Triplane in the background.

[RE8 Pilot]

The last photograph of Baron Manfred von Richtofen shows him playing with his dog Moritz just before his final flight.

I plan to build David Hurrell's 1/4 scale Fokker Triplane over the winter and probably beyond knowing my building speed! I'm going to finish the model as an early exaple of the Dr1 with the Eisernes Crosses on the white fields to help with orientation when the model's in flight. I am no good at painting model aeroplanes so I'm looking for a straight forward colour scheme and the triplane in the background is the leading candidate at the moment.

I have read conflicting accounts of the colour of this triplane. Alex Imrie suggests that it is a Jasta 4 machine painted with an "off-white" rear fuselage. He also claims that the cowling is also painted in the same colour but I cannot see it.

Others claim that the aircraft is Hans Weiss's, hence the white rear fuselage. I once built a Flair Baronnette which I finished in the colours of Hans Weiss's aircraft but with the later crosses. It was a great model in the air but a little beast on the ground.

I don't suppose it really matters, I will not be entering the National Championships with it!