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First Look Review
132
LVG C.VI
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by: Andrew Beard [ CMOT70 ]

Introduction
This is my first look review of the new 1/32 scale LVG C.VI by new company Wingnut Wings. This company, based out of New Zealand has been causing quite a stir in a very short time frame. So with our Prime Minister "Kev" sending me A$900 to spend, in a bid to save our faultering economy, i decided to do exactly the wrong thing by him and send some of it overseas to help someone elses economy instead. So I purchased one of these for myself.

I won't bore you with the aircraft's history. What I know about it is what I read from the instruction manual anyway, and that is available for download directly from Wingnut Wings website in PDF format. So no point me me repeating everything here.

Plastic
This is the part of the kit where I find it hardest to make a decision. When I first saw these models i immediately wondered who is actually making the sprues. I did not think for a minute that a small New Zealand company would have invested millions in their own injection moulding machines for an initial run of 4 WW1 model kits. So I was curious as to who the culprit was. This is just my nature...i'm sure most people out there could not care less about this.

Anyway, it's printed on the instruction manual: "Designed in New Zealand, made in China". So is it Trumpeter/Hobby Boss or Dragon? I initially thought Trumpeter, but after looking at some recent Dragon products, i think it looks more like their handy work. And Dragon have been known to hire out their services before - i believe many newer Revell kits come from them too. So these are definitely not short run model kits in any case.

The sprues are copyrighted 2007. So these haven't sprung up overnight either. The moulding quality is as good as you can get. No flash or sink marks that I've noticed, ejector pin marks look to be in places that won't be seen and are not that prevalent anyway.

The level of detail is beyond question. Trailing edges are razor sharp like they should be. And little touches like pre drilled rigging holes are a great idea. I also like the way the struts are mounted, these look like producing a much simpler kit to put together than other manufacturers products.

However my first impressions were that some detail is a bit softer than what some other companies would have achieved. Lets limit it to the other 2 major early aviation supporters over recent times. I know Eduard don't do 1/32 WW1 subjects, but they could do so now if they chose to. If Eduard, or even Roden, did this same model kit then i think they would possibly surpass it in some areas. But that's personal preference. I just like the way those 2 others companies do surface detail. Other people may prefer the way Wingnut Wings do it, and it's certainly not done badly in any case.

Regardless, the plastic in the kit is high quality and should go together to make a stunningly detailed model. Hopefully building doesn't reveal anything nasty, which I doubt from the attention to detail engineering wise that seems to have been built into these at the design stage. Ease of building seems to have been a high priority.

Decals
These are my favourite part of this model kit, and probably make up a big part of it's cost. There are four large sheets and one smaller sheet of decals. All produced by Cartograph which, in my opinion, produce the best decals in the world. My liking for their decals go way back to the old days when I was alaways making F1 cars and other racing cars covered from front to back in decals. I came to really appreciate the strength and workability of Cartograpgh decals- and their printing quality is not shabby either, plus they respond perfectly to all setting and softening solutions that I've used. So these should be no different, I hope.

I will not, however, comment on the colour accuracy of the lozenge. This is because I'm not qulified to do so. But they look good enough for my model. Hopefully some other people we all know will soon give the thumbs up or down for this aspect of the model.

Brass
This is the least exciting component of the model kit. But in any case it only contains the seat belts and not much else. The brass is the thicker type that you tend to find in the Chinese model kits from Trumpeter and Dragon, rather than the more delicate brass frets from companies like Eduard or Part for example. I'm thinking that annealing the seat belts may be needed to get them to work well.

Eduard style colour etch would be nice, but no doubt would raise the cost somewhat.

Instructions
These are almost a work of art! The biggest single area where I think these Wingnut Wings kits have advanced beyond any other model. The booklet is 26 pages of full colour, including photos and reproductions of period posters and much more. When you're putting the engine together, wondering what it looks like? Well there on the same page are pics of the real thing. And the same applies all the way through the manual.

And then there is the profile art for the kits 7 possible subjects. The best profile art work I've seen in a kit. However I would like to see both sides of the fuselage, especially for the two aircraft having camoflage schemes on their fuselages.

Paint callouts are in Tamiya, Humbrol and Misterkit via a table on the front page. I use Gunze mostly, so would like to see them included of course. But that's no big deal.

Everyone do yourself a favour and download the free PDF instruction manuals even if you're not buying the model kit. They are good reference even if you're doing the subject in 1/48 or 1/72 scale. And just have a look at the nice pics and artwork too.

Conclusion
This is not too difficult really. To me these are the best overall package i've seen in a model kit so far. I don't just mean for Early Aviation subjects either.

Remember a few years back when Eduard began selling standard kits with colour intructions, brass frets, after market quality decals and plastic sprues that were the equal of anyone? They set a new standard that everyone else had to rise up to. These new kits follow a similar format, but maybe more evolutionary rather than revolutionary. There aren't many new ideas here, just simply doing everything that is here as good or slightly better than anyone else.

And the price is good to, considering whats in the box- especially if you take advantage of the current deal of free worlwide postage! Buy them now if you want them i'd advise. They say "limit edition", who knows how limited that may be?

Review kit courtesy of the Australian Government Economic Stimulus program. Thanks Kev!

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.
SUMMARY
Highs: Excellent decals, instructions and lots of detail. Clever engineering that looks like making a simpler build than usual for a WW1 subject.
Lows: Not much. Colour etch belts would be nice. Showing both sides of the subject aircraft profiles in the instructions. Only minor nit picks really.
Verdict: Should build into a stunningly detailed model, but ease of construction doesn't seem to have been a design priority, so recommended for experienced modellers.
Percentage Rating
96%
  Scale: 1:32
  Suggested Retail: US$79
  PUBLISHED: Apr 20, 2009
  NATIONALITY: Germany
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 92.33%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 93.98%

About Andrew Beard (CMOT70)
FROM: VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA

Matchbox model kits were the big thing for me when i was 10 years old. I made a mess of all of them i could get hold of, plus lots of Novo and Airfix kits too. When i was 13 i got a Tamiya F1 (Ferrari 312T3) car model for Christmas and i'd never seen anything like it! It was a turning point in t...

Copyright ©2021 text by Andrew Beard [ CMOT70 ]. Images also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. Opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AeroScale. All rights reserved.



Comments

Oh – this is almost too painful to watch! Is it beyond repair? I feel your pain Andy! Mikael
NOV 01, 2012 - 07:12 AM
What Happened?
NOV 02, 2012 - 07:35 AM
Oh Bum.... Nasty, shelf failure or puttytat? Keith
NOV 02, 2012 - 08:23 AM
Thanks guys it was a catastropic picture (above the shelf) failure that caused this at the moment shes held together by her easy line rigging but all the struts are off and the lower wing spars are snapped I'll give it a go as I have some spare loz decals for the wings Andy
NOV 03, 2012 - 04:40 PM
Andy, OUCH!!!!!! Good luck putting it back together. You did an outstanding job on this kit and it would be a shame to abandon it. Good luck, Dwayne
NOV 03, 2012 - 05:27 PM
Dwanye,thank you I'll give my best shot! Andy
NOV 03, 2012 - 06:35 PM
Hi Andy: Wow, what a mess. I wonder if WNW has any sprues you could order? I know the kit is sold out, but; there may be some sprues. Dave at WNW is good about responding to emails. I had a similar experience: I had just finished the 1/350 Titanic and placed it on the mantel under a nice picture of an ocean scene. About 0230 I was awakened by the sickening sound of stuff hitting the floor. Sure enough, the picture frame had come unglued, fell off the wall and in turn knocked the Titanic onto the floor. The irony of it all didn't escape me. I did manage to make field expedient repairs. A few years later the cat knocked it off the mantel and that was it. I feel your pain and frustration. I hope you can salvage it. Best of luck Mark
NOV 04, 2012 - 02:30 AM
Time to break out the brass rod and microdrills me thinks, that and some feild repairs to the lozenge and a rerig will sort her out. Andy. You should know B&Q shelves won't support tanks it says so in everso tiny small print on the lablels Easy peasy, you'll be done in an hour or two eh? Joking aside (hopefully to make some light of the situation) it's a lot of work, but well worth the time looking at the standard of your build
NOV 04, 2012 - 03:54 AM
It is worth repairing. Such a beautiful build.
NOV 05, 2012 - 06:27 AM
   
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