Russell Smith Posted 27 February , 2008 Share Posted 27 February , 2008 Well, its been a while since I posted any new work here. The past year has been busy. I need to make it a point not to be so absent from the GWF again. Here is one that I finished for a collector back in autumn. Looking back through old threads, I see that I posted a color study for this one exactly a year ago. (old thread) http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...hl=l%F6wenhardt If you look back at the old thread you will see that the image went through some substantial changes before I called it 'finished". The piece features the legendary yellow Fokker DVII of Oberleutnant Erich Löwenhardt, Germany's 3rd ranking ace of WW1, behind only Manfred von Richthofen and Ernst Udet. Löwenhardt was an aggressive, skilled fighter whose score grew steadily. At the end of May 1918 he received Germany's highest honor, the Pour le Mérite (Blue Max) after 24 kills. Flying the new Fokker D.VII, he added eight more in June and no fewer than 16 in July. His tally climbed to 53 on August 9. After scoring his 54th victory, he collided with Leutnant Alfred Wenz of Jasta 11. Both men jumped from their planes but Löwenhardt was killed when his parachute failed to open and he fell to his death from 12,000 feet. As far as we know, no good photos exist of this bird. In fact, the only real information that we have on it comes from secondhand accounts. Thus, the exact production model of the DVII as shown here is purely speculative. russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 27 February , 2008 Share Posted 27 February , 2008 Yep, another masterpiece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
59165 Posted 27 February , 2008 Share Posted 27 February , 2008 Absolutely superb mate! I want one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 27 February , 2008 Share Posted 27 February , 2008 Another great job Russ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Smith Posted 27 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 27 February , 2008 Thanks folks. Like I said, this one evolved A LOT between the first color study and the finished version. In fact, I actually created 3 color studies for it. That's what happens when you don't put enough thought and planning into the preparatory steps! russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunboat Posted 27 February , 2008 Share Posted 27 February , 2008 One of your best Russell almost photographic in quality.....excellent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hederer Posted 28 February , 2008 Share Posted 28 February , 2008 Excellent! I'm a real Jasta 10 fan--love the subject as well. Nice to see something other than a Pfalz Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
59165 Posted 28 February , 2008 Share Posted 28 February , 2008 Russ? What did you use as a template for the trench system in the background? It looks almost like a starfish. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russell Smith Posted 28 February , 2008 Author Share Posted 28 February , 2008 Thanks all, again, for your kind compliments! 59165, that is a strange pattern, isn't it? I actually pulled that pattern almost directly form an old photo that I found: It seemed to work well in the image, so I went with it largely as-is. russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Morton Posted 1 March , 2008 Share Posted 1 March , 2008 Egbert said it all - another masterpiece! All the best, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now