{"product_id":"roden-plastic-model-kit-roden-fokker-d-vi-1-32","title":"Roden Plastic Model Kit Roden Fokker D.VI — 1:32","description":"\u003cp\u003eManufacturer\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRoden is a Ukrainian manufacturer particularly well known for its extensive range of First World War aircraft. The company's WWI subjects include many relatively uncommon aircraft that are not widely represented by other plastic-kit manufacturers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eKit 603 was added to specialist catalogues in October 2006 and represents the Fokker D.VI, an aircraft produced in very small numbers during the final year of the First World War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit is moulded in plastic and requires assembly and painting. Paint, modelling cement and other finishing materials are not included. A current product specification gives the completed model's length as approximately 18 cm.\n\u003cbr\u003eKit contents\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA detailed contemporary review of Roden 603 identifies six light-brown sprues, three decal sheets and a comprehensive instruction booklet. The review counts 107 parts, with 12 unused\/spare parts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit provides:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fuselage components\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Detailed cockpit\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Pilot's seat and cockpit fittings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine and engine installation\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Oberursel rotary engine representation\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Propeller\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Upper and lower wings\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Interplane and cabane struts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Main landing gear\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wheels\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Tailplane and rudder\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Twin Spandau machine guns\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Wing and fuselage detail\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Decals\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Large lozenge-camouflage decal sheets\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Illustrated assembly instructions\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe kit provides markings for three individual aircraft. The decal package includes both individual markings and extensive lozenge camouflage material for the wings and other surfaces.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe three aircraft represented include:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fokker D.VI 1689\/18, Flugpark Armee Abteilung B, Alsace-Lorraine, 1918\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fokker D.VI, Kampf-Einsitzerstaffel Kest 1a, Mannheim, summer 1918\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Fokker D.VI “Fratz”, Jasta 80b, Lieutenant Kurt Seit, Western Front, summer 1918\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHistory of the full-size aircraft\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Fokker D.VI was a German single-seat fighter developed by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke during 1917–1918. It was designed by Reinhold Platz and was derived from Fokker's V.13 prototype family.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was essentially a hybrid of several existing Fokker design features. Its development used elements of the Fokker Dr.I and the emerging Fokker D.VII, particularly in the fuselage, tail and wing design. The resulting aircraft was a compact single-seat biplane with a particularly distinctive appearance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTwo V.13 prototypes were constructed in late 1917. The first used a 110 hp Oberursel Ur.II rotary engine, while the second was fitted with the more powerful 160 hp Siemens-Halske Sh.III rotary engine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe prototype participated in the German fighter competition at Adlershof in January 1918. The aircraft was found to be manoeuvrable and relatively easy to fly, leading to a production order. The official type approval, or Typenprüfung, took place on 15 March 1918.\n\u003cbr\u003eProduction\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe D.VI's production history was unusually short.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFokker received an order for the aircraft in early 1918, but the German aviation authorities were simultaneously placing much greater emphasis on the new Fokker D.VII.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUltimately only 59 D.VIs were completed, with production taking place between approximately April and August 1918. Seven aircraft were delivered to the Austro-Hungarian Air Service.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSome historical references give slightly different production figures depending on whether partially completed airframes are included, but 59 completed aircraft is the commonly cited figure.\n\u003cbr\u003eEngine\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eProduction D.VIs were primarily powered by the 110 hp Oberursel Ur.II, a nine-cylinder air-cooled rotary engine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe engine was derived from the French Le Rhône rotary design and was relatively compact and light. Rotary engines were common in WWI fighters because the entire engine rotated with the propeller, providing a high power-to-weight ratio.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, the D.VI's relatively low-powered production engine became one of its principal limitations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eContemporary operational experience indicated that the aircraft was manoeuvrable at low altitude but had poor performance at higher altitudes. Engine reliability was also affected by shortages of suitable castor oil and the use of substitute lubricants.\n\u003cbr\u003ePerformance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRepresentative specifications for the production Fokker D.VI include:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Crew: 1\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Engine: 1 × Oberursel Ur.II\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Power: approximately 110 hp\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Maximum speed: approximately 120–122 mph \/ 193–196 km\/h, depending on the source and configuration\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Armament: 2 × LMG 08\/15 Spandau machine guns\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Role: Fighter \/ interceptor\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e    Configuration: Single-engine biplane\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical specifications vary somewhat because the D.VI existed with different experimental engines and published figures sometimes refer to different prototypes or production configurations.\n\u003cbr\u003eArmament\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe standard production aircraft carried two 7.92 mm LMG 08\/15 Spandau machine guns.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe guns were mounted forward of the cockpit and synchronised to fire through the propeller arc.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis was the standard German fighter arrangement by 1918 and gave the pilot a concentrated forward-firing armament.\n\u003cbr\u003eOperational service\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe D.VI entered service during the final stages of the First World War.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough its handling was regarded positively, its performance was increasingly inadequate compared with newer fighters, particularly the Fokker D.VII.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe aircraft was therefore used only in limited numbers. Some examples served with fighter formations and home-defence units, while others were employed as trainers. A historical account describes D.VI operations in the Alsace-Lorraine region, where the aircraft was used for interception and training duties.\n\u003cbr\u003eRelationship to the Fokker Dr.I and D.VII\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe D.VI occupies an interesting position in Fokker's development history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was effectively a bridge between the company's famous triplane and the much more successful D.VII:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFokker Dr.I → Fokker D.VI → Fokker D.VII\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe D.VI retained elements of the Dr.I's compact fuselage and overall character while using a biplane configuration incorporating ideas that would also appear in the D.VII.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe D.VII ultimately proved considerably more successful and effectively ended further development of the D.VI.\n\u003cbr\u003eWhy production ended\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe main problem was not that the D.VI was an unsuccessful aircraft in absolute terms. Rather, it was overtaken by a better alternative.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Fokker D.VII offered superior overall performance and development potential, and Germany had already placed substantial orders for that aircraft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAs more powerful engines became available, the D.VII programme received priority. Consequently, further D.VI production was abandoned.\n\u003cbr\u003eHistorical significance\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough only 59 aircraft were completed, the D.VI is an interesting aircraft historically because it represents a transitional stage in German fighter development.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt demonstrates how Fokker was moving away from the earlier Dr.I configuration toward the biplane designs that would culminate in the highly successful D.VII.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe D.VI is also significant because so few were produced. Unlike the Fokker D.VII, which became one of the most numerous German fighters of 1918, the D.VI remained a relatively obscure type.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to the Fokker historical archive, no original Fokker D.VI survives today, although replicas have subsequently been constructed and flown.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Roden","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57504169787772,"sku":"Roden-603","price":36.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0432\/8584\/0033\/files\/8C099498-D4A8-49D9-82AE-DF9A9C6B22D0.jpg?v=1790403552","url":"https:\/\/sussex-model-centre.co.uk\/products\/roden-plastic-model-kit-roden-fokker-d-vi-1-32","provider":"Sussex Model Centre","version":"1.0","type":"link"}