This is another Werner Voss plane that I have been wanting to build for years... and now it seems like this dream will become a reality.
This is the kit I will be using. It is the 1/32 scale Roden version.
These are the markings for the plane. This was one of Voss' favorite planes. I have located several pictures of it from different angles over the years in preparation of eventually building it. With the advent of this Great War group, there is no better time than the present.
My goal is to have three aircraft in my display case that were flown by Lt. Voss. Back in 2017, I built a model of his famous Fokker F-1 prototype triplane. This is the aircraft in which he was killed, while fighting at least 6 RAF pilots from No 56 Squadron in SE-5A's. A good majority of them were "Ace" pilots. They were amazed by Voss' flying ability on this fateful day.
I used the ancient 1/28 scale Revell Fokker Dr-1 and back dated it to make this plane. I also have started a journal for Voss' Pfalz D-III, and now with his Albatros D-III added, I will have covered all of the planes he flew that I wanted to represent in my collection.
These are the one piece wings that are included in the box. Here is a problem... I have read that Voss' Albatros had the newer style upper wing where the radiator was moved off center, and located more to the Starboard side. This was done to help reduce the chances of the pilot being scalded by hot water from the radiator in the event it was hit by something and a hole was made.
I have read that Voss actually helped his ground crew / mechanics replace the wing with the newer style with the offset radiator.
As luck would have it, I have this kit in the stash as well. It's also a Roden 1/32 scale Albatros. However it is an OAW version. The plastic in this kit is a little different in some places. Most notable are the larger rounded rudder...
and the upper wing which has the offset radiator included !
Score one for the team...
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1. Radiator centered
2. Radiator offset
Here you can see the two upper wings sitting next to each other. Not only was the Teeves and Braun radiator offset, but it was also larger in size. You can see by how much in the picture.
This shows the larger offset radiator wing plastic. The lower wing is also provided on the same parts tree. The details look very nice. I am SO happy that Roden decided to make the wings as a one piece unit.
These are the rest of the plastic parts that are included in the Albatros D-III kit. I will be swapping the upper wing from the OAW boxing and using it on my Voss build.
I will then use the original wing included in the Albatros built plane on the OAW model.
However, I'm not sure if this will be correct though, as OAW started making Albatros fighters under contract for Albatros after production had began on the D-III. I have read that approximately 270 or so Albatros D-III fighters were built with the center mounted radiator, before it was changed over to the offset style.
I might not have the actual number built down exactly, but it was something very similar to this...
Also the upper wing was often replaced in the field, and installed "retroactively" on the older machines as they became available. So I'm not certain if the center radiator style wing will be correct on any OAW built machine. I'm going to "wing it" (no pun intended), and go this route by using the center mount radiator wing on the OAW kit when I eventually get around to building it up. This will not happen any time soon.
Chances are that 99 percent of the people will not know the difference anyhow... but sadly I will. And this will eat away at me until I bash my head against the wall until it's bloody. No I'm not that bad, but it will bother me a little. You know what I mean.
This is the other difference between the OAW Albatross and the regular D-III built by Albatros. The nose section has different panel lines. Here we see the OAW version on the top of this picture.
This is something that I have wanted to do for years. I'm finally getting around to doing it. You can't believe how stoked I am about this.
As always, comments are encouraged. Thanks for stopping by and have a good night.
