Siemens-Schuckert D.III
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Kit Build
What you get and can add
The ProfiPACK issue of this kit contains the plastic sprues, a small pre-painted photo-etched fret, self-adhesive masks and a decal sheet with five options and lozenge fabric. In addition, you can add the Brassin resin engine (#648 166 £10.99) and guns (#648 177 £5.60), and either fabric (#49070 £7.20) or ‘super fabric’(#49075 £5.99) seat belts. The choice of markings is nice and varied and the decals include pre-shaped lozenge decals for the flying surfaces and a full set of rib tapes, plus a strip of spare lozenge for good measure. This was the only area that gave me real cause for concern though. The colours on the sheet of lozenge decal were very pale and washed out as if there was a problem with the printing. The spare strip, printed on a different sheet, was much more like any fabric samples that I’d seen. Maybe it was an intentional ‘faded’ look but bearing in mind the very limited time these aircraft were in service I have my doubts that this would have been the appearance on the actual aircraft.
Internal assembly
The parts and detail in the cockpit/engine area are exquisite. If not used to adding this level of detail I recommend taking time, studying the instructions and dry-fitting the parts before diving in. You’ll get your reward with one of the best interiors I have seen in this scale. The inside walls are painted to represent varnished wood and the instructions are very clear with guidance on colours for all the small parts. The very small details I tend to paint first then put in place with PVA glue. The seat and fabric seat belts look very convincing when in place.
Main Assemblies
The fuselage fit is excellent but take care to ensure all the interior detail is properly aligned and where it should be when gluing the halves together. I did have some concerns that the rib detail may be a little heavily moulded but decided to press ahead anyway and see how it looked once decals were in place.
Paint and decals, ready for final assembly
The decals went on a treat. I went for the black fuselage of Lt Heinrich Dembrowsky, which is an attractive option. I used the Brassin engine and all the etched brass detail that goes with it. You can see here the contrast between the colours of the main lozenge sheet and the spare strip. As I said above, the spare strip looks much nearer to what I have been led to believe the actual lozenge colour is. On reflection at this point, I decided that I should have rubbed down the rib detail on the wings a bit. They look too pronounced compared to photographs.
Before final assembly of the model I drilled holes and glued in place the etched brass turnbuckles as anchor points for the rigging. Once the wings and fuselage were assembled and before adding the undercarriage (makes it easier to handle at this stage) I rigged the model using 0.003 Uschi van den Rosen rigging thread. First time I’d used this stuff and was most impressed. With the undercarriage, guns and control horns added the finished model does look good. This is a superb kit and it is so beautifully engineered that everything fits together perfectly. It does need a bit of skill so take your time with it and get it right and you’ll end up with a great finished model.
Conclusion
Study what pictures you can find and decide for yourself whether or not you rub down the rib detail on the flying surfaces. I’d also be interested to know if the pale ‘washed out’ look of the lozenge decals was intended or a printer error. Personally I would have rubbed the detail down to make it look less chunky and I would replace the decal with something approaching the colour of the spare strip provided in the kit.
It still looks a lovely model when finished though!
Highly recommended to all WWI modellers, with or without the additional sets and our thanks to Eduard (www.eduard.com) for the review sample and accessories.
P.S. I will see if I can get some more images of the built model done before too long.
Don’t forget that you can obtain the SSW D.III as a ‘Weekend Edition’ version without all the etched etc., see our preview of that kit here
What you get and can add
The ProfiPACK issue of this kit contains the plastic sprues, a small pre-painted photo-etched fret, self-adhesive masks and a decal sheet with five options and lozenge fabric. In addition, you can add the Brassin resin engine (#648 166 £10.99) and guns (#648 177 £5.60), and either fabric (#49070 £7.20) or ‘super fabric’(#49075 £5.99) seat belts. The choice of markings is nice and varied and the decals include pre-shaped lozenge decals for the flying surfaces and a full set of rib tapes, plus a strip of spare lozenge for good measure. This was the only area that gave me real cause for concern though. The colours on the sheet of lozenge decal were very pale and washed out as if there was a problem with the printing. The spare strip, printed on a different sheet, was much more like any fabric samples that I’d seen. Maybe it was an intentional ‘faded’ look but bearing in mind the very limited time these aircraft were in service I have my doubts that this would have been the appearance on the actual aircraft.
Internal assembly
The parts and detail in the cockpit/engine area are exquisite. If not used to adding this level of detail I recommend taking time, studying the instructions and dry-fitting the parts before diving in. You’ll get your reward with one of the best interiors I have seen in this scale. The inside walls are painted to represent varnished wood and the instructions are very clear with guidance on colours for all the small parts. The very small details I tend to paint first then put in place with PVA glue. The seat and fabric seat belts look very convincing when in place.
Main Assemblies
The fuselage fit is excellent but take care to ensure all the interior detail is properly aligned and where it should be when gluing the halves together. I did have some concerns that the rib detail may be a little heavily moulded but decided to press ahead anyway and see how it looked once decals were in place.
Paint and decals, ready for final assembly
The decals went on a treat. I went for the black fuselage of Lt Heinrich Dembrowsky, which is an attractive option. I used the Brassin engine and all the etched brass detail that goes with it. You can see here the contrast between the colours of the main lozenge sheet and the spare strip. As I said above, the spare strip looks much nearer to what I have been led to believe the actual lozenge colour is. On reflection at this point, I decided that I should have rubbed down the rib detail on the wings a bit. They look too pronounced compared to photographs.
Before final assembly of the model I drilled holes and glued in place the etched brass turnbuckles as anchor points for the rigging. Once the wings and fuselage were assembled and before adding the undercarriage (makes it easier to handle at this stage) I rigged the model using 0.003 Uschi van den Rosen rigging thread. First time I’d used this stuff and was most impressed. With the undercarriage, guns and control horns added the finished model does look good. This is a superb kit and it is so beautifully engineered that everything fits together perfectly. It does need a bit of skill so take your time with it and get it right and you’ll end up with a great finished model.
Conclusion
Study what pictures you can find and decide for yourself whether or not you rub down the rib detail on the flying surfaces. I’d also be interested to know if the pale ‘washed out’ look of the lozenge decals was intended or a printer error. Personally I would have rubbed the detail down to make it look less chunky and I would replace the decal with something approaching the colour of the spare strip provided in the kit.
It still looks a lovely model when finished though!
Highly recommended to all WWI modellers, with or without the additional sets and our thanks to Eduard (www.eduard.com) for the review sample and accessories.
P.S. I will see if I can get some more images of the built model done before too long.
Don’t forget that you can obtain the SSW D.III as a ‘Weekend Edition’ version without all the etched etc., see our preview of that kit here
