WWI Digest 37 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Re: sorry testing by tsunami0@ix.netcom.com (Anthony & Ellen Sanchez ) 2) Re: sorry testing by The Flying Wrench 3) Martin Handasyde Info by "S.M. Head" 4) Re: Martin Handasyde Info by bshatzer@ednet1.osl.or.gov (Bill Shatzer) 5) Re: Martin Handasyde Info by The Flying Wrench 6) Aeroskin Kits by Peter Ansoff <72460.1665@compuserve.com> 7) Triplanes and Friendships by Peter Ansoff <72460.1665@compuserve.com> 8) Re: Triplanes and Friendships by The Flying Wrench ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 18:31:29 -0800 From: tsunami0@ix.netcom.com (Anthony & Ellen Sanchez ) To: wwi Subject: Re: sorry testing Message-ID: <199602180231.SAA28390@ix2.ix.netcom.com> Phil; You wrote: > >To the list: > >Hello? haven't been seeing any messages for the past few days. Just seeing >if its truely quiet on the western front or if my server is mucked up. >thanks. Comin' in OK here. Anthony ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 19:29:48 -0900 From: The Flying Wrench To: wwi Cc: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: sorry testing Message-ID: <199602180429.TAA20323@anchor> >Phil Kirchmeier >MindsEye Illustration >mindseye@mail.cortech.com Roger that, we are reading you five by - Over. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AND ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Phil, Are you the same Phil that did the Arctic Markings layout in the March issue of Fine Scale Modeler? The Flyin' Wrench ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 01:17:06 -0500 From: "S.M. Head" To: wwi Subject: Martin Handasyde Info Message-ID: <9602180012.aa04637@mail.iapc.net> Hi all, Just picked up a Pyro kit of the Martin Handasyde 1911 Monoplane and was= wondering where I might find info about this aircraft? Any Ideas? Also picked up Renewal's "Antoinette 1908 Monoplane" and "Voisin Farman= 1908", complete with the Renewal "Aeroskin" feature. Anyone used this= stuff? If it works and looks convincing I might try it, but I've never seen= it before. If this stuff is just a poorly performing gimmick (my suspicion)= does anyone have any suggestion on covering the wings? Should I just use= them as patterns to scratch build new wings? Any help is appreciated. Thank= s! Scott Head ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 23:15:10 -0800 From: bshatzer@ednet1.osl.or.gov (Bill Shatzer) To: wwi Subject: Re: Martin Handasyde Info Message-ID: <199602180715.AA26695@ednet1.osl.or.gov> Scott Head wrote: >Hi all, -snips- >Also picked up Renewal's "Antoinette 1908 Monoplane" and "Voisin Farman= > 1908", complete with the Renewal "Aeroskin" feature. Anyone used this= > stuff? If it works and looks convincing I might try it, but I've never seen= > it before. If this stuff is just a poorly performing gimmick (my suspicion)= > does anyone have any suggestion on covering the wings? Should I just use= > them as patterns to scratch build new wings? Any help is appreciated. Thank= >s! Nah, it's lousy stuff - gimmicky as all get out, a pain to get on correctly, a real nightmare. You'd be best rid of those kits. Tell ya' what, I'm feeling charitable, I'd be glad to take 'em off your hands - why don't you send 'em to me, maybe I can use 'em for parts or something. Seriously, the aeroskin itself isn't bad. The problem with the pre-WW1 Renwall aeroskin kits is not so much in the aeroskin as in the plastic parts. As occasional contributor to this list Brad Hansen says in his classic book "WW1 in Plastic", "the overly thick structures.... coupled with the poor choice of plastic color [black!] made the finished models look like they were constructed out of two by fours dipped in creosote." Having built a couple of these back in the '60's, I can't improve on Brad's description. What you've got there are a couple of genuine collectors' kits - not worth the price of a vacation in Mexico but John Burn's Kit Collectors Value Guide lists 'em at $15-$20 and I think that's a little on the low side. Unless you just gotta have a 1/72 scale Anoinette or Farman, they probably are worth more just left in the box, unbuilt. Sell 'em to a collector type and use the money to get a DML or two if you're not a collector type yourself. I've still got a couple of the Renwall aeroskins - I've often wondered if they could be saved by either painting the structure in a lighter color (to avoid the 'creosote' effect) or by simply overpainting the aeroskin with a 'fabric' color after the model was completed and the aeroskin applied. But, I've never wanted a completed model of either an Avro or a Curtiss (my kits) bad enough to risk ruining twenty dollars or so of collectors' value. [yeah, I know: "they're kits, you dummy, they're SUPPOSED to be built! What are you, some sort of pervert, just fondling the pieces?!" None, the less, they ARE collectors' kits, which is why my Aurora Halberstadts remain unbuilt as well.] Cheers, -- Bill Shatzer - bshatzer@orednet.org -or- aw177@Freenet.Carleton.ca - "The only duty we owe to history is to rewrite it." -Oscar Wilde- ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 05:49:30 -0900 From: The Flying Wrench To: wwi Cc: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: Martin Handasyde Info Message-ID: <199602181449.FAA07998@anchor> >Also picked up Renewal's "Antoinette 1908 Monoplane" and "Voisin Farman= > 1908", complete with the Renewal "Aeroskin" feature. Anyone used this= > stuff? If it works and looks convincing I might try it, but I've never seen= > it before. If this stuff is just a poorly performing gimmick (my suspicion)= > does anyone have any suggestion on covering the wings? Should I just use= > them as patterns to scratch build new wings? Any help is appreciated. Thank= >s! > >Scott Head The Flyin' Wrench relates: I bought a Renwal Pfalz DIII with "Aeroskin", about three years ago. As a favor to other collectors, I built it. The market as now decreased by one and therefore increased the value of all the other kits of this line. Remember Goldfinger? He wasn't going to steal the gold in Fort Knox, he was just going to irradiate it to increase the value of his supply, same difference applies here. Anyway, I enjoyed the kit, and it makes for a fair representation of the aircraft when completed. My warning would be take care when applying the skin as it is very easy to apply dirt and fingerprints to the skin as you apply the skin to the airframe. The skin is somewhat delicate in this regard and once soiled, is impossible to clean. Other than that it is a pretty straight forward kit. I bought my Pfalz kit for ten dollars at a collectors shop, Van's Scale Models. Ed VanTassel was a real collector, however he saw no reason to hold others hostage to his collecting fancy and therefore charged low prices. He had an Airfix HP 0400 for twleve dollars that I wanted but I never retuned to pick it up, wish I had now. So build your kits and enjoy . . . or perhaps save them and put a nuke in the central Renwal depository. Now THAT would be diabolical - eh Mr. Bond? The Flyin' Wrench ------------------------------ Date: 18 Feb 96 09:48:35 EST From: Peter Ansoff <72460.1665@compuserve.com> To: WWI Modeling List Subject: Aeroskin Kits Message-ID: <960218144834_72460.1665_IHD64-1@CompuServe.COM> Maybe it's just sentiment, but I am sort of fond of those old Renwall aeroskin birds. I built an Antoinette many years ago and it's still a treasured part of my little collection. Certainly it's not the last word in detail (and I'm not enough of a modeler to make it one), but it's attractive. I made a couple of modifications during construction: First, I rigged the cross-bracing in the rear fuselage bays before attaching the aeroskin. This interior rigging shows through the skin and gives the model a realistic texture. Second, I painted over the skin with a dull red wash -- it looks OK but, in retrospect, a couple more coats might have been better. With age, the model has acquired a dusty patina that makes it look, well, antique. The spiderweb of wing bracing has held up surprisingly well considering all the moves it's been through. I have a Voisin squirreled away that I'll get to someday, and also a deHavilland. Peter Ansoff 72460.1665@compuserve.com ------------------------------ Date: 18 Feb 96 09:48:36 EST From: Peter Ansoff <72460.1665@compuserve.com> To: WWI Modeling List Subject: Triplanes and Friendships Message-ID: <960218144835_72460.1665_IHD64-2@CompuServe.COM> Many thanks to everyone who responded to my post on Voss' triplane color scheme. The answer was pretty much what I expected (that it was the standard factory scheme with the "face" markings added) but it was great to get confirmation from the experts. It would be interesting to know if any documentary or other sources exist about the Fokker factory scheme, how it was invented, application procedures, etc. As somebody mentioned, Herr Fokker was pretty casual about records and such, so any evidence would probably be anecdotal. A totally unexpected result of my post was that I was "reconnected" with my old friend Jesse Thorn. We were best friends in junior high school but haven't seen or heard from each other in at least 20 years. It's especially ironic that this happened via a modelling list, since I haven't built a model (other than card) for many years. (However, all this may yet inspire me -- I found myself digging in a box the other day, looking for my old Paache airbrush . . . ) Peter Ansoff 72460.1665@compuserve.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 18 Feb 1996 06:54:46 -0900 From: The Flying Wrench To: wwi Cc: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: Triplanes and Friendships Message-ID: <199602181554.GAA10191@anchor> At 10:00 AM 2/18/96 -0500, Peter Ansoff wrote: >Many thanks to everyone who responded to my post on Voss' triplane color scheme. >The answer was pretty much what I expected (that it was the standard factory >scheme with the "face" markings added) but it was great to get confirmation from >the experts. Experts? Experts? I doubt that anyone on this list would consider themslves experts on the subject matter discussed here. Perhaps well informed, perhaps enthusiastic; Perhaps well informed enthusiast would be a better description. Should there be any experts out there, lets get a list going so we know exactly who has the definative answer to our questions. The best thing about this list is the fact that there are other folks here that can answer questions like: How many Roland's were built? (OK, OK, 2000 was a lot of D.VI's and I should have known better simply by the number). I guess it still tickles me to find folks who know what a Roland is! This, as opposed to the usual reply of: Roland? Roland? Do they still make watches? Yes, I've learned a lot from the folks on this list. For instance did you know that the Fokker E.III has nine ribs? Or is it twelve? Oh well, I can always go to the archives. The Flyin' Wrench ------------------------------ End of WWI Digest 37 ********************