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In 1919 the Swedish army air force purchased, as well as acquired license to build, Phönix fighters and two-seat recon aircraft. The latter, the Phönix C.I, was quickly dubbed ”Dronten” (the Dodo) by the Swedes and although the official name was E 1 (E for escort - later also attack and training versions A 1, Ö 4 and Ö 5 appeared) the Dodo was the name the type got. The name came from its appearance - in fact it was well-liked and known to be easy to fly. A bit more on the history of the type in Swedish service can be found here: https://www.avrosys.nu/aircraft/Flygkomp/019_dront/19Dront.htm In 1926 the Navy and Army aviation companies merged to create an independent air force. In connection with this a number of Wings were created, one of them F4 on Frösön, to which Dronts were transferred as their first aircraft. I intended to build one of these F4 machines due to personal connections to the place. A while ago I bought a Swedish Dront from HR model, but when I finally come around to build it I realized it had the wrong engine. I mentioned license-building: in the mid-20s the workshops of the army aviation company ended up sitting with a bunch of surplus Hispano-Suiza engines after the project they originally were intended for was cancelled. They decided to mate the engines with Phönix C.I airframes, creating the Hispano-Dront, officially E 2. The F4 machines were of this variety. I considered scratchbuilding the frontal section, but then I found that Choroszy Modelbud has a Hispano-Dront in their catalogue! So I’m about to try my first resin kit, in addition to the HR model Dront. These are the kits: The HR model kit will be finished as a pre-Air Force Dront, in the camoflague of the Army Aviation Company. The resin kit (the box says it’s an Ö 5, but can be finished as the virtually identical Hispano-equipped E 2 or A 1) will be finished in F4 livery according to the new air force regulations , looking something like this The markings varied considerably in this period, until new standard regulations came into place in 1927, and some research will have to be done before painting. I can just mention themat the Choroszy box art has flipped the blue and yellow rudder bands.

Hallo again This B2M2 is a carrier bomber of the late years before WW2. It was used for operation against China and Manchukuo. This a/c are very seldom to find. As well as rare pictures as well as models. I have a certain linkage to Japan, and therefore this a/c was a must. The kit from Coroszy is nice. The instruction not easy, but Coroszy by itself is a fair partner. When a part is broken, you get replacement. The rigging I did is a basic rigging, I will put it on the forum soon. Different from rigging of WW1 1/32 a/c! And much easier. Happy modelling

Last one for the year...... This is Choroszy's resin 1/72 kit of the Nakajima A4N1. Both the instructions and some online sources indicate these particular markings are for a Lt. Minoru Suzuki aboard the Carrier RYUJO, August 1937. Others simply say wingman, or PO1c Yukiharu Ozeki of the 12th Air Group in China. Also known as the Type 95 carrier fighter, these biplanes aboard RYUJO would have a brief but successful career on the front-line. There were twelve A4N1 units (plus four spares) aboard while conducting operations against China during August and September 1937. Online literature gives a total of 26, with one probable, enemy shot down at this period and no losses. Leaving for home early in November, RYUJO replaced it's A4N1 with the Claude in February of the following year. The A4N1 would continue to fly, as some were left in China to support land troops via tactical reconnaissance and close support with two 60 kg bombs, as well as base defense. On home land they were utilized for training, and at war's end, some were also pressed into the kamikaze attack role. --------------------------------------------------- ... and couple shots comparison with the Claude, it's successor: regards, Jack

My first entry for this group build is the 1/72 Piero Magni PM.2 by Choroszy Modelbud. I bought this kit on finding a build review of this kit on Hyperscale a while ago. The PM.2 was an experimental monoplane built by Italian engineer Piero Magni in 1925, developed from his 1924 PM.1 'Vittoria'. It in turn led to the Magni Vale PM.3-4 (also available by Choroszy), which can still be seen at the Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia "Leonardo da Vinci" in Milan. I don't know much more about the aircraft except that it is really sexy, but I found an interesting article on Magni's PM.1 and 2 at the Flight archives here: http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1925/1925%20-%200566.html?tracked=1 The kit consists of the resin parts and small decal sheet above, along with a small piece of clear plastic to build the windscreen from. The moudling is of excellent quality and the clean-up from the casting blocks is straightforward. Some parts need to be scratchbuilt and these are indicated in the instructions: The instructions are shown in four steps and are straightforward, clearly showing where everything needs to go, and the painting instructions show the plane as brown and black. In general, it looks like a straightforward build too, but I will need to be careful about the smaller resin bits and their fragility.

Got my entry sorted out, the Nakajima A4N1, a resin kit from Choroszy in 1/72 scale. The usual cleanup is involved with these types of kits, but particularly the fuselage bottoms on this one - resin is fairly thick here. Note too, no location holes for the struts and braces, should be interesting ... Markings choice are for either the Ryujo or Kaga carrier fighter. regards, Jack