Building the Roden 1/48 Junkers D.I. (Part I)

Introduction:
How important is it for you to have a detailed build? How much detail is the next question we often ask ourselves? Starting 2020 I will post topics on these questions. If you build strictly OOB these posts may not be of interest to you. But if you want to augment your build so it stands out against other similar builds or do you simply want to stretch your talents to include details not normally found in the box?

Here we will discuss scratch building, aftermarket, and kit modifications that will add some depth to your enjoyment.

My Research:

Prof. Hugo Junkers went through his private hell climbing over the mountain of nay-sayers that would tell him. That, “. . . to get to the place where you can build a successful all-metal aircraft, well you can’t get there from here. . .”

At first, two companies built the Junkers D.I types. Junkers & Ko. (Jko) and second, Junkers – Fokker Werke AG (Jfa). This happened because Idflieg (Military inspection dept for aviation) did not trust Junkers to mass-produce his machines. Briefly, JFA became the main contractor and the parent company became a licensed builder of their design. Curious I know.

Beginning with the Junkers J 1 started on the 8 June 1915. Finally, it found some success in the J 9/I (long fuselage & wings with Mercedes D.IIIaü 180hp) at its rollout at the end of April 1918. Then the J 9/II (long fuselage & Bz.IIIb V-8 195hp) came out in June 1918. J 9/III (shortened fuselage & wings and Mercedes D.IIIaü 180hp) was fully camouflaged and designated “Junk D I” when photographed on 8 July 1918. From the beginning of October 1918, there were never more than 12 machines at the front until the end of the war. It was post-war that production for the fight against the Communists in the Baltic, literally took off and the main production of Junkers “Tin Donkeys” really went into high gear maxed out at 40 in April 1919.

Haupt. Gotthard Sachsenberg formed KampfGeschwader Sachsenberg in January 1919, consisting of 700 personnel. Several of them were fellow World War I aces, such as Theo Osterkamp, Josef Jacobs, and Alexander Zenzes. Based in Rigia, Latvia, it gave aerial support to the Freikorps fighting Russian communist forces on the Baltic borders of Germany. It was successful in establishing air superiority over its opponent and mainly flew ground support missions on behalf of the Freikorps. It disbanded after the government withdrew its financial support in December 1919.

Roden’s product development people had a similar challenge when it came to reproducing a scale model of Junker’s first production line fighter (kit #434). The surfaces are all compound curves. Their development took about as long to get the surfaces right. While previously other companies have tried their hand at the project in 1/72, 1/48, and even 1/32, it was the new generation of software that gave Roden the edge in 1/48. This all-plastic kit fills a hole in the ranks of types that deserve to be represented. While starting this preview I began to clean up the sprues. Doing the basics took about 30 minutes. Then I spent a good deal of time appreciating the detail that has been molded into all of the surfaces.

1. Concerning the turtleneck.
My sources tell me that initially, Jko turtle decks were centerline 2 parts. Jfa one-piece (like the kit #434). After Sept 1918 they all became centerline 2 pieces. Jko absorbed Jfa at this time.

2. The walkway treads are absent. These can be added using heat stretched sprue (hss) or .030 thou Plastruct / Evergreen plastic rod.

3. The interior surface of the corrugated metal is not represented. But can easily be reproduced. The interior corrugations in the cockpit heat stretched sprue (hss) could also be used here. Also, a simple rerouting of the skeletal structure can be done here too after you add heat-stretched sprue (hss)for the corrugations mentioned. There is no mention of additional metal plating on the sides to protect the pilot. Possibly it was limited to the floor and or the bottom of the pilot’s seat. The contracts for the first 50 D.I. (single-seat) and CL. I (two-seater) types were titled “. . . 50 Balloon machines. . .”, due to Loerzer & Göring’s evaluations, it was the final convincer for Idflieg to purchase the machines.

Begin with a clean-up of all the plastic. Rigging will be limited to the undercarriage. Since it is “all-metal” the application of aluminum metallizer can be seen as a primer. For any camouflage scheme, some knocked-off chips (fingernails), add to the overall effect.

Roden 1/48 Junkers D.I kit #434 instructions & a couple of images of my builds.

Roden 1/48 Junkers D.I kit #434 instruction page 2.

Roden 1/48 Junkers D.I kit #434 instruction Page 3.  The instructions should list parts from sprue C, not B.

Roden 1/48 Junkers D.I kit #434 instruction Page #5.  The instructions should list parts from sprue C, not B.

Roden 1/48 Junkers D.I kit #434 instruction Page #6.  The drawings show the handholds (13 A X 2) as separate items. But in truth, they are molded in place. The instructions show them in the wrong locations. Also, the instructions should list parts from sprue C, not B.

Roden 1/48 Junkers D.I kit #434 instruction Page #7.

Roden 1/48 Junkers D.I kit #434 instruction Page #8.

Adding trestle works to the wing roots. This helps guides the bridging works you add next.

Trestle works from Plastruct are meant to give the impression of internal structure.

The trestle works are applied to the wing roots and create the bridge structures at the bottom of the fuselage.

All “metal” parts are given a coat of aluminum metallizer and then a clear dull coat.

Glue the bottom of the fuselage to the sides up to the wing cut-out. Leave the forward fuselage loose to slide the joined wings & cockpit into place.

Glue the bottom of the fuselage to the sides up to the wing cut out. Leave the forward fuselage loose to slide the joined wings & cockpit into place.

The united cockpit structure & engine bearers.

Leave enough of the trestle structure available to thread through the receiving wing.

The overall look after joining.

Next a medium green coat.

Just for some fun, I have provided a collage of images noting various 1/48 engine applications.

2 of the best choices.

The choice for this build notes the dual horizontal air pimp on the #1 cylinder.

Going with Ray Rimell’s Datafile on the subject.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

TO BE CONTINUED…

If you have any questions regarding this model kit or the build in general, please leave a comment below.
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Thanks for looking!

Stephen T. Lawson