Karaya 1/48 Aviatik D.II “U-Berg” By John Impenna

History:

A very interesting choice for their next release, Karaya has produced an absolutely amazing resin kit.

While it may not be the most prudent choice of subject it will certainly fill a hole in the collections of those of us who build Austro-Hungarian aircraft! Only 16 were ever built and three sent for combat evaluation, although it is unlikely any ever saw any action. The D.II “wireless” (U=unverspannt=wireless) fighter was the fastest Austrian fighter, but a slower climber than the D.I. It was considered “an interesting high-performance project” that was not given over to further production.

The Kit

The only way to describe this latest Karaya offering is outstanding. I would have to rank Karaya with the best of resin aircraft producers. The quality is certainly equivalent to Ardpol and in many ways rivals injection molding in its level of detail and quality of the individual parts.

The fuselage, wings and other large parts are free of bubbles or holes. The wings are beautifully rendered and extremely thin; certainly to scale thickness. The rib tapes are also very well done.

The kit boasts a very busy cockpit and while I couldn’t find any photo’s to check against, certainly looks convincingly complete. The kit contains numerous detail parts as well as wire-reinforced struts!! This feature seems to be exclusive to Karaya kits at the moment, but certainly allows for the use of the kit provided struts! A first for any resin kits I have owned!!! The 200 HP Austro-Daimler engine is a mini-kit in itself and extremely well detailed. Some care will be needed in separating the small, delicate detail parts and assembling them.

The kit is very complete in the level of detail. Control horns, all radiator pieces, struts, etc.are included. There is a small PE fret and clear acetate sheet which include the instrument panel, seat belts, control horns and throttle quadrant. The decals are beautifully printed and quite thin. They include the markings for aircraft 39.01 which was armed and sent for combat evaluation in February 1918.

A set of masks is included for the wheels. The only reference I have for this subject is the FMP A-H Army Aircraft of World War One. The kit matches nicely to the line drawings in this book. The instruction sheets are four pages and very clear and easy to follow. Some resin kit experience would be helpful because of the large number of delicate parts in this little beauty. Karaya certainly proves how far resin producers can go with their kit quality. Any Austro-Hungarian aircraft enthusiast will want this one!!! Highly Recommended.