Airfix Albatros Lt. R. Windisch, Jasta 66, February 1918

[lone modeller]

Evening All,

Here are some more images of the model which I have recently been posting in the under construction section. The model represents an aircraft flown by Lt. Rudolph Windisch who in February 1918 was commander of Jasta 66. Like many other pilots Windisch started flying bombers and reconnaissance aircraft, in his case on the Eastern Front, in 1916. He was a successful pilot and because of his experience he was selected to be trained as a fighter pilot in 1917 as part of the scheme to greatly expand the fighter arm of the German airforce. He joined Jasta 32 in early 1917 and adopted this distinct zebra stripe scheme as his personal markings some time later.



While flying with Jasta 32 he was credited with 8 aerial victories, which meant that he was a very successful pilot in two ways - he achieved aerial victories and he survived to tell the tale. This was at a time when the average life expectancy of a fighter pilot was measured in weeks. In February 1918 Windisch wa appointed to command Jasta 66, one of the new Jastas which were being formed as a result of the expansion mentioned earlier. Windisch was undoubtedly a good pilot and a brave man - he was credited with another 14 aerial victories while leading his unit - a reflection of the intensity of the air war at this time, his skill as a pilot and his marksmanship.



On May 27th 1918 Windisch took off to lead an offensive patrol over French lines and disappeared without trace. He has no known grave - he is just another of those who either lie in an unmarked grave, or he has no grave at all, a sad reminder of what war inflicts on combatants and their grieving families.



As I explained in the build thread I made this model for a trip down memory lane: I originally built an Airfix Albatros when I was a young teenager and painted it in zebra stripe markings, and I wanted to try to relive the experience for fun. I built it as part of a group build on another site and have to say that I did enjoy it and it has brought back a number of very happy memories.



Thanks for looking.   

[Des]

You have done a remarkable job with this Airfix kit LM, the scheme is very eye catching and you did an excellent job applying it, this is truely a very appealing looking model, well done.

Des.

[pepperman42]

Amazing. You would never know what the base kit was!!

Steve

[RAGIII]

You have achieved Stunning results , especially considering what you started with! Lovely scheme and lovely model!
RAGIII

[coyotemagic]

Extraordinary work, LM!  I had to go back to the build thread to prove to myself that this was actually the old Airfix kit.  If I hadn't followed the build thread, I wouldn't have believed it.  Congratulations.
Cheers,
Bud

[Nigel Jackson]

A superb piece of work LM and a very striking scheme.

Best wishes
Nigel

[lone modeller]

Thank you for the complimentary remarks - much appreciated.

I hope that this helps to demonstrate that good can come from unpromising starts, although in terms of accuracy this leaves much to be desired. But then my aim was fun, not to produce an accurate replica!

[Epeeman]

LM,

I really love to see what people can do with these old kits and they make for an interesting project.

Enjoyed following your build thread and you have achieved an amazing transformation from this ancient Airfix kit - resulting in a very striking model as well.

Regards

Dave

[Culi]

Its beautiful! I was following the building and it is really inspiring.