Eduard 1/72 Fokker Dr. I "Josef Jacobs"
You'd think decal manufacturers would be falling over themselves producing decals for this very cool Dr. I. There have been a few, mostly in the larger more optically challenged scales but in 1/72 there have been only two that I know of; one underscale and very limited run sheet by Americal Gryphon many years ago and one laughable Superscale example. That's it. I grew tired of waiting for someone to come out with these so I produced my own decals for it (see the Construction page for details). I may have to bite the bullet and produce these as screen printed decals under my own Thunderbird Models brand.
The Eduard kit is very nice, needing only extra detailing and some refinement of struts etc. This, along with their Albatros and Nieuport kits, was produced back in the day when Eduard seemed to know what fabric covered flying surfaces actually looked like, unlike the abominations in their 1/72 Avia B.534 and 1/48 Siemens Shuckert D.III kits. Even the recent SE5a, though much improved, still has overstated stitching on the wings that I find disappointing from a company that was one of the early pioneers of WWI modelling. It's easy enough to sand down, but should I have to? Wingnut Wings absolutely nailed the fabric surfaces in their Sopwith Camel kits (indeed, in all of their kits!) with subtle representations of the stitching underneath the fabric tapes, unlike Eduard who seem to think the fabric is stitched on with rope on top of the fabric tapes! Rant over. For now....
Hey ho, back to reality. Paint is black, from the exclusive Humbrol collection. The prop is carved from wood as usual, in this case cut down and reshaped from a long-defunct Revell Sopwith Triplane. The Clerget engine is from Small Stuff Models, and I very nearly went blind and mad assembling it but am very happy with the result, once the medication kicks in anyway.
Guns are from the ever useful Tom's Modelworks photo etched set, as is the prop boss.
The Clerget engine and Sopwith Camel prop gives Jacobs' Dr. I a very different and distinctive look.
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