Flying_Scale_Models_-_Issue_266_-_January_2022.pdf

www.doolittlemedia.com
FREE GIFT FOR SUBSCRIBERS
SEE PAGE 6
SUBJECTS FOR SCALE
PFALZ D.XII
QUARTER SCALE 89” WINGSPAN FOR 180 -200 FOUR-STROKE POWER
RUBBER POWERED RODENT!
POLIKARPOV I-16 ‘RATA’ INDOOR FREE FLIGHT
PEANUT-SCALE
CURITSS P-40B ● TYPE HISTORY ● SCALE THREE VIEWS
● COLOUR SCHEMES ● DETAIL CLOSE UP
PFALZ PFACTORY
WW1 FIGHTER CONSTRUCTION
IN PICTURES & TYPE HISTORY
+
CULVER DART
FULL SIZE FREE PLANS WORTH £10
53” WINGSPAN FOR
ELECTRIC POWER
SIMPLE WING CRADLE
… MAKES MODEL
ASSEMBLY EASIER
QUICKER ASSEMBLY…
01
9 771368 900066
January
2022
No.
266
£5.99
HANRIOT H.D.1 ● SCALE DRAWINGS ● COLOUR
SCHEMES ● PHOTO CLOSE-UPS

4 FLYING SCALE MODELS - APRIL 2021
TYPE HISTORY
THE ISSUE AHEAD...
Formation...
FLYING SCALE MODELS - THE FIRST AND FOREMOST MAGAZINE FOR SCALE MODEL FLYERS
WWW.FLYINGSCALEMODELS.COM
JANUARY 2022 NO.266
5 CONTACT
Just for starters
8 CULVER DART
American mid-1930s light aircraft. 53”
wingspan for electric power designed by
Peter Rake, with the prototype model built
and described by Marion Crowder. Part 1
13 SURVIVING
FREE FLIGHT SCALE
PART 34: Andrew Hewitt looks at covering
and finishing
16 PFALZ D.XII
Gary Sunderland’s challenging quarter-
scale WWI warbird for 180 to 200-size four-
stroke engines. PART 1
22 PFALZ D.XII TYPE HISTORY
Overshadowed by the highly acclaimed
Fokker D.VII, this late WW1 German fighter
nevertheless served quite widely over the
Western Front during the closing months
of 1918
28 PFALZ FACTORYI
Images of production work at the Pfalz
Works illustrate just how labour intensive
WW1 aircraft construction was
32 POLIKARPOV I-16
Richard Crossley has long had a taste for
unusual scale model subjects.This Peanut
Scale model flies well indoors and even
outdoors when the weather is right
38 SUBJECTS FOR SCALE
CURTISS P-40B TOMAHAWK
Never one of the ‘star’ fighter aircraft of
WW2, the P-40 series nevertheless served
Allied air forces long and well, across all
theatres of combat.The early variants
were, arguably, the prettiest
44 P-40B FLYING COLOURS
Warpaint for the Tomahawk
46 CURTISS P-40B IN DETAIL
Close-up study of the restored Tomahawk
now with the Collings Foundation
50 CURTISS TOMAHAWK
SCALE DRAWING
1:50 scale three-views
52 WING SUPPORT CRADLE
An aid to biplane airframe assembly
54 SUBJECTS FOR SCALE
HANRIOT H.D.1
One the lesser known, but extensively used
scout/fighter types of WW1
58 HANRIOT H.D.1
SCALE DRAWING
Fine detailed 1:40 scale three-views
60 HANRIOT FLYING COLOURS
Warpaint or the H.D.1
60 HANRIOT IN DETAIL
Close-up photo study of the RAF Museum
Hendon’s H.D.1
ON THE
COVER
One of the deciders that prompted Gary Sunderland to model the Pfalz D.XII in quarter-scale was the
knowledge that the Australian War Memorial Museum at Canberra had a preserved full size example.
But when he started the build of the model he discovered that the aircraft had been taken away of
further restoration work. Never detered, the project went ahead to success
6
4 FLYING SCALE MODELS - JANUARY 2022
16
38

EDITORIAL
Contact...
Editor: Tony Dowdeswell
tony@modelactivitypress.com
Publisher: Alan Harman
Design: Peter Hutchinson
Website: Webteam
Advertising Manager: Alan Harman
Admin Manager: Gordon Angus
FLYING SCALE MODELS is published monthly by
Doolittle Media, The Granary,
Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Beds, LU6 1QX.
Reproduction in part or whole of any text,
photograph or illustration without written
permission from the publisher is strictly
prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure
the contents of FLYING SCALE MODELS is accurate,
the publishers and printers cannot accept
liability for errors and omissions.
Advertisements are accepted for publication in
FLYING SCALE MODELS only upon Doolittle Media’s
standard terms of acceptance of advertising,
copies of which are available from the
advertising sales department of
FLYING SCALE MODELS.
EDITORIAL ADVERTISEMENT & CIRCULATION:
The Granary, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe,
Beds, LU6 1QX. Tel. 01525 222573
Email: enquiries@doolittlemedia.com
CIRCULATION TRADE ENQUIRIES:
Seymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue,
London, EC1A 9PT. 020 7429 4000.
NEWSTRADE:
Select Publisher Services, 3 East Avenue,
Bournemouth. BH3 7BW. 01202 586848
Email: tim@selectps.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS:
Beds, LU6 1QX. Tel. 01525 222573.
(c) Copyright Flying Scale Models 2021
Doolittle Media.
The paper used on this title is from
sustainable forestry
F
or dedicated scale modellers,
of either flying, or static models,
there is as much interest in full size
aviation as for the models – after
all, it’s the full size that inspires us.
Knowing as much as possible about the
full size prior to the start of a new scale
model is valuable information.That’s why
FSM pursues our regular ‘Type History’ and
‘Subjects for Scale’ features
Our major construction feature this
month is the late Gary Sunderland’s
quarter-scale Pfalz D.XII late-WW1 era
fighter type.The Pfalz series of fighters,
including their D.III and Dr.1 triplane that
featured superbly streamlined, contoured
fuselages, as did the Rolands and the
much more numerous Albatros scouts D.1
to D.Va.
This, in stark contrast to the boxes, flat
fuselage sides of British and French types
so prevalent of the period.
The extent of the woodworking
craftsmanship that went into the patented
LFG-Roland construction technique, as
applied to the Pfalz fighter types including
the D.XII, is revealed in the ‘Pfalz Pfactory’
pictorial that accompanies the D.XII
model construction feature in this issue. It’s
well worth a look.
Whilst what’s said above includes
the curved and contoured shapes of
the Albatross types, I have, for some
time wondered about the techniques
appliedby Albatros – more explicitly, how
double-corved the skins of their fuselages
really were.
During the build of my Albatros D.II
(another Gary Sunderland design)
I use the book covering the story of
the Smithsonian’s D.Va restoration as
a reference source, which describes
how Albatros used concrete moulds to
pressure-form the fuselage skins, to double
curvature.
That may be so for the fully rounded
D.Va, but the earlier Alabatrii, D.I-D.II, had
flat fuselage sides, with rounded upper
and lower skins.
During the build of my D.II, I asked
Gary how, since he replicated the top
and bottom skins on his prototype model
in 0.4mm plywood, did he achieve the
double curve.The answer came back
“…I didn’t; just followed the panel line
demarcations of the full size, folded over
and under”.
Scale three views all showed constant
curve outlines top and bottom right back
to the tailcone, and all photographs also
inferred constant curves back to the tail.
However, Gary’s answer to my question
left me wondering if that was all the
Albatros Werk did to too -single curvature
ply panels rolled over the rear fuselage
formers
All an illusion? I’m still wondering…
IN THE MODE
Having mentioned my Albatros D.II, I have
to admit, it’s been hanging aloft in the ‘toy
room’ unflown.
As a relic of the past, dating back
the days of ‘disturbed free flight’ single
channel flying and then non-proportional
multi-channel ‘reeds’, I’m a member of
that fast disappearing breed, the Mode 1
flyer.
Since I can’t take in-flight photos of the
model while actually flying it, I need a
good Mode 1’er I can trust to do the stick
time, while I handle the camera. So is there
anyone out there within striking distance of
a WD3 postcode who might be prepared
to do the honours?
JANUARY 2022 - FLYING SCALE MODELS 5

LIMITED TIME
FLYING SCALE MODELS
SUBSCRIPTION OFFER!
SUBSCRIBETODAYANDRECEIVEAVERYSPECIALGIFT
WORTHOVER£35INCLUDINGPOSTAGE
We have teamed up with our friends at Deluxe Materials to offer you a very special gift.
For subscribing with us for 2 years, you will receive a bottle of Roket Hot, Roket Max,
Roket Odourless, SuperPhatic!and Roket Glue Tips.
This offer is available to both NEW and EXISTING subscribers. If you are an existing
subscriber, we will simply extend your current subscription for a further 2 years, so do
not wait until your subscription runs out, RENEW TODAY while stocks last!
* Terms and conditions
You must be aged 18 and over to be eligible for the Deluxe offer. While stocks last.
Customers attempting to take out this offer after all stock is gone will be contacted before any money is taken.
Subscriptions taken out with this offer will not be refunded if cancelled.
F
F
F
F
F
F

First name...........................................................................................................................................
Surname...............................................................................................................................................
Address.................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................
Country...............................................................Post/zip code ..................................................
Telephone Number........................................................................................................................
Email.......................................................................................................................................................
Please tick to confirm that you are aged 18 or over
2 year subscription:- UK; £100, Europe; £120, Worldwide; £148
Renewal/Extension New Subscription Starting with issue No..........................
Please debit my credit/debit card for £.................................
Visa Mastercard Maestro Cheque
Card number:
■■
Expiry date.................... Valid from.................... CCV Code.................... Issue No...........
Signature.................................................................................Date............................................
Please call our subscription line or mail this form, or a copy, to;
Doolittle Media, The Granary, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, UK
Tel; +44(0)1525 222573 Online; www.doolittlemedia.com
(Photocopies of this form are acceptable)
24 ISSUE FLYING SCALE MODELS
SUBSCRIPTION
If applicable
Maestro only
Payable to
Doolittle Media Ltd.
3 digits on the signature strip
Please be aware that all
credit/debit cards are
processed through PayPal
and this may appear on your
bank statement
ONLINE AT WWW.DOOLITTLEMEDIA.COM OR CALL 01525 222573
FREE
GIFT
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
FREE
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
WORTH OVER £33!
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
GIFT
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER
WORTH OVER £33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
£33!
*
IFTHISOFFERISN’TFORYOUREGULAR1YEARSUBSCRIPTIONSARESTILLAVAILABLE-ONLINEATWWW.DOOLITTLEMEDIA.COMORCALL01525222573

CULVER
DART
FULL-SIZE FREE PLAN
PART 1: An electric powered scale model designed by Peter Rake, with the prototype model
built and described by Marion Crowder

▼
HISTORY
The Culver Dart started life as a low
wing aircraft designed by Al Mooney,
as a possible replacement for the
Monocoupe. The Darts were being built
for the Lambert Aircraft Company as it
was then called. In original form it was a
two-place side-by-side open cockpit low
wing monoplane, but it was never put
into production by Lambert because the
factory was on hard times with the Great
Depression of 1929-31.
Mooney did keep working on the
Monoprep G as it had been named at
the time but when the open cockpit was
changed to a coupe type closed cockpit,
the name was changed to the Monosport
G. The enclosing the cockpit reduced
drag and made the aircraft a very nimble
little craft requiring a light touch and
finesse to be flown well.
Clare Bunch, who was in charge of
Lambert at the time, announced that
production would begin in October of
1935. Unfortunately the solvency of the
company was in question and production
was never started.
At that point in time, Al Mooney left
the company and teamed up with K.K.
Culver. They purchased the rights and
tooling for the Monosport G and together
they formed the Dart Aircraft Co. (not to
T
here is something magical
about watching a scale
model of a particular aircraft
as it floats by in the morning
light. I don’t believe that I will
ever get enough of that feeling, so I just
keep building them and flying them and
plugging along.
Some Japanese scientists have
determined that time travel will never
be possible. Obviously they don’t fly
scale aircraft models because time
travel is exactly what we do every time
one of our creations takes to the air.
What a wonderful hobby to be part of!
MARRION CROWDER
Pretty as a picture, Marion Crowder’s prototype test model looks very effective in its’ nice, bright scheme.

10 FLYING SCALE MODELS - JANAURY 2022
FULL-SIZE FREE PLAN
be confused with the British Dart Aircraft
Ltd, producer of, among other things,
the Dart Pup and Dart Kitten –ED.) The
name of the Monosport was changed
to Dart to match that of the company
and the aircraft was finally put into
production in the late 1930s. The name
of the company was then changed to
Culver Aircraft Co. in 1939, but only a
small number were built prior to the start
of WW2.
Because of its inadequate powerplant,
the full potential of the design wasn’t
achieved. Too soon, the little Culver
Cadet came along and thus the Dart
was never built in large numbers. A
few remain airworthy and today some
enthusiasts for aircraft of that era regard
it as simply one of the best and most
advanced designs to come out of the
golden age of aviation.
THE MODEL
I enjoyed building my Culver Dart
model and because of how Peter Rake
designed her, it went together quite
nicely so I won’t go into a 'glue-A-
to-B' story, but rather, touch on the
certain aspects of construction that
need detailing and attention. So grab
something good to drink, get your stuff
together and let’s get started!
Always on my favourites list, and one
I truly wanted to build, I was delighted
when Peter gave me the chance to do
just that. I have often wondered how
good a model the Dart might be because
of how close-coupled the wing and tail
were. I was afraid that it would be rather
pitch sensitive, but thus far she seems
fairly well mannered. Peter did add a little
length (about 1”) to the fuselage but it
isn’t noticeable.
The Dart requires very little rudder
control to maintain a straight line on
takeoff. Add a little up elevator at the
start and she simply flies off the ground.
I do have about 30% couple between
the rudder and the ailerons and the turns
are nice and co-ordinated. I suppose you
could simply use your thumbs, but I am
basically a lazy flier and prefer to let the
radio do it for me!
TAIL SURFACES
I always start building a new model by
doing the things I like the least. That
way, those are done and I can get on to
the more interesting stuff. The only thing
on the tail feathers that requires any
discussion is the laminated outlines. To
gat that done I find a piece of cardboard
big enough and then trace the surface
outline onto it. I use the pinprick method,
which involves placing the cardboard
under the plans and poking around the
outline to give me a track to follow when
I pencil in the outline. It is sort of like
follow-the-numbers that we used to do
as kids.
Remember to use the inside edge
of the outline as you will laminate the
▼
1: The only difficult part of the tail surfaces is laminating the outlines. 2: The laminated ply centre rib takes the landing loads and the ply plate provides fixing for
the P-clip retainer. 3: Laminated balsa parts provide the nose shape and the motor mount parts set the thrust lines. 4: Laminated balsa again, along with some ply
parts make up the strong, simple to build cowling.
1 2
3 4

▼
balsa to the outside edge and thus be at
the correct size when done. More than
once, I have screwed up here and built
an outline that just didn’t want to fit the
plans. Live and learn so they say!
And by the way, who are ‘they’
anyway? ‘They’ seem to know a lot more
than I do!
Next, you cut it out. The cardboard
outline needs some wax around the
edges to prevent the glue from sticking
it to the balsa. I use a crayon and just
colour the edge with it. I prefer red, but
any colour will work.
Five pieces of 1/16” by 1/4” balsa are
used for the tailplane outline and four
for the rudder. Pin the template to a
small building board that you can rotate
around so you can do the outline in
one continuous length. Soak your strip
wood in whatever way you prefer. I just
run water on them and give it a minute
to soak in. (Running them in the dish
washer gets them good and soggy to –
ED)
There are two ways that I add the
glue. I either coat each strip with white
glue, slightly thinned, using a brush, or I
lay up the laminations, let them dry and
then coat it with cyano. Either way works
for me, but the brushed way doesn’t
give you all the fumes. Take your pick.
Everybody has their own way that they
prefer.
Once you have the outlines, just pin
them down and add the sticks to finish.
I build the elevators and tailplane in one
piece as well as the fin and rudder sub-
components, but don’t separate them
until after they are sanded. You will need
to shape the wire joiner for the elevators
and fit it once you separate them.
Once you have them sanded,
separated, and with hinges temporarily
installed, you can set them off to the
side. Don’t forget the joiner!
Now we move on to the ‘main event’,
the wing!
WING CENTRE SECTION
The wing is constructed in three pieces,
a centre section and two outside panels.
All three are shown on the plan, which
makes building them much easier.
I shaped up the landing gear struts
first, but I didn’t install them until I had
the wing all framed up and the panels
attached to the centre section. It is much
easier to work on the wing if you don’t
have the undercarriage legs installed; it
will lay flat on the workbench for you.
Assemble the centre section first. The
wing joiners are one-piece and should
be epoxied together. Part S1 goes in
front of part DB and has a notch in it for
the centre rib to lock into. All ribs in the
centre section have a front piece and a
back piece and butt against the joiner. I
started by pinning down the trailing edge
and then glued in the bottom sheeting.
This blocks your view of the plans, so
mark the location of your parts on the
sheeting before you hide everything.
Assemble your centre rib pieces with
epoxy and clamp them until set. Sand
everything smooth, glue in the plywood
CUT PARTS
SET FOR THE
CULVER
DART
Get straight down to
construction without delay!
This model’s plan is supported
by a laser-cut set of ready-
to-use balsa and plywood
components. This provides all
the parts that, otherwise, you
would need to trace out onto
the wood before cutting out.
IT DOES NOT INCLUDE
STRIP AND SHEET
MATERIAL OR SHAPED
WIRE PARTS
Order set:
CUT401 -
Price: £80.00
plus carriage: £11.50 (UK),
Europe £26.00
Shipping Note: For shipping to
destinations outside the UK and
Europe, you will be charged our
standard flat-rate price of £49. This
covers most destinations and secures
your order with us. However, we
will contact you accordingly with an
accurate total shipping charge prior to
dispatch and either issue a refund or a
PayPal money request for the balance.
Order online at:
Doolittle Media, The Granary,
Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe,
Bedfordshire. LU6 1QX •
Tel 01525 222573
Still a bit to do,
but this is as
close as we get
to a naked model
photo. Nothing too
complicated about
construction here.

FULL-SIZE FREE PLAN
blocks for the undercarriage mounts
and install in front and at the rear of the
spar. I used 30-minute epoxy for all the
plywood glue joints; it was probably
overkill, but I like things to be strong.
Now add the blocks in the back for the
wing bolts. These are important so don’t
forget them. Use fairly hard wood so
that you don’t mash the wing when you
tighten the wing bolts later. I left the wing
dowel out until the very last; it makes
sanding the leading edge much easier.
Add your part R2A and R2 ribs. These
should be vertical when you put them in.
The root rib on the outside panel will be
leaned when you put the wing together.
Pull the sheeting up to the ribs in front
and glue it. Now you can pick up the
centre section and sheet the top. Once
all that is done, add your leading edge
and carve some shape into things. As I
said before, both main panels are shown
on the plans, so you don’t have to trace
or oil any thing. Sure makes it nice for
building.
We’ll have to leave things there until
next month, so make sure you don’t
miss the second part of the plan and
construction article for this attractive
model. n
t
5: Yes Marion, you do have every right to look pleased with yourself
6: There’s plenty of room below the hatch for all the ‘gubbins’ that has to go in there. Makes battery access simple too.
5 6
Swooping in for a low pass, the Culver Dart shows off her slightly ‘chunky’ lines. Very pretty though.

TECHNIQUE
HIDING ALL THE MISTAKES
So you have now completed all the
woodwork on your masterpiece. It does
not matter if you have made a ‘pigs ear’
of the construction, since scale modelling
is all about the external appearance
of your creation and its authenticity.
However, a poorly built model may not
stand up to the rigors of a long ﬂying
career, or hold its trim as well as its
better-made brother.
SURFACE PREPARATION
All surfaces that contact the covering
should be sanded smooth, removing all
bumps, dings and glue blobs (that should
move the CG forward!). These surfaces
are now given one or two coats of non-
shrinking dope, in which some talcum
powder has been mixed, and sanded
down between coats. On sheeted areas,
several coats may be required to give a
smooth, ply or metal-like ﬁnish. You must
be constantly aware that weight kills
performance … and models - so give it
one more careful sanding.
▼
PART 4: LOOKS AT COVERING AND FINISHING
SURVIVING
FREE FLIGHT
SCALE
Mike Smith's Nat's winning Martyinsyde Elephant bears all the
types of surfaces to be reproduced - metal and ply panelling,
fabric covering and natural polished wood - it has just the right
level of detail and weathering, too.

TECHNIQUE
t
COVERING MATERIALS
Today we have a very wide range of
covering materials from which to choose.
Unfortunately, only the traditional
methods give us the structural strength
we require, combined with low weight, to
withstand the inevitable ‘arrivals. Modern
film-type covering materials are very
strong and puncture proof, but these do
not impart much torsional rigidity to thin
undercambered wings at the small scales
to which we build these models.
One way around this problem is to
incorporate composite construction
techniques, as used by the free flight
duration flyers, but this is hardly suitable
for beginners. On the models I have seen
covered in lightweight iron-on films, I am
still waiting to be impressed, the majority
suffering from ‘hot day, slack covering,
blues’.
PUTTING THE CLOTHES ON
By far the simplest covering method I
have found, being nearly fool proof and
giving the beginner a satisfactory finish,
is the age-old heavyweight tissue, and
plenty of dope. I use the plain white
heavy tissue, which is very cheap and
easy to apply.
To attach the covering to the
framework, I use slightly thinned PVA
wood glue or dope. This tissue will
cover compound curves easily if slightly
dampened prior to application and, being
thick and hairy, the tissue can cover all
manner of ills and make a good finish
possible. A light spray of warm water will
shrink the tissue tight.
When covering undercamber wings,
pay particular attention to sticking down
the tissue to each rib underside. The
only problem with heavyweight tissue
is its great thirst for dope - to reduce
this, you can water shrink using thin
wallpaper paste, which will help reduce
the porosity.
To dope the tissue, I use banana oil or
none-shrinking dope, to which has been
added a teaspoon of castor oil, which
prevents the dope becoming brittle and
adds some toughness to the finished
surface. It may take four or five coats of
dope to fill the tissue to make it airproof,
sanding between coats to remove all the
hairy spiders - I sand using wire wool ...
carefully!
DURABLE FINISH
If you want a more durable finish, by far
the best is achieved using light silk on
top of lightweight tissue. The silk gives
an excellent representation of doped
linen and the two-ply skin gives a very
tough, light finish. The only problem is
the added chore of covering twice. Firstly
cover with the tissue, shrink with water
and then apply one coat of non-shrinking
dope.
To cover with silk, first mix up some
wallpaper paste, iron a panel of silk
smooth, lay the silk on the structure and
paint through the silk with the paste,
trimming the edges with very sharp
scissors. This is quite easy to master.
Once dry, the silk is drum tight and ready
for topcoats of dope, sanding off any
stray hairs as you go. I have also applied
nylon this way and saved a heap of
weight, since far less dope is required to
fill the weave.
RIB TAPES
To simulate rib tapes, strips of
heavyweight tissue are applied using
thinned PVA wood glue. These should be
applied over each rib and around each
surface edge. Use your documentation to
make sure the tapes are where you think
they should go. When dry, seal with dope
and sand down to give a subtle finish.
Many early aircraft had their covering
laced to the fuselage, often forming
a prominent feature to the particular
subject (the SE5a is an example). This is
very simple to simulate using a sewing
machine set on ‘zig-zag’, or was it ‘zag-
zig’? Now it is a simple matter of cutting
to length and sticking to the covering
using thinned PVA, easy!
SURFACE PANELS
Metal or plywood panels can be
simulated on the fuselage prior to
painting, using litho plate, card, paper
or plastic card, suitably embossed with
details from the back or front. You must
keep references to the full-size aircraft
to prevent large clangers being made!
All panels must be stuck down well and
the edges sealed, to prevent oil and fuel
seeping in, which would make a terrible
mess of all your handiwork.
PAINTING
Applying the scale paint finish causes
more sleepless nights than flying the
darn monster! The problem is that this
is what the judges see. There are no
excuses for the wrong colours, since
there are many books, while magazines
are full of colour pictures, paint chips and
references, etc.
There are many different paints we can
use - my preference is to hand brush
matt enamels, then fuel proof by spraying
on a coat of semi-matt fuel proofer.
Matt enamels give a light finish, two
brushed coats being sufficient. Apply
the light colours first; the white areas in
roundels for example, then apply all the
others. I use a brush, because I feel the
Even small models can be enhanced with the application of a scale finish. Here
is a rubber-powered Ryan NYP, showing the ‘turned aluminium’ cowling panels -
so distinctive of this type.
Even at this scale size, rib tapes and stitching and lacing should be reproduced.

potential for error is reduced, if I make a
mistake with a spray gun it can be a real
big clanger.
SURFACE MARKINGS
All the markings are carefully drawn
on to the model using a soft pencil -
mistakes can easily rubbed out and
a second attempt made this way.
Registration letters are very difficult
to accurately reproduce, so just keep
trying, comparing your efforts with
your photographic references. (Using
photocopier facilities, you can trace
registrations. When satisfied (never!) fill
in your markings using a good quality
brush - if you are wizard with an airbrush
you can mask and spray ... but I am not)
For Roundels, I use ink spring bows
loaded with paint to mark out the edge,
the centres are then filled in by hand. The
colour I have not been able to hand paint
is silver, so out comes the airbrush - silver
cellulose is far superior to enamel silver in
appearance and gives a light finish.
THE DIRTY WORK!
With the model all pristine and toy-
Access panels, side panel staining and under fuselage gunge all faithfully reproduced on Andy’s Tabloid.
Note the simple ‘sprung axle’ undercarriage and wire joiner plug-in wings.
like, it is now time to add the dirt and
realism. Even factory-fresh aircraft
are not perfect, possessing character
in irregular panels, subtle surface
blemishes, etc., etc. Adding dirt brings
a model to life. You must first scrutinise
your photographs to see where the real
aircraft picked up dirt - look for scuff
marks and scratched paint.
To apply dirt, I use pastels, grey, brown
and black. Simply rub your finger on
the pastels, then rub your finger on the
airframe; easy! If you do not like the
effect, wipe it off and have another go -
very quickly you will master the process
and be the proud owner of a realistic
scale model. To preserve your efforts,
spray over with fine fuel proofer.
Chipped paint requires more
preparation, in that silver dope needs to
have been painted under the final colour,
rubbing the desired area with fine wet
and dry paper or wire wool, or scratch
the edge with a sharp knife. This all
gives a variety of finishes, and litho plate
panels really earn their keep for this kind
of effect. n
On metal-skinned types, chipped paint, scuffed
panels and panel fasteners can be reproduced
by scraping, indenting and scratching back
to the undercoating of silver or appropriate
primer, using a variety of 'homemade' tools
(OK, so the model is large and R/C - but the
principles are the same).

CONSTRUCTION FEATURE
PFALZ
D.XIIGary Sunderland’s challenging quarter-scale WWI
warbird for 180 to 200-size four-stroke engines
PART 1:
T
he Pfalz D.XII became
operational late in the 1914-18
war and most historians report
that it was an inferior backstop
to the famous Fokker D.VII. A
rather different view of the new German
scouts was reported by the Bristol
F2B ‘Brisfit’ fighter crews at the time.
(Reference: ‘Pi in the Sky’ by W. F. J.
Harvey).
During early encounters they described
the Fokker as rather large, sluggish and
slow for a single-seat fighter. In fact,
▼

1 2
3
4
1: First stage in construction is to pin down the side fuselage planks and add
the lower formers, then continue planking to complete the lower half shell.
Note that spruce or pine planks are installed, where indicated on the former
drawings, to distribute the load from strut and undercarriage fittings. Balsa
planks are tapered to fit. 2: An inside view of the lower half shell shows
the keel stringer at the rear. The inside nose is glassed with epoxy resin in
the engine bays. 3: Ply root fairing ribs are glued via pine corner blocks.
Temporary balsa props at the trailing edge will be replaced by curved, balsa
laminated, trailing edges. The root fairing is skinned with 1.5mm birch ply to
take the substantial loads from the lower wing and undercarriage. 4: At an
early stage, the tailskid and tailplane are added while there is access to this
area. The tailskid bungee cord passes through the tailplane spar, as on the
original! However, the skid itself is easily removed for maintenance, just by
taking out the pivot shaft.

PLANS FOR THE
PFALZ
D.XII
Full size copies of this three sheet
plan are available from Flying
Scale Models Plans Service.
Doolittle Media, The Granery,
Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe,
Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX
Tel 01525 222573
Order Plan: 313
Price: £27.50
plus p&p
(UK £2.50, Europe £4.00,
Rest of World £6.00

▼
they at ﬁrst thought the Fokker was a
new two-seater, until close encounters
revealed there was no gunner in the
back! On the other hand, the new Pfalz
was treated with respect as it was
‘very fast’ and dangerous. So much for
“history”!
Initially I decided to build a model of
the Pfalz D.XII number 2600/18 because
it was located at the Australian War
Memorial in Canberra and I could access
it there when it came to modelling the
detail - or so I thought! As it happened,
the Pfalz was removed from display
at exactly this time for a complete
overhaul and refurbishment, much to
my dismay. Fortunately I was able to
borrow a computer disc from Paul Butler
containing his own researches into
2600/18, plus information from Colin
Owers and other historians.
The model took three months to
research and draw up, and twelve
months to build, so it is a relatively
▼
5: Here the engine mount beams and tank floor are installed and the balsa nose carved and glassed, with controls being fitted. Note that the root fairing fittings are
attached and the fairing itself is being ply covered. The trailing edge is curved (radiused) in both directions. 6: Controls are being installed and the lower wings trial
fitted. Note that the cockpit interior has been covered with 1mm balsa strips at 45 degrees and varnished. Removing the servos at a later stage will require a few extra
holes being cut. 7: Lower centre section fairing complete. The centre part is removable to permit some access to the radio receiver and servos. 8: Another view shows
nylon tubes in each lower wing that will lead the aileron control wires. The rear part of the fuselage hatch is separate, with only two attach screws, to permit easy
removal for rigging the ailerons. 9: The upper shell construction follows the same method, but with substantially more pine reinforcement at the nose and at the wing
centre section locations. 10: Upper shell planking completed, ready for trial fitting the upper centre section. The fin is also installed temporarily.
5 6
7 8
9 10

t
complex subject; definitely not
recommended for a first scale model,
but something to challenge a dedicated
builder. For that reason, I took a lot of
construction photos, rather than try to
explain the process. The following notes
and the photo caption information are
just intended to provide background to
the photographic record.
Consequently, this construction feature
comes in two parts and is very much
a ‘photo essay’ but, as is often said, a
picture is worth a thousand words – so
saves me a lot of writing – all to good
effect!
11: The upper centre section trial fit under way. Although reasonable care is necessary, this did not prove at all difficult, and a certain amount of adjustment is
available, if necessary with shims and wire tensioning. 12: Assembly of the upper fuselage complete, with basic wire centre section struts and including diagonal
planking inside the cockpit. 13: The moment of truth! Mating the upper and lower halves of the fuselage will disclose any minor errors in construction. Small pine
clips will help guide the two halves together for a series of dry fits, before final gluing. 14: An underside view clearly shows the access to the radio bay and the
aileron servo rigging behind. Balsa areas were doped and tissue-covered (see text). 15: Her. wings are being re-checked after covering, by sighting along the leading
edge for straightness, and by measurement to the sterm post for squareness. Note that the fabric joins are over ribs on the Pfalz. Small tapes mask the holes for
aileron pulleys against dope and varnish. 16: The fuselage masked and primed ready for final painting with Humbrol enamels for colours and markings, with a final
fuel proofing of the two-part urethane varnish. 17: The first stage in rigging the centre section and inner strut bay starts with carefully levelling the engine mounts
and extending outwards. Strut pairs are soldered in plywood jigs before covering in pine fairings.
11 12
13 14
15 16

TAIL SURFACES
These follow the usual ‘balsa core’
method, but a possible improvement
might be to fit an aluminium tube edge
to the rudder. Otherwise, harden it
with cyano. The original tailplane was
plywood-covered, as is the model tail,
and ex-factory aeroplanes had a plain
varnished tailplane. For some reason the
Canberra Pfalz had this painted purple
on top and light blue under. Service
aeroplanes usually had tailplanes painted
in Staffed colours. Take your pick!
WINGS
The section is extremely slim, not much
more than a half inch thick at quarter-
scale model size. This was a good
reason to decide on a true scale aileron
cable drive, which turned out to be highly
effective.
FUSELAGE
The original full-size structure was built
in two halves, left and right, joined at the
vertical centreline. You can find out more
about how this was done in tyhe ‘Pfatz
Factory’ feature elesewhere in this issue.
These were built on wooden moulds from
veneer planks crossed at 45 degrees and
glued with Casein and fabric between
and over.
The Pfalz D.XII camouflage system employed the unique multi-tone lozenge scheme printed onto the fabric. Fortunately, this is available for modeller in 1/4 scale
format, from Glen Torrence Models in USA. (Full details in Part 2 next month.)
17
For the model, I adopted the traditional
method of planking top and bottom
halves, so that the controls and tail
plane could be installed, as shown in
the photographs. My model was built
from 1/8” thick spruce and balsa planks
applied lengthwise, filled and tissue-
covered, then doped. Despite all efforts,
it is possible to see the longitudinal
planks in some lighting conditions, which
is annoying.
Inside the cockpit an area has been
planked with 1mm balsa at 45 degrees
to the grain, and this strengthens
the cockpit and looks realistic. It is
suggested that the fuselage could be
planked with 2mm to start, and a layer
of 1mm applied after assembly of the
halves, at 90 degrees to the INNER
cockpit planking, of course! Pine or
spruce will be required in those areas
where metal fittings are located.
As another alternative, 1/2” wide strips
of silk could be applied at 45 degrees
over the fuselage, which may have the
same effect.
That’s it as far as the written
explanation of the construction is
concerned – the photographic series has
its own story to tell. n

Pfalz factory test pilot Otto Augst prepares for flight with this early production Pfalz D.XII fitted with the
original rectangular fin and rudder. The second aircraft, in the background appears to have the same
fin/rudder shape. Groundcrew, at least the two at the rear appear to be uniformed service personnel.
TYPE HISTORY
Overshadowed by the highly acclaimed Fokker D.VII, this late WW1
German fighter nevertheless served quite widely over the Western
Front during the closing months of the war
A
viation history is quite
heavily punctuated by the
preferences and prejudices
of those who flew the aircraft,
ranging from types universally
liked, to those that the crews would rather
not have had to get into. In between
are those, which, to varying degrees,
earned attitudes of ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ in
competing measure.
In order to get a feel for the bonafides
of such viewpoints today, one can rely
only on published anecdotal reports and
in the case of the very early period of
aviation, there have long since ceased
to be available any of those with the
requisite ‘first hand’ experience.
One such aircraft, of the late WW1
period, is the Pfalz D.XII, one of the last
(but not the final) Scout/Fighter type
developed by the Pfalz Flugzueugwerk.
The Pfalz Flugzeugwerke GmbH at
Speyer in Rhineland-Palatinate, had some
success during the early years of WW1,
PFALZ
D.XII

▼
with their monoplane Scouts E.1 – E.IV,
(based on pre-WW1 licensed production
of Morane Saulnier types) a contemporary
of the much more famous Fokker series
but thereafter, Pfalz went over to license
production of other manufacturers’ types,
until 1917, when their sleek, rounded-
fuselage D.III and D.IIIa entered service
between June and September that year.
Their D.III used a plywood monocoque
fuselage, construction of which the Pfalz
factory had gained experienced through
previous licensed production of the LFG-
Roland D.1 Scout. In this (and subsequent
LFG designs), two layers of thin plywood
strips were placed over a mould to form
one half of a fuselage shell. The fuselage
halves were then glued together, covered
with a layer of fabric, and doped. (See
Pfalz Factory elsewhere in this issue).
This Wickelrumpf (wrapped body)
method, a patented invention of the LFG
firm, gave the fuselage great strength,
light weight, and smooth contours
compared to conventional construction
techniques of the time and was carried
over to the Pfalz D.III - again under
license.
This success enabled Pfalz to greatly
expand their workforce and production
facilities, the organisation being held in
high regard for the quality of their work.
Pfalz was indeed a hive of industry,
German aviation authorities recording, in
November 1917, that Pfalz had no less
than eleven new fighter types either in
development, or at the design stage...
all from a development team of 15
individuals!
LOSING IT
By late 1917, the Imperial German Air
Service (Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte) had lost
air superiority over the Western Front to
a new breed of British and French fighter
types. Captured intact examples of these
had been evaluated, of which the French
SPAD XIII in particular impressed for its
speed, especially in a dive.
Something new was needed so that
in January 1918, the Idflieg (Inspektion
der Fleiertruppen) initiated a design
competition for a new fighter type, the
contract for which, to be awarded on
the basis of test evaluation by the Air
Service’s top combat pilots.
The winner was Fokker’s V.11 which,
initially, did not impress Manfred von
Richthofen one little bit, but which, by
dint of a swift cut-and-shunt extension of
the rear fuselage plus additional fin area,
finally received the Rittmeister’s approval
– and the production contact, as the
Fokker D.VII.
A FACTOR OF (DEE) TWELVE
Pfalz had not participated in that first
competition, but early in that year, a new
prototype Pfalz fighter was built. This
quite closely resembled the final D.XII
type, except for the nose, which, at that
prototype stage, retained the shape to
the D.III. Two ‘ear’ type radiators were
mounted either side of the fuselage just
above the leading edge of the lower wing
Experimental forerunner of the Pfalz D.XII, unofficially designated D.XI. It is unarmed and carries the ‘ear-type’ radiators mounted either side of the fuselage,
position in line with the lower wing leading edge. Note the fin/rudder outline, which seems to have been carried over to the earliest production D.XII aircraft. Viewed
from the front, the nose shape confirms the Pfalz D.III lineage.

TYPE HISTORY
but that arrangement may well have
been a temporary expediency pending
availability of a new nose-face radiator
installation. The fin and rudder were a
different shape to the production D.XII,
but the rest of the aeroplane appears,
from photographs, to have been identical
to the later aircraft.
That initial ‘development’ aeroplane
has been referred to as a D.IX and also
the D.XI, but neither model number
can be substantiated. Whatever its true
designation, it is reasonable to assume
that it was the first prototype of the
aeroplane to be known as the D.XII.
HEAD-TO-HEAD EVALUATION
The Pfalz D.XII did not participate in this
‘first fighter competition’, the prototype
being still in the construction jigs, but
it was flying by March that year and
ready when Germany’s finest combat
aviators were back for a 2nd Fighter
Competition at Adlersdorf, May 27th-
June 21st. In fact, it had been hoped to
implement production of the D.XII by
April, but cooling problems created by
the previously untried Teaves & Braun
car-type nose radiator prolonged the
development period.
Four of these Pfalz aircraft, with
different powerplant installations were at
Aldershof for the second ‘D’ Type (Fighter)
competition for evaluation flights by front
line pilots. The D.XIIs at Aldershorf had
the frontal car type radiator, that was
thereafter applied to production aircraft,
but at least two of them had the original
fin and rudder shape of the first prototype.
The D.XII was similar in construction
to the earlier Pfalz types. The fuselage,
including the carefully faired wing root
fillets, was a semi-monocoque structure
built on plywood formers with spruce
longerons, again using the LFG-Roland
patented surface skin system. The
tailplane was built as part of the fuselage
and was plywood covered, while the
▼
A brand new Pfalz D.XII serial 2660/18 being checked at the factory. Note the early
rounded windscreen, which was replaced later to allow better access to the guns.
Another view of the same aircraft - the item on the upper wing is a metre rule.
The Australian War Memorial museum’s Pfalz D.XII. This view well illustrates the lozenge camouflage pattern applied on both upper and lower wing surfaces,
together with the four-tone colour scheme on the fuselage.
▼

SURVIVING AIRCRAFT
• In the 1920s, two D.XIIs were sold as war surplus to the Crawford Aeroplane & Supply Co. of Venice, California. Though badly deteriorated, the
aircraft briefly appeared as props in the 1930 movie Dawn Patrol. Both were subsequently sold to private collectors and one of these aircraft is now
displayed at the Seattle based Museum of Flight, after it was acquired from the defunct Champlin Fighter Museum, of Mesa, Arizona.
• The second of these is exhibited at the National Air and Space Museum, in Washington D.C. although the colour scheme seams very spurious
• A preserved D.XII aircraft is also displayed at the Air and Space Museum, Le Bourget France.
• Serial 2600/18 was one of several Pfalz D.XIIs awarded to Australia in 1919 under the terms of the Armistice, now fully restored and on dispay at
the Austrlian War Museum, Canberra.
Removed to storage in 2001. After an extensive restoration at the Treloar Technology Centre in Canberra, the aircraft is now on display at the Australian
War Memorial’s ANZAC Hall.
fin, rudder, elevators and ailerons were
of welded steel tube. The Pfalz were
well built aircraft and the fuselages in
particular were masterpieces of the
woodworkers’ art.
The wings were of wood with fabric
covering. Between each rib on the top
surface there was one long false rib
running back to the rear spar and two
short ones back to the front spar. The
wings were strongly braced with splayed
‘M’ struts at the centre section and two
‘N’ interplane struts on each side. All
struts including the undercarriage were of
streamline section steel tube.
The engine was mounted on wooden
bearers with two small flaps on each
side to control the amount of air passing
through the radiator mounted ahead
of the engine. A large exhaust on the
starboard side varied in shape and it is
difficult to say which was standard - if
any.Twin L.M.G. (Spandau) machine guns
were mounted on top of the fuselage just
in front of the cockpit.
The D.XII was, to some extent,
successful in the competition. Although
most of the service pilots participating
in the evaluations came down in favour
of the Fokker D.VII, two, including top
fighter ‘Ace’ Ernst Udet favoured the
Pfalz aircraft and it is likely that Udet’s
preference influenced an order for 500
D.XIIs placed with the Pfalz Company.
However, the problems with the Teaves
& Braun nose-type radiator, which
featured a bank of vertical cooling tubes
rather than a honeycomb, took time to
eradicate. That required a protracted
development effort that delayed the
aircraft’s service entry, so that production
aircraft did not begin to equip the Jastas
until late June 1918 when a total of five
were at the front, escalating to about 170
examples by the end of August.
INTO SERVICE – A CURATE’S
EGG…
On arrival at the front the D.XII was
received with some misgivings by both
the pilots and ground crews, many of
whom looked upon the Fokker D.VII as
the ultimate in fighter aircraft. While the
One of the four Pfalz D.XIIs that took part in the 2nd Fighter Competition, held in May/June 1918. This is
1375/18 powered by a Mercedes D.IIIa overcompressed engine. The one-wing-low sit of the aircraft perhaps
suggests that the portside undercarriage has succumed to its inherent fragility, that had to be addressed
later in the D.XII’s service career.
Pfalz D.XII serial 1143/18 with Jasta markings (probably Jast 5).
pilots grudgingly accepted the D.XII once
they had familiarised themselves with it,
the riggers found that it compared most
unfavourably with the Fokker D.VII which
had no bracing.
Indeed, the Pfalz D.XII offered a quite
different performance to the preferred
Fokker, but it could be argued that it was
‘different’ rather that inferior, in much the
same manner as, one war later, Spitfire
pilots might take a disdainful attitude
to the Hawker Hurricane - two aircraft
designed to do the same job, but with
contrasting attributes that needed to be
‘discovered’ and exploited.
Because it came into service so
late, the D.XII did not become famous,
although nearly 200 were in service before
the armistice. Most reports mention
it as having a good turn of speed and
climb and it was strong enough to be
dived without fear of structural failure –
something that could not be said of Mr.
Fokker’s E.V parasol monoplane that
had to be ‘rebranded’ as the D.VIII after
that aircraft’s wing structure had to be
redesigned to cure acute wing failure in
certain circumstances.
▼

TYPE HISTORY
SPECIFICATIONS
LENGTH: 20 FT. 10 IN. (6.35 M)
WINGSPAN: 29 FT 6 IN. (9 M)
HEIGHT: 8 FT. 10 IN. (2.7 M)
POWERPLANT: 1 × MERCEDES D.IIIA 6-CYL
WATER-COOLED IN-LINE PISTON ENGINE,
130 KW (180 HP)
Performance:
MAXIMUM SPEED: 110 MPH (170 KM/H)
ENDURANCE: 2½ HOURS
SERVICE CEILING: 18,500 FT. (5,600 M)
RATE OF CLIMB: 4.09 M/S 805 FT/MIN
(4.09 M/S)
TIME TO ALTITUDE:
1,000 M (3,281 FT) IN 3 MINUTES 24
SECONDS
5,000 M (16,404 FT) IN 29 MINUTES 54
SECONDS
Armament:
2 × 7.92 MM (0.312 IN) LMG 08/15
MACHINE GUNS
There is no doubt that the D.XII would
have been considered a very good
aeroplane had it not been compared with
the superlative D.VII.
Had the Pfalz D.XII not suffered the
delays caused by the cooling problems,
it might well have been in service on
the Western Front by late May 1918, in
which case its impact on the sea-saw
air superiority battle might have been
considerable.
The D.XII was used by the following
Jastas: 23, 72, 34, 35, 64, 65, 77, 78 and 81.
THE DENIGRATORS
In the same manner that it’s the bad news
that sells daily newspapers, it’s negativity
in most situations that tends to stick.
Typical of complainants to quote would
be leutnant Rudolf Stark, commander of
Jasta 35, wrote:
“No one wanted to fly those Pfalzs
except under compulsion, and those who
had to made as much fuss as they could
about practicing on them.
Later their pilots got on very well with
them. They flew quite decently and could
always keep pace with the Fokkers; in
fact they dived even faster. But they were
heavy for turns and fighting purposes,
in which respect they were not to be
compared with the Fokkers. The Fokker
was a bloodstock animal that answered
to the slightest movement of the hand
and could almost guess the rider's will
in advance. The Pfalz was a clumsy
carthorse that went heavy in the reins and
obeyed nothing but the most brutal force.
Those who flew the Pfalz did so
because there were no other machines
for them. But they always gazed enviously
at the Fokkers and prayed for the quick
chance of an exchange.
General complaints included a
lengthy take-off run; a tendency to
‘float’ during land approach; sudden;
sharp stall characteristics and lack of
manoeurability.”
One of the D.XIIs that ended up in the USA. This one is painted in typical Hollywood-style for the 1930 film
‘Dawn Patrol’, one of the static machines of the ‘German Circus’. It was later completely restored by Frank
Tallman and still survives and now resides at the …………… Fuselage repairs behind the pilot suggest a
second seat was installed at one time.
FOR YOU, THE WAR IS OVER! Pfalz D.XII serial 2690/18 captured by the French.
That at least is some recognition of the
aircraft’s effectiveness, but
Ltn. von Hippel, as technical officer of
Jasta 7 J, was particularly critical of the
D.XII:-
"Flying Pfalz D.XII 2675/18, I heavily
damaged the aircraft on landing.
Soon after this, Vzfw. Sieg crashed
from a low altitude over the field and
was immediately killed. As a result on
17th September 1918, I submitted the
following report:
The Pfalz D.XII assigned to Jasta 7 J
for combat testing is rejected for these
reasons:
1. Despite the use of a high
compression engine (Mercedes D.IUau)
the aircraft climbs very poorly above
3,000 metres (9,843 feet).
2. When banking the aircraft into a turn,
normal altitude cannot be maintained
since the sluggishness of the controls
in the turn causes the aircraft to lose
150 metres (490 feet). In combat against
two French Breguets, the D.XU lost
excessive altitude and when attempting
to regain combat position in a climbing
turn, the aircraft falls off. If the pilot is
successful in correcting his flight attitude
from a climbing turn the aircraft then
shakes excessively which can only be
corrected by falling off in a slight dive.
3. The take-off roll is extremely long
and landings with the D.XII are very
difficult and almost always end with the
destruction of the machine."
However, the ultimate ‘knocker’ to
quote might be Anthony Fokker who
reputedly peddled the notion that Pfalz
D.XII pilots deliberately crash landed
their aircraft in the hope of getting a
Fokker D.VII replacement!
A man ever with an axe to grind. n
t

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
3
These images of production work
at the Pfalz works illustrate just
how labour intensive WW1 aircraft
construction was
PFALZ
PFACTORY!
1 2
1: As a first stage of
fuselage construction,
formers are set into a
jig baseboard. 2: After
applying basic internal
fittings, the plywood
outer skin is added to one
fuselage half-shell.
3: Here woodworking
craftsmen put the
finishing touches to a left-
hand fuselage half-shell.

8
▼
4 5
6 7
4: With the left side
half-shell complete,
the formers for the
right hand side are
applied, together with
Longerons.
5: With the basic
fuselage now
completely skinned,
the tailplane is
attached and covered
in plywood.
6: After completion
of the basic fuselage
shells, these are
moved on to accept
external vitals, like the
undercarriage, and the
engine bays are here
having the bearers
mounted.
7 & 8: Mercedes
engines being
installed.

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY
t
9
9: Now its the ladies’ turn. Here wing panels are
being prepared for convering. 10: Mrs Sew & Sew
hard at work applying lozenge camouflage covering
fabric. 11: One of the tail surface control panels,
newly covered. 12: Now in final assembly, a wing
panel is added. Note the simplified late-WW1 national
identification marking. 13: Unlike its Fokker D.VII
rival, the Pfalz D.XII wings were heavily strutted and
wire braced. 14: With nose radiator fitted, the low
nose cowl is about to be added. This one appears not
the have cooling holes - later applied.
10 11
14
12 13

Doolittle Media Ltd., The Granary, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, Great Britain
W. www.doolittlemedia.com E. enquiries@doolittlemedia.com T. +44 (0) 1525 222573
NOW BACK IN STOCK
LIMITED
STOCK
HOWTOBUILD...
theTamiyaBristolBeaufighter-£12.95+p&p
HOWTOBUILD...
theTamiyaFaireySwordfish-£11.95+p&p
LimitedStock-ordernowatwww.doolittlemedia.com
The 60 page book includes information on: Building the
basic model; The six detailed versions of the Beaufighter;
Details of production variations; Weathering; and many
other handy hints and tips!
A full colour, high quality guide describing in great detail
the building, detailing and painting of Tamiya’s stunning
1:48 Fairey Swordfish. Inside you’ll find over fifty pages
of clear, easy to follow photographs of the model being
constructed plus shots of the real thing. TMMI’s Geoff
Coughlin has built two complete models, one in grey with
wings extended and a camouflaged machine with wings
folded back for carrier stowage. He has added his special
touch and you’ll love the results!

FULL-SIZE PULL-OUT PLAN
Rat on the loose!
POLIKARPOV I-16 RA
Richard Crossley has long had a taste for unusual scale model subjects. This Peanut Scale model flies
well indoors and even outdoors when the weather is right

W
hen it first flew in 1933,
this bizarre looking
fighter was actually
quite an aviation step
forward, being the first
cantilever monoplane with a retractable
undercarriage to enter service.
The I-16’s ailerons were very light,
imparting the little fighter with a
rapid rate of roll. However, it had an
uncooperative tendency to stall out on
the glide, no doubt due to the drag from
the massive and rather blunt frontal
area of its nine-cylinder Shvetsov radial
engine.
The virtually non-existent nose and
short-coupled wing and tailplane
configuration make it an unlikely choice
for a rubber-powered model.
However, on the basis that “yer never
know until you try”, I decided to give it a
go and the proof of it all is contained in
these few pages, so if this little ‘flying rat’
appeals, then clear the building board.
Mine had a great performance, being
capable of remaining airborne at low
speed and low power, making it
possible to use a long length of
rubber motor.
Bear in mind that you must
keep all of the structure
behind the point of balance
as light as possible. I did this
and found that no extra nose
weight was needed.
CONSTRUCTION
This is a very easy model to build with all
aspects of construction being relatively
conventional. Anyone who has built
a few rubber-powered models before
should have no problems. If you’ve not
yet built any laminated tail surfaces,
don’t worry, these are very easy.
WINGS
Cut the ribs from lightweight 1/20" or
1/16' sheet balsa. The leading edge
needs hare 3/32" square balsa and the
1/8"xl/16" trailing edge and 1/16" tip
pieces are from medium sheet. The top
and bottom spars should be fairly firm.
Build the wing directly over the plan,
incorporating 3/4" dihedral under each
tip. Don't forget the 1/16" sheet spar
webbing between R1 and R2. (Do not
worry abou washout at this stage).
FUSELAGE
Cut out F4-F9 from soft 1/32" sheet
balsa: and F3 from 1/16". Cut the keels
from sot 1/32" sheet. Construct the
fuselage in the traditional way, over the
plan side view. Note that the two lowest
stringers after the wing have been glued
in position. Former F1 ant the two F2s~
can be fairly firm sheet to give nose
weight.
All the stringers are 1/20"x 1/16",
cut from 1/16" sheet balsa. Due to the
consistent curve of the fuselage, the
stringers can be cut from surprisingly
light wood and still be sufficiently strong.
TAIL SURFACES
These are constructed directly over the
plan. The 1/16"x1/32" balsa strips that
form the curved outlines should be cut
over length and soaked in warm water.
Make a template from balsa or thick card
the same shape as the inner edge of
the curved portions and curve the damp
wood around them, gluing together with
PVA wood glue and holding with pins.
ATA
A real bruiser of an aircrafty, the Polikarpov I-16 was advanced technology in 1933, with cantilever
wing and retracting undercarriage.

36
FULL-SIZE FREE PLAN
Construct the remainder of the tail in the
normal manner.
COVERING AND ASSEMBLY
Sand smooth and cover the wings
and tail surfaces with tissue. I prefer to
use Early Bird tissue on small models.
When covered, water shrink the tissue
and pin down the components on a flat
surface to prevent warps as the water
dries. When you pin the wing down add
scraps of balsa under the trailing edge
tips to get the correct washout. When
dry remove from the board and apply
thinned dope. Sand the fuselage smooth
rounding the nose as shown. Glue the
wing into position and add the lower rear
stringers from the trailing edge back.
Add the scrap balsa wing fillet outlines
and the three 1/32" sheet sub keels. Now
glue into position the bond paper wing
fillets. Tissue cover the fuselage, water
shrink and dope.
Glue into position the tail surfaces.
Add various details as shown on the
plan. Cut the windscreen frame from
1/32" balsa or ply and fold or mould the
screen from thin acetate. Make up the
nose plug, prop and spinner as shown (I
used a cut down Tern propeller available
Flying shots of Peanut models are very, very difficult so this one, of the
Polikarpov climbing away, is truly remarkable - and extremely realistic.
With generous frontal area the real Polikarpov was not blessed with a good
glide, but the model performs well.
Short and far, but not
necessarily ugly! The prototype
model had transparent trim tabs
on elevator and ailerons to help
get the trim right.
from SAMS). Spray the model very lightly
with matt paints to your chosen colour
scheme. Panel lines were applied with
a Rotring pen and the pilot was carved
from expanded polystyrene. Ensure the
model balances where shown on the
plan.
FLYING
Obviously, choose a nice calm day for
test flying. As these never occur within
two weeks of finishing a model I always
end up launching my model indoors
into something nice and soft like a sofa,
which then bounces them backwards
straight onto the coffee table. Trim the
model to fly in left hand circles. You may
need to add a tab to the left wing and
bend it down to hold the wing up in flight.
For flying outdoors you will need slightly
thicker rubber and probably some right
thrust. Watch out for thermals, though,
as the performance can be stunning. ■

AeroDetail series
Making a scale model?
Finding the detail needed to finish
a scale model can be difficult and
getting full size images is not always
practical. Our range of detail photo
collections provides extensive close
ups of a wide range of popular
aircraft all on CD in J-peg format
Whitman Tailwind CD106
Two examples shown of this U.S. homebuilt
lightplane, with boxey shape ideal for
modellers. Complete close-up detail. (62
images)
Westland Lysander CD105
The Shuttleworth Museum’s airworthy
example shown in both camouflage and
Special Operations black finishes. Full close-
up detail. (62 images)
Waco Ymf-5 CD104
Beautiful and graceful spatted undercarriage
biplane of the 1930s ‘golden aviation era’.
Example photographed is an accurate-in-
every-detail modern replica. (130 images)
Vickers Supermarine Walrus CD103
The famous ‘Shagbag’ biplane seaplane, used
during WW2 as an air-sea rescue craft and
fleet gunnery spotter. (80 images)
Tipsy Belfair CD102
Highly attractive Belgian low wing light
aircraft from the era of simple, open cockpit
private flying. Machine offers scale modellers
pleasant lines and simple shape. (35 images)
Thulin Tummelisa CD101
Swedish 1919-era fighter trainer that served
the Swedish air arm for many years. Example
depicted is a faithful reproduction. (55 images)
Supermarine Spitfire MK.XVI CD100
Last of the Merlin-engined Spifires. This
collection depicts the cut-down fuselage,
bubble cockpit canopy later version. (116
images)
Supermarine Spitfire MK.IX CD99
The most numerous version of the classic
Spitfire that turned the tables on the
Luftwaffe’s Focke Wulf Fw 190. (90 images)
Supermarine Spitfire MK XIV CD98
2nd of the Griffon-engined Spits (Mk.XII was
first), the bigger engine forced a change of the
classic Spifire shape. (58 images)
Supermarine Spitfire MK Vc CD97
Shuttleworth Museum’s airworthy example
presented in it’s latest form with classic
rounded wingtip planform. (160 plus images)
Supermarine Seafire Mk17 CD96
The Seafire 17 was no navalised Spit. A true
ground-up naval fighter. (64 images)
Stinson 105 CD95
Light, private aircraft of the 1940-50s era, with
lots of character. (75 images)
Steen Skybolt CD94
Attractive U.S. aerobatic biplane, presented in
full detail. (89 images)
Sopwith Triplane CD93
The last example of the ‘Tripehound’ is the one
built (in 1980!) from original Sopwith drawings
by Northern Aero Works and given sequential
manufacturer’s number by Sir Thomas Sopwith
himself in recognition of the outstanding
workmanship. Extensive detail. (120 images)
Sopwith Pup CD92
The charismatic Sopwith Scout (to give its correct
designation) is a great scale modellers’ favourite.
Example depicted is the one preserved and
regularly flown at the Shuttleworth Collection, Old
Warden. (50 images)
S.E.5A CD91
Shuttleworth Museum’s airworthy example
presented in full detail. (100 plus images)
Ryan Pt-22 CD90
US military primary trainer aircraft that served
with both US Army and Navy, thus providing
ab-initio flight training for the majority of
US airmen of the WW2 period. A highly
attractive aircraft. 90 images of the preserved,
airworthy aircraft, hangared at the Shutleworth
Collection, Old Warden.
Republic P-47D CD89
Bubble-canopy version of the much loved ‘Jug’,
photographed in fine detail. (105 images)
Polikarpov Po-2 CD88
The world’s most numerously produced
aircraft of all time, the P0-2 was a great
maid-of-all-work used by both military and civil
groups in the old Soviet Union and its satellite
states. Example depicted is pristine, and now
in storage at Old Warden. (170 images)
Polikarpov I-15 CD87
The ultra agile Russian biplane fighter aircraft
that saw widespread service prior to and in the
early years of WW2 and during the Spanish
civil war. Example illustrated is a superbly
restored machine. (100 images)
Pitts S.1 CD86
Homebuilt example by Bob Millinchip, as seen
at 2002 PFARally. Complete detail study. (36
images)
Piper Tomahawk CD85
Cranfield Flying School example of this civil
ab-initio trainer aircraft. (54 images)
Piper Super Cub CD84
The later, ‘cleaned-up’ version of the famous
Piper J-3, with more elegant engine cowl. Two
examples shown. (80 images)
Piper L-4 Grasshopper CD83
Military version of the famous Piper J-3 Cub
used during WW2 and close reconnaissance
and spotter aircraft and for many other tasks.
(80 images)
Percival Provost CD82
Airworthy, preserved example of the RAF
piston engined basic trainer used in the
1950s. Full detail. (30 images)
Percival Mew Gull CD81
Famous 1930s racing and record setting aircraft
that will forever linked with the achievements of
British aviator Alex Henshaw. (35 images)
North American T28 CD80
The advanced trainer aircraft that served in
many air arms worldwide and also became
a counter-insurgency ground attack aircraft.
Examples illustrated are from France, where
the type served for many years as the ‘Fenec’.
(100 plus images)
North American P51D
Mustang CD79
The definitive bubble canopy Merlin Mustang.
In detail, showing several restored examples.
This is the Fantasy of Flight Museum’s
overpolished example, but the close-up detail
is all there. (102 images)
North American P51B/C CD78
First of the Rolls Royce Merlin engined
Mustangs, this collection depicts the Fantasy
of Flight Museum’s restored example, with
overly polished plain metal surfaces. Much
detail. (102 images) Also, 41 images of The
Fighter Collection’s P-51C in bare metal
restoration, showing much surface and
internal airframe detail. A real bumper bundle!
(over 140 images)
North American B25 Mitchell CD77
Fantasy of Flight Museum’s example.
Photographed soon after superb restoration.
Full nose to tail detail. (74 images)
North American AT6 Harvard CD76
AT-6, SNJ, Texan, Harvard – call it what you
will. 55,000 were built – this example is in U.S.
Army colours, with comprehensive close-up
detail, nose to tail. (76 images)
North American A36 Invader CD75
The ground attack variant of the Alison
engined P-51A. Photos, in detail, of the
world’s only airworthy example. (69 images)
Morane Saulnier MS406 CD74
French WW2 fighter that fought in the Battle of
France, 1940. Swiss restored example
(92 images)
ORDER FORM - Aerodetail CDs
Please send me the following CDs:
Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Daytime Tel No:
I enclose a cheque for £
Make cheques payable to Doolittle Media Ltd
Please debit my credit card for £
(VISA / Mastercard - please delete non-applicable)
Card No:
Expiry date:
CCV:
SIGNATURE:
DATE:
£12.99 (including p+p)* per CD *UK only
Postage: (Europe); £2.50 (World); £3.50
Send to:
Doolittle Media,
Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX. Great Britain.
Tel: 01525 222573 Fax: 01525 222574
Email: enquiries@doolittlemedia.com
Allow 21 days for delivery
✁
Order on line at
www.flyingscalemodels.com
ONLY
£
12.99
(INC.P+P)*

SUBJECTS FOR SCALE
Never one of the ‘star’ fighter aircraft of WW2, the P-40 series nevertheless served Allied air forces
long and well, across all theatres of combat. The early variants were, arguably, the prettiest
Curtiss P-40 A, B & C
TOMAHAWK

A REMARCABLE SURVIVOR.
This Curtiss P-40B, delivered to the USAAC in March 1941 was issued to the 18th Pursuit
Squadron, based at Wheeler Field, Oahu, and was hangared there on December 7th 1941
awaiting repairs when the Japanese naval air arm struck Pearl Harbour. Following repairs
it survived less that two further months, when it crashed in a forest on the island, where it
languished until 1987. The wreckage was recovered and was the subject of a very lengthy
restoration involving several restoration specialist including the Duxford, U.K. based TFC (The
Fighter Collection), where is was displayed and flown from 2009 to 2011. Subsequently, it was
transferred to the Collings Foundation’s Aircraft Collection at their American Heritage Museum,
Hudson, Massachusetts.
▼

The direct lineage from radial engine Curtiss P-36 to Allison inline engine P-40B is well illustrated in this
double line-up in July 2007, when The Fighter Collection, at Duxford had both on charge although the Pratt &
Whitney radial engined aircraft is actually one of the Hawk 75 export variants build for, and operated by the
French Armee de l’Aire.
SUBJECTS FOR SCALE
ABOBE &BELOW:: Two views of The Fighter Collection’s restored P-40B seen on the ramp during it’s first
public showing at the Flying Legends Air Show, Duxford in 2007, finished as it would have looked on
December 7th 1941.The view, from the rear, of the P-40B provides a good impression of its finished in late
1941 U.S.A.A.F style markings. Whilst the P-40B has long since been transferred back to USA, the Curtiss
Hawk 75 remains, together with a Curtiss P-36A.
W
hatever happened
to Curtiss? How was
it that an aircraft
manufacturer which,
when USA entered WW2
in December 1941, was THE major U.S.
manufacturer of fighter aircraft, totally
dominating the field. Yet, a decade later,
Curtiss Aviation was gone, bankrupted.
Its assets were acquired by North
American Aviation, a company that,
at the time of USA’s entry into WW2,
was basically a manufacturer of trainer
aircraft, but which had just rolled out the
prototype of a fighter type that was to
become the P-51 Mustang.
SOLID BACKGROUND
The Curtiss P-40 was a logical follow-
on from Curtiss’ radial engined P-36,
designed to a specification issued in
1934, and which received a production
order in mid-1937. The lead to the P-40
was the in-line liquid-cooled engine,
then under development by the Allison
Company and during 1937 one of the
earliest P-36s was modified to take that
new powerplant.
This hybrid airframe became the
XP-40, which first flew in October that
same year. The new prototype offered
a maximum speed of 342 mph, a bit
quicker than the early Hawker Hurricane,
but slower than either the Spitfire or early
Messerschmitt Bf 109.
One of the handicaps of U.S. military
aviation of that era was that there was
no independent, autonomous Air Force.
It was all split up between the Army,
Navy and Marines and so fighter aircraft
specifications of the period reflected
the demands of these three individual
services and in the case of the U.S. Army
Air Corps, the tendency was to think in
terms of relatively low altitude combat
– a requirement embodied in the basic

design of the P-40.
Interestingly, the same specification
that generated the P-40 also produced
the Lockheed XP-38 and Bell XP-
39, together with Republic’s XP-43
– immediate forbearer of the P-47
Thunderbolt.
PRODUCTION READY
The difference between the P-40 and the
others just mentioned, was that it was
simpler, was a development follow-on
from an existing type and Curtiss had
the capacity to produced it in numbers.
Thus, while the Air Corps issued
requirements for 13 each of the YP-
38, YP-39 and YP-43 as development
aircraft, Curtiss received an immediate
order for 524 P-40s. As things turned
out, it’s just as well they did!
Given the close relationship between
the radial engined P-36 and the P-40,
Curtiss were able to get on with
production of the P-40 immediately,
making the first deliveries in May 1940,
with 200 being on Air Corps inventory by
September that year.
However, during a period when eight-
gun Hurricanes and Spitfires were mixing
it with cannon armed Messerschmitt Bf
109Es at altitudes up to 30,000 ft and
even higher, the U.S. Army Air Corps had
a fighter with only four guns, best suited
to air combat at altitudes of 12-15,000 ft.
and without the benefit of armour plating,
bullet-proof windscreens and self-sealing
fuel tanks.
IN DEMAND
Nevertheless, the P-40 found ready
▼
Initially, the speed achieved by the prototype XP-40 proved disappointing. In a drive for an improvement ,
Curtiss engineers initiated a series of modifications progressively moving the underwing radiator forward,
but without substantial improvement. Finally, wind tunnel tests conducted at NACA resulted in a revision
that placed the air intake in the lower nose section, immediately behind the spinner. Exhaust stacks and
undercarriage were also modified.
In an era when even water-boiling kettles featured ‘streamlining’ styles, the emphasis in aircraft was
distinctly that, as the tightly cowled engine of the prototype XP-40 in its original form clearly shows. Note
the belly radiator scoop position, below the wing trailing edge, not unlike the position later adopted for the
P-51 Mustang.
The Fighter Collection based at the Imperial War Memorial airfield, Duxford, altready had it’s Curtiss
Hawk 75, when its younder brother the P-40B arrived there oin 2007. It is still there, but now joined
by a Curtiss P-40C.

SUBJECTS FOR SCALE
takers overseas, anxious to bolster
fighter aircraft numbers against the
threat from Nazi German. France was
first in line, but the aircraft never reached
the Armee de l’Aire before the collapse
of France in May/June 1940 and the
order for 140 aircraft was taken over
by the R.A.F., the firsr reaching U.K.
in September, where it received the
nomenclature of ‘Tomahawk’, to be
utilized by the Desert Air Force in North
Africa.
The definitive P-40B variant received
the Curtiss designation H81-A-2, with
the additional armament of two 0.303”
machine guns in the wings. 110 of
these were delivered to the R.A.F. as the
Tomahawk IIA.
Deliveries of the first of 131 ‘B’ types
to the US Army Air Corps began in
February 1941, to be largely allocated
to the Hawaiian Islands and U.S. bases
in the Philippines. Most of these were
obligingly lined up wing-tip-to-wingtip in
t
A P-40B in the markings of the American Volunteer Group, with National insignia of China.
the open, when the Japanese Navy’s air
assault took place at Pearl Harbour, on
December 7th.
PACKING A HEAVIER PUNCH
Further improvements to the type
produced the P-40C, basically the same
airframe, with and additional two wing
guns, bringing total armament to six
guns, more effective self-sealing fuel
tanks and provision for external 52 gallon
drop tanks. The R.A.F took 930 of these,
while U.S.A.A.C had 193.
Additionally, 36 P-40Cs went to China
to equip the celebrated ‘Flying Tigers’
of the American Volunteer Group (AVG),
while 195 went to Soviet Russia.
Interestingly too, a batch of
Tomahawks was sent to Turkey in
November 1941 to boost that neutral
nation’s political stability.

A No.26 Squadron group of R.A.F P-40s
apparently flying the three-man ‘vic-section’,
that was superseded by the ‘Finger Four’
combat formation as a result of experience
during the previous year’s Battle of Britain. The
leading aircraft is a Tomahawk Mk.1, while the
following two are both of the Mk.IIa type with
twin guns in the nose and two in eeach wing.
An early R.A.F. Tomahawk IIa showing the camouflage pattern of the period.
The early P-40 variants were well under-gunned by European combat theatre
standards, the IIa carrying two machine guns mounded above the engine and a
father two, one in each wing.
A P-40 of the USAAC 55th Pursuit Squadron, 20th Pursuit Group in pre-
December 1941 colour scheme, prior to the transformation of the Service into the
U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) in July that year.
A LONG LINE OF DEVELOPMENT
The P-40A, B and C, were just the
beginning of a long line of development
variants of the basic type, attempting to
keep pace with the fast-moving thrust of
fighter aircraft development during the
following years of WW2. When the last
P-40, an ‘N’, rolled off the production
line in November 1944, some 15,000 of
all variants had been built – the very last
being the one-off, bubble canopy P-40Q.
Many who flew and fought in the
type were very complimentary about
the aircraft’s general performance and
handling. Yet the P-40 was, “…a second
best choice …”, as one official U.S.
military procurement report during WW2
expressed it. Nonetheless, there is no
denying the solid job it did in so many
theatres of combat around the world. ■

SCALE DRAWING CURTISS P-40B TOMAHAWK IIA
SCALE 1:50

The Pusher configuration of early WW1 scout (fighter) aircraft of which the FE8 and the DH 2 were cumbersome early
examples of forward firing a machine gun, without destroying the propeller in the process. Quaint though the layout thus
produced may have been, it does make a scale modeling subject with ‘presence’. This …… wingspan indoor scale
example designed by JOHN WATTERS for Co2 power, would also be suitable for electric drive
FLYING COLOURS CURTISS P-40B TOMAHAWK IIA

Close-up study of the aircraft previously operated by The Figher Collection, Duxford and now
at the Collings Foundation museum, Massachusetts.
1 2 3
IN DETAIL
Curtiss P-40B
TOMAHAWK
4 5
6 7 8
1: The wing-to-fuselage fairing is a prominent feature; note the up-curl at the trailing edge. 2: Wing fairing close-up at trailing edge. Note the blunt, rounded
edge. 3, 4 & 5: The cockpit canopy showing the frames and the sliding-hood guide rail. 6: Detail of the propeller spinner and panel lines. 7: Tailcone,
revealing the trim tabs on rudder and elevator. 8: View under the tailplane, also showing the full-length hinge line to the retracting tailwheel door. 9: Engine
cowl and nose, showing the shark-like air intake, panel line detail, exhaust stack and fairing at wing leading edge. 10: Rear three-quarter view of the nose
section, again showing panel lining. 11: Carburettor air intake atop the engine cowl, flanked by machine gun fairing. 12: Front fuselage underside, showing
the intake and the radiator exit gills that are a prominent feature. 13: View from the rear of the radiator cowling, showing the adjustable air exit gills.
14: Head-on view of that big, distinctive radiator air intake. 15: A further view of those distinctive variable air-exit gills. 16: Further view of the front half of
the fuselage, showing panel lines. 17: Tailcone, showing the rudder/fin hinge line. Also reveals rivet line detail. Note that the rudder is fabric covered.
18: Detail of the top of the fin/rudder. 19: Close-up of the elevator and rudder trim tabs. 20: View under the rear fuselage, showing the rudder hinge line.

▼
9 10
11
12 13
14 15
16
17
18
19
20

23
IN DETAIL
t
21 22
25
28
24
26
27
32
29
30 31
21: Air duct along the fuselage/
wing centre underside is another
prominent feature, rear end of which
is seen in pic. 22. 23: Drain tap
fairing, fuselage underside behind
the wing. 24: Direct view rearward,
showing the radiator gills and a main
undercarriage leg. 25: Rearward
retracting main undercarriage leg.
Retract mechanism fairing is another
prominent feature. 26: Main wheels
have fully faired hubs on the outward
facing sides. 27: Undercarriage
fairing door. 28: Full frontal view of
main undercarriage leg, also viewed
from the side in 29. 30: Anther view
of the main leg, showing the fairing
doors and the wheel well. 31: Main
wheel inner-side hub and drag link.
32: Main undercarriage leg close-up
viewed from front, showing the
connecting link between the main leg
and the undercarriage inner door. Out
door link is much shorter.

33 34 35
36 37 38
39 40 41
42 43 44
45 46
33: Close-up of the elevator trim tab, upper surface. Undersurface similar. 34: Detail of elevator and mass balance. 35: View down the rear fuselage reveals
the tailwheel unit and the angles at which the tailwheel doors are set, when the tailwheel is down. 36: Rear fuselage panel lines and hinged tailwheel fairing
door. 37: Tailwheel unit close-up, showing the lift-links between the leg and the fairing doors. Note the canvass cover screen. 38: Pitot head, left wing tip.
39: Wing underside, showing the flap and aileron hinge lines. 40: Main undercarriage mechanism fairing, showing the door lift links. 41: Wing guns.
42: Main undercarriage wheel well, viewed from rear. 43: Aileron detail, showing fixed trim tab. 44: The wing/fuselage fairing at the leading edge.
45: Wing tip detail. Note Nav. light. 46: Wing guns, left side.

TECHNIQUE
WING CRADLE
FIG. 1.
HERE’S A LITTLE IDEA THAT SOME OF YOU WHO ARE HEAVILY INTO EARLY AVIATION AND BIPLANE SCALE
MODELS MIGHT LIKE CONSIDER FOR TRANSPORT AND AS SPORTCUT AID TO ASSEMBLY AT THE FLYING FIELD
FIG. 1A.
Here, the support jigs,
one for each wing sub-
assembly are in place
on the wing panels
and clamped while
the hardwood strip
re-enforcement braces
are glued.
This is as close as I could get,
with just hand tools, to the
interplane strut anchor-point
brackets that were a feature
of the full size Albatross D.II,
made from sheets metal and
brass picture hooks.

T
he subject, in my case was my
long running (and seemingly
never-ending) project for a
quarter-scale Albatross D.II,
based on Gary Sunderland’s
plans in the FSM Plans Service. I tried
to make this model as near to true scale
as possible, including the rigging and
‘struttery’. To do that, I had to reproduce
(as near as I could) the anchor brackets
for the wing interplane struts that also
anchor the bracing wires.
When one looks at the sketches
(Fig.1 & Fig 1A) of the brackets for the
full size machine, one realises that it is
was cleverly thought out arrangement
that would ease and speed up the work
of the ground-crew riggers who would
have had the job, back in 1916-1918,
to keep the aircraft fettled for flight.
However, when reduced to quarter-
scale, it’s a trickier proposition;
the turnbuckles (from Proctor
Enterprises - pricey but
very good) as are the 12 or
14BA bolts that secure the
turnbuckles and the interplane
struts to the anchor brackets.
As the whole project
ground forward to the point
of doing the rigging, it became
clear that at-the-field assembly
of the airframe with four fully
disassembled wing panels would be
a time consuming fag, particularly in
cold weather – always a good receipe for
finger fumbling!
Something that would group the wing
panels together in partially assembled
state, also suitable for storage and
transport, seemed the answer.
So here it is in glorious pictorial! The
idea holds the upper and lower wing
panels (left and right), as rigged sub
assemblies. The Interplane struts do
their job as they do when the model is
fully assembled and the two-part (front
and rear) cradle for each of the left and
right wing sub assemblies slots over the
leading edges and the trailing edges,
to be held in place with bolts/butterfly
nuts. Each is a simple band-sawn panel
braced with hardwood strip, furnished
with foam faced ‘shoes’ that slot over the
wing leading and trailing edges.
On my model, the bracing wires are
cosmetic rather than functional, the flying
loads being taken by the wing panel
joiners that are ‘flattie’ Graupner blade-
in-box, steel-and-brass components.
The only bracing wires that need to be
undone are the two (one each side) that
run from the top rear outer strut positions
to the fuselage nose. Everything else
stays in place and slides outwards as a
unit, off the wing joiners.
When removed from the fuselage,
here’s a certain amount of ‘sway’ on
each sub assembly, but basically, it all
hangs together. Try it - adapt it to your
own needs. ■
1: The components of
the ply support jigs
band-sawn to shape
and with the strip
wood fore & aft joiners
glued on. 2: One of the
support jigs, now with
the support shoes in
place. Note the foam
cushions. 3 & 4: Close-
ups of the support
shoes showing the foam
inserts that protect the
fabric covering when
slotted over the wing
leading and trailing
edges.
5: Here the left hand
wing sub-assembly
is being slid off the
Graupner wing joiner
‘blades’. 6: Detail of the
support jibs, slotted
over the wing panel
leading and trailing
edges. 7: One complete
wing ‘half’ supported
by the jig and the
interplane struts. All the
wire rigging remains in
place.
1
2
3
4
6
7
5

SUBJECTS FOR SCALE
One of the lesser known allied fighters of WW1, but one that has strong appeal for modellers due to
its pleasing appearance and uncomplicated shape
This is the Hanriot H.D.1 on display in the Graham White Factory annex at the RAF Museum Hendon. It is known to have seen service with the 1e Escrille
de Chasse of the Belgian Aviation Militaire from 1917 during WW1. At one time, just prior to WW2, it was briefly owned by Richard Shuttleworth of the
Shuttleworth Collection, before the wrecked remains were restored in USA. The (then) owner eventually donated it to the Hendon museum. (See full story on
side panel overleaf.
HANRIOT H.D.1
A
lthough one of the lesser-
known pioneer producers
of aeroplanes, the Hanriot
organisation can be traced
back to 1910. But even
before then, founder Frenchman Rene
Hanriot was a celebrated racer of
Darracq cars and designed his ﬁrst
aircraft as early as 1907. Others followed,
notable for super-slender fuselages
and by 1912, Hanroit had established a
factory at Reims together with a ﬂying
school - remember, most customers
were well-healed individuals attracted to
aviation, but who needed to be shown

▼
how to ‘drive’ their new ‘toys’!
Rene Hanriot must have very quickly
gained a good reputation for aviaton by
1911 the Hanriot Monoplane Ltd company
had been established in London, together
with a flying school at the Brooklands
aviation and racing car centre.
Hanriot withdrew from the aviation
scene in 1913 but three years later re-
established himself, at a new factory at
Billancourt, for license production, in
France, of the Sopwith 1.1/2 Strutter.
Hanriot recruited the services of
aircraft designer Pierre Dupont leading
to the ceation of Hanriot H.D.1, a neat
and attractively spaded biplane fighter
characterised by distinct upper wing
dihedral and substantially staged lower
wings.
French military pilots who tested
the H.D.1 were enthusiastic about
its exceptional maneuverability, but
it’s single machine gun armament
was somewhat of a throw-back to
the Nieuport 11 which was, by then,
superceded by such Germany types as
the Albatross D.II now packing twin-gun
firepower, so that the Hanriot design was
bypassed in favour of the SPAD VII.
Yet the Hanriot H.D.1 did find favour
with Belgian pilots and the first Belgian
unit to receive the type was, fittingly,
No.1 Squadron, which began taking
delivery of examples in August 1917.
Top Belgian fighter pilot Willy Coppens,
then a Warrant Officer, was immediately
impressed by the excellent handling
qualities and airframe strength, as
compared to the French Nieuport, which
the H.D.1was intended to replace.
Then, following an Italian Military
Mission to Paris, in November that
year, the Italian Nieuport-Macchi Co.
commenced production of the type,
supplying sufficient numbers that, by the
end of the conflict in November 1918,
some 130 examples of the H.D.1 were in
service with the Italian squadrons.
Silvio Scaroni, one of Italy’s leading
pilots, with 26 victories, flew the H.D.1
extensively, using non-standard two-gun
armament in place of the standard single
gun installation. Probably the greatest
exponent of this aircraft was Frenchman
Charles Nungesser, credited with a total of
45 victories - and almost as many broken
bones, due to his numerous crashes!
His various personal aircraft were
emblazoned his ‘coffin-and-candles’
identity device on the fuselage sides.
Whether he flew the H.D.1 operationally
cannot be certain, but after WW1, he
took one example to U.S.A. (no. 5934)
in 1924 for a barnstorming exhibition
tour, still bearing his notorious fuselage
insignia.
Later, after Nungesser (and Colli’s)
unsuccessful non-stop trans-Atlantic
crossing, (they were both lost without
trace), the aircraft passed through
several ownerships, appeared in several
aviation movies, including the celebrated
silent epic ‘Hell’s Angels’.
Despite all this, the machine
survived, to wind up in the ownership
of Californian aircraft restorer and air
museum operator Ed. Maloney.
Although, during its time in service,
the H.D.1 was quite a useful fighter, it
was normally armed with only a single
machine-gun, at a time when most of
its contemparies and opponents had
adopted the classic, twin-gun armament.
Initially at least, the gun was offset from
the fuselage centreline in doing so while
the gunsight was positioned on the
fuselage centre-line and was thus not
This is the H.D.1 that French ace Charles Nungesser took to USA for a Barnstoring tour in 1924. It was
afterwards used in the Hollywood aviation movie ‘Hell’s Angels’ and eventually, post WW2, wound up wirth
Ed Maloney’s Museum of Flight in California.
One of the Swiss Hanroit H.D.1s during its military
service days, post 1921.

SUBJECTS FOR SCALE
A PRESERVATION
SAGA
Most really early aircraft survivors have
a fascinating tale to tell - perhaps not at
all surprising in view of their longevity
and FSM is indebted to Kevin Panter of the
Shuttleworth Collection for the following
story, and also to Andy Sephton who made
the enquiries.
Hanriot HD1, serial number 75, was built in 1917
by Societé Anonyme des Appareils d’Aviation Hanriot
at Neuilly-Sur-Seine, Paris. It was delivered to the 1e
Escadrille de Chasse as HD-75.
This was the Belgian Air Force’s famous ‘thistle’
squadron and it is believed to have been flown for
a time at the Western front. It was retired by the
Belgian Air Force as a front line fighter in 1928, but
continued as a training machine until the 1930s.
It was sold as surplus to brothers, André, Paul and
Jules Drossaert and registered as OO-APJ; the
registration reflecting the initials of the brothers. It
subsequently passed on to Jaques Ledure who
based the aircraft at Brussels, Évère aerodrome and
at one point the aircraft was used outside a cinema
to promote the WW1 film ‘Wings’. There, it was seen
by Richard Shuttleworth, who purchased the aircraft
in 1938.
Richard flew it back to UK but, after arriving at
Lympne Aerodrome, the Le Rhône engine stopped
and refused to start again. It took two days to resolve
the problems before Richard was able to fly the
Hanriot to Old Warden.
A British civil registration was applied for and the
registration G-AFDX was allocated to enable
Richard to take part in a RoyalAeronautical Society
Garden Party at Heathrow. After this display, the
Hanriot was overhauled at Old Warden before taking
part in further garden parties.
In 1939, Richard Shuttleworth displayed the Hanriot
at a Brooklands Garden Party; unfortunately, during
his return from the display, a wheel fell off the aircraft
after taking off from Brooklands. Despite a warning
telephone call to Old Warden and Richard’s family
trying to warn him of the danger by spelling out
words on the aerodrome with tablecloths, Richard
attempted to land the Hanriot normally and it was
very badly damaged in the ensuing crash. The
wings needed extensive repairs and Richard sent
these to Brooklands to be repaired. WW2 broke out
before the work was completed and the wings were
destroyed during an air raid on Brooklands.
After the war, the aircraft was sold to a collector,
Marvin Hand, in America who completed the
restoration and presented the Hanriot to the RAF
Museum at Hendon where it can still be seen today.
It has since been completely restored to its original
1e Escadrille colours.
t
completely harmonised with the gun line-
of-fire. Later, this gun installation was
repositioned on the centerline, although
the standard armament of one gun
remained.
Twin-gun armament was applied to
some examples of the H.D.1, but these
were the initiative by individual pilots,
to augment firepower, but in doing so,
sacrificing service ceiling and climb rate -
a debatable trade-off!
PURE CONVENTION
The H.D.1 was a typical fighter product
of its time with a wooden airframe with
conventional fabric covering. Good
structural design imparted a strong and
reasonably light structure, with much of
the airframe style of Sopwith incorporated
- not surprisingly, in view of Hanriot’s
license production of Sopwith ‘Strutters’.
Wings were heavily staggered, built
on two spars, internally braced with
cross-wires and steel tube compression
members.
The basic fuselage was of box girder
construction with curved upper deck
plywood skin over rounded formers -
typical of the period. Curved metal side
panels faired the radial cowl into the flat
fuselage sides
Post WW1, the Hanriot H.D.1 soldiered
on with both Belgian and Italian Air Arms
and was still on the strength of both in
1926.
A floatplane version was designated
H.D.2, and operated by U.S.Navy forces
at a few coastal stations in France after
USA entered WW1. Subsequently, some
of these found their was back Stateside,
to be converted to landplane configuration
and used for training purposes, while one
at least was used to fly off from a gun
turret mounted platform on the battleship
USS Mississippi during 1919.
Switzerland acquired sixteen H.D.1s in
1921, while one example found its way to
Ecuador and three to Paraguay.
WHERE TO SEE ONE NOW
As featured ‘In Detail’ elsewhere in this
issue, the Royal Air Force Museum,
Hendon has a superbly restored example,
eminently viewable at ground level (NOT
hung up like a plastic kit!). It can be seen
any day of the week.
The Belgian Musee Royal de l’Armee et
Histoire militaire in Brussels MAY still have
H.D.1 no.78 hung up.
In Switzerland, the Dubendorf Air
Hanroit H.D.1 at the Italian Air Force Museum, Vigna
di Valle, Rome.
The Hanroit H.D.1 presently on show in the Air
Museum at Dubendorf, Switzerland.
An example of the Hanriot H.D.1 built by the Nieuport-Macchi Co. in Italy, for service with the Italian Air
Service. Post WW1, when the Regia Aeronautica was formed in 1925, a few H.D.1s were still on charge.

Flying_Scale_Models_-_Issue_266_-_January_2022.pdf

Flying_Scale_Models_-_Issue_266_-_January_2022.pdf

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Flying_Scale_Models_-_Issue_266_-_January_2022.pdf

Similar to Flying_Scale_Models_-_Issue_266_-_January_2022.pdf (7)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Flying_Scale_Models_-_Issue_266_-_January_2022.pdf