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Sopwith Snipe Post War RAF 1:32 Pheon Decals The release of Wingnut Wings Sopwith Snipe in 'late' form opened up the possibilty of post war colour 'Silver Wing' schemes, and indeed the kit does provide a couple of options. As the Snipe was selected as the mainstay of the post war fighter squadrons there are many more potential schemes, and Pheon Decals have come up with a comprehensive sheet to cover them. Printed by Fantasy Printshop on A4 sized decal paper, first impressions are excellent. The colours look to be spot on, and have good opacity. Where there is a doubt about original colour, such as the number '5' on option three for the 111 sqn machine, you get both red and black decals to make your own choice with. The printing is pin sharp and carrier film hard to see, but thin and minimal. Separate centres are provided for the three colour roundels and various parts have cut outs where they need to fit around projecions like footseps. I particularly like the fin markings for option 5, which are supplied as either just the star element for you to paint the black yourself, or as an overall covering for the whole fin. Star mask patterns are in the instructions should you wish to paint the black. Note how beautifully fine the printing is. It is an intelligently designed sheet, optimised to give you the parts for as many different finishes as possible. There is barely any wasted space, but the designs are not so closely packed as to make it difficult to remove the various elements. Finally, nothing is duplicated from what is already supplied with the kit, the sheet providing all the unique elements required for each aircraft. Four A4 sheets printed on thick glossy card are provided in full colour showing side profiles, with plan views of wings where required. All options are in overall silver with paint variations in silver doped or natural metal areas, and varnished wood or painted struts, as well as the decal options themselves. Accompanying these is an 11 page instruction booklet containing some history of the Snipe, information on using the decals, and a little write up for each option, including some colour photos of the RAF museum Snipe. Note that options 10 and 11 require you to paint the single colour fuselage stripes yourself, a simple task if you have a roll of Tamiya tape to hand. Personally I rather like that Pheon have made use of the space on the sheet to squeeze in a couple more options rather than leave blank space. The options are; (1) E6655, 'B' Flight, 1 Sqn, Iraq 1925. (2) E6942, 'A' Flight, No. 3(F) Sqn, RAF Manston, 1924. (3) f2441, 111 Sqn, Duxford, 1924. (4) F2408, 23 Sqn, Henlow, 1925/6. (5) E6268, 32 Sqn, Kenley, 1924. (6) F2527, 111 Sqn, 'A' Flight Commander, Duxford, 1924. (7) E7538, 19 Sqn, Duxford, 1924. (8) E8358, 'Bonzo' No.1 School of Technical Training, RAF Halton, 1923. (9) E7528, 25(F) Sqn, San Stefano, Constantinople during the Chanak crisis, September 1922. (10) E6825, 41 Sqn, Northolt, 1923. (11) E7423, 25(F) Sqn, Hawkings, 1923/4. Conclusion. Pheon have produced an outstanding set of decals here, both in terms of the selection of options and the actual quality of the decals themselves. The icing on the cake is the full colour profiles and the instruction booklet to guide you through them all. I am having real trouble deciding which one to select for my Snipe currently under construction, because I want to do at least six of them. A decision must be made however, and if I have to short list three they are, Options (1), (5), and (8). An almost impossible but very enjoyable decision to have to make! The Wingnut Wings Snipe is an exeptional kit, one of the best of the best, and without a doubt Pheon have produced a decal sheet worthy of it. Very highly recommended Review sample courtesy of Pheon Decals. [Edit] I've just discovered that Pheon will be at the IPMS Barnet show taking place at the RAF museum Hendon on 19th May. With luck they will have the latest releases including a sheet for the 'early' Snipe kit with Willam Barkers E8102 on it (Wingnuts missed a trick with this one). Plus some Fokker D.VII's in the Red/White Jasta 18 'Ravens' colours, and some captured Canadian examples. The new sheets for the Hannover should be ready too. Lovers of Wingnut Wings kits form an orderly queue! [/Edit]

30010 Fokker D.VII (F) Fighting Fokkers Part 5. Following on from the 'Fighting Fokkers'decal sets 1 to 5 which cover the Fokker, Albatros, and OAW built D.VII's Wingnut Wings have released another set for the new Fokker D.VII(F) kit. The instructions look very similar to those in Wingnuts kits, being printed on the same glossy paper and with the same high standard of information. The first page consists of side profiles whilst the subsequent three pages show upper and lower views, and contemporary black and white photographs of the actual aircraft. With call outs for each decal number and also paint colours, there should be no room for doubt about what goes where. A list is even provided with each scheme to inform you which engine parts from the kit will be required. The subjects are well chosen, giving a nice variety of different types of scheme from von Hantelmanns red and white 465/18, Loerzers black and white striped 7716/18, through to Fritz Haacks half black half white machine with an owl painted on the side, which is a scheme I have never seen before. The decals themselves are by Cartograf, very cleanly printed on thin carrier film, with good colours and perfect registration. The main sheet is A4 sized with a smaller supplementary sheet of wing and fuselage and lots of detail items like data plates, instrument faces, propeller logos etc. No lozenge decals are supplied as these will be found in the base kit anyway. Once again Wingnut Wings have provided 'modelers gold' with a superb set of very attractive and presented decal options. The only problem you will have is deciding which one to go for, particularly as the kit itself contains five lovely options. World War One aviation modelers, you've never had it so good! Very highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of

The Bristol M1.C is not such a well known aircraft from the Fisrt World War, as it was largely restricted to use in the Middle East and with training units, due to monoplanes being out of favour at the time it appeared. It is a shame as it was by all accounts a superb aeroplane, designed for speed and handling and was very well liked by those who flew it. Rarely kitted, Alley Cat have come up with a beautiful 1:32 model of Bristol's M1.C cast almost entirely in resin. Even in the box it looked impressive, a full review is Here. It built as good as it looked, being an absolute pleasure from start to finish. One of the most difficult things to do was choose one of the 7 colour schemes provided, because I really wanted to do three of them (72 Sqn or Silver & black trainer or 150 Sqn). In the end I went with the 72 Squadron machine as I have a slight preference for front line machines. There is a 'Work in Progress' Here describing the build. Anyway, enough talk, here she is; Now I'm sure that this model is going to appeal especially to those of us who also build Wingnut Wings WW1 kits. So I couldn't resist a couple of pictures with it alongside my WNW Bristol F2.b. In conclusion I would say that this is an outstanding first venture into World War 1 kits by Alley Cat. The quality of the resin castings is worth special mention as they are absolutely superb. This was the single piece fuselage before I started; It would make a very good first resin kit, (apart from a disasterous ARBA TSR.2 twenty odd years ago this was my first full resin build), and the rigging is very simple I hope Alley Cat continue with this series, and eagerly await the next release, whatever it will be. Can I start the suggestions rolling with a Fokker D.VIII? Please! (Eduard 1/48 Weekend edition) Cheers John

This is an all resin kit with a little bit of white metal and brass etch where appropriate. A full review is HERE so without further delay lets get stuck in! I already removed most of the interior parts from their casting blocks as part of the review, so was able to start assembling things straight away. A decision needs to be made about doing an armed or unarmed version as different cockpit coamings will be needed. There are so many nice options in the kit, but I'm always slightly more attracted to front line service machines so I'll probably go for the 72 Squadron one. (But the silver and black trainer is mighty appealing too ). The LeRhone engine was assembled first, with separate cylinders and induction pipes attached around the central crankcase. Valve pushrods still have to be added from stretched sprue, but it has had a coat of Halfords grey primer. I have assembled as much of the cockpit interior as I can, becuase it makes the final painted version much neater. Its a trade off between ease of assembly and ease of painting. I've left the rudder bar, joystick, seat and fuel tank off to be painted separately. A few bubbles in the resin appeared on the outside of the framework where I sanded it down after cutting from the casting block, but are nothing to worry about as they will not be visible on the finished model. Halfords grey primer has been used again to prepare the parts for paint. One concern I had was fitting the assembled cockpit framework into the big single cast piece fuselage, as anything less than a perfect fit was going to cause problems, particularly if it was too big. But look at this, full marks to Alley Cat, it is actually a perfect fit! Next stage is to get some paint on these parts. John

Its finished! I haven't posted much during the later stages of painting because it was pretty standard fair - Klear, weathering, klear, decals, klear, matt varnish, last bits of weathering. Original build thread here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234934871-132-revell-hurricane-iic-5-sqn-burma-1944-45/ The only construction elements were adding the undercarriage legs and wheels, although that was not simple nor straightforward as the modifications needed to fit with the GMF Resin wheelbays meant a lot of realigning, detaching the doors from the legs, rebuilding the extra door panels and general alignment issues. I also manage to break off the pilots step two or three times and had to eventually rebuild it as the hoop got swallowed by the carpet monster. Since taking these photos I've realised I've forgotten to attach the pilot's rer-view mirror and the pilot tube under the wing doh! Anyway here are the photos of the completed diorama... I'm very happy to have finished but somewhat frustrated that there are still numerous faults with the model. The vast majority of these come down to the awful Revell kit. This really is a bad kit and IMHO if you own it, use it as landfill as its nothing but junk! The GMF additions help, but generate their own issues, not least with the interaction between the Mk II nose and the cockpit interior. They really need to sort that out. Anyway, here it is - I doubt if it will win any prizes, but its an interesting diorama and I am happy with it for all its shortcomings I know I will definitely produce a better model later in the year when I do the 1:32 Hobbyboss Spitfire Vb trop converted into a Vc trop as would have been used when my Dad was with 81 Sqn in Algeria in 1943! Watch for that one later this year

Finally decided upon this as its simple (so should be quick and easy), I've built the kit before so know what to expect and it epitomises the transition from Biplane to Monoplane fighters... Not sure what scheme yet - have both the Minicraft kit decals and the old Microscale sheet. Iain

As mentioned elsewhere - kit received - there's an extra sprue not shown in instructions that *looks* like it has the upper nose, different tail and a host of other parts for the HMA8!! The sprue is labelled 'Q' and includes most of the parts I *think* you need to build a Royal Navy HMA8 - with a cut and shut plus hinges to add the differing tail to the tail boom as moulded by Revell. Here's the sprue in question: EDIT: Almost tempted to make some patterns once I establish what needs to be done! (I know - should finish the Lightning stuff - but this looks a *lot* easier! ) Will post more pix/findings over next few days... Iain

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc MA574 'A' GC 1/7 'Provence'. Armee de L'Air, Algeria. Late 1943 I have been able to find out to much about this plane other than the WWII records show she was produced at Castle Bromwich and shipped to Casablanca and handed over to the Free French Air Force. I found one wartime Black and White photo of her and from this I have based most of the build. Her fate is unknown, but I did find one reference to her having been lost around Lyon later in the war. There also seems to be lots of references on the web to another Spitfire with the same registration, serving with a polish Squadron and it crashing in Kent. The date given was the same as the arrival date of this Spitfire in Casablanca. Was there two Spitfire Mk.IX with the same serial? Or more likely the reference to the 'Polish' one has had the serial recorded wrongly. Anyway, enough of the history and on with the model. Kit: Tamiya Scale: 1:32 Paint: Tamiya Weathering: Tamiya Decals: Kit and OH Models Extras: None, OOB Build: Photobucket Library Thanks for looking

WW1 German Engine & Ammo sets. 1:32 Taurus Models Taurus Models produce a number of resin sets for the WW.1 modeller, ranging from complete engines in both 1/48th and 1/32nd, to individual engine components and guns. Britmodeller has received three sets for review, two for the Mercedes D.III engines and one to enhance the Observers guns on German two seaters.The castings are all very fine, free of air bubbles or any blemishes, and look to be of excellent quality. Most of the pictures here are larger than life size so I have included a UK penny to give some indication of scale. Set 3205. Ammunition 7.92 This set consists of a loaded ammo belt, an empty ammo belt, individual bullets, and spent shells. It is a great idea, the empty belt can be placed hanging off a Parabellum or similar to depict a gun that has been in action. Scatter a few of the spent shells on the floor to complete the representation. The loaded belt can of course be wound around an ammo drum, or be used in numerous ways in a diorama. The instructions note that warming in hot water will allow you to shape the belts, and it's nice to see that a painting guide is included.All three parts; The empty belt The loaded belt Empty bullet cases (back), complete bullets (front) I accidentally knocked 1 bullet off (they really are tiny) Set 3207a. Valves, Lifters, and Timing Gear for Mercedes D.III. (easy to paint) There are four casting blocks with camshaft, rocker covers, lifters, and valve springs. The camshaft, rocker covers, and lifters will directly replace the 'all in one' kit part, and you will need to cut off the valve springs from the kits cylinder heads, which should be a simple task. All these parts are so small and delicate that if the carpet monster gets hold of any you will be lucky to see them again. The D.III being a six cylinder engine means that you will need twelve lifters and twelve valve springs, so it is pleasing to note that there are fourteen of each. Assembly looks simple enough, although fine tweezers and a magnifying device will be needed. The camshaft; Rocker covers; Valves/springs; Lifting arms; Set 3207b. Valves, Lifters, and Timing Gear for Mercedes D.III. (easy to assemble) Very similar to the above set, the difference is that the camshaft and rocker covers come as a single piece, thus simplifying construction. The lifters and valve springs are the same castings as above, and the same comments apply. Conclusion The ammunition set is a lovely little enhancement for the Wingnuts German two seaters, and will provide that final touch of 'lived in' realism to your model.The shells will probably best be painted in the resin block, and then nipped off and stuck down on the interior floor with varnish or Johnson's Kleer. The Mercedes DIII was very widely used, so the engine sets are applicable to several German aircraft in the Wingnuts range. On almost all of them the most visible part is the camshaft and valves on top of the engine, as this area was hardly ever cowled over. Thus it is an excellent choice by Taurus offer parts to sharpen up this exposed detail. The Wingnuts DIII engine as it comes from the box is very nice, so I didn't think I would ever be looking at parts to improve it. But either of these engine sets will enhance your DIII, and I'm looking forward to using them on my next Fokker D.VII build. If you like to add extras and improvements, you will certainly want to get a set of these. (In fact I notice that Taurus also do a set of 1/32 spark plugs, which will be a great help for those of us who like to add ignition wiring, as the plugs are not moulded on the kit engines). Highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of

Just a 'heads up' if you are not in the habit of visiting the Aircraft reviews section. The new Alley Cat 1/32 Bristol M1.C has been received at Britmodeller and is reviewed Here Cheers John

Bristol M1.C 1:32 Alley Cat I first remember becoming aware of this aircraft in the 1970's when Kelloggs were giving away little kits of First World War planes in their cereals, I think around 1/144 scale. I seem to recall an Albatros, Camel, SE5a, and Fokker Triplane, as well as this strange little monoplane I had never heard of. Well in those days my knowledge of aircraft was largely limited to what Airfix produced, and they never did a Bristol M1.C. That seems to sum up this nice little aircraft, few people have heard of it and it has largely become forgotten with the passage of time. =It is a shame because it was by all accounts a very successful design, and something of a 'hot ship'. Designed by Frank Barnwell (F2.b, Bulldog, Blenheim), it made great use of streamlining to obtain maximum performance, most notably by eliminating the more usual biplane wing and all its associated strutting and rigging. The single shoulder mounted wing with minimal bracing, and neatly cowled Le Rhone 9J with its big spinner contributed to it being some 40 to 50 mph faster than similar German and French aircraft. Entering service with the Royal Flying Corps in 1917, the Air Ministry felt that it was unsuitable for service on the Western Front. This was largely due to a prejudice against monoplanes, part of the official reasoning being that it had too high a landing speed for the small French airfields. Those that did serve in front line squadrons did so in the Middle East and Balkans, where Captain Frederick Travers of 150 Sqn. obtained five kills with his M1.C. Many others served in UK based training units and seem to have been quite highly prized as personal 'hacks' by senior officers, there being a number of highly colourful paint jobs applied to unarmed M1.C's. There have been few kits of Bristols 'Bullet', CMR did one in 1/72 and Blue Max and Spin Models in 1/48, but now we have a 1/32 offering in resin from Alley Cat. The Kit. It is contained in a very sturdy cardboard box that should comfortably resist the worst that the postal services can throw at it. Inside are three bags of resin parts, one with white metal and brass rod, and one of photo etch, along with a sheet of decals and the instructions. What really drew my attention was the large casting for the fuselage. This is beautifully done with not a sink or air bubble in it anywhere to be seen. The front half is hollow and features stringer work on the interior, whilst the exterior effect of fabric covering the stringers is first rate. All to often this can be overdone (think Hasegawa 1/48 Hurricane), but Alley Cat have got it looking most realistic, just like nice taut fabric doped over a framework should be As it comes, the forward section over the cockpit is covered by resin. It is a simple job to run a sharp No. 11 blade around it to open it up. The next largest pieces are the wings, cast as single units with restrained rib tape detail and nicely thin trailing edges. Both are warp free and will only require removal of casting tabs and minimal cleaning up of flash and seam lines. The other two resin bags contain a multitude of parts for the cockpit, engine, and remaining flying surfaces. Again all of them are beautifully cast and blemish and warp free. The side framework and cross pieces are all supplied on resin blocks so will require careful removal with a razor saw. Floor, rudder pedals, instrument panel and fuel tank are all provided, and should make up into a nice busy looking interior. A nice touch is the choice of two seats, with and without lap belts, so if you prefer you can use a set of aftermarket belts on one. Personally I usually favour the cast in ones as they often have a more natural look. A minor gripe is the lack of any instrument decals for the panel, the spares box or delicate hand painting will have to provide these. Separate coamings are provided for armed and unarmed versions, along with a nicely cast Vickers gun. The 'V' strutting over the cockpit opening is also in resin, and will need care in removing it from the casting blocks, although the webbing is commendably thin and should present no problems to a sharp blade. Two Coamings are provided, for the armed and unarmed versions. A nice little clear resin windshield for the unarmed version rounds off the cockpit fittings. The Le Rhone engine is made up of separate cylinders and induction pipes around a central carnkcase. All the detail is pin sharp and you will probably want to add your own stretched sprue push rods and ignition wires. Interestingly the prop hub is a separate part that fits inside a one piece spinner/prop unit. A very elegant solution to making this unit. A little bit of thin flash will need removing from the centre of the spinner, again a No.11 blade will make short work of this. Given then potential weight of the completed model, the undercarriage legs are sensibly cast in white metal, with brass rods for axles. Tailplanes, fin, rudder and ailerons all come as separate items with a nicely rendered fabric effect. Again all parts are pin hole and warp free. Rigging points are provided as small resin stubs that fit over etched brass reinforcement plates. Holes are recessed into the wing parts to accept them, so there should be no problems with setting it all up. I would recommend the use of 2lb Maxima Chameleon fishing line for the rigging itself, although doubtless everyone has their own preference.The etched sheet also has the control horns for the movable control surfaces. I must admit to being a little wary of resin kits, due to the perceived fragility of the parts and difficulty in getting them off their casting blocks without damage So although this is an 'in box' review, I thought it would be useful to get my razor saw out and see just how difficult, or not, it would be to prepare some of the components. Using the razor saw on the heavier blocks and a knife blade on the thinner parts, I am happy to report that it was stress and trouble free. The parts that most worried me were the large interior frameworks, but they were pretty straightforward. I used the razor saw on the shortest side, with the part on the workbench and sawed gently along the length of it in a horizontal plane, like filleting a fish! Both parts came away nicely and were smoothed off with a bit of wet and dry sandpaper. The only part I broke was the 'L' shaped control column when cutting it out with a knife, but it was a simple job to cyano both parts back together. I found a pin hole on two of the fine cross braces, so put a dot of cyano on each using a pin. This fills & strengthens the part before cutting it from the casting block. It is remarkable that on a kit with this much resin, I was only able to find two tiny pin holes. All these parts were done in about an hour, and are proof that there is nothing to fear about preparing resin parts. Marking options. Given The M1.c's use as a 'hack' and at training schools, there are some quite colourful options to be found. Alley Cat offer a good representative selection of three front line and four School machines. They are; 1. A 72 Squadron machine in PC.12 with grey panels and clear doped wing undersides. Featuring a red spinner and white zig zag motif on the fuselage. 2. A 150 Squadron machine, C4291, in PC.12 with grey panels. Undersides are light blue. 3. Another 150 Squadron machine, C4907, similar to C4291 above. 4. C4960 of No. 1 School of aerial Fighting. PC.12 with clear doped wing undersides. Tail, wheels, and spinner are all in roundel blue. 5. C5019. Overall silver with black front fuselage and a skull & crossbones motif. 6. C5001 No.4 Auxiliary School of Aerial Gunnery. Overall red with clear doped wing undersides. This aircraft still exists, being preserved in Minlaton, South Australia. 7. C4940. A PC.12 finished aircraft covered with white stripes, including the undersides. Served at Turnberry. The decal sheet is A5 sized and contains a full set of roundels with separate red centre spots, plus all the individual markings and serial numbers required. They look nice and thin with good colour density, and thoughtfully include some extra strips of red, white, and blue in case you need to do any touch up patching. The instructions are a single exploded view with sub drawings for the cockpit, engine, decking, propeller, and rigging. It all looks perfectly clear what should go where, and it is a pretty simple aircraft anyway. No colour information is provided for the interior or engine, but this should not be too much of a problem as it will be a logical mix of natural wood, clear doped linen, natural metals etc. I don't have any 1/32 drawings of the M.1c, but for those who like a quick comparison with drawings, the Windsock Datafile 52 'Bristol M.1' 1/48 drawings enlarged to 1/32 shows the major parts have very close conformity, which is reassuring. Conclusion. It's good to see another manufacturer venturing into First World War aviation, and Alley Cat have made a very sensible choice for their first release. The M1.C is an attractive aircraft and the lack of complicated strutting and minimal rigging makes it suitable for all but the complete novice. The quality of the resin castings is extremely good, probably among the best I have seen. There is no warpage, I only found two tiny pin holes, and everything came through the post without breakage. Dry assembling the wings to the fuselage reveals a very tidy fit, which bodes well for the rest of the build. Add to the mix that the surface finish of the fabric areas looks most realistic, and I would think that Alley Cat have a winner on their hands. (An 'out of the box' build thread will start very soon, this kit looks irresistible). [EDIT]Resistance is futile! Build has started Here [/EDIT] An excellent and most welcome entry into 1/32 WW1 aviation, highly recommended. Kit Number ACRK32-10 Review sample courtesy of

A-4F Skyhawk Detail Sets (for Trumpeter 1:32 A-4E) 1:32 Eduard Eduard 1:32 A-4F Interior 32 738 To enhance the Trumpeter 1:32 A-4F Skyhawk, Eduard have released a number of etched brass detailing sets to further enhance your build. Instructions This 2 part set deals with the cockpit tub. Part 1 is pre painted and has an adhesive coating applied to the rear face to enable attachment to the kit parts without glue. It comprises of a new instrument panel and handles, replacement HUD, side switch/instrument panels and details for the floor of the tub including pedals. The second unpainted sheet provides new side panels, ejector seat rail details and canopy detailing. Some minor bending and fettling will be required to enable the canopy detailing items to conform to the complex curves of the canopy. Eduard 1:32 A-4F Exterior Set 32 739 Instructions This set comes on two sheets of etched brass, one is pre painted and comprises of details for the avionics box faces and chaff/flare dispensers. The second larger seat contains detailing material for the undercarriage, undercarriage bays, landing gear, wheels, air brakes, engine and airframe and will add some more finesse to the Trumpeter kit. Review sample courtesy of

A-4E Skyhawk Detail Sets (for Trumpeter 1:32 A-4E) 1:32 Eduard To enhance the recent release of the sublime Trumpeter 1:32 A-4E Skyhawk, Eduard have released a number of etched brass detailing sets to further enhance your build. Instructions This is a simple etched brass set and is intended to enhance the weapons fit included in the Kit. It provides detailing parts for the weapons pylons, a pylon extension (part no 7 on the photograph), fuel caps for the drop tanks, Multiple ejection rack details, arming propellers (nose and body) and body details for the Mk 117's, Mk 82's and Mk 82 Snakeyes and finally detail enhancements for the AGM12 and AGM 45. Trumpeter normally push the boat out when it includes weapons in its kits and this set will go some way to provide extra detail. Eduard 1:32 A-4E Landing Flaps Set 32 304 Instructions This set enhances the flap area of the kit and provides replacement faces, hinges and joints. some very minor removal of material will be required from the kit parts. Eduard 1:32 A-4E Slats Set 32 305 Instructions A set that will involve a bit more work on behalf of the modeller. This includes replacing the kit vortex generators on the upper surface of the wing. Thoughtfully, Eduard have included some templates, which when folded and married up to the wing will provide the correct placement points for the etched brass replacements. The under surfaces of the slats and leading edge of the wing also receive replacement faces. Eduard 1:32 A-4E Interior 32 719 Instructions This 2 part set deals with the cockpit tub. Part 1 is pre painted and has an adhesive coating applied to the rear face to enable attachment to the kit parts without glue. It comprises of a new instrument panel and handles, replacement HUD, side switch/instrument panels and details for the floor of the tub including pedals. The second unpainted sheet provides new side panels, ejector seat rail details and canopy detailing. Some minor bending and fettling will be required to enable the canopy detailing items to conform to the complex curves of the canopy. Eduard 1:32 A-4E Escapac Ejection Seat IA-1 Belts 32 724 Instructions More than the its title suggests, this small pre-painted etched brass set contains not only the belts, but seat sides, ejection handles, cushion details, handles, levers, placards and buckles. It will require some careful bending and threading to make up the belts, but will certainly enhance the kit ejection seat. Eduard 1:32 A-4E Exterior Set 32 730 Instructions This set comes on two sheets of etched brass, one is pre painted and comprises of details for the avionics box faces and chaff/flare dispensers. The second larger seat contains detailing material for the undercarriage, undercarriage bays, landing gear, wheels, air brakes, engine and airframe and will add some more finesse to the Trumpeter kit. Review sample courtesy of

OK - I've been slacking on Connie, the Ju 52 and the Lightning stuff - but I have been busy with this: It's, erm, a bit large to photograph on a kitchen worktop! Hopefully paint at the weekend Iain

Bell P-39 Airacobra Revell 1:32 The P-39 Airacobra was designed in 1937 in response to a tender by the U.S. Army Air Corps. In many respects the P-39 Airacobra was an unusual aircraft. The basic idea was to install a powerful engine as close as possible to the aircraft's centre of gravity in order to improve manoeuvrability and stability. An Oldsmobile T-9 37 mm cannon fired through an opening in the propeller spinner. The P-39 was the first American fighter to fitted with a freely rotating nose-wheel. The Airacobra also aroused interest in the British Air Force; the RAF however later rejected the aircraft. The Russian Air Force also expressed strong interest in the aircraft and initially took delivery of 179 units. The U.S. Army Corps also equipped some of its newly formed units with theP-39, including the 8th and 35th Fighter Groups which operated out of New Guinea. Often underrated in the West the P-39 proved to be an exceptional aircraft in the Far East. Its top speed of 580 km/h was sufficient to dominate an A6M Zero in a dogfight. The Model Originally released by Special Hobby this kit came with pre-painted etch, resin exhausts and gunsight. This Revell re-pop doesn’t come with these, but it shouldn’t really matter too much to the general modeller. The kit comes in the rather feeble end opening box which Revell seem determined to stick with. The box art is of P-39D Air A Cutie, with a rather comely naked lady on the nose, in flight over an island in the Pacific. Inside the box, there are 5 large, and 2 small sprues of light grey styrene and one small of clear. The parts are all well moulded with only a small amount of flash, there are a few moulding pips and some strengthening bars where needed. Panel lines are nicely engraved along with raised detail as per the real aircraft. Beginning the build with the nose wheel bay, which is made up of five parts to produce the bay and a further two parts that make up the rear bulkhead and rear bay roof, which is also the cockpit floor. The well detailed cockpit is made up of the forward bulkhead to which the rudder pedals are attached. This assembly is then fitted to the cockpit floor along with port control box. The instrument panel is made up of upper and lower instrument clusters and lower binnacle. The panel is attached to the floor, whilst the two machine gun breeches are fitted between the front bulkhead and upper IP. The control stick, rear bulkhead, seat supports, seat and rear decking complete the cockpit. Before fitting the cockpit to the fuselage, frame parts, control boxes and auxiliary intake interior are fitted. The cockpit is then fitted and the fuselage halves are closed up and the two part radio is fixed to the rear decking. From the fuselage to the wings, the upper and lower horizontal tailplane halves are joined together as are each of the primary control surfaces. The moving surfaces are then attached to the fixed in the desired position. The single piece lower wing has the radiator intakes and outlets are fitted, as are the outer main landing gear boxed units, the inners being moulded to the wing. The outer wings and ailerons can then be attached. The completed wing is then fitted to the fuselage, with the horizontal tailplane assemblies and rudder. At the front fuselage, the front upper decking piece, which includes the nose machine gun troughs, is fitted, once 50g of nose weight has been added. The nose gear, consisting of two wheel halves, main oleo, two part scissor link is fitted to the nose gear bay once the prop shaft and uplock are fitted. The retraction struts and actuator are then attached to the oleo, followed by the nosewheel doors. The main gears are made up of four piece wheels/tyres, outer doors and scissor links. These assemblies are then fitted to their respective bays which are finished off with the inner doors and actuators. Whilst the model is upside down the lower navigation lights, landing light and radiator outlet flaps are fitted as is the optional drop tank and associated sway braces. Flipping the model over the exhausts, each are made up of two halves, which could be a little problematical with cleaning up of the seams. The completed exhausts are then fitted with their outer panels. In the cockpit, the gunsight mount, gunsight and sighting glass are fitted, followed by the main canopy and the two doors which can be posed open if required. The final parts of the build are the addition of the nose and wing machine gun muzzles and pitot probe are glued into place. The propeller is built up of the backplate; separate blades, spinner and cannon muzzle, and then attached to the aircraft. Decals The large decal sheet provides options for two aircraft. Air A Cutie, of the 36th Fighter Squadron, 8th Fighter Group at Milne Bay, New Guinea 1943 in olive drab over neutral grey with a white tail, or an un-named aircraft of the same squadron and group, in olive drab over neutral grey. The decals are nicely printed, with good opacity, in register and slightly matt. The spinner of the second option is provided as a decal since the complex pattern would take some painting, but the decal will probably take a fair bit of softening solution to fit. The same aircraft also has a large green band around the rear fuselage which could be painted instead if the right shade could be identified. Air A Cuties more noticeable insignia are the ladies either side of the nose, and these are pre-cut to fit the doors, but will take a bit of patience when fitting and the use of softening/setting solution to settle down over the raised panelling. Conclusion Another very nice re-pop from Revell, this kit will build into a very good looking model. I have only heard good things about this kit, in its Special Hobby incarnation and can’t see anything difficult in the build. There is no engine, or gun bay that you may see in other kits of this scale, but this is not really a problem as it simplifies the build and probably improves the fit. There is scope for adding extra detail in the cockpit and undercarriage bays, but that’s about it. Personally I would only add some seat straps and build it out of the box. I can easily recommend this model to anyone interested in an unusual looking aircraft in a nice size. Review sample courtesy of

Fokker D.VII Decals. 1:32 Wingnut Wings Although the Wingnut Wings D.VII kits already come with five different choices of markings in each box, they have released several sets to give you an even wider choice. Sensibly the individual sets offer extra schemes for one particular variant, so 'Fighting Fokkers Part 1' covers Fokker built aircraft, Part 2 Albatros, and Parts 3 & 4 OAW. Like in the kits, the decal instructions are printed in full colour on thick glossy paper, with drawings that look to be by Ronny Bar (although no credits are given). The first page consists of side profiles whilst the subsequent three show upper and lower views, and contemporary black and white photographs of the actual aircraft. With call outs for each decal number and also paint colours, there should be no room for doubt about what goes where. A list is even provided with each scheme to inform you which engine parts from the kit will be required for it. In each section there are a few paragraphs of text about the actual craft, and where known a little history about the pilots who flew it. This is a very nice touch which brings the subject matter to life. For instance, option D on the 'Part 1' sheet was flown by Max Holtzem, who after the war emigrated to the USA and ended up with North American Aviation as a Flight Inspector on P-51 Mustangs during the second world war. He remained active in aviation circles until his death in 1980 at the age of 87. Great little nuggets of information that characterise the Wingnut Wings attention to detail in all that they do. The decals themselves are by Cartograf, very cleanly printed on thin carrier film, with good colours and perfect registration. Most sheets are A4 sized with an A5 sized supplementary sheet of wing and fuselage crosses where required, as well as a plethora of data plates, propeller logos, instrument faces etc. None of the sets contain lozenge decals as these will all be found in the base kit anyway. (Notes - German aircraft were given a serial number followed with a '/' and the year of manufacture. So 373/18 is D.VII number 373, built in 1918. Jagstaffeln (Jasta)numbers are sometimes followed with a letter. these denote the region they were formed in, 'b' for Bavarian, 's' for Saxon, 'w' for Württemberg). 30006 Fokker D.VII (Fok) Fighting Fokkers Part 1. A. 'MK' Ludwig Reimann, Jasta 78b, late 1918. B. 373/18, Heinrich Piel, Jasta 13b, June 1918. C. 382/18, Georg von Hantelman & Kurt Wustoff, Jasta 15, June 1918. D. 402/18, Max Holtzem, Jasta 16b, Mid 1918. E. 244/18, Lothar von Richthofen, Jasta 11, and Aloys Heldmann, Jasta 10, June - July 1918. Close up detail; 30007 Fokker D.VII (Alb) Fighting Fokkers Part 2. As well as the standard five options, there are two 'bonus' options included on the sheet. Bonus 1 is a factory fresh fully lozenged 652/18 before any unit or personal markings were applied, whilst bonus 2 is Ltn.d.R Simons red and white striped fuselage machine. You will need to do the stripes yourself. A. 571/18, Adolf Gutknecht, Jasta 43, July 1918. B. 666/18, Hans Dannenberg,Vzfw Mohring, Rudolf Neckel, Kest 1a/Jasta 90, late 1918. C. 833/18 Robert Greim, Jasta 34b, October 1918. D. 5278/18, 'Hertha', Jasta 27, October/November 1918. E. Otto Creutzmann & Josef Raesch, Jasta 43, June - July 1918. 30008 Fokker D.VII (OAW) Fighting Fokkers Part 3. A. 2052/18, Karl Thom, Jasta 21s, 1918. B. 4453/18, Alfred Lindenberger, Jasta 2, November 1918. C. 4631/18, 'Lot', Jasta 64w, late 1918. D. 4635/18, 'U.10' Heinz Frieherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay, Jasta 65, September 1918. This aircraft was zapped after capture by the US 95th Aero squadron, with its kicking mule. The option is on the sheet should you wish to use it. E. 6441/18, Max Nather, Jasta 62, October - November 1918. 30009 Fokker D.VII (OAW) Fighting Fokkers Part 4. There are so many great schemes for OAW D.VII's that one extra set was never going to be enough, so here we have a second. A. 4025/18, Paul Strahle, Jasta 57, September 1918. B. 4649/18 'Seven Swabians' Wilhelm Scheutzel,Jasta 65, 1918. C. 6344/18, 'Yellow X', Jasta 58, late 1918. D. 6428/18, Hans Joachim von Hippel, Jasta 71, October - November 1918. E. Ltn Fritz von Schliewen, Jasta 6, September 1918. Close up detail; (Note - The 'Seven Swabians' are commonly mistaken for the 'Seven Dwarfs'. They have nothing to do with the Snow White tale, but are from a Brothers Grimm story). I suspect that these decal sheets are aimed at, and will be bought by Great War aviation aficionados. They have the same quality of research, presentation, and production that we have come to expect from Wingnut Wings, and makes them the number one model company. The standard kits already contain a superb range of options to satisfy the casual enthusiast. But once you get hooked and start to read up on the pilots, squadrons and aircraft, a plan inevitably starts to form in your mind as to how you can build a representative range, and these sheets will help tremendously. I find it starts with the personalities, and then moves on to their aircraft. My particular favourites amongst these sheets are Georg Von Hantelmann, Kurst Wustoff, Lothar von Richtofen, Alfred Lindenberger, Max Nather, Robert Greim, Paul Strahle, and Hans Joachim von Hippel. And then of course 'Hertha' and 'Seven Swabiens' are so colourful they deserve to be built as well. Looking at these decals has found me spending hours defining the builds I want to do, sorting out a representative selection of D.VII sub types, Jastas, and pilots. Inspirational decal sheets indeed. Yet again Wingnut Wings have come up with a top quality product. Very highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of

Sopwith Triplane 1:32 Wingnut Wings One of the things that I find interesting about First World war aviation is the variety of aircraft types that appeared as each side struggled for aerial supremacy. If you put yourself in the position of a designer back in 1914 a lot of what we take for granted today was unknown and had to be worked out, resulting in some quite unusual looking aircraft. Low powered engines require a generous amount of lift and therefore wing area in order make flight viable, thus the proliferation of biplanes and scarcity of monoplane designs. I remember reading somewhere that in aerodynamic terms most lift comes from the first 30% of a wing back from the leading edge, so that for a given wing area a long span, thin chord wing is much more efficient than a short span, wide chord one. Which leads us nicely in to the design philosophy of the Triplane, where the very similar Sopwith Pup had much the same wing area spread over two wings, the Triplane had three thin chord wings of the same span as the Pup . It was able to easily out climb, outrun, and outmanoeuvre its two winged brother, all whilst utilising the same type of engine, and had the improved all round visibility that is so vital in a fighting aircraft. Appearing over the Western Front in June 1916, it served almost exclusively with Royal Navy Air Service (RNAS) units. It served for just over a year before being replaced by the twin gun Sopwith Camel from late 1917. The most famous users of the 'Tripehound' were Naval 10 squadron, and particularly 'B' flight leader Raymond Collishaw and his all Canadian 'Black Flight' who claimed 87 kills in just three months. That it didn't see more widespread service is probably attributable to the fact that it was a fragile aircraft and difficult to maintain. Tasks that could be completed relatively simply on other aircraft would require major dis-assembly of the Triplanes wings and fuselage in order to gain access to components. The French were the only other operators of the Triplane, and unlike the Sopwith 1 1/2 strutter which they licence built in their thousands, they didn't really take to it. As noted in the Wingnuts instruction booklet where there is a decal option for a French machine, the French did not seem 'particularly inclined to repair them, with half a dozen being written off following often quite minor accidents'. As noted earlier, the arrival of the Sopwith Camel which was stronger and carried twice the firepower, saw the withdrawal of the Triplanes from front line service. The survivors remained in use as trainers until the end of the war, when it quickly disappeared. Although it was produced in relatively small numbers (153 in total, Vs 5,490 Camels) it gained a reputation greater than it's limited use would have suggested. Certainly the German Jastas had great respect for it and it started a 'Triplane craze' on their side, of which only the Fokker DR.1 gained any notable success. The kit. Another lovely surprise from Wingnut Wings was the release of this kit just before Christmas 2012. Packaged in the usual very smart box with Steve Andersons superb artwork showing a low level tailchase with another Tripehound and an Albatros, you know you are in for a treat as you lift the lid on this one. Packed to the top with individual sprues sealed in their own polythene bags, I usually head for the instruction booklet at the bottom of the box, and remove its wrapper. Printed in heavy gauge gloss paper, the twenty two page booklet is beautifully laid out and starts with a parts map. CAD drawings are then used for the assembly sequences, including completed sub assemblies in full colour showing how it should all look as you progress through the build. Colour photographs of the Shuttleworth collections N6920 are used to highlight and clarify various close up details, whilst contemporary black and white photos are used to explain other details. Towards the end of the booklet are the usual five colour scheme options featuring Ronny Bar's beautiful full colour profiles, and more black and white photographs of the actual aircraft being modelled. Nobody comes close to the completeness and quality of Wingnut Wings instructions, and as always you will want to file these away as reference material at the end of the build. Six sprues of various sizes are in the box, the two major ones being for the wings and fuselage. Crisp and clean mouldings are Wingnut Wings hallmark, and these are no exception. I particularly like the Sopwith 'quilted' effect on the sides of the fuselage behind the cowling. It really captures the look of fabric stretched over the wooden framework beneath, which incidentally is nicely moulded on the inside of the fuselage. The 'quilted' effect; The three wings are all together on one sprue. The top and bottom wings are single piece mouldings, thus making the process of setting the dihedral foolproof. The moulded detail is again first class. I've never seen better represented rib tapes on any kit, you can see how these were done. They stitched the wing fabric on to the ribs, sealed it with a strip of fabric and then doped it all to pull it taut. Even the little riblets on the leading edge between the main ribs show up with just enough effect. A nice touch is the inspection panels for the control runs. In reality these are clear panels that the fitters can look through to check that the control cables are correctly on their pulleys. These are moulded in, and separate clear parts are provided to fit over them. These also feature on Wingnuts Sopwith Pup and Se5a kits, and I can vouch that they look extremely good. Interestingly sprue 'B' is labelled 'Sopwith Pup' showing that real life is being mirrored in model form, as these components shared between the Pup and the Triplane. It contains the wheels, tailplane, cockpit seat and various other small ancillary items. This wide span tailplane is the one initially fitted to triplanes, (options A and C use it) but later on a shorter span one was developed. This can be found on sprue A, so you have the choice. Various different cowling panels and a choice of prop are on sprue 'F', and I notice that the large square inspection panels are greyed out on the parts map, possibly meaning that we can expect another Triplane release (purely guesswork, but the 'Black Flight' Triplanes featured these panels so maybe we will see a boxing for them?). The Clerget engine is a nice little model in it's own right, and comes with very delicately moulded cooling fins, induction pipes, and push-rods. An optional crankcase front enables you to build either a 110 or 130 hp version, depending upon which finishing option you choose. Clear parts are provided for the very minimal windscreens, and the aforementioned inspection panels in the wings. Rigging on the Triplane is rather like a biplane, in that the bracing runs from the top wing to the bottom wing, and line lines actually cross in the middle wing. There is further bracing fore and aft on the lower and middle wing, to the fuselage. Patches were appently placed over these crossover points, and these are provided on the etched brass sheet, along with a set of seatbelts. Marking Options. Wingnut Wings always provide at least five interesting marking options with their kits. These ones are especially nice as well as three RNAS machines, they also feature a French variant, and a captured German one. The 'obvious' option of a Naval 10 'black flight' machine is not present so I would guess that this might come out separately or feature on one of Wingnuts own aftermarket decal sheets. Personally I tend to like the less obvious choices as they often have an interest of their own, and spur you on to do a little extra reading and research. The decals are printed by Cartograf on an almost A4 sized sheet and have excellent register, colour density and sharpness. The wing roundels have a little cutout in them where they fit around the clear inspection panels, and are also designed to fit down into the slot formed by the aileron gap. Finally, the little dials for the instruments are particularly impressive, you can actually read them through a magnifying glass. Tthe profiles are in full colour by Ronny Bar, some just as side profiles sharing anothers upper and lower drawings, but most as full three-views. It can often take several days of thinking around the subject to actually decide which one to do, as the choices are so interesting. I'm strongly tempted by the French and German options, but also have a nagging feeling that I would like one of the RNAS machines in my collection, as it was really one of 'their' aircraft. It' all good fun mulling it over though, and part of the enjoyment. Option A. Triplane F4 Centre d'Aviation Maritime, Dec 1916 to Jan 1917. Option B. N534 1 (N) Squadron August 1917. A very interesting option, N534 was flown by no fewer than three aces who all obtained kills in it. 'Sammy' Maynard (6 kills) was a New Zealander, whilst Richard Minifie (21 Kills) and Roderick Dallas (32 kills) were both Australians. Option C. N5427 1(N) Squadron April 1917. Another machine flown by 'Sammy' Maynard to obtain a kill. Option D. N5429, Jasta 4 September 1917. Serving with 1(N) Squadron in September 1917, JR Wilford was shot down by 27 victory ace Kurt Wusthoff on the 13th of the month. With it's pointy spinner and eisernkreuz markings, this certainly is an unusual triplane. Option E. N6301, Roderick McDonald, 8(N) Squadron May 1917. Named 'Dusty II' . Conclusion. In previous builds of my own Wingnuts Wings kits (LVG, Pfalz D.IIIa, Roland D.VIa, SE5.a, Sopwith Pup, Bristol F2.b, and FE.2b), the fit has been extraordinarily good, so it is safe to assume that this one will go together with the same precision that all the others have. It also has the same meticulous attention to detail that characterise these kits. Alternative parts are provided for cockpit coamings, windscreens, struts with/without pitot heads, propellers, etc for all the different making options provided in the kit. The one piece wings and simple interplane struts should make it an ideal first or second build for the WW.1 novice, and the rest of us 'Great War' addicts will certainly want a 'Tripehound' in our collections. Buy with confidence, this is another beautifully designed and presented offering from Wingnut Wings which will provide you with many hours of pure modelling enjoyment. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hannover CL.II 1:32 Wingnut Wings The Hannover CL.II was designed in 1917 as a two seat escort fighter to protect other two seat reconnaissance aircraft.Hannoversch Waggonfabrik AG were actually manufacturers of railway waggons who had branched out into license building Halberstadt, Rumpler and Aviatik aircraft. Their first indigenous design was the CL.II, which first flew in July 1917 and entered service in August 1917. Like the Roland CL.II the fuselage was a lightweight structure formed of thin plywood layers covered with fabric and doped, as were the wing centre sections. It makes an interesting comparison with the Bristol F.2b fighter as some of the design aims were the same. Most obvious was the need to give the gunner as wide a field of fire as possible. Frank Barnwell did this on the Bristol aircraft by placing the fin and rudder pretty much half and half above and below the fuselage. The CL.II achieved it by shortening the span of the tailplane but maintaining the surface area by making it a biplane unit, and locating the gunner very high in the fuselage. Also similar to the F.2b the top wing is at the crews eye level, giving them an excellent view above and below. Unlike the Bristol with its lower wing mounted below the fuselage on short struts, the Hannover simply has a much deeper fuselage to maintain the gap between the two wings. In service it was very well liked, being strong, fast, highly manoeuverable and generally versatile. It also had the advantage of being smaller that most two seaters, leading allied pilots to think it was a single seater that could be sneaked up on from behind. Any pilot who did so would place himself at the mercy of the rear gunner. As the war progressed into 1918 the Hannover was also used in the ground attack role, and continued in front line service up until the November armistice. The Kit. This was a surprise announcement at Christmas 2012, and one that was most welcome.It comes with the usual beautiful full colour instruction booklet in a box packed with sprues, three near A4 sized sheets of decals, and photo etch for the seatbelts and machine gun jackets. Its a real treat to open and spend time poring over all the contents an marveling at the thought and care that has gone into it all. Construction begins with the cockpit and every detail has been provided, including the fuel tank that the pilots seat is mounted on. Bulkheads are superbly moulded with crisp detail; There is also an optional wireless set, complete with readable decals for all the dials, and large FK camera for photo recce missions. CAD drawings of the complete assembly in full colour should leave you in doubt how the final assembly should look. Fabulous. The Argus As.III engine is up next and as is usual with Wingnuts there are optional cylinder heads with pushrods molded on, or without if you prefer to make your own from stretched sprue for extra realism. All you really need to do yourself is wire up the magnetos to the spark plugs with fine jewellers wire and you will have a stunning little engine to fit up front. Cowlings are separate parts so you can leave the off or fit them to your liking. On other Wingnuts kits I have built it is possible to push fit them on so that they are removable. The biplane tail follows next, complete with drawings and contemporary photographs to show you the two possible rigging options for the unit. The wings on four of the five finishing options are covered with lozenge fabric, so you have to decide by now which one you are going for, as the decals will need applying now. I normally paint the uppers green and lowers pale blue to give the decals something to key on to, and blend in any tears if I am ham fisted applying them. Don't be tempted to apply them to the bare plastic, it won't work. Optional upper wing radiators are provided, so again you need to pay attention to you chosen option. Finally comes the undercarriage which should present no problems, and and choice of three appropriate propellers. Final details are the the Parabellum LMG.14 or 14/17 with etched jacket where appropriate, and various external racks for flares or grenades. Also included is a generic sprue with Cameras, ladders, wheel chocks, barograph, trestle, homing pigeon box,flare pistols, and teddy bear(!), everything to completely fit out you CL.II for a mission. The rigging looks moderately complex but is clearly illustrated. Colour options. There are the normal five options to choose from. The Hannover featured a hand painted lozenge finish to the fuselage, and either all over or just on the rear fin, so you can select one according to your confidence. The last option is a very attractive overall pale blue machine, if you want to avoid dealing with lozenge camouflage all together. A) 9295/17 White 2, Ltn Ruhr FA A 286b, Late 1917. B ) 9339/17 Red 5,FA 7, Winter 1917-18 C) 13189/17 FA 287b, Early 1918. D) 13274/17 White 4, Schlasta 25 Mid 1918. E) 690/18, FEA 8, Late 1918. Conclusion. Well I have to say that this looks likes another winner from Wingnut Wings. Perhaps not one for the beginner because of the rigging, it should nevertheless build up without any problems. If you have already built a couple of biplanes, the fit and engineering of this or any other Wingnuts kits should encourage you to have a go. The Hannover is an inspired choice for a kit, and all those lovely extras just call out for it to be set in a little diorama. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Fokker D.VII 1:32 Wingnut Wings The Fokker D.VII first appeared over the western front in the late spring/early summer of 1918, as the Great War was entering its final phase leading up to the November Armistice. Much has been written about it, but it was an outstanding fighter often awarded the accolade of being the finest such machine produced by any side in the conflict. It is also well known that it was the only aircraft specifically named by the allies to be surrendered in the Armistice agreement, such was its fearsome reputation. Due to its success, Fokker could not keep up with demand so in order to increase the numbers available production was licensed to Albatros who produced machines at their Johannisthal plant and also their Ostdeutch Albatros Werke plant at Schneidemhl, now in Poland. Thus there are three suffixes commonly used when referring to the aircraft as either a D.VII(Fok), D.VII(ALB) or D.VII(OAW). Each one has subtle differences which help to distinguish which manufacturer it originated from, mainly in the area of cooling gills on the nose panels (although extra gills and openings were often cut in at the font line). A further distinction on the OAW machines is that the nose and axle stub wing were factory finished in dark green with a Giraffe pattern of irregular lilac shapes, but this would often be overpainted at unit level. All had wings finished in either 4 or 5 colour lozenge fabric as were fuselages, although early Fokker fuselages had the same streaky green finish often seen on the DR.1 Triplane. Initial variants were powered by the straight six Mercedes D.IIIa of 150/160 hp, changing to the 180/200 hp higher compression D.IIIau as production got into full swing. Most liked of all were those equipped with the over compressed BMW IIIa which gave from 185 hp up to 240 hp for short periods, although this engine was always in short supply. Exhausts were on the starboard side of the engine, and format tended to vary by manufacturer So, with three possible manufactures, three possible engines, and a number of different finishes, there is quite a variety of detail applicable to the D.VII. Fortunately in many cases the serial number was painted on the sides of the aircraft along with the appropriate designation of FOK, ALB. or OAW. I have always liked the boxy, functional appearance of the D.VII and from a modelling perspective it has the advantage of requiring almost no rigging at all. Most attractive of all is the sheer number and variety of markings that were applied to them. One of the most rewarding aspects of this hobby is learning something about the men who flew particular machines, and WW1 aviation offers a treasure trove of colourful markings and interesting characters to go with them. German aircraft were often under the ownership of a particular pilot and his mechanics, and so received highly colourful and individual finishes. Many units had their own base colours, such as Jasta 15's red nose and blue fuselages, with individual motifs applied on top, whilst others allowed free rein with the paint pot. The Kit Wingnut wings have released three boxings to cover the Fokker, Albatros and O.A.W. versions of the aircraft. The main sprues are the same, with the variations for each type being covered by an extra sprue for each type. Here I will review the OAW version, noting at the end the differences in the Fokker and Albatros boxings. Before you even open the box you can see that this is no ordinary kit. The lovely artwork with its silver gilt edging, the line up of colour scheme options along the side, and even the weight of it all combine to raise your sense of expectation. And when you take that lid off, it reveals a box packed right to the top with sprues individually shrink wrapped, as are the decals and even the instruction book. Quality indeed. Anyone who has ever opened one of the kits will know what I mean. Personally the first thing I do is cut the instruction book from its shrink wrap, and read through from cover to cover. Printed on heavy gloss paper with all assembly stages illustrated with CAD drawings and colour call outs, you are left in no doubt as to how it all goes together. Add in relevant photographs (both contemporary and modern) to further clarify and illustrate various aspects of assembly, and what you have here is not just a set of instructions, but a valuable reference manual as well. There are two full pages of colour photographs of all sides and details of the Mercedes engine alone. However, the bit I enjoy most is the first look at all the colour scheme options towards the back of the book. Again these are beautifully done, featuring Ronny Bars lovely profiles. I particularly like the way that Wingnut always seem to select their finishing options. Yes you may get one or two of the more well known ones but you always get 2 or 3 of the lesser known, and to my mind more interesting colour schemes to finish your model in. Thus begins the long and enjoyable process of thinking through which one you are going to choose. Filtering your choices and defining a shortlist, figuring out the top two, picking one of them only to find yourself changing it around the next day. I love this part of the process as it usually stimulates me to get looking at further references. This is where it becomes more than just planning the model, as part of my decision making process requires that I find out more about the individual pilot and his squadron. My final choice will be based on a combination of an attractive/interesting finish, and what the life story of the pilot was. Already I can see that it's going to be a difficult task with this kit as Rudolph Starks 'Li', Franz Buchners 'Lion head', and Wilhelm Leusch's 'Dragon' are all ones that I absolutely must build. Construction starts with the Cockpit, which is built up of several sub-assemblies that all come together in the welded steel tube 'cage' that forms the Fokker's fuselage construction. Everything you need is there, a particularly nice touch is that the different engines used caused the guns to sit higher or lower on the fuselage, and Wingnuts provide you with different ammunition tanks with different length chutes to feed the guns as appropriate. The seat is a nice moulding with separate cushion and etched brass seat belts. Etched brass is also provided for the two Spandau machine guns, or there is the option of fully moulded Spandaus if you are not confident with rolling the etched ones. The instrument panel has the dials moulded on with flat faces into which you put individual decals. This always looks stunning, as you can actually read the instruments. Next up is the engine, which is beautifully and crisply molded. I've already built several Wingnuts engines and they are pretty much foolproof. The only thing I add is ignition wiring, which gives that extra bit of detail not really possible to mould in plastic. Finished in alcald with the data plate decals on, they look fantastic. Some engines has asbestos 'bandages' wrapped around the intake manifolds. If you want this on your model you will need to do it yourself with tissue and white glue as the kit manifold is the 'unwrapped' variety. Withe the engine and interior made, the instructions show the fuselage halves being joined together. Interestingly Wingnuts have done as Eduard did with their smaller D.VII kits and provided the underside stitching as a separate insert, which is really the only way to do it without it being obliterated by sanding the seam line. The nose panels are fitted next, and these are what really distinguishes the various D.VII's with their various cooling gills and exhaust positions. The instructions are very clear about what you need for each of the colour scheme options, with optional panels provided on the sprue, and some gills needing to be shaved off. From here it is wings, tailplane and undercarriage that need assembling and decalling. All very straightforward and clearly illustrated. The axle wings varied between manufacturers, and this has been reflected in the kits. Having build several Wingnuts kits already, I am totally confident that the struts will fit precisely, and if you scrape any paint off the lugs & sockets (the mouldings are that precise that a layer of paint will interfere with the fit) the top wing will drop precisely into place with no bother. Finally you select one of the three propellers appropriate to the D.VII. Generally I fit the one that appears in contemporary photos of the actual plane I am modelling, but in reality props were frequently replaced with which ever make was available. Almost no rigging was fitted to the D.VII, this being part of its design philosophy. Fortunately for us modellers it also makes the build a lot easier. There are only 2 lines between the undercarriage legs, a couple of control wires from the fuselage sides, and very short rudder & elevator control lines. All very simple. The Decals Continuing with the theme of excellence, the decals are by Cartograf and look fabulous. There are five near A4 sized sheets and a couple of smaller ones. Three of the bigger sheets concern them self with the lozenge fabric. The real fabric was produced in both ‘four colour’ and the later ‘five colour’ variants, and although only one will be appropriate to your chosen scheme, you get both. The colours of lozenge fabric are one of those contentious areas of WW.1 modelling. Samples still exist but may have faded and or degraded over the years, reproductions have been made using as near original materials and techniques as possible, but still many opinions abound. Google will provide you with endless hours on this subject should you want to go deeply in to it. Suffice to say that I think that Wingnuts have got it exactly right, and both options give an excellent representation. In previous Wingnuts kits I have built (LVG, Pfalz D.IIIa, Roland D.VIa the lozenge decal has been in strips which you had to cut and trim span wise, as per the real thing and the fit individual rib tapes. It should be a lot simpler now as the decals are designed to cover each wing surface in one go, including rib tapes. In case your option requires the light blue or salmon pink tapes, these are also provided. Colour options. A) 4198/18 Karl Ritscherle, Jasta 60 mid to late 1918. An eight victory ace, Karl Ritscherle survived the war, only to be shot down and killed over Essex in a Heinkel 111 during the battle of Britain. B ) 4523/18 Rudolf Stark, Jasta 35b, late 1918. C) Serial unknown Franz Buchner, Jasta 13 October-November 1918. D) Serial unknown Willhelm Leusch, Jasta 19 October 1918. E) Serial unknown Ulrich Neckel, Jasta 6 November 1918. I have slight reservations about this one as the stripes are only provided as decals for the top and bottom of the fuselage. The instructions are to paint the black stripes on the fuselage sides. My reservations are to do with not wanting to get masking tape anywhere near the already applied decals, so I would be inclined to use solid black decal sheet cut into strips for the fuselage sides on this option. Fokker D.VII version. As noted before, the differences between various manufacturers are in the nose panels around the engine, and the axle wing. This release contains a sprue 'I' with the parts appropriate for a Fokker built machine. Two large sheets of decals are provided for the marking options, as well as the four and five colour lozenge sheets and the rib tapes shown in the OAW kit above. Early Fokker built aircraft had fuselages and tailplanes finished with a brush painted streaky green effect, which is quite difficult to replicate on models. This kit provides an interesting innovation, with the streaks being provided on one of the decal sheets with more than enough material to cover a fuselage. All the modeller needs to do is apply a light green base coat. I plan to make Willi Gabriels 286/18, so will be able to report back on how well they work. Colour options. A) 234/18 Friedrich 'Fritz' Freidrichs, Jasta 10 March-April 1918. B ) 286/18 Willi Gabriel, Jasta 11 June 1918. An interesting character, Gabriels squadron commander was Herman Goering. The two men disliked each other, resulting in Gabriel being removed from Jasta 11. Gabriel was active again in WW.2 Flying Junkers Ju88's, and died in 1966. C) 368/18 Hans Schultz, Jasta 18 June 1918. D) 4301/18 Fritz Oppenhorst, Jasta 71 August-November 1918. E) Serial unknown, Gotthard Sachsenberg, MFJGr1, October 1918. Slightly unusual option here, as it is a Naval machine. (MFJ standing for Marine Field Jasta). Sachsenberg was a 31 Victory ace. His aircraft is typical of some of the more outrageous schemes applied to D.VII's. Albatros D.VII Version. Sprue 'K' contains the Albatros appropriate variations. One large A4 sized sheet has all the individual markings, and again the four and five lozenge & rib tapes are provided. Colour Options. A) 611/18 Uffz. Harbers, Jasta 73 mid 1918. B ) 817/18 Fritz Blumenthal, Jasta 53 August 1918. C) 5324/18 Richard Kraut, Jasta 63 October-November 1918. D) Serial unknown, Herman Pritsch, Jasta 17 mid 1918. E) Serial Unknown, Carl Degelow, Jasta 40 August 1918. Conclusion. Well I have eagerly awaited this kit ever since it was announced, and have not been disappointed. Each of the three boxings are outstanding, and will provide a beautiful model. Past experience with building Wingnuts kits tells me that these will fit together with absolute precision. This can mean that fuselage halves can be a tight fit with all the interior parts fitted in, but all you have to do is scrape paint off all the bulkhead sides and the grooves they fit into, and things will be fine. It is a factor of the precise tolerances of these kits that a few thou of paint can make a difference, particularly if you use some of the thicker primers. The instructions are fabulous, with their clear CAD drawings, colour call outs, and reference photos to help you on the way. No other manufacturer has ever provided anything as good, and you will find yourself filing them away as excellent reference material in their own right. The decals are also fabulous, each kit has either four or five near A4 sized decal sheets with the individual markings and upper and lower lozenge fabric in its two varieties. All in perfect register and with the colours looking exactly right. There is something else about Wingnuts kits which is less tangible. It starts with opening the box for the first time and looking through the contents. It becomes evident that an awful lot of thought and care goes into these kits, that these are models created by other modellers. It is also apparent that compromises don't feature. Each component is precise and correct. 'Good enough' wont be found here, superb engineering will. It seems that Wingnuts don't release a kit until they are 100% satisfied with it in terms of accuracy and ease of building. Plenty of reviewers have heaped praise on Wingnut Wings for their extraordinary kits, and I understand why. Everything about them is the best it can be, from the box art to the quality of the plastic used, from the research on the colour schemes to the breakdown of each component. You name it, you'd struggle to say how it could be better. They raised the bar with their first releases, and are continuing to set the gold standard. If you are frightened of WW.1 subjects but want to try one of these kits then the D.VII should convince you to take the plunge. Beautiful subject, fabulous marking options, lozenge fabric all done with simple decals, and almost no rigging. This is the one to get, and you have three boxings to choose from, all gorgeous. I will start building one of these shortly, and recording the experience in 'Work in progress' [Edit] Build startred in Work in Progress HERE [/Edit] Review sample courtesy of

We've just received the December 2012 releases from Wingnut Wings, and a pretty impressive bunch they are too. Three... yes, THREE Fokker D.VIIs, from the home of the Fokker (Fok), Johannisthal (Alb) and Schneidemühl (OAW - Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke) with any of their idiosyncrasies faithfully reproduced. Not only, but also... a Sopwith Triplane and this year's final surprise release from WNW, the Hannover C1.II with its distinctive biplane tail. In addition to those five releases, there are four additional decal sets. One for the Fok built aircraft, one for the Alb built aircraft, and two for the OAW built aircraft. Each one contains five colourful options, just in case the kit options don't float your boat. We'll be crafting detailed reviews of them just as soon as we can, and have a new reviewer that is knowledgable on the subject of WWI aircraft, and just happens to be an excellent modeller too. Please join me in welcoming John, also known as Viking on Britmodeller to the reviewing cadre. A couple of quick pics on the lounge rug this lunch time seemed to be in order In the meantime, if you just can't wait and want to find out a little more info, you'll find all the featured releases at WNW's website, here Mike.

Revell New Releases 25th October 2012 RV04652 Revell 1:32 - Westland Sea Lynx Mk.88/HAS.Mk.2 SRP - £19.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV04666 Revell 1:32 - Heinkel He219 A-7 "UHU" SRP - £49.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV04824 Revell 1:48 - TA 154 Mistel & Fw190 SRP - £36.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV04281 Revell 1:72 - BAC Canberra PR.9 SRP - £12.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV07406 Revell 1:24 - Kenworth Dump Truck SRP - £49.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV03235 Revell 1:35 - German Staff Car 'G4' SRP - £19.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV05115 Revell 1:144 - U-Boat Typ IIB SRP - £12.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV07080 Revell 1:24 - BMW Z8 SRP - £17.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV06677 Revell Easykit - Sith Infiltrator (Episode 1) SRP - £26.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV06734 Revell Easykit Pocket - TIE Fighter ""Pocket"" SRP - £8.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV06735 Revell Easykit Pocket - Imperial Star Destoryer""Pocket"" SRP - £8.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV06736 Revell Easykit Pocket - Boba Fett's Slave I ""Pocket"" SRP - £8.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV04863 Revell 1:144 - Space Shuttle and Boeing 747 SRP - £19.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV04865 Revell 1:48 - MQ-9 Reaper UAV SRP - £17.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV39694 Revell - Masking Tape - 6mm SRP - £2.25 Received - 25 of October 2012 RV39695 Revell - Masking Tape - 10mm SRP - £2.99 Received - 25 of October 2012 

Calling it done - need to get the build written up for Military in Scale now... May add a little more oily stuff underneath - but will sleep on it. Model is extensively weathered - albeit fairly subtly in places. Last one to show I have replaced the static wicks on the control surfaces... Iain

Pretty well there - beautiful kit to build - hopefully to be published in a future edition of Military in Scale: Iain

Need to get some daylight shots - and she's a real *bu**er* to photograph as she's so large... Anyhoo - please forgive the colour casts - will post better images when I have them. Iain