Brad's Models

Hi all - here’s the Eduard 1/48 Albatros D.III, painted to represent the machine of Ltn Gustav Ernst, Jasta 30, April 1917.

The kit had a few corrections and additions, namely correcting the nose panels, adding nail heads to the fuselage exterior, adding details to the engine and interior, adding aileron control horns, and replacing the undersized kit wheels with items from Barracuda.

All of the markings were masked and sprayed, save the serial number, which was a home made decal.

Though this kit is well over 25 years old, it still is the best Albatros D.III kit on the market.

Here is the Airfix 1/72 Vampire T.11, which was called the T.35A in RAAF service. The only addition to the kit was the addition of the Pavla resin cockpit set, with the rest being out of box.

The kit was painted up in the markings of A79-819, of 2 Operational Conversion Unit, RAAF Base Williamtown, circa 1967.

I also made a base for a small display, utilising the unit patch for 2OCU.

Hi all – here’s the Eduard 1/48 Albatros D.V, boxing 8113.

This one had a couple of modifications. I scratch built a number of internal details, including internal frames, a fuel tank, a compass, and other instruments. Details were added to the engine to better replicate the Mercedes D.III engine used on early DVs. Belts and other bits and bobs were also added inside. One of the enduring criticisms of the Eduard Albatros DV is the kit’s short undercarriage legs; accordingly, I replaced these with some resin aftermarket legs (I can’t remember who they are from, as I bought them a number of years back, but they were a bit rough). I also replaced the kit spinner with a home made vacform item, as the kit spinner is also too rounded and bulbous. I also hand-riveted the nails on the fuselage. Rigging is elastic, with “bob’s buckles” turnbuckles and sleeves. The exhaust pipe is a Rex metal item.

The machine is painted in the markings of an early DV, D.2164/17, flown by 27 victory ace Karl Thom when he flew with Jasta 21, around June 1917. Thom would eventually earn the Pour le Merite, or “Blue Max”, on 01 November 1918, being one of the last aviation recipients of this revered award. Paint was a combination of oil paints for the fuselage, and SMS acrylic lacquers for the other colours (most were my own mix), and the decals from Eduard’s earlier 1124 dual combo boxing.

For a more detailed build log, see here –

https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13255.0

This kit has been a stalwart of Eduard's WW1 line up for 20 or so years, and she still builds up as the best 1/48 DV on the market today. The kit's relative simplicity when it comes to struts and rigging also makes it a great kit for someone cutting their teeth on 1/48 WW1 models.

Here is the 1/48 Eduard Messerschmitt Bf-109E-1 Weekend Edition, built with the addition of the Eduard etched fret for this kit. I don’t know too much about Bf-109s, so I am sure there are plenty of errors! The model is painted in the markings of a machine of 1/JG26, France, 1940. This scheme seemed a little more interesting due to the green spinner and possible lack of white infills to the fuselage markings. The decals came from an old Aeromaster sheet from 1994 (which I have had in the stash for at least 20 years), which, sadly, silvered a bit (not surprising for decals that are nearly 30 years old..!). The national markings and aircraft number were sprayed using home made masks. The paints used for the finish were all SMS acrylic lacquers (my new favourite paint), but the RLM02 and RLM71 were ‘reddened’ up a little bit, as they were a bit too ‘green’ for my taste. Overall, this is an excellent kit which goes together nicely (so nicely in fact that I am tempted to start another one!).

Here is Airfix’s lovely 1/48 Hawker Hurricane Mk 1, built as a Christmas project at the end of 2022. This was my first time using acrylic lacquers (SMS and AK) and I am hooked! Markings were also masked and sprayed.

The aircraft is painted up in the markings of an 85SQN machine, Lille-Seclin, France, April 1940.

Build log is here -

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235120334-finished-christmas-mojo-build-148-airfix-hurricane-mki/

This one is a ‘What if” Fokker Dr.1 seaplane, based on the 1/48 Eduard Dr.1 kit.

This one was just for a bit of fun (so apologies to those who aren’t fans of ‘what if’ subjects). I added floats, extended the cowl to fit a Oberursel Ur.III twin row rotary engine (from Small Stuff; this engine is a kit in itself), added a vertical stabiliser, added some cockpit details, and replaced the guns with some from Gaspatch. I also scratch built the beaching trolleys and trestles. The German naval lozenge is from Aviattic, and decals are from the Eduard kit and the spares box.

More pictures and the detailed build log is here -

https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12812.0

Here is Eduard’s lovely 1/48 Fokker Dr.1, built in the markings of Lt Hans Koerner, Jasta 19, 1918.

Decals were Aviattic Fokker Streaking, and Pheon decals for the markings.

More photos and a link to the build log is here -

https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=13221.0

I’m on a bit of a ‘bent’ for older kits at the moment. As such, I present my first completion of 2022 - the 1/48 Monogram Bf-109G-10. This one was released by Monogram around 1991 and traces its origins back to the Revell release of 1978 (indeed you can still find this release available today; Revell has been releasing this kit on and off again, most recently in 2016). The kit still holds up well today; it has generally accurate lines, recessed panels, is an easy build. Sure it’s no Eduard super kit, but it sure passes quite nicely for a 109G-10 to my somewhat uneducated eye.

I picked this one up for somewhere around $5-10 at a swap and sell some years back. I picked this boxing because I have very vivid memories of buying this boxing as a kid, getting my hands on the dark green plastic, and building the kit in a hurry. Whilst I don't remember how I painted it, I do remember re-painting it a year or two later in a blotchy 'Africa' scheme, similar to that painted on 109Es (totally not accurate... but hey, I was maybe 13 years old, so accuracy wasn't a real focus back then). No idea what happened to it, but pretty sure it didn't survive the 'Cancian turkey shoot' in the backyard some time later... ahem.

Given the kit’s simplicity, I did make a few modifications. I replaced the cockpit with some random 109G cockpit bits and seat belts that I had in the spares box. I replaced the kit exhausts and wheels with resin aftermarket items, added mesh to the radiators and ribs to the radiator flaps, I added a new pitot from brass tube, and I cut and repositioned the flaps, elevators, and rudder. The rest was all stock kit.

I painted this one up in fairly bland POA markings, based on one of the schemes from the Eduard kit. I had a set of Eduard decals for the tail shield, Wrk number and stencils, but all other markings were masked and sprayed.

This kit has its origins in 1967, making it some 54 years old. Despite its age, the kit is generally accurate in outline and dimensions, and is a great base for a detailing project. It does need some TLC, as the base kit has exaggerated wing ribs, incorrect engine cowling / louver details at the front end, and no cockpit to speak of. It also has a rudimentary “U” shaped set of struts, which slot into channels in the upper wing (leaving unsightly and inaccurate gaps). Hence, I filled in the strut channels, sanded down the flying surfaces, scratch built a new cockpit, corrected the engine louvers to more accurately represent a Rolls Royce Eagle powered variant, added new guns, and various other bits and pieces. I painted the model in the markings of A7422 of No 110 SQN, mid 1917. The markings are a combination of sprayed (for the SQN insignia and number), and decals (roundels, serials). Rigging is using Uschii elastic.

Work has been keeping me very busy of late, so here is my latest completion (my first in well over six months), the 1/48 Eduard Morane Saulnier Type N "Bullet".

This is the 8090 non-profipack kit, released 15 years ago back in 2004. The kit is quite an easy build (which is what I needed, having not really built much recently), but I did make a few adjustments and additions here and there. I added some RFC style seatbelts, wiring for instruments, some spare Lewis drums in the cockpit, a gaspatch Lewis gun, some external details here and there, strengthened the tailplane by replacing the elevator shaft with brass tube, and replaced the kit wheels (which are way too small) with Eduard after-market RFC-style wheels.

The markings came from the spares box. The kit was painted in the markings of A.175 of No 60 SQN, Royal Flying Corps. This was the machine in which the first Commanding Officer of 60 SQN, Major Francis “Ferdy” Waldron, was shot down and mortally wounded on 03 July 1916. The encounter is described thus in Alex Revell’s Osprey Book on 60 SQN RFC:

“On the morning of 3 July, ‘Ferdy’ Waldron led 5 bullets in a patrol to decoy attention away from NE 2cs attacking St Quentin. Lts J H Simpson and D V Armstrong fell out with engine trouble, but Waldron, Lt H H Balfour and Capt R R Smith-Barry flew on, above the Arras to Cambrai road. Approaching Cambrai, a formation of enemy two seaters, led by a Fokker E Type was seen, followed by two additional Fokker monoplanes, bringing the number of enemy machines to around a dozen. Undeterred by these odds, Waldron immediately led Balfour and Smith-Barry in an attack. Harrold Balfour later wrote: ‘I’m sure they were not contemplating war at all but Ferdy pointed us towards them and led us straight in. My next impressions were rather mixed. I seemed to be surrounded by Huns in two-seaters’. Waldron was outmanoeuvred and attacked by a two seater, flown by Uffz Howe of FA5b. Balfour saw that his CO was in trouble and succeeded in driving off the enemy, but the damage was done. Waldron had been badly wounded, and although he managed to crash land his damaged Morane behind enemy line, he died of his wounds that night”.

Indeed a brave chap, who suffered the same fate as many who courageously faced enormous odds in combat above the front lines.

Here is the Airfix 1/72 Spitfire F Mk22, built with a few additions here and there (namely a replacement cockpit, elevators, gun barrel and vacform canopy).

Here is the 1/72 scale Albatros D.Va from Airfix. This kit’s moulds date from 1957, making the mould around 63 years old! (that's 24 years older than I am...). This is the boxing from the early 2000s, picked up for $4 at a swap and sell.

With this build, I wanted to re-kindle that child like feeling of building something for fun, with minimal modifications, and not a care for accuracy. To correct the ancient Airfix kit's flaws would be to scratch build an entire model. So, in the spirit of fun, this one was largely out of the box.

Well, I say out of box, but I couldn't help myself. I made a couple of changes, but these were very basic, limited only to things I just couldn't live with. I added a rudimentary cockpit, replaced the engine and guns (both from Roden), heavily modified the spinner and replaced the spindly kit propeller, sanded and refined the flying surfaces, refined the detail on the wheels, sanded down the raised fuselage panels and re-scribed them (though I did keep the characteristic louvers and rivets on the nose – these are a prominent feature of the old mould, even if not entirely accurate).

The model was painted with acrylics, with oil paints used for the ‘wood’ fuselage. The model was painted to represent the markings of a machine from Jasta 4, late 1917. Rigging is from elastic.

I also had a little bit of a play with the display base, with a rough attempt to set the model on one of the old early 80’s release boxes (from the era where Palitoy owned Airfix… Palitoy released a number of Airfix kits with box art of the built model on a blueprint, for those that remember – of note, Airfix never re-boxed the Albatros in one of these boxings, so this makes it a little more quirky and unique as a base).

As a final bit of fun, I also created a ‘box top’ for what may have been, had Airfix released this one during the Palitoy era in the early / mid 1980s

Here are two Airfix 1/48 scale Mustangs, built straight out of the box for a local club build.

Hi all,

Here is the 1/48 Bristol Bulldog kit from Lindberg. This kit traces its lineage right back to 1968, which makes the moulds 52 years old…! Extensive modifications were made to the kit, including reworking all of the external surfaces (the kit comes with horrible textured fabric surfaces and raised panel lines), scratchbuilding the cockpit (the kit cockpit is non-existent), correcting the underside of the nose, correcting all of the nose panels, adding the chin radiator, adding the under-belly panel and circular under-fuselage fairing, replacing and detailing the engine cylinders, pushrods, sparkplugs and other details, scratchbuilding the windscreen, adding gun sights, bomb racks, navigation lights, and a whole bunch of other changes too numerous to list here.

I painted the machine in the (rather boring) markings of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) machine, using Red Roo decals for serial numbers. The national markings were spray painted. RAAF machines did not appear to be fitted with radio equipment. No photographic evidence found to show that RAAF Bulldogs sported antenna wires, nor do any photos show that RAAF machines sport lower starboard wing mounted air-driven generators (though the fittings for said generators remained). RAAF machines could be seen with various combinations of bomb racks, upper wing navigation lights and lower wing flare racks. Any combination can be seen. The combination I chose was bomb racks and upper wing navigation lights.

The build took me just under four months all up. It was a fun build, but it fought me most of the way.

Build progress and more detail shots are here - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235065227-wip-148-lindberg-bristol-bulldog/

“The sound of bullets tearing through canvas, wood, and metal; the young pilot’s heart thumps in his chest. That last burst missed his goggled helmet by mere inches. He desperately throws the control column left and right, presses the rudder bar with all his waning strength, but his attacker is in a far better machine and is far more experienced. The enemy stays doggedly on his tail, hurling more lead at his machine. As the fight gets lower and lower, he prays that his luck holds out. Tearing canvas, water pouring from the holed radiator, a stuttering engine and the smell of fuel indicate that his trusty steed is mortally wounded. The fight is over. Finding the nearest clearing, the young pilot throws the groaning machine to the earth. It rumbles along the rough ground, now under its own control. Knowing he is now a passenger along for the ride, the young pilot tightens his shoulder harness in preparation for the inevitable sudden stop. His craft lurches of the bank of a small river, it’s shark-like nose ending its days unceremoniously dumped into the muddy water. The young pilot is dazed, but alive. What was terror now turns to anger with the release of the tension. He tears of his goggles, throws his harness off, and climbs onto the spine of his machine to take stock of his luck. As his victor flies over the scene, waggling his wings, the young pilot hurls his fist at the enemy; “You win this time”, he screams. He may have been vanquished, but he has lived to fight another day”.

This rough idea is the back story behind my latest completion, a small crash diorama based on the 1/48 scale Eduard Albatros DVa.  This is a project that I’ve had in mind since way back in 2006. It’s based off the Eduard 1/48 Albatros DVa.

This was my first time at modelling terrain, and modelling water. I made plenty of mistakes (many of them are obvious) but it was a good learning experience.

 The aircraft itself was modified to incorporate battle damage, in order to help tell some of the story. The aircraft personal and unit markings are fictional, but broadly represent markings of the mid 1918 period. I included a four-leaf clover motif on the fuselage to help with the idea that the pilot’s luck has held out. The pilot is a modified figure using various bits and pieces I had in the spares box. I gave him a set of goggles that he’s holding in his left hand. I am definitely NOT a figure painter, as you can see

 Progress pictures of all aspects of the build are in the following threads:

 https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=10149.0

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235052386-vanquished/

Here is the Encore (Roden) 1/72 Pfalz D.III. This is their “Blue Max” boxing, which depicts the aircraft flown by Ltn Bruno Stachel (George Peppard) in the 1966 movie “The Blue Max”. If you haven’t seen this aviation classic, I strongly recommend it. he kit was built with the addition of the PART photo-etched set. The kit itself is a bit rough around the edges, and requires a bit of refinement, but it looks like a Pfalz. The Lozenge decal is from Aviatik, and presents some better colours than those included in the kit. These decals are excellent; translucent (which makes them good for pre-shading), very thin, durable, and able to be contorted across compound curves (mostly). This was especially useful given the compound curves of the fuselage; I didn’t get it perfect but I was happy enough in the end. Rigging is from Uschi brand elastic. 

I didn’t go for a ‘movie perfect’ model; rather, I built is as a ‘normal’ Pfalz (though I did mix up the D.III and D.IIIa parts, deliberately), with the markings broadly representative of the movie aircraft.

I added a pilot from the spares box, with a rather stern looking head from an Airfix BE-2C crewman, and a scarf made from foil. I tried to replicate a spinning propeller, but nothing I tried or looked at really looked convincing, so I simply made a prop-less spinner from scrap plastic.

Overall this was a fun little build.  Good hunting, herr Leutnant! 

Here is the old 1970s era 1/48 Arii Spitfire Mk.VIII.  This one is built out of the box, with the addition of seat belts made from masking tape. It’s painted up in the markings of SQNLDR S. Susans of 79SQN RAAF, 1945, using the DK decals set plus some homemade masks.

 I have fond memories of building this as a kid back in the early 90s, ham-fistedly painting it with thick coats of humbrol enamels and fictitious markings, and thought it would be fun to build it again~25 years later – indeed it was.

 In comparison to the contemporary Eduard kit, this one certainly shows its age, but for the relative price difference (I picked this up for ~$10), it still builds up to a nice model relatively simply. On the negative side, the kit has a very simplistic and inaccurate cockpit, the canopy is thick, distorted, and doesn’t fit, some filling is needed around the wing attachments (roots, chin, under-fuselage), the chin scoop doesn’t fit, the exhausts are thick and simplistic, and the characteristic “gull” shaped wing / fuselage underside is not represented. On the plus side, this is a simple kit (only 40 pieces in total, it has some very fine recessed panel lines and rivet detail, and the overall shape looks like a Spitfire to me…!  

Here is the Eduard 1/48 Pfalz D.III kit, painted in the markings of a machine from Jasta 4. All of the markings were masked, and the serials were home made decals. I built this one with some minor additions to the cockpit, and the replacement of the engine with a Karaya resin Mercedes D.III. The rigging is from elastic.

Here is the Eduard 1/72 Hellcat.  I painted this one in the markings of Hellcat Mk.1 JW-321 from 804SQN, HMS Archer, Op Meridian, January 1945. I used the H-Model decals, set HMD72013.

I will confess upfront I know virtually nothing about these aircraft, so I built the kit out of the box, using what options I could see from the line drawing and photos of the aircraft in the decal instructions. If I had a tip for this build I would recommend the clear panels at the back of the cockpit be glued to the fuselage halves before they go together. I glued them in after the fuselage was closed and had all sorts of trouble getting them to fit properly due to interference from the head rest. This meant that the sliding section of the canopy didn’t fit properly, which I then made a mess of trying to attach…. Otherwise I can’t recommend this kit highly enough – fit and detail is excellent.

 I followed the Eduard instructions for the colours – Eduard calls out a number of gunze paints for the camouflage (the H-Models instructions don’t give paint numbers), which I used, but to my eye they seem quite a bit off based on photos of other models that I have seen. Oh well.  I also realised after I took the photos that the gear doors are backwards – I have since fixed these….!  Weathering was done with oil paints and pastels.  

This is the Airfix 1/72 Bf-109E-7 Trop, with Eduard etch, resin wheels and seat, and replacement exhausts.  Markings of for an aircraft of 2/JG-27, Libya, 1941.

Here is the Flashback 1/72 scale Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter. This was built out of the box, in the markings of N5241 of the 4th Escadrille, Royal Belgian Aeronautique Militaire, 1917.  These aircraft were obtained by the Belgians from the British and saw a long service life, so I went for a weathered look. The decals came from a mixture of the Blue Rider sheet BR-236 “Royal Belgian Aeronautique Militaire 1914-1918” and the spares box.

The kit was reasonable to build, however, be very careful fitting the struts – lots of test fitting is required and it took me a couple of tries. Even then, the wing isn’t quite at the right angle. Probably a combination of the kit and my poor construction skills…! Otherwise, it is a lovely kit straight out of the box.

Here is my rendition of the small 1/72 Hasegawa Polikarpov I-16, built straight out of the box without any modifications. The kit is painted up to represent a machine from the Spanish Republican forces, “Alas Rojos” Esquadrille, c1938.  

I tracked my build time on this one - I spent just on 12 hours overall for this build – around 4.5 hours for construction, and 7.5 hours in painting. Paint was done with Gunze acrylics and oils for weathering. There were no issues whatsoever with the build itself. 

Here’s the Roden 1/48 Nieuport 28. The model is built straight out of the box, with the addition of seat belts from tape and rigging from elastic.

The aircraft is painted in the marking s of N6234, flown by 1st Lt Edward B Elliot, 27th Aero Squadron, Touquin, August 1918. The aircraft displayed a characteristic mix of American roundels and French rudder markings, plus the normal eagle and chequerboard markings of the 27th Aero. Decals came from the Superscale set MS481216. Decals behaved nicely but some silvered despite my best efforts and future baths.

This is the Airfix P-51D mustang, built straight from the box, built up in the markings of a RAAF P-51D, Korean war era. This was my first attempt at a natural metal finish and it was done with alclads and some bare metal foil.

Here's the Italeri 1/72 Bell 47, painted in markings of the Australian Army, Veitnam war. 

After a 4 month hiatus from modelling due to work sending me all over the world, I’ve finally found some time at the bench. I wanted a fairly quick and easy build so I picked up the Italeri 1/48 Hawker Typhoon 1B, which I believe is a re-box of the Hasegawa kit.  I know next to nothing about these aircraft so I pretty much went OOB, save for adding some padding and harnesses to the seat belts, the ignitor wiring for the rockets, and the antenna to the rear fuselage. The fit of the fuselage insert and lower wings was not great and needed a decent amount of filler, sanding and some re-scribing. Otherwise the kit was very nice.

 I went with one of the kit schemes, ZY-Y from 247 SQN, France, June 1944 (I read that the Typhoon only carried the ‘full’ invasion stripes for a very short time during and after D-Day, so I weathered the stripes slightly less).  I masked and painted the stripes, national markings and codes. Paint was mainly gunze acrylics, except for the Ocean Grey, which was my first go at using Lifecolour acrylics (which I had no dramas with whatsoever – they even brush paint very nicely). 

All up this one took me a bit under two weeks to build. The low parts count helped 

This one is the Encore Albatros D.III (Oeffag Series 153) in 1/72 scale. The Encore kit uses the Roden plastic with some resin and etched extras thrown in. The kit is designed by Roden for maximum sales flexibility in that the upper forward decking and cowls are all separate, as well as the upper wing being split into three sections, all to facilitate the different German and Austrian models of the Albatros. Whilst great, this makes construction a little trickier. The plastic is soft and has a rough texture to it, as well as a bit of flash, so some care is needed in the clean up. I found ut the hard way that the kit interplane struts were too long, and when the wing was mounted to the cabane struts, the interplane struts ended up bowing and pushing the bottom wings downwards…. so I ended up having to trim the struts and re-mount the wing. Sigh. The lower wings still don’t have quite enough dihedral even now, but I’m not mounting that wing for a third time….

Otherwise, this build was straight out of the box, painted in the marking of a Polish D.III of the 7 Eskadra "Kosciuszko" flown by American volunteers during the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1920. The decals were a mixture of Techmod (for the Austrian ‘sworl’ printed fabric), the kit decals and some from the spares box. I found out the hard way that the Techmod decals don't stick too well and are brittle when dry - I found it very difficult to remove the rib tape masking without pulling up the decal, and the top wing needed to have sections re-decalled and re-weathered.  Very frustrating. 

The kit is not for beginners, but still builds up nicely in the end.

This is the 1/48 Eduard Fokker E.V, weekend edition, straight out of the box save for the addition of some seat belts from tape.  For the fabric covered areas, I ended up using the Aviattic lozenge decals, which are transluscent and therefore you can get some neat effects with pre-shading. I painted the wing in the colours of the 'current' theory for these aircraft - i.e. a streaked 4 colour wing. 

The aircraft is painted in the markings of Fokker E.V 149/18, attributed to Ltn Friedrich Liebig of Jasta 1, Helesmes airfield, October 1918. 

This is the 1/48 Gaspatch Models Salmson 2A2 (mid-production series), built straight out of the box in the markings of the 1st Aero Squadron, United States Air Service, 1918.

This is the new mould Airfix 1/72 Tiger Moth, built in 4 days. The kit was built straight out of the box with the addition of seat belts from masking tape and rigging from elastic.  Overall this is an excellent little kit.

This is the old Revell 1/72 Sopwith triplane, first moulded in 1966. This kit required extensive modifications, including a new cowl, new engine, scratch built cockpit, re-skinned and re-profiled fuselage, new undercariage, new guns, re-profiled horizontal stabiliser, plus a myriad of other details. Painted this in the markings of R.A. Little, Australia's highest scoring fighter pilot of the First World War. 

This is the old 1/72 Revell Nieuport 28. This kit needed some work, including a re-shaped cowl, re-skinned fuselage, scratch built cockpit, scratch built undercarriage, plus some other details. This is painted in the markings of an aircraft of the 95th Aero Squadron, United States Air Service, 1918. 

This is the Roden 1/48 SE5A, built with some modifications to the cockpit, engine, and some exterior details. I added some engine bay detail as the kit came with none, and the back of the engine is quite visible through the panels under the fuselage. This kit is painted in the markings of a machine from 2SQN, Australian Flying Corps. 

This is the 1/48 Roden Airco D.H9, with modifications made to the engine, cockpit and other details. The kit is built in the markings of A6-16, Royal Australian Air Force, mid 1920s. This was not an easy build due to the complex break down of the kit parts and the soft Roden plastic. 

This Fokker D.III is converted from the Special Hobby 1/48 Fokker D.II kit.  I created the twin row Oberursal rotary by gluing two of the engines from the Eduard Fokker E.III kit together.  Other additions included re-skinning the fuselage, adding some details to the interior, scratch building a new rudder and tail skid, adding new guns and and adding new wheels.  

This is the Eduard 1/48 Albatros D.V, with details added to the cockpit, engine bay, and some modified (extended) undercarriage legs. Painted in the markings of D2236/17 "Lulu" of Jasta 3. Built c 2006. 

This is the Blue Max Sopwith 7F1 Snipe in 1/48. The kit needed a new cockpit, which was largely scratch built, plus some other details added. It is painted in the markings of an aircraft from 4SQN Australian Flying Corps, based in Bickendorf, Germany, 1919.

This is the Eduard 1/48 Nieuport 17, built straight out of the box. I chose to paint the model in the markings of N2779 of Escadrille N.112, flown by Sois Lieutenant Carre, April 1917. This aircraft was forced down near Leffincourt and captured by the Germans. The markings came from the AeroMaster sheet 48-504 "Silver Hawks - Nieuport 17 Fighters 1916-1917 Pt 1”.

This is the 1/72 Roden Fokker D.VII (OAW), straight out of the box (save masking tape seatbelts), using PD Decals for the markings and Techmod lozenge. This kit was not an easy build and took some work to get everything to fit together. 

This is the resin 1/48 Jager Albatros C.X, built with some modifications to the cockpit and engine, and with scratch built undercarriage and other details. 

Here is the excellent 1/48 Albatros D.III (Oeffag Series 153) kit from Eduard, built out of the box using the excellent Pheon decals.

One day a friend of mine told me he had tried to build the old Albatros D.V from Eduard and had not had a good time of it. He had gotten frustrated and snapped the wings off the kit and thrown it in the bin. I told him to fish it out of the bin and send it to me, as I had an idea on how to salvage the kit...

Concept

The concept being that this aircraft suffered battle damage and a wounded pilot, and was bought in for a bad landing on the airfield, pulled apart and those salvageable parts (fuselage) stashed behind the squadron hangar. Here the Squadron adjutant, accompanied by the squadron Commanding Officer, are reviewing their ledger one cold morning and striking the aircraft off charge for either scrap or spare parts.

Construction.

This diorama was built using an old broken 1:48 scale Eduard Albatros D.V with a few modifications.  The figures were from CMK, and are resin, painted with oil paints (I am in no way a figure painter...!). The hangar is scratch built from balsa wood. Ground work is plaster and model railroad grass. Other items are from the spare parts box.

Incidentally, this little diorama won "Best of Show" in the 2012 Queensland Model and Hobby Expo. My friend was somewhat amused.

Here's the Eduard Sopwith Camel, my first biplane model, built out of the box, circa 2005.

This is the 1/48 Eduard Fokker D.VII (OAW) profipack, built out of the box in the marking of an aircraft from Jasta 13.

This is the Eduard 1/48 Roland C.II kit, straight out of the box.

This is the excellent Wingnut Wings 1/32 Albatros D.Va kit, built straight out of the box with no additions.  The kit is painted in the markings of Leutnant Walter Boning while with Jasta 76b, Spring 1918.

This is the 1/48 Roland D.II from Hi-Tech, and was my second Great War build back in 2005.  Four moves of house later, coupled with a careless removalist and the Roland needed a rescue. I refurbished the Roland back in 2012.

This is the Eduard 1/48 Albatros D.III (OAW), my third Great War aircraft model, built back in early 2006 with a few minor additions and some new wheels.  

The elastic was aeroclub elastic, which interestingly, 8 years later, has become slack, brittle, and perished. I will re-rig this one some day.

This is the Eduard 1/72 Albatros D.V.  This is a great little kit but benefited from the addition of some minor details.  The kit is painted in the markings of an aircraft from Jasta 77b.

This is the 1/48 Roden Junkers D.I kit, built mostly out of the box save for the addition of some etched Spandau jackets and seat belts. The colours were based on the research from the late Dan-San Abbott. 

Here's the Eduard Pfalz D.IIIa, in the markings of Ltn Mueller, Jasta 18, mid 1918 (these markings were later put into the Eduard "weekend edition" of this kit). 

This is the Eduard 1/48 Albatros W4 float plane. An excellent kit up to Eduard's usual standard.

Unfortunately this one fell victim to a removalist around 2008 and sadly was smashed...

This 1/48 scale model was a kit bash using a spare Eduard Fokker D.VII fuselage, a spare Roden Fokker D.VII engine, and the resin wings from the Omega Models Fokker V.23 kit.  

Unfortunately, this was one of a couple of models that fell victim to a careless removalist in 2008...

Just a little bit of fun using an old 1/48 Eduard Pfalz D.III tail, an old Jager pilot figure, and a Dachshund from the Eduard Bf-110 kit with some flying kit added. 

This is Eduard's 1/48 Albatros D.II in the markings of a machine from jasta 5, which was captured by the allies in early 1917.  

Alas this model was one of a few that fell victim to a careless removalist and was broken beyond repair. 

This is the Roden 1/32 Albatros D.III, built on commission for a friend in the markings of Leutnant Werner Voss, Jasta 5, late May 1917. The model was detailed using the Eduard etched set plus some other scratch built details. The decals come from Spada decals. The figure is from Model Cellar and was painted by Mr Stephen Lawson. 

This is the Roden 1/32 Fokker F-1 (Dr-1 pre-production aircraft), modeled for a friend on consignment in the markings of Leutnant Werner Voss, September 1917. 

This model was a conversion of the 1/48 Aeroclub BE-12 kit combined with the cowl from the Roden SE5a to build a BE-12b. This was done before Roden came out with their BE-12b kit.  It includes a scratch built cockpit plus a bunch of other exterior details.

This is the Eduard 1/144 MiG-21MF, built out of the box for a little bit of fun. 

This is the Tamiya (ex Italeri) 1/72 A-6E intruder, straight out of the box. My first jet model in about 10 years.

The AZModels Kayaba KA-1 Japanese autogyro in 1/48 is a fun kit, but it needs some detailing.  I detailed the cockpit, added an engine based on the Argus engine from the Eduard 1/48 BF-108 kit, scratch built the undercarriage, folded the helicopter blades and added a few other details here and there. 

This is the Hasegawa 1/48 Messerschmitt Bf-109G-6 with the Aires engine and cockpit sets added, as well as the Eduard etched set. This model was built in around 2006. 

My only armour model to date... straight out of the box, of course.