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G. Ley
29 articles

Haven’t we all encounterd this?

October 14, 2017 · in Aviation · · 10 · 2.1K

This is a large scale Dr-1 purchased from an British gentleman. It was shipped with a very heavy base. The base came adrift causing major damage. Von Richthofen's Fokker was in better shape than this after his fatal crash.

I thought parts were missing so I put it aside with idea of eventually salvaging the parts and tossing the rest. Later, I found a critical missing strut in a box I was about to throw out, so I decided to try reassembling it, but held out no high hope for the effort. Picture one is before shipping. The last five pictures are the result of my restoration.

I am always amazed at the shape of many model boxes when they arrive. Often they look like someone sat on them, yet to date the parts have come through unscathed

Reader reactions:
5  Awesome

15 additional images. Click to enlarge.


10 responses

  1. Yes model packaging- one of the dark arts...

  2. Shame about that but at least you got it back together,the guy who sold it to you should have gone to much more effort, I've sold old kits on ebay and always got comments that they arrived in near perfect condition,I think the secret is to pack them in very tight so that if you shake the finished package there is no movement going on inside,also the heavy base should have been separate.Still all's well that ends well I suppose.
    N.

  3. It's always good to see a different Dreidecker. You've done a great job of renovation onsomething that sadly might have been consigned to the bin. It looks about the same size as a Hachette model (1:8 scale) that I finished off for an old chum (Monster Triplane Wit a bit of tinkering). Yours looks to have been largely scratch-built and I would guess that, had it been the Hachette version, many more bits would have been shattered from the impact of that heavy-looking base. The Hachette kit had too many small, delicate and very brittle alloy (Zamaq) castings that would have challenged many if broken.

    Paul Leaman's excellent Triplane book suggests that August Raben's Dr 1 had a white-painted cowling rather than polished ally although it's difficult to identify this from contemporary b&w pics. Great work though!

    Paul

  4. In any event, the finshed product certainly turned out rather well I think.

  5. Hey I just thought...,I'll bet this is the first kit on iModeller that got built twice but who takes credit ? you or the guy who sold it to you, I'd call it a joint effort !
    N.

  6. Living a nightmare. I just mailed off a commission build yesterday by UPS to Lincoln, Ne. It does give you a pucker factor when you entrust your time, effort and money to some one who's only concern is making time and just tossing the boxes. I won't be comfortable until Tuesday.
    You, however, have made the very best out of a tragic situation and it looks as if nothing ever has happened to it. I say fantastic workmanship in the repairs.

  7. Beautifully restored, Mr. Ley. When I went into the Army in 1978 all the models my Dad & I made together - around 250 - got packed up in big cartons & stored. Some are STILL in the same cartons, but I opened the one that was easiest to get to in their attic storage area. The box looked like a bomb had gone off in it! I am trying to decide if any are worth resurrection or not. I WANT to, but there are sooooo many, and I'm slower than molasses in January. I doubt I'll live long enough to do many, not to mention that along with the assembled models were around 45-50 kits (1/35 armour & 1/48 aircraft) that I'd like to do!

    YOUR work is inspirational to me! Bravo!

  8. I shipped a 1:48 Spitfire (commission build) to Australia and although it was packed with foam and everything was completely secure (I could actually roll the thing around the floor in its case), the postal service seemed to have deliberately made every effort to smash the box and the case-which would have taken some effort. I think they see the word 'fragile' on the box and its like a moth to a flame! My client got the compensation but his prized spitfire was only good for cannibalization of parts!

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