Fokker D.I & D.II double build. Merlin, 1:72

[IanB]

I know, I have more than enough to be getting on with, but the E.III is waiting for bits to dry, the RE8 is awaiting the postie....and I have too much spare time.

 I also just bought the Windsock Special on the Fokker D.I to D.IV with the aim of starting this so here we go...can we say "sucker for punishment"?

 Here's what I have to start with:



The wing detail is actually very nice, but they are way too thick so it would have to be sanded off anyway...add to that they are the wrong length and I think the best option is scratchbuild new ones....



The fuselages are vaguely fuselage-shaped lumps of plastic, almost solid on the inside, different lengths, and way too narrow....







Then there's a bag of metal bits and a sprue with some more lumps of plastic on it. I'm not sure what most of it is...possibly wheels, tail surfaces etc. There is a cowling, which could be usable....



So, what it all boils down to, is basically a scratchbuild, combined with some plastic sculpting!! What a terrible waste of good plastic, there really ought to be a law against this sort of thing... I'll be using a spare Roden engine, modified, for the D.I.

 Add to that the fact that the drawings in the Windsock Special aren't consistent...the fuselages measure differently on the profiles and plan views, and the wingspans are different on the head-on views and plan views. Some of the drawings have the correct wingspan and wrong fuselage length, or vice-versa, and some have the wrong wingspan on all views (I'm taking my measurements from those supplied in the back of this same publication, so one of them has to be wrong)........I really thought Windsock put a little more care into their drawings but this is not the first time I've had this issue.
 I copied the various views at different magnifications and made a complete set of correctly sized drawings....now I could begin!

 I have made a start on the D.I fuselage. First job was to find a reference point. The underside of the fuselage matched the plans pretty well so that was my starting point. I took one half and got the underside matching nicely, then removed the plastic lump that represents the engine and corrected the nose profile. When that was done I moved back to the cockpit and upper decking until the profile matched all around.





Next step was to tape the 2 halves together and match them, and when that was done I took the Dremel to them and started to hollow out the insides. I didn't go too far as I know there is some reshaping still to do and I want to leave enough so that I don't sand through.....

 Finally for today, I added 1mm plastic strip to the joining edges of both halves to widen the fuselage to the correct width. Correct, that is, for the front...the rear is actually ok, but it's easier to widen all of it, then sand the back end - there's plenty of plastic!



 That is where it stands as of this evening. This will be put aside to finish my other 2 when I get the bits I need, but it should keep me out of trouble in the meantime.


Thanks for looking,

Ian

[coyotemagic]

Ahh, Merlin.  "Have to be a magician to build one".  Yet you are going to beat your psyche over the head with two of these torture devices.  I know your skills are up to the task, but what about your mental and physical well being?  I wish you the best and I'll be following along with whatever encouragement I can offer.
Cheers,
Bud

[lcarroll]

Ian,
   I don't know whether to say something sympathetic, compliment you on your courage, or just repeat Justin's advice! Great subjects but the photo of the metal parts and the bird dropping, er sorry, sprue, is absolutely frightening; as you say there ought to be a law........!! All the best wishes on this project, I believe you'll end up "scratching" both models entirely. You are indeed a brave man!
Cheers,
Lance

[RAGIII]

Best of luck on your build of these two (kits?) I had thankfully forgotten just how BAD they are! I know you will turn them into winners.
RAGIII

[Des]

Reminds me a little of when I tackled the Battle Axe Eindecker and the Omega Mosca MB bis but like you I persevered and ended p with two nice kits. I'm sure that your skills will allow you to overcome the issues in front of you and you will build two decent models. I fully respect your decision to attack these builds and wish you all the very best in your endeavor.

Des.

[BigBlue]

Wow!  I'm enough of a newbie that I can say I have never before seen anything that terrible!!  My hat is very much off to you.

Chris

[Flute]

The Fokker Windsock drawings are fairly well known for the reproduction error and have caused Albatros a fair amount of embarrassment. Veterans 72 once produced an otherwise nice D.I based on these, and of course it ended up too small. IIRC the fault is usually laid at the door of the printers, and is much more common generally (i.e. not just Albatros Productions) than you'd think, and a major reason why all published plans need treating with judicious scepticism.


Merlin were okay to begin with (for those of you who missed them) in the context of what else was available, but rapidly became lumpier and more careless after the first 15 or so kits were produced. By the time of the double kits, and the 1/48th efforts, they were pretty awful. Did you know, at one time the white metal items were sold separately as aftermarket parts?

I'll be interested in seeing what comes of your build Ian. I have a different double kit on the slow burner (Halberstadt D.V and Albatros D.XI, much the same 'quality' as yours).

BTW, to quote "What a terrible waste of good plastic, there really ought to be a law against this sort of thing..". It really, really isn't terribly good plastic. So that's alright, then.

Paul.

[Manni]

Man!Salute to you for starting this kits. I would probably throw them into the bin. My respect for doing them.
Manfred

[Borsos]

Oh yes, this is injection moulding at its best. Once I spend quite an amount of money for a Merlin 1/48 Nieuport 12 "kit". I scratchbuilt it in the end... Bonne courage for that one!
Windsock: Does anybody remember the 1/72 drawings of the WDF Fe8? You don't need measuring, starboard and port side are a different size, you can see it even with bare eyes!
Best wishes
Borsos

[BigBlue]

BTW, to quote "What a terrible waste of good plastic, there really ought to be a law against this sort of thing..". It really, really isn't terribly good plastic. So that's alright, then.

LOL

[IanB]

LOL, thanks everyone for the encouragement.
 Yes, these are awful, but they're pretty much all there is in this scale for these aircraft. It may well be easier to scratchbuild the whole thing, but I paid for the kit and I'm not going to throw it away...yes, my mother was a Scot! (I love Aberdeen!)

 I've got the D.I fuselage to a point I'm happy with for now, it still needs a little tweaking and I'll remove the rear turtle deck fairing and replace it with a piece of plastic sheet sanded to shape (as I will on the D.II also). That will also take care of the rear cockpit edge.



 As I'd got that sorted, I started on the D.II fuselage today. I thought I'd started with the worst of the 2, but then I laid the parts on the plan:



WHAT? It's not even close! It looks as though these weren't injection moulded, they were poured!
 I spent a while trying to work out the best way to correct it, and decided to start with the rear end, sanding both the upper and lower edges to fit to the plans.... I removed the turtledeck to aid with getting the angles right.... first one done...



 I then taped the 2 halves together at the front and rear and sanded the middle of the back end to match, then taped at the front and middle, and sanded the rear. I now had 2 reasonably correct rear ends, so I cut the front off.
 The first one was sanded to match the plan - did I mention there is plenty of plastic?



 The other side was sanded to match and the 2 were then glued back onto the corrected rear ends.....



Much better!

 Once that is properly dry I'll fill the joins with sprue melted in plastic weld to make it as strong as possible and allow further thinning, then add the same spacers on the joining edges as I did on the D.I.

 Thanks for watching!

Ian

[oldalbie]

You must be one patient individual Ian. 

[andonio64]

:-O
Mamma mia!

[RAGIII]

Outstanding correction work! I really admire you guys that move so quickly from finishing one project and on to the next!
RAGIII

[Des]

You are doing a fantastic job correcting these kits, you have an up-hill battle but I'm sure you will win the race.

Des.