Special Hobby 1/48 Fokker D.XXI: Spanish Civil War
First, a little background.
The Spanish Civil War was fought between 1936 and 1939. The Republicans (Leftists) were supported by Russia and France, while the Nationalists (Conservatives) were supported by Germany and Italy. The Nationalist air force consisted of German and Italian aircraft flown by German (Condor Legion) and Italian pilots. On the other hand, the Republican air force consisted of a huge variety of aircraft from a number of different countries, especially aircraft from Russia and France.
At the start of the war, the Spanish government had a license to build the Fokker D.XXI in Spain. A number of airframes in pieces had been sent to Spain, but apparently none had been assembled by the time the factory was captured by the Republicans. It is believed at least one D.XXI was assembled and used in combat by the Republicans. There is apparently no photographic evidence that this plane existed, but descriptions of this plane are based on the recollections of people who fought in the war. Although there are no photographs of this plane, there are 4 or 5 artist's representations based on these recollections.
The Build:
My last build was a Dora Wings 1/48 Me-109A used by the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War. I am constantly looking for planes and paint schemes that are a little different, and during my research for the 109A I discovered that the Spanish Civil War was a very deep rabbit hole full of interesting aircraft with interesting paint schemes. I found four of the artist representations of the Republican Fokker D.XXI and decided to build it. Each of the artist representations depicted a different version of the D.XXI, so the first problem was trying to figure out which version to build. I found the Special Hobby 1/48 Fokker D.XXI in the Finnish version, but the kit had unused parts that allowed the construction of other versions. I also got a resin and photoetch set from SBS that has additional parts for other versions. Although this kit wasn't as refined as my previous Dora Wings kit, it was fun to build.
The version I chose to build was basically the Dutch version, which seemed to make sense. I added some detail to the tube gunsight, as well as some of the internal connections for the antenna pole. The paint scheme is based on the artist representations. Other than the tri-color painted rudder and red identification bands, the only markings are the aircraft identification number "CF-001", which I painted using a stencil cut using my wife's die cut machine. The plane was painted with AK Real Colors, Tamiya Paints, and Vallejo ModelAir. Unlike many of my other models, I decided to keep weathering subdued. I used painted post shading, as well as artist's pastel chalk to produce the variations in the paint. If you are interested in more info on the build, please visit the build log in the Aircraft Work in Progress Group.
I have several more aircraft from the war that I want to build. The Italian and Condor Legion aircraft are well-documented, but info on the Republican aircraft is harder to find. Decals for the Nationalist aircraft are relatively easy to find, while decals for many of the obscure Republican aircraft, like the D.XXI, are non-existent in 1/48 scale. There are a few more decal options in 1/72 scale, but not many. I think I will be borrowing my wife's die cut machine a few more times. Thanks for stopping by.
What a great build, George! The subject chosen itself is really interesting: an one-off plane, based on solid info. The kit is very challenging to build. As always your professional skills resulted in a splendid model, a joy to watch (and an equal joy to having followed your thread).
Well done!
Hi George, this is something different. The Spanish civil war is obviously an important of European history, and a vast variety of military equipment was used, throwing up a range of possibilities for iModelers. Your build here, of an apparently slightly difficult kit, amply shows off your talents as a modeller, and I enjoyed your history lesson as well. Great post.
Thanks, George (@chinesegeorge). For a short-run kit, this was pretty good, but not as sophisticated as the newer kits from companies like Dora Wings. My knowledge of the Spanish Civil War was limited mainly to what you could get from a Hemingway novel, but I found out a lot more when researching my previous kit. When you research the aircraft types flown by the Nationalists, you find only 9 different types of German and Italian aircraft. When you research the aircraft types flown by the Republicans, you find over 120 types of aircraft (including some autogyros) from a number of different countries. Only one or two airframes were available for many of these types. I can't even imagine the maintenance problems with so many types of aircraft, not to mention spare parts.
Can't believe how fast you've sailed through this build! Well done!
Thanks, Sebastijan (@inflames). It is easier to find time to build when you are completely retired. When I was a pilot in the Air Force, I really had trouble finding time to build. I would often build only 3 or 4 models each year. I retired and spent the next 20 years teaching in high school and college, and found I had even less time. Now that I am completely retired I have built more models in the last few years than I did in the previous 40 years. I typically build models for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.
Your D.XXI looks amazing, George @gblair
Having build this one myself, I do know that it is a challenging kit. With this result you clearly show that with your modelling skills, you tackled all the hurdles.
It was a pleasure to follow your progress and I definitely learned how I can improve on a possible second build.
Great chosen scheme for this variant.
Well done.
Thanks for the kind words, John (@johnb). I have definitely built worse kits, and this one seemed to come together fairly well. I have a couple of other obscure Republican aircraft I want to do, so the fun will continue.
@gblair, maybe it was me, making this kit more difficult than what should have been. I particularly had some difficulties with the interior. Also the Dutch scheme did gave me some issues. After seeing yours, I might be going for a second one.
I think it has to do with expectations, John (@johnb). I started this kit thinking that it would be horrible, but it wasn't. It was somewhere between the really nice Dora kit that I just built and one of the old limited run kits where nothing fits. The SBS set also helped, especially with the interior, so that may be one of the differences between your build and mine. I did have the adjustment arm for the seat fall off after I had already sealed everything. It fell out through the hole in the front of the fuselage for the engine. Your modeling experience has also increased, so I would bet that if you built the Dutch version now it would be a brilliant build. :o)
Nice work @gblair. An excellent result with what can be a challenging kit.
I have never seen such interesting painting. I don't know that republicans had Fokker D.XXI.
Excellent build - love the scheme (and the Spanish Civil War theme). Keep them coming!
Excellent model and build George.
I have a keen interest in the Spanish civil war, it’s History and models.
So far none put together but I have a few in my stash.
Prior to that I have to clear the « under way « builds.
Thanks for the kind words, Tom (@tcinla), Bernard (@lis), Greg (@gkittinger, and Bernard (@bernardbedeur). The Spanish Civil War is fertile ground for cool airplanes with cool paint schemes. The Republicans flew 120+ different types of airplanes, many of them with just one or two examples. I just got one of the autogyros in 1/35 with markings from the Spanish Civil War, and I am looking at doing several others. Of course, there is always the Condor Legion... :o)
It turned out great, George. This is one I never realized made it to Spain. I agree, the SCW is an interesting area.
Thanks, John (@j-healy). I am trying to pace myself, but there are some really cool planes to do. I am slowly gathering the required models and plan to do another soon. I think the Dewoitine D.520 may be soon.
Looks great! Thanks for schooling us on these craft.
Thanks, Robert (@roofrat). The Spanish Civil War is a really interesting event.
Great job on this George. I also really like SCW aircraft.
Thanks, Dale (@dtravis). There are a bunch of really cool airplanes and paint schemes on both sides in the SCW. If you are looking for planes and paint that is a little bit different, this is the place.
Handsome Li'l Fokker, George. Great looking aircraft, looking smart the way you've finished it. Always interesting to see uncommon aircraft as well as uncommon livery. Great post!
I've had my eye out for a 1/72 D.XXI and I lucked out when found a PM Model (Pioneer/Mathcbox).
Now, you got me googling Die Cut Machines.
Awesome, George (@georgeswork). The D.XXI is a really cool looking plane. Looking forward to seeing your model. Die cut machines are great, and the new ones are basically fully automatic. I see more and more uses for them on my models. My next experiment is to see if I can make some masks to do a camouflage pattern. :o)
George @gblair
It sure is nice to see this one in the headlines section. I'm sorry I missed most of the build, only discovering your journal right at the end of the construction. I did read through the entire log, and it really does make a big difference using masks to spray on the markings, rather than simply relying on decals to do the same thing. Painted on markings look more realistic to me, simply because they follow practice of the real thing on most occasions.
Your Fokker turned out looking wonderful and I would expect a trophy or two should you ever decide to enter it into any contest.
Seeing all of these recent Spanish Civil War planes have subconsciously urged me to dig out a few of my previously started builds that were from this era and finish them up. Thanks for the inspiration.
I definitely pressed the "like" button.
Thanks, Louis (@lgardner). I have discovered a lot about making masks. I used non-Eduard masks (I don't think they were Montex masks, but similar) on one of my planes and discovered they used commercial masking material to make their masks. Once I knew the brand and item number (it was printed on the back of the masks), I knew what masking material to order. This new masking material is thin and conforms to curves much better than the masking material I used for your Ju-52. There are no decals available for most of the Republican aircraft from the SCW, so I think I will be getting more and more practice.
I don't do contests anymore, but I appreciate your comments. I have found I have more fun building when I am not worrying about pleasing someone else.
If you go to Google and search for the "aircraft used in the Spanish Civil War", you will get an exact list for both sides. You can guess the well-known planes of the Nationalist side, but the Republicans flew an amazing and diverse variety of airplanes. I had never heard of many of them, so I have been looking them up to see what they looked like. So many models, so little time.
Take care, Louis.
Great build George! This aircraft looks great in this scheme and you nailed it.
Thanks, Bob (@v1pro). This was fun despite a few problems.
George,
I lurked over your build journal or log while in progress and went over it again and again. I'm struck at how organic many builds grow and develop as folks learn and develop their models. Yours being a very good example. My only niggle about your article or the final reveal is the lack of photos you took of the cockpit and of the engine in your Journal. You put your heart and soul into this project and if one reads the journal some excellent photos can be cut and pasted into your article. To the casual reader, one can see the resin goodies and the photo etched pieces but, there is so much more to be offered in showing how they where used. If you got it, flaunt it or the hook in developing a article and having the money shots are needed to lure the reader into reading. Then you can go to the Journal and teach a man to fish.
Some strong work in this project and I loved the history and the subject matter and the photos both in the Journal and article. The cockpit canopy framing photo stands out.
Two thumb s up.
Thanks, Stephen (@stephen-w-towle), for the kind words. I appreciate your comments about adding more of the build info in the Headlines article. I always worry that people want a summary in the Headlines and that adding too much info will lose people. That is why I always mention that more info is available in the Works in Progress Group. I am interested in the details, so I will be glad to add some more info and photos in future articles for people like you and me that want some more info. Those that want just a summary can skim through the stuff they don't want. Cheers.
"I always worry that people want a summary in the Headlines and that adding too much info will lose people."
That not a problem with your gifts and talents. 🙂