Gotha G.II Roden 1/72

[Skyhook]

Hi all!

I was actually going to add this to the Aircraft of the Aces group build, but I ran out of time. I felt clever and decided to make a model of a plane flown by some Pour le Merite ace, but from the beginning of their career. Feeling even more clever I decided to go for Hermann Frommherz, who actually was chosen for the medal, but missed it by days, because the paperwork was just in when the Kaiser fled to Holland before signing! Hermann quite rightly felt he was obliged to the PLM as he got one after the war from somewhere and liked to pose for photos wearing der Blauer Max.

Frommherz flew early Gothas on the eastern front in 1916 and flew several succesful missions with Kagohl 4, bombing bridges and railheads in the Balkans. His plane was 207/16 and I even found a couple of photos of it? so it was to be the subject matter.

Actually this is the very first Roden Gotha I have built, although i have had several variants in the stash since they were released. I tried to start a G.IV at the time, but it remained unfinished, because of the brittle struts etc and the very thick decals. This time I started from zero and tried to think ahead while building this kit, G.II/G.III. I scrapped many overscale interior parts and scratchbuilt most of them and most importantly I used bamboo for the central struts, which carry the weight of the long and rather heavy wing. Firstly I built the fuselage, engine pods and lower wings and joined the together in correct angles (took some modifications here and there). The main components luckily are spot on with the Windsock drawings. I modified the four blade propellers needed for this plane, from a spare propellers for a ww2 bomber kit?not sure which one?they had been in the spares box for ages!

Then I built the inverted vees of sanded bamboo on tops of the engine pods. After i had got them right and the already completed upper wing sat well, i used gel type suoerglue to glue the wing in its place. The slower, gel type glue gave the time to get it right. After properly cured, I added the central vee struts and the first pair of inner interplane struts made of bamboo in place. I could measure and test the correct lenghts, because the vee struts already held everything together. Then I added the outer pairs of bamboo struts to give the correct gap in the ends of the wings. Then I could use the kit struts for the rest, as they didn?t have to carry any loads anymore. Suprisingly the kit undercarriage struts work fine, when the axle is strenghtened with metal wire. They seem to take the weight of the model quite OK, as with the real plane as well.

All in all, I think the Roden kit is an excellent basis for a good model, if you take care of the aforementioned things first. The rigging is non-functional as it is heat stretched sprue and the control wires on the fuselage are nylon threads from a black stocking.

Cheers and enjoy!

Skyhook

Ps.  As usual, these pics are at flickr, so if you click them, you can see them in a sharper form.

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[PrzemoL]

Great effort on this one. Roden large kits are demanding and you have done splendidly.

[DaddyO]

That's really rather spiffing Skyhook 

I'd had a similar idea about doing something left field for the aces GB, but given my glacial pace I decided against it. Great to see this one built up since I've also got a few in the stash. . . .tempted to break one out now . . . .

Paul

[herbarnold99]

Nice job on a kit we don't see built up enough! Thanks for sharing!

[Will Levesley]

That looks great.  Good to see some multi engined bombers from we1.  They are too big for my cabinet!

[gedmundson]

Fantastic result with your Gotha bomber - and kudos for you to stick with your well-thought-out plan to put it together. What a great model - well done!
Cheers,
Gary

[Brad Cancian]

Oh my, what a beast! So very well executed, a testament to your planning. Great stuff!

Cheers,

BC

[Dirigible-Al]

Oh Boy I love seeing a well built Gotha.
Alan.

[NigelR]

Wow, great job on a challenging kit. The end result looks fantastic, and thanks for sharing your hints and tips. I have a GIV in the stash, your tips will be very helpful in approaching that.....

[Richtrad]

That's some brilliant work. Even though it's in 1/72 it looks like a larger scale in the pics. Very impressive and a great subject.
Warren Q

[ScottJ]

That's a great looking G.II!  I've built plenty of Roden kits but never the Gotha, I know they can be a bit of a challenge but usually turn out looking pretty good.  You certainly got the best out of this one.  Are the underwing ribs drawn or painted on?
Skyhook, I know you've (scratch) built quite a few larger models (even by 1/72 scale standards), where do you display them all?  You must have a dedicated room just for completed kits...

Take care
Scott

[lcarroll]

   Nicely done Skyhook! Roden Kits often offer some unique challenges but I've always been a fan; with a bit of TLC they build up beautifully and this effort of yours is especially so ......  great subject, and great work!
Cheers,
Lance

[Skyhook]

Thanks all for the great comments, much appreciated! 

I also am a fan of Roden models; many of the smaller parts are a bit brittle and difficult to detach from the sprues, but I think they are very well researched and cover many variants very cleverly. I think they are just as good as Eduard?s 1/72 ww1 stuff, but in a different way. Eduard?s stuff is also very well researched, but sometimes a bit oversimplified in places. Roden has also tackled many subjects that many others have not touched. Anyway, both profit from replacing many smaller items with scratch built ones?

Regarding the cabinet for the completed models, I have two. A bit smaller at home for the ww1 stuff and a larger, full height one at a summer place for ww2 stuff. The latter features just kit subjects, as they can take the sub zero temperatures of several months (no heating there!). The scratchbuilt ww1 subjects etc. are at home as they have materials that would take the changes in temperature and humidity badly. To be honest, it doesnt look too fine, as there is a lot of models and there is just as many packed away in few stout cardboard boxes, several floors of foam sheet with uprights in the boxes housing the models. They are in a cupboard and contain mainly planes that are not entirely completed or less succesful as models. Sometimes i change them around for fun, but not often enough .

Cheers, Skyhook

[lone modeller]

I am a bit late to this but that is one very impressive Gotha and in the correct scale. It reads as though it was a bit of a challenge - but you have more than risen to it. Superb model.

Stephen.

[Rip Van Winkle]

Great job on a difficult kit. I don't see many of these large planes built to completion.  I know it was challenging.