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Hello Here are my last three builds with these Special Hobby 1/72 De Havilland Vampires: 1 – DH.100 Vampire Mk.I, RAF No.54 Squadron, Odiham April 1948. 2 – DH.100 Vampire Mk.I, Swedish Air Force No.1 Squadron, Norrköping 1947. 3 – DH.100 Vampire Mk.III, Mexican Air Force, Escuadron Aéreo 200, Santa Lucia, Mexico City 1961-70 The first two models and decorations came from the Special Hobby SH7238 & SH72339 boxes. The third came from the decal sheet AztecModels 72-041, even if the model is the reference SH72279. Patrick

Yak-9K/T Exhaust Stacks (Q32406 for ICM) 1:32 CMK Quick & Easy by Special Hobby We reviewed the new Yak-9T from ICM recently here, and now CMK have a new set of Exhausts that improve on the kit parts whilst requiring little in the way of additional work. The Quick & Easy line are a series of upgrades to your kits that live up to their name, and usually arrive in a flat bag with a green-themed cardboard header and the simple instructions between them. Inside the bag are two sets of beautifully cast exhausts on individual casting blocks, and each exhaust has a hollow D-profile tip. There are two sets of paired exhausts in the centre and two more singles at each end of the profiled carrier, which has shaped inserts between the stacks. Once removed from the casting base they are a drop-in replacement for the kit parts, with the only difference (apart from the detail) being that you need to use super glue (CA) to locate them in their slots. Give them a quick wash in warm soapy water to remove any residual mould release, and don’t worry unduly about cleaning up the back of the parts, as they won’t be seen. A great update to the kit parts that are simple to use, and won’t exhaust you or your modelling budget (I'm sorry - they made me say it. Help me, they won't let me go!). Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Panzerfaust for Bücker Bü.181 (P48003) 1:48 Special Hobby 3D Print The original Panzerfaust was a WWII invention of Nazi Germany that gave the power to take down a heavily armoured tank to a single soldier, in the shape of a disposable launcher tube that could project a shaped charge to a target over a short range. The operator needed little in the way of training, but some bravery or foolhardiness was required to get close enough to the tank in question due to the limited range. When used properly however, they could be highly effective in disabling or knocking out many an Allied tank or other armoured vehicle. They were even attached to aircraft on occasion, such as the Bücker Bü.181 which must have been quite an experience for the pilot, and a surprise for the intended target. This set from Special Hobby’s new 3D Print range arrives in an orange-themed blister pack with card hanger on the rear and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves. Inside are the resin parts, with decals at the front of the blister obscuring our view of the resin within. The set includes four Panzerfaust 60s inside a protective printing frame, printed with the priming lever locked out and intended to replace the styrene parts in their Bücker Bü.181 Bestman "Panzerjagdstaffeln" (SH48189), whilst retaining the kit mounts for the weapons on the top and underside of each wing. Again, it must have been a scary to fire them whilst flying what was essentially a light aircraft that was designed to be a liaison or courier, into enemy fire. Desperate times indeed. The decals have been culled from the recent boxed Panzerfaust set, so include stencils for the case that can be left on the sheet. Review sample courtesy of

Ukrainian Soldier Firing FGM-148 Javelin (F35384) 1:35 CMK by Special Hobby The Javelin is a fire-and-forget anti-tank weapon developed by the American company Raytheon with a choice of top-attack or direct profiles, depending on whether a better result would be achieved through thinner armoured areas of an AFV for example. They have been successfully used over the years in many conflicts, and a substantial number of them have been shipped to the Ukraine since the invasion by the Russian Federation in March of 2022. They have been used to great effect against Russian armour by the Ukrainian troops, who have been trained on the weapon before becoming operational, learning that the Javelin offers excellent portability alongside accuracy and target penetration. The operator can aim and fire the weapon rapidly, retiring to a safe place immediately while the hardware inside the missile does the hard work, tracking and eventually hitting the target using infrared sensors. It also soft-launches, so that a launch plume doesn’t give away the position of the operator, and has a smaller warhead in the nose to detonate ERA or slat armour so that the main warhead can explode against the target’s primary armour layer. As usual with CMK's resin sets, it arrives in the familiar clear vacformed box, with the resin parts safely inside, and the instructions sandwiched between the header card at the rear. The main part of the figure is cast as a single, incredibly detailed part, and is joined by two jigs on a single casting block, and an orange 3D resin print-base that is filled with various parts of the missile and launch system. A small sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) and a set of decals complete the package, with the bifold instruction sheet guiding the way. The figure is complete apart from the operator’s hands that are moulded integrally to the 3D printed launch module, which has a targeting sensor at the front, to which you fit a drop-down protective cap. The barrel of the weapon is attached via a pair of small lugs and a circular flat-spot, and the rear end-cap is located on a keyed lug at the rear. You then have a choice of depicting the missile still in the launch tube by inserting the round-ended stub down the hollow barrel, but be aware that you may not be able to remove it again once it’s deep in there. The other option is to show off the missile, either just after launch or as a display – it’s entirely your choice. The short rear end slots into one of the jigs so that you can install the four tapered fins, and before it is glued to the main body, the larger forward section is slotted into its own jig to install eight more fins, after which the body halves are joined together on a square lug. A pair of diagrams show the location of the stencil decals and stripes, and also gives a hint about the paint colour, although no actual codes or colour names are given. The front cap of the launcher is also provided, and can be left on the ground near the soldier, as can the AK-74 that is found inside a protective frame. It also has a PE sling that can be laid out in a similar fashion to that shown in the instructions. Going back to the figure, the detail is fabulously well-sculpted, even down to the operator’s sun glasses tucked into the top of his tactical vest above a chest-full of loaded ammo pouches, and a radio with flexible aerial on his shoulder strap. The MOLLE loops are all represented on the vest, with a daysack mounted on the rear, and a modern spec-ops style helmet with adjustment dial on the rear frame, plus a night-vision mount on the front, four-point chin-strap system, and a tube scarf pulled up over his nose to ward off the cold, and probably Covid into the bargain. If you were wondering what the launch of a Javelin looks like, there’s not much smoke during the initial launch phase, and even the ignition of the main motor is relatively smoke-free, so hiding a supporting wire could be tricky. The video below should give you a lot more information than we can. Conclusion It’s a while since we’ve seen such a well-detailed, crisply moulded figure, and the addition of 3D printed parts and the PE makes for an impressive package. It’s a figure that deserves to be painted with as much care as possible, and lends itself to a poignant launch diorama. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Yak-9D Exhaust Stacks (P48004 for Zvezda) 1:48 Special Hobby 3D Print We reviewed the new Yak-9D from Zvezda recently here, and now Special Hobby have produced a 3D Printed set of replacement exhausts to ramp up the detail on the kit. The set arrives in the new orange-themed blister pack with card hanger on the rear and the instructions sandwiched between the two parts. Inside are the resin parts, surrounded by a laser-cut foam insert. Inside the package are four rows of beautifully printed exhausts on a single print-base that all have hollow D-profile tips. The kit includes a full depiction of the Klimov engine for inside the cowling, with individual stacks included, but they don’t have hollow tips. The replacements do have hollow D-profiled tips, and are supplied as two paired exhausts in the centre openings, and two more singles at each end of the block. Once removed from the print base they are a drop-in replacement for the kit parts, with the only difference (apart from the detail) that you need to use super glue (CA) to locate them in their slots. An straight-forward update to the kit parts that is eminently simple to use and won’t leave you exhausted (I know, not funny ). Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Transport Box with Panzerfausts (P48001 & P72003) 1:48 & 1:72 Special Hobby 3D Print The original Panzerfaust was a WWII invention of Nazi Germany that gave the power to take down a heavily armoured tank to a single soldier, in the shape of a disposable launcher tube that could project a shaped charge to a target over a short range. The operator needed little in the way of training, but some bravery or foolhardiness was required to get close enough to the tank in question due to the limited range. When used properly however, they could be highly effective in disabling or knocking out many an Allied tank or other armoured vehicle. They were even attached to aircraft on occasion, which must have been quite an experience. These two sets from Special Hobby’s new 3D Print range both arrive in orange-themed blister pack with card hanger on the rear and the instructions sandwiched between the two parts. Inside are the resin parts, with decals safely separated behind a piece of clear acetate at the back of the blister for the 1:48 set. Other than the smaller set not having decals, both sets include the same components, consisting of four Panzerfaust 60s in a printing frame, plus a transport box that is printed in two sections, set slightly apart and held to the small base by delicate fingers. An additional tubular riser with an array of fingers supports the interior structure of the case, which has slots to receive the weapons once everything is cut free from the base. The layout of the boxes is different between the two scales, but the design is essentially the same. For extra realism you can add some wire or thread from your own stock to represent the carry-handles at each end of the case. 1:48 (P48001) Note the decals included in this larger set 1:72 (P72003) Note that there are no decals in this set Conclusion 3D printed aftermarket parts are incredible in the level of detail that they can provide with a relatively low part count, and these are no exception. The trigger mechanism alone would have taken several PE parts before now, and preparation of the parts is a breeze. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Panzerfaust 3 Modern Recoilless Anti-Tank Weapon (P35007) 1:35 Special Hobby 3D Print The introduction of light-weight anti-tank weapons such as the original German Panzerfaust, the British PIAT and the American Bazooka during WWII, led to a new way for infantry to combat armour with at least some prospect of success. During the 1980s the German Bundeswehr requested a replacement to their ageing weapons of a similar type, resulting in the Panzerfaust 3, which was semi-disposable and capable of firing a number of types of round to give it a wider utility to the troops. The rounds differ slightly from the exterior, but most have a probe on the front that varies in length, but gives the weapon different functionality, as follows, with the codes corresponding to the legend on the support frame: Panzerfaust 3T Tandem HEAT grenade with day and optional night sight Panzerfaust 3IT Improved Tandem grenade with 900mm penetration and optional laser guidance system Bunkerfaust intended for hardened shelters, soft targets or unarmoured vehicles up to 300m away Panzerfaust 3 – probe gives the HEAT grenade a 700mm armour penetration capability at 3-400m The set consists of a launcher suspended from its print-base by a number of tendrils and towers, plus a frame of the different round types mentioned above, a few of which had fallen off the frame in transit with no harm done. There is also a small sheet of decals of stencils for the bodies of the grenades. A series of scrap diagrams show each munition type in combat ready and transport modes, and which decal should be applied to the sides, and although the parts are shown in colour diagrams there are no colour call-outs, so a quick Google might be necessary. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi All, My second completion of 2023 is Special Hobby's Blackburn Roc Mk.I, completed as L3114 of 759 Sqn FAA based at RNAS Donibristle in November 1939. Here's a photo of the aircraft in the foreground: I couldn't resist this scheme, if only for the non-standard yellow surround to the fuselage roundel! The kit was built mostly OOB, albeit with home-cut stencils for the national markings. As with all SH kits there's a few foibles, mainly around the assembly of the wings (which have a split to permit folding. A brief summary of 'improvements' as below: - Added reinforcing tabs to the wing roots making for a stronger junction - Added formation lights to the wing tips using clear sprue - Boxed in the landing light positions and added lamps from clear sprue - Rivetted the whole airframe - Trimmed undercarriage legs and doors to allow positioning in the correct 'vertical' position Here's the WIP if anybody is interested (source of many Roc puns - be warned 🤣😞 Anyway, on with the photos: Here's a couple with the Skua I built last year: The family resemblance is strong! Here's a final shot to prove @Dandie Dinmont's assertion that the Roc makes that other notorious turret fighter, the Boulton Paul Defiant, look like a sleek beauty: I'd say you are 100% correct Craig! Although it is no beauty, I have really enjoyed learning more about this most unusual aircraft, and it's nice to have this footnote in naval aviation in the collection. Thanks to everybody who offered kind words and encouragement throughout the build - it was much needed and was much appreciated! Thanks for looking, Roger

Fiat G.50B Bicomando (SH32083) 1:32 Special Hobby The G.50 was Italy’s first all-metal monoplane with retractable undercarriage, and was in-service by 1938, performing well amongst its contemporaries. It was somewhat short-ranged, and had issues with its initial armament being a little light, originally consisting of two .50cal equivalent machine guns in the wing. The Hawker Hurricane could out-fly it however, as well as being faster by a good margin, and as time went by the shortcomings became more apparent. Several attempts to remedy its problems were made, including improvements to the engine, more fuel and armament changes, but even the installation of a Daimler Benz 601 didn’t give it enough of a boost. By this time the G.55 was designed and production was underway, taking full advantage of the DB engine at the start of its journey to obtain an excellent reputation as a good all-round fighter. Under 800 of the G.50 were made, with around 100 of the G.50B Bicomando two-seat trainers amongst them, and over half of the rest as the G.50 Bis, that took the airframe as far as was practical. The Kit The one-seater variant of this kit has been around for almost 10 years now, but this boxing is the two-seat trainer, so a rare beast indeed. It arrives in a standard top-opening box in the Special Hobby style, and inside are five sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, two identical sheets of Photo-Etch (PE), a big bag of resin parts, decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour with markings profiles on the rear pages. The major detail of this kit is to be found in the resin and PE parts, the styrene providing the structure on which to base your exploits. The resin especially is crisp, and is it just me, or do those cylinders look a little bit like stylised owls? Construction begins with the cockpit, building up the twin rudder pedals on a resin part that has the retention straps added from the PE sheet, one of each placed in the cockpit stations with a pair of flat foot pads under each pilot’s legs. Twin control columns and levers are also fixed to the deck, and the seats are built up from a styrene chair with two brackets at the back, then a set of seatbelts and harness with chain sections for the pilot, shown being made up in steps for your ease. The ‘pits are separated by a pair of C-shaped bulkheads, and each pilot has a two-section instrument panel made up into an almond shape, with decals applied to the surfaces to depict the dials. A resin trim adjustment wheel is inserted between a folded PE A-frame for later installation in the rear cockpit. The fuselage halves have detail moulded into their interiors, which is augmented by adding several panel sections on the port side with PE levers and styrene trunking, plus a side console on the starboard along with other dials, equipment and an oxygen cylinder. Two of the decal schemes need a small section of the aft cockpit opening removed to be replaced later by clear panels, the location for which is marked in red on the instructions along with the schemes that require this simple alteration. With that work complete as well as painting and weathering of the cockpit, the fuselage can be closed around the cockpit, remembering to install the trim wheel and the instrument panels at the front of each cockpit, and a rest at the back of the rear seat. The lower wings are full span and have the simple gear bays moulded into their surface, needing just a pair of resin filters inserting into the leading-edge intakes before gluing down the upper wings, then dropping the fuselage in between the gaps. The elevators have separate flying surfaces, and are all made from top and bottom layers, allowing you to deflect them as you see fit, and the rudder is fixed to the moulded-in fin to complete the empennage. There are a couple of adverts for their own resin sets at this juncture, including a handsome pair of wheels and a stylish Italian pilot figure. You can’t blame them for a little self-promotion! Speaking of resin, there’s a lot of it to be used in the next few steps, so make sure you have it all removed from its casting blocks and cleaned of any residual mould release agent before you begin. The engine is built up around the central core, adding each cylinder, its trunking and push-rods as you progress, noting that the push-rods should be made from 0.3mm diameter wire from your own stocks, each cut to 8mm long. There are sixteen cylinders in all, so be prepared for a bit of work. The completed engine has an adaptor plate fixed to the rear to facilitate mounting on the fuselage later, but first the two-part cowling and the horseshoe exhaust pipe should be glued around it, using the resin upper section for one decal scheme, and plastic parts for the rest. The main wheels are each built from two halves, and are trapped between two halves of a yoke at the end of the main gear legs, one side separate to ease installing the wheels. Each leg also has a captive door added to the outside, and as they are inserted into the bays, a retraction jack and PE ancillary bay door are included. The engine is mated to the front of the fuselage in the closing stages along with a resin intake trunk under the chin, installing the canopy over the front half of the cockpit, leaving the back open, but replacing the removed fuselage sections with the clear panels on the sprue. A pair of pitot probes are inserted into the leading edge of the wings, with four horn-balances top and bottom of the ailerons, a short pin on top of the fin, a clear light in the tip of the tail, plus the prop, which is built around a two-part central boss, into which the three blades are inserted, with a choice of leaving the axle stub visible, or putting a two-part spinner on the front. The last job is to install the two-part tail wheel into its yoke and insert it into a hole in the fuselage under the tail. Markings There are a choice of four disparate markings options on the decal sheet, under the auspices of various operators. From the box you can build one of the following: Black 136, MM6425, Advanced Flying School, Regia Aeronautica, Italy, 1941 No.3510, MM6477, 1 Sqn., 1 Group, Air Base, No.1, Croatian Air Force, Zagreb-Borongaj, Croatia, June 1942 B, MM unknown, Luftwaffe, Italian Social Republic, Mid 1943-early 44 Black 1, MM6843, 3ᵃ Squadriglia, 2° Gruppo Scuola Volo, Aeronautica Militaire, Brindisi, Italy, 1946 The decals appear to be printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to 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 An unusual subject to hit 1:32 scale in one seat fighter, never mind two-seat trainer guises. There’s plenty of detail to be had, as long as you remember that you can’t just pour glue in, shake the box and out drops a model. Put some skill and effort into it and great replica will be the result. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

After the 2022 newsletters (link), here's the first one from SH for 2023. Newsletter January 2023 https://www.specialhobby.info/2023/01/news-from-special-hobby-012023.html V.P.

L-4 Cub – European Cubs in Post-War Service (SH48222) 1:48 Special Hobby The Piper Cub was a light aircraft developed before WWII with production continuing throughout WWII and into the late 40s. In military service as a communications, reconnaissance, or spotter aircraft, it was known as the L-4 Grasshopper, and 20,000 plus were built due to its success in various roles, including trainer and glider tug. It was powered by a flat-4 engine, and despite the limited power it was agile in the air, with docile handling characteristics and a very low stall speed, which made take-off and landing a simple process, and let the aircraft use strips that were far too short for other types. After the war, many of the former military aircraft were re-purposed for civilian use, or sold to other nations in similar roles. Due to the simple nature of the type, maintenance was straight-forward and cost-effective, leading to many airframes surviving to the present day in private hands. The Kit This is a reboxing of Special Hobby’s 2022 new tool that we somehow missed until now, so it’s our first look at the plastic, although we have reviewed the 3D printed engine upgrade set, which truly is a sight to behold. The kit arrives in a modest top-opening box, and inside are two full-size sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE), a casting block with four parts, a tiny slip of over-printed clear acetate, the A5 instruction booklet in colour, and the decals in a separate resealable bag. Detail is good, although there are some ejector-pin marks here and there by necessity, and some of them might need dealing with during assembly and painting. Construction begins predictably with the cockpit, starting on a floor part that is detailed with rudder pedals, fire extinguisher and other small parts, plus the linked control columns, the four-part seat for the pilot, with a choice of two types of rear seat installed later. The Continental motor is started by gluing the top and bottom halves together, with optional heat shielding over the piston banks, and a central air intake system underneath. This is slipped through the piston slots in the starboard fuselage half, which has the cowling details adjusted for one of the decal options on both sides. The firewall with moulded-in tank separates the engine from the cockpit, and after gluing the floor into the bottom, a sloped rear bulkhead is placed on ledges. A choice of two additional intake parts is inserted under the motor, created by removing the tip for one decal option. Whilst closing the fuselage, two rods are inserted low on the firewall, linked diagonally to the sidewalls, then your choice of rear seats, one option that is similar to the pilot’s seat but with a single mounting frame, the other a single cushion with PE belts and no back. For three of the decal schemes there is an additional grating inserted and glued to the front bulkhead, and a tonneau cover is spread over the rear cockpit area. The instrument panel is created by adding a curved insert across the front of the opening, to which a choice of printed acetate film or a decal is applied, adding a PE surround over the top. At the front of the tonneau, one option has a PE belt strung across from one sidewall to the other. The Cub’s extensive glazing is next, with a choice of closed or open starboard side panels, which is accomplished by using one of two parts supplied on the clear sprue. The port side is always closed, and is first to be placed in position, linked to the opposite side by an asymmetrical framework over the heads of the crew that holds the tops of the windows at the correct width. There are details moulded into the insides of the glazing parts, so masking inside and painting them will increase the realism appreciably. Special Hobby have a set of masks to help in this regard. The clear roof is applied over the top, and in front of that the lengthy spar and an inverted V-frame is added that is covered by the crystal-clear curved windscreen. Once the glue and paint are dry on the canopy, the wing halves are joined over the spars, taking care to smooth down the ejector-pin marks that are present on the centre surface of each part, just in case they clash. A few seconds with a motor tool or coarse sanding stick should see them gone, as you don’t need to be too careful. The single-thickness elevators are slotted into the tail, then it’s a case of adding all the detail, starting with the landing gear struts under the fuselage. The engine is also detailed with resin exhausts and intake filter, plus a small “pot” on the top of the cowling. The wings are supported by a V-shaped strut between the fuselage and outer wing, with an additional stay around half-way, and some tiny PE actuators fitted to the ailerons. You will need to find some 0.3mm wire or thread to replicate the aileron control wires that run down the front support and pop out again to mate with the PE actuators added earlier. This is replicated on both wings of course. The tail wheel is fixed to the moulded-in strut under the tail, and there are twin control wires added to the elevators, with the control wires replicated top and bottom, and two more to control the tail-wheel itself for ground-handling. More short wires are added on the topside of the ailerons, and the two-part balloon-like tyres are slipped over the axles on the gear legs. If you have elected for an open cockpit, the open window is fixed almost flush with the lower wing and held in place by a PE stay, while the lower trapezoid cockpit door is folded down with a PE handle and retaining clip glued to the bottom edge. It isn’t mentioned, but we assume that if you close the window you should glue the door in the closed position earlier in the build. There is a short antenna inserted into a hole in the roof, which has a wire strung between it and the top of the fin, then the two-bladed prop is slipped over the shaft at the front of the engine, with a shallow spinner included for one of the decal options. Markings There are a healthy four decal options included on the sheet, and if you’ve been staring at grey jets a lot recently, you might want your sunglasses, as some of them are a bit colourful. From the box you can build one of the following: L-4J Grasshopper OK-YFJ c/n:12830 ex-USAAF 44-80534, owned by J Zítka, Rtyně v Podkrkonoši, Czechoslovakia, 1947 L-4H Grasshopper HB-OUD c/n:11854 ex-USAAF 44-79558, private owner in Bern, Switzerland, 2004 L-4H Grasshopper G-AIIH c/n:11945 ex-USAAF 44-79649 private owner, Great Britain, 1993 L-4H Grasshopper SP-AML ex-USAAF 44-79884, Warsaw Aero Club, Poland, 1949 The decals appear to be printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to 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 I wasn’t all that interested in this aircraft until I saw the 3D printed engine set that we reviewed recently, and now I’m all over it. It’s an acknowledged fact that I’m fickle, but it’s a really nice kit of a surprisingly common and persistent aircraft that will appeal to civilian aircraft modellers as well as some of the many pilots that earned their wings flying in one. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Messerschmitt Bf 109E "Slovak and Rumanian Aces" (SH72472) 1:72 Special Hobby The BF 109 has inherited quite a legendary status and when you look into its service career, it's certainly obvious why. Viewing the design in retrospect, it looks just like a typical fighter of the WWII era, but it was more than that, it was the very platform that the single seat fighter format was born from. Powerful engine, monocoque airframe, all metal construction, enclosed cockpit and retractable gear this was unheard of before hand, it was radical, not typical in the 1930's. Its birth wasn't perfect however, to achieve its performance, some sacrifices were made, particularly in the landing gear arrangement and high wing loading having a negative effect on landing speeds compared to the competition at the time. This inherent design issue was never fully cured and it's estimated that at least 10% of all 109's were lost in take off accidents. Early models (A-D) were powered by the Junkers jumo engine with outputs of around 700hp. The aircraft was first used in combat during the Spanish Civil War where many lessons were learned and these would be later put to good use in battles over France and Britain. The E or Emil model broke the mould in 109 development by changing to the more powerful Daimler Benz DB 601 engine of around 1080hp, a significant step in performance and also in armament due to the introduction of 20mm cannon. By 1939, all earlier variants had been replaced in frontline service. As the variants progressed, so did the level of armour protection for the pilot. Another critical element to improve survivability was the use of twin radiators with cut off valves meaning that if one radiator was damaged, the other could be used to keep it airborne. The Emil was the primary Luftwaffe fighter until 1941 when the F model became widely available with more powerful engine although a few managed to see combat in the Battle of Britain. For an aircraft that broke the mould with fighter technology and performance in the mid 30's, it's evolution meant that whilst it's design had exhausted improvement capability towards the end of the war, it stayed in operational use until 1965 in Europe in the guise of the Spanish licence built HA 1112 using the Merlin power plant. During its 30 year career, more than 33,000 were built, a record that will probably never be beaten. The Kit This a brand new tool for 2020 from Special Hobby, in collaboration with Eduard. The quality is first class with crisp moulding and fine engraved panel lines. Given the small size of the real aircraft, in 1/72 the model is quite diminutive, but seems well detailed. Construction starts with the cockpit. The rear bulkhead attaches to the floor with the rudder pedals going in as well. The front lower bulkhead is made up and installed onto the floor followed by the instruments panel and the coaming in front of it. The instruments being provided as decals. Into the cockpit go the flight controls and flap wheel, followed by the seat. The belts being provided as decals also. If the modeller is going to display the cover for the guns in front of the cockpit open then full guns are included, if you are doing this closed then only partial ones need to be added. Next up the engine is assembled which seems quite detailed for the scale, the bearers attached and it fitted to the firewall. Inside the main fuselage halves the exhausts are fitted along with the tail wheel and then the whole thing can be closed up. Separate engine and gun covers can be added, or left off as needed. After the tail surfaces are attached to the main fuselage then we can move onto the wings. The lower wing is a single part with left and right uppers. The wheel wells are all boxed in on the lower. To the middle of the lower wing the radiator is first added. The top wings can then go on. All the wing control surfaces are separate parts. To finish the wing the under wing radiators are added. The wing can then be joined with the fuselage. The canopy parts can then be added, with different types of head armour being provided for the different decal options. The slats can then be added to the main wing in either the open or closed position as needed. At the front the prop and spinner goes on. Last up for the main parts, the main landing gear is made up and added. A few detail parts now can be added to finish of the kit, the aerial mast, pitot tubes, balance horns,; and even an engine starting handle if you wish to install it. Markings The glossy decal sheet is printed in house and looks sharp and in register. There are four decal options available from the decal sheet; Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3, No.9, W.Nr. 2486, ‘Hai Fetito!’, Lt. Av. Ioan Di Cesare, Escadrila 57, Grupul 7 Vânătoare, Aeronautica Regala Romana (Royal Romanian Air Force), based at Karpovka-Stalingrad, occupied part of the USSR, November 1942. (Box art aircraft) Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7 (rebuilt from an E-3), No.64, W.Nr. 704, ‘Nella!’, Adj. Av. Tiberiu Vinca, Escadrila 56, Grupul 7 Vânătoare, Aeronautica Regala Romana (Royal Romanian Air Force), Karpovka-Stalingrad, occupied part of the USSR, Winter 1942. V Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3, White 2, probably W.Nr. 2945, čtk. Ján Režnák, Slovenské vzdušné zbrane, (Slovak Air Force) 13. (slow.)/JG52, based at Krasnodar, occupied part of the USSR, January 1943. Razňák's final tally stood at 32 victories which ensured him the position of the most scoring fighter pilot of the SVZ. Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7, White 1, rtk. Rudolf Božík, Scramble Flight, Slovenské vzdušné zbrane (Slovak Air Force), Vajnory airfield, the Slovak State, 1943/44. Rudolf Božík, a Slovak Air Force ace pilot with 12 and ½ victories under his belt. Conclusion It is good to see a new tool out of this most famous aircraft. I am no 109 expert but it looks to be a well detailed and engineered kit. Decal options of other users than the Luftwaffe are always welcome. Highly recommended. Review samples courtesy of

Junkers Ju.87D-3 Stuka Experten (SH72470) 1:72 Special Hobby The Ju-87 Stuka was conceived as a dive bomber in the early 1930s and proved itself a capable performer during the Spanish Civil war, then later during the Blitzkrieg in Western Europe. However, the Battle of Britain showed that the relatively slow speed of the aircraft rendered it vulnerable to more modern fighters of that time, such as the Spitfire and Hurricane fielded by the British. As such it was redeployed to combat arenas where the Luftwaffe held aerial superiority or where there was unlikely to be any airborne opposition at all. Axis aligned countries were also supplied with surplus German Aircraft, usually those that had since been superseded by new variants. The -D series featured two coolant radiators underneath the inboard wings panels, while the oil cooler was relocated to the position formerly occupied by the single, chin-mounted coolant radiator. The -D series also introduced an aerodynamically smoothed cockpit with better visibility for the pilot and overall space for the crew to move around in combat. Armour protection was also strengthened and a new twin-mount 7.92 mm MG 81Z zwilling machine gun with a high rate of fire was installed to improve the rate of fire they could direct at their opponents. Engine performance was increased with the installation of the improved Jumo 211J that now delivering around 1,400 hp, which enabled the weapons load to increase from a relatively ineffectual 500 kg to 1,800 kg, although a typical bomb load was more likely to be 500-1,200 Kg. The D-3 was intended for ground attack and was armed with forward firing machine guns as well as the afore mentioned bomb load and crew protection. The Stuka’s ground attack credentials were further improved by the replacement -G variant, which added hard-points for underslung cannons in panniers under the wings. The Kit This a reboxing of the Academy kit, with additional parts that were tooled by Special Hobby themselves. The kit arrives in a top-opening box with the usual yellow/white theme and an attractive painting of the subject matter on the front. Inside are six sprues in two shades of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE), a small bag containing three 3D printed parts in orange resin, the instruction booklet with colour profiles on the rear pages, and a decal sheet in a separate bag. Detail of the Academy parts is good, and they are matched in every way but the colour by the new sprue from Special Hobby’s designers. The addition of the new parts, resin and PE are a good boost to the base kit, and the decals are printed by Eduard, so the carrier film can be removed after application. Construction begins with the cockpit of course, making up the bulkhead between the crew, then adding PE seatbelts to the pilot’s seat and the gunner’s less salubrious perch at the rear. The assemblies are fixed to the cockpit floor along with a seat base for the pilot, control column and tiny PE rudder pedals in the front, and extra ammo containers at the side of the gunner’s seat, and finally a bulkhead at the rear. Before you can close the fuselage, the rudder panel must be removed from just the port fuselage half, as it’s a full-thickness part and is replaced by the new part later on. The interior of the fuselage has nice detail moulded-in, with one extra part added to the starboard side before the cockpit is trapped between the halves during closure. The instrument panel is fitted into the front coaming and a decal is applied over the painted panel, then it is glued to the top of the fuselage, and at the rear of the cockpit opening another insert is installed with the clear direction-finding antenna that is recessed into the fuselage. The nose section is separate from the main fuselage to enable more versions from the same tooling, and it is built up from two halves plus two exhaust stacks, radiator inside the intake and the prop shaft moulded into the starboard side. This is glued to the fuselage, after which the wings are started. The lower wing is full span, but needs a section cutting out from the centre to accommodate a new insert with a pair of lugs inserted into holes from inside. The outer wings are glued over the top, and the fuselage is then dropped in between the gap. At the rear the new rudder panel is glued in place with the two elevators each single parts plus the flared end-caps, sliding into slots in the fuselage sides. Each wing needs a pair of holes drilled out to accept the relocated intakes for the oil coolers, and this is shown out of step with the build, as the flashed-over holes aren’t visible from the outside, so drill them out before you join the upper and lower wings together. This also applies to two more holes outboard of the gear legs under each wing. You have been warned! Speaking of wheels, the new sprue contains two-part wheels with radial tread, and these can be inserted into either un-spatted gear legs, or the more aerodynamically clean but sometimes impractical spatted legs, the latter option also having 3D printed tubes added to the curved front and spinners that apply to just one decal option. With your choice of main gear legs installed on butt-joints under the wings, the common tail wheel is inserted under the elevators, adding support struts between the elevators and fuselage sides, plus a pair of semi-conformal bomb shackles under each wing. Each of the moulded-in wing-flaps have three actuators added into holes in the respective surfaces, plus two smaller parts, and a further two more upstands are inserted vertically under the chin intake as pivots for the bomb launching cradle. The bombs are made up from PE fins and two-part styrene bodies, adding more PE stabilising struts between the rear of each fin, forming a square when looking from behind. The larger bomb is added to the launch cradle and glued to the centreline, while the two pairs of smaller bombs fix to the mounts under the wings, plus the PE dive-brakes that flip up to enhance the aircraft’s dive characteristics when deployed. Turning the model over onto its wheels, the rear gunner has the mount and twin machine guns added, while at the front the prop is built up from the three blades that are moulded together, which is slipped over the shaft following the rear spinner plate, so that it can be secured by a styrene O-ring that is then covered over by the spinner cap so it can remain mobile once the glue is cured. The canopy can be posed closed by using the single-part moulding on the clear sprue, or you can use the four-part separate sections to pose the canopy fully or partially open, with both options receiving an antenna that fixes in a hole moulded into the centre-aft section. The wing guns, pitot probe and clear landing light are all then glued into the leading edge of the wings to complete the model. Markings There are three decal options on the sheet, and you will need to make some decisions about which you want to model early on, as it affects your choice of gear legs. Although the options all wear the same green RLM70/71 splinter camouflage over an RLM65 blue underside, they are differentiated by their distinctive markings and the clumsy way that previous markings have been overpainted. From the box you can build one of the following: T6+AA, Orbstlt Dr. Ernst Kupfer, CO of St.G 2, The Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine, Summer 1943 S7+AA, Orbstlt Walter Sigel, CO of St.G 3, Egypt 1942 T6+BC, Wr.N.2491, Little Bear, Gruppenadjutant II.St.G 2, Lt Gunter Schmid, Eastern Ukraine, September 1942 The decals appear to be printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to 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. The swastikas on the tail are shown as black diamonds on the profiles, but are on the sheet as two halves so that you can add them for the sake of historical accuracy, leave them off if you don’t wish to display them, or your country has laws against its use. Conclusion The base kit is well-detailed with fine engraved panel lines, and the addition of the new sprue and extras in the shape of PE and resin really raise this Stuka’s game, making for an interesting build and some unusual schemes. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Avia S-199 Pilot & Mechanic (F72385) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby The Avia S-199 was a Czech-built copy of the Messerschmitt Bf.109G, based on toolings and parts left behind as the Nazis retreated from their country, but substituting the unobtainable DB605 engine with a Junkers Jumo 211F that was mated with the same prop used when it was fitted to the He.111 during wartime production. The result was a difficult aircraft to fly due to the mismatch of parts, which led to some derogatory nicknames from their pilots such as Mule from the Czechoslovakian pilots and Knife from the Israelis, who used it as their first fighter after establishing their new Air Force. This figure set is intended for the recent Eduard kit in this scale, and includes a pair of figures giving each other one last salute before the pilot goes off to fly his Mule, or a salute of relief from a pilot coming back from a mission. The two figures are well sculpted for the scale, and are supplied with ‘batwings’ of flash between their arms and torsos, as well as a little between their legs, which is a moulding aid to reduce bubbles and make the parts easier to remove from the moulds, and should be easy to remove. As with all resin moulds, there is always a little clean-up to be done, which is best carried out before giving the parts a wash in warm (not hot) soapy water to remove the particles and any remaining mould-release agent, which could reduce paint adhesion. With resin, you should take the precaution of wearing a mask when cutting or sanding it, as the tiny particles are harmful to your health if breathed in. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Breda 65A-80 ‘Aviazione Legionaria’ (SH48226) 1:48 Special Hobby The Breda 65 was a development of the earlier model 64, and was an interwar fighter and ground-attack aircraft used by the Italian Air Force in small numbers before WWII. It was unusual as a fighter in that it had an internal bomb bay that could carry a small bomb load for the ground-attack role, which kept the aircraft aerodynamically clean, although it wasn’t exactly a sleek aircraft to begin with. The airframe was constructed completely from metal, and was powered by a Fiat A.80 RC.41 18-cylinder radial engine with around 1,000hp output from the twin piston banks of 9 cylinders each, with the exception of a small number of the initial production that were instead powered by a less-powerful license-built Gnôme-Rhône motor. Twenty-three aircraft assigned to 65a Squadriglia of the Aviazione Legionaria were sent to Spain to fight alongside the German Legion Condor on the side of the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War, where they lost more than half during the conflict. Once the war was over, the remaining aircraft were transferred to the Spanish Air Force as they were for the most part outdated by that point, with comparable performance as the German Stuka, although that comparator soldiered on much longer. The remaining aircraft of the 200+ that were built were kept in-service longer than desired due to problems with their replacements, and attrition was high when there were modern opposition forces in theatre. When they were able to carry out their task unmolested however, they were a stable platform for ground-attack, and made a good account of themselves on occasion before they were ultimately withdrawn from service, by 1942 at the latest. The Kit This is a reboxing with new decals of an older kit from Special Hobby that first saw the light of day in 2010. It is of the shorter-run style moulding that has much of the finer details supplied as resin parts that are found in a separate Ziploc bag inside the box. There are three sprues of grey styrene, a separately bagged clear sprue, the afore mentioned bag of resin parts, decal sheet and a large fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass in a resealable bag, rounded out by the A5 stapled instruction booklet, all inside a blue/grey themed top-opening box. Detail on the resin and PE is excellent, and the external surface of the airframe parts are similarly well-moulded, while the interior parts, especially the tubular framework has a little bit of flash on it, so a pre-build clean-up will be a sensible proposition before you begin. Construction begins with the pilot’s seatbelt arrangement, unusually. The four-part PE belts are attached to the top of a trapezoid rear panel, with two PE chains hanging down, the completed assembly then glued to the rear bulkhead of the cockpit, which has a rounded cushion moulded into it. The seat pad with partial surround is glued underneath, and a two-part frame is added to the rear, which also receives a lever on the starboard side of the seat. The unusually-shaped triangular floor section is attached to the frame under the seat and an inverted triangular frame at the front, which also has the rudder pedals and foot rests fixed to a cross-brace, and the control column is glued between two pegs in the centre of the floor. Another PE chain with belt is linked between the seat and the floor, and a couple of scrap diagrams show the location and how to fold up the PE foot rests. A pair of tank halves are put together with another two-part tapered tank placed on top, ready to be sandwiched between the two side frames, which is the next task. The frames are held apart by installing the cockpit assembly, the tanks, a front bulkhead and aft cross-braces between the two sides, plus a framed rear deck behind the pilot that also has a headrest added to the front. A flat panel is also inserted under the tanks, leaving a sizeable gap between the cockpit and tanks for the bomb racks. The bomb racks are tubular and perforated throughout their length, and are each rolled up separately from parts on the PE sheet, with a top and bottom surround, into which the resin bombs are inserted, pointed end facing up in a similar manner to the German He.111. They are suspended vertically from the side frames on tabs that project from the top surround, with a raised platform overhead that is made up from three styrene parts and two PE parts underneath. The completed interior is trapped inside the two fuselage halves by several location tabs, with the spine behind the pilot a separate insert, presumably to give options for the two-seat trainer. The tail wheel is a single part that is trapped in between a two-part aerodynamic fairing, which is in turn trapped in a fairing moulded into the fuselage under the tail. The elevators are added to the tail after joining their halves together in a butt-joint, and these also fit in place on a butt-joint that would make for a stronger join if you add some pegs from brass rod or similar. You will also need to remove the ejector-pin marks from the inside of the two elevator halves to ensure a snug fit of the parts. At the front, the triple-faced instrument panel with a curved PE lower section that is festooned with PE levers is made up, and there are sadly no decals for the dials. The lower wing is a single full-span part, which has a framework added around the interior of both main gear bays, plus retractor jacks and main struts attached to small inserts that glue into the front of the bay openings. The upper wing halves have moulded-in tubular framework and ribbing, which should react well to some careful painting before they are glued over the lowers and added into the fuselage from below. Now for some resin details. The engine is depicted entirely in resin, building up all 18 cylinders around the central core in two banks, with two scrap diagrams showing the correct orientation of the completed assembly. It is inserted into the hole in the front of the fuselage after adding an exhaust collector ring and two exhaust stubs, both of which have PE supports. The resin cowling slides over the engine, adding a chin intake from two parts and a twin resin intake that merges and disappears inside the fuselage just in front of the cockpit. Two small rectangular parts are applied just behind the cowling on the sides, and a pair of oval fairings are added underneath to finish it off, then a gap in the belly of the aircraft behind the bomb bay is filled with a clear greenhouse that sits flush with the underside. A pair of short struts join the elevators to the fuselage at the rear, and a PE actuator is fixed to the starboard side of the rudder, finishing off with a clear light at the very rear of the fuselage. With the model inverted, the landing gear and underwing details are finalised, starting with the curved front spats, which have a retraction jack at their base, and a mudguard at the rear on a C-shaped bracket. Three flap actuator fairings are added near the trailing edges of the wings, as are a pair of PE actuators for the ailerons, and a pitot probe under the leading edge of the port wing. Turning the model over, there is a copious amount of detail to be installed, starting with PE elevator actuators, a combined PE, resin and clear styrene gunsight in the cockpit, and the four wing-mounted guns for which you have a choice. There are simple styrene guns included on the sprues that you can use as-is, or you can cut off the barrels and replace them with rolled up PE cooling jackets around a central rod, which you will need to supply from your own stock. That may be a little tricky, but the extra detail would be well worth the effort, and the task simplified by annealing the PE carefully in a flame, taking care not to overdo it, as thin brass can vaporise in too hot a flame. Moving back to the tail again there are six small fairings to be glued to the surfaces of the elevators and rudder, which have rigging wires strung between them according to the scrap diagrams. The canopy is found on the clear sprue in three parts, with the faceted windscreen applied over the instrument panel, plus the sliding centre section and fixed rear portion over the framework behind the pilot. A pair of wingtip lights are supplied to fill the holes in the wings, then the last task is to make up the prop, which is fully resin, and is assembled from the centre boss and three blades, which don’t appear to be keyed, so take care to arrange them so that they are at the same angle of incidence. Markings There are two decal options included on the sheet, both sharing the same three tone camouflage scheme that extends over the leading edges of the wings and onto the underside a little. They are both combatants in the Spanish Civil War, so differ only by their tail codes. From the box you can build one of the following: 16-35 65a Squadriglia Assalto, Aviazione Legionaria, Puig Moreno, Spain, Winter, 1938 16-35 65a Squadriglia Assalto, Aviazione Legionaria, Puig Moreno, Spain, Winter, 1938 The decals appear to be printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to 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 time into the bargain. Conclusion Another niche subject from Special Hobby, and it’s good to see it back on the shelves. It’s not a shake-and-bake kit, but a good replica should be possible with some care and use of those modelling skills we sometimes hear about. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Aero Ab-11 L-BUCD (SH72471) Blue Bird on a Long Flight over Europe, Africa and Asia 1:72 Special Hobby Between the two World Wars, Czech company Aero created a number of aircraft for their own country’s use, many of which were biplanes. The A-11 was a light bomber and reconnaissance aircraft that was a development of the earlier and inconsistently named A-12, that reached production after flight tests and subsequent alterations that gave the airframe the look that became synonymous with the type. The Ab-11 was the bomber variant, and served with the Czech Air Force uneventfully, where they were well-respected by their crews, and when they were finally withdrawn from front-line service, many were refitted with dual controls so that they could be used as training aircraft. Most airframes were out of service or destroyed by the time WWII came around, and were considered too old to be used by the Germans, with just a few originals and replicas remaining today, one of which is at Kbely museum in Prague, so I might have some pictures somewhere. The aircraft’s performance and reliability were factors in choosing the type for a long-distance endurance journey around Europe, North Africa and parts of the Far East, with pilot General Vilem Stanovsky at the controls and mechanic Frantisek Simek in the second seat. The flight began in May 1926 and lasted until 23rd June of that year, travelling a total of over 15,000km. The aircraft was given a civilian registration of L-BUCD, and nicknamed Blue Bird with a light blue paint scheme reinforcing the theme. The reliability of the Breitfield-Danek Perun II straight-6 engine was a factor in their success, making the round trip from Czechoslovakia, Morocco, England, Finland, Turkey, Italy, and back to Czechoslovakia with a spare prop strapped to the underside, just in case. The Kit This is a new limited-edition tooling from Special Hobby, and the kit arrives in a small top-opening box, with two sprues of grey styrene, a small clear sprue, tiny Photo-Etch (PE) fret, instruction booklet and separately bagged decal sheet within. The instructions state that a floatplane version was created under the code A-29, and looking at the sprue diagrams there are some unused parts for this boxing, so shall we wonder if we’ll be seeing one of those later? Detail is good, especially the louvred engine cowlings and cockpit interior, as well as the fabric covered wooden wings, which have a subtle undulating surface moulded into them. Construction begins by making up the cockpit floor from two sections, adding a couple of detail parts on the starboard side, then fixing it and a small bulkhead to the starboard fuselage half after painting the details that are moulded into the interior of the fuselage and taking care of a few ejector-pin marks if necessary. A crib-like stowage area is made up from two parts plus an inverted A-frame, and that has a seat fixed to the front of the frame, installed just behind the cockpit floor, with another bucket seat added further forward for the pilot, using PE parts for the seatbelts, and fixing the controls into the front of the cockpit. A bulkhead with rudder bar is glued at an angle to the front of the cockpit, with radio gear applied to the centre of the port fuselage half along with a compass that has a decal applied to the top. The fuselage can be closed after adding a two-part exhaust insert from within the starboard half, and a bumper is inserted into the tail at the same time. The cockpit is wide open at this stage, with an insert provided to create the two oval openings for the crew. The instrument panel is glued inside the front of the insert and has a pair of decals supplied, one for the dials around the periphery, and a central decal with a good-sized map in colour. The completed insert is then slotted into place in the upper fuselage, with another insert beneath the engine cowling, and yet another rectangular insert that has a small window in it. There are also three holes to be drilled into the underside, with a scrap diagram to guide you in locating the correct sized holes accurately. The front-mounted radiator is then attached to the fuselage to close it up. With the fuselage completed, the two lower wings, which are each single parts, are inserted into slots in the fuselage, and a scrap diagram shows that there is zero dihedral to them, as do the elevators, which are each inserted into the rear fuselage on pins and given their separate flying surfaces, with the rudder pushed into a slot in the rear to complete the empennage. The crew are in open cockpits, so a pair of tiny windscreens are added to the coaming in front of the opening, both of which are minute, but also crystal clear. The upper wings are moulded as a single span part, with an insert placed over the narrow centre section to achieve the semi-circular scooped section over the crew. A pair of cabane struts are installed in the underside of the wing, with four more added slightly outboard, and finally a pair of interplane stuts are fixed to the outer wings on each side. A see-through impression of the upper wing is shown above the rest of the model to show it being installed from above, and the following two diagrams show the location of the rigging lines, which you’ll need to supply yourself, using your preferred method to complete the job. An additional strut joins the upper wing to the fuselage near the pilot’s position, which is best inserted after the wings are joined. The model still needs its landing gear, but the spare prop is under/between the legs, so is best built first, folding up a PE pocket for it that is glued to the underside of the cowling to accommodate the tip of one blade, with the prop’s axle sliding into the larger hole drilled previously. The two V-shaped gear supports and their interlinking axle are then inserted into holes in the underside, and have their wheels added to the ends. The prop that’s currently in use has a tiny PE boss glued to the centre, and the axle at the rear slides into the hole under the radiator at the front. Markings This is a special limited edition, so only has one decal option is present on the included sheet, which is of course the Blue Bird. From the box you can build the following aircraft: The decals appear to be printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to 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 time into the bargain. Conclusion The Ab-11 is an interesting and quirky aircraft from Aero, and this special scheme is rather attractive, and a change from the usual camouflaged aircraft of WWII, or the gaudy schemes sometimes applied to WWI aircraft. The detail is good, and should appeal to a broad range of modellers, so I hope they moulded sufficient copies. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi All, My first start for 2023 will be Special Hobby's Blackburn Roc. Here's the box art: Here's the sprue shots: You can see that the propeller is missing a blade (in the box, fortunately!) There's a bunch of resin (undercarriage bays, engine, turret base, bomb racks): There's a nice unpainted PE fret: And the decals (which I won't be using): The kit allows for 4 schemes - I'll be building the box scheme L3114, which is an aircraft of 759 Sqn FAA, based at RNAS Donibristle in November 1939: Here is a photo with L3119 in the foreground: I rather like this unusual scheme, with the low TSS demarcation and the non-standard fuselage roundels. I built SH's Skua this time last year, so I know roughly what to expect. Here we go again! Thanks for looking, Roger

Good day, I check in with my sixth and final project for the year. While the kit is delightful in construction, there is no shortage of tiny and microscopic parts. That is great for detail however it is easy to lose one and ruin the end result. For this one, I used the resin aftermarket ejection seat. The kit supplied ejection seat is very nice but it comes in multiple parts just like each of the main and nose landing gears. Unfortunately, Special Hobby does not include any underwing ordnance apart from the centerline tank. I added the Swedish versions of the Sparrow and Sidewinder along with the mounting rails from the spares box. The fuselage pylons and rails are included. The decals are excellent. I added 0.05mm brass rod for the main and auxiliary pitot tubes and AOA ( Angle of Attack ) pitot. After research, it appeared that three main colors were used for the air-to-air missiles….white, grey, and a very unique green. Here are the basic colors I used for the Viggen………. 1. Upper surface : Model Master Haze Grey 2. Lower surface : Model Master Light Grey ( FS36496 ) 3. Cockpit walls : Tamiya Medium Grey ( XF-20 ) 4. Washes : Upper - AK Grey-Blue, Lower Ammo Medium Grey, Stains - Vallejo Dark Brown and Black I enjoyed this kit and a long overdue subject was finally added thanks to Special Hobby. I have always been fond of the Viggen and am pleased at how it turned out. I`ve waited for a modern tooled Viggen for a very long time. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the lack of under wing stores. Due to the numerous small parts, I can only recommend this kit for those who have a bit more experience in the hobby. Thank you in advance and with much respect, Mike And here the three I have of the forward canard type of design……………. Top : Trumpeter J-10 Center : Special Hobby JA-37 Viggen Lower : Hobby Boss Rafale

Sukhoi Su-22M-3K Fitter J (Tumansky R-29BS-300 engine) Conversion (4455 for Kittyhawk) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby The Sukhoi Su-17 was a successful Cold War supersonic interceptor with variable geometry wings to offer better performance at different areas of the flight envelope. Its export variant was dubbed the Su-22, and there were a number of variants through the years as aviation technology progressed. At the end of the 70s the larger M-3 variant of the Su-22 was released with a matching avionics suite to the indigenous Su-17, available with the Tumansky R-29BS-300 engine, which had a modified gearbox that necessitated a new rear fuselage and empennage. The Conversion This resin set is a conversion for the Kittyhawk kit, and arrives in a bulky cardboard box with the product details on a sticker on the top. Inside are fifteen grey resin parts, one 3D printed afterburner ring in orange resin, a set of decals and the instruction booklet that extends to 1.5 sheets of folded A4 printed on all sides as an A5 booklet. Many of the casting blocks have the Vespa Models logo on them, who are specialists in Sukhoi correction and detail sets, but aren’t mentioned in the instructions, so our guess is that it’s a collaborative effort. Construction begins with removing the rear of the kit fuselage at the panel lines marked in the first diagram, slightly offset between the spine and fuselage. The rear is replaced by the large monolithic casting of the new fuselage, which is prepared by building up the exhaust from three sections plus the 3D printed afterburner ring at the front. The exhaust is inserted into the new fuselage rear and locked in place by adding the final fairing around the exhaust petals, and a bullet fairing over it that has various sensor bulges moulded-in. The spine and fin are slotted into the top of the fuselage and you have a choice of different sized tail fin tips, then the two elevators are butt-fitted to the fairings on the sides of the fuselage, which would be better pinned to give the joints more strength, and there is plenty of thickness in the fuselage at those points. A shallow fairing is removed from the starboard front of the new fuselage, then a quartet of new intakes are fixed to the remaining fairings on the top of the fuselage to complete the build phase. Markings The decals in the box give you three options for an Su-22M-3K in case you don’t already have any of your own. From the box (and with the Kitty Hawk kit of course), you can build one of the following: No.47 South Yemen Air Force, 1990s No.50, Air Force of USSR, A K Serov Higher Military Aviation Pilot School of Krasnodar, 1980s ‘Dignity’, Libyan National Army Air Force, Al-Watiya base, 2014 The decals appear to have been digitally printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cover the printed areas. Don’t forget that as of 2021, the carrier film from Eduard decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier-free, making the decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view. Conclusion If you already have or can still get hold of the Kitty Hawk kit, and wanted to go a little bit off-piste to portray a more unusual operator of the type, this set should hit the spot. The detail is excellent, and it shouldn’t be too much effort to remove the casting bases, after which it will be much the same as a plastic kit to put together. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

This is a placeholder for the first of my two Seafire builds for the Salty Sea Dog, in this case an early variant, an 807 Naval Air Squadron Seafire L Mk IIc that served aboard HMS Battler during Operation Avalanche, the Allied landings at the Italian port of Salerno in September 1943. This Seafire was essentially a navalised version of the Spitfire Mk Vc (though not with the benefit of folding wings – they didn’t appear until the Mk III). The delicate Spitfire with its narrow undercarriage wasn’t considered ideal for the rough and tumble of carrier ops (the sturdier lend-lease American Grummans were more up to the task), but the Admiralty didn’t have that many options. There is a well known photograph of this particular airframe, arriving on deck with great enthusiasm. LR642 was built at the Westland factory and issued to 15 Maintenance Unit on 5th April 1943 and (after surviving a wheels-up landing at RAF North Front, Gibraltar on 3rd July) flew with 807 NAS from HMS Battler between July and September of that year. The mishap in the photograph (the arrester hook appears not to have lowered) apparently took place not on Battler but on HMS Hunter. After being repaired the airframe was sent home to 748 NAS at RNAS St Merryn in Cornwall, where it suffered yet another mishap, clipping a stationary aircraft with a wingtip in February 1944. It was then with another training unit, 761 NAS, from March to December 1944, and was eventually pensioned off in January 1946. The kit I will be using is Special Hobby’s 1/48 “Torch and Avalanche” boxing, built OOB. I quite fancied the clipped-wing shark-mouth kite on the box but apparently there are some doubts over the authenticity of the scheme, whereas this one is pretty solid. Plenty SH kits have found their way into and out of my stash over the years, but I don’t recall ever actually finishing one! A short run kit after the joys of Airfix and Eduard may prove to be an interesting experience. The title of this build comes from FAA pilot Commander R. “Mike” Crossley’s memoir of the same name, which in turn comes from a… pithy Fleet Air Arm song from wartime! Thanks for looking in!

Felt like giving a BoB vibe tonight with some scenic photography of my Arma Hurricane Mk1 And the new Special Hobby Bf 109E-1. Does anyone recognise the markings? Both aircraft were shot down during the Battle Great that we 1/72 modellers are not being forgotten with some brilliant kits! Regards Andrew

Meteor T.Mk7 "British Jet Trainer" (SH72468) 1:72 Special Hobby The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet aircraft during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft itself began in 1940, although work on the engines had been underway since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. Nicknamed the "Meatbox", the Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in terms of its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces and remained in use for several decades. The Meteor saw limited action in the Second World War. Meteors of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) provided a significant contribution in the Korean War. Several other operators such as Argentina, Egypt and Israel flew Meteors in later regional conflicts. Specialised variants of the Meteor were developed for use in photo-reconnaissance and as night fighters. The T.7 twin seat trainer was developed from the Mark 4. 640were produced for the Royal Air Force, 43 for the Royal Navy; and 72 for export. 20 Belgian F.4s were modified locally into T.7s. Many nations would operate the T.7 with a pair of T.7s being the first jet aircraft to land in Israel. These were locally converted to carry belly mounted camera. The Kit This is a re-release by Special Hobby of the MPM kit, which has also recently been re-released by Zur Ffrom as well. Construction first begins in the cockpit which builds up to a complete module that slots into the fuselage when built up. The centre bulkhead is added to the floor and then side consoles are added. The centre instrument console is then built up and installed along with both seats. The rear bulkhead goes on, and both control columns. To the underside of this module the nose gear well is then added. This assembly can then go into the right fuselage. The pilots instrument panel then goes in as do the remainder of the side consoles. The fuselage can then be closed up with the nose gear now being fitted. Construction now moves onto the wings. Firstly the engines and jet pipes need to be assembled. There is a basic representative of the Derwent which you will see the front face of through the intake. Behind this there is the jet pipe, and exhaust. These go into the one part lower wing. In front of the engines goes the fairing over the front wing spar which is seen through the intake. Single part intake inners are then fitted. Moving on the the upper wing the main gear wells need to go in. The two wing sections can then be joined. The intake leading edges, and exhaust trailing edges are then fitted. The fuselage can now be joined to the wings. At the rear the tail planes then go on. The main gear units are then assembled and added along with their retraction struts and the main gear doors. Like the real units these are complicated and care need to get them right. Take note to assemble the wheels correctly and not as per the instructions. The wheels are not handed like most aircraft. Luckily here the wheels are separate from the mud guards so they can be put in the correct way around. The modeller will need to make their own stay from the rear of the mudguard. To finish off the wing and belly tanks are fitted followed by the canopy, aerial and pitot tube. Markings The glossy decal sheet is printed in house and looks sharp and in register. There are markings for three aircraft G-AKPK Gloster Company demonstrator WV488 No.43 Sqn RAF, RAF Tangmere 1949 I-19 Royal Netherlands Air Force 1950s. No.328 Sqn at Soesterberg where it still resides. Conclusion It is good to see the T7 back out there. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I’ve been drooling over this new one from Special Hobby even in its 1:72 scale form, and I’ve literally just posted the review of it this avo here, plus the masks that you can get to cover up the canopy during painting. It’s always a danger to pull parts off the sprues to tape it up, mainly because it sometimes leads to reaching for tools, and we all know that often results in the dreaded… MODELLING! This is one of Special Hobby’s shorter-run kits, and isn’t going to be a shake-and-bake wünderkit that falls together by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s not why we’re here. There’s a little roughness here and there around the seamlines where the parts join together, and the fact that it includes resin detail parts is an indication that it has been tooled this way, as not everyone will be interested in this little racer. Me? I’m interested I started mucking about with the fuselage halves, and soon began putting cockpit parts together. It’s not your average cockpit due to its custom racer ethos, and there was a modicum of confusion in my mind about where to put the two fairings that cover up the drive shafts that pass through the cockpit area, which was resolved by test-fitting the rear bulkhead so you know where to butt the rear of the tubes, as the slight step in the rear that corresponds with the interior of the wing root fairing, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. Once the parts were cleaned up, it went together well enough, although you will need to place the support under the seat/floor part as a bit of a leap of faith after enlarging the notch a little to ensure it will fit. I used liquid cement to give me wiggle room and that did the trick. I also assembled the 2-into-1 gearbox at the front that converts the two input shafts into two concentric prop-shafts, and managed to partially sand away a box-shape on the top, so replaced it with styrene stock. Oopsie! This helped me get everything lined up in my head, and to guess where I needed to make any adjustments. Only the tip of the port fuselage had a slight missing bit right near the join-line, so I built that up with styrene and sanded it to shape. I’ve also been fiddling with the wings and the tail, tidying them all up first, then checking where any alterations are needed. I scraped the trailing edge of the wings, and thinned out the openings to the gear bays to give them a more realistic look, but I overdid it and need to put some small quantities of Milliput into the undercuts, and smack my own wrists for getting carried away I’m going to use Milliput for the easy clean-up to minimise any post-cure sanding that would be difficult due to the location of it, not to mention irritating, even with some fancy narrow sanding tools at my disposal. The tail was a similar proposition, needing a little fettling, and the addition of the resin pen-nib fairing at the rear. It needed some test-fitting and sanding/slicing, and the bottom portion of the fillet was slightly lop-sided at the bottom, so I added a bit of sheet styrene to it and trimmed it to profile, then slimmed it down until it fitted better. I also decided to move the tail assembly back by half a mil, so the fairing and the rudder trailing edges matched better, and while I was there, to get it to fit more snugly, I trimmed a few swipes of a sanding stick off here and there so I got maximum contact surfaces too. I’ve prepped two of the three grill combs that slide into the slots in the leading edges of the tail, and they’re possibly the hardest parts to prepare due to how close together they are. I have a set of stainless-steel sanding tools from Galaxy Tools, but they’re a bit thick at 1.4mm, but the smaller DSPIAE ones are only 0.5mm thick, even with one layer of self-adhesive sandpaper attached. I used one of those plus a #11 blade to even up the two halves of the moulds and smooth them out, then gave them a quick coat of liquid glue to get rid of any swarf. Two down, one to go That canopy is really nice! Can you see the wiring on the IP? I figured that I would be able to paint the cockpit with much of it in situ, so trapped the seat assembly in position between the two halves under the drive shaft fairings, leaving the bulkhead and instrument panel as a separate assembly after wiring up some of the dials at the back with some lead wire and fitting it to the coaming for a third assembly. The gearbox and front bulkhead are similarly loose so I can paint it better, and I think the front bulkhead will need slimming at the front because it projects forward from the fuselage a little. The inner face has some nice strengthening detail on it, so I’ll make sure that doesn’t get mashed in the process. Moving forward, I noticed there were some fairly big seams running down the props, so decided to put the contra-prop together while I was getting everywhere dusty. Each prop is separate, and there are two per boss, fixing into a cylindrical slot with a peg making sure you get the alignment of the blades correct. The moulding seams were actually quite easy to remove, complicated only by their small size, but I soon had them done, taking care to put the right pair on the right hub. As usual there was a bit of fettling needed to get everything fitting nicely, but once they were, they were rather nice and dainty. I reamed out the axle holes to get them on the prop shaft and test fitted them, which was when I found that the bulkhead sticks out a bit too far. That’s easily knocked back with a sanding stick though, which I’ll get round to later. With the cockpit basics in place, I elected to close up the fuselage, which I did with super glue (CA). It’s not the standard method for plastic kits, but I wanted the joints to be strong, and as there’s going to be a bit of sanding of seams to get a smooth surface, I also wanted it to be available to work on soon after gluing. Most of the gluing could be done from the inside thanks to the lack of wings at this point, so I started under the cockpit floor, then worked back along the top of the fuselage spine, all of which can be done from within, topping up with CA applied from outside by running a gluey old blade along the seam. With the seam glued, I immediately sanded them back roughly, and will sort them properly later on after a bit of primer gets sent their way. I’ll probably give the canopy a dunk in the Klear tank to increase the clarity even further, then mask it with the masks I also reviewed this afternoon here. Catch you next time

Bugatti 100 Racer Masks (M48011 for Special Hobby) 1:48 Special Mask by Special Hobby I have literally just finished tapping out the review of the new 1:48 scale Bugatti 100 Racer, and thought it prudent, kind and sensible to let you know about this handy set of masks that will allow you to mask up the crystal-clear canopy before you get the paint out, to ensure that it stays clear and bright throughout. Like the rest of the new range of canopy masks from Special Hobby, the set arrives in a re-sealable clear flat-pack that is protected from the inside by a sheet of card and a set of paper instructions that double as the header card, with the masking material displayed at the front. Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, with compound curved handled by using frame hugging masks, while the highly curved gaps are in-filled with either liquid mask or offcuts from the background tape. In addition, you get a set of hub/tyre masks for the main wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Highly recommended, especially if you’re not keen on masking. Review sample courtesy of

Bugatti 100 Racer (SH48219) 1:48 Special Hobby Bugatti’s streamlined air racer was custom designed for flying the circuits in 1939, using twin engines behind the pilot that ran a pair of contra-rotating props in the nose, which gave it a sleek aerodynamic profile and a compact size. It was also inventive in terms of the tail, which was a V-shape and had a gearbox to split the pilot inputs accordingly between the fins. Before it could be tested and put into the air however, the German invasion began, which forced the engineers to dismantle the aircraft and hide it on Mr Bugatti’s estate until after the war, although he died in 1947 so development stopped there. Over time, the engines were raided for car projects and the airframe fell into disrepair until the 70s when a restoration project began, after which it was placed in a museum. A replica was made using more modern technologies where sensible, and this flew briefly using a pair of more readily available Suzuki engines. After a prop strike during landing, where the aircraft veered off the runway following a brake failure, its third test flight ended in disaster when the aircraft went out of control, killing the pilot who had played a major part in its production, and completely destroying the replica. It had been promised to a museum in England after this flight, which clearly couldn’t now happen. Quite a sad tale overall. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from Special Hobby, and after bemoaning its absence in 1:48 when reviewing the 1:72 issue a few months ago, I’ve now got my wish, as it’s a rather cool-looking aircraft. It arrives in a small top-opening box, and inside are two sprues and separate lower wings in grey styrene, a clear part in its own Ziploc bag, a bag of resin parts and this time, a tiny sheet of decal. No, that’s not a typo, you get an instrument panel decal. Even in 1:48 it’s a relatively little thing, and that much is brought home when you see the fuselage, which is under 15cm long on the sprues, although longer when the nose and prop are complete. Construction begins with the transmission at the front of the cockpit, which takes the power from the two engines and adapts them to the contra-rotating prop gearbox, the final-drive shaft passing through a bulkhead that fits into the front of the fuselage. The fuselage halves have sidewall detail moulded-in with a little more added from separate parts, and fairings over the two drive-shafts are glued into both fuselage sides, then backed up with the cockpit floor on a support, seat back with four-point Photo-Etch (PE) seat belts against the rear bulkhead, and rudder pedals with short control column are placed in recesses in the floor. The coaming has a number of small parts installed so that the instrument panel can be attached and covered by the single decal, plus a pair of bottles inside the nose housing after the fuselage is closed up with a fluted insert added in a hole in the spine, and an intake behind the cockpit. Like a lot of air racers, the 100 has a short wingspan for manoeuvrability, but at the root the chord is wide with a large root fairing, the chord tapering rapidly to the tip. The lower half is a single piece, which has a pair of resin bay wall inserts fitted into the marked recesses, then closed up with the upper wings after a lick of paint. The fuselage is dropped into the space in between the wings, and the V-shaped tail assembly with a recess moulded-in to replicate the intake louvres on the leading edge, and an insert at the rear. The recesses are filled with curved louvre intakes, as is the slot in the vertical tail that doubles as the tail-wheel strut. On the fuselage sides, a pair of bulged resin exhaust outlets are fixed to the fuselage in recesses in the aft section of the wing root fairing, then the landing gear is installed after flipping it over onto its back. The gear legs are a single piece each plus retraction jacks with the two-part wheels flex-fitting into the yoke, and a pair of captive gear bay doors affixed to the outer side, and a tiny vestigial door at the top of the leg, fitting flush with the wing surface. After which the model can stand on its own three wheels. Additional details are fitted into the cockpit before it is covered by its canopy, including a number of PE levers, and the clear canopy is then fitted to the opening as a single part, with no option for leaving it open, but as it’s nice and clear you should still be able to see all your hard work. The contra-prop has four elements to its spinner, two trapping each of the two-bladed props in between, with the smallest pointy one in the front, of course, gluing into position on the long prop-shaft. Markings There are two markings options given on the instructions, one of which is the actual blue scheme it wore, the other a what-if scheme that has red and white fan-shaped stripes on the wings and tail, which looks quite patriotic. From the box you can paint whatever you fancy, but these two are suggested: There aren’t any decals for the airframe, and the one for the instrument panel is totally fit for purpose. Of course, I couldn’t resist taping up some of the major parts to give an impression of the finished model, so here it is: There is a set of masks available now from Special Mask to allow you to mask up this lovely crystal clear canopy without stress or anguish, and quickly too, even if you're not masking phobic. You can see the review of that set, right here. Conclusion I’ve been smitten with this little aircraft since the smaller kit arrived, and Special Hobby have done a great job with the moulding, using resin where sensible, and giving us plenty of detail in the kit. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of