The Aircraft

What hasn’t been said or printed about the Fokker D.VII? The legendary fighter is widely considered to be the best German fighter aircraft to emerge from the Great War and it was certainly the most numerous type engaged in the conflict. Nearly 3,300 Fokker D.VIIs were built by three manufacturers, (Fokker, Albatros & OAW) in the summer and autumn of 1918, and many of them were the reason a number of German pilots achieved ‘Ace’ status in the last year of the war.

From its introduction into service in May 1918, the Fokker D.VII quickly proved its vastly superior performance over most, if not all, existing Allied fighters. With a high rate of climb, higher service ceiling and outstanding handling characteristics, German pilots scored 565 victories during the month of August alone. Because of its impact, it was the only aircraft listed in the armistice terms that Germany was required to surrender to the Allies.

Kit Contents

In fitting with the rather lavish nature of Tamiya’s 1/32 P-51D Mustang, Eduard, known for its photo etch (PE) parts, has released a set of actual fabric seatbelts to spice up the prominent office of the bubble-topped Mustang. Tamiya’s Mustang kits feature a very solid sheet of PE that contains a multipart seatbelt assembly, but they do not match the level of detail provided by these fabric belts. (Additionally, many reviews have recommended annealing - heat treating - the Tamiya PE belts to make them easier to position in the first place, and manipulating the thick PE belts will likely cause paintwork to flake requiring a paint job “in place.”)

This is another in the Scooter series of models recently released by Plus Model. The kit is a 30-series Cushman Autoglide and includes Army & Navy markings.

Kit

The Plus Model kit comes in a blister pack containing 12 resin parts, 1 clear plastic part, 4 photoetch parts, brass wire, and decal sheet. The photoetch parts are very small but add nice detail to the scooter.

Assembly

All of the parts have flash and casting blocks that must be removed. The front fork, part #2, is very fragile and I removed the flash before removing the fork from the casting block. None of the parts were deformed or broken. There is not much detail to the engine, but then it is enclosed in the shroud and not very visible.

Finishing

I washed & primed the kit, painted it with Lifecolor Olive Drab Faded, and followed with a MIG Brown Wash. The kit goes together well despite its tiny size and without any fit issues.