Knights of the Sky (1 Viewer)

I was going through JJD's website and was kind of surprised to see so many of the WW1 planes and pilots beginning to disappear. Of his aircraft, two are sold out, Ace04- MacLaren's Camel, and Ace11- Kempf's Triplane. There are also 3 pilot figures sold out, Ace01P- Manfred von Richthofen and his dog Moritz, Ace03P- Jacobs, and Ace05P- Lothar von Richthofen. There are also quite a few items listed as Low Inventory; Ace02 & 02P-Bishop's Nieuport and Bishop; Ace03- Jacob's Triplane; Ace04P- MacLaren; Ace05- Lothar von Richthofen's Triplane; Ace07P- Lowenhardt; Ace09- Goering; and Ace11P- Kempf. Also listed as Out of Stock are Ace07- Lowenhardt's Albatros, Ace10P- Roy Brown, and Ace12- Nungesser's Nieuport. I'm not sure what OoS means, whether more are coming in or not. Up to 7 of these wonderful aircraft are now on the endangered species list along with 9 of the pilots. Might be time to pick up some of the earlier issues before they retire. :wink2: -- Al
 
Hello everyone,

I found this forum and decided to register and post a message. I've started collecting JJD models recently, and have been posting "reviews" of the KotS biplanes to another forum. In fact, I've done three such reviews, for ACE-07, 08 and 11. You can find them here:

http://tmwcf.forumcircle.com/viewtopic.php?t=756

http://tmwcf.forumcircle.com/viewtopic.php?t=798

http://tmwcf.forumcircle.com/viewtopic.php?t=815

"The Model Warbird Collector Forum" is my usual haunt. It's primary focus is on propeller driven model aircraft, but the "medium" is pretty much wide open. While most of the material centers around diecast metal, many of the members post primarily about working with plastic kits. It's an older crowd of collectors, and quite "sedate," as it were. There is no rancor, and very little drama. Mostly, it's just guys talking about models.

As regards, John Jenkins' "Knights of the Skies," I think most of the guys at TWMCF are a little freaked about the prices. For many of them, paying eighty to a hundred dollars for a 1:48 or 1:72 diecast aircraft from Hobby Master or Century Wings borders on the unreasonable. That's part of the reason that some of them have come to focus on building kits, rather than "built/finished" models like those from JJD or other manufacturers.

Also, some of my associates at TMWCF don't ever take their models out of the box! Rather, their diecast treasures are stashed away for some day when they'll be worth $$$. There's very little emphasis, there, on items like display or dioramas. I guess that I'm something of an odd-ball in both those regards. My best models are in a display cabinet, and I enjoy taking pictures of them. Having some nice plastic or metal figures or vehicles about to enhance the "reality" of it all is just fine with me.

Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm glad that I found a venue where there's genuine enthusiasm for JJD models. My latest acquisition is ACE-06, the Alfred Ball N.17. I haven't had a time to review it yet, but here's a picture that I took of it, recently:

View attachment 117931

It's a pleasure to make y'alls acquaintance, and I hope that you'll welcome me into your circle of collectors.

'Moe
 
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Welcome to the forum, Moe. I am more than glad to have another JJD WW1 aircraft enthusiast join us here. The more people, the more knowledge shared, and that is a good thing. Nice pic of Ball's Nieuport. I also own it and I think it is JJD's best Nieuport so far. At any rate, glad to have you aboard and I will look forward to your reviews. -- Al
 
Moe,
Welcome to the forum. Great link and photos and interesting to read the comments on a different kind of forum.
Brett
 
Welcome aboard Moe!:smile2: I love model aircraft, and have a rather eclectic collection of every type of toy solider manufacturers' aircraft. I look forward to chatting with you.
 
Welcome Moe and a great pic. I have several JJD models and think they are the best WWI aircraft out there. Chris
 
Welcome Moe, I had a sizeable collection of 1:72 and 1:48 diecast aircraft but have only a handful remaining following a change of collecting direction. I used to frequent the Diecast Aviation Forum where it was common place to critic releases from Corgi etc. I carried that MO over to this forum, the difference here being that Toy Soldier companies are smaller concerns and the owners are likely to respond directly to what is said here which can generate some interesting discussions.
 
Welcome Moe

Great pic. Love the sense of movement. Keep on posting 'em......

Regards

Michael
 
Thank you all so much for your kind welcome and willingness to share your space, here, with a model collector. I can tell from looking at some of your beautiful dioramas that we're coming at JJ models from somewhat different directions. However, if I didn't believe that Jenkins' KotS can benefit from the interest of both "model" and "miniatures" collectors, I wouldn't have registered for the forum.

My overall impression of the Knights of the Skies series of model aircraft is that they are the best that can be had in this price range. I see them as being much more than props for a diorama. For pre-built, pre-finished models with nicely simulated weather and wear, they are simply peerless. I'd also note that there's something of a schism among model collectors over issues involving finish. Some folks prefer a "realistic," or worn, look, while others want a "factory-fresh" appearance. Sound familiar?

At any rate, thanks again. I'm glad that I found you all (at last), and hopefully will benefit from your expertise when it comes to displaying JJ model aircraft. I only own four of them, but they are some of my greatest treasures, model-wise. Now, all that I have to do is get MasterCard to set me free to purchase more!

Moe
 
Which of John's triplanes would have been in the same unit? I could probably sort this out myself, but just curious if anyone else knows already the most historically accurate way to group them.
 
Combat said:
Which of John's triplanes would have been in the same unit? I could probably sort this out myself, but just curious if anyone else knows already the most historically accurate way to group them.
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John has done a good job of spreading out his choices of aircraft in terms of unit groupings. As far as same squadrons, only the all-red tripe of Manfred von Richthofen and the yellow trimmed tripe of his brother Lothar go in the same Jasta 11, but not at the same time. The all-red tripe dates to April, 1918, while the yellow trimmed tripe dates to March, 1918 and before. The cross markings are the identifyer in the case of the von R aircraft. The all-black tripe of Jacobs belongs to Jasta 7, circa May, 1918. The black/white stripped tripe of Udet belongs to Jasta 4, circa June, 1918. The Kempf tripe (white K) belongs to Jasta Boelcke (Jasta 2), with a date pre-March 1918. Just as a general guideline, group the aircraft by cross design, ie., keep the maltese cross aircraft together and the straight cross aircraft together. -- Al
 
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lancer said:
John has done a good job of spreading out his choices of aircraft in terms of unit groupings. As far as same squadrons, only the all-red tripe of Manfred von Richthofen and the yellow trimmed tripe of his brother Lothar go in the same Jasta 11, but not at the same time. The all-red tripe dates to April, 1918, while the yellow trimmed tripe dates to March, 1918 and before. The cross markings are the identifyer in the case of the von R aircraft. The all-black tripe of Jacobs belongs to Jasta 7, circa May, 1918. The black/white stripped tripe of Udet belongs to Jasta 4, circa June, 1918. The Kempf tripe (white K) belongs to Jasta Boelcke (Jasta 2), with a date pre-March 1918. Just as a general guideline, group the aircraft by cross design, ie., keep the maltese cross aircraft together and the straight cross aircraft together. -- Al
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Just a little more on the crosses. German cross design changed many times during the war and is a study unto itself. The guideline of keeping the curved cross seperate from the straight is not written in stone as during periods of change, aircraft within the same squadron could have different cross designs for a time. There are pictures of individual aircraft with two different cross types at the same time. If my memory serves me correctly the maltese style cross was ordered out of use in late March, 1918. All crosses were to be straight edge from then on. It took time for all the crosses to be changed, thus the crossover where planes carrying different crosses. Even design of the crosses of the same style could be different, so dating by cross style is not fullproof, just a good guideline. The triplane went into service in September, 1917, with the cross style on the JJD Kempf tripe. The white background was later painted over and cut down to a thin outline like the JJD yellow Lothar tripe. This style was then ordered changed to the straight edge style in late March, 1918, and there were then variances like the JJD Red Baron tripe, the Udet tripe, and the JJD black Jacobs tripe. The crosses changed several more times before the war ended, thus the JJD white Fokker D-7 crosses.
As a matter of interest, Jasta 11 and Jasta 4 were of the same Jagdgeschwader #1. Thus the 2 Richthofen's and Jacobs could have flown together, but not in the aircraft as marked. As I said earlier, the yellow tripe had the maltese crosses and was actually destroyed before the crosses were changed and therefore could not have served with the Red Baron with the straight edges because the straight edge crosses were in use until AFTER the yellow tripe was destroyed. It is possible the red tripe of the Baron and the black tripe of Jacobs could have been together at some time, but, again, the cross styles make this unsure, not impossible though. -- Al
 
Thought I'd post a pic of one of the bays in my "little" world of aviation. I only have six such spaces and rotate models in and out of them. I'd like to find an enclosure that would allow me to spread out a bit, but this is such a nice piece of furniture that I don't think my wife would allow anything that didn't match it. Ah, she who must be obeyed! {sm0} My JJD models:

View attachment 118600
 
ivanmoe said:
Thought I'd post a pic of one of the bays in my "little" world of aviation. I only have six such spaces and rotate models in and out of them. I'd like to find an enclosure that would allow me to spread out a bit, but this is such a nice piece of furniture that I don't think my wife would allow anything that didn't match it. Ah, she who must be obeyed! {sm0} My JJD models:

View attachment 118600
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What a great collection! I like the stands, they add an extra dimension to the models.

Pete
 
chalklands said:
What a great collection! I like the stands, they add an extra dimension to the models.

Pete
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Thanks, Pete. The JJ stands may be the best that I've ever come across. They are made out of clear acrylic, and are very stable. If you are as enamored of your models as I am, you don't want to find them splayed all over the bottom of the display case because the stand failed! {eek3} Each stand comes with a couple of cams which allow a model to be displayed in different attitudes as it's rotated around its spindle. The stands come in two sizes, "A" and "B," small and medium. Note, also, that NOT ALL JJ models support the stands. Folks who are interested in the parts should check the JJ website for supported models. They are pricey, but good stands are expensive. On that last comment, the first point is my opinion., while the second is a fact. Finally, I need to let you know that two of the models in the picture aren't on stands. Rather, they are on small acrylic risers (like one might see in jewelry store display-case).

Thanks again,

Moe
 
Moe, the clear acrylic stands are a stroke of genius. As your display so well demonstrates, the aircraft appear unsupported. Can't ask for much better than that. -- Al
 
ivanmoe said:
Thanks, Pete. The JJ stands may be the best that I've ever come across. They are made out of clear acrylic, and are very stable. If you are as enamored of your models as I am, you don't want to find them splayed all over the bottom of the display case because the stand failed! {eek3} Each stand comes with a couple of cams which allow a model to be displayed in different attitudes as it's rotated around its spindle. The stands come in two sizes, "A" and "B," small and medium. Note, also, that NOT ALL JJ models support the stands. Folks who are interested in the parts should check the JJ website for supported models. They are pricey, but good stands are expensive. On that last comment, the first point is my opinion., while the second is a fact. Finally, I need to let you know that two of the models in the picture aren't on stands. Rather, they are on small acrylic risers (like one might see in jewelry store display-case).

Thanks again,

Moe
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Hi Moe, I agree with you about the stands. I've got a couple & like them very much. I also have a small collection of die cast Corgi EE Lightnings & Buccaneers, great models, but I'm not impressed with the stands, in fact I don't use them.

Can I ask, where did you get the acrylic risers from?

Thanks

Pete
 
chalklands said:
Can I ask, where did you get the acrylic risers from?
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Hi Pete,

This is one area where loyalty to a vendor really doesn't much come into play.

I go to Ebay and key in "acrylic display riser" and go through the ads until I find what I want.

They come in all sorts of sizes and often in assortments of sizes, three, five or ten to a set.

I typically spend three or four dollars a piece on them.

If you can't find what you want, PM me, and I'll send you some links to products that I've purchased in the past.

'Moe
 
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