The Engine
The engine is, as far as I am concerned, the best part of the kit. It goes together well considering it’s age and looks quite good after painting.
The Guns
The guns. What can I say? ‘Oh dear’ would be about as kind as I can be about them.
Last year I decided to give up buying resin and photo etched parts for my models. All I can say is try to find replacements (try Master Model – Geoff). I think Toms Modelworks does a PE set for the Dr.1, and as far as I’m concerned you should definitely buy one for this kit unless you can make your own.
The Wings
The lower wing was slightly out of shape and I had to resort to cutting grooves along the lower surface in order to bend the wing straight.
All the wings on my example were slightly short. It looks just like the wings were laminated with the laminations coming away in places. It wasn’t hard to fix, just time consuming and boring (I hate filling and sanding).
The tail wing just sort of sits there with a large gap around it; more filling. I didn’t add the rudder until later as it looked easy to knock off.
Painting
With the lower wing in place, I painted.
I used light blue for the undersides and dark green for the upper sides and fuselage, the fuselage getting random stripes in Olive Green. The wing struts and propeller had been pre-painted earlier with wood effect, the undercarriage struts with black.
Getting all the struts in place wasn’t too bad. The lower and middle wings are fixed to the fuselage, so really there’s just the top wing and undercarriage to see to.
The Decals
Hurray, something that didn’t fight! All the decals went on fine and settled down well without the aid of any solvents.
Rigging
There’s very little rigging on the Dr.1.
First, I mounted the rudder.
I used some thin plastic strip to cross brace the undercarriage and stretched sprue for rigging between the cabane struts and the control lines.
By the time I came to rig it, I’d misplaced the control horns. By this stage, I have to admit I’d had it with the Dr.1.
I made some poor replacement horns which I superglued in place. The rigging for the controls isn’t very tight, but I just can’t get it to shrink using the ‘hot pin’ method.
Having got this far, I called it finished, then I found the control horns but it was too late. I didn’t think I would be able to remove the ones fitted to the kit without wrecking either the decals or the paint, so it has to stay as it is.
Conclusion…