Albatros Productions | Building the Wingnut Wings Dolphin & Pfalz D.IIIA

Reviewed by Kevin Williams

The "Building the Wingnut Wings"" series of modeling specials from Albatros Productions, offer up a unique look into the world of the subject WWI aircraft, with a look at the aircraft during the wartime years, as well as in the case of this particular volume, some very nice detail shots from various museum type restorations/rebuilds/new builds. Adding up to roughly 60 pages, this would seem to be a sort of "one stop shop" for all fans of the Dolphin and Pfalz D.IIIA. Naturally enough, as the title implies, there is also a great selection of the WNW kits during various stages of their construction, with hints and tips interspersed throughout.

Five sections make up this volume, and they are:

(Most of the sections listed above seem pretty much self-explanatory, so I will elaborate no further.)

The largest portion of this volume is dedicated to the Dolphin build, covering roughly 44 pages, while the rest of the volume is dedicated to the aforementioned Pfalz D.IIIA, with excellent photos and illustrations to be found throughout.

A small portion of the publication, interspersed in certain areas, has data on various WWI aviation sites, publications, and materials, and is most welcome, as they, as often as not, point out material that I had otherwise been unaware of.

Yet another plus to recommend this volume, are the numerous excellent color profiles (11, by my count) offered up by well know aviation artist Ronny Bar; really good stuff.

Anyone with even a passing interest in WWI aviation, is usually familiar with the extensive line of publications offered, and the overall high quality that is typical from Albatros. This volume is certainly no exception, offering forth a glimpse into an era long since passed, but hopefully, never forgotten. Unfortunately for me, now that I've seen what these modeling specials from Albatros really have to offer, I'm quite sure that I'll now just have to order the similar volume on the Fokker D.VIIs.

Press release

My particular copy of the book, had an included press release as well, explaining the nature of the book, as well as pointing out specific highlights.

Typical Photo Quality/Illustrations

The text and model photos, are augmented with a very nice selection of period and/or museum restoration photos, giving the reader lots in the way of "eye candy", in addition to the wonderful Ronny Bar illustrations.

All in all, I'd recommend this book without any reservation at all. At a decent 60 pages, and all on very nice quality paper (a big plus from my point of view), this volume makes for a nice addition to the library, and may well prove invaluable for those that eventually model their own kits. As stated previously, I like this "How to" series so much, that I'm now compelled to seek out the comparable Fokker D.VII volume from the same publisher, as that's sure to be a real treat for me, given my particular passion for the D.VII.

If you have but even a passing interest in WWI aviation, this series of books (as well as indeed all of the other Datafiles), may just convert you into a fan.

On a closing note, there's also a nice dedication to the memory of Des Delatorre, who recently passed to bluer skies, a fitting recognition of a man that was so well regarded in the WWI aviation modeling community, and a friend of many an LSP member.

Review copy compliments of Ray Rimell at Albatros Productions.

© Kevin Williams 2018

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This review was published on Thursday, November 29 2018; Last modified on Thursday, October 03 2019