing head would run round! 😠
88
February 2, 2024
All prepared parts.
89
February 2, 2024
The plate on the back side is bolted on.
90
February 2, 2024
The front side now too. Just noticed now that there is a battle damages I have to replace a cross 😳
91
February 2, 2024
I like the look in comparison with the original photo. Please note the additional ring between axle and plate.
92
February 2, 2024
The next problem: There are some PE fittings to hold the exhaust, but I have not understand how they should be folded. After checking a lot of reference photos I started working on a different solution. Stay tuned.
93
February 4, 2024
After checking some reference photos I made a new mounting clamps for the exhaust. I happy with the look now.
94
February 4, 2024
All four holes in the fuselage are used for the new clamps.
95
February 4, 2024
As next step I mounted the tail skid.
96
February 4, 2024
For the rudder a control horn was forgotten in the kit. That is hard to see in the drawings as sits directly below the rudder.
But that is nothing what cannot be fixed quickly from a piece of brass (PE frame). It is here on the prepared axle for the rudder.
97
February 4, 2024
So the rudder is in place now.
98
February 6, 2024
On the 3D printed wheels axle I managed to break a ring on the outside. As fix I increased the inner diameter from 0.8mm to 1mm and made nickel silver bushes.
The wheels were masked and painted. Please note the "CONTINENTAL" on the tire!
99
February 6, 2024
The kit provides a 3D printed compass. I painted it with Alclad in brass and then the outer ring very dark with a brush. A kit decal inside, covered with Kristal Klear and it could be mounted in the lower wing (far away from any iron in the fuselage).
100
February 6, 2024
Now a very, very tricky task: the wind shield! The kit provides two PE stripes and a clear foil (with two printed on shapes and a spare area).
101
February 6, 2024
Inside of the wind shield another damn small instrument needs to be added. Same procedure with decal and glass.
102
February 6, 2024
All struts are painted pale blue. The first struts are mounted to the fuselage.
103
February 6, 2024
A beautiful detailed 3D-printed part from the kit: the radiator for the upper wing.
104
February 6, 2024
The radiator is open between the slats!
105
February 6, 2024
Some more PE added on the wings.
106
February 6, 2024
I connected both wings using brass wire. Additionally there are PE maintenance lids to hide the connection fittings. I added here brass fasteners.
On the trailing edge you can see two little struts. I decided to glue them into the wing for easier mounting.
107
February 6, 2024
With the struts in place the prepared Spandau MG (see older pics) could be mounted. See the linen belts within the feeder 🙂
108
February 6, 2024
Nice look from the front!
109
February 6, 2024
The upper wing sits now on the fuselage struts _WITHOUT_ glue!
110
February 6, 2024
The angle of attack seems to be ok.
111
February 6, 2024
The alignment is also fine.
112
February 6, 2024
So it is possible to plug all together for a little teaser of a biplane 🙂
113
February 9, 2024
The contain PE parts for the strut mounts.
The ears should be used as "strut holders", but I have seen them also used as rigging holder.
114
February 9, 2024
Often you hear the Gaspatch turnbuckles are too big. But what is then this rigging holder? Looks clunky compared to a turnbuckle.
And four bolts on a thin wing spar? The historical sketches shows a slim mount bolted to the spar with two bolts on both ends.
115
February 9, 2024
So I made new brackets from brass PE frames, thickened them with solder and drilled them. I will use the Albatros turnbuckles, the ball of which provides a fastening mechanism. These will sit in the drilled ball sockets.
116
February 9, 2024
A lot of them are needed, in different types. For the outer only one ball socket.
117
February 9, 2024
In a closer view.
118
February 9, 2024
On the upper side of the ropes no turnbuckles, but Gaspatch "Anchor points".
119
February 9, 2024
In closer view.
To create the last parts of the needed 16 parts was no more fun!
120
February 9, 2024
After adding the control wires on the tail (forgot a photo) and rigging of the landing gear I added the wings and the struts.
121
February 9, 2024
So now it is finally a biplane and I started the rigging with adding the inner crosses.
122
February 9, 2024
Here in a closer view.
123
February 9, 2024
With the upper wing in place the upper tank could also be connected (with copper wire). The pipe was fixed to the strut with a small stripe of black whine bottle foil.
124
February 9, 2024
For the wing rigging I prepared 16 turnbuckles of the Albatros type. It is easier outside of the model.
And when the little buggers are roped up, they can no longer scurry away!
125
February 9, 2024
The rigging of the wings is done!
126
February 9, 2024
The outer fitting.
127
February 9, 2024
View from back.
128
February 9, 2024
The rigging on the lower side.
129
February 9, 2024
In closer view.
130
February 9, 2024
The gear rigging from the other side. There is also a control wire visible running over a seesaw. But the lower side is not yet complete.
131
February 9, 2024
A overall view of the actual state.
132
February 11, 2024
The smallest kit part, also 3D printed, is the fuel cap within the C. The lest part is the sprue not yet cut for easier handling.
133
February 11, 2024
Painted brass and glued into the tank.
134
February 11, 2024
On upper side I added also a pipe found on original photos. It avoids that hot steam from radiator overflow runs into the face of the pilot.
135
February 11, 2024
I forgot little PE parts for the strut sockets and added those now.
136
February 11, 2024
For easier work I added the beginning of the control wires of the ailerons outside of the model.
Here Gaspatch turnbuckles of type C are used.
137
February 11, 2024
There are a lot of manufacturer logos on the kit decal sheet, but I don't know where to add them. So far I added only two to the landing gear struts.
138
February 11, 2024
There are very small decals for the labeling of the struts with logo, type (D.II), position (german Vorn Links=Front left, Hinten Rechts=Rear right and so on) and serial number.
No spares of those. The printing quality is nice, but they are printed on continuous carrier film and need to be cut individually.
139
February 11, 2024
That small stencils were tricky, but all are applied successfully. You can see also the V-style control wires of the aileron.
140
February 11, 2024
I killed the control stick long ago as mentioned already. So I made now a brass replacement and glued it in place.
141
February 11, 2024
After painting the two control wires were added.
142
February 11, 2024
May be my wing and engine are not on the intended position so the water pipe was a little bit too short. But I have lead wire of the same diameter, so I scratched a new one.
The hot water from the engine can now flow into the radiator ...
143
February 11, 2024
... and the cold water to the water pump on the engine.
144
February 11, 2024
Finally I added the last two rigging ropes from the front to the upper inner struts.

Comments

99 11 January, 20:25

bughunter
My mojo was in the cellar for a while and I couldn't find it again despite several thorough searches. So I haven't shown anything for two months. To recover it I tried a new wooden air screw as wood work is always fun and relaxing.
This is an air screw made by the Niendorf brothers in Luckenwalde. It is only shaped and primed so far. Later it will get decals and darkened with clear paints.
The bearing is also done. As this air screw is very filigree the bearing is made from 0.8mm piano wire and 1.0mm brass the first time.

11 January, 20:37

bughunter
Last year, while visiting friends, I also visited Halberstadt to photograph this special church from the logos of the "Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke" (airplane factory). No, the short tower is not bomb damage, it already looked like this over 100 years ago. Across the street was a much larger and more impressive cathedral, but it looks just like the others. So this smaller church with its towers has a much higher recognition value and is probably why it ended up on the logos (two variants here).

Three years ago, I already built a biplane from this company - it's time for another one!

12 January, 16:35

Spanjaard
very nice

12 January, 21:40

bughunter
Thx Spanjaard! I hope to have it finished until the Euro Model Expo in March.

13 January, 10:46

gorby
Beautiful work on the propeller Frank and a very unusual church, which I've not seen before.
Hope your mojo recovers soon.

14 January, 12:16

bughunter
Thank you gorby, I hope I can show some more pics soon.

14 January, 15:00

Marcel Klemmer
Welcome back with mojo on stage bughunter👍

14 January, 19:22

bughunter
The kit provides seat belts as PE, but I prefer the Eduard belts (made together with HGW). Real fabric with steel colored buckles looks better and can be applied more realistic.
Eduard made them 10 years ago for the Siemens-Schuckert kit so they are very cheap now. But they match for nearly all German planes of that time (also valid for the Spandau MGs). Three cheers for standardization 👍

14 January, 19:25

bughunter
Oops, nearly overlooked your comment Marcel as we typed in parallel. Welcome to the show and thank you very much. I hope I can bring this into a good end in one go.

14 January, 19:28

Guy Rump
Looking great, following. 👍

14 January, 20:33

bughunter
Thanks Guy!
I've heard a lot of bad things about the Lukgraph kits and the quality lately, so I thought it was time to see for myself and build one myself.
On the box is stated: "For experienced modellers" so let's see if I'm experienced enough.
What I have see so far is not bad. Ok, the mistake with the airscrew direction I have also seen from other manufactures (e.h. Special Hobby) and the replaced seat belt are just a personal preference (the PE belts are ok).

14 January, 22:16

bughunter
Continued with the seat and worked on the wings.
At first I wanted to do a green/ red brown scheme (the kit offers decals for two serials), as usual on this type and time. But then I came across a nice blue gray livre with pale blue lower surfaces. The kit offers a complete pale blue one, but this is not the same as a photo exists with both. For completeness: a linen colored one is the third option.
I think the blue gray/pale blue is a nice spot of color in the collection. Luckily the small white serial numbers are painted over, so I do not need decals for that.

16 January, 20:01

Marcel Klemmer
Nice color, good decision👍👍👍

16 January, 20:20

David Taylor
sitting in.

16 January, 21:11

Robert Podkoński
A little late, but joining a party!

16 January, 21:33

bughunter
"The regular crowd shuffles in ..." (Billy Joel - Piano Man) Welcome mates!
Thanks for the confirmation Marcel! Lets see, how it looks like if the fuselage is done and painted (will will take a moment with all that resin).

16 January, 22:28

bughunter
The wings are now mostly finished. Some details needs to be added, but I should continue with cockpit and engine.

17 January, 17:13

Christoph Kunz
I'm shuffeling in too.

17 January, 17:53

Ben M
I'm about to paint my first "ribs" on an early aircraft. I noticed you didn't do lighter ribs on the top surface? Is this because the blue fabric would have been largely opaque?

17 January, 18:42

bughunter
Welcome Christoph and Ben, great that you discovered my build log!

Ben, this depends on plane and painting. See photos of original planes.
If light is going trough (typical linen, without painting), the rib from below looks dark. In top view light is going into the wing, but it is reflected on the ribs, so the ribs look brighter. See two examples of a BE2c here, same aircraft.
jamesfahey.smugmug.c..2c-early/i-MXG9bZC/A
jamesfahey.smugmug.c..2c-early/i-HdTxqC9/A

If the wing is painted, e.g. with dark PC10 on this SE.5a, then no light can go trough the wing from top, so then the ribs looks also brighter on lower side.
jamesfahey.smugmug.com/SE5a/i-B3T3zVJ/A

So the best is to look on pics of the original plane. I my case I have picture of a flying D.II and it shows dark ribs, even with a camouflage paint on top. May be still some light going trough? So it painted the ribs dark here.

17 January, 19:33

bughunter
A lot of work was spend for the cockpit but this time mostly kit parts were used. Only some wires added, as described in manual.
Apropos manual: The manual shows, how the parts are fitting together but do not glue them as shown! For example if you glue the Spandau MG the frame you cannot fit the frame into the fuselage.
This kit has nice details, but it is not a Tamiya! So a lot of dry fit is required. The removing of print steps is not easy as the resin is very hard and brittle. So I may be failed here and there.

Most of the inside will be hidden forever as the cockpit opening is very small. Before I can close the fuselage halves the instrument panel and the engine needs to be prepared and mounted.

18 January, 21:30

Gary Kitchen
Late to the party but taking a seat. Looking like a fabulous build as ever 👍

19 January, 06:32

Thomas Haberl (th_scale_models)
Very nice - I´m flashed by the prop ... the result of the different wooden texture/color is awesome. Also the cockpit looks stunning. Thumbs up 👍👍👍

19 January, 07:37

bughunter
Welcome Gary and Thomas!
I have to admit that this will _not_ be the first finished Halberstadt from this brand new kit, although I started as soon as I received it. Lukgraph showed the first finished one on their FB page (linked from homepage), but it is in 1:32. May be this will be the first finished one in 1:48? Let's see how far it goes.
@Thomas I could claim that the wooden propellers are a trademark of my models, but in reality I'm just too stupid to paint the plastic realistically. Especially the many thin layers on the hub. 😉
I like building with real materials, because in some places plastic is not the best realization of the original. A sailing ship is also more beautiful in real wood than in plastic. And it is pure fun!

19 January, 15:48

Meister
Deine Fähigkeiten sind einsame Spitze, und wir haben den selben Flugzeuggeschmack 🙂. Meine Halberstadt ist noch auf dem Postweg.

19 January, 16:49

bughunter
Danke Dir! Ordered mine as Preorder last November.
This build is very challenging! At the moment I try to modify the Mercedes engine so that I'm able to close the fuselage at the front. 🤔 😳 😠

19 January, 17:31

Kyle DeHart
I've been asleep!! Can't wait to see this

20 January, 23:23

Alec K
Me too, apparently! I was wondering what has happened, now I know 🙂 👍

21 January, 14:06

bughunter
Very nice that you found your way here, you were already sorely missed!

21 January, 14:32

Kyle DeHart
And very glad to be here!

21 January, 18:07

Ludvík Kružík
Here another model from aviation prehistory is born. I can't miss it!

22 January, 00:19

bughunter
Thanks and a warm welcome to you too Ludvik!

23 January, 10:40

Jennifer Franklin
Following 👀

23 January, 11:56

bughunter
Thank you Jennifer!
I hope to be able to show some new pictures later today.

23 January, 15:43

Giannis Kaltapanidis
Yep! Definitely.

23 January, 16:23

Dietmar Bogatzki
Awesome, bughunter 👍
following

23 January, 18:00

Kenneth
Sehr beeindruckend 👍

23 January, 20:19

bughunter
Oh, new visitors: Welcome and thank you very much!
Some new pics are added now. I decided to replace the 3D ABS resin printed struts by metal.

If someone else owns the kit: could you please check both halve of the tail planes? I seems to have two identical ones with the same flat side. Is that the same on your kit?
I asked Lukgraph, but no answer yet.

23 January, 20:50

Kyle DeHart
Truly excellent, my friend!!

24 January, 01:31

Michael Kohl
Like the strut construction. Gotta keep that technique in mind.

25 January, 11:58

Alec K
I too love those brass struts. Question: how do you manage to squeeze the tube over the rod without deforming the tube? It's just a perfect oval shape 👍 I used this process on my Hansa project for the landing gear support and ran into this issue.

25 January, 12:07

bughunter
Thank you mates!
Alec, I rolled the pipe with a scalpel to cut the desired length. Then place it on the inner wire (long, not yet cut) and let the tube hang on the wire between your fingers and put it in a small vice with flat! jaws. Not the fingers, only the brass 😉 Or support the wire on both sides in some other way. And then close the vice.
I use a little Proxxon vice, but any other will do too. If the jaws are not flat you can add a metal angle bracket on both sides.

25 January, 13:29

bughunter
A new full scratched landing gear is finished now and I like the outcome. Another small step towards creating a downscaled original. 🙂
The drawing in the Windsock Datafile and a careful study of many photos in the references helped a lot!

25 January, 18:04

Kyle DeHart
Stunning work!! That looks wonderful.

25 January, 23:45

bughunter
Thank you very much Kyle!
I hope that pictures of the engine can be shown today ...

26 January, 16:53

Juergen Klinglhuber
Great result on your scratched landing gear ! 👍

26 January, 17:57

bughunter
Thank you Juergen! Unfortunately, it no longer looks _that_ spectacular with paint.

26 January, 18:48

bughunter
The instrument panel and the engine are done, so all the inner parts are finished and the fuselage halves can be glued together as next step.
Damn, that was a huge amount of work on that little pieces!

26 January, 19:35

Christoph Kunz
Beautifull!!!

26 January, 21:23

Kyle DeHart
Frank!! You're moving efficiently through this and it looks wonderful!!

27 January, 00:56

Bernhard Schrock
As usual a great show! Struts: the ends is „chamfered" at the back. Are you sanding before or after squeezing?

27 January, 06:35

Findus
Sehr akurate Arbeit, super Alterung

27 January, 07:38

bughunter
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
@Kyle I worked on it will full power as I want to have it finished for the next club meeting. I still have a week to go, but I also have my doubts as to whether it will work out with rigging etc.
@Bernhard After squeezing, I removed the wire and shaped the ends. Then I put the wire back in and soldered it. I then only used sandpaper to clean up the solder joints.

27 January, 16:48

Michael Kohl
Engine looks great.

27 January, 17:41

bughunter
Thanks Michael!
The fuselage is closed now! So please don't complain about parts or paint that should be in there and I've forgotten 🤔 😳 😎

27 January, 17:55

Meister
Ich bin wirklich gespannt wie es weitergeht,…gab es eigentlich noch weitere Ungereimtheiten?

27 January, 20:10

bughunter
Geduld du haben musst, junger Padawan! - Patience you must have!
As promised in the kit manual you have to check often and remove a little bit resin here and there, as the fit is very tight. But also this is original, as the plane was built around the engine.

28 January, 07:54

Ludvík Kružík
Very nice and precise work. 👍

28 January, 09:37

bughunter
Thanks you Ludvik!
For the impatient among you, I've put together (without glue!) a few parts to create a little teaser. I hope this will emerge into a nice little bird.

28 January, 16:27

Greg Baker
Amazing... again and again.

28 January, 16:49

Jennifer Franklin
Impressive

28 January, 17:28

bughunter
Thank you Greg (nice to see you after a while 👍) and Jennifer!

29 January, 17:34

bughunter
The mount and control fittings for the tailplane are added.
I'm currently stuck in a primer-sanding loop of the fuselage ....

29 January, 20:55

Kyle DeHart
Primer sanding loop. My favorite. 😐. Anyways, everything is looking wonderful.

30 January, 01:22

Ludvík Kružík
The design of the tail surfaces in your rendition looks great. 👍
One oddity (but not at all unusual) is that floating tail surfaces were used on this aircraft.
As the aircrafts evolved further, the tail surfaces were replaced by a fixed (non-movable) tail surface design with movable control surfaces. And with the advent of fast jet aircraft, designers returned to floating horizontal tail surfaces.
It is interesting to see how history repeats itself. 🙂

30 January, 08:23

bughunter
Kyle, I learned in the IT world, that a loop need an exit criteria - in my case that criteria is called "good enough" and I'm very close to that. I had already problems with my favourite Alclad primer (on plastic) with adhesion to resin. I was recommended to try the primer from MRP and it adheres really well!

Ludvik, to understand the engineering solutions, the history and to see how a new solution was "traveling" from one manufacturer to the next is for me a fun part of the hobby!
One more word about this special case: the surfaces in front of the pivot point act as a "servo" and reduce the control forces during a deflection. Even later, with your mentioned fixed damping surfaces of the horizontal stabiliser, there were parts in front of the pivot point. See for example this picture of a Fokker D.VII: [img1]

30 January, 09:54

Alec K
As usual, your projects are a pleasure to follow 👍

30 January, 13:41

Michael .
I have to ask. How did you fabricate the tail strut linkage in photo #60? both sides appear to be identical. What material did you use?

30 January, 13:56

bughunter
Thank you Alec for your support!
Michael, I created that assembly earlier, please see pic 30 and 31. There are 4 kit PE parts, 2 control horns and 2 fittings, to be folded back to back. But since the holes were different I reworked this using brass pipes. It could not be mounted because the fuselage was still open at that time.

30 January, 14:53

Michael .
Okay thanks. I didn't see the PE set. Amazing job so far.

30 January, 15:01

bughunter
On the Lukgraph page the PE set is only shown in this picture, the bigger set in 1:32, the other 1:48
[img1]

30 January, 15:10

gorby
Fantastic work as always Frank!
I'm glad you've defeated your mojo malaise.

30 January, 17:09

bughunter
Thank you gorby!
Sometimes it's good to start with a new kit in one go. And in this case with a brand new one - that motivates too. And finally I want to have something to show at the club meeting next Monday 🙂

30 January, 17:20

bughunter
I added now pics of the fuselage. It is now prepared for the main paint job with blue gray.

30 January, 18:25

Kyle DeHart
Oh I'm looking forward to seeing paint down on this one.

30 January, 22:04

bughunter
Fuselage and tail parts are painted now, but I will not touch it or take pictures yet as the Gunze paint dries slowly.

31 January, 11:36

bughunter
The fuselage is painted now and all markings were applied using self created masks. Not perfect, but it looks like painted on and that was done by hand on the original plane, so I'm happy with the look. During the drying time I have prepared some other parts.

1 February, 18:47

Kyle DeHart
Oh yeah!! That's excellent. What a great looking bird.

2 February, 04:36

bughunter
Oh yes Kyle, you are so right 👍 Thanks!
But there is still a long way to go before we reach the finish line.

2 February, 17:01

Greg Baker
I just love watching these projects unfold. Great job as always, Frank!

2 February, 18:20

Kyle DeHart
Yea indeed. I'm looking forward to watching as you elevate this kit even further.

2 February, 21:16

bughunter
Thanks mates, new pictures uploaded!

I have only PE prop boss plates with 8 bolts. I used them anyway on my Piper end of last year. For the finished model I got the comment that the Piper airscrew is only bolted with 6 bolts. Yes, I know, but I didn't have the right plate!
The same problem on this bird and before using 8 bolts I tried to create them myself.

2 February, 22:16

Alec K
The prop boss itself is a little work of art 👍

3 February, 12:47

bughunter
Thank you Alec! If the radial run-out of the dividing head wasn't so bad, it would have been even easier.

3 February, 20:24

Alec K
Yeah, at these scales a very small run-out makes a big difference.

4 February, 00:32

bughunter
Alec I suspect that the dividing head is running true, but the jaws are not clamping in the centre 🙁

I uploaded new pictures as the exhaust and more parts are mounted on the fuselage.

4 February, 20:13

bughunter
Due to the little size of this biplane and its filigree nature it was not easy but now the fuselage struts are in place. They can hold the upper wing without glue. All the hard work with the struts has paid off.
Some more details added too. I need to prepare the rigging (drilling holes etc) before the wings can be fixed finally.
Have fun with the new pictures!

6 February, 20:35

Kyle DeHart
Your photo stories are the best. Wonderful update and I also enjoyed the teaser of a biplane at the end. Fantastic.

7 February, 03:55

bughunter
Thank you my friend!

In the meantime, I'm a little annoyed! The tail skid is wrong.
On the D.II it is held by a tripod, not by four struts as on the kit. Due to that the suspension is different too. I guessed it from many photos, but the tail is often in the dark shadow of the tail unit. And I have to defend Lukgraph, because all the drawings (in the Datafile and in Herris' book) are wrong here. The D.II was developed from the Trainer B.II, and this one had four struts, which is proven by a very good photo. And as it happens, I only found confirmation after the detail on the model was completed 😠 The British dismantled and analysed a captured Halberstadt D.II and made beautiful sketches of some of the details - and one of them confirms my assumption. Actually, this would have been easy to change before painting the fuselage, but now the mounting brackets on the outside of the fuselage are interfering.

7 February, 09:51

Michael .
Now all you need is a tiny pilot to fly that thing away.. It's an amazing build.

7 February, 12:05

Alec K
Amazing details added. Regarding that 3D printed radiator in the wing: how wide would you say the spaces and the actual ribs are?

7 February, 12:32

bughunter
Thank you!
Alec, I measured the inside area of the radiator: 11.7mm for 20 spaces/ 19 ribs. The seems to be equally distributed so 0.3mm per space or rib.

7 February, 12:49

bughunter
Because I have received a PM, a word on my own behalf.

It would be boring to see another WWI project from me. Because I might lack the imagination?

If you feel the same way, please filter out or ignore my postings and I apologise for the annoyance. I have also created a feature request for a mates-ignore-list so that my postings can be filtered out easier. Feel free to vote for it: SCM Newsfeed
If that's the general request, I may as well stop with my build logs. Some may prefer to pay for such detailed build logs on Patreon site.

8 February, 10:43

Michael .
Bughunter,

I wouldn't worry about someone complaining. It's unfortunate that this is what society is today. If you don't like something, don't watch/read it. It's simple. There are many postings on here that I don't pay attention to because I'm not into the subject matter.

I for one enjoy your build logs. It helps me out and makes me strive for more detail in my own work. It would be a loss to the rest of us if you stopped. I'm also starting to lean more towards the bi-wing era of aircraft, they seem simple, but not. So, please do not stop.

Have a wonderful day.

8 February, 11:53

Jennifer Franklin
I love your build logs. It is one of the ways that I learn. Don't stop.

8 February, 12:31

Rando
I'm sorry, are people really that bored on this great website that they're directly complaining to others about their build choices? Part of what makes this hobby great is you can do exactly what you want to, so who cares if people don't like it? They can scroll past.

Please don't feel discouraged to post your great build logs. Most modelers such as myself get a lot out of seeing others' work, it's part of why I enjoy Scalemates so much. Sorry to get on a soapbox. I don't necessarily disagree with the feature you're suggesting, but it's just weird to me that people would complain. They can skip sending me messages after my 10th Vietnam navy jet build.

8 February, 12:44

Ludvík Kružík
Frank,
your models are little works of art and your modeling is top notch. I always enjoy seeing your new projects. The skills you show here are a great inspiration to me. And I'm sure most modelers involved in Scalemates who follow your work feel the same way.

Don't be distracted by "shouts in the dark". Occasionally there will be someone who will try to spit on your accomplishments. It's just plain envy. These "last righteous" usually know exactly what others should do, but can never do it themselves.
As Michael wrote, if someone is bothered by your posts, they can avoid them and may not read them at all. Everyone here has that option.

I wish you much joy in working on your models and please don't stop!

I look forward to your next interesting posts!

Ludvik

8 February, 13:04

Robert Podkoński
Frank, for me it is always a pleasure to follow you build logs and learn so much from such a master. Keep calm and carry on! 😉

8 February, 14:31

Alec K
I agree 100% with sentiments expressed above. It's truly sad to see such behavior, but sadly the anonymity of social media empowers unbalanced individuals to take potshots at others with impunity. The intent was clearly to hurt you, only an unwell person could expect such comment to be taken constructively. I don't know which option is sadder…

Your work is outstanding and I for one look forward to your continued contributions. One quote comes to mind when something like this occurs: "Don't let the bastards get you down!".

Thank you btw for measuring that radiator. 🙂

8 February, 14:38

Kyle DeHart
Frank, I have to agree with everything everyone else is saying. Your photography and build logs are among the best I have encountered and it would be a real shame if one persons (probable jealousy) bad attitude ruins it for you. I hope you continue as you are and post your wonderful and inspirational builds for all of us to enjoy. I myself have never built a WWI aircraft but I could never be bored or upset about looking at anything you build. For the most part this is a wonderful community we're a part of but there is certainly one in every crowd. Thank you for sharing your fantastic knowledge and skill with us all.

8 February, 16:12

Christoph Kunz
Mein lieber Frank, was muß die Welt bekloppt sein, wenn sich wer-auch-immer zu solchen Aussagen bemüßigt fühlt. Örgs
Ich kann mich den vorherigen Antworten nur anschließen. Bau einfach weiter diese wunderbaren Doppeldecker. Da bist Du der Maßstab an dem sich andere messen lassen können.
Ulf hat deine Modelle einmal als Referenzklasse bezeichnet und in meinen Augen hat sich Dein Level definitiv noch gesteigert.
Mit schönem Gruß
Christoph

8 February, 22:10

bughunter
Thank you very much for your supportive comments from each of you 👍 That is the real community and not that now ignored user.
And yes, I still have a few unbuilt biplanes in my stash. 🙂

8 February, 22:25

Ludvík Kružík
I look forward to every one of those biplanes. 🙂

8 February, 22:31

Jennifer Franklin
Me too.

8 February, 22:32

Kyle DeHart
As do I. Every new build from you is to be appreciated.

8 February, 22:41

Spanjaard
keep them coming 😉

9 February, 00:03

gorby
I was shocked when I read about the PM. Such a petty action is no doubt caused by jealously. Your builds getting the love rather than theirs, and there's a damn good reason your builds get so much attention – because they are amongst the best on Scalemates. It's what the Scalemates forum is intended for, to display builds of every member. It's no mystery why the cream rises to the top.
Please continue with your builds on here Frank. They both teach and inspire, and because of your builds I was considering adding my build progress on Scalemates for the first time. Hopefully that will annoy them as well. 🙂
We're 99.999% behind you mate. 👍

9 February, 07:57

Michael Kohl
Actually, our mates already said it all and said it well. So here is just a short Thumbs Up from me too. Keep it up. You bring a lot of pleasure and an occasional awe to quite a few of our fellow modellers (me included). 🙂

9 February, 09:05

Thomas Haberl (th_scale_models)
I just walked through the comments and can´t believe that this really happened to you. I don´t understand .... even if I´m not totally into WWI planes or biplanes, I enjoy watching the progress on your builds and skills you show. Keep it up please! Maybe these people are just jealous - try to see it as a compliment 😊 stay positive and happy modelling

9 February, 09:51

Neuling
Bughunter, everyone here is free to watch or not to watch your contributions. I´ll watch them - for good reason. 🙂

9 February, 11:40

bughunter
The great support continues 👍 Thank you very much to each and everyone of you!

So back to work.
The last days I used my imagination to create new strut mounts and prepared the rigging. That was a lot of work, but due to that good preparation the rigging task itself was done within some hours this afternoon. I am very pleased with the look of this scaled-down original. 🙂
There are only two rigging lines missing in the front, but I want to add missing water pipes before. And the control wires to the ailerons (also with turnbuckles) needs to be added.

9 February, 22:12

Jennifer Franklin
That looks amazing!

9 February, 23:34

bughunter
Thank you Jennifer!
Due to the 8 wing struts instead of the usual 4 more rigging lines were needed - so more effort and turnbuckles. Apropos turnbuckles - I forgot to mention, that the turnbuckles needs to be aligned with the rope. I have done this with a small amount of CA and wait some seconds until it holds but in gel consistency. Move then the turnbuckle in the correct direction and secure it finally with additional CA drops.

10 February, 14:06

Ludvík Kružík
Another beautiful machine. Well built with great attention to detail. I look forward to finishing the model.

10 February, 21:08

Kyle DeHart
Ahh. The rigging!!! I'm always in awe.

10 February, 22:17

bughunter
Yeah mates, yesterday this build was running one month but the end is near!
In meantime I added more details so I think all parts are in place now. Pictures later.
Some paint fixes, steel on the rigging, wash, weathering .... are still on the ToDo list.

11 February, 15:54

bughunter
Next batch of pics added! From the detail work it is finished, no parts left anymore.
Now to the remaining paint work ...

11 February, 18:33

Dietmar Bogatzki
Awesome, Bughunter you need good nerves for this 👍

11 February, 18:56

Ludvík Kružík
The rigging looks great. Do you make your own turnbuckles or use ready made ones from one of the manufacturers?

11 February, 19:26

bughunter
Thank you Dietmar and Ludvik!
@Ludvik please click on the project, there you can see the used types of metal turnbuckles from Gaspatch Models (Greece). There are more types.
Overall a big amount: 20 Albatros, 12 type C, 28 anchor points

11 February, 19:31

Jennifer Franklin
The stencils look great. At this point I can appreciate how hard they are to do. The rigging is an absolute work of art.

11 February, 20:33

bughunter
Thank you Jennifer! Next time I'll try to leave a small "handle" for the tweezers and just remove the carrier film in that area. I could hardly hold the decals if I trimmed around them and the decal liked to fold over onto the back.

11 February, 21:54

Ludvík Kružík
Stacking of decals on the back can be avoided.
I successfully use a simple method when applying small decals. I place the decal paper face down on a very thin transparent film. I then wet the decal and remove the decal paper when the decal is released.
I place the transparent film with the decal on the surface to which the decal is to be applied. I press the decal film on and then carefully remove it. In doing so, I check that the decal remains stuck in its place.

This is the same principle as using transfer film when transferring spray masks.

11 February, 23:03

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you Ludvik, that is good to know. I have been struggling especially with all the small decals on my bomber.

12 February, 02:06

JW
Once again a beautiful build with step by step walk through of both the kit and your methods. I've learned a lot watching your builds

12 February, 13:37

Doubtingmango
Late to this party. What a masterpiece!

12 February, 14:12

bughunter
Thank you very much mates!
It's true that it's quite late to show up at the party now, because this bird is almost done. But that doesn't matter here, because nothing is lost (I hope the backup is running ok 😉) and you can read everything later at your leisure.
Yes, I like this D.II, but masterpiece? I think other models are still ahead of it.
PS: After the last pictures I have shortened the loose ends of some rigging lines.

12 February, 21:42

Landlubber Mike
Really impressive detailed rigging at this scale, wow!

12 February, 21:45

bughunter
Thanks Mike, that comes from the experience of many rigged biplanes.

12 February, 22:23

bughunter
Thank you very mates for visiting and commenting during this one-moth journey!
This chunk of resin parts has now been converted into a scaled-down original, and I'm happy with the result so far.
Don't miss the new album with the final shots: Finished Halberstadt D.II | Album by bughunter (1:48)

13 February, 20:13

Michael .
Glad to be a part of the journey, even if it was from the sidelines. Amazing build.

13 February, 20:27

Kyle DeHart
I shall go immediately to enjoy the glamour shots.

14 February, 01:38

bughunter
That was not my last project of an aircraft made by the Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke! More to follow on day and I hope that many of you follow again the journey.

15 February, 17:01

Kyle DeHart
You know I'll be there to watch. Come find me if I'm missing. Ha!!

15 February, 21:39

Album info

This is a build log of the brand new Halberstadt D.II from Lukgraph. I preordered it in November 2023, it was shipped in the last days of the 2023 and arrived in January. I started it immediately as I had heard various things about this company's kits and wanted to try for myself. What I can say: The box says "For experienced modellers" - that's definitely true!
It provides much more compared to the old Blue Max kit, which was the only kit of this type so far.

Halberstadt D.II

166 images

1:48

Completed

1:48 SSW D.III seatbelts FABRIC (Eduard 49070)

1:48 Spandau Early MG08 1/48 (GasPatch Models 15-48073)

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