1/16th Fokker Dr1 scratchbuild

[Don Garrett]

Perfectly! I harped for years that the only critic that really matters is you. If you build a model from a box and enjoy the assembly aspect of it.....cool! I've seen Popsicle stick and tooth pick models that in my mind belong in a museum, great art is what pleases you, the creator.
Maxed out and super detailed models or finger paint....it's all about how you feel about what you've done. I can't honestly say that I've ever built anything in any scale that I was completely satisfied with...if I ever do I'll probably move on to some other form of expressing myself.

[DonnyW]

Don, I completely agree. I couldn’t tell how many models I have made but each one has a part I feel I could do better in. This model is no exception.. and its just starting.

I have now started kitting out the pilot’s office.

The seat is two pieces of aluminium glued with JB Weld. The edges are trimmed with the plastic insulation off the “live” wire of a piece of electric flex

The rudder bar moves and operates the rudder. The joystick moves in all three dimensions just like the real deal and will eventually actuate the rest of the flying control surfaces once they are made.

I hope to get the rest of the cockpit kitted out over the weekend.

Thanks again for looking

[DonnyW]

The throttle and magnitos are now made and installed in the far side of the cockpit.
I attach them to the Fokker Frame with little brass lugs wrapped round the tubing and glued. I don’t want to set the model on fire now by soldering them on

This photo is taken in a better light than the ones I took last night. In it you can see how neat the high temperature silver solder makes the joints. It doesn’t form fillets like lower temperature solders tend to do. When it melts, capillary action draws the molten solder between the surfaces in contact making a stronger bond than the brass itself.

[Don Garrett]

Rock on Donny!

[hot ford coupe]

Good Gravy !!!!I'm glad you showed the inner works. I wonder if I could do something similar to what you did with the control surfaces. I want to try that in 1/32 or 1/18 scale.

[DonnyW]

Wow Hot ford coupe ..its hard enough in 16th scale but in 1/32nd ..you are a braver man than me

With the joystick in position, I also went back and finished the tail end. Its now complete except for a little cleaning of parts I missed and then a coat of lacquer to stop the brass dulling. I appreciate the little wooden blocks between the stabilizer ribs are not scale but they give the model a kind of Rennie Mackintosh artsy feel. He was a fellow Scot and a very famous architect and interior designer. I wanted to mix a little pinch of his style in this model

Thanks again for your interest and looking

[Lancair IV]

Stunning work Donny

[DonnyW]

Thanks Lancair, I loved your video showing the movement ..yours is a work of art too

I forgot to add the overview of the model so far …

[JohnReid]

Hey Donny ,I think that you have found your niche in the modeling world.Thanks for the brass tutorial and your willingness to share.

[JohnReid]

Thanks Don..and I agree.

A model is a work of art and as such..it can have a style based on the builder's personality and background ..just like a painting or any other form of art.

With the wheel struts, I'm trying to introduce aluminium into the model to compliment the brass and wood. I envisage lines of aluminium for the wing struts too..and the seat. I think that's what I meant when I said I was trying to emulate Ken's style. I think he has a very unique "feel" to his models. However I also want to stamp this Fokker with my individuality and no just copy someone elses.

Hope that makes sense ?

more pics of progress soon

Right on Donny!Like any other art form we all start by emulating those who have gone before us and learning the basics but in the end an individual style will develop.That is why
I work in dioramas as it allows me lots of license to do what I want.

[Don Garrett]

I'm glad that you guys are finally starting to call this stuff art. After all that's exactly what it is. If you guys aren't artist's, I guess I've been fooling everyone for years by telling them I am an artist and getting paid for it.

[hot ford coupe]

You better believe this is art. This work is just as masterful as any painting, sculpture or whatever. It requires the same amount of dedication, attention to detail and knowledge of any of the other arts. After all, DaVinci was an artist and he even built model aircraft.

[DonnyW]

Thanks again for your interest guys...it is appreciated

Back at the cockpit end, I have added a few more fittings.
The gauges are brass tube and I slightly heat the end and press it into a sheet of styrene to cut the instrument face. Its painted with a gauge needle then filled with some thick cyano to look like glass.

The ammo bins and fueltank are shaped in balsa block then covered with thin aluminium whish is just glued on. Some pinheads were added to look like rivits. Nothing hard but it is quite effective ..dont you think ?

[hot ford coupe]

Effective?? Absolutely.

[Lancair IV]

What can I say except........WOW

You and xken should run for President!