Model Airplane International – September 2019

62 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - September 2019

The kit contains the following features:

● 274 high quality injection moulded plastic

parts

● 4 photo-etched metal detail parts

● 160hp Daimler-Mercedes D.III engines

● 10 kg Carbonit bombs & LMG 14

Parabellum machine gun armament

● Fine in scale rib tape detail

● Full rigging diagrams.

● High quality Cartograf decals for modifi ed

Gotta UWD 120 which served with See

Flieger Abteilung 1 from March 1916.

The fi rst thing that strikes you –– apart from
the huge box –– is the sheer complexity of the
design and how that has been translated in
miniature. Arguably one of the ugliest aircraft
ever to fl y(!) its ungainly appearance has a
charm all of its own and when you factor into
the mix the incredible detail offered inside the
box and then within the completed model, the
variety of different materials that you have to
replicate and the challenges that painting it will
offer, this kit soon becomes one to savour.
Let’s fi rst deal with the elephant in the room:
the price. This kit is not cheap. At around
£200, the modeller keen to add this kit to
their collection will fi nd its initial purchase
expensive, but I have to state here that I feel
that despite that hefty price tag, the kit is very
good value for money. Once bought, I see
few that will build and paint it in less than 100

hours. Indeed, I can see it taking a lot longer

than that and when that time is spread over

a year, you could be looking at months of

entertainment and at the end of the process,

you will be rewarded with an incredible model

that will dominate any display case in which

it is housed. Cost and value are of course

debatable, personal viewpoints, but in this

case I see this as a kit that modellers will

want and many will see as incredible value for

money when all things are taken into account.

In terms of what’s offered, you cannot fail

but be impressed from the moment the box

is opened. Crammed full of plastic parts, the

package is in many ways typical of a WnWs

kit, it’s just a lot bigger than most! Moulding

quality is fl awless, parts layout across the

7 runners, sensible, and then everything is

topped-off with class-leading instructions,

decals and photo-etch.

Those of you that have already built a WnW

kit will seen a lot that is familiar, the runners

that supply the two Daimler-Mercedes D.III

engines having been seen previously in

number of kits. Despite that, moulding quality

on these older parts is still fl awless and thanks

to their generic nature, you will also have

much to add to the spares’ box, including 8

propellers and the bulk of two engines! The

rest of the kit follows suit. Moulded in their

now familiar pale grey plastic, the kit is split

over the fi ve runners that I mentioned earlier

• one for the wings, one for the fuselage inner
  section, one for the remaining fuselage details
  and then two identical runners that deal with
  the huge fl oats and the complex struts and
  engine nacelles.
  Detail is every bit as impressive as you
  would expect it to be. It’s hard to imagine more
  comprehensively detailed aircraft kits than WnW
  offerings and here they have continued with
  that hard-earned reputation. The interior for
  instance is complete beneath the open areas
  for crew access, with all manner of structural
  members, controls and weapons stowage, all
  present and correct. Though predominantly
  moulded in plastic, etch is also supplied for the
  seat straps, clear plastic offering optional nose
  windows depending on which period you chose
  to model your sole aircraft from. Digging a little
  deeper, you soon become aware of the size
  of the model, but that size is offset by some
  wonderfully delicate surface detail that will be
  fun to paint and then accentuate as the project
  proceeds. I was particularly taken with the wing
  ribs and the stitching under the fuselage, as
  was I, the depiction of the leather seat cushions
  within the cockpit. It is the attention to details
  such as these that I admire most about WnW’s
  approach to their kits and why, when I have had
  a go at one, they are such fun to build and paint.
  Construction of this model will not be overly
  easy, but you are guided through any possible
  pitfalls as clearly as you could hope for.