1/72 Bird models Lippisch DM-1, first stage

Gallery Article by Thomas Brückelt on Feb 8 2016

 

      

The Lippisch DM-1 was an experimental glider which should give some results for the planned ramjet-fighter Lippisch P.13a. There were three different designs of the DM-1. Only the third concept was built, with the large vertical stabilizer, including the canopy (see the HUMA-kit 2511). The glider should have been made by the Akaflieg Darmstadt (Akaflieg = Group of young students, who design, build and fly gliders and motor planes). After the facilities of the Akaflieg Darmstardt were destroyed in a bombing raid, the project was moved to the Akaflieg Munich and both groups worked on the project till the end of war.

In the end of the war the DM-1 was almost finished. It was captured by US-troops. In the USA it was finished and modified by the NACA. Several tests were made in a wind tunnel. The results were used for American delta planes, like the XF-92, F-102 and F-106.

If you want to know more about the DM-1-project, you can find a nice description here.

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Bird models (ebay-shop) offers the first two, never realized versions of the DM-1 (Entwurf 1 & 2) as resin kits. The first version was planned with a bubble canopy and a small vertical stabilizer.

I found a simple drawing showing all three designs (here: http://discaircraft.greyfalcon.us/picturest/li25.gif ). I wanted to make my model as close as possible to that drawing, so some modifications were necessary. First, I built the cockpit. I had to move it about 1 cm backward and milled out some resin material to get the pilot below the highest point of the canopy. On the sides of the cockpit I added a tubular structure out of sprue, an instrument panel and a pilot figure. The canopy is a spare part of my PZL-230 Skorpion from Accura, it´s a bit larger than the canopy from the kit and matches very well. The vertical stabilizer I built from scratch, according to the drawing. 

I wanted to show my model airborne and made a simple display and drilled a Ø2mm hole into the delta wing. Also the pitot tube was built from scratch. As the Akafliegs are civil organisations, I painted the model with typical colors for civil planes of this time (light sand brown and light blue). I printed the decals by myself and sprayed silk, clear varnish over it, after attaching them.

I had a lot of fun realizing this unique experimental glider within a few days.

Greetings.

Thomas Brückelt

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Photos and text © by Thomas Brückelt