The Fokker D.VII was one of the last of a line of very successful Fokker-designed aircraft.  They were first trialed in operational service with Manfred von Richthofen’s Jagerstaffell 1 (or JG1) early in 1918.  Other staffells were issued D.VIII’s in April 1918.  By October, there were some 800 in front-line service.  The D.VIII had a good combination of speed, manoeuvrability and ruggedness that it was said to make an average pilot into a good one.  It outclassed the Allied Spad’s, Camels and SE5a’s to such a degree that, at the end of “The War to End Wars” the Allies demanded that all D.VII’s be surrendered.

 Fast forward to 10 Apr 2005 – two months before the Melbourne Model Expo.   I had only two almost-finished models available.  So I did what any sane modeller would do.  I started a third – this one (and a fourth, but that’s another story).  My intention was merely to do it as a quick OOB (= Out of Box) model, not a competition winner (so that I wouldn’t be disappointed if it didn’t win).  See, you need lots of also-rans to make a good comp. 

The kit comprised only 28 white parts – some a little chunky, but all relatively blemish-free.  Unusually, the fabric of the wings was represented by a textured, slightly roughish, surface.  This will probably be smoothed-out by an application of paint (– nope!).  Detail varied from vague (= guns, pilot) to crisp (= radiator).  The cockpit was devoid of any detail save the pilot figure, who would be staying home anyway.       

 There were two painting/decal options – the gaudy red & blue option (of the box-art – why I bought it in the first place) with lozenge-pattern wings, and an all-white alternate.  Careful examination revealed that the decals were out of register by about 1mm – no big deal as most of the decals were either black or white.  But on the black National cross markings with white surrounds, it was a critical mismatch.  Included were decals that provided the lozenge patterns as black tracery – YOU gotta’ colour it in.  Personally, I’d dump ‘em and go for after-market lozenge decals.  After 3 seconds of deliberation, I settled on the all-white scheme for this quick build.

 This was a great choice because the all-white colour scheme would make for a maximum build followed by a single spraying and it would hide the decal mismatch.   And the OOB approach (no rigging) aligned with my quick build requirement.  The attack plan was to build it, gloss white it, decal it, then clear flat it.  The fact that the kit markings are for one LEUT Hermann Goring of Justa 27 is a bonus.  It also explains his all-white BoB uniform.

I brush-painted the inside with a couple of shades of brown to simulate wood, then (while the last coat was still wet) I glued the fuselage halves together.   In no time flat, I had the lower wing, tail plane and fin/rudder attached to the fuselage.  Lower wing fit was terrific.  The square construction of the Fokker was a real asset in ensuring the wings were level.  Another was that the interplane struts were vertical to the lower wing, so I used small blocks of balsa wood to ensure that they went on that way.   

 Trouble.  Dry-fitting the upper wing showed it fit onto the interplane struts nicely, so I glued it on.  But some carbanes just didn’t connect the upper & lower sockets.  The solution was to cut-up the carbanes and, working from the inside to outside, I carefully inserted them.  Some had to be replaced by lengths of wire.  Bye-bye OOB.  So I quickly threw-in a crude wicker seat scratch-built from a piece of thin foil and I replaced the tail skid with a bent copper staple.  All were secured in place by superglue.  Going back to plastic, I attached the undercarriage hangers(?)/legs/struts to the sub-wing(?) then glued this assembly under the fuselage.  By doing it wet, I was able to ensure that the sub-wing was square with the two main wings.  When all was dry, I plugged the cockpit with tissue and dug-out my Tamiya gloss white. 

 Painting.

I shoved a long wooden skewer into the front of the fuselage to act as a handle.  Against my better experience, I shot the paint straight at the model, filler and all.  And for once, the paint hid the filler.  I reckon that it got three mist coats because I kept shooting paint and rotating the model.   When painting white plastic with gloss white, it is a bit hard to see where the paint is going.  

 While the airframe dried, I brush-painted the remaining parts.  I ignored the painting guide (as I gleefully pointed-out to whoever would be judging my model) by painting the radiator flat black, the guns gunmetal, and the tyres German dark grey.   The engine was also brushed black, then received drybrushings of silver (over the engine) and bronze (over the exhaust pipe).  The painting guide reckons that they all should have been white!  Instead of the recommended black, the propeller got two different shades of brown, thanks to some very thin strips of tape, and a bronze mounting plate.  All of these would be attached much later.

 Decaling

Instead of relying on the white paint to conceal the decal mismatch, I gently cut the white surrounds away from each of the national markings to take care of it.   It took a while, and a fair bit of care, but it worked.  Thank goodness they were straight crosses, not Maltese ones.  And the markings went straight down onto the gloss white paint, with the aid of the usual Microset/sol solutions and a firm pressing with a small piece of damp sponge.   On impulse, I squirted the model with a clear gloss coat (not matt) to seal the markings in, and I left it un-weathered, ‘cos I reckon anyone who flies a white plane into battle probably wants it cleaned polished, too.  

I de-plugged the cockpit and painted the surrounding padding a dark brown ‘leather’.  Then, all of the brush-painted bits were attached.   One omission that is hardly noticeable, is that the white plastic parts of these bits (eg, wheel centres & radiator surrounds) weren’t painted.  One that is, is that I forgot to paint the openings in the sides of the cowling.  A fix is too difficult because of the carbanes.   A couple of black dots on the outer wheel centres (so the tyres can be filled), and the little Fokker was finished (I’ve always wanted to say that!). 

From go to whoa, this model took me 10 days, working an hour or two each night - Warp-speed for me.  Admittedly, its size and colour scheme helped to hide a few of faults and deficiencies. But it was cheap, fun to build and it looks like a Fokker D.VII.  The fact that it has the livery and markings of a famous person is a bonus.  So I recommend that you go out and grab one.       

Only the painting guide.