Fokker E.V civil - converted Arma Hobby 1/72nd

 

 

One of my modeling joys is civilianizing planes. On this blog you may see dozens of what is called “swords to plowshares” conversions. Something the world seems to desperately need before we are all blown to smithereens and bequeath the earth to the cockroaches. Coincidentally, the name of this kit manufacturer, Arma, has in Spanish a double -and somewhat opposite- meaning: “weapon” (that is a tool of destruction) and “build” (the action of assembling, creating something). There are always choices. 

As an example of such conversions here is a Sopwith Pup modeled some time ago:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2016/11/sopwith-pup-1921-aerial-derby-arctic.html

Going forward: this particular plane got a lease of life after its service, ending in Italian civilian use. You can see online a few models that represent it in various interpretations of the schemes seen in contemporary B&W photos. The plane was painted in three different schemes at various times, similar but ultimately different. I have chosen the one that has the white tail with the “I” country marks, a wing that seems to be doped linen with a large underlined reg, and what looks like a white rectangle bordered in black with the underlined regs inside in black on the fuselage sides, as it appears on page 15 in the publication “Fokker D.VIII” by P. M. Grosz. The plane is usually rendered in drawings as red, which could well be accurate. The plane of course has no machine guns, so those will be deleted. Again, different modelers have rendered the schemes according to their own interpretations. Some of them it could be said that don't have strong rationale behind them -looking at the original photos-, and some may be more accurate. As usual with B&W photos, there is some latitude for educated guessing. There is a 1/72nd Roden kit of this plane, but I had in my stash as mentioned above the Arma kit, in its “junior” set boxing. That somewhat dismissive qualification only refers to the lack of a photo-etched set that the “expert” set has together with a different set of decals. As I have many of the P.E. parts I need from other sets, there was no need buy the more expensive kit, as neither decal set would be of any use to me. There is also a Mikro-Mir 1/32 kit that offers as an option I-ELIA, but I could not vouch for their interpretation of the scheme (one of the other three schemes I mentioned above). Photos show that the plane had both the "scimitar" type and an Axial prop at different times. The particular scheme of I-ELIA I am modeling had the Axial prop:

The kit has a clean molding with good detail for the scale, with only a small amount of thin flash present in some parts. The engineering departs slightly from the usual approach to this type of plane, something that will be discussed on the go during the building. The interior is fairly depicted again for the scale, having a floor, pedals, instruments, seat, fuselage enclosing, stick, and structure. As the plane was most likely refurbished in passing to civil hands, the color guide for the interior in the instructions may not represent the plane as flown. 

The molding is of very good quality but still some thin flash is present on some parts, and it requires care to be removed. The parts should be excised from the sprues with caution. The gates are in general well located and mostly unobtrusive.

 A bit of flash here and there:

Interior detail on the fuselage sides:

A nice engine for the scale, with cylinder head detail and even pips for spark plugs, but -as in all kits of this type- it's reduced in diameter to fit inside the comparatively thick-walled cowl:

 Small Stuff produced a magnificent Le Rhone 9J/Oberursel Ur.II in 1/72 that required really careful assembly, but now is out of stock on their site. Using the Small Stuff engine would necessitate eliminating the cowl (perhaps presenting the model "in maintenance") or vac-forming a thin new one hoping it can enclose the new engine. This is a page by Eugeny Knupfer where you can see his engine:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/smallstuffmodels/albums/72157635837100013/with/9914763443

Well done tail surfaces, subtle and scale-thin:

You get two types of wheels: with cover and then the tires only to use P.E. parts. Also two types of prop:

The parts off the sprue and mostly cleaned-up:

 

The bonga-bonga parts are discarded or modified:

The capot detail is erased and the voids filled-in. Later putty and sanding will restore the surface, taking utter care not to obliterate those very flimsy and fragile struts:

 Other manufacturers have developed before a better way to solve this assembly, providing separate struts connected at the bottom that go up from under the fuselage section and lock in divots in it:

Fixed:

Parts are airbrushed with their base colors departing from the instructions as explained:

The tires are held so:

Decals were used to produce the wood effect:

Prop and floor were painted with oils:

Seat given belts and hardware, P.E. spokes added to tires:

The control horns are depicted as pips:

They are removed and replaced with P.E. ones:

Decals are home-made on white (fuselage) and clear paper (wing and tail):

Now the axles molded on the sub-wing are too thick for the P.E. spokes, so they are removed, their location drilled, and brass tube inserted:

Interior in progress:

I just found this model of I-ELIA by friend and fellow modeler Tracy Hancock, He of the Paralyzing Stare:

https://afleetingpeace.org/wingsofpeace/index.php/model-showcase/176-f-81/201-fokker-ev-d-viii-185

Another valid interpretation of the B&W photos and a nice model.

The fuselage is assembled. The bulkhead after the seat needed trimming on the sides and bottom to allow for a comfortable fit. The rest went well. The tail feathers were assembled as they are white and can be painted separately :

Arma decided on an unorthodox approach to the landing gear. There is a rig that sets the correct angles for the legs and holds them in position while the glue sets, and then it's removed cutting the auxiliary supports that unite the struts. I have seen this done (by Airfix iirc) in other kits with the wing struts. We will see how it works, as Arma molded the LG struts to scale, and the attaching points are very tiny, and do not have a positive lock (although their locations are clearly molded on the fuselage):

The home-made decals work well:

The first stage of the LG rig. I had to very slightly enlarge the molded notches to get a more positive grip:

Now the sub wing is added checking its angle. So far so good, and the legs coincide with their fuselage locations in a dry run:

The LG is glued (the rig will be cut off when the glue sets). The hole for the aileron cable is drilled, as well as in the the wing to later add it:

The removal of the rig wasn't really difficult, but has to be done with a sharp blade (I just used the ole razor blade) and very carefully. Once removed, there were still tiny leftovers of the attaching pips that needed to be deleted. All in all, it worked for me, so well done Arma for the trick.

Even the airfoils for wing and sub-wing are rendered realistically. Attention to detail.

 To be continued...