Part 5: Putting it all together

After an extra gloss coat to protect the parts from what was to be frequent handling during assembly, I let everything dry for a few days. During that time I mulled over how to set the proper wing sweep. Since the dollar was weak and time was short, I opted out of purchasing an Aeroclub bi-plane jig and instead built my own out of foam core. I started by enlarging a set of the instructions, then I glued the plans onto the foam core and used a straight edge to cut along the sweep of the wings. I made 2 sides and secured them with a glue gun to the foam core base using a Staedler triangle to keep everything square. While I was at it, I made a platform to use when I was rigging. I even decided to get all fancy with some strips of padding so I wouldn't mar the paint finish.

I was apprehensive about assembling the wings, but it turned out to be an easier proposition that I thought. Starting from the center out, I attached the wings with a medium viscosity super glue to give me some time to work. Once I had the wings attached, I then used some tacks and pieces of foam core to keep the edges lined up and then I used a zip-kicker soaked bamboo skewer to set the glue on each strut attachment point. The tail was next and because of the kit engineering, very easy to do. The horizontal tail was a little bit off-kilter so I used a small styrene shim to ease it into alignment. I set a few other odds and end onto the airframe as well as the wheel. The next step was the rigging. Under the tutelage of our resident bi-plane guru and modeler extraordinaire, Ben Guenther, I debated which rigging technique to use - the 'wrap' or the 'drill through the wing method'. Since the attachment points for the struts came to a point, I decided on using Cabelas' grey fly-tying thread (#6) to wrap around said round strut points. By starting from the inside out I was able to thread a zigzagging 'home run', carefully wrapping the thread around each strut and hitting the thread with a little thin super glue. Once at the end of the run, the careful application of a fresh #11 blade was all that I needed to remove the excess thread.

I ran into my first problem when I started to attach the control surfaces. I had inadvertently drilled a hole in the wrong place (insert 4th or 5th head slap here - I have lost count). So, I drilled a fresh hole and filled the incorrect hole with some white glue. I then moved on to the tail and finished the rigging by attaching the control wires to the elevators (crossing them at the mid-point). Once I was done, I wondered where the heck do I hold this model now? The Base I had decided early on to mount this plane to a base so I pre-drilled holes in the wheels to accept some brass pins. I applied a Heki grass mat to a base - the grass mat is a HO scale railroad product used to simulate tall grass. The matt comes with a cotton backing that is pulled away before cementing the mat in place. Noch also makes a similar product called 'wildgrass' - a goggle search for either product will yield plenty of suppliers to choose from. The mat takes paint well so I sprayed some shades of ochre and green to give the grass a less uniform and slightly dry look. The Crocodile was then cemented to the base and the grass was 'fluffed' a bit around the wheels to disguise the mounting pins. The Final Touches Remember the turret that gave me fits earlier? Well, in a fit of pique, I dismantled the whole thing and re-built it using styrene strips to reinforce the thin metal pieces. The revised turret ended up being straight this time so I repainted it and mounted to the airframe. A thin coat of Polly Scale flat was then applied to the Croc to tie the finish together and even out any imperfections. I did some very minor pastel work as I really didn't want to overdo any weathering. I managed to mess up the very last step - the windscreen - by smudging the first one and then losing the second one (the kit comes with a spare) into the cockpit tub. I was able to retrieve it via a toothpick with some superglue on the end. I then used it as a template to make a new one out of some clear stock. The third time was the charm and the Crocodile was done!

Eduard has absolutely made it to the upper echelons of manufacturers on the strength of their excellent bi-plane kits. I would rank the detail and ease of construction on this kit along with the best that Japan, Korea or China has to offer. The addition of masks and color photo-etch make this a good value in my eyes - I certainly enjoyed it. Thanks to Eduard for the review sample.

Information, images, and all other items placed electronically on this site are the intellectual property of IPMS/USA ®.