Eduard 1/48 Fokker E.II/E.III Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The Eindecker was one of Fokkers many successful fighters produced in World War I and was the first monoplane fighter in service. In early 1915, the Germans discovered that the French were employing a coaxial machine gun in their Morane-Saulnier Type L. This machine gun fired through the spinning propeller, giving the pilot the unique ability to point his aircraft at his opponent rather than a flex-mounted gun. Metal wedges attached to the blades would deflect any bullets as the blade passed through the line of fire.

Fokker was approached to apply this same technology for the German Air Force. Rather than using deflecting wedges, Fokker used a mechanical interlock that would pause gunfire long enough for the propeller blade to pass. This new weapon was mounted to the first operational monoplane fighter, the E.1 which was powered by an 80 hp Oberursel engine. Fokker E.II and E.IIIs would be powered by the 100 hp engine. The combination of weapon and aircraft gave the German Air Force air superiority over the Western Front from the autumn of 1915 to mid 1916. As the de Havilland DH.2 and RAF FE.2b entered service, they were more than capable of sweeping the Eindeckers from the sky. It didn’t take the Germans long to relegate the surviving Eindeckers to the Eastern Front.

Eduard has reissued their beautiful 1/48 Fokker Eindecker kit with parts options to render the E.II, E.III and even A.III variants. The kit is molded in light gray styrene and presented on three parts trees plus one fret of photo-etched details and one fret of color-printed photo-etched parts. In 1/48 scale, the subject is small as are the parts, so care will be required to build this gem.

Among the kit's features and options:

• Beautifully detailed cockpit
• Nicely detailed 100hp engine
• Choice of E.II or E.III cowlings
• Choice of machine guns
• Nicely illustrated rigging instructions

This kit provides markings for five examples:

• Fokker E.II, 68/15, flown by Lt. Brueckman, 1915
• Fokker E.II, 69/15, flown by Lt. Kurt von Crailsheim, 1915
• Fokker E.II, flown by Vfw. Ernst Udet, 1916
• Fokker E.III, flown by Leopold Anslinger, 1916
• Fokker A.III, 03/42, Austro-Hungarian KuK.Luftfahrtruppen, 1915/16

The decals are provided on two sheets and provides the distinctive unit and airframe markings.

This is one of several World War I subjects produced by Eduard in 1/48 scale and they've all set the standards for World War I kit detail in this scale.

My sincere thanks to Eduard for this review sample!