Gotha G.V
by Don Ralston

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Kit: Aurora (1:48)

The fuselage was virtually completed first - decals and control wires and all 'cos its difficult to handle with those great wings flapping about. I pinned the lower wings in place and used brass wire to pin them to fuselage for strength - Also cut off the plastic pins on the struts and drilled and replaced them with brass pins, again for strength.. I use fishing wire for rigging and drill through top and bottom wings and glue the rigging in place - first one end then the other, using reverse action tweazers to hold and tension it. For this reason, I decalled the topside of the bottom wing, then the bottom side of the top wing before rigging. The outer surfaces will be decalled once the spare bits of fishing line are cut of and the holes filled and sanded. Fortunately, the windows on 'Erika' were blacked out by the nose stripe, so I didn't have to cut them out. I used the CSM window frames to give them an outline. The A/G decals went on a treat, even with such a large area. I used five sheets in all, but could have made do with four if one hadn't had a large patch that just wouldn't unstick from the backing. The guns and bombs are from the kit, with added Aeroclub ammo drums. I left the rear gun pointing down the tunnel. Having finished the model I realised that 'Erika' had Front Shock-absorbing wheels (Stassfahrgestell) fitted later in its life, but thought s*d it, I'll fit those later if I feel like it. The props are by Marty Dygmaer via CSM. I enjoyed doing it, but it will remain the largest 1/48 kit in my collection. Any othe 'biggies' (over 66 Foot span) will be in 1/72.


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