I was delighted to be able to get my hands on one of the much hyped Wingnut Wings kits. You simply can't buy these at your local model shop or online retailer, but only directly from Wingnut Wings in New Zealand.

The first thing that strikes you about this kit is the beautifully presented packaging. By far, it is the most beautiful box work I have ever seen. Seems crazy to be blown away by a box, but this sturdy packaging boasts silvered artwork. A sure sign of quality, perhaps?

When you open the box, you are greeted by a plethora of bubble wrapping. All the sprues, apart from being individually cellophane wrapped, come in a bubble wrap sleeve.



All parts are moulded onto 6 sprues; 5 of them in light grey and one transparent. Five decal sheets (yes, FIVE!) cover everything from individual markings to the upper and lower lozenge, and also to wing rib tapes. Quite amazing. The quality of the decals is very good, having been printed by Cartograf. The lozenge decal, perhaps, is a little grainy, but you do have to really cast your eyes closely to see it.

One etch fret is supplied, namely for the pilot seat belts.



Ok, we have here something else which I simply have never seen done in this style or quality, and that is the instruction manual. So much time and effort appears to have been put into getting this 'right'. All individual steps have their sequence drawings in colour, with the latest parts depicted in a blue hue. The instructions show everything right down to rigging minutae, actual photos of the machine in both restoratative and original wartime shots. Very impressive indeed.




But what do the parts look like? Well, the whole affair is pretty much a flash-free zone. Some ejector pin marks are present, but these are minimal to say the least. Some within the cockpit will need rubbing back, but this won't be an onorous task.


There seems to be a total absence of sink marks on this kit too, which makes a refreshing change when you look at some high profile releases these days, by large manufacturers.

The only part of this kit which could have done with being a whole let better are the guns. These are moulded in a single piece, and I think these would have benefitted from a brass barrel and a photo etched sleeve to properly replicate the cooling jacket. When it comes to building this kit, I'll either look for an aftermarket solution, or attempt to improve this part myself.

With regard to the depiction of things such as the engine, all I can say is WOW!! This kit really is a detail-fest of the highest order. It also doesn't look incredibly difficult to build, despite the large number of beautifully moulded parts. Some real thought seems to have gone into how the model is built, in order to make it user-friendly. Strut locations for wings and the undercarriage look sturdy and have very positive location points whereby you won't need to keep re-reading the instructions.


Within the manual is a section on how to reproduce that contentious wooden skinned look of the fuselage. All looks pretty clear to me, though I would perhaps do a test on some scrap plastic. There are also several other online resources which show good ways of producing this effect.

So what do we think?
This kit is absolutely begging to be built. It simply has to be one of the nicest looking and beautifully moulded kits I have seen in 30years. I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it.

Overall 10/10
The Wingnut Wings LVG C.VI retails for $79.00USD with FREE worldwide shipping, directly from the Wingnut Wings website.