The demise of Wingnut Wings left their eagerly-awaited Fokker Dreidecker almost ready for release. Thankfully, the kit was saved from disappearing and was brought to market by Meng. Sometime later came a 1:24 kit under the same banner. In part two of his Fokker FI/DR.I Modelling Special Anthology, Ray Rimell collaborates with Richard Alexander (formerly of Wingnut Wings) to complete a comprehensive overview of the aircraft with a particular focus on building the two kits. 

The 72-page softbound book is printed in colour throughout and contains a mass of reference material, combining original period photographs, modern colour shots of modern reproductions, superb artwork by Ronnie Bar and Juanita Franzi, all complemented the almost forensic historical analysis that typifies all of Ray Rimell's work.

Reference sections include:

Dreideckers By Numbers - 19 new Ronnie Bar profiles

The TVAL Rotary Club - Close-up photos of TVAL's Oberursel UR.II and Le Rhône 9JB

JASTA 14 Archiv - Original WWI photos plus colour profiles

Fokker DR.I Folios II - Original WWI photos

The 1:32 modelling content comprises some 19 pages over the course of 4 builds:

Fokker F.I 103/17,23 September 1917

Fokker DR.1I 204/17, February 1918

Fokker DR.I 425/17, 21 April 1918

Fokker DR.I 574/17, summer 1918

An undoubted highlight for me is Ray's 1:24 build of Fokker DR.I 588/17 as it appeared on June 9th, 1918. This is presented as a detailed step-by-step 22-page guide, illustrated with clear colour photographs of each stage and reference photos.

Conclusion

I always love it when a modelling reference provides the inspiration I need to go out and buy the kits it's covering, and that's certainly the case here. Problems reported with Meng's 1:32 kit when it was first released dampened my enthusiasm and only underlined the tragedy of Wingnut Wing's demise, but Ray's builds here show just how good it can really look and have firmly whetted my appetite to tackle the 1:24 model. Obviously, while the content applies specifically to the Meng kits, you could always use it as a reference for detailing other largescale Dreideckers such as Roden's 1:32 model, or down-scale things for Eduard's excellent 1:48 version.

This is another excellent publication from Windsock, with the combined 2-part set providing an arguably unmatched guide to building an accurate model of one of history's most iconic warplanes.

Fokker FI/DR.I Volume 2 is available now from Albatros Productions at https://www.windsockdatafilespecials.co.uk/ - Price: £30:00

Many thanks to Albatros Productions for the review sample.

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