Looking for experimental versions of standard airplanes

[marienwagen]

Hi All,

I am an experimental/prototype aircraft buff and WW1 period is no exception !  I would like to find a list of experimental/testbed versions of standard airplanes (for example the Sopwith Camel prototype with tapered wings, the Pfalz DIII triplane conversion...) in order to transform Roden 1/72 kits (and others) into these one of-a -kind versions.

My favorite scale is 1/72 and, I know, the subject is quite obscure and I like to build something different.

Some producers, like Choroszy Modelbud, have some prototypes/experimental ones in their range but these aren't very numerous.

Also, I heard something about a SE.5A tested with a V-tail, does someone has infos on it ?

Thanks for your answers !

All the Best,

Marienwagen

[PrzemoL]

These two come to my mind:
Albatros Dr.I (Elf)
Albatros D.XI (Choroszy)

[IanB]

Hi Marienwagen,
 I also build in 1:72 and have been compiling a list of kits that have been produced over the years. This is by no means a complete list, but all those included have been seen for sale somewhere on-line (e-bay, or a seller's on-line store) over the past three years.
 Here are the prototypes on that list:

AD Scout (EXPO Vac-Form)
Adamoli-Cattani (Choroszy resin)
AGO C.III (Merlin injection)
Albatros D.IV (Merlin injection
Albatros D.XI (Veeday injection, Choroszy resin, Formaplane Vac)
Albatros Dr.I (ELF injection, Choroszy & Classic Plane resin)
Albatros Dr.II (Choroszy resin)
Austin Osprey (RVHP resin)
Aviatik (Berg) 30.40 (Merlin injection)
Aviatik Dr.I (RVHP & Luedemann resin)
Blackburn Blackburd (Karaya resin)
Blackburn GP Seaplane (Contrail vac)
Caproni Ca.20 (Choroszy resin)
DFW T.28 "Floh" (ELF injection, Classic Plane & Wings 72 vac)
Dornier D.I (Meikraft injection, Choroszy & Luedemann resin)
Ducrot SLD (Choroszy resin)
Dufaux C.1 (Omega resin)
Fokker V.8 (Anigrand resin)
Junkers J.II (Merlin injection, Classic Plane resin)
Lloyd 40.50 Triplane (Meikraft injection)
Lloyd FJ.40 (Planet resin)
Mises-Aviatik G.I (Choroszy resin)
Nieuport Triplane (RVHP & Roseplane resin)
Pfalz Dr.I (although it did see limited production) (Merlin injection, Czechmaster resin)
Pomilio Gamma (Ardpol resin)
RAF SE2a (Aeroclub injection)
Roland D.XVI (Merlin injection)
Seishiki 2 (Choroszy resin)
Sopwith Swallow (RVHP resin)
Vickers FB26 (Scaleplanes vac)
Wight Quadraplane (RVHP resin)

Sorry I can't help with a full list of prototypes, but this should keep you busy for a while!

Ian

[marienwagen]

Hi IanB,

Thank you for your answer and prototype list.

I have many kits of the list and some that aren't on it (like the Choroszy AD Scout and Kondors, for example).  I like the Choroszy offerings, but as these are expensive I can't buy the lot in one shot !

I am desparately looking for the RVHP Austin Osprey and Aviatik Dr1 (I've missed them at the time) and also the rare Meikraft Lloyd 40.50 triplane.

It is a pity that ELF models seems to have stopped production, they have announced a Linke-Hoffman RII, but it was never released !

I hope that, with the 100th anniversary of WW1 in mind, producers will give us more novelties in 1/72.

All the Best,

Marienwagen

[Modelnut]

There was an experimental jet powered plane around that period.I'm.sorry the name escapes me.I think it started with the letter "C",but I wont embarrass myself trying a guess.

[Berman]

  The "jet" aircraft was actually a turbo propulsor built by Henri Coanda in 1910. It used a 50hp four cylinder inline Clerget engine. Gearing increased the engine's 1000rpm to 4000rpm which turned a turbine in the nose of the fuselage. Therefore the aircraft's propulsion was much like a squid or octopus but utilized air instead of water. While testing the engine something went awry and the airplane took off with Coanda, who was not a trained pilot, at the controls. After a brief flight the aircraft crashed into a wall. The subsequent fire which destroyed the plane was caused by a fuel leak and not by jet flames as there were none. Henri Coanda survived the crash with minor injuries.
   Greymatter Figures, located in the UK, will be producing a 1/48th scale resin kit of the 1910 Coanda in the near future. This kit is based on Romainan publications as the drawings in WWI Aero Journal #177 contained many errors.

[Modelnut]

Yes! That's the one! I was thinking Coanda but wasn't.sure.