Eduard 1/72 Fokker D.VII (OAW) Weekend EditionReviewed by Brad Cancian
Item: 7407
scale: 1/72
Price: $19.95 USD, direct from Eduard
https://www.eduard.com/eduard/plastic-kits/weekend-edition/aircraft/1-72/fokker-d-vii-%28oaw%29-1-72.htmlReview kit kindly provided by Eduard at
https://www.eduard.com/The Fokker DVIILittle needs to be said for the history of the Fokker D.VII. It is likely the most famous German fighter of the First World War, save perhaps its stablemate, the Fokker Dr.1. Introduced into service in early May 1918, it proved to be a powerful and manoeuvrable aircraft, famously known to make a bad pilot good and a good pilot exceptional. Though it entered service just weeks after the death of Manfred Von Ricthofen, the “Red Baron”, it was flown by many famous late war aces; Udet, Lorerzer, Loewenhardt, Baumer, Buchner, Goering, and many more. Though never built in enough numbers to fully equip the German fighter squadrons, it none the less saw widespread service at the front. It was mas produced by the parent Fokker firm, as well as the Albatros and OAW firms. The Austrian firm MAG also produced the type. These firms each had their own unique construction points of differentiation, most notably in the different styles of cowling louvers / arrangements, and the differences in Lozenge (4 versus 5 colour). The aircraft fought through to the end of the war, and it also saw service post war in a number of different guises.
Eduard’s Little FokkerThe popularity of the machine, and the many colourful wartime guises it wore, as well as perhaps its minimal rigging, has made the aircraft popular as a modelling subject. In 1/72, the kit has been most famously boxed by Revell way back in 1963, and by Roden in a number of variants, back in the early 2000s. Both of these kits have their flaws and vices; accordingly, the welcome release in 2019 of the Fokker D.VII in this scale by Eduard has been a very welcome addition to their catalogue. First released in a MAG variant boxing in 2019, this very quickly was followed by an OAW variant profipack boxing. An Albatros-built profipack boxing followed in early 2020. A number of specialty boxings have been released. The most recent release is this kit, the weekend edition of the OAW-built variant.
As per a number of their recent Weekend edition kits, I must also commend Eduard on the box art – it is striking and very well done. It looks colourful and very attractive on the shelf and will be easily spottable in hobby shops.
The PlasticThe kit comes in four sprues of very finely moulded dark grey plastic. This is up to the usual exquisite quality and absolute finesse that Eduard is renowned for, so there is no need to worry about any quality issues here.
The first two sprues, sprue A and B, contain the ‘common’ parts, seen in all variants released so far.
This includes a full and complete array of all of the wheel types, radiator types, weapon arrangements, engine types, instrument panel variations, exhausts, and radiator layouts, seen on the Fokker from each manufacturer. There are plenty of parts here for the spares box, without a doubt. A very nice touch is that Eduard have moulded the complex ‘pyramid’ struts that attach to the forward fuselage as a single piece, significantly reducing the amount of effort (and pain!) in aligning these fiddley items. Care may need to be taken to not damage these items in sprue removal and clean up.
The next two sprues, sprue D and I, contain the fuselage and wing parts.
Again, one is presented with a number of options; eight different propellers, and a number of different undercarriage fairings. The flying surfaces are on this sprue; they have lovely wing rib tape detail that is beautifully refined for this scale. The fuselage sprues contain two sets of parts, one set each for two of the three OAW fuselage variations (early and mid) that the firm produced. If you are looking for a late model OAW variant, you’ll need to buy their earlier profipack kit, which comes with sprue C; this sprue has the later variations of elongated vertical cooling vents (as well as containing sprue D, which has the mid style cooling vents). The various vents, panels and even fastener details are beautiful, and the subtle impression of fuselage frames under fabric is apparent on the fuselage sides.
All in all, the plastic parts are VERY comprehensive. Being a weekend edition kit, there is no etch and no masks (though seat belts are included on the decal sheet).
InstructionsThe instructions are printed in a full colour glossy A4 booklet in 12 pages, which is a nice departure from the black and white and blue booklets of old. The instructions contain a full page of history and statistics for the aircraft, a parts layout diagram (including listing all of the parts that you won’t need to use, and can thus add to the spares box), a list of paints (in Gunze colour callouts), construction diagrams (including rigging), a diagram for lozenge decal application, and full colour marking instructions. Instructions for each of the variations / options is very clearly called out, depending on the colour scheme you decide to choose.
There are four colour schemes provided, which is wonderful for a weekend edition kit. The colour schemes are all quite different from each other, which offers nice variation. All have a nice little description of the pilot and machine’s history in the instructions.
The four machines are:
• Lt d. R. Kurt Monnington, Jasta 18, Montoy-Flanville, France, August 1918
• Lt d. R. Hans Besser, Jasta 12, Chere-les-Pouilly, France, August 1918
• 4499/18, VzFlgMstr Franz Mayer, Marine Feld Jasta III, Jabbeke, Belgium, September 1918
• Lt Walter Blume, Jasta 9, Sissone, France, September 1918
Decals
The decals are very nicely printed with solid colour and excellent register. The decal film looks nice and thin, in typical Eduard style.
The big bonus here is that we also get a full sheet of four colour lozenge decals, already cut to fit, as well as a full set of light blue rib tapes, including leading and trailing edge tapes (though these may be tricky to apply).
As a side note, 4 colour lozenge and blue tapes are accurate for an OAW built machines; a nice touch. Eduard have been criticised in the past for their poor lozenge colours; the colours in the kit are much closer to originals. The only thing to note here is that Eduard appears to have ‘pre-faded’ the lozenge decals, but not the other decals. Some may like this, some may not; it is entirely up to your tastes. The only other item of note is that the white portions on the wings of Blume’s scheme comes as part of the decal sheet; this affords some good options to use decals rather than trying to mask or paint around the lozenge. Again, some may like this, some may not, but the fact that it is an option is some good forethought from Eduard.
AccuracyThe kit scales very nicely compared to the windsock datafile drawings from the various Anthology Specials on the D.VII. The myriad of parts on offer afford the modeller great flexibility and accuracy. The cowling variations are spot on for the early and mid production D.VIIs from OAW, however, individual machines did vary due to field modifications; Eduard highlights this for the variants in the decals, instructing the removal of certain louvers, but be sure to check your references for the colour scheme you choose. All in all, however, the accuracy of the kit, and comprehensive details for areas like the cockpit, is spot on. For those that are really detail inclined, Eduard also produce etched sets for guns, seatbelts, and other details, and also offer a detail set for the engine compartment. These will really make this model ‘pop’ in such a small scale.
ConclusionsThis kit really is a beauty. It’s comprehensive parts count, refined details, and overall accuracy, makes this kit a stand out as one of the best, if not THE best, first world war aircraft kit in 1/72. Despite the comprehensiveness of the kit, it is still a great candidate for a quick build, or for someone’s first WW1 build. There is minimal rigging, the lozenge takes care of itself, and strut alignment should be easy due to the way that Eduard have set up the forward pyramid struts, N wing struts, and overall positive location holes. The relatively large variations in colour schemes and strong market for aftermarket decals for the D.VII will help ensure plenty of ongoing interest, so I’d recommend picking up a few of these kits. The price is also incredibly good value for such a comprehensive package.
The kit is very highly recommended!
Our very sincere thanks to Eduard for the review sample!
