Hi all,
As the Camel conversion to the 'Comic' night fighter is near completion, It's time for the next model.
I have plenty of 'Wingnut Wings', 'Copper State Models', 'Lukgraph' and others in my stash.
However, I thought this time I make the 'Roden' 1:32nd scale Fokker D.VI.

The kit supplied decals, apart from being Roden, are of schemes I'm not keen on, especially the 'Fratz' scheme.
Instead I'll have a go at the following, even though there's very little information on its colour scheme.
I've found only one photograph, one old colour profile and the box art.
I know from the 'Windsock' data file the types of lozenge used so it's just a case of picking what colour to paint the engine cowl.

Mike

Fokker D.VI of Kest 1a (Home Defence) Staffeln, operating from Mannheim in South-West Germany during the Summer of 1918.

Basically a Dr I with only 2 wings, I wonder how it performed

There's one in the game, give it a try.

As BB pointed out, we have it in the game. The D.VI was a well-built airframe taking from both the Dr.1 (Fuselage) and the D.VII (wingset, although scaled down for the proper size). It suffered performance issues because the engine chosen to power it was under-rated for the design and had mechanical issues on top of that. However, not the fault of the airframe design.

But again, by this time in the war, airplane designs were heavily favoring the more reliable and better performing in-line engines which left this design fading into obscurity. It did see some service in the war, but It was mostly used as a trainer and home defense in favor of the very popular D.VII, D.VII(F) types.

OvS

The D.VI is one of those big "what if?" designs - like OvStachel said, it's a great airframe design that was limited by its engine. Had the Germans gotten the Sh.I or Goe.III engine figured out earlier, or if they'd had consistent access to [b]any[/b[ reliable rotary engine in the 130+ hp range, then the Fokker D.VI could have been right up there with the Camel as one of the all-time great turn fighters of the war. As it is, the Fokker D.VI had to make the most of a 110hp Oberursel engine.

The last year or so of the war is littered with various attempts by the Germans to produce a fighter that could match the Nieuports and the Sopwiths for maneuverability, but got scrapped after 100ish or fewer were built: the Fokker E.V/D.VIII, the SSW D.III and D.IV series, and even Pfalz got into the mix with their D.VIII rotary design. The Fokker D.VI was another such entry.

In game, it's my favorite German fighter to fly from a purely flight model perspective. It's kinda like a D.VII junior: you can do boom-and-zoom attacks, dive and loop around, tight circling turns to keep up with Entente rotary fighters - it's very good at everything. The only thing I wouldn't do in it is try to keep up with a SPAD XIII or SE5a when the SPAD/SE5a pilot has decided for good that they wanna disengage and dive out of the picture at full speed.

Hi all,
The engine has been finished with just 'EZ' line ignition leads added.
I've test fitted the engine to the kit bulkhead and the replacement 'Aviattic' resin engine cowl has been test fitted.
I'll be using the kit propeller as, due to the problems in Europe, sadly I can't get a 'Heine' wood propeller from 'Proper Plane',

Mike

Hi all,
It's been a few weeks since my last post.
Real life sometimes takes up time.
Anyway, here's a list of the basic work.

''Gaspatch' replacement weapons.
Kit gun support bar replaced with brass tubing.
'DR.1 'PART' photo-etch, some cockpit detail added.
''Aviattic' replacement resin seat.
''Aviattic' faded four colour lozenge.
'Airscale' instrument decals.
Mono-filament and tubing fitted for rudder, elevator and aileron control cables.
Tubing added from throttle quadrant.
Gun synchronization cables added.
Engine bulkhead rear edge filled to allow for the 'Aviattic' engine cowl retaining band.

Still a way to go before the fuselage build is done, including fitting the weapons,

Mike

Hi all,
Apart from the cockpit surround padding, windscreen, Fokker type panel fasteners and weathering, the forward fuselage is done.

Both machine guns with feed and ejection chutes.
Photo-etch ammunition belts.
Photo-etch blast plates.
Expended rounds counter decal.
Panel between gun breech blocks (omitted from kit),

Mike

Hi all,
All of the parts have now been primed with white, polished then gloss clear coated.
White because the 'Aviattic' lozenge decals are 'clear' backed, meaning the base colour will show through to give the linen effect.

Mike

Hi all,
Just a quick update.
I'm working through applying the lozenge decals to the model.
Upper surfaces are the 'Aviattic' 4 colour faded (ATT32008) and undersides (ATT32010).
The border and rib tapes are cut from ATT32069 for upper surfaces and ATT32071 for the undersides.
The main lozenge decals were cut out and applied over a white gloss base coat to allow the linen effect to show through.
The border and rib tape decals are white backed and applied onto the main decals.
Fokker ignored the specifications of the ‘Idflieg’.
Instead using their standard method of covering the wings, with the lozenge pattern applied horizontally across the top and underside of the wings and the fuselage, with wing border and wing rib tapes of the same pattern.
For the ailerons, the elevator, tail plane and the fuselage sides, the lozenge pattern was applied vertically (front to rear and top to bottom).
Each wing rib was taped but border tape was only applied to the trailing edges of the lower wing and upper wing, across the centre section between the inboard aileron edges.

I still have the border tapes and underside rib tapes to apply,

Mike

Hi all,
Rib and border tapes done.
I'll possibly mist a slight faded brown over these decals, as they faded that way.
Then it's onto the kit markings,

Mike

Hi all,
The basic kit decals have been applied.
Typical 'Roden' decals - easily cracked and chipped and reluctant to conform over curves!!

Next up is weathering,

Mike

Hi all,
The decals and weathering are completed.
I've re-profiled the leading edges of the tail plane, straight not curved.
Also added carburetor air intake from 1.6 mm diameter tube.
Under fuselage photo-etch panels added from the 'Aviattic' DR.1 set.
I've brown tinted the lozenge decals using 'Ammo' Ochre filter, applied by brush.
Overall dirt weathering was done using 'Flory Models' dark dirt clay wash.

Mike

Coming along nicely Mike..the weathering look great.

Really nice work Mike and cudos making those Roden decals submit!! I hated them when I did a couple of their models years ago. You obviously have found a successful / reliable way to deal with them.

Best Regards

Hi all,
Propeller completed.
Usually I would fit a replacement propeller from Alexy at 'Proper Plane'.
However, given the present circumstances, I've used one of the kit supplied propellers.
Although many Fokker aircraft were fitted with 'Axial' propellers, the photograph of this particular aircraft shows a different propeller design.
From it's shape I'm guessing it could have been a propeller from 'Heine', so that's what I've modeled.
Grey primed then airbrushed with 'Tamiya' Dark Yellow (XF60).
Brushed over with 'DecoArt' Burnt Umber crafter's acrylic paint.
Airbrushed with 'Alclad' Aqua Gloss 600 then decals applied (LF Models).
Hub brushed with 'Mr. Colour' Dark Iron (214) then buffed.
Finally airbrushed with 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC311) mixed with 'Tamiya' Clear Orange (X26).

Mike

Hi all,
Landing gear fairing assembly complete.
The fairing underside decal is 'Aviattic' white-backed German Blue (ATT32077).
Wheel cover decals are from the ‘Aviattic’ Fokker streaked set (ATT32062).
I've represented the metal foot boards on the lower wing roots, by cutting the from the ‘RB Productions’ radiator mesh (RB-T027) photo-etch.
'Flory Models' Dark Earth pigment powder was applied over the foot boards,

Mike

Mike, if you had said you used the proper plane props, I doubt anyone could tell the difference. Masterful job as always.

Hi all,
A few updates on the build.
The upper wing is fitted and, as expected when using the kit supplied struts, there were problems.
On test fitting the upper wing onto the interplane and cabane struts, I found the cabane struts did not reach outboard enough to contact their attachment lugs on the underside of the wing.
This necessitated drilling out the interplane locating holes in the upper wing enough to allow the struts to insert deeper into the wing.
This reduced the distance between the wings enough for the cabane struts to fit correctly.
I've also fitted and braced the landing gear.
Also fitted are the twin aileron control wires from the cockpit to the underside of the upper wing.

NOTE: The struts look squared in the photographs, but they are in fact aero shaped.

Now it's onto the completing the tail unit,

Mike

Coming along nicely. Your weathering effects are superb!