Greetings from
Colombia, this time I bring a little airplane that I used to, nothing more nor
nothing less than the frame of Ernst Udet in World War I, the Fokker EIII!
But first, a
little history:
The E.III was
basically an E.II fitted with larger, newly designed larger wings. It retained
the same 75 kW (100 hp) Oberursel U.I engine, but had a larger 81 l
(21.5 gal) main fuel tank which increased the Eindecker's endurance to about 2˝
hours; an hour more than the E.II. Most E.IIIs were armed with a single 7.92 mm
(.312 in) Spandau LMG 08 machine gun with 500 rounds of ammunition;
however, after the failure of the twin-gun Fokker E.IV as a viable successor,
some E.IIIs were fitted with twin guns.
Fokker production
figures state that 249 E.IIIs were manufactured however a number of the 49 E.IIs
were upgraded to E.III standard when they were returned to Fokker's Schwerin
factory for repairs.
The E.III was the
first type to arrive in sufficient numbers to form small specialist fighter
units, Kampfeinsitzer Kommandos (KEK) in early 1916 - previously, Eindeckers
were allocated singly to the front-lineFeldflieger Abteilungen that carried out reconnaissance
duties. On 10 August 1916, the first German Jagdstaffeln (single-seat fighter
squadrons) were formed, initially equipped with various early fighter types,
including a few E.IIIs, which were by then outmoded and being replaced by more
modern fighters. Standardisation in the Jagdstaffeln (and any real success) had
to wait for the availability in numbers of the Albatros D.I and Albatros
D.II in early 1917. Turkish E.IIIs were based at Beersheba in Palestine while
others operated in Mesopotamia during the Siege of Kut-al-Amara.
The only known
surviving original Eindecker has been in the Science Museum's possession since
its capture in World War I. It is currently on display fully assembled, but
without its fabric covering, to illustrate its internal construction. (taken
from wikipedia).
Click on
images below to see larger images
The need to assemble
the fuselage hit the wings, as are the landing gear and cockpit, assembly of the
model was relatively straightforward, because the fuselage is in 2 parts snap
easily and did not represent any problem, the engine was also armed easily, the
landing gear problem was not because the frame comes in 3 parts and the wheels
have the ability to be mobile.
The kit decals
are excellent, but I decided to mask the white and red to give a more realistic
look,
the results can see them yourselves.
Finally, after the first coat of lacquer to make the decals I made the position of the aircraft control cables, that was the real problem and what further delayed its completion, and that I did with Sprue stretched to proper size, then painted Sprue these threads to give the final finish, then took the hand of lacquer to seal the final model and. .. voila!
I recommend this model to work a weekend, you can relax and enjoy.
Saludos desde Colombia, la tierra de Juan Valdez!
Greetings from Colombia, the land of Juan Valdez!
Tigre del Aire
Click on
images below to see larger images
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