Halberstadt D-II

 I printed some 1/144 scale Halberstadt D-II fighters yesterday, and they turned out not to be without issues. Issues which I didn't notice, alas, until it came time to remove the supports to reveal the printed model underneath.

Each of them printed with a semi-broken back, probably because the models were printed tail-down at about 60° to the build plate, and lacked any supports along the underside of the fuselage, so they sagged just a little bit before the upper layers started printing.

I've rebuilt the gcode with more supports in the problem area and I'm trying another one; we shall see how that turns out. 

They also all printed the tail fin poorly. I added more supports there too, but that problem isn't nearly as troublesome to me. 

They're all usable as gaming models, even as they are, but I would prefer it by far if they were less flawed. 

 A few days later

Here's one painted in a livery for late 1916-ish.  At some point in 1917, I'm not sure exactly when, the official colours changed from green and brown to green and mauve.

This particular model was printed split into two pieces, with the fuselage cut just behind the lower wing. It improved printing of the tail section quite substantially, but the struts are all pretty grungy. 

Fokker D-VII

 

The next addition to my 1/144 scale air force is this Fokker D-VII, which I've been putting off because I wasn't looking forward to painting the lozenge camouflage.

As it turned out, it was easier than I'd expected, mainly because in this scale the lozenges themselves aren't really discernable as geometric shapes, but just resolve to blobs of colour, so as long as they're about the right size and in the right pattern, the finished effect is not too bad.

Reviresco used to produce sheets of 1/144 lozenge camo decals, but they've been out of print for some time, and I don't think they'd be all that easy to apply on a one-piece model, especially on the lower wings.

The STL is available at https://www.wargaming3d.com/product/fokker-d-vii-1144 

 Next Day...

Here's number two. 

They're both still gloss varnished, and they may very well stay that way since it makes them easier to keep clean. 

Artisinal "Knights of the Air" for a more mellow, organic sound

 

I recently found the home-made version of Avalon Hill's Knights of the Air that I made back in the '80s.

This was way back before computers and scanners were readily available to anyone who wasn't a hard-core computer nerd, and digital cameras hardly existed at all. Colour photocopying was pretty much non-existent, and if you could find it, it was mind-bogglingly expensive.

I drew plan views of all the aircraft with my trusty Rotring pens, and photocopied them to size for the aeroplane counters, and then coloured the counters individually with watercolours. I drew out the aircraft statistics sheets by hand, and filled them in by hand for every type of aeroplane, and coloured them with markers.

Looking back, it was an incredible amount of work for a game that I played probably half a dozen times. I must have had amazing stamina back in those days.

And now I have absolutely no memory of how to use all this stuff.

Even Tinier Aeroplanes

 

In the 1980s, I occasionally played a game called Knights of the Air, a WW1 aerial combat game played on a hex grid like Canvas Eagles (or Blue Max, which it was rewritten from) but rather more detailed in terms of keeping track of altitude and aircraft statistics. I started out by making hexagonal card tokens printed with a plan view of the aircraft, but soon decided that what I wanted were actual models, so I started making some.

Initially they were scratch-built in 1:300 scale from cardboard, wire and wood, but later on I found I could get cast metal models from Heroics and Ros, which, though lacking in interplane struts and the like, were generally okay in terms of silhouette, and much less work. Later still I got into 3d printing, though I've printed very few aeroplanes in 1:300.

I've since focused my attention on 1:144 3d printed planes, as they're easier to paint and to see with my increasingly decrepit eyes. However, the larger models require a hex grid of 50 to 70 mm. That's fine for small scale dogfights, but the smaller models can be used on a 25mm grid, which gives you a much larger battlefield, and can therefore accommodate more players at need.

These models are as follows: 

1. Gotha bomber (scratch-built) 
2. Fokker E-III Eindekkers (metal)
3. DH-2 (one metal, one scratch-built) 
4. Sopwith Camel (metal)
5. SE5a (metal)
6. Sopwith Pups (metal)
7. Albatros D-III (3d printed)
8. SPAD 7 (metal)
9. Fokker Triplane (metal)
10. Albatros DV (metal)
11. Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter (metal)
12. BE-12  (scratch-built)
13. Hannover CL-III (metal)
14. Albatros D-II (scratch-built)
15. BE-2 (scratch-built)
16. Halberstadt D-II (scratch-built)
17. Halberstadt CL-II (metal)
18. Bristol Fighter  (scratch-built) 

I think it highly unlikely that I'll do any more aeroplane models in 1:300, though I do have a few more metal casts awaiting assembly and painting. Still, never say never. 

Accessory for Flying

 

I've been designing (in Blender) an indexed flight stand for use with my 1/144 aeroplane models. The wheel is numbered from 1—10 to indicate altitude (Canvas Eagles maxes out at 10 levels of altitude) and the cap has a big arrow embossed on its top to indicate heading.

It is socketed to accept a 3mm acrylic rod, which has a magnet glued to its top for the aeroplane models to stick to. The models sometimes turn on the magnets,  making the actual direction of flight ambiguous, hence the arrow to remove all doubt.

I have printed the prototype, and it works fine, so with a couple of minor tweaks it's ready for mass production. 

 Here it is, in the flesh and in action, with a 1/144 3d printed SPAD 7 as an example.

Components

---

Here are some of them in action.

 The only problem I have with them is that they're all the same height, so although the index wheels give the altitude information required, the battlefield still looks a bit two-dimensional.

I might make some with some longer and shorter acrylic rods, to represent the gross height bands, say altitude levels 1-3, 4-6 and 7-10. They're not mechanically necessary, but I think they'd look better. 

DH2

 

I've been working on a 1:144 scale DH2 in Blender, to provide some period-appropriate opposition for the Fokker E-III I printed a little while ago.

The struts and booms are all a bit chunky, but that's for the sake of printing. If they're too dainty, they'll either just not print at all, or else they'll break when the supports are being removed. I can live with a bit of chunk in a wargaming model. 

Even so, I'm not expecting printing to be smooth sailing. 

 These are a couple of DH2 models I made about a hundred years ago, in 1/300 scale.

The rearmost one I scratch-built from cardboard and copper wire, with a carved matchstick for the nacelle. The other was a metal model from Heroics & Ros, with interplane struts added by me in copper wire. 

Albatros

The first of my 1:144 Albatros D-III flight is done, now that decals have arrived so I don't have to go mad painting the markings.

The decals came from Miscellaneous Miniatures, and their service was very good. I got WW1 British, French and German decal sheets in various styles, and they worked just fine.