HISTORICAL MINIATURES BY GEORGE GRASSE
WORLD WAR 1 AIRCRAFT IN 1:48 SCALE

 

AEG C.IV C.4886/17, FA 303, PALESTINE 1917-18

by George Grasse

COPPER STATE MODELS 1:48 SCALE RESIN KIT CS1017 OF THE AEG C.IV

 
CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #1
14 April 2010

BASIC FUSELAGE CONSTRUCTION: Much work has to be done before the fuselage halves can be joined as shown above.  The major sub-assemblies are the engine, the hand-painted propeller, the cockpit, and the photo-etched details applied to the fuselage.  The main cockpit sub-assembly is the floorboard to which are attached seats, gas tank, rudder bar, etc.  See photo below.
 
 
 
 CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #2
14 April 2010
COCKPIT DETAILS: This view shows the fuselage and the floorboard sub-assembly.  Details added to the latter included kit supplied parts (gas tank, pilot's seat, bomb rack at top right painted light gray-green, seat belts, and mid-cockpit former).  Details added but not supplied in the kit are the rudder bar, control column, a wireless sending unit, wireless sending key, work table, camera, bomb release mechanism, two drums of Parabellum ammunition, and map case with map.  Not visible are front cockpit side wall items and internal wiring.  
 
 
CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS #3
14 April 2010
SIDE VIEW OF THE COCKPIT FLOOR BOARD: Items show in this view, from front to rear, are the rudder bar, control column, main fuel tank (brass), pilot's seat with seatbelts, mid-cockpit former, work table with W/T key, map case with map, camera, W/T sending unit, the bomb rack in the background, and one of the Parabellum spare ammunition drums.
 
 
CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS #4
7 May 2010
FLOORBOARD SUB-ASSEMBLY, LOWER WINGS, LANDING GEAR, AND TAIL UNIT:

The floorboard sub-assembly was fitted and glued from the underside of the fuselage.  During the time it was built, as each component was added, I had to trial fit it to the fuselage to be sure nothing was in the way. 

The lower wings had two brass pins at each end added as support and allowed me to remove the wings so I could work on the landing gear.  Note photo-etched details added to the wings: wing walks, aileron control wire plate, and turnbuckles at the wing roots.

The tail unit was next and included the vertical fin, rudder, horizontal tailplane, brass struts, and tail skid.  The rudder is the only moveable surface that has external control horns which were taken from an Eduard after-market PE sheet and glued in place.

The landing gear was formed from Strutz brass material bent to shape (the kit's parts were not used).  To this was added a brass axle extra long and (not shown in this photo but added later) two spreader bars that parallel the axle.  The sprung shock absorbers (unique to AEG) were added to the ends of the axle and glued in place.  Wheels were fitted and the excess ends of the axle were cut off.  Four turnbuckles were added to be rigged with .005 monofilament wire after the landing gear and underside are painted.
 
 
 
CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS #5
9 May 2010
WING CENTER SECTION: This view shows the center section of the top wing in place but not glued.  Brass Strutz was used to make the struts and a lot of trial-fitting was necessary.  This is a critical step because the center section has to align with the lower wings with regard to stagger and gap.  You can see holes in the side of the center section for upper wing attachment. 
 
 
 
CONSTRUCTION PHOTOS #6
11 May 2010
SIDE-VIEW TAKEN AT THE SAME TIME AS PHOTO #5 ABOVE:  This shows the profile of the aircraft and more details completed to date.  Note the tail unit brass support struts and tail skid.  Again, the center section is not yet glued to the fuselage.  One more pair of struts have to be fitted.  The upper wing locating holes are clearly shown.  I had to re-drill the holes during the trial-fitting process to get the correct alignment.
 
 
CONSTRUCTION PHOTO #7
30 June 2010
LILAC AND GREEN CAMOUFLAGE has been applied to all upper surfaces except the top wing which needs to have the aileron control horns and cables installed.  Note my inkjet serial number decal made specifically for this aircraft.  I've since upgraded to an inkjet laser.  The projection just below the cockpit area is the weighted wireless antenna that could be lowered via a reel in the observer's cockpit to about 300 feet for wireless transmission.  Note that the radiator piping, exhaust stack, and Parabellum machine gun have not yet been installed.
 
 
FINISHED PHOTOS GALLERY AEG C.IV C.4886/17
4 July 2010
 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- FINIS ----------------------------------------------
 
  
This 1:48 scale model is based on photographs of AEG C.IV C.4886/17 in a private collection belonging to the son of one of the aviator's who flew it for FA 303 in Palestine from late 1917 well into 1918.  This particular aircraft was flown by Ltn d R Metzky (P) and Ltn Seidel (O).
 
All of the Pascha II Flieger-Abteilung were operational in the Fall of 1917 and experienced some degree of success.  However, being at the extreme limit of a tenuous supply line, on a front that was increasingly difficult to maintain, and lacking replacement men and machines, Pascha II was overcome by the British RAF Palestinian Brigade by Summer 1918.  Once a force of six Abteilungen each of six aircraft with two-thirds of that number in reserve at AFP "F" in Damascus, barely a handful of flights could be undertaken most of which were intercepted or forced to abort in the face of Bristol F.2b fighters of Australian No. 1 Squadron and SE.5a fighters of No.111 Squadron.  The initial force of Albatros fighters variously known as Jasta 300 or, later, Jasta 1F, were, themselves at the mercy of resupply difficulties and aggressive Allied fighter pilots.

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Bibliography:

Groschel, Dieter H. M. and Dov Gavish "Rudolph Holzhausen - Weltkriegsflieger, Diplomat und Historiker".  Das Propellerblatt, Nummer 9, Fruhjahr 2004.

Grosz, P. M. AEG C.IV, Windsock Datafile 67, "Fabric - camouflage and markings" section by Ray Rimmel, color profiles by Ray Rimmel, scale drawings by Ian R. Stair, Albatros Publications Ltd, Berkhamsted, UK, 1998.  Excellent for details from a number of other AEG C.IV aircraft especially engine and cockpit closeups.

Jones, H. A.  The War in the Air, Volume VI, Chapter V "Air Operations in Palestine in 1918".  Nashville, Tennessee: The Battery Press, 1998.

Nikolajsen, Ole.  Pilot Fazil Bey Turkish Aviation Hero. Over the Front, Volume 22, Issue 3, published by the League of World War I Historians, 2007.  Contains enlarged and higher quality photos as those appearing in the Windsock Datafile.  Good for details such as the A.E.G. logo on the rudder and the irregular two-color "lilac and green" camouflage.

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2 April 2024