Omega

1/72 LWF V Biplane Trainer

Kit Number: 72010

Reviewed by  Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146

MSRP: $29.95 www.omega-models.com/index.php The Lowe, Willard, and Fowler Company was established in 1915 in the New York area, and their first product was the Model V, a large, two seat training and observation biplane similar in appearance to the Standard J-1. The Army ordered 23 before World War I, and another 112 during the war. The V was equipped with a 135 hp. Thomas engine. Subsequent models included the V-1 (140 hp. Sturtevant), V-2 (165 Hall Scott with a radiator mounted under the upper wing center section) and V-3 (200 hp. Sturtevant). One Model F was a V-2 used to test the first 8 cylinder Liberty engine. One unusual feature was the construction of the fuselage, which was a monocoque unit made of wood laminates and fabric, somewhat like the much later Lockheed Vegas. The type was used mainly as a trainer during the war. At the end of the war, a Czechoslovakian delegation came to the U.S. to procure aircraft for their forces fighting on the side of the White Russians against the Communist Red Army. They ordered aircraft from LWF, and expected more modern types, but LWF shipped 28 well used LWF V's, which were duly assembled and used by the Czechs in their epic battle and trek across Russia and Siberia during 1919 and 1920, the entire force ending up in Vladivostok, from where they were transported back to Czechoslovakia. They apparently brought at least one airplane back with them, and this is currently preserved in the National Technical Museum in Prague, carrying a combination of U.S. national markings and Czech tail stripes. Photos of the aircraft are available on line, and they proved very helpful in constructing this model, as there is very little reference material available on this obscure aircraft type. My guess is that the model depicts a model V-3. I wanted to do one of the American aircraft, and found a photo of one on Aerofiles.com, which is a very good source of information on American aircraft. The photo they have shows a V-3 identified as #12878, which unfortunately, is not a serial number listed in V production. My suspicion is that the real number was 12978, which was one of the production V-3's. The tail number in the old photo is not clear, but the number on the side of the fuselage is very clear. Unfortunately, it is unclear in the photo whether the wing insignia is the three color roundel or the star and ball type, as both were used at the time. The Kit I purchased this kit on a whim at Avalon Hobbies about two years ago, as I have a passion for models of unusual airplanes, and this one certainly qualifies. Omega Models, in the Czech Republic, makes quite a line of resin kits in 1/72 scale, but this is the first one I've seen. By the way, they have a website, and list some VERY interesting models, including a whole series of odd Hurricane variants, all resin kits. This kit consists of approximately 40 parts cast in light beige resin, which have no sink marks, although there is considerable trimming required where the resin separates from the stems. The fuselage has little interior detail, although a pair of control sticks, instrument panels, and seats is provided. There are no windshields, but these can be made from clear plastic with no trouble. The wings are perfectly smooth, and I don't know whether they were of a structure similar to the fuselage or whether they were of traditional wood spar and rib construction. This does not show in the photos of the aircraft in the Prague Museum. There are some fairly detailed and useful photos available, but they do not show this feature in detail. Instructions The instructions consist of one sheet of paper, which folds into six sections. The front gives a short history and thank you note it typical pidgin English: "Bought are yourself a kit of Company OMEGA Models. The plane used Czechoslovak legions in Russian in flying school….." As a retired English teacher, this is kind of like running your fingernails down a blackboard. There's got to be someone in the CR with better English skills than that. If they'd contact me, I'd volunteer to do it for them. A technical description gives major data in metric, and some color information is given, in AGAMA and Humbrol. A small but excellent three view drawing is provided, which provides some rigging information, as the photo on the box shows an unrigged model. A photo of the cockpit area of the plane in the Czech museum is helpful. On the back is an exploded drawing showing how the parts go together, which is not too clear at times, along with a couple of drawings showing decal placement. Markings are shown but the airplanes are not identified. One is obviously the museum airplane. A sheet of decals is provided, which gives Americans insignias (these are shown on the Prague example), but the red center disks are too large for the rest of the insignia. There are numerous numbers and letters, included, but not a lot of explanation of how they are to be used. The decals appear to be useable, but I chose to use my own instead. Construction The fuselage interior detail is rather sparse, but it is hard to see inside the open cockpits anyway, so this is not a major issue. The instructions give some hints about locations, but the seats have to be trimmed and placed on some kind of support, as there is no place to mount them so they will stay in place. Remember that this is a resin kit, and superglue is required. The instrument panels actually fit into place, but surface detail is minimal to say the least. Maybe that is because the airplanes of that period had few instruments anyway. When I joined the fuselage halves, I tightened them down with strong clamps, and after a couple of hours, they were set for eternity. I then filled in the seams with Bondo. Wing attachment was somewhat of a challenge, as the lower wings are supposed to be attached to the lower fuselage with small tabs. These almost line up, but I decided to drill into the fuselage and wing roots and installed a short piece of plastic rod, making sure that they lined up properly. I then attached them with superglue, and they provided a strong joint that withstood the rest of the construction process. Before attaching any of the struts, I painted them a wood tan color. The fuselage required some filling and finishing, but no worse than some injection molded kits I've built lately. When I had sanded and painted the fuselage, I was ready for the biplane part. The struts are all the same length, so these are easy to install. The cabanes are in an inverted "vee" form, which are supposed to be glued into holes in the upper part of the forward fuselage. These are critical, as if they are the least bit off, they will skew the wing to one side. However, if attached properly, they help line the upper wing up properly. I attached the struts, allowed them to dry, and then attached the inner main struts on the bottom wings. I drilled out the mounting holes a little bit for easier installation. With four main struts in location at approximately the proper angle, I mounted the upper wing, using fast drying superglue. It was actually much easier than I had anticipated. I then just popped the outer struts into place. Piece of cake! The tail unit is a little more complicated. The elevator halves attach directly to the fuselage with no markings to show where they go, but centering them wasn't a problem. They lined up with the wings perfectly. The fin and rudder assembly broke along the hinge line, but this was a good thing, as I could then mount the fin, attach the support strut, and while this was drying, paint the rudder in the required red, white, and blue tail stripes common to American aircraft of the World War I period. Once the airframe was in place, I mounted the landing gear struts, having set the model on its back. It is probably best to attach the spreader bar to the gear legs, attach the struts to the fuselage, and then superglue the bar to the struts, trimming the axles slightly. I decided against using the kit wheels in preference to a good set I had in the spares box. The tail skid goes on easily into a hole under the tail unit. The engine cowling has little holes for the exhaust stacks, which are fairly complicated affairs, as they run back along the side of the airplane. They should be mounted before the rigging process starts. Then the circular radiator housing can be glued to the front of the fuselage. Make sure the hole is big enough for the prop, as the model when fully assembled is getting harder and harder to handle without risk of breaking something. One set of details that isn't included in the kit is the control horns. These can be easily made up from strip plastic, duly cut to size. I used white glue to put them in place. The drawings on the instruction sheet are somewhat useful, but the on-line photos (use google) were invaluable. I did everything on the underside first while the airplane was setting on its back. I used my metal wire rigging method, which worked out well, although there are a lot of wires on this airplane. This is a process that needs to be thought through clearly, as these wires are hard to work around, so you need to work from the inside outward. I did the cabane wires first, then the inside bracing on the main interplane struts. I then installed the flying and landing wires, and then the control wires. Each has a main cable and a set of wires going back to the rear portion of the rudder, elevators, and ailerons. These are shown on the drawings, but not very clearly. I did the top wing control horns and cables next, and finally the rudder and elevator cables. The lower elevator cables run down the bottom of the fuselage, and although this shows in the drawings, it could be easily overlooked if you don't know what you are looking for. I may have missed a couple of wires, but I think I got moist of them. Pilots of that time used to say that to check the rigging wires of a biplane, you turned a pigeon loose in between the wings, and if it got out, there was a wire missing somewhere. Rigging this model took me about three hours, as it is very tedious work. But, Oh, the result! Completion The completed model is, I think, quite impressive. I haven't built many resin models before, but this was a fun build, and I would highly recommend this kit to anyone who likes older, "real" airplanes, the ones with two wings. Try one. Thanks to my depleted bank account for the review kit.

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