Raleigh Lamb shared his work on this great looking build of Wingnut Wings’ Albatross D.V. Great work Raleigh!
I don’t know what more can be said about the WNWs kits that hasn’t already been said. These kits are amazing, and is quite possibly the best kit I’ve ever built! There are some minor mold release marks on the fuselage halves edges that need taken care of to avoid unnecessary gaps that will need filled, but doing so will leave you with a seam that might need filling with some Mr. Surfacer only.
The cockpit, engine/engine compartment are all sub assemblies, and small models in themselves. If you want, rigging can be added to the pilot’s stick aileron pulley, and rudder pedals, this will have to be done before closing up the fuselage halves.
I added what looks like an oil tube to the front of the engine at the cam shaft, and ignition wires for the magnetos/spark plugs. I also added a throttle push/pull rod to the throttle lever in the cockpit. Other than the rigging, these are the only things I added, everything else is supplied in the kit.
The instructions come with reference photos from both WW I, and today, which come in very handy!
Care must be taken to either avoid, or remove paint build up on all the interior parts, and fuselage mating surfaces as the engineering of the kit has very tight tolerances, and will not fit together with the paint build up. I had to go back, and scrape the paint from these mating surfaces to squeeze everthing together!
I failed to mention that I painted all the interior “metal” areas RLM 02, and applied a wood grain effect using Tamiya buff, followed with oil paints for the natural wood areas.
Once the fuselage was glued together, and cured, seams were filled/sanded, and the first coat of gloss black applied. Once dry, any seams were refilled and sanded again. The final gloss black was applied, and set aside to cure completely.
The wings were then given several coats of Future and allowed to cure in preparation for the Lozenge, rib tape, and regular decals.
I had chosen to depict Otto Kissenberth’s (a 20 victory Ace) aircraft, which were kit supplied decals. While looking on the Wingnut Wings website, I found another of Otto’s aircraft there, with the Lozenge wings, I could not resist this scheme, and purchased the decals to do so. All of the lozenge strips, along with the rib tapes, were measured, and cut out. The WNWs decals are made by Cartograph, and performed flawlessly! Once the lozenge had cured, the markings were applied. The decal instructions warn you not to use decal setting solutions, but I used the Micro Scale system without problems. I’m not suggesting you do the same, I’m just saying.
Once all the decals were dry, excess glue/solutions were wiped away with a damp cloth, and sealed with another coat of Future. All rigging points were drilled out with a #80 drill bit, and fitted with Bob’s Buckles where appropriate. The bottom wings were installed. Rigging lines (2lb test monofiliment) were attached to the upper wing, and the wing attached to the fuselage/wing struts. The rigging was completed using Bob’s Buckles tubes, and set in place with super glue (a rigging diagram is included with the instructions).
A sludge panel wash of dark gray was applied, fiddly bits installed, and a final flat coat sealed everything in.
Planning must be used building a WW I model, and having not built a ship model since I was a kid, I’d have to say this is the most complicated kit I’ve ever built. BUT, WNWs engineered this to be a very pleasureable build, and minimized that complication as much as possible!
I have their Albatros D.Va, and plan on building it in the near future also, as soon as I get over rigging this one. Model Master enamels were used, with the exception of Tamiya Buff/oil paints for the wood grain, Alclad II for NMFinishes, and Future for gloss coat.
I did have a great time building this model, and very much look forward to my next WNWs build. I recommend this kit to anyone with model building experience, just take your time, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS, and plan ahead.
