Central Powers Aircraft Model Images
by Charlie Duckworth

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Aviatik D.I

Kit: Flashback (1:48)

The color profile for this model is in the JaPo book on the Aviatik D.I & D.II page 98. The prototype photo is on 87. I used a Micron brown pen to add the numerous dot pattern and the sealed it an added the streaking.


Lohner Berg D1

Here's the 1/48th Flashback Lohner Berg D1 Series 115 built almost straight out of the box using the kit's decals. Black band denotes aircraft used by Flik 60/J. Given comments from several of the list members I toned down the decals by painting the model a dark grey before applying the decals. Undersurfaces of the wings and tail are Testor's Sand.


Fokker D.VI

Here's four views of an Eduard 1/48th Fokker DVI I've recently completed. The subject for the model is on page 25 of Datafile 84 on the DVI and is second subject on the section 'Fabric - camouflage and markingd'. The DVI was assigned to Jasta 80b with the group's white stripes being shown on the horizontal tailplane in addition this aircraft was also decorated with the wheel covers having black stripes and the cowling is finished in white stripes. According to the Datafile many of the DVI wings were completed before the fuselages and received the five color lozenge fabric (Aeromaster on top and Pegasus on the bottom). The fuselages and tail surfaces were completed in the four color lozenge fabric (Americal). Rib tapes on the model were from the five or four color fabric. Brass rod was used to support the top wing to the fuselage and rigging was done with .005 fishing line between the landing struts and ceramic wire to attach the control lines.

Evergreen styrene rod was acc'd over the flat brass interior structure.

The black wheel stripes were hand drawn with a black pen and the cowling stripes were made from white decals the crosses came from the model with the fuselage side cross being reduced in size by painting with Fokker green paint. The kit's engine was replaced with one from the DML Fokker triplane kit.


Willi Hippert's Fokker D.VII

Willi Hippert's black and white checked DVII he flew while he was with Jasta 74. The 'Mimmi.' on the top wing was done with white white decal paper and outlined with a black ink pen. The fuselage was airbrushed white and the black squares are individual decals. The late style cowlings were backdated with the exhaust coming out of the side panel.


Steinhauser's Fokker Dr.1

This is DML's Fokker Dr.I finished in the markings of Ltn Werner Steinhauser Jasta 11, Cappy, April 1918.

References are Osprey's Fokker Dr I and the Datafile Special on the Fokker Triplane.


Fokker E.III Eindekker

Here's the Eduard 1/48th Eindecker E-III, basically the kit right out of the kit painted with Floquil Mud with the cowling in Floquil silver with the swoll effect painted in with a brush of the smae silver darkened with grey.


Wenzl's Fokker E.V

This DML E.V is finished to represent E.V 153/18 flown by Lt. Richard Wenzl at Bernes in August 1918. Jasta 6 E.V's had the same distinct black and white markings on their Dr.I's and DVII's. After reading the Datafile for the 25th time I decided this was the most attractive scheme of all the Jastas that used the E.V or DVIII.This has to be one of my easiest models - almost no rigging and really no complex strut arrangements. I didn't like the lozenge colors that came with the kit so I used them for the interior and airbrushed them with a flat clear with a few drops of CDL mixed in - just enough coats to get the colors washed out. For the exterior fabric Americal's four color top lozenge was used and the underside fabris is Pegasus' four color underside lozenge. Before decaling the fuselage, I brush painted a layer of PollyScale German Olive Green and then over coated this with brushed on Future. This same green was also used on the wing, struts and sheet metal parts. Lozenge decals held on well during all the handling during construction. The national markings on the wings were outlined with white decal to make them stand out better and the tail decal was made smaller to represent the photos in the Datafile. White and black striping on the fuselage was done with decals. Rigging was done with stretched plastic sprue and .005 fishing line.

In looking at photos in the Datafile I noticed DML miscounted the black triangles on the cowling. They provide eight triangles whereas the photos in the Datafile show that ten were applied. After finding this I also noticed that DML's black decals for the horizontal tail were printed backwards as well - the black stripes are where the white should be. I discovered this error only after masking and painting the black stripes on the tail. Given the white was enamel and black was Floquil denatured alcohol was used to remove the black without taking off the white and I repainted it correctly. Given the decals errors by DML it was a fun, easy kit to build.


Voss's Fokker F.1 103/17

Here's five jpgs of the 1/48th DML Fokker triplane modified using Rosemont's kit #800 Fokker F.1 conversion (new resin curved tail, prototype style cowling, early ailerons and decals for F.1 101/17, Manfred von Richthofen's 102/17 and Werner Voss' famous 103/17). I was probably 13 years old when Revell released the 1/27 scale triplane in Voss' colors. I remember that the box art was a build-up kit that looked great in the light blue with green streaks ('too bad' I thought how wrong they were with the blue doping overall - now I know I was mistaken....the first three prototypes were apparently doped over all turquoise). Being a teenager I loved the idea a teenager/ace had flown the real aircraft.

As to my opinion-choice of green cowling and wheen covers vs. the newly discussed yellow theory....I simply like the contrast of the white face on the olive green cowling and believe Voss would have too. 56 Squadron's debriefing after the famous dogfight of mentions the airframe in shades of green, blue and grey and (my opinion) if the cowling was yellow I believe their combat report or G.72 report would have mentioned this fact since they call out the other colors. I finished the model using Misterkit's Fokker Torquoise and Polly Scale German RLM 80 Olive Green for the cowling, wheel covers and streaking. Rigging was .005 ceramic wire; National markings came from the DML Kempf kit. kit.


Fokker Triplane

Here's a DML 1/48th Fokker Triplane done as Jasta 36 with the blue cowling, large national marking on the tailplane, circular access panels and auxiliary bracing struts on the aerofoil-section undercarriage as common to this group's field modifications. Undersurfaces are turquoise as well as the tailplane and fuselage being outlined with the same color. Base color is Testor's Model Master Sand, streaking is Humbrol Dark Green (HB1) with a glaze of Dark Green mixed with Winsor & Newton matt varnish to achieve a variation in hues.


Junkers D.I

Kit: Roden (1:48)

Here's my entry for the monoplane cook up. Rodens 1/48 Junkers D.I. The Gas Patch machine guns arrived today and that was the last parts I was waiting for. I generally don't weather a/c models but reading these were left out in the open I decided to show the wheels and under carriage with some light mud. Also added a little oil residue around the bottom access panels. All done with water soluble oil paints. Only issue with this model was the decals not laying down without 20-30 applications of Solvaset and Mr Mark Set. Camouflage was a mix of airbrushing and hand painting.


Phoenix D.I

Kit: Special Hobby (1:48)

Here's my 1/48 Special Hobby D.I finished with the two brown colors. It was one of those models I'd work on for a few days and then put up for two months. Painted the wood fuselage and linen wings in natural colors and almost hated to cover it with the 'sponge' camouflage. As most WWI modelers know, the original a/c camouflage was 'rags soaked in paint' and dabbed over the wings and fuselage until it was covered but one can still see the wood, metal and linen colors underneath in several prototype photos. Considered several different was to do this effect and ended up using a small artist sponge to get the effect. 90% of the rigging is with rust colored EZ Line and 10% ceramic wire. Decals for the question mark came from a 1/48 A-H Blue Rider set and the serial number was from a number of A-H Albatros D.III sets. The black crosses came from the kit with the white areas removed. Side view of this aircraft is in the JaPo book on this series of a/c.


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