6-2023 Building a replacement 6-3-2023 Steve Shumate Fokker Dr1 Tri plane Sport

[Neons]

I have decided to remove the cowling and discard it. The lines just do not have the correct look at different angles. I looked through my wife's cookware for a pot or bowl with the nice rounded looking edge and front for the cowling. I found a plastic bowl. My wife said that was not going on to a model airplane. So off to Walmart and looking at soup bowls there was one close but had art molded in place. But I was looking at the wrong side of the glazed bowl. never mind the outside art, We want the correct shape inside the bowl. I found a large soup bowl with the smoothest inside and almost the 6.25 inches needed to fit the nose. Dirt cheap too.
So I got my epoxy and glass remnants together and prepared the inside of the bowl with a few coats of mold release wax.If you do not have that wax release I would use a good automotive paste wax in a few coats. Buffed out and ready for the epoxy and scrap pieces of light glass cloth I made a molded cowling and boy it came out very nice too. An important note that you should take in here. Read the note in picture number #02 i order to remove the new cowl from the soup bowl mold. Done. It is primed red and fitted to the plane but not screwed down yet. I am still fussing about a paint scheme that is slowing me down to the finished plane. I will get it done at some time though.

[Neons]

I found time to do the painting of the model to my original built color of 15 years ago. The pilot is screwed in place. The machine guns are made with old fashion hair curlers. They are pre-drilled aluminum. Real nice if you can find them anymore. The soup bowl cowling is secured and making it with epoxy was a way to go. It looks and fits great. Almost bullet proof in strength. The build is now completed.