Fokker D.VIIF
Ernst Udet's LO!

My 4th build of 2025 is this 1:48 scale Eduard Weekend edition of the Fokker D.VIIF

This is my interpretation of the Fokker biplane flown by Ltn. Ernst Udet, in 1918. It’s a little different from the version in the kit as rather than fitting the lozenge pattern decal to the upper wing I masked and painted the stripes that Udet had on an earlier aircraft and is believed he went on to add to this one too. I also painted the stripes on the tailplane to match before realising a decal was included. Ernst Udet the most successful surviving fighter aces of WWI, with 62 confirmed kills. He named his aircraft, LO! After his fiancée Eleonore ‘Lo' Zink..

I found this a nice enough kit to build, although as I usually find on biplanes, the holes in the wings had to be drilled out, they are never large enough to hold the struts; the length of the struts are either too long or too short for the gap between upper and lower wings and without a jig, the whole thing can all too easily slip out of shape! The decals look great but I found the amount of carrier film to be excessive and I found the many additional lozenge decals for the wings with little or no instruction somewhat confusing. Some of the detailing is excellent, especially the engine. I welcomed the addition of harnesses decals, although they look a little unconvincing when applied.

This has been both the first 1:48 scale biplane and the first Eduard kit I’ve built. I was very impressed with the presentation: the quality of the instructions, the layout of the sprue pieces and the range of decals. I thought this may even have been the start of a WWI aircraft building phase for me, alas no. I’m still not a fan of how biplane kits have to be constructed and I can’t seem to make them just look more than just a toy aeroplane.

However, I built this kit to illustrate a popular form of WWI nose art for a talk I’m doing later this week, and for this it’s perfect. It is also because of this that I have omitted the rigging. If, however, the model survives being transported to and from the event, I may have a bash at rigging it, but it could equally be consigned to back of the 2025 display cabinet.