KIT BOX
EDUARD
E
duard has poured the expertise gained from their excellent 1:
series of D.VII kits into a 1:72 version, and very nice it is too. Whilst
not an exact copy of its larger brother they’ve packed a lot into this
Profipack edition of the kit which will no doubt soon be available
as a basic one. Also the surplus parts on the frames indicate that
other manufacturers versions will be released, just as they were with the
1:48th version. In fact around half the parts in the box aren’t required, and
if it wasn’t for the fact that there is only one pair of wings I’m sure you could
put together Albatros and Fokker versions of this kit with a change of suitable
decals. Plenty for the spares box then.
The quality of the parts as you would expect from Eduard is spot on, and it’s
nice to see the smaller parts such as rudder pedals and control column moulded
with such fi nesse in this scale. Even a tiny anemometer has been included to be
secured to the wing struts. Combined with a comprehensive photo-etched fret it’s
unlikely that anything needs to be added to build a remarkably detailed little model
from the parts supplied. Indeed, apart from being without seat straps, a very good
model could be made from the plastic parts alone. The Mercedes engine makes
up into a nice little replica, and the intrepid may attempt to cut away the engine
panels to reveal it. Some additional fi ne detail could be added here, or the whole
unit substituted with a fi ner aftermarket replacement and of course it’s entirely
possible that Eduard will release some resin additions in the future as they do with
many of their kits.
My one bugbear with Eduard biplane kits of late is their obsession with ribbed
detail which can be very pronounced at times and not to my personal taste.
Here it’s a little more refi ned but evident nonetheless and will certainly make
those rib tapes more pronounced. Which brings me on to the decals; the print
quality is excellent, and whilst the colour of lozenge might still be open to some
debate, there’s plenty of evidence out there to get a very good close match to
the original, as seen with some of the excellent aftermarket sets from the likes of
Aviattic and Pheon. Eduard’s fi ve colour lozenge decals aren’t too bad here when
in comparison, though some aiming for absolute authenticity may stick to those
suppliers in who they trust and replace them anyway. The cookie cut shapes here
certainly help and avoid the need for individual panels to be cut, but the addition
of all those rib tapes and edges makes me wonder why they just didn’t print them
on in the fi rst place. Absolute accuracy and alignment will of course be ensured as
you line up the rib tapes with the moulded detail and the lines around the ailerons,
but what a pain! I’ve done it often enough, and like the addition of all those stencils
on modern aircraft it’s just one of those things you accept, but given the quality of
Eduard’s printing you might have thought it’s one process they might have avoided
here.
Six colour options are provided for you, all very colourful and well-known to
WWI modellers. They are:
● Ltn. Alfred Greven, Jasta 12, Carignan, France, October 2018, blue and
white markings
● Ltn. Franz Büchner, Jasta 13, Trier, Germany, October 2018, light blue and
green markings
● Ltn. August Raben, Jasta 18, Möntingen (Montoy – Flanville now), France
October 2018, red and white markings
● Ltn. Wilhelm Leusch, Jasta 19, Trier, Germany, October 1918, blue and
yellow markings
● Ltn. Max Näther, Jasta 62, Preutin-Higny, France, October 1918, red and
black markingsFor me it’s the Jasta 19 machine that is featured on the great box art that
catches my eye, though there are aftermarket options and no doubt many more
will follow in the wake of this kit.FOKKER D.VII (OAW) PROFIPACK EDITION
Eduard, The Czech Republic/Materials: IM, PE/Kit No. 70131/Availability: Eduard, 295 Kč
1:
VERDICT
I’m really looking forward to building this kit, the subject of which has been covered many times over the years. Roden served us well some years back with
their series, but Eduard have bought things right up to date with this release. This shouldn’t be a diffi cult kit to build, made complex only through the addition of
the photo-etched parts, but virtually no rigging, remember?! Our thanks go to Eduard for the review sample. (Haris Ali)
16 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - August 2019