Marco’s Miniatures 1/24 Pfalz DIII
By Andrea Ferrari
My ancient Marco’s Miniatures 1:24 Pfalz DIII – a beautifully detailed kit of an elegant biplane fighter which was a joy to build, with a complete, highly detailed brass photo-etched internal structure (made up of separate ribs and stringers!), thin plastic vacuformed wings and outer fuselage shell plus a number of assorted white metal, wood, brass and resin small parts for the wheels and tail skid, wings/undercarriage struts, cockpit instruments / internal structure and the beautifully detailed Mercedes DIII engine. The two LMG 08/15 machine guns (correctly hidden in the fuselage) also came with very fine photo-etched cooling sleeves and aiming reticles.
Despite its apparent (and very real) complexity, the kit went together pretty well thanks to a lot of sanding and an equal amount of care and patience - the finished cockpit is a jewel in itself, but sadly it doesn’t photograph well on the completed model. The resin pilot figure, which is actually very crude, also came from the same manufacturer if memory serves me well. It is finished as a factory-finished plane, i.e. with standard silver fuselage and wings, sporting a bright yellow nose, struts and landing gear and a green tail - serial number 1370/17, flown first by by Werner Voss and later on by Vizefeldwebel Hecht of Jasta 10, Jagdgeschwader 1. The whole contraption may look somewhat primitive compared to the stunning standards set today by the 1:32 Wingnut line of WWI planes, but back in 1992 it qualified as a truly groundbreaking kit!
© Andrea Ferrari 2019
This article was published on Sunday, November 03 2019; Last modified on Sunday, November 03 2019