Antares Models 1/48 Gotha Go P.60 A-2

Kit #ANT-22                                            MSRP $75.00
Images and text Copyright © 2007 by Matt Swan

Developmental Background
        The Horten Brothers claimed a spot in aviation history with the development of their flying wing interceptor the Ho.229 which made it into prototype construction and a single example exists still at the Paul Garber facility in Washington D.C. When this aircraft was being considered for full scale production by Gotha it was immediately apparent to their engineers that the intended engines were going to be either in short supply or completely unavailable. There were other choices available in power plants but due to the design of the Ho.229 with the engines embedded within the wing structure there was not sufficient space to accommodate the new hardware. Also with new data available from flight testing of the 229 some aerodynamic changes were needed.
        Gotha designers proposed an alternative all-wing design that would allow for the external mounting of engines and the addition of extra crew and/or equipment. Mounting the engines externally did make for easier maintenance and for several alternative engines to be used however did increase the drag of the overall airframe. Two configurations were proposed with one engine mounted on top and one underneath the wing body and the other with both engines mounted ventrally. Crew positioning was altered from the 229 design from upright seating to prone position. This gave the crew an advantage when experiencing high G maneuvers. Construction was based along the same principles as the 229 with “Formholz”, a molded wood sheathing assembled around a welded tubular structure.
        The A-1 version would have the engines mounted dorsally and ventrally while the A-2 version would keep both turbojets mounted side by side ventrally. Both versions would include three large internal fuel tanks, would incorporate a pressurized crew compartment and a leggy tricycle landing gear. Flight controls featured hydraulically activated leading edge flaps, flaps, elevons and ailerons as well as split wingtip flaps and small ventral stabilizing fins. Designed as a heavy interceptor the type would be fitted with four MK 108 30mm machine guns located in the wing leading edge. The P.60 series of interceptor never made it off the drawing board before the end of the war but could have provided an interesting avenue into supersonic flight.

The Kit
        This is the latest offering from Antares Models in Argentina just hitting the market in late 2006. It is basically a resin kit with white metal, photo etched and vacuformed detail pieces. The kit is securely packaged in a sturdy white cardboard box with colorful box art. Internally components are bagged and padded with Styrofoam packing material. The resin parts are of a good quality light tan resin that looks to have been cured properly before being removed from the molds and no obvious warpage is present. The wings and main fuselage body are solid core pieces of resin displaying no micro bubbles and relatively good surface texture. I did note some minor roughness to the wing surfaces but this was easily remedied with a quick pass of 800 grit sanding film. Panel lines are subtle and engraved. They show good consistency across the model.
        Smaller resin detail pieces include well detailed engines, un-weighted tires, various landing gear doors and crew door. Flight control surfaces are all molded in the neutral position. A small bag of white metal components cover the main landing gear struts, access ladder and cockpit instrument panels. Two small photo etched frets give the modeler crew seat belts – hold down straps might be a more appropriate term when used in this configuration. The kit contains two sets of clear vacuformed canopies that demonstrate well defined raised frame lines. A single white vacuformed piece is provided for the nose gear mud flap. A sheet of acetate material is included to fashion the small wing tip fins from. Overall the kit contains twenty two resin pieces, twenty one white metal pieces, two clear canopy pieces, a single white vac piece, an acetate sheet and twelve photo etched parts for a total of fifty nine parts in the box not including the duplicate canopy pieces.

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Decals and Instructions
        This kit includes a good set of instructions printed on A-4 sized paper. They begin with a nice historical background of the aircraft and some basic instructions for handling resin parts. There are three pages of assembly instructions consisting of about seven exploded views and a couple of profile sketches. There are several construction notes scattered throughout along with several color call-outs. Two pages are done in color and cover basic exterior paint schemes and decal placement for three aircraft.
        Kit decals are done by Condor and come with a rice paper protective sheet. The sheet contains the basic markings for three aircraft and includes two styles of Swastikas. They do not contain any service markings or warning stencils. Colors are vibrant and density looks good, print registry appears perfect. The decals appear to be nicely thin and will most likely settle into the panel lines very well. While I have not yet had an opportunity to use any Condor decals I do not anticipate any difficulties with setting solutions.

Conclusions
        Antares specializes in Luft ’46 kits and does a good job filling this nitch. This kit is well done with good surface texture, excellent surface detail, and no obvious warpage or bubble issues in the resin. The inclusion of white metal main gear struts is an absolute necessity with a kit of this mass. Kit instructions are well done and provide the modeler with all the necessary information. Decals while brief and lacking in the finer items like service stencils look good and should behave well. This is certainly an unusual subject and this is one of only two kits covering the aircraft type (Fliegerhorst P.60 C is the other). If you are a fan of Luft ’46 subjects you not only need to get this kit into your collection but it would be wise to review all the subjects offered by Antares. This kit is recommended for modelers of average or better skill and with some experience working with resin models.