Doras Galoras - Unofficial GB

[Denis McCarthy]

Here is a picture that I found of a restoration in progress that shows a great picture of the Oil Tank that I'm interested in. I've looked at some other pictures online as well as in Jerry's Volume One. The tank appears to have some damage as pointed out and also has a more "puffy" appearance. I want to try a capture these elements on my new tank.

Any thoughts?

 

[Denis McCarthy]

Here are a few pictures of the Silicone Mold Making process. The weird looking space helmet thing is the vacuum chamber. You can see the bubbles in the silicone mixture that needs to be drawn out before it is poured into the mold box. I have a HVAC vacuum pump that pulls 29 inches of mercury @ 6 cubic feet per minute. This vacuum causes the mixture to rise then fall, indicating that it is ready to be poured into the mold box. Sweet! So one half of the mold is poured, then allowed to cure overnight. I'll take a picture for you guys tomorrow evening once the mold is de-boxed. Hope you like the new images!

So in this image you can see the two part silicone mixture all mixed up as well as the bubbles!

Here is the mixture under 29 inches of vacuum pulling the bubbles out..

Here is the container of part "A" of the Silicone Compound. Freeman V-340.

And the last picture of the Oil Tank Mold resting after the pour. Notice how smooth the top surface of the silicone compound is.

Looking forward to seeing the mold half tomorrow evening!

Take Care

Denis

 

[Crimea_River]

Wow, lots going on!

First off, Karl, nice to see you back at it. Fine job on "red cat" mate.

Jerry, your freehand looks good from here!

Denis, far as I know you're the only one doing a 1/24 scale model. Like you, I like adding detail but I think I'd go crazy at 1/24 doing that. The nice thing about 1/48 scale is that you can make a decent representation of detail, faking it a bit and leaving some out but ending up with something that looks close to the original. At 1/24 I'm thinking that added detail needs to be more complete to be convincing and there's a need for good reference material to get it right. But that's just me.

As for your Red 1, I don't know how you feel about it but at 1/24, I'd be inclined to mask and paint the red 1. The W.Nr is a different story and two possibilities come to mind: scrounge for some decals that would work or make your own. The latter can be done by scanning Crandall's profile and isolating the number and printing it to the right scale on decal paper.

Anyhoo, let me show you a quick update for Black 6:

I spent part of the evening getting the main decals on and started a bit of stenciling. The Eduard decals are nice and thin but don't really react to decal solution. Not that they needed it though as they were easily pressed into the recessed details and look as good as if they had a setting solution applied. Here's an overall shot:

Close-up of the tail....

...and the codes. I accidentally scratched the vertical bar and will touch this up with a bit of black paint. Note also a small piece of Tamiya tape covering the jacking hole. This will be painted in a red primer colour before the matte coat goes on.

And lastly, the underside:

I'm trying not to rush this but hope to get some time in every night this week to get this baby done for Saturday's Western Canadian Regional Model Contest. I'll also bring along my other D-9, White 11, and hope to get my Ar 234 done as well. So I be busy!!

 

[Zaggy]

Long post coming; but have lectures ATM... you'll be hearing from me shortly! <-- basically, this is an annoucement that I will make an announcement later... hahaha

 

[A4K]

Looking sweet Andy, and looking forward to yours Denis- I need to learn how to cast!

 

[Zaggy]

Here is a picture of the Lower Wing for Zaggy, looking at the outside wheel well areas for a fairing..

BETWEEN the wheel wells - it has the radial engine wheel well fairing (as you can tell by the recessed radial engine exhaust fairing); thus we can assume it was modeled off (either directly or indirectly) 601088, which I suspect had a replacement set of wings at some stage or was built with a set of wings destined for an F-series a/c. So depending on which a/c you want to model, you'll likely need to fill that area; wont hurt double checking ref's and making sure 210003 had a 'proper' D-9 fairing either. I'm SURE that 601088 was not the only D-9 with the radial wheel well fairing!

And the twin gun cowls that come with the kit.. I guess the lower one is a five piece early cowl?

Looks to be; again, this is a case of check ref's and if there is no direct photographic evidence, double-check sister a/c from the same block. OK, the latter is never 100% accurate (as repair at Geschwader-, Depot- or Manufacturer level could result in any combination of Canopy, Deck-Lid, Flaps, whatever), but you're looking for a balance of probability when the definitive evidence is unavailable. In the case of 210003, early canopy (no pulley) and 5-piece deck-lid are the order of business - that said, at some point this a/c (in its variety of guises, Black 1, Yellow 1, Red 1, etc) is suspected of wearing both the early and intermediate camo (initially thought to be in RLM75/83 upper (as you have posted), then seemingly updated to the intermediate camo of RLM82/83 upper) and if I remember right, was also sighted at some point with a blown hood.

As for the scheme, while there are no 1/24 decals available (that I am aware of), they wont be hard to make (drop me a line if you get stuck) so long as you can acquire the B&W Balkenkruezen... Actually that reminds me; Wayne, I was making some stuff for you, wasn't I? (Sorry, pain mgmt med's wrecked my memory for large portions of last year - thus, I was particularly forgetful; drop me a line too and we'll sort them out (I do remember seeing a 'Wayne Decals' folder in my Decals Masters folder at home) now that we're almost done for the semester...)...

 

[Zaggy]

@Denis - Next; those engine mounts are pretty basic. Not only should those holes not be holes (they should be raised circles, as part of the one piece cast), but the Brace-Arm attachments are pretty simple. If you're going to the trouble of sorting the tank out (and yes, the tank on 601088 is pretty dinged up and NOT typical of the state of the tank on operational D-9's), it maybe worth sculpting and detailing those braces.

A quick look online has revealed NO 1/24 aftermarket options - with regards to the supplied decals, off the top of my head, yellow 11 was likely a 600- or 601- series a/c (at Uni, not near my books). Now regarding what you can do; if you wanted to do the 'Yellow 1' version of 210003, well, you have a 1 digit already, but you still need WNr and etc. Knocking up some custom decals doesn't present a huge challenge, with the exception of the B&W Balkenkreuz (whites are a pain in the arse) - but these are likely big enough to mask anyway! As previous, drop me a line if you get stuck. I've a small collection of custom drawn WNr types with MOST fonts for the Fw 190D-9, Ta 152, He 162 and He 219, so I can knock you up a set if you get stuck; same goes for tactical codes, which in this case presents little challenges at all (a '1' is much easier than most other digits, who's style can sometimes be the same throughout entire Gruppen or be very different within the one Geschwader). And being 'Red 1', colour matching is easy as we dont need a direct match to the Yellow on the tail or any other major area of colour.

Ironically, the ONLY Fw 190D WNr-series I have yet to create a full set of Master Digits for, is the 600-series type which we see on 601088 - and of course my project, 601286... Obviously that is on the to-do list!


Oh and nice to see other's doing a bit of 'make your own' stuff. I'm known to dabble in Decal Design Printing, Photoetching, etc, and I have a mate who casts resin for a living; although he uses vibration and pressure pots - as opposed to vacuum - to draw out air... Some of the NICEST looking and working resin I have ever seen - we need more of this kind of thing! 20 years ago, Resin and PE aftermarket were no where near as 'common-place' as they are now and we modellers actually had to 'scratchbuild' stuff, as opposed to just buying some Aires or Eduard sets, thinning the plastic with the dremel and gluing stuff in. That said, the savings in time you can make and the noteworthy increase in appearance you get by using the self-adhesive, pre-painted Eduard P.E. stuff, is quite remarkable. If you're building a project to win prizes, you're mad to over look the pre-painted PE or at least 'Instrument decals', these days!

 

[Wayne Little]

Plenty of work ahead of you there Denis, good luck with it. Well advanced on the second 262 now, be done on the weekend!

Black 6 looks good Andy, hope you get it done for the comp.

Yeah Dan there is a decal list but no rush, we can revisit anytime...unless i need something sooner rather than later!

 

[Crimea_River]

Thanks Wayne. Should be in good shape for Saturday.

 

[Zaggy]

Yeah Dan there is a decal list but no rush, we can revisit anytime...unless i need something sooner rather than later!

Sorry - just shoot me an email with what you want/need; its all probably here in folders!

 

[Zaggy]

Damn I wish I could work as fast as some of you guys... How do you do it?

 

[rochie]

looking better all the time Andy

 

[woody]

Really nice paint work Andy.

 

[Denis McCarthy]

Thanks Guys for all of the ideas..

@ Dan..... I may call you up on the decals.. I may try and mask off the larger ones and spray those through the brush, but the work numbers are going to have to be decals. If you already have the Font Dan I'd give you some scratch for at least two sets of work number decals in the right font and size. Or if its a True Type font you can just pass over the name to me.. That's on down the line for my pile though. I'll be in the engine room and gun bay for a few weeks probably. Not to mention the office will be after the guns.. Oh by the way.. My Master MG131's came in the post today. They look nice! Will take a few pictures for yuz guys tomorrow. Also, the first side of the oil tank mold looks good, now I need to model the back. As to the oil tank that I am modeling, I can always add or remove damage from the part once it becomes a wax pattern. (This is a investment casting process...or lost wax process in the jewelry bizz..) A friend of mine has just bought a CNC mill so I am likely to make a few 1/24 aftermarket bits for my own. Perhaps a kit or two for a few friends? Who knows! I have the Eduard 1/24 Photoetch gauge set for my bird so that's a good thing. Also Chuck (my CNC Buddy) and I have talked about doing new receivers for the MG131's cause there's TONS of detail in that area. What do you guys think? I mean if I now have really nice barrels there's not much since using the cob original gun receivers I figure.

I did a little searching around the web for other Trumpeter builds, and I'm pretty sure I talked to this builder a year or two ago. Alex Kontiveis. Here is a review of his Dora:

1/24 Trumpeter Fw190 D-9 Dora by Alex Kontiveis

I think Alex did a really nice job. Some of the engine detail is a little off, but thats ok. It looks badass. I may try to get in touch with him.

Oh and my James Crandall Volume 2 that I bought on Ebay on the 19th... still has not shipped. My MG131's arrived today... from Poland (!) which I bought at the same time. This guy has a book store in Colorado... Hmmm... We Shall See.. He also shows he has a leather bound signed version of the Crandall book... wait here is a link.. : Focke Wulf FW 190 Dora Volume Two Signed Leatherbound | eBay
which is signed by Karl Puett and Gunther Rall. I sent him a email telling him that I would really rather have that version. Its a little more money but that sure would be nice to have.. you know? I just LOVE Crandall's Volume One. Have you guys had a chance to buy any other Crandall books? I know he has several.

Also Dan, do you need me to take another picture of the lower wing? I'm still not real clear on the fairing thing.

So! Tomorrow my plans are to work on the original engine mounts, and the other side of the oil tank and maybe get that side of the mold poured. Then maybe melt some injection wax and have a look. I'll be sure to share the pics with you guys.

Cheers guys have a nice Wednesday!

Denis

 

[Zaggy]

@Denis : lower wing piece, right at the front edge, in the middle (in front of the MG131 ejector ports), there is a reccess, yeah? Thats the remnants of a radial engine exhaust 'trough'. On most D-series aircraft, this is NOT THERE (601088 is an exception).

As for WNr's, not TTF's; some are vectors, but mostly I dump things down to 1200dpi bitmaps before printing, so I can add a touch of underspray and whatever on them (they end up looking better that way). Doesnt take too long to knock them up (check out Wayne's Ta 152H-1, for example).

With regards to the Crandall and EE books, I have a few; Both the Dora volumes, a bunch of the Wings of the Black Cross and Luftwaffe Im Focus series, Yellow 10, Doras of the Galland Circus, plus Hitchcock's Ta 152 monogram and the Green Hearts Volume by Urbanke. Honestly, if I had to choose between the EE stuff and Japo stuff (despite the fact I have more EE stuff - but thats because there is more of it), I'd go Japo - Actually, I'll rephrase that; I muchy prefer the Japo Methodology, Layout and Feel (maybe because they feel more like TEXT-Books?); the EE stuff with its colour all over the place, over done headers and footers, annoying layout and massive text, ends up feeling cheesey to me.

Still, its almost impossible to be Fw 190D/Ta 152 fan and NOT make use of both the Crandall/EE and the Japo books; I find I often end up taking litle bits from both to form my own conclusions.

D

 

[Denis McCarthy]

Ah.. Got it Dan.. Thanks!

Mmm let me see.. Its the dipped down area in the center, forward of what I believe are the 13mm ammo case ejection holes.. So it looks like I will need to fill this in. No problem. I'm going to be opening up the ejection ports anyway. Cool!

Oh and Andy, I found your Bird in Crandall's volume 1 today. It starts with a picture of a American soldier holding whats left of the tail of your plane. W.Nr 500645 with the metal Ta 152 tail. Awesome! I wasn't sure which bird you were going after but now I understand! Very cool indeed. It starts on page 189. From Crandall, "The Ta 152 Metal tailed D-9 W.Nr 500645 "Black 6" of III./JG2. A stick was used to prop up the stabilizer. There is a known color photo of this aircraft before it was burned out. Other D-9's with Ta 152 tails known in the Werknummer block that were made by Mimetall Erfurt. This colorful D-9 was found in Altenstadt, Germany."

That is very cool bro. I need to go back and re-read your first post regarding you modeling this bird. Very interesting! There is another picture at the top of the page that shows it as well. Its pretty fu#ked up in that picture. Good thing you decided to restore it huh!?

Then on page 190 it goes into a story about the mystery photo of your 6 from a guy in Holland. A guy by the name of John Quint made a 1/72 Dora model going by his sketch that he made from the original photo. Then on page 191 are the color illustrations of Black 2 and your Black 6. He goes on (Crandall) about the RLM color combinations: Undersurfaces - Light Green, half underwing natural metal, half RLM 75 plus gear doors.
Uppersurfaces: Forward engine cowl to the gun cowl RLM 83 Dark Green; RLM 81 (Mystery RLM color??) Brown-Violet over midsection of upper fuselage terminating at the rear of the fuselage Balkenkreuz; RLM 83 lightly sprayed on the rear fuselage spine and vertical fin; square Red Oxide patch over lift hole on rear fuselage; upper wing RLM 75 or Light Gray with splinter pattern RLM 83; RLM 81 on port wing root."

In Crandall's illustration of your bird, the RLM 81 looks much closer to RLM 76 then the color you sprayed your fuse. Or is that just me? How did you come to the decision to spray it the color you did? ....Just wondering.. I'll try and get a good picture of the illustration for you guys tomorrow. And Andy, do you have Crandall's Volume One? Cool stuff!

So after seeing all of the talent here on the thread, I'm going to go back and make a few "adjustments" to my Jumo 213. Too wit: custom coolant tanks (custom silicone mold, poured metal) custom supercharger with improved case details for the oil lines, also re-cast. New coolant line fittings for the new coolant tanks. Possible remodel of crankshaft engine cover to include real threaded studs in engine case. Rework the rear mounted engine tank and straps. Thinking of new firewall with fuel filter, new mg131 machine gun receivers, all new case ejection shoots to exit bottom of wing. Oh and new magnetos and ignition rails with wire to each cylinder. Oh and about fifty stainless lines for the above features! Oh boy! Can you guys think of anything else I can add?

This is starting to sound like and Summer and Winter project!

Fun stuff!

Take care

 

[Zaggy]

Ah.. Got it Dan.. Thanks! Mmm let me see.. Its the dipped down area in the center, forward of what I believe are the 13mm ammo case ejection holes.. So it looks like I will need to fill this in. No problem. I'm going to be opening up the ejection ports anyway. Cool!

That is correct. Its a common 'thing' on D-9 kits, most of them having been modeled off 601088, which seems to be in the minority (and as above, in my view, probably had replacement wings). Most period photo's that show that area of the a/c, show the D-series type fairing. If you're going to mount a centreline pylon and/or tank, you'll be fine; but in 1/24, if you elect to go 'clean' you may also need to scuplt the shallow pylon recess fwd of 13mm ejector ports. If need be, I'll try and dig up some pics, but if you want to go searching yourself, there should be plenty of pics of the D-13 (836017) and this feature.

Can you guys think of anything else I can add?

PLENTY; 13mm ammo boxes and feeder chutes made from 0.2mm card, so you can see the 13mm round in the chute; open up the 20mm ammo box bays; open the fuel-cell/fuel-bladder bays (a fairly simply 'box' shape); MW50 tank and radio's in the rear fuselage; drop the flaps; First Aid Kit; personal cargo compartment; wing gun bays if you're really game!

 

[Zaggy]

As for the D-15, the rear of the lower engine cowls is now faired in and finished to 600grit standard (ie, 'roughed out'). Over the weekend, the goal is to finish the join around the bottom of the cowl and top of wing (made tricky by the exhaust stacks being closer to the wing than usual), microfiller and then clean up any damaged panel lines. Then comes the hard part; deciding on if those last external (vertical) reinforcing strips should be added or not.... Hmmmm

 

[Wayne Little]

With regards to the Crandall and EE books, I have a few; Both the Dora volumes, a bunch of the Wings of the Black Cross and Luftwaffe Im Focus series, Yellow 10, Doras of the Galland Circus, plus Hitchcock's Ta 152 monogram and the Green Hearts Volume by Urbanke. Honestly, if I had to choose between the EE stuff and Japo stuff (despite the fact I have more EE stuff - but thats because there is more of it), I'd go Japo - Actually, I'll rephrase that; I muchy prefer the Japo Methodology, Layout and Feel (maybe because they feel more like TEXT-Books?); the EE stuff with its colour all over the place, over done headers and footers, annoying layout and massive text, ends up feeling cheesey to me.

Still, its almost impossible to be Fw 190D/Ta 152 fan and NOT make use of both the Crandall/EE and the Japo books; I find I often end up taking litle bits from both to form my own conclusions.

D

Seems we are pretty much on the same page Dan in volume of books and thoughts...

And I'm proud to say I DO have the most accurate W.Nr. on a 1/32 scale Ta152, courtesy of Dan!

 

[Zaggy]

The paint scheme/camo looks pretty sweet too...