Roden seeks Forum member suggestions for new WW1 kit colour schemes

[Dave W]

Our friends at Roden have reached out and asked the members of our Forum to suggest the colour schemes they should feature on their three forthcoming new 1/32 scale kits. This is a first in the model world and a huge opportunity for modellers to have a direct input into the marking options of new kits.

Roden are resuming production of 1/32 scale WW1 aircraft in part due to feedback from this Forum and an influential subject poll which directly resulted in Roden adding the Spad XIII to their 2021 schedule of an Avro 504K and Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter.

And the news just gets better with Vladimir of Roden saying they will produce two versions of the Spad XIII - an Early and Late version.

Inviting Forum members to suggest the colour schemes is a huge move in the hobby world. Copper State Models sought member input for supplementary schemes for their Nieuport XXIII RFC kit, and as a result added two more marking options to the forthcoming kit.

Roden are starting with a blank page and saying- tell us which schemes we should feature? I don't know of any other model hobby website group that has been asked for such involvement in new kit production so it's a huge acknowledgement of how the members of this Forum are now regarded in the hobby!

So let's have your suggestions folks. Roden will be monitoring the thread and we will be sending them regular updates too.

Our hobby just keeps getting better and better every day.

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia

[Gene K]

Gene K

[petrov27]

I like this one - very colorful, nice history, the actual aircraft still exists

assigned to Lt. A. Raymond Brooks, U.S. Army Air Service, who named it after the college attended by his sweetheart and future wife. It was the fourth of his airplanes so named, hence Smith IV.
The Ray Brooks Spad XIII was built by the Kellner et Ses Fils piano works in August 1918. It was delivered to Colombey-les-Belles in September 1918 and assigned to the 22nd Aero Squadron, U.S. Army Air Service, where it was given the number "20" and assigned to Brooks. The aircraft was a replacement for another of the same type in which Brooks had earlier crashed. Brooks achieved one of his six personal aerial victories in Smith IV. Five other victories were scored with Smith IV while flown by other pilots.

[Dave Brewer]

I second Gene's suggestion,a nice alternative to the camouflage schemes.There was an interesting AFC 504 trainer in a diamond pattern http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/Avro-504/P08374_008 which would be something different.
Cheers,
Dave.

[mgunns]

I like them both and would buy both if they were kitted.  Excellent choices.

[smperry]

As a break from 5 color camo on the late version, any of the post armistice Showbirds would be a nice option. I prefer Reed Chambers Stars and stripes, but any of the other Showbirds would be good.
sp

[Alexis]

As a break from 5 color camo on the late version, any of the post armistice Showbirds would be a nice option. I prefer Reed Chambers Stars and stripes, but any of the other Showbirds would be good.
sp

YES , YES , YES ! Excellent call SP . I'm not much for camo schemes and the showbirds have very colourful ones 


Terri

[Jamo]

How about this Spad XIII

[ermeio]

Francesco Baracca's SPAD XIII
the SPAD was the mount of the top scoring Italian Ace Francesco Baracca
The rampant Horse, which  is now the Ferrari Racing team logo, was the personal emblem of Francesco Baracca, formerly a cavalry officer
With the underside of the lower wing painted in the Red-white-Green italian flag colours it is very colorful

Another version has the greif as a side logo

[rhwinter]

Wonderful, thank you, Roden!
Here's my suggestion: A decal sheet for all nine showbirds of USAS 94th Aero Squadron, Coblenz, Rhineland, 1919!
https://www.google.de/search?q=spad+xiii+usas+showbirds+1919&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjS_LWO6PTrAhVKnRoKHZF2DcsQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=spad+xiii+usas+showbirds+1919&gs_lcp=ChJtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1pbWcQAzoECB4QCjoECCEQClDK0QRYxIcFYLqLBWgAcAB4AIABqAGIAdERkgEEMC4xNpgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-img&ei=8MJlX9LEK8q6apHttdgM

[drdave]

It’s a lovely honour. However, sadly, we are going to have to tell Roden that their current decals are unusable and they need a better producer, otherwise all this will come to nought when we try to finish the kit.

[jeroen_R90S]

Some very nice suggestion, and a great opportunity!

Regarding their quality, in my experience, the later gloss ones don't shatter and tear as easily as the older (flat) ones and with some help of a good glosscoat before and after can be made to work -but indeed, Fantasy Printshop or Cartograf they are not.
What bothers me the most is the registration of colour, as I commented in the other Roden thread the registration on some items is can be rather badly off. Decals requiring some careful handling I can live with (but, still, would rather not!), but registration issues are almost impossible to correct. Perhaps we can help by suggesting schemes with less colours on top of each other, and Roden could help by separating more complex markings (colour-wise), so we modellers need to lay them on top of each other? I'd rather place the separate red, blue, white or green dot in a roundel myself, then to have to fix one that is printed off-center.

Another suggestion: print the rudder texts separate from a rudder stripe decal, as more than a few people will be painting the stripes.

Getting back on track, my suggestion would be the Allied ace of Aces.
His early S.XIII in particular, with the clover:


For a later one, I've always fancied this spider-scheme that was in the Eduard 1/48 kit:


And another vote for SPA48 and Smith IV

For the Avro, I don't know, as I don't know a lot about it, and for the Sopwith, it is perhaps too soon because we do not know what versions they will be doing?
For the Sopwith, I'd love to see the Mémorial Flight 2-seater one, and for a 1B1 single-seater SOP111, one of which was interned in The Netherlands:

Source: IPMS.nl

Jeroen

[kkarlsen]

The Avro 504 is one of the kits I've been waiting for ages to get released by a producer, now it looks like it's finally within reach!!!

An example for the obvious paint scheme would be something like the iconic 1967 Airfix boxart by Cross...



I personally would like to get a civilian scheme with the 'A V R O' on the fuselage...



But the first project I will start when this kit is released, will be a conversion into a Late Avro 504N with the Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IV engine.



(I'm just guessing Roden isn't planning to release this version?)



This version has been on my to-do list for as long as I can remember 



One can only dream...

Thank you Roden!!!

Kent

[PrzemoL]

We are really living in golden modeling times. Thank you, Dave for your efforts to deliver our ideas to kit producers. Thank you Roden for giving us this opportunity to participate in the design of model kits.

As for my suggestions, I will purchase the kits independently of what is offered as colour schemes, but I would love to see anything Polish in the box. For instance

[Iancshippee]

For the Avro, I would love to see the black and yellow “Morgan & co” checkerboard scheme worn by Old Rhinebeck’s Avro. Not sure if it’s a 100% authentic training scheme but it is eye-catching!