Author Topic: Roden 1/32 scale Fokker DR.1  (Read 3620 times)

Offline Dave W

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Roden 1/32 scale Fokker DR.1
« on: November 16, 2019, 11:36:56 AM »
  1/32 scale Fokker DR.1



Reviewed by: Lance Carroll

Item # Ro 610
Scale:  1:32
Price:  Varies from  $55 to $70 USD depending on supplier.
Stockist: Review sample kindly provided by Roden Ltd. Available online and from quality model shops worldwide.

Contents:

Eight page black and white Instruction Booklet, six  injection molded plastic sprues containing a total of  92 parts, and a Decal Sheet for four different aircraft options.

General Comments:

The Fokker Dr.I was developed as a Triplane version of the rotary powered biplane Fokker D.VI design. Two airframes of the initial F.1 Design were issued to JG1 for combat evaluation and were flown by Ltn. Werner Voss and Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen. After a first production batch of 20 an eventual 320 of the type served with front line units. A rash of wing failures early in the aircraft’s service traced to poor workmanship and condensation problems in the inner wings led to several losses and grounding of the type however once these problems were resolved the DR.I went on to become an effective front line fighter. Despite it’s small numbers the DR.1  was made famous by many of the leading German Aces including von Tutscheck, Udet, Jacobs, and of course von Richthofen. It is arguably the best known  aircraft of the first Great War and a true icon of it’s genre. Ultimately 320 Fokker DR.1’s served in front line units.
Pilots found the Dr.I a highly manoeuvrable machine that could easily out climb the competition and turn with the best of them as well. Its greatest shortfalls were poor high altitude performance and generally slow speed.

This Model is one of Roden’s  early line of 18 WW.I subjects released in 1:32 Scale and given it was released in 2005  is a well engineered Kit. It goes together well and built straight out of the box results in a very nice model.  With a minimum of After Market additions it compares very well with the quality of  models available in more expensive lines.

I built this model approximately five years ago and it resulted in a very attractive model that stands well on display with my other builds. I enjoyed the Kit, found no major shortfalls, and will definitely build at least one more.

The Package:

The Kit comes packed in the familiar Roden light weight top opening cardboard box. The box art is a nicely rendered painting of Manfred von Richthofen’s mainly striped 477/17. The six plastic sprues are contained in a single plastic bag as is the decal sheet. The eight page black and white Instruction booklet is packed loose in the box.

The Instructions:

These are provided as an 8 Page folder of black and white sheets. The cover page has a comprehensive history of the design and performance tables in three languages. They are well printed and logical in layout and include Illustrations of the sprues with part numbers, a Color Call Out Key to the  Humbrol  line of paints, and a symbols key for the construction illustrations. No Reference Publications are provided.




Colour and Markings Schemes (Four schemes  provided)
These are referenced to the Humbrol Colour Guide provided.





The Sprues:

The six sprues of the Kit parts are molded in a soft nicely workable light grey plastic. The moldings are generally well done with  good detail and minimum flash.  Accuracy  is  very good  with a few minor exceptions, and the smaller components are well represented. The Kit engine cowling lacks the faceplate and rivets of the real item and the outline of the rudder is slightly in error. The former short coming can be addressed with a little effort at modification or, better, addition of Aviattic’s resin replacement  cowling.  The rudder can be accurately corrected with a bit of very basic modelling and sheet stock or a replacement produced with the same and minimum effort.
The horizontal tailplane (Kit Part 5) requires some repair to fill the top surface recessed center section which should in fact be flush.  I'm not certain why it is molded this way unless Roden inadvertently carried the bottom recess around to the top surface. This error can be quickly corrected with sheet styrene and a bit of filler.
Last, the wing rib detail is subtle but appears accurately represented when compared to photos of the aircraft. The following photos illustrate the Kit’s six sprues:







The wing rib detail is subtle but appears accurately represented when compared to photos of the aircraft.



Smaller parts are well represented and detailed.


The LMG 08’s are nicely molded and detailed however I’d recommend the addition of After Market guns.


Decals:

The good news is that Roden have provided markings for four very well chosen aircraft. Kempf’s “Kennscht mi noch?”,  The Red Baron’s 477/17, Jacob’s all black 450/17 with the distinctive “North Wind” logo and Udet’s black and white striped  “LO” are all options.

The bad news is, in my experience,  Roden's decals are, at best,  inconsistent in quality.  I would strongly recommend the use of a good quality decal film  (I personally prefer Microscale’s  “Liquid Decal Film”) or adding After Market Decals to your building plan.  The decal quality is the sole reservation I have concerning this otherwise fine Kit.



Summary:

This is a good Kit that builds easily into a very fine model and, with some added After Market features and a minimum of extra effort, can result in a top quality model. It’s popularity may be threatened by the imminent release of the Wingnut Wings version however I believe it will continue to provide a more affordable alternative to model builders whose purse strings are a little tighter than others or those who desire more than one Fokker “Tripe” in their collection.

Verdict:  Highly Recommended.

Review Kit kindly provided by Roden.

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« Last Edit: November 19, 2019, 06:59:29 AM by Dave W »
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