Elf Model 1/72 Albatros Dr.I
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Introduction
With the success of the sopwith Triplane in early 1917, the German aircraft
industry followed with various experimental aircraft to test the benefits
of three wings. One of the many designs modified and tested was an Albatros
D.V fitted with three narrow chord wings.
The Model
The first thing I started to do was the fuselage, the cockpit. I had
to make a wood color. First I rubbed it by a light orange-brown color
and than I took little thin darker brown color on a brush and carefully
rubbed it over. I made just very thin layer on it. I was surprised, it
looked really well. After sticking stick, seat and pedals I got together
the motor. There weren’t many parts, but I used some steel parts
which were available in the kit. Then I stuck the fuselage together.
I took the fuselage and painted it by the same way like inside the cockpit
- Light orange-brown color first and than very thin dark brown. I rubbed
the front part of the fuselage alone motor - it wasn’t wooden, but
grey-green. I highlighted some parts in the front. Than I took a pencil
and encircled all lines on the fuselage. I rubbed all other parts like
wheels or wing struts.
The wheels were a big problem for me. First I really didn't know how
to paint them. But I finally got them done too. I put the wheel on a wooden
stick (which I use for sticking) and circled with it and by a brush I
made a nice circlet. But I didn't stuck the landing gear from below the
fuselage yet. I started to do tail wings than. I painted the elevator
like the main wings. I used both ways for rudder - it was wooden but the
sliding part was covered by the lozenge. After it I stuck it to the fuselage.
I painted guns by a black color and attached a steel part on them. I found
something like crosses, which pilot used for aiming, so I stuck them in
front of the guns.
I had to encircle all three wings with the decals (lozenge), which were
about 2x12 cm large. I cut them out. I painted the upper, middle and lower
wings by gray color. The decals stay on the wing much better when the
plastic is painted. When all the wings were painted I simply stuck the
lozenge decals on them. Than I attached German crosses on the upper and
lower wings. They were complete.
It was really difficult to glue the wings to the fuselage. I decided
to stick the lower wing first. It’s carried only by two points from
the below the fuselage. I stuck wing struts on the middle wing and immediately
attached it to fuselage and lower wing. It wasn’t easy, all wing
struts had to get into small holes on the lower wing and everything had
to be right. When all the struts were all right, I tagged the upper wing
to the middle wing and fuselage. Adjusting the wing struts and all three
wings took whole day (whole evening). The wings were done than. I could
stick the wheels and a tail skid (it was prepared before). It looked like
a plane now.
The last thing I had to do were rigging wires. I used cotton for previous
models and it didn’t look very well. I had to learn how to make
the thin strings from plastic parts alone needed parts of the model first.
I brought a candle and two pliers. I usually ripped it in the beginning,
but than I found out that when I got the hot plastic away from the candle
and spread it, I can make very thin and very long string. I made about
1 meter of the string and painted it by gray-black color. I used dividers
for measuring the length of strings and stuck it between wing struts than.
At the end I attached two steel parts on below and upper sides of elevator
and stuck four rods (made from the plastic string) on them.
By using all these new techniques (for me) I got the best model I have
ever built. It’s standing in my showcase in front of all others
planes of WWI. It was only a prototype in real world, but it’s an
example for all next models I will make.
[NOTE: Vasek is a young modeler from the Czech Republic and is on his
way to being a fine model builder, as his Albatros shows.- RNP] |
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