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On the 28th of
April 1918, during a vicious dog fight over the French countryside the
The Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, was shot down while chasing a
Canadian, Wilfred "Wop" May. For many years the credit for the
shoot down was given to Capt Roy Brown, another decorated Canadian
serving in the Royal Flying Corps. There is some thought that the
Baron was brought down by ground fire but that is a dispute that will go
on for years.
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| This
model was built from the 1:48 scale Eduard kit with decals from a number
of sheets from the spares box. In trying to get accurate markings
there was at least 4 versions of Brown's scheme but this the result of
taking the best information available to me. The kit is beautifully
moulded in brown plastic with a small fret of photo-etched metal parts.
The fit was very good but you have to be very careful in installing the
firewall. I had heard complaints of poor fit in this area but it
was necessary to go slowly to get things in place.
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The instrument
panel is very tiny and a good magnifying glass is required to install
the kit supplied instrument decals. |
| The
rigging is a mix of very fine steel wire and monofilament line glued
into pre-drilled #80 holes. This was a very tedious job but
nowhere as trying as installing the control wires which were fabricated
from "invisible" sewing thread |
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The engine is a
little jewel and it is a shame to close it up in the cowling. The
spark plug wires are fine copper speaker wire strands set into
pre-drilled holes. The finish on the model is entirely Polly Scale
brushed on with a flat Red Sable brush. The entire model was
painted and decalled prior to assembling the upper wing.
This was a delicate model to finish but well worth the effort. |
