1:32 ALBATROS D Va

The proportions of the arms were not a matter of taste

The size of the marking was derived from the area it was painted on, and the regulation laid down the ratio of the length of an arm to its width as well as the distance from the wingtip. It is exactly in that respect that period machines differ from models built by eye: the marking on the upper surface used to be noticeably larger than the one on the fuselage and its center did not lie halfway along the span, but at the place where it was best seen from above. A scaled-down version that does not keep the proportion looks out of place even when it is otherwise clean.

A strengthened version under the same name

The designation D.Va came about after it turned out that the thin lower wing of the previous version would not stand up to violent maneuvers. A reinforced structure was added, the routing of the aileron cables through the upper wing came back and the weight rose somewhat. The differences are inconspicuous from the outside, but for collectors of period photographs they serve as a guide to telling the two versions apart.

Recommended procedure

Before the film is stuck on, it is worth wiping the area with alcohol and letting it dry completely. Apply the paint square from above, otherwise the stream of air will blow under the edge of the cut-out. Inside you will find three stencils and no extras, so your own kit and your own paints are reckoned with.

It is worth noting that this set belongs to the group that deals only with markings and not with glazing. Machines from the First World War have an open cockpit, and a canopy mask therefore loses its point.

Anyone building several machines of this family side by side will appreciate that the stencils hold their size across the whole series. Drawing by hand always shifts a little on the second and the third model, and in a glass display case that strikes the eye more than any other detail.