abufletcher

Could it really be just a coincidence? On the very day that I put the final touches on the Snipe, the next kit from CD ScaleDesigns arrives! The modeling gods must be looking out for me. Idle hands and all that!

semeraro

Cool, One of my favorite airplanes. Cant wait to see how this build goes.

DS

CTDavies

Well? Aren't you going to show everyone what's in it?

abufletcher

What's in the box? Well, in a word: LOTS!!! Once I unpacked all the beautifully CNC-cut sheets of ply and balsa, and the precisely cut formers, and all the hardwood parts, and the steamlined wooden struts, and the carbon rods, and strip wood, and the photo-etched brass fitting sheet, and the G-10 parts sheet, and the pre-bent wires for the undercarriage and cabanes and tail skid, and the carefully rolled plans, and the Williams Brothers Parabellum kit...well...once I unpacked all those parts and they completely filled my entire building table...well, then the scope of this project really hit me.

I'll have much more to say about this kit, this project, and the CI over the next couple of days, but for now here's a taster! WAHOO!!!

abufletcher

For those of you with the BIG monitor, here's a directly-linked hi-res file. Thanks to Proflooney for explaining how.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

Awesome! I was eyeing this kit. If I wanted to order one are they available? I know this is the prototype correct?

allanflowers

Impressive!
Abu, this has an 85" wingspan, are you getting a big van sometime in the future?

abufletcher

This will be, by far, the largest model I've ever built (and I remember back when I thought a 36" wingspan was big). But in other ways, it's just another 1/6 scale model and so rather than being "bigger" per se, there's just more of it!

A bit of an introduction is necessary at this point. I've been wanting to do one of the German 2-seaters for as long as I've been doing RC modeling. I've researched all the Albatros offerings from the B1 to the CVII and also the LGVVI and Rumplers. I love them all, but when Chris told me he was working on a CI, I jumped at the chance. As with the Snipe, the appeal of working with a prototype kit is perhaps the most exciting part of the project. Chris and I have been exchanging ideas on this project for quite a while and I've looked at several prior versions of the plans. This is the first CI kit that Chris has produced and in this sense it's a "prototype kit." But I'm not sure I'd want to describe what I'll do with it as a "prototype build." A kit is always just a starting point. For some modelers what they like to do with a kit is start there and head for the closest, easiest finishing point. I suppose this could be called "building it stock." For me, and I expect a great many other modelers who would be interested in building a model like the CI, what I like to do it take a kit "and run with it." I like to push the envelop and see how far I can take it. Some people might call this "kit bashing." I wouldn't. To me it's just building. As I push the envelop of the kit, I hope to find things along the way that Chris might choose to incorporate in future versions of the kit, as happened with the Snipe. Some of the sorts of scale alterations I might want to be making will probably not be suitable for a production model kit. Other "mods" might be easily included.

For me, scale modeling is all about the details and the thrill of doing a model like the Albatros CI is in working out the fine points. It's not about having a sexy, identifiable outline as, for example, with a sport scale triplane. It's not about the color scheme. It's about details like a scale and functional (or functional appearing) cabling system for the ailerons. It's about including as much detail as you can historically document. As a modeling subject, the early Albatros 2-seaters have a wonderful delicacy about them and this is needs to be captured in the model. It needs to look right both on the runway and with the sun shining through it.

Anyway, enough philosophizing.

abufletcher

There are four long sheets of plotter-printed plans. Gives you some sense of the size. But always remember, no matter how large it looks in your workshop, it will invariably look teeny out on the field! Prof. Looney's F2b notwithstanding.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

THose plans look great. If I remember, you said you were going electric right? If I were to build this model (which I really want to) I would really want to detail it out for competition. So I may start gathering documentation now as I have none. Also I would need to figure out which engine to use. The mention of the RVC seems to be the one. I have only use the upright version. I really do not want to go electric for myself.

abufletcher

No I'll be using an RCV 90CD. No electric for this boy! However, the other builder Chris has lined up for a prototype (in Germany) is, I believe, planning to use electric. As on GianFransisco's CIII, the compromise in using an IC engine is there's just no way to hide the cylinder head from all angles. So you make a choice. I convinced Chris to mount it sideways (as did GianFransisco) and that pretty much wrecks the right hand view. But gives a clean left side view and allows for a full dummy engine. It might be possible to squeeze one of the RCV SP engines into the nose of a CI or CIII but I somehow doubt it. And there's really no scale cooling availbable.

abufletcher

Holy moly, that goes together fast!

abufletcher

I laid out all the formers today and started to put all the related parts into baggies. That's always my first step with any kit. The forward structural formers are 3mm ply and a few of the "shape" formers are 3mm liteply. The formers from the observer's cockpit back to the elevator are made of 6mm balsa and consist of top and bottom shaped pieces and precut uprights. The formers in the tail end are 3mm liteply.

A comment here are the style of the fuselage construction. The way the forward parts nestle together is very neat reminiscent of the construction of Chris' larger WWII designs (like the B-17C and Ju-88). At first it seems a bit unusual for a WWI model, as compared with traditional stick construction of two sides. But when you think about it, it's actually closer to the way that the real CI fuselage would have been constructed back in the Albatros factories. The formers would have been assembled in a jig. This method has also allowed Chris to use (very-nearly) scale formers with scale placement of side longerons for a great scale look in both (full depth) cockpits.

There's also as a photo of the nice pre-shaped aerodynamic stock for the wing struts. There were early and late versions of the CI. Early versions used narrower steel struts which on later versions were faired with wood giving them a wider look.

abufletcher

The wing units (fully rigged) will be removeable, so no new car needed!

abufletcher

As on the original, the pre-cut ply side panels on the kit overlap at the joint. These edges will be beveled/chamfered for a smooth transition. For those modelers (probably including me) going with a natural wood scheme the panels will need to be stained before gluing. Notice the well-weathered 5" WB wheels I've been using. I had these on my Cub for a while to get the white tires nice and dirty!

TFF

I think one of my addictions is nicely drawn plans, and I dont think a kit could look more organized.  I cant wait for you to get into the meat of it.

abufletcher

Must be a Teutonic thing! And the fact that Chris is an architect doesn't hurt!

Mode One

Per Abu: "I like to push the envelop and see how far I can take it. Some people might call this "kit bashing." I wouldn't. To me it's just building".

From my Model Railroading perspective, where the term "Kit Bash" was coined, Kit Bashing is takinga kit of one thing and bashing it into another. If you were to takethis Kit of a CI and turn it into a CII, CIII or CIV; or a Genaral Dynamics F-16, then you'd be kit bashing. Adding detail is simply that., adding detail.

abufletcher

Basically, I agree with you. But it's often not a matter of "just adding detail" which sounds like sticking things on the outside of a finished model. Sometimes, achieving a more scale result requires some (hopefully minor) re-engineering of something "inside" that will affect something "outside." And in this sense I might end up going "off road" here and there. What I liked about Chris' Snipe design is that I never had to fight too hard with the kit to make the changes I wanted to make.

abufletcher

The kit includes an impressive array of pre-cut parts in varying thicknesses of ply, lite ply, and balsa. I find myself suddenly very thankful that I don't have to cut out all these parts by hand! At this point, I think I'm still a kit-guy!

abufletcher

Here's a sequence of photos that show how the forward fuselage parts fit together.

smcouch77

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That is one beautiful kit! I gave up on building kits a long time ago. It took more time to make the parts fit than to just make them from scratch. But Chris' work is pure art. Add to thatyour meticulous building and I know this will be a master piece!
Steve

abufletcher

At this point, there aren't more than a dozen or so kits I'd really be interested in building. But then I wouldn't mind having a few sport scale quick build kits around to quickly throw together when I crack up one of the practice planes. Actually, Chris' Pup could be a quick build, if the builder could avoid the tempation of going all out. I don't see any reason why it shouldn't build as quickly as any of the BUSA or Flair offerings.

abufletcher

Bit by bit the fuse construction comes into focus. This photo shows the position of formers F4b/c and the servo mounting beams. Also I wanted to point out that the tops of the formers where the cockpits will be will be removed after the structure is glued together and the longerons are in place. The area behind the firewall is for the SLEC tank.

abufletcher

Some time ago, Chris started a thread talking about the development of the CI kit. Here's the link:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_68..._1/key_/tm.htm