Ernst Udet's Fokker D.VII (design by Fitter)

[cgutzmer]

great info!this is one of my favorite things about build threads
Chris

[jimkrauzlis]

Hello, Rubén!

I am thoroughly enjoying this build, which is of one of my favorite WWI aircraft. Although there seems to be a few bumps along the way I think you are doing a fantastic job of correcting any slight problems and coming up with a beautiful, clean build.

Keep at it, mate!

Cheers!
Jim

[Rubenandres77]

Originally Posted by wag

Have you checked the fit with the upper cowling (parts 6b+6c)? It looks to me like there should be a distance between the forwardmost cylinder and the front of the radiator. I might be crazy but I think you have it right the way it is.
Wayne

Wag: apparently it was necessary to do the surgery. Otherwise the engine sits too backwards and the upper skin of the fuselages will be messed up

Originally Posted by cgutzmer

great info!this is one of my favorite things about build threads
Chris

Sure it is. Building threads are a great way of learning.

Originally Posted by jimkrauzlis

Hello, Rubén!

I am thoroughly enjoying this build, which is of one of my favorite WWI aircraft. Although there seems to be a few bumps along the way I think you are doing a fantastic job of correcting any slight problems and coming up with a beautiful, clean build.

Keep at it, mate!

Cheers!
Jim

Thank you Jim!
Let's see how this follows...


Inners are glued, and rigging is continued:

I love this wires!


I decided to assemble the parts of the tail at the same time.

I used 1mm strips glued from behind.
let dry overnight, and the following day I pressed my fingers
and fingernails to make some relief.


Testing the stabilizer I found that a bit of trimming is needed
in part #8A



Then I decided to close the fuselage with the upper skins.



Part #6C needs scoring and folding at one of the ends.


This part is easy to assemble. Just needs a bit of patience.




I really love how this seam came out.
Maybe my cleanest seam ever!!!
(I love joining strips so much )



Part "L" (instrument panel) is assembled easily.



In my case, I first closed the cockpit and then
glued the instruments.

Which is very difficult.
Very

I believe it is better to glue it to the grey part #6d
before closing the top of the cockpit.


See you tomorrow!!!

[Rubenandres77]

Today's update.

Assembled the tail-rudder.
Is rather easy.



There a slight misalignment where the rudder hinges are supposed to be glued.


The fuselage is finished.


And it was time to attach the control wires to the ailerons


I'm not sure, but I think I'm almost halfway through the construction.

[Zathros]

Beautiful. The way you ran those wires through the empennage made me think you were going to connect them to the flight surfaces! Nice workmanship Ruben. Limpio y con calidad, como siempre!

[cgutzmer]

Great updates! Doing some great work on this - thanks a lot for the pics!
Chris

[jimkrauzlis]

Outstanding work, Rubén! I love the results obtained by using the small strips behind the surfaces, giving the wonderful illusion of struts behind a fabric skin...and to control wire rigging looks marvelous.

Brilliant!

Cheers!
Jim

[Rubenandres77]

Thanks for your words my friends


Today I advanced a little in different areas.

First, the tail skid:


I'm bad at cylinders, so.. (again) a tightly rolled tube.
It was later cut and filed, and then attached to its place

This skid is unusual.
Its design is not so close to the original part of the aircraft, but it certainly is practical and strong


I also worked in the machine guns.

They were difficult for me because they are very small.
and I had to paint them with poster paint because the
print suffered too much when I tried to assembled.
After too much de-laminating, scoring, folding, handling
and glueing, the machine guns were white because the
laser print cracked a lot. Thy didn't look fine at all

I will leave the sights for the end. They are too small, and
too fragile to assemble them now.


I also finished and attached the lower wing.
This is how the plane looks so far (withouth the machine guns):



This last photos are a bit dark because I took them
just minutes ago. But you can see how it is going


Ps:
You will find that there are two "part #11" in the kit.
Fortunately, they are completely different.
Part #11 is the lower wings and its internal formers.
Part #11 is also the parts that make the machine guns.
So there will be no confusions when you are assembling this

[Rubenandres77]

After studying the model I realized there will be problems to move freely once the upper wing is assembled to the structure. So I decided to complete and glue the machine guns now.



The sights are an experiment I decided to try.

First, they are carefully cut.
ok, I know it.. I wasn't much careful with the cut.

After cut, I delaminated the paper, trying to get as thin as possible.

I didn't dared to delaminate too much.
In any case, you don't need the paper to be so thin at this stage

Then, I put them in a wire that is temporary used as a support.
There, I put a drop of CA in each sight to plastify them.


After the CA dries, I sanded the pieces on both sides until getting as close as possible to the printed surface.

This is the result as seen from the front:


As seen from behind:


And as seen from the side:


The technique is purely experimental. But I can see some future if it is perfected in the hands of an experienced modeller.

Besides, I only had one chance.

Best of all: This is achieved using the original part of the kit


Now I only hope those sights stay in their places until I finish the rest of the plane.

[Rubenandres77]

before continuing, I must make a correction.

When in the very first post of this thread I said that there were two "#7" parts, and that I thought it was strange because they were the same....

I was wrong. I hadn't noticed the slight difference between them.



Now, let's continue...

The upper wing is easy to assemble once you have the ribs and the spar.



But you have to be careful. There is a slight problem when the wing is closed.
This image explains better:

It can be solved with a bit of small surgery.
Nothing serious, and it doesn't affect much the final shape of the wing or the aileron assembly.


Once finished, the wing looks very nice.
Don't forget to add the small details of the ailerons.


And if you are also adding the control wires of the ailerons, don't forget to take care of them before starting the wing.



Before making the outer struts I realized it was time to prepare the exhaust pipe.


And glue it before advancing with the wire struts.



The wire struts are not difficult.
But you better check, double-check, and triple-check the length of each wire before assembling.

I did it, and even after careful checking against the templates they were really short.
I don't know if it was a mistake on my side when measuring, when printing, or if the wire templates are indeed slightly undersized.
I'll be waiting for someone else to build this kit to see if they have problems with them too.


There is no problem at all with the outer struts.
I just stiffened them with CA to give them strength.


The following photos show the upper wing attached, and details of the wire struts.



And.....
I'm finished!!!

this is the last photo of the model!!!!!






lol


Just kidding.



There are still some details left... I know, I know.... the landing gear can't be left in retracted position... it will be fixed soon