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Zetor 25 Tractor Driver & Village Boy (F72382) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby This delightful little figure set is intended for use with Special Hobby’s own resin Zetor 25 tractor that we have reviewed recently. As usual with CMK's resin sets, it arrives in the familiar clear vacformed box, with the resin parts safely inside, and the instructions sandwiched between the header card at the rear. Inside are two resin casting blocks, each one containing a figure. The driver is sculpted in the seated position, with a separate right arm for detail’s sake, and a thin film of flash running vertically down from his face to his vest to improve moulding reliability. That’s the work of moments to brush away with the side of a blade or even a cocktail stick. The other mounting points are where he sits and against the back of his legs, with excellent sculpting by M. Antfeist of his trousers, jacket and cap. The boy is standing with his legs slightly apart, looking up at the driver perhaps, wearing some baggy pants that are held up by a pair of braces over his shirt. There is a little flash between his legs to facilitate casting, but again that should be easy to remove. After a wash in warm soapy water to remove the last of the mould release, you can paint them any colours you like, but the instructions show a typical example if you’re stuck for ideas. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hello:) Kit is OOB with addition of some scratchbuilt details(full cockpit, pilot seats). Painting was quite a challenge since this was the first time I decided not to use decals (blue and yellow Sweden national colours) but decided to paint them instead. Only issue I had was with small windows on the sides (they didn't fit well) but other then that very enjoyable build and lovely kit, something different for a change. Kit: 1/72 Special Hobby SH-89(CASA C-212-300 Aviocar) Decals: OOB, painted Paint: Ammo Mig primer and acrylics Weathering: Ammo Mig washes and Oilbrushers, AK Interactive weathering pencils 🙇‍♂️

WWII Fighter Pilot 1942 (F48383 & F32381) 1:48 & 1:32 CMK by Special Hobby A pilot figure in or next to an aircraft will give it a scale that might otherwise be missing, and if well-painted, it should also add a little realism and credibility to your model. Quite often the kit-provided figures are either softly-moulded and seated for ease of production, with hands on laps and simple structures, and seldom are you supplied with anything standing, and even less likely anything highly detailed or period specific. These two sets from CMK do just that, just in case you hadn’t already twigged. As usual with CMK's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar clear vacformed box, with the resin parts safely inside, and the instructions sandwiched between it and the yellow header card at the rear. Decals and Photo-Etch (PE) when included are separated from the resin parts by a clear piece of thick acetate to prevent scratching and damage during transit. RAF WWII Fighter Pilot – 1942 (F48383) This set includes a pilot figure stood up straight whilst admiring his aircraft, or watching his colleagues over-fly the field, with one hand down by his side, the other up near his waist, possibly holding the zipper on his sheepskin-lined leather flying jacket. He’s also wearing a traditional WWII flying helmet with the comms bulges over his ears, and a pair of fur-lined flying boots on his feet. The jacket’s low strapped waist buckles are supplied on a tiny fret of PE parts that can be annealed then glued in place with some super glue (CA) and draped with gravity. RAF WWII Whirlwind Fighter Pilot – 1942 (F32381) Although this pilot is dressed and posed exactly like the 1:48 chap above, he is of course half as large again, and has his head cast separately, which gives some leeway with posing. Again, he has PE straps on his jacket’s waist but also on his helmet, and you are shown where the helmet’s wiring should run by a Y-shaped green line on the instructions. You’ll have to provide that wire yourself of course. He’s called a Whirlwind pilot on the box, but he could equally be used with any British fighter of the period, it’s just that Special Hobby have recently released a large-scale kit of the Whirlwind, so you can’t blame them. Conclusion Superb sculpting by Special Hobby’s artists, and equally high-quality casting that results in an excellent figure, whichever scale you want, need or choose. You could argue that many pilots left their helmets plugged-in inside the cockpit, but they look better with them on, so why not? Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi all Here is my latest model finished, the FMA IA.58 Pucará (Special Hobby 1/72) Model represents the aircraft A-511 Grupo de Ataque 3 - BAM Malvinas, pilot mayor Carlos Tomba. This aircraft was shot down on the 21st may 1982 by Lt Cdr "Sharkey" Ward piloting the Sea Harrier XZ451/006. Mayor Tomba survived the ejection and later became prisoner of war. I'm really glad to finally finish this kit. It fought me all the way (I started this building on June 2020). Several problems with fit and when it was almost done I had a problem with the windscreen and broke it when trying to fix it. I had to find another kit to replace the part (Thanks Trevor ). Not my best model but glad to finally call it done. #armouredsprue #pucara #Falklands40 Critics and comments are welcomed Cheers Paulo

In flight test it's always something different, and this fits the bill. No sense in letting the Air Force getting all the glory. So here's Special Hobby's1/48 Douglas D558-1 SkyStreak. The Navy's version of the X-1. Not as fast as the X-1 but just as brightly outfitted.

Special Hobby is to release in 2022 a 1/72nd Junkers Ju-87D-5 Stuka kit based on the Academy Ju87G-2 kit. Source: https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=77712&start=7020#p2450454 V.P.

Beaufort Mk.I Cockpit & Dinghy Upgrade Sets (7506 & 7508 for Airfix) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby Airfix’s recent Beaufighter has been around for a year now, and it has been well-received and many have doubtless been built already. Special Hobby’s designers have now completed a number of resin upgrade sets to improve on the detail that the kit provides, on the basis that resin can perform some casting tasks that would be difficult or impossible in injection moulded styrene. As usual with CMK's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar clear vacformed box, with the resin parts safely inside, and the instructions sandwiched between the header card at the rear. Decals and Photo-Etch (PE) when included is separated from the resin parts by a clear piece of acetate to prevent scratching and damage during transit. Interior Set (7506) This set includes twenty-seven resin parts on nine casting blocks, a small fret of PE parts, and a small slip of clear acetate with printed dials for the instrument panel. The first act is to add the wafer-thin inserts into the forward fuselage after sanding off the moulded-in details, using three to cover the area. The cockpit is based upon the kit floor and the bulkhead/wing spar, although heavily augmented with new parts. The bulkhead first has a closed section removed, then has a new resin replacement placed over it along with three angled add-ons, and an additional box and cylinder applied to the new bulkhead skin. The cockpit floor has thin resin panels added at the front, the leftmost of which has the well-detailed pilot’s seat placed on top after building it from four resin parts and with four PE seatbelt sections, plus a two-part resin/PE control column in front of it. To the pilot’s side, a console, twin throttle quadrant with a total of eight PE levers, and the instrument panel, which is laminated up from two pieces of film, three of PE, and a resin backing layer, to which PE rudder pedals are glued. At the front of the floor a pair of seat parts are glued to the semi-circular front bulkhead, and on the port fuselage, a side console with two additional resin parts hanging from it are fixed to the sill. Dinghy & Bay (7508) This set holds just three parts, and requires a panel to be removed from the port wing, into which the bay is glued, with the packed dinghy placed within after painting. The bay cover is supplied as a separate part to replace the section of the skin previously removed from the upper wing, so you don’t have to be unduly careful with the removal process until you get toward the panel lines and begin testing for fit. Conclusion A pair of excellent new sets to add more detail and interest to your model, setting it apart from the others out there. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Sd.Kfz.250/Sd.Kfz.10 Upgrade Sets (B72105 & B72106 for Special Hobby) 1:72 Blitz Line from CMK by Special Hobby Special Armour’s kit of the Sd.Kfz.250 half-track, or Hannomag as it’s often known has seen a number of boxings, the most recent we’ve reviewed here in non-German hands, is a great little kit for small scale AFV modellers, but you can always improve on injection moulded details with resin. These sets arrive in the usual red AFV themed blister packs with card hanger on the back and the instructions sandwiched between the two layers. Inside are the resin parts, with any Photo-Etch (PE) parts safely separated behind a piece of clear acetate at the back of the blister. Wheels (B72105 for Special Hobby) This set is a simple drop-in replacement for the two front wheels of the kit. They arrive on a single casting block that attaches to the wheels on the contact patch to avoid damaging the excellent tread detail that is moulded into the rolling surface and onto the large knobbly shoulders with yet more detail on the sidewalls showing the Continental name. The dished hubs are well detailed too, with bolts and hub caps present, and a small hole in the rear to accept the kit’s axle. Tracks (B72106 for Special Hobby) This set also consists of only two parts, but they are each one full run of tracks for the rear of the vehicle, and have their own casting blocks that attach to the rear of each link by wafer-thin risers. Removing them should be relatively simple, and any mistakes can be hidden on the inside of each run if your resin-handling skills aren’t quite up to muster. They are slipped over the completed road wheel set, sensibly starting with the drive sprocket, lining up the teeth with the holes in the centre of the tracks. Each casting block has either one or two raised lines on the front, which matches the numbered diagrams on the instructions that show which side each run should fit. Whether you paint the tracks separately from the wheels before joining them is entirely up to you. Conclusion The addition of these highly detailed wheels and tracks to your model will increase the realism of your model once they are sympathetically painted and weathered as appropriate to the circumstances. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Ki-84 Hayate Upgrades (7503 & 7504 for Arma Hobby) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby Arma Hobby released their newly tooled kit of this WWII Japanese fighter this year, and we reviewed the Expert Set here. CMK have now released a number of upgrade sets to upgrade the detail even further for those interested in improving the realism of their models. These sets arrive in the usual yellow themed blister pack with card hanger on the rear and the instructions sandwiched between the two parts. Inside are the resin parts, with any Photo-Etch (PE) parts safely separated behind a piece of clear acetate at the back of the blister. Cockpit (7503) This set includes seventeen resin parts, a small fret of PE, and slip of clear acetate that is printed with the dials for the instrument panel. Before beginning, you should remove the detail from the sidewalls that are moulded into the fuselage interior, then create the instrument panel on its support, adding the film and the PE panel to the front of the resin support, which has the breeches of the twin nose-mounted machine guns cast in. The fuselage insert is detailed by adding sills from PE, plus a PE winder for the canopy and another resin part. The cockpit itself is based upon the new resin floor, with the rear bulkhead added to the back, the seat with PE belts attached to the mounting rails, various levers, rudder pedals and the control column glued in place along with the two resin sidewalls and the instrument panel sub-assembly to complete the tub, which is then inserted into the fuselage instead of the kit parts. Control Surfaces (7504) This set has seven resin control surfaces to replace those from the kit, removing the rudder from both sides of the fuselage, the ailerons from the wings, and replacing the kit elevator parts. The resin upgrades should then be a drop-in replacement for all those that they supplant, adding detail and the ability to deflect them as you see fit. Each one is attached to its casting block along the hinge-line, which is sensible to hide any imperfections you may leave during liberation of them from the block with a razor saw or sharp blade. Review sample courtesy of

L-39ZA Albatros ‘Attack & Trainer’ (48167) 1:488 Special Hobby The L-39 is a fast jet trainer that was designed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia (as was) as a direct replacement for the earlier L-29 Delfin. It has been a success in its roles, and has received a number of upgrades that have resulted in new designations, and since the dismantling of the Soviet Union, some have found their way into private hands throughout the west, and they are often seen at airshows. It first flew in 1971, and was hoped to become the standard trainer across the Union, and following numerous upgrades by 1977 the ZA variant was in-service, fitted with a cannon and four hard-points for mounting various weapons in the Light Attack role. With the Soviet Union gone, the orders began to dry up, and an updated L-159 was produced in partnership with Rockwell, using more modern avionics. More recently, an L-39NG has begun development to begin deliveries of a thoroughly modern ‘Next Generation’ of Albatros. The Kit This isn't a new tooling from Special Hobby, and was originally release before the new millennium under the MPM brand name. It has plastic parts, resin and Photo-Etch (PE) brass parts, so any shortcomings of the original moulds are replaced by these new parts. In the box you'll find just three sprues in mid-grey styrene, a separately bagged clear sprue, a bag of resin parts, and another bag containing two sheets of decals, a sheet of pre-printed clear acetate and a substantial sheet of PE. It's a complete package, and for anyone that has wanted an L-39 for a while, it's a pleasing prospect to see it re-released. First impressions draw comparisons with the old Classic Airframes style of moulding, with quite highly polished external surfaces, fine recessed panel lines and basic cockpit details in styrene, which as mentioned earlier are supplanted by some more modern and detailed PE and resin parts. The final part is the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour on glossy paper, with colour profiles in the rear, and some adverts for other Special Hobby products on the back pages. The cockpit is first on the construction menu, with seats augmented by PE belts and ejection handles before being attached to the floor and hemmed in at the sides by consoles, with rudder pedals and control columns in the usual places. The instrument panels can be built up as styrene only, or with the addition of a layered PE and acetate, bringing more realism to the completed assembly, with the finished sub-assemblies glued to the cockpit sill part that encompasses the whole crew area. With the addition of the resin exhaust tube and pen-nib fairing to the rear (with engine detail at the inner end) the cockpit with separate rear bulkhead are then secured between the fuselage halves, and optionally for one of the decal options, you need to cut off the tip of the tail fin to the panel line marked on the accompanying scrap diagram, to be replaced by a new tip later on. The sill and instrument assembly are then dropped into the top of the cockpit aperture to complete that portion. The lower wing is full-span, while the upper wings are separate, and have alternative actuator fairings for a number of the decal options, which are provided in resin to be fitted after removing the standard moulded-in ones. All the gear bay doors are depicted closed as if on the ground, with only small inserts visible for attaching the gear later, which would make an in-flight model very easy to achieve. The wings are mated to the fuselage at the same time as the two-part engine intakes, which terminate at the blank wall of the fuselage, but with some careful painting you can fool the eye that you're looking down a gradually darkening trunk. The elevators fit with the usual slot and tab method, and a scrap diagram shows them perpendicular to the tail, so tape or blutak them in place while the glue is still curing. The clear parts include a pair of lights for the end of the integrated tip-tanks, and the canopy is supplied as a four-part arrangement for posing the canopy open, with some small PE parts added to increase realism. The windscreen and blast-shield between the seats are fixed, while the openers can be glued open or closed at your whim, or depending on how proud of the job you've made of the cockpit. A number of PE and styrene parts are added around the airframe, and the landing gear, which are built from styrene parts with attractive resin wheels that are then installed in their sockets, with a captive door on the strut, which has made me scratch my head a bit, as it looks like the door etched into the wing. However, the split door is to keep FOD out of the bay and folds inward when the captive door takes its place as it retracts. Two tiny PE doors are added to the nose gear wheel, which is built up in the same manner as the mains. A few optional PE and resin parts are then fitted depending on which decal option you have chosen, with captions assisting in your choice. Weapons always make a model look good, and with the Albatros it's no exception. The inner pylons have no pre-drilled holes in the wing, so you have to measure your own according to the instructions, and use the recesses for the outer pylons as a guide. The single barrelled SSh-23 cannon is supplied as a two-part fairing that installs behind the nose gear leg, and has some rather nice detail moulded-in, then you have a choice of some rather nice resin rocket pods and styrene fuel tanks to hang off the pylons. Markings There are seven decal options from the box, and three stencil layouts that are subject to their own pages in the booklet, so take care to use the right guide. The colourful decals are found on the smaller sheet, while the larger one is filled with black stencils and other markings. From the box you can build one of the following: L-39ZA 2436 (232436) Czechoslovak Air Force 2 Squadron, 5 Fighter Regiment, 1980s L-39ZA 2436 (232436) Czechoslovak Air Force 222 Training Squadron, 22 Air Force Base, 2008-2013 L-39ZA 5107/NL-37 École Supérieure de L'air, Algerian Air Force, 1991-1995 L-39ZA 5107/NL-37 Algerian Air Force being repaired In the Czech Republic, April 1996 L-39ZA 5107/NL-37 École Supérieure de L'air, Algerian Air Force, 1996 L-39ZA 5119/208 Aero Factory Airfield, Czechoslovakia being test flown by Israeli pilots 1990 L-29ZA/ART Royal Thai Air Force (365504) in delivery livery 1994 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. There isn't as much choice of air forces as there first looks, but plenty of interesting colours, and of course the minty green of the ART scheme to tickle your fancy. Conclusion A welcome re-release of this airshow favourite and fast jet trainer. It's not a brand-new moulding, so take care during construction and exercise your doubtless prodigious modelling skills to produce an attractive model of the type. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

M35 Armament Subsystem Upgrade for AH-1G Cobra (4454 for Special Hobby/ICM) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby Special Hobby’s newly tooled AH-1G Cobra has been around for a few months now, and now we have an upgrade set for the main armament that gave the Cobra quite a venomous bite. This set from their CMK range includes resin and 3D printed parts in their standard yellow-themed blister pack with the instructions between the parts and the car header. Inside the box are fourteen parts in resin on four casting blocks, plus a single 3D printed part in orange resin that allows the maximum detail on the flexible ammo guide between the sponson and the Gatling gun. The kit sponsons are adjusted by removing small sections of the opening at the top, replacing it with two resin parts to improve the detail. The Gatling gun is made up from five parts for the gun itself, another four for the ammo feed and ancillaries, and a resin hanger that fixes under the kit’s winglet. The two upgrades are then linked together with the ammo guide to complete the task. Detail is excellent, and improves on the kit parts as you would expect. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

AT-6C/D & SNJ-3/3C Texan (SH72450) ’Training to Win’ 1:72 Special Hobby The North American Aviation T-6 Texan has a long history dating from its inception as the NA-16 in 1935 right up to 1970, and even today there are flying versions in various Warbird associations, sometimes masquerading as Mitsubishi Zeroes in films. The T-6 (in various designations from NA-16, through B1 to T-6 etc.) was originally produced as a basic trainer but over time it was upgraded to an advanced trainer (AT-6 Texan) with improved performance for basic and combat type flying training, plus an added facility for training rear gunners. The T-6 was also supplied to Britain and Commonwealth nations and designated the Harvard (I & II) and was in service during WW2 and for many years post war. Many British, Commonwealth and American pilots earned their wings flying a Texan, although it was known to have a fairly severe stall characteristic. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp that gave it a unique harsh buzzing engine note, the SNJ-3C was fitted with arrestor gear to facilitate deck landing trials for pilots destined to serve on aircraft carriers. The Kit This is a re-boxing of the Academy kit by Special Hobby with an additional injected clear sprue for the different canopies used and some resin parts, a small Photo-Etch (PE) fret, a miniscule slip of pre-printed clear acetate sheet, a decal sheet and instruction booklet. The Academy kit is well-regarded, so the additional parts and decal sheet should give the model an additional boost by the time you have completed it. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with the two seats, which both get a new set of PE four-point seat belts before they are glued to the cockpit floor, which also receives a linked pair of control columns running down much of the centre of the floor. The sidewalls are applied to the floor along with a central coaming, rear bulkhead and rear deck, with a decal for the instrument panel under the coaming. The front panel also has a decal, and is attached to a spur inside the front of the cockpit aperture within the fuselage, while the cockpit assembly is held in place by a number of raised supports, but first several small sections around the cockpit and front cowling are removed, as shown in red. Only one decal option doesn’t have the resin insert in the starboard side of the nose cowling, so get your decal option sorted early in the process to avoid issues. The exhaust collector ring is slid over the fluted front of the fuselage, then the engine is made up, consisting of a bulkhead to which the engine is moulded as one part, fixing on a ledge inside the resin cowling, except the first decal option, which uses the kit part. The twin bladed prop inserts into the front of the bell-housing and is secured at the rear by a small cup that can leave the blade mobile. The low-mounted wings are supplied full-width on the underside, into which the central bay insert is placed, painting the area interior green, as well as small sections of the inside of the upper wings where the gear legs will fix. It can then be mated with the fuselage, and the completed engine assembly attaches by two pegs at the front. A resin machine gun with fairing is glued onto the starboard side in front of the cockpit for one decal option, and the gunsight is only needed that same option, folding up into a triangular shape, with the glazing replicated by the small and eminently losable slip of acetate, taking great care with the glue. The elevators are each a single part and fix to the tail by the usual slot and tab method, then the canopy can be installed, starting with the windscreen, then adding the two rear sections that are found on the additional clear sprue. Another clear part forms the glazing for the wing-mounted landing light in the leading edge of each wing, and a pitot inserts into the starboard wingtip. An intake attaches to the port side of the forward fuselage, then right in the pilot’s eyeline, a post for the radio antenna is fixed to the deck in front of the windscreen. Inverting the model (taking care of that antenna), the landing gear can be made up from individual legs with separate outer bay doors and wheels. The tail wheel has a choice of a faired-in assembly for one option, or a bare wheel with strut moulded-in for the rest. One camouflage option also needs an arrestor hook and curved bumper from the resin parts glued in front of the tail wheel. The final act is adding an intake under the rear of the engine cowling and a pair of actuators to the undersides of the elevators. You are also invited to fill a small hole under the wings in between the two main gear bays, and flat-back three raised lights under the fuselage as these variants didn’t have the recognition lights fitted. Markings There are a generous seven decal options on the sheet included with the kit, and each one has a page devoted to it with four views and a list of colours using names and Gunze codes. Most of them are painted silver, but with enough variation to appeal to most modellers, but my favourite is the one in blue grey. From the box you can build one of the following: AT-6D-NT Texan 4134617 ‘Bridget SPM Baby’, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, Middle Wallop (USAAF Station 449), Great Britain, 1944 SNJ-3C Texan BuNo. 6792, J-9, NAS Glenview, Illinois, Autumn 1942 SNJ-3C Texan BuNo. 6792, 11-1, Marine Aircraft Group 11, Cactus Air Force, Turtle Bay, Espiritu Santo, South Pacific, October 1943 AT-6C 42-3996, 77th Flying Training Wing, Foster Field, Texas, 1943 SNJ-3 Texan BuNo. 6773, Training Squadron Three, Detachment 8-B, NAS Pensacola, Florida, 1942 AT-6C Texan, 41-17249, X-508, Luke Field, Arizona, 1942 AT-6C Texan, 41-17249, X-508, Luke Field, Arizona, 1942 The decals are printed in the Czech Republic, and are in good register, colour density and sharpness, with a thin gloss carrier film over the printed areas. Looking at the carrier film I surmise that they are printed by Eduard, and as of 2021, the carrier film from Eduard decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier-free, making the decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and having now tested them on my recent F4F-3 Wildcat, I’m a fan. Conclusion A welcome reboxing of a well-regarded kit with some resin and PE extras to give it some individuality, and a host of interesting decal options that you can remove the carrier film from after application. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi all Because I haven't any motivation to pursuit my SIAI 260, I decided to start another kit This time I choosed the Meteor NF Mk14 from Special Hobby I already build au Special Hobby NF Meteor and kept a well remember. There are no reason that the NF 14 will diffirent I started the build with the cockpit The details for the scale are very impressive It need only a good paint The panels side THe cockpit floor and the panels side The rear bulk and the panel instrument

Fouga CM.175 Zéphyr (SH72323) 1:72 Special Hobby Zéphyr was the name given to the maritime variant of the Magister by Fouga, which benefitted from a strengthened airframe, arrestor hook, had no ejection seats, sliding canopies to facilitate take-offs with the canopy open, and a nose-mounted light to assist with night landings on carriers. It was tested on two British carriers late in the 1950s, with only a small number of airframes delivered, totalling 30 production aircraft and two prototypes. Only one squadron was formed at the end of 1959 as a consequence, with the active airframes rotated into storage to even out the flight hours and prolong the length of service of the airframe in French service. Although the Zéphyr was capable of carrying gun pods under the wings, they could also carry guns in the nose, although they were seldom used in practice due the type’s given task, and weight savings also saves fuel. They were used as aircrew trainers at Hyéres, where they taught the novice pilots the intricacies of the perishable skill that is carrier landing at the Deck Training School. In the 60s they also formed an aerobatic team by the name of Patrouille de Voltige d'Hyéres, which translates as Hyéres Aerobatic Patrol, who took over the name of the Patrouille de France during austerity cut-backs to retain the prestige of French aviation, using the less expensive Zéphyr, and freeing up the costly front-line capable fighters that they previously used. The Kit This is a reboxing of the 2015 kit from Special Hobby with new decals and some optional extras that you can pick up while you’re shopping to improve the kit further. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box, as the Zéphyr is a small aircraft, and inside are four sprues in grey styrene, a separately bagged clear sprue, and a decal sheet in yet another bag. The instruction booklet is portrait A5 and printed on glossy paper with colour profiles at the rear, and adverts for other SH products on the rearmost pages. Detail is excellent for such a diminutive aircraft, although as with many 1:72 kits the panel lines could be deemed a little deep, although they will doubtless reduce under several coats of paint. Construction begins with the double cockpit, which is well-done with separate seats, instrument panels with decals, plus control columns and throttle levers completing the appointment of this key area. The fuselage halves are prepared with intake trunking inserts that slot inside the engine nacelles after being painted the correct colours, and having the front and rear engine faces emplaced. Externally, the intake lips, exhausts and a number of other small parts are fitted, then the cockpit is trapped between the halves and glued together, adding an equipment deck behind the crew stations and cutting off a blade antenna just behind the cockpit near a small intake. More detail parts are scabbed on the underside toward the rear along with a central strake, two-part tail-cone and the arrestor gear that slots into a triangular aperture. At the front, the nose gear bay is made from a tapering L-shaped former that is trapped between the two nose-cone halves that are then joined to the fuselage after painting the interior while you still have the chance. Returning to the rear, the diagonal tail fins are fitted using pegs with tiny inserts at the root, and actuators near the tips. Each wing is made from a top and bottom surfaces, but first the gear bay inserts are added to the lower part, and a choice of deployed or flush air-brakes that apply for both sides of each wing. The upper wings have the top of the tip-tanks moulded-in, and have separate lower halves added once the two wing halves are mated, with a pair of clear parts for the lights. The nose gear leg has a two-part wheel that slots onto the leg, plus a small front bay door and two side doors, then the two main gear legs are installed in their bays with retraction jacks and wheels, plus a pair of doors on the outer edge, and a single inner door with separate double retraction jack. The model is completed by gluing the rails to the edge of the cockpit and adding the fixed windscreen, central and rear portions to the fuselage, then deciding whether to close up the sliding portions or leave them open, which is done just like the real thing, remembering to add the periscope to the central section, which has parts inside and outside of the canopy. Markings There are four options on the decal sheet, all of which are painted overall with aluminium paint rather than bare metal, and each has a red lower nose, rudder and elevator fins on all but one of the options, which is almost totally aluminium. You can build one of the following from the box: S/n.4, ex-Escadrille 59s, BAN Hyéres, latterly on display in Belgium S/n.4, ex-Escadrille 59s, BAN Hyéres, France late 1970s to 1994 S/n.16, ex-Escadrille 59s, BAN Hyéres, France, late 1970s to 1994 S/n.4, ex-Escadrille 57s, Ecole de Chasse de la Marine, Khouribga, Morocco, 1959-60 and Port Lyautey, Morocco, 1960-62 Decals are by Special Hobby’s usual partners, and have good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion The Zéphyr was a niche type that saw extended service in predominantly French hands, and Special Hobby have done a great job of rendering the details of this diminutive early jet. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Westland Whirlwind F Mk.I “Cannon Fighter” (SH32047) 1:32 Special Hobby The Whirlwind came about due to the Air Ministry’s concerns about fighters armed with rifle-calibre machine guns not being able to inflict enough damage on enemy aircraft as airspeed increased, leaving only fractions of a second to put enough rounds downrange before they were past the target. A number of designs were proposed, some based upon development of existing airframes, but Westland had put a great deal of work into what was to become the Whirlwind already, and with twin engines, excellent all-round vision for the pilot and the concentration of four 20mm cannons in the nose, it soon became a favourite, and an initial order of 400 was made. Unfortunately, it was to use the Rolls-Royce Peregrine engine, which was subject to protracted problems that led to serious delays bringing it into service that kept the initial batch from the front until it had become less of an impressive aircraft when compared to its contemporaries such as the cannon-armed Spitfires and Beaufighter. There were conflicting opinions of the type from various parties, some calling it disappointing, others finding it to be a highly capable aircraft. The pilots that flew Whirlwinds regularly were generally impressed, and appreciated its ruggedness, the “spare” engine that made it more likely you’d get home if one was damaged, and the heavy firepower it possessed without the need for setting convergence as with many other aircraft. Emergency landings were also relatively safe (as far as they go), thanks to the low wing mounting and the fact that the engine nacelles acted as skids, preventing the nose from digging in and going over. Because of the delays only three squadrons flew the type, and it remained in service until 1943 in a relatively unmodified form, apart from the wiring closed of the leading-edge slats that weren’t much use and became a liability if they malfunctioned. It was mostly used for “Rhubarb” forays into occupied Europe and as a ground-attack fighter, where it performed well in terms of destructive capabilities, and thanks to the low-level capabilities of the Peregrine engines it could hold its own against the Bf.109s of the time, but once the Peregrine was cancelled it was decided to end development, as retro-fitting Merlins was considered to be too difficult, and the wings also had issues that would need to be resolved in a hypothetical future version. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from Special Hobby, and should have the 1:32 modellers jumping for joy that they don’t have to tackle the vacformed kit that was the only choice beforehand. It arrives in a good-sized box, and inside are nine sprues in grey styrene, one in clear, a long decal sheet and a glossy instruction booklet with colour profiles on the rear pages. I’ve always had a soft-spot for the Whirlwind after building the little Airfix kit in my youth, and depicting it crash-landed on a diorama base with some cotton-wool smoke coming from one of the engines. I digress. Quite frequently, actually. Looking at the sprues in the box, detail is good throughout with a set of engraved panel lines, rivets and other recessed and raised details, including the inside of the fuselage, gear bays and engine nacelles. The wings seem to have a slightly more exaggerated look to their panel lines when compared to the fuselage, but this should tone down under a few coats of paint. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with the frames behind the pilot with the turtle-deck set between them and a pair of flare-chute tubes set diagonally in the lower portion. The instrument panel is engraved with fine detail, and you get two – one for the earliest airframes, another for later aircraft. Both have decals for the instrument dials, according to your choice of subject. The side consoles are set diagonally in the cockpit walls, with additional parts added along the way and more attached directly to the sidewalls, including throttle quadrants, control levers and trim-wheel. The cockpit is without floor and seat so far, which is corrected by creating the base from two sections and adding braces, foot-plates, rudder assembly and control linkages, plus a couple of detail parts. This is later inserted into the upper wing, after the creation of the two radiator trunks that lead through the inner wings, having three sections of spar-work visible front and rear, plus two radiator surfaces that resemble four circular speakers from a ghetto-blaster (remember those?). The upper wing also accepts the inner walls, while the lower includes the outer walls, and a section of outlet trunking toward the rear. Once these are completed, the full-width wing can be closed up and work begun on the engine nacelles. Each nacelle is made up from two halves, which trap the front and rear bulkheads in place after adding a few detail parts to complete the area. The nacelles are attached to the underside of the wings, and capped at the front with a pair of discs, with the exhausts fitted on each side of the nacelle fronts. The fuselage is closed up around the cockpit, and the perforated tail gear bay is fitted into the rear before applying glue. Before the wings are joined, the cockpit floor is glued into the recess, then the two rudder sections are assembled and inserted into the rear, deflected as you see fit. The elevators and their fins are made up from their respective halves, then inserted into the slots in the fairing behind the “acorn”. The inner wing radiator flaps are also put into position at this stage too. My Whirlwind has no nose. How does is smell? Plasticky, for the most part, with a hint of glue – just don’t sniff it too much or you’ll get dizzy. The nose cone has four holes moulded-in, and has a rear bulkhead that the twin 20mm Oerlikon cannon barrels fit into, sliding through the nose cone before it is glued into position on the fuselage. The gun-camera and spent casing collector fairings are installed under the nose after being built from two parts each, then it’s time to start on the landing gear, beginning at the rear. The tail-wheel is in two halves, as is the strut, with the other half of the yoke separated to ease installation of the wheel, and the completed assembly is inserted into the socket in the bay roof, as illustrated in the cut-away drawing. Its bay doors attach to the sides, and are linked to the strut with short retraction jacks to add a little extra realism. The main gear resembles the Mossie, with two main struts either side of the wheel, bracing and retraction jacks, with the two-part wheel that has a little sag moulded into the bottom. It slots in place thanks to a pair of pegs that glue to the front of the legs, then the bay doors are fitted with retraction jacks in a similar manner to the tail wheel. The cockpit isn’t finished yet, as it is missing the seat and control column. The seat pan comprises three parts, to which the back cushion and armour panel are added, with the adjuster and cross-brace fitted at the right and rear, respectively. The column is complete apart from the pivot at the bottom, and these two assemblies are inserted into the model, aided by another cut-away drawing with red accents. The Whirlwind was one of the first bubble canopies that afforded the pilot an excellent view, and this is supplied as separate canopy and windscreen. The canopy has three internal parts inserted into the rear, which you’ll need to choose a sensible glue to attach them without fogging. The windscreen has a portion of the fuselage moulded into it to make fairing it in a doddle. The gunsight and a rear brace are glued in first, then the two clear parts are installed, with the canopy able to be posed open or closed. Check your references to ensure you fit it at the correct angle, as the rear should stand clear of the fuselage. The crew ladder slots into a hole in the lower port fuselage, and you’ll be pleased to hear that there’s a resin figure coming soon to pop on there for an “in-action” diorama. A rear-view mirror is attached to the top of the windscreen and an aerial mast and bead sight are inserted into their positions in front of the canopy. The wings are finished off with two navigation lights at the tips, landing lights under both wings, and two little flap-track fairings at the outboard end of the flaps. Another clear light is inserted above the acorn on the tail with the L-shaped heated pitot-head at the top. The twin props are made from some nicely detailed parts that sadly won’t be seen unless you depict your model in a maintenance situation. The perforated back plate accepts the two-part boss with individual blades inserted between the halves, then a further three parts install in front before the spinner is glued over the assembly. This is done twice of course. Markings There are a generous four decal options included on the sheet from early green/brown camo and the sky and black underside panels, to the later grey/green scheme with grey underside that is my own favourite. From the box you can build one of the following: P6985 HE-J No.263 Sqn RAF, Exeter, March 1941 P7061 HE-A No.263 Sqn RAF, Charmy Down, Sept 1941 P7118 HE-F “Bellows Argentina No.2”, No.263 Sqn RAF, Colerne, Winter 1941/2 P7081 HE-E “Bellows Argentina No.3”, No.263 Sqn RAF, Charmy Down, Oct 1941 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Extras Coming Soon Special Hobby and their CMK brand have a bunch of forthcoming aftermarket parts to improve the level of detail even further from stock, in the shape of the following sets: Q32395 Gun Barrels F32373 Pilot Climbing Ladder 5135 Wheels 5136 Nose Gun Bay M32002 Canopy Masks We’ve already got the masks in for review, and will post them all up just as soon as we can. Conclusion There should be some very happy large scale model makers with this new tool reaching the shelves of your favourite model shop. It’s an under-appreciated aircraft, and I think it looks good. Whether it was the right decision to withdraw it from service rather than re-engineer it, we’ll never truly know. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Good day, Here is the Mirage F.1B from Special Hobby in 1/72 scale. The kit was rather straightforward in assembly. Putty was used in select sections for small gaps but nothing too significant. The kit has lovely recessed panel lines, raised detail, and a complete compliment of ordnance / underwing & fuselage stores. The supplied decals were excellent. Here are the colors and type of paint I used on this subject………. 1. Fuselage : Polly Scale French Light Blue ( upper surface ) & Mission Models Camouflage Gray FS36622* 2. Cockpit including the ejection seats : Mission Models Tire Black, Model Master Flat Black, Tamiya Ocean Gray ( XF-82 ), & Tamiya Khaki Drab ( XF-51 ) 3. Landing gear assembly and gear wells : Tamiya Flat Aluminum ( XF-16 ), Tamiya Titanium Sliver ( X-32 ), Tamiya Metallic Gray ( XF-56 ), Model Master Flat Black 4. SLAR 2000 Reconnaissance Pod : Model Master Haze Gray & Model Master Medium Gray 5. Washes : Vallejo Blue-Gray, White, Light Rust, & Brown, Tamiya Black The landing gear assembly was a bit tricky with the six wheels / tires. I used a Master metal pitot tube and Tamiya tape for the seat belts. The canopy windows are very delicate with little to hold them in place. I recommend this kit to those with a little bit of experience as it can be a bit of a challenge for novice builders. *I know that many references indicate a silver color for the underside however in the picture I had of this particular aircraft, it appeared, to me, that it sported a light gray undersurface color so I went with that option. If I am incorrect, my apologies. Thank you in advance!!!!! Mike

NHi, here’s a few pics of the latest off the bench. Straight from the box except a couple of aerials. Cheers

Hi, here's a build of Special Hobby's recent Hi-tech boxing of their 1/72 Seafire FR.47. It's all OOB and painted in the included scheme for VP480 of 800NAS flying off HMS Triumph during the opening stages of the Korean War. This particular scheme is with ID stripes introduced after a friendly fire incident with a B29. I opted for a black, rather than EDSG, spinner for aesthetic reasons. Half the central drop tank was sadly missing, so this one is in the rather unrealistic configuration of fully loaded with rockets with no fuel tanks, presumably to obliterate something no more than about 200 yards away. Partly because it seems these aircraft were kept pretty clean, and partly because I think it looks nice, I decided not to weather this model besides some panel line washing. The result was rather heavier than I intended on the upper wing surfaces, but overall the kit detail was nice and just proud enough to grip the wash. It's been my first build of something limited run, and I was rather intimidated both the amazing quality of all the builds of this kit on britmodeller, and by the rather foreboding comments about it that accompanied them. Overall it builds into a nice model of this lovely aircraft I think, but does require a reasonable amount of work. I've made some observations of it at the end of the WiP thread listed below. The kit is painted in Tamiya acrylics using @Casey's mixes (request 8752b for mods to sticky that thread please! 😁) with GSI varnishes and oil washes. Please forgive the camera work, I've got no idea how to do these things. WiP: Thanks very much for looking in, and to all those who were a great help through the build! Cheers, Andy

Just starting this tonight; one of my favourite aircraft. I find it interesting as pretty much the most distant development of the original Spitfire, and what lines! Everything about it from the contra-rotating props to the ram air intake to the new design folding wings and of course the EDSG over Sky is just >chef's kiss<. I've wanted to build one of these for a long time. I originally was hacking away at the cockpit of the CH/Revell Sea Vixen to make it look something approaching reality, but changed tack for some reason. I have an Airfix 1:48 stored up, and was planning the Rareplane version as my first foray into vac-form as well, but part of the reason for this one in particular is to try something a little more challenging, what with the limited run-ish-ness and PE parts. A quick session this afternoon, so far the interior bits have had some Mr surfacer followed by a coat of Tamiya NATO black (to give a bit of range for washing) (incidentally I'd got the impression from various threatds that this was a bluish-black but looks plenty brown-red to me), and the wheel wells some dark grey. I know Sky or interior green or even Ally are probably more realistic choices but I figured Sky might look a bit toy like (couldn't be bothered to change the colour), and I always felt interior green was a horribly land-lubberish colour to put on naval aircraft. So it's an aesthetic decision I'm afraid. The exhausts also got some Alclad burn iron, since I had it out anyway. My first foray into PE, I did the pedals, which I know was pointless and they'll never been seen in this scale, but I need the practice. Since this is a Hi-tech boxing, the instructions immediately ask you to cut up the cockpit, including sanding down the control panel. A sadness really, seeing as it's be best-moulded part in a rather indifferently moulded kit! Thoughts on the kit so far... it has a very Special Hobbyish tang... fairly rough mouldings that always tend towards flat styrene sheet shapes, but with un-square sides! The transparencies all look a little rough. The exterior shape and detail however, all look lovely. This is going to be a good one for the spares box, there's a lot of extra parts for, it appears, pretty much any late mark Griffon Spit. Anyone got experience with this kit? EDIT: oh and also... the gap in the frame behind the seatrest.. I believe maybe has a fuel tank behind it... can anyone confirm, and know what colour that tank might be? I've seen someone paint it red, I'm sure.

AH-1G Cobra ‘Over Vietnam’ with M-35 Gun System (SH48230) 1:48 Special Hobby Hi-Tech The AH-1 Cobra was the first production Gunship or Attack Helicopter to see US service as a new type of weapons platform. During the Vietnam war the US Army began to see the need for armed helicopter to escort its unarmed UH-1 Hueys into combat. Fortunately, Bell Helicopters had been independently investigating helicopter gunships as early as the late 1950s, so in 1962 Bell was able to display a mock up concept to the US Army, featuring a 20mm gun pod, and a ball turret mounted grenade launcher. It was felt by the Army to be lightweight, under powered and unsuitable. Following this the US Army launched and Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition, which gave rise to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne heavy attack helicopter that proved to be too technologically advanced and therefore risky for its time, eventually being cancelled in 1972 after 10 years of development (some things never change). Despite the failure of the AAFSS programme, Bell stuck with its idea of a smaller, lighter gunship and invested its own money developing the AH-1 further. They used as many of the proven components they could from the UH-1 platform, adding these to a newly designed slender fuselage that had a minimal front profile. When The US Army later asked for plans for an interim gunship for Vietnam, Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the ready-made AH-1, or the Bell 209 as it was then called. Given the work Bell had already done, the programme was completed in a relatively rapid eight months and won the evaluation battle against the competition. In 1966 the US Army signed an initial contract for 110 aircraft. Some slight modifications were made to the production airframes. The heavy armoured glass canopy was replaced by Plexiglas with an improvement in performance. Wider rotor blades were fitted and the original retracting skids were replaced by simple fixed units. The G model was the initial 1966 production model gunship for the US Army, with one 1,400shp (1,000 kW) Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft. Bell built over 1,100 AH-1Gs between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras would go on to fly over a million operational hours in Vietnam, losing approximately 300 to combat shoot-downs and accidents during the war. The U.S. Marine Corps would use AH-1G Cobra in Vietnam for a short period before acquiring more damage resilient twin-engined AH-1J Cobras. The M-35 Gun System was a single M195 20mm cannon (a short-barrelled version of the six-barrel M61A1 Vulcan) on the port inboard pylon of the AH-1G, with 950 rounds of ammunition stored in boxes faired to the side of the aircraft. The system was primarily pilot controlled, but featured dual controls so it could be either pilot or gunner controlled. For this purpose the pilot was provided with a M73 sight. The AH-1 went on to serve the US Army until it was replaced by the AH-64 Apache. The last one leaving active service in 1999. The Kit This is a Hi-Tech reboxing of a new tool from Special Hobby and brings us a long-overdue update to some of the older kits of the type on the market, plus a big handful of resin, Photo-Etch (PE). This edition depicts the American airframes used in Vietnam, and arrives in a standard top-opening box in Special Hobby’s Hi-Tech black theme, and inside are eleven sprues in various sizes in grey styrene, a bag of resin parts totalling 47 in all, a 3D Printed palette of 5 finely detailed parts, two frets of PE, one of which is nickel-plated and pre-printed, a tiny slip of acetate film, a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-style masking material (not pictured) a large clear sprue with a choice of canopies for upcoming versions, a decal sheet and their usual glossy A4 instruction booklet with spot colour throughout, plus colour profiles of the decal options in the rear. There are a number of red Xs on the sprue diagrams, as they have been tooled with future boxings in mind, so after you’re done building it, you will likely have a number of parts left over. I’d also recommend checking the sprues for parts that have come off the runners during shipping, as a fair few were loose in an boxing and one in this one, so don’t go tossing it in the recycling before you’ve checked for lurkers. Detail is excellent, as we’ve come to expect from SH, especially in the upgraded cockpit, the exterior surface and the rotors, while the instruction booklet takes you through the build process with colour and scrap diagrams used to clarify the process. Construction begins with the cockpit, which will be highly visible through the crystal-clear canopy parts, and this starts with the new resin seats with separate cushions and pre-painted PE seatbelts, with scrap diagrams showing the correct layout of the belts, and the further installation of a set of bases for the two seats, which differ between mountings. These are installed in the cockpit tub along with resin foot pedals front and rear, and a pair of boxy cushions to the side of the front seat. A 3D printed control is glued to the front-right side console, and other 3D parts are made up into a weapons control column, plus cyclic and collective sticks for the pilot in the rear, with more resin parts completing the consoles. The modeller has a choice of highly detailed multi-layer pre-painted PE instrument panels for both crew, which fit within styrene coamings, or these can be exchanged for styrene panels that receive dial decals to complete them. The completed panels are applied to the appropriate crew seat, with a 3D printed gunsight fitted to the pilot’s coaming with small pieces of film representing the glazing. To the sides of the gunner’s seat, a pair of resin wedges are applied to build up the bulkhead, with a resin fire extinguisher applied to the port side. The quilted rear bulkhead is augmented with a pair of resin upgrades before it is inserted into the fuselage. We’re rapidly starting prep of the fuselage halves by drilling out a number of holes, adding the nose cone and tail fin, taking care to align them carefully as well as choosing the correct one, as there are two tails provided on the sprues. The rotor-head is installed on a flat plate, allowing the head to rotate if you’re careful with the glue, then it is inserted into the fuselage along with the cockpit tub and the short exhaust trunk, closing it up and leaving it to set up so you can deal with the seams. With that done, the cockpit is outfitted with more styrene and resin armour panels on the internal sidewalls and on the port side exterior, adding a number of appliqué panels in two parts. The underside of the fuselage is bereft of detail until you add the two armoured panels under the cockpit, and glue an insert into the hole in the underside after drilling out a pair of holes from within. Two narrow intakes are added to the sides, followed by the main intakes with PE grilles above that slot into recesses on the fuselage sides. The Cobra has wings! Little winglets that are essentially weapons carriers, and these both have a separate wingtip plus a root mounted ammo pod under each one, the port pod later directly feeding the M35 Gatling gun and a link between the starboard and port pods. At the rear you have a choice of two styles of stabiliser fins, one covered in rivets, the other flush. Speaking of the tail, the boom is covered in well-rendered raised rivets, as is correct for the type. Two pylons attach to the underside of the winglets, one in the tip, another fitting into two holes. There is a short exhaust ring, and a pair of inserts just below it to complete the fairing between fuselage and the boom. The fuselage is flipped on its back to create and insert the nose turret, with a pair of inserts added into the main turret part, and a resin 7.62mm Gatling gun in one aperture, plus a 40mm grenade launcher in the other, or twin Gatling guns if you are depicting one of the schemes. The large underwing 20mm Gatling gun is made up from styrene parts for installation under the port winglet along with the routing for the ammo feed, antennae, pop-up light and the rotating gun turret, plus the tail bumper rod under the two-blade rotor, and the very tip of the nose cone that has a pitot probe added near the top. A choice of skids with the thicker or thinner supports finish off the main fuselage for now, after which the cockpit is enclosed. The Cobra’s crew exit on opposite sides, and the long narrow top is fixed first, with the windscreen moulded-in. A small instrument and PE grab-handles are glued to the side of the screen, after which it is glued onto the fuselage. After the fixed sloped starboard section and port rear section are fixed in place, the two openers can be mounted in the open position and supported by styrene or PE props to achieve the correct angle for them. The Cobra had a twin-blade tail rotor that slots straight into a hole in the top of the tail fin, with a control mechanism fixed to the centre. The main rotor sits on a chunky axle, over which an angular washer slides that is joined to the base by a pair of actuators. The two main blades are moulded as a single item, and are first detailed with additional parts before they are glued to the top of the drive-shaft, and supported by a pair of long control rods linked to the blades to adjust their incidence. A scrap diagram shows the various parts in false-colour to help you get everything correctly aligned. It is lowered into the top fairing later and glued into place. In addition to guns the Cobra could carry rocket pods, and two each of the seven-shot M157, M158 and four of the 19-shot M200 pods are included on separate sprues, the M157 & M200 pods are cylindrical and have detail inserts in both ends. The bare tubed M157 pods are replaced by two resin parts and a curved PE cover at the top that is attached to the pylon. An optional towing equipment pack is included that consists of a pair of strap-on wheels that attach to a pair of pegs on the upper rear of the skids, lifting them off the ground, and it is towed by a pair of bars that also have castors near the skid-end to facilitate movement when they’re off the airframe. The bars attach to the front of the skids, then it’s down to you to find a suitable towing vehicle if you wish. Incidentally, the resin parts include a pair of pilot helmets with two-part PE chin-straps for you to build, paint and leave lying in the cockpits if you feel the urge. Markings There are four markings options in the box, all painted in a variant of olive green with various personalisations. From the box you can build one of the following: S/n. 67-15536, Thor’s Hammer, 7th Sqn., 1st Cavalry, Tra Vinh, Vietnam, 1971 S/n. 67-17068, Cindy Ann, 1st Sqn., 9th Cavalry, Phuoc Vinh, Vietnam, August 1970 S/n. 68-15031, Pandora’s Box 2/20 ARA (Aerial Rocket Artillery), Vietnam, Summer 1971 S/n. 68-17074, The Gladiator, C/16 Cav, Can Tho, Vietnam, January 1972 Decals are in good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. As the PE appears to have been made by Eduard, I wouldn’t be surprised if the decals were by them too. I’ll be testing to see whether the carrier film can be peeled off using a spare decal when I build this one, because I like that facility. Conclusion An impressively comprehensive Hi-Tech boxing of this gutsy attack helo that stayed in service for a long time and saw service with a wide variety of operators. Upgraded detail and relatively simple construction add to the appeal, but if you're masking phobic, you already have a full set in the box. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Aero C-3B Czechoslovak Bomber-Trainer (SH48217) 1:48 Special Hobby The Aero C-3 was the Czech built Siebel Si 204, which was in turn based on the earlier Siebel Fh 104 Hallore. It was initially ordered by the Luftwaffe for the same role it performed in their service, having its canopy altered to the stepless type, possibly to mimic that of the He.111 that pilots might progress to. As a footnote to its German service a Siebel had the dubious honour of being the last aircraft to be shot down by the Allies in WWII. After WWII Czech company Aero produced almost 200 airframes in training (C-3A), bombardier training (C-3B), transport (D-44) and civilian (C-103) flavours, which carried on in service until the end of the 40s and beyond, while a few airframes soldiered on a little longer in Hungarian service. The Kit This is a reboxing of a 2019 tooling from Special Hobby with some additional parts to depict this variant, and although I’d never heard of it until the original sample arrived, it has an ungainly appeal with its strangely shaped fuselage, blunt glazed nose and long narrow wings. It arrives in a standard blue/white themed Special Hobby box, and inside are a surprising nine grey sprues, one clear sprue and a new nose glazing in a Ziploc bag, the decal sheet and instruction booklet. The wingspan hits you immediately, as it has surprisingly long wings, and the boxy fuselage isn’t exactly tiny either. The external surfaces are engraved with SH’s usual fine panel lines, and the part count for the detailed internals is also pretty high, although some parts aren’t used, particularly on sprue F and the main clear sprue, which has only about half the parts used. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is assembled on a wide floor part with side consoles, centre console, detailed seat on large framed base with curved head armour, instrument panel and control column, backed by a bulkhead with doorway into the rear of the aircraft. Unlike many aircraft models, the floor doesn’t end behind that bulkhead, but extends all the way to the rear, with a well-detailed radio rack, navigation table, additional seat, a section of the main spar and two upstands that bracket the bomb bay front and rear. The two bomb racks hold four bombs each, which have separate perpendicular fins and a small locating hole on the backside. The two completed racks are then inserted into notches in the bay aperture, and are braced against the fuselage roof by a three-part triangular frame. Another bulkhead with open door and stowage rack is added half way to the tail, then another shorter bulkhead terminates the interior in front of the tail. If you want to pose the rear fuselage door open, the instructions show where to cut the fuselage as well as the two halves of the bomb bay doors in the underside of the fuselage. The resulting interior is finished at the front with the rudder pedal assembly, plus the instrument panel, control column with decals, and an overhead insert. Before closing up the fuselage, the windows and the wing root covers that prevent you from seeing the attachment points are glued in, and the interior is painted. With the interior glued into the starboard side, a vertical beam is inserted between the wing spar and roof, then the two halves are joined. The canopy is applied to the stepped front, consisting of the domed nose part and a separate saddle-shaped canopy, the former having a few small details added inside before it is fixed in position. The C-3B has long wings mounted low on the fuselage, so each one is made up from two parts that incorporates the rear nacelle fairings to which the cowling, exhausts and central intake trunking are added, then each one is slotted into the appropriate wing root and is joined by the H-shaped tail, which fits on two smaller tabs at the rear. A pair of clear wingtip lights are supplied, as are two new bomb bay doors and their actuators. The landing gear can be left off until after painting, and consists of a sloped leg with integral brace to which two more are added on the sides. The oleo then attaches to this assembly and is bracketed by a pair of gear bay doors and a two-part wheel with smooth tread. There is a wheel under each nacelle as you’d expect plus a small tail wheel with split yoke. Horn balances are fitted to the top and bottom of each elevator, a pair of short antennae at the rear of the cockpit with wires leading to the rudders, then the turret is made up. It starts with the two-part circular base, with the underside brace and seat made up first while it is inverted, then once it is flipped over, the gun and its concertina fed dump-bag are inserted and surrounded by additional parts. Beneath the bag another C-shaped foot rest for the gunner is added. A pair of flared gun muzzle stubs are inserted into the underside of the nose, a couple of external bomb racks with anti-sway braces are fixed just in front of the small bomb bay, with a D/F loop and rod antenna being fixed behind it. a pair of two-bladed props with serrated spinner caps are made up from four parts each, then if you have opened up the hatch on the side, the replacement door is fitted along with a ladder. The circular turret opening has a number of tubular rails glued on around the perimeter, then the turret is dropped into position and covered over with a shallow clear dome, or a flat cover for one of the decal options that doesn’t mount the top turret. Two grab-handles are fixed on the sides of the fuselage next to a pair of aerodynamic fairings, probably for access or egress of the gunner. Markings There are three decal options included on the decal sheet with four-view drawings in colour at the rear of the instruction booklet, with all of them wearing the standard olive green over light blue scheme, all noted with Gunze Sangyo codes. From the box you can build one of the following: Aero C-3B, V-15, S/n.401, Aeronautical Centre, Letnany, 1947 Aero C-3B, A360, S/n.413, 3rd Training Flight, Training Sqn. Of the Air Force Academy, Hradec Kralove, 1947 Aero C-3B, PU-18, 1st Flight, No.41 TG Masaryk Air Regiment, ozi Dar-Milovice, Spring 1949 The decals are printed in-house with good register, sharpness and colour density, and include a number of instrument decals for the interior. Conclusion This is a great kit of an unusual (from a British point of view) and interesting aircraft, with some excellent internal detail and some simple schemes that will speed and likeliness of your finishing. If you have a problem with completing kits like I do, one of the Olive Drab machines would make an ideal sanity build that wouldn’t over-face you with masking. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Special Hobby is to release a 1/72nd Gloster Meteor T.Mk.7 1/2 (T.Mk.7 with a F.Mk.8 tail) kit - ref.SH72317. Source: http://www.mpmkits.eu/2014/11/sh72317-gloster-meteor-t-mk7-12-t-mk75.html Box art V.P.

Hello all. Had a bit of a break for various reasons but have got back into it and here is the latest from the shed. I started this 7 months ago but then found I had inadvertently thrown the Instructions away. Only recently I found where I could peruse them in an online shop that shows the contents of kits they have for sale, as a result I’ve managed to finish it. The kit is one of the earlier offerings from Special Hobby so needed a lot of cleaning up before assembly and is OOB other than Crystal Clear windows, toothbrush bristle static wicks and scratch aerials. Its finished entirely with Colour Coats paints sealed with an Xtracolor varnish. The model depicts an aircraft from 4 Sqn. No.61 Telecommunications Training and Test Regiment based at Lechfeld from 1968-1975. Hope you like it. Pete Thanks for looking Pete

Special Hobby is to rebox the 1/72nd Academy AT-6G Texan with new parts in order to propose earlier AT-6/SNB and Harvard Mk.IIB-IV versions. Source: https://www.specialhobby.info/2021/01/news-from-special-hobby-012021.html V.P.

Here is my recently completed Me 209V1 using the Special Hobby kit in 1/72, built OOB. Build Log here: The Me 209V1 (1939) parked alongside the Heston Napier (1940) Thanks for looking. Stuart