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Beech Travel(L)er Mk.I (AZ7858) 1:72 AZ Model by Kovozávody Prostějov More well-known as the Beech Staggerwing due to its unusual wing arrangement, the Type 17 was first flown in 1932 and was intended to be a small business transport that was fast and well-appointed, with a fully enclosed cockpit to prevent the busy businessman from arriving dishevelled. It was built on a welded metal framework that was covered with ribbing and fabric for a classic look, and the aerodynamics were improved once airborne by the fully retractable undercarriage with aerodynamically smooth doors, a luxury that was uncommon at the time. An upgrade a few years later increased the length of the fuselage and improved control layout, although some further amendments were made following some incidents that resulted in crashes, often a combination of weather conditions and flutter of the flying surfaces, which was solved by stiffening the wings and balancing the flying surfaces with lead. The speed of the type was such that it was popular with air racers in the early 30s, and when war loomed in Europe, its speed and agility was pressed into service with the US military as a communications and messenger aircraft as the UC-43 Traveler (sic), with few changes needed thanks to its existing capability and new occupation. Some private airframes were requisitioned by the US military, and by 1939 the British were looking for a small number to fulfil the same job as it was used for in the US, with 106 taken on charge under the Lend/Lease programme as the Traveller Mk.1, adding the extra L that is appropriate to the English spelling, and stops my eye corner from twitching. They served throughout the war, many of the British aircraft under the auspices of the Royal Navy. Only a few new airframes were built following WWII before it was superseded, with fewer than 20 manufactured post-war. The Type 17 was a much-loved aircraft, which resulted in many being taken on for civilian service after being struck-off from military rosters, many of which survived long after the end of the conflict, some remaining in flying condition today. The Kit Although the base kit was first tooled in 1999, a more recent vintage clear sprue has been engineered to ease completion of the model, and this reboxing includes those parts, as well as new decal options and a new box with a painting of a brace of Travellers in Pacific Theatre camouflage that have the central red-spot missing from their roundels to avoid friendly fire. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box, and inside is a resealable clear foil bag that contains a single sprue of grey styrene, plus a Ziploc bag with clear parts, decal sheet and instruction booklet that is printed in colour on a folded sheet of A4, with the painting and decaling instructions to be found on the rear of the box, but if you accidentally recycle it too soon, you can always find the details on their website. Detail is good considering the age of the tooling, and there is plenty of fabric covered ribbing moulded into the exterior, and very little in the way of flash on the parts. Construction begins with the interior, fitting a single seat in the front along with rudder pedals, up-and-over control yoke, adding a bench seat for the passengers in the rear, all of which are made from base and backrests that are glued together along the diagonal mating line. The instrument panel fixes to the front of the floor, with two side walls bracketing the entire compartment except for the very rear. The engine is depicted as cylinder bank that is fixed to a bulkhead at the back, which slips into the two-part cowling, adding exhaust outlets on both the lower sides. As with the cockpit, painting guidance is included throughout the entire build process. The cockpit is trapped between the two fuselage halves, inserting a bulkhead into the rear, and side windows under the upper wing roots. Once you have dealt with the fuselage seam in your own preferred manner, a small fairing is applied to the cabin roof between the wings, then the elevators and fin with moulded-in flying surfaces are butt-jointed to the rear, although pinning them in position would give the assembly more strength. A pair of balances are fitted under the elevator surfaces, but these might be best left off until after painting, installing the engine in its cowling to the front. The canopy is moulded as two mirror-imaged parts that form a U-shape along a convenient frame-line in the windscreen cut-out, taking care to choose your glue wisely to prevent fogging. Beneath the windscreen are a pair of raised outlets that are applied to the surface of the skin between it and the engine cowling. The lower wings fit into their locations via slots and tabs, linked to the upper wings by aerodynamically faired struts near the outer edges. The upper wings mate to the roofline via butt-joints, and would again benefit from pinning into position for strength. There is a rigging diagram on the back page of the instructions that should help with location, and the box art will doubtless resolve any confusion that may linger. A two-blade prop is slotted into the centre of the engine, adding an intake under the chin, and two-part fairings for the space under the cabin, forming around the retractable main gear bays. The tail wheel is inserted into a hole in its bay, cutting the bay door part in two and gluing one half on each side of the bay. The main gear legs each comprise a pair of Y-shaped struts, one holding the wheel, the other performing retraction duties. The gear bay doors are supplied moulded as a single part, and for wheels down should be cut in half, then have the smaller semi-circular sections removed and glued back at a sharp angle. The doors are then glued to the outer sides of the legs, with another small trapezoid door fitted to a diagonal portion of the bay, with a scrap diagram showing that the semi-circular doors should attach parallel to the ground. Going back to the rigging diagram again for a moment, many of the rigging points on the wings have raised lozenge or round strengtheners moulded-in to assist you with location of the holes, which you are advised to use wire or thread of diameter 0.2mm for fidelity. The pitot probe in the upper port wing must be made from your own stock of 0.35mm diameter, which you can make from brass for strength, stretched sprue for frugality, or a length of styrene rod for ease. Markings There are three decal options on the sheet, all of which are in British or Commonwealth camo, so should really have a double-L in their Traveller. Of the two brown/green camouflage options, one is a VIP transport and has yellow undersides to its wings and elevators to keep it extra safe from friendly fire. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion The Traveller is a graceful aircraft even by today’s standards with rakish slope of the sweeping canopy that matches the step of the wings. The new canopy parts should ease the build, and a rather nice choice of decal options rounds out the package. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Alpha Jet A ‘Bundesluftwaffe’ (KPM0266) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov At the end of the 60s, with the SEPECAT Jaguar transformed from a trainer into an attack aircraft, it left the advanced jet trainer replacement unfulfilled, so France and Germany began a collaboration to design a new trainer that was to become the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, the Breguet part in the collaboration being absorbed by Dassault when they bought the company. It flew late in 1973, and went into service with France in 1979 after extensive trials as the Alpha Jet E, fulfilling a similar role to the BAe Hawk in the RAF. The Germans used the jet as a Light Attack aircraft with the A suffix appended, and limited export success brought the Alpha Jet to Francophile countries in Europe and Africa, with a number of ex-Luftwaffe aircraft finding their way to Thailand and Portugal. One of Britain's defence company QinetiQ bought 6 ex-Luftwaffe aircraft, which occasionally make appearances at airshows. Germany has retired the aircraft now, but many airframes are still in service, with the later MS2 with new avionics, engines, a glass cockpit and improved weapons carrying performance used to train pilots on modern types. The Kit Originally released in 2021, there have been a number of reboxings of the core kit, with various markings options and parts to address the needs and wants of us modellers, which is their stock-in-trade. This boxing offers you the ability to model the A, E or more advanced MS using the parts in the box, but the decals supplied are purely for the A, as stated on the box, opening the door for anyone with aftermarket decals for the other types to use this boxing to apply their own decals. Good to know. The kit arrives in a figure-type end-opening box, with two sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, decal sheet and instruction booklet. The rear of the box has all the profiles for the marking options printed on it in colour. Construction begins with the cockpit, which revolves around the two-seat tub, with the two seats having belt decals, a pair of control columns, additional console parts, and decals for the side consoles. The two instrument panels also have decals, with a choice of decals, depending on which mark you are depicting. The cockpit and rear coaming are inserted into the fuselage along with the nose-gear bay, and in anticipation of adding the underside insert, the main gear bays are built on a single roof part with bulkheads separating them and outfitted with landing gear struts and wheels, then glued into the inside of the insert, which can be fitted into the fuselage, closing up the underside. The wings are simple structures with two main parts each, the undersides smaller than the uppers, to make for a slimmer trailing edge, and attaching to the fuselage by the usual slot-and-tab method, as are the elevators, with a pair of blade antennae fixed near the top of the tail fin. The intakes are also installed at this stage, which each have an inner splitter plate with a C-profile intake trunk joined together and offered up to the fuselage either side of the rear pilot’s cockpit. The mark of your model is determined by the instrument decals within the cockpits and the nose cones, which you have a choice of for all three types of this aircraft. The decals are for the A, which has a pointed nose and pitot probe, and required the removal of a strake on each side of the nose, which is shown in the diagram. The E has a rounded nose, while the MS has an angled flat tip. A busy diagram shows the installation of the nose gear and all the remaining bay doors, the former being made from three parts with an additional retraction strut added as it is inserted into the bay. Four underwing pylons are included in the kit, which can be left empty or have two extra fuel tanks slung under them, with the option of a central gun pack under the belly. The forward sections of the flap fairings are moulded into the wings, but the aft sections are added from separate parts on the moulded-in flying surfaces. The sensor fit differs between options, with extra steps showing those for French, Canadian and QinetiQ, then the one-piece canopy is glued in place with a small intake on the side of the spine, after which it’s time to paint your model. Markings A separate sheet shows the location of all the stencils, of which there are quite a few, then you refer to the rear of the box for your main markings options. From the box you can build one of the following: Decals are printed without acknowledgment, and have good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The upper wing stencils are printed on a single decal per wing, so care will be needed to ensure it doesn’t break up, and here the thin carrier film will be a boon once applied, but tricky during fitting. Conclusion I’ve always liked the Alpha Jet, and this is a great little model with lots of detail moulded-in, and some nice decal markings for in service German Jets. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to release a family of 1/72nd Cessna 150/152/180 & U-17 Skywagon kits Source: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234931186-azmodellegatoadmiral-wwii-aircraft-comments-questions-and-wishes/?p=1518104 V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov is to release 1/72nd Avia BH-10 kits - ref. KPM0421 - Avia BH10 - Czechoslovak sports plane of the 1920-30s Source: https://www.aviationmegastore.com/en/modelling/avia-bh10-czechoslovak-sports-plane-of-the-1920-30s-kovozvody-prostejov-kpm0421-199216.html - ref. KPM0422 - Avia B-10 - Military Source: https://www.aviationmegastore.com/en/modelling/avia-b-10-military-kovozvody-prostejov-kpm0422-199217.html - ref. KPM0428 - Avia BH-10 - Special Markings (CzAF, Czechoslovak Aeroclub) Source: https://www.aviationmegastore.com/en/modelling/avia-bh-10-special-markings-czaf-czechoslovak-aeroclub-kovozvody-prostejov-kpm0428-199218.html V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to release in December 2023 some Aero Ae-45S/-145 & K-75 kits - ref. KPM0429 - Aero K-75 -Military Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/aero-k-75-military/ - ref. KPM0430 - Aero Ae-45 Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/aero-ae-45/ - ref. KPM0431 - Aero Ae-45S - Super Aero Pt.I Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/aero-ae-45s-super-aero-pt-i/ - ref. KPM0432 - Aero Ae-45S - Super Aero Pt.II Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/aero-ae-45s-super-aero-pt-ii/ - ref. KPM0433 - Aero Ae-145 Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/aero-ae-145/ - ref. KPM0434 - Aero Ae-145S - Special Markings Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/aero-ae-145-special-markings/ V.P.

Heinkel He.162B-3 Volksjäger ’46 (AZ7853) AZ Model by Kovozávody Prostějov As the tide of war turned against Nazi Germany, defence became of greater importance than attack and expansion of the Reich, and aviation designs were called for under the jingoistic Volksjäger project, which translates to “People’s Fighter”, but was also known as the Emergency Fighter Programme. It was a specification that called for a jet engine point-defence fighter that was cheap to produce, used minimal strategic materials, could be piloted by a relatively unskilled pilot, and could be built in large numbers to break-up the Allied bomber streams that were pounding military production facilities and cities into rubble on a daily basis. Heinkel’s submission to the programme was the diminutive He.162 that was barely as large as a Bf.109, with narrow wings, a small fuselage that was low to the ground on short landing gear, which assisted in repair and maintenance of the engine mounted on top of the fuselage just behind the pilot’s canopy. This dangerous juxtaposition resulted in an early ejection seat being fitted in the tiny cockpit, which when triggered would push the pilot clear of the engine intake by an explosive cartridge, but with no anti-flail protection, it was as likely to injure or kill the pilot as save him, which sometimes happened. The slender fuselage meant that a low fuel load also contributed to short range and flight time, and there was little room for armament, which consisted of two 20mm or 30mm autocannons mounted under the cockpit’s side consoles, firing through troughs under the nose. Once the initial issues were resolved, the aircraft was found to be an excellent light fighter, but it wasn’t simple enough to be flown by a novice pilot. Although it was simple to produce and was partly made of laminated wood, the parlous state of the German aviation industry meant that production was slower than anticipated, and only around 1,000 of the A-series type were completed or under construction, many of which remained grounded due to shortages of spares, fuel, pilots or any combination of the three, so very few saw action at squadron level before the end of the war, reaching service in April 1945, barely a month before the end of WWII. The airframes of the training groups were sometimes pressed into service in emergencies, and racked up some kills, although ejection was dangerous, as was the structure of the aircraft, which was known to have some issues, especially with the rudders. The B-series designs were intended to see action in 1946, but the end of the war curtailed development, so they remained predominantly paper-projects. The B was to have a longer fuselage to accommodate more fuel, larger wings, and a more powerful Heinkel designed jet engine, and straight wings with a lower dihedral. Pulsejet power units of the type used in the V-1 flying bomb were briefly considered, but their lack of power and need for airflow in order to start the engines meant that they were dismissed as a viable source of motive power. The Kit The war ended in 1945, but this kit assumes that hostilities had continued, and pulsejets were used as an alternative form of propulsion. It is based on the 2021 tooling of the A-2 Salamander kit, adding new parts for the engines and their mounts, plus the revised fuselage without the jet engine fairings. The kit arrives in an end-opening box with two sprues of grey styrene, a clear canopy part, decal sheet and the instruction booklet inside, the latter printed in colour on a sheet of folded A4 that covers all six of the B-series variants, so you’ll need to follow the instructions carefully to ensure you build the correct version with twin pulsejets and anhedral wingtips. Detail is good with crisply engraved panel lines throughout, a well-appointed cockpit, landing gear bays and even RATO pods for take-off assistance. Construction begins with the nose gear bay, which is built from two halves that have the rudder pedals mounted on each side, as the fuselage is extremely cramped. The simple ejection seat has decal belts, and a strip that joins the control column to the base, fitting the seat to the sloped bulkhead at the rear. The instrument panel and coaming are joined together and a decal applied to the dials, adding a gunsight to the centre, and here you could nip off the grey styrene “glass” and replace it with a piece of acetate sheet for a little extra realism if your hands are steady enough. The main gear bay is built as a single assembly from five parts, which is inserted in the lower fuselage, while the cockpit, nose gear, instrument panel and two side consoles are added to the nose, painted, after which the fuselage can be closed, making sure to add at least 10g of nose weight. Two pulsejet engines are built from halves with a mesh panel in the front, and these are mounted on short pylons on either side of the fuselage centreline, as marked in red on the instructions. The H-tail is made from a shallow V-shaped elevator that fits on the rear fuselage insert, and has the fins with moulded-in rudders fixed at right-angles to the elevators, as depicted in small scrap diagrams nearby. As already mentioned, this variant’s wings have anhedral wingtips, which are single parts that butt-join to the sides of the fuselage in the locations picked out in red. Another scrap diagram shows the configuration from the front along with the other possibilities. Each variant shares the same landing gear, the nose strut equipped with a single wheel that is trapped by the two-part yoke, and the bay door opens down to the port side. The main gear struts have trailing scissor-links and forward retraction jacks that have a single wheel on a stub axle perpendicular to the strut. They are shown fitted in the bare bay assembly so you can see all the location points properly. The bay doors open up and outward, and are each a single part, with detail moulded into the inside face. An optional gun pack can be added under the centreline, and a pair of two-part RATO pods can be glued to the sides of the fuselage behind the main bay doors, their locations again marked in red. The final task is the canopy, which is moulded as a single part and glues into the cut-out over the cockpit. Markings There are three decal options on the sheet, with four-view profiles on the back of the box in full colour that have colour names rather than any maker’s paint codes to guide you. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion Luft’46 is interesting to some and not to others, which is fine, as life would be dull if we all liked the same thing. I like it, and twin pulsejets sounds like a heap of fun. A nicely detailed model that won’t take up much room in the cabinet, and it comes with some interesting decal options. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Source: http://www.modelarovo.cz/supermarine-spitfire-mk-1a-1-72-kp-kovozavody-prostejov/ - ref. KPM72260 - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IA - Wats Prop https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/spitfire-mk-ia-wats-prop/ - ref. KPM72261 - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IA - Three-bladed Propeller https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/spitfire-mk-ia-three-blade-prop/ https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/KPM72261 - ref. KPM72262 - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IA - Commanders https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/spitfire-mk-ia-commanders/ https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/KPM72262 - ref. KPM72262 - Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IA - Black and White https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/spitfire-mk-ia-black-white/ https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/KPM72263 V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov is to re-release 1/72nd Let L-200A/D "Morava" kits. - ref. KPM0089 - Let L-200A "Morava" Source: http://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/let-l-200a-morava/ - ref. KPM0090 - Let L-200D "Morava" Source: http://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/let-l-200d-morava/ V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to release a 1/72nd Fokker S-11/T-21 Instructor kits. - ref. KPM0371 - Fokker S-11 Instructor Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/fokker-s-11-instructor/ - ref. KPM0372 - Fokker S-11 Instructor - Israël Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/fokker-s-11-instructor-israel/ - ref. KPM0373 - Fokker T-21 Instructor Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/fokker-t-21-instructor/ - ref. KPM0374 - Aermacchi M.416 Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/aermacchi-m-416/ V.P.

Bücker Bü.181 Bestmann (KPM0404) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov The Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann was intended to be a light trainer with reconnaissance capability, and first flew in early 1939 before WWII began in earnest. It was similarly laid out to the Bf.108, with the pilot and copilot sitting side-by-side in an extensively glazed cockpit, and with its low wing offering good all-round visibility that made it well-suited as a trainer, the role for which the Luftwaffe used it extensively, although it was also used as a hack for communications, and occasionally as reconnaissance where its small size and good view from the cockpit came in useful. In March 1945, orders were given to convert some airframes to mount pylons above and below the wings to carry two pairs of Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons that carried a shaped-charge to defeat enemy armour. The weapon had a very short effective range however, so the pilot would need to follow an almost suicidal course directly toward the tank, often at low level, leaving it until the last second to launch his weapon and pull out, in order to give the charge any chance of even hitting the mark, let alone penetrating the armour. Unsurprisingly, they achieved only minor success for extreme losses, but it was a sign of the desperation of the Nazis to stop the Soviets and Allies from rolling towards Berlin. Production of all types during WWII extended to over 700 airframes, but the Bestmann’s career did not end when the war did. Further variants were built by Zlín in Czechoslovakia after the war, and as the Gomhouria in Egypt, while the Swedes built theirs as the Sk 25 under license from Bestmann, bringing the overall total of all variants to over 4,000, of which only a handful remain. The Kit This is a reboxing of a kit that was launched in 2021 by a company called Stransky, although the copyright on the sprue is marked as 2019, before the fan became covered in Covid virus bacteria. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box with a painting of the plucky Bestmann in action against Soviet T-34s, flying very low to the ground in amongst the dust and flames. On the back are the decal profiles in colour, and inside is a resealable bag that contains a single sprue in grey-white styrene, a clear sprue of five parts, decal sheet in its own Ziploc bag, and the instruction sheet, which is printed on folded A4 paper on all sides. Detail is good, with raised and recessed features all-over, and a well-appointed cockpit, which should be visible through the crystal-clear canopy, especially if you leave the side access doors open. There are however some very slight layer marks visible on parts such as the elevators and the rear of the fuselage that gives away the fact that this is likely to have been developed initially from 3D printed masters. They are nigh-on invisible however, and if they can be seen after priming, a light sanding will be all that is needed to render them invisible. Construction begins with the cockpit, adding the seat backs to the moulded-in bases, and fitting this and a rear bulkhead into the fuselage during closure, after the detail painting of the cockpit and sidewalls are complete. The lower wing is full-span, and the uppers are separate halves, mating to leave a gap for the fuselage between them, and with the underside of the forward fuselage moulded into the lower. Two panels are slipped into the cockpit sides after painting brown, and the elevators are glued to the sides of the tail onto butt-joints that would be stronger with the addition of some brass pegs. The cockpit has two pairs of rudder pedals inserted into the front, and a single part that depicts the two control columns on a central base in front of the pilot seats. A scrap diagram shows these parts from the side and from an angle to assist with placement. Decals are supplied for the seatbelts, which are shown on a very faded see-through diagram of the cockpit, which could easily be missed while you are wondering what the two-part assembly to their left is. It turns out to be a pair of bulkheads spaced apart by two tapered cylinders, and these are inserted into the engine cowling before installation of the main canopy part, which includes a portion of the upper fuselage, the windscreen, roof panel, and the rear screen. The instrument panel is glued into the front of the canopy before installation, and the side doors are shown in closed position, as well as hinged open at the forward edge, much like the American P-39 Airacobra. A pair of small curved rear-view quarter-lights insert in the rear of the cockpit sides, or blanking plates can be used instead, although all decal options show the clear parts in use. The Hirth HM 500 engine is not included in this kit, but the exhausts are, and here you must open up the pinholes in the underside of the fuselage before inserting them from inside, test-fitting to ensure you don’t oversize them. Three pipes are moulded on one carrier, with another separately on its own carrier. A central divider is installed in a bracket moulded into the lower, and painted black, after which you can add the upper cowling and the nose fairing, with asymmetrical intake slot, with the prop sited on a pin that projects from the fairing. Sights for the Panzerfausts are fitted on the top cowling in front of the windscreen, along with the venturi sensor, with a pitot probe under the wing. The fixed landing gear is made up from strut with moulded-in oleos, and a separate wheel, one for under each wing leading edge, with a scrap diagram showing their orientation from the front, plus a pair of actuators for the flying surfaces are also sited under the trailing edges. The tail wheel is fixed in a hole under the rear, then it’s a case of fitting the four Panzerfausts with moulded-in pylons, which are mounted under and over the wings, with a flashed-over hole visible on the inside of each part. It would be best to open these up before closing the wings, and take careful note of how the redundant manual sights on the weapons should be oriented, using the scrap frontal diagrams to aid you. Markings There are four decal options on the sheet, and they have managed to include profiles for all angles on the rear of the box, along with swatches of the paints used and their colour names, having no allegiance to any particular brand. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion The Bestmann is a small aircraft that has a certain elegance to it, which is portrayed nicely by this kit. The juxtaposition of the Panzerfaust armament is at odds with the overall design, but it shows the insanity of war eloquently. A nicely detailed kit with some interesting decal options, not all of which are armed. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

AVRO 626 Prefect (KPM0413) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov Developed from the AVRO 621 Tutor, the 626 was intended to be a jack-of-all-trades for training pilots of smaller air forces, and was structurally almost identical to the Tutor, save for the fact that there was an additional crew position behind the second cockpit. The third opening had a scarff ring installed for gunnery training, but could also be used to seat a wireless operator or a navigator, as well as riding with two crew for pilot training, hopefully without the gunnery training going on that could well have deafened the instructor, and possibly rained hot brass cartridges down the back of his flight suit. Although it first flew in 1930, it was entirely fabric-covered, resembling a WWI biplane more closely than the Spitfires and Hurricanes that first flew only a few years later. Early incarnations had a tail skid, but were later fitted with a tail-wheel for reliability and comfort, and many were sold to overseas air forces as originally envisaged. The RAF took a handful on charge, and these saw service at home throughout WWII, although its Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC 7-cylinder radial engine with a maximum speed of 112mph would mean it would be easy prey if had the misfortune to be intercepted by an enemy fighter. The British gave it the name Prefect, but it served in greater numbers in countries around the world, including Commonwealth Allies such as Canada and New Zealand, several South American nations, European and Eastern European countries, and China, some of which may have been pressed into operational service. Only one Prefect survives today, and that can be found in flying condition in New Zealand. The Kit This is a reboxing of the original release from 2007, but with a pair of new fuselage halves moulded in a different colour on my example, as the original boxings had two-seat cockpits and a smoothly faired-over rear training cockpit. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box that has a nice painting of a Spanish airframe on the front, and the decal options on the rear. Inside is a resealable bag that contains two sprues and two separate parts in grey styrene, plus the new fuselage halves in a tan colour. The package is rounded out by a large decal sheet, a small slip of acetate film with the windscreens printed on it, and the usual folded A4 instruction sheet that is printed in colour. Detail is good for the scale, including interior ribbing on the fuselage, fabric effect on the flying surfaces, and a representation of the seven-cylinder radial engine. Studying the sprues 'Forensically' shows that the two grey parts were originally part of the larger sprue above, but were removed with nippers to fit the box. Construction begins with painting of the two instrument panels according to the diagram, then building the engine from front and rear halves, which also has a painting guide. The two crew seats are simple parts that are detailed with decal four-point seatbelts, installing them on the flat cockpit floor and adding control columns for both crew members, then a two-part cowling is made, painted interior green and slipped over the engine. The interior of the fuselage halves are painted interior green before the instrument panels are fitted into the starboard side, inserting the cockpit assembly and then closing the fuselage. This edition’s tan fuselage halves have the third cockpit faired over with a raised flat cowling that is otherwise identical to the grey fuselage halves, so it’s a straight forward substitution. The main gear legs are then fixed underneath, starting with a triangular strut that is supported by adding another strut behind it, then mounting the wheel on the short stub-axle. This is repeated on the other side, followed by the tail-wheel and the engine, which is glued to the front of the fuselage after installing the exhaust ring on a peg at the top to ensure the exhaust pipe is correctly oriented. The lower wings mount on flat root fairings on the fuselage sides, and would benefit from brass rod spars to strengthen the bond, but the elevators are moulded as a single part that fits into a depression at the rear of the fuselage, fixing the fin and integrated rudder on the rear once complete, then supporting the elevators with a strut under each side. Before the upper wing is considered, the two windscreens are cut from their acetate sheet, folded at the lines, and are glued to the front of the cockpit openings. There is a third windscreen printed on the sheet, which could be used as a backup, and might be fitted on future boxings with the third cockpit opened for training. The upper wings are separated from the lower by two wing-mounted Z-struts with additional straight struts behind them, and another two cabane Z-struts mounted on the cowling in front of the forward cockpit. Before the upper wing is mated to the tops of the struts, the fuel-tank must be laid over the centre of the wing, which can thankfully be done without cutting the centre out, although the join may need a little work to get it to seat neatly, possibly removing the ribbing to let the tank sit closer to the wing. Ignoring the rigging for a moment, the leading-edge slats on the upper wing are glued in place, then the two-blade prop is slipped over the drive-shaft on the front of the engine. Rigging of the model is depicted in the final diagram in red, and should be viewed in conjunction with the box painting, and as many photos of the real aircraft that you can find. The technique you use however is entirely up to you. Markings There are four decal options on the sheet, and the back of the box covers three views, although the right-side, top and bottom profiles are necessarily smaller and with shorter wings as you can see below, but it shouldn’t cause any issues. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion Many interwar aircraft aren’t as well known as they might have been due to WWII, and trainers even less so. This is a nicely detailed model of one of AVRO’s unsung heroes that trained some of the future pilots that later fought in the war, and flew many hours all over the world. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

LVG C.VI German Service (KPM0402) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov Developed by the catchily titled Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (LVG) in 1917 as a two-seat artillery-spotting and reconnaissance aircraft, and having some relatively advanced features, including a send-only morse-code radio, and heated flight suits for the crew, as well as partial metal construction to add strength to the flying surfaces such as the elevator and tail fin. 1,100 of the type were made, and it reached the Western Front in time to serve as a close reconnaissance and observation aircraft, where they probably had to be regularly patched to cover bullet-holes. Unsurprisingly, the C.VI was a development of the C.V, being a little larger and more advanced, with the lower wing staggered 28cm behind the upper, and the fuselage was fully monocoque, compared to the partial monocoque fuselage of the earlier aircraft. Both aircraft had a chimney-style exhaust and a flat-panel radiator in the centre of the upper wing. The C.VI was equipped with a single LMG 08/15 7.92mm machine gun firing through the propeller on interrupter gear, with a Parabellum MG14 on a Scarff ring operated by the rear crew member. It could also carry up to 200lb of bombs, becoming an early example of armed reconnaissance. A straight 6-cylinder water-cooled Benz engine provided motive power, and that output a surprising 197hp through a two-blade wooden propeller, which gave it a maximum speed of 110mph, which seems painfully slow by today’s standards. They were advanced enough not to be scrapped the moment hostilities ceased in 1918, and some saw civilian service as mail-planes in Germany, while a few more were sold to neighbouring Poland, Finland, Czechoslovakia and a few went to the newly formed USSR, who had pulled out of WWI after their revolution, only to begin a conflict with Poland in the early 20s where they saw some action, with more airframes acquired by Poland. Switzerland also ran two airframes for almost the whole of the 20s. The Kit This is a rebox of a 2016 tooling by KP Models, and is boxed with new decals depicting aircraft in German service. The kit arrives in an end-opening box that has a painting of the subject on the front, and the decal option profiles on the rear, and inside is a resealable clear bag with a single sprue in tan coloured styrene, a small piece of printed clear acetate, decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on a sheet of folded A4. Detail is good and the moulding crisp, with engraved panel lines where appropriate, restrained ribbing on the fabric-covered wings, plus well-detailed engine and machine guns, and cord wrappings on the interplane struts. Construction begins with the building and painting of sub-assemblies, starting with the curved instrument panel, moving onto the straight-six engine, which has all the cylinders moulded together and topped off by a detailed cylinder head part, and a base on which it mounts in the fuselage. Three ported intake manifolds are fixed to three cylinders each, and the exhaust with its moulded-in manifold is fitted to the starboard side, with a choice of tall or short exit pipe. This is then mounted on an oval bulkhead after the cockpit floor is detailed with a box to raise the pilot’s seat, which has a control column and rudder pedals applied to the floor in front. The Scarff ring is fitted with a pintle-mount, attaching the MG14 and its drum magazine to complete the assembly. The fuselage interior is painted natural wood to match the cockpit floor and engine mounts, adding a small part in the aft cockpit, the instrument panel in the front, and the nose machine gun in a slot in the starboard fuselage half, the back of the breech extending into the cockpit through the cut-out in the instrument panel. The fuselage is closed around the cockpit and engine assemblies, adding an optional vertical fairing around the engine, installing the Scarff ring on the rear cockpit cut-out, and a tail skid under the rear of the fuselage. The elevators slide into the rear of the fuselage, mounting the tail fin centrally over it. The upper wing is a single part, which has two Z-form cabane struts fitted at right-angles to the wing surface, and a curved reservoir structure underneath, ready for installation. The landing gear is built from a pair of V-shaped struts with an aerofoil axle linking them together, and single-part wheels on each end. These are glued under the fuselage, and the lower wings are attached to the sides on two pins, where you are advised not to use super glue, presumably because they may need adjustment to ensure the correct angle, as per the accompanying frontal profile. The two windscreens are cut from the acetate sheet and glued to the front of the cockpit cut-outs, then the upper wing is lowered onto the model, supported initially by the cabane struts, with four more individual struts per wing added from the sides, which of course ignores the rigging and painting. The prop gives you a choice of two blade-types, then the rigging diagram is shown on the following page, which should be read in conjunction with the box art and your own research. The final diagram shows the lozenge patterns that were painted on the upper surface of the wings, although decals for these are not included. They are available as an option however here, and are sold under the code KPEX026 if you want to make the task easier. Markings There are three decal options included on the sheet, which covers the National and personal markings for each option, while the rest of the camouflage should either be painted by the modeller, or as mentioned above, a decal set can be purchased to ease finishing the wings. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion Another interesting and unusual model from KP Models, back on the shelves after a long absence. The moulding is very crisp, and includes plenty of detail to endear it to us modellers. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Zlín Z-142 Export (KPM0407) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov Zlín originally produced gliders, beginning operations in the 1930s, soon venturing into powered flight to build a few sports aircraft before the outbreak of WWII. After the war, they continued to produce the occasional glider, but also produced light aircraft of various types, which continued throughout the 40s and 50s, until the Z-42 single-engined trainer aircraft was introduced in 1967. Development of the type continued with several variants that led to the Z-142, which although it looks very similar to its progenitor is a larger aircraft with side-by-side seating for the two crew behind a more powerful Walter engine that benefitted from a supercharger to output 210hp from its fuel efficient inverted 6-cylinder fuel-injected motor. The Z-142 first flew in 1978, and as well as seeing extensive use as a trainer, it is commonly employed as a personal aircraft and a glider tug, having some acrobatic capabilities too, although best not done whilst towing a glider! Over 350 airframes were built, and development continued to improve the type further, the Z-242 having a Lycoming flat-four engine that necessitated a wider cowling to accommodate the engine’s extra width. The Kit This is a reboxing of the 2015 tool of this type with new decals, and it arrives in a small end-opening box with a painting of the aircraft on the front and the decal option profiles on the rear. Inside is a resealable clear bag containing a single sprue of grey styrene, canopy in its own Ziploc bag, two decal sheets, and the instruction booklet, printed in colour on a piece of folded A4. Detail is good, however there is a little texture apparent on the parts that could be attributed to over-application of release agent on the moulds, and there will be some ejector-pin turrets that need cutting off to allow some parts to fit together, although that’s not the most difficult task in the modelling world if you have a pair of nippers and a sanding stick. Construction begins with the instrument panel, which is painted and has a decal applied from the smaller sheet, which also includes a decal for the earlier Z-42. It is glued under the coaming, and set aside while two seats are painted and have their decal four-point seatbelts applied so that they can be installed on the stepped cockpit floor, adding two control columns in front of the seats, and fixing a rear bulkhead at the back of the raised portion. The completed cockpit is trapped between the fuselage halves, painting the cockpit sidewalls before applying glue, and remembering to also place the instrument panel and coaming in the front of the cut-out. The open fuselage front is closed by the nose cowling, and underneath a pair of raised panels are added, one of which has a hole in it to accept the nose gear leg, which is built from strut, separate mudguard and the wheel, which flex-fits between the yoke. The main gear legs are curved struts with the wheel added to the axle at the bottom, each one fitting into a hole in the lower sides of the fuselage. The wings are each made from two halves that butt against the fuselage, but would benefit from pinning in position to strengthen the joint, while the elevators are a single part and slot into a groove under the moulded-in tail fin at the rear. The port wing has a small cut-out in the lower half, into which is placed a clear lens, remembering to paint the space silver before fitting the clear part. The single part canopy glues over the cockpit cut-out, the two-blade prop with moulded-in spinner is inserted into a hole in the nose cowling, and a pitot probe is fitted under the port wing to complete the build. Markings There are four decal options on the main sheet, demonstrating the “export” part of the kit’s title by having four different countries as subjects. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. If you’ve noticed that the Canadian flag has no white background, fret not – it’s applied to a white painted tail fin. Conclusion Trainers often look similar, but the similarity is softened slightly by the variety of schemes that they will be wearing in this boxing. The texture on the styrene will be simple to remove with some light sanding, so don’t let that stop you from picking up one of these less common aircraft from Eastern Europe. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Zlín Z-126 Over Europe (KPM0408) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov The Z-126 started life as the Z-26, a low-wing monoplane trainer aircraft that was designed by Zlín and built by their colleagues at Moravan. Originally starting with an almost completely wooden construction, the design progressed until it had a tubular metal airframe with wooden wings that bears a passing resemblance to the de Havilland Chipmunk. The first prototype flew toward the end of the forties, replacing Bücker trainers that had been in use previously and were starting to show their age. After around 160 airframes had been produced, the wings were upgraded to metal construction, and these improved airframes went into service as the C-105 with the Czech Air Force in the early 50s. The next upgrade was to the engine, installing a 6-cylinder version of the Walter Minor engine that was previously only a four-cylinder motor, with a suitable increase in power and its product number to Z-226. There have been further variants of the type over the years, including the Z-226A, which is an aerobatic aircraft, and the single seat versions were appropriately called the Akrobat. The Kit This is a reboxing of a kit that originated in 2013 as a Z-205, the range having broadened to depict the Z-126 in between times, with its last outing in 2018 as a speciality boxing relating to a film. This new boxing has new decals to depict three colourful aircraft, and arrives in an end-opening box with two sprues in grey styrene, a clear part, decals and instruction booklet printed in colour on a folded sheet of A4. The profiles for the decal options can be found on the back of the box, which can be cross-referenced with the table on the front of the instructions that gives colours in local Czech brand Agama and the more widely available Humbrol codes. Detail is good, with engraved panel lines, detailed cockpit, plus raised and recessed features around the model. Construction begins with painting the instrument panels using the instructions provided, then doing the same for the seats, and a form behind one of the panels. The control columns and rudder pedals are painted and applied to the long cockpit floor, with a stepped rear fitted at the same time as the crew seats, which both have decal seatbelts. After detail painting the interiors of the fuselage halves, the cockpit can be fitted into the starboard side, and the fuselage closed, dealing with the seams, then moving on to the engine cowling, which is in two halves plus an internal bulkhead with radiator detail moulded-in that will be seen dimly though the tiny cut-outs in the front cowling. Four tiny exhaust pipes are glued to recesses to the cowling and painted a rusty brown for installation on the fuselage later in the build. First however, the cockpit has its two instrument panels and backing forms applied, supported by the fuselage sides, taking care to put the correct one in each station. The lower wing is single span, and is mated with the fuselage along with the separate upper wings, adding the combined fin and rudder part, and the elevators at the rear. The airframe is completed by gluing the single canopy part over the cockpit cut-out, fitting the engine cowling and two-bladed prop at the front. The model is raised from the bench by fixing the two main gear struts and their wheels under the wings on pegs, and the small tail strut with moulded-in wheel slides into a hole under the tail fin. Markings There are three decal options on the sheet, each one looking substantially different, and from a different country from the others, which should give a broader appeal. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion To this reviewer’s eyes, the Z-126 looks like a Chipmunk with a fastback conversion, and that is quite appealing. Detail is good, the markings options disparate, and she’s a small aircraft that won’t take up much space in the stash or the cabinet. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to release, in Q1 2021, 1/48th Avia BH-9 "Boska" kits. Sources: http://www.modelarovo.cz/novinky-kovozavody-prostejov-na-1-q-2021/ http://www.modelarovo.cz/novinky-kp-az-model-na-brezen/ - ref. KPM4818 - Avia BH-9 Boska - ref. KPM4819 - Avia BH-9 Boska single V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to re-release the AZmodel 1/72nd Avro 626 Prefect kit - ref. KPM0413 Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/avro-626-prefect/ V.P.

Re-releasein December 2019 by Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) a 1/72nd LET L-13 "Blaník" kit - ref. KPM0157 Sources: http://www.modelarovo.cz/novinky-kp-az-plastikova-zima-2019/ http://ksmodel.pl/sklep/szczegoly/let-l-13-blanik-1-72-20886/ Box art + schemes V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to release in 2019 a new tool 1/72nd Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19S "Farmer-C" kit Source: https://www.facebook.com/kovop/posts/924692617724588 V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov (http://www.kovozavody.cz/) back with two 1/72nd Zlin C-205 & Z-226M kits - ref. M7201 & M7202. Source: http://modelweb.modelforum.cz/2014/04/11/kovozavody-prostejov-novinky-duben-2014/?lang=CS V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to re-release 1/72nd Zlín Z-142 kits - ref. KPM0142 - Zlín Z-142 Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/zlin-z-142/ - ref. KPM0143 - Zlín Z-142 Military Source: https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/zlin-z-142-military/ V.P.

Bell AH-1G Huey Cobra ‘International’ (KPM0380) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov The AH-1 Cobra was the first dedicated 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 frontal profile, making it harder to hit. When The US Army later asked for plans for an interim gunship for use in Vietnam, Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the ready-made AH-1, or the Bell 209 as it was called internally. 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, replacing the heavy armoured glass canopy with Plexiglas to improve 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 by an 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 re-release with new parts of the original tooling from 2013, and arrives in an end-opening box with a painting of the subject on the front, and the decal profiles on the rear. Inside is one full-sized sprue in sand-coloured styrene in a resealable bag, a clear sprue in its own Ziploc bag, a sheet of decals and a folded A4 instruction booklet that is printed in colour and has a sprue diagram plus a little history of the type on the front page. Detail is good throughout, and there is no flash to speak of, with engraved panel lines and crisp raised and recessed details. Construction begins with creation of the cockpits and a few other assemblies, starting with the instrument panels, which have a highly detailed painting guide provided as step 1 and 2. The front panel has its coaming moulded-in and needs a little shaving off the bottom edge, while the rear panel has a larger separate part for the coaming, plus a choice of two styles of HUD, then the cockpit tub is decorated with crew controls, one of which is made by stretching sprue from the runners to different diameters and gluing them together to create the collective stick for the pilot in the rear. The armoured wing-back seats with decal seatbelts are then installed along with the two instrument panels, finishing the cockpit, and moving on to making the two-part fuel tanks, one for each side, and the gun turret for under the nose. Each barrel is inserted into a curved plate, which is slotted into the turret, leaving the plates inside the turret, while the barrels project from the two slots in the front. The fuselage halves are painted in two areas with black for the cockpit and gunmetal for the rotorhead area, after which the cockpit and quilted rear bulkhead are inserted into the starboard side, with a circular platform placed on a ledge inside the rotorhead area. The fuselage is joined after adding the exhaust trunk, and the rotor is made up from the blades and control arms, which locate on the circular part within the rotorhead cowling, then adding a choice of short or extended exhaust lips at the end of the trunking. The canopy is made up from the fixed roof/windscreen and two side panes on each side, with the option of leaving the openers closed or ajar, as you wish. Under the tail is a wire bumper, then your selection of fin is joined to the tail boom and has the rotors with control ‘crown’ fitted on left or right sides, depending on which tail you have installed. Stabiliser fins are inserted into slots around the centre of the tail boom, as are the winglets with tips and pylons glued to them before they are fixed in place further forward. The main gear consists of a pair of skids under the fuselage on curved supports, adding a bulkhead behind the turret before gluing that in place along with the fuel tanks and a pair of rocket pods that are each made from two halves to make the cylindrical body, plus a pair of end-caps with the nose/tail of the rockets moulded-in. Some decal options have a blade antenna under the fuselage, so check your choice and glue it in place or otherwise. Markings There are four options on the decal sheet, and you can see the profiles on the back of the box. There’s a choice of colour options between blue Spanish Navy birds and green Israeli airframes. The colours are marked out in oval swatches with names under them, showing no allegiance to any paint brand’s colour codes. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals appear to be printed using the same digital processes as Eduard are now using, and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion Another welcome reboxing of a good quality kit from KP in some more interesting schemes, with good quality decals and decent clear parts at a pretty appealing price. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

MiG-19P ‘Farmer’ Warsaw Pact (KPM0391) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov The project that was to become the MiG-19 started as a requirement from the Soviet Authorities for a second-generation jet that was capable of supersonic speeds in level flight, and with a higher altitude ceiling that was necessary to intercept the US balloon incursions (sound familiar?), overflights by US operated Canberras, and the rumours that America was working on the U-2 Spy plane that could fly higher than any of their then current weapons systems. To increase thrust, two engines were used, widening the rear fuselage, and adding afterburners to further improve performance. There was also a need to mount a radar to give the aircraft the capability of all-weather flight, which was mounted in the nose of some variants in a fairing small enough that it didn’t interfere with the intake. They were initially equipped with cannons that were relocated from under the nose in previous designs into the wing roots, reducing the likelihood of ingestion by the engine of the fumes that could cause dangerous surges. The early models were soon upgraded with improved aerodynamics, such as the P, which benefitted from an all-moving tail plane, a basic radar, and 30mm cannons in the wings, and later in its life it had the capability of launching the new Atoll air-to-air missiles. The PM built on this by removing the cannons completely, and replacing then with beam-riding air-to-air Alkali missiles. Further variants followed with other missiles under the wings, additonal avionics and ground-control links, day-fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, with many attempts to push the type’s altitude limits to intercept the US overflights that continued effectively unchallenged, until finally the type was relegated to use as a target drone after it was phased out of frontline service. The Kit This is the latest in a line of releases from KP that started with the MiG-19S and its numerous overseas and license-built sub-variants, and now we have the PM. The kit arrives in a medium end-opening box with a painting of the subject firing one of its missiles, as his wingman peels off to starboard. On the rear of the box are the profiles that will be of use when painting and decaling the model. Inside are two sprues in grey styrene, a clear canopy in its own Ziploc bag, decal sheet and the instruction booklet in folded A4, printed in colour. Detail is good, with engraved panel lines plus raised and recessed details, and decals provided for the instrument panel and side consoles. Construction begins with the creation of the bifurcated intake trunks down the sides of the nose gear bay and cockpit, which has decals applied to the rear portion to detail them as the side walls. The starboard side has a small bulkhead fitted to split it from the cockpit, which then allows the cockpit to be built, starting with the instrument panel that is glued against the back of the bulkhead with a decal for the dials, the floor, rudder pedals and control column are inserted, stabilised at the rear by another bulkhead, a turtle-deck behind it, and the ejection seat with decal belts on an upstand at the rear of the cockpit. With the cockpit complete, the fuselage halves are joined together, adding 10g of weight over the nose gear bay, and a choice of two styles of fin, although this boxing appears to suit part 6 as the panel lines match up. Inserts are added beneath the cockpit and to the sides of the wing root, and the nose is completed by fitting the splitter-plate, covered over by the intake lip and radome fairing. The canopy has a rear deck fitted inside, and it is then glued in place over the cockpit opening after painting the coaming and rear deck. The wings are each put together from two halves, adding a fence and two small parts to the gear bay edges, and filling a small square depression on the upper wing root, leaving the gun barrels on the wing roots, as is appropriate for this earlier model. The completed wings are slotted into the sides of the fuselage, adding the elevators to the rear, and making the exhausts by sliding the trunking into the holes in the tail fairing before gluing it into position. The next task is to make up the tricycle landing gear. The nose leg has one side of the yoke moulded-in, adding the other side around the wheel, then fitting a retraction strut at an angle before inserting it in the bay and adding the doors to the sides. The main gear legs are simpler, and have half of the wheel moulded-in, the other a separate part to prevent sink-marks. They are both glued in place after installing the captive bay doors to the outboard side. A small pitot is glued under the port wingtip, then the fuselage is dotted with a multitude of small intakes and other bumps, shown in four views to assist with placement, skipping step 11 as it relates to the Chinese variants. The next step adds a long probe to the starboard wingtip, and a choice of armament depending on which boxing you have. The P wears a pair of drop tanks with sway-braces on the outer stations under the wings, as missiles weren’t yet carried. Markings There are three options on the decal sheet, all in overall aluminium in the service of different Warsaw Pact countries. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals appear to be printed using the same digital processes as Eduard are now using, and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion The MiG-19 was a step change from the first-generation jets fielded by the Soviet Union and its Pact members, and this model does the type justice, with plenty of detail and a choice of various operators. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to release in March 2023 1/72nd Let/Aero L-60 Brigadýr kits KP claim - https://www.modelarovo.cz/novinky-kovozavodu-prostejov-a-azmodel-na-brezen/ "Probably the most interesting novelty from the March offer will be the completely new model of the Let L-60 "Brigadyr" airplane. We will offer the model in the first four covers, others will follow." But previous KP/AZmodel records say it could be just a retool from the old AZmodel Let L-60 Brigadýr. Wait and see - ref. KPM0382 - Let L-60 Brigadýr https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/let-l-60-brigadyr/ - ref. KPM0383 - Let L-60 Brigadýr - export https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/let-l-60-brigadyr-export/ - ref. KPM0384 - Let L-60S „Brigadýr“ https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/let-l-60s-brigadyr/ - ref. KPM035 - Let L-60S/SF „Brigadýr“ https://www.kovozavody.cz/produkt/let-l-60s-sf-brigadyr/ V.P.

Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to release 1/72nd SIAI-Marchetti S.211/Aermacchi M-311 & M/T-345 kits in late August 2022. Source: https://www.modelarovo.cz/siai-s-211-m-345-1-72-novinka-kovozavodu-prostejov/ SIAI-Marchetti/Grumman S.211 - US Navy Alenia Aermacchi M-311 Aermacchi M-345NO or T-345A SIAI-Marchetti S.211 - I-RAIX V.P.

KP (Kovozávody Prostejov) is to release a 1/72nd family of Lavoshkin La-5 fighters: La-5, La-5F, La-5FN & ULa-5 (La-5UTI). Release expected in February 2015. (updated) Source: http://modelweb.modelforum.cz/2014/09/06/nova-la-5/?lang=CS V.P.