(For those interested, the step-by-step building process,
kit review and some historical notes can be consulted here in this blog:
This Fokker F.VIIb3m was originally Wilkins Polar plane
"Detroiter" that ended up crashing. It was repaired using parts
of the F.VII "Alaskan" -also part of the polar expedition- and
painted with the reg. 1985, as the Southern Cross, adorned with the brands of some sponsors (The
S.F. Chronicle, Fageol Flyer, Spirit of Los Angeles). It was finally flown to
Australia (without
the sponsorship lettering) still with the registration 1985 -earning much deserved fame. It was then re-registered there as G-AUSU, and finally
as VH-USU. All these changes implied many several decoration schemes that differed to some major or minor extent. Windows, door
location, engine gondola types and other details varied too.
Later in its life the plane was restored to a more original
configuration, and in that guise it can be represented with the kit as it comes,
studying of course that later scheme. However, the kit, as it is, was not duly modified
for the configuration necessary to represent the machine on its epic flight to Australia. For
that you need to work a bit. And study another bit.
Depending on which moment in the plane's life you would like
to represent, the details are as subtle as this: for the Fageol Flyer livery,
you can see six-point starts, but from then on, only five-point stars depicting
the iconic constellation. The kit's decals have seven-point stars, following
the inaccurate museum "restoration" -that somehow mixed some features
of the plane at different stages of its life.
So this is one of the many VH-USU configurations, one
less-commonly portrayed in photos and one I have never seen in model form
before, that entails a specific decoration on the wings.
The kit required some modifications and many additions to
fulfill its destiny as presented here, but it is a fair base to work upon, so
much so that I bought another one to build perhaps as the Wilkins polar
exploration machine, or the Argentine ex-Friendship, or some other arcane
livery.
Valom's Fokker F.VII -already a bit dated- is not really a
refined kit, although the resin and P.E. add-ons surely help. It's a bit
heavy-handed and requires work to show its potential. But with some little
skill, good references and love, it can be transformed and adapted to depict
many Fokker liveries. Parts for those transformations are sometimes included
already in the box. It is much better than the Frog/Zvezda release, no doubt, but still
needs the modeler's help to shine.
Thanks once more to Mika Jernfors of Arctic Decals from whom
I acquired this set, that needed specific marks.
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