Fun Little Fighter
Anthony Fokker manufactured the highly maneuverable Fokker Dr.1 (Dreidecker) red triplane. The three wings gave it incredible lift. It was one of the most iconic fighter planes in history. Guillow's 1:14 scale flying model kit felt like a whole lot of fun to build. Instructions looked thorough and easy for an intermediate builder. The laser cut balsa assembled into an impressive airframe. I chose to paint my aircraft all red after Manfred von Richthofen's fighter, the most famous fighter pilot in the world. It felt exciting to imagine the aerial dogfights of the Red Baron, culminating into 80 victories before Capt. Roy Brown shot him down. This model is not a serious display event. The twin Spandau machine guns looked poorly fashioned, a below average looking pilot, and no detailed propeller gave it lower marks. Although the molding details disappointed, the body and wings looked good. If one was looking for an easy WWI aircraft to build, one got good old fashioned fun building this one. I gave this model an AVERAGE from a detailed display point of view. Despite that, it was a fun build.
