Blue Max 1/48 LFG Roland D.VIa By John Impenna

Background

A beautifully designed and sleek looking fighter, the Roland D.VI never performed "as good as it looked". It represented very little, if any, improvement over the Albatros D.V. Its "clinker" type fuselage construction, overlapping planks, made it much easier to maintain and did give it a much stronger fuselage than the standard fabric over wood. Being outclassed in every category by the Fokker D.VII, which was making its debut around the same time as the Roland, it was quickly relegated to training/pilot break-in status at the front.

The Kit

This esthetically pleasing little fighter is Pegasus Models latest addition to their Blue Max line of WWI aircraft in 1/48th scale. Previously, this kit was only available in this scale via the very nice Sierra Scale Vac-form kit. The Blue Max is a limited-run kit and as such is not a 'shake-n-bake'' build. It will require some previous modeling experience, but nothing that can't be easily handled.

The plastic parts on are four sprues with some minor flash present. This, and larger than usual mold gates, are typical of the low-pressure molding process utilized by limited-run kit producers. Again, nothing that should stop you if you have a few kits under your belt! The relatively lower cost of this production technique allows producers such as Pegasus to make kits that sell in lower quantities and are therefore less profitable. This also lets them create interesting subjects such as this that would never be kitted by the "Tamigawas' of the world!!

The detail on this kit is extremely well done. The 'clinker' paneling on the fuselage is beautifully represented on this kit. And as always, Blue Max's flying surface rib detail is the best of any WWI kits on the market. Interior side wall detail is a little on the sparse side, but more than enough for a good start. The ailerons are molded separately from the rest of the wings for you to position as you like. The soft plastic makes cleanup very easy. Two horizontal stabilizers are provided for each of the two versions you can make from the kit.

All detail parts, cockpit interior, guns, wheels, struts, etc are in white metal. These parts are very well cast and nicely detailed. A little flash cleanup will be required, but there are no mold lines or marks present. The prop is especially well done. The cockpit parts include a seat, floor, front and back rib panels, joystick and rudder bar. All are very well done. The guns are very nicely cast and will look very convincing as is. Some may want to add photo-etch cooling jackets for that extra touch, but you can get away without them on these guns. The engine is also nice and screams for some extra detailing!

The decals are the usual Pegasus quality. These decals are extremely thin and lay down very nicely. The instructions and this reviewer recommend that you DO NOT use setting solutions on these decals. They adhere beautifully to a glossed surface. Two versions are given and detailed color instructions are provided on the one-page exploded view instruction sheet. While lozenge-fabric decals are not provided, there are several sources that you can get them from. Pegasus and Americal/Gryphon are two sources I can personally recommend. No rigging diagram is provided, however the beautifully done box art will provide a good rigging guide. A highly recommended reference source for this kit is the Windsock Datafile #37 Roland D.VI. This has many photos and detail drawings. An almost indispensable reference for this model.

Conclusion

This kit is, in my opinion, Blue Max's best to date. These kits just keep getting better! Not subscribing to the 'shake-n-bake' school of model building, I am probably more tolerant of limited-run kits than many others who complain about the slightest problem. I look at it as an extra challenge. Also, Blue Max kits are done well enough for them to be a "first step" into WWI limited production kits. Yes, they take a little longer to build, but what's the rush? These kits definitely improve your model building skills and will make it a piece of cake when it comes time to enhancing that Tamigawa on your bench! Highly recommended. Now, back to that Smer Nieuport !!

Our thanks go to Squadron Mail Order for the review sample.