1:32 PFALZ D.III

A Bavarian biplane with a plywood shell

The Pfalz D.III came about in 1917 at the Pfalz Flugzeugwerke works in Speyer and became the main armament of the Bavarian fighter squadrons on the Western Front. The fuselage was not fabric-covered: it was formed by two layers of thin plywood strips wound on a wooden mold, so the surface stayed smooth and carried the loads on its own. The machine could take steep diving attacks and sharp pull-outs, and that is why the command liked to send it against tethered observation balloons, where a fast descent mattered more than agility in a turning fight. The later variant received a stronger engine and a reworked radiator, but the overall shape of the airframe stayed unchanged.

Box contents

The package carries three self-adhesive masks of the national markings for 1:32 size. There is no glazing to mask here; the open cockpit of a biplane has none. Neither paints nor a kit are part of it, the film only delimits the area intended for spraying.

Craft: when to lay the mask at all

The base coat has to be cured all the way through, not merely dry to the touch. With synthetic lacquers that means waiting two days without worry, with water-thinnable acrylics at least one night. A mask pressed onto a paint film that is still soft will lift it together with the base when it comes off, and such a repair takes more time than the original patience. Then apply the color of the marking in several thin passes; a heavy coat piles up at the edge of the film and after removal a raised ridge stays behind, clearly visible under sharp side light even on a finished model.