Movin' along

 

I know something bad will happen eventually as I am moving way too fast on this project.  Oh well, it won’t be a contest winner, I just want to complete a project. 

 

The Roden engine is well done as it is with most of the Roden’s kits.  It consists of 3 parts that are delicate.  Believe or not I didn’t break any of the parts (has to be a first).  I had to sand the holes to get them to fit on the center hub.  It was a pain to scrap off the seams on the cylinders as it is on radial engines.  After the glue dried, I spray painted it with Vallejo Steel.  I was not happy with the results as it came out way too shiny and didn’t look like metal.  So I put on successive black washes (oil paint mixed with Turpenoid) until it looked like something I could live with. 

 

At this point, I drilled out all the holes that would be needed for rigging later (I had real bad luck as I broke 2 drill bits). 

 

I then sprayed the interior fuselage with Tamiya Buff.  There is some question as to the actual color as the opinions I was able to find differed and I was unable to locate any pictures.  In all reality, it does not matter because no one will ever see the inside (the opening is so small that all you will see is the seat). 

 

Be careful on your alignment when gluing the fuselage halves together as there are no locating pins.  The instructions also call for you to install the tail skid before gluing the gluing the halves together.  Since there is no clear area to attach the tail skid, I held off at this point and will install at the end.   

 

You will also need to sand down the area were the tailplane attaches or else the tailplane will be a step higher and look odd.

 

Lastly, I installed the bottom wing.  The fit was excellent and had no real issues.  

WWI plane and the quick build

 

OK, I have been slow to post.  I am finishing 2 projects that I started a long time ago.  I am about finished a 1/48 Tamiya BF109 (just need add the antenna) and a 1/48 Tamiya P-47 (just started decaling).  Anyway, I decided that I wanted to work on a WWI plane and I wanted a quick build (I know this an oxymoron). 

 

I decided to build a 1/48 Roden Nieuport 28c1 since Eddie Rickenbacker (see box cover) was favorite pilots in history.  There is only 1 page of instructions and the rigging is moderate.  You can hardly see the cockpit, so there is no reason to put in a lot of details.   

 

As with every Roden kit you need to test fit every part before painting and gluing.

 

I started off with the (drum roll)…..the cowling and the engine.  The cowling comes in two pieces and of course, it does fit correctly.  I had to sand down the insert (part 23B) to make it fit.  There are 3 significant gaps that had to be filled with super glue and then sanded smooth.  

 

The parts of the engine are very delicate.  So I had to use a very small saw to cut it away from the spruce and keep it from breaking.