Eduard Fokker E.II -Eduard 1:48. Weekend Edition.

[Viking]

Fokker E.II

 

Eduard 1:48. Weekend Edition. (8451)

 

 

One of the most easily recognisable aircraft of the Great War, the ‘Eindekker’ was one of a handful of monoplanes to achieve front line service.  Despite its modern appearance, it still used the old style wing warping control method, and was not a particularly manoeuvrable aircraft. It’s great advantage though, was the synchronised machine gun able to fire directly ahead through the spinning propeller.  Apart from a few early E.I’s fitted with Parabellum LMG 14’s, all the others through to the E.II and E.III were fitted with Spandau LMG 08’s.

Being virtually hand built, and under constant development, there were variations between individual machines. Essentially though, the E.II was the same airframe as the E.I, but powered by the 100 hp Oberursel U.1 instead of the 80 hp Oberursel U.0. And similarly the late production E.II was externally the same as the E.III. All of which creates some difficulty in the identification particular aircraft, especially when the different span wings are added to the mix.  

Entering service in July 1915, the E.1 and E.II heralded the start of the ‘Fokker scourge’ which saw them dominate the skies over the Western Front, inflicting heavy losses on the British and French air forces. By early 1916 the British had introduced the DH.2, and the French the Nieuport 11. Both were highly manoeuvrable, and tipped the balance of air superiority back to the allies favour. By the end of 1916 the ‘Eindekkers’ were mostly withdrawn from service.

 

The Kit
Eduard’s ‘Weekend’ edition of the Fokker E.II is a re-issue rather than a brand new kit, but is very welcome nonetheless. The box contains three large sprues and one very small clear moulding for the windscreen, thoughtfully contained in its own little zip lock bag. Also present is a 16 x 12 cm decal sheet offering two options. There is of course no etched brass fret, as this is the simpler and cheaper Weekend version.  The sprues contain the options (wing, engine, cowlings, etc) to build an E.III, but these are marked as unused on the parts map. If you want an E.III you will need to get the Profipack version of this kit.

Sprue A
Moulded in Eduard’s now standard medium grey plastic, the sprue contains the starboard fuselage half, port wing, an unused starboard wing for an E.III, propeller, engine, cowling, and tailplanes. As will all the sprues, everything is crisply moulded with barely any flash and no sink marks.

 

 

Sprue B
Similar to sprue A, this contains the port fuselage half, the starboard wing, ammo case, cockpit coaming, and rudder.  (Plus unused items port wing, ammo box, engine, cowling & propeller – all useful items for the spares box.).

Sprue C
The largest of the sprues, this one contains the many smaller detail items. All of the cockpit items are provided here, including the tubular framework for the sides. The interior detail is extensive, covering the usual items such as the seat, control column, and rudder pedals, but also providing the fuel tank behind the pilot, the pressurisation pump, and the supporting framework for the engine on the rear of the firewall. Seatbelts are provided as decals as there is no etched fret with this kit.  The complex undercarriage structure is neatly represented, with a logical breakdown of parts that make assembly comparatively straight forward. The wheels are supplied as completely separate hubs and tyres, which makes painting them so much easier. A tip here is to use white glue to put them together after painting. Any excess can be wiped off with a damp cloth, rather than risk spoiling the paintwork.  
Again, there are a number of items surplus to requirements, which can go in the spares box.

 

 

Lovely moulded in detail on the cockpit floor;

 

 

Sprue D
A single item, the windscreen is supplied here. Cleanly moulded, and crystal clear.

 

Decals.

Sharply printed, with good colours and minimal carrier film, they look nice and thin. All the national markings are supplied, plus a number of smaller details. The under fuselage stitching looks interesting, I'll be interested to see how that comes out on the model.

 

A word on rigging.
The instructions provide a clear rigging diagram, showing where all the lines go. It is not as daunting as it might at first appear, and in many ways a monoplane like this is easier to do than a biplane. Basically there are 4 main lines that run from the central pylon, through a wing to the undercarriage assembly, then back up through the opposite wing, returning to the central pylon. With holes drilled through the wing, these lines can be done as single pieces using smoke coloured invisible mending thread and cyano glue. Smaller rigging lines can be made with heat stretched sprue, attached with white glue. Measure using dividers, cut the stretched sprue to length, pick up with tweezers and dip each end in a blob of white glue, and apply to the model. Nothing to be afraid of.

 

This is one I made many years ago, not from this kit, but from the original Eduard plastic/etch kit of the1990's, issued by Flashback. It illustrates what i have said about the rigging though;

 

 

Markings.
A. Fokker E.II 68/15 flown by Lt. Brückmann, Armeeabteilung Gaede, Western Front, late 1915 to early 1916.
B. Fokker E.II 69/15 flown by Lt. K. Crailsheim, Feldfliergerabteilung 53,Western Front, October 1915.

 

 

Conclusion.
This is another beautifully produced Great War kit from Eduard. It looks very good in the box, with fine and crisply moulded parts. The surface detail is particularly impressive on the fuselage components, both inside and out, and the fabric effect on the wings looks just right. Although I already have four of these kits in the stash, I have not yet got round to building one. Having built 30+ of Eduard’s various other 1:48  Great War kits, this one looks so well moulded that building it should be as good an experience as all the others. It is such an important aircraft that it really deserves a place in any collection.

 

Recommended.

 

Review samples courtesy of

 

 

 

[John Masters]

I am looking forward to seeing this one...

 

And I agree about the rigging!  Nothing ever to be afraid of, even a BE2c...

[lesthegringo]

I have a part built one on my shelf of shame, the upper fuselage join is not easy to do and getting rid of the seam a real pain. Not unbuildable, but this nice little kit ended up frustrating me!

 

Anyway, not to put anyone off, just spend more time on that upper seam than I did when putting the fuselage halves together

 

Cheers

 

Les