Fokker D.VII Part 2

Lifelike Decals, 1/48 scale

HyperScale is proudly supported by Squadron

Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

It’s been a while coming but part 2 of the Fokker D.VII series is upon us and it lives up to the high standards of the previous release.

Four aircraft have been chosen and each offers something different for the modeller. The instruction sheet is in full colour and leaves little doubt as to how your chosen subject should look.
A commentary on the research leading to these profiles is most enlightening and shows the level of detail put into the product.

The printing of each decal is exceptional. Everything was sharp with no registration problems at all on the sheets. Any potential problems are eliminated by printing tricky items in two parts to allow the modeller to line things up for themselves.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Thumbnail panels:

Stencil data is also supplied as well as two styles of propeller laminations. These latter items work very well and I wish more decal manufacturers would provide them.

Fokker D.VII, (late OAW) 6441/18, Jasta 62, flown by Lt. Max Näther, October/November 1918

Photographs of this aircraft show it in the Zeppelin hangers at Trier after the war. Details are difficult to gauge as the machine is seen from a distance but Lifelike’s interpretation looks to be spot on.

The fuselage colours are given as black with a red nose. This correlates with a French Intelligence report with information coming from a captured German airman. The flag is very similar to that on Näther’s Albatros D.Va hence the reason this D.VII is attributed to him.

Näther was assigned to Jasta 62 on 31 March 1918 and scored all of his 26 victories with that unit.  This is quite a feat considering that the total for the entire Jasta was 48. He died on 8 January 1919 from Polish groundfire after participating in Germany’s border war with that country.

Fokker D.VII F, serial 4253/18, Jasta 4, flown by Oblt. Ernst Udet, August/September 1918

Udet flew many D.VII aircraft with this one being the last he flew operationally. It is described in two of his combat reports as having a red fuselage and the letters “LO!” marked on each side. The latter being a reference to his girlfriend.

This interpretation does not include the Jasta 4 black nose as no mention of it is made in the aforementioned report and the known photographs of this aircraft appear to bear this out.
The lower wing wears 4-colour “lozenge” on both surfaces however the upper wing is a replacement O.A.W. item. Its top surface is assumed to be painted red as one photograph seems to show a constant shade with no visibility of the rib tapes around the leading edges.

As far as German aces are concerned, Udet was second only to Richthofen with a score of 62 confirmed claims.

Fokker D.VII (Alb.) s/n unknown, Jasta 23b, flown by Lt. Josef Müller, July/August 1918

By necessity this aircraft is conjectural thanks to the single indistinct photograph available. It features the buried exhaust of early Albatros-built machines and has additional louvers located on the upper cowling.

Black and white unit markings cover the tail with the wings and fuselage finished in either 4 or 5 colour lozenge. The nose is painted in a light colour that has the same tonal value as the water under the swan and as such is rendered a light blue.

Müller was born in Hohenschwangau (hence the swan as his personal insignia) and joined Jasta 23b on 28 June 1918. He is credited with a single victory, that being a Sopwith Camel on 31 July 1918.

Fokker D.VII (Alb.) s/n unknown, Jasta 18, flown by Lt. Hans Müller, Summer 1918

The aircraft of another “Müller” is featured and this time it’s Hans from Jasta 18.

He scored at least 12 confirmed victories, three being with Jasta 15. As with other Jasta “Raben” aircraft the forward fuselage and wings were painted in a vermillion red. The rear section and radiator were finished in white and the pilots added their own personal marking in either black or red. Here we see the latter being employed, with this colour also extending to the striped tailplane.

The addition of a telescopic sight should be noted as well as a starboard mounted flare rack and leader’s pennants on the elevators.

 

 

This sheet covers a very interesting choice of subjects and has steered away from the more commonly produced schemes.

The research is first class and a list of references allows the buyer to check out many of the conclusions for themselves. The addition of items over and above the national and personal markings shows the level of commitment this manufacturer has towards its product.

This is a sheet bound to impress all Fokker D.VII fans.

Thanks to Keishiro Nagao of Lifelike Decals for the review sample.

Lifelike Decals are available by email at lifelike@eos.ocn.ne.jp or from

2-8-7-202, Kameari, Katsushika, Tokyo 125-0061, Japan
fax: +81-3-5680-6733