Junkers CL.I (J 10)

Pegasus

Reviewed by Robert Baumgartner

Pegasus 1/72 scale Junkers CL.I is available online from Squadron.com

Hugo Junkers had an idea. It was vastly different from those of his contemporaries and as a result it was viewed upon with suspicion. He wanted to build aircraft that were made entirely of metal (for strength) and had a single thick cantilever wing (for improved lifting characteristics). 

The CL I (J10) was such an aircraft and was based on a prototype monoplane (J 8) that was developed by Junkers & Co. Basically it was a two-seat version of the Junkers D I and a contract for its production was issued in March 1918. By the end of the war, about forty-seven were produced but its service didn’t end there.It saw much fighting with German volunteer units against Russian Bolshevik troops, and Ltn. Gotthard Sachsenberg, who led a Kampfgeschawder bearing his name, was quick to voice his praise of the aircraft.

This certainly is an ambitious project for a limited run kit manufacturer to attempt.

To their credit Pegasus has done an excellent job in reproducing the corrugated appearance of the original. 

Taking the fuselage first, the corrugations are very sharp and beautifully rendered.

The grooves representing this are perfectly straight with no wavering. There is the odd faint groove on top and bottom that is easily fixed with your favourite scribing tool. 

The interior contains a shelf for the pewter engine, this material also being used for the bulkheads, seat, observer’s position, and control column. As stated in the instructions, these items will need some slight trimming for a perfect fit. Inside the fuselage the surface is smooth so the detailer may like to scribe some corrugations here. 

The wings of the original had a very thick section so Pegasus has sensibly moulded them in two halves. This also has the added bonus of allowing the thinning down of the trailing edges from the inside for a more scale like appearance.

The one-piece ailerons will take a bit more patience in this area. The very fine corrugated detail on the surface is again commendable as is that on the tail plane, engine deck and rudder.  

The nice radiator, axle, and propeller complete the 14 soft plastic parts.

A length of plastic strut is supplied for the making of the under carriage but no measurements for these items are provided. 

The pewter parts are good and number 18 items in total.

These include the machine guns, wheels, footstep, grab handles, roll over pylon, engine, exhaust and gun ring. This latter item is a real blessing. If it were part of the fuselage halves, the seam would be a nightmare to hide.

Markings

As usual, only one option is provided and the instructions quote the colours as being tan and olive green over light blue undersurfaces, this being said to represent a machine that operated against Poland in 1919. 

The aircraft illustrated on the decal sheet was a prototype. As was common practice on other Junkers machines wearing this camouflage scheme, one would expect the upper surface colours to be green and mauve. Due to the original serial number still being on the fuselage, a good case can be made for this finish here. 

Of course the final colours are a modeller’s prerogative but note that it appears Pegasus have used the scheme in the old Profile Publications as a reference source.

There is a painting guide that matches this on the 4-view diagram on the back of the box. You may ignore the representation of the undercarriage on the undersurface view as this has clearly been drawn incorrectly. 

As expected, the decals are first class. They are very thin and in perfect register. There is no problem with colour density due to the method of manufacture and no decal setting solutions are necessary.

It is a real pleasure to see a kit of this subject in 72nd scale. The fact that Pegasus has done so well with the execution of the surface detail is commendable.

Due to the simple nature of construction, it shouldn’t prove to be too hard for a “first timer” to enter the realm of limited production kits.

This is another welcome offering from this prolific “limited run” manufacturer. 

Recommended

Thanks to Squadron.com for the review sample.

Review and Images Copyright © 2004 by Robert Baumgartner
Page Created 02 June, 2004
Last updated 02 June, 2004

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