1:48 MISTERCRAFT FOKKER DR.I 'RED BARON'
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IT'S RED OF COURSE!
Yet another outing for the venerable Merit Fokker Triplane and this version hails from Poland under the Mistercraft Hobby Kits label and moulded in bright red-what else? The plastic is of good quality with barely any flash so full marks to Mistercraft for the clean-up. High points are the decal options with the inevitable 425/17 but at least some attempt at reproducing the overpainted crosses has been made. Raben's red/white Raven is another popular choice but the third is more interesting. The captured DR.I 212/17 in French markings would make a neat model if its unique features were replicated and five-colour camouflage applied. We have two of these kits left and both are in mint condition.
MOST recent reincarnation of the 1956 rogue Merit copy of the 1956 Aurora Fokker DR.I Triplane comes from Poland under the Mistercraft Hobby Kits logo. It was first released in 2017 and whilst not generally available in the UK we have several examples on offer. That its true origins lie with Merit's kit is readily apparent as inner wheel surfaces reveal traces of their original H & L Randall inscriptions that Mistercraft missed. Moulded in bright red, it still retains the embossed markings and bogus serial 2009/17 that will all need removal if one of the kit's triple choice decal options are selected.
Despite the misleading box top art, one of the schemes includes the fabled DR.I 425/17 making a good stab at presenting the converted balkenkreuze with a few deviations that can be readily corrected-it's not if there aren't enough references for this dreidecker around! Other markings are for Raben's Jasta 18 red and white Fokker with its well-known Raven motif and and the third is a little more original being captured DR.I 212/17 when fully repainted by the French. Ignore the colour guide that depicts green upper-surfaces and blue below; this machine was painted in full five-colour French camouflage as the generous photo record attests. You will also need to source a suitable Nieuport horseshoe-style cowling and Gremont airscrew for absolute authenticity. All kits are mint, being of recent production, and are crisply moulded with minimal flash present.
