My newest build, Pegasus Albatros C-III

[John Masters]

Yet another posting from the Factory on the hill...

Here's my Pegasus 1/72nd Albatros C-III, OOB except for the scratched claw brake and brass rods for axle, radiator hose, and tail skid supports. I used Humbrol #148 for the CDL as well as the undercoat for the wood. MM Burnt Siena, then a little Tamiya Clear Orange. All the rigging is Ethicon, with a total of just under 40 inches. A little weathering using instant coffee. I had a great time with this build and I'm pretty happy with the results. My thanks go to all who have built this kit before and especially to Dave Calhoun for the info on the upper wing.

From the Factory on the hill,
John Masters

[ufag]

Nicely done John !!
A beautifull maschine isn't it.
This one is eduard 1/48, fuselage covered with wood veneer and
some more scratchbuild effort.

[aviators6]

beautiful work John on what i can only imagine was a "challenging" kit. the workmanship is amazing considering the scale. could you enlighten my about ethicon. monofilament? lycra?

[Scimitar]

Splendid, both of you John and Ufag!

[John Masters]

Yes, Aviator6---Ethicon stainless steel surgical suture, used to sew up hernias, chest cuts, etc... .005, monofilament. Measure, cut, and glue in place. You cannot "sew" our work with it, a la DURAS rigging system. I learned about it here and went to Smallparts.com and bought some. Not cheap, but the result is very nice. Thanks for the compliment.

John Masters

That's some very excellent work John! I am particularly impressed by your rigging. It's been both a treat and an inspiration to see your skills grow through your numerous builds. Thanks for sharing your work with us.

And a large bonus to your factory manager and staff!
Brian da Budget Basher

[aviators6]

Originally Posted by John Masters

Yes, Aviator6---Ethicon stainless steel surgical suture, used to sew up hernias, chest cuts, etc... .005, monofilament. Measure, cut, and glue in place. You cannot "sew" our work with it, a la DURAS rigging system. I learned about it here and went to Smallparts.com and bought some. Not cheap, but the result is very nice. Thanks for the compliment.

John Masters

a long time ago (30+ years) i did some work for the Lawton co, NYC,NY and "aquired" a spool of .004" stainless steel surgical suture. i've used it to make turnbuckles, but could never formulate a plan to rig my a/c with it. i'll have to give it a go. do you leave it steel colour or paint/stain it?
again, masterful job John (and in my favorite scale too)

[John Masters]

The nice thing about Ethicon is that it comes in straight lengths, so there isn't any chance of bending, etc...I was thinking about color last night and decided I rather like the natural stainless steel look of untreated wire. The actual cables were steel, but not stainless. But I think that in terms of "scale look" I'll stick with unpainted, stained, etc...

Thanks again,
John Masters

PS--Does anyone know if Giorgio Pessi's SPAD 7 had a mesh grill or louvred grill in 1917?

[davecww1]

Looks great John. Glad you found my information helpful. One of these days I'm going to restore my old Aurora 1/48 scale C.III. I built it in the early 1990's before Eduard released theirs, and added a scratchbuilt interior, Aeroclub engine, exhaust, wheels & guns, and chose the same color scheme that you used on this one! The triangle on the fuselage was made using Black & white decal trim film. I used some Superscale medium wood decal paper to cover the entire fuselage, although I think that my later work doing the wood with paint looks more realistic. I also strapped a rifle from one of the 1/48 scale German infantry kits from Bandai to the side of the fuselage, the Kar 98K looks close enough to a WW1 Mauser in 1/48 scale, although I believe the WW1 rifles were longer than the WW2 ones. Unfortunately it fell off of a shelf and most of the struts snapped off in the center, so I will have to replace them with brass rod and re-rig it in the future.
Dave