Wings of Intent: October 2022

(Photo from somewhere on the Net)

(The completed model is here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2022/11/fokker-dr1-kurier-triplane-fast-postal.html

Once more I surrender to the mischievous pleasure of turning swords into plowshares, in this case in the form of a Fokker Triplane that spent part of its life adorned with the name of "Kurier" plus a "DLR" on the rudder (for the airline Deutsche Luft Reederei). The existence of this plane is quite obscure, and it seems unsure if it actually operated for the airline as a Kurier or not, but its mere existence gives us the chance to have a gentle, peaceful triplane.

I have first to apologize to friend, fellow modeler, ebil genius and volkano lair owner Sönke S., who had in mind precisely this very project (I do indeed have to apologize, as I am being threatened with a marzipan duel, and I don't want to find out what's that about, furthermore, his second Igor is looking at this very moment over my shoulder).

There are many kits, in several scales, of the Fokker Dr.1 (the "Dr." is not for Doctor, but for dreidecker), so I take the opportunity to also apologize to Tracy H., Christos P. (and his dogs), and the other Ornithopters for stealing their triplane projects too.

I have chosen the 1/72nd Eduard Profipack Edition (that comes with a nice P.E. fret and wheel masks). Needless to say you have to consign the bang-bang bits to the trash can, and re-do that area with the simple metal cover that appears in photos.

I have seen models of this very plane online, with different interpretations of the finish (this is very common when modelers have to make educated -or not so educated- guesses about B&W photos). I thought (see below in green) would be going for CDL and metal (cowl, top fuselage area in front of the cockpit) on mine, plus white rudder. Marks are easy enough, and black, so I hope I can print them myself if I can make friends with my relatively new laser printer, something that so far has not gone well (technology is not my cuppa).

(NOTE: as the build advanced, views about the color of the plane changed repeatedly, thanks to new small bits of information and opinions from fellow modelers. Nothing of course is at this point conclusive, and, between certain limits, it's anybody's guess really. Lately I am inclined for a bold scheme and interpretation, that of a yellow fuselage, dark blue wings and horizontal tail, and white rudder, based on the colors of a DLR poster -that were later on adopted by Lufthansa, DLR's successor company. Again, many other interpretations are possible, and my view is a bit radical, but instead of being bogged down by dissimilar and even contradictory opinions and interpretations that guarantee nothing in the end, this will be my choice. Others are of course possible.

The sprue:

Some close-ups:

Being this Eduard, the standards are good:

A strange leftover showing the three wing spars, most likely covering a "stripped-down" version:

Parts removed from the sprues, cleaned-up, and given a good nice wash:

The accessories:

The fret covers an interesting part of the interior and also exterior detail, with the quality associated with this firm:

We'll see later that the detail parts for the engine seem to be depicted in the instructions in a not very accurate way when confronted with photos of the original engine. The P.E. part that is indicated as going on the front of the engine should be added from behind, as the intakes in the original and the pushrods are both that way in the original:

If you feel like doing a better job with the engine, you may use the beautiful Small Stuff offering (Le Rhone 9J, of which the Oberursel II was a clone. The kit seems to imitate instead a Le Rhone 9c, which had the intakes and pushrods at the front):

Photo from Wikimedia:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oberursel_UR-2_rotary_aero-engine,_National_Museum_of_the_US_Air_Force,_Dayton,_Ohio,_USA._(42198120851).jpg

The instructions ask you to remove some detail that will be replaced by the P.E. set. Given the limited view of the interior, some modelers may find that they may well just leave it alone:

Molded detail erased:

Basic colors applied to some parts:

The molded control horns are deleted, again to be replaced by P.E, items. The ones in the kit just butt-join, but I have others that have an anchoring pin, and I think I will use those. The white styrene part replaces the kit's machine gun mount, as this plane didn't have any armament:

Some photo-etched parts come already painted, but some will need paint. The interior structure is already folded, painted and set apart:

P.E. control horns are added where needed, but from another set -not the one provided in the kit- as the former offers them with a small anchoring stem:

Now WWI-period machines are a whole world in the modeling universe, and my knowledge of them is scarce -to say the very least. Still, I have seen through the decades many "established truths" being debunked in many respects, colors being one of them. If it's true that a modeler that aims to at least a decently accurate replica can't go blind and apply whatever color (and that includes certain kits' instructions colors, so many times later found to be in error), on the other hand I think it's licit to gather a reasonable amount of information and then go your way. Mistakes may be made, and many times are (I have been know to go wrong, if you can believe that), but also you will find inaccuracies in books, captions, articles and... opinions. Suffice to say that some of us may still remember the tribulations of a fellow modeler nicknamed "Red Underwing".

The area that would remain wood color is masked, and the inside color of the covering will be painted. I will go for a neutral tone:

Using oils, the wood parts are painted in different hues:

I am building the Small Stuff engine just for the heck of it, it may be displayed as an a diorama accessory along the model, as in an engine change:

If you disregard the Eduard instructions and mount the P.E. part that has the admission and pushrods from behind the engine, you obtain a somewhat credible Oberursel II. As this sub-assembly is meant to rotate with the prop (it is, after all, a rotary engine) and fits inside the cowl, I will use it:

More painting. You can see the color chosen for the "fabric facing the interior", something rather neutral:

Ideal weather for modeling!

And an interesting movie: "Argentina, 1985", an Amazon (sorry 'bout that) production telling the incredible story of how a prosecutor could finally bring to justice the military junta murderers.

Assembling and installing the interior. To Eduard's credit, the fit is above average, and you don't have to shave/sand anything for it to fit like in most kits:

The fuselage was assembled, the seams dealt with, and the lower wing glued:

Well, some of the photos I was looking at resulted to be of a machine at the fighter competition, not the Kurier (the ones taken in front of the AGO building). This makes me rethink everything. The very few photos of the Kurier seem to show a white rudder, what could be by some interpreted as a CDL fuselage, and dark wings and horizontal tail. A bit of a metal fairing that goes over the middle wing proves at least that the upper color of the wing was not CDL or any light color. Now, this plane was presented as a "Schnellpostflugzeug", that is a fast postal plane, by DLR (Deutsche Luft-Reederei). DLR seems to have adopted, in color ads, a yellow and very dark blue as corporate colors (inherited by Lufthansa), so I am very inclined to use those on my model. We'll see, as the interpretation of B&W photos is a very prickly subject.

Fellow modeler Sönke has suggested that the wings should be painted like those in service Fokkers, in that streaky green color, usually applied a bit slanted. Again, another possible interpretation. The detail that could have confirmed this, the crosses under the wing, can't be told in the poor photos we have, one way or the other. A small detail: no color division is seen in the Kurier on the leading edges of the wings as it would be the case if the scheme would be the "official" light blue under and streaky finish over, which makes me further doubt that solution.

The Small Stuff engine is completed,

and the redundant pushrods from the kit's PO.E. fret is used on its back:

Again, this engine won't fit inside the cowl, due to the thickness of it, but could be mounted on a bench close to the model for display, or used on the model putting the cowl near it as if it were dismounted.

All parts are given a coat of gloss white as a base color:

Finally I came to an agreement with my temperamental home printer and was able to print the decals:

With the fuselage masked, the dark blue color is applied:

The blue is masked and the yellow painted -also on the wheel covers, plus a metal area at the center of the middle wing:

Like any active modeler (and many an unbuilder) I have scores of paints. Some are used up, others degrade with time and need replacing. I am surprised at first: the neverending issues with the supply chain, that are now the new normal, where all hobby stores are under-stocked, so you have to purchase one item in each, spending a small fortune on unnecessary S&H charges, IF you can get what you want (I can NEVER find all the items I need at once, no matter what). In second place, the number of excellent paint colors that are discontinued, mainly by Humbrol and Testors/Model Master -to be never replaced by similar hues- or replaced by inane colors like "Burger Dripping", "Bad Night Vomit Yellow", "Stupid Color You Never Wanted", "Your Dog's Doo-doo" and so forth.

A stand for the Small Stuff "replacement" engine is scratched:

Assembly of the painted components begins:

The struts are on. The fit is perfect, thanks Eduard!. The little instrument ahead of the cockpit is added, as well as the missing metal cover and little windshield. Wheels are masked and tires painted:

The upper wing, landing gear, wingtip skids and tailskid are in place. The kit has a good fit, but this stage needs care gluing and aligning the parts, and it's not easy:

One of the very few glitches in this kit: the disk on the engine axle is preventing the cowl to fit properly, being too thick, and the engine would need the top of its cylinders sanded off a bit to be able to rotate as designed:

All control cables are added, the engine, cowl and prop too. Wheels, stabilizer struts and rudder on:

The bench for the "spare" engine (the Small Stuff item) is treated with oils, and the decals readied for application. Two small tubes are inserted in the pre-drilled locations for the engine carb intake:

Some rigging on the cabane and landing gear, and almost done:

Whilst I apply the stitching on the fuselage belly (using a faint home-made decal), I am conducting a job interview with three pilot candidates: Igor, Sönke, and Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-crasscrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle-dongle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz-ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemeyer-spelterwasser-kurstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenabend-bitte-ein-nürnburger-bratwustle-gerspurten-mitzweimache-luber-hundsfut-gumberaber-shönendanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm (the latter candidate referred by Monthy Python):

Candidate* Igor is pointing to the Impending Doom Prospect of extreme right-wing arses taking over the Universe, and turning the clock back to the Middle Ages, or, more akin to their IQ, to the Stone Ages: