Scale Plastic & Rail

Wingnut Wings Albatros D.V

Wingnut Wings 1/32 Albatros D.V
Kit # 32009
Price $59USD

Now, what could please me more on my return from a holiday in Munich? A kit? Perhaps. But not just any kit; I had two of Wingnut Wings forthcoming releases waiting for me. One, the Sopwith Pup RNAS was destined to go to my friend Peter Buckingham, and the review can be found here. The other, the delicious Albatros D.V was mine for review. Pleased? You bet your bottom dollar I was!

As I had said with the LVG review, the first thing which hits you is the sheer quality of the product, from the packaging through to the contents and the quality of even the individual sprue bags.

For some modelling statistics, the Albatros D.V kit consists of 6 sprues of light grey plastic, and one clear sprue. There is one decal sheet, plus a small additional sheet with some ‘corrected’ decals residing there. A small etch fret is also included. The instruction manual is more than that though; it is a 28 page full colour, glossy epic with more reference material than you could wish for. If I stay with the manual for the moment, if you have never seen a Wingnut Wings manual, then you are in for a treat. Every stage is beautifully illustrated, and as each sub-assembly is constructed and added to the model, it is depicted in a blue colour in order to clarify its location and orientation. Each stage of this manual is also interspersed with pictures of an actual Albatros D.V undergoing restoration, with the original paint and detail in place for reference. If you wished to super detail this model, then again, the photographs will prove invaluable. Out of the box though, this kit is every inch an award winner, and compared with my Roden kit of the same subject, there is simply no comparison to be made. Sorry Roden. Other photographs in the booklet include wartime material of the Albatros in military service. Fascinating, and very useful indeed! A full rigging diagram is included, so fear not!

To be more precise, this kit has the following specifications:

The first time you pout over the parts, you will notice several things. The first is the incredibly fine and exquisite detail that is the result of what must have been a labour of love for the Wingnuts team. Secondly, you will notice that the parts are totally free of flash, or at least in my review sample that is the case. Sprue locator points are also very fine and not chunky, meaning a minimum of cleanup when removed. In many cases, the sprue locators are placed in areas which don’t intrude into major areas of construction.

Yes, there are ejector pin marks. Every kit has them, but it’s the location and depth of them which is an issue for us modellers. In the case of the Albatros kit, the ejector pin marks are so shallow that a simple dust over with a sanding sponge should eradicate them. If I give an extreme example of this kits ejector pin marks, there are a few marks within the cockpit, but so slight that they are negligible, and a few seconds work will see them gone. It’s all good news folks!

All the control surfaces are moulded in a very good scale thickness too, and holding them to the light will reveal how delicately reproduced they are, with nice, then trailing edges. The engine is a small kit in its own right and deserves to be displayed with the cowls left off, or at least removable. The engine in this kit can be built in two ways, with 2 different construction sequences illustrated depending upon whether your chosen machine uses the 160 or 160BHP engines. The detail on these stages is unequalled, and photographic reference of an actual engine is provided too.


The interior detail of this model is what I would class as ‘super grade’, and includes pretty much every fuselage former and tank from the rear of the pilots’ position, forward. No stopcock, lever or gauge has been omitted. Individual decals are provided for the cockpit instruments.

One of the minor criticisms of the first release of Wingnut Wings kits was the rendering of the machine gun cooling jackets. Whilst the detail here was no better or worse than other manufacturers, it was felt that WNW should have included an option for a photo etch cooling jacket. Well, your prayers have been answered! WNW have thoughtfully given you the parts for making these. Simply, you can either use the original MG’s, or the photo etch version. WAHEY!!

Control surfaces are separately moulded so these can be posed dynamically, and rigging diagrams are provided, though no material is supplied. Rigging on this machine looks quite straightforward to be honest.

Decals are supplied by Cartograf and are beautifully printed in perfect register. Markings are available for 5 machines:

So what do we think?

My friend Peter Buckingham described the Sopwith Pup as being ‘designed by modellers, for modellers’, and he is absolutely correct. If you could design a kit, then you would do it the way these guys have done. No part of the assembly is left to chance, no detail uncovered. The Albatros D.V is a miniature modelling marvel, and most certainly equals Wingnut Wings first releases with ease.

Overall 10/10

Many thanks to Wingnut Wings for the review sample provided here.

This kit retails for $59USD directly from the Wingnut Wings website. At the time of writing, this kit will be issued with FREE Worldwide shipping, making it even more tempting!

STOP PRESS!!!

Wingnut Wings have announced they will be releasing decal sets throughout 2010 and 2011 to depict nearly 70 further Albatros D.V and D.Va decal options. These colourful options will allow modellers to produce an amazing set of ‘Flying Circus’ aircraft. Decals will be supplied as individual sheets and also included with limited edition kitsets. We will hopefully bring you more details on this as it emerges.