1:48 ATLANTIS FOKKER DR.I DEATH ANGEL
-2354-p.jpg?v=0820976B-A8BD-49E4-84A8-09B6A434BCA9)
-2354-p.jpg?v=4C395D1C-2F58-449F-927B-0A6E5D55CAD5)
BLACK IN STOCK!
LATEST outing for the original Aurora 1:43rd scale Fokker Triplane is from Atlantis Models of the USA who recently purchased the 1975-dated moulds to present this reissue in black plastic and new decals within a small but beautifully-formed box! The kit contains 26 parts and although the hunched pilot figure is still included, the 1957 original's mechanic and ground base is not. The mouldings are surprisingly crisp with hardly a trace of flash which considering the age of the moulds is commendable. Less so the decal sheet that provides markings for Jacobs and von Richthofen but although well printed, is incomplete and contentious with bogus white serials and Balkenkreuze only really suitable for the red one... Attractively packaged it's very much worthy of a completist collectors' attention and still builds into a good-looking DR.I with a few modifications-and if you don't like the 'fabric texture' overall, then a few coats of paint should do the trick!
MOST recent reincarnation of the classic 1957 Aurora Fokker DR.I Triplane hails from the USA courtesy Atlantis Toy and Hobby Inc. of New York who purchased the the original 1975 tools and reissued the kit last year. Yes,1975 when Aurora saw fit to improve their original 'dreidecker' with several changes: eradication of all embossed markings; equal reduced-area ailerons; paired 'Spandaus' ; revised dashboard; oil gauge fairing deleted and moulded to the middle wing the correct way round; detail added to seat back; thin tail struts added with the rudder now forming part of the port fuselage half. Other 'upgrades' were less welcome with ply fairings on fuselage flanks and turtledeck represented by raised lines; lower wing tip skids moulded 'in situ' ; rib detail on axle fairing upper-surface and somewhat flat-sectioned central struts and undercarriage legs. Two pilot steps and a pair of handling loops were added all linked to tie-bars for corresponding slots in lower fuselage longeron positions.
The revision contains 26 parts moulded in black and the Oberursel rotary rotates with the airscrew thanks to an integrally-moulded shaft. Catalogue number A103 is derivative with instruction leaflet assembly diagrams 'cut and pasted' from the Aurora 1975 release. Decals provide a choice of markings-one of Josef Jacobs' black Triplanes: DR.I 405/18 with two sizes of his dramatic fuselage markings neither of which are strictly correct as they have been open to much interpretation over the years. The white serial provided was never applied to the aircraft. Balkenkreuze is also supplied for DR.I 425/17 with the bogus 2009/17 number-again in white... For Jacobs' DR.I you'll need to source a 1:48 Clerget and airscrew from one of the Eduard Camels.
Rusty Cowart's box art is a little adrift in a few places but there's no denying it's colourful and certainly evocative. In fact the packaging is highly eye-catching despite the surprisingly small dimensions of the box. Although closer to 1:43rd scale than 1:48, the DR.I remains one of Aurora's better WWI kits and with some corrective measures remains relevant even today.
NB: Our kits are offered as new with untouched shrink wrapping of the boxes...
RE-STOCK SOON!!!!