Pfalz E.II in 1/72 scale

[Harry Tate]

See attached a photo of my latest model. It's a Pfalz E.II, a conversion of the Eduard Fokker E.III kit, with stab and rudder from the HR resin kit, and a bit of scratch-building on the details.

Landing gear struts and rigging braces were made from STRUTZ stock and piano wire, rigging is 2-lb. test monofilament, colored with a Sharpie prior to installation.

The model is not finished at this stage; several details still need to be added. I used the decals from the HR kit, and although you can't see it in the photo, the Pfalz logo is on the cowl. It is not a strict build of a historical example, in fact it was built for wargaming (as are all my models) and not really up to IPMS contest standards.

My references were the Datafile and the excellent "Pfalz Aircraft of World War I" by Jack Herris. I did notice that the fuel tank filler cap is misplaced on the 3-views, however, when compared to photographs. Of course I didn't notice this until after I added the cap to the model. Still deciding if I am going to move it.

I only recently returned to modeling after a 20-year absence. The biggest difference between building models now and then is that today I need bifocals AND an illuminated magnifier, and I drop every single piece I'm working on at least four times.

Other than that, I'm having a blast!

Comments/critiques welcome.

[jamo]

It looks very nice Harry. Curious you should post this now because yesterday I won a Libramodels vac kit of the Pfalz EII/III/IV in a local auction, and I have been wondering how much of a Fokker EIII kit I could use to make the build easier.

What are the main differences between the Fokker EIII and The Pfalz EII?

What sort of decal strips did you use for the rib tapes? Would 1/64" do it?

Thanks for posting

[WarrenD]

Very Nice!!!! I like it, great job!

Warren

[Rittersbach]

Looks like you did a wonderful job! I hope it was as enjoyable to build as it is to look at. Fine work, and in 1/72 Wow.

ritt

[Kaiser Bill]

Harry...excellent work!! Congratulations on a great looking model.

Bill

[Harry Tate]

Originally Posted by jamo

It looks very nice Harry. Curious you should post this now because yesterday I won a Libramodels vac kit of the Pfalz EII/III/IV in a local auction, and I have been wondering how much of a Fokker EIII kit I could use to make the build easier.
What are the main differences between the Fokker EIII and The Pfalz EII?
What sort of decal strips did you use for the rib tapes? Would 1/64" do it?

Thanks for the kind words, everyone!

I actually used quite a bit of the Eduard Fokker but there was a lot of surgery involved. The fuselage had to be shortened as well as the "chin" area modified in contour. The wings were reduced in chord just a tad as well as span, and the notch at the root leading-edge filled-in. All wing ribs were sanded-off and re-applied with the correct spacing using my own proprietary process. (I am writing up that method currently and will have a "how-to" piece ready soon, if anybody's interested. Much easier than gluing-down strips of plastic card stock.) Also the wing angle of incidence had to be modified. The Pfalz monoplanes used a greater angle of attack than the Fokkers. They flew in a tail-high orientation and you can clearly see this in some of the few surviving in-flight photographs. The engine cowl was modified with automotive filler, the cowl cheek fairings were modified from the Fokker kit.

The rib tapes were done with an Ultra-Fine Point Sharpie and special curved straightedge that I made from acetate to conform to the wing camber. The wing and fuse outlines were done with regular Fine Point Sharpie. One thing to note when using a Sharpie- a mistake means you sand it off and repaint the base color- definitely not for the faint of heart! But since they come in a lot of colors useful to the WWI modeler, they can also be used for rib tapes on lozenge surfaces.

I'm doing the Pegasus Halberstadt Cl.II next, but will use the same techniques that I used on the Pfalz E.II when I do the E.IV & E.V next year- unless someone makes a kit before then that's better than that awfull ICM kit. Also thinking of doing the E.I. I've had Pfalz on the brain this year, thanks to Jack Herris!

-H.T.

[Tom L.]

That's the Eduard Fokker E.III fueslage?

You did a wonderful job in modifying it; looks absolutely spot-on!

[FOKKERJ]

Hi Harry Tate,

Accurate or not, it looks like a NICE RIDE to me. Good Job!

Regards, FOKKERJ

[Harry Tate]

You guys do great things for this old modeler's ego, I have to say. Thanks again.

The outline should be accurate to the line width of the reference drawings I used; pretty good for 1/72 scale. The only thing needed to make it historically accurate would be authentic markings and extensive cockpit detail. Pfalz numbers were notoriously small, as many of you know- way too small for me to deal with at this scale. A few examples had the numbers re-done much larger at the squadron level, but they were never large fresh from the factory.

Even though I used the Eduard parts, every one was extensively re-worked to get the Pfalz outline, including the top decking ahead of the cockpit. The corner formed by the upper longeron had to be changed slightly from the cockpit forward. Thinking back now I think I used wheels from the spares box because the Fokker wheels looked a tad large. I re-worked the Fokker tailskid to the Pfalz design.

I also noted some differences in cowling details among various E.II examples so I just copied the style that struck my fancy the most. The differences were minor but noticeable if you look closely at the "cheeks", or fairings that blend the cowl horseshoe into the slab-sided fuselage.

I'll be adding propellor mfgrs. logos to the prop blades soon. I'm very glad that I bought a sheet of German prop logos from Americal 2 years ago.

-H.T.

[Zabu]

Well, I'm "cooking" an Fokker E.III at this moment and that modification to the Pfalz looks real nice. I really enjoyed your model. Great work.