Description
This is a paintable 1:144 scale model of a Friedrichshafen G.IIIa multi-engine bomber. Also available is a Friedrichshafen G.II and G.III. Since many painters choose their own mounting system, no peg is included on the plane. Pegs can be purchased separately in the Accessories section of this catalog.
When the Friedrichshafen G.III lost an engine, it could be steered only with the greatest of effort. The Friedrichshafen G.IIIa sought to correct this with a box-tail double-rudder. Other improvements included the Gotha-style tunnel for firing to the downward rear quarter and Flettner tabs on the ailerons.
Austria-Hungary had tried to buy some G.IIIs in 1918, but a fire at the factory resulted in a cancellation of the order. Two were sent for study and analysis and arrived in August 1918. Oeffag was preparing to build fifty G.IIIa’s (as Series 54) in autumn 1918 but none had been completed by the Armistice. They would have been powered by 2×250hp Benz(Mar) engines.
For more data and gaming info on this plane, see https://linen.miraheze.org/wiki/Friedrichshafen_G.IIIa.
Shipping: Shipping varies from about US$7 to US$15 per order, depending on the destination country. See your cart for an exact number — the prices may vary with currency fluctuations. Orders over US$300 may get free shipping (but see the note on mixed materials).
Mixed Materials: Nylon prints are shipped from a different factory than resin prints, so if you place an order with a mix of Nylon and Resin, you will be charged shipping for each material, and each will arrive separately.
Taxes: Sales tax — where applicable — will be added for U.S. shipments. Value-added taxes (VAT) may (or may not) be collected by your postal carrier on receipt, which is known as “Delivery At Place”. Unfortunately, since my printing and shipping partner has no way of marking shipments as VAT-paid, this website cannot collect VAT on your behalf.
Customs: Most orders should be small enough to avoid customs duties, but you may want to check your local regulations. If duties are due, they may be collected by your postal carrier. E.U. customers may be able to avoid duties by keeping their order under €150.
No refunds are available, because your order is custom-printed when it is received. There is no inventory or stock to which it can be returned.
Reprints are available for planes damaged during shipping. See https://www.greatwarplanes.com/refund_returns/ for details.
Grey Resin: Models printed in Grey Resin material are printed with sprue-style supports while they are printed. The supports are removed in the factory before shipping. But be aware that some of the supports might be missed if they are mistaken for plane parts, and some of the attachment points might need smoothing before painting. I have seen good results — with almost no visible leftovers — in test prints. But this may not be universal because it depends on whoever is operating the printer the day your miniature is printed.
Bent Wings: Due to the need to protect miniatures during shipping, the miniatures may arrive with wings that are not perfectly straight (or, in the case of wings with dihedral, at the right angle)¹. If the warping is too severe, or if correcting it results in a broken plane, you can apply for a reprint as outlined above. To correct modest warping, you can heat the model with hot water or with a blow-dryer until the wings become pliable, straighten them, and then cool the model with cool water or room-temperature air. (I have used the blow-dryer method with good success.) I do not know what temperature is best — you’ll have to experiment, starting on the low side and using only gentle pressure. You just want to make the model pliable without it melting (too hot) or breaking under gentle pressure (too cool). Please use the normal precautions you’d use with any operation with hot water, air, and plastic.
Since — as you have gathered — you can bend the model when it’s under high temperature, I would suggest avoiding leaving your prints in a very hot environment such as a locked car under the summer sun.
¹ This was especially true during a period when the planes were shipped in a clamshell-plastic case, which should no longer happen.
