Eduard 1/48 Fokker E.III Weekend EditionReviewed by Brad Cancian
Item: 8419
Scale: 1/48
Contents: 96 plastic parts, decals, instructions
Price: $29.95USD, direct from EduardReview kit kindly provided by Eduard at
https://www.eduard.com/eduard/plastic-kits/weekend-edition/aircraft/1-48/fokker-e-iii-1-48.htmlThe Fokker Scourge Much has been written about the early model’s of Anthony Fokker’s iconic early war monoplane fighters. In short, the early Fokker E models (“E” standing for “Eindecker”, or “single wing”) entered front line service in mid 1915. Early models were powered by the 7 cylinder 80HP Oberursal U.0 engine, with the E.II and E.III models sporting the 9 cylinder 100HP Oberursal U.I. The E.III sported a slightly narrower wing than its predecessor, and an enlarged fuel tank, giving it more endurance than earlier models.
The aircraft itself wasn’t particularly manoeuvrable or fast by the standards of the day; it employed wing warping and unbalanced lateral and pitch controls. What it did bring to the fight was the first synchronised machine gun, allowing the pilot to easily aim the gun and machine in unison, leading to far more accurate shooting. German pilots quickly learned to take advantage of this system, and as a result, Fokkers began having a significant impact upon the Allies’ ability to conduct reconnaissance and bombing missions unhindered. With out a significant threat to counter this new technological advantage, the period become known by the Allies as the “Fokker Scourge”. Pilots like Immelmann and Boelcke became house hold names during this period for the number of aircraft they shot down flying the Fokker.
Max Immelman in his Fokker E.III. For a period, German authorities prohibited flight of Eindeckers over allied territories fearing that a downed aircraft or emergency landing would give away the secret. Fokker E.IIIs (and later E.IV models, with twin synchronised machine guns) would form the mainstays of the early fighter unit structures and early Jagdsteffeln. The death of Max Immelmann in June 1916 (the cause for which is often claimed to be technical malfunction of his synchronising gear), and widespread introduction of better Allied fighters such as the Airco DH2 and Nieuport 11 and 17 models, saw a swift end to the Scourge, and return to air superiority for the Allies. It would take better fighters, such as the early models of Albatros fighters, to wrestle control back from the Allies.
Fokker production figures state that 249 E.IIIs were manufactured; however, a number of the 49 E.IIs were upgraded to E.III standard when they were returned to Fokker's Schwerin factory for repairs. The E.III was operated by German, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria.
An E.III flown in Turkish markings. The Fokker E.III in 1/48There have been a number of kits of the E.III over the years. The early decades of modelling in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, were served mainly by the old Aurora kit, and its various reboxes. Eduard released their first E.III kit in 1993; this was the early days of Eduard and the kit was the product of low pressure injection moulding technology. Though it had a comprehensive set of etch in the box, there were inaccuracies in regards to the number of wing ribs. HR models released a resin E.III, but these have since become hard to find. The first of the ‘new’ generation of E.III kits was released by Eduard in 2008 and rereleased in various boxings in 2009, 2019, 2015 and 2018. This new generation forms the basis of what we see here today.
The Bits and BobsWe get the same core 96 plastic parts on three sprues that we have seen in the past. The moulds continue to hold up well, with minimal flash and crisp details.
The first sprue contains the starboard fuselage half, a set of wings, the 9 cylinder engine, elevators, propeller, and an engine cowl.
Wing ribs are delicately done; there is no ‘hill and valley’ approach here, nor are the ribs festooned with over scale stitching. Crisply done and consistent throughout, I think that this approach is a more accurate way to represent the flying surfaces; well done Eduard.
The engine is a single piece and nicely done. Cooling fin detail is crisp, with just a little flash on the mould seams (expected for injection moulded plastic).
The fuselage half is also crisply moulded. We get an odd representation of ribs on the fuselage (more on that later). Interior detail on the fuselage half is nice, with rigging wires moulded in place. Personally I prefer to add rigging myself from a material of my choice, but I can see how this might appeal to some.
The cowling is missing the Spandau blast protection shield, but the propeller is nicely done, with no sing marks and good hub detail.
The next sprue gives us the other fuselage halves, another set of wings (to deal with the optional different cowling arrangement), rudder, an alternate engine cowl (again missing the blast shield), the 7 cylinder engine (not used in the E.III but good for the spares box), and upper fuselage decking. The same crisp detail is reflected in these pieces also.
The last sprue contains all of the detail parts, including wheels (which come with separate wheel covers to make painting a breeze – lovely!), interior fuselage frame, cockpit parts, gun, undercarriage, and so on. Unsurprisngly, the fine level of detail is carried through here also. That being said, the Spandau is a little soft on detail; for such a prominent feature one may want to consider replacement of the gun with an aftermarket item.
The approach to the underside of the forward fuselage cockpit floor (part C32) is a good one; it eliminates unsightly seams being viewed through the cockpit opening.
We also get a small clear windscreen piece.
All in all a comprehensive set of plastic!
InstructionsThe instructions are printed on Eduard’s usual full colour glossy instruction manual. We get an extensive history of the E.III, a parts layout, paint call outs in Gunze / Mr Colour, very easily readable instructions (with alternate parts for each colour scheme clearly labelled), and full page 4 view colour drawings for each marking scheme, which includes a history of each pilot and the aircraft. Unfortunately, no rigging diagram is provided, so you’ll have to figure this out from the box top or other sources.
Colour schemes for four machines are provided. We get an interesting mix of colour options:
• Fokker E.III 339/16, flown by well known later war ace Ltn Josef Jacobs, Fokkerstaffel West, June 1916. His aircraft had a field applied camouflage of green and brown splotches.
• Fokker E.III 105/15, flown by another famous Ace, Ernst Udet, whilst at KeK Habsheim, 1916. This well known aircraft is depicted in green, but the scheme has some minor inaccuracies (more on this later).
• Fokker E.III “A8”, Austro-Hungarian Navy, Abwehrflugstation Altura, Austria-Hungary, 1916. The Austrian Navy were supplied with a small number (12) of E.IIIs. This model was painted in a dark green with a light blue underside, with later style cross styles.
• Fokker E.III “LF196”, flown by Naval Ace Gotthard Saschsenberg, Marine Fieldfliegerabtelung 1, April-November 1916.
DecalsThe decals are produced by Eduard, and are up to their usual excellent standard. Registration and density are very good. These decals also have the removeable film that has been a feature of Eduard decals in the last few years. There are those that will love or hate these.
Accuracy and BuildabilityIn terms of general outline, the kit scales very nicely to the windsock datafile 15 drawings, which look to have been used as the main data reference for this kit. The number of wing ribs is accurate, in comparison to the older Eduard kit. There is some debate as to whether the E.III and E.I/E.II wings were different dimensions; the differences, if there were any, were small and not likely to be of concern to the 1/48 modeller. As noted above, the fuselage sports what appears to be rib tapes along the frame stations; the Eindecker did not sport rib tapes on the fuselage so this is inaccurate. Luckily these can be easily removed with 5 minutes of sanding. We do get alternative wing pieces with minor shape differences to the forward inboard corner to accommodate the different cowling arrangements seen on the E.III; this is a nice touch. As mentioned earlier, we don’t get the blast protection plate on the cowling for the machine gun; so this would need to be fabricated from thin sheet plastic.
One minor point on the markings; I could not find a picture of Jacobs’ machine so I cannot confirm Eduard’s interpretation of his green and brown paint scheme. Udet’s 105/15 is a well known machine, but Eduard appear to have added an erroneous white stripe ahead of the dark stripe on the fuselage. There is also debate as to the colour of the stripe ahead of the fuselage cross; it appears to either be a different colour (often interpreted as red), or the black was only thinly applied. You be the judge!
Note also that Saschsenberg’s aircraft had its wheel covers removed at some point; but for a weekend kit, it is understandable that spoked wheel options are absent.
From a buildability stand point, this one looks straight forward. The wing mounting pins are small, but this is understandable given that anything larger would protrude into the cockpit. As such, care and a strong adhesive (two part epoxy, for example) is recommended to maintain a solid joint. Otherwise I don’t foresee too many challenges with this build.
ConclusionsThis is an excellent rerelease of this very solid and well regarded kit from Eduard. We get an excellent representation that is accurate in outline and detail, with very few vices straight out of the box. This kit remains the premier E.III in this scale on the market. As one of the Great War’s most important and well known fighters, this kit deserves to be picked up and built!
Highly recommended!
Our very sincere thanks to Eduard for the review sample!
