Hi Guys:

Well, after seeing Nigel post his first WWI airplane, I instantly got the bug and ran to my local hobby shop and picked up Roden's 1/48 Fokker D.VII early (OAW). This too, is my first WWI airplane. I put my Tamiya P-51 on hold to tackle this neat little subject.

Things seem to be going along pretty well, but I am finding the pieces to be somewhat delicate, and also find myself challenged a bit by the lack of locator pins. I'm about 2/3 of the way through construction though, and I think I'll be able to finish it without too many hitches.

I'm planning to paint it using the striking scarlet and white scheme attributed to Lt. Ernst Udet. My question is this...the nose of the plane looks black to me in both the box art and the museum photos I saw online, however the instructions call for Humbrol Matt Olive Drab. Does this sound right to any of you experts out there? Perhaps the photos are just dark and seem black to me.

I'd appreciate any help you can offer, and I'll be sure to post some pictures once I get it to a photo-worthy state. Oh, and wish me luck on the red and white diagonal stripes along the top wing surface. That should prove interesting!

Cheers,

John

Hello John,
First of all, Roden got things a bit turned around with this kit. I could list the colour markings problems but rather than give you headaches and because you are 2/3 the way through the build , let me offer some thorougly researched thoughts.

If you are going for the Udet scheme of "Du doch nicht!!" ( means, "Certainly not you!!") Udet only flew this machine for twenty three days before being shot down in combat. He survived of course to fly that afternoon. There are places where you can go to thoroughly research this but I am assuming here your looking to finish the build. I will post an image of the scheme I belive is correct but remember there are several schools of thought. They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Lets do a walk around.

Follow me gents and ladies.

And the last leg of our walk.

There have been several views and revisions of views concerning this machine based on the few photos of dubious quality that we have in the public domain. Others will tell you what they think or what they postulate. The fellows that know are the private collectors that have been researching these subjects for years. I have tried to stick to Udet's combat reports.

Some would like to say black nose, green nose, black stripes or red stripes... I could go on for pages. Lets keep it simple. Its your model, my research says red. It was an early Fokker Schwerin (not OAW) built machine. Technical indications lead us to believe that “Du doch nicht!!’ was from production batch 230/18- 526/18.

The ever popular German Ace Oblt.Ernst Udet’s early Fokker D.VII is now known to be an early Schwerin aircraft. Commonly referred to as DDN in reference to the statement Udet had painted on the elevators, “Du doch nicht!!” , which translates to, “Certainly not you!!” It was believed to have been assigned to him on or about June 13, 1918 and was lost in combat on June 26, 1918. Recently, various interpretations of the three known images of this aircraft have surfaced. To convert this machine to an early Schwerin type simply erase the circular access port on each surface of the side cowling panels and paint the vertical fin “red” upto the area adjacent to the rudder balance (the forward most portion of the top of the rudder where it curves down to the vertical fin.) Also indications tell us that “DDN” used either a Mercedes D.IIIaü 180hp. The nose and under carriage were probably “red” as well.

There are a couple of kit reviews here abouts by some "plugger" on the Fokker D.VII and his lengthy list of references. These will help you in your future forays into WWI aviation. My kit is a highly modified Revell 1/28 scale kit. I hope that I have helped.

Oh,,I see,,,,So its my fault is it?? :-) :-)
Your going to have a lot of fun with this John! That top wing scheme will actually be a lot easier than you think,and after doing that,invasion stripes will hold no fear at all
1:48?,,I dunno,,wheres your sense of adventure Sir? My Camel fits neatly into the palm of my hand,,LOL.
Im still seeing double from rigging the wings
Have FUN!!,and Im looking forward to seeing the pics as it develops.
Nige

Stephen:

Thank you for your help! I was secretly hoping you would be the one to answer, as I know your interest in WWI subjects is quite high. I see you carried the red & white stripes to the underside of the wing as well. That also differs from the Roden color scheme. Now that I know he was shot down, I understand that the museum shot I saw was a replica of the original and not a rebuild. That does open the door for more speculation and conjecture. Thank you for giving me your take on it. I really appreciate it!

Nigel:
Yep, you're the one to blame, but it's a positive blame if that means anything. :-) :-) :-)

Indeed, I am having fun with the build, and will show pictures as soon as I start painting. 1/72!!!!!! I almost fell out of my chair when I read that! The 1/48 kit is fragile enough, I can't even fathom scaling it down any farther. You must be a very patient man, with very little fingers. LOL

Cheers,

John