Choroszy Modelbud 1/72 Albatros Dr.II By Dennis Ugulano

Introduction

The Albatros Dr.II was a German prototype single-seat fighter triplane, which was developed for high altitude operation. The plane was ordered by Idflieg in 1917 or early 1918 and flight tests commenced in May to mid-July, 1918. The engine was the new Benz Bz. IIIb. The type never went into production.

THE KIT

The model comes in a very attractive box and contains 3 or 4 plastic bags of lovely resin parts. The instruction sheet is two pages with four exploded views, a color guide and a three view plan. The decal sheet is very simple but includes 12 late war crosses for the wings, two each for the tail and fuselage and a serial number and the Albatros logo on the tail.

There was a slight bow in my upper wings but nothing that cannot be corrected in a few seconds. The fuselage even had locating pins and matching holes. This is my second Choroszy kit (first one built) and even though expensive, the quality and attention to detail is excellent.

CONSTRUCTION

Fuselage

The interior is painted a light yellow plywood color and the floor and bulkheads are painted with a wood color. All of the colors used for this build are Gunze Sangyo paints, some hand mixed. Details were highlighted in a darker brown and steel. Seat belts were found in the scrap box as were some rudder pedal supports. The completed cockpit assembly needed some trimming to close up the fuselage but this was minor. Super glue is used for the entire build.

After putty and sanding, the wooden parts of the plane were painted with Sand lightened with some white to give the color a very pale yellow look. The panel lines are very clear so I decided to mask off each section and add wood grain in a slightly different direction for each panel. I used Parafilm for my mask and was able to complete the fuselage in about one half hour. All metal areas were masked with Parafilm and RLM 02 was used for the grey.

After the paint had dried, the fuselage decals were added. The machine guns were installed at this time as it is easier here than when the wings are attached. At this point the fuselage is complete. My wood grain may be a little heavy but I am pleased with the results.

Wings and Tail Surfaces

The rudder is light yellow with wood grain and white on the control surface. Decals and done.

The wings and stabilizer were coated with Future Floor Wax and Americal sheets 5 and 6, Five color lozenge was applied. After the wings are dry, the crosses were applied in their 12 locations and the wings are complete.

Assembly

At this point, its time to start construction. The lower wing pegs fit perfectly into the corresponding holes in the fuselage and the alignment is perfect. Now comes the hard part. The middle wing attaches to the cabane strut that angles up to the upper wing. I attached the middle wing only to the outer strut and then added the top wing, leaving the middle wing floating near the fuselage. My plan was then to set the cabanes and attach the middle wing to the cabanes. It eventually worked but this is where I encountered the only flaw with the kit.

The kit provides six wide struts, four long ones and two short ones. Without measuring, I assumed the long ones were for the outer wing and the shorter ones for the cabanes. When the cabanes fell almost ½ inch too short, I found the short struts were for the outer wing and the longer struts were for the cabanes. The upper and middle wing were removed and two of the long struts were shortened and reattached. The cabanes were still a little short so I made new ones and when in place, I attached the middle wing to the cabanes. At this point there is a little N shaped piece that is a support for the middle wing right at the cabanes. Put this piece on before you add the exhaust or you will not be able to get it in place. (How do I know this? Please don't ask.)

One other point about the wings. There are four strut locating holes in the bottom of the top wing, both sides of the middle wing (eight total) and four on top of the bottom wing. However, there are no corresponding pegs on the struts. I used the front hole as a strut locating aid and the alignment was good. You can putty these holes if you so desire. The locating holes in the ailerons are correctly placed and work as designed.

Final assembly is adding the four legs to the radiators, correcting their length and attaching them to the middle wing. The under carriage was added and attached exactly as designed.

The rigging is very basic and the middle wing is pre-drilled by Choroszy. I drilled holes in the front of the struts and the rigging took less than an hour to complete. A little touch up, install the propeller and brake underneath and the model is complete.

I estimate it took 20 hours to build the kit. If someone wants a very obscure Albatros triplane, this kit is very highly recommended.