From the archive (2010):
Another one of the ongoing series of “Do Something
Different” models aimed to offer alternatives for known machines. the Fokker
D.VII needs no introduction; after the first world war a number of these and
another planes were used as civil machines. The one represented here, O-BEBE,
belonged to Belgium
and was used at a flying school, still wearing its camouflage but sporting
prominent registrations on a white background.
I got the Revell D.VII, which is an old mold and a not totally
bad -but a bit crude- kit. It suited the project since I wasn’t especially
looking for detail and I am used to deal with kits that have some shortcomings.
It has no interior, only the dreaded styrene mummy that sits on a tab. Now,
what is unforgivable regarding the Revell kit is its laughable lozenge decals.
Who in heaven thought that you can provide a “paint-by-numbers” white decal
with a delimitation grid in black for the modeler to fill the polygons with the
different colors? It is just me, or this one qualifies for the silliest decal
sheet ever? In any case fortunately I wasn’t going to use the decals anyway.
Flash, ejector marks and dubious spots were sanded,
scrapped, filed, filled and otherwise made inconspicuous before construction
began. The too prominent ribs were toned down too. Revell provides one side of
the wheel covers as a separate part. If this was thought to facilitate
painting, you still have to deal with the tire-cover separation line on the other
side anyway; and in any case, the two-part approach could have been tire and rest-of-the-wheel.
The funny thing was that the covers won’t fit, due to some excess plastic in
the recess. I had to use a rotary tool to remove plastic in order to be able to
make room for the cover. Some genius is loose in the Revell quarters.
A bit of structural detail was added to the cockpit area and
the addition of a floor, seat, pedals, joystick and instrumental panel made for
a suitable interior. The decals were home made, which took its time. Once the
fuselage halves were closed the area were the guns used to be was filled and
blended and a new windscreen -as seen in photos of the original plane- made.
The lower wing was glued in place –had to sand a tad here and there- and also
blended-in. The other parts were being decaled separately meanwhile. Since
lozenge decals cover large areas, it is not always easy to position and align a
thin decal film. I had to re-do some areas. Once all decaling was completed and
the locating holes or gluing areas of parts were cleared, the parts were given
a coat of varnish in order not to mar the decals during later manipulation.
Once all major components were ready, final assembly began.
The struts could be replaced if so wished by more to-scale streamline stock. I
only used the outer wing “N” struts for the sake of alignment. All the other
struts were replaced.
Some details were added like control horns and control
cables, plus rigging.
When I was making the decals, I spent some time reading
discussions on lozenge. Boy, were these discussions long. What it seemed to be
the undeniable truth at some point was just bogus at some other point. “Proofs”
that demonstrated something, only demonstrated their own relativity time later.
What was supported by one photograph was contradicted by the next. As in many
areas of life, although some general agreement exists, there is not really
ultimate word on lozenge. Add to that the variations of weathering, printing
process, monitor screens, chromatic aberration, ortho and panchro nuances and
quirks and you have a carnival.
Where I am going with all this? Firstly, you don’t have to
have the latest thing in town to make a nice model. Secondly, you can choose an original livery,
not necessarily the everyday “bust them” machine. And thirdly, all this within
reasonable effort and budget.
I am not sure if I have a civil Fokker or a Mondrian, but I
am pleased with it.
Looking forward to seeing your new choices.
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