1/48 Siemens-Shuckert D.III – Great War Group Build.
This is the Eduard kit from 2014. It's the second tooling of this plane that Eduard did. The first tooling was the very first full kit that Eduard produced in 1993. The two kits have nothing in common. This was a real pleasure to build and is probably the nicest WW1 model that I've ever built, including Wingnut Wings 1/32 kits (Note that I am prejudiced towards 1/48). I chose to do Ernst Udet's red machine from mid 1918. I also built this plane in 1/72 from a Pegasus kit in 1991 that I shared here in the early days of imodeler.
Most of the paints used are Mr. Color lacquers. The big exception being the natural wood areas being done with Tamiya acrylic sand over brushed with oils or in the case of the propeller, drawn with artists pencils. The lozenge decals are from Aviattic and performed well over a gloss white undercoat. I gave the plane a light wash around the engine and undercarriage areas to simulate castor oil and grime. Rigging was done with stainless steel wire and it was all brought together with a light coat of semi-gloss Testors lacquer.
The SSW D.III was one of the best performing fighters of the war and would have been a major player had the war continued into 1919. That said, only about 50 of these and another 50 of the similar D.IV made it into service before the armistice. Thanks for looking!
Great work John!
Thanks, Dale!
This is an outstanding result, John @j-healy
An absolute eye catching addition to your collection.
It was a pleasure to follow your build thread.
Thanks, John!
Too many wings and wires for me John but it looks very nice
Thanks, George!
VERY cool. Great build and super-nice finish.
Thanks, Bob!
Beautiful work, @j-healy, and a superb result.
(Memo to self: get one of these kits)
Thanks, Tom! You will enjoy it.
That's a great build John. I have the original Eduard boxing given to me by a gentleman named Stan Overall who was the first person to import Eduard to the UK along with 4plus books. That is pretty much all foto etch, but seeing your build of the second incarnation I'm going to have to get one. Fantastic John 👍
Thanks, Guy. I had the first kit too but never built it. I sold it off a few years ago during our Great Downsize. Do pick up the newer one!
Very very clean and precise build John (@j-healy). Everything looks near perfect. Congratulations on a fine build.
Thanks, Carl!
WOW! that looks amazing.
Thanks, Dave!
Great looking and inspiring build there John. I don't typically do WWI kits as yet but you may have me considering a build of this kit - Cheers
Thanks, Mr. Rush! It’s definitely a worthy contender for a first WW1 kit. The struts/wings assemble easily.
Another great model John! This one is a real eye-catcher for me, a beautiful, graceful aircraft! The markings & paint scheme are so colorful too. This one is a show-stopper, very well done!
Thanks, Jim!
Fantastic result, John! Loved following your build thread!
Congratulations!
Thanks, Spiros! This one was a lot of fun.
Excellent work, John. This is a gorgeous build.
Thanks, Bob!
Very nice, John. I like the scheme, especially with the lozenge, and you did a superb job with it.
Thanks, Gary!
Lovely work John! @j-healy
Thanks, David!
Absolutely gorgeous, John @j-healy. Terrific paint work.
Thanks, Eric! Mr. Color is pretty foolproof paint.
Awesome - a real beauty!
Thanks, Chas!
Oh man, that looks fantastic, John @j-healy! 🤩 That is really something to be proud of, my friend! 🏆
Thanks, Gary!
Took me a week to get to the end of the comment line to pile on! Razor sharp work, what a beauty.
Thanks, Bill!
Well done, John (@j-healy). It was fun watching this one come together. I am starting my first biplane in the next few days, so I have been taking notes as you built this model.
Thanks, George!
Great-looking build in an eye-catching scheme!
Thanks, Greg!
Stunning John, exceptional.
The paint job is great next to the lozenge. Brilliant detailing too. The interior is so impressive on such a small kit!
Great also to represent a famous Great War flyer for the group!
Thanks, Paul!
John Healy (@j-healy) ·
This Siemens, along with your Fokker D-VII have been very entertaining to watch as you worked your magic with them.
Your journal has been very informative and also inspiring. I have these exact same two paint schemes scheduled to build for our Great War group. I will be using a 1/32 scale Roden kit for the Siemens D-III and a 1/32 Wingnut Wings Fokker for the Seven Swabians. Several years ago I scored all of the Aviatik decals and resin bits for the Fokker.
I sincerely appreciate your detailed build journal, and also for answering my questions about the Pfalz D-III that I had. I will be using it as a reference when I start building these two.
You have done an incredible job with this one ! I especially like how the lozenge fabric and the bright red look together.
By the looks of things, this stubby little fighter was the F8F Bearcat of it's day...
I'm definitely clicking on several of the various "like" buttons before I leave.
I am very impressed by your workmanship and attention to details.
Thanks again, Louis!
Great build, I like it a lot. I've already built two and I'm due for a third at 1:32.