Bill Cross looks at Battle Axe's short-run Fokker Eindecker.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

I found this to be an accurate and honest description of this kit. With some dedication and elbow grease it could be a fine build. Imagine having this kit next to a Roden DH 2 on your shelf. For further references I recommend;

1. ‘Althaus !’by S. Lawson, Cross & Cockade Int. Vol. 20, #1, 1989.
2. Eisernes Kreuz und Balken Kreuz by H. Nowarra, Hoffmann Pub. 1968.
3. Fokker E.III by R. Rimell, Windsock Datafile 15, Albatros Pub. Ltd.
4. Fokker Eindecker E.III by D. Jones, Cross & Cockade GB, Vol 5, #1, 1974, insert Mechanical Drawings and General arrangements.
5. Fokker Fighters of WWI by A. Imrie, Vintage Warbirds #6, Arms & Armour Press, 1986.
6. Fokker Monoplanes by J.M.Bruce, Profile Pub.#38, 1965.
7. ‘Fokker Train Atterrissage’ from French Air Service 1916, via Dan San Abbott. General wing arrangements and measurements.
8. German Army Air Service in WWI by R. Rimell, Vintage Warbirds #2, Arms & Armour Press, 1987.
9. German Fighter Units 1914- May 1917 by A. Imrie, Osprey Pub. 1978.
10. ‘Kobes in FFA 11' by J. Jacobs, edited by S. Lawson Cross & Cockade Int. Vol. 27, #2,1996.
11. ‘Kobes in Fosta West’ by J. Jacobs, edited by S. Lawson, Over the Front Vol.9, #4, 1994.
12. Lafayette Foundation, Denver Co.
13. ‘Sketches and Descriptions’ by J. Jacobs, edited by S. Lawson, Cross & Cockade Int. Vol.29,#2, 1998.

Thanks, Stephen. I think there's a good build hidden in this kit, and I have the Tom's German cockpit PE on order, along with Eduard's turnbuckles and guide horns PE set. I'm actually looking forward to slaying this dragon, though I'm concerned about the best way to correct the wing braces (the kit has 11/wing when there should be 12). Any suggestions?

I hope WNW will go forward with their Fokker Eindeckers, as the early warbirds interest me more than the ones deployed in the end when the outcome of the war was more or less no longer in doubt. There is something very riveting in thinking about men getting into these "flying bicycles" and actually fighting an air war.

Thank you for the review on the Fokker E.III. I have wanted one of these aircraft in 1:32 scale for a long time and I am so pleased to see this one is available. I have searched high and low but can not find a supplier for this kit, do you have any suggestions where I might be able to purchase one.

This plane will look great with my other 1:32 WW1 aircraft, especially the DH.2 and the Morane Saulnier type N. Like Bill, I am more interested in the early WW1 aircraft, they hold a certain appeal to me.

Thank you for any help you may give me in acquiring this kit.

Des.

Des, I posted a query on the Large Scale Planes forum and got two members who were willing to sell me theirs. I paid $30 for this one, but the other one wanted $55, which is, all in all, a not an reasonable price. Any dealer that carries this is asking close to $100 (Roll Models, for example). If you are interested, PM me with your email and I will see if I can put you together with him.

Hi Bill: It would seem the only way to correct the number of wing braces would be to sand the existing ones down, creat new ones with sprue, and fill in between. I am sure there are other ways, but beats me. Otherwise, build it with the incorrect number of wing braces. You didn't designe the kit, you just build it.
Good luck

Hi Bill

You could always sand the wings down and re-skin them Harry Woodman-style, tracing the wing structure from plans and drawing it heavily on the reverse side of 5 or 10 thou plastic card and attached with double-sided tape. The result is excellent - very true to scale. It's not at all hard to do either on a wing like this - Scale Models magazine ran a scratch-build project for near-beginners in the '70s that used it which I had no problem following as a schoolkid.

All the best

Rowan

Wingnut Wings have a Fokker E.III coming up, tentatively scheduled for release in 2011. The computer image of the kit parts suggests it will be light years ahead of the Battle Axe kit. If you really can't wait, go for the Battle Axe one, otherwise . . .

The key here is the date. WNW has been promising four new aircraft for some time, and have not yet released them. That's not a criticism of the company, it's a slow economy and I'm sure they want to get things right. But there is no need to wait if you can get this kit at a reasonable price.

You could be waiting longer the 2011 for WNW to come out with this kit , so I do agree with Bill .
If you are looking forward to building one then Battle Axe is the only game in town . Ture there are many issues with the kit , but with some skill it does build up to a very nice looking model . For 30 bucks , not a bad deal at all .

Nice review Bill

Thanks, Terri. You guys have taught me a lot here about airplanes and airplane kits.

The other thing to keep in mind here, I think, is that Battle Axe issued a limited-run kit. While WNW says theirs are also limited runs, I get the impression their offerings are intended for a much larger audience. Many of the LR makers are small operations who seem like they don't have a lot of $$$$ behind them. While this kit could be better, its biggest failing is in the number of wing supports, and some styrene and putty will fix that.