Toko 1/72 Aviatik (Berg) DI

TOKO 1:72 AVIATIK (BERG) DI

Reviewer: Richard Stracey (rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted: 15 September 2002 (#48)

Kit Details:
Toko #120; this kit is also reboxed by Eastern Express - #72165

Aircraft:
The chief designer of the Osterreichiche- Ungarische Flugzeugfabrik Aviatik Co. was Dpl.Ing.Julius von Berg so, fortunately, his designs were known simply as Aviatik (Berg). The D1 was a single seat fighter developed from the C1 two seat reconnaissance aircraft. Produced from early 1917 to the end of the war it was powered by a water cooled, in line Austro-Daimler engine of between 185 to 225 HP and armed with two fixed 8 mm Schwarzlose machine guns. Seven hundred and forty D1’s were built and from all accounts were good aircraft but with some structural weakness and engine cooling problems.

The Kit:
This Toko kit has been around for some time and since Toko ceased producing kits it has surfaced under the Eastern Express name. It consists of thirty nine parts in crisp grey plastic. The instructions and colour guide are comprehensive and quote Humbrol paint numbers. This is not the first D1 kit as, amongst others, Aeroclub made a limited run one (#K003).

Construction:
The construction is very simple but, due to the decals, the sequence of assembly must be altered. The engine is a nice little model in it’s own right but little of it can be seen. The bulkhead and dashboard (A28 & A11) need a slight trim to fit and the holes for the rudder pedals, joy stick and seat opened up before the fuselage halves are joined.

The exhausts (A3), skid (A6), Guns (A1), radiator cap (A5), wings, tail and undercarriage must be added after all decals have been applied. The entire aircraft can be undercoated in whatever colour you choose to depict “clear doped linen” (decals stick better to a painted surface than to bare plastic).

Just a “smear” of filler is needed around the radiator and all location holes need carefully reaming out. I trimmed the decal away from the fuselage where the lower wing met the fuselage, gluing the wing to a decal will really give the model prototypical structural weakness! Other than that, the wings and tail fit very well.

Both decal options show “bare” wheels. Toko have attempted to depict this by exaggerating the spokes. Unfortunately, this results in them looking like they came off a Tonka toy. They could be replaced by Aeroclub VO44 10.5 mm German WWI wheel set or…… I wrapped two lengths of electrical wire tightly round an Exacto handle, cut and glued the ends, painted the resulting rings dark grey and that took care of the tyres. I then carefully measured the internal diameter and using a divider, scribed two circles on clear plastic, scribed spokes, drilled holes for the axles and cut them out with nail scissors.

It was then just a matter of gluing the wheels into the tyres. It took all of fifteen min. and looks good.

Versions & Decals:
Now for the most time consuming and difficult part of the operation- the decals! Two options are supplied, the machine that Frank Linke Crawford was killed in and one Ukrainian one flown by Petro Franko. Be warned, if you are not very experienced in decaling, either choose another kit or another colour scheme (many D1’s had plain varnished plywood fuselages). The decal printing and artwork are first class but they tend to split and the edges (which all need trimming) break up. I got the fuselage decal on more by luck than judgement and everything needed touching up. For this I found that Testors Rust 1785, Testors Willow Green 2028 and Humbrol Blue 48 suitably lightened with white worked well.

There is some controversy concerning the lozenge colours and I have seen the “L” on the top wing and the fuselage panel depicted as red. I have also read that, unlike normal lozenge which was pre painted fabric, this “giant” lozenge was hand painted. That means that the ailerons would match the wing fabric not separate as Toko have depicted them. I was satisfied with the colours and after nearly one hundred years, I doubt if we will ever know for certain. The final job is to rig the machine, not forgetting the tail. For this I used fine wire and white glue. A small windscreen also needs to be scratchbuilt.

Overall:
In conclusion, a fine model only let down by the wheels and the technical side of the decals (have Eastern Express improved them?). Information on the D1 can be found in Profile #151 and the Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Aircraft V3 p.618. Scale Models of Sep.’81 has an article on Frank Linke Crawford that includes a photo of this aircraft. I typed “Aviatik” into the Internet search engine and was amazed on how many sites referred to the D1! Have a look.

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