History

The Albatros series of Biplane fighters, beginning with the D.I of 1916, became one of the standard German fighters of World War I. Initially powered by a 160 hp. Mercedes D.III engine, subsequent developments of the aircraft switched to a new wing arrangement, partially intended to improve pilot visibility, and partially to follow the example of the French Nieuport 17 series. The engines remained basically the same, although upgraded models produced 175 to 185 hp., improving performance somewhat. The D.IV reverted to the earlier wing, and was not produced, but the D.V had the “V-strut” wing and the 160/185 hp. Mercedes.

Hobbyboss released the YF-23 Black Widow kit in 1/48th scale to some fanfare. It is a great kit of a unique subject. IPMS was lucky enough to review it while the kit is great, the decals leave a lot to be desired as far as accuracy. The wing warning labels are black, the tile grids by the intakes are missing and the tail markings are more for a fictitious active fighter. There are also miscellaneous badges missing as well as only having markings for the gray version. The black PAV1 version which briefly wore the red black widow hourglass was not represented at all. Never fear, Kursad Albayraktar and Caracal Models to the rescue with set 48048 which represents both YF-23 prototypes.

The Ship

The USS Olympia was a protected cruiser launched in 1892 with a long and distinguished career that included being Commodore George Dewey's flagship at the misnamed Battle of Manila Bay. Misnamed because it wasn't really a battle. The Spanish squadron never left anchor and the Americans just cruised back and forth shooting them up, even taking time for a lunch break in the middle of the action. She was a flagship in WWI, escorted transports across the North Atlantic and participated in the allied intervention in the Russian Civil War at Murmansk. She brought the remains of the Unknown Soldier from WWI back to the United States and served for a while as a training ship, but was finally decommissioned in 1922. She has the honor of being one of the only ships from this period still afloat along with the Mikasa in Japan and the Aurora in Russia.