FS:Unusual little kit

Any idea of the scale? How big is it?

Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.

Not sure. It's smaller than 1/72, maybe HO? Anybody know for sure?

Tom

'Cording to the book, "WWI in Plastic", it's 1/87.

Cheers,

Where can we find this book WW I in plastic? Do you know the author by chance? I did a brief search on amazon and came up with like 200 hits or so. jim

W.W.I in Plastic was self-published by Brad Hansen in 1979 with ten update pages ending in 1982. It was a very nice b/w publication with many photos of box art, etc. covering virtually every model/kit produced until that date. It remains the best book ever published on the subject.

But be patient, grasshopper. MAI/ESM 72 has a book in the works covering everything ever produced in 1/72 scale. To date there are about 3,000 listings, actually much longer because things such as figure sets include several subjects. We'll use as many color photos as we can afford, have as many photos of box art as possible and we are actively persuing photos of modeler's finished models.

This is a rapidly growing segment of modeling with several new kits appearing every week. Those of you familiar with our first book, Encyclopedia of 1/72 Scale Military Models, know that we can present a book that both modelers and collectors will like.

Tom

The author was Brad Hansen. It was basically a privately published paper-back volume available mostly directly from the author although I believe a few hobbyshops carried it as well. It was originally published in 1979 and was re-printed in 1986 with a series of 12 new updates covering the kits which had been issued (and reissued) between 1979 and

1986 as well as corrections and additions to the original listings.

The full and complete title was "W.W.I in Plastic, a Model Enthusiast's Guide". Because it was privately published, it has no ISBN.

Here's the only copy I could find online:

It is, of course, rather dated with no reference to the myriad of fine Eduard and DML kits and the like which have been issued since the 1986 reprinting but it's quite good and comprehensive on the kits issued before that. It's not only a listing of the early WWI kits but also a series of mini kit reviews, short articles on the various box arts, and short histories of WWI kits and their manufacturers.

All presented with Hansen's rather droll humor and entertaining writing style. Well worth the $12 or so it cost me in 1986. Whether it's worth the current $52.50 asking price is a different matter. I suspect it is.

Cheers,

I have doubts on that. I built this kit back in high school (a very long time ago!) and the car is 1/24 or 1/25 scale. The small DR-1 that was a sub-kit is about the size of the wheel as I recall. About a 1" to 1.5" wingspan. Since the DR-1 had a wingspan of 23'7" that would put it in the range of 1/200 to 1/250 scale.

A DR-1 in 1/87 scale would have a wingspan of 3.25". I don't recall that it was that big. Of course, time could have warped my perception of how big it was but these measurements should give a clue. Where does the wing in question fall in with this analysis?

I can't say what that book is likely referring to because the Revell kit of the DR-1 is listed as 1/72 scale and measures out to 3.9" - just what it should be at that scale.

John Alger IPMS 10906 Charlotte Scale Modelers

Measuring the kit in front of me:

Top wngspan is 3 1/4". Middle wing is 2 13/16" Bottom wing is 2 1/16".

So it is 1/87 or HO gauge. The parts layout is a perfect match to the instructions as well.

Anybody interested?

Tom

Wow! I must be getting old - I did not remember it being that big.

John Alger IPMS 10906 Charlotte Scale Modelers

There was a Faller Dr.I kit of about the same era which was 1/100th.

Perhaps the mists of memory have conflated the two in your mind?

Incidently, you've gotta love Faller's numbering system for their kits.

The Wright Flyer was #1903, the Spirit of St Louis was #1927, and the Dr. I, #1917.

Cheers,