I’m really enjoying your Fokker triplane build. Good videos with good explanations and demonstrations of building a paper model are hard to find on TH-cam. I’ve built a few WWI paper models and a number on Wingnut Wings kits so this subject is right up my alley. I have this paper kit in my stash. I’ll refer to your videos when I build mine. Keep up the good work!
Great tutorials. Clear and concise. A couple of questions and a possible suggestion. 1) Why balsa. I know it cuts easy but it also can have a tendency the warp in the presence of moisture. 2) Why not try Basswood. Still cuts pretty easy. It's really stable. 3) Those ribs on the wing spar. Laminate a second sheet of wing structure parts. Then cut the spars between the positions the ribs go. Glue the spar sections in between the ribs. The ribs come out square without any hassle. More work? Sure. Easier to deal with. Yes. You could even add spears if needed to match the prototype. But then I tend to over think stuff sometimes. After all the actual aircraft most likely used fixtures for building the wings, ailerons, rudder, elevators and stabilizers.
I'm just use to balsa and it's so easy to work with, sand etc. I have a Fokker D-VII with spaghetti struts (pasta!) and they have maintained integrity for a couple of years. I have not had any trouble (yet) with moisture. I think the hassle of cutting all those spars apart, elevating them to the center of the ribs as well as making sure their ends were square isn't worth it, though it would work. Sliding the ribs over the spar isn't too tough and once you get moving, goes quickly enough. I'll show the bottom wing construction in more detail for completeness. Thanks for the comments and ideas. May come in handy for my Vickers Vimy! -Dan
@@dansmith7617 Like I said I tend to overthink some stuff. Or over engineer it. When I put hardwood floors in 16 years ago I hand nailed it all. The wood Jatoba (aka Brizilian Cherry) is about 3 times harder than Red Oak. But I put a nail in every 3.5 inches. The floors don't squeak though. In car modeling especially ships or aircraft the idea of filling hulls or wings with foam and sanding it to shape before applying the skin is in some way going over the top.
Last week you replied I should give card modeling a try again. Dug out my stash of models on CD. Printed up some sheets of Emil Zarkov"s IAI-201 Avara. Nice straight wing structure. No taper. Just a touch of dihedral. Use the wing as a skill builder to get back into building. Lessons learned. 1) I forgot just how much you finger hurts after doing some heavy cutting. I think I will give balsa a try. I'll just compensate for the extra thickness on the slots in the spars and ribs. 2) The weight paper I've got is way too stiff for the wing covering. Unfortunately the instructions do not list the weight of the stock. the only size listed is the .5 mm for the stock you are to laminate to I'm thinking i have to go down to somewhere around 30Lb. Also the kit mentions metal foil for the transperancies. I've got some old photot copy stuff but i'm not sure about its printability.
I truly enjoy your detailed work! I'm hoping to get into this field of modeling. Thank you for your wonderful videos.
Hello Roland! Thanks for the comments. I'll keep them coming and I hope they help at least a little bit. -Dan
I’m really enjoying your Fokker triplane build. Good videos with good explanations and demonstrations of building a paper model are hard to find on TH-cam. I’ve built a few WWI paper models and a number on Wingnut Wings kits so this subject is right up my alley. I have this paper kit in my stash. I’ll refer to your videos when I build mine. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the kind words, George. These are lots of fun and if the videos would help someone give these a try, that's fantastic. -Dan
Hopefully Peter Jackson will decide to resurrect the company. It's my understanding he has personal possession of the tooling.
Great tutorials. Clear and concise.
A couple of questions and a possible suggestion.
1) Why balsa. I know it cuts easy but it also can have a tendency the warp in the presence of moisture.
2) Why not try Basswood. Still cuts pretty easy. It's really stable.
3) Those ribs on the wing spar. Laminate a second sheet of wing structure parts. Then cut the spars between the positions the ribs go. Glue the spar sections in between the ribs. The ribs come out square without any hassle. More work? Sure. Easier to deal with. Yes. You could even add spears if needed to match the prototype. But then I tend to over think stuff sometimes. After all the actual aircraft most likely used fixtures for building the wings, ailerons, rudder, elevators and stabilizers.
I'm just use to balsa and it's so easy to work with, sand etc. I have a Fokker D-VII with spaghetti struts (pasta!) and they have maintained integrity for a couple of years. I have not had any trouble (yet) with moisture. I think the hassle of cutting all those spars apart, elevating them to the center of the ribs as well as making sure their ends were square isn't worth it, though it would work. Sliding the ribs over the spar isn't too tough and once you get moving, goes quickly enough. I'll show the bottom wing construction in more detail for completeness. Thanks for the comments and ideas. May come in handy for my Vickers Vimy! -Dan
@@dansmith7617
Like I said I tend to overthink some stuff. Or over engineer it. When I put hardwood floors in 16 years ago I hand nailed it all. The wood Jatoba (aka Brizilian Cherry) is about 3 times harder than Red Oak. But I put a nail in every 3.5 inches. The floors don't squeak though. In car modeling especially ships or aircraft the idea of filling hulls or wings with foam and sanding it to shape before applying the skin is in some way going over the top.
Last week you replied I should give card modeling a try again. Dug out my stash of models on CD. Printed up some sheets of Emil Zarkov"s IAI-201 Avara. Nice straight wing structure. No taper. Just a touch of dihedral. Use the wing as a skill builder to get back into building. Lessons learned. 1) I forgot just how much you finger hurts after doing some heavy cutting. I think I will give balsa a try. I'll just compensate for the extra thickness on the slots in the spars and ribs. 2) The weight paper I've got is way too stiff for the wing covering. Unfortunately the instructions do not list the weight of the stock. the only size listed is the .5 mm for the stock you are to laminate to I'm thinking i have to go down to somewhere around 30Lb. Also the kit mentions metal foil for the transperancies. I've got some old photot copy stuff but i'm not sure about its printability.
Oh! I made his Westland Whirlwind it was really nice. I have a Dornier-17 and P-39 from him in the stash...