*(106) 1:48 FOKKER D-7,1956/1958
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AURORA KIT NO.106, FOKKER D-7
Moulded in dark green and black, this 36 part kit has long been considered to be too large at 1:46 scale. Actually this is a misnomer as only the fuselage kingpost and the wings are over-length-the remaining major components are all true 1:48... Jim Cox was behind the gruesome Hell Angels-inspired box top art that nevertheless was retained by Aurora for over 20 years whilst most other kits in the series were updated to feature new John Steel artwork. Contents of our D-7 are in perfect order and all detached pieces have been bagged in batches for safe keeping including an original decal sheet -not really useable so a modern near-equivalent has been provided. The box is admittedly a little beaten up with some tape adhesive residue, much of which has been removed and the surfaces cleaned to reduce the build up of grime. This particular example was labelled for Aurora International, produced by Aurora Plastics Nederland of Nijkerk, Holland circa 1958 and contains a large fold-out instruction sheet printed in several languages.
BEARING the most disturbing model box top art ever created,Aurora's Fokker D-7 was moulded in rich dark green with black 'accessories'. Past writings have condemned it as way over-sized,being closer to 1:46 scale.But that's only half the story...Comparison with currently available drawings reveal that despite over-spanned wings and a fuselage kingpost 4 mm too long , the rest of the kit is a genuine 1/4'' scale production.Both tail-plane parts are correctly-sized and with good outline contours requiring only minimal refinement, with wheels,undercarriage aerofoil, fuselage width and proportions similarly accurate. Louvres and metal nose panel layouts are representative of late OAW-built production and accord closely with the originals.It's the wings that let the side down with a main-plane 8.5 mm too long span-wise and lower wing by a whopping 11 mm.Both benefit from reprofiling but the major problem is the aerofoil section.Wings are thin and flat whereas they should be a lot thicker,their under-surfaces tapering towards the tips viewed from ahead.These can be thickened by sections of plastic card,shaped accordingly and rib lines scored in.Curiously,the wing chords are almost exactly 1:48 and all that's necessary is to tidy up rib lines and scalloped trailing edges.The plastic is mint,both box and decals far less so-the serial represents Goring's white F5125/18 helpfully printed in white...Much more recent decals for Rudolf Stark's OAW-built 4253/17 are included and may prove suitable once the embossed markings are removed.
Fokker features: For OAW versions,Anthology 2 is recommended: dozens of rare wartime images help record OAW features; wing geometry; stencil application and fabrics plus 1:48 scale drawings with eight pages of colour side views and planforms of Jagdstaffeln 22-46 Fokkers.
*Also,there's Peter M Grosz's 1965-published Profile No.25 on the D.VII with some great photos and colour art-both titles are available in store-please see links below...
