I knew going into this project there would be some improvements needed.

George answered one of the improvements necessary, by sending me the wonderfully detailed Spandau 08 MG's that he 3D printed from when he was going to build this model. They are a work of art just by themselves.

I also wanted this build to be a measurement of how much my skills had advanced over the past 30 years, give or take a year or two.

I knew from my previous build, that the upper wing had anhedral molded into the wing. It should have been flat on the top / upper surface, with the dihedral being formed by the location of the lowest portion of the wing ribs.

I had a plan on how to correct this. It is probably the worst thing visibly wrong with this model... until you look at the rear section of the fuselage.

I did several online searches and found several very good build journals for this model. The builders had corrected the faults this kit is (im)famous for.

I knew right away I would need a set of accurate 3 view drawings scaled to 1/28 size.

Starting out with the smaller drawing, armed with some measuring calipers and plastic model parts, I took the illustration to a nearby print shop and had them enlarged to the proper scale.


This is what I came home with. I made a second copy, so I can cut it apart to make templates as needed.

The other will most likely be framed and displayed on a wall in the hobby room.

I assembled the top wing. Before it dried, I flipped it upside down and held the outer wing tips tightly against the building mat using weights, and let them dry overnight.

Here you can see the top wing now looks like it should, and no longer has anhedral built into it. Sharp eyed viewers will notice that I have placed the horizontal on the plans to check them out for size.

They are close, but not quite exact in outline of the elevators. The width is off a little too, where the rear of the fuselage would mount.

This is exactly what I had read about too.

This shows the outline of the top wing is spot on. The elevator / horizontal can be seen again.

I assembled the lower wing. Then it was secured with weights and also allowed to dry upside down overnight. Here again, the outline is spot on with the scale drawing that I am using.


Here you can see how the fuselage lines up. The cockpit section is too far aft by about 1/4 inch, if the drawings are accurate.

The main offense if the "portly" size of the rear fuselage section. In order to fix this, I have plans to simply cut off the entire rear section, and build new using plastic card stock. I'm going to be adding the lacing seam that goes under the rear of the fuselage.

The rudder / fin are very close to the outlines/

As is the axle "sub" wing.

The engine access panels are very accurate in outside dimensions.

However, the louvers and access panel doors are not quite the same. So I will have to modify the engine panels.
The main wheel tires are too small in outer diameter. The rim size appears to be good however. I may try too locate a properly sized O-Ring and just replace the tires. Time will tell what happens here though.

I assembled the majority of the Diamler Benz D-III. I did not glue the cylinders in place permanently. They can be lifted off so this will make painting a whole lot easier.

I have scratch built a 1/6 scale Fokker D-VII flying RC plane, and I super detailed the cockpit on it.

I plan on scratching a new cockpit for this one too.

I will be working on this as time permits, so please check back regularly for updates.

I wanted to get the build journal started / posted today, as a tribute to my Dad.
It would have been his birthday today.

When I was a little boy, Dad came home one day after work with a 1/48 scale Aurora model of the Fokker D-VII. It just happened to be my very first biplane model. By now I probably had built probably 7 or 8 models at this point. By saying "built", I really mean slammed them together in an afternoon and not painted.

Mine was molded in a dark green plastic. It had some incredible attention grabbing artwork on the box top.

The art work showed a German Fokker D-VII that had just been shot upon by a British Sopwith Camel, and it now was burning fiercely. The expression on the German pilot was very realistic.

Needless to say, the Fokker D-VII is still my favorite aircraft from this era.

As always, comments are encouraged. Thanks for stopping by, and have a good night.

Miss ya Pop.

!/28 scale is a big model Louis, I like the way you did the drawings and corrected the wings. Those guns look the part.
The build should bring back some great memories .

It looks like this will turn out to be a really nice model in your creative hands, Louis (@lgardner). I was glad to send it to someone who can give it the attention it needs. Looking forward to the rest of the build. I am sure your Dad would like this one.

John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
Thank you John. My mind has been buzzing with all kinds of ideas that I want to try on this one. I'm sure it will bring some memories back for me.

IAN Convey (@firelockg)
Thank you Ian. The guns are all credited to George, who gave me the kit. He printed them out and sent them along. They are a huge improvement over the kit supplied parts.
You wouldn't think there is much difference between a 1/28 scale model, and one that is a 1/32. But there certainly is ! And a big difference at that.

You don't realize just how much it is until you compare the drawings. I even went as far as to compare one of my Wingnut Wings Fokker D-VII's in 1/32 scale and placed the parts on top of the 1/28 scale drawings. Then it really becomes apparent.

Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)

First off, thank you for the kind words. I want to make this build a special one to honor my Dad. He and I spent a lot of quality time together and occasionally he would help me with a model. Dad was more of a flying balsa wood builder, but we did work on a plastic ship model of the Cutty Sark sailing ship. It was a Revell model and going from memory may have been a 1/196 scale. It was around 18 inches long, possibly longer.

Please follow along as I build this one. I saw your kit review over at M2 the other day. You wrote a fine article. Please feel free to join in here if you want to. You are always welcome my friend. Please tell QC1 and QC2 that we said hello from Florida.

George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
Thank you George ! I sincerely appreciate everything you have done for me with this project. It has a very special meaning for me, and I will give it my best effort to make this Fokker really shine. I'm sure that Dad is looking down right now and smiling... Like you, I am also looking forward to the rest of the project too.

I have made some more progress, mainly logistical... and I will post up what I have done so far in a few minutes.

Tom Cleaver (@tcinla)
It's great to hear from you. Thank you for the compliments on the upper wing. I hope it stays in this position, and doesn't return to it's former drooped shape. I think the wing may be OK, because it was glued and held straight while the glue completely dried. Time will tell though. I was actually thinking about cutting some stress relieving cuts into the top wing so that it would not want to take back the original shape. I can fill the stress cuts in later, and it will eventually be covered in a lozenge decal.

I'm going to try everything I can, to try and fix what needs to be taken care of. Surprisingly though, most of the kit's outline is very good. The top wing droop was the worst part I think. Someday I may come back and try to fix the top wing on my original build from 1995. Time will tell.

Thanks again, and please stay tuned for tonight's installment.

Sometimes you need a bit of luck to get it all together, Louis @lgardner
This time it was your turn with the lozenge decals.
Those wheels will look great as well.

The WW1 bug is biting hard, @lgardner , you are taking this to a new standard. The analysis of the kit shape is very impressive! Those small (and not so small) scratch built additions will make a huge difference, as we have discussed. Just another regular element of your signature builds. A fitting tribute to your father!