Eduard

1/72 Albatros D.V (Richard Flashar, Jasta 5, 1917)

Kit Number: 7402

Reviewed by  Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146

MSRP: $14.95 Website: www.eduard.cz Catalog Listing Introduction The Albatros D.V was the last major production model of a single-seat fighter that had its origins in pre-war racing airplanes. Beautifully streamlined, the airplane went through a lengthy development process, with improvements in engine, fuselage shape and wings throughout its career. An attempt to improve performance and handling by adopting the French Nieuport-style "V" strut sesquiplane wing did little to endear it to its pilots, because the wing was structurally unsound. In-flight wing failures were frequent enough to cause most pilots to treat the airplane with caution, mainly because pilots in those days didn't wear parachutes. Diving speeds were restricted, but still there were failures. The D.I first entered service in 1916. By 1917 the D.V was operational, encountering such types as French Spads and Nieuports, as well as British Camels and SE.5's. Later a slightly improved model, the D.Va, was introduced. The plane was eventually outclassed by the Fokker series. The airplane was relatively easy to fly. Even British pilots flying captured examples remarked that given the flying characteristics of the airplane, the German pilots were doing well to be able to use them so effectively. A good pilot could hold his own, but the airplane never achieved any remarkable degree of success. Surviving pilots were happy to see them go when the more advanced Fokkers came into use in 1918. Albatros fighters were numerically more important than any other type during the latter stages of the war. Most Jastas used them at one time or another. References This kit will require references. I used the following: Peter Gray, "The Albatros D.V." Profile Publications No. 9. "In Action" Series No. 46. Squadron Signal Publications. John F. Connors, "Albatros Fighters In Action" Squadron Signal Publications. "Duel" Series, Osprey Publications. Jon Guttman, "Se 5a vs Albatros D.V." Trade Paperback, Random House. (Good interior views here.). There are other references available, including photos and cutaway drawings; but these were sufficient for this model. The Kit Eduard's kit of the D.V is listed as a "weekender," so I tried an experiment. I kept a detailed log of all of the time I spent on this model, and what was done during each time segment. I began the model on December 14, 2009, and worked sporadically on it every day until the evening of December 22, when I completed it. Total time was 12 hours and 35 minutes, excluding glue and paint drying time. In that sense, I believe that the airplane could be completed in a weekend, as long as you devoted the entire weekend to the construction of the model. Truth in advertising, for a change. The kit is intended to be basic, no-frills kit. Instructions consist of one stationery size sheet of paper, folded to give four pages. Page 1 includes a good sprue diagram and lawyer-generated warning of impending disaster if you build the kit in front of a fire or let your kids play with the small plastic bag the kit comes packed in. Pages 2 and 3 are assembly drawings that begin with the engine and cockpit interior, and end with a reasonably useful rigging diagram. The last page is a color guide, albeit in black and white, showing the markings of the aircraft of Richard Flashar of Jasta 5, during 1917. Flashar was involved in Germany's first aerial victory in 1914, although he only scored two victories. He eventually became a Jasta and Gruppe commander, and apparently survived the war: no mean feat in itself.

The guide is useful, but some of the decal placement information is confusing, especially decals number 6 and 8A. It gives "Mr. Color" shades and other generic descriptions, yet other references on the airplane are essential for accuracy. The plans call for "pink" tires, which I doubt. I painted mine RLM 66. Using the picture on the box cover, a reasonable idea of the colors can be obtained. Extensive decals are provided for this one aircraft, but remember: this is a "no-frills" kit. Assembly The kit consists of one large sprue with 28 parts, of which 27 are used. There is very little flash, with only one problem in molding on one fuselage side, where the lower wing attaches. This needs to be trimmed off so the wing will fit properly. It only took two minutes to do this. The cockpit interior consists of some sidewall detail, a floor, seat, stick and rudder pedals. Forward is the engine, which includes the engine compartment, crankcase and cylinders, valve covers, exhaust stack and intake manifold. There is no instrument panel, although the airplane had one. The engine components are all different colors, so they should be painted before assembly. There is no radiator line running from the engine to the radiator on the upper wing, but this is easy to make using plastic rod. The instructions say to install the machine guns before assembling the fuselage, which I did. However, if I build another of these - and probably will - I'll install them later, before attaching the upper wing. After the interior is detailed to your satisfaction, the fuselage halves can be joined. Add a small windshield, as this shows in photos, but is not included in the kit. Remember that the fuselage of this airplane was molded plywood, so there are no seams. The join lines on top and bottom must be filled in.

The tail units go into place effortlessly, and no filling is required here. The casting is excellently done, with subdued surface detail and good fabric texture. One problem is that the left wingtip on this kit was warped, which required bending it up to make it align with the other wingtip. Again, this is not a real problem. My advice would be to paint the fuselage and wings before joining them. The tail is bright green, while the fuselage is pale grey. I used Model Master Japanese Navy green and RLM 63 for these colors. The wing undersides are light blue (RLM 65). The wing topsides are medium green (I used RLM 71) and purple, which I mixed from true blue and insignia red. I then painted the struts, including the wheels and landing gear, which the instructions say to use a color similar to RLM 02 grey. The nose is bright red, and I painted the nose and forward fuselage section last. Once all of the major sections were painted, I attached the lower wings to the fuselage, making sure that they lined up properly. Fit here is good, although the previously mention flaw on the right fuselage half needs to be carefully trimmed so that the wing will fit. I masked off the engine and cockpit, and then attached the cabanes to the fuselage, measuring with calipers to get the position right so they would attach to the upper wings. The method worked, and once the upper wings were dry, I attached the "V" struts, which fit perfectly. At that point, the landing gear struts were attached, along with the spreader bad. These were a bit fiddly. Although there were holes for the gear struts, there were no tabs on the struts themselves, so you are butt-joining the gear to the fuselage. It can be done, but it would have been a lot easier if there had been mounting tabs on the struts.

I painted the prop and spinner, and carefully painted in the color separation lines on the prop, although some photos show them and some don't. I waited until after rigging was completed before I attached the prop, as it isn't designed to be installed so it will spin. This model is much too delicate to handle much after completion. Decals The kit offers one option for decals, but this is a very colorful airplane, and the decals are excellent in all respects. The very intricate fuselage markings are faithfully reproduced. (I guess, as I've not seen a photo of this particular aircraft). Even the tail markings, red outlines on the green tail unit, go on easily. No special solutions are required. The fuselage markings are broken down into four major segments, which make installation much easier than if they had left them in one large piece. Thanks to the designers for that one; it really helped. Decals are even provided for the small stenciling that appears on the wing and cabane struts. The thin red stripes that outline the tail unit were the only negative part of the decals. I don't know if masking and painting the units would be any easier than applying the decals (being sure to trim the outsides to the color line) and then trim painting the lines with red paint afterwards, which is what I did. The clear parts of the decal made application easier, and a coat of glosscote made the clear parts invisible. Rigging With fine electric wire, I used the wire and glue method of rigging. Working from the inside, I rigged the cabane wires first, then the flying wires, followed by the landing wires. The aileron cables run directly behind the "V" struts, and these are difficult to get the correct length. By trial and error I succeeded, and they were on. The last wire was the one from the base of the "V" strut to the main wing spar near the tip. The rudder cables are apparently inside the fuselage, but the elevator horns and cables should be added last. These are wood colored, and can be easily made from scrap. Recommendation This was a fun model to build. I highly recommend it. Everything fit, and it was easy to line up. Detail was well done. The end result is a very pretty and impressive model of a historically significant airplane that must have scared the hell out of its pilots. I heartily admire anyone who had to fly combat in this airplane and survived. Many did, eventually going on to the magnificent Fokker D.VII's towards the end of the war. Thanks to Eduard for the review sample.