history

The Fokker Eindecker was a German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker. Developed in April 1915, the Eindecker ("Monoplane") was the first purpose-built German fighter aircraft and the first aircraft to be fitted with synchronizer gear, enabling the pilot to fire a machine gun through the arc of the propeller without striking the blades. The Eindecker granted the German Air Service, known as the Luftstreitkräfte, a degree of air superiority from July 1915 until early 1916. This period was known as the " Fokker Scourge, " during which Allied aviators regarded their poorly armed aircraft as " Fokker Fodder ".
(Source: Wikipedia)

the kit

Eduard's new 1:48 scale Fokker Eindecker kit comes in a "Weekend Edition" top opening cadboard box. The difference of this edition is that unless the Profipack edition (kit n° 8156) and the Dual Combo kit (kit n° 1141 - see review HERE), this time you only get the plastic parts and no photo etched frets, resin goodies or other additional items. Of course the model will be less detailed, but the price of the kit will be much lower and this can be an important aspect because not everybody likes to build a kit with PE parts.

The content of the box contains is the following:
- Three sprues of pale olive green plastic.
- One very small windscreens made of clear plastic.
- One decals sheets.
- One small instruction booklet.

The overall quality of the plastic parts is very good with no sink marks and very little traces of flash. Some parts are really tiny and though the attachment points are small, extreme care will be necessary to remove them from the sprue... and a sharp cutter fitted with a new blade!

The main parts of the model (fuselage, wings, horizontal tailplane and rudder) are nicely done. Two types of wings are provided but only one is needed so the other will end in the spare box. The only differences between the wing parts are the cutout for the different cowl rear fairings and the extended cowling enclosing the ammunition container which was present on some machines of each Type (E.I, E.II and E.III). The relief detail of the fuselage and wings (ribs and metal cowlings) is finely rendered.

The cockpit interior is quite nice even without the addition of extra PE parts and will look busy once ssembled.

The engine, or should I say engines since there are two models, are also very nice. They are composed of a serie of cylinders (7 or 9 depending on the type) made in injected plastic. Pushrods and ignition wires will have to be done from scratch. The engine is basic but the real ones weren't much more complex. It seems Eduard have designed the parts without giving the possibility to the modeler to leave the engine movable. This is a shame as the original Oberursel U.0 and U.I were rotary engines. In the kit, the 7 cylinder engine is not needed.

The smaller parts for the exterior are also very nice and crisply molded: engine cowlings, propeller (two types), undercarriage, tyres etc... No cables are present in the kit of course, so you will have to use your own favorite material to rig your plane. Sadly no rigging diagram is present in the kit at all and the box art don't show the underside of the model, so one is a little left alone here.

instructions and markings

The instructions are much simpler than in the regular kits of the same manufacturer. Though they are clear for the construction, the lack of rigging diagram, as said above, is a shame. You can find a color version at Eduard's official website though but the rigging diagram isn't present there neither so you will have to look at the instructions of the other Eindecker kits.

There is only one marking option in this kit: Fokker E.II 68/15. It is finished in the standard doped linen color with black crosses over white markings, a black & white fuselage band and a black rudder. The decal sheet are has been printed in black & white by Eduard it seems and they look good.

conclusion

This is another nice Weekend Edition kit by Eduard. It will allow you to build a fairly detailed replica of the Fokker Eindecker at a low price. With it's monoplan design, maybe it is also a good starting point if you want to reproduce a complex WWI rigging for the first time as there won't be an upper wing in the way each time you want to add a bracing cable and provided you can find suitable references!

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.