Subject: Re: 1/48 Flashback Fokker Eindecker E.III Submission
From: "Submissions for ARC" <[email-masked]>
To: "Scott Lyle" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:47:59 -0700

Hi,
I just wanted to let you know your article went on ARC today.  Thanks again for sending it in.

Steve Bamford
Aircraft Resource Center
http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com

Live like there is no tomorrow;
Love like you've never been hurt.
Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Scott Lyle 
  To: [email-masked] 
  Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 5:28 PM
  Subject: 1/48 Flashback Fokker Eindecker E.III Submission

  Gallery Template #05

  "1/48 Flashback Fokker Eindecker E.III" 

  by "Scott Lyle"
  --------------------

        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 01.jpg here  

              One of the first great fighters, the Fokker Eindecker earned its place in aviation history by being the aircraft that spawned the infamous “Fokker Scourge”.  This period, spanning the fall of 1915 to the spring of 1916, saw the German Air Force gain a high degree of air superiority over the battlefields of Western Europe during World War 1.  

              One of the features that made the Eindecker so successful was that it was one of the first aircraft that featured a machine gun that was synchronized to fire through the arc of the propeller.  This allowed the machine gun to be mounted on the centerline of the aircraft right in front of the pilot, greatly simplifying the task of shooting down the enemy.  All the pilot had to do (relatively speaking) was line up his fighter with the enemy and pull the trigger.  The Allies had no equivalent to Fokker’s synchronizing device, and Allied pilots paid dearly because of it.

              The Eindecker ruled the skies until new Allied designs like the Nieuport 11 and 17 arrived and began to wrest air supremacy back from the Germans.  Famous German Aces like Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann became household names in their native country flying the Eindecker.  I decided to build Flashback’s kit as an Eindecker E.II, “E37/15”.  This particular aircraft was flown by both of both Immelmann and Boelcke at different times during the fall of 1915.

              The Eduard/Flashback kit is somewhat basic when compared to today’s state of the art, but construction is straightforward and the small parts do a good job conveying how delicate the machine must have been.  The Eindecker had a large amount of rigging, with four wires running from each side of each wing!  I wasn’t looking forward to tackling that task.  Once I got into it however I discovered that I could attach one end of some fishing line to the top center post, run it out to one of the holes in the wing, thread it down through the wing, run it back underneath to the landing gear, across to a hole in the other wing, thread it back up through the wing, and back to the top center post again.  By repeating this loop three more times the rigging was completed much quicker than I thought it would be, all using one continuous piece of fishing line!

  Click on images below to see larger images

        Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 03.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 03.jpg 
       Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 04.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 04.jpg 
       Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 05.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 05.jpg 
       Steve Bamford will insert a click-able smaller version of photo 06.jpg here.  Clicking on that photo will bring up the full sized version of photo 06.jpg 

          
        Steve Bamford will insert full sized version of photo 02.jpg here  

              The model was painted Testors Acrylic Radome Tan to simulate Clear Doped Linen.  The kit’s decals were used for the large crosses, and I hand-painted “E37/15” on both sides of the fuselage.  I much prefer decals to my shaky hand-painting...

              To simulate the swirled metal finish on the sheet metal cowling I placed dots of Testors Steel over the Testors Aluminum base.  Though I’m not in love with the effect, it looks reasonably good to me, and breaks up the monotony of the all-beige paint scheme.

              To weather the Eindecker I placed some dots of Burnt Umber, Lamp Black, and Burnt Sienna oil paint all over the beige surfaces and then spread them around in all directions using thinner to create a subtle, grimy look.  On the vertical surfaces I tried to create a downward streaking effect.  A very thin 50/50 mix of Tamiya Black and Red Brown was sprayed in subtle bands along the fuselage to create the perception of the aircraft’s internal framing, and the model was done.
              The Eindecker is a neat little aircraft and I’m glad to add it to my collection.  I don’t know if we’ll ever see a new version of the kit in the future, but this one can be found on ebay.  My dream has been to build a collection of the “50 Greatest Fighters” in 1/48 scale and display them all on one table so one can get a real sense of scale comparing the Eindecker of 90 years ago to the Raptor of today.  Of course at the rate I build, it might take me 90 years to get there!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Missed the show?  Watch videos of the Live Earth Concert on MSN. See them now!