A perfect Fokker E.II

I've written about my struggles with rigging in the past, so it should be no surprise when I say how much I admire modelers who excel with aircraft from the early years of aviation, particularly World War One.

It was quite fortuitous, then, that while watching a really good show on The Military Channel about WW1 aviators that I saw Dirk Polchow's Wingnut Wings 1/32 Fokker E.II on Hyperscale. It is in my opinion nothing less than a perfect example a modeling at its best. That the model is inherently delicate only boosts my admiration of Dirk's skill.

I could probably list 20 things I like about the model, but you're just as knowledgable about these sorts of things as I am, so I'll leave it to you to study the photos and sit in awe with me.

If you want to see in progress photos of the model, hop over to WW1 Aircraft Models.

My thanks to Dirk for allowing me to use the photo above.

Rigging done right

As I've entered my forties one of the important life lessons I've struggled with is finding happiness in other people's success when it feels I'm lagging behind. I've had to accept the fact some people are more fortunate than me, and that will always be so. For example, one of the founders of the company I work for is younger than me and is now effectively retired after the company went IPO four years ago. He's a millionaire. I'm not. Could you be sincerely and genuinely happy for him? Maybe it's simply fatalism, but I think I can.

A few months ago I wrote about my optimism in building a model with rigging (my first attempt in 30 years)...but soon after wrote about the decimation of my optimism when the project went FUBAR. You wouldn't be surprised to know how much I envy another modeler's success with the same task.

Mike Grant recently posted photos of his beautiful little 1/72 Avia Ba.122 on 72nd Scale Modelers. In my humble opinion, Mike's model is a perfect example of rigging done right. Maybe he has connections with The Man Upstairs. Maybe he has magical powers. More likely, maybe he's practiced (and failed) more times than I have. But to celebrate his talent is to remember that I might (might) one day be able to do the same thing with more practice and experience.

My thanks to Mike for allowing me to share the photo above. Be sure to check out his blog, Migrant's Wanderings, or Migrant Model Pix for photos of his models.

When I'm right, I'm right

I told you this could suck...and I was right.

Back in August I wrote about my desire to learn how to rig bi-planes, and I set out with great enthusiasm to build Eduard's little 1/72 Nieuport Ni-17. I did my research, finding several good articles about how to rig and assemble bi-planes, and I embarrassed myself by going into a beading store in New York City to find appropriate nonfilament wire. I bought a set of Eduard photoetch seats at the IPMS Nats in August.

The project started well. The major assemblies of the airplane went together neatly, and my painting of the airplane was outstanding. (If I have a strength as a modeler, it's painting and weathering.) But then I had to assemble the bad boy, and that's when everything went south.

First of all, I found that the attachment points for the various struts and other fiddly bits are rather small and shallow, and none of the holes ensure that the parts will be properly aligned. In addition, a friend tells me that these Eduard 1/72 kits are like this, so the Nieuport was probably not the best choice for my first attempt with a bi-wing. It simply wasn't clear to me when each part should be attached, so I winged it (pun intended), figuring there'd be some wiggle room when the time came to bring everything together.

Not so. Super glue isn't very forgiving when you try to move it around, so when I joined the fuselage/lower wing assembly to the upper wing, nothing aligned nor fit. The vertical stabilizer promptly popped off, and other bits and pieces decided they'd had enough and left the party. After much cursing I finally got everything together, figuring I was done except for the rigging, but then POP! The struts detached from the upper wing and everything lost whatever tenuous rigidity it might have had.

So the model sits in pieces as you see it. I'm not the kind of guy who will belabor a failing project, so I'm done with this.

Here's the deal. If one of you can salvage the Nieuport, drop me an email and I'll send it to you at no charge. I have only two conditions. First, I ask that you have at least some experience with bi-planes and rigging in order to do the kit justice, and I ask that you be willing to send me decent photos of the model when you finish it. I'll even send some high-res photos I took of Kermit Weeks' airplane back in August to help you with the rigging and such.

I'm going back to my Trumpeter 1/72 Su-15 now. I know how to build a jet!

Does size matter?

I'm a man of contrasts, just ask my girlfriend. She's been trying to put a label on me for the last five months. Epic fail. That's why I'm particularly amused at the contrast between my current work-in-progress (WIP) and the newest acquisition to my stash.

You may recall my interest a few weeks ago in learning how to rig bi-planes, and thus my tiny little 1/72 Nieuport 17 has progressed nicely. I've painted it, applied the Future, and decaled it. So far so good, more or less.

You can see the little guy (next to a quarter) there on the white card on top of my new Trumpeter 1/32 F-105D. The model arrived yesterday thanks to a sweet deal on ARC. Only $85, shipping included! I've always a thing for the F-105, and I have ten or so in the stash from 1/144 to 1/72 to 1/48. In fact I think one of the earliest models I built was the early (very early) Monogram F-105 from the 1970s. I'll have more to share about a chance crossing of F-105 history and one of my models in the future, but for now I'm enjoying the size difference between these two models. And that's just the forward fuselage of the F-105, less the tail assembly!

While I'm mentioning the Nieuport 17, I should point out something I learned tonight about Eduard's decals. Despite my adoration of Solvaset, they had practically no effect on Eduard's decals. So if you've got any of their kits in your stash, be forewarned.

Oh, and yes that is a Debbie Gibson card at the back of my workbench. I had a crush on her as a teenager and saw her in concert a few years ago for New Years. So what?

This could really suck

There are many skills in our hobby that are inherently difficult. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the challenges of decaling, but other tasks come to mind as well, such as applying a natural metal finish or masking and painting canopies. One of the lessons I learned far too late in my modeling career is to charge head-on into anything that intimidates me. Worst case scenario: I fail miserably and toss a $15 model into the trash. Big deal. Try, try again as they say.

Thanks to Alclad, a gift from the gods to modelers around the world, I've achieved a degree of confidence with a NMF, and I have a Fujimi Judy in the stash awaiting my attention just for the exercise of masking its ridiculously complex canopy. What next?

The one area that still needs my attention is rigging. (Okay, there's vacuform models, too, but no one really builds those anymore, right?) I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't attempted rigging since I built Airfix's tiny Tigermoth many years ago. It was a half-hearted effort due to Justine Bateman detracting my modeling after I heard a rumor that she didn't wear underwear while filming Family Ties.

Mind you, I'm primarily a jet guy, but I do have a couple of kits in the stash that have intrigued me over the years that require some rigging. I recently acquired the classic Airfix Handley-Page HP 42 after seeing the plane in Imperial Airways livery, and I have a Williams Brothers 1/72 Douglas World Cruiser in my stash that I bought when I started getting serious in the hobby some time around 1985, a plane that I've always thought was particularly rugged.

 With that enthusiasm I nervously clicked the Buy It Now button on eBay for an Eduard 1/72 Nieuport 17 with the intention of using it for my first, earnest foray into rigging. Was I foolish for choosing to do this in 1/72nd scale? Perhaps. Okay, yes, but it's my scale and I'm a glutton for punishment. I also picked up Eduard's WW1 photoetch seats at the IPMS Nats.

Next I had to find a few articles online about rigging. I found this thread on ARC's forums, this article from John Seaman on Austin Scale Modeler's Society site, and another one on
ww1aircraftmodels.com.

Finally, being a JEEP, (that is, "just enough education to pass" in military slang), I disguised myself as a 19 year-old girl and snuck into a beading supply shop and bought some monofilament thread.

Now I'm ready to begin this new chapter in my hobby. It could really suck. And it could really be great. Some of the best looking aircraft ever manufactured were the early bi-wing types, so if all goes well I may find myself spending less time on jets. Time will tell.