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After the abortive start that was the Mirage F1C (I didn't actually start just realised I didn't have all the bits) I have rooted through the stash and found this I have a particular interest in Argentinian planes and so will be building one of those schemes. I seemed to recall some fit issues but lets see. As always comments very welcome. Dave

Hello As I wrote many weeks ago I am in with this wonderful prototype that was the Mirage 4000. It was a bigger Mirage 2000 which first flew in 1979 with two SNECMA M-53 engines but at the time France could not afford such a combat aircraft. I will build this one as it was at 1987 Paris Air Show with a desert camouflage to tease Saudi Arabia but to no avail. Patrick Here are the sprues and other parts from this 1/72 Modelsvit kit.

Hi all, My latest project idea Is a string of Fitters. My question is about the conversion of a Modelsvit kit to the long nose version. Are there any conv kits out there? Thanks. Martin

Mirage 2000C (72073) 1:72 ModelSvit The Mirage 2000C is a forth generation Jet Fighter built by Dassualt for the French Air Force. Like its predecessor the Mirage III its main feature is a large delta wing. The aircraft was designed and built in a surprising 27 months by Dassault using a lot of data they already had developed for the "Future Combat Aircraft" and the so called Super Mirage, The C in the title for the fighter stands for Chasseur or Hunter. As well as two internal 30mm DEFA cannon the aircraft is armed in the air to air role with Matra R550 Magic, Matra Super 530D, MBDA MICRA Missiles. As well as the Mirage C there is a B model trainer, N model Nuclear Strike, and D model Ground attack version in service with the French Air Force. Mirage 2000 aircraft have been sold to Egypt, India, Peru, The UEA, Greece, Taiwan, Brazil, and Qatar. Kit This is the eagerly awaited new kit from Modelsvit. The kit resembles a high quality shorter run kit with fine surface details. While the parts resemble some more main stream manufactures in appearance they will no doubt need more care in the assembly. In the box we get seven sprues of light grey plastic, a clear sprue with both a one part and two part canopy, a sheet of PE and and a sheet of masks for the canopy, wheels, and false canopy for one of the decal option (these are not shown). La construction commence avec le cockpit (quelle surprise!). The seat is made up from 5 plastic parts with PE belts and seat cushions. Following this for some reason the exhaust nozzle is built up and put to one side. Once this is done its back to the cockpit. The cockpit floor is put together with the sides and the rear bulkhead. The cockpit floor also forms the nose wheel bay roof and the rear bulkhead for this needs to be fitted at this time. The instrument panel and control column need to be fitted. The instruments for the panel and side consoles are provided as either PE or decal, or a mixture of both if the modeller wants to do this. Lastly here the main coaming and HUD are built up from a mixture of plastic parts and PE. The cockpit can now be placed inside the main fuselage and it closed up. The inner parts of the main intakes are then applied to the fuselage sides. We now move onto the main wing. For the lower wing the main wheel wells are boxed in with the instructions showing where all the parts go, plus a view to show how it needs to look once its complete. Once these are boxed in the upper wing sections can go on and the whole wing joined to the main fuselage. The main burner nozzle is made up from 3 parts and this can be attached to the assembly made earlier and inserted into the back of the fuselage. Also at the rear the vertical fin is added (here tow are provided for different decal options). Different rear fairing parts are also used here depending on the decal option chosen. Moving back to the front the outer parts of the intakes are added. Flipping back to the underside of the aircraft the centreline fairing is aging different for the different decal option with there being 3 types, one of which includes a chaff/flare launcher. The flaps can be positioned up or down with different parts for each, the flap track fairings can then be added. The main under carriage is then next, standard two part wheels go on to the main leg with a separate retraction strut. The outer gear door attached to the main leg with the inner door attaching to the fuselage. Again these have retraction struts. At the front the nose gear leg goes in with its twin wheels. The gear doors are also fitted at this point. The last major item to complete the main aircraft is the canopy. A single part closed canopy and a split two part canopy are provided. Canopy masks for the edge are included and the centre will need to have the modellers own tape or masking fluid used on it. To complete the main airframe the re-fueling probe is added along with a selection of aerials and fences on the side of the intakes and tail. A nice selection of underwing/fuselage stores are provided in the kit. There is a centreline 1300L fuel tank, and two wing 1700L fuel tanks. There are two Magic-2, two Matra Super 530D, and four MICA EM.IR missiles provided in the kit along with their respective pylons. Decals There are 5 schemes provided in the kit; the decals are well printed by Decograf, the Indian Markings dont quite look correct with the colours. From the box you can build; Mirage 2000C 6-OB No.59 EC 2/5 "Ile de France" French Air Force, Saudi Arabia 1990 Mirage 2000C 5-OP No. 74 EC 2/5 "Ile de France" French Air Force, Saudi Arabia 1991 (Dessert camo) Mirage 2000C - 390-AS No.80 EC 5/330 French air Force 1993 Mirage 2000H (Vajra) KF123, 7th Sqn, Indian Air Force, 2012 Mirage 2000EG No. 226. 332 MPK (All weather Sqn) "Geraki", 114 Fighter Wing, Greek Air Force, 2014 Conclusion It is good to see a decent model of the Mirage 2000C available in 1.72, this should build up to make an eye catching model if care is taken with the build. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

#10/2021 My dad´s latest completion. The not that bad Modelsvit kit which is basically the same as the AMG ones, same engineering and parts break down but a bit more detailed. Kit comes with some PE parts, masks for canopy and sharkmouth, although the masks aren´t really usable. My dad painted the red part of the mouth, the teeth are kit decals. Camo done with Gunze Aqueous RLM 70/71/65, brake lines added with plastic rods and lead wire, antenna wires with EZ Line. Build thread here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235089748-shark-in-the-sky148-messerschmitt-bf109d-1-jgr-176/ Model shows a prewar bird of JGr. 176. DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0005 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0007 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0008 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0011 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0012 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0013 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0014 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0015 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0016 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0017 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0018 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0019 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0020 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0021 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0023 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

Hello Here is at least my first kit of the year with this 1/72 Modelsvit Dassault Mirage III B. I chose to build her as a/c No 203 #2-FG, a natural metal two seat trainer from ECT02/002 in 1974. This kit is easy to build with very nice and fine parts. The only trouble went when I tried to insert the well detailed injected cockpit inside the fuselage. Actually I had to sand on the sides of the cockpit and even the position of the closed canopy is not perfect. So it would be better to make her with this canopy open. The paint came from Duralumin and Steel Alclad range. Every part came from the box. I think I will build some more in camouflage paint later. Comments are welcome. Patrick

Another one to my "Falklands collection", this time 1:72 Mirage IIIEA, I-014, 1st Squadron, 8th Air Group Argentine Air Force, Rio Gallegos, May 1982. New Modelsvit kit, built "out of the box" except metal Pitot tube (Master) and squadron emblems decals on the fin (Condor Decals). Painted with Gunze Mr.Color C series. The Modelsvit kit itself is just great - extremely well detailed as for 1:72 scale, crispy molded, well fitted (although a bit complicated - definitely not for beginners). I think it was the best short-run kit I've ever assembled. "Work in progress" topic was on Polish forum: https://www.pwm.org.pl/viewtopic.php?f=884&t=90757 And now some pictures: Thanks for watching!

Time for a new 109. This time my dad tries out the new Modelsvit Messerschmitt, his first from this manufacturer. As far as he can already tell, this kit is more detailed than the AMG Schmitts but much part clean up and testfitting is neccessary to make the parts fit. Most probably doing a splinter scheme, maybe from the kit maybe aftermaket stuff, don´t know yet. DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr a bunch of PE parts for detailing DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

Mirage III EA/EBR (72063) 1:72 ModelSvit Sacré bleu! If you have not heard of the Mirage III where have you been? The Mirage III is one of the most recognisable aircraft to emerge from the Dassault Aviation stable in post war France. The Mirage III grew out of French government studies for a light weight all weather interceptor able to reach 18,000 meter in altitude in Six minutes and able to reach mach 1.3 in level flight. The tail less delta combined the wing with an area ruled fuselage to achieve its speed. The Mirage IIIC would remain in French service from 1961 until 1988. The E model was developed by Dassault as a multi role/strike fighter. Increased avionics for this caused the fuselage to be lengthened which also had the benefit of increasing fuel capacity. Export orders would be received from Argentina and Brazil for these under the EA & EBR designations. Kit This is the eagerly awaited new kit from Modelsvit. The kit resembles a high quality shorter run kit with fine surface details. While the parts resemble some more main stream manufactures in appearance they will no doubt need more care in the assembly. In the box we get 7 sprues of grey plastic, a clear sprue, a PE fret, masks(not shown) , and a decal sheet.. Construction starts in the conventional way with the cockpit. The seat is built up from 7 parts with PE belts and handles. The tub is made up from the base, rear bulkhead, two sidewalls and the area behind the cockpit. The instrument panel with its PE faces goes in, and PE is supplied for the side consoles. The cockpit then goes into the forward fuselage a long with a nose insert which differs from the EA and EBR. The coaming then goes on in front of the instrument panel. Next a few sub assemblies need to be constructed for later. First up the engine exhaust is made up. This is a three part tube with the engine end and burner ring at the front and the inner nozzle at the rear. The main wheels and nose wheel are next. The nose wheel then being used to make up the nose gear. Construction then moves onto the wing, first up the wheel wells need to be fully boxed in. Holes need to be opened up for the underwing stores. The main fuselage halves can then be joined to each other and the lower wing, at the rear the engine nozzle assembly goes in along rest of the exhaust nozzle parts. At the font of this section the intakes are fitted. The front fuselage section can now be joined to the main section. The upper wings go on as well as the vertical fin. A fuselage insert goes in behind the cockpit, and underneath the rear ventral strake is fitted. At the rear of the main wing the separate flaps and flap tracks are fitted. Here there are parts for dropped or straight flaps. The main wheels can be fitted to their gear legs, and these can be fitted, along with the noise wheel at the front. For under wing/fuselage stores a single Matra R530, 2 Marta R550s, 2 RP-30 1700L tanks, and 2 RP -18R 500L tanks are supplied. These and the appropriate pylons can be fitted. Finishing touches are fitting the gear doors, canopy (both a one part closed, and multi part open options are provided), lastly some aerials and strakes and front canards are fitted (where appropriate). Decals There are 6 schemes provided in the kit; the decals are well printed by Decograf with no obvious flaws. From the box you can build; Mirage IIIEA 1-003 1st Sqn, 8 Air Group, Argentine Air Force. 1985 Mirage IIIEA 1-008 2nd Sqn, 6 Air Group. Argentine Air Force 2000 Mirage IIIEA 1-014 1st Sqn, 8 Air Group. Argentine Air Force 1982 With Falklands War markings Mirage IIIEBR 4912 1st Air Defense Wing. Brazilian Air Force 1975 Mirage IIIEBR 4917 1st Air Defense Group, Brazilian Air Force 1981 Mirage IIIEBR 4924 1st Air Defense Group, Brazilian Air Force 1985 Conclusion It is good to see a decent model of the Mirage IIIE available in 1.72, this should build up to make an eye catching model if care is taken with the build. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

VPAF MiG's, Part 5: MiG-21F-13 'Fishbed-C' (Modelsvit 1:72) MiG-21F-13 'Fishbed-C', '4426', pilot Nguyen Nhat Chieu, 921st FR, Kep, 29 October 1967 According to VPAF records, Nguyen Nhat Chieu was flying '4426' on 29 October 1967 when he shot down an F-4 - his sixth kill. US records do not verify this. Couldn't help myself - I just received this and it looked so interesting that I had to put it up here too. I'm getting bit crowded already for the rest of the year but oh well.... what's better than four migs, right? Five of course. Decent amount of stuff in the box - no aftermarket stuff in this photo apart from the couple Print Scale numbers. Kit plastic is bit of a mixed bag - sure it has some flash and stuff, but looks like the details are there, just needs some prep work. Lots of plastic, lots of small parts. Altough the kit itself might not be as refined as Eduard for example, there is still sense of quality with the kit - including the manual. Decals. Print Scale numbers on the bottom - I will be mixing the two to create '4426'. Some PE parts are included with the kit. Interesting looking scheme. And like with all my VPAF MiG builds - these are my reference books. My other MiG's: VPAF MiG's, Part 1: MiG-17 'Fresco-A' (Zvezda 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 2: MiG-17PF 'Fresco-D' (AZ Model 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 3: MiG-21PFL 'Fishbed-D' (Eduard 1:72) VPAF MiG's, Part 4: MiG-19S 'Farmer-C' (KP 1:72)

Hi, all! So, we have to start. The prototype is considered the first European VTOL aircraft to exceed the speed of sound, although this is only mentioned in the French Wikipedia and Modelsvit instructions. Photo box. (Mirage III-V in central, don't mix it up! 😁 ) Photo spruce: Little work with model: Some home 😁 video from YouTube: B.R. Serge

Hi all. Presenting SU-7 BMK 1/72 from Modelsvit. A very good kit. Made it on Egypt colors. Used Pavla's canopy and KS-3/4 seat. Thx.

Hi fellow modelers, This topic is about my latest project in progress, the Modelsvit 1:72 Antonov 225 Mriya. Enjoy! On april 3th 2020 it finally arrived, my dream kit I was waiting for.. A 1:72 scale An-225!! Carefully wrapped and packaged for transport from Ukraine: As you see, a lot of content in the box... 975 parts in total, with PE set and mask, and 4 decal options. The first thing I just wanted to see was the size when finished , so a quick dry fit was done: Length: 1.17 meters width: 1.22 meters weight: 2.5 kilogrammes. I also have the Modelsvit 1:72 Antonov 124, a project on hold now I have the 225 kit. The 124 is the 'little' brother of the Mriya. Here you see them side by side.. I also have the Amodel 1:72 Buran kit, the Russian Space Shuttle for which the 225 was specially designed. It was meant to ride 'piggyback' on the 225 for transport, just as the Boeing 747-123 SCA (Shuttle Carrier Aircraft). (I'm also building a 1:72 B747 SCA with Space Shuttle, a project on hold, but I will add that topic on Britmodeller some time ). I could place the Buran on the 225, then it would look like the Mriya on display in the late eighties: And this is what my model would look like: Look at the 1:72 scale figure... This will be REALLY huge! The problem is, I really like the modern An-225 with yellow and blue striping. I'm still doubting which version I'm going to build.. Well, first I need to start building this kit, time enough to make the ultimate decision which version it will be. I started with the tail. As the fuselage and wings are made of fiberglass with a thin polyester coating, it's kind of difficult to work with. So sanding the surfaces to be glued rough, and use superglue or 2 components glue for the different materials used in this kit. The tail was a bit tricky, as there is a difficult dihedral angle in the tail of the 225: Then I started attaching the 'bumps' on the fuselage. Quite a lot of them: I didn't attached the biggest bumps yet, as they partially cover the wings which are detachable. So to avoid breaking loose again during a test fit, I'll wait with the attachment on the fuselage: A 1:72 Piper Cub for scale comparison.. Look at the massive size of the stabilo: The tail has 2 large aerodynamic cones attached to the rear, so I glued those parts to the tail but didn't fit at all.. Be warned, as you will notice during this project, literally EVERY part of this kit has to be sanded to shape. Modelsvit kits are not for the 'easy-builders', you need to do a lot of scratchbuilding and improvising to get things done.. These are the cones: The fiberglass under the polyester layer becomes clear after sanding One thing I noticed during the very first dry fit, was that one of the 2 provided aluminium tubes (used for sturdy but detachable wings on this model) had a wrong diameter. As you see, in the manual it says 5mm and 8mm diameter: The 8mm fits like a glove: But the 5mm doesn't fit: After checking: ..it needs to be 6mm. The problem with this fiberglass-polyester coated material that it is really hard t cut or drill; it is very brittle so widening this hole with a drill is risky.. I screwed up a little on my Modelvit An-124 model with cutting a piece, the material just 'shattered' during cutting. So as this hole is very important for a 'glove-like' fit (it has to support a large wing with 3 engines!) I will look for a 5mm diameter tube as replacement. The kit comes with a little PE set, consisting of little vents to be placed over the fuselage: Also, the fuselage has a sharp hardened edge over the entire length. So that needs to be sanded carefully: Now a little side jump. I started my 1:72 An-124 a couple months ago, but that's a project on hold at the moment as I want to finish the 225 first. From the 124 kit I already finished the nose with cockpit section; that was a project on it's own as nothing fits inside the fiberglass nose! It's a matter of constructing the polystyrene flightdeck parts together (sanding every part and filling of gaps of course): And then just 'glue the flightdeck somewhere in the nose' or something like that : ( .. No prefabricated inserts or points to attach to: So I thought first: I'm going to use my finished An-124 nose on the 225 kit, as both have identical nose shape and it saves time.. (I'm going to post my An-124 topic here some time, promised, but here a very short side jump of the construction of the 124 nose). First I glued the transparent upper part to the nose section: And here you see the constructed flightdeck, attached to a scratchbuilt support fuselage-rib, and the attached nose weight for a sturdy construction of the flightdeck to the nose. Yes, be prepared to improvise and adapt with this kit! Ok, a little more explanation. Here you see the 2 noses. Left the 124-one, right the 225-one. As you see, I fabricated a supporting rib from Plasticard. This rib 'fills up' the empty nose and provides support for the attachment of the flightdeck. This way it is possible to safely attach the flightdeck into the hollow nose, because should you 'bump' the kit to something after glueing the nose to the fuselage, and the flightdeck should come loose... you never can repair or attach it again. Also, this rib provides sturdy and secure support for the heavy nose weight these kits need to have as these kits are potential tail-sitters. This is the flightdeck: I need to blend the rib with parts of the flightdeck to make it 1 smooth construction. In this case, I replaced the curtains-parts by drawing the contours on the rib and cut it to the same shape: Measuring the width of the front flightdeck, so it can fit through the rib: This is how it will look: After cutting the contours of the curtains and fitting the flight deck through the rib, this is the result: But I engaged some fitting problems afterwards with the flightdeck, so I let it be for the moment. So I started the construction of the engines.. 6 in total. 6 Little projects, as there are quite a few parts: For every part you need to remove edges, and sand them smooth first. For example: I sprayed the turbine blades parts polished steel: And here I made a mistake.... Due to an error in the manual! It shows an incorrect drawing of fan blades attachment, so I need to glue 1 part upside down to avoid too much distance between the 2 fan blades parts. It's a little difficult to explain, but it needs to be said that this is a careless mistake from Modelsvit. Also because it's not clear how the parts finally look after glueing them. Well, lesson learned: more dry fitting with the rest of the parts first! The 2 fan blades parts are supposed to fit into each other so the 2x16 fans have to shape into 1 ‘disc’ of 32 fan blades..?? It’s clearly that that is not possible... whatever I try; upside down... ...it keeps consisting of 2 parts stacked on each other. This is how it's supposed to look: So I did it my way. The manual is just wrong. First I cut of each blade of 1 of the 2 fan blade parts and I glued each fanblade between the other part’s fan blades. I used a circular mold to keep a steady circle as the little fan blades are bended and need to be glued at an inclined angle: Almost finished... And there it is, a perfect 32 bladed fan. Now 5x16 more blades to go.. ...but job done, and ready to continue the build. So be warned, don’t glue something from this kit before test fitting it and think in advance what the result will be. Continuing the engine project, first a lot of sanding and test fitting before painting and gluing. Some parts are quite a challenge: And surprising, the engine halves don't fit at all. So sanding again... The turbine parts: The exhaust cones need to be drilled open: during the build, I made a bigger shelf to the wall as this behemoth needs a place to sit later. The shelf is 2.50 meters long and 60 centimeters deep.. ...and guess what.. still needs to be deeper, I think 70 cm: Well, first continue the build. I still got time enough left to think about another shelf. After research on the Internet I found out that the 225 engines are quite 'clean' and maintained from the inside, I saw a lot of white inner plating. So I decided to do that instead of 'gunmetal' inner halves as the (wrong) manual says: Added just a little weathering of panel lines, you don't see much left later on as the halves are glued together: And, the intake ring and exhaust cone need a lot of sanding as they do not fit well. still a lot of work to be done to these engines : ( To be continued....

After the Mirage IIIE/5 family (link) Modelsvit is to release 1/72nd Dassault Mirage IIIC/CJ kits Source: https://www.facebook.com/modelsvit/posts/2682351568700544 V.P.

Su-17 (1949) Advanced Prototype (7208) 1:72 A&A Models - ModelSvit The Su-17 (Aircraft-R) was an advanced porotype aircraft from Sukhoi and should not be confused with the later Su17 Fitter aircraft; it would appear that Sukhio reused the designation just to confuse us in later years! The aircraft was designed to match data developed by the Central Aerodynamic Institute in Moscow. The aircraft would feature a 50 degree swept wing fitted with air brakes and boosted flight controls. As well as an ejector seat the aircraft would feature an entirely detachable nose section. Problems with the wing design, and also the types proposed TR-3 engine would hinder the project, though not as much as Pavel Sukhoi falling out of favour did. Sukhio OKB was scrapped which ultimately ended the project. Only one airframe was built which never flew and then was used as a gunnery target. Kit This is a new tool from A&A models, part of the Modelsvit group. The kit arrives on five sprues of grey plastic, one clear sprue, a small PE fret, small decal sheet and a sheet of masks. The plastic is of good quality and while it may have a slight feel of the shorter run type of injection plastic the details are sharp and there is no flash, Construction starts with the cockpit. Behind the tub is also the front wheel well, and the sides form the insides of the intake with the cockpit being at the very front of the fuselage, A seat with PE belts is made up for the inside along with a control column being added. Instrument panel and side panel details are provided in decal form. Once these parts are together the exhaust and wheels are made up. Masks are provided for painting the wheels which is a nice touch. The main gear well is also then constructed. Once all these sub assemblies are finished they can be placed inside the main fuselage and it can be buttoned up. The opposite fin side is then added. We then move onto the wings. These are of conventional build with left & right, upper and lower parts. Three prominent wing fences are added to each wing. Clear lights are provided for each wingtip. Once competed they can be added to the fuselage along with the tail planes and the hump behind the cockpit. To finish off the landing gear is made up and added along with the gear doors. Two different canopies are provided depending of whether the modeller wishes to display it open or closed. Mask are provided for painting the canopy. . Decals A small decal sheet provides 8 red stars only for the aircraft. Conclusion It is good to see a new kit available of this design. Even though it never went any further data from the design undoubtedly went into later Sukhio OKB designs when the design bureau was reopened in 1953 after Stalin's death. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

P-51H Mustang (4817) 1:48 ModelSvit The P-51H was the final production version of North American's famous fighter, and probably the least well known. Designed with all the experience gained with the production and experimental aircraft,, and powered by the new V-1650-9 engine it was the pinnacle of the types development. Compared to the more famous P-51D as well as a more powerful engine the H had a longer fuselage with larger tail to reduce the tendency to yaw. A new radiator served to streamline the aircraft, which as well as being lighter enabled to aircraft to reach 472 mph. Access was also improved to the guns and ammunition storage from lessons learnt during war time operations. 2000 of the aircraft were ordered, however due to then ending of WWII the orders were cut back. While some were issued to operational units none saw combat in WWII. 555 Aircraft had been produced before production was stopped. The aircraft would eventually be used by many Air National Guard units and would not even see combat in Korea. Even though it was a better aircraft than the P-51D, the D was a combat proven aircraft and a know commodity for the USAF, this along with the fact that there was a large number of available aircraft, spares and combat trained pilots would ensure the P-51H would not see any combat action at all. 1 Aircraft was sent to the RAF for evaluation. Even though not a successful aircraft its legacy lived on in the fact that North American were able to use many of the aerodynamic advances made in its development in its development of its new jet aircraft. Certainly the FJ-1 and the initial non swept wing prototypes of the F-86 can trace its linage back to the P-51H. Kit This is the eagerly awaited new kit from Modelsvit. The kit resembles a high quality shorter run kit with fine surface details. While the parts resemble some more main stream manufactures in appearance they will no doubt need more care in the assembly. In the box we get 8 sprues of grey plastic, a clear sprue, a PE fret, masks, an instrument panel film; and two decal sheets. Construction starts in the conventional way with the cockpit. The seat is made up with PE belts supplied. The sidewalls get a variety of parts and the area behind the pilots seat gets armour and other parts. The instrument panel is a plastic/PE/Film sandwich. The complete cockpit can then be put together and the seat installed, Moving on to the main fuselage, the exhausts are added at the front, then the rear wheel well is built up as the rear exit for the radiator. Once these are done the cockpit can be installed and the main fuselage closed up. Once this is done a few parts are added to the front and the gun sight is added. Construction then moves to the wings. The flaps and ailerons are built up and put to one side. The main gear well is then built up into the lower one part wing. Once this is done the left/right uppers can be added along with the rear parts which cover the flap areas. The main and tail landing gear is built up at this time, with the rear being added into the fuselage along with the rear scoop for the intake. The ailerons are added to the main wing and then this is attached to the fuselage. Then the tailplanes and their control surfaces are added as well. Now we are on the finishing straight. The flaps are fitted, along with the main landing gear and the gear door. The propeller is assembled and added. Next up the canopy is fitted. Here Modelsvit proved a one part canopy if you want to model the aircraft with it closed, or a two part if you want it open. The prominent aerials are then fitted. Lastly drop tanks and rockets are supplied if the modeller wishes to use them. . Decals There are 4 schemes provided in the kit; the decals are well printed with no obvious flaws, there is one sheet with most of the colour on, and ten another with all the black codes. From the box you can build; 44-64561, 182nd FBS, Texas ANG (as per the box art) 44-64347, 101st FIS, Massachusetts ANG 44-64351, 132nd FIS, New Hampshire ANG KN987, Evaluation aircraft provided to the RAF Conclusion It is good to see a decent model of the P-51H available, this should build up to make an eye catching model if care is taken with the build. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Modelsvit is to release a 1/48th Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet kit - ref. ? Source: https://www.facebook.com/modelsvit/photos/a.1859368940998815/2648166428785725 V.P.

Modelsvit is to release a 1/48th Vultee XP-54 Swoose Goose kit - ref. ? Source: https://www.facebook.com/modelsvit/photos/a.1859368940998815/2648166428785725 V.P.

Hi folks ! On the official Modelsvit Facebook page, today, https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2620455448223490&id=1854784001457309 information appeared about the beginning of the development model of this absolutely rare modification long-range radar night fighter Yak-9SD: The lack of information and published about this modification is due to the fact that it was a night version, painted in overall black, during only at deep night, so it was not possible to take any photos. B.R. Serge P.S. @Homebee was first: 🤤😭😭😭

Just finished - the excellent 1/72nd injection moulded kit of the Russian Myasischev M-55 'Geophysica' from the Ukrainian firm of Modelsvit..... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myasishchev_M-55 http://www.geophysica-eeig.eu/10ym55/khattatov.pdf It isn't the best model I've ever done - due to my clumsy errors - no blame on Modelsvit.... Modelsvit is to be applauded for producing such an unusual subject ... may they long continue. The kit is superb - I just wish I could have done it better (don't look too closely!) Here it is on the carpet - next to its predecessor - the single engined M-17 'Stratosphera' also by Modelsvit...... My thanks to Modelsvit for providing the kit The WIP discussion is here- https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235062294-m-55-geophysica-from-modelsvit/&tab=comments#comment-3474147 Ken

Modelsvit is to release 1/48th Yakovlev Yak-7A & B kits Source: https://www.scalemates.com/fr/kits/modelsvit-tba-yak-7a--1243961 - ref. 48?? - Yakovlev Yak-7A - ref. 48?? - Yakovlev Yak-7B series 30 - ref. 48?? - Yakovlev Yak-7B series 40 V.P.

Modelsvit has apparently released a fairly nice Mirage IIIE, which I understand was the basis for the RAAF's IIIO. How similar are the two types? Could a IIIO be built from the IIIE kit? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Just arrived - the latest kit from the Ukrainian enterprise of Modelsvit... the Myasischev M-55 'Geophysica' high-altitude observation aircraft. With each new release, Modelsvit are raising the bar for moulding quality - the crispness and engraved surface detail is simply stunning. Page 3 of the 12-page instruction booklet - note the 22-part K-36 ejection seat construction. Page 10 showing the painting and decal-placement guide. The superbly printed decal sheet - those sponsors logos are all perfectly readable! The parts are crisly moulded in light grey plastic - with stunning engraved surface detail. Modelsvit have captured the shape of the double-curvature laminar-flow long-span wing superbly. Open or closed canopy options are included - note the parts for the K-36 ejection seat. Self-adhesive masks for the canopy and wheel hubs are provided - as is this etched-brass sheet of parts. More photos of the rest of the sprues are here:- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_m-55_modelsvit.html This close-up photo shows off the delicate engraved panel detail perfectly... Finally, to whet your appetite, here's the real thing I photographed at MAKS 2012.... I can't wait to get started on this kit - it will make an interesting companion to Modelsvit's previously released M-17 'Stratosphera'... Ken

Just finished - the Modelsvit kit of the record-breaking MiG E-166...... It's really a MiG-152M............. ....... .but the designation was changed for the FAI record-breaking flights - to fool the west. The three stars representing the record-breaking flights...... It is a typical Modelsvit kit - highly detailed, but with large spue gates and every part had to be 'fettled' to clean them up. The decal sheet is superb - as are the instructions, etched brass parts and canopy/wheel masks. It fought me all the way though - but I won in the end. More pictures of the build here :- http://www.flankers-site.co.uk/model_e-166.html The real thing resides at Monino..... The E-166 completes my collection of Modelsvit 'BiG MiGs' ........ Ken

The last of the 'BiG MiG' kits from the Ukrainian company of Modelsvit - the record breaking 'E-166'......... The plastic is exactly the same as the E-152M kit - wiith appropriate differences (no missiles, canards etc..) The box art shows the E-166 on public display at Domodedovo airport..... The eight-page instruction booklet is clear and well-printed with easy to read construction diagrams The colour painting guide is keyed to Humbrol paints. The big difference is the new decal sheet - the blue flash for the fuselage is included, but the similar blue flash on the fin has to be painted on - although Modelsvit do provide a vinyl mask for it. I won't include photos of the sprues - they are exactly the same as in the E-152M build - here. I have already done the 'sister ships'...... E-150, E-152, E-152-1 and E-152M - so this latest kit should complete the lineup of MiG's on steroids. The E-166 web page where the WIP will take place is here. Ken