Guillow's Kit WW-1 Albatros DVa Build

[Arlo DiPasquale]

With everything going on in the world right now from Coronavirus to the tragic events that set off the protests here in Minneapolis and across the nation, modelbuilding has provided a much-needed escape from reality. I think WW I aircraft are some of the most fun to model, and German designs are definitely the coolest. Of the now-discontinued 18" WW I series, I've built the SPAD, Nieuport 28, Halberstadt CL2, Fokker D8, and now the Albatros DVa. Of the 200 series, I've built the Thomas Morse S-4C, Nieuport 11, and Fokker Dr1, and have the discontinued DeHavilland DH4 and Dumas 18" Sopwith Triplane in my inventory.
Back to the Albatros, I started the frames Saturday and finished them up this morning. The die cut wood ranged in quality from good to extremely die crushed, so it took some time to get all the parts cut out and in an acceptable condition to be assembled. From my research, the Albatros and five other 18" WW I kits were discontinued sometime in the mid-1960s, so this kit is between 50-60+ years old. I'm not sure why Guillow's discontinued half the WW 1 kits after only 10 or so years in production, but its certainly made them pricey on eBay. The back of the box has a stamp on it that says "Hobby Land, 390 Main St., Hackensack, NJ" which is super cool. I Googled the street address, and Hobby Land is long gone, with the address now occupied by an adult entertainment store and a used car lot.
I'm still determining the color scheme I'll finish the Albatros in, but I'll post updates as I progress.

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[Arlo DiPasquale]

I thought some of you might want to see the stamp on the back of the box, its a neat piece of history and a remnant of bygone days.

[Oldyzracer1]

What a cool kit to build! I love the teardrop fuselage of the Albatross; it seems so streamlined for its time.

[Arlo DiPasquale]

What a cool kit to build! I love the teardrop fuselage of the Albatross; it seems so streamlined for its time.

In my opinion, WW I German designs are some of the coolest out there, and the most fun to model. It just doesn't get better than a bright red Dr.1. This one is my all-time favorite model I've built.

[Arlo DiPasquale]

I finished the Albatros D.Va this morning, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. WW I German designs are always so fun to build, and their lavish paint schemes make them even more striking IMHO. This was a really fun build, and I'm excited to now have a clear building board to start my next project.

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[Arlo DiPasquale]

Here are a couple more photos since you can only attach three per post.

[Mitch]

Nice job Arlo!
I like how you covered most of the fuselage with tan paper

[Oldyzracer1]

It makes such a perfect teardrop shape! It looks great; so does the triplane! I have a built triplane sitting here awaiting paint. It still needs a little work.

[Arlo DiPasquale]

It makes such a perfect teardrop shape! It looks great; so does the triplane! I have a built triplane sitting here awaiting paint. It still needs a little work.

Thanks! The fuselage really is striking, the Germans really had a knack for building some beautiful planes. Looking forward to seeing finished pictures of your Dr.1!

Nice job Arlo!
I like how you covered most of the fuselage with tan paper

Thanks! The Albatros was a fun build, and such a cool looking design.

[Mitch]

Hey Arlo...et al

I've been away for awhile, but I like your series 100 models... they were the first I built as a kid...

I've been cleaning up and came across a container of about 20 models (series 100)... I'd like to build the D7 and D8 again.
The Fokker D-8 was the first model I built... This time I'd like to get it to fly. I think I'll work of the D-7 first.

Lately what I do is buy a plastic model so I have colors and markings to follow.

Yours, Mitch