AEG G.IV Late - 1:32 Wingnut Wings

[Viking]

AEG G.IV Late

1:32 Wingnut Wings

 

 

[Edit] January 2017 - kit now being built over in 'Work in Progress' [/Edit]

Introduction.

The AEG G.IV late first started to appear with front line units in early 1917 although it wasn’t until the summer that were available in useful numbers. Developed from an early concept of the heavily armed ‘battleplane’ which was designed to fight it’s way through enemy formations, it was the first of the line to be intended solely as a bomber. The battleplane concept was proven to be flawed after heavy losses were suffered, although it partly resurfaced in later years with the Me.110 ‘Zerstorer’.

The G.IV is less well known than the Gotha series of bombers, but in fact was able to carry a heavier bomb load. It was also the most popular amongst aircrews as it was considered to be the easiest of the twin engine bombers to fly. At first it was used as day time bomber, but heavy losses soon saw it switched to night bombing raids. Another lesson that was re-learned in second world war.

The aircraft commander was not the pilot, rather he occupied the nose gun position and presumably issued any instructions from there. Due to the high likelihood of the aircraft nosing over during the take off run or on landing, he had a temporary seat beside the pilot, which he used at the these times.

Wingnut Wings have now released a model of this aircraft in 2 versions covering its early and late incarnations, of which we have received the ‘late’ boxing for review. Of all Wingnuts promised releases, this is the one I have been most eagerly awaiting since their series of Fokker D.VII’s came out. Packed in large (deeper and wider) box than most, the lid has a striking painting of a shark mouthed G.IV lifting off against an orange sunset. Compared to an Albatros box;

Anticipation was high as the lid was lifted for the first time, to reveal a box absolutely filled to capacity with individually shrink wrapped sprues. First glances show that the wonderful level of intricate and detailed mouldings that are the hallmark of Wingnuts engineering are all there across 17 sprue trees. There are also 3 A4 sized decal sheets of night lozenge fabric, another of Balkenkreutz & individual markings, and a smaller one with interior lozenge and more exterior for the nose area, including the shark mouth. Also included is a small etched brass fret with 3 sets of seatbelts and some internal pulleys and chains.
Finally we have the Instruction book/reference manual, in the full and complete Wingnuts style.

Sprue A.
This covers many if the detailed cockpit interior components, all very finely moulded. Internal bomb racks are provided along with seats and various ancilliary fittings. The construction sequences are accompanied by detailed photographs of both original machines and the one preserved at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. There are some fabulous pictures of the whole of the interior, showing a goldmine of information.

 

close ups of the sharp and neatly defined mouldings;

 

Beautiful finesse on the these parts;

Sprue B.
Here we have the upper wing outboard sections, and the fin & rudder.

Sprue C.
The small windscreens and glass door for the lower gun.

Sprue D1.
Here we have the engine mounts and associated strutting, along with a choice of 3 different propellers. The intricate frameworks are only needed if you choose to build fully or partly exposed engines. Otherwise there are all the panels that go to create anything from a partly to full cowled engine nacelle. Finely moulded radiators, pipes, and mounts are provided, and there are even small deals to fit to the tops of them. A pair of the larger 100 Kg PuW bombs are also supplied for mounting on the external bomb rack under the fuselage center.

Sprue D2.
The tailplanes, various bombs, the wing struts and wheels are the main components here. Again two sets are provided.

 

A nice touch is the choice of weighted or unweighted tyres with separate outer hubs to ease painting. If you are going to build your G.IV bombed up ready for a mission, the weighted tyres are an obvious choice.

 

Sprue E.
Again there are 2 of these, for the Daimler-Mercedes D.Iva engines. Beautifully moulded detail with every nut and bolt, and easy assembly are standard on every Wingnuts engine I have built.

 

I usually start all my builds with these as they are model in their own right and give you an early sense of satisfaction. They are little gems, with even the dataplates as decals to attach, the only thing you might want to add is some spark plug leads from fine thread or fuse wire. On the G.IV the engines can be left exposed, and will form a centrepiece of the model. I expect most will go for one or both engines exposed, perhaps just setting one fully or partly cowled.

 

Sprue F.
The fuselage halves, cockpit floor, and interior side panels with very delicate moulding are here. The instructions point out where various holes will need drilling to cater for the differences between the ‘early’ and ‘late’ boxings of the kit, and the different fittings that go in them. The rear cockpit has internal bomb racks on both sides, wheras the early version only has a rack on the starboard side, so this needs to be opened up as well. All is very clear shown in the instructions.

Sprue G.
There are 3 of these, with various machine guns on them. Only 1 type, the LMG 14/17 Parabellum is required. As usual these are crisply moulded with excellent detail.

Sprue H.
Here we have the upper and lower wing centre sections, and cockpit coaming.

 

Beautiful detailing on the walkways between the fuselage and engines;

Sprue I.
The lower outer wing panels, engine ‘bath tubs’ and side panels. Lovely rib tape details are moulded on, with a gentle amount of fabric sag between them. They are quite large mouldings but there is not a trace of any sink marks anywhere on them. Large tabs are provided at the root end to locate them in to corresponding slots in the centre section, making it a doddle to line everything up.

Sprue J.
More strutting and the other halves of the tubular frameworks for the engine cowlings. These frameworks will not be required if you decide to fully cowl your engines. There is some complicated looking struttery to go between the fuselage sides and the engine cowlings, but these are moulded in pre-set units of 3 struts each, a forward and aft set, that again will make child’s play of setting and aligning everything up.

 

Engine mounting struts and cowling framework for the uncowled engine option;

 

 

Sprue L.
A small sprue holding the gunners coamings and gun mounting rings that fit in them.

 

Photo Etch.
Lap type seat belts for each of the 3 crew positions, and some nice pulley & chains to affix to the control column/steering wheel assembly. The other items are not required, so those unneeded LMG.14’s from sprue G can all go into the spares box with etched jackets. Very useful!

 

Decals.
An impressive set of decal sheets are provided to cover virtually all of the exterior with night type lozenge fabric. All are in pre-shaped ‘cookie cutter’ format, and there are even lighter sections
provided for the fuselage interior.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Data plates, instrument faces, propeller logos and a mass of other tiny items are the sheet holding the individual aircraft markings.

 

All are printed by Cartograf, so quality is assured.

5 Options are provided, all for night bombers.

Option A. G.IV 848/17 ‘White 1’, Bogohl 8b, May 1918.


Option B. G.IV 850/17, ‘White 2’ Bogohl 8b, June 1918.


Option C. G.IV ‘White VII’, mid to late 1918.


Option D. G.IV 567/18, ‘White 7’ Bogohl 8b, mid to late 1918.


Option D. G.IV 574/18, ‘White IV’ Bogohl 8b, November 1918.


Conclusion.
Well what can I say? Every new Wingnut Wings release is eagerly awaited and nudges the bar higher each time. Who would have ever thought a few years ago that a 1:32nd AEG G.IV would ever be produced as a mainstream injection moulded kit. What we have here is just extraordinary in its depth of detail and completeness.
The quality of moulding is faultless, and previous experience says that it will fit together with precision. These kits require careful building as the fit tolerances are so tight that you can’t have primer or paint on mating surfaces, particularly those in recesses or sockets. But that’s what we want isn’t it? Accurate models engineered so you don’t have to use filler and brute force to get them together. This one isn’t for beginners, but if you’ve got a couple of Wingnut Wings single seaters under your belt, it should be well within your capabilities.

By every measure this is an outstanding kit. Simply fabulous.

Very highly recommended

Review sample courtesy of

[Stashaholic Steve]

Great review, many thanks.

[redcap]

Tremendous review with first class pictures. Well......that pretty much confirms a purchase for me!

Thank you for the review.

Gary

Edited March 31, 2015 by redcap