Wingnut Wings Gotha UWD (32053) - 1:32 Wingnut Wings

Viking · July 27, 2019

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