A couple of extra photos... I used the side of one of the floats to do two small experiments with the transfers. I painted the front white and taped it off just like the wing uppersurfaces, did the grey shading, removed the tapes and then over-shaded the exposed white 'ribs' - from right to left - noticeably, less so, not much and not at all; the mid section was painted medium grey.

I then appled varnish and once dry, applied two sections of hex transfers to see what effect the undercoats would make. I need to have the uppersurface wing and tailplane ribs visible, but not to the extent of being a dominant feature. The transfer applied over the mid section was a test for the uppersurfaces of the floats, which were apparently darker in tone. I think either of the middle two rib tests would be acceptable as the white can be seen but the transfer colours are still the predominant feature, and the 'darkened' area on the mid float is an ideal outcome and will be adopted for the upper float areas on the finished kit.

More to follow soon... 🙂

2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Paul, @paulh
This has been a great build journal, and I thank you for documenting the building process as good as you have. Information like you have just presented to us if perfect...with how you prepared the surface prior to decal application... I will definitely refer back to this when the time comes to build some of the lozenge wearing 1/32 WNW fighters that I have in the stash... Who knows ? A few of them just might end up here in our Luftwaffe group build sometime in the future.

I agree with Spiros completely... the choice is evident, unless you are trying to show a darkened area, like how it "could" look in the shadows under the lower wings.

Well done !

I am really enjoying your build, Paul (@paulh). I have never built anything with more than one wing, but it is fun following all of your great techniques.

Amazing result so far, my friend @paulh! Looking forward to see it progressing!

So, guys... at last I have attached the lower wing pieces to the fuselage. This went okay, although there was a bit of resistance on the part of the model!

After a few unsuccessful attempts, I got the wings to sit properly and placed tweezers under the outer wing area to hold them at the correct angle while the superglue set; admittedly, there were some unsightly gaps along these seams, so once I was happy that the wings were firmly set, I used 'Perfect Plastic Putty' from Deluxe Materials to rectify the issue.

This filler is like Microscale's Krystal Klear, in that you can apply as much as you like, and then wipe away the excess and smooth out the seam with a damp cotton bud or tissue within a few minutes, then let the filler set. I usually get excellent results in one go, although more difficult areas to fill may require further attention. Once dry, it can be painted and provided you clean up any excess with a few minutes of application, it does not affect the transfers or paintwork around these sometimes difficult-to-access areas. If needs be, it can be sanded down like any other filler.

Then I started some basic work on the floats. After tidying up any indents or ridges, of which there were very few, I applied all the small PE parts; I then spray painted an undercoat of white paint along the sides of the floats (not seen on these photos); a further coat will be required prior to using the pale blue-grey shade used on the fuselage sides. The tops of both floats will be painted dark grey and once varnished, they will get an overlay of the hexagonal transfers, which should see their presentation as a bit darker than what you can see on other areas which already have these transfers applied. Additional stringers have been added on the undersides, as they are missing from the kit.

So, all in all, a good bit of progress. The lower wing can seem a litttle neutral in its alignment depending on what angle you're looking at it from, but I think that's an optical illusion; there is still a little 'play' in each wing piece so I am confident they will match the correct dihedral of the upper wing, and the outer struts from the floats to the wing undersides should also help to keep them in line.

Thanks for looking in... ;-).

Regards,

Paul

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Beautiful work, Paul @paulh
The lower wing appears larger than I expected, but it clearly suites the plane.
Floats do look indeed very nice as well.

Hi, guys...

This next instalment shows some more progress with my build.

I was wondering whether or not to start on the floats then the upper wing, or the other way around. Given that the wings have a noticeable dihedral, I thought that turning the model upside down to work on the floats after attaching the top wing could possibly damage the wings, so I have decided to do the floats first; I will always have a delicate bit of work ahead when it comes to doing the rigging, especially if there is a need to upturn the model to access the underside of the upper wing, since the two floats are solid blocks of resin, creating extra weight... anyway, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

In the meantime, I added the additional stringers under the floats; then, I painted the tops of the floats in dark grey and once dry and gloss varnished, I applied the final large sections of hexagonal transfers; I cut these sections in two in order to make them more manageable. This was a shrewd move, by and large. There are strake lines and other ridges, access points and strut attachment surrounds to navigate, all of which were difficult enough, but would certainly have been worse if I had applied the transfer as one piece. One forward section of transfer was very unco-operative so at the join with the rear section, there is a slight overlap which does show up, but I left it as is, because I didn't have suitable scrap pieces of transfer to correct it. My hope is that it will blend in a little better once final satin varnishing has been applied. It helps that is sits under the wing so should not be very obvious to the casual viewer.

I also had the opportunity to rectify the slight curve at the front of the dorsal tailfin; having tried to use hot water to soften the resin sufficiently to manipulate it into alignment and failed, I elected to use a stronger heat source from a hair dryer. After heating for just under a minute at the higher of two temperature settings, it was really quite 'wobbly' when I touched the tip of the fin, therefore I carefully set the correct position, then quickly doused the piece in a pre-filled wash-hand basin of cold water, keeping it there for about another minute. The piece set at the correct angle and therefore, could now be attached to the rear fuselage. I thought there may be some bubbling of the paintwork, but this did not materialise, but if following this process, please be careful of using a strong heat source on resin, and indeed, on painted resin. The ventral tailfin was also added at this time. Both were attached only with a drop of super glue at the front and rear tips. The area in between was sealed with Microscale's 'Krystal Klear', with the excess tidied up and left unpainted as it dries clear and reflects the colour of its surroundings, thus avoiding any damage to the hexagonal transfer.

After the transfers had been left to settle overnight, the floats had Tamiya tape applied round the ridge on the sides, and then the bodies of both were spray painted in the same pale blue-grey as the fuselage. This went well, but highlighted a couple of areas that needed further attention and they'll hopefully be completed tomorrow. I took a photo of the tops of the floats, and was very pleased with the darkened presentation of the hex pattern, in contrast to the standard presentation on the other similarly-covered areas of the model; I detached the two horizontal inter-float struts from their resin plinths and tidied up the leading edges. These are nicely moulded but the brass rod running through one of them is so close to the leading edge that it now forms part of the leading edge. It looks fine once painted but I was a little alarmed at how close to the front of the piece it sits. I also managed to apply the last of the national markings; the upper and lower wing crosses are provided with the kit and are very good and settle well. However, their surrounding carrier film only extends about half a millimetre from the outer edges, which means you really do need to pre-soak the intended area with your chosen decal fixitive, then watch and wait for the transfers to begin to separate from the backing paper, and then remove the backing paper from the water container, with the transfer still on top, to the relevant area and quickly and carefully slide the marking onto the wing. This way, you get the water to lubricate the good but rather flimsy marking as it is slid into position, and you have the decal fixitive in place to assist you to manipulate it properly to ensure it is in the correct position. Given the design of the WW1 German national marking, the problem lies in the narrow areas of each arm around the central area. If you draw the marking off without sufficient lubrication, the arms will detach at this point and you could have some extra paint work to do to blend everything back together. I also trimmed the aileron section from the upper wing crosses prior to attaching to make life easier there as well.

So, hopefully in the coming days, I'll get the floats finished and perhaps even attached. I hope you like these additional images, and thanks again for looking in. Catch you later... ;-).

Regards,

Paul

8 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Great work on those floats, my friend @paulh!
Great remedial action on the dorsal tailfin, as well! This model looks SUPERB!
Looking forward to your progress, really curious to see the attachment of those heavy floats!