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  1. Z-526AFS Akrobat ProfiPACK (82184) 1:48 Eduard The Zlín Z-256 was a development of an earlier military trainer C-5, or Z-26 in civilian use, and was developed in the 60s as the Z-526A that was well-suited to acrobatics, but the real acrobats needed more performance, which led to the AS. In the 70s a redesign led to the AFS that was much more manoeuvrable than its predecessor, although a little short of more recent “blank page” designs, but it became very popular thanks to its capabilities nonetheless. Overall there were 45 of the Akrobat made, and a number of well-known aviators began their careers in these agile little aircraft. The Kit A brand-new tool from Eduard of Czechia, where acrobatics are very popular, so it’s only natural that they should be the producers of what might seem a niche kit to others. This is the first release, which is traditionally the ProfiPACK, containing extra items in the box to give the modeller more detail out of the box, and usually a more generous number of decal options. The kit arrives in a standard gold-themed ProfiPACK box, with three sprues of blue grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts, a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-tape masks, a sheet of nickel-plate and pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE), and a glossy instruction booklet with spot colour throughout, and profiles for the decal options in full colour at the rear of the booklet. If you’ve got any Eduard kits already you’ll know what to expect, which is excellent detail, intelligent parts design, and really good fit, although the latter can only really be proven by building the individual model. It’s fair of us to expect it however, based on past performance, some of which has left me gaping in amazement at how fine the tolerances are and how neat the fit, for example in the wheel bay of their recent(ish) P-51. Construction begins with the fuselage halves for a change, adding inserts into the interior that gives the sidewalls the correct thickness and detail levels, without risking sink-marks due to thick plastic. A highly detailed painting guide for the sidewalls is supplied, and this theme carries through to the rest of the model. Each marking option has its own individual equipment box made up from pre-painted PE, which should look great in place, then the cockpit floor is detailed with two tiny windows, control column, flimsy rear bulkhead and rudder pedals in PE, with a small bulkhead in the front and a choice of two types of deck behind the seat, after which the fuselage can be closed up. A spar is inserted underneath the cockpit and this is then covered up by the underside skin, which has a clear window in the bottom for the pilot to squint through those two little windows in the floor, for which masks are provided. Probably very useful when you’re flying at silly angles. The wings are made up of two halves each, after putting the bay structure inside and trapping the ailerons and flaps in their hinge-points, each of which is a single part with plenty of raised detail on the surfaces. Before they are joined to the fuselage, a number of stiffening braces are fitted around the cockpit, with a scrap diagram assisting with locating them correctly, one of which supports the coaming and instrument panel, the latter having a choice of layout depending on which decal option you choose, so make sure you choose early, as acrobatic aircraft can be quite individual to their pilots. The wings slot into place on the spars and a short peg at the rear of the root fairing, and you also have a choice of flat wingtips or a pair of tip-tanks for some of the decal options. The elevator fins attach to the sides of the tail using the usual tab and slot method, slotting in the elevators and rudder later, with the ability to pose them offset if you wish. The engine cowling is put together around a rear bulkhead with two side panels, front cowling with recessed intake, and a lower section that has a pair of exhaust stubs pushed through from the inside, then joined to the flat-fronted fuselage. The pilot’s seat is a single part with a separate cushion for the pilot’s comfort, and a set of four-point harnesses that are pre-painted for your ease and to help achieve a professional finish to the cockpit, including comfort pads under the buckles. It drops into the cockpit for later encapsulation by the canopy. Underneath the model there is a lot of detail to add, starting with the landing gear. The wheels are single-part tyres plus two hub halves, and the detail on both the tyres and hubs is excellent, especially for styrene. They are fixed to the gear struts, which have separate oleo-scissors, retraction jacks and a curved gear bay door for each one. At the rear you have a choice of a simple or more sturdy-looking skid, or a proper tail-wheel with a two-part tyre and two-part strut with split yoke. Some small PE actuator parts are fitted to the trailing edges of the wings, and a pair of strange T-shaped balances are added to each of the flying surfaces, and the instructions appear (to me) to suggest they lay flat, but when you see the front profile, they are meant to hang below the wings like little aerofoils, so take care when fitting them. Flipping the model over, the canopy is finally installed, adding a number of PE detail parts inside before fitting, and an optional rear-view mirror on the top of the windscreen, which is glued in place at the front of the cockpit, with the canopy open or closed behind it at your whim. The clear sprue suggests we’ll be seeing some two-seaters down the line, which is nice. The two-blade prop is last to be made, using four parts to create a layered spinner, with the prop blade passing through the assembly behind the third layer and trapped in place by the flat back plate. It is glued in place, then there are a pair of circular clear parts with decals under them to represent the fuel gauges, and a pitot probe in the port wing to finish off. Markings After completion of the build steps, a page shows the location of all the masks for the kit, including the two main wheels, the windows in the underside and cockpit floor, plus masks for the canopy that use frame hugging strips that you fill in the compound curves by using either liquid mask or small pieces of masking tape. There are even two triangular masks for some of the decal options with tiptanks, to assist you in obtaining a clean demarcation. From the box you can build one of five markings options, all of which are colourful and some are covered in adverts or club names – I have no idea which because I’m monolingual (mostly). From the box you can build one of the following: SP-CSU s/n 1226, Piotr Haberland, Żelazny Aerobatic Group, Zielona Góra Airfield, Poland, mid2007 OK-CXA s/n 1218, Jiří Kobrle, Jičín Aero Club, Czechoslovakia, 1975 I-IOIO s/n 1330, Silvio Bellei, Sassuolo Airfield, Italy, 1994 OK-CXC s/n 1220, Olomouc Aero Club, Czech Republic, 2011 OK-ERE s/n 1307, Točná Aero Club, Slaný Airfield, Czech Republic, 2014 Decals are by Eduard, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Don’t forget that as of last year, the carrier film of the decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them film-free, making the decals much 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. Conclusion A very well-detailed and unusual subject for a model, and it has been given the deftness of the Eduard touch, so should go together very well. Add the interesting and colourful decal options, and it’s an appealing kit. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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