Thanks for the kind words!
Slow going, but making tiny steps in progress.
After scratch building a new tail skid faring, I ran across a build log online, & the builder mentioned the OEF Datafile drawings showed an incorrect faring shape. DOH! I knew that it was different than the German version, but assumed the drawing was correct. So, I found a nice side photo of Koloman's D.III, brought the image into CAD, & scaled it to somewhat match the Datafile drawings.
Here, you can see my first version compared to the drawing.
Here it is after adding styrene & CA glue to rebuild the contours.
I received the Part PE set for this plane a few weeks ago, & have been working on getting things to fit. After losing one of the pieces for the control stick , I chose to scratch build the control column using only the PE grip. I also scratch built the seat & added the floor beneath it. Today, it was a matter of seeing how things fit together so far. The PE frame is all glued together with CA glue, but the steering pieces are temporarily glued with Testor's clear part cement. The seat needs to be moved forward a bit, as well.
The fuselage halves are temporarily held together with spots of CA glue so I can continuously remove the framework & make adjustments.
As with many kits, the engine cover on the exhaust side was incorrect. Finding photos of the real thing has been difficult & I am not sure if the 153 series that I am building had a different engine cover than the 253 series. Some non-253 planes show a small lip beneath the exhaust on the 1st cylinder while the 253 machines have no lip & a larger opening, possibly because of the larger engine.
The kit piece had an indentation & lip below the exhaust ports. I added styrene & CA glue to this area to build it up, & re-positioned the lip on the front, tapering into nothing as it got to the 4th cylinder. I still need to work on it to straighten that line a bit more. The engine seems to be sitting too high as well, but that can be adjusted easily.
Merry Christmas to all of you!
Steve