Knights of the Sky (3 Viewers)

[ivanmoe]

Love the new Albatros and will be getting it. On the fence about the Chamber's Spad. It will be a dazzling paint scheme, but it is post-war and I do have space problems. Just don't know if I will get it at this moment. -- Al

Hi Al, I certainly hear you on the $$$\space constraints.

Captured a pic of the pic from the dealer-blog. Here's the new SPAD:

View attachment 193795

I'd have resized it more, but there are just so many pixels to work with in the original! I believe that the blog mentions that the extra paint made it so heavy that the plane's performance suffered.

-Moe

 

[lancer]

Hi Al, I certainly hear you on the $$$\space constraints.

Captured a pic of the pic from the dealer-blog. Here's the new SPAD:

View attachment 193795

I'd have resized it more, but there are just so many pixels to work with in the original! I believe that the blog mentions that the extra paint made it so heavy that the plane's performance suffered.

-Moe

Moe, I read that about the performance also. It took a lot of paint to cover the whole aircraft in those designs. In addition to the pictured Reed Chambers "Flag Bus", there were at least 7 other fancy Spad paint jobs.
Lt. Robert Donalson - "Checkerboard" - entire Spad covered in black and white checkerboard design.
Lt. Weir Cook - "Lightning Bolt" - black Spad covered with white lightning bolts
Lt. Samuel Kaye - "Eastah Aigg" - medium blue Spad covered in red and white polka-dots
Lt. Leo Dawson - "Shamrock" - white Spad with green shamrocks and green stripes
Lt. John Jeffers - "Rising Sun" - white Spad covered in radiating red and blue stripes in sunburst design
Lt. Ben Jones - "Zig Zag" - Spad covered in black and white zig-zag design
Lt. William Palmer - "Diamond Dick" - white Spad covered in red and blue diamonds, fuselage medium size diamonds, wings with large diamonds
These were all short-lived, post-war paint jobs while the 94th was on occupation duty in Germany. -- Al

 

[HAWKEYE]

This one showed up in a dealer-blog this AM. Also mentioned w/pic was the Chambers' SPAD. However, the link to the pic was broken, so no joy there.

-Moe

wow, I am going to have to make some room for that beauty. awesome paint scheme, can't wait to see a Fokker dvll with the same look.

 

[lancer]

Love the new Albatros and will be getting it. On the fence about the Chamber's Spad. It will be a dazzling paint scheme, but it is post-war and I do have space problems. Just don't know if I will get it at this moment. -- Al

Well, I happily had the decision on the Chamber's Spad made for me, as it were. I had a Golden Ticket in the Luke Spad I bought and when I redeemed the ticket, the prize was the Chamber's Spad. A terrific gift from JJD and one I am very pleased to add to my collection. It is quite the striking paint job and the post-war pedigree actually makes no difference to me as it looks great sitting next to my Luke and Rickenbacker Spads. I am very pleased with this aircraft. Thank you, John. -- Al

 

[Pauck]

Had some questions to JJD and get goods news:
Ltn. Franz Ray's Albatros should be avaible in August
First French ground crew members will be avaible next month
There will definitely be new Fokker DVII's, maybe the first one end of the year!{sm3}
Carl Degelow's from Jasta 40 would be cool
Find some info's about Ray at The Aerodrome:
http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/ray1.php

http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1937

 

[lancer]

OK, who's in on the new Ray Albatros? I currently own the 2 JJD Albatros, (Lowenhardt and Frommherz), and 3 KC Albatros (Richthofen, Voss, and Baumer), so the Ray Albatros will be the 6th Albatros on my shelves. The only aircraft type that I have more of are the 7 JJD Fokker tripes. My shelves are really getting quite crowded. Plus, now that John has evidently solved the lozenge camo riddle, I expect there will quite a few Fokker D-7's in the offing. Oh well, who needs crumby china in a cabinet anyway? My JJD air force would look so much better behind those glass doors.:wink2:{eek3} -- Al

 

[ivanmoe]

OK, who's in on the new Ray Albatros?

Al

I'm good for one. Couldn't get along without the stand fitting for display purposes. PLEASE JJD, put that fitting on new-production D.7!

-Moe

 

[mestell]

OK, who's in on the new Ray Albatros? -- Al

I'm good for one . . . . already have it pre-ordered . . . . . more or less a Father's Day present from one of my daughters . . . .
:smile2: Mike

 

[mestell]

What I would like to see is a new release of pilots (British, German, French, American) for the planes . . . . I've used all of mine and the older releases are no longer available or very hard to find. My new Albatros will look funny on its stand "Flying without a pilot"
:smile2: Mike

 

[lancer]

What I would like to see is a new release of pilots (British, German, French, American) for the planes . . . . I've used all of mine and the older releases are no longer available or very hard to find. My new Albatros will look funny on its stand "Flying without a pilot"
:smile2: Mike

That is a good idea. I need quite a few half-pilot figures. I have like half-a-dozen pilots to sit in 2 dozen+ aircraft. On a personal request, I would love to see an Albert Ball pilot figure to sit in his Nieuport, without the helmet and goggles, as he was known to fly without them. But more generic pilots would be fine. -- Al

 

[HAWKEYE]

OK, who's in on the new Ray Albatros? I currently own the 2 JJD Albatros, (Lowenhardt and Frommherz), and 3 KC Albatros (Richthofen, Voss, and Baumer), so the Ray Albatros will be the 6th Albatros on my shelves. The only aircraft type that I have more of are the 7 JJD Fokker tripes. My shelves are really getting quite crowded. Plus, now that John has evidently solved the lozenge camo riddle, I expect there will quite a few Fokker D-7's in the offing. Oh well, who needs crumby china in a cabinet anyway? My JJD air force would look so much better behind those glass doors.:wink2:{eek3} -- Al

sounds like quite an air force you are putting together. I don't collect like I used ( all kc now basically none) mainly because of the cost and kids in college., but paul herman got me hooked on the first kempf camo tri plane and tim tyler has used some gentle persuasion on me over the years to buy these awesome airplanes and now besides some trophy sets here and there that's all I buy.

and they are worth every penny. John thanks for a great product. I am sure I have over a dozen planes now

 

[lancer]

sounds like quite an air force you are putting together. I don't collect like I used ( all kc now basically none) mainly because of the cost and kids in college., but paul herman got me hooked on the first kempf camo tri plane and tim tyler has used some gentle persuasion on me over the years to buy these awesome airplanes and now besides some trophy sets here and there that's all I buy.

and they are worth every penny. John thanks for a great product. I am sure I have over a dozen planes now

Well, you certainly exhibit good taste by purchasing the Kempf tripe. For my money, the Kempf tripe is the best one John has done. The camo painting is superb and is detailed and distinct, while the markings are equally well done. It is the apex of his triplanes. -- Al

 

[HAWKEYE]

well, you certainly exhibit good taste by purchasing the kempf tripe. For my money, the kempf tripe is the best one john has done. The camo painting is superb and is detailed and distinct, while the markings are equally well done. It is the apex of his triplanes. -- al

i almost sold it once too but couldn't bring myself to do it at the last second. Lining all the tripes up looks awesome. I have thouhgt about buying the two i don't have which are the steinhauser one and the other is the one with the white tail

 

[lancer]

i almost sold it once too but couldn't bring myself to do it at the last second. Lining all the tripes up looks awesome. I have thouhgt about buying the two i don't have which are the steinhauser one and the other is the one with the white tail

Good call on holding on to the Kempf tripe. I do not think it would be easy or cheap to replace. The tripe with the white tail is the one piloted by Hans Weiss. His tripe and the Steinhauser tripe are both from Richthofen's Jasta 11. JJD has made 4 Jasta 11 tripes , Manfred von Richthofen's Red tripe, Lothar von Richthofen's yellow tripe, and the Weiss and Steinhauser ones. Supposedly, there is to be a 5th Jasta 11 tripe but I have no other info on who's or when it might appear. -- Al

 

[ivanmoe]

I noticed this morning that the KotS thread has been a bit neglected as of late. Therefore, I thought I'd post some pics of an under-covered subject, Jenkins' replica of the bf-109 flown Josef "Pips" Priller:

View attachment 196491
View attachment 196492
View attachment 196493
View attachment 196494
View attachment 196495

This model was a gift two Xmas' ago. I got interested in the model largely due to a single pic that one of our Wayne's posted to another forum. Until I saw that lone image, I never realized how fine the paint was on this model. As you can see above, the set features a well done rendering of a fairly complex paint scheme.

Detail pics below!

 

[lancer]

Moe, it is a very handsome 109. The E was always my favorite 109, probably because of the many Monogram E's I built as a kid. ^&cool^&cool -- Al

 

[ivanmoe]

As pledged, some close-ups of the Priller '109...:wink2:


View attachment 196496


Above we see pretty clear evidence of the quality of Jenkin's paint-work. The model also features a hinged, working canopy and nicely detailed cockpit. In that last regard, the model can be considered somewhat ahead of it's time. Commenting in terms of the sophistication of the camouflage above, I simply don't have the skill to do complex liveries like this. Hence, my interest in pre-finished model airplanes!


View attachment 196497

Above we see a nicely detailed wing with what I believe is a wash applied to the panel lines. Washes were definitely applied to other parts of the model, so I doubt that this would be an "ink job." Note also, the weapon faring and the aileron balance. Nice.


View attachment 196498


A question arose not long ago regarding the materials that JJD uses in it's models. I mentioned at the time that the manufacturer does use metal on its replicas. I'm pretty certain that the cannon barrels above are cast metal. Note also, the simulated grime from "the firing of the gun."


View attachment 196499


The tail surfaces, above, show more evidence of the sophistication of Jenkins' painting and its use of washes as appropriate.


View attachment 196500

Finally, I wanted to take a pic of the nose, as it's so well done. Yellow can be a difficult color to work with for modelers. The darn stuff simply doesn't want to cover. For those of us who have tried, the results are OFTEN TIMES something of a mess. In particular, any color or surface irregularity underneath will tend to bleed-through and leave the paint coverage looking inconsistent. No problem, above, however.

Quibbles? Well, really just one. Darned if the (metal) landing gear doesn't look too long to me. Having made that comment, I doubt that there's an easier way to start a food-fight than discussing the length of a bf-109's landing gear with modelers. In reality, the actual length is dependent on the load-state of the aircraft, empty, full, or somewhere in between. This is particularly true of a small, light aircraft like this diminutive Messerschmidt. To my eye, the landing gear appears long enough that it could almost be considered "unloaded," or as it would it appear if the aircraft were airborne. Then again, you know what they say about opinions!

And, there you have it, quibble and all! ACE-021 is still to be had from dealers, I believe. As I mentioned, I got mine for Xmas two Decembers back. It lives in the curio now with some of my other treasures from JJD.

Thanks for reading!

-Moe

 

[ivanmoe]

Moe, it is a very handsome 109. The E was always my favorite 109, probably because of the many Monogram E's I built as a kid. ^&cool^&cool -- Al

Hi Al,

I've noticed that "scale modelers" have some of the same concerns about their hobby and "the younger generation(s)" that TS-collectors do. If the newer kits went together as easily as Monogram's '109e did, perhaps more kids would be interested. Who needs an engine replica with 96 parts, when the finished assembly gets covered by a cowling anyhow?:redface2:

-Moe

Edit:

Sorry, but darned if I didn't post the wrong part number for the model in question!

My comments should have read ACE-201, rather than ACE021.:redface2:

 

[lancer]

Hi Al,

I've noticed that "scale modelers" have some of the same concerns about their hobby and "the younger generation(s)" that TS-collectors do. If the newer kits went together as easily as Monogram's '109e did, perhaps more kids would be interested. Who needs an engine replica with 96 parts, when the finished assembly gets covered by a cowling anyhow?:redface2:

-Moe

Edit:

Sorry, but darned if I didn't post the wrong part number for the model in question!

My comments should have read ACE-201, rather than ACE021.:redface2:

Monogram were great kits. Certain of the kits had that magnificent operable landing gear feature, like the 109E, the Hellcats and Corsairs, the Spits and Hurries, and the Zero. I had bunches of them as a kid. They were all easy builds and pretty accurate. -- Al

 

[Old Bill]

That is a good idea. I need quite a few half-pilot figures. I have like half-a-dozen pilots to sit in 2 dozen+ aircraft. On a personal request, I would love to see an Albert Ball pilot figure to sit in his Nieuport, without the helmet and goggles, as he was known to fly without them. But more generic pilots would be fine. -- Al

Here you go Al.................