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In-Box Review
132
Ritt. Manfred von Richthofen
The Red Knight of Germany
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by: Stephen T. Lawson [ JACKFLASH ]

The Man
The most famous ace of the war, Manfred von Richthofen briefly served in the trenches before transferring to the German Air Force in 1916. Oswald Boelcke's star pupil was a fast learner and achieved immediate success. A month after receiving his first Albatros, Richthofen had six victories against Allied aircraft. As his reputation grew, the "Red Knight of Germany" painted the fuselage of his Albatros D.III bright red to flaunt his prowess in the air. The British called him the jolly "Red Baron," to the French he was the "Red Devil." He was shot down and KIA as he flew over the trenches in pursuit of Wilfrid May on 21 April 1918. 80 air victories to his credit.

Although Roy Brown was officially credited with the victory, evidence suggests Richthofen was hit by a single bullet fired from a machine gun in the trenches. A British pilot flew over the German aerodrome at Cappy and dropped a note informing the Germans of the Baron's death. Buried in France with full military honors, Richthofen's body was later exhumed and reburied in the family cemetery at Wiesbaden.

Kit Contents
Comes with six resin parts to assemble. The joints are augmented in typical Model celler methods. Sockets with square blocks and matching square locator holes in opposing parts. While I usually like to reinforces these types of joints with brass rod I find in this scale Model Cellar's methods are very satisfactory.

Concerning the flight suit
The headgear is a typical flight cap with goggles. These can be clear or tinted green lenses. The straps and metall eye surrounds / frames were leather clad. This particular type of flight / combination suit was first available in late 1917. The earliest image I have seen of pilots wearing these is an group of pilots from Jasta 7 in early October infront of their first Pfalz D.III machines.

It was thought to be mid to dark grey and had a wool liner that was buttoned in place and could be removed. The alternate is a private purchase version that is belived to be natural / clear linen and had a sheepskin liner that was buttoned or snapped in place and could be removed.

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SUMMARY
Highs: High level of details. One version of the head (with flight cap & goggles). Unusual pose, figure very well moulded.
Lows: The only suggestion I have is to additionally provide a head with a service cap.
Verdict: Excellent kit well worth the price and will be great for display with 1:32 Fokker Dr.I or Alb.D.V kits.
  DESIGN & DETAIL:94%
  RESIN QUALITY:90%
Percentage Rating
92%
  Scale: 1:32
  Mfg. ID: MC32009
  Suggested Retail: $22.50
  Related Link: webpage
  PUBLISHED: Jul 05, 2013
  NATIONALITY: Germany
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 90.97%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 90.29%

Our Thanks to Model Cellar!
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About Stephen T. Lawson (JackFlash)
FROM: COLORADO, UNITED STATES

I was building Off topic jet age kits at the age of 7. I remember building my first WWI kit way back in 1964-5 at the age of 8-9. Hundreds of 1/72 scale Revell and Airfix kits later my eyes started to change and I wanted to do more detail. With the advent of DML / Dragon and Eduard I sold off my ...

Copyright Đ2021 text by Stephen T. Lawson [ JACKFLASH ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.



Comments

The figure will work on a Albatros D.V or Fokker Eindecker with just a little model putty, so you can convert this one if you donīt want to build Roden's Dr.I. LarsaQ
JUL 06, 2013 - 01:11 AM
Sorry Larsa this flieger combination uniform was not developed and used until late 1917. It will need extended modification to fit a simialr item used by Boelcke in 1916.
JUL 06, 2013 - 04:11 AM
Interesting Jack Thanks LarsaQ
JUL 06, 2013 - 04:25 AM
Here you go, a still from a film.
JUL 06, 2013 - 12:13 PM
And this.
JUL 06, 2013 - 12:27 PM
   
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