Neil's Pfalz.

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Pfalz D.IIIa flown by Vzfw Max Hotzem of Jasta 16b.

Added 19-01-2003.

1) Close up of Interior Detail

This is the non-Profi-pack version, the interior is essentially oob apart for some piping
(which you can't see in this photo : ) and Eduard WW1 German seat belts and bezels.

2) Close ups of the engine

The engine took me two weeks to complete. There are nine different colours and
washes used on the engine. I think it was worth it!

3) Putty…

Here we see the model with the fuselage joined and the lower wing attached.The
wing seams needed lots of Tamiya and Testors putty. Photo three shows the seams after sanding.

4) Disaster Strikes!

When spraying the Silbergrau, I forgot to thin it for the airbrush and too my horror
discovered these paint splodges and runs. How to save the paint job?

5) Order Restored

Some very careful sanding with a very fine nail file, I was ableto get rid of most of
the runs without the aftermath being too noticeable…..

Added 10-02-2003.

Since the last lot of photos, I've made a fair amount of progress. As you can see, the twin
Spandau machine guns have been added, as have the exhaust pipes.
As the photos of Holtzem in front of his machine show, his Pfalz D-IIIa did not
have the usual 'saxaphone' exhaust system, but had individual pipes. I made these from plastic rod.

After weathering the fuselage with an oil wash, I then added the distinctive fuselage markings.
I found this particularly nerve wracking as the Eduard decals wanted to curl at
every opportunity. I countered this with a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent in the
soaking water and also by taking them out sooner rather than later, so they did not have a
chance to curl. Despite this I lost the first set of bands I tried. Lucky I had a spare set!

The next step will be to finish drilling the rigging attachment points (which I will be
doping with a fine gauge electric guitar string) and decaling the struts prior to attaching
the top wing…..

This is a shot of the near completed top wing. I still have to add Holtzem's star and will
dust the Silbergrau with pastel chalk dust to lighten this area a bit. Generally fabric areas
covered in Silbergrau were slightly ligher in colour than the wooden fuselage area.
The radiator finish was achieved through dry brushing a number of metallics
over a burnt iron base, finished with a burnt umber and black oil wash.

Added 10-02-2003.

Added 28-02-2004.

Here’s my completed Pfalz D IIIa on the competition tables of Model Expo 2003,
Melbourne’s largest annual model show. I had always set the Pfalz to appear at this
contest but had to accelerate the final stages into one marathon 24 hour session to finish
it. The top coat was certainly still tacky when the Pfalz made its debut on the tables!

Unfortunately about a month later the Pfalz suffered a nasty accident when I was moving house,
involving a cat jumping into the open box holding the model (and others).
Oscar the cat is now responding well to treatment and the Pfalz sits in a “to fix box”
awaiting repairs to undercarriage, struts, and rigging.