CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS #1 and #2 12 July 2024
The left photo concentrates on the improvised instrument panel built from the kit's relatively blank panel using Eduard WW1 instruments.  At the top and more clearly on the right phot0 is the engine.  Finding suitable material for the six straight-forward exhausts I settled on solder wire of the appropriate diameter.  This is why the copper-painted exhausts look out of alighment being so easily moved.  The right photo also shows the probable alignment of the two seats.  The rest of the cockpit interior needs to be filled in with more improvisation.

 

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #3 19 July 2024

The landing gear was the next step but I had to determine how I was going to attach the lower wings.  There are not pins or pre-drilled holes for lower wing attachment.  You can faintly see two holes in the hashed area where the lower wing fits.  I placed the lower wing against the hash and carefully marked a corresponding location on the hash mark field and the lower wing.  This alignment is where holes were drilled in the hash area and lower wing for each side.  Brass pins were installed and each wing was test fitted.  I then worked on the landing gear and, as shown, fit a proper brass rod through each wheel and matched that to the drawing to get the proper spread.  Each landing gear leg was drilled to take a small brass rod.  The undeside of the fuselage had slight indentations for the landing gear legs.  These were drilled out.  Brass rod was fitted to each leg and test fitted before being glued.  When dry, the brass axle was glued.

 

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #4 19 July 2024

This view shows the fit (not glued) of the lower wings especially the brass pins on the right.  Fortunately, the wings were thick enough and the pin location was just below the cockpit floorboard.

  

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #5 27 July 2024

The tail unit was completed by gluing the horizontal plane first.  Brass rod supports were added to each side as shown.  The tail skid is simply a flattened piece of brass rod cut to length and rounded at the point where it touches the ground.  The tail unit consists of a triangular fin glued to the rudder and the completed sub-assembly glued to the rear of the model.

 

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #6 30 July 2024

The cockpit interior has been completely re-finished.  The back-to-back seating shown in photos #1 and #2 is incorrect.  The white unpainted former between the two seated positions is interpreted as a wall separating the two sub-compartments.  The pilot's compartment appears slanted due to the angle of the camera.  Added for the pilot are the steering wheel,  hand pump (barely visible fight front), and other instruments on the side walls (not visible).  The observer's compartment has various instruments for photography and gun-fire direction.

 

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #7 14 August 2024

I deceided to extend what basic knowledge I have for complex soldering.  The complicated rear-seat observer's gun ring was soldered using thin brass rod as shown.The cockpit interior has been completely re-finished.  The four upright support columns were first shaped and then glued to the fuselage. The bottom ring was soldered first followed by the top ring.

 

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #8 30 September 2024

I decided early on to support the top wing with brass rod and tube struts.  The key to top wing support are the two inverted "V" central fuselage strut.  Two large recesses were gouged out of the center portion of the underside of the top wing to accept each inverted "V" strut.  Further, a non-standard length of flat brass rod was glued across the width of the wing to add additional support to the two inverted "V" struts.

 

----------------------------  .... to be continued ....  -------------------------------