Greif8 Posted May 24 Posted May 24 I finished building the Gothaforce Fokker DVII "Rudolf Stark" kit a few weeks ago. The kit was a first for me in a couple of areas. It was my first nearly all-resin build and it was the first kit that I have ever pre-ordered. I won't bore you all with a detailed description of the build; there is an extensive build thread in the "Works in Progress" section of the forum for any of you interested in looking through it. I built the kit entirely oob with the only add-on being the very nice resin figure that was gifted to me for me to paint by my friend Jim Barry. Some background on the actual aircraft and pilot. The model represents the Fokker DVII flown by Rudolf Stark when he commanded Jadgstaffel 35b, a Bavarian unit, during the summer and early fall of 1918. Stark was originally a cavalryman serving in the 2nd Bavaria Royal Uhlans before switching to the Air Service at the fairly late date of 15 November 1917. Stark finished the war with 11 confirmed and 5 unconfirmed victories and was also somewhat of an artist, painting several pictures of air combat while serving at the front. He also wrote a book about his experiences while serving as a pilot and staffel commander during WW1 entitled, "Wings of War: an Airman's Diary of the Last Year of World War One". He donated a few items of his DVII and a couple of his paintings to the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingolstadt which can still be seen at the museum today. Stark remained in his native Bavaria after returning from duty in WW1 passing away at 85 years of age in 1982. First up some all around view shots. I kept the weathering restrained as the aircraft had a short service period that was during mostly times of good weather. As you can see from the close up photos the parts look very nice and the fit is quite good overall. The 3D printed figure is a very accurate likeness for Stark. The pose replicates one that was captured in a photo of Stark with this aircraft in 1918. The kit prop is resin. I used a combination of artist's pencils, a burnt umber oil wash and Tamiya transparent orange to simulate wood. Ernest Granger Davis, mywifehatesmodels, Polecadt and 25 others 28
Uncarina Posted May 24 Posted May 24 Brilliant Ernest! You brought the aircraft, pilot, and history to life. I really enjoyed your build log and recommend it highly. Cheers, Tom Greif8 1
LSP_Mike Posted May 25 Posted May 25 Excellent finish. The lavender contrasts are spot on to my eye. Very nice all around. Greif8 1
scvrobeson Posted May 25 Posted May 25 It does look like quite a spectacular kit. You did a fantastic job on it. Matt Greif8 1
Rod Bettencourt Posted May 25 Posted May 25 Good looking build and ground work. Well done. Rod Greif8 1
Greif8 Posted May 27 Author Posted May 27 On 5/24/2026 at 6:46 PM, Sasha As said: Great job!!! On 5/24/2026 at 7:59 PM, monthebiff said: Outstanding result Ernest! Regards. Andy On 5/24/2026 at 8:21 PM, D.B. Andrus said: Well done, Ernest! On 5/24/2026 at 8:35 PM, Uncarina said: Brilliant Ernest! You brought the aircraft, pilot, and history to life. I really enjoyed your build log and recommend it highly. Cheers, Tom On 5/24/2026 at 8:49 PM, aircare84 said: Great build! Thanks for sharing. On 5/24/2026 at 9:05 PM, Zola25 said: Brilliant result. Love it Niels On 5/25/2026 at 4:36 PM, Christa said: An attractive Fokker DVII. Congratulations Ernest. On 5/25/2026 at 4:48 PM, LSP_Mike said: Excellent finish. The lavender contrasts are spot on to my eye. Very nice all around. On 5/25/2026 at 7:54 PM, scvrobeson said: It does look like quite a spectacular kit. You did a fantastic job on it. Matt On 5/25/2026 at 10:27 PM, Rod Bettencourt said: Good looking build and ground work. Well done. Rod On 5/26/2026 at 9:21 AM, dutik said: She's a beauty! Lovely! Regards - dutik Thank you everyone for the very kind words! Ernest
LSP_Ray Posted June 2 Posted June 2 On 5/24/2026 at 9:02 AM, Greif8 said: I finished building the Gothaforce Fokker DVII "Rudolf Stark" kit a few weeks ago. The kit was a first for me in a couple of areas. It was my first nearly all-resin build and it was the first kit that I have ever pre-ordered. I won't bore you all with a detailed description of the build; there is an extensive build thread in the "Works in Progress" section of the forum for any of you interested in looking through it. I built the kit entirely oob with the only add-on being the very nice resin figure that was gifted to me for me to paint by my friend Jim Barry. Some background on the actual aircraft and pilot. The model represents the Fokker DVII flown by Rudolf Stark when he commanded Jadgstaffel 35b, a Bavarian unit, during the summer and early fall of 1918. Stark was originally a cavalryman serving in the 2nd Bavaria Royal Uhlans before switching to the Air Service at the fairly late date of 15 November 1917. Stark finished the war with 11 confirmed and 5 unconfirmed victories and was also somewhat of an artist, painting several pictures of air combat while serving at the front. He also wrote a book about his experiences while serving as a pilot and staffel commander during WW1 entitled, "Wings of War: an Airman's Diary of the Last Year of World War One". He donated a few items of his DVII and a couple of his paintings to the Bavarian Army Museum in Ingolstadt which can still be seen at the museum today. Stark remained in his native Bavaria after returning from duty in WW1 passing away at 85 years of age in 1982. Ernest Nicely done! May I post it on the website? Greif8 1
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