Sat thinking the other day, I've not done a kit review and build for ages because along with a quite a few of our like, I seem to have lost a bit of Mojo!
Anyway, I saw this sat on the shelf and thought, why the hell not use your semi-interesting, A-Level journalistic training and do a bloody review... so here it is!
Eduard 1/48 Avia B.534 III
One of the last mass-produced biplane-fighters, the first of the type flew in August 1933 and an initial order of 100 units was placed by the Czech Army Air Force with deliveries taking place in late 1935.
Main users, were the Czechs, Bulgaria and the Luftwaffe and in 1939 after the German occupation of Bohemia and Moravia, large numbers of B.534s were acquired by the Slovak Air Force and used against the Russians.
Powered by a 850hp Hispano Suiza HS-12Y in-line engine, it had a max speed of 245mph, a range of 360 miles and a service ceiling of 35,00ft!
The Kit
Standard Eduard 'Weekend Edition' of no frills, no extras and minimal marking options. This cames with 2 sets of livery and I'll be doing the Luftwaffe version totally OOB build with no extras and what could be described as a 'quick build'.
Four crisp sprues of grey plastic and one transparent greet you when opening the box and still one of the things that bugs me about Eduard kits is their insistence on sticking everything in one bag!
Nice, clean decal sheet and finally an A5 sized instruction/construction manual.
Theres plenty to be built before you have to think about paint, so the cockpit and fuselage sides were built up before being primed and painted in Vallejo Silver.
Sub assemblies of the radiator and instrument panel were primed and painted and wings were also primed to check for any flaws.
It's looking far too clean so tomorrow will be an oil wash on the tub and murk it up a bit.
So although I only spent an hour or so on her today, progress seemed swift but I suppose that is the idea of the Weekend series kits!