WheresMyMojo's Red Baron's Fokker Dr.1 crashes and burns

[WheresMyMojo]

After a long dry spell, I made a snap decision to jump in after watching so many great builds, and have just gone out and bought the the newer Revell 1/72 Fokker Dr.1, featuring Von Richtofen's penultimate scheme, Red with Iron Cross markings.

The reason for this kit is I've always fancied doing a WW1 biplane, but was under the impression this one didn't have rigging so would make an easier first kit.....it has rigging . Not only that, but the last minute purchase means I may not have all the correct paints, especially the red, but red is red, right, maybe? I also hope that the placement of the minimal rigging will allow me to get away with using guitar wire. We shall see.

I can work around the other stuff, but I'm afraid that one thing may bring my build to an abrupt stop, which I have no control over; my back. I've had over three weeks off work over the last month and am only just back on a reduced working week with light duties. I'm still pretty stiff and getting pain, and I'm not sure how long I can work at the desk in a stint. Hopefully I'll be able to fit my breaks in with non-modeling activities.

I hope to be started by noon Saturday.

[PaulBradley]

Well, good luck! I had some back issues recently and that severely cut into my bench time. My advice - don't push it...!

[despondman]

Good luck - look forward to following your build.

[ShaunW]

Best of luck Mojo and you have my sympathy with the back issue, a bout of sciatica had me hobbling about with a stick over the Christmas holidays and unable to sit at the bench at all.

[WheresMyMojo]

I've not had sciatica, and I don't want to after witnessing a mate who'd suffered it. My legs are pretty wobbly, but I put that down to lack of activity while the pain was too bad to move about. My own problems really stem from overdoing the heavy manual work when I was younger, and it's followed me about ever since on and off.

Late night last night, and late..morning..lazy b..just had a look at the workbench, which I've been using as a dumping ground recently and my exclamations closely resembled the name of my aircaft! I really should have thought things through and had a clear-up last night. Breakfast of a strong coffee and ciggie (yes, I know), and I'll get onto it!

[Sissel]

Sorry to hear about your back problems. I have that myself on and off, my father has Bekhterevs.

I'm glad you want to have a go at blitzing. Hope you'll have fun, I look forward to it.

[ShaunW]

A lunchtime breakfast Mojo? good style points for that one. Coffee and cigs too, well I can't tell you off although I have recently been moving more onto E-Lites as a tobacco substitute. They're not quite as good as the real thing though (yes, yes, I know as well )

[WheresMyMojo]

The usual shots. Box, and sprues, and yes, I forgot to show the decals. If you include the time for washing sprues, then technically I started half an hour ago.







Loads of rubbish on my modeling desk; I may have lost a couple of bits from my Revell/matchbox halftrack and pak, found one part on the floor , ah well.

I'll be painting some of these on the sprue to keep things simple, and may prime everything first anyway before cleaning up just to see what I can get away with leaving as is. Not sure about some of the painting instructions. I have googled for more references though that may be considered a waste of time on a blitz!

I had to Google Bekhterevs, it doesn't look pleasant! Compared to that makes me feel pretty lucky.

[Sissel]

Great!
Will try and tune in when I can.

[ShaunW]

This is not too bad an old kit Mojo. In a blitz, if I was going to bother with any rigging I would limit it to the undercarriage bracing wires only and wouldn't bother with the control cables or that sort of thing.

[jssel]

OK. Up and running. I will be checking in when I can.

[WheresMyMojo]

3:55pm and checking in, not enough done to bother showing pics.

I believe there is an older moulding of the Revell Fokker Dr.1, this is stamped as 2003, which probably explains why it's nearly twice as expensive as their other WW1 warplanes.

I've given it a coat of primer on all surfaces. I have a tendency to over-thin my paint to try to avoid brushmarks, but there's still enough covering to show seams that look relatively prominent on the small parts. I have to decide whether to just plough on regardless or take time to finesse. Those little parts are going to be finicky to take off the sprue to clean up, but we'll see. it may actually be simpler and quicker in the long run to deal with parts individually as I come to them.

I need some food!

[WheresMyMojo]

7pm and pretty slow going, probably just down to my lack of practice

Some scribing done to the upper wing to try to make the aerilon and small amount of panelwork pop out more; pictures show it as an obviously separate entity but the kit has it flowing into the main wing. I was going to take the time to sand it right down but decided against due to time flying by. The cockpit is mostly cdl which mixed as per instructions comes out as a very pale lemony colour. The pale colours don't seem to want to cover very well so multiple coats. Also the referencing I've done comes up with a variety of interpretations for the interior. The instructions also call for cdl (clear dope linen) colour, which seemed wrong to me; most interpretations go for either leather or metal seats, so I'm going to repaint it. I'll post pics when the cockpit is all painted up.

[jssel]

Yeah, a grey primer would have helped cover the red palstic I think.

Press on and pics please.

[WheresMyMojo]

I did use a primer, just to highlight any problems, but this is as far as I've got so far...yes, it really has taken me all this time to just paint the cockpit; those struts and little gubbins were a pain in the backside to do and I'm still not happy with them. There were no instructions for the struts etc so I assumed them to be the same colour as the few other metal parts. The instructions for painting the front wall was gunmetal, but I've done it in the same drab as the other metal parts, apart from the gun mounts which I've read were actually black.