The Little World

I shall be polite, and not choose the word that comes first to mind…

Roden models are made in Ukraine and that probably qualifies them for admiration and sympathy in today’s world. They have it from me for their plight, but not so much for their products.

I have built two – a Pfalz D.IIIA and a Fokker D.VIII. The last named has been stretched over several weeks as a club project

The Pfalz was a little sweetie. It was spindly enough – and there were warnings about Roden plastic and tiny parts. Fortunately nearly everything fit well – and the decal sheet was colourful and accurate. I was wary of eastern European decal sheets, but this one seemed to be a whole new ball game. Not a scrap of trouble.

Fast forward to the D.VIII. I have found where they put the trouble. Parts that could be carefully separated from the sprue trees did fit, before breaking. There was a slim window of success, opened a crack…

It slammed shut when the decals went on. The camouflage plates split apart at the colour divisions. This left me to opt for a plain green Dutch plane. Even then, the round orange Dutch insignia of the period were oversize and went past the wing edges. The fuselage ones cracked off within hours, despite Mr. Setter adhesive.

The only rescue was a set of old Japanese roundels – a little redder than the Dutch but acceptable.

I think the best thing that one could do with Roden is opt for modern planes, close the landing gear, and put on aftermarket markings. I have two more of this brand in the stash, and then I will consider waiting for other makers.