Aces Mounts GB 2025 Joachim von Bertrab Albatros D.III

[Skyhook]

Hi!

I was going to skip this one, because of the very busy schedule i have been having In the day job recently. But I thought that probably with a bit easier subject I can make it, nevertheless. So I decided to go with an out-of-the-box project and decided to make a Roden Albatros from the stash.

I will and have done this with a philosophy of using just the kit parts. I will add a few scratchbuilt items, but if it is In the sprues, i will use that, sometimes with slight modifications. I chose to do the famous Von Bertrab machine. I decided to go with the dark purple fuselage color. I know some sources think it was actually black. This is based on the fact that he was later shot down In a DV, which Mannock described as black. But his DIII was described earlier as purple, so who knows? And it certainly makes an eye-catching plane indeed.

Cheers, Skyhook

71D7DB4D-BCBB-493E-B2F0-C38F3195B4B1 by Amiga Hassel, on Flickr

[DaddyO]

Nice choice and purple will certainly make it an eye catcher as you say 

I think these Roden kits are excellent value and although assembly can be tricky they certainly look the part when finished so looking forward to how this one shapes up

Paul

[NigelR]

Good choice, and it looks like it's going really well so far......

[Skyhook]

Thanks, guys!

I agree completely about the quality of the Roden kits. They take some patience and time, but i think they are mainly excellent kits. So far the only things i have done here is some thinning of certain parts and cutting the v-struts slightly shorter, so i get the correct gap between the wings. I think the landing gear needs some shortening too. But so far rather straightforward modeling here...

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[Dirigible-Al]

WoW that's a good colour scheme.
Alan.

[Skyhook]

Hi all!

Well, it is a small fighter, so it came together fairly quickly

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Cheers, Skyhook

[Tim Mixon]

That looks really nice Skyhook.  Very ornate bird for sure!

[NigelR]

Very nice job, the end result looks very striking. A great addition to the GB.

[Skyhook]

Thanks very much, fellow modelers!

Yes, it looks quite colourful, even among the other colourful Albatroses . I will take better photos (it was a very cloudy day) with better weather and will add them to the completed builds section.

This is indeed basically an out-of-the-box construction of the Roden kit. The only additions are actually the ring sights to the MGs and the support structure for MGs and a few small items to the cockpit. The kit actually provides just the column, seat and the rudder bar. I also thinned most struts to better section and shortened some as needed. But I used all the kit parts for what they were intended. And added the rigging of black HSP, of course. I must give good marks to Tamiya?s Panel Enhancer liquid solution. It brings the details out very well...I even used the kits MG jackets and they look not too bad at all with the details and "holes" enhanced.

This was actually such a nice and relaxing build that I dug up Roden?s D.II from the stash as well and will build that one too for this GB.

cheers, Skyhook

[Dirigible-Al]

Great job Skyhook.
Alan.

[Rip Van Winkle]

Nice job on this kit.  The key to this kit is getting the dihedral angle on the lower wing just right.  Then the struts will fit with little adjustment. 

[Skyhook]

Thanks all!

Yes, the Albatros DIII and DVs have to have the struts right, otherwise the looks are a bit off. Decades ago, i was happy to build Revell and ESCI Albatroses out-of-the-box....but somehow they just didn't look quite right. Only much later I got the idea of correcting the struts and landing gear and then the completed kits started to look more like the photos. That is of course just as valid with most biplane kits. Just one of things that one does not "see" until one has the experience with a bit better kits.

Cheers, Skyhook