Eduard Fokker DR.1 Profipak 1:48 (8162)

[Mike]

Fokker DR.1 Profipak

1:48 Eduard

 

 

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 minimized 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 Eduard Profipak boxing with the recognisable orange stripe across the top. Inside are three sprues of blue grey styrene, a large decal sheet, a sheet of pre-cut masks, a nickel-plated and partially pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE) and a small slip of clear acetate. Due to the small size of the original, 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 super-detailer to be happy with.  The original moulds were made in 2008, with a number of reboxings over the years, so this isn't their most modern tooling although it still stands up well.

 

 

 

 

 

Construction starts with the cockpit which consists of the footboard control column, rudder pedals and compass with pre-painted seatbelts, which unusually for the period were four-point harnesses. On the rear bulkhead the seat, seat supports and cushion are fitted. Additional PE parts are supplied for the compass, a stencil for the ammo cans, and an optional circular part on the gun actuators.  The two cockpit assemblies and the ammunition box are added, and 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 the centre wing is added, the upper coaming, horizontal tailplane and outer wing struts all following suit. Turning the fuselage over, the bottom wing is fitted along with the wing/fuselage fairing. Still inverted, the outer wing ground handling loops can be fitted in addition to the tail skid and central fuselage strake, plus the elevators and rudder, with their associated control horns. The engine assembly, consisting of the pistons and PE ignition harness is fitted along with the cowling, followed by the two machine guns with PE cooling jackets and their ammunition chutes attached the interplane struts, which have a PE windscreen bracket of two types (your choice) to which you fit one of two styles of acetate from the sheet provided.  The upper wing is then 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 is 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, of which there are two types, depending on which decal option you have chosen.

 

Markings

There are six options in this new boxing, and only two of them are completely red!  It's nice to see some different options, and having six in the box makes it one more than normal Profipak fare.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

• 425/17 flown by Rittmeister M. Freiherr von Richthofen, CO of JG 1, Cappy, France, April 1918
• 577/17 flown by Lt. R. Klimke, Jasta 27, Halluin – Ost, France, May 1918
• 479/17 flown by Lt. A. Raben, Jasta 18, Montingen (Montoy – Flanville now), France, October 1918
• 213/17 flown by Lt. Friedrich Kempf, Jasta 2, 1917
• 425/17 flown by Rittmeister M. Freiherr von Richthofen, CO of JG 1, Lechelle, France, March 1918
• flown by Lt. W. Steinhäuser, Jasta 11, Avesnes-le-Sec, France, February 1918

 

 

 

Decals are printed in Czechia and in good registration, sharpness (except for a little blur around the edges of the red in places) and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

It might seem odd to have a sheet of pre-cut masks (not pictured) on a WWI biplane… sorry, triplane, but included it is, and it provides masks for the wheels, the cowling front, a set of stripes for the elevators of option F, as well as some stripes of mask for general usage.

 

 

Conclusion

A welcome re-edition of possibly the most recognised aircraft of WWI amongst the general public.  The kit's simplicity emulates that of the original, but the addition of the PE and the masks gives it a more modern appeal.

 

Highly recommended.

 

Review sample courtesy of