WWI Digest 400 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Re: Embarassing Top Aces question. by cv3@conted.swann.gatech.edu (Carlos Valdes) 2) Re: My Own Introduction by mbittner@juno.com 3) Re: Hannover info by "S.M.Sundberg" 4) RE: Re[2]: Insignia Magazine by Shane Weier 5) Re: Aviation Books by hartc@spot.Colorado.EDU (Charles Hart) 6) Re: Philosophical Question by "Bill Ciciora" 7) Off-topic P-40 AVG question by Lawrence Dunn 8) Blue Water Navy WWI U Boat model by jsthorn@clt.mindspring.com (Jesse Thorn) 9) Re: 'bronzing' busts by eswaim@aristotle.net (Edward Swaim) 10) Re: Philosophical Question by eswaim@aristotle.net (Edward Swaim) 11) Re: Embarassing Top Aces question. by bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer) 12) Re: Erik Pilawsky's models by "Ray Boorman" 13) Re: Philosophical Question by "Ray Boorman" 14) Re: 'bronzing' busts by "Ray Boorman" 15) Re: Embarassing Top Aces question. by "Ray Boorman" 16) Tip, from Re: My Own Introduction by "S.M. Head" 17) Re: Embarassing Top Aces question. by bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer) 18) gotha by Franco Poloni 19) Halberstadt Cl II by Franco Poloni 20) Airwaves by barrett@iplink.net (barrett) 21) Re: Halberstadt Cl II by Hirohisa Ozaki 22) Re: My Own Introduction by Sandy Adam 23) Tuesday, 16 January 1917, Plessis, Paris by "Marian Hollinger, Bradley Omanson" 24) Duxford redux by wcreedon@tiac.net (Walter G. Creedon) 25) Duxford redux by Brian Nicklas 26) Looking for a Halberstadt D.II by Ray Trochim 27) Re: Looking for a Halberstadt D.II by aew (Allan Wright) 28) Sopwith Pup. (Was Erick pilawky's models) by "Pedro Soares" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 15 Jan 97 19:36:17 EST From: cv3@conted.swann.gatech.edu (Carlos Valdes) To: wwi Subject: Re: Embarassing Top Aces question. Message-ID: <199701160036.UAA13282@conted.swann.gatech.edu> Gents, Here's another quote from Norman Franks' Who Downed the Aces in WWI? Discussing the air war in Black September 1918, he writes It seemed as if the Germans could inflict casualties almost at will. On 16 September, overall losses were 31 British, five American and nine French aircraft lost, a total of 45. That the Allied side claimed over 100 German aircraft this same day is laughable, and sad. . . . The Germans shot down over 550 Allied aircraft in this deadly month. The Allies claimed over 1,000 victories, a possibe ratio of 10 to 1 of actual German casualties. (p.190) There can be NO doubt that massive overclaiming, especially among the British, was endemic on the Allied side. For several reasons, such was not the case for the Germans. As for MvR's victories, the latest study of the matter, Under the Guns of the Red Baron by Franks, Giblin, and McCrery (Grub Street 1995), finds that fully 74 can be matched to and corroborated by Allied losses. The remaining six--numbers 9, 15, 21, 22, 54, and 78--all involved aircraft that were engaged, shot at, usually damaged, and driven down, a remarkable record. As the authors write of his claims, [H]e appears to have been meticulous in this regard, even when his reputation was such that he could, indeed, have taken 'lierties.' (p.13) Allied flyers were of course brave and worthy foes on the whole, but the English in particular were let down by their scoring system, and their victory totals simply cannot be accepted at face value. Soapbox mode off. Carlos ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 19:36:27 EST From: mbittner@juno.com To: wwi Subject: Re: My Own Introduction Message-ID: <19970115.183723.13566.3.mbittner@juno.com> On Wed, 15 Jan 1997 18:30:35 -0500 Erik Pilawskii writes: > Cheeky Shane! Well, obviously as a devotee of the more geriatric > scales we can then assume that a bout of 'reversal' has befallen > your synaptic pathways, and in fact that the opposite reaction > was intended: > >"> in both 1/48" >"Very difficult to countenance." > >"and 1/72 scales." >"Clearly Superior." > > ...Just to clear that up... (hee hee hee hee...) Thanks, Erik. I'm so glad there is someone else on this list with the good nature to build in the Master's Scale. ;-) > Dear me... now we 'degenerated' down to Wife Swapping. What > next? Will Dear Gertie reappear on Shane's lawn? Will Allan > delete the mail list in favor of a 900-number Long-Gistance > Carrier service? Stay tuned to "As the Rigging Turns"....! ROTFL!!! > True enough, but I got through the 'rigging thru the wing' > situation with a warm needle. I heated a syringe needle to the > point of being "warm"; i.e. not hot enough to *melt* the > plastic, just to make it easier to punch trough it. This was > then passed through the wing at the proper location *after* > having attached the wings to the model. The angle is not so > important in this case, but it helps to get it as close as > possible. While making the hole, I 'wiggled' the needle to > provide a 'bevelled' opening, like an hourglass. > I rigged with two strands of thin thread. The larger openings > were filled top and bottom with gel CA after the rigging wires > were dry, and their respective angle set. This, of course, is > why I bevelled the hole through the wing-- to accomodate > whatever angle was required. The gel CA fills the hole > top/bottom, and then can be painted over to give a flat > surface. The important thing to remember was this was done on a 1/72nd scale model!!! Not one of those Braille Scale jobs. Matt mbittner@juno.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 19:26:40 -0500 From: "S.M.Sundberg" To: wwi Subject: Re: Hannover info Message-ID: <32DD75C0.7FAA@netins.net> Just received a Hannover C.III from Koster Aero Enterprises. (Neat kit, prompt service). I have discovered that the datafile for this plane is out of print. Any suggestions on other references? Steve Sundberg ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 12:03:15 +1100 From: Shane Weier To: "'wwi@pease1.sr.unh.edu'" Subject: RE: Re[2]: Insignia Magazine Message-ID: <01BC03A5.42416380@pc087b.mim.com.au> Riordan I said: >I have Insignia #4, but don't remember enough of the article to tell you what's >in it. If you like I'll bring it in and post tomorrow. You said: >That would be smashing. Please do. Okay. Richard is still doing a splendid job. I hope the WW1 and immediate post war stuff hes churning out keeps coming since it's quite interesting. The article you're interested in is "Russian Civil War Aircraft" It includes a list of known types used by 16 different air arms, four photographs (three new to me) and 16 markings profiles. 3 Snipes 2 Camels 3 Strutters 3 Fokker D.V.II 1 Morane Saulnier L 1 SE5a 1 SPAD VII 1 Nie 17C 1 gotha Gl.VII A couple are known to me (Sapozhnikovs Snipe with Ace of Spades), but most are not. Incidentally, there is also an article on Bulgarian naval aviation (Friedrichshafen FF.33L) in 1916-19, another on polish Aircraft markings 1917-24, one on the Polish Lithuanian campaign 0f 1920-21 and part 4 of an erormous article on Albatros D.III (Oef) markings. All have a similar proportion of text, photos and profiles to the Russian one. I still haven't paid my 1997 subs, but I *will* Regards Shane ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 19:20:40 -0700 From: hartc@spot.Colorado.EDU (Charles Hart) To: wwi Subject: Re: Aviation Books Message-ID: >Aeromaniacs, > >Having been a former member and now re-newing my list membership I'm >looking for some info. About a year ago or more there was a member of >the list who could obtain Putnam Aeronautical Books as well as Grub St. >publications at discount prices. if that person or persons are still >members I would be interested in hearing from you(s). New Jerseyese! Check with : The Scholar's Bookshelf 110 Melrich Rd. Cranbury NJ 08512 FAX: 609/395-0755 e-mail: books@scholarsbookshelf.com Charles hartc@spot.colorado.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 20:26:19 -0600 From: "Bill Ciciora" To: Subject: Re: Philosophical Question Message-ID: Sandy wrote: >I suggest that if you are a good modeller, you will have a painstaking eye >for getting things precisely correct to the ultimate degree. That would make me not a very good modeller. I build 'em "good enough." Bill C. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 22:05:15 -0800 From: Lawrence Dunn To: wwi Subject: Off-topic P-40 AVG question Message-ID: <32DDC51B.2DA@mail.idt.net> Hi, sorry to go ahead and discuss that "other" world conflict, but I was curious about a recent post criticizing the new Hobbycraft P-40 (the AVG, "Flying Tiger", kit). The wings are the problem, apparently. I ask the poster (or any knowledgable person), will this kit that I just bought a few weeks back be a total loss or can I kitbash it with the "Revellogram" 1/48 P-40 "Flying Tiger"? Is that kit any better? Thanks, Larry ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 22:29:39 -0500 (EST) From: jsthorn@clt.mindspring.com (Jesse Thorn) To: wwi Subject: Blue Water Navy WWI U Boat model Message-ID: Has anyone seen this kit? --Jesse ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 23:22:34 -0600 From: eswaim@aristotle.net (Edward Swaim) To: wwi Subject: Re: 'bronzing' busts Message-ID: <199701160522.XAA20077@aristotle.net> >I remember a while ago Verlinden published a method for 'bronzing' >his resin busts. I was thinking of doing the same to a dragon bust. >Does anyone know the procedure, or can suggest one? > >Brian Bushe I'm anxious to hear how this was done. Ernst Udet is scattered in pieces on my work table splattered with some very bad flesh tones. For about a month, I have been seriously considering assembling the whole thing, spraying it down with glossy brown paint (as is already on the torso as a base coat), then applying patina-colored acrylic gel-paint from Hobby Lobby to make it look like bronze. Edward Swaim Little Rock, Arkansas ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 23:22:36 -0600 From: eswaim@aristotle.net (Edward Swaim) To: wwi Subject: Re: Philosophical Question Message-ID: <199701160522.XAA20082@aristotle.net> >I suggest that if you are a good modeller... This has puzzled me for a while, too. What is a modeler trying to acheive? I've decided that it has a lot to do with who is going to see his planes. For some, it will be a judge with a magnifying glass. For folks like me, it is different. I put them on a shelf at home and at work where the usual response is "is that a SPAD?" (no matter what plane it is) or "now, what war did these fly in?" I could not now name anyone else in this entire state who has an assembled WWI model in his possession. Therefore, I'm my own audience. So far, my audience has demanded only a decent representation of these exciting airplanes, not a absolute accuracy. Edward Swaim Little Rock, Arkansas ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 21:43:52 -0800 From: bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer) To: wwi Subject: Re: Embarassing Top Aces question. Message-ID: <199701160543.AA06836@ednet1.orednet.org> When we last left our intrepid heroes, Rob was saying: >Herr Wilhelm (Bill) writes: Smile when ya' call me that, pilgrim! :-) -snips- >The common >source of kill inflation is, rather, multiple claims for the same >airplane. > >That is, Richtofen (hypothetically) claims an RE8 that we >can confirmlost. But the obscure pilot Ludwig X also claims an >RE8 that he shot up and subsequently saw go down. Flak gunners and >infantry machineguns also put in their claims. The INDIVIDUAL >scores are then "accurate" in so far as each has a claim to >contributing to the demise of a real RE8. But, as a measure of enemy >losses, the claims, IN THE AGGREGATE, still overstate the case by %400. > >My two sous worth. Well, let's be sure we are talking about the same kind of "claims". I am not, of course talking about the "claims" made in communiques issued immediately after the fact, such as, "Yesterday, our gallant Jasta flyers intercepted a large formation of enemy two-seaters escorted escorted by numerous fighters in the area of Courtrai and drove them back across the lines, downing 12 of their number in the process." Rather, I was speaking of official "confirmed" claims - claims which had been reviewed and officially acknowledged by high command. Now the German "official" policy was that there could be no multiple claims to the same victory. If three claims were submitted and only two aircraft could be verified as shot down, then the high command (either the Kommandeur der Flieger for the particular Armee involved or Luftstreitkrafte HQ itself) would determine which two pilots would get the official credit. The third fellow was just outa luck. So, if MvR and obscure pilot Ludwig X both submitted a claim but only one aircraft could be verified as down, under the rules, either MvR _or_ Ludwig, but not both, was to be awarded the victory. While this might result in adding one unwarranted victory to MvR's score, it would similarly result in taking one deserved victory away from Ludwig and the overall totals would, none the less, remain accurate. Now, there are, undoubtably exceptions - there are instances where the Germans awarded two or more victories in a particular area on a single day yet contemporary research seems to demonstrate that the allies lost only a single aircraft in the area and on the date in question. Some of these might be accounted for by problems with the records but some of them are undoubtably real. In these cases, the German system broke down, apparently. Still, this does not seem to be a particularly common occurance and, in most instances I've been able to check, the _official_ confirmed victories correspond fairly closely with the historically verifiable allied losses in most instances. There was some overstatement in official confirmed victories on the German side, to be sure. But, I am fairly certain it was nothing like a 300% overclaim. I would think that my original suggestion of something in the 15% to 20% range would be more accurate. Did MvR _really_ shoot down 80 aircraft? Probably not, but I suspect he came closer to 80 _real_ victories than any other WW1 pilot. Soap box mode off. Cheers, -- - Bill Shatzer bshatzer@orednet.org - ............................................................................. - This space for rent - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 20:57:53 -0800 From: "Ray Boorman" To: Subject: Re: Erik Pilawsky's models Message-ID: <199701160551.VAA26853@cessna.lynx.bc.ca> Definately the Pup and if you use one of the various colourfull trainer schemes you can get away from the standard PC10 / doped linen. Who said British Aircraft had boring markings! The canals are easy. Since you have that horendous fabric etching to sand away then filling the gaps for the strut assemblies is done at the same time. However how about building a real model say a 1/48th Sopwith Triplane. Just joking really:-) Welcome to the list Pedro! Ray Boorman (rboorman@lynx.bc.ca) ---------- > From: Mary-Ann/Michael > At 05:31 AM 1/15/97 -0500, Pedro Soares wrote: > > > >I would also benefit from some help regarding construction details like how > >do you deal with the problem of those horrible canals that at one time were > >used by kit manufacturers to hold the strut assemblies (cf. Airfix Pup or > >Revell Spad), but I guess we can go into that in more detail at a later > >stage > Since it will be your first biplane, I would suggest the Airfix kit. > It goes together easily and the painting schemes are pretty basic(P.C. 10 on > top of wings and for fuselage and cleae doped linen underneath. The > Canadian Air History museum is doing one in this scheme but adding a > horizontal white line that runs the length of the fuselage, if you want to > spice up a color scheme!) The macine gun looks akward and you might want > to replace it with a good one . Thecanals are another problem...I still > haven't solved that one ...mostly due to my inability to fill and sand > correctly! I would think that you could use the struts in the kit and just > fill the canals with putty. > Good luck and welcome to the list. > Mike Muth > > ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 21:04:27 -0800 From: "Ray Boorman" To: Subject: Re: Philosophical Question Message-ID: <199701160551.VAA26858@cessna.lynx.bc.ca> Sandy, Now we really need to get the valid sizes in both 1/72 and 1/48 of a midgie's widgey. Accuracy counts none of this guestimating. So darn it get that widgey under control and measured! Very sheepishly Ray Boorman (rboorman@lynx.bc.ca) > At 04:58 AM 1/15/97 -0500, Sandy Adam wrote: > > > >I personally just throw the bits together any old how - well, as long as > >the interior structure scales out correctly - and the dimensions are > >within a midgie's widgey - and the colour scheme is verifiable - and the > >handle on the fuel pump is the right scale thickness - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 21:12:58 -0800 From: "Ray Boorman" To: Subject: Re: 'bronzing' busts Message-ID: <199701160551.VAA26862@cessna.lynx.bc.ca> Oh my! I would never admit to bronzing my bust's, are Resin ones the new fashion after Silicon got a bad rap. Apart from that how on earth do you know where a Dragons bust is! . Sorry but I couldnt resist and worse than that I dont have a clue how you would do this. Ray Boorman (rboorman@lynx.bc.ca) ---------- > From: Brian Bushe > To: Multiple recipients of list > Subject: 'bronzing' busts > Date: Wednesday, January 15, 1997 4:26 AM > > Hi guys, > > I remember a while ago Verlinden published a method for 'bronzing' > his resin busts. I was thinking of doing the same to a dragon bust. > Does anyone know the procedure, or can suggest one? > > Brian > > > > Brian Bushe syclone@itl.net > Syclone Systems > Denmark Street (44) 1628 789 470 > Maidenhead Fax 789 513 > Berkshire > England ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 21:36:01 -0800 From: "Ray Boorman" To: Subject: Re: Embarassing Top Aces question. Message-ID: <199701160551.VAA26865@cessna.lynx.bc.ca> I am probably missing something here, but if the claims had to be substantiated then wouldn't that rule out all but one claimer getting the claim. Or is the problem that though there was only one aircraft, no one tracks who has claimed it and then rules out all the rest. So if 10 flak gunners shot at the plane on the way down and 5 aircraft shot at it too. Then there were 15 claims that all got substantiated Ie 15 planes with only one real wreck on the ground! I thought the Gemans had very specific rules about how to record and prove the claims. Probably I'm missing something eh! ---------- > From: Rob > That is, Richtofen (hypothetically) claims an RE8 that we > can confirmlost. But the obscure pilot Ludwig X also claims an > RE8 that he shot up and subsequently saw go down. Flak gunners and > infantry machineguns also put in their claims. The INDIVIDUAL > scores are then "accurate" in so far as each has a claim to > contributing to the demise of a real RE8. But, as a measure of enemy > losses, the claims, IN THE AGGREGATE, still overstate the case by %400. > > My two sous worth. > > Rob, > robj@speechsys.com. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 01:49:30 -0500 From: "S.M. Head" To: wwi Subject: Tip, from Re: My Own Introduction Message-ID: <9701160129.aa12416@mail.iapc.net> Hi all, upon reading this part of a different thread I thought I'd pass along a tip... >> True enough, but I got through the 'rigging thru the wing' >> situation with a warm needle. I heated a syringe needle to the >> point of being "warm"; i.e. not hot enough to *melt* the >> plastic, just to make it easier to punch trough it. This was >> then passed through the wing at the proper location *after* >> having attached the wings to the model. The angle is not so >> important in this case, but it helps to get it as close as >> possible. While making the hole, I 'wiggled' the needle to >> provide a 'bevelled' opening, like an hourglass. Have you tried using the hypodermic needle as a drill? I leave the needle in the syringe (those tiny insulin syringes are my preferred) and simply use it as a drill. I pull the "plunger" back enough to give me a handle, place the needle in a pre-determined mark (usually pressed in with a 1/2" length of straight pin in a pin-vice to provide a starter hole) and lightly twist the syringe between my thumb and fingers. The back and forth twisting takes a bit longer to get through the plastic, and bent needles from over excitement are common, but the resulting hole is superior to any I've seen. Even beats a super fine drill bit. I use fly fishing tippet to rig, since it's the only stuff I've been able to get through the tiny holes! Fly fishing tippet is great stuff too, and can be coaxed tighter with a hot metal rod if needed. Hair thin stuff, so it's great for 1/72. (Makes good eyelashes for 1/28 scale pilot figure for your Revell Camel!) Cheers! Scott Head smh@iapc.net (If you believe that last comment, I've got some prime Florida real estate I'm willing to sell...) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 23:04:19 -0800 From: bshatzer@orednet.org (Bill Shatzer) To: wwi Subject: Re: Embarassing Top Aces question. Message-ID: <199701160704.AA13403@ednet1.orednet.org> Ray typed: > >I am probably missing something here, but if the claims had to be >substantiated then wouldn't that rule out all but one claimer getting the >claim. Or is the problem that though there was only one aircraft, no one >tracks who has claimed it and then rules out all the rest. So if 10 flak >gunners shot at the plane on the way down and 5 aircraft shot at it too. >Then there were 15 claims that all got substantiated Ie 15 planes with only >one real wreck on the ground! >I thought the Gemans had very specific rules about how to record and prove >the claims. >Probably I'm missing something eh! You are not missing anything but in the interest of _complete_ disclosure, I should note that apparently the Germans did not follow their own rules all the time. There are some instances where almost certainly the total number of verified victories _exceeds- the total number of verified allied losses. Still, these seem to be more the exception than the rule. And, I am not quite sure how the various anti-aircraft ground gunners were intergrated into the system, if at all. Still, it is my impression that during WW1, ground anti-aircraft gunners were more effective in keeping aircrew alert than in actually downing many aircraft. Does anyone know of a decent reference book on WW1 anti-aircraft gunners and guns and their actual effectiveness in bringing down aeroplanes? Cheers, -- - Bill Shatzer bshatzer@orednet.org - ............................................................................. - This space for rent - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 10:11:50 -0100 From: Franco Poloni To: wwi Subject: gotha Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970116111150.0067e468@lo.itline.it> Hi all I'm building the RarePlanes Gotha, want to reproduce the G Va s.n. 723/17, the one with spitting fire dragon painted on the fuselage sides, but there is something that's puzzling me: what is that bulge on the nose just beneath the front gunner gunring? and what's is for?? Another question: can you translate the word "stossfahrgestell"? I think that is something related to the central mounted undercarriage, but I'm not sure. TIA to all Franco ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 10:11:51 -0100 From: Franco Poloni To: wwi Subject: Halberstadt Cl II Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19970116111151.0067e774@lo.itline.it> Hi again I saw in an hobby shop the Tom's Modelwork Halberstadt Cl II 1/48, I gave a quick look, it seems right, in particular the metal parts, but how about resin parts? do you think is a good kit? do you know of some other best kit? Thanks Franco ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 05:36:17 -0500 From: barrett@iplink.net (barrett) To: wwi Subject: Airwaves Message-ID: To the list: I'm interested in a couple of 1/72 subjects from Airwaves of England (Pfalz D-XII and LVG VI). Problem is, I know nothing about this company's product. Are they Vac? Injection modled? Any good? Easy to build? Any help would be appreciated. Kevin. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 97 18:45:44 JST From: Hirohisa Ozaki To: wwi Subject: Re: Halberstadt Cl II Message-ID: <9701160945.AA06985@wight.miln.mei.co.jp> Franco Poloni wrote: > >Hi again >I saw in an hobby shop the Tom's Modelwork Halberstadt Cl II 1/48, I gave a >quick look, it seems right, in particular the metal parts, but how about >resin parts? >do you think is a good kit? >do you know of some other best kit? >Thanks >Franco Hello Franco, I have the kit and am sanding all parts now, should,should. The kit has no resin parts. Yes, it is a good kit, I think. But Kit has no twists on under main wings, of course it is easy to correct. As far as I know, It is one and only Halberstadt CL.II kit in 1/48th without old Aurola kit. BTW, does anyone know about buldge which underneath fuserage, position of wireress rod? Cheers, Hiro. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 12:39:31 +0000 (GMT) From: Sandy Adam To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: Re: My Own Introduction Message-ID: > own introduction. My name is Todd Henry, and I am primarily a WWII aircraft Welcome to the list Todd. > that end, I have two kits that are possibilities for my first WWI project in > many years. One is the Eduard Triplane, which my wife got me for Christmas That's not a wife - that's a saint! > :), and the other is the Eduard Fokker D.VI. From a kit quality and a/c > significance standpoint, I would rather build the Tripe, but I would be very > interested in hearing comments, suggestions, etc. regarding the Fokker. Part > of me says to build the biplane before the triplane to better get a handle on > rigging. I also would love to do a lozenge bird. Any comments will be > welcomed. I have the DVI sitting in front of me unmade as yet and I look forward to getting down to it some day! If you have seen the earlier Eduards you will know what to expect; the earlier moulding process is not in the same league as the Tripe or DVa but the box is stuffed with goodies for not too much money. You get a white metal URII engine, resin ammo chute/box and gun butts, lovely soft brass frets and a clear instr panel, all the pastic bits and underneath three sheets of trannies! One upper lozenge, one lower and one sheet with two sets of markings. The lozenge is in the form of oversize shaped sections for the DVI rather than fabric sized strips and so could prove a problem to use on a different plane if like me you might go for the green/purple Russian Front craft. I have seen criticism on the colours of Eduard's lozenge but I personally think that variation in the field must have been fairly wide, due to weather on pigments, that different decals on different models is a plus. Until I start on the airframe, I can't really comment on the look of the model although photos of finshed ones seem to catch the feel pretty well. The wings are in upper and lower halves and I anticipate a fair bit of sanding, a la vacform, but nothing too drastic. I don't know yet whether I will have the sort of fit problems I had with the SS DIII where one side of the fuselage was a larger diameter than the other - but this looks OK so far. General impressions are of an excellent kit, although the Tripe has more sophisticated moulding. Lots of bits - and, if you build a trainer - you get a pair of Eduard's beautiful Spandaus for the spares box. Cracking eh? Gromit. > > Also, I'm not very familiar with the D.VI, although I understand it spent > more of its time in training squadrons and was not a much used combat kite. Jast 80b markings in kit and I believe Jasta 84 used them, but I understand that the Austrians took 6 or 7 and armed them with Schwarzlosen - anybody on the list got any details of these. Autumn Leaf or Berg DI-type lozenges would be too much to hope for. Sandy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 09:55:10 -0800 From: "Marian Hollinger, Bradley Omanson" To: wwi Subject: Tuesday, 16 January 1917, Plessis, Paris Message-ID: <32DE6B7E.5A1C@host.dmsc.net> Fair day. Arranged in a.m. to go on mission to the front to bring back a discarded Nieuport from Escadrille N-37 at Cachy, Somme near Amiens. Four French pilots are with me on the same sort of job. We don't have to hurry out there so we all came into Paris on the late morning train and will leave here Thursday morning for Amiens. Meanwhile I'm staying at the Roosevelt with the Parker's. Saw the Major this afternooon and had dinner with Mr and Mrs Guerquin in a downtown restaurant this evening. They were glad to see me. Have come back to the Hotel pretty early and feel tired enough to turn in for a good nights rest. Will see the fellows when I get to Cachy as our Escadrille is there with the 37th and several others. *********************** from the War Diary of E.C.C. Genet ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 09:56:05 -0500 From: wcreedon@tiac.net (Walter G. Creedon) To: wwi Subject: Duxford redux Message-ID: Received request for my membership in The American Air Museum at Duxford. Anyone else get one? Any thoughts as to reliability, etc.? It's a bulk mailing under the signature of "Colonel John P. Doolittle". Thanks in advance. Walter ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 97 10:27:41 EST From: Brian Nicklas To: Subject: Duxford redux Message-ID: <199701161530.KAA03874@pease1.sr.unh.edu> The AAM request for funding is legit. This is set up to raise funds from Americans to get the museum finished in Great Britain. But they have financial set--ups stateside to help get things converted from US Dollars into Pounds Sterling. Of course, *SOME* might rather donate money to the National Air and Space Society to get the NASM extension built at Dulles Airport in Virginia, outside of Washington, DC so the rest of the NASM aircraft collection can go on display. :-) Brian ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 08:40:57 -0700 (MST) From: Ray Trochim To: wwi Subject: Looking for a Halberstadt D.II Message-ID: <199701161540.IAA04473@rintintin.Colorado.EDU> Hi everyone, Basically I'm looking for an Halberstadt D.II in 1/72 scale. Would like to find one ot the injection molded kits rather then the vacuform kits. If anyone has one laying around that they would like to sell, please email me direct at: trochim@rtt.colorado.edu -Ray ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 10:58:53 -0500 (EST) From: aew (Allan Wright) To: wwi Subject: Re: Looking for a Halberstadt D.II Message-ID: <199701161558.KAA04019@pease1.sr.unh.edu> > Basically I'm looking for an Halberstadt D.II in 1/72 scale. Would like > to find one ot the injection molded kits rather then the vacuform kits. > If anyone has one laying around that they would like to sell, please > email me direct at: > > trochim@rtt.colorado.edu Milam Models lists the Merlin Halberstadt D-II (only injection one I know of) in their latest catalog (Nov 1996). The price: $25 I've paid $30 for this kit and $10. I think the second one I bought was a deal. It's a typical Merlin kit, thick parts, but builds a fairly nice model. If you like the aircraft, I'd definately go for it. I think the decal sheet that comes with it has German Crosses and Turkish Squares on it. You get a metal engine, seat, prop and exhaust pipes, can't remember if the wheels are plastic or metal since I always replace these with the Rosemont wheels or PE spoked wheels. You have to make your own wing struts, but I think the kit comes with plastic strut stock. Hope this helps, Al =============================================================================== Allan Wright Jr. | You fell victim to one of the 'classic' blunders! University of New Hampshire+--------------------------------------------------- Research Computing Center | WWI Modeling mailing list: wwi@pease1.sr.unh.edu Internet: aew@unh.edu | WWI Modeling WWW Page: http://pease1.sr.unh.edu =============================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 15:57:41 -0000 From: "Pedro Soares" To: Subject: Sopwith Pup. (Was Erick pilawky's models) Message-ID: <199701161703.RAA01473@wallana> Hi you all and many thanks for your replies. Great to be on such a co-operative list. As to the wing trenches, I now have several workable solutions for the first problem (filing the hole) as pointed out by various members of the list, what brings me to the second: how do make the struts and how do I held them in place. Matt Bitner suggested I should use contrail strut material but I'll have to mail order it from England what will take some time, so I'll probably try to use the kit's struts, after breaking them lose from the part that holds each pair together. Then again what is the best way to secure the struts in an upright position, would fixing some sort of wire to the tops of the struts and then drilling small holes in the wings to acept them work? Any comments on this? BTW on the topic of filing holes: has anybody ever tried to fill sink holes with "liquid paper" (that thick white fluid that is used to paint tipographic errors in order to write again on top of it) I've tried it on sink holes and it behaved very well, being fairly easy to sand and also accepting paint normally. I've also tried it on other type of situations like part joins but results were not as good as on the sink holes. Anyway since sink holes are sometimes very common and pretty hard to deal with (at least for me) I just thought I'd let you have my 2 centavos (that's the way it goes in Portuguese Matt) on this matter. Erik, of course I've also seen Steve Hustad's work on the WW1 mod.pages, but I couldn't comment on them for the simple reason that they left me speechless. He is truly extraordinaire. Anyway I still think that your wood work on that Roland D-VI is simply superb. bye for now and happy modeling Pedro Soares pedro.soares@anaep.pt ------------------------------ End of WWI Digest 400 *********************