For many years I have wanted to build this particular model. The real plane was given to Voss when he arrived at Jasta 10. Some sources state he was "given" or assigned this particular aircraft on July 30th, 1917, which was about a month and a half before his death. It was a Pfalz D-III and not an upgraded D-IIIa like the kit I will be using. More on that later...

It was serial number 1370 / 17.

This is the kit I will be using for this build. It is a marvelous model and the parts look fantastic in the box. Like most of you, I wish that WNW was still in existence. If we could only get someone producing kits again using their molds.

Hopefully... maybe someday. One can always wish and have hope.

When I was a young boy, I had this exact same 1/48 scale model you see here. It came with a vacuum formed diorama base to which the model could be displayed. I slammed it together in my usual manner, most likely finishing it up in a single afternoon. I didn't paint it, but I did add the decals. It spent many years following the day of afternoon dog fighting, suspended from the ceiling in my bedroom.

The Wingnut Wings model has all kinds of good stuff included in the box.

The decals are partially shown here.

In order to get the correct serial numbers, I will be using a Woodland Scenic's dry transfer railroad number set shown here. The font style is very similar to what was used by Pfalz at the time and can be seen in a few pictures I have located over the years.

There are two different style of wind screen included. I think the one I will be using is the smaller square one.

Photo etch is also included.

Should things not go as I hope with the serial number on the side of the fuselage, I may be able to cobble something together using these kit supplied decal numbers. If I cut / swap them around some, I should be able to get what is needed. So I have a plan B if necessary.

Onto the differences between the D-III and the D-IIIa. The machine guns were mounted in a manner that made them look as if they were buried into the fuselage on the earlier versions. On the later type, the guns were moved to a more open arrangement, and mounted on top of the fuselage decking ahead of the pilot.

This allowed the pilot to clear stoppages and jams a little easier when they happened. I have to see if the parts needed are included in the WNW kit.

The lower wing is another major difference. The wing tips were pointed on the earlier D-III, which is what Voss' plane was. The lower wing tips were rounded on the later D-IIIa.

This is the early pointed lower wing tip. It is included in the WNW kit I have.

The later wing tip which was more rounded is also included. I have a second WNW Pfalz D-IIIa kit, and it will be built eventually, using the newer / later style lower wings.

The horizontal stabilizer was also different on the early version. It was thinner in chord, and this outline can be seen in the picture posted above... which is from the parts illustration list from a Roden Pfalz D-III kit in 1/32 scale. Otherwise I believe it was the same. The WNW kit provides only the later style which was much wider in chord.

I will have to cut it down to the correct size in order to make an early D-III like Voss flew for a short time. Some have written that the German pilot's didn't like the Pfalz as much, because it didn't turn or climb as good as the Albatros D-III did.

But it was stronger in a dive, and wouldn't lose a lower wing like the Albatros would do occasionally.

There was also a difference with the struts. There is an early style and a later style included in the kit. The main difference I can see is how the ends of the struts were. One is more pointed than the other is. Here you can see one style.

I will have to do some research to see which one would be correct for the earlier D-III like Voss flew.

This is the other style.

The mounting ends are more pointed on this type.

Voss' plane is said to have been painted in overall "Silbergrau" and it had a Yellow nose, struts, and wheels. The fuselage and upper wing stripes were likely painted in a Black color.

There is a picture showing it being towed away by a recovery crew after it had been damaged. The pilot was not Voss when this happened. It is reported the entire tail section was a Green color at the time this happened.

I'm likely going to be painting the tail section in Yellow, similar to how it is depicted on the box art for the K&B collector kit. However the two stripes on each side of the German cross on the fuselage will be done using a Black, where the art work has it shown using a Yellow color.

I'm not sure if what I am doing is correct or not. But Yellow was supposed to be the color for Jasta 10. It makes sense to me this would have been the color used when Voss flew it.

Some sources state that Voss made 4 or 5 kills while flying this machine. But It's not confirmed however. He preferred flying his Albatross D-III... until he met and flew the Fokker F-1 triplane.

So please follow along with me as I go through this adventure, and hopefully learn a few tricks along the way.

As always, comments are encouraged.

Thanks for stopping by.

Excellent entry, my friend @lgardner! The kit looks excellent and the same is as always true for your research! Looking forward to your next steps!

John Healy (@j-healy)
Thank you for the heads up on the interior colors. Now I wish that I also had a 1/32 scale Roden kit. It turns out the machine guns were buried deep into the fuselage on the earlier D-III.

My WNW Pfalz is the later D-IIIa version and it has the guns exposed like this one has. I don't know if I want to risk this kit by making changes to it, since there's a good chance of messing things up. If WNW was still in business, and these kits were not bringing crazy prices, things might be different.

So instead of this happening, I will wait until I get one of these Roden Pfalz D-III models in hand. They are the early version right out of the box, and no modifications are necessary.

I will make both of my WNW Pfalz models out of the box, with one of them getting lozenge camouflage on the wings. The other will likely have the solid blue tail which was an option included in the kit decals. Going from memory, it had an overall Silver Gray finish.

Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
This kit is amazing, and I don't want to butcher it up. My research today has revealed that the plane Werner Voss flew had the MG's buried deep inside the fuselage.

This is supposed to be a photo of the same plane that Voss flew. It was taken at a later date and it was being flown by a different pilot by this time. You can see how the upper fuselage deck is smooth.

My WNW kit is a later version, where they were moved to sit on top of the fuselage like this one. I'm going to resume this Voss Pfalz D-III build once I get one of the Roden kits. They are perfect as is to make the earlier version like Voss flew. I don't want to take a chance of destroying this kit by accident, so I will change the markings choice and build it up as something else.

Thank you for stopping by.

John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
I have decided to build this model as a plane with different markings. I can not make an accurate Werner Voss D-III using this WNW kit, because it is the later version called the D-IIIa. The problem I foresee is how the MG's are mounted deep inside the fuselage. I don't want to risk damaging this kit by making the necessary changes needed.

So I will pick out a different set of markings for it. I will also pick up a 1/32 scale Roden kit to make this Voss airplane. I should be able to build a correct Voss aircraft using this model without having to make any corrections.

Please stay tuned, as I have to make a choice here as to what happens next.

Thanks again everyone.

As always comments are encouraged. Thanks for stopping by.

I wouldn’t chop it up either, Louis. This is my WNW Pfalz that I built about 10 years ago. It’s one of my favorite models. Plenty of great schemes for the D.IIIa.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
I can't bring myself to chop it up and modify it either. It's too valuable and I have other proper decal options available.

John Healy (@j-healy)
WOW ! I really like how you painted yours. This is such a beautiful plane and you have done a magnificent job with yours. I like the Albatros and the Pfalz almost the same. It's right up there with the Albatros D-III - D-V series, although I slightly prefer the Albatros over the Pfalz, only because it looks better to me with the bare wood panels on the fuselage. There are also more decal options for the Albatros as well because there were more of them made I guess... You have a real looker right there ! Having lozenges on the underside is like icing on the cake.

Well done .

George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
I agree with you. There's no reason to take a chance messing this one up. I have several different sets of WNW decals to chose from, and they will be the correct ones for this D-IIIa version of the kit. I'm going to build this one up using a later production plane that had lozenge fabric on the wings. I have picked out a version I want to do.

I'll try to post some pictures of it next.

Thanks everyone.

A wise decision, Louis @lgardner
Your newly chosen scheme is wonderful as well.

John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
Thank you very much for commenting. Last night I pulled the trigger and ordered the Roden 1/32 scale early Pfalz D-III kit from Sprue Brothers. I also ordered a 1/32 scale Roden Albatros D-III (OAW) kit so that I can "borrow" the upper wing for my Voss Albatros. I'll post an update over there too.

The package is showing up as being shipped out today. Hopefully I will get it in less than a week.

Now I will be able to build an accurate version of Voss' Pfalz without having to worry about damaging this WNW model.

So please stay tuned everyone... This Werner Voss project is back in business.

I will probable start a different build journal for it, an transfer some of these photos over to it once the new kit arrives. It will be interesting to see how much difference there is between the WNW model and the Roden one.

As always comments are encouraged. Thanks for stopping by.

Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
Thanks my friend.

I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the 1/32 Roden early Pfalz D-III a few nights ago. Here is a photo of the box art.

Now I can build an accurate Voss Pfalz aircraft without having to jeopardize anything on the WNW kit. It will look very similar to what this one does on the box art of this smaller 1/48 scale KB Collector Series kit. I actually built this very same model as a kid.

But I will have the stripes that are next to the fuselage German Cross insignia painted in a Black color, where the box art has them in a Yellow.

So when it arrives, (possibly Thursday), I will add it to this build journal, and do a side by side comparison between the Roden and the Wingnut Wings kits. I should be building the engine for the WNW Pfalz in a day or so. Today I built the engine for the Roden Albatros, which will also be a Voss machine.