by George Grasse

EDUARD 1:48 SCALE MULTI-MEDIA KIT BUILT FROM EU8030 ALBATROS D.Va

EDUARD ALBATROS D.Va BOX ART

ALBATROS D.Va 3-VIEW

The history of the Albatros sesquiplane of the "D" class (D.III, D.V, and D.Va) is frought with accidents and apprehension because the single-spar lower wing would collapse under stress thus inhibiting a pilot's choice of manuever in a dogfight.  The problem was the single-spar that would rotate and break under great stress especially when pulling out from a high-speed dive.  The problem was never fully addressed though reinforcing struts did help.  The alternative aircraft at the time was the Pfalz D.III and D.IIIa viewed as an undesirable second choice.  Pilots who flew the sesquiplane Albatros fighter learned what they could not do and avoided the type of aerial manuever that could lead to disaster.  This 3-view drawing taken from Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War  compiled by O. G. Thetford and E. J. Riding, Harleyford Publications, 1954.

THE MODEL TO BE BUILT - ALTERNATIVE No.1

Albatros D.Va D.7435/17 of Ltn z S Reinhold Poss, Seefrosta (Seefrontstaffel), Flanders, 1918.  Of note for German Marine fighter aircraft are the yellow markings and the fine speckled overspray on the fuselage.  Poss was an eleven-victory ace but was shot down and captured on 30 July 1918.  Profile by Ronny Bar from  German Fighters of the Great War, Volume II.  Horncastle, UK: Tempest an imprint of Morton's Books, page 34.

THE MODEL TO BE BUILT - ALTERNATIVE No.2

Albatros D.Va D.7435/17 of Ltn z S Reinhold Poss, Seefrontstaffel Flanders, 1918.  Profile by Bob Pearson from Seefrosta Flanders October 1917 - August 1918, Michael Schmeelke, Aeronaut Books.com, 2020, page 150.  This book is a recent acquisition and depicts Poss's Albatros in two major distinctions: 1) the tail unit is yellow (except the rudder) and 2) the fabric wing surfaces are covered in pre-printed lozenge fabric.  The version depicted by Ronny Bar seems to show the top surface of the wings in the green/mauve scheme.  The undersides cannot be determined.  So, depending on your source, a finished model could take on more than one scheme.

PHOTO OF AIRCRAFT AND PILOT TO BE BUILT

Photo from Seefrosta: Seefrontstaffel Flanders October 1917 - August 1918.  Aeronaut Books, 2020, page 95.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.1

Starting on the Seefrosta Albatros D.Va.  The inside of the fuselage is painted in Vallejo 824 Orange Ochre.  A bit of white is added to highlight the the raised support structure.  The seat proved to be a bit of a problem because the smooth plastic surface makes super glue adhesion difficult and timely (one strap has already disappeared!).  The front cockpit former has the ammunition can attached along with a few other parts.  Next, the rear former will support the seat.  The engine is partially painted and needs much more detail.  The exhaust piping is shown only because I drilled out the exhaust for 'realism'.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.2

Most of the cockpit interior detail is installed.  As with early Eduard kits, many of the small parts are presented on a brass PE sheet which makes for some difficult work.  The two ammo cans are painted in aluminum.   The control column is light grey-green.  Instruments are largely from Eduard's dials and gages PE sheet.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.3

The Albatros D.Va fuselage halves are glued together and held in place with rubber bands.  I happen to be working on two Nieuport 11 models - one French (Lufbery Escadrille N.124) and one Russian (Gilsher 7th Fighter Detachment).

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.4

Here's a close-up of the banded Albatros D.Va.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.5

The bonded fuselage was further cleaned up along the seam lines with putty and sanding.  The tail components were added followed by the lower wing.  The next step was to build up the landing gear using brass tube and rod.  Each leg was made as a single piece of tubing to which were added two lengths of brass rod.  After trial fitting, the landing gear legs were glued in place.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.6

I settled on Humbrol 99 Lemon Yellow for the Seefrosta's yellow unit identity which will appear additionally on wheel covers and nose of the aircraft.   Note that the rudder has to be re-painted in white.  I applied Aviattic's ATT48040 Albatros D.V/D.Va 5-color pre-printed lozenge decals which are pre-cut and have rib tapes printed on the surface.  The set contains decals for two aircraft, one with pink rib tapes and one with blue rib tapes.  I chose blue.   For the edging I mixed Andrea NAC-24 Union Blue with a bit of Vallejo 823 Luftwaffe Camouflage Green to match the rib tapes.  I must say that the decals are worth it.  The fuselage is prepped in Vallejo 912 Tan Yellow.  The forward metal panels and all access panels were painted in my mix of German WW1 Grey-Green.  The fuselage will be covered in irregular but small splotches of olive green.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.7

"Splotching" or "mottling" the fuselage was done by dabbing it with a wide brush loaded sparingly with a "German Dark Green" mix of Vallejo paints.  German Marine Jastas used this technique quite a bit either applying the color with sponge or rags.  No two machines came out looking exactly alike.  Humbrol 99 Lemon Yellow was now applied to the spinner, cowling front, and landing gear struts.  Humbrol 34 Matt White was used to paint the rudder.  I hand painted the propeller using Vallejo 914 Green Ochre with Vallejo 984 Flat Brown "stripes".  The propeller will undergo additional weathering in the future.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.8

Decals for this model are from Peddinghaus, set 48-3898 specifically for this Seefrontstaffel Albatros D.Va D.7435/17 flown by Reinhold Poss.  There are two disappointing characteristics of these decals: 1) the white color is somewhat transparent and unacceptable; 2) all decals have to be trimmed otherwise you end up with obvious clear decal portions such as on the rudder.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.9

In this view the uncut excess clear decal is clearly seen in the right-hand Balkenkruez.  To remedy this, I had to cut the clear decal portion out using a very sharp x-acto blade.  To correct the transparent white of the decals, I will over-paint them with Humbrol 34 White Matte.

CONSTRUCTION PHOTO No.10

The white fuselage band has be painted in Humbrol 34 Matte White followed by a thin coat of Vallejo XANC-01 Flat White.  The transparency of the Peddinghaus decals is gone (see photo 9, above).  The Spandau machine guins were added and included a PE part to cover the open space between guns and two resin parts for the right-hand gun's belt feed and the left-hand gun's extracted shell casings.

  

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Bibliography:

Bar, Ronny.  German Fighters of the Great War, Volume II.  Horncastle, UK: Tempest an imprint of Morton's Books. 

Franks, Norman and Frank Bailey & Russell Guest. Above the Lines - A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces of the German Air Service, Naval air Service, and Flanders Marine Corps 1914-1918.  London, UK: Grub Street, 1993. (see pages 181-182 for Poss)

Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford.  German Aircraft of the First World War.  London: Putnam & Company Limited, 1960.

Greer, Don.  Albatros Fighters in Action.  Carrollton, Texas.  Squadron/Signal Publications, 1981.

Kowalski, Tomasz J.  Albatros D.I - D.V.  Lublin, Poland: Kagero Studio, 2006.

Lamberton, W. M., Compiler, and E. F. Cheesman, Editor.  Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War.   Los Angeles, CA: Aero Publishers, 1962.

Rimell, Ray.  Albatros Fighters, Windsock Datafile Special.  Berkhampstead, UK: Albatros Productions, 1998 (3rd Edition).

Schmeelke, Michael. Translated by Catherine Lawler.  Seefrosta: Seefrontstaffel Flanders October 1917 - August 1918.  Aeronaut Books, 2020.

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4 Jun 2025