Roden 1/32 Albatros D.III(OAW) By Bob Pearson

Introduction

The Albatros D.III was the backbone of the German fighter force in early 1917. Besides the parent Albatros factory it was also produced by thier subsiduary, OAW. The OAW-built D.III was similar to the parent Johannisthal built D.III with the main difference being a more rounded rudder akin to that of the D.V/Va.

Roden has released a companion to their earlier D.III kit and it is every bit as nice as the earlier release.

The Kit

The kit consists of 103 parts on six sprues - not all of which are used. Detail is well executed with the wings and control surfaces having subtle rib detail on both upper and lower surfaces. Wings are single surface, while the tail plane is molded in upper and lower halves. Control surfaces are separate on wings and tail.

The fuselage has the OAW style of nose panels and the revised tailskid fairing. The panel lines are relatively deep/wide, but these should be rendered less conspicuous with a coat of paint or a slight layer of filler. Internal detail consists of fuselage frames for the cockpit and engine compartments, with the engine itself being 13 parts, while the cockpit has 24 parts made up of seat and cushion, control column, rudder bar, instruments, fuel/oil tank, ammunition container, fuel pump etc, etc. The forward decking is a separate piece and will cover the cockpit and engine compartments.

The struts are very thin, and in years past would have been found on many 1/48 scale models, the cabanes in particular are very fragile. Undercarriage struts have the axle retaining hoop in place - no longer is it just a hole at the intersection of the two struts.

Two styles of Spandau machine guns are included, two with and two without jackets. These latter are for use with photo-etch jackets if the builder so desires to use aftermarket ones.

The markings are my particular interest here as Roden has chosen two of the options I illustrated in the Windsock Datafile Special on the D.III - these are Loeser's candy striped D.III and a MFJ one with a spackled fuselage and diagonal black/yellow stripe on the fuselge. A dragon marked one and Lowenhardt's Jasta 10 machine with a white wavy line round out the options. Unfortunately, Loeser's does not contain decals for the stripes, which will have to be done with paint/masking or solid decal stock cut to width.

Conclusion

About the only negatives I can find are that there are some mold release tabs on some surfaces that will need to be removed as well as a sink hole on the underside of the exhaust, but these are minor and very easily fixed.

Roden continues to impress with its line of 1/32 kits and the D.III(OAW) will build into a fine example for anyone's collection.

My thanks to Roden for the review sample