1:72 AIRFIX HANNOVER CL.IIIA (130),1967
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'HANNOVERANA'!
THIS remains one of the best WWI aircraft kits Airfix ever did and their Hannover Cl.IIIa builds into a generally accurate model straight out of the polythene bag... 31 pale blue parts with better than average surface detail and aside from some wayward fuselage sections, all outlines accord almost perfectly with recent scale drawings of the type.Both Spandau and Parabellum guns are neatly done with observer's ammunition strip and light bomb loads adding interest around the rear cockpit. Painting represented the greatest challenge in 1967 as plentiful and authentic 'lozenge' decals were not widely available back in 1967 so committed modellers found hand-painting the tiny ten-colour patterns their only recourse. In later years ranges of quality printed fabric decals have appeared to greatly ease the finishing stage of classic kits like the Airfix Hannover...
ONE of five unexpected WWI aircraft kits released by Airfix over the space of one year, the German Hannover was a welcome addition. It was also one of the best of the crop and some fabulous models have been built from this 31-part kit over the years. Moulded in 'hellblau', surface detail is exceptionally fine particularly fuselage halves with ultra-fine panel lines;delicate louvres and inspection doors. Comparison with Mick Davis' GAs in CENTENARY DATAFILE 169 (pages 14 and 19) reveals most all outlines are accurate for versions with swept-back wings, whilst fuselage proportions are equally authentic in side and plan-view but cross-sections appear too flat when viewed head-on: the nose cowl's sides should be more rounded and that goes for front and rear areas although flat sides around the cockpits are essentially correct. Modellers will also need to consider whether the sweep-back of both wings can be altered to a straight planform by careful separation from the centre-section panels and rejoining either side. On the upper wing the centre-section rib detail needs sanding off as this was ply-covered. Furthermore, some wings had wood rather than wire trailing edges simply achieved by careful sanding. With finely-moulded struts: undercarriage unit; realistic wheels and machine gun armament; engine cylinders incorporating the double-barrel exhausts plus ammo strip and light bomb racks, this is an exceptional production which also includes the realistic gunner figure from the Roland.
Decals provide narrow Balkenkreuze for Cl.IIIa 3879 one of the 100 aircraft ordered in May 1918. The paper header is in poor shape with creasing and staple damage which we have striven to repair. Patterns and colour notes for hand-painting the five-colour printed fabric areas are provided-happily more recent years have seen plenty of printed fabric versions being printed in decal form-notably by Aviattic.
