Up | Chez Brad Cancian | Gallery | Home
Kit: Various (1:48)
This little vignette was made from the Eduard 1:48 Pfalz D.III. The pilot figure is from Jager, and the Dachshund is modified from that provided in the 1:48 Eduard Bf-110 (I added some goggles and a scarf).
Some months ago, a very skilled aircraft modelling friend of mine, who usually stays well away from WW1 models, decided to try his hand at some biplane models - he wisely chose the Albatros DVa from Eduard in 1:48 scale. Alas, a month or so ago, she came a cropper off his work bench, and straight after became the subject of a fit of rage, ending up very battered, broken, unloved and in the garbage. He then told me about this mishap, vowing (in some colourful language) never to build a biplane again. I asked him if he still had the bits to the poor little Albie, which he said he would have to search through his trash to find out, but was doubtful. I asked if he please could and that I would give the broken bird a good home if there was anything left. The next day he remarked that he had pulled the bits and pieces from the trash literally minutes before it was due to get thrown out, and would gladly send me the bits of the old bus at no charge. Sadly, a full restoration was out of the question given the damage to the wings. So, what to do with a wingless broken Albatros? The same thing that would have happened to an original broken, wingless Albatros of course - put her out behind the back shed and throw a tarp or two over her until you work out what to do with her! Some ideas came to mind, perhaps focusing around an old broken airframe stashed away behind a hangar, maybe a small diorama. So I set to work on repairing what I could of the Albie. I made some small additions, extending a set of undercarriage legs from the spares box, adding some more panel / fastener detail, and some battle damage.I set to painting the model in a fictional scheme - in this case, an Albatros from Jasta 5 in May 1918 markings. I obviously wanted a dirty and beaten up look. I made the tarps from tissue paper and white glue, flattened a tire from the spares box, and added a spoked wheel and other minor details. I then made the ground work, using plaster for the earth base, and some grass that you can get at model railroad stores. The building was made from balsa wood, and the area was strewn with appropriate spoils of war from the spares box.