The celebrated 22nd Aero Squadron Spad XIII flown by Capt. Arthur Raymond "Ray" Brooks of Framingham, Massachusetts, American ace with six confirmed victories. This famous aeroplane, beautifully restored after many years of neglect, is now on display in the Air & Space museum, Washington DC. Brooks named it "Smith IV" after his future wife's college in Northampton, Mass. Like all contemporary French-built aircraft, it bears the typical French five-color camouflage, in this case featuring the pattern variation favored by the manufacturer Kellner et Ses Fils, a builder of pianos in peacetime.
Fairly typical construction here: basswood wings, fuselage and tail, plywood undercarriage and bamboo wing struts, O-ring tires, walnut propeller, carved pilot figure, banjo string rigging and gunsight, wing ribs simulated by masking tape, rub-out appliqué lettering on tail and beneath cockpit, vinyl tube cockpit coaming, Micro Mark and Valeo acrylic paints, and bits of painted brass tubing to simulate the Marlin machine guns used on many US aircraft late in 1918. Scale is 1:48, from a 1940s Maircraft kit plan.
And the rest...
Excellent workmanship Jim.
Louis
That's a great model, Jim! The painting is particularly striking. Is it all done by hand? Very impressive!
Jordan: Thanks.
"By hand"?
Well, yes. Old-fashioned paintbrush Mark I. It's really the only way I know how. I've experimented with the airbrush, but didn't care for the fussiness of it, all the masking and cleanup.
The decals I make on the computer and laser printer. About the only parts that aren't hand-painted are when I have to simulate German lozenge-print fabric. For the sake of sanity, that I do with the computer, print it on tissue paper and apply it with glue-stick adhesive.
The real work, for me, is the rigging. When you work this small, it gets tough. I originally wanted do this one with elastic E-Z Line and simulated turnbuckles made from super thin wire and plastic tube. But it proved to be just too difficult for my 71-year-old eyes, even with magnifying cheaters. Rather than using the plastic modeler's technique of drilling out tiny holes everywhere, threading monofilament fishing line through them and gluing everything in place with the tips of toothpicks, a messy job when working small and with wood,I opted instead for lengths of repurposed used banjo strings, measured, cut and glued in place. Only marginally easier on the eyes and fingers, but manageable.
Thanks for the response, Jim.
I love the banjo strings for rigging. I think it all looks great. I stick to WWII planes, mostly because that's my favorite era of aircraft, but also because I don't have to deal with rigging!
Keep up the great work!
Looks great Jim. Another one to be proud of!!
One day maybe I'll try a WW I model. But I am not sure I have the dexterity in my fingers for the rigging.
- ken