James H

I'll give that a try tomorrow...cheers

For a limited run kit, this is a pretty damn good one. To prepare the fuselage parts, I ran them over some medium wet 'n dry paper to even them out. After this, the parts fit superbly. I did add a shim of plasticard around the joints so the fuselage halves would pair together easily afterwards. The wing root locating holes were also drilled out so the wings would properly fit. I'm sure Alex will chime in soon here. I've painted the interior in Tamiya Flesh, and lightened the centre panels with Model Master Radome Tan. Edges and corners were then shaded with Tamiya Smoke before a thin coat of Flesh was sprayed to blend everything in.The overall effect is very nice, but for the exterior, I would like things to be a little lighter. If Alex can tell me the shades he used for the drop tank, then that would be better. I've used WGSF-28 Pale for most work, with the battens across the lower head rest assembly in 'Rich' to break it up. The decal is super easy to use, with everything being easily moulded to the various compound curves.

I've now done the interior colour, with highlights and lowlights. I'm waiting for the Klear to cure before I decal

Awesome work Alex. I have two of these in my stash, not including a partially built one. Is this long enough out of print now to tell us how you did the putty lines on the fuse?

An update this Sunday, with any luck....

I already decided....I'm building the Mk.II, and I'll start it immediately after review.. Thanks for sharing this Petr. The CAD looks real good.

Lovely work. Can you tell us more about the base kit and conversion? I might try one of these myself sometime

Died and gone to heaven. Simply sensational. I love that lozenge..

Welcome back Harv Now, DON'T do that again! You look after yourself...

That PC10 is exactly how I wish I could get it to look. Absolutely superb job. Clean photo etch and decaling, and on top of that, soft skin....

Shit! Hope all goes well Harv. Get back to health and your workbench real soon...

Evening modellers! For a few months, I've been in a state of burn-out. Not a case of losing mojo, but simply that I've not been running true to form. Earlier this evening I returned from Munich, and I spent an evening with Alex Glass (Uschi can der Rosten). Over a fantastic meal at a restaurant in Unterschleißheim, we discussed me doing a quick project to be finished in wood grain decal. Alex brought the drop tank to the restaurant with him that he showed on his FB page. I'm sure our wives were fascinated as we talked about veneers and the various timbers that aircraft were built from..... My 'burnout' special project is Fly Models 1:32 Bachem Ba 349V 'Natter'. The entire exterior will be finished in a combination of Uschi's different wood grain decal releases, including some that we'll be reviewing here on LSM very soon. I'll be starting this project any day now, and of course, I'll be building this right here. Here is the kit I'll be building:

Again, the comments about our style and quality are much appreciated. Our guys spend a lot of time writing, and to read that you like what we do means a lot. Thank you......

1:32 Spoked Wheels, German Spoked Wheel Shop Available soon from the Spoked Wheel Shop for $100AUS Without a doubt, the genre of Great War aviation modeling is getting as much attention from aftermarket manufacturers as were the mainstream modeling genres, a few years ago. Before 2009, and the launch of Wingnut Wings, large scale WW1 modellers didn't have much of a choice, and certainly very little in the way of AM sets. Perhaps it's too early to say that 1:32 WW1 modellers are now experiencing a 'golden age', but with this first release from the 'Spoked Wheel Shop', you'd certainly be forgiven for thinking so. Fokker D.VII It can be quite unusual to see one of those beautiful Albatros, Fokker or Pfalz aircraft without the protective canvas covers that adorned the wheel 'hub' area. They were there for a reason; to protect from airfield debris being thrown up into the wheel, and probably to streamline the wheel too. Having said that, aircraft were indeed known to operate without them, and of course, during maintenance, they would be removed. Hannover CL.II Have you ever tried to make your own spoked wheels? I haven't, and doubt I could make a convincing enough attempt. The recent Windsock Worldwide has an article on how to try your hand, but it this is all too much for you, then this is where the 'Spoked Wheel Shop' will come in very handy. Before we continue, you will have seen the cost of these at the top of the article. Please don't let this put you off, as you are about to find out why they cost $100AUS, and I think you'll agree that these are pretty exceptional, by anyone's standards. The Spoked Wheel Shop isn't due to actually launch until the 1sy July this year, but in the interim, we have been lucky enough to receive a set of their 760 x 100 wheels which form their very first release. The operation is run by Steven Robson, a native of Adelaide, Australia, and he has spent the last four years both researching his subject and perfecting the creation of his product. Initially, only small quantities of these will be available, primarily due to the hand-made nature of the product. Ok, onto the wheels themselves. Steve sends his products packed into small, plastic jewel boxes, with each wheel being contained in a separate box, along with a different size outer wheel. The wheels are also inserted into small sleeves of foam to protect them further. This also aids piece of mind when it comes to purchase, as the wheels themselves, are surprisingly strong. The boxes are also sealed with a length of masking tape. Mine winged their way from Oz, all the way to the UK with zero problem. Shipping also only took a few days too, which is reassuring. Steve has supplied my review set, as he will with regular sales, with an extra pair of tyres. These wheels are perfectly suitable for German C & D class aircraft. Comparisons of these against the Wingnut Wing kit parts do indeed show a nigh on perfectly sized replacement for these parts. Of course, you will need to slightly modify the axel so that the wheels can be pinned to them with a small length of brass wire. For your information, German C Type aircraft were fitted with 810 x 125 sized tyres, and D Types used 760 sized tyres. Steve will supply both tyre sizes with his wheel sets. For general information, C Type aircraft were the armed two-seater biplanes, such as the Rumpler C.IV, Halberstadt CL.II, to name the two from WNW's current range. D Type were armed single seat scout/fighter biplanes, such as the Albatros line, Fokker D.VII, Pfalz D.III/a, and the majority of Idflieg fighter types. Exclusions to this rule were generally aircraft such as monoplanes and triplanes (Fokker Dr.1 and Fokker E.I/II/III/IV/V). Steve is currently working on these for release though, but you are looking at around another year, possibly from the date of this review. Steve certainly WON'T release anything until he gets both his research and construction techniques nailed down. The wheel rims themselves are cast from STERLING SILVER! These are produced using the Lost Wax casting method which is common for many ornate model castings, and because this is silver, it will need to be protected from oxidation which will cause the rim to tarnish. I suggest a light brushing with Klear, or similar, and using this as a base primer before you paint them. The instructions also suggest a chemical mix to add a patina to the rim and brass hub. I can't vouch for the silver, but the Uschi van der Rosten brass blackening fluid would be excellent for the hub. This centre brass hub is finely turned, and the spokes themselves are extremely strong Japanese tri-filament. As you would expect, one side of the wheel exhibits the characteristic cone shaped outer hub, whilst the inner hub is more flat. Check your references though, as it wasn't unknown for aircraft to have these reversed. The outer rim is also recessed as was the real thing. You can use the rims with the actual WNW kit parts, as the hub diameters correspond. For this, simply cut away the kit hub and trim to the internal tyre diameter, checking against the silver rim for the final fit measurement. Doing this will ensure that your model retains the 'Gothania' or other raised tyre manufacturer mark that the kit is moulded with. If you wish to use the tyres supplied, you will need to eradicate any soft seam from the circumference, using some fine wet 'n' dry paper, then you'll have to paint them in a mid grey colour. WW1 tyres were generally NOT black. Comparison with Wingnut Wings Fokker D.VII (OAW) wheel To remove the tyres, which look like perfectly sized O-rings, is simplicity itself. I simply pull the tyre outwards at opposing sides, and use my thumb to gently push the hub/rim outwards. I can do a tyre change in about 30 seconds per wheel. Try getting Kwik-Fit to do that! A single sheet of A4 is included which explains the construction of the wheel and materials. You will notice that the spokes can be supplied in various materials. As well as the tri-filament we have been sent, you can also choose from a steel alloy or even sterling silver. I suspect the latter is perhaps more of a luxury than as to look authentic. The sheets data is given thus: Technical Data each Wheel Rim: Lost-wax casting in Sterling Silver, 17mm OD (not including the rim flanges), rim width 2mm, Hub: Brass 2mm OD with 2 x flanges in 3mm OD Brass Inner axel 1mm OD (length varies) plus 2 x finishing washers in 2mm OD Spokes: Option A: 40 x Tri-layer filament (Japan) 0.14mm OD in graphite colour Option B: 40 x Sterling Silver wire 0.2mm OD Option C: 40 x Steel Alloy wire 0.15mm OD, colour natural steel Tyre: 760's: Rubber O-ring, 17mm ID, round cross-section in 3mm OD 810's's: Rubber O-ring, 17mm ID, round cross-section in 4mm OD Wheel: Outside Diameter fitted with supplied 760 rubber tyres, 23mm Outside Diameter fitted with supplied 810 rubber tyres, 25mm Tips Restore scratched rim patina with 1200 grain Wet & Dry sand paper Remove the tyre seam by weathering with 240 grain Wet & Dry prior to fitting Trim and hand drill the kit axel to fit wheels or just replace the kit part with 2mm OD (1.1mm ID) brass tube Use the kit tyres by making a donut to fit your wheels Weather the rim and hub with Liver of Sulphur or oil paint wash to darken. Paint the rim grey/green after priming first with floor polish So what do we think? When I showed this set of wheels to a site staff member, he described them as being perhaps the ultimate in aftermarket for Great War aviation modellers. There can be no doubt that this product is aimed at the modeller who wishes to lavish a lot of time and expense of his/her project, but at the same time affords a modeller with limited bench time, the chance to fit a set of authentic looking, and totally accurate spoked wheels. The surgery needed to fit these is minimal, and only a length of brass wire or stiff brass/steel rod is required to fit, along with a suitable size micro drill bit. This is a simple solution to what most modellers would find a nightmare to achieve, and one which must be now highly tempting. The possibilities are endless, especially for depicting maintenance dioramas, or those with decommissioned. As I write, I know there are other producers of spoked wheels, but for sheer craftsmanship and quality, I think my friend really was right about about these: the ultimate AM upgrade for your pride and joy. Extremely highly recommended My sincere thanks to the Spoked Wheel Shop for the review sample used here. To buy directly, head over to the SWS home on WW1 Aircraft Forums, and form an orderly queue at the door. Sales open from July 1st 2013 James H.

You're making serious progress.....liking it a lot. Doesn't the set come with a template to help with the bomb fins? I know you're still a long way off yet, so I'm looking forward to seeing the wings installed. What projects next?

What's the overall size of this when complete? That tail looks awesome.

1:32 Gnôme Monosoupape 9 Type B-2 (100hp) Taurus Models Catalogue # D3213 Available from Story Models for £23.90 The Gnôme Monosoupape 9 Type B-2 was a 100hp, nine-cylinder British rotary engine, which was used on numerous aircraft types, such as the DH.2, DH.5, Avro 504, Bristol Scout, Sopwith Pup. Development continued from 1915 with the French company Gnôme et Rhone, and along with its almost direct German equivalent, the Oberursel UI, was one of the most successful aero engines of the Great War. If you are a modeller of World War 1 aviation, Taurus Models are a company that should surely have blipped on your radar by now. Whilst only a relatively new outfit, over the last year or so, Taurus have released a stream of aftermarket and upgrade sets in both 1:48 and 1:32, with these mostly being aimed around aircraft engines. Indeed, we have recently reviewed their Oberursel UI as well as numerous other valve lifter/rocker sets, and sparkplugs. Today, we take a look at the new 1:32 Gnôme Monosoupape 9 Type B-2. Almost complementing their release, the Gnôme Monosoupape is packaged into a very delicate box, made from a satin finish paper, and beautifully printed with finished images of the rotary engine. This box, despite how handmade and attractive it is, must be treated with kid gloves. This is one to sit on top of your aftermarket stash. A kit box could crush it. Inside the box, four small zip-lock wallets contain a total of NINETY-ONE medium grey resin parts, and a coil of very small, almost filament gauge copper wire. A small instruction sheet is included, and you will definitely need to reference this to build this engine. The first packet contains the engine's main crankcase, drift-shaped propeller shaft, rear crankcase, and rear crankcase electric plate. The crankcase itself is certainly one of the nicest pieces of casting I've seen, and contains superb plate and bolt detail, as well as a manufacturer's plate, clean holes for pushrod cap installation, and some great detail to the rear, adjacent to the casting block. This part needs to be carefully removed so as not to damage any of that neat bolt-head detail. The cylinder locations are keyed so that their orientation is correct when installed. So much of this kit relies on accurate and careful assembly. The rear crankcase and electric plate should be fairly easy to de-block, as a resin dead area exists between the part and its casting block. I still advise a razor saw though, and not to breathe too hard whilst cutting. The second parts bag contains the nine cylinders, with finely rendered and cast cooling fins, cylinder top rocker head locations, and also an aperture into which the spark plugs can be inserted. Cast individually, with a very small, easy to remove block, so seam lines exist on these, providing an immediate improvement to any injection moulded kit part. The last bag of resin parts contains EIGHT casting blocks packed with numerous parts; some of them incredibly small. Thankfully, Taurus have seen fit to give us ten of the smaller parts, where only nine would be needed for assembly. These smaller parts include spark plugs, piston rods, piston rod caps, piston rod linkages, plungers, and insulators. These parts are finely cast, in incredible detail, and a post cast onto the end of each block protects the parts from any damage within the package. Two last casting blocks contain the rocker arms and valve lifters. The valve lifters need to be carefully installed as seven of them are cast in a closed position with an un-tensioned spring, whilst the open ones are tensioned. The casting block clearly shows which is which, and when you look closely at the parts, the difference can actually be seen in such a small scale. These parts really do have to be seen with the eye to appreciate just how great they look in this scale. Again, real care needs to be exercised when it comes to removal and assembly. You get no spares for these last parts. As there are two cylinders which have different valve positions, the plunger on the base of the pushrod will protrude into the cap at different lengths. This is quite simple to understand when you see the instruction leaflet. All resin is flaw free, with only the faintest hint of flash on the rocker assemblies. The last packet contains the 0.1mm copper filament wire. This is designed to be used to plumb the sparkplugs down to the insulators and electrical ring. The instructions take a little reading, and should be understood fully before assembly. You really need to compare the diagrams with the box art images to perhaps understand the minutiae of how things fit together in relation to each other. Once understood, the detail images on the instructions all of a sudden become very clear. The valve sequence is also explained, so that you can correctly place the open valve cylinders in the right position in relation to the closed valve cylinders. He text is most informative with regard to this. Painting is also discussed, with overall colours being given, as well as a profile for the spark plugs, which in themselves require three colours of paint! So what do we think? You need a steady hand, the patience of a saint and an eye for detail in order to get the best out of this detail set, but in all, assembly isn't too difficult, and it most certainly offers a high level of detail which an injection moulded kit can only hint it. If you decide to fit one of these to the rear of your WNW DH.2, the difference will be immediately apparent, despite the great parts that the base kit already has. Now you can build a DH.2 with a Gnôme Monosoupape 9 Type B-2, and an Eindecker with a Taurus Oberursel UI. Very highly recommended Our sincere thanks to Story Models for the review sample used here. To purchase directly, click THIS link.

Andy, welcome to LSM!

Lovin' it

It's great to have you on board Petr. CMK were the first sets I used when I came back to the hobby, and I have a number of them still in the stash. Always wanted to build that He 177 too....perhaps one day! Really looking forward to seeing what you guys will release.

Oh lord! Died and gone to heaven. The Mk.II is the one I'd go for.

That looks superb, and very clean. It's about time we saw this in kit form. What's the release date.

1:32 Seatbelts for Sopwith Snipe, RE.8 and DH.9a HGW Catalogue # and price: see article Available from HGW HGW are busy filling in the back catalogue of Wingnut Wings releases with laser cut editions of their excellent seatbelt sets. These microfibre and photo-etch belts really are in a league of their own. The sets we've been sent are: #132520, Sopwith Snipe Early, 229,- Kč #132523, DH9a "Ninak", 229,- Kč #132504, RE.8 "Harry Tate", 229,- Kč There's no doubt that HGW's packaging is very sturdy, yet attractive too, with the microfibre sheet and photo etch fret being affixed to a decorative display inlay using low-tack adhesive. The inside of the clear, re-sealable wallets also contain a very stiff card to prevent damage. Essentially, these sets contain the same components, as the belts themselves (lap belts) were of the same pattern for these different machines. Of course, the RE.8 and DH.9A were two seat machines, and the Snipe a single seat fighter, so the parts count per set reflects this. Despite the RE.8 and DH.9a containing the same number of microfibre parts, the sheet layout of the parts is slightly different. This means that if you have either of these sets, they can still essentially be used for either machine. The same applies if you have one of the two seater sets, yet with to complete two single seat Snipes. The photo etch frets for the two seaters are also identical, except for the product etched label. Curiously, the frets for the two seat machines actually carry enough parts for FOUR belts, so if you are a little savvy, you could use these with home-made paper/foil parts at a later date. The Snipe set contains only enough photo etch for a single belt set. HGW's microfibre belt sets really are a revolution in modeling. I've always struggled a little to get photo etch belts to look correct, and if they are colour printed, then extra care must be taken. Tin foil belts have generally worked better for me, but of course, you need to paint them. HGW's microfibre belts are printed in full colour onto a synthetic fabric. These are then precisely laser-cut, leaving you with only a small number of tags to cut through to release the part from the sheet. The laser cutting process also has the pleasant after effect of slightly discolouring the inks around the edges of the parts, giving a superb organic look. The laser process is also used to etch stitching, where applicable. These only tend to show when you apply a wash, giving a thoroughly authentic look. The actual colour printing process reproduces the material appearance of the real thing, with printed stitching too. To prepare these parts, you must first scrunch them into a small ball and manipulate them between the fingers for a couple of minutes. This makes the material pliable and easy to form. When straightened out, you assemble the belts using tiny spots of CA. I prefer to use gel for this purpose as it's easy to precisely assemble the parts when you have a few moments before the glue finally cures. The belts can be weathered and washed using oils and pastels also, without any risk to the integrity of the assembly. The photo etch parts, manufactured by Eduard, are first rate, with just a little folding required for the clasps. All parts are easy to remove from the fret due to small connection tags. The instructions for all three sets are identical, being printed on an insert in the rear of the packet. Microfibre and photo=etch parts are distinguishable with red ink used to denote the fabric parts, and ble for the metal. Alternative connection parts are supplied, depending on whether you connect the belts to the seat direct, using an etch clasp, or via a fabric sling arrangement. So what do we think? Three more sets which are very likely to please Wingnut Wings fans who have not only the recent Snipe, but also the older releases too. Again, quality is excellent, and the price very reasonable. Certainly nothing to criticize at all with these releases. Very highly recommended. My sincere thanks to HGW for the review samples used here. To buy directly, click THIS link. James H

What a great looking model! I'm very much looking forward to seeing this sprout wings. That MG on the side is just mad, and the weld detail etc. Totally love it, and I love you too.

Alley Cat do a resin canopy and masks for this. Soon to be reviewed here.