The Modelling News: Silverwings latest news as they release this little Fokker onto the market..

It seems there is a lot going on at Silverwings HQ – They have several aircraft coming – like the Polish PZL P.11 and maybe some Russian and Italian aircraft as well – but right now we centre on the preview of the just available 32^nd scale Fokker D.XXI fighter

Preview:

SilverWings Fokker D.XXI fighter

Cat. No.: 32-017

Main material: resin

Scale: 1:32

Period: 1936-1948

Marking options: 3 (Dutch Air Force, Luftwaffe)

Number of parts: 160 x resin, 40 parts photo etched

Length & wingspan: 256 x 343 (mm)

Additional features: main elements iron reinforced

Product Link.

Silver Wings are focused on providing high-quality kits of interesting subjects for modellers and this year has another kit coming in the form of a 1/32^nd scale Fokker!

While Silverwings have just launched their new Fokker the other news is that the 32^nd scale PZL P.11 (there are hints at more Russian and Italian aircraft as well) is also almost ready and it will be available during the next two months.

Silverwings have made some changes to the design of both their instructions and the boxes. They have also announced a new category of Silver Wings Kit - the Silver Limited Edition kit.

The concept with these kits will be subjects which we feel deserve a little something extra. The Silver Limited Edition kits will include a distinctive box design with original "in motion" drawings, a high-quality printed poster, additional metal parts (such as gun barrels), and increased amount of available markings included in the box. Silver Limited Edition kits will be produced in a very limited series which from definition will not be repeated once sold-out.

Getting back to the long-awaiting Fokker D.XXI kit – here is the first model from Silverwings for 2015. It has three colourful markings schemes - two Dutch and one German. They are now ready to accept orders for this kit. Please write them at silverwings@silverwings.pl for order details or order via your local distributor’s website.

History of the Fokker D.XXI

Designed by Anthony Fokker in 1935, the Fokker D.XXI first flew on March 27th, 1936. The system was originally intended to fill the ranks of the Netherlands East Indies Army Air Service but the arrival of World War 2 eventually pressed it into service with Finland, Denmark and Netherlands air force units against Germany. Operationally, the D.XXI proved a reliable airframe with solid performance specifications, good manoeuvrability and was relatively inexpensive to produce. At the time it proved quite a revolutionary step forwards for the Dutch, with many of its current aircraft still resembling the biplanes of a forgotten era of military aviation. 200 planes were produced in Netherlands with additional license-production occurring in both Denmark and Finland.

Armament initially consisted of 4 x 7.92mm FN Browning M36 machine guns, two mounted in the upper engine cowling synchronized to fire through the spinning propeller blades with an additional two in the wings (one to a wing). Finnish-produced aircraft had their cowling machine guns relocated to the wings, paired with the existing two.

Deployment of the D.XXI began as early as 1936 with limited quantities used for the first time in anger by the Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War. By May of 1940, D.XXIs were quantitatively available to the Dutch Air Force in time to combat the German invasion. With only 28 Fokker D.XXIs in service to them, Dutch pilots of the Dutch Army Aviation Group valiantly faced a better foe fielding the impressive Messerschmitt BF 109 inline-engined, single-seat monoplane fighters. D.XXI's held their own against the well-trained and confident invaders during a barely-week-long stretch, though the Netherlands eventually capitulated to the Nazis after this five-day span - receiving little help from the Allies. For their short time in service with the defending Dutch pilots, May 10th represented the aircraft's finest day in combat scoring an impressive 37 total air kills - though it should be noted that this occurred against Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft. In all, the Netherlands fielded a total of 36 D.XXIs.

License production D.XXIs in Finland ran from 1939 until 1944. These systems were differentiated by the aforementioned machine gun allocation as well as internal provisions to take on either the Bristol Pegasus or Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp Junior radial engines of 825 horsepower. Finnish D.XXI's fared surprisingly well against the early-form Soviet fighters in their Winter War - the Soviet Union's invasion of Finland - making up seven Finnish Air Force squadrons. Over the subsequent months, the D.XXI quickly became outclassed by the better-armed and better-performing Soviet fighters. Despite this, several Finnish pilots were able to achieve "ace" status flying these machines. In all, Finland produced 90 such D.XXIs and received a noted delivery of at least 7 more systems.

As the other license-producer of the aircraft, Denmark D.XXIs operated against the German Luftwaffe in March of 1940. Denmark produced 15 new-build systems and received at least 7 more D.XXIs.

The Fokker D.XXI also operated under German Luftwaffe markings as captured systems reintegrated into service. The number of aircraft in use by the Luftwaffe was unknown.

Fokker D.XXI Technical data:

Length: 8,2 m

Width: 11,00 m

Height: 2,95 m

Empty weight: 1,450 kg

Powerplant: 1x Bristol Mercury VIII 9-cylinder radial piston engine delivering 830 hp

Maximum speed: 460 km/h

Maximum range: 950 km

Service ceiling: 11,000 m

Armament: 2× 7,92 mm FN-Browning M.36 fixed forward firing in the upper nose, 500 rounds each + 2× 7,92 mm FN-Browning M.36 fixed forward firing in the wing leading edge, 300 rounds each

Kit includes:

- 160 resin parts