Fokker D.VIII

[VonS]

Nice to see a lively FE2 thread for a change - reminds me of the golden age of Geezer's aircraft factory and pleasant ini file tinkerings.

@Spear_Head, excellent catch with the Kondor E 3; a quick glance verifies it as the aircraft that the MS.230 substitutes for, in the film. Although I doubt that those present on the movie set were too concerned with what the MS. was substituting for exactly. 

Interesting that a Kondor D.I/II was experimented with as well in 1918 (more info. about the biplane Condor variant over here).

Cheers all.

 

Edited June 20 by VonS
Fixed typos.

[HvitiVikingurrin]

11 hours ago, Stephen1918 said:

The fuel caps could be added to the skin rather than to the model.

Yes, it was even possible to paint the side radiators on the early Albatross models and their clones onto the texture.

 

However, it seems to me that these days, simply painting the fuel caps onto the skin is too easy! This method was fine back in Laton’s day, but now, the more small details a model has, the cooler it undoubtedly looks. Especially since the modification isn’t very complicated. In any case, as always— it’s my suggestion, and it’s your right to decline.

11 hours ago, Stephen1918 said:

Were they able to make a windscreen without a frame in WWI, before plastics?

Don’t even doubt it!

It wasn’t glass, but a material called cellulose. An early plastic technology, developed as far back as the late 19th century for the manufacture of photographic film and cinema film. This material was light and flexible, and was widely used in aviation. Here are some examples from old photographs. Pictured are Ernst Udet and one of the first Polish pilots, who shares your name.

 

However, in addition to its advantages for that time, cellulose also had significant drawbacks. The fact is that when exposed to the sun or frost, this material would quickly become cloudy and brittle, losing its original transparency and flexibility. (To be fair, airplanes back then didn’t last much longer anyway...) And it’s no wonder that the unforgettable Geezer, on his Halb D5, wittily depicted this visor as cracked.

Then again, you can ignore my ramblings here too, because there are examples of Fokkers without a windscreen. But then the view from the cockpit becomes completely boring and unremarkable...

[VonS]

Aye, Geezer's windshield crack on the Halb. D.V was inspired by a real WWI photo with a similarly, purposefully cracked windshield (unfortunately I am unable to track that image down now - it may be somewhere, buried deep, in the long-running "new aircraft" thread that Geezer was prolific in). The theory was that the crack was made on purpose to facilitate aiming, owing to the discoloration and frosting of the celluloid screen. Good times reading those posts and other arcana.

Cheers all,

---

Higher up and

most participatorily

I view through celluloid

windshield a deadly

dogfight while far below

in studio Chaplin as

Champion is via same

medium projected too.

---

[HvitiVikingurrin]

15 hours ago, Stephen1918 said:

Were they able to make a windscreen without a frame in WWI, before plastics?

By the way, here’s an example of just such a modification to the Fokker D8.

This is a Soviet trophy (a former Polish aircraft) to which the Russians added a large windscreen with a frame. In the photo, where the plane still bears Polish markings, the windscreen is the same as the one on Stetc's plane. Perhaps it was broken or seemed insufficient (ineffective). As far as I recall, in Russia they even fitted a large framed windscreen to a captured Sopwith Triplane. It’s cold to fly in the winter! :) As for monoplanes, the situation is unclear. On the one hand, there are reports of two captured aircraft, but according to the archives, only one can be traced. The fate of the second remains a mystery...

Edited June 21 by HvitiVikingurrin

[HvitiVikingurrin]

And this is just another replica of the Fokker monoplane.

Especially for skinners - here’s an example of the stencils on the rudder. I love these stencils! :))

 

 

Edited June 21 by HvitiVikingurrin

[HvitiVikingurrin]

Hello again! In the meantime, I’ll continue counting the rivets, if you don’t mind.

So, another improvement for the Fokker D8 model would be to add the end of the control stick and the cable to the bottom of its fuselage - these were definitely there. This detail is shown in all the diagrams, and you can see it clearly here in the photo. It’s just an L-shaped rod and a piece of wiring - nothing complicated.

In my humble experience, this is exactly how a highly detailed model is created: the basic framework is gradually built up with small details. The result should be a real treat for the eyes.

For some reason, the last two photos didn't make it into the previous post, so I'll add them here. I don't want them to go to waste!

Edited June 24 by HvitiVikingurrin

[Spear_Head]

Then I’ll throw my two cents into the common pot too.
Yes, a lever on the bottom would look appropriate. It won’t affect gameplay, but it will add realism. Also, there should be a seam on the bottom, which advanced skinners can easily draw.

Please don’t throw rotten tomatoes at me for the texture quality. This is just a quick test made in 20 minutes, just to see how it would look in the game.

[Stephen1918]

OK. You've made your point.

[Spear_Head]

12 hours ago, Stephen1918 said:

OK. You've made your point.

Yeah. As they say, 'we discussed it here, and I decided' 

[Spear_Head]

Post Scriptum

I also find that the stock pilot seems a bit too big for this model. But that's up to each player. I use Geezer's pilot with Julio Junqueira's shading, thanks to both of them. 

[HvitiVikingurrin]

20 hours ago, Spear_Head said:

I also find that the stock pilot seems a bit too big for this model

Yeah, that happens. It seems like the pilot’s shoulders are a bit too broad and he sits a little too high. The latter can be fixed in the data.ini file. But with shoulders like that, I don’t think he’ll fit properly in every cockpit. But that’s just how it is... 

But in closing, I have to admit what a blind fool I was. While I was noticing all sorts of minor details, I missed what was right in front of my eyes!  I’m talking about the aileron control cables that come out of the sides of the cockpit and run into the wing near the rear struts. They’re just wires. In our case, there’s no need to make them stretchable or movable. For a master like Stephen, it should be a piece of cake - just add these two (or four) thin rods to the model.

[HvitiVikingurrin]

In conclusion, here are a couple of very simple improvements to the base Fokker model. The aileron control levers (horns) and cables can be made slightly smaller (shorter). Or at least just the cables.

The position of the elevator control cables needs to be changed. If this isn’t done, future 4K skin modders will run into problems. 

[Spear_Head]

You've done a truly titanic job! It’s clear that you really love this plane, or that you have a lot of free time.

But overall, you’re right. If I had hands that didn’t grow out of my ass, I’d create the most lifelike model of the Fokker D8 possible — one that would make RoF and WoFF shit themselves. But for now, we only have what we have. And you know as well as I do that...

Quote

... moderators are very sensitive to such things and get very offended when people try to push them. Some of them, once famous, have even left the community precisely because of criticism from those who "count rivets." ))

So don’t hold your breath for all these improvements to be implemented. It’s sad, but true.

Edited Friday at 03:20 PM by Spear_Head