Dave, triumf, feels great to be back! ![Thumbs Up [tup]](/emoticons/icon_smile_thumbsup.gif)
Bob, I've yet to build a Roden D.VII, but here's a review....
http://kits.kitreview.com/roden415reviewrb_1.htm
I have built an Eduard D.VII, so I'll do my best to compare the two based on what I've read and what I've actually done.
There is no major cleanup of parts required on the Eduard kit except for the usual mold lines present on every model. These are small on the Eduard kit and easily dealt with. The upper and lower wing halves fit great, so when cleaning up the seams after gluing there is no loss of the scalloping on the trailing edges. The Eduard cockpit appears to be more comprehensive than the Roden kit, but not by much...the Roden cockpit still looks real nice. Here it's the PE that makes the difference and gives the edge to Eduard. I know for a fact that with careful alignment, the struts on the Eduard kit require no trimming to properly mount the upper wing. Eduard does not give you the option of building it with the engine completely exposed...kind of a shame, because the engine is gorgeous! Roden does not appear to supply you with lozenge for the inner cockpit walls and rear cockpit bulkheads like the Eduard kit does. That was a real nice touch on Eduard's part. The guns with the Roden kit look a lot nicer than the Eduard ones, until you add all that PE...then the Eduard guns kick butt! Both kits give you separate ailerons for the upper wing and elevator/rudder for the tail surfaces (I really like that!).....just be careful how you position the stick and rudder pedals if you show these in anything but a neutral position.
The wing rib detail is more pronounced on the Eduard kit (Roden's is more to scale and probably more accurate), but once the lozenge is applied, the locations for all those rib tapes will be easier to see on the Eduard kit, and the rib detail will also look less conspicuous and more to scale at that point.
The main gear assembly on the Eduard kit is tricky....4 individual struts that have to be lined up at the same time and mounted to both the lower fuselage/wing and the axle, so you're basically dealing with eight attachment points at once. It takes a little fiddling, but everything lines up properly. The Roden kit might be easier there, but the Eduard kit will look more accurate.
I can't vouch for Roden's decals having never actually tried them, but the Eduard decals went on without a problem, and I like the fact that their lozenge decals/rib tapes are pre-cut to the shapes/lengths you need and require little trimming. Plus, you get both 4-color and 5-color lozenge. Both kits give you options for 4 aircraft, but Eduards are far more comprehensive, and the full-color instructions are very nicely printed.
One more note on the Eduard cockpit...aligning each part individually (gluing it to one fuselage half and taping the halves together with the part aligned) and giving it a little time to set up before moving on to the next one will assure you of a near-perfect fit of all major cockpit components between both fuselage halves.
The Eduard kit, with a little patience, pretty much just falls together. It's about as close to a 'shake & bake' as one can get for a WWI biplane.
Now, I know I haven't covered everything, but if you have any specific questions about the Eduard kit, I'll be more than happy to answer them the best I can.