Hi all,
I've lifted this from a series of posts on another forum, please excuse any date references. From here on out it'll be BTS-specific posts!
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One of my current Great War builds is that of one of the two Pfalzes built for
The Blue Max, the more accurate but poorer-handling G-ATIJ:
'TIJ flew in several other films until ultimately being retired to a hangar in Alabama. There it was found by a mate of mind who informed
Blue Max fan and collector Peter Jackson, who then bought it and had the sad old plane shipped to NZ. The aircraft was restored to flight - in its film scheme - at Omaka in New Zealand and flew as ZK-JPI, making its debut at the 2005 Classic Fighters Airshow. That was a highlight for me! It is now on static display at the Omaka Heritage Centre, appropriately on a red carpet, but is apparently still ready-to-fly. They have it displayed under a projector screen which shows the first "dogfight" of the film on a loop, which features this aircraft and its sister Pfalz...which Sir Peter also owns, and is used as a training aeroplane for The Vintage Aviator Limited.
Like many here I love the film and when I lived in Blenheim in 2007 I visited the museum often to see this machine in person. One of the reasons was to photograph every inch - over the barriers - in preparation to build it from the 1/72 Roden kit. After a while I had build most of the airframe but the paint scheme scared me off and I opted for a Jasta 10 machine instead, but this year I recovered my composure and got back into it.
I'd previously done several mods to the kit to more accurately reflect the replica's appearance, chief among them removing two cylinders from the engine, carving footholds into the fuselage side, and sanding the rudder and fin to match the replica. This weekend I also removed the radiator from the top wing.
As you can see it's already been partially painted so my next step is to go over everything with Tamiya Light Grey as a base. I have also bought an Encore kit and have used the decals from that.
One lingering question is that of the colour on the cowls, struts and wheels. The Encore instructions I've seen say that this Pfalz had them in black in the movie, but in person the restored aircraft has not black but more of a very dark blue. Does anyone have any suggestions for this? Here's an example, although I think the flash brings out too much blue:
http://www.airplane-pictures.net/photo/118937/germany-imperial-air-force-ww1-pfalz-d-iii-replica/Also this one:
http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1359613/***
Just a bump to say I found the coin to spring for the Encore Models 1/72 kit and will pinch the beautiful decals from it for this build. Looking at them, the kit will definitely need some sort of matt/weathering to tone down the colours. Pics this weekend!
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Hi folks,
The Encore kit arrived (in a stupidly large box for postage) late last week and was immediately opened so the instructions and decals could be removed for this build. I've started the new kit with the intention of using the Roden decals on it.
Here's the model in its as-of-2007 state, with the Encore decals.
Before doing anything else I painted all the to-be-lozenged surfaces with Tamiya Sky Grey, (as an undercoat for the lozenge decals) the vertical tail Flat White and the undersurfaces a custom mix for the blue called out in the instructions.
To my immense relief, the decals went on without much fuss. The biggest issue was finding the holes for the struts and footholds so I could cut them out.
However trouble came a day or two later. Having used Humbrol decal setting solution before and after - and leaving it to dry - I then brushed on some brand new Tamiya Flat Clear. Unfortunately, whether due to my brush not being clean enough or not having mixed the clear, there were white patches all over the airframe. You may be able to make it out on the fuselage:
I've wanted a model of this machine since I first saw the movie as a kid so you can imagine how I felt about this. It wouldn't be rubbed off with a finger so I decided to try some Humbrol Satin coat over the top. When I get home tomorrow I'll take another look and give you an update. Folks on Facebook have given some hints which I'll try.
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And there we are, the current state of play as of last week. Look for an update - hopefully with white-residue-free Pfalz, in the coming days.
