Fokker Dr.I - Ltn.Eberhard Mohnicke, Royal Prussian Jasta 11, Lechelle, 1918

[obdl3945]

Hi, guys...

 

This is my latest build and it's Roden's 1/32 scale Fokker triplane.

 

This is quite a good kit but certainly challenging in places.  The fit of the bottom wing was difficult, and I decided to remove the central tab between the wings and add it separately into the lower fuselage, then add in a strengthening spar so that the wings could be re-attached.  However, I first had to get over the issue with the parts for the bottom wing's uppersurfaces missing from the box.  I thought I could use balsa wood to build up the top surfaces and this worked well.  I used some wood filler to smooth out the wood grain on one wing, and standard Humbrol model filler on the other, just as an experiment.  Both appear to have worked equally well.  Some additional detail was added to the wing leading edges using plastic card, as this detail was evident on the surfaces of the other wings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, in these images below, you can see the progress of the build.  Scrap plastic was carefully heated over a candle and stretched thin, and this was then added into the fuselage interior, after which wood-effect transfers were aded in between the upper and lower areas as they were prominent in the real aircraft.  The engine was also put together at this time and along with the various cockpit pieces, all parts were blackwashed prior to installation.

 

 

Next up, a general 'pale linen' shade was applied to the upper and side surfaces, over which was 'drybrush streaked' pale medium green, then dark green to create the well-known streak camouflage effect on this aircraft.  It was applied vertically on the fuselage sides, but diagonally on the wings and upper fuselage.  Both shades required two thin coats in order to create some depth.  The kit's cowling was replaced using an item from the Aviattic range.

 

 

And here, the model is now at an advanced stage.  The pale blue rear fuselage and tail, and the red cowling, struts and wheel hubs have all been attended to and the markings are now being applied.  The aircraft carried the pilot's personal emblem, a swastika with narrow arms, and these were created using items from my spare transfers box.  At this time, the swastika was a good luck emblem used by pilots of various nations during the conflict.

 

Additional stencils and various dials were culled from spare WnW transfer sheets.

 

 

 

Coming towards the end of the build now, the central and top wings are in place and linked to the wing struts, although the cabane struts have still to be inserted under the centre of the top wing.  The guns and propellor are all from the kit and look good after careful painting and blackwashing.

 

 

Below, this is a good image to show the cockpit detail.  The pilot's seat was given a cushion made from a small piece of tissue, wrapped in masking tape which has a slight texture to it, and then trimmed to the shape of the seat.  Prior to painting, the 'cushion' was creased and then painted with a thin red and black mix, carefully appying two coats and allowing the black in particular to gather in the creases, thus making it look more authentic.  Seat belts were provided from the spares box.  The dial for the compass was another item from a WnW transfer sheet.

 

 

Here on the undersides, the access panel behind the engine and the very thin 'deflector' shield with notches to accommodate the undercarriage struts were ietms not supplied in the kit, therefore were made using thin plastic card.  The undersides of the undercarriage aerofoil were not correct for this version, so the detail was filled in and two small rectangles, again from plastic card, were added.  Some minimal blackwashing was applied here and on the tailplane hinges, as well as on the added panels behind the engine, where oil often heavily stained this area as a result of escaping from the rotary engine.  Some minimal rigging is required between the undercarriage struts and the cabane struts, and I used GasPatch turnbuckles for this task.

 

 

I especiialy like this photo, as it shows the detail of the replacement cowling very well, and also the leading edge detail on the lower wing which largely compliments the same detail in plastic on the other two wings.

An additional fuel tank filler point was opened on the forward fuselage close behind the turnbuckles as only one is provided for in the model  All looks good, but... shhh, don't tell anyone the 'Axial' propellor logo is on the wrong way round...

if the propellor is vertical, the logo should be readable when standing in front of it, and not upside down... oops!  I will do better next time... ;-).

 

 

 

And so, the end result.  A nice colourful addition to my collection, and thankfully, one that doesn't require too much in the way of rigging.

 

 

I hope you like the model, and thanks for looking in.  If you want to see a short video of the build, you can find it here on my YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r61biLArsDU

There as also a couple of other videos there of recent builds.  Until the next time, keep safe.

 

Regards,

 

Paul

Edited June 20, 2022 by obdl3945

[VolkerR.]

Awesome. I like it a lot.

 

[mick]

excellent work

[obdl3945]

Thanks, guys... :-).

[Steve Coombs]

Very nice indeed.

That streaky camouflage is alway a challenge. I managed it many years back on a 1/72nd scale triplane by brush-painting the paint from the lid of a barely shaken but not stirred tin of Humbrol, but these days I use acrylics. Experimentation required...

[Epeeman]

Brilliant work on your Roden DR1 -

 

Roden always reward the modeller who puts more into it and you certainly cracked this one.

 

Regards

 

Dave

[Wulfman]

Love it !

 

Wulfman

[Roberto]

Very, very nice!

[obdl3945]

Wulfman/Roberto... thanks very much ;-).

[Bertie McBoatface]

You had to go the long way round to get there, but it's a lovely model despite the hassles.

[obdl3945]

Thank you, Bertie... 😉.