Fokker Dr.I Part 1

1/32 Scale

EagleCals Decals

Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

Eagle Cals #93-32 is available online from Squadron.com

Roden’s 1/32 scale Fokker Dr.I continues to inspire decal manufacturers and rightfully so. The triplane served with many Jastas and their panache for colourful Unit and individual markings leaves plenty of scope for interesting subjects.

Three examples make their appearance on this latest sheet. Having been printed by Microscale, one is usually assured of a quality image. The minimal carrier film is very thin and proves to be quite strong when the decal is applied to the model’s surface. Strangely registration was not up to the accustomed standard and the crosses of Raben’s machine suffered noticeably.

In this scale, stencil data is most important and EagleCals should be commended for supplying so much of it. Each subject has its own compliment, with extra serial numbers thrown in should you desire them.

The printing is nice and sharp on all these items which also include the Fokker and Axial logos. There is some confusion over the stencil data applied under the wings though. The number of the wing “set” (not to be confused with the works number) was seen here and should be prefixed with FL. The option supplied bears no resemblance to this so will need to be modified accordingly.

Also included is a weight table, of which an erroneous example has been perpetuated here. The bottom line should read “zulässiges Gesamtgewicht”, which is pointed out in Alex Imrie’s excellent book on the subject, a reference EagleCals have used on this sheet.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

Options

The subjects are well chosen as each will test a different skill level when it comes to painting. For those that are intimidated by Fokker’s trademark streaking, Raben’s red and white Jasta 18 is a good choice.

Although not shown on the instruction sheet, this aircraft should have a light coloured area under the upper wing crosses. This was due to the over painting of the previous white background and is clearly seen in a photo of the aircraft. When captured by the French, this triplane was looking much the worse for wear. No doubt an ideal candidate for the modeller to practice their weathering.

Raben only managed 4 victories. These comprised of two Capronis on the 26 September 1917, a DH 9 on 13 August 1918, and a DH 4 later on the 30th of the same month. He was severely wounded by anti aircraft fire in November 1917, which goes a long way to explaining why 9 months elapsed between victories 2 and 3.

With only the wings needing the streaked treatment, Otto Esswein’s Dr.I is a little bit more of a challenge to paint. It was common to see this Jasta 26 tripe with a flare rack under the port side cockpit opening, along with the signal pistol tube.

Esswein scored all of his 12 victories with Jasta 26 for which he served from October 1917 until July 1918. He was fortunate enough to have survived bailing out of his burning aircraft on the 16 July, only to die 5 days later in another aerial combat.

The brave can take on the mount of Lt. Eberhardt Mohnicke. He carried the swastika on the fuselage as a symbol of good luck, as did the combatants of a number of other countries. The blue fuselage is an educated guess but could also be of a different colour. Photographic evidence confirms that the over painting of the white fuselage cross field has left that area lighter than the rest of this part of the fuselage. This Jasta 11 machine wears the standard livery of this Unit with its red cowl, struts and wheel covers.

Mohnicke already had a victory under his belt before joining Jasta 11 in April 1917. He scored a further 6 before being wounded in a triplane thanks to the Camels of 54 Squadron. After his recovery, two final victories came his way to give him a final total of 9. He survived the war and died in 1930.

Apart from the registration problem with one of the options, this is a good effort from EagleCals. Some interesting colour schemes give the modeller viable alternatives depending on their skill level.

Although engineered for the Roden kit, the decals can be adapted for other triplanes on the market. Despite the reservations mentioned, the provision of stencil data is worthy of note and one looks forward to future releases in the series.

Recommended

Thanks to Judy at Eagle Editions for the information and the preview images

EagleCals decals are available from Eagle Editions Website
or Hobby Retailers including Squadron.com.     

Preview Text Copyright © 2006 by Rob Baumgartner
This Page Created on 24 March, 2006
Last updated 24 March, 2006

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