Fokker F.VIIb/3m "Southern Cross", „1985"

1
December 28, 2021
Nacelles: oversized attachment notches for the struts filled. Engine of the kit is too small (14mm, should be approx. 16 mm) and a bit simple🙂. Will be replaced. Because they are no a Wright J5 (R-790) in 1:72 I had to scratch them. Small Stuff is a excellent base.
2
December 28, 2021
The fit of the three upper wing parts is excellent for a kit released in 1966…. In this year I learned to walk🙂
3
December 28, 2021
Wing assembled from 5 parts. In the original the wing was covered with plywood and has no true recessed “panel lines”. The “lines” between the plywood sheets were sealed and were more raised than recessed.
4
December 28, 2021
Restoring of raised “panel lines” works well by using new, sharp scalpel. After producing a “flat cut” you have to sand them carefully with flexible 1000 sanding stick. You can see that there are no noticeable differences between original and restored raised panel lines.
5
December 29, 2021
Lower position of the linkage is visible on several original pictures but you can’t see where the linkage leaves the wing on upper side on any picture. Because of that you need to think about the construction.
6
December 29, 2021
7
December 29, 2021
Inspections panel in the leading edge for the linkage. Here both linkage were “umgelenkt”.
8
December 30, 2021
After intensive research I can resume that this is the correct configuration for the record plane: fuselage and nacelles in middle blue, wing and damper (landing gear) in alu dope, short exhaust stacks, covered wheels in alu dope, 3 x 2 blade prop, plane name and reg number in bold letters.
9
December 30, 2021
Clear parts for windows are very useable. Because the rear sides have a slight “lens effect” I sanded them with 2000, 1000 Tamiya sanding paper and finished with “fresh unused” paper sheet (abrasive effect compared to fine 8000/10000 grit sanding paper).
10
December 30, 2021
Frogs kit has a great advantage because it’s designed directly as THE Southern Cross airplane and not as a typical Fokker VII/3m. So it’s not necessary to fill windows, dors or open areas in the fuselage.
11
January 1, 2022
Unfortunately I overlooked that the clear parts are to narrow. It’s easier to made a new clear stripe than modify the opening in the fuselage.
12
January 1, 2022
Engraved panellines instead of raised. Stars removed, oversized holes for the struts filled.
13
January 2, 2022
The original has welded tube structure covered with fabric. The windows framing was made of rectangular wood profiles.
14
January 2, 2022
15
January 2, 2022
16
January 5, 2022
The most important question is: how much can you see of the interior through the small windows? I suppose a bit more than nothing!🙂
17
January 5, 2022
The oval “thing“ is the auxiliary fuel tank. You can see a navigation table with several instruments.
18
January 5, 2022
I left the side walls of the tank because they are invisible through the windows. The front is more than enough. I suppose the rectangular panel in the middle is the fuel gage.
19
January 5, 2022
Fortunately there is a great picture that shows the rack with the three radio transceivers.
20
January 7, 2022
Fuel distribution panel with valves: not 100% correct but very “complicated & important” 🙂
21
January 5, 2022
Gizmology (by Sheperd Paine)🙂 the older modeler among us will remember this modeling legend…
22
January 7, 2022
Cockpit floor should be higher. Control column scratched of different materials should be installed nearly the seats.
23
January 7, 2022
24
January 8, 2022
I’m not sure if the instrument panel will be visible but “safe is safe” (sicher ist sicher)🙂
25
January 9, 2022
Tubular frame made of steel tubes and mahogany profiles for the windows framing.
26
January 9, 2022
Probably the wall between Cockpit an cabin was made of wood.
27
January 9, 2022
Hard to say which color should be have the cabin floor...
28
March 5, 2022
Attachment points for the struts.
29
March 5, 2022
Reinforcing panels sanded thinner. Oversized mounting hole filled.
30
March 12, 2022
3 of 7 struts per side in place. For better strength I used brass tube for the main strut.
31
March 12, 2022
32
March 12, 2022
33
March 12, 2022
4 more struts per side: 7 total per side = completed.
34
March 12, 2022
35
March 12, 2022
36
March 13, 2022
How to solder two small wire peaces together?
37
March 13, 2022
For both parts consisting 2x2 wires I used only two parts wire and separated the useable parts AFTER soldering.
38
March 13, 2022
39
March 13, 2022
As a reminder the picture 39 repeat. Soldered connection point after separation”
40
March 14, 2022
41
March 16, 2022
Pattern for cutting airbrushing mask. Which size is correct?
42
March 16, 2022
Airbrushing works perfectly
43
March 16, 2022
44
March 19, 2022
Attachment points for the struts in the fuselage corrected (very aft and not approx. 12 mm from the end).
45
March 19, 2022
Several details on the upper side. I could determine the function only of one of them (the largest round part is the base of the moveable round (dipol) antenna.
46
March 19, 2022
Thinn PVC instead the kit part.
47
March 19, 2022
Masked. For comparison “armored glass” element of the kit.
48
March 21, 2022
I used the kit blades and combined them with a scratch made prop hub.
49
April 7, 2022
50
April 7, 2022
51
May 2, 2022
52
May 2, 2022
53
May 2, 2022
54
May 2, 2022
55
May 3, 2022
Windscreen made of three separate pieces of thin (0,14 mm) clear material.
56
May 3, 2022
57
May 4, 2022
Clearly the most difficult task of this modeling project. For the framing I used painted decal stripes.
58
May 4, 2022
59
May 5, 2022
Struts in place. Every has worked as hoped/expected🙂
60
May 5, 2022
61
May 5, 2022
62
May 8, 2022
Control cables made of thin polyamid thread.
63
May 8, 2022
Wind generator for supplying the radio equipment.
64
May 8, 2022
65
May 8, 2022
Position light: plastic rod, wire and colored 2K epoxy.
66
May 8, 2022
Control cable made of 0,135 flex rubber rigging material.
67
May 9, 2022
The best detailed engine I’v seen. More detailed than the most radials in 1:48.
68
May 16, 2022
Finally all three Whirlwinds are completed.
69
May 16, 2022
70
May 16, 2022
71
May 16, 2022
72
May 17, 2022
Engines painted and ready for installation.
73
May 17, 2022
74
May 17, 2022
75
May 18, 2022
Today it was a very good day also for modeling… and finishing the Southern Cross. “Fitting” to the start of the transpacific flight nearly 100 !!! years ago.
76
May 18, 2022
For now a few quick pictures taken with my smartphone.
77
May 18, 2022
78
May 19, 2022
It was a big fun to imitate one of the known original pictures. 🙂
79
May 19, 2022
80
May 19, 2022
81
May 19, 2022
82
May 19, 2022
83
May 19, 2022
84
May 19, 2022
85
May 19, 2022
86
May 19, 2022
87
May 19, 2022
88
May 19, 2022
89
May 19, 2022
90
May 19, 2022
91
May 19, 2022
92
May 19, 2022
93
May 19, 2022
94
May 19, 2022
95
May 19, 2022

Derek Buckmaster
Nice progress Bernhard! The molded stars reminded me that I built this kit in my teen years (more than 50 years ago). By the way, the HARS Aviation Museum (near Sydney) have just rolled out the replica Southern Cross for engine runs and taxi tests. If you're on facebook you can see lots of images, see link below. Remember this is a replica, so the engines and wheels are different to the original aircraft, but lots of the details like the control cables, etc, will be as per the original.
facebook.com/HARSAviationMuseumAlbionPark

1 January 2022, 22:55

Jay Dubya
FYI Mates - here's a link for the history buffs.
"Brisbane, Australia is home to one of the most famous aeroplanes in the world. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's Fokker F.VIIb-3m Southern Cross is preserved in a purpose-built display building across the road from the Brisbane International Terminal."
adastron.com/southern-cross/default.htm

2 January 2022, 01:33

Bernhard Schrock
Derek and Jay: thank you for the information. You are right at the source🙂. I know some pictures of a replica and I suppose that this was the plane you mean? I downloaded a lot of pictures of the aircraft displayed in Brisbane: it is another replica, right?

2 January 2022, 10:14

Jay Dubya
[img1]

Just to be clear Bernhard, there are two Southern Cross aircraft in Australia. The replica that is being restored to flying condition, kept in a town south of Sydney, and the original plane, which is kept in a memorial opposite the Brisbane International Airport terminal. The photo link shows both in 1987.

2 January 2022, 12:02

Jay Dubya
As your attention to detail is amazing, you might also like to look at this page, as it lists all of the various modifications made to the original Fokker F.VIIb-3m to make the Southern Cross unique.
After all it was the first to cross the Pacific Ocean in 1928!

adastron.com/southern-cross/fair-dinkum.htm

2 January 2022, 12:22

Cuajete
Nice hand-made interiors. Great job so far, Bernhard!

5 January 2022, 18:39

Spanjaard
great job as usual Bernhard. Sheperd Paine.... that brings some memories of old 🙂

5 January 2022, 19:11

Michael Kohl
My kinda stuff. Waiting for more

6 January 2022, 00:31

Alec K
I'll take a seat. Detail is, as usual, spectacular 👍

6 January 2022, 01:34

Oliver Zwiener
Wow - FROG kit from 1968 - following

8 January 2022, 07:57

David Taylor
following.

8 January 2022, 09:32

Bas Tonn
I'll reserve a seat

8 January 2022, 09:38

Dietmar Bogatzki
Fantastic work, Bernhard, bad that one won´t see much of the details if the plane is ready 🙁

8 January 2022, 10:37

David Taylor
As always fantastic attention to detail.

8 January 2022, 11:25

bughunter
Again functional parts in Gods one scale 😮

8 January 2022, 16:56

Bernhard Schrock
The next lighthouse kit will be come next week and so I reactivated my nostalgia kit project. As warm up I replaced / scratched the 6 attachment points on the wing lower side.

5 March 2022, 17:47

Cuajete
Very nice progress 👍

5 March 2022, 18:29

Julian Herrero aka Yuri
I must be old because I learned abt gizmology from the master Shep.
Impressive work on an old an basic kit
Congrats

5 March 2022, 18:34

Alec K
Your landing gear detail is just amazing.

12 March 2022, 12:50

Jv
Taking a seat looks very good

12 March 2022, 13:46

Cuajete
I agree with Alec 👍

12 March 2022, 19:41

Boris B
Great build and research! Thanks for documenting this long-distance build . !-)
Can you explain your raised panel lines restoration technique? I can't quite make sense of picture 4.

13 March 2022, 14:44

Bernhard Schrock
Mates: Thanks for you nice comments.
Boris: the language of an technician is a drawing 🙂. See please the last picture.

14 March 2022, 18:03

Juergen Klinglhuber
Another great show of skills - a pleasure to read/look at. 👍

15 March 2022, 15:42

Boris B
Thanks for the explanation Bernhard. I will try it next time.

16 March 2022, 10:39

Alec K
Decals look great. Are those self made? If yes, can you provide some details (inkjet vs. laser, decal paper type). Thank you in advance.

18 March 2022, 12:38

Spanjaard
Alec, in picture 41 Berhard mentions that those are patterns for masking, so i guess they are airbrushed, not decals 😉

18 March 2022, 13:36

Bernhard Schrock
Spanjaard: you are right. The numbers are airbrushed.

18 March 2022, 16:33

Alec K
Ah, got it. Sorry I missed that. That explains the total absence of any borders…

18 March 2022, 18:11

Bernhard Schrock
Today I received the custom printed decals and used them at once. I'm enchanted! The shine is exact the same as my paint so the clear varnish is not necessary. 🙂

7 April 2022, 17:49

Cuajete
Decals looks so good 👍

7 April 2022, 18:02

Hanno Kleinecke
Silver and blue look super pretty, especially in combination with Davids great decals !

2 May 2022, 19:56

Kyle DeHart
You're building this into a very pretty airplane!

2 May 2022, 20:28

Bernhard Schrock
Thank you Mates! After several weeks of "absence" I glued yesterday the wing to the fuselage nearly without "mess"... (nearly = I have to airbrush a small wing area with aluminium).
Next step (three windshield windows) come at next.

3 May 2022, 07:49

Alec K
Glad this is back on the bench 👍

3 May 2022, 11:13

Hans-Jürgen Haag
Look great so far 👀👀👀👍👍👍

4 May 2022, 13:46

Lochsa River
Bernhard,

you mention the use of decal material being painted to good effect. Is this some sort of special decal paper or is it just material from a decal sheet that was not used? is the color of the decal sheet important?

Thank you!

5 May 2022, 04:38

Bernhard Schrock
Good morning Lochsa River. Thx. I oversprayed the remaining areas of the custom printed decals. This is a very durable decal paper and can be well applied over curved areas. Because of paint the color of decal is imo not important.

5 May 2022, 05:23

Lochsa River
is this decal paper available online?

5 May 2022, 05:38

Boris B
Very nice progress Bernhard ! What did you use to glue the windshield panes together so neatly ?

5 May 2022, 09:42

Bernhard Schrock
Lochsa River: I asked my friend who helped me create the decals. Sorry: we don't know about the manufacturer of this special delalpaper respective if it is avilable online🙁

Boris Belay: I played with Alfreds Nobel invention and used CA - glue of Tamiya 🙂

5 May 2022, 14:24

Olivier
Not Dynamite I hope...

5 May 2022, 18:31

Robert Podkoński
I start suspect that you also have trained spiders, Bernhard, like Bughunter here 😄 Awesome work so far!

8 May 2022, 09:49

Bernhard Schrock
Robert; yep, a bataillon and two more of ants🙂

8 May 2022, 11:50

Hanno Kleinecke
The control rods look superb, did you scratch the guiding loops by drilling PE leftovers ?

8 May 2022, 12:15

Alec K
Great progress. What is the colorant you add to the epoxy for the position lights?

8 May 2022, 13:21

Bernhard Schrock
Thx Hanno and Alec K.
Hanno: The guiding loops are spare PE-Parts (ignition wires & distribution ring for a R-2800). On the end of each ignition wire they are a small circle they should be represented the spark plug. I used this small circle plus apron. 1,5 mm of the ignition wire. In the middle I drilled a 0,2 mm hole.
Alec K: I colored the epoxy with Humbrol enamels (H3, emerald and H18, red). You need a very small amount of paint (5% or so). This small quantity of paint not change the properties of the epoxi.

8 May 2022, 15:59

Cuajete
Wow... Fantastic progress 👍

8 May 2022, 18:41

David Taylor
As above.

8 May 2022, 20:22

Julian Herrero aka Yuri
Awesome ....

9 May 2022, 05:48

Matthew A
Wow

9 May 2022, 16:07

Matthew A
Thank you for the tip about raised panel lines I tried replacing them with thick plastic tread before but that looks sooooo much eaiser

16 May 2022, 19:04

Hanno Kleinecke
Here now the proof : There is a secret army of ants under your command…… 😄
Super looking engines !

16 May 2022, 19:19

wilky
When I was in the Air Training Corps we got to visit the Southern Cross replica that was being built at Parafield Airfield in South Australia.
It was amazing.
I believe they had the original blueprints.
I seem to recall that they actually had to do a lot of work on the wing due to an incorrect procedure or damages that had occurred.
I've also seen the original at Brisbane Airport

16 May 2022, 19:26

Michael Kohl
nice engine detailling. Waiting for them to be painted...

16 May 2022, 21:08

Dietmar Bogatzki
Whoww the engines are fantastic 👍

17 May 2022, 05:06

Julian Herrero aka Yuri
Very good work !!!! Keep on following

17 May 2022, 05:55

David Taylor
Another masterpiece Bernhard.

18 May 2022, 19:35

Cuajete
I agree with mates. Fantastic job.
Congrats!

18 May 2022, 19:51

Łukasz Gliński
Exquisite build, noone would believe it all started with the ancient Frog sprues.
Wish I could get engines looking one-fifth that good on my future Trimotor build 👍

18 May 2022, 20:12

Kyle DeHart
Nice finish!! Excellent job. Enjoyed following along.

18 May 2022, 21:57

Oliver Zwiener
Beautiful Pacific crosser - state of the art !

19 May 2022, 04:28

Julian Herrero aka Yuri
BRAVO !!!!!

19 May 2022, 06:07

Neuling
Wonderful build and elegant presentation!

19 May 2022, 07:44

Bernhard Schrock
So many nice comments since yesterday although it's just quick-pictures 🙂! I'm so happy: thank you. Today I want to take some photos in my photo set with my Nikon.

19 May 2022, 08:06

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Looks great, Bernhard. 👍

19 May 2022, 08:16

Bernhard Schrock
As „promised" I managed today to equip my photo set with another background hangar and shot some pictures 🙂

19 May 2022, 16:28

Oleg Smilyk
Congrats, Bernhard, the best Southern Cross you can build with a set from Frog! The exterior is impressive, agree with all the amazing comments above!

19 May 2022, 18:37

Kyle DeHart
Love the hangar photos!! Makes it look even better. Awesome job.

19 May 2022, 20:11

Juergen Klinglhuber
It looks great Bernhard !

20 May 2022, 11:07

Julian Herrero aka Yuri
Magnificent .. it looks like the real thing

20 May 2022, 18:11

Hanno Kleinecke
Spectacular work, especially these delicate Whirlwinds look fantastic 👍
Looking forward to seeing it „live an' direct" tomorrow 😄

21 May 2022, 11:06

Alec K
That "fake" (not really the best word...) photo is superb 👍

21 May 2022, 13:12

Bernhard Schrock
Thx Alec K. Indeed... I'v removed my comment🙂

21 May 2022, 13:26

Alec K
Sorry Bernhard, I just meat that I wished there was a better word for a model photo made look like the original. Certainly no criticism was intended. Cheers!

21 May 2022, 21:07

Henry
GREAT JOB! A first rate build from a first rate builder. WOW!! Just beautiful

30 December 2022, 19:10

Andy Ball
The bar has been raised! Brilliant work Bernhard- we all admire the subjects 'less-often chosen'!!

30 December 2022, 19:14

Jay Dubya
Simply brilliant!

3 January 2023, 05:40

Carlo
Excellent work. I have to remember to use this as a reference when I get to my Valom kit of the Southern Cross.

3 January 2023, 06:23

Steve -
Very Well Done. Your scratch built parts make the model much more superior than with just the kit parts alone.

3 January 2023, 07:15

Jan Peters
Great job on this ancient kit!

3 January 2023, 07:37

Album info

Transpacific Flight from Oakland (California) to Brisbane (Queensland Australia), 31.05 - 09.06.1928

Fokker F.VIIb/3m Southern Cross

95 изображения

1:72

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1:72 Fokker VII b-3m Southern Cross (FROG F175)

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Fokker F.VIIb/3m "Southern Cross", „1985"

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