I was reading an article in a magazine a few nights ago and found a really interesting article on the Fokker D.VII. I was interested to discover that the D.VII was used by a number of countries after WW1, some planes flying into the late 1930s. I have been dragging the ancient Revell 1/28 Fokker D.VII around for many years, so I thought it might be a good time to build this beast. I have a real fear of anything with more than one wing, and I actually have a doctor's excuse that allows me to not to build anything with multiple wings. Since this is a rather large kit, I thought this might be a good opportunity to try building a biplane with rigging.

First, a little background. Anthony Fokker, originally from Holland, designed and built many of the best German fighters in WW1. The Fokker D.VII came out in 1918, the last year of the war. It soon built a reputation as being a sturdy machine with great flying characteristics. It was so successful that it earned the distinction of being the only airplane specifically mentioned in the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty required that all of the D.VII's to be destroyed or turned over to allied countries. After the war, Anthony Fokker moved his factory to Holland and began manufacturing D.VII's again. These planes were sold to a number of countries after the war. Holland already had several D.VII's which had been flown to Dutch airfields by defecting pilots or were forced down in combat. Following the war, Holland bought 20 of the planes for the air force, and another 6 planes for use in the Netherlands East Indies. Some of these machines were used into the late 1930s. There were several modifications made to these planes, including the addition of a 185 hp BMW engine.

This kit isn't as old as you might think it is, having been produced in 1991. The 1/28 Dr.1 dates back to 1957. The casting and detail on this model is actually pretty good. I don't know a lot about these early planes, so I don't plan to do a lot of updating and scratchbuilding on this build. I will be glad just to get the plane painted and rigged, but I also hope to do a little work on the interior. I will need to create painting masks for all of the markings, so that will also add to the fun of this model. I also hope to find some files to print some replacement parts on my 3D printer, but so far, I have only been able to find and print some replacement Spandau machine guns. I hope to get some work done on this model in the next few days. Cheers.

12 attached images. Click to enlarge.

That's a great entry, George @gblair
I do like the chosen scheme a lot 🙂
Those MG's are really beautiful.

Those Spandaus are outstanding, George.

Thanks, John (@j-healy). They are extremely fragile, so they will be difficult to use.

George R Blair Jr (@gblair)
I think the Spandaus look amazing ! You're mastering the 3D printer. I will be enjoying this one. By the way, the Fokker D-VII is my favorite WW1 aircraft ever. I'm not bragging, but I do know quite a bit about the type. You have made an excellent choice, even though it has some problems that were mentioned above.

In the end it still looks like a Fokker.

My very first biplane model I built as a kid was the ancient 1/48 scale Aurora kit that was molded in a dark green color. The plane was on fire on the box art.

I have built the Revell 1/28 kit. This is a picture of mine. I built mine shortly after I returned to the hobby. It was one of the last kits my dear old dad bought for me. It's beginning to show it's age. The main wing does indeed have an inverted anhedral molded into it, instead of dihedral. It is the lower wing surface that should have the dihedral built into it. The upper half of the wing surface is supposed to be flat... but on the Revell upper wing, it droops, while the lower wing is straight. This is exactly opposite of how it should be.

I thought I had simply built mine wrong. You might be able to build the upper wing while keeping the top section flat against the board, gluing it a little at a time until you get it done.

If you decide to build it up that would be cool... warts and all. Otherwise if you decide not too, I understand that as well. The end choice is yours, so do as you please, and have some fun with it. Either way it will be just fine.

Hi Louis (@lgardner) and Tom (@tcinla). I have a late model D.VII by Roden that I plan to do instead of the Revell. I think the late model will match the Dutch version much better. It looks like a really nice kit, even if it is a biplane.

Your Revell D.VII looks great, Louis. I think the red paint schemes on this plane look great. I plan to save mine for sometime later, and then I can tackle it.

Thanks, Louis (@lgardner). I have a late model D.VII from Roden sitting on my workbench, ready to go. It's not 1/28, but you can't have everything. The later version will be closer to the Dutch version, anyway.