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Paul Higgins
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Vzfw.Josef Kister’s Albatros D.Va – Jasta 1

December 14, 2019 · in Aviation · · 11 · 1.9K

Well, another of my '' kits leaves the 'stash' and sees the light of day... several still to come, and not to mention the backlog of WW2 Luftwaffe kits!

This is supposed to be a D.Va, but the kit it comes from - the 'Richthofen'-specific kit - is actually a D.V, although it does have the D.Va interplane struts; it's the slight aileron differences that give the game away. Consequently, there are some cables missing from the rigging - an object lesson in checking what's in the kit before starting. If I had noticed earlier, I could have modified the ailerons but I didn't want to mess up all the work I'd done at the point of realising the error.

No matter, another excellent kit from WnW. The colour scheme is taken from here - https://pocketmags.com/iron-cross-magazine#, a new quarterly magazine which has started up this year. This model recreates the subject on the front cover of edition 2; a colour profile is included in the article and there are interesting extracts reproduced from the pilot's diary entries, as well as notes on the interpretation of the original black and white photos in respect of the colours used. The aircraft is as photographed in June 1918 at Mont St Martin.

Although permanently invisible, I used the rear fuselage area behind the cockpit to test my oil painting techniques for future use on other models, and was very pleased with the initial outcome. The lozenge markings are from the Aviattic range. Some small stencils are from the actual kit, the backgrounds to the upper and under wing crosses are hand-painted, as are all of the number '6' characters on the wings and fuselage. I used white oil paint for the rear fin and rudder. The fuselage was also given a light blackwash before attaching the wings.

Everything was coated with 'Pledge' floor polish and 'Windolene' glass cleaner, which apparently acts as a thinner... who'd have known that? Info from the internet, as usual. These are UK brands but they have equivalents in other countries. The major benefit is very fast drying time - about 30 mins, making handling of the model so much easier than waiting for gloss enamel varnish to dry. The eventual outcome was given an enamel coat of slight gloss/matt varnish mix, just to dull the high gloss slightly.

Rigging was a little tricky, but looks good when finished. Turnbuckles from the GasPatch range with elasticated thread. MG details were enhanced using the Aber range accessory pieces.

From the front backwards, the fuselage stripes were only carried as far as the number, and from the tail to an estimated point on the rear fuselage slightly ahead of the fin using Tamiya tape, with the necessary extensions hand-painted in order to create the optical illusion of a blue background to the fuselage crosses; all national markings were lengths of decal culled from the spares box.

I'm pleased with the outcome, representing just over four weeks of time and effort; my only issue now is to decide what to build next!

Thanks for looking in.

Reader reactions:
11  Awesome

15 additional images. Click to enlarge.


11 responses

  1. Beautiful Albatros ! I hope that I can get one underway soon. These WNW kits look great right out of the box.

    You don’t happen to have any WNW Fokker D VII kits laying around in the stash do you ? If so that would really be cool to see you build it next ...

    Thanks for sharing this Beauty with us.
    “Liked”

  2. Definitely not one of those "done to death" schemes. Lots of really nice work on display, with a great result. "Liked"

  3. Yes, it’s definitely a one of a kind paint scheme. Just why do the upper wing iron crosses have those reddish patches? That is also unusual.
    Lovely build, still have one to build in the stash, but it will linger there for some time, feel that am not capable of go about rigging properly still.

  4. Guys, thanks a lot for your comments. They are much appreciated. I, too, thought the colour scheme was a bit unusual, and enjoyed the challenge of recreating it for this kit.

    Louis, as it happens, yes I do have a D.VII awaiting assembly... not sure when I'll start it, other than it's likely to be next year. A case of so many models and not enough time to work on them! I'm sure it will 'wing' its way here eventually.

    And to everyone on this site, have a great Christmas and New Year when it comes.

    Kindest regards,

    Paul

  5. Well, where can I start...
    Paint scheme fantastic, the light weathering is like the real.
    Well done!

  6. Sweet! Excellent masking job!

  7. Paolo, Reinhard, Bob and Robert... thanks, guys. You are very kind with your comments, and it's nice to have my work appreciated by you all.

    Regards,

    Paul

  8. Wow - there is a lot going on visually with that bird, and you pulled it off exceptionally. Well done!

  9. Thanks, Greg... I'm pleased you like the end result... ;-).

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