Model Airways Fokker Eindecker [COMPLETED BUILD]

[François]

I'm new at posting a build log so please bear with me. Also, being french Canadian, my english grammar might not always be to par.
I started my Fokker Eindecker build and so far so good. I was a bit surprised to see how bent out of shape many white metal parts were but I soon found out that it's pretty easy to reshape them. The plans are good and instructions easy to follow althougt do you need to see ahead and prefit everything. Being a mecanical designer by trade, I tend to do that anyway and to change the assembly sequence a bit to suit my way of thinking. Here are a few pics.

Bend parts, before and after



fuselage in jig, you will notice that the 4 horizontal stringers should have been brass but I bent one and decided to go with steel rods instead. Once painted,,,



Fuselage so far


Missing parts, Model Expo are supposed to send me replacements free of charge. I'll be curious to see if It's really free to Canada.


More to come...

 

[François]

Here Is an update on my build.
Most of the metal parts have been cleaned, filed/sanded and drilled (when needed) and are ready for paint. I've also dry fitted most parts.

Dry fitting landing gear swing arms



Rear aileron pivot


Ammunition in/out boxs and gas tank


Seat and floor pan



some micro machining





Landing gear pivot upgrade (on left), I added a plastic bushing and backing washer because the wheel was just to wobly for my taste.

 

[François]

Several parts have been painted and some final assembly started.

Home made paintbooth


A bit of leather weathering


Seat assy complete



Test fit of seat in fuselage


Engine parts painted and ready for assy (notice the hand made compression springs, I didn't like what was originaly there)


Engine head assy (might be hard to see but I tried to place the rocker arms at different heights to simulate real engine firering cycle)


Head on cyclinder



Engine


Engine wirering


Push rod installed but not completed yet

 

[Uwek]

WOW - Looking great
The leather is so realistic

 

[François]

So, I've been busy this week.

- engine completed
- fuselage and related parts painted
- main fuel tank painted and installed
- tension wires of fuselage mostly done (if you think rigging a boat is something, try an old plane, once completed, I'll have over 75 turnbuckles installed)
- wind baffle painted and installed (on the real plane, the baffle was made of some type on cloth, I tried to simulate this and am pretty happy with the result)

Completed engine


fuselage and parts painted



Main fuel tank painted and installed


Tension wires and turnbuckelssssss








Wind baffle
(as recommended)


I didn't like the look so I decided to cover the aluminum baffle with a stick-on gauze



once in place and laced




so far...


more to come eventually

 

[Steviedean]

Effing C O O L!!

 

[shota70]

So, I've been busy this week.

- engine completed
- fuselage and related parts painted
- main fuel tank painted and installed
- tension wires of fuselage mostly done (if you think rigging a boat is something, try an old plane, once completed, I'll have over 75 turnbuckles installed)
- wind baffle painted and installed (on the real plane, the baffle was made of some type on cloth, I tried to simulate this and am pretty happy with the result)

Completed engine
View attachment 320922

fuselage and parts painted
View attachment 320918
View attachment 320923

Main fuel tank painted and installed
View attachment 320911View attachment 320912View attachment 320916

Tension wires and turnbuckelssssss

View attachment 320908
View attachment 320924


View attachment 320925


Wind baffle
(as recommended)
View attachment 320926

I didn't like the look so I decided to cover the aluminum baffle with a stick-on gauze
View attachment 320915
View attachment 320914
View attachment 320913
once in place and laced
View attachment 320917


View attachment 320927
so far...
View attachment 320919

more to come eventually

great project, I'll keep following with great curiosity

 

[François]

Up date time again,

- floor board
- gages and dash board
- fire wall and crankshaft installed
- landing gear swing arms installed
- rudder control bar installed
- joystick detailing


Floor board stained and prepped. The leather pull straps had to be skived (thinned) with a sharp blade



Gages and dash board

the lenses were done using 5min epoxy

completed dash board with a bit of weathering done

Fire wall and crankshaft installed


linkage for machine gun interuptor is my take on it. Should have beed 2 simple bent rods but I decide to fabricate complete tierods instead. (don't know if accurate but hey, It was fun to do!!)

landing gear swing arms and rudder control bar installed



joystick hand grip fab.
1- their take on it (circle red, kinda looks like a pair of hotdogs, maybe it was a joystick/lunchbox combo)


2- grip blanks and machining setup




3- my take with some thumb and finger notchs and a bit of knee rubbing (presumed), still looks like a pair of hotdogs!!




So far



more to come!!

 

[shota70]

Up date time again,

- floor board
- gages and dash board
- fire wall and crankshaft installed
- landing gear swing arms installed
- rudder control bar installed
- joystick detailing


Floor board stained and prepped. The leather pull straps had to be skived (thinned) with a sharp blade
View attachment 322146
View attachment 322147

Gages and dash board
View attachment 322148
the lenses were done using 5min epoxy
View attachment 322149
completed dash board with a bit of weathering done

Fire wall and crankshaft installed
View attachment 322150
View attachment 322151
linkage for machine gun interuptor is my take on it. Should have beed 2 simple bent rods but I decide to fabricate complete tierods instead. (don't know if accurate but hey, It was fun to do!!)

landing gear swing arms and rudder control bar installed
View attachment 322167
View attachment 322166

joystick hand grip fab.
1- their take on it (circle red, kinda looks like a pair of hotdogs, maybe it was a joystick/lunchbox combo)
View attachment 322163

2- grip blanks and machining setup
View attachment 322157
View attachment 322158View attachment 322159

3- my take with some thumb and finger notchs and a bit of knee rubbing (presumed), still looks like a pair of hotdogs!!
View attachment 322164



So far
View attachment 322152
View attachment 322153

more to come!!

View attachment 322160

you are doing wonderful work and the result are so beautiful, well done

 

[Uwek]

GReat work - very realistic appearance

 

[SigEp Ziggy]

Quite the model plane, you are doing a stellar job so far.

 

[Peter Voogt]

Hi François. Still so far a very nice build. And I like the extra details you are adding on this plane.
Regard, Peter

 

[François]

It's been 11 days since my last post, so here's whats new.

1-Joystick and knee cushion installation
2-scratch build of various parts that needed to be painted wood grain. I decided to make them out of wood instead.
2A-handpump handle
2B-carburator handle
2C-tail skid
3-various wiring
4-dash board installed
5-various tubings
6-secondary gas tank, spent ammo and front ammo cans installed
7-control cables for rudder and elevator


1- Joystick and knee cushion


2-scratch build parts
2A-handpump handle


2B-carburator handle
proposed

scratch built


2C-tail skid
proposed


scratch built tail skid

and installed with bungee cord


3-various wiring


4-dash board installed


5-various tubings (note the scratch built tee connector over the hand pump)


some added detail: secondary tank drain hose (real rubber tubing and wire tie)


more added detail: main tank drain hose

6-secondary gas tank, spent ammo and front ammo cans installed


7-control cables for rudder and elevator



so far


Hope you enjoy looking at the pictures half as much as I enjoyed building the thing!!

 

[Uwek]

WOW - great details - amazing work on this model
It is so interesting to see, what is possible to make

 

[Dean62]

I just found this build log and read through it, and I wanted to say you are doing a fantastic job with this airplane model!
I do love these kits, I built the Sopwith Camel and will be starting the Albatross soon. My only complaint is the castings, I really don’t like how soft the Britannia metal is. And when drilling or filing, it can get hot very fast! I would have preferred they gave you some resin parts instead.
Keep up the great work!

 

[François]

Thank you all for the nice words.

My only complaint is the castings, I really don’t like how soft the Britannia metal is. And when drilling or filing, it can get hot very fast! I would have preferred they gave you some resin parts instead.

I do admit that the metal parts are pretty soft but I've managed them so far and do like the heft they give to the model. I'll need to figure out a proper way to display the plane once done so it doesn't sag over time.

 

[Tony P]

These seem to be great kits indeed. Great work. I have been building free flight balsa models in the last year or so. . I'd love to build one of these but it wont fly in the end !

 

[pianoforte]

Hallo Francois, this is absolute top model building, you get out of the kit what is possible at all, just fantastic, you dont't see that every day. You have my admiration.

 

[François]

Thank you very much pianoforte, I do have to say that I enjoy this very much and I hope the results show it. I should be posting some new pictures later this week.

 

[Dean62]

Thank you all for the nice words.

I do admit that the metal parts are pretty soft but I've managed them so far and do like the heft they give to the model. I'll need to figure out a proper way to display the plane once done so it doesn't sag over time.

I added wood to the landing struts on my Camel build. In addition I drilled holes and added metal bars for the wheels. So you may have to be creative in order to have something that will stand the test of time! In my opinion that is an absolute fail on the manufacturers part. It is inexcusable to provide materials that are inadequate to handle the weight they are being subjected to. That’s Engineering 101.
In conclusion, I think the only reason people deal with it, is the detail the models provide. So they buy the kit and modify it. But a better material would go a long way towards making these more popular!
Ps - look forward to more updates!