The Fokker D.XXI was designed in 1935, in response to requirements laid out by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force (ML-KNIL), as an inexpensive, rugged, compact fighter aircraft that would possess respectable performance for its era.

Entering operational use in the early years of WWII, it provided yeoman service for both the Luchtvaartafdeling (Dutch Army Aviation Group) and the Finnish Air Force. Additionally, a few examples were constructed by the El Carmolí factory before it fell into rebel hands during the Spanish Civil War.

Following the invasion and occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, several captured Dutch D.XXIs were subsequently placed into service with the Luftwaffe.

Apart from PM, the D.XXI has been served in 1/72 by FROG in 1963 (this kit being reboxed till 2000 by various, mainly eastern bloc countries manufacturers), by Kora in 1998 (resin with PE and vac canopy), and by the very nice, though limited run in nature MPM and Special Hobby offerings from 2003 onward.

The PM tooling appeared in 1990 under Pioneer2 brand, which was PM’s name back then, regularly reissued ever since, also reboxed by Matchbox in 1995. The specific kit is PM's 2020 reissue, coming in a small, high quality side opening box and carrying an attractive box art of a Dutch example’s side profile, made by artist Metin Ogrek. 

Upon opening the box, I was greeted with 36 light gray styrene parts, arranged in three sprues, one holding the fuselage halves and cowling, one holding the wings, and the third one holding everything else. Panel lines are raised all over, quite finely done. Molding is good without too much flash and with some easily tackled minor sink marks noted.

Cockpit is sparse, with only a flat floor and a seat and would benefit a lot from some added detail. The engine, though generic looking, is not bad, as are the one piece prop and cowling. The aerodynamic surfaces are finally sufficiently represented, as is the fixed landing gear, where you have the option of wheels or skis.

The one piece canopy is acceptable, with some easily removable minor flash at its base, its relative thickness being somehow welcome, as it will hide a good amount of the cockpit's sparseness.

Instructions come in the form of a high quality color leaflet, featuring a short history of the type, with the construction spread in 7 clear steps. No internal color callouts are given, so you will have to do your own research here. Whereas the parts themselves appear numbered at the instructions, no relative sprue map is provided, but this is not a big issue, as it is easily sorted out due to the low parts count (and, nevertheless, you can download the Matchbox instructions which contain a sprues map).

Two very attractive schemes are provided, for a Dutch and a Finnish machine. Color shades are given in various manufacturers codes, but also in generic form. Decals are well printed and expected to work satisfactorily. Finally, a nice printout of the box art is provided in high quality paper.

Instructions want you to first trap the cockpit floor and seat between the fuselage halves, then assemble the engine, wings, tail planes and main landing gear (wheeled or ski equipped) and attach them to the assembled fuselage, followed by the various smaller bits (guns, pitot and the like) and finally the canopy, ending a simple and seemingly pleasant build. 

This is a simple yet good kit of the distinctive Dutch fighter. General shapes of parts look correct, molding is good, external details are sufficient, the canopy is acceptable, decals look great and instructions are good. The cockpit itself is sparse and would benefit from some extra work (not that much, as the thick canopy will hide a good amount of it). Construction is simple, easily tackled by even a novice. 

Though there are newer, more detailed options available, this is a neat simple kit, offered at a low price, definitely worth tackling.

Happy Modeling