I purchased the Taurus 1/32 Oberursel U.III engine (from Aviattic) for my WNW Fokker E.IV. This is my only kit using a 2-row rotary engine and this was a key reason for my buying the kit. It is a very nice kit, but the Fokker Eindeckers as a group are a bit plain-looking in comparison to many other WWI aircraft. With the engine being a key and very visible feature on the aircraft, I wanted to use this very highly detailed and accurate model engine to provide a bit more pizzaz.
Taurus engine models are highly detailed and the kit contains a lot of parts (127 for the U.III, the instruction say and I believe this). The instructions provided by Taurus are frustratingly terse. The model can be intimidating. This model is for experienced builders who are comfortable with resin assembly. This is not my first Taurus engine build (I’ve built the Clerget 9B). The good news is that for an experienced modeler and a model with a prominently displayed engine, the results are worth it. Since the Oberursel U.III is a Monosoupape (single-valve) design, it is simpler than the Clerget (less than half the parts).
I have a few Works in Progress which I need to complete, but I plan to start the E.IV next. I’ll keep folks posted on the progress, including the Oberursel build. I will be building Kurt Student’s aircraft.
