Roden 1/48 Airco DH-4
By Jeff Porter
Introduction
I have always liked the Airco DH 4. So after building several Central Powers machines, I decided to tackle the DH 4 by Roden. This was actually my first Roden kit after building Eduard exclusively. I had heard some stories about the Roden kits and well, they were all true. I'll get to those throughout the build.
This kit offers three different versions, so when you open the box, you'll see what looks like a very complicated kit with a zillion parts. Well, not exactly a zillion, but enough to make you scratch your head. And when it all comes to fruition, it's really not a difficult kit build. I decided to build the RAF version of this aircraft. But I would not recommend it for a first time WWI builder.
I don't want to make this a compare contest but remember, I was building Eduard exclusively for a couple years. The first thing that jumped out at me right away was the thinness of the plastic. The second thing was how the parts were attached on the sprue trees. Mostly ok, but there were a couple parts that require a lot of filing, sanding, and filling with putty after removal from the trees. This could have been avoided with a little foresight as to where the part would be attached. Anyway, the turtle deck is the main problem, and it took some close careful trimming with a very sharp scalpel blade to begin the fix and some close filing and putty work to complete the task. The flashing on some parts was not bad but still there and still required a nice smooth touch with the scalpel blade to fix. All in a days work at the modeling table.
I didn't have a datafile for this aircraft and to be honest I was too cheap a bloke to spend $35usd for it. So after scouring the internet for some original pictures I decided to take my chances and use as many original pictures as I could find online. If you search long enough you can do it.
The Build
The cockpit went off without any problems, but you really have to watch how Roden lays out the different versions to be sure you don't assemble something that is not correct for the version you are building. Everything really was smooth sailing up until the moment I started dry fitting the fuselage halves. I must stress dry fitting. If all Roden kits are like this one, dry fitting several times will be common place. I found it impossible to glue the entire fuselage sections together at once. I had to start from the back and work my way up to just before the cowling. If you glued the two fuselage halves together right from the get go, the radiator would not fit. Hence starting from the back and working forward. So once I got to the cowling, I next glued the radiator in place, making sure all sides lined up with the fuselage. After I was happy with the alignment, I then attached the top cowl. This piece required lots of sanding, filing, and positioning to attach properly. I think they even make it long on purpose so you can trim to fit. After the top cowl was in place, I went around the entire now together fuselage and fixed any mis alignment issues, and gaps. There was about a 1/8th in gap on the underside of the fuselage I had to fill just forward of where the lower wing attaches. After all that, I sanded and primed the entire fuselage. Next, I located all the rigging locations on the fuselage and drilled them using a #80 drill bit. I'll talk more about rigging and material used later.
Next were the wings. I sprayed the underside a clear doped lined color. I think I used Master Modeler Desert Tan. Then I masked the ribs with cut strips of Taymia tape. I thinned the desert tan and added a little brown and sprayed the entire area, then removed the tape. On the top side of the wings I did the same thing, except my PC10 was Master Modeler dark green thinned with some dark gray. Taped off the ribs, and sprayed with full on MM Dark Green. It turned out ok, but next time I think I might add more gray or maybe some white to the rib surfaces. Next, I located all the rigging holes on the wings and drilled them with a #80 drill bit.
Next, I dry fitted the cabane and interplane struts. Another practice I employ before attaching any struts is, I measure each one against the other and make sure that they are the same length. On a WWI aircraft, it is critical that you do this, as it all plays into how easy and how well the top wing will go on. Once satisfied with the lengths of all the struts, I then CA'd them in place. While the CA is still tacky and the struts are setting up, I take a measurement on their corresponding locations on the underside of the top wing, and make sure that the distance is the same on the struts. That way, the wing fitting should go smoother. After the CA had dried, I went back and painted the struts a light tan, and then used the burnt sienna oils on them to achieve a wood-grain finish. Next, I attached the top wing. With all my due diligence on the alignment of the struts, the top wing went on without a hitch. It was aligned properly and dropped right into place.
The rigging was next. And with all the holes drilled, I started to rig this beast. I have to give credit to Neil Eddy here. Neil came through and sent me some incredible rigging information that allowed me to rig the DH4 correctly. Neil is a true gentleman and a wonderful person. Thank you Neil! If you are planning on rigging the DH4 correctly, it is not an easy task. I drilled over 100 rigging holes in the entire aircraft. I employed a new rigging method on this build. One suggested to me by Bran Cancain. It entails using elastic sewing thread. I have included a picture of the roll so you might get a good idea of this stuff. After using this method I am hooked and will not ever use anything else. I used to use mono fishing line. The elastic thread stretches wonderfully, and of course is very giving, so if you accidentally hit it with your finger, it won't snap off. But the best advantage of this stuff is that it bonds to a drop of CA in about 5 seconds. I just anchor it in the #80 hole with a very small drop of CA, stretch it to the other attaching point, wait 5 seconds, and it's done. Give it a few minutes to harden and then trim off the excess with a double edge razor blade. I started using double edge blades because they are super thin, and therefore much sharper than the single edge blades I was using. This puts less pressure on any part you are trimming. The elastic thread I was using was white, and after I completed the model, I went back and painted the rigging a dark color. Well, in hindsight, it didn't look right, so I painted over that with some Testors' steel. It looks ok, and actually gives the appearance of weathered rigging, but next time I think I will leave well enough alone.
I then added the decal roundels, and attached the landing struts and wheels. We all have our strategies and one of mine is, I try not to decal the model where my hands will be in fear of touching the decal too much. I used to clear or “future” over the decals to prevent this but, lately I have been waiting to decal the fuselage near the end of the build.
When attaching the landing struts to the fuselage, I have started pinning them. For those who don't know what that is, I take a small drill bit, usually a #76 and drill into the mating side of the strut. I CA'd a small pin of wire, about a 1/8th long into the hole. Then the same size hole gets drilled into the mating point of the fuselage and gets attached there. This provides a very strong bond for holding up the entire aircraft, and give you piece of mind that your wheels won't fall off under pressure.
The propeller was added next. The prop was actually the first part I painted when I began construction of this kit because of the long drying time. I first used a tan base color and then used burnt sienna oils. I have recently learned that you can make a small drying oven using 75 watt or similar incandescent bulbs for heat. This lowers the drying time on all your oil painted pieces.
This build was now complete. I have to say, it was actually a nice build. I enjoyed the experience, and will learn from my mistakes.
