Steve's Models

[Sailor Steve]

Another very old model, and it shows it. This is the S.P.A.D. A.2, a unique attempt at solving the forward-firing gun problem by putting the gunner in front of the engine while the pilot remains behind in the normal position. It was not exactly loved by the gunners, who were in real trouble if the plane nosed over on landing.

[Sailor Steve]

Next Project: Rumpler C.I, probably the best of the first-generation German two-seaters.

[Sailor Steve]

Interior.

[Sailor Steve]

Main assembly done, first primer coat applied.

[Jimbuna]

Keep on truckin

[Sailor Steve]

Main paint done.



The body and lower flying surfaces are pale blue. The metal parts, including forward deck and cowling, are light grey. The rudder is in clear doped linen. The blue is a point for much argument. For years I used the WW2 German underside Hellblau (sky blue), RLM 65. Recently I've been reading the Windsock Datafiles on different WW1 German planes, and it is invariably described as "blueish white", indicating a very pale blue indeed. My friend Peter is trying a mix of 15 drops white to 1 drop true blue. This plane is what I call "accidental" blue. I was hand painting some part or other, and I needed a very light blue. Rather than find a cup to mix it in I just used the cap from the bottle of white paint. I figured that it would be so pale that it would just end up being white once the color in the cap was mixed back into the bottle. I was wrong. I bought a fresh bottle of White, but kept the mixed one just in case. That is what I sprayed on this plane. I may make it darker in the future, or go back to RLM 65. One thing I won't do is make it any whiter.

[Sailor Steve]

Upper wing mounted, pilot in, markings on. I didn't do any work on it at all yesterday. I couldn't put the wing on until the pilot was installed, and I was out of pilots. I've ordered a set of WW1 aircrew, and I'm still waiting for them to arrive. Recognizing that they might not be here for another week or two, I scrounged some WW2 pilots. They don't look the same, but once one is painted and beneath the top wing it's hard to tell. I haven't put in the observer yet for that very reason. I have one painted, and unless the set I ordered comes in tomorrow's mail I'll use the one I have.

[Sailor Steve]

Rumpler C.I.


Three-quarter view. One of the reasons I chose this particular plane was the tiny serial number on the tail.


Again the inboard bracing wires cross each other, front to rear.


Propeller by Germania Luftschraube.

[Jimbuna]

Very nice indeed

[Sailor Steve]

Next up: The "other" eindekker - the Pfalz E.I. Whereas Fokker started with a used Morane 'H' and did a major redesign, the Pfalz was a precise nut-for-nut copy, and while a little faster than its Fokker counterpart was inferior in every other way. It was less maneuverable, less stable, and less forgiving, particularly when trying to recover from a spin. Peter Grosz, in the Windsock Datafile on the subject, quotes Vizefeldwebel Kurt Jentsch as saying the Pfalz was tail-heavy, taking two men to lift the tail whereas the Fokker could easily be lifted by one. Jentsch also said the Pfalz was heavy on takeoff had to be rigged precisely or else it would fly crooked, leaning to one side or the other. It also took 200 meters to recover from a spin the Fokker would never have gone into in the first place. Jentsch would also go on to say "The Pfalz monoplane was about as well suited for air combat as a cow was for playing the lute."

In the game we're a little more forgiving, with the Pfalz having a worse turn rate than the Fokker, and needing a higher die roll to get one. There are some things it's just hard to game.

The kit is a twenty-year-old resin piece from RagWings. There aren't a lot of parts, and assembly should be fairly quick and easy.



There is a newer kit, in standard injection-molded plastic, from AZ Models, the same company who make the Morane 'L' I built as a single-seater awhile ago. Unfortunately they are fairly expensive. I'm trying to find a cheaper one, as there are two different schemes I'd like to try. Since they are essentially the same exact airplane I am also trying to get their Morane 'H' model. In the meantime I'll be working on this kit. I also have two very old vac kits from Formaplane, but it was one of their early efforts and very basic. It would almost be better to scratch-build one than use that kit.

[Sailor Steve]

I didn't touch any model stuff yesterday. I planned to have it built then and finished today, there only being a handful of parts, but I had to get ready to play last night and then there was that three-hour Skype conversation. So yesterday became today.

It took about five hours to get it assembled and primed.

[Sailor Steve]

Now it's finished. The Pfalz may not have been as good as the Fokker, but they sure went out of their way to make it look good. This included putting crosses on every flat surface they could find.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

This included putting crosses on every flat surface they could find.

Fabulous job! but did you miss one spot (Top fuselage) for the cross? The question begs: if the tail heavy Pfalz had dominated could Max Immelmann have done Immelmanns? 'Pfalz Scourge' just doesn't have the same ring to it Immelmann in the cockpit of an Eindecker E.I, probably #13/15, in which he scored his first five victories. Powder burns at the top of the cowling indictate the gun has been fired. On the prop, the insignia of the manufacturer Garuda. Thought you'd like that propeller decal! One thing about ol' Max; he loved having his picture taken... every time he got a medal!

[Sailor Steve]

Jumping right into a second Pfalz - the E.III. An improved E.II was in the works, but there were also about sixty A.I and A.IIs in use, 'A' being the code for an unarmed monoplane. Just as the E.I was a license-built copy of the Morane 'H' these parasols were copies of the Morane 'L', the same one I built awhile ago. The A.I was the 80-horsepower version and the A.II had 100 hp. They began to arm some of these 'A' types, redesignating them E.III.

The kit is also identical to the one I built earlier, the only difference being in box art, instructions and decals.

[Sailor Steve]

Paint & Frustration: I got this one mostly assembled yesterday. Today I painted the basic color, then added the black. Pfalz used cane strips to seal the fabric to the ribs, and painted them black. Though the E.I turned out okay, this one I just couldn't get right. Some stripes were too thin, some were too wide and some smeared. I finally took off all the ink (and some of the paint) with thinner, and went online and ordered some black striping decals. I thought of using decal stripes to represent the unpainted ribs that show through the fabric ages ago, but they don't make them in brown. I forgot all about it, and now I'm wishing I had got some black stripes for the E.I. At least this one and the E.III will have them.

Meanwhile I'm on hold until they come. I'm torn between starting another project or just working on rules for a few days.