Page 70 - Model Airplane International - Issue 175 (February 2020)

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KIT BUILD

I deliberately left attaching the undercarriage
until last as I’m always astounded at how these
spindly structures can support the weight of
the model, and after doing so attached the
remaining fragile smaller details such as the
Parabellum machine gun, anemometer, mirror,
and the oddly shaped tubular vent attached to
the radiator that I fashioned from brass wire
and scraps of photo-etched material. Some
fi nal dusting and weathering with oil washes
and the model was complete. ■

FINAL VERDICT

Building Wingnut Wings kits is always a joy and a pleasure, but you know that with a tricky build like this you might
expect to confront one or two problems. I wasn’t prepared for the ill-fi tting tail, nor the problems with the aileron
edges and lozenge decals, and getting the cowlings to hug the tightly fi tting nose also required a considerable amount
of clamping. All in all though these are annoyances rather than any major problems, and things that can be sorted if
you have some modelling experience. I was glad that I persevered with the paint fi nish and I can recommend visiting
the tutorial on the Wingnut Wings website, particularly as I wanted to build the kit as near to out of the box as
possible without reliance upon aftermarket products. I tried hand painting to save time but really the most effective
way to achieve the fi nish is with an airbrush. However for those who might be put off by the complexities of the fi nish,
Richard Andrew’s Aviattic now produce some excellent pre-cut decals for the kit in a variety of fi nishes and shades
covering all of the options within the two kits, and I must admit there were times when I nearly succumbed myself.
This is a great model and looks every inch the graceful Halberstadt depicted in the photos. All I need to do now is to
build a Hannover to go with it!
Our thanks go to Richard Alexander and Wingnut Wings for the review sample.

68 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - February 2020