1:32 Albatros D III

The Albatros that ruled the spring of 1917

The Albatros D.III reached the frontline units at the beginning of 1917 and its name is permanently linked with the month British crews came to call Bloody April. The narrow lower wing with a single spar gave the pilot a better view downwards, but it also became the weakness on account of which several machines broke up in a steep descent. The fuselage was a wooden semi-monocoque with a plywood skin and an inline Mercedes engine in the nose.

An open cut-out instead of a glazed cockpit

This aircraft has no glazing in today's sense. The pilot sits in a bare cut-out in the upper part of the fuselage and at most a low transparent screen at the front edge shields him from the airflow. There is therefore no frame that could be traced, no sliding or hinged section and nothing that could be masked from inside. That explains exactly why there are four sheets for the national insignia in the envelope and not a single cut for a cockpit.

Contents and use

• four masks for spraying the insignia on the wings and the fuselage
• turned metal barrels as a replacement for the plastic parts
• prepared for the kit from the Roden brand

The film holds on smooth paint by itself, so before applying it is enough to rid the surface of dust and grease. The metal parts are degreased with alcohol before painting and fitted only after the spraying is finished so that they are not damaged. The insignia are produced by spraying, so the silvery edge of a decal is dropped along with the risk of the texture of the covering showing under the film. In the large scale that difference is visible at first glance, because a roundel on the wing measures over three centimeters and any unevenness of its edge hits the eye.