DaveCov's Airfix 1/72 Airco DH4 1918 (01079)

[davecov]

I hate rigging biplanes and ships and more often than not, I don't bother. However, I was determined to rig this Airco DH4 and whilst doing it, it was a good reminder of why I don't like rigging!

First job was adding the fore/aft rigging between the struts:

Then I added the rigging between the aft struts. I did make bit of a mess of the paintwork but I expected that and it will be tidied up once all rigging has been done:

Time for the forward struts to be rigged:

I still have to add rigging from the rudder to the fuselage and some more on top and bottom of the wings. Once that is done, I will tidy up the paintwork and decals before fitting the rear gun and bombs. Final act will be to apply some light weathering and varnish:

That is all for now.

Dave

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

An object lesson in how to make a good old kit look brilliant

 

[Ian M]

Nice one Dave. Looks like the real challenge starts here.

 

[Jim R]

Well despite the problematic decals and the fiddly rigging that is a superb result.

An object lesson in how to make a good old kit look brilliant

Definitely.

 

[papa 695]

The build is looking great Dave, and fantastic work on the rigging.

 

[davecov]

Thanks everybody.

As I have been enjoying building this DH4 so much, I decided to build a companion for it, namely the Airfix 1/72 Sopwith Pup (01062-1):

Build thread is here.

Dave

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Oh yes indeedy!

 

[davecov]

Having been distracted by my Sopwith Pup build, it is time to report some more progress with the DH4.

I have decided to dispense with the kit roundels and have ordered some replacements. As a result, I am not worried about damaging them whilst cleaning up after rigging. In retrospect, I shouldn't have applied them when I did, but at the time I didn't know how fragile the decals were:

The elevators during rigging:

View from the top. The gunner is waiting for his Lewis gun:

I have glued the bombs to the racks:

The gunner has his gun now. I still have to do a bit of rigging on the top of the upper wing and the underside of the lower wing. I also have the rudder rigging to do but that can't be done until the fuselage roundels have been replaced:

That is all for now.

Dave

 

[yak face]

Great work dave , theres certainly a lot of rigging on this one , cheers tony

 

[colin m]

That is looking really nice Dave. I know you said you weren't keen on the rigging, but it does make all the difference, well done.

 

[davecov]

Another little update.

I finished the rigging on the bottom of the lower wing but I have only half-rigged the last four pieces of rigging on the top of the wing. That will not be completed until the newly-ordered roundels arrive:

That is all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

Latest update.

The Almark Decals roundels have arrived. I have never used them before and I doubt that I will use them again. Annoyingly, they are slightly out of register, the carrier film covers the whole sheet and the white cirle surrounds are almost impossible to see. That makes trimming extremely difficult:

The old roundels were removed from the upper wings:

I sanded the damage on the top wings and repainted:

Roundels were applied to the top wings. The shade is slightly different to the fuselage and tail decals. Not sure what to do about that. There are three options, replace the kit decals with Almark decals, paint the decals, or leave them as it is:

Roundels were also removed from the bottom wings and the wings repainted. I will be sanding down the paintwork before applying roundels:

Roundels have been applied to the bottom wings. I still have to clean up the underside of the top wing but that can't be done until the final rigging has been done:

Last four bits of upper wing rigging have been glued in place, awaiting trimming:

Final rigging was the rudder lines. To make it easier to fit, I threaded a single piece of line through the fuselage:

Rigging is complete:

I have applied a little weathering behind the exhausts and on the wheels. I applied a coat of matt varnish even though I have the decal dilemma to sort out:

That is all for now.

Dave

 

[papa 695]

Great work Dave, even more so with having to replace the decals.

 

[davecov]

Thanks Ian.

Unfortunately, I am not happy with the replacement decals as the blue and red are too light for an RFC machine in the second half of 1918 which is when the kit scheme was set. I have another DH4 in my stash and will be removing the replacement decals and replacing with the donor kit ones! I will definitely NOT be changing them again after that.

Dave

 

[davecov]

My final report now.

I didn't bother to remove the old roundels. Instead I painted over them and then Kleared ready for the roundels from another DH4 kit:

Roundels applied on top:

And underneath. Final jobs will be to fit the skids, weather and varnish:

Is is now finished:

Once again, thanks to Ian (@papa 695) for setting up this GB.

Dave

 

[Mark1]

Nicely done

 

[Tim Marlow]

Despite the trials with the decals this old stager has come out very well Dave. She must have more rigging than any other plane in the group build.

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Ooh that looks good

 

[papa 695]

Great work Dave, it did put up a little fight, but you definitely got the better of it.

 

[Jim R]

Well Dave despite all the rigging and all the decals changes that's a cracking result. All credit to you for overcoming problems and sticking with it. The finished model is a testament to your patience and skill.