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I purchased a fair number of 1/48 WWI aircraft from Eduard, Roden, Revell and Mirage to supplement and supply my Aurora Waribirds project. I only used decals from these other kits (and in one case a resin pilot that came in a limited edition Eduard kit) so I figured at some point start building all or most of the more detailed planes.
That time has come, especially when I discovered that more than a few of the vintage Aurora planes, were..how do I put this..well they aren't 1/48. I knew was the case for the Albatros DIII and the Fokker Eindecker, but I was shocked to see the size variance between my Aurora Fokker Triplane and the Eduard kit of the same make (right now just the main pieces taped together).
It's time to begin new German and Allied squadrons and up my game.. this time with rigging (heaven help me!)
The first plane had to be the DRI, and the first step was to select and complete a pilot figure. I already had a 1/48 resin figure of Manfred von Richthofen that I had painted some months ago:
However, this figure doesn't have a helmet or goggles, so I did some cranial surgery on Manfred and another resin figure. Manfred von Richthofen is now ready to pilot the Eduard DRI when I get it completed.
Looks like the Aurora Dr.1 is close to 1/32.
John
To see build logs for my models: http://goldeneramodel.com/mymodels/mymodels.html
jeaton01 Looks like the Aurora Dr.1 is close to 1/32.
John, Yes, the Aurora DRI is quite a bit larger than the Eduard DRI, but the angle of my picture and the position of the planes distorts that a bit. I measured the top wingspan and fuselage length of both planes and the Aurora model is 10.6% longer in both measurements. So, if my math is correct and the Eduard kit is accurate at 1/48 the Aurora plane is about 1/43.
A lot of the old kits were "box scale" - what ever would fit in a standard box. Be interesting to check the rest of your beautiful set to see if the actual scale varies from subject to subjec.
WillysMB A lot of the old kits were "box scale" - what ever would fit in a standard box. Be interesting to check the rest of your beautiful set to see if the actual scale varies from subject to subjec.
Yes, I've read about that; it wasn't something I noticed when I was building these models decades ago, but the differences stand out now. The Aurora Eindecker is about 1:43. The Fokker DVII looks to be somewhat oversized, as does the Albatros DIII. The other Aurora planes match up quite closely with their counterparts from Eduard and Roden.
In the meantime, I modified von Richthofen into a sitting position and the figure fits in the smaller Eduard cockpit.. although there won't be room for all of the other cockpit detailing..not that much of that would be visible with the pilot in place.
It's been almost two months since I l posted in this thread. I completed the Eduard Fokker DR1 (Profipack version) in 1/48 two days ago. Jumping from Aurora Warbird kits to the modern Eduard versions seems a bit like skiing "Green" trails and making the leap to "Double Black Diamond" without practicing on the "Blues" or "Black Diamond" trails. I learned a lot with this build; hopefully I'll be able to apply some of the lessons to make the second build easier. The primary color is Vallejo Air Scarlet Red which I weathered with 502 Abteiling Brown Wash oil paint The von Richthofen figure was moulded by Model Cellar. One of the lessons learned is to apply the Eduard PEP shoulder harnesses on the pilot figure BEFORE rather than AFTER closing him up in the cockpit
I've completed several builds for my "Eduard, et al Project". In order A "Viper" S.E.5.a, a Fokker E.V. (DVIII) as flown in the Polish Air Force in 1918/19 and a Nieuport 11:
Oh gee those are awesome!!!
And great job there painting up von Richthfen!
"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen
They look great! And I must say, having a pilot in these old WWI birds adds so much. Context and scale really pops. I don't think I've seen many if any with pilots. Well done.
And the finish on the DR.1 is fantastic
Thanks,
Gamera Oh gee those are awesome!!! And great job there painting up von Richthfen!
Thank you. I wish there were more 1/48 figures representing real life pilots, but I've found a couple, Richthofen, Voss, Udet... so far no luck getting any historical Allied pilots though.
keavdog They look great! And I must say, having a pilot in these old WWI birds adds so much. Context and scale really pops. I don't think I've seen many if any with pilots. Well done. And the finish on the DR.1 is fantastic
Thank you. I like to add a pilot figure even though that means that most of the cockpit detail will be hidden. On the other hand, not much is visible once the fuselage is assembled even without a pilot. I think Eduard wants to show off the small details as much as possible; perhaps that explains why the company doesn't include pilot figures with most of its kits.. at least not the ones I've purchased.
Here's a picture of the pilot that will be going into my current project--an Albatros DVa. Ernst Udet's head is resin and is from a complete pilot figure in the "Du Doch Nicht" Eduard limited Edition kit intended for the Fokker DVII. The body is styrene and was on a sprue for the Albatros also in that kit. I 'kit bashed' the pieces because the figure fits better in the Albatros than the full resin pilot. The Udet figure is quite compact, but I read that Udet was under 1.6m in height, so I think the end result is reasonably accurate.
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