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In my opinion, one of the most elegant post-war aircraft of the Finnish Air Force was the French manufactured pilot trainer jet Fouga Magister CM.170. A total of some eighty Fougas served in the FAF between 1958-88. There are still a couple of airworthy Fougas left seen mainly in air shows. This plane type was also used by many other countries for pilot training purposes but in Israel the Fouga Magisters were also operational in combat duties during the six days war in 1967. One distinctive feature of the plane was the very loud, high-pitch whistling of its two Turbomeca Maribore turbo jets. I built the Fouga from a Kinetic 1/48 scale dual combo kit . My model depicts the Fouga Magister FM-45 in the markings of the Pilot Training Squadron of the Aerial Combat School in 1987. The very plane is nowadays in display at the Finnish Air Force museum in Tikkakoski, Central Finland. The quality of the Kinetic kit was quite ok but the instruction sheet was really poor with a lot of errors and omissions. Without the info and the pictures on the net it would have been difficult to finish the build successfully. The decals for the model were from Max Decals and the day-glo strips I made from a Microscale's decal sheet. I painted the model with Alclad White Aluminium plus some panels and details with Vallejo Air silver, aluminium and steel. For the cockpit I bought masking tapes from Montex. I also scratch built and amended a lot of FAF details to the model. The last flight of FM-45 in 1987

Several years ago I was able to get a copy of this set of kits: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/heller-80399-patrouille-france--167958 It's a lovely set, with metallic gold and silver on the large decal sheet. However, in typical Heller fashion, some of the other colours are out of register 🙄 I've still got the Magister sealed in its bag, and this seems as good a time as any to disinter it. No box shot as the box is long gone. I have the Max Decals sheet for the Magister and it has some funky options. More soon. John

Hi All, A selection of Fouga Magister subjects have been scaled up to 1/48 scale to suit the new Kinetic/Wingman or Avant Garde kits. Max4823 is now available to order direct from max Decals at 12 euro including worldwide postage. See Max Decals shop for ordering. Cheers, Joe

Hi all, I have a new decal sheet in production for the Turboporter. It should be available in 3 weeks.Price will be 12 euro including world wide postage. Subjects include Swiss, Austrian, Iranian Japanese and Dubai examples. Suitable for Roden kit 449 (the one that comes with the optional larger fin fillet and extended wing tips). The decal sheet features subjects with both the standard wingtip/fin fillet and the larger one so an earlier boxing of the Turboporter can be used as well. I'll post it on the shop when it's available. See http://www.maxdecals.com and http://www.maxdecals.com/Maxdecalsshop.html Cheers, Joe

Press Release New Book: Fouga Magister - An Irish Perspective by Joe Maxwell & Radu Brinzan details the history of the Fouga Magister in Irish Air Corps Service from 1975 until 1997. Contact: [email protected] See http://www.maxdecals.com Fouga Magister- An Irish Perspective provides a highly detailed account of this iconic French built jet trainer in Irish Air Corps service. Starting with the development of the Fouga Magister as a light jet trainer for France and other NATO countries, the book goes on to describe the attack on Irish troops serving with UN forces in the Congo in 1961 by one of these aircraft flown by a Belgian mercenary in the Katangan Air Force. This was the first time that Irish troops had ever come under air attack. The later, and somewhat ironic, purchase by the Air Corps of two of the Fougas that had originally been destined for Katanga together with four others that had seen service with the Austrian Air Force “Silver Birds” Aerobatic Display Team is also covered. Further chapters describe what it was like to fly and maintain the Fouga. The history of the Irish Air Corps Silver Swallows Aerobatic Display team is covered in some depth. The Silver Swallows became famous internationally when they were awarded the prestigious Lockheed Martin Cannestra trophy for the best display by an overseas team at the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford in 1997. This was an incredible achievement for a small team of instructor pilots who had to fit in practice for their routine in the evenings and at weekends. “ Initially we set out to produce a straightforward technical description and walk-around of this elegant aircraft that would satisfy the scale modeller. However, as the research trail lead us to unearth almost forgotten facts about this intriguing aircraft in an Irish context we just had to expand it into a more comprehensive volume which we hope will satisfy the needs of the aviation enthusiast/historian as well” said Joe Maxwell, one of the authors. Joe has teamed up with another well known aviation author, Radu Brinzan to produce this volume. Although the authors have concentrated mainly on the Irish use of the Fouga, the technical description alone should ensure that this book finds a wider international audience amongst those interested in the Fouga Magister. Granted unparalleled access to three surviving airframes, the authors have included what are considered to be the most accurate scale drawings of the Fouga ever produced in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale. Comprehensively illustrated with over 160 photos, 25 drawings and three tables packed into 108 pages, the authors have produced what must be the definitive English language guide to the Fouga Magister. Fouga Magister – An Irish Perspective goes on sale from September 7th. Price €22. ISBN 978-0-9562624-1-7 For further information contact Joe Maxwell at [email protected] See http://www.maxdecals...booksample.html for sample pages.