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Kit: Libramodels (1:72)
This model represents aircraft 451/14 which was captured in September 1914 at Jonchery and subsequently displayed at the Musee de l'Armee in Paris. 451/14 was an early model MD14 carrying the military designation 'B', and it has a number of minor differences from the later B.Is. The fabric on this plane shows up dark in photos and in the color painting of the plane on display, so I chose a "rubberized balloon fabric" hue for it. The markings are cut from trim film and the rigging is colored "invisible" thread. Wheels are from Tom's Modelworks, and the exhaust pipes are made from brass tubing. My main reference was the article in Windsock Vol. 11-6. Thanks to Buz Pezold for donating this kit to my collection.
Kit: Roden (1:72)
The Roden Dr.I is built to represent 504/17 as flown by Leutnant Rudolf Reinau of Jasta 19 in April of 1918. Jasta 19 triplanes carried the yellow tailplane with black bars along with a white cowling. The three white stripes wrapped around the fuselage were Reinau's personal marking. The streaked camouflage was applied using the "Streaky Gammon" article from Windsock Magazine (Vol.18, No.5). Photos were found in the Osprey "Air Aces" book. Decals on this model are a real mix from the spares collection. The wing crosses are early overlaid with late crosses from the Roden kit which are transparent enough to let the early ones show through to simulate over painting. The white cross backgrounds were over-painted with thinned olive. Fuselage crosses on white backgrounds were over-painted with thinned olive, and then the stripes (cut from white trim film) wrapped over everything. The tailplane is covered in yellow trim film under the black bars. The model is built completely out-of-the-box except for rigging which is colored "invisible" thread and stretched sprue. This model was a contestant in the Roll Models online contest in 2009.
Kit: Pegasus (1:72)
Oberleutnant Fritz Bernert, credited with 27 victories, flew a D.II of this configuration while with Jasta 4 in September of 1916. His being one of three German combat pilots to wear glasses was of interest to me, so this one's for him. His plane's actual serial number is unknown. Rigging is colored "invisible" thread and stretched sprue.
Kit: Warbirds (1:72)
It is possible that a few short-fuselage D.Is saw service at the front before the Armistice. This model depicts a D.I found wrecked at Evere airfield in Belgium after the war. The colors are based on reported descriptions published in the D.I Datafile. Some of the parts on this model-engine, propeller, wheels, etc. are from my spares box. What rigging there is is colored "invisible" thread.
Kit: MAC (1:72)
This model represents the Roland D.VIa flown by Gefreiter Jakob Tischner of Jasta 35b in March of 1918. The serial number of this aircraft was 1205/18, and it was one of only a few D.VIs to see service. Reference photos were found in Windsock Datafile 37 and a profile of 1205/18 was done by Bob Pearson. Lozenge (four-color) decals are from Americal/Gryphon. Rigging is colored "invisible" thread and stretched sprue.
Kit: Toko (1:72)
The Toko kit was modified to represent the colorful early SSW D.III flown by Leutnant Joachim von Ziegesar of Jasta 15 in May of 1918. The wings were re-shaped for the early smooth tips, and the cowling was made full by adding vac-form sections. A new "early" rudder was made following Datafile drawings. Lozenge material, markings and interim crosses are from Americal/Gryphon. The lozenge is applied diagonally except for ailerons, and rib tapes are strips of the same material. Interplane struts are hand painted. Rigging is colored "invisible" thread and stretched sprue.
This Model represents a civil 'A'-series Taube impressed into military service in August, 1914. It has the darker balloon fabric and crude crosses of early Tauben. I gave it the serial A 10/13. Brass rod is substituted for the plastic stuff supplied in the kit. The rigging is colored "invisible" thread.
Although the very well-known Fokker F.I 103/17 as flown by Leutnant Werner Voss on his epic final flight has been depicted hundreds of times by artists and model makers since the war, I've long felt that the reasoning behind the color choices I'd seen wasn't quite complete. After reading the very thorough article by Phillips and Weaver in Over the Front (Vol. 20-2), no doubt was left in my mind that both the cowling and wheels of this prototype were over painted, and that the identifying yellow of Jasta 10 would be the hue chosen by Leutnant Voss. But the contrast question of white face features over yellow- the main argument of the "olive cowling" group- also bothered me. Knowing that light blue photographed as white on orthochromatic film, I had the idea that Voss could have chosen it to decorate the yellow cowling. It would be more in keeping with the colorful Japanese kite influence and the real-life contrast would be almost the same as that in the black and white photo. I took this model with me to the OTF convention in October 2011 and was very interested to find that author Jon Guttman agreed with my logic and believed that this model might well be an accurate rendition of 103/17. Stains and wear, as well as streaking patterns, were as accurate as I could make them from the photos available. The kit has few modifications other that the cowling shape correction. The face is hand-painted with a fine brush because no decals I could find had the correct proportions-let alone being printed in any color but white!