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Found 15 results

  1. As logical follow up to the Gotha Go-242 gliders (link), ICM is to release on November 17th, 2023 a 1/48th Gotha Go-244B-2 kit - ref. 48224 Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48224 V.P.
  2. Kora Models is to release 1/72nd Gotha Go.145A kits. - ref. 72060 - Gotha Go.145A night attack bomber Sources: https://www.lfmodels.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2581&zenid=oj4ahg4vr7r04i6iuim3deh4n0 https://www.aviationmegastore.com/gotha-go145a-german-night-attack-bomber-kpk72060-kora-models-kpk72060-aircraft-scale-modelling/product/?action=prodinfo&art=149110 - ref. 72061 - Gotha Go.145A training aircraft over Czech territory Sources: https://www.lfmodels.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2582&zenid=oj4ahg4vr7r04i6iuim3deh4n0 https://www.aviationmegastore.com/gotha-go145a-german-training-aircraft-kpk72061-kora-models-kpk72061-aircraft-scale-modelling/product/?action=prodinfo&art=149111 V.P.
  3. ICM is to release 1/48th Gotha Go-242 kits. Gliders to put alongside the ICM's 1/48th Heinkel He.111Z Zwilling, I suppose! - ref. 48225 - Gotha Go-242B, WWII German Landing Glider (100% new molds) - March2022 Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48225 - ref. 48226 - Gotha Go 242A, WWII German Landing Glider Source: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ICM48226 V.P.
  4. Hi, guys... It's been a while since I posted here on Britmodeller, so I thought you might like to see the latest addition to my collection. This is the wonderful Gotha G.IV kit from Wingnut Wings. It's a large kit when finished, with a wingspan of almost three feet, but like any other model, spend a little time and you'll likely end up with a good outcome. So, to begin with, I painted and assembled the fuselage floor, bulkheads and cockpit area. Everything you see in this first image comes from the kit and I especially liked the seatbelts, oxygen bottles and the instrument decals, all of which bring great realism to the model. The floor was given an enamel undercoat of pale khaki, then overpainted using burnt sienna oil paint from the Cass Art range. I was very pleased with the wood effect on the floor and bulkheads. In this next photo, the framing around the cockpit has been added in and its rigging shows up well. The 'steering wheel' control mechanism is well produced, as are the integrally-moulded fuselage frames, although some of the cockpit areas in my kit had a lot of ejector pin marks. These were in tricky areas in some instances, but all were easily enough removed. The majority were on the right side of the fuselage, so had to be addressed, as they would have been very prominent if left unattended. I took this photo after the fuselage was closed up, and you can see some of the detail in the gunner/bomb-aimer's forward position including the bomb release mechanism and the oxygen bottle. Once I was happy with the internal areas of the fuselage, I moved on to building the engines, leaving one covered and the other without its engine panels in order to show the detail. The central section of the bottom wing was also painted up and the walkways painted metallic and then blackwashed to give a bit of a 'worn' look. I liked the fine detail on the radiator grills and the exhaust pipes came up very well with their grungy appearance; this was oil paint used again, and blackwashed. After varnishing the fuselage, the relevant decals were attached and the external fuselage rigging - which extends to the tail and connects with the control surfaces - was added on at this point and later tidied up when the elevators and rudder were attached. The few transparent pieces included in the kit are small, but are very clear and fit well. Some additional blackwashing was applied to both the panels and small fitments on the fuselage sides, and the engine cowlings. Moving on to the wings, both upper and lower surfaces were painted in the dark grey-blue, with the exception of the underside of the top wing, which like the engine covers, struts, wheel hubs and fuselage and nose panels, were left in the extremely pale blue shade, almost an off-white tone. Adhesive tape was added to cover the wing ribs after a whilte undercoat had been applied, thereafter being oversprayed in dark brown in a non-uniform manner before the tapes were removed. When this happened, the original white undercoat was again uncovered on the ribs, and these were later given an overspray in the relevant camouflage colour... ...which in turn, was a process that was helpful in drawing back any excess of the brown paint and also helped to remove the white and bring the ribs, generally speaking, back to the appropriate colour. I deliberately left them slightly 'untidy' in their appearance as I felt this gave a good final presentation. Once varnished, the national markings were applied. So, in the following image, you can see the extent of the wingspan with the lower wing sections now in situ; the cabane struts have also been attached. The Gotha's wings had noticeable dihedral and on such a large kit, you may think this would be difficult to effect properly, but the lower wings have the correct dihedral built into them and have quite a bit of 'play' as well, and the top wing, after securing the rather flimsy lower central section into place, rests easily on the cabane struts and engine frame struts without any additional support required at this stage. Now you can see that I have started to attach the interplane struts; I rigged the inner areas between the engines and fuselage first as these are the most difficult to get access to and some of the rigging crosses over other lengths of rigging diagonally and therefore, awkwardly... patience is definitely needed here, and possibly a leather mouthpiece to bite into if/when things don't go according to plan - you don't want to scare the neighbours with aggressive yelling, cursing and swearing at the top of your voice! 🤬 🤣 The cabane struts and each section, moving gradually out towards the wing tips, were rigged in their entirety before moving on to the next. The struts themselves were easily inserted into their location holes due to the 'play' in the wings, and this flexibility was very much instrumental in making the whole rigging process much easier. I resisted all thoughts of turning the kit upside down to complete the rigging under the top wing, instead electing to use two blocks of upholstery foam to support the model while accessing these areas in order to attach the turnbuckles into the leading and trailing edge points. The larger block of foam, which stood about four inches tall, allowed me to tilt the model forward onto its nose, thus giving better access to the trailing edge. The thinner strip of foam was used to support the undercarriage and raise the front of the kit, thus giving better access to the leading edges. In the latter process, it's good to remember to position the tail against something solid in order to support the model and minimise the likelihood of it slipping off the foam, and this should be done before attaching the tail control surfaces. All of the above negates the requirement to move the model around as it takes on more and more weight and size, and also reduces the need, in my opinion, to go boring right through the upper wing to draw rigging through before secuing it. I have seen this done online and admire modellers who use this method, but I wouldn't have confidence to try that, and given the rarity and cost of obtaining the model nowadays, I feel my method is every bit as effective. The rigging was completed using elasticated thread and the turnbukles came from the excellent GasPatch range. These last few photos show the model in its final stages of construction. All control surfaces are attached and rigging finished; upper wing fuels tanks, MG mounts and the guns themselves, the bombsight and all external ordinance has been added, and only a space in the cabinet needs to be found! All enamel paints used were from the Humbrol range and markings largely from the WnW kit itself, although the 'Lori2' markings were taken from the Pheon decals after-market offering for this model. So, I hope you have enjoyed seeing the photos from my build. There is a more extensive build article which you can access here: https://imodeler.com/groups/imperial-german-air-service-luftwaffe-group-build-may-1st-1910-to-present-day/forum/topic/wnw-gotha-g-iv-1-32-scale/, and I've made a YouTube video which you may also find interesting, available to view here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQqvVuxKUyM. Thanks for looking in... ;-). Regards, Paul
  5. Horten Go.229A (03859) 1:48 Carrera Revell The Horten brothers were a pair of visionary siblings that designed a series of flying wing gliders in pre-WWII during the period when Germany was prohibited from having an air force. Each design improved on the last, and once the Luftwaffe broke cover in their expansionist phase before WWII, development began in earnest. The requirement for a light bomber capable of the 3x1000 by the RLM, which was for an aircraft capable of carrying a 1,000kg bomb load a distance of 1,000km at 1,000kph in 1943 set the wheels in motion that resulted in the Horten.IX, which is better known as the Ho.229, and sometimes referred to as the Go.229 due to the fact that the Gothaer factory had been chosen for production examples. The flying wing had a low drag form, and the addition of two jet engines gave it the potential to fulfil the requirement, although it suffered a little from lateral instability due to its slick shape. The first prototype flew un-powered and with fixed landing gear in 1944, with results that bore plenty of promise before crashing due to a pilot error. Gotha altered the design in practical ways to ease production and increase longevity, as well as adding a rudimentary ejector seat that was probably as much of a danger to the pilot as being shot down and having to bail out. Another prototype was lost due to an engine fire, but this did not deter the RLM from striving to reach production, despite the worsening situation in Europe for Germany. The third prototype was enlarged, and it was this that fell into the hands of the advancing US troops, and subsequently the Operation Paperclip team, who took it back to America with plenty of other advanced designs. It remains there to this day, in the restoration area of the Smithsonian's NASM. The Kit This is a reboxing of Dragon’s excellent rendition of this unusual flying wing design that inspired a number of efforts to create a flying wing design post-war, most of which weren’t unduly successful with a few notable exceptions thanks to the march of technology. The kit was first seen in a Dragon box in 1992, and the moulds are wearing well, although a little flash has crept into the moulding for some of the small parts on my example, but that’s the work of moments to remove. At the time, the kit was fêted for including a cockpit, gun bays and two engines in their compartments, with the option to show them off if you wished. Those aspects of the kits haven’t gone away, so there’s plenty of options to personalise your model from within the box. The kit arrives in an end-opening box with seven sprues of pale grey styrene, a small clear sprue, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE), decal sheet and the instruction booklet with colour profiles on the rear pages. Construction begins with the cockpit tub, which is moulded into the top deck of what could be called the fuselage. The cockpit sides are decked out with tubular framing, and the small crowded instrument panel with decal fits into the front with the control column. The basic ejection seat has a separate headrest and foot pegs, and the last step of the instructions show the application of seatbelts that you are shown making from paper with PE furniture included on the nickel-plated fret, so they can be fitted without painting. A lot of folks will substitute some Tamiya tape for the paper, as it’s a little less absorbent of paint, and closer to the right colour. Rudder pedals and the gunsight are installed in the front of the cockpit, with a clear part for the glass. Attention shifts then to the twin Junkers Jumo 004B turbojets, the front and rear of which will be immediately familiar to anyone that has built an Me.262. The rear bullet is made up first, with a representation of the aft of the engine visible behind it, then the main casing is made from two parts with a front bullet and the aforementioned rear inserted within on a pair of ledges. Nine additional parts are attached to each engine to depict the ancillaries, and there are detailed painting instructions throughout for anyone wanting to leave the top panels open to show off their hard work. The front of both engines are inserted into the nose cone intake trunking on location pegs, then put to one side while the lower fuselage and gun bays are made up. A pair of chunky MK 108 cannon are included in the box, with ammo feeds glued to the sides before they are laid in the floor of the lower fuselage, to be surrounded by the framework structure of the aircraft, and a representation of the ammo boxes that feed these 30mm beasts that consume ammo at a rate of over 600 rounds per minute each, given the opportunity. A pair of frames are then placed at the wing roots, and the engines with their forward cowling are dropped in place, taking care to align the two parts for a good flush join. The top of the fuselage is brought in and glued into place, with either the engine cowling panels fitted over the top, or with a little more framework added over the engines, you can choose to leave the panels off to showcase your work. The laminated wooden wings had very little in the way of panel lines, which is faithfully depicted here, with the elevons and spoiler flaps moulded in the neutral position. Each wing is two parts, and they attach to the fuselage in much the same way as the real thing, mounted on twin brackets with large pegs (read: bolts) fitting through both parts to hold them in place. You wouldn’t be blamed for adding a little glue to the proceedings to ensure they stay in position however. A pitot probe slots into the leading edge of the port wing, and wingtip light lenses can be found on the clear sprue. To save development costs and time, the tricycle landing gear initially utilised some parts of existing aircraft, with He.177 wheel rims remaining in this version of the airframe’s development. The nose wheel is made from two halves with a balloon tyre, and is attached to the strut by a pair of V-shaped yoke parts on a two-part pivot that also holds a substantial mudguard. The assembly is then linked to its retraction system, with another U-shaped yoke, cross-braces, and surprisingly long links that lead well back into the fuselage. The main gear legs are more straight forward, having a stub axle and moulded-in scissor link, plus the retraction jack that pulls it sideways into the bay. Each one has a captive door on the axle, with two smaller doors attached to the edges of each bay. The nose gear has a large curved front door, and two long side-opening doors covering up the insanely long retraction mechanism. The two cannon barrels with their perforated muzzle-brakes that are well-moulded for the scale are popped in the leading edge of the wing roots, while an antenna, small intakes, clear light and D/F loop are fitted to the underside, and the lower fuselage/engine bay panels are inserted, leaving a small rectangular chute for the disposal of spent brass casings. Finally, the canopy is fitted in two parts, with the shallow windscreen glued to the front lip, while the sliding rear has a T-shaped retainer added, which allows it to be inserted into the track in the rear deck, so that you can open or close the canopy at will. Markings The 229 never saw active service thankfully for the Allies, so the two schemes are speculative at best. From the box you can build one of the following: Blaue/Blue 4, Luftwaffe, 1945 Rote/Red 13, Luftwaffe, 1945 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion There’s something impressive about the futuristic look of this 1945 era flying wing, and although it was largely untested as a fighter, it does have an appeal that attracts many modellers, myself included. Whether the laminated wood construction would have held up to extended use is anyone’s guess, but the tooling for this kit certainly has. Highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  6. Gotha UWD (32053) 1:32 Wingnut Wings Developed from the Gotha G.1 landplane (Wingnut Wings kit 32045 reviewed here) designed by Oskar Ursinus, the 'Ursinus Wasser Doppeldecker' (UWD) was completed in December 1915. Only one was ever built and was given the serial number 120. It underwent trials with the German Navy in January - February 1916 during which time it was modified with balanced ailerons, extra windows, and a 'probiscus' device in the nose for dropping bombs through. Sometime during 1916 (possibly March) UWD 120 was used operationally on a raid on Dover. Little else is know of its use, until it was written off in October 1916. The low mounted engines and high fuselage was to minimise the effect of engine-out induced yaw, by keeping them as close to the centre line as possible. In turn this meant moving the fuselage up and out of the way. Another unusual feature was that the crew were located in an armoured ‘bathtub’ that formed the forward section of the fuselage. The kit. Presented in Wingnut Wings classy silver edged box, the Steve Anderson artwork shows the UWD in flight, possibly near the white cliffs of Dover. The painting shows it being escorted by a Friedrichshafen FF.33 floatplane, so I really hope that Wingnut Wings are going to release one of those at some point. As with the similar Gotha G.1, the large box is packed full to the brim with parts. It is interesting to note that although both kits appear similar, the only common parts in each box are the sprues A and B, all the others are different. Apart from the fact that the UWD is on floats rather than wheels, it is also powered by different engines. It used the 160 hp Mercedes-Daimler D.III rather than the G.1's 150hp Benz Bz.III engines. Sprue A. This large sprue only just fits the dimensions of the box, containing a variety of parts common to both the landplane and seaplane versions of this kit, mostly concerned with fuselage and some of the flying surfaces. The rear fuselage has been moulded as a three sided section, of the bottom and sides. The top section fits onto this, and at a stroke eliminates any fuselage seams. Well technically the joins are along the top corners of the fuselage, but they should be a doddle to deal with. Careful gluing with thin cement run along the join by capillary action should mean virtually no/almost no clean up will be required. Full marks to Wingnut Wings for this one, flat sided fuselages are always a pain to eliminate the seams from if they are done in the conventional manner. Some very fine items are also included, such as pilots seat, framework, pipework, the throttles, instrument panel, and gun type camera. Construction starts with the cockpit, which is where many of these items will end up. Sprue B. Here we have all four main wing panels, and the horizontal tailplane. Again all is faultlessly moulded with very fine scalloped trailing edges, and delicate sagged fabric effect. Strut mounting holes are clearly defined, as are some small holes showing where to drill for rigging attachment points. (The struts themselves are cleverly moulded with ends that will only fit into the holes they are destined for). The lower wings have large tabs on them that fit to the large single center section from Sprue A, and automatically set them at the correct dihederal Sprue C. The smallest, containing the clear parts for the windows and windscreen. A new approach to packing has these inside a heat sealed plastic bag, and inside that they are protected by a wrap around of a'cling film' type sheet. All parts are beautifully thin and clear. Sprue D. There are two of these, holding the floats, cowling parts, struts, and other duplicated parts. The floats are moulded as a single unit of three sides, with a separate top pice, in the same way as the rear fuselage has been done. Again this makes construction a simple task and practically eliminates any joining seams. What is really apparent is the sheer size of these floats. They are enormous. I had a recently completed WnW Sopwith Camel nearby when doing the photos, and couldn't resist showing a comparison. Sprue E. Again there are two of these sprues provided, for the Daimler-Mercedes D.III engines. These are different to those in the Gotha G.1 kit, which has Benz Bz.III engines. I may have mention in previous reviews that I often start building these kits with the engines. They are so beautifully moulded and everything fits precisely, so you quite quickly have a little jewel of an engine ready for fitment later in the build. Note that the magnetos are not fitted until the engines are in place, as there are new ones with long control rods attached (G33 &G34) to reach up to the top wing. The only thing you may want to add is some ignition wiring from fine fuse wire. As this is an engine used by many aircraft, the same sprue appears in many of Wingnut Wings kits. This means that than half of the parts are not needed, including a set of four beautiful propellers that can go into the spares box. Sprue G. More floatplane specific parts, notably the forward fuselage 'pod' and a lot of struttery. There are various windows and openings in the 'pod' that make it quite different to that of the Gotha G.1. Page 21 of the instructions notes the parts to use or omit if making Option A1, in the 'as delivered status. It also states that you will need to fill in two of the nose windows, so a decision needs to made early on. The mouldings are absolutely beautiful, with sharply defined detail, great delicacy/finesse with some very fine parts, free of flash or sink marks, and no distortion or warpage. I showed them to a fellow modeller who was absolutely amazed, and speculated at how much work goes into designing and producing mouldings of this quality. Etch. For once this is quite small. The model only requires a lap belt for the pilot, and a cooling jacket for the LMG 14 Parabellum. A nice touch is a little brass plaque to display with the finished model. Instructions. If you have never seen a set of Wingnut Wings assembly instructions, then these will be a real treat. Printed on twenty four pages of heavy high gloss paper, it is as much a work of reference as it is an instruction booklet. The CAD drawings of assembly stages are interspersed with period photographs (thirty seven in all) of actual machines and their details. On thing I particularly like is the CAD drawings of completed sub-assemblies in full colour, as these are a great help in understanding how everything goes together. Unusually the whole biplane wing unit complete with floats, is built as single unit to which the fuselage is attached. Marking Options. Just one, as only one was ever built, but there are small variation if you wish. By leaving off the 'probiscus' filling in some of the nose windows, and using the unbalanced ailerons, you can build it as version A1. This is shown in the instructions, and represents the machine as it was delivered for trials. Version A2 is in the same colour scheme, and represents the aircraft as used in service. A. Gotha UWD 120, See Flieger Abteilung 1, March 1916. Decals. Printed by Cartograf, the sheet is dominated by the large 'cross pattée' markings, with dozens of smaller details for things like stencils and instrument faces. There are around twenty for the cockpit alone, and another forty four to go on the twenty two 10kg Carbonit bombs stored in the nose. The fine detail is beautifully printed and readable through a magnifying glass, and given that the cockpit area is highly visible on the finished model, it should all look fabulous. Conclusion. It must have made sense to produce this model alongside the Gotha G.1, but don't make the mistake of thinking that the only difference is that one comes with wheels, and the other with floats. This is a Wingnut Wings kit, so no corners will have been cut. If some parts differed between aircraft, then you get new parts on the sprue. So much so that only two of the eight sprues are common to both kits. Personally I really like this aircraft, it has all the things I like about early aviation. It was built at a time when ideas were being tried out,and 'The Rule Book' didn't really exist. Only now, 100 years later, do we find it strange looking, because we know what a conventional aircraft should look like. It will build into a large model, and is certain to provoke questions from anyone seeing it. It is not really one for the beginner, but if you have built any of Wingnut Wings two seater kits then this one should not give you any problems. It is just bigger, not any more complicated. Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  7. Wingnut Wings is to release in April-May 2019 1/32nd Gotha G.1 & Gotha UWD kits - ref 32045 - Gotha G.1 http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/product?productid=3198 - ref 32053 - Gotha UWD http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/product?productid=3199 V.P.
  8. Gotha G.1 (32045) 1:32 Wingnut Wings Well I don’t think many of us saw this one coming, or even knew anything about the actual aeroplane. What a fascinating and yet strange looking contraption it is, with low mounted engines and high fuselage. The reason for this layout was to minimise the effect of engine-out induced yaw by keeping them as close to the centre line as possible. In turn this meant moving the fuselage up and out of the way. Another unusual feature was that the crew were located in an armoured ‘bathtub’ that formed the forward section of the fuselage. Three batches of six G.1’s were manufactured, the first six fitted with the 150 hp Benz Bz III engines as supplied in this kit. The first production aircraft arrived on the western front in the latter half of 1915. Little is known about its service history, but as was often the case in the Great War, it was one of those aircraft that was obsolete almost as soon as it entered service. One example was built as a seaplane, the 'UWD' which has also been kitted by Wingnut Wings and is Reviewed here. The kit. Packed in Wingnut Wings larger sized box, the lovely painting by Steve Anderson shows a couple of G.1's being defended by an Eindekker against an attacking RFC DH2. The artwork cleverly shows a close up of the main body of a G.1, whilst showing a full view of another in the near distance. Lifting the lid reveals eight individually bagged sprues, with barely any space left for anything else. Two of them are duplicated, Sprue E for the engines, and Sprue D for wheels, struts etc. All are moulded in the familiar neutral grey plastic with pin sharp detail, flawless surface finish, and no sink marks or other moulding flaws. Also included is a large decal sheet and a small brass etched sheet, along with Wingnut Wings superb instruction manual. Nothing else gives you that sense of anticipation and delight that opening a Wingnut Wings kit does, and as always this one delivers in full. Time to take a look. Sprue A. This large sprue only just fits the dimensions of the box, containing a variety of parts common to both the landplane and seaplane versions of this kit, mostly concerned with fuselage and some of the flying surfaces. The rear fuselage has been moulded as a three sided section, of the bottom and sides. All the framework is in there, along with some ejector pin marks, but none of this will be seen once assembled. The top section fits onto this, and at a stroke eliminates any fuselage seams. Well technically the joins are along the top corners of the fuselage, but they should be a doddle to deal with. Careful gluing with thin cement run along the join by capillary action should mean virtually no/almost no clean up will be required. Full marks to Wingnut Wings for this one, flat sided fuselages are always a pain to eliminate the seams from if they are done in the conventional manner. Some very fine items are also included, such as pilots seat, framework, pipework, the throttles, instrument panel, and gun type camera. Construction starts with the cockpit, which is where many of these items will end up. A lot of detail is provided and I have counted nineteen little instrument and placard decals to be placed to enhance all of this, and that is not counting the sixteen decals to place on the optional internal bomb load. Sprue B. Here we have all four main wing panels, and the horizontal tailplane. Again all is faultlessly moulded with very fine scalloped trailing edges, and delicate sagged fabric effect. Strut mounting holes are clearly defined, as are some small holes showing where to drill for rigging attachment points. The struts themselves are cleverly moulded with ends that will only fit into the holes they are destined for). The lower wings have large tabs on them that fit to the large single center section from Sprue A, and automatically set them at the correct dihederal Sprue C. The smallest one in the box, in clear plastic this holds the single windshield. It comes wrapped in a small sheet of plastic, itself contained in small plastic bag, so is well protected. Sprue D. Throughout the build there are many items that are required in duplicate or multiple times, such as wheels and struts. Sensibly all these parts are collected together on one sprue that has half the number required. It is then simple to provide two identical sprues to cover the full amount of items needed. There are bombs, guns, cowling parts, tail fins & rudder, a choice of two different styles of wheels, and parts for a tail support trestle. All the mouldings are of the same high quality expected of Wingnut Wings. The two 'D' sprues are unique to this kit and not shared with similar looking UWD floatplane. Sprue E. Again there are two of these supplied for the Benz Bz.III engines. These are my favourite part of any Wingnut Wings kit and I often go out of sequence and start my builds with them, as they are such a pleasure. The mouldings are superb, with nut and bolt details worked out to perfection. If making it up with all the cowling panels glued in place, there is nothing more that you need add. But if you want to display one or both of the engines with the cowlings off, you may want to add some ignition wiring. This goes from the magnetos to a 'sleeve' channel along each side of the cylinder bank. Then individual lengths come out along the sleeve to each spark plug. The instructions actually have photographs from the original engine manual showing both sides, where the wiring is very well shown. Th rest of the sprue contains gun rings and propellers that are not required and can go straight into the spares box. Sprue F. Another large one that fills the box. Again this is unique to the G.1 and not shared with the UWD floatplane kit, as you might have expected. The forward fuselage 'pods' on the two types had significant differences, so in their usual uncompromising way Wingnut Wings have made completely different mouldings for the two kits. Etch. There are various permutations of LMG/14 Parabellum and LMG/08 Spandau machine guns fitted to the five marking options, so the etched fret contains jackets for all three, along with the sights. A set of seat belts are provided for the pilot, as the only crew member given them. A nice touch is the little brass plate with the Wingnut Wings logo and 'Gotha G.1' etched in relief. These look quite good if the lettering is painted with enamel as you don't have to be very precise with the edges. After a couple of hours just go lightly over it with a cotton bud soaked in white spirit, and clean off any excess. Hey presto! you have a neat little brass plaque to place by your finished model. Instructions. If you have never seen a set of Wingnut Wings assembly instructions, then these will be a real treat. Printed on twenty eight pages of heavy high gloss paper, it is as much a work of reference as it is an instruction booklet. The CAD drawings of assembly stages are interspersed with period photographs (thirty seven in all) of actual machines and their details. On thing I particularly like is the CAD drawings of completed sub-assemblies in full colour, as these are a great help in understanding how everything goes together. As mentioned earlier, alternative parts are provided for the guns (Parabellum, Spandau, Becker), early or late wheels, 20kg or 50 kg Carbonit bombs, Reschke or Integral propellers, different arrangement of cockpit coamings, dual or single core radiators, as well as several minor details. Construction is unusual, with the biplane wings & engines being built as complete unit, and then joined to the completed fuselage. A full rigging diagram is provided, with front and rear three-quarter views distinguishing between bracing wires and control wires. Marking Options. Markings are provided for five individual airframes, all in the same basic field grey with light grey forward fuselage pod. Choices cover machines from the start of the G.1's service in July 1915 up until it's last use in September 1916. Option A actually has 2 variations depending upon whether you fit the truly odd looking 'Bomb dropping cage' that it was fitted with for part of its career. A. Gotha G.1 10/15, Fliegerersatz Abteilung 7 Sonderstaffel S.1, July to late 1915. B. Gotha G.1 11/15, Fliegerersatz Abteilung 7 Sonderstaffel S.1, late 1915 to early 1916. C. Gotha G.1 13/15, Feld Fleigerabtelung 37, September 1915 D. Gotha G.1 41/15, Kagol 1, late 1915 E. Gotha G.1 41/15 "Feodora", Feld Fleigerabtelung 37, September 1916? Decals Printed by Cartograf, all are in perfect register with good colours and perfect register. The majority of the sheet is covered with various Iron Cross and serial number markings. There are however a large number of small details, beautifully printed and readable under a magnifying glass. Conclusion As you may have gathered, Wingnut Wings have also released a kit of the Floatplane version, the UWD, and only Sprues A and B are common to both kits. Wingnut Wings have set something of a trend for issuing unusual and unexpected models alongside their more mainstream releases of Fokker, Albatros and Sopwith types. The Gotha G.1 must surely be the most unusual of the lot, like something Heath Robinson might have designed. For me this is a large part of the interest I have in Great War aviation, where design rules were not yet very firmly set and the only way to try out new ideas was to build them. The G.1 looks so odd to modern eyes because we now have a fixed idea of what a 'correct' aeroplane should look like. Perhaps only the Handley Page Heyford came close in replicating this layout, but even that had the engines on the top wing in a more conventional fashion. Full Marks to Wingnut Wings for producing such a wonderful model of this strange looking aircraft. It is well up to their world class standard, and I am sure will be a delight to build, if a little more involved than a single engined biplane. Get one to go with your Taube, Albatros B.II, and Eindekkers! Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  9. Lone Star Models is to release a 1/48th Gotha G.1 resin kit - ref. LSM40431 Source: http://www.lonestarmodels.com/completekits.html V.P.
  10. Master-X is to release soon 1/72nd Gotha Go.150 resin kits - ref. MX7213.01 - Gotha Go.150 "D-ERCQ" - ref. MX7213.02 - Gotha Go.150 "D-EVSQ" - ref. MX7213.03 - Gotha Go.150 "US captured" - ref. MX7213.04 - Gotha Go.150 "Luftwaffe service" - ref. MX7213.05 - Gotha Go.150 "DG+PD" Source: http://master-x.wz.cz/letadla 1-72.html V.P.
  11. This is my new Luft 46 attempt. The kit from AZmodel is a typical modern short run one. Built OOB except for some elements in the cockpit, which are almost not visible. I've also added a twin underbelly 30-mm cannon and triple BR21 launchers under each wing from my spare parts box. This big heavy fighter must be heavily armed, as to my mind. The model represents the Gotha P.60D-1 flown by Oberst Felix-Maria Brandis, Tempelhof airfield, April 1947. P.60 size compared to Me-262 Thanks for looking!
  12. After the C-1 variant (ref. AZ-7411 & AZ7412 - http://www.azmodel.cz/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=653 & http://www.azmodel.cz/product_info.php?products_id=654) AZ Model has just released a 1/72nd Gotha P.60 C-6 "Raptor" kit - ref.AZ7492 Sources: http://www.azmodel.cz/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=758 http://modelweb.modelforum.cz/2015/03/20/novinky-az-model-na-brezen-2015/ V.P.
  13. It`s been a while since last announcement I would like you show you our next 1/32 figures set - "action stations" for Gotha Bomber This figures should fit in other models, since legs are positioned not that wide, so should be also good for smaller machines (need to check this one) Already avialable https://photouploads.com/images/ab0ab3.jpg[/img] Who has lots of German machines and want to be volunteer to fit figures in all of them to check and give recommendations?)
  14. Something new from Bat (not bad!) Project - never heard before. Obviously from Ukraine -, a 1/72nd Gotha GL.VII with Maybach engines - ref. 72003 (So there should be a 72001 & a 72002...) Sources: http://www.ruscale.ru/product/bat-project-72003-gotha-gl-vii-s-dvigateljami-majbah-172/ http://hobbyterra.com/product/gotha-gl-vii-w-maybach-engines-in-1-72-scale-bat-project-72003.html V.P.
  15. Ok it looks like I'm starting... well finishing a project/build I started about 15 years ago. Thanks to Nigel’s inspiration I’ve finally decided to drag this old beast out....was planning the build the Skyshark, but this’ll now have to wait a bit. As said this was started many years ago, but stalled because one of the engines went missing....either the cat eat it or SWMBO Mk. I threw it out! So it went to the rather large box of doom sort of forgotten. So after seeing Nigel’s wonderful build I just had to dig it out and try to finish it. A quick check of the parts showed that there was more than an engine missing, luckily these are all undercarriage doors. So after a bit of thought and half an hour of gluing my fingers together here’s what I’ve got, not much but a good base to proceed, a slap of filler and presto the second engine........well almost. As mentioned in the header this one will be modified, a modified WhatIf.....not sure what you call that! Anyway I will be mounting the engines on the top of the wings, roughly halfway between the centreline the indentation in the trailing edge. Engine layouts like the Horten 229, though not as flush as, a much more sensible layout than having one underneath acting as a giant Hoover! This well be a sort of longer term project, in between other builds, there’s not too much to done so hopefully won’t take too long to complete!
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