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The fascination with the AEG CIV just like all my other modeling projects started with the pilot. In this case the pilot of the Polish machine was the most prolific and famous aviation writer in Poland’s history Janusz Meissner. I read his books since I was able to read and ever since reading his memoirs I decided to make a model of a plane he flew.
The AEG shown here is not documented in any pictures. It exists solely on the pages of his memoirs and those were written in the seventies, so chances are he did not get everything right. What is known is that Poland since gaining independence in 1918 came into large stocks of AEG’s in Poznan and after making them airworthy used them in the Bolshevik war of 1920. This particular machine was assigned to the 4th Training Eskadra in Torun, where Meissner was a pilot, but was moved towards the front in August 1920 at the height of the Battle for Warsaw. The serial numbers match what is in the records, the Eskadra badge of the “all protecting eye” was used but it is uncertain if on this particular plane. The orientation of the checkerboard was also not standardized at this time so I have it both ways so I can be at least “half right”
The Copper State model is a challenge but worth attempting if you are stubborn like me to have this particular plane in your collection.