summerwind

well the N28 is in good hands now and i am of course feeling a void............for some reason i have not looked at another of my favorites from WW1 which is of course this 3 wing menace
i have 2 choices at the moment, but i want to complete a "need" list for all the goodies i will want to buy.
first question to those of you 3 wing lovers is, what size is the right sized wheel/tire?

Williams is 6 5/8"

Dubro is 7"

abufletcher

If I were in the market for a 1/4 scale DrI (and I might be soon), I'd want to wait for the updated 1/4 scale kit that GTM is currently working on. I'm guessing it'll include a lot of features from the 1/3 scale design (which has got to be the best DrI kit available).

abufletcher

The DrI, like nearly all German WWI fighters, used the standard 700mm Continental tire. So at quarter scale that would be 175mm or 6.8897638 inches.

TFF

On the Windsock 3 view, I am getting about 27" diameter, so you got to pick what you like, because it is in-between your choices.

TFF

Duh! 700s.

summerwind

LOL......i knew the GTM kit was gonna come up.
you obviously read me like a shiny penny
after building the last 2 Proctor kits, N11 and N28, i need a break and a half.
was thinking the BUSA one and buying the cowl from GTM. starting to add up, but i still am thinking to keep this one as a basher Sunday flier with some good ol fashion kit bashing a la "Abu" style............damn you Don, you just had to mention the GTM.
just don't want things to look out of proportion.

i don't see a release date though..........anyone know when it is?

summerwind

the Dubro's are just about right, but it looks like Glen uses the Williams...........ah, decisions

abufletcher

The thing that really sticks out on the BUSA DrI is the greatly oversized rudder. It's huge! Other than that, while there are lots and lots of places it's off (e.g. the height and width of the undercarriage), I could live with it as a Sunday flier.

I thinks it's probably one of thosee "when I get the time" projects, but I'd give Glenn a call.

summerwind

you're killin me Don.......i will give Glen a call tomorrow and see where he's at on the new version.............if it's only a few months away, then it's a no brainer.

most the flyers out at my field think a Great Planes ARF DR1 is scale......not their fault, just the refinement of building and flying ARF's all the time.

i have been reading a USA DR1 build on RCSB and it does seem to be a very novice friendly build, but much creativity is left to those who like to add detail.

weighing my options now.............

abufletcher

Again, the BUSA DrI can be made into a really nice looking model (as in the photo below). I've even thought about buying one myself to have as a "kick around" model. But I would have to change that rudder (or at least have a smaller one handy)! I'd bet that an experienced builder could have one of these framed in a month of hard work and have it flying in 2-3 months. Would a G26 work in one?

BTW, a quarter-scale DrI is still a pretty small model as 1/4 scale models go. By comparison a 1/4 EIII is E(III)NORMOUS!

abufletcher

What's the cowl diameter on a 1/4 scale DrI anyway?

summerwind

must be 10.5" as a lot of the guys use GTM's cowl kit.

abufletcher

Hmmm...26.6 centimeters. [sm=72_72.gif]

jtisch

I may have a bit of a "wheel fetish", but I feel the WB wheels are too small and the Dubro wheels too fat (there are other problems as well). I modified a set of Mick Reeves wheels.

J

smokn6x

who the heck is GTM[] I want to bild a Dr1 also[sm=biggrin.gif]

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Glenn Torrance. flygtm.com His 1/4 Dr1 is not available at the moment. The kit is being upgraded.

jtisch

GTM stands for Glenn Torrance Models. Glenn is the purveyor of some mighty fine kits for WWI Aircraft.

J

summerwind

well i have decided to buy both the GTM DR1 when available, and for now the B USA DR1.
the USA version will be a good bash and trainer for later down the road.

now the nice thing about this project is that the wife has become involved..........she literally goes nutz for Red 3 wingers.............

both will be much easier for me to transport as well as i won't have to rent a trailer or rerig as i would have with my Nieuport 28.
the 28 is now in the hands of Dave Lovitt, and i feel it went to someone who will do it justice.

still trippin on the friggin wheels though.........looking at pictures is some help, but not enough to make a clear assesment........here i go again, just want to build a quick Sunday flyer but i am gettin all anal already.....right down to the engine which is a toss up between the Zenoah G26 or the DLE 30.

Kometfreak

When BUSA says no crosswind ops for the DR1 they mean it. Mine does not like x-wind at all, just like full scale.

abufletcher

Me too! I really dislike the look of the Dubro wheels. Does MR sell a 7" wheel kit?

summerwind

that stands true with probably every WW1 model

even my Skybolt sky rippin YS snortin' machine doesn't like crosswind, but is manageable..............i think the one trick to flying these powered kites is to pick the right day or time when the wind is in your favor.
otherwise withdraw and live to fly another day.

abufletcher

That's exactly the way I've been thinking! Just get that BUSA kit and build it fast and get it flying. Save the "anality" for the GTM kit. One thing I like about having one or two highly detailed builds going is that I can be more relaxed about other projects.

Just as long as she realized that you're NOT going to paint it red!

Just keep reminding yourself that the wheels are the very least of your worries in terms of "scale" on a BUSA kit. Just buy the wheels that are the best match for size and spend a day or two bashing the into something a bit better looking.

The DLE 30 sure looks like good value for the money. Also I've heard people say that 1/4 scale triplanes benefit from a bit bigger engines that one would use, say, in a 1/4 scale Pup. But then I'm thinking of sticking a Seidel 7-70 in a 1/4 scale Pup so don't listen to me! [sm=bananahead.gif]

TFF

On my VK, I had a set of the WB Golden Age wheels that had been on a couple of models. I sanded off the fake hub bolt heads and they look pretty convincing for the metal covered DR1 wheels.

jtisch

Not 7", but @7-1/8".
I have the DRI wheels at 720, that makes the MR wheel diameter about spot on.
As for most/all German fighters having 700mm wheels, well that is just not on. Fokker DVII, Abatros D-series,SSW DIII-DIV and Pfalz DXII all had larger diameter wheels. Earlier fighters may have used the 700 wheels more often.

abufletcher

I'm always open to correction. Best thing to do in modeling is just to blow up the 3-views to the the scale of the model and measure the size of the wheels. Often we're stuck with using a wheel that's just a little bit small or a little bit large...my personal preference is for the little bit large. Nothing wrecks the look of a good WWI model like "teeny" wheels.

TFF, I know the EIII (or at least some of them) had sheet metal wheel covers, but was this also done on the DrIs? I've always gotten the impression (from the old photos) that they were fabric covered.

But, again, we're going down that nitty-gritty road.