Eduard 1/48th Albatros D.III (Limited Edition)
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History
 There
is no real need to go into a lengthy history of the Albatros fighter!
From the DI of 1916 to the DVa of 1917/18, Albatros fighters were the
mainstay of the German Air Force. The sleek predatory lines of the Albatros
DIII have made it popular with enthusiasts and modelers for generations.
Eduards' Albatros DIII kit is a worthy representation of this aircraft.
Markings Options
  The
first step in building this kit is deciding what paint scheme option you
wish to build. Two of the markings options represent a Jasta 5 bird with
unique louvers on the engine covers represented by photo etched panels.
All of the options are for DIIIs built by the parent factory, The Jasta
11 option calling for the wing with the early centrally mounted radiator.
My original intent was to build the Jasta 11 Early production DIII as
shown on the box art. During a discussion on the Aerodrome Forum about
the serial number of this aircraft I learned that the paint scheme as
represented in the kit is not correct. Not wishing to make my own masks
for this scheme I decided to forego the kits marking selections and build
an OAW built DIII flown by Jasta 10 in late 1917. For a complete look
at the markings options and kit parts see my “First Look”
article in the.
Construction
  For
me construction of a WW1 model always begins with planning my rigging
locations and drilling the appropriate holes for anchoring monofilament
fishing line at a later time during construction. While completing this
task I chose to correct one of the few inaccuracies troubling this kit.
Eduard chose to mold the wing in an identical pattern to their Albatros
DV. The control system for the Ailerons was unique to the DV requiring
some correction for a more accurate DIII variant. To correct this problem
I cut away the Ailerons, made a cutout for the control arm, and reattached
the aileron with the arm in place. I replaced the hinge detail lost by
removing the aileron with small strips of paper cut to shape. I sanded
off the access panels located on the inner and outer portion of the lower
wing. Eduard provides photo etched replacements and these would serve
well later in covering the rigging line egress holes. With the completion
of this process I was ready to move on to the traditional starting point, the interior.
  Interior
work began by spraying a base coat of Polyscale Clear Doped Linen (CDL).
Once this dried I applied a coat of Grumbacher Artists oil Raw Sienna
slightly thinned with Testors airbrush thinner. I then used a wide flat
brush and removed most of the oils, leaving a film in the appropriate
Yellowish wood color. Structural supports were then painted with the raw
sienna. The inside of the metal engine panels were painted in Aeromaster
acrylic RLM 02 grey. Eduard includes a variety of photo etched parts for
the interior. I usually pick and choose which I use as some do not, to
me at least, represent the originals as well as the plastic parts. The
nice thing about Eduard is that you can use all, part, or none of the
photo etched materials and still build a decent replica! I assembled the
interior per instructions following the painting guide for   colors.
One exception is the rear bulkhead. Eduard included a “New”
to this kit photo etched part which represents the wood former. I painted
the inside of this grey. (Figuring this would be similar to the Albatros
DV). After installing the interior parts the fuselage halves were assembled.
It seems to me that this mold is getting a little “Long in the Tooth”
as no matter how careful I was I still ended up having to fill and sand
the seams along the upper and under surface!
  The
next step was installing the tail plane and the rounded fin/rudder. After
clean up of these areas I chose to correct the remaining Errors in the
kit. These are focused on panel lines on the fuselage. Eduard used a drawing
from the “Original” Windsock Datafile on the Albatros DIII
to detail their mold. Unfortunately this drawing included an extra panel
line that does NOT appear on any DIII variant. Also Eduard has included
panel lines for both the Albatros built, and the OAW built versions. I
have included a photo to help clarify what panels to remove for each version.
- Remove the Panel line marked with BLUE tape for ALL versions.
- For an Albatros Built variant remove the panel line marked with green
tape.
- For an OAW built DIII remove the panel line marked with white tape.
 Another
major difference between OAW versions is the number of horizontal panels
on the nose section. Albatros built had 3, OAW 5. I chose to represent
these panels using lighter and darker base coats under my oil paints.
I added an access panel to the left fuselage nose section, seen on OAW
built DIIIs, using paper. Finally the pilot's step on later Albatros built,
and all OAW built DIIIs was rectangular versus the half circle as provided.
I also added this using Post It note paper.
Painting
At this time I chose to paint all of the major components. The wings
and tail surfaces were airbrushed with Misterkit acrylics albatros undersurface
blue, the upper surfaces in Misterkit German Lilac and Dark Green. Ribs
were highlighted with Polyscales equivalents. Now for the  wood
fuselage effect. I use the KISS method! Reports on the overall albatros
fuselage color mention “Yellow” as the general effect. This
is the outcome of the natural ply color when over painted with a clear
lacquer, which gave a yellowish hue to the ply. Keeping this in mind I
use a base coat of Polyscale CDL (a slight yellowish tint), with a couple
of panels in Polyscale Dirty White darkened slightly with brown. Over
this I brush Grumbacher RAW sienna again thinned slightly with Testors
Airbrush thinner. I then use a ½ inch flat brush and starting at
the rear of the fuselage brush away most of the raw sienna. I then go
back with a fan brush and remove a little more, leaving just a film with
some very subtle streaks. To me this represents the overall effect in
a very scale like manner! I can not emphasize enough that the Oils should
be simply a light staining when you are complete! Let dry for a day or
two, seal with your favorite gloss coat, Future in my case, and proceed
with construction.
Construction Continued
 Construction
then followed directions reference the remainder of the build. Lower wings
were attached, Machine guns were added, then cabane and interplane struts
were attached. Mounting the upper wing is a relatively easy process when
compared to some other WW1 types! A gloss coat was applied, and the Aeromaster
decals for my chosen scheme( Jasta 10) applied. When all was assembled, aligned, and dry I prepared for the rigging process.
Rigging
 As
previously noted all location holes for the rigging had been drilled.
I now used 2lb. Test Trout fishing line colored silver with a sharpie
to rig the model. Lines were super glued to the locations on the underside
of the upper wing and run through the appropriate hole on the lower wing.
These were pulled tight and secured with super glue. Excess was cut off
with a chisel blade. I then installed the aforementioned photo etched
access panels, covering the holes where the rigging exited.
Final Assembly/Touch Up
 I
now attached the wheels (I replaced the kit wheels which are small) and
applied light weathering of burnt sienna and yellow ochre pastels where
appropriate. One other fault Eduard has never addressed is the lack of
piping for the radiator! I used the pipes from the ancient Aurora offering
and the somewhat newer Glencoe kit.
Conclusion
This kit has always been a beauty. With just a little effort from the
builder it can be a “Show Stopper”! This incarnation gives
some interesting markings and a New Photo Etched fret with some good additions.
I highly recommend building this kit in any of its issues. Some experience
in biplane construction is helpful but this is not a complex kit.
 Thanks
to Eduard, Matt, and IM for the opportunity
to build this model.
References
von Richthofen’s Flying Circus Fabric Special #1, Albatros Publications.
Greg Van Wyngarden
Albatros DIII Data File#1, Albatros Publications. Ray Rimmell
Albatros Fighters Special, Albatros Publications. Ray Rimmell
Aviation Elite Units:Richthofens Circus, Osprey Publishing. Greg Van Wyngarden
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