Hi all,
The linen decals have now been applied.
White primed base coat, polished then pre-shaded with 'thinned 'Tamiya' Smoke (X19).
The decals were cut from a sheet of the ‘Aviattic’ Clear Doped Linen (CDL) bleached (ATT32044).
The Russian cockard decals supplied in the kit are ink jet printed and not 'cookie' cut.
Typical of these type of decals, that are very easily surface damaged, before or after application.
If possible, I'll probably airbrush the cockards using templates - we'll see.

Mike

Hi all,
I thought of replacing the Russian markings using masks and airbrushing the three colours.
However, aligning concentric circles accurately and without over spray was always going to be tricky.
Therefore I decide to print the decals instead, using an Inkjet printer, not Laser.

This is the process I used:

Create the decal in Photoshop Pro software or similar.
Test print on paper to check size.
NOTE: As the centre of the Russian markings are white, I used Mr. Decal White decal paper, to avoid the surface below the applied decal showing through too much.
Place the decal paper into the printer feeder tray with the glossy side facing up.
Adjust the printer setting for the paper to ‘Premium Gloss Photo paper’ or equivalent and set the print resolution to high.
Print the decal sheet.
Leave the printed decal sheet for several hours to allow the ink to fully dry.
NOTE: During the following step, do not apply too much sealer over the decals, as it can flood the surface and when dry cause a ’fish eye’ effect. Also spray at a shallow angle to the decal sheet, not at 90 degrees and at a distance of 12 inches or more away. Wear a respirator and spray in a well ventilated area.
Apply a several light coats of sealer over the decals, using such as ’Krylon’ Acryli-Quik acrylic lacquer or similar.
Allow each coat to thoroughly dry before applying another coat.
Check decals are fully covered and sealed with the clear coat.
NOTE: If using White decal paper, make sure you cut around the decals as close to the outline as possible, to avoid the white decal paper showing at the edges.
Carefully cut as close as possible around the decal to remove it from the backing sheet.
Make sure the model surface is smooth and has clear gloss acrylic coat, such as ’Alclad' Aqua Gloss 600 or similar.
NOTE: Adding PVA adhesive (white glue) to the water, used to detach the decal from its backing paper, can improve adhesion of the decal to the model and help prevent ‘silvering’ (trapped air) under the decal. Also take care not to ‘stretch’ the decals when removing the water.
Apply the decals to the model as for standard water slide decals.

Mike

Hi all,
The weathering has been applied and sealed.
'Flory Models' Dark Dirt and Grime fine clay washes.

Now onto the pre-rigging before construction,

Mike

Hi all,
A bit of progress.
The carburettor air intakes, engine landing gear and wheels have been fitted.
Also the tail unit, consisting of upper and lower rudders, tail plane, control horns and rudder/elevator control lines.
Finally the tail skid assembly including the 'bungee' type suspension cords.

The next step is to pre-rig the wing warping control lines and bracing wires before the wings are fitted,

Mike

She is coming along very nicely Sir.

S!Blade<><

That tail skid looks particularly complex. Could you possibly post a close up photo of it?

That is a weird looking rudder setup! Is the vane below the fuselage part of the functioning rudder?

Hi Rob,
Yes it is a strange setup.
The rudder control cables are attached to the smaller, lower rudder, which is fixed to the swivel rudder post..
The upper rudder is fixed to the same rudder post, so both rudders move as one,

Mike

Hi all,
I've pre-rigged the two wings with 0.4 mm diameter blackened Brass tube, 'GasPatch 1:48th Type turnbuckles and 0.08 mm diameter mono-filament.
A line is passed through a tube and turnbuckle then back through the tube and secured.
The free end of the line is then passed through a hole in the wing and a tube and turnbuckle added.
The end result if a free moving and double ended turnbuckle, which should self-align when the landing and wing warp lines are attached to the free end of the turnbuckles.
The two V struts are also fitted with wing warp control cables fitted to the rear strut.
Finally, I've added the tail plane control lever and cable to the fuselage underside.

Now onto fitting the wings and support frame,

Mike

Hi all,
Wings and V strut support frame fitted.
Now onto the rigging,

Mike

Mike, again, words fail me in describing the full beauty and detail of your work. Bravo!

Yes, fantastic work Mike. The wiring and bracing, especially on those wing warpers, is amazing.

Are there any kits you get which have the wiring with them or is it always something you need to supply yourself?

Hi Albert,
The only aircraft model kits I know of that supply rigging are the larger 1:16th museum type models.
In smaller scales no kit has rigging supplied, apart from some that may have flat, photo-etch rigging, which is not realistic.
So I add the rigging using micro-tube, mono-filament and turnbuckles.
Some modelers use stretched sprue, wire and flat photo-etch etc.
I use mono-filament (fishing line) as it gives structural strength to the finished model.

Mike

Thanks Mike, yes that makes sense. They used to have 1/16 models in the store near where I lived. The owner made them and hung them from the ceiling. I used to love going in that store as you can imagine.

Hi all,
I've now added all of the required rigging, the weapon, windscreen foot step and the propeller.
So apart from the figure and setting up the display case, the model is finished.

Once again thanks to everyone's comment and encouragement on what was a challenging build,

I'll post the final shots in a few days.

Mike

A beautiful build indeed and perhaps one of the closest aircraft to a do-it-yourself-garage-project in WW1. A very portable and fairly light aircraft I would assume. Thanks for sharing pics. of this project Sandbagger.

Cheers all,
Von S

Hi all,
Last update.
'Kellerkind' Russian pilot,

Mike

Hi all,
I thought you might like to see final build of a Mosca-Bystritsky MB bis fighter, flown by the Imperial Russian Air Force from 1916.

The basic 1:32nd scale kit is resin and made by ‘Omega Models’ (Kit No: 32-003).
The list of changes/additions to the model are:
Engine:
Detailed with Nickel-Silver valve push rods, copper wire ignition leads and replacement induction manifolds.
Modified or corrected:
All wing support, landing gear, tailskid ang gun mount struts were replaced with handmade Brass tube struts with internal reinforcing Brass rod.
Rigging is 0.08 mm or 0.12 mm diameter mono-filament with ‘GasPatch’ 1:48th scale turnbuckles and 0.5 mm or 0.4 mm diameter blackened Brass tube.
Upper and lower rudders were replaced with scratch made rudders from plastic card.

Aftermarket:
‘GasPatch’ spoked wheels and tyres used to replace the resin kit parts.
‘GasPatch’ Lewis Mk.1 Standard type (stripped front) used to replace kit part.
‘BarracudaCast’ British wicker AGS seat used to replace the kit part.
‘Kellerkind Miniaturen’ Russian pilot 1914-17.
‘Jadar’ WW1 1:48th scale control horns.

Decals:
‘Aviattic’ Clear Doped Linen (CDL) bleached (ATT32044),
‘Aviattic’ Walnut woodgrain (dark and light) (ATT32060),
‘Airscale’ WW1 Generic instrument dials (AS32 WW1).
The kit decals were replaced with corrected markings, printed from an Inkjet printer and on white decal paper.

As usual I've created a downloadable build log in Adobe PDF format, for those who might want to refer to it for reference or build details. It contains full step by step descriptions of the model build, its modifications/changes and is also supported with illustrations and photographs. If viewed in Adobe Reader, each build log has book marked chapters/headings for easier navigation through the log.
My model website has the gallery page, so to view any model, go to the gallery and select it. If it has a PDF build log, it will be available to download using the 'PDF' icon on that model photo page. For any photograph, just click the photo to enlarge or reduce the viewing size.

http://igavh2.xara.hosting

Mike

Absolutely stunning Mike! Especially knowing what you started with.