Choroszy 1/72 Albatros J.II

 Now it is very important to know that these J-type aircraft were not used, for the most part to attack ground targets.  J-types were just too valuable to use for such missions.  That is not to say that if the Germans had the aircraft numbers similar to the British or the French that they would not have used them more for trench strafing.  All but for a few months of the war the Germans were just outnumbered.  In fact by the end of August and September 1914 the Germans were out numbered in just almost every quantifiable aspect.  From that time on, Germany would only be able to out number the allies for short periods and then only at specific points on the front. This was made very apparent after the Battles of Verdun and the Somme where Germany totally lost air supremacy or even air parity.

 They say that necessity is the mother of invention and it was very necessary for Germany to develop organization and tactics to ensure that her Air Service would be the match or the superior to any thing it may go up against.

 Under the supervision of Generalleutnant Ernst von Hoeppner the German air service began a total overhaul of its organization and tactics.  In August 1916 the Jagdstaffeln were created.  The job of the Jagdstaffeln was to deny the enemy accesses to the airspace over the German lines and in the German rear.  This is why German fighters did not, as a rule of thumb, go over the Allied lines, not because the German pilots were afraid of the Allies.  It just was not their job and every German pilot was drilled to understand that his position in the line was of the utmost importance and that if they left their point in the line, that gave the Allies an opening to penetrate the German lines.

 German two-seaters almost always operated in pair.  The war records are full of accounts of a single German two-seater staying to fighting while its companion ran for the German lines.  The aircraft that stayed to fight was actually a Schutzstaffel two-seat fighter and the aircraft that ran was the Abteilungen aircraft rushing home to deliver its cargo of photo reconnaissance and other intelligence. 

 The Schutzstaffeln (protection units) were two-seat fighters that did range over the Allied lines.  They were the fighter escorts and were tasked to protest the Field Flieger Abteilungen (field flying units), the Flieger Abteilungen (long-range reconnaissance units) and the Artillerie Flieger Abteilungen (Artillery spotter units).

 The Albatros J.II was what we would call a high value asset.  They were very valuable to the AOK (Armee Ober Kommando) and the AK (Armee Korps) and were, as a rule of thumb held for high value missions where the risk of such a valuable asset would be worth the information received.  Their mission profile was to obtain very time critical and actionable intelligence and to spot for the artillery at points of critical concern.  Usually the observer/gunner/radio operator was a very highly trained officer who could be working directly for the Oberste Heeresleitung (Supreme Army Command) more commonly called OHL.

 The Abteilungen began receiving the Albatros J.IIs by June of 1918.  The new Albatros J.IIs were a marked improvement on the earlier J.Is.  The J.II had the whole front of the aircraft armored.  This not only protected the crew but also the engine.  The only J-type aircraft that was liked more then the Albatros J.II was the Junkers J.I.

 Albatros J.IIs served until the Armistice.  One served with Lithuanian Karo Aviacija until the Soviet invasion of 1940.

Some resin kits are difficult to build and some need considerable putty and cleanup.

 The first time I opened the box of a Choroszy kit.  I found myself very happy with my purchase.  The first thing I noticed was that the quality of the kit was superb.  When resin kits are well made, I think that the quality and detail is better than any plastic kit. 

 I decided right away that I would buy more as soon as I got the money.  Slowly I’ve start to get more and more of these kits.  I have never been unsatisfied with a Choroszy Modelbud kit.  These kits fit and go together very well.

 When you open the box you will find 45 parts cast in yellow-tan resin in four zip-lock bags.  In the first bag you’ll find the wings and tail surfaces.  In the second one you’ll see the fuselage halves.  The third has the engine and associated parts and the forth bag contains everything else.  Loose in the box are the decals and a small sheet of film for a windscreen.

 The instructions are nicely printed with good three view drawings that really helped me determine the rigging placement.  The only color call callouts are for the exterior.  For the crew compartment you will need to get some references.

 The decals are in two colors, black and white, but they are very well done and thin. 

 Let’s light this bottle rocket and get this built.

 I started with the cockpit and engine.  I painted all the little bits that would go inside the fuselage and assembled the cockpit.  I added some seatbelts from the new Eduard 1/72 scale P-E German seatbelt set.  I only added the Eduard seatbelts but with a little work you could do some really nice things to the cockpit.  The two fuselage halves went together well and I didn’t need any putty for the seams. 

 I like to use brass strut stock for the interplane struts for the added strength.  I find that the other struts worked fine.  At this point I studied the three views and all the other information I could get and drilled the rigging holes.  I like to use a #80 drill bit and drilled all the holes for the rigging before painting.  I do this to not accidently damage the painted surfaces.  I used Eagle Strike decals five color lozenge decals to cover all the flying surfaces and drew on the rib tapes.

 After I painted the rest of the parts I assembled and rigged the model without the undercarriage.  Last but not least I finished it by adding the undercarriage.  I like to put the undercarriage last to prevent me knocking it off as I build.

 I’ve found that mono-filament works best for me because of its strength.  This, in turn adds a lot of strength to the model. 

 All I do is drill little holes in the top wing that only go about half way through and drill little holes that go all the way through the bottom wing.  I use thick super glue to anchor the mono-filament in the top wing and set it aside to cure well. Then I thread the line through the bottom wing and anchor it with a drop of super glue.  After the glue has dried I clip the line flush with the wing surface.  Coincidently enough, the bottom insignia almost always covers up the rigging holes and all you need to do is apply the decals to the bottoms of the wings.  If not, just hit the area with a sanding stick and apply some touch up paint and your good. 

Most photos of these aircraft show a simple paint scheme.  Basically a varnished fuselage with a painted armored forward fuselage and lozenge fabric flying surfaces.  I painted the steel armored cockpit light gray inside and out to mach my interpretation of the photos that I found.  The struts were painted RLM 02 again to match the photos.  The aft fuselage was finished in wood.  Finally the wings ant tail surfaces were decaled in Eagle Strike upper and lower lozenge decals

The decals went on well and settled down perfectly.  After the decals dried I weathered the model with the usual washes and dry brush techniques. 

 The rigging was straight forward and only took a couple hours. 

 Well I’m getting quite the collection of German J series aircraft.  This Alb J.II looks great next to my Junkers J.I and Albatros J.I.  Now I have to find an AEG J.I and J.II. 

 The quality of Choroszy kits is among the best that I have ever seen.  People that know me know that I’m cheap so if I spend my own money on a model kit I have to think that it is worth it.  I’ve had no problem spending my money to get these kits.  In fact I’ve got quite the collection of Choroszy kits. 

 I highly recommend any Choroszy kit to anyone that wants to give an all resin bi-plane a go.

 I got this kit from Choroszy Modelbud.  If you like this kit they have this and many more.  Check them out at www.modelbud.pl/  

“Schlecht-Flieger! Germany and the origins of Air/Ground support 1916-1918” Rick Duiven & Dan-San Abbott

 “Jane’s All the Worlds Aircraft 1919” (Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War I)

 “Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One” by Peter M. Grosz, George Haddow and Peter Schiemer

 “Reconnaissance & Bomber Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War” Harleyford Publications limited

Kyle Bodily

July 2011