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Mike Wood
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Eduard 1/48 Roland C.II

March 20, 2013 · in Aviation · · 11 · 2.6K

This is the weekend edition of the kit and was built entirely OOB. This was my first attempt at a WW1 subject and it gave me the opportunity to try out a number of new (for me) modelling techniques. The kit goes together fairly well, tricky areas being the location of the undercarriage struts which need to be a bit more positive and the lower wing to fuselage join which is clumsy. The instructions are vague with regard to the rigging attachment points but I was greatly helped by the Windsock datafile on the subject. While I won't be rushing to do another bi-plane, I enjoyed the build and am pleased with how it turned out.

Reader reactions:
1  Awesome 1 

4 additional images. Click to enlarge.


11 responses

  1. Very nice! The Roland was one of the prettiest 2 holers of the war, and you made it look superb.

  2. Very nice build Mike, gives me hope that I may tackle a bi=plane one day. All the rigging scares me! You did a great job!

  3. C**p. Mike I apologize. I clicked the mouse too soon and screwed up on the voting. Your build is a easy Ten. There should be three votes cast at the time of my vote and they should all add up to TEN stars. My bad.

  4. Looks awesome, great job there. Thanks for sharing.

  5. 1st attempt at a WW1 subject? Very professional build. Very inspiring!

  6. You should be pleased, it really turned out well. Rigging is another skill I need to acquire, you seem to have mastered the technique.

  7. Nice, clean build Mike. After 4 or 5, I'm getting the feeling that all Eduard kits have their fiddly issues. The Fokker E-V/D VIII is about the simplest WW I bird you can imagine but, as with your experience on this Roland, the locating points for the landing gear struts were poor to say the least,

    Excellent job on the rigging and the laminated prop too, especially for your first Great War effort. I live in fear of my Ed Albatros(es). 😉

  8. Really nice model. I've done this when it first came out, and it is definitely one of Eduard's best. And a good "first biplane" for the "rigging challenged" (I'm looking at you, Frederick) since it's really simple. I still have another one of these in the stash, and this inspires me to think of pulling it out. And yes, an easy 10.

  9. Thanks for the kind and encouraging words folks. I've learned that the trick with the rigging is planning, patience and good reference. I had several of the 'wires' pop out, frustratingly, or sag, during the process and getting the right amount of cyano glue in exactly the right place was hard. Having put almost a week between finishing it and now, I may start looking for another biplane with slightly more complicated rigging.

  10. Ten years on, this is still a good looking build, Mike. Congratulations!

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