Fokker

Fokker Eindecker E.III by Eduard photo etched metal 1/72nd scale.

Early in the Great War Germany experimented with making their planes less visible from the air. One experiment was with an Eindecker covered in a clear material called "Cellon." The experiment failed mainly because the Cellon would not stay taut and the flying characteristics of the planes would change. It was also discovered that a clear material actually made the plane more visible from the air. The Eindecker flew several times before the experiment was terminated.

The Eduard kit is well designed and goes together exactly as the directions show. It is very delicate and the metal bends very easy. The kit was left unpainted with the exception of cowling, interior, fuel tank and wheels. The Cellon is cellophane from a cigarette package applied with Testor's Clear Lacquer. The model is glued with super glue.

Fokker Eindecker E.IV by ICM 1/72 injection mold.

The E.IV was an attempt to produce an airplane with a more powerful engine and greater fire power than other fighter planes of the period. The E.IV made its first apperance in Sept 1915 with the Oberusel U.III engine, a 14 cylinder rotary engine with 160hp. The plane was originally designed with three forward firing machine guns but it was practically impossible to synchronise the fire of three guns with the technology of the time.

Only 49 E.IV's were made and although some were flown with some success by Boelcke, Immelmann, Wintgens and Parschau, the engine was unreliable, hard to service; the plane was hard to handle and had a poor rate of climb.

The plane decipts the plane flown by Lr. Kurt Wintgens, 1916.

One of the most beautiful planes of WW1, the D.VIII never lived up to it's post war name of "The Flying Razor." Fokker and his staff made every effort to create an aircraft of utmost structural simplicity. Designated E.V the plane reached front line service in July and August 1918. Faulty wing construction soon grounded all E.V's. Replacement wings were fitted in Sept 1918 and the plane's designation was changed to D.VIII to indicate it had the new wing. By Nov 11, 1918 80 D.VII fighters had been accepted, but there is no concrete proof that the D.VIII saw combat in the last weeks of the war.

This model depicts the plane flown by Oberleutnant zur See Gotthard Sachsenberg, commander of Marine Feld Jagdgruppe 1, August 1918.

This is my second Sea Eagle kit and it goes together with no fit problems The checkerboard decal for the top and side of the fuselage is one piece and goes on as designed. All of the metal etch parts were used and then disappear into the fuselage, never to be seen by the human eye again. Building time is under 20 hours.

I want to extend a very warm thank you to Michael Kendix for providing the kit.

Fokker D VII by Revell 1/72 injection mold.

This a Revell kit that is out of the box except with an Aeroclub engine and machine guns. Some minor interior work was done. The upper wing was painted white and the red is individual red strips of decal sheet. The decals are provided in the kit and I don't remember the that company made the lozenge decals.

This is plane was flown by Lt.Ernst Udet, Jasta 4, Beugneux France Aerodrome, June 1918.

Fokker D VII (Albatros built) conversion by Revell 1/72 injection mold.

In Internet Modeler October 1999, there are four Fokker D.VII's depicting the four differnt manufacturers of the Fokker D.VII. This model, using the Revell kit, represents an Albatros built D.VII. The color scheme is that flown by Jasta 18. Complete details on all four builds can be found in the above mentioned Internet Modeler.

Fokker D.VI by Roden 1/72nd scale injection mold

The Fokker D.VI was introduced at the First Fighter Competition as the Fokker V.9 in Jan/Feb 1918. The first production example was accepted on 26 April 1918 and delivery began on 3 May 1918. The order was cancelled after the delivery of only 60 aircraft. A handful of D.VIs saw service in the Alsace-Lorraine sector but by August 1918 the D.VI was used as a trainer. Seven aircraft went to the Austro-Hungarian air service where they served with the Hungarian Red Airborne Corps in 1919. The last D.VI was written off in 1916.

This model depicts a D.VI flown by Leutnant Kurt Seit of Jasta 80b. The row of teeth was neatly rendered and after the war Kurt became a dentist.

The kit is built out of the box and took about 10 hours to complete. The upper lozenge from the kit was used but the bottom lozenge was replaced with Americal five color. The rib tapes are drawn with a Sharpie Ultra Fine blue marker. The face on the cowl was hand painted.

Reference material and history was provided by Windsock Datafile 84.

Fokker D.VII Berthold (1981) by Revell, 1/72nd scale injection mold.

This is the basic Revell kit built in 1918, shortly after my return to model building. All of my very early builds have the pilot included. With the exception of hand painting the winged sword, the kit is out of the box.

This plane was flown by Oblt. Rudolph Berthold, commander of Jagdgeschwader 11. He scored 44 victories and survived the war only to be murdered on March 15, 1920 by a political group.

Fokker D.VII Berthold (2008) by Revell, 1/72nd scale injection mold.

This kit is a duplication of the above D.VII that was going to a very quick build until AMS took over. A Roden kit gave up its engine, interior and machine guns. The section in front of the pilot was cut out of the Revell kit and the Roden part was inserted as if designed to go there. The fuselage decal was applied then slightly over sprayed so as to show through the blue color. The lozenge decals are Americal.

The color scheme depicted is found on page 9 of Profile Publications Number 25.