The final steps seemed to take the longest. Not sure why, probably my desire not to mess things up. Anyway…
The upper wings were placed on, making sure that the struts slotted into place(which they mostly did, except on test fitting one of the carbane strut holes needed making larger).
I decided the wire rigging I had put in place looked far too large to be in scale, so ended up pulling it off again and adding 0.15mm EZline instead.
Rigging was easily done by using a tiny amount of superglue in the rigging holes, cutting the rigging to smaller size than needed and simply placing the end in with tweezers. To speed the process up I decanted some kicker into a glass jar and then simply placed a tiny amount on the glue to set it in place. Easy peasey
Mind you, I would have been lost without my Flex-I-File CA glue applicator to place in the tiny amounts of glue needed. With rigging less glue is certainly more.
The model was then given a brown glaze to reduce the ‘newness’ look of the decals. The glaze mix was 10 parts X22 to 1 part XF52 and after leaving overnight was then given an Alclad’s semi gloss satin coat to protect it all.
To finish it off I used some 1:32 scale grass bought from ebay, placed it on a square of MDF which I then glued in place using superglue to tack it down and Krystal clear glue to provide the final bond. As a final touch I used some Ultimate mud wash on the wheels and on the base to give a sort of ‘track’ look to the grass where the aircraft could have been taxi’d along.
Phew. And so my largest ever modelling undertaking in terms of complexity comes to an end. So what did I think of the kit and of the whole experience?
Kit Fit 9/10
Had I been an experienced modeller this probably would have been a 10. There was no flash, no burring and each piece only needed minimal clean up once cut from the sprue. You knew where each piece needed to fit, and in a lot of cases you wouldn’t even need any glue to keep it in place. So.. why did I deduct a point? Well I think there becomes a point where the fit tolerances are too good, that the margin for error is so tight getting a good fit becomes harder than it should.
There were points where I felt that if WnW had only given a little more fit tolerance the kit would have been for a better word.. better.
Now maybe if you are a master modeller this isn’t an issue, but for a mere mortal it was a 9/10
Rule #1 of a WnW kit. Test fit.. test fit.. test fit.
Ease of Construction 8/10
As mentioned above the fit was almost too good for its own good, which led to some extra work in making sure everything fit in.
Ready made rigging holes, made the rigging easy, plus the larger scale was helpful.
I found the whole experience very pleasurable and the kit almost demanded you take it slow and relish each moment you spent with it. I guess it’s like a desert that is so nice it seems wrong just to scoff it down. This is how this kit felt.
I knocked a couple of marks off due to some inconsistencies in the instructions, some decal design issues and often there being no tolerance in the fit for small things like paint.
Kit Detail 10/10
Faultless, given the limitations of scale and plastic. Being super picky, perhaps they could have supplied some photo-etch rigging buckles but that is really it.
Decal Quality 7/10
Can’t actually fault the clarity, or construction of the decals(they are by cartograf) and the nice lines where the wing ribs should be made fitting the wing ribs easy. However it lost marks because of some design issues with the decals themselves. For example, the wing lozenges are all in one piece, which means trying to fit them over and around curved wing means wrinkles were inevitable. It took a lot of faffing around to make them look ok. I would have preferred the lozenges to be in separate pre-cut pieces so the curves could be decalled without needing to cut the decals.
The same goes for the wing ribs. These needed to be cut to size, which I guess is no big deal but it did for me anyway spoil the general faultless nature of the kit.
Saying that, I’m glad they chose to do the wing lozenges as decals, as painting them on would be hellish
Instructions 9/5/10
The instructions are gorgeous, full colour, magazine quality paper and almost a reference book themselves. 99.9% of the time it’s very clear what you are supposed to do but in some steps (for example some of the interior painting you only see what colour it should be after it’s gone in when it might have been better to have it labelled beforehand. In other areas it assumes you’ve put certain parts in place without actually telling you to put them in place.
Basically, you really need to read and study every diagram of the instructions AND read ahead to make sure the fit is correct.
Value for Money 10/10
Yes it was an expensive kit, at £70 delivered(including customs and post office rip off) but in all honesty, the quality and enjoyment I got from the kit never once made me feel short changed. Considering you can pay £50 for a 1/48 of lesser quality and fit there is no question this is a bargain.
I think the phrase for this kit is reassuringly expensive.
Mishaps and accidents.
I painted the rigging wire’s with buffable paint as I thought it would make it easier then trying to maneuverer a paint brush around after the wings were on. This had the result of the buffables putting a silver spider over much of the fuselage paint. Thus it needing re-spray.
I also did a silly thing and put masking tape(frog) over varnished decals, figuring the varnish would protect them. This it did, but there was some terrifying moments as the frog tape caused some of the decals to lift. In subsequent steps I made some paper sheaths to go over the wings.. Phew..
Lessons learned
• Rigging is not to be feared
• Clean up and test fit everything, then do it again
• Read the instructions, then read ahead and then go back and read them.
• Buy a nice pair of sprue cutters, some of the parts are very delicate.
• Enjoy every moment of it, detail every part of the kit because even if it gets hidden you’ll know it’s there.
Summary
A stunning, amazing kit that demands care and attention in every stage. I’ll add my voice to the chorus that every modeller should give a wing nut wings kit a go.
I loved every moment of it, and certainly learned a lot from doing it.
Reveal Photo's
Front on, showing two tone propeller. Cowlings are a pain to keep in place if you decide not to glue them
Rear view, showing the muddy tracks and base,
Side view with cowls on, showing weathering and slightly faded dragon decal
Engine Detail with cowls off, weathering done with AK's worn effects wash.
Underside view
Various views with the cowlings on, and showing the base and setting
(me doing rigging) I suppose I should be ready for it, I plan to do the Airfix 1/72 Tiger Moth, might have to get me some RAAF decals for that! Sweet stuff, definetly somthing to be proud of! 
