Max was a friend of the Lafayette Foundation throughout the later years of his life.

Hi Stephen,

Seriously good stuff, this will be very impressive when done.

Great work.

Al

Thanks Al!

Fokker D.VII (OAW)Mid-production. Thought to be Jasta 36. The fuselage banding is probably red & white. It represents the heraldric insignia of a breaching ladder against a castle wall. A similar motif was seen on a machine from Jasta 29.

Jasta 30 early, Albatros built Fokker D.VII. Done.

These will also be included in the diorama.

More bits and pieces.

Thanks Michael some of these are left over bits from my Aerobase / DML Dr.I builds. Other wing parts are from the Blue Max kit. Here are the two Fokker D.VII kits under construction now. Top is marked as Jasta 59, Eduard kit with Eduard 4 clr. loz. Bottom is marked as Jasta 33, DML kit modified with Microsculpt 4 clr. loz.

Here are some wings from the old Copper State Models. These are "extra" resin wings



These are left overs from other builds dating from 1992.



Remember that Nivelles was the home for Jastaschule II and some of these parts can be attributed to trainers and wrecks.

Here are some extra Albatros D.III-V-Va wings. Some Eduard (D.III kits) and several resin types of the old issues from Tom's Modelworks. Two still need the radiator facades.

This will be the barber pole out side the shop. Shave and a haircut 8p. (twobits American).

The following images are not believed to be from Nivelles. But definately include German multi-seat aircraft being dismantled at the EOW.

Here is where I am at with some of my options for colour schemes as related to the units represented at Nivelles.

I. Armee Gruppe Rupprecht. Collection airfield. Nivelles. - kits used -
4 Armee.
Gruja Nr.3.
Jasta 14 SSW D.III (Old Eduard kit?)
Jasta 16b Fok. D.VII early Schwerin (white/black/white) bands around tail unit, 402/18 (ES 48080), early Schwerin Eduard kit, Uffz Holtzem. DONE.
Jasta 29 Fok. D.VII (AM48-183)early Schwerin DML Ltn. Auffarth. DONE.
Jasta 56. Fok. D.VII early Alb. derelict Jager, DONE.

Gruja Nr.6.
Jasta 7 Fok. Dr.I 470/17 Jacobs late version DML / Dragon, DONE.
Jasta 7 Fok. D.VII (ES 48189) early Schwerin, Jacobs DML, DONE.
Jasta 20 Brown fuselage w/ white tail unit? (Relation to J.30?)
Jasta 40s (PD 48-016 or Roden #421)(PD 48016) Fok. D.VII late OAW. leaping stag Roden?
Jasta 51. Tail unit half grn half blk Kit?

Marine Feld Jagdgeschwader,
MFJ I, (AM48-612) Sachsenberg Early Schwerin (3 vent) Eduard, MFJ I
MFJ III Fok. D.VII 4499/18 (AM48-611)(Mid Prod OAW) Eduard. DONE.
MFJ III Fok. E.V 144/18(modified DML kit decals #5909.)DML, DONE.
MFJ IV
MFJ V.

6 Armee.
Gruja Nr.7.
Jasta 28 Fok. D.VII kit?
Jasta 30 Fok. D.VII early Alb. (ES 48042 & Roden 421)Roden, DONE.
Jasta 30 Fok. D.VII 247/18 (Hybrid kit) DONE.
Jasta 33 Fok. D.VII 6305/18 late OAW(ES48042)DML, Lt. Kuehn DONE.
Jasta 43 Fok. D.VII early Alb. Eduard (Royal kit #20001)DONE.
Jasta 43 Fok. D.VII(Superscale 48-479, AM48-183) late Alb. modified DML kit, DONE.
Jasta 46w Fok. D.VII late Alb. Eduard (Royal kit #20001)DONE.
Jasta 52 Fok. D.VII Black fuselage w/ white wheels & radiator shell Eduard or Roden kit DONE
Jasta 63 Fok. D.VII Black & white fuselage band, late model Alb. Eduard or Roden kit

17 Armee.
Jagdgeschwader Nr.3.
Jasta 2 Banding on fuselage like war ribbon tail planes half white half black. 8132 Eduard DONE.
Jasta 26 (Roden) Black & white fuselage & tail banding. DML (3 vent) DONE.
Jasta 27 Fok. D.VII(Monogram)decals # 5203 Roden kit #415
Jasta 36 Fok. D.VII(OAW)DML DONE.
Jasta 36 Fok. D.VII(OAW)Eduard DONE.
Jasta 36 Pfalz D. XII wrecked Blue Max

Gruja Nr.4
Jasta 1 Fok. D.VII Grn triangle on fin and grn and white angled stripes on horizontal tail plane and maybe a wrap around ribbon on the fuselage. Eduard Johannistahl 601/18.
Jasta 57 Fok. D.VII early OAW lt blue similar to J.56 but with yellow details.
Jasta 58 Fok. D.VII(AM48-612) Eduard 8131(OAW) Mid Production, Jager. DONE.
Jasta 59 Fok. D.VII late Schwerin late type black cat Eduard. DONE.

Airfields have to have a certain amount of equipment. Here are some that are offered by various companies.



L-R. The Hippo German item was offered in the Eduard 1:48 Fokker D.VII Royal set #R002. The WWM 1:48 set is based on equipment from the Austro-Hungarian air service. The Eduard 1:48 cart was issued in the German air service figure kit #8503. I swapped the mechanical hand pumps out and will scratchbuild one for the Eduard kit. I added a generic tool box to the Hippo build. The solder used for the fuel hoses will be painted rubber black.

Modified Dragon / DML Fokker D.VII using ES48042 decals for D.6305/18 of Jasta 33.

WoW awsome Story line and builds that is truly awsome!! Do you my John Reid over on Aircraft Resource Center he is a WWI Guru also. Great Work!!!

E

John is a good fellow and I have known him for many years.

Hi Stephen,


Terrific progress, the markings on the WW1 German aircraft are certainly colourful and the fact that squadrons were a mixed bag of craft give a lot of scope.

I really like where you're going with this one it should be a cracker when you get done. A labour of love - the planes are looking excellent.

Al

Hi Stephen,

What an impressive build blog you bring to us. Thanks.
You seem to know everything about WW1 fighter planes! Chapeau.

I was only slightly aware of all the bright colors on WW1 planes. Now you bring it to us in real color, thus deepening the b&w photo's from those days. I did not know that apparently all pilots added their personal touch to the plane' s appereance.

Do you already have some pictures of all the crews?
And are you going to add bombers as well?

Looking forward to see more,

Cheers

I certainly will follow your blog.

Greetings and thanks Alan & Paul for you kind words.

Yes, Paul I have extensive files and photos on the subjects.

Next is an ex-Jasta 59 depicted in British hands post war. The horizontal tail unit, veritcal fin & rudder have evidently come from another possibly derelict Fok. D.VII. The crosses on many of the aircraft turned in at Nivelles were overpainted white at one time or another.



Jasta 59 did not receive any Fok.D.VII aircraft until the last week of September 1918 at which time they had received two, one machine going to Ltn.Hans Leben and the other to the Jastaführer, Oblt. Hans von Boddien. On 27 September 1918, Ltn. Hans Leben was killed in a crash test flying his Fok.D.VII. Oblt. Hans von Boddien had his Fok.D.VII painted with his personal markings, a black cat on a white band edged with narrow black bands. He previously had a Alb.D.Va 7352/17 with the same markings. About 13 August 1918, Oblt. Hans von Boddien, Gruja 10 with component Jasta 1, Jasta 39 and Jasta 59 which Oblt. Hans von Boddien continued to command in addition to his duties as Gruja 10. On 27 September 1918, Oblt. von Boddien was wounded in combat and was able to return to the Jasta 59 airfield at Helesmes. Oblt.von Boddien's Fok.D.VII was issued to Ltn.Oscar Scherf who flew it to the end of the war. Jasta 59 was one of the German units assigned to turn in their machines at Nivelles. For markings of Oblt. Hans von Boddien's Fok.D.VII see Fokker Anthology 3, page 16, photo J59 and profile 10, page 29.

This was the Eduard kit that I first began discussing "texturing" over on Aeroscale (many years ago it seems).

Here is where I stand with unfinished Fokker D.VII kits. 6 Eduard, 6 Roden & 1 ex-Jager.

Well, I call this one done. PoP PE set S48-127, Roden kit #415, Karaya brass for the Spandau Maxim MGs, Wood & Wire 5 colour lozenge normal & reversed (for the interiors), decals from the spares to match early production machine from Jasta 52.

The story line for this aircraft was that it represents one of the machines that was purposely damaged by its German pilot on landing at Nivelles during the end of war collection of German aircraft. Certainly its pilot or the souvenir hunters did carve off the personal markings.

Now the British / allies were interested in any of the Fokker D.VII types by the terms of the Armistice. But it was the newer machines with the BMW they really wanted. So the damage of an older machine with a Mercedes (old or rebuilt) was not a terrible lose. The older machines were seen to have a very limited life span left.

The story of this set of markings is meant to be a bit of a question. So many instances were not specifically recorded but simply listed under daily operations for the collection fields as arrivals, loses, and dispositions. Dispositions could be salvage, distributed to BEF units or distributed to "others".

Due to the British being familiar with Benzine and the high altitude carburetors they lost very few pilots post war in flying accidents. Not so with the pilots of the AEF.