Fran

wow!!! Love it!

1:48 Pilots & Ground Crew Sets 1 and 2 The Fusilier Catalogue n.º FUS 48/01 and 48/02 Price tag: £14 each set The Fusilier is a brand of one man: Steve Warrilow. Anyone who is in the WWI world knows his name. He dedicates to sculpt beautiful figures, only of the Great War. And if it has The Fusilier name on it, that´s for sure, a quality product. Until last year, Fusilier has only large scale figures being the small ones in 1:32. Today we are checking the two new 1:48 Pilots and ground crew sets. The sets pack came in small but sturdy hard plastic box each one. All the figures are in beige color resin. Parts were safely secured in a sort of cotton and all the resin are very well cast, smooth, and with no bubbles at all or imperfections. In the past, I had have the pleasure to review a test-shot of one 1:48 scale figure, what I had called “a gentlemen war”. Well now It´s in full production and it`s amazing to see that the only semi-low point (a big nose) that I pointed is now fixed…. COOL! All come in a light grey resin, with little clean to do and some seams lines to remove. The detail in all figures is quite sharp, with special attention to cloth small details like buttons, pockets, leather etc. These details read in conjunction with the well achieved posture that can pass thought the figure. In addition to all this, a beautiful facial expression, nothing easy to get on this scale. Pilots come in one piece thereby facilitating its completion. The staff members who carry stuff of course come with three or four parts, with a brief dry fit, it seems to fit quite well. I had huge difficulties in photographing these figures, not only for its size, the color of the resin but mainly my fault. I apologize for that. CONCLUSION: The Fusilier and Steve Warrilow is a world reference in sculpting, and is well worth it. These are brilliant sculpt, with great poses and sharp detail even for 1:48 figures. The cleaning is minimum, with little flash to remove. Any of these fantastic items would be a well worth add to your 1:48 WWI airplane for a very good tag price. HIGHLY RECOMMEND My sincerely thanks to Steve Warrilow, the man behind The Fusiler for the review samples. Just visit The Fusilier website (here) – and if you do don`t forget to mention LSM and WNW Fans). Fran

Nice paintjob Danny!!

Love it!!

Yup, 1:32 would be perfect... Alongside with a Tempest!

1:32 WWI Figures from Copper State Models Price tag: between £7.99 to £24.99 Cooper State Model is by no mean, a new name in the hobby. Any modeler knows it and always been associated to WWI, but of course I didn’t know the actual history of Cooer State Models. The CSM site has a brief history that is quite interesting and well worth the reading. So here`s goes: “In 1996 my parents decided that they were ready to retire from the family business. Since I was ready to do something else for a living, we sold the company. I had recently got back building models after a 25+ plus year hiatus and decided to try that for a business. I chose the name Copper State Models (CSM) because Arizona is also known as the “Copper State”. The logo is the state’s outline with the state flag inset into it and a Fokker D.VII. At first I tried building for hire but soon discovered that I was too slow of a builder to make that work! A friend of mine named Bob owned The Model Car Garage (high end model car details) and was doing well with it. He became my mentor in starting CSM. I picked WWI a/c because not everyone and his cousin was doing that subject and I had a real interest in it. This was the beginning of the golden age of WWI a/c modeling. You had Eduard and Toko doing quality plastic kits so I saw a place for high quality details and put CSM in that direction. The hardest part of getting started was finding the vendors I needed to make the things I couldn’t make myself. Bob from MCG put me in touch with Tim for the PE (Photo-Etched parts- I.S.) artwork. We hit it off real well and he started drawing for me. PEC also came from Bob and for me they are the best PE producer in the business. Microscale has been doing quality decals for a very long time. They were close, good and willing to work with a small outfit like CSM. Laura and Vickie were absolute jewels to work with. Marty’s claim to fame was his magnificent hand carved wood props. I was buying props and corresponding with Marty by snail mail (no email then). Marty’s written English was in its learning stages and a friendship developed. When I told Marty about starting CSM, I had in mind selling his props as part of my line. He was agreeable and asked if I would be interested in kit masters. I said “absolutely” and he sent me the Do. D.I kit and that was the beginning of the CSM kit line. I started advertising in Windsock magazine very early. Ray and I became friends. He reviewed CSM’s products fairly and this was a huge boost to the company. He is one of the greatest supporters of WWI a/c modeling. Marty and I chose kits together based on interest and available documentation. We tried to pick kits that the “mainstream” model companies wouldn’t do. There was such a wealth of WWI a/c that has never been kitted in 1/48TH scale before for us to choose from. Float/flying boats and 2 seaters were our mainstay. I enjoyed my time setting up and running CSM. It was a great way to earn a living. With the passing of my parents I decided to retire and sell CSM. I would like to thank all the great vendors I worked with and my great customers all of whom I enjoyed dealing with. I would especially like to thanks my parents for their help and encouragement without which it never would have happened. I wish Ilya and Slava good hunting, God’s speed and all the success in the world. I hope they enjoy CSM as much as I did in their new venture. My advice would be to produce a quality product and charge a fair price and you will do well. Eric R. Hight Copper State Models Founder and Former President Quite a history and a fantastic boost from the Past… So into our figures. Each one comes in a small and sturdy box wrapped in bubbles There`s no assembly instructions and no decals for any of the figures. Every single set is quite simple, and the constructions is one of the best I ever seen in resin figures, being almost done with a little cleaning and perfect fitting. F32-001 - Russian WWI Pilot (four resin parts) The first figure is a Russian WWI Pilot, not quite suitable for WnW models but even thought is a quite welcome in 1:32 class WWI racking The resin is in medium/light gray. All the body in one very nicely cast piece and with a separate head and arms. This figure got no hands. It has a rather relaxed posture, making it very interesting. The jacket features with the insignia on the sleeves and the buttons have not been forgotten. All clothing fits the figure body position, being very well achieved. It is still not bound in any WnW but I'm to believe that this day becomes a day. F32-002 - RFC Pilot A RFC Pilot, just perfect for my Pup… J Cant`wait! The resin of this one is slightly darker but good consistency as indeed all the samples we received from CSM. All the detail on the clothes are simply amazing, You just can smell the leather! The facial expression is very good with a slight smile as smiling at the fate and face death before the mission! Very good, love it. The glasses, buckle and leather helmet very sharp and well achieved. This figure really looks great so I try to build it. Was more than fast. A perfect and little clean and voilà. Perfect! It is the first figures with construction to do with fittings so good and so little cleaning! In five minutes it is ready to be painted! F32-003 - British Pilot This Pilot comes in 4 pieces with separate arms and head and one piece for torso and legs. Once again builds up within minutes thanks to tiny resin blocks placed on the elbows and not on the joints. Don`t worry about the elbow cloth details, as intelligently elbows are shrunken and as such stretch clothes so that there is little detail on clothing, so nothing is lost with the resin block. Preparing for the mission by placing the glasses ... very accomplished posture with interesting details such as the gloves in his pocket. The expression of concentration and the clothes and recesses give a fantastic life to this figure and the whole scenario to which it is put. F32-004 - German aerodrome personnel with grenades crade This is a little more complex that the others because it does have a grenate crate and a forcing position for the figure that have to carry that crate. Five parts for the figure and grenade crate and ten grenades. In the face stands out the bushy mustache that gives a bright touch of realism to the figure! The crate has almost no wood grain in relief, but given its size I think they are completely unnecessary and could even compromise the realism of the figure. The detail of clothing is once again high quality. This is more complex but still the build is quite straightforward... 5 minutes and viola, ready for primer, forgot to take the picture…. Dohhh! Well bear with me and please trust me! F-32-005 - German aerodrome personnel bomb loading A loading bomb crew, This set is a perfect one to be on a LVG or DFW. The total parts are 10 parts, being only two for the bomb. Head and arms are, like all other, separate from the main torso with legs. The poses are very well achieved with great details and sharp details in the hands. Only a little flash to be clean up. The sharp detail is highlight for these pieces. The figures are in forcing positions representing quite well the effort of their work. Already saw this set on a LVG and looks fantastic… Probably it also be adequate to the DFW or even the Gotha or the AEG. F-32-006 German aerodrome personnel ordnance team with cart This set comprised of three figures, in dynamic pose, along with a cart, grenades and grenade trays. Each of the figures has a complete torso with legs attached, like all others. The card itself has four parts - the cart box, two wheels and the puller. The cart box does have some good and delicate engraved woodgrain details on inside floor and outside walls. Below the detail has not been neglected and contains the support structure. The wheels have some flash but little. They are highly accomplished despite its apparent fragility. The puller has good detail at the junction with the card box with well represented buckles. Thirty shells are provided in this set! More than sufficient for all the set or be placed in another Set Casting excellent, good detail is easy to remove. This Set gives you 3 figures and all of them were study to be tighter and interacting with each other. However at least one (the kneeling guy with the grenate crate) can be out of this scenario, and the modeler can put these in two dioramas at a very good price. Starting with who is kneeling with a grenade crate has optimal posture with clothing, carved in an exceptional way to fully enable the capture of their movements. The other two figures are bonding together in their posture, as they interacting with each other passing the grenades and putting down on the cart. All the facial expressions are from very concentrated men doing their job, a quite delicate job, so they look good. Like the other, the all body is one piece wth the head and arms separate. These do have optimum fit and easily achieved. Really a truly high point for CSM. Reaching the painting stage is quite easy and quick. The grenade crate is identical to the already revised so I have nothing more to say. F32-007 - Royal Naval Air Service pilot (RNAS) This one like all other has exquisite detail on the clothes and a true fantastic facial expression. The assembly of this one is so but so easy that I just take a photo of it full build… with almost no cleaning at all… the seam line in some not even exist, like this one. A perfect figure with fantastic detail and almost ready to paint. Conclusion: All of these sets do have a natural pose that would be an extra to all WnW model! All the uniforms with their exquisite detail on the buttons, pockets, leathers, boots and all clothes wrinkles are very sharp and crispy detail with almost no cleaning to do. The hands, facial expression and facial details (like eyes and mustache) are very well worked out and very convincing. The resin chunks are very easy to remove. Cooper State Models is a well know name in modelling Market and their Stuff mean QUALITY! You simply can go wrong with these figures, as they are perfect to stand on your shelf along with other stuff on WWI, mainly WnW. I wish the CSM stay along with us for a long long time bring us another items of extreme quality! VERY VERY Highly recommended. My sincerely thanks to Copper State Models for the review samples. (You can buy directly here and if you do don`t forget to mention Wingnut Wing Fans and Large Scale Modeller) Fran

pffff. just no... just got the slide canopy..... :(

wooow!!! Yup... the canvas look fantastic!! what did you use?

Thanks guys!! It has been quite fun having this little conversation with Dave and Richard! Love it!

Here we go again. An exclusive interview with our very own Dave Johnson, WnW Warehouse Operations Manager. This is exclusive and unique interview for WnW Fans/Large Scale Modeller. What is your role at WNW? So my official role at Wingnut Wings is Warehouse Operations Manager. My main task is to answer all the incoming emails to our help email account, shipping orders and making sure our warehouse has stock for the outgoing orders. Other tasks are arranging shipping from our Factories overseas when a product run of new kit/s is complete. Also I do a few admin tasks. In the past I have also have been involved with building Test Shots and writing fit reports on my findings of a said kit during its development. I did enjoy doing this, as it was my opportunity to have some input to the kits development. These days I don't really have the time to help with Test Reports, as my days are busier compared to earlier days of Wingnut Wings when we only had a few kits in the growing range. Time to time I also build sample display kits for our website. How many people do you have working for you? On a day to day basis, It’s just me. I process all the orders that we receive, answer all the emails and handle any issues that may arise in the warehouse. On occasions, we have had helpers in when something is to large for me to handle myself, like unpacking containers full of new kits, or a busy period like a multiple new release. What’s you normal day involve at WNW? Normally I will check how many orders we have received overnight and scan through the emails for any changes that may have to be done to an order. After that I normally will check out some of the modelling forums on the internet see what's been happening and any new news and comments. Also forums are great to see if there are any issues that I may of missed, like an email not getting through to us or any shipping issue someone may have.. After that, Orders get packaged prior to our courier arriving and answering all the emails. Who invited you to interview for the role? And how it was the invitation? I used to work for the Local Land Rover Dealership, as the Parts Brand Manager. Unfortunately the company was going under due to the hard financial times around the world. Richard happened to approached me at this time, as I knew him from the local hobby store and the local IPMS club. He asked what my background was and asked me for my CV as he knew of a role that I may fit into, and it just happened to be at the right time as I was about to lose my job the following day. How WnW appear in your life? At my first interview, I had no idea what the role was, but I knew it was something to do with warehousing and collectables. It wasn't till the second interview that I was shown the box for the Junkers J1 and then it became clear what the job was all about. When you saw the entire project, what did you thought about it? Doable or even crazy? It wasn't really till my first day on the job that really hit me.. I walked into the Wingnut Wings Studio and saw everything that had been happening to this point. I was pretty much blown away. As a modeller, I never thought something like Wingnut Wings could happen pretty much in my back yard, let alone be a part of it. BY anytime did Peter Jackson told you or others stuff members what he want for WNW? If so, There`s still much to come? - We see Peter from time to time in the office, but any input from Peter normally goes through Richard. Oh yes, for sure... There is a lot of great things to come! It`s a dream job? Ah.. Thats a hard one.. Yes and no to be honest! I do love my job.. I really get a kick seeing all the joy that we give to other modellers around the world when we release something new and unexpected. Also I have met all lot of fantastic people working for Wingnut Wings and made some great friendships around the world. So there is a lot of good stuff! But I do have to admit that it has killed my modelling motivation a couple of times over the last few years. I was able to build 8-10 kits a year easily, but the last couple of years I have been struggling to get to 4 or 5 built! What`s the worse time of the year in the wharehouse? Xmas time? Or ever single release? I won't say the worse time, but yes the busiest time of year is normally Xmas. Trying to get orders out prior to NZ Post International cut off dates and our Xmas holidays that we normally close down for, and then a couple of weeks after we return as there is a lot of catching up to do! Single releases are normally a walk in the park and easy to handle. It’s the multiple releases that normally cause a lot of chaos in the warehouse. We do try to get a few more people in to help out during these times. The recipes for success: please in your perspective, what make WnW so successful? I think the success is due to a couple of things. Having a great design team that keeps pushing the boundaries on tooling and keeping the upcoming kits to high standards. Great Customer service/support. And most of important.... Having great customers! Speaking of customers service, what was the worst situation that you have to fix? We don't get many issues that are hard to solve as most of them are pretty straight forward. But I would have to say the most annoying is the waiting period between Postal Services, when we have to open a case to try to find a missing package. It does get very annoying for myself and our customer. The WnW staff members most Have some privileges. Do they get free WnW models kits? Yes, I think all jobs have privileges these days.. In the past I have been to a couple of Airshows at Omaha and Wanaka in the South Island of New Zealand. I was lucky enough to go to Toyko for the 2009 Hobby Show. Even to pre-release showings of Peters movies. And yes the odd Free Kit does appear on our desks. You did in fact several models like DH.2 and Roland. Those models are yours or WnW property? Yes I have built a few kits for the Website. I think I built 14-16 of them now. In the past they have been the property of Wingnut Wings as they commission myself or other modellers to build them. A couple of times its been hard to hand something over to Richard, so now he gives me the option to build it for Wingnut Wings or myself. If I do choose to build it my for myself Wingnut Wings gets to photograph it for the website samples. I have done this a couple of times in the past. Most recently with the Roland C.II, which happens to be in the window at my local hobby store at the moment. Being a fantastic and very talent modeller what was the most pleasant WnW that you ever build? And the most unpleasant one? And if you already built a WnW just for yourself, with no deadlines? All the Wingnut Wings kits that I have built so far have been really enjoyable. But the ones that stand out for me would be the Fokker E.1 and the DH.2. Unpleasant one would be the Rumpler Late.. Which was all my fault! I was looking good for the deadline that Richard wanted it for... But in the final stages, I knocked it off the table and it looked like many of the WW1 period photos of shot down aircraft... smashed into many pieces! I had to get a few spares to fix it up and it was about a week after the release it appeared on the website. Yes I have built a couple for myself with no deadlines, the last one would have been the Fokker E.II/E.III. But that’s going a couple of years back! Does WNW HQ have a display case for the built models? Is there any Peter Jackson models? Yes we have a couple of case full of built kits and test shots of upcoming items. I guess you could say they are all Peter's models. But ones that Peter has built personally, unfortunately, no. WnW model kits motivate all kinds of feeling even of awe. On 29/8 on ebay.uk, a SE 5a Hisso (in mint condition) was sold for £ 66.50 (around $ 102) Being on sales department explains that the kit that WnW sells for $ 69 to sell for more than $ 100 when it is not OOP? I think it comes down to what someone is willing to pay these days. It may be easier for the person to pay the extra amount and not have to worry about the international shipping period, the taxes it may occur at their end when it arrives and/or the time they may have to spend clearing the package. Or another case could be, that the buyer doesn't want to deal with ordering internationally and prefers to deal with someone more local to them. The original oils paints that are fantastic WnW box art are on WnW HQ or with Peter Jackson or with Steven Anderson? Once Steve is finished, they arrive here and are placed in Peter's collection after we have photographed them for our box tops. I caught this sentence for a well know forum “And while the "novelty" of WNW may have worn off, it seems to me they have done a pretty good job of maintaining the interest and excitement. For example the WNW Fans FB page has over 3000 members last I looked, with so many new posts every day that I for one cannot keep up with it.” WnW does not have facebook page… What`s your comment to this? Yes it’s true that we don't have a Facebook page or any Social Media accounts. We do have a very loyal fan and customer base that does everything for us in the means of Social Media. It’s great to see the chatter on the Wingnut Wings Fans Facebook page and forums on the internet. We only need to send out a Newsletter or post an new item on the website and it gets picked up pretty quickly. A few times in the past Richard and I had been surprised how fast thing get picked up and posted to the internet. What do you think about the WnW fans FB page and if WnW should have a facebook page like Tamiya, Trumpeter, Meng, HobbyBoss? Or should WnW Fans FB page become an official facebook page? These days lots of people turn to Social Media for information. I do, and it’s a great way to keep up to date on news, updates on your favorite sports team and of course anything modelling related. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have an official Wingnut Wings page. But Wingnut Wings Fans does fantastic job already! Richard said on the last interview that free shipping will be over late this year or early 2016. The end of it will bring any decrease of the model price tag? The free postage is currently hidden in the price, that`s why I ask… I am not involved in the process of determining kit prices. Free shipping definitely hasn't been included in the price tag in the past. But I can assure everyone that we have been looking at the best options available to us to help keep costs of shipping down to all our customers. We take the next question: WnW is distinguished from the other big brands like Tamiya / Hasegawa / Dragon / Meng to not carry out any retail sale and not have any distributor by different parts of the world? It was an option that will now end because the end of the free shipping? From the beginning we were wanting to get our kits into the hands of modellers at the very best price they could purchase them for. But there are quite a few Hobby Stores, Online retailers that still took on our kits at the full retail and added a small margin and sold them successfully within their stores. Only problem is that we still today get people only finding out about us, so by going this route we will hopefully gain more customers that have never heard of us before or not dealt with us because we are based overseas. That ending of the free shipping is directly connected with the new two and first importers? And if WNW kits went thru the same distribution process, would they become much more expensives? No its not connected in any way at all to the Wholesalers. They have been on board for a while now. Unfortunately the Free Shipping offer is coming to an end as its not sustainable for us to proceed with it. Besides you and Richard, is there any one that was already a modeller before entering to WnW Staff? Few of our 3D Modellers build kits in one way or another. Also Malcolm our Decal Artist has his own decal company that produces New Zealand related aircraft decals called Ventura. He also had a range of kits mainly in 72nd that he produced and sold under Ventura. Customer service: i remember that at least 3 times, was post On WNW Fans by modellers that they get wrong Wnw models kits, models that they didn't Order and the models ordered were not in the package. The solution given by WnW (particullary by you) was simply amazing: Sorry. We will send you the correct ones. Keep those models for yourself. Indeed, Our helpers and I are only human, so mistakes do happen from time to time. Its indeed a case by case basis... If we can correct a mistake by sending out sprues, decals etc we will. But from time to time a complete kit is sent out. Other brands don't do this and i EVER was one of the lucky ones. The philosophy of WnW to be a brand that stands out from the others is reflected in customer service. From the beginning there was by the wnw a criterion of being the world's best or simply wanted to deal with designers and customers would like to be treated? There were no guidelines set in place when Wingnut Wings first started. But I try to handle each enquiry, as I would like to be handled myself if I was the customer. Will we see an official WnW stall in Scale Model World (IPMS UK - Telford) one day? We have looked at it in the past, but it’s a huge operation to go to any international show. Weather we go to sell kits or purely on a display purpose, it involves a lot of time and effort. So maybe one day, so don't rule it out! Did you expected the all buzz around WnW still after 6 years? To be honest I didn't know what to expect... we get a lot of great feedback from customers when they email in. And there is always the excitement when there is something new released. But yes it’s great to see it still going today 6 & 1/2 years after we released our first four kits. Mainstream manufactures have launch Last Year and this year several WWI AFV. It was only because of the WWI centenary or did WnW show to the world that you can have Fantastic models kits and open minds of others Manufactures? We have no way of knowing for sure but I think it’s a case of both things. It's a great time to release WW1 related items as the interest is very high at the moment with all the centenary celebrations happening around the world. I do think that Wingnut Wings has helped the WW1 modeling in a big way, as it has opened areas up to modellers that weren't originally interested in this period. I know that for sure, as I am one myself! Prior to Wingnut Wings I had no interested in the First World War or any kits from that era.. Now I find myself building Aircraft and now tanks from this period. Any special word to all WnW fans worldwide? Thanks for your support and words when you guys email in. And keep building them as we love seeing the results from our kits. ------------------------------------------ Thank you Dave for your time, and for your kind words to WnW Fans! Fran

Wow.... fantastic weathering!

Thank you Gentleman for your kind words!

Hobbyzone is great stuff!!

8 years-old??? Really??? A very talent modeller!!! Fantastic job!

As an introduction, First of all I want to thank the patience and attention with Richard has responded over the five years to my emails, More appreciate all the support that Richard has given me throughout this year , especially in the last two years ( support which always wanted it to be unofficial) . Thank you ! I take also to thank the generous offer I received .. still speechless Here are a few questions that was collecting and reminding me over the last few months that allowed WnW learn more about the history of fans WnW and how and where it is the history of modeling, every day , revolutionizing an industry there are already 6 years. Richard, when Peter Jackson talked to you to be the WnW coordinator, what was the very first thing that cross your mind? When was that? RA: I was approached in mid 2006 and I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to work with highly skilled and motivated professionals as well as being able to incorporate a lot of my ideas about what makes a great model kitset. All of us, modellers, think that you have a dream job? Its really a dream job? I have to agree, it is a very rewarding job. Sometimes frustrating, always educational and always rewarding! How long it took to release in 2009 Easter the first model kits? Since when have you and the staff working on the models? Preliminary R&D work had been underway for a year or so before the project really gained momentum in late 2005 with the arrival of the mould and tool coordinator Umberto ‘Taffy’ Figliola and jumped up another gear after I came on board in mid 2006. So it was about 5 years from inception until the release of our first 4 models in early 2009. What`s is the Peter Jackson vision and goal for WnW? Is WnW there yet? What you see IS Peter Jackson's vision for Wingnut Wings, to produce large scale, high quality and accurate models of First World War aircraft that are suitable for the beginner or expert modeller alike. There are of course still the Special Editions and figures to come and eventually many more interesting and (hopefully) exciting new releases. After 6 years now, how do you resume your work at WnW? The success has been tremendous, rocking the modelling world. I personally said that it’s the best of the best… but how do you see it? I'm very pleased with what our little team from New Zealand have been able to produce to date. The release of every new model is a milestone to celebrate and a very proud moment for everyone concerned. Of course I always want each new model to be just a little bit better than the one before it if at all possible. Much has been said about WnW craziness of the new and most welcome news… but there`s are voices that said that what WnW wants is, as all companies, the profit… I think WnW has been showing that is not true… what do you want to say about this? Well those voices are dead wrong. Wingnut Wings is NOT a profit driven company. I would think that was very clear from our choice of subjects and the attention to detail that we often apply well beyond what most modellers would expect. If we were a profit driven company would make models of Mustangs, Spitfires, Bf 109s, Fw 190s, F-15s and Ferraris etc. Any one of which would almost certainly prove to be more profitable than even the most popular of First World War aircraft. Was WnW company affected somehow by the global financial crisis? Somewhat, and we have had to make some changes Luckily our customers are remarkably loyal and, for the most part, can see how our models represent very good value for money. WnW surprised everyone and make a really big buzzat modelling world with not one but Two Felixstowe`s and one Duellist. Two months later, the longed waited AEG G. IV. Since 2009, WnW continues to amaze and shake the modelling world several times a year!! Can we expect WnW to keep doing that for many years to come? It`s becoming harder and harder… Let's hope so. Personally I feel every new large scale model of a First World War aircraft is a triumph and something worth celebrating no matter who the manufacturer is. So long as we can recoup enough from sales to cover our costs Wingnut Wings will continue to release exciting new models. WnW has a quite different “release” politics from the rest of the modelling world: since 2010, WnW do not announce any release… WnW simply drop the bomb… it had happen with the DFW (simply send to the winners of the Eindeckers GB WnW fans at Large Scale Modeller, the first two in the world before being on the your website, and fully signed), the W.12 that WnW Fans page was fortune to have a pic of the model and the designer a few minutes before been officially announce and many other… In the Felixstowe process everything went down as expected or it was announce too early (it appear on the January 2015 Finescale Modeller, in the web edition, and it was share on WnW fans facebook page and for the first time WnW offer a pre-order timeline)?? Despite appearances, almost nothing went right with regards to the release schedule of the Felixstowes. The initial plan was to release the Felixstowe F.2a & Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 Duelists set without any warning in mid November (imagine that!) and at the same time preview the Early and Late versions with a release date of late November, just in time for Christmas. At the same time as we released the remaining Felixstowes we were going to add the Hansa-Brandenburg W.12 Early to our website as our special Christmas surprise release. Of course, as it turned out, production delays with the Felixstowes and an electronic copy of Finescale Modeler that was annoyingly sent out 2 weeks early combined to scuttle all those plans. Luckily we were able to adapt in such a way that, outwardly at least, it appeared as if it was still under control! How WnW keeps all the release so well under the radar? That's because we can keep a secret! And so can the very professional external people and companies that we deal with. Having said that, there are models like the Sopwith Camel, Post War Bristol Fighter and DH.9a that we do not keep secret. Can we say that with WnW everything is possible? Perhaps not everything, but given enough time and continued interest anything might be possible. The first interview that I saw online was on Hyperscale back in 2010 and Peter Jackson ends saying that “there’s lots more to come” Now in 2015, that sentence still applies to nowadays? Absolutely, there is lots more to come. So long as there is continued support and we are able to recoup enough from sales to cover our costs, Wingnut Wings will continue to release exciting new models. The WnW models release until now do not have sequencial number…there`s gap between them that takes us to the next question: How many models are in development? Can you gives us any clue about one of them (besides the post war types announce on WnW website and the Camel)? No. Not at this time. That way they will be a nice surprise. And what the part of The Vintage Aviator (TVAL) as in the new projects or in the developed projects? We receive a tremendous amount of support, information and expertise from The Vintage Aviator LTD. Luckily, we are sometimes able to reciprocate a little and help them out too, but usually it's a pretty one way street. In May 2012 , we were faced with a reality that never had thinking of.... a Sold out WnW model kit... (Only in late 2014, the W.29 has been release in a duellist pack). After that several others has been declared as sold out… This meant that those models will never be release again with that box and that decals option? Yes that is correct. We have no intention of re-releasing them again in the same boxes and with the same decal options. It should be noted that so far no model has sold out in less than 17 months and most have taken a lot longer than that. Those models on Ebay are getting to quite high price… why the option of one run production? It should be noted that no major model kit company keeps all their models in production all the time. This question has been made several times I suppose: The free international shipping. After 5 years, WnW still offer the shipping… Can we count on that for the next 5 years? No. Free shipping is not sustainable and will almost certainly end late this year or early in 2016. For the next question, the last time I asked this I got a simply reply: "yes eventually" But I will ask again: special editions and resin ground crew and pilots that has been announce in 2010 will come out one day? If so, can you tell us when? Yes...eventually. Does WnW release any model that Peter Jackson doesn`t want? No. Lots of ink has been running on forums and websites about the AEG price tag. Explanation was given by one fellow staff member and post on our LSM review like this: A direct comparison to the cost of our earlier model 32005 Gotha G.IV (currently priced at just US$149) is inevitable I encourage you to consider these significant differences; 1. AEG G.IV tooling is 1.3x the cost of the Gotha G.IV. 2. AEG G.IV plastic injection moulding is 2.3x the cost of the Gotha G.IV. 3. AEG G.IV decal printing is 2.75x the cost of the Gotha G.IV. 4. The Gotha G.IV is probably priced too low. It`s obvious, after this, the AEG will be more expensive. But we will not have in the future another two-engine aircraft at Gotha´s price tag and the production cost is higher because the injection production is not in China anymore. Is this statement correct to do? Yes and No. Yes: It will not be possible to create any new twin engined aircraft models to the same sort of cost as the Gotha G.IV released in 2010. Overall production costs have gone up, models are more detailed & complex (as anyone who has built both the Gotha G.IV and AEG G.IV models can testify) and it is no longer 2010. And... No: As anyone can see by reading the side of the box or rear page of the instructions the AEG G.IV was manufactured in China like most of our other models. Only the first 8 models were injected in China? No. Most models have been tooled and injection moulded in China but some have been done in Korea. You can read where each model was manufactured on the side of every box and back of the instructions. Where do you hope the company will be in 2019 by WnW 10th anniversary? The release programme is fully booked through to the end of 2019 and beyond? I would hope that we are still around in 2019 and will have released many more new models, special editions and figures, all of which will continue to live up to the high standards we have set ourselves and our supporters have become accustomed to. The Christmas Surprise are now a a trademark for WnW… Can you we expect a Christmas surprise this year and many year after? Hopefully because it's quite fun for everyone... but an expected surprise really isn't a surprise is it? Sometime ago, WnW fans voted for the most Wanted WnW (not a wishlist but the most wanted one). The poll was made in two websites: Wnw fans on Large Scale Modeller and WnW fans facebook page… on both polls the result was the same: Etrich Taube. Was for you a surprising result? How do you see it? Not that surprising really once the Sopwith Camels was knocked out of contention because we announced that we were making it. The many various Taube are fascinating aircraft and the Etrich version is probably the most well known. I have to agree that it would certainly make for an impressive model if we were to decide to make it. There`s another part of WnW that, at least we modelers, don’t care about it and it`s almost a WnW dark side: “The little contemptibles”, hand crafted and painted 54mm. The miniatures are a ended project for WnW, as nothing more was release? There are more Little Contemptibles planned which will no doubt see the light of day once we have our other figures sorted out and available. Today how many people work in WnW HQ? And how many belong, in the world to WnW Staff? There is usually just under a dozen people here in New Zealand at any one time but many more around the world who contribute in their own way, from artists like Ronny Bar and Steve Anderson, aviation historians etc and all the people working at the tooling factories. Additionally I like to think that our many thousands of fantastically loyal and passionate customers are also an integral part of Wingnut Wings. Any special word to all WnW fans worldwide? I would like to thank you all for your continued support and encouragement in sharing our passion. We couldn't continue to do what we do without you. Also, please keep sending in photos of your built Wingnut Wings models to our customer models gallery (mymodel@wingnutwings.com) because all of us really enjoy seeing them. Thanks so much for your time and patience. Please continue to delight us with more and more WnW models kits. Fran

Thanks guys for your kind words! In fact, it`s a superb box!!

Fantastic subject but 189 €??? for a glider??

Here it goes guys!! I could not wait until tomorrow: The box art of the upcoming Bristol F.2b Fighter (post war) Probably it will be release next month. Fran

A brand new info just came in to WnW Fans HQ directly from WnW!! I believe that Camel is not to far behind!! JOY JOY!!!

Felixstowe F.2a & Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 Wingnut Wings 1/32 Scale Catalogue n. #32801 Price Tag: $349 In 2009, the Easter season, appeared in the history of modeling a new kit manufacturer brand. It would not be anything too extraordinary for brands kits, especially in the last 10 years have been many to come. However WnW is not just any brand. The WnW shook all modeling of ocmo well make a model structures, and be perfect at all levels, from the box-art (the most beautiful in the market) for plastic injection, and end up in the brilliant instructions, unequaled. Marveling at the box art, and for all that seemed to come from inside those boxes, and a very successful site, fell in love with a brand kits ... something that had never happened ... not even with Tamiya. Then in 2010 I had an idea ... The WnW is like a football club ... is a passion, and if it`s a passion, you do have to have followers, have to have fans... So with the genuine intention to bring together all those who have a passion, or only a small interest in WnW, I created in January 2010, WnW fans page on facebook. Since then, the page has grown much at the expense of the fans and the support of own WnW who knows of their existence and recognizes the importance of this page in internet world. In October 2013, WnW Fans joined the Large Scale Modeller and made sense becoming this fantastic forum, the foreign home (outside facebook). From 2010 to the present day many things have passed since 3 GB in LSM, two contests on facebook, with rewards given directly by WnW to its winners, a marathon, and the list for the most desired. Certainly many more things will come in time. Many projects are in queue. For all this I was fortunate to receive this gem at home, signed by Richard Alexander and with a special dedication. It was an extraordinary gift by the WnW which always, in one way or another, informally supported the WnW fans. I was totally speechless when I received this gift and do this review, not as an obligation (since I was expressly told by Richard that it was a gift and not a review sample) but rather as a gratitude to the WnW for what have done for modellers and for the general hobby for 6 years now. The modeling of awakening to WWI, even in AFV, by Tamiya, Meng Takom, not only due to the fact that the celebration of 100 years but also the momentum created and maintained by WnW to periodically launch new release, better and better. .. I'll stop now my cheap sentimentality, and let´s go crack the box. This box is huge but if you do have a Felixstowe, this one is exactly the same size. The difference is inside where on the duelist there no space left and after taking out all the sprues, is quite difficult t to put it in once again. But before entering the contents of the box, the box art is a true work of art. Almost risked to say that the box-art alone is worth at ease over $ 50 .. The postman arrived in the early morning on March 19 in Portugal is Father's Day. I took the box into the bedroom and opened in front of my wife and my daughters, and so shot the box, my wife so frankly said, is the most beautiful kit box you ever had. The box art alone is a true work of art. The WnW throughout the ages have been distinguished by excellent quality and its attractive boxes. We owe these attractive boxes to the talent of Steve Anderson and WnW clear vision of having a high quality product with beautiful presentation. Boxart of The Duellist, for me, the most beautiful of all. I have over 20 WnW models kits (Not much I know… shame on me) and over 200 other brands and when the box came to me was with my wife. So I opened the package, and revealed the Duellist box, my wife just said that beautiful picture. It is certainly the most beautiful boxart I've ever seen. And that pretty much sums up the boxart: a wonderful job, with a dynamic and exceptional drama, captured in full by Steve Anderson. The Duellist was on my wish list since it has release, not for the content (I already had the W29) but and only the box art. I just hit the jackpot with this WnW offering. Actual box art depicts the last moment of Felixstowe F.2a N4305 Early type to be attacked by Friedrich Christiansen`s Hansa Brandenburg W-29, with the whole evolution of such confronts perfectly portrayed and exemplary manner in the instructions. The Duellist has two already release model kits from WnW: The Hansa-Brandenburg W.29 and the Felixstowe F2a (early type). These two models have already been masterly reviewed in Scale Plastic and Rail and in Large Scale Modeller and all the main and detail aspect of both model kits has been well analyzed in impartially and honestly way. Even though, I will give my personal and brief look up in all sprues before going to the differences. In the big box you got 22 sprues!! That`s a ton of plastic and thousands of hours of real fun. 10 sprues are for the Hansa and 12 for the Felixstowe. Also there`s two decals sheets and one photo-etched sheet. Starting with the Hansa: Sprue A All parts of the cockpit are here including the instrument panel, the side structure , the cushion, fuel pump, hand air pump. The fuel tank ant the pilot`s seat are on sprue F. A mold strategy for sure. Sprue B The floats, tailplane wings and elevators made this one. The floats have fantastic and subtle raise details, upper and lower. The ribs on the elevators are also a very good casting with sharp detail. Sprue C The small of all sprues: the clear parts from Hansa with only four parts, which in hindsight are even enough for an open cockpit plane. The clear parts are very well molded and quite transparent without distortion of the plastic which affects the transparency of the part. Sprue D (x2) There`s two for this sprue because brings all the pieces to put Hansa properly parked in dry dock. So you get the beaching dollies, the rear fuselage support trestle and float support trestle. Also the Spandau is on this block. Sprue E The 150 hp Benz Bz. III engine is very well reproduced directly from the box. On this particular item is always space for extra detail and the instructions brings out two very nice pictures of the real one as a guideline. Sprue F Fuselage halves and some other details like the fuel tank and pilot seat. Sprue H Top halve wings and wings elevators. The ribs details once again is quite sharp and delicate. Lower halve wings. Both of wings have fine structure rib detail. It´s curious to see that in later releases, the wings of other WnW models with the same wingspan comes in one single piece. Even with a much large wingspan like the Felixstowe, one single piece for the all wing is used. This is clearly an evolution in WnW Models and it makes quite sense making live a little better for modellers and giving a more structural piece, in solid plastic to the build. Hats off WnW. You are the best and still always innovating and improving. Spruce G A small fret for the IMG 14/17 parabellum and most of the parts are indicated by WnW not to be used. Turning our attention to the mighty Felix. Sprue A Almost cockpit and internal parts are in this sprue like the duckboard style crew area floor, big side wall frames, a highly detail instrument board, sub-deck for fuel tank mounting among other details parts. Sprue B This sprue only have 7 usable parts, so the float-shaped parts are actually part of the hull and the rear fuselage. All ejector pin marks on these large pieces are inside the model, and well out of sight. Sprue C All sprue contains just three parts. This particularly sprue is totally different from the Late type version.. Clarity is excellent, some masking will have to be done. Sprue D (x2) Theses sprues bring lots of parts, for external and internal of the aircraft. For the interior you got the petrol tanks and their respective plumbing, ammunition bins and drums as well as the Lewis guns themselves and their mounts, steering wheels, rudder pedals etc. Other parts are for the Rolls Royce engine like the water cooling plumbing four blade propellers, radiators and shutters, oil tanks. All these parts are perfect design with fantastic detail. Sprue E (x2) Two sprues for two engines! J All the parts you need for the 12-cylinder Rolls Royce Eagle. This engine is a, a kit itself… The finest detail I`ve yet seen… One more example of the evolution of WnW keeping by long distance all the other manufactures! Sprue F Now, the fuselage/hull. Wow… here you get the real size of this beast!! IT`S BIGGG!! The details are all there even on the upper hull which is more sparse due to the plywood nature. And wings are still to come… Sprue G and H The wings are even bigger!! This beast will not be easy to handle on my workbench. Lower and upper wings are molded with great finesse (Rib and fabric representation are quite very authentic), in a single and solid tab in contrast of the W.29 as already mention. One of the points always underline by WNW is that they has designed this model so that both upper and lower panels can be detached, complete with rigging to aids storage and transportation. I must confess that I really have a little difficulty in understand the concept if the rigging material is fishing line…. On the upper wing, we can see on the rigging diagram that they are several rigging line in all wing span, so I really don`t understand how it`s possible without compromising the structure of the wings and the rigging. Sprue I The most mysterious sprue. As Jim called up the attention to the single four blade propeller on his review, indeed this single and isolate propeller for no use is very very intriguing. Here`s there another Felixstowe on the production line?? Or it`s just an spare propeller? Who knows? But in the last six years, WnW already proved that they don`t do anything random… So this propeller is here for something… One day we will know! J Besides the mysterious propeller, this concerns also the tail plane, span stabilizer. As everything on the model, it`s big! Sprue J This sprue is, concerning to plastic and alongside with sprue C, is a totally regarding the Late release. This sprue is all about the upper coamings, quite different for the Late type, giving a much cover cockpit with the big glass & celluloid cabin. Now that plastic is gone, let’s check the elements that are totally exclusive to this release. Photo-etched Decal Options Instructions Concerning I was expecting two small PE sheet, one for each aircraft, equal to those on the single release models. The WnW never cease to amazed me. So went even further than the first Duellist and offers the modeler one sheet with all necessary parts for both kits and even two brass tag plates to put alongside on the wood base, one for each one of the planes. A total cracker! Perfect. A brass photo-etched sheet has the quality that WnW already accustomed us, with delicate detail and good engraving... With annealing technique, this metal is extremely easy to work with and adapts to modeller needs. While the decal sheet is quite obvious, since you only have two options (one for each aircraft) beside german naval hex that is identical to the sheet of the single W.29 release. The other sheet is the new one and brings the markings for both aircraft and stencils. So with this Duellist you got the eager waited Friedrich Christiansen W.29. Concerning the Felixstowe scheme option, yep I know that the Felix do have more colorful option, but believe that this beast with wood and CDL is just so beautiful. At first I always thought to I would go for one of that… Now, I just love this one. My “new conviction” about wood and CDL is mainly because of the magnificent history behind these two aircraft and the bound that are connect… It`s a real piece of history here and I will go build both of them and put then side by side. My instructions came with some very little damage on the upper and lower edges. The instructions have less information about the aircraft itself, like photos of real aircraft, less color paint guides then the original and individual aircraft releases. The diagrams are the same with small updates (yellow color for PE) but for example the W29 instructions of the original release before the markings options guide has 18 pages…. Duellist one has 14 pages. All the intel and necessary information are in both instructions, so it real looks the WnW study quite well what to take off to reduce the cost and the height, I presume. CONCLUSION Wow… no words… it is very difficult to say something of a perfect kit. In reality are two kits perfect with the best box-art ever... In December 2014 I had the pleasure and the difficult task of reviewing the HPH Cut away Catalina, with a fabulous kit in every possible way. And to receive this Duellist, was the crown jewel of my collection. Lost the first place with dignity for this fabulous Duellist. I could say it's the best kit ever but it would be a bold statement because WnW continues and will continue so to launch new kits ... and coming from WnW, you never know. So do yourself a favor and if you do not have a W.29 or whether to have the FC W.29, lose your head and buy this Duellist or simply selling 10/20 kits from your stash of 200/300 kits and buy this .... I assure you that you will not be sorry. Rating: 10/10 Totally, absolutely, unbelievably recommended ... My most sincere thanks to Richard Alexander and all the staff of WnW for all the hard work throughout this six years. And to Peter Jackson, a sincere thanks for his vision and for having fulfilled its dream, fulfilling the dream of many others. Thank you SIR.

It`s true? The news say that was today, at 1h31 pm.... Jesus!! Prayer to all the victims and their families.

Another MAI to buy without doubt!

Dog...fight! Love it! really nice metal!

Looks perfect!!!! love it!! Looking forward to see the full build article!

Fantastic work!! I building myself an Hannover but in pale blue and white!