De Havil Whif DHW-88 Comwhif

[Tophe]

From https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=46120.15

Maybe for father's day I may require the 1/144 DH-88 from http://jacques.chaubet.free.fr/1919/dh88/dh88.htm
It is all in white metal, I have never built such a kit... (Jacques Chaubet answered that cyanoacrylide glue like superglue works for that all right). My plan is to build an asymmetric push-pull version, maybe biplane.

I bought it at last without waiting father's day (my wife preferred to offer cloths...), but what I receive today is not compatible with my first project:


No, because no separate engines, tailplanes: all molded in one piece, except propellers, wheels, wire.

I don't know what to do, 2 ways I think:
1/ building it normally, painting all sky blue (first what-if side) and having a black canopy in the nose like a Blanik sailplane (or Bugatti 100). Or it may be a tiny single-seater like the BD-5 but with 2 micro-engines like the Cri-Cri. Maybe having contrarotating propellers in the port side and no propeller in the starboard side.
Or 2/ cutting (with a metal saw?) the complete part, and start again the push-pull asymmetric project.
I don't know yet, probably 1.

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I explain my problem to the kit producer and he said yes, he should have a photo of the parts on his site (like mine above?), and he proposed to send me a free other kit to repair somehow. Ahem, having another one would be good, but my honesty principles forced me to answer "no, thank you, a what-ifer like me can always change his plan to invent differently"...  And with this polite refusal, I feel like I am a hero...

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I will not cut the metal, not buying a special saw for that.
Painting (sky blue) has started on the underside.

Maybe I may try to have a nose wheel instead of a tail wheel, to be more what-if. With the main landing gears not in the holes for them but as far aft (rear) as possible on the engine pods...

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Painting the side above. (The instruction is to wear a mask even for painting...)

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The model is almost finished, but the black pen run out of ink, I will have to add black color to make it allright, but with little light an almost good picture is got:

EDIT: the nosewheel comes from a 1/72 kit, I don't remember which one (in the spare box), maybe P-51 main landing gear.

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The (very little) model is finished now, the first metal model I ever made:

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View from 4 angles:

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Standing on the shelf:

[Scotaidh]

 

[kerick]

Very interesting!

[TomZ]

Nice!

TomZ

[Tophe]

Thanks to all!
The positive comment of our Comet expert is especially welcome!