Eduard 1/48 Albatros D.V ProfiPACK
By Jacob Russell
This is Eduard's Albatros D.V ProfiPACK kit. It consists of 89 parts. 47 of these are plastic on 2 sprues. There is also a photo-etch fret containing 40 parts plus 2 sheets of rice paper masks.
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The kit is well molded and detailed. The sprue attachment points are small and well located. Sink marks are confined to the unfortunate pilot figure who appears to have sustained a rifle blast to his lower right torso (!). There is minor flash along the control surface trailing edges. The fabric effect on the wings and tail surfaces is subtle and well executed. The 170 horsepower Mercedes D.IIIa engine will look great with washes and detail painting.
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The cockpit is nicely detailed and you build it with a mix of plastic and photo-etch pieces. You have an opportunity to reproduce the plywood fuselage interior with your preferred method of painting or wood grain decals. The PE fret includes the LMG 08/157 9.2mm machine gun cooling jackets, seat harness, instrument panels and dial faces, sidewall consoles, etc. and it adds a lot of realism to the cockpit and air frame.
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The kit includes decals for 5 colorful aircraft:
Albatros D.V, 2299/17, Oblt. Bruno Loerzer, Jasta 26, autumn 1917. This plane had wide black and white bands around the entire fuselage, a black spinner and five color lozenge camouflage on both the upper and lower wings and tail. The wing and landing gear struts were grey. There was a swath of black on the lower wing underside surrounded by the lozenge camouflage.
Albatros D.V, Ltn. Georg von Hantlemann, Jasta 15, early 1918. This plane had a red spinner, forward fuselage, wing and landing gear struts and a blue rear fuselage and fin. The rudder, lower wing and tail had five color lozenge fabric on both the upper and lower surfaces. The upper wing was purple and dark green over light blue. There was a skull and cross bones on the fuselage sides.
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Albatros D.V, 2263/17, Ltn. Otto Kissenberth, Jasta 23b, summer 1917. This plane had a black spinner and fuselage with grey wing and landing gear struts. The wings had five color lozenge fabric on both the upper and lower surfaces. There was a large Edelweiss flower on the fuselage sides.
Albatros D.V, 2065/17, Oblt. Richard Flashar, Jasta 5, Boistrancourt, France, July 1917. This plane had a red spinner and cowl ring. The forward upper fuselage, wing and landing gear struts were grey. The rest of the fuselage was light grey and the tail was green. The wings were purple and dark green over light blue. The fin and rudder were outlined in red and there was a red dragon adorning the fuselage sides.
Albatros D.Va, possibly flown by Erich Gurgenz, Jasta 46, early 1918. This colorful Albatros had a green or yellow spinner and wheel covers. The forward upper fuselage, wing and landing gear struts were grey. The rest of the fuselage was unpainted plywood. The wings had five color lozenge fabric on both the upper and lower surfaces. The tail was yellow with wide green stripes and the rudder was white and the word "Stropp" was painted on the fuselage sides.
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There are 3 decal sheets in the kit. One is for the lozenge fabric, the second is the lozenge rib tapes and the third sheet is for the individual aircraft markings, instrument panels and national insignias, etc. All 3 sheets are up to Eduard's customary standards. They have crisp, bright colors and excellent legibility and registration.
The small mask sheet is for the wheels, upper wing radiator and fuselage access hatches. The large sheet is masks for the tails of the fourth and fifth marking options.
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The instructions are quite comprehensive. They include a parts map, color profiles, a rigging diagram and a rib tape application guide. The instructions are well illustrated with a logical, easy to follow build sequence. The color call outs are for GSI Creos (Gunze) acrylics and lacquers.
This is a great kit. It is accurate and highly detailed and it offers five very different, colorful schemes. The Albatros D.V/Va was a colorful and iconic World War I aircraft and there are numerous aftermarket decal sheets to choose from if the kit decals don't suit your fancy.
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I recommend this kit and I would like to thank Eduard for the review sample.