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| Photographs
Copyright © Collin Riley 2005-2012 |
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| Fokker
Dr.1 152/17 - JG1, Ritt. Manfred von Richthofen, March 1918 |
Aviation
Archive.
Richard Hough, in "Dreadnought: A History of the Modern Battleship",
wrote the following caption to a picture: "The apotheosis of
the early twentieth century battleship, H.M.S. Dreadnought, the
cynosure of the naval world..." Besides sending me to the dictionary
to find a couple of words (you probably know which), I was intriqued
by this use of near-poetic language when writing about battleships.*
Nonetheless, on occasion a model or mold gives me that poetic urge,
as does this Dr.1 gem.
All 'round, Corgi's WWI line is most excellent; and this Dr.1 is
most superb. From the pilot to the wheels, and from the rotary engine
to the fin, everything is right, all is good. The pilot is dressed
to the nines in a coat that's obviously leather, and the engine
rockers are painted brass. The cables are taught, the tires rubber,
and the paint is colorful and detailed.
Aurora rising.
I was there when Aurora first released their WWI-series models,
and like every other Aurora collector, familiar with Aurora's yellow
Zeroes with flat wings (but an almost solid plastic cowling), metallic
red ME-109Es with huge rivets, and black FW-190As with to-tight
cowling rings, I was blown away by these new molds, especially the
Dr.1. These WWI models were part of Aurora's first consistently
true-scale line (an honest 1/48), and amazingly, the Dr.1 came with
two lifelike figures, one to pilot, one to turn the prop. Unfortunately,
my modeling talent was limited to gluing parts together and applying
decals; my real, and abiding desire was to own a miniature copy
of an excellent machine, or better, an excellent design. So, now,
it is a real treat to be able to collect these finely painted and
detailed Corgi miniatures. I sometimes complain, but am nonetheless
grateful for the opportunity.
* "Dreadnought" is probably the best short history on
the subject, and highly recommended. |
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| Type |
Fighter |
| Corgi item no. |
AA38304 |
| Production run |
0961 of 1000 |
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