Yes, It's "Areo 72 in Review"
Monday Aug. 14, 1995
There are currently 4 1/72 injection WW1 kits in Aeroclub's Aero 72 line.
These kits are the Aviatik (Berg) D.1 (K003), The Bristol Scout 'D' (K024),
The Fokker D.VIII/E.V (K029), and the Fokker D.VI (K030). All four kits
sell for 7.35 (in pounds) -VAT + S&H. Some of these are apparantly copies
of the C A Atkins metal kits.
NOTE: I have not yet built any of these, so this is more of a commentary on
accuracy and contents.
All kits have plastic fuselage & Wings, white metal engine & other details,
with either contrail struts or brass 'Strutz'. The instructions are text
only for assembly, but contain B&W 3-views for color reference.
Unfortunately (unlike pegasus) there are no true length drawings for the
struts - you must judge lengths & alignments from the 3-views.
In General these kits compare well with Pegasus of a few years ago. (Detail
isn't as crisp as current Pegasus.)
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Aviatik (Berg) D.1:
The kit contains ('odd yellow marbled' plastic) injected fuselage, wings (3
parts), vertical & horizontal stabs., and wheels; metal parts include
Austro Daimler motor, alternate part for enclosed engine, airscrew,
radiator, stick, and seat (no guns!); decals for a 38, and a 138 series
aircraft; there are also 1 small (6 inch) piece of contrail strut & 1 thin
rod.
Details are finely etched (with slightly raised wing ribs) but could use a
little cleaning up. The surfaces look (and feel) slightly rough, but that
should vanish under some light sanding if you fell it is warranted. The
wings & tail are nice and thin, with minor flash around the edges. The
upper wing features the large cutout typical of series 138 & later
aircraft, and mid & late production series 38 aircraft, and has washout on
the ailerons. The fuselage is typical of the above series and features no
interior detail other than stick and seat, but it does have the engine
cut-out as a seperate metal part, so it is easy to build with either the
open or enclosed engine. Decals include serials (two full & two extra #s)
and crosses.
This kit should be easily modifiable into early series 38 (fill wing cut
out) and all later series aircraft by modifying the nose & wings (remember
for many aircraft in the late series -eg. 315, 238 series- the number of
ribs must be doubled. . .)
The kit scales out spot on with 3-views in the Datafile.
******************
Bristol Scout 'D':
The kit contains (tan 'normal' plastic) injected fuselage, wings (2 parts),
vertical & horizontal stabs.; metal parts include wheels, Gnome & LeRhone
motors, alternate cowlings, airscrew, struts, vickers gun, and seat (no
lewis!); decals for four different aircraft (2 have photos in datafile -
#41, 75, 76); there are also 1 small (6 inch) piece of contrail strut & 1
thin rod.
Details are finely etched (with slightly raised wing ribs) but could use a
little cleaning up. The surfaces look a little rough but not as rough as on
the Aviatik. The fuselage is well done, with a nice large cockpit opening
for you scratchbuilders- the only interior provided being the seat. neither
of the cowlings appear to be totally typical of all the 'D's - but this is
not hard to fix - cut away some bits, or add a bulge on the stbd. side.
(actually, the cowlings seem very 'C' like.) The wings & tail are nice and
thin, with very little flash around the edges. The wings feature the short
ailerons found on some 'D's (lengthen by one rib inboard if necessary). The
rudder is the usual 'D' one (Some 'D's featured a taller one, or the
smaller 'C' rudder.) Decals are included on two identical sheets, featuring
serials for four aircraft, roundels & tail flash.
The extreme similarity between the 'D' and the 'C' make this a very
versatile kit.
The kit scales out spot on with 3-views in the Datafile.
******************
Fokker D.VIII/E.V:
The kit contains tan injected fuselage, wings (1 part), axle wing,
vertical & horizontal stabs.; metal parts include wheels, motor, cowlings,
airscrew, 2 spandaus, and seat; decals for one aircraft (from Jasta 6, of
course), there are also 2 small (4 inch) pieces of brass Strutz.
Details are finely etched (fine lines around ply panels on wing.) The
fuselage is fairly well done, but the left side features several fine
parallel ridges where the mould must have been scratched. Other than the
seat, there is no interior detail. The cowling is well shaped but the front
is smoothly blended with the side, rather than there being a distinct edge
between the front and the side. You could probably sand the front lightly
to correct this. The elevator appears to be about 1mm too broad in chord.
The wings & tail are nice and thin, with virtually no flash at all. Decals
are for 153/18 of Jasta 6, and features crosses, stripes, and the white
'teeth' for the black cowling. Lozenge covering must be provided by the
builder.
Other than the elevator, the kit scales out spot on with 3-views in the
Datafile.
******************
Fokker D.VI:
The kit contains tan injected fuselage, wings (2 parts), axle wing,
vertical & horizontal stabs.; metal parts include wheels, motor, cowlings,
airscrew, 2 spandaus, and seat; decals for one aircraft (top picture p.44
of WW1 Warplanes Vol.1), there are also 2 small (4 inch) pieces of brass
Strutz.
Details are finely done with raised rib tapes. The fuselage is fairly well
done, but the cockpit opening needs enlarging, and the ply sides bulge out
quite prominently. Other than the seat, there is no interior detail. The
cowling is well shaped but the front is smoothly blended with the side,
rather than there being a distinct edge between the front and the side. You
could probably sand the front lightly to correct this. The wings & tail are
nice and thin, with virtually no flash at all. Decals are for Leutnant
Spiedel's aircraft - *Unknown Serial* of Jasta 80b, and features crosses &
stripes. Lozenge covering must be provided by the builder.
The kit scales out spot on with 3-views in Albatros' WW1 Warplanes Vol.1.
******************
NOTE: The horizontal stabs. in the D.VIII kit, and the D.VI kit are the same.
ALSO NOTE: The 3-views in the D.VIII, and DR.1 datafile & 'other sources'
show identical 'small' elevators, while the D.VI 3-view in WW1 warplanes
Vol.1 shows the slightly larger elevator. I couldn't find this difference
mentioned in the text, so the D.VI elevator could be wrong too. . .
_____________________________________________________________________
Mark (From Kites & Other Delights in West Edmonton Mall)
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mnelson@compusmart.ab.ca