Iteresting. In their Jasta 5 Albatros D.Va Limited Eddition box (1107)Eduard had pointy cornered 'blitz' for this option. The only photo I know of this Albatros D.Va is in dr. Merrill's Jagdstaffell 5 vol 2. You can't see the outer corners of the blitz, but the inner corners seem to be of sharp v-shape, not rounded. There seems to be also a tiny arrowhead - 'reduced almost to zero'like Dr. Merrill puts it - on the tip of the blitz, a detail missing in both versions of Eduard decal. You'll find this option also on Pheon Models sheet 48012. The corners of the blitz are pointy, but the heart shaped arrowhead is missing there, too. Mikko[/quote] Mikko, thanks alot for the information on this bird,that pretty much kills it for me as far as this boxing goes, Ill just grab the last weekend edition as I also like the von Beaulieu-Marconnay markings

Concerning Alb. D.Va 6550/17 - While the image on p.35 bears Mikko's statement out, the detail went missing in the profile image on p.24 of Dr. G. Merrill's book. So both versions done by Eduard models and by Pheon decals are based on an artist's error from the book. Oh! By the way, Eduard botched the lozenge decals in this kit too. There is another "Blitz" Albie on p. 10 that Mikko mentions that has the "Blitz" profile with the arrowed tip. But the tip is not shown in Eduard's decals.

Has Eduard corrected the moulds since the first releases? Or are the 3mm-short undercarriage legs still there, ensuring you a bad looking stance unless you do the extra work to fix it yourself?

Hi Lenthorpe It'll be interesting to see the how actual decals compare with the artwork, but I reckon you'll still have to modify the undercarriage. All the best Rowan

The newer 81xx series & 1107 limited ed kit mold did get the better wheels and water pipes. The 8100 landing gear was still the same length as previous 80xx series issues. The pilots step was too far back and the retainer knob for the propeller was on the wrong side. see; Review here.

I think this new Albie boxing is done by the same subcontractor as the new SSW D.III. The colour of the plastic is the same and the lozenge 'botched' almost the same way, if I interpret the pics right. I do not have the kit. Mikko

I know this is a D.III; it is interesting to speculate if photos like this are suggestive to the decal artists. The image was found on an interesting site.

I think this new Albie boxing is done by the same subcontractor as the new SSW D.III. The colour of the plastic is the same and the lozenge 'botched' almost the same way, if I interpret the pics right. I do not have the kit. Mikko [/quote] I dont know if the plastic color is indicative of it being from a subcontractor or not. I have a couple eduard kits in the stash using a similar color plastic. Besides the new ssw I have the fokker mag dual combo that has the mag specific sprues in the same dark gray. I also picked up in the last week the above mentioned weekend edition of the d.v in the vonB-M markings and its dark gray as well. I think better clues as to who designed the sprues would be found by studying the markings on the sprues themselves, number fonts etc. part numbers on the ssw spues are heavily seriffed, not typical for eduard. However I dont have any of their more recent releases to compare to, my wwii stash is already too deep

Hi there I think the new dark grey plastic is the new norm for all Eduard's releases (they've ditched the olive they used for their WW2 kits too). You'll maybe find a few mix 'n matches for a while as they combine older sprues with new mouldings. The grey is undoubtedly stylish, but I rather liked the old beige for their early era subjects. All the best Rowan