Albatros Productions, Ltd

Fokker Dr. 1 Jagdstaffeln

by  Greg VanWyngarden

Reviewed By  Dick Montgomery, IPMS# 14003

MSRP: £ 25.00 GBP The general public, of which I am a proud member, holds the Dr. 1 as the most famous and most recognized aircraft from World War I. This 84 page softbound publication covers the Dr.1 and the Jastas that flew it in exquisite detail. One can go to www.windsockdatafilespecials.co.uk for more information about the publication and others offered by Albatros Productions. The publication features color artwork by Ronny Bar, Roberts Karr, Juanita Franzi, and Bob Pearson. This artwork makes the book an excellent reference for modelers. For me, one of the most useful and stunning components of the book are the 8 pages of 1/32 scale drawings by Marty Digmayer. These drawings include full-sized views of some instrumentation as well as views showing the internal bracing in the fuselage, various internal wing details, and the usual array of front/right/left/bottom/top views of the entire aircraft. A bibliography with 25 entries is also included. There are over 100 B&W images to accompany the text. The text is organized around 18 Jagdstaffeln, each section being accompanied by B&W images of aircraft associated with a specific Jasta. Each section provides a brief, but informative narration of the Jagdstaffel. A great deal of information is included in the text that captions the images. The exceptional amount of detail contained in the captions gives the reader the feeling that one is thumbing through the photo album of a friend, with the people and events in the pictures explained. One gets a "feel" for the people, machines, and events being portrayed in the pictures. As a modeler I appreciate the 1/32 scale color drawings that are featured throughout the publication. These color drawings show such features as the plates to which the wing support struts attach, the hinge points for the control surfaces, and the location of the cabling for the control surfaces. The color drawings provide excellent detail for the markings, placement of those markings, and the various kinds of camouflage the aircraft sported. This publication is an excellent resource for the modeler. The detail drawings, the photographs, and the text are a tremendous resource for the builder. And once the model is done this publication makes an excellent addition to the coffee table collection. I highly recommend this publication.

Images in this review are included with the permission of Albatros Productions.

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