Rumpler

Rumpler 6B-1 by Form-a-Plane vacuform 1/72nd scale.

Answering the the call to produce a water borne fighter to protect German Naval seaplane bases, Rumpler modified their basic C-1 reconnaissance aircraft by adding a forward wing stagger, the removal of the second cockpit and the provision of a larger rudder to offset the additional side area of the floats. The first 6B-1s were delivered in July 1916 with a total of 38 being operational by May 1917. They served mainly at Zeebrugge and Ostend.

The kit was made in 1983 by master moldmaker Joe Chubbock. There were no decals or metal parts available but the kit contains everything necessary to build the kit. It is a well made kit that I made in 1995 using Ameical decals for the naval hex.

Rumpler C.IV by Pegasus. 1/72nd scale, short run injection mold

Designed by Edmund Rumpler, the C.IV, powered by a 260hp Mercedes D.IVa engine, made its first flights in late 09/1916. The results were impressive and the C.IV went into production, with the first planes reaching the front in 02 and 03/1917.

The aircrews made good use of its speed and altitude and in a shallow dive, the C.IV could outrun enemy fighters. But the C.IV was a handful to fly and unsuited for a novice pilot who had trained on the more benign trainers.

The C.IV remained in production until 07/1918. The exact numbers built is unknown but Rumpler built about 700, Bayerische Rumpler Werke about 350 and Pfalz built about 100 machines.

The kit is a typical short run kit by Pegasus and is part of his German Two Seater Series. The kit contains lead free metal parts and decals. One interesting construction note is two metal cabane strut pieces are sandwiched between the two upper wing halves. When the cabane struts are spread to match the slots in the fuselage, the upper wing alignment is set. No jig is necessary making this a very easy two bay model.

The kit depicted was used operationally by the Marine Feld Flieger Abteilung, based at Varssenaere in 1917.