1/72 scale scratchbuilt Dietrich-Gobiet G.P. VII

(The completed model is here:)
http://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2013/06/dietrich-gobiet-dp-vii-172-scale.html

I was in a modeling hiatus produced by fellow enthusiast David’s indecision regarding a livery for the second Travel Air Mystery Ship. His doubts were already causing traffic back-ups in the 405 freeway, delays in the distribution of the mail at national level, a slight slow down of Earth orbit around the sun and possibly an impending invasion of Klingons, who certainly do not tolerate well doubts and indecision. Eventually his hesitant behavior could affect the flow of time, and compromise the very future of the universe.

So, when friend and fellow modeler Vance Gilbert –who is not only an exquisite flying scale modeler, but also a superb musician- started to ask around to refine his data search on his last quest, the Dietrich-Gobiet DP VII low wing sport monoplane, I had a look in my own folder on the subject to see if I could help in any way. I could not, and couldn’t help myself either in building too a replica of this Mickey-Mouse sorta plane. As it sometimes happens, an agitated discussion ensued in secret forums as scholars, enthusiasts, modelers, historians and BSers (the latter especially belonging to a modeling association with irregular habits) tried to establish the colors of the machine to contribute to Vance’s research. Balsa cement, dope, styrene cement and blood unavoidably started to be equally shed by all. It was finally scientifically determined that it was painted in... any color you want, as long as you have a solid argument to back your stance. By “solid” I mean puree-solid, banana-solid, ice-cream-on-a-very-hot-summer-day-solid, politician ethics-solid (the latter says it all, I believe). The intervention of the Zoenke Evil Empire Corp. (Lubeck branch) settled matters and re-established the validity of the Farben rule.

So here it is, my “fatto in casa” version of the Dietrich-Gobiet, Rancho Palos Verdes style.

A small cute little thing, and a relieving endeavor to be able to take a break from the demanding builds preceding this one.

The photos are there to show you the way as usual. For such a minute model I was surprised I had to drill three holes for the prop and cylinders, two for the attachment of the wing struts on the fuselage sides, two for the stirrup, four for the LG struts, two for the tail skid, six for the control cable leads, two for the wing spar, three on the fin and stab for the rigging and four on the wings for the struts; twenty five in total! I felt like a mad texan, drilling holes everywhere. No decals for this one, but a hand-carved wood prop was made, and a reasonable cockpit interior. The resin cylinders were a courtesy of Matias Hagen, and the white metal wheels came from Aeroclub. The parts’ count should be around sixty, quite a bit for such a toy plane. I used the plan drawn by Bill Hannan, of Hannan's Runway fame.
And if you have further questions, ask Vance.

The usual gig: styrene sheet and rod, "paper model"-like construction:

A basswood blank is cut:

The blank is carved and sanded:

The fuselage box bottom is sheeted:

The wing is wrapped around the spar, the wing tips are cut:

Basswood tips are measured and cut:

Shaped and sanded:

Cyanoed to the wing:

The wing halves are separated:

End-view showing airfoil:

Interior made and top sheet prepared:

Interior and details painted, inst. decals prepared:

 

All in place:

Fuselage glued shut, wing strut airfoil section selected and painted:

Wing spar located, holes drilled for components and details:

LG, stirrup, tailskid in place:

Control horns on tail surfaces added:

Tail group glued:

Wings glued to the fuselage, painting starts with alu nose, then masking and red applied:

 Wheels are painted too, wood prop is varnished, inspection panels are cut from alu decal stock:

 Cylinders get rod extensions for securing purposes: