Aviatik 'Berg' D.I

Hi all,
I thought it was about time I took on another resin kit, as the last resin model I built was the DFW T28 'Floh' from 'Planet Models'.
I've had the 'HPH Models' 1:32 scale Aviatik 'Berg' D.I in my stash for quite awhile, so thought it was about time I gave it a go.
Already I've encountered a couple of things that may cause problems.
1. The instruction manual, normal I think for 'HPH Models', consists of a small booklet with photographs and arrows showing where parts fit.
However these illustrations leave a lot to be desired, especially those for assembling the engine, which has many parts and the smallest in the entire kit.
Some of the call out illustrations for parts are not the same as the actually resin parts supplied in the kit, which is a bit confusing.
2. More of a concern is that the kit is supplied with mask sheets for painting the lozenge - not the easiest route to take.
So I ordered the optional decal sheets.
These arrived in polythene bags and without the normal tissue paper protection sheets. Consequently the bags stuck to the exposed decals and despite being careful extracting the decal sheets, some were chipped where they's stuck to the bag. Also the bags had left an imprint across every decal, which I'm not sure will show after the decals are applied.
Thinking this might have been a 'one off' I ordered another set of decals, but these packaged the same way and in the same condition.
I emailed 'HPH' and suggested they revise how the package these decals - I haven't had a reply!!

Anyway we are modellers, not assemblers, so on I go.
I decided to work on the engine first, contrary to the instruction manual.
Unless I'm very carefully, some of the tiny engine parts may end up feeding the 'carpet monster' - we'll, but at least the kit is supplied with some spare parts.
I'm using 'Alclad' lacquers on the engine and have dulled down the copper water jackets on the cylinders and the intake manifolds by applying 'Tamiya' Weathering Master (Set D - Oil Stain), which gives the copper an older, heated look.
Long way to go on this one I think,

Mike

Sandbagger, to avoid damaging the decals by trying to remove the poly when dry, why not instead wait until you are ready to apply them to the model, then cut them out as you would normally do but with the poly still stuck to it. Dip the whole cut-out in water and wait for the poly to come off without hopefully damaging the decal. Do you think that may work? I’m asking because I’ve got a stash of Hasegawa models which typically come loose in the box with no protection. I ziplock them until my retirement arrives, but always wonder what would happen if they get stuck to the bag. As to the print transfer, fingers crossed it will rub off. Looking forward to this build as much as to any others you do. They are all works of art.

A valid point although between the two sets of removed decals I have enough good ones to use, unless I go down the mask and paint route,
When it omes to applying, I'll test a damaged decal to see if the bag mark show - we'll see,

Mike

Hi all,
The basic engine build is done.
This involved assembling the engine block, cylinders' cam shaft, overhead valve gear housing, magnetos and drive shaft, ignition rail and the carburettor housing and intake manifolds.,
The paints used were primarily 'Alclad' lacquers (Duraluminium, Aluminium, Steel, Copper and Brass).
The only weathering applied so far is the 'Tamiya' Weathering Master (Set D - Oil Stain), which was sponged onto the copper cylinder heads and intake manifolds, in order to give an old, heated look.
There will be more weathering applied once the engine is complete.

Now onto the fiddly bits - support frame, pipe and water pump, timing handle assembly, valve gear, spark plugs, ignition leads etc,

Mike

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Oh my, on to the next one already, Mike. You Sir are a non-stop masterpiece building machine. Is there still time to place my order for Christmas?

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Nice try Lou

Hi all,
The engine is now completed.
I've added the ignition leads and spark plugs, timing mechanism, oil filler caps, water pump and coolant pipe, vale levers and springs and carburettor lever.
I've also made the exhaust pipes from 1.8 mm diameter brass tube mounted onto 1.4 mm tube - the kit items had 'solid' bores.
Test fitted into its mounting frames.

Mike

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Daaaaaaaamn. One thing though Mike, you might want to check the tightness of the drain plug on the crankcase pan, looks like it might be dripping just a wee bit of oil.

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Sweet looking Motor. I always liked the Berg D-1

Amazing as always.

Hi all,
Thanks.

Lou:
I hadn't noticed but I'll check that right away,

Mike

Hi all,
Contrary to the models instruction manual, I'm making a start on some of the internal fuselage details, as I need to see how the completed engine sits in the nose.
The reason being I want to cut out the engine access panels from the one piece fuselage halves, so more of the engine can be exposed.
After removing the various parts from their resin backing and base blocks, I spent a few hours cutting and sanding away the residue resin, which is normal for resin kits,

Mike

Hi all,
I've been hammering away at the fuselage internal details.
Everything is fitted to the right side of the fuselage with regular testing for the fit of the left side.
Included are control lines, trigger cables, control rods to the engine etc.
I still have some bits to do, like the two machine guns and final weather etc, but I'm getting there,

Mike

Hi all.
I forgot to take shots of the internal fuselage before closing it up.
I still have a few bits to do - windows in the front decking, rear cabane cross bracing, top rear engine pipe, blast tubes for the machine guns and crash padding on the breech blocks.
Also seam filling and checks,

Mike

I wish I had the time and patience for making stuff like this . That machine gun placement on the Berg is pretty interesting. Do the bullets fly over the exhaust and next to the rockers?

The rounds were fired from each machine gun through their barrels, which were enclosed within blast tubes.
The blast tubes were fitted from the gun breech blocks, along each side of the engine and finished inside the two rectangular openings in the engines radiator.
I will be making the blast tubes from brass tube and fitting them later in the build.

Earlier Aviatik D.I's were initially armed with a single 'Schwarzlose' machine gun, which was either mounted onto braces set into the upper fuselage or to the left side of the engine.
The latter installation was soon dropped as it was impossible for the pilot to clear stoppages.
The upper fuselage installation was used as the arrangement was clear of the propeller blades yet still allowed for easy in-flight access to the breach mechanism.
Ammunition was stored in a drum within the fuselage decking and belt-fed, it appears, to the lower, front of the gun through a purpose-built conduit.
The empty ammunition belts with spent cartridges were fed back into the fuselage, presumably into a container.

The model is of a later version and was fitted with twin 'Schwarzlose’ M7/12 or M16 machine guns and my assumption is that the ammunition was fed to the guns, and empty belts from the guns, in a similar manner to the upper fuselage installation.
However with both guns fitted to model, there's virtually no room to add ammunition belts/conduits (which are not supplied in the kit) and in any case, they would be barely visible once the upper wing is fitted.
Therefore I decided to have just the guns with the addition of blast tubes,

Mike

Thanks Mike!

Hi all,
The basic fuselage is now completed, with the addition of the blast tubes for the two 'Schwarzlose' machine guns, crash pads and top rear engine pipe.
I also added lead wire to represent the pipes/wires connected at the back of the instrument panel, although its virtually impossible to see them and worse once the upper wing is fitted.
There's a lot of photo-etch detail to be added to the fuselage and another engine pipe, but those will be left until later in the build to prevent the getting damaged,

Now it's time to move onto the wings and tail unit,

Mike

Mike, not to take away from anything else but the exhausts look magnificent!

Thanks Mark.
It's strange how exhausts catch the eye.
I post on five different modelling forums and the exhausts seem to get commented on a lot.
In fact I'm quite 'exhausted' by it all,

Mike

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Outstanding work as always, Mike. Looking at that gun arrangement, I wonder if they had issues with that starboard side Schwarzlose, seeing as how the extended barrel is laying directly above the hottest part of the exhaust pipes. You'd think that would cause the barrel to warp, or at the very least frequent jamming. And speaking of jams, this one must be a later model as it appears the pilot could actually clear a stuck shell on those guns if he had to. As I recall the earlier models had the guns much farther forward and above the engine and once they jammed there was nothing the pilot could do about it.

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Hi Lou,
In fact for this 138 series Aviatik 'Berg', the blast barrels were installed under the exhausts, not above as I have it.
I had no option as the guns in the kit were never designed to have blast barrels, so with the engine and guns installed (both had to be heavily modified to fit) there was no way to fit the tubes in their correct locations (i.e. lower down the engine sides).

Earlier 'Bergs' had a single gun mounted in the top of the cockpit forward decking.
Another variation was to have a single gun installed at the left side of the engine. However this was soon dropped as the pilot had no way to clear stoppages in flight!!

Mike

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It must be that second one I was remembering as I read in several sources over the years that the pilot had no way of reaching the gun on the early Berg D.Is. So on the version you are building the entire engine must have been mounted higher in the RL models to allow for the barrel on the starboard side to pass under the exhaust rather than above it - interesting. I also recall reading that there were some serious interrupter issues with the Schwarzlose guns in the Berg D.I to the point where the pilot was only supposed to fire the guns within a certain RPM range, which was why they mounted a massive tachometer right in the pilot's forward line of sight. Further, the designers also played around with a strike indicator that would warn the pilot that he had just shot his own propeller. If memory serves, (and it serves less reliably as the years go on), they wrapped a wire around each prop blade directly at the point were a bullet would hit it when leaving the barrels. These wires made contact through a disc at the hub of the prop and went on to illuminate a red light on the dash in the cockpit. If a bullet hit a prop blade it would break the wire and the light would go out, alerting the pilot to the fact, at which point I assume he would break off his attack and go looking for a place to land PDQ. Talk about a Rube Goldberg way of fixing a problem.

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So the line of fire of the guns would really be even lower than what it is here. They must have been nightmarish to aim since the tracers and target would be largely hidden from the pilot I imagine. Doesn't look like there's much room to angle the weapons up either.

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mvp7, from the old photos it appears the line of fire would still be the same but the entire engine would be sitting higher and therefore blocking the pilot's forward view even more. I agree, they must have been a bear to aim, plus having to worry about your RPM range before pulling the trigger would make it even more troublesome.

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Mike,
Not to “exhaust” the subject but I think the reason you have received so many kudo’s on them as I have rarely seen them look “right” and yours do. Almost right is what I usually see. Your’s, like every other detail on the model, is right on. I’ll shut my exhaust valve now.

MFair, you’re not blowing any smoke, that’s for sure.

I believe the engine was sat normally and as you can see from these extracts from 'Centenary Data File 171 by Paulo Varriale, the blast tubes were located below the intake manifolds and exhaust pipes.
They finished inside the openings in the engines radiator.
If I had known the positioning of the blast tubes before hand, I could have probably modified the kit parts further to allow correct alignment. Sadly I didn't find this out until the fuselage was closed up!!
NOTE: The cockpit forward decking has been removed in the photograph.

Mike

Thanks, that picture makes it a lot clearer. I wouldn't be surprised if those weapons suffered from cooling issues on top of the usual reliability problems.

Hi all,
Well, starting on the tail unit there are a few areas that needed to be addressed:
The 'Berg' had pronounced 'wash-out' (upward flare) at the outer trailing edge of the ailerons. Although it looks as though this was attempted in the kit parts, the 'wash-out' was nowhere pronounced enough. This required careful bending after heat soaking in hot water (boiled).
The combined fin and rudder had a few areas that I felt needed to be re-profiled after comparing the kit part to drawings in several notable publications.
The tail planes and elevators, when laid together with the rib tapes aligned were found to be off-set to each other. I also felt these parts needed re-profiling.

Mike

Hi all,
Before starting on the undercarriage changes, the lower wing need to be prepared.
The front spars of the lower wings were connected by a steel bar, which was located on the bottom surface of the fuselage.
As such the leading edges of the lower wings sat slightly below the fuselage.
This is different from most aircraft of the time where the lower wing front spars were integral to the fuselage construction.
To locate the lower wings to the fuselage, 1.0 mm diameter holes needed to be drilled into the wing roots and one hole each side of the fuselage.
Metal rods were inserted into holes in the wing roots.
When test fitted, the wing root rear rods insert into the fuselage holes and the longer front rod against the underside of the fuselage.

Mike

Hi all,
The supplied undercarriage struts have solid axle ends solid with bungee suspension cords include.
However the axle fairing has a solid steel rod moulded into the fairing, which can't be fitted into the struts without drilling out the moulded axle ends.
Even if possible, it would leave the weight of the model on the flimsy resin suspension cords, which I don't think would take the weight.
Instead I've removed the moulded axle ends and bungee cords to allow the rod in the axle fairing to locate onto the struts.
I've yet to create the bungee suspension cords from wire. I also replaced the kit supplied bracing bar with 0.9 mm diameter tube, as the kit part was too short,

Mike

And the madness continues! Superb work Mike.

Hi all,
The undercarriage assembly is completed.
Struts modified by removing the pre-moulded axle ends and bungee suspension cords.
Cross bracing anchors points added to the bottom front of the forward undercarriage struts.
Axle secured to the undercarriage struts and 0.4 mm diameter lead wire used to replicate the bungee cord suspension.
Bracing bar in kit replaced (too short) with 0.9 mm diameter brass tube,

Mike

Outstanding work

Hi all,
I've been working on preparing the wings, fin/rudder, ailerons, tail planes, elevators and their associated support struts.
The struts should, I think, have steel reinforcing pins moulded through them, but I found the 'Z' shaped cabane struts had ends without pins.
Also the fuselage indents for locating these struts had no locating hole.
The single piece fin and rudder had no locations for attaching it to the fuselage and neither did the tail planes.
The separate ailerons and elevators also has no locating pins/holes.

Therefore I added support pins of 0.6 mm diameter for the wing struts and ailerons and 0.4 mm diameter pins to locate the fin/rudder, elevators and tail planes.

Mike

Hi all,
On the top of the fuselage and to the rear of the radiator is a condensation matrix for cooling radiator steam back to liquid and returning it back into the cooling system through a pipe connected to the rear of the assembly.
Apparently this avoided a build up of steam pressure being lost through the filler cap and losing coolant.
Anyway I wasn't happy with the resin one piece part in the kit.
I felt it was too large at the base and anyway the top was slightly off centre with the bottom.
Also the kit doesn't appear to have the 90 degree pipe at the back of the assembly.
So I cut the part in two, re-shaped the base, connected them with brass tube and added the rear pipe using annealed 0.8 mm brass rod.
Strangely the photo-etch in the kit supplies only one 'matrix' disc for the condensation matrix, which presumably like a radiator, would have the matrix from front to rear?
I used the photo-etch from the front of the matrix (as that will be more visible) and drilled 0.3 mm diameter holes in the rear face to replicate the matrix,

Mike

That's an odd hood ornament. I wonder why they left it in such obstructive place rather than make room for it inside the fuselage or move it to somewhere else.

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That odd looking thing on top of the radiator is an expansion/condensation device that helped to keep the radiator cap from popping open and spewing coolant everywhere. As steam rose to the top of the radiator it would enter that device where the cooler air rushing through the tubes would cause the steam to condensate and drain back into the cooling system via the pipe coming out the rear of the device. My guess is it was an after-the-fact fix to the overheating issues this type was plagued with throughout its service history.

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Thanks Louvert. That definitely sounds like a good explanation for the odd position.

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You're welcome mvp7. If forward visibility was a "must have" for you as a pilot back then the Aviatik Berg D.I would definitely not be on your wish list.



Just look at the breechblocks on those two Schwarzlose M.7s ready and waiting for you to split your head open on them in a hard landing.

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Yeah, that's probably one of the most obscured forward views in any scout. I thought the Halberstadt D-types and early Abatros D-types had it rough...

Hi Lou,
Great explanation for the condensation device - I couldn't find that anywhere,
Thanks,

Mike

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Glad I could be of help Mike, you're welcome. I'm excited to see how this latest masterpiece of yours turns out.

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Hi all,
Things are progressing slowly right now until I receive some decals I need.
I've applied small serial number decals to the struts and fuselage and painted the condenser assembly on the forward, top fuselage.
The fuselage underside has had wood decals (HGW Models) applied. Very thin and fragile!! Weathering and joint seams yet to be applied.
Tail skid painted and under surfaces pre-shaded and prepared for CDL decals.

In the meantime I'll crack on painting the figure,

Mike

And for the tenth time I wish I had 1/10 of your talent SB.
Do you have a list of all the kits you have built? WW1 aviation that is.
IIRC you also have a thing for Formula 1 cars or am I getting confused with someone else?

Hi Duke,
Yeah I'm into F1 and have been since the 70's.

My WW1 aircraft models can bee seen by clicking the link in my signature,

Mike

Judging by the expression on the pilot’s face, something nefarious is going on in his right hand pocket.

Hi all,
Austro-Hungarion pilot completed

Mike

Hi All,
The 'Aviattic' CDL decals have been applied to the under surfaces.
Weathering still needs to be applied,

Mike

Mike that's looking very nice so far. I always hated working with resin i kits because of it's hard brittle nature but you seem to have verry little problems with it.

Hi all,
The Aviatik 'Berg' D.1 was an aircraft that had many and varied camouflage schemes that were applied.
They ranged from plain varnished wood to streaking, sponged colours, solid colours joined by zig-zag borders and lozenge.
The Austro-Hungarian applied lozenge was much larger than the German equivalent and was either uniform shaped hexagons or 'squashed' hexagons.
This particular aircraft was manufactured by the 'Aviatik' Company, so had their standard uniform sized hexagon lozenge.

The decals supplied in the kit are not the best and have thicker than normal backing sheets.
Also they are not 'cookie cut' and need to be accurately cut out from the backing sheets.
They are thin and care is needed when applying them as they are easily torn.

I've primed the surfaces with white as this brings out the colours more accurately. 'Tamiya' Smoke was used (thinned 50/50 with X20a) to apply slight pre-shading before the decals were applied.  
Here's the lower left wing as an example. Post weathering will be applied later in the build.

Mike

Hi all,
The remaining Lozenge decals applied,

Mike

Looking very nice Mike!

Wow, a sweet looking build

Hi all,
All of the decals have now been applied.
Also I've added some post-shading, although there's still final weathering and sealing coat to be applied.

Now it's onto the myriad of photo-etch parts for the fuselage,

Mike

Hi all,
The radiator grill, which is photo-etch, was annealed to allow it to be bent around an appropriate former to shape it to the front of the fuselage.
Annealing also creates the 'heated' look of a radiator.
It was then secured in position using thin CA adhesive under the edges only, otherwise the adhesive would seep under the grill and block the cooling holes,

Mike.

Mike, this is a masterpiece in itself... your best work yet! It looks amazing!

Hi all,
The tail unit is coming together now with added photo-etch and rigging points.
I've still to add the tail skid bungee suspension and later, the bracing rigging,

Mike

Hi all,
The tail skid was mounted on a forked swivel fitted into the bottom of a 3-ply wood covered streamlined fairing.
This allowed the tail skid to pivot up and down as well as swivel.
The type of suspension for the tail skid consisted of double sprung rings, the ends of which were looped over extended support bars located on the bottom edge of the fuselage.
The other end of the rings were attached to the forward end of the tail skid.

Mike

Hi all,
I've now added all of the necessary photo-etch parts to the fuselage and lower wing halves.
Also the main undercarriage, a windscreen (which wasn't supplied in the kit) and a flare pistol and cartridge rack (not supplied in the kit, but often carried on this aircraft).
The whole lot has been sealed with a semi-matte lacquer, ready for a 'Flory Models' clay weathering wash.

I've still got to add a small pipe to the radiator condenser assembly and two cross bracing cable at the rear of the engine bay. These will be attached to the underside of the upper wing centre section.
Also the propeller shaft access hole.

Then it's onto pre-rigging and fitting the wings

Mike

Yep, another masterpiece. Very nice.

Hi all,
Just a few minor additions.
The upper wing was cross braced from the top of the rear cabane struts to the bottom of the opposite rear cabane struts.
These are not detailed in the kit. I've drilled holes for adding the cross bracing through the cockpit front decking later in the build.
The 'ProperPlane' Knoller-Jaray propeller has a 2.0 mm diameter tube added for mounting into the fuselage.
The small pipe on the top of the radiator condenser assembly has also been added, using 0.4 mm diameter Nickel-Silver tube.

Now it's onto weathering with clay wash, pre-rigging the wings and fitting them, which I know already will give me problems with alignment!!

Mike

Mike.. thanks to you... I will never build another plastic airplane model as long as I live... my God this thing is amazing!!

Thanks James - I try

Mike

Mike that is turning into a fine model worhy of note!

Was that condenser pipe an after market or scratch built? It is very close to the photo in accuracy.

Best Regards

Hi Rob,
No, just a 0.4 mm Nickel-Silver tube bent to 90 degrees and set in the condenser - nothing fancy really,

Mike

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Oh Mike, yet another beautiful work of art. I can't wait to see this one completed so that I can bid on it when you auction it off. And don't you dare tell me it won't be made available.



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Steve, you are a persistent enthusiast! As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained! I'll start the bidding with 5 Marks!!

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50 Marks! (jump bid)

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Heh he - as Rob knows it would take a little more then that just to cover shipping insurance

Hi all,
I've applied the 'Flory Models' Dark Dirt clay wash to give a 'subtle' grimy look - I added a few drops of washing up liquid to break the surface tension of the wash to help it spread more over the model. The wash wash applied by brush.
Once the required amount was wiped away with a very slightly damp tissue and brush, I sealed it all with 'Alclad' Semi-Matte (ALC-312) lacquer.
I've also prepared the rigging and control lines.

The next step is to install the pre-rigged lines and fit the wings, so as to be able to complete the rigging.

Mike

Hi all,
The tail unit is now rigged with cross bracing cables and rudder and elevator control lines.
A combination of 0.12 mm and 0.08 mm mono-filament with either 0.4 mm or 0.5 mm diameter Nickel-Silver tube and 'Gaspatch' metal 1:48th scale turnbuckles (Types A and C).

Mike

How true, how true!! Good one Mike!
When do you plan to take a break!! You're as committed as OBD staff!!

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OK, fine, 500 Marks then.

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Hi all,
I spotted that the upper surfaces of the lower wings, at the forward wing root area, had protective ‘walkways’ fitted, presumably to protect the wing surfaces from being damaged whilst the engine area was being worked on by ground crew (too far forward for pilot’s access).
As no details of this could be found, I’ve assumed this was possibly reinforced plywood fitted under the lozenge linen wing covering or a thin metal design and fitted over the lozenge linen covering of the wings.
I decided, more for aesthetics, that I'd use metal mesh from 'RB Productions', which was cut to share and secured in position using thin CA adhesive.
They were then weathered using 'Flory Models' Dark Dirt and Grime clay washes and then dusted with pigments.

Mike

Mike that is interesting about the walkway. It's not very clear in the photo but might be easier to see if the photo is w as lightened. Do you think this might have been a field fix?

Hi Rob,
Yes I tried that but it's not much clearer.
Looking at all of the photographs I could find it seems most 'Bergs' had these fitted, so I suspect it would have been a factory installation, rather than an 'in-service field mod',

Anyway the lower wings are fitted now.
Given the wings are pinned into the fuselage at the trailing edge, but only supported at the leading edge by the front spar bracing bar 'resting' on the underside of the fuselage, it leaves the wings liable (with handling) to break free at the front and pivot down on the rear support pins.
There didn't appear to be any additional bracing bar support fitted to the actual aircraft, so with 'poetic license' I've added 'U' tube supports over the bar (at the outer ends) and secured them into the fuselage underside.
They should provide extra support for the wings and prevent 'break away' until the upper wing is finally fitted,

Mike

Hi all,
The upper wing underside has been pre-rigged, ready for fitting,

Mike

Hi all,
Undercarriage cross bracing wires fitted,

Mike

I'll live long ages before I ever understand how one could develop such a skill set. The details, the weathering, the rigging... dear glory, it's without peer. And the dear chap's retired, which means, come hellfire or high water, presbyopia has set in, and he's working with rigging wires that are about one step up from human hair!

Mike , you are the man. if I ever get meeself retired here, I might actually have time to get a couple of fuselage halves together!

Hi all,
'Presbyopia' aside the upper wing has now been fitted.
I have to now complete the rigging for the flying, landing and cross brace wires.
After that it'll be the propeller and wheels and that's it, apart from the display base,

Mike

Hi all,
The rigging is now complete, so it's onto finishing the propeller and wheels,

Mike

1st class Mike! How the pilot was supposed to see anything is beyond me. Beautiful model.

Hi all,
The 'ProperPlane' laminated propeller (Knoller-Jaray type) is finished.
Airbrushed with 'Alclad' semi-matte lacquer (312) mixed with 'Tamiya' Clear Orange (X26).
Gloss coated with 'Alclad' Aqua Gloss (600), decals applied (LF Models set 3025).
Finally airbrushed with 'Alclad' semi-matte lacquer (312) with a few drops of 'Tamiya' Hull Red (XF9).
Bosses painted with 'Mr. Colour' Stainless Steel (213).

Mike

Yeah - it's no wonder this pilot is looking out to the side!!

Mike

Hi all,
The Aviatik 'Berg' D.1 is now complete, apart from being mounted on its display base (once the case arrives).
Below are a few rough shots of the model and figure on its intended grass mat ('Polak’ Wild Meadow - 4705).
I'll post up more and better photographs once its mounted in its display case.

Many thanks to everyone for your comments, encouragement and patience during this build.
Now it's back onto the Italian Macchi M.5 seaplane.

Mike

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A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Fantastic work as always Mike, well done! Now then, when is the auction?

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Just perfect.

Hi all,
Here's the final reveal shots of the Austro-Hungarian Aviatik 'Berg' D.I of Flik 63J during 1918.

Mike

Beautiful!!!!

Mike, your work never fails to lift me!! I love following your builds, anticipating the progress and learning your techniques. It's as immersive as a good mystery book.

Well done sir! Keep em coming but please take a break now and then and stretch the legs a little! EVEN TAKE A WOFF FLIGHT NOW AND THEN!!

Mike, That is beautiful work as always. I look forward to following this thread, anticipating the progress of each model, and learning your techniques. This thread is as engaging as a good mystery book! I pop in frequently each day to see what new work you have achieved or are tackling.

You never seem to take a break or burn out. You just keep motoring on to new projects. At this pace you will run out of room for displays in your house (RAF_Louvert is probably willing to help you out if this problem arises ).

I recommend you take a break, stretch your legs or fly a WOFF mission once in awhile

Best Regards

Hi Rob,
You're probably right - I have a full flight sim set up as well as one for driving.
Also a Xbox1 set up playing through a 50" monitor.
I also do a bit of Karaoke now and then.
But at the end of the day I get most enjoyment from modelling these early war birds.
Each to his own I guess,

Mike