Not HECO but A L J Blatch? (1 Viewer)

[saxon lions]

I have been a member of this forum for some time but this is my first post. I collect 54mm old or replica figures for conversion to figures representing the Saxon Army 1871-1918. For the last few years I have become hooked on the aces of Saxony and their mounts. I have 5 HECO planes which Tony Williams was kind enough to make for me unpainted so I could paint them in the markings Saxon aces thereby saving Adele a job. The planes I have are Albatros DV (v Althaus), Fokker DrI (v Haebler), Fokker DVII (Buchner), Fokker EV (Aue) with pride of place going to the last which was a captured SPAD VIIc (not XIII) in the markings of Rudolf Windisch.

Unfortunately, ill health means there are unlikely to me any more new HECO models and like every one else I now search the web for more acquisitions hoping that Louis Badolato has all he wants of some of the types I would like. In the mean time have bought 2 models originating from another company possibly called 'Tin Toys' a Fokker E type (Immelmann) and an Albatros DIII (Schneider) which after some restoration work made pretty accurate models, unfortunately they are an inch or so too big being nearer 1/30 scale so slightly dwarf the HECO and will eventually be sold on.

However, last week I spotted on Ebay a tinplate Albatros DIII which appeared to have the same measurements as HECO, although there were obvious signs that it was unlikely to be the illusive HECO Albatros DIII. The winning bid proved to be less than I expected and when it arrived it was clear to my obvious joy and relief that with a little work it would fit in reasonably well with my HECO planes.

But, then came the real surprise as under the right side of the top wing was what appeared to be a manufacturer's label it reads:

German
Albatros DIII
made 2004
A L J Blatch

It could of course be something that the modeller did for himself, but could anyone shed any light on whether there was a cottage manufacturer named A L J Blatch making reasonable tinplate models in the early 21st century.

 

[Louis Badolato]

I have never heard of A L J Blatch, but if you need any Heco planes to complete your Saxon Aces, let me know. I have many duplicates, and if I have more than one of the model you are seeking, I would be happy to help you out.:smile2:

Louis

 

[saxon lions]

Although I was reasonably happy with the Blatch DIII and it was guaranteed always hold a special place in my collection as it has led indirectly to a great expansion in my HECO Saxon Aces Collection by enabling me to get in touch with Louis Badalato. Nevertheless it could not be denied that there were a number of faults that meant that it did not quite fit in with the rest of my HECO models. Thus armed with my new Xmas present drill and the possibly false confidence from my previous conversions I determined to upgrade the model to HECO standard. The main fault was a bulge in the nose round the cockpit/engine area and a ridge in the wings. As the modifications required the removal of the wings I determined that the DIII should become a DII as the planes shared the same fuselage design but the latter had much larger squarer wings and a slightly different engine.



The original Blatch DIII before repainting - The New DII with modified nose wings and engine

The conversion eventually proved to be much harder than anticipated but after a much sweat and almost some tears the result proved to be much better than anticipated and the new plane is now one of my favorites.
and it also enabled a slight reshuffle of the collection so that now I have models of 14 of the leading 17 Saxon Aces of WWI

 

[Louis Badolato]

Great job!^&cool^&cool^&cool^&cool

 

[lancer]

That is a fantastic job of taking out that totally bogus wing ridge on the D-3. The conversion really worked well. Congratulations. -- Al

 

[saxon lions]

Thank you both your appreciation of my conversion. I have to admit I completely replaced the wings with those from another cheap tin plane with wings similar in style to HECO, as the wings of the DII were much broader and squarer than those of the DIII. Ironically the changes made to the wings of the DIII and later DV to incorporate the copied 'sesquiplane' layout of the Nieuport 17 was a retrograde step leading to the deaths of many German airmen as the smaller lower wing tended to warp during strenuous flying causing the top wing to fall off - a fault never completely solved. Another difference were the 'cheek' radiators which on the DII were attached to the fuselage but on the DIII were replaced by a single centrally located wing mounted radiator.

I have since discovered that Mr Blatch was actually the person from whom I purchased the model and apparently he made a number of mainly British planes but also at least one of the Red Baron's Albatros for his own collection. Apparently most of these he has let go some time ago although he has kept his favourites but if it ever another German one becomes available I would certainly be interested now I know they can be made to fit in with my HECO collection.

 

[saxon lions]

The Triplane that became a biplane.

Not many people know that Fokker used the fuselage of DrI Triplane to make a biplane using similar designed wings to those later used for the DVII. The resulting Fokker DVI was a lovely little plane but due to the failings of its intended Siemens-Halske rotary engine like the Pfalz DVIII and SSW DIII it failed to achieve its early promise and only 60 or so reached the front. For a while I have been researching to see if a Saxon ace may have flown the plane so I could add it to the collection but so far without any success.

Then recently I spotted this tinplate Fokker Triplane with its bizarre wing design complete with the ridge that seems to be an oddity of models made by Alf Blatch. Since purchasing an Albatros made by Alf some time ago I have wanted to add another of his models to my collection particularly an Albatros DIII, but I already have a very nice HECO Fokker DrI Triplane albeit slightly over sized.




As with the previous Albatros if the plane was to be added to the collection then the wing issue would need to be addressed and this being the case then I could convert this Blatch Triplane into a Fokker DVI thus the issue of the wings was no longer a problem. Experience from working with the Albatros had taut me that if it was by Mr Blatch the fuselage would be well made with excellent details, easy to work with and would be a perfect match in size for my HECO DrI . Thus deeming this my best opportunity to make a DVI which may not return I determined to take the plunge as should information on a Saxon pilot's use of the DVI turn up in the future then I would regret not taking this opportunity. The work was as easy as I had hoped with the hardest job being that ****able lozenge which for the DVI was five colour for the wings and four colour for the fuselage.



The Fokker DVI is finished in the marking of a plane photographed in French hands after the war but should any information arrive on the use by a Saxon then an immediate repaint will transpire. If any forumite has any info that could help me in this quest please get in touch.