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Kit: Scratchbuilt (1:5)
I actually started designing and drawing this model in 1995! However I moved over to Germany from England (RAF) at that time and with all that was going on, the project suffered. I found myself building the odd smaller model and "Quicker" build to keep me flying. But from time to time the Pfalz came out of wraps and further work ensued. But since some 7-8 years have passed since then, you can tell I have been busy doing other things besides building the Pfalz. But, this year she will fly! At the stage you see her in, I am just finishing off the flying controls. I will then be finishing of the surface detail, followed by the time-consuming Lozenge camouflage scheme which will be airbrushed on.
The model is to 1/5 scale, making a wingspan of 72inches (1829mm). The engine to power her is a Laser 100 4 stroke and radio will be JR, using just 4 servo's. Construction is fairly normal, in that the wings are balsa, spruce and ply, covered in Solartex, the fuselage is made from two halves. A top and bottom crutch were joined before covering the cockpit area in thin strips of .8mm ply, to simulate the full size detail inside the cockpit. The rest was infilled with blue foam and sanded to shape before a final covering of Epoxy and Glasscloth, which when painted should simulate the full size surface detail.
So, this is where we are at the moment. I shall post further detail and photograph's as the project moves on, with the hopeful detail of flight etc.
After much deliberation I have now chosen the colour scheme for my Pfalz. At first I was looking at the multi-coloured type of fusalage on many of the examples, but I have chosen 1416/18 of Jasta 17. Mainly because I have found at least three photograph's of the original aircraft. Standard 5 colour lozenge was used on the upper and lower main planes but the fuselage was Silbergrau from tail to just in front of the cockpit and dark blue to the radiator. The front of the fus' was white, as was the fin and rudder. There is also a band of white around the fuselage and covering most of the aircraft coding towards the rear. The lozenge will be attacked last! But the decor on the fus' is growing dayly.
Kit: Scratch (1:5)
Just an update to keep you WWI types intrigued..... I'm playing around with the rear controls at the moment and cockpit detail, the geometry I decided upon for the cable runs although I thought were ok, I have now found them not to be (Banging my head!) However I have a plan and time will tell. But the "Pit" detail is coming along and I've finished the Lozenge work on the upper wings. the photo's as you can see show the fruits. I'm quite pleased with the results, the upper wings are silk on tissue and the lower wings are Solartex and I found no difference with how I had to deal with them. The colours look a little light in the photos but are a touch darker in the flesh... the coating of a silk'ish fuel proofer will also darken it further. See what you think! I'm doing a "How to" on the whole lozenge job so this will be available to anyone interested in the future.
Having finished my small 1/20 scale D.XII my enthusiasm to attack the lozenge work on my 1/5th scale model has greatly been enhanced. I did try to get hold of some 1/5th scale fabric already printed, but the cost was astranomical in my view, so I'm back to spraying with airbrush. Having said that I'm now into it by a week and it is very satisfying. I have ironed out small hiccups and now feel that the more visible areas can be sprayed in confidence. The lower wings are covered in Solartex and the upper in Silk on Tissue. (Experimenting) So with trepidation I chose to do the underside of the upper wings first, so any bad mistakes if not salvagable, would be mainly out of sight. Model Color acrylic paints have proved very easy to mix and once colours were tested, proved easy to spray. For stencils I made 1 for each colour (5) with the cut outs of the lozenges which make up the 21 total in each repeated pattern. A week down the line of sparetime and the first side is just about complete, however the work should speed up now.