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Eduard 1/48 Pfalz D.IIIa 'Weekend Edition'

By Rob Stewart

Introduction

This kit is another release in Eduard's 'Weekend Edition' series of basic kits (8416), perfect for beginners, WWI enthusiasts, or just anyone with a need to have a short project in the work room in case of inclement weather.

This is a good one for a beginner who wishes to try their hand at rigging. There are not so many wires, and plenty of space between the wings and struts for access.

The kit comes without PE or masks, and with a single marking option, but that shouldn't put anyone off. For a detailed first look review, please see my First Look. I was impressed, as always, with the quality of the parts on first opening the box, and anxious to get going.

First steps

First steps

As a first step, I always spray both sides of each sprue with Tamiya primer, and leave them for 24 hours to dry thoroughly. This is because I use cheap acrylics for my top coats and they don't "bite" into the styrene very well, and tend to make a mess and require many coats.

I then paint the propeller with a light tan acrylic and once it is dry apply a woody effect with oils. On this occasion I simply used burnt sienna, although I sometimes mix in a lighter shade. I then leave the prop out in the hot Arizona sun for a day and then overnight in the workshop to dry.

Interior

Although this is a simplified release, the interior consists of 16 parts and 3 decals, not including the fuselage halves and flooring, so there is quite a bit of detail in there. Construction was smooth, although I had to sand down the width of the floor panel quite a bit to allow the fuselage halves to mate properly. This might have been down to a thicker than desired layer of paint. The assemblies were given a light oil wash to bring out some details and glued into the fuselage.

Engine

The engine was a straight forward build and paint of the Mercedes D.III. I usually colour the cylinders black instead of the called for "dark iron", but that might just be me. There is a chance to do some super-detailing here, by coloring the spark plugs and wiring them to the magnetos with thin thread, but in this case that wouldn't be visible, so I chose not to bother. The engine was then glued in the mount and into a fuselage half.

Assembly

Scratched details

The fuselage was closed and the lower wing, part B4 (not the rounded wing of the D.III version, which is also on the same sprue), added. I then masked and painted the forward half of the fuselage in red, and put another coat of white over the rear. I then appended the tail assemblies and the guns and exhaust, before spraying over a coat of Future.

I added the cabane struts and then did a bit of scratch building. I formed 2 radiator hoses from styrene rod, and the fuel lines from thin wire. I then added the outer struts and the top wing. I applied the decals and another coat of Future at this stage and followed that with adding the undercarriage and the tail control horns. At this stage I suggest not applying parts A9 and B9 to the upper wing, but instead adding them as a final step, once the rigging is complete.

Painting and Markings

The markings given are for a Jasta 18 aircraft, flown Ltn. Hans Muller, in 1918. A photograph of this aircraft exists, but only shows the forward half. There is some conjecture that the markings should include some black stripes on the empennage, and possible on the rear fuselage, as Muller had on his Fokker D.VII. I chose to go with the markings as given by Eduard. The flavor of red I chose was a 60/40 mix of cadmium red and red oxide artists acrylics, thinned with some future for airbrush use.

Decals went on very smoothly and took the setting solution with no problems at all.

Finishing Touches

Close-up

This aircraft had quite simple rigging, and I added it using 0.005" (0.127mm) stainless steel wire.

I then added the propeller, spinner and the upper wing parts, and it was finished.

Conclusion

A very nice little kit, which can be completed quite quickly. It turns out into a very colorful addition to the display cabinet.

Thanks to Eduard for the review sample, and to Matt Bittner for letting me build it.

Eduard 1/48 Pfalz D.IIIa 'Weekend Edition'

By Rob Stewart

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