Fokker Dr.1 Merit 1/24

[Borsos]

Good to see you back on this one, Marc! And like the others said: You are turning water into wine with this kit 
Your detail work and painting is first class.
Best regards
Andreas

[Monty]

I suppose the real reason for shelving this build was the rumours of the Meng kit.... Well, the Meng kit arrived and it was all that I could hope for, not perfect (no kit ever is) but just so well done I have done a bit on it too... food for another thread, I think! What got me going back to this one was some "extras" I found in the Meng kit. You see, they give two sets of Spandaus, one set don't need photo-etch and the other set use the beautiful pre-rolled jackets...  so the PE set set I will  naturally use in the Meng kit. But the spare set are ideal for the Merit kit! Here is a comparison with the supplied Merit PE - which is not great....



No contest... a fair paint job and those Meng MG's will do just fine... The Merit PE is best ignored, those holes are just too big... And the Meng kit gives a spare set of wheels intended for the F.1 version of the Triplane... These have a smaller and thinner tyre than the Dr.1 so are a little undersize... but still bigger than the Merit ones with a lovely fabric effect and lettering on the tyre... Also not so clunky... No contest here again...



I couldn't resist showing the engine and prop in the cowling...



And this is how far the internals have progressed, nearly ready to close up...



Just some rigging to go and some fabric effect above that rear bulkhead... And the seat....



So this kit will still be far from perfect but not quite ready to scrap... I have told myself to continue with quite a few of these old stalled builds (I keep them all... ready to restart at any time...) because the work put in is often very interesting... the end result may not be the absolute best but is acceptable, and most of all, it's fun!

Enjoy your modelling and Thank You to everyone following this thread so far!

Regards,

Marc

[RAGIII]

Really looking good Marc! Your idea of using the extra Meng parts to enhance the Merit kit is Sound! Looking forward to more.
RAGIII

[Monty]

Thanks for checking in, Rick! This build is slowly progressing now, together with some other projects. I fully realize this kit is now totally superseded by the Meng offering, but I have some work expended here, so I may as well just finish it, as best as I can! This photograph shows some dire faults with this kit:



The shape of the cockpit opening is all wrong and it is too small; the padding is all wrong, the area under the machine gun butts is a solid and here I hauled out the trusty razor saw and removed it, especially if I'm going to use those Meng Machine guns... There is also a  transverse bar here to support the rear of the guns I still have to add... There is a white piece of card that took me ages to file and get in place above the rear bulkhead, Meng has this nailed, but there is a big hole if this isn't filled... The fuselage halves are dry fitted, I will fix the gap between the fuselage halves!

Regards,
Marc

[DaveB]

Marc -

You are doing some sterling work on this far from perfect kit, mate -

Great progress

Regards

Dave

[kensar]

Nothing wrong with upgrades from other kits.  A nice improvement on the details.
Despite all the inaccuracies, it will still look like a Dr.I.

[RAGIII]

You are making good progress and your improvements look Great!
RAGIII

[Monty]

Thank you Dave, Ken and Rick for checking in on this build. I must say I am enjoying the build process, without getting too hung up on the details! Please note all the cockpit fittings may not be as accurate as the Meng kits (or latest research), please go to my Roden and Meng kit thread for some great input by many better modellers than I on this site! This is a relaxing build, nevertheless. I added all the little instruments and details provided by Merit, and some rigging. I used E Z line for the crossed bracing struts as I didn't know if there would be interference with the bits and pieces in the cockpit and the E Z line is flexible! It seemed to work out although the line may be a little fine for this scale...





Ready to close up! The fit is very good and the two lower wings are added here to check the fit and alignment... All OK!



Just got to let this dry properly and I can move on...

Enjoy your modelling!

Marc

[gedmundson]

Nice to follow your progress here, Marc. Great work so far!
Cheers,
Gary

[KiwiZac]

Hear hear, it's looking great!

[RAGIII]

You are making great progress and the DR1 is looking great! Your additions are making a difference for sure!
RAGIII

[Monty]

Thank you Rick, Gary and Zac for the encouragement! Yes, progress is good as the kit at this stage seems surprisingly well engineered... the parts fit, the locating tabs and pins give a positive fit and aligning the parts are relatively easy. Well done Merit! The detail may not be as great as the Meng kit, but it is relatively easy to assemble. I'm not going for great detail, just hoping to keep it neat ... I drilled the fairlead holes deeper in the rear fuselage where the control cables exit. Surprisingly, the control horns on the rudder are not supplied, I will fudge some! Also the tailplane support struts are not mentioned in the instructions, I think they are supplied, but there are no clues where they should be fitted - I think I can figure this out! The undercarriage struts fit well and I can leave it loose for assembly later... In the photo it's all dry fitted, but I get to use glue very soon! It's beginning to look like a Dr.1...


Enjoy your modelling!
Regards,
Marc

[RAGIII]

It certainly looks like a DR1 from My point of view Marc! Had Merit included a Lherone or Obereousel ( SP) engine I think this one might have been more popular...at least until the Meng kit appeared  Nice work and looking forward to the next update!
RAGIII

[Alexis]

Really love how this is turning out so far , great stuff Marc !


Alexis

[Monty]

Thank You for checking in, Alexis and Rick! And yes, the Clerget engine commits me to two colour schemes only, so still thinking about the overall black on this big model... but that time is coming soon... So some detail progress, first, the upper wing has an inspection panel to look at the main spar construction details, and this is in the wrong place and needs to be moved forwards. Here I show how to cut the framing out of thin (10 thou) plasticard, cut the center out first, then cut the outside, trim off the burrs too.. here I used the Mengnutwings clear part on the left for sizing... the staple gives some idea of size...



.. then glue to the top wing, the original detail was puttied and sanded, it is indeed a bit further towards the leading edge...



I will of couse, sand it back a bit...

Then I tackled the detail under the front of the fuselage behind the cowling.... here I copied the detail on the Mengnutwings kit again, added that flange at the front and added the hatch.. I will still need to add representations of the catches and latches... that will be basic, I assure you! Also above the start of adding the PE control horns to the ailerons, I will use the kit ones although they may not be 100%... not much, but progress!


Enjoy your modelling!

Regards,

Marc