"What's New!" Eduard
NOTE: I have not yet built these yet, so this is simply a commentary on
accuracy and contents & features. . .
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Eduard1/48 Injected Fokker D.VI:
The kit's contents include 2 "sprues" of injected bits, metal engine
casting, etched sheet, Resin Parts, decals, and instructions.
The plastic parts include the fuselage (left and right halves with seperate
deck in front of cockpit), upper and lower wings (lower in top and bottom
handed halves, upper is top and bottom halves), separate ailerons(!), basic
stick, tail parts, airscrew, wheels, struts and cowling. The parts exhibit
some flash - easily cleaned up. Details on the plastic parts are well done
and include some light framing on the fuselage sides aft of the cockpit.
The fuselage is molded in left and right halves with seperate decking in
front of the cockpit. The wings feature standard Eduard rib detail and
separate ailerons - handy, that! Eduard molded the wings in top and bottom
halves, nicely avoiding the slow cooling & easy warping problems that DML
chronically faced with the thick wings on their DR.1 & D.VII. As with "all"
kits of The tail parts are nicely molded and have a nice tight fabric look.
Fokkers the cowling isn't quite right - the horizontal chin under the prop.
opening needs to be rounded some more.
The metal engine is standard fare - it appears to be the same casting as in
some previous kits - the only problem being the flat etched intake
manifolds (Thought I'd #&$@ that up again and call them exhausts didn't
you?)
The starter magneto(?), 1 guage, air pump, ammo tanks, and gun bodies are
all provided in resin.
Etched parts include cockpit tub with attached framing templates (after all
they wouldn't expect us to use flat parts to represent welded tubing would
they??), seat & belts, instrumentation and other interior details,
mainifold/valve engine details, gun jackets & fronts & cocking handles,
control horns & pocket details. (Strangely the ailerons are marked with
'pin holes' for the hinge positions, but there are no hinges.)
The Decals include (nearly) full markings for 2 different aircraft (an
unarmed Jastaschule aircraft - top picture page 45 of 'WW1 Warplanes V.1'-
and one from Jasta 80b -looks like top of 44.) The weight table is included
but there are no serial numbers (these would be covered by 80b markings
anyway.) Four color lozonge covering is also provided (color accuracy??
I'll use it.) The upper wing is covered diagonally, the lower spanwise, and
the fuselage lengthwise. Lozenge is also provided for the wheel spreader
airfoil - debate this amongst yourselves. Red and dark blue rib tapes are
provided as a surround on the decal sheets.
The instructions are the same as with other recent Eduard offerings - step
by step with lots and lots of little icons. Color plates are provided for
both aircraft.
The kit scales out virtually spot on with 3-views in Albatros' WW1
Warplanes Vol.1.
HITS: Looks Nice. . .
MISS: Flat intake manifolds and interior framing.
1/48 Fokker D.VI: kit # 8012
($Can suggested) 34.99
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Eduard1/48 Injected DFW T.28 Floh (The first in the 'Never Fighting Ladies'
series):
A quick history: The T.28 was a 1915 fighter prototype designed by Hermann
Dorner the chief engineer of DFW. The T.28 'Floh' (Flea) looked rather like
a cartoon caricature of a Roland C.II that had run into a brick wall - it
may well have inspired the as wide as (s)he is tall jokes - sort of a
pregnant guppy look. Like the Roland C.II the T.28 had a deep fuselage with
the wings mounted directly on the sides and the cockpit directly behind the
top wing.
The type was capable of an impressive 180kph on only 100hp. The aircraft
apparantly suffered from the effects of the small wings and the pilot
position immediately above and behind the upper wing - vision during
landing was very limited.
The type has had at least five kits made of it and was featured in
Albatros' WW1 Warplanes Vol.1 pp11-15.
The kit's contents include 1 "sprue" of injected bits, etched sheet,
decals, and instructions.
The plastic parts include the fuselage (left and right halves), upper and
lower wings (in left and right halves), tail parts, airscrew, wheels, and
interplane struts. The parts exhibit some flash - easily cleaned up.
Details on the plastic parts are fairly well done. The fuselage is molded
in left and right halves with footstep, louvre and exhaust panel detail -
drill & plumb. The smiling Chinaman cooling intakes are decals - you may
wish to open these. There is no engine. The wings feature standard Eduard
rib detail with two 'tanks' in the upper wing (top only). No, I have no
idea what the cooling system was - there is no evidence on plans or photos
of radiator(s) and as far as I know the 100hp Merc. was not air cooled. The
tail parts could use a light sanding as the structure stands out a little
too much. The elevator horn balances could use some reshaping where they
meet the fixed part of the horizontal stabilizer - the color plate shows
this area fairly well.
Etched parts include cockpit tub with side framing, control stick, seat &
belts, instrumentation and other interior details, control horns & pocket
details, and propeller hub.
The decals include full markings for the prototype and the aforementioned
'intake' decals. The aircraft is painted overall light grey/blue with black
border to the wings and tail surfaces, and a black band around the
exhausts. The wheels are a darker grey/green/blue?
The instructions are the same as with other recent Eduard offerings - step
by step with lots and lots of little icons. Color plates are provided for
the prototype.
The kit scales out virtually spot on with 3-views in Albatros' WW1
Warplanes Vol.1.
The relatively low parts count and lack of cabane structure makes this a
good introductory kit to the world of Eduard WW1.
HITS: Different. . .Funky. . .Cool. . .Good for a laugh. . .
MISS: Parts/Dollar ratio rather low compared to the other Eduard kits.
1/48 DFW T.28 Floh: kit # 8016
($Can suggested) 29.99
_____________________________________________________________________
Mark (From Kites & Other Delights in West Edmonton Mall)
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mnelson@compusmart.ab.ca