Eduard Fokker F.1 - Eduard 1:48 Weekend Edition

[Julien]

Fokker F.1
Eduard 1:48 Weekend Edition
 

 

With the introduction of the Sopwith Tri-plane and its appearance over the Western Front at the beginning of 1917, the Allies found themselves an aircraft that proved itself superior to the Albatros fighters then in use by the German forces. The Fokker company responded by converting an unfinished biplane prototype into the V.4, a small, rotary-powered triplane with a steel tube fuselage and thick cantilever wings, first developed during Fokker's government-mandated collaboration with Hugo Junkers. Initial tests revealed that the V.4 had unacceptably high control forces resulting from the use of unbalanced ailerons and elevators. Fokker produced a revised prototype designated V.5. The most notable changes were the introduction of horn-balanced ailerons and elevators, as well as longer-span wings. The V.5 also featured interplane struts, which were not necessary from a structural standpoint, but which minimised wing flexing. Fokker produced two pre-production triplanes, designated F.I, which could be distinguished from production Dr.I aircraft by a slight curve to the tailplane leading edge. These aircraft, serials 102/17 and 103/17, were the only machines to receive the F.I designation. They were sent to Jastas 10 and 11 for combat evaluation, arriving at Markebeeke, Belgium on 28 August 1917.

Compared with the Albatros and Pfalz fighters, the Dr.I offered exceptional manoeuvrability. Though the ailerons were not very effective, the rudder and elevator controls were light and powerful. Rapid turns, especially to the right, were facilitated by the tri-planes marked directional instability. It was noted that the Dr.I was considerably slower than contemporary Allied fighters in level flight and in a dive. While initial rate of climb was excellent, performance fell off dramatically at higher altitudes due to the low compression of the Oberursel Ur.II, a clone of the Le Rhône 9J rotary engine. Only 171 Dr-1s reached the front line by the end of the war. Whilst the aircraft was manoeuvrable it had many weak points in its design and numbers of aircraft were lost through high wing loading of the upper wing resulting in damage to the spar and ribs.

 

 

The Kit

The kit is packaged in the usual and very recognisable blue, white and yellow top opening box of Weekend Editions. Inside are three sprues of beige styrene. All parts are nicely moulded with no sign of flash and only a few moulding pips. Due to the small size, even in this scale there aren't too many parts, but in the areas that matter, i.e. the cockpit, there is plenty of detail for all but the superdetailer to be happy with.

 

 

Construction starts with said cockpit which consists of the footboard control column, rudder pedals and compass. On the rear bulkhead the seat, seat supports and cushion are fitted. To the interior of each of the fuselage halves the internal framework can be added, followed by the two cockpit assemblies and the ammunition box. Before closing the fuselage there is a small bulkhead to be added to the rear, near the tail skid, and what looks like either an oil or fuel tank in front of the ammunition tanks.

 

Once the fuselage has been buttoned up its on with the centre wing, upper coaming, horizontal tailplane and outer wing struts. Turning the fuselage over the bottom wing is fitted along with the wing/fuselage fairing. Still upside down the outer wing ground handling handles can be fitted in addition to the tail skid and central fuselage strake. The elevators and rudder, with their associated control horns can be attached. With the fuselage the right side up, the engine assembly, consisting of the pistons and ignition harness is fitted along with the cowling. With the two machine guns and their ammunition chutes attached the interplane struts are fitted, after which the upper wing can be glued into position, with the ailerons fitted to their respective positions. The main undercarriage, consisting of a three part inter wheel aerodynamic fairing, four individual struts and the wheels themselves can be attached to the bottom of the fuselage. The final parts to be fitted are the two grab handles on the lower rear fuselage and the horizontal tailplane struts, and the propeller.

 

 

Decals
For a weekend edition surprisingly two decal options are supplied for F.1s supplied to the two Jastas to have the F.1

• 103/17 Lt Werner Voss, Commanding officer Jasta 10, Marckebeke, Belgium Sept 1917.
• 102/17 Oblt Kurt Wolff, Commanding offer Jasta 11, Marckebeke, Belgium Sept 1917.

 

 

 

Conclusion
This is a lovely little model of a very famous aircraft type. There is enough detail for most people and would make a great kit to keep the mojo a kick start if in a rut or just as a fun build over a weekend. The previous weekend edition of the DR.1 had fabric seatbelts included though it seems Eduard have no dropped this idea, to include them as decals. It still looks like the value for money from Eduard, something we can all applaud. Overall highly recommended.

 

 

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Pauls9cb]

As things stand today, the Fokker Triplane is the sole WW1 model in my collection of completed models. I have a particular admiration for Werner Voss who was killed flying F.1 103/17 at the end of September 1917, so I was quite pleased to find Eduard focusing on the  2 F.1 models with this kit. I'm sure, like most Eduard kits, it's a well-planned offering that will make a great kit. I was pleased to see from the instruction pamphlet that they'd included both styles of tail plane, one with a slightly curved leading edge as used in 102 & 103 and one with a straight leading edge as they were with all Dr.1 models, which I suspect means this kit will form the basis of other Dr 1 models to follow  The curved form, as I understand it, was derived from the V.4 and V.5 prototypes, but I guess the straight leading edge simplified production and therefore reduced costs, always at the forefront of Anthony Fokker's mind.

 

 

What appears to be a surfeit of opinion isn't my own since it derives from careful examination of Paul Leaman's book on the Fokker Triplane, which I would recommend to anyone interested in the design and history of this short-lived, but iconic development of early fighter technology. This book also highlighted for me the other variation between the F.1 and Dr.1 models that Eduard seem to have chosen to ignore. The cowlings on the 2 F.1 models had a slightly different face plate compared with the production models. While the horizontal base of the front face of the latter is a straight line, as in the Eduard kit, the 2 F.1 pre-production a/c had an additional section of aluminium that angled backward from the bottom horizontal line and followed the angled curved section of the cowling. This variation is particularly clear in some pics of Voss' 103/17 where the "Kaiser" moustaches curve over this additional plate.

 

 

Detail is always a small thing and I guess Eduard chose not to inlude a 2nd such cowling in the interests of economy on this weeken addition. I spent hours modifying a Revell 1:28 scale Dr.1 to imitate Voss' 103/17, armed to the teeth with Paul Leaman's book, so the cowling was one thing I managed to replicate with minor changes to the kit cowling. I must admit though, I bottled out when it came to judging the right curve for the tail plane leading edges,since I couldn't find any plan views that showed this. Eagle-eyed viewers of my post on this (Revell 1:28 Scale Fokker Triplane) haven't so far spotted this even though it's evident from the pics if you're aware of the difference.

 

 

Hopefully, not too anoraky!

Paul