1:32nd scale Junkers D.I

Hi all,
I'm waiting for the display case to arrive for the previous model.
As the last few resin models completed required a lot of 'scratch' building, I thought I'd build something without any struts or rigging.
So this time around it'll be the ‘Wingnut Wings’ Junkers D.I (Kit No.32065).



This model will depict a Junkers D.I that was involved in a flying accident, possibly during testing, on the 3rd of October 1918.
It was most likely repaired and possibly given the Serial No: 5188/18.
It was then operated by either MFJG in Belgium or with Kampfgeschwader ’Sachsenburg’, operating in the Baltic during 1919.

The Junkers D.I was designated as a ‘battle plane’, meaning its perceived operational role was to be that of ground attack, rather than as a fighter.
Only 40 aircraft were built between June 1918 and February 1919 and it seems of these, only 5 were delivered to the front.
It's not certain than any of these aircraft took part in actual combat.
Although there were reports from the British late in the war that there were ’encounters with German monoplanes that were covered with corrugated sheet’.
These 5 aircraft were eventually abandoned on the German landing field of Hombeek in Belgium.
However, the aircraft did see active service after the war, in action against the Bolshevik forces in the Baltic countries.
They were operated by the ‘Kampfgeschwader Sachsenburg’ volunteer regiment, commanded by Gothard Sachsenburg, a former pilot of the German naval ’Marine Jasta’.
The regiment consisted of 3 squadrons, being FA413 (reconnaissance), FA416 (fighter) and FA417 (ground attack).
Both FA416 and FA417 operated the Junkers D.I as well as the Junkers CL.I (two seat version) aircraft.
A few aircraft were lost in combat, including a Junkers D.I being flown by Josef Jacobs.
When hostilities ceased, those aircraft remaining were found by Soviet forces, abandoned on an airfield near Riga.

The lineage of this aircraft traces back to Professor Hugo Junkers, when in 1912 he patented a design for a thick, cantilever constructed initially of corrugated steel.
The first Junkers J.I and J.2 monoplanes were built but proved too heavy for operational use.
Therefore the Junkers J.3 was redesigned during 1916 using an aluminium alloy (Duraluminium).
However it was shelved when production was switched to the Junkers J.1 biplane, which entered service in 1917.
Due to the positive response for the J.I, work recommenced on an armored single seat monoplane, starting with the Junkers J.5 through to the J.9, which eventually became the operational Junkers D.1.
The maiden flight took place in May 1918 and further changes to the design saw 4 aircraft of the final version dispatched to the front in October 1918.
The design of this aircraft was revolutionary for its time, being a monoplane of metal construction and with only cross brace rigging on the undercarriage.
The airframe was essentially of tubular construction with corrugated Duraluminium covering.
Various engines were fitted during the prototype stages, but it seems the Daimler-Mercedes D.IIIa (180hp) or D.IIIaü (200hp) engines were fitted to operational aircraft.
Armament consisted of twin 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 ‘Spandau’ machine guns.

Mike

An interesting crate. Well ahead of its time. Tony Fokker was, as always, astute enough to borrow Hugo's advanced ideas and make them his own in later cantilever engineered kites. I look forward to completion of this model.

Mike since this seems a much easier build, it only stands to reason that you should complexify it! I can't wait to see your scratch built corugated panels! 😁

Super choice! Looking forward to this build.

Hi Rob,
Thankfully the corrugated surface are pre-moulded.

Hi all,
I'm starting on the engine.
The right side of the engine has a coolant pipe, interconnected between each of the cylinder jackets.
Due to limitations of moulding, this pipe looks unrealistic and joins the bottoms of the cylinders, which should be separated..
Therefore I've cut it away from the cylinders and replaced each pipe with 0.8 mm diameter plastic rod, chamfered at each end to merge with the cylinders at each end.
Game on,

Mike

And so it begins.

Hi all,
I've added 'Taurus Models' resin fuel primers (D3219) and spark plugs (D3218).
The primer levers will be fitted later in the engine build so as to avoid breaking them whilst handling,

Mike

Very cool! Like everyone else, I look forward to its completion. Thanks for sharing!

Hi all,
I've been working on the engine.
The pipework supplied in the kit is fragile and easily broken.
Also the engine had pipes from the air valve at the top, front of the engine.
These were attached to the crankcase and one into a valve with a 'bleed' tap, fitted to the forward left side.
I decided to add the air valve pipes and the sump breather pipe and replace all of the tubes and the ignition lead support tubes with Brass rod and tubing.
I've also added the extra valve with a 'Taurus Models' resin tap,

Mike

You couldn't resist adding your great mods here either! Looking good so far

Mike;

what are you using as a tool to bend those fragile pipes without risking crinking them?

Hi Rob,
Just gently bent around a suitable round former,

Mike

Hi all,
Just a few final details on the engine.
The two carburettor fuel supply pipes from 0.375 mm diameter copper wire. These are to attached to the gravity fuel tank at the rear of the engine bay.
The throttle control linkage on the top of the carburettor housing (from odd photo-etch parts) and the support tube for the cockpit operated throttle control cable.
Finally the magneto spark advance cross tube (0.4 mm diameter Nickel-Silver tube) and levers.
The left lower lever will be attached to the control rod from the spark advance lever in the cockpit,

Mike

Hi all,
Engine done,

Mike

An absolute beauty Mike. I sure hope you are leaving the cowling off/open so we can see it in the finished product.

Hmmm - it would be a shame not to

Mike

Oh yes!!, and don't forget the mechanic with wrench in hand working on it!

Hi all,
The basic internal fuselage is now finished.
The model will be made with both wings attached.
I've added a spark advance control and both throttle cable and gun triggers cables.
The engine oil tank and the two machine gun need to be fitted, but only after the fuselage is closed up.
I'm replacing the kit supplied machine guns with 'GasPatch' resin weapons,

Mike

What else is there to say but WOW, just WOW! This looks to be your most detailed ever engine build? Amazing Sir.

S!Blade<><

I'm convinced if you put a bit of petrol in the carburetor, that engine would start right up!

Fantastic work!

A stunning piece of work Bagger. What are the dimensions of the motor? The finished product is gonna be a beauty. I can feel it.

The engine is about 40 mm long,

Mike

Hi all,
I've closed up the fuselage now and added the Radiator assembly, tail plane and rudder.
I've also completed the weapons fit, having replaced the kit machine guns with equivalents from 'GasPatch'.
That required some heavy modifications to the gun mountings parts,

Mike

That is looking so cool.

Hi all,
I've painted the airframe now.
This particular aircraft had a 'Tiger Stripe' metal panel strip finish.
This appears to have been alternate Aluminium polished and non-polished panel strips.
This was done by masking and airbrushing 'Alclad' Duraluminium and Steel.
The rudder was just primed with white.
Next is painting fuselage details before adding the landing gear etc.

Mike

Awsome modeling skills, Great looking build so far.

Looking to turn out one of your best, Mike. IMHO. Stunningly good!

Hi all,
Here's a few more bits completed for the Junkers.
The propeller, pilot, mechanic and the landing gear bracing,

Mike

Hi all,
I thought you might like to see my 1:32 scale build of a Junkers D.I from 1918.
This model depicts a Junkers D.I that was involved in a flying accident, possibly during testing, on the 3rd of October 1918.
It was most likely repaired and possibly given the Ser No: 5188/18, before being operated by either MFJG in Belgium or with Kampfgeschwader ’Sachsenburg’, operating in the Baltic during 1919.

Design:
The lineage of this aircraft traces back to Professor Hugo Junkers, when in 1912 he patented a design for a thick, cantilever constructed initially of corrugated steel.
The first Junkers J.I and J.2 monoplanes were built but proved too heavy for operational use.
Subsequently, the Junkers J.3 was redesigned during 1916 using an aluminium alloy (Duraluminium).
However, it was shelved when production was switched to the Junkers J.1 biplane, which entered service in 1917.
Due to the positive response for the J.I, work recommenced on an armoured single seat monoplane, starting with the Junkers J.5 through to the J.9, which eventually became the operational Junkers D.1.
The maiden flight took place in May 1918 and further changes to the design saw 4 aircraft of the final version dispatched to the front in October 1918.
The design of this aircraft was revolutionary for its time, a monoplane of metal construction and with only cross brace rigging on the undercarriage.
The airframe was essentially of tubular construction with corrugated Duraluminium covering.
Various engines were fitted during the prototype stages, but it seems the Daimler-Mercedes D.IIIa (180hp) or D.IIIaü (200hp) engines were fitted to operational aircraft.
Armament consisted of twin 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 ‘Spandau’ machine guns.

Operational background:
The Junkers D.I was designated as a ‘battle plane’, meaning its perceived operational role was to be that of ground attack, rather than as a fighter.
Only 40 aircraft were built between June 1918 and February 1919 and it seems of these, only 5 were delivered to the front.
It's not certain than any of these aircraft took part in actual combat, although there were reports from the British late in the war that there were ’encounters with German monoplanes that were covered with corrugated sheet’.
These 5 aircraft were eventually abandoned on the German landing field of Hombeek in Belgium.
However, the aircraft did see active service after the war, in action against the Bolshevik forces in the Baltic countries, serving with the ‘Kampfgeschwader Sachsenburg’ volunteer regiment, commanded by Gothard Sachsenburg, a former pilot of the German naval ’Marine Jasta’.
The regiment consisted of 3 squadrons, being FA413 (reconnaissance), FA416 (fighter) and FA417 (ground attack).
Both FA416 and FA417 operated the Junkers D.I as well as the Junkers CL.I (two seat version) aircraft.
A few aircraft were lost in combat, including a Junkers D.I being flown by Josef Jacobs.
When hostilities ceased, those aircraft remaining were found by Soviet forces, abandoned on an airfield near Riga.

The model is 1:32nd scale and made by ‘Wingnut Wings’ (Kit No: 32065).

The list of changes/additions to the model are:

Engine:
Detailed with Nickel-Silver and Brass rod or tube to replace Coolant pipes, ignition lead support tubes, sump vent pipe, induction manifold pre-heat pipes, forward air pump pipes.
Ignition leads at the Magneto’s and spark plugs are lead wire.
Spark plugs and fuel primers are from ‘Taurus Models’.

Rigging:
Rigging is 0.08 mm or 0.12 mm diameter mono-filament with ‘GasPatch’ 1:48th scale turnbuckles and 0.5 mm or 0.4 mm diameter blackened Brass tube.

Aftermarket:
‘GasPatch’ Spandau machine guns used to replace kit parts.
Pilot figure is Wings Cockpit Figures’ LSK leaning pilot (LSK 14),
Mechanic figure is ‘Copper State Models’ German ground crew (F32-012).
Propeller was the Axial wood laminated version from ‘ProperPlane’.

As usual I've created a downloadable build log in Adobe PDF format, for those who might want to refer to it for reference or build details. It contains full step by step descriptions of the model build, its modifications/changes and is also supported with illustrations and photographs. If viewed in Adobe Reader, each build log has book marked chapters/headings for easier navigation through the log.
My model website has the gallery page, so to view any model, go to the gallery and select it. If it has a PDF build log, it will be available to download using the 'PDF' icon on that model photo page. For any photograph, just click the photo to enlarge or reduce the viewing size.

http://igavh2.xara.hosting

Mike

What else is there to say,
' You Sir are a Master Modeler!'
I really like this one Sandbagger. The amount of detail is astounding.

Cheers!

S!Blade<><

This seemed like one of your faster builds. I guess the lack of rigging really simplified the process. The metallic finish looks incredibly realistic.