Taurus Models 1:32 Oberursel U.0 and U.III rotary engines

[James H]

1:32 Oberursel U.0 and U.III rotary engines
Taurus Models
Catalogue # See article for price and codes
Available from StoryModels

 

 

 

After a short break from the heavy work of mastering and casting, Taurus Models are back. In one fell swoop, then have doubled their 1:32 WW1 aero-engine catalogue with the release of the Oberursel U.0 and U.III engines. These of course tie into the recent release of the Fokker E.I and E.IV kits which have been released by Wingnut Wings.

 

The items we have been sent are:

• D3216, Oberursel U.III, £26.90
• D3217, Oberursel U.0, £19.50

Each of these little masterpieces is packaged into a small box, hand constructed from very lightweight satin card. The lid top depicts the engine from a frontal view, whilst the box edges show close-up images of the finished engine that you would swear were in-service images of the real thing.

 

Inside the box, a small instruction sheet is included. Whilst there isn't too much illustration, there is enough for the experienced modeller to be able to interpret and to be able to construct this properly. You really need to look at the parts alongside the instructions and study them thoroughly. The Taurus website does have a link for a set of detailed instructions, but these don't seem to be online yet. These would be interesting to see, but if you look at the instructions, along with the detailed photos of the completed engine, then you won't go far wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parts count? Well, for the U.0, it is a very respectful NINETY-ONE parts, all cast in a flaw-free, medium grey resin. Now you can see how much of a project this is. What about the U.III though? Well, the parts-count increases drastically to ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN! Yes, you need a few evenings of peace and quiet and a steady hand, and then you might just be able to complete the build! The instruction sheet for the U.III does incorrectly say there are 91 parts, presumably carried over from the U.0 sheet. Some colour notation is given on the sheet, but this is a rotary engine, so it wouldn't be difficult to fathom yourself.

 

The various parts within are all packed into a number of very small zip-lock bags. There is some order to the packing too, with cylinder head and piston crowns in one bag. Whilst the cylinders are cast individually, the crowns are cast over two blocks. Cooling fins on the cylinders are extremely fine, and of course, there is no issue with seams needing removal. A small indentation is included for inserting the ignition plugs. The base of the cylinder has a small tab which enables it to plug into the crankcase with the correct orientation. A neat recess on the top allows the crown to be inserted.

 

 

Another bag contains the crankcase and associated parts, such as the tapered airscrew shaft and hub plates/insulating ignition ring etc. All parts are individually cast, and some parts lie very close to their casting block. I advise an extremely fine razor saw to remove these, and some final working by grinding in a circular motion on successively fine grades of grit-paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, each cylinder head is to be fitted with a rocker armature. These are cast over two blocks, and are extremely fragile looking. Some of the small holes on them would benefit from a micro-drill bit passing through them to clean them up. Again, use a razor saw to remove these, or a sharp scalpel blade, and work from both sides in order to minimise any clean up on them. As per the instructions, you will need to place these in slightly different positions on the piston crowns in order to simulate open or closed valves. These fragile parts are enclosed an a wallet with other similarly fragile parts, such as the actuator rod linkages, cups, and of course the rods themselves. Those cups are extremely fine, and almost a wonder of casting. The rods fit into them snugly with no need for clean-up, and I do tell you, those parts are extremely small. As mentioned earlier, the ignition plugs are cast separately, and in amazing detail.

 

COMPLETED MODELS FROM TAURUS SITE

Oberusel U.0

 

 

 

Oberursel U.III

 

 

 

Lastly, a small wallet includes some amazingly thin copper filament wire for wiring up the ignition plugs and also for making the small clips which run between the piston crown and rocker part. Some of these last details are what will take the most patience, so don't rush things. Wire is supplied in 0.1mm and 0.2mm diameters.

 

Almost seems a shame to lock it up into a model cowl, eh?

 

Conclusion
There's no one does replica WW1 aero engines like Taurus Models. These are simply the most detailed, most astounding reproductions available. To be able to pose the rockers to indicate an open or closed valve, and to be supplied with the valve-sequence so this can be properly represented is simply incredible. You would need to look closely to even see the difference between open and closed valves, but for Taurus, that's academic. They have designed these resin engine sets to be as close to authentic as possible. You will need some serious levels of patience, and some time set aside to construct these. The E.IV's Oberursel U.III has almost as many parts as the actual kit into which it will fit. It is true that these upgrade sets are certainly not designed with the beginner or intermediate modeller in mind. You really do need some modelling experience to get the very best out of these.

 

We reviewed the previous Oberusel U.I and Gnome-Monosoupape engines from Taurus, and I do know that the use of the U.I with the E.II and E.III Eindecker kits means that you will need to thin the cowl out a little. My U.III engine has been constructed for my own Fokker E.IV project on Large Scale Modeller, so I'll be able to see if the same applies here. As we also like to build things up at LSM in order to show you how things go together, here is my build of the engine, alongside the Wingnut Wings kit parts:

 

 

VERY highly recommended

 

Our sincere thanks to Dawid at StoryModels for the review samples seen here. To purchase directly, click the links in the article.

 

 

[Typhoonattack]

Yes, but do they run?

[Fran]

Awesome review with great photos... a must get one of these Taurus Engines for my E.III....

[Umlaufmotor]

Yes, these nice little things are really high class.
I have from Taurus the U-0, the U-1 and the Monosoupape at home and I have just ordered the U-III.

This mini rotary engines evaluate on even further the superb WNW - Eindecker and D.H.2 kits.
I highly recommend this Taurus engines.

By the way, there are only a few U-1 in stock at Taurus models.  

 

Servus

Bertl

[Typhoonattack]

They do look outstanding. When the cash allows, I may have to order a couple.