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HA-1112 M-1L Buchón 'Ejercito del Aire' 1:72 Special Hobby The Hispano Aviación HA-1112 was a licence-built version of the Messerschmitt Bf 109, manufactured in Spain but fitted with a variety of different powerplants. The M1L was the final variant of the type and was named Buchón (Rock Dove). It was fitted with the Rolls Royce Merlin V12 and Rotol propeller, both readily available from UK postwar surplus. The new engine further altered the appearance of the HA-1112, giving it a prominent chin intake. Although hopelessly outdated at the time of its introduction into service in the mid-1950s, the Buchón was considered to be perfectly adequate for its intended role helping to police Spanish territories in Africa. The availability of the anachronistic Buchón was a boon for postwar film makers, who were famously able to use it in place of the Bf 109 in films such as Battle or Britain and Dunkirk. This is a re-release of Special Hobby's Buchón, which first saw the light of day in 2014. The package is identical to that release, right down to the marking options. The kit comprises two sprues of light grey plastic, a small fret of photo etched parts and resin engine exhausts and gun barrels. The cockpit is classic Special Hobby in that it's a mixed media affair, with plastic parts for the main structures and photo etched details for the seat harnesses, rudder pedals and various sidewall details. The overall effect should look great, particularly given the cockpit canopy is moulded as a single part. Once complete, the cockpit can be sandwiched between the fuselage halves and the upper and lower cowling fixed in place. The latter part includes a photo etched part for the engine air intake grille. In common with most kits of this type, the lower wing is moulded as a single span, with separate upper wing halves. Some basic structural details are moulded onto the inner face of the upper wing, but keen modellers will want to add more detail to this area. The landing gear legs themselves are nice, with photo etched torque links adding a little touch of finesse. The underwing radiators are particularly good, with photo etched parts and the ability to finish them in open or closed position. Ordnance comprises a drop tank and a pair of rockets, while finishing touches such as the gun barrels and exhausts are finished in resin or, in the case of the wings fences, photo etched brass. The decal sheet provides for three options: HA-1112 M1L (C4K-9) Buchón, 71-5, nicknamed Mapi, 71. escuadrón, Gupo de Caza 7, Los Rodeos airfield, Tenérife, Canary Islands, 1958. This aircraft is finished in dark green and dark olive over light blue/grey. HA-1112 M1L (C.4K-12) Buchón , 71-11, nicknamed Checa, 71. escuadrón, Gupo de Caza 7, Los Rodeos airfield, Tenérife, Canary Islands, 1958. This aircraft is finished in an attractive overall blue scheme. HA-1112 M1L (C4K-104) Buchón, 36-407, 364. Escuadron, El Aaiun airbase, Spanish Sahara, 1963. This aircraft is finished in silver over blue. Conclusion Special Hobby's Buchón is a nice little kit, and popular too judging by the speed with which it has been reissued. Construction looks straightforward, but some experience with photo etch might be helpful as quite a lot of what is provided is essential to the construction of the model. Overall, this is a nice kit an can be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

SB2C-5 Helldiver "The Final Version" 1:72 Special Hobby The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was, as the name suggests, a dedicated divebomber which replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy Service. The design was beset by problems and its entry into service was severely delated while Curtiss attempted to resolve all of the flaws. The final production version was the SB2C-5 which was able to carry more fuel, featured a revised paddle-shaped propeller, enlarged bomb bay and revised cockpit canopy with simplified framing. It was also equipped with the AN/APS-4 radar. The SB2C-5 was delivered just in time to participate in the final skirmishes of the War. It survived in US Navy service for a short time after the War, but the real twilight of its career was through the post-War military aid programme. SB2C-5s were delivered to Italy, Greece, Portugal and Thailand. The Italian Helldivers flew until 1959, while Greek were deployed against communist insurgents during the Greek Civil War. French Helldivers were deployed in French Indo-China against the Viet-Minh and were used in the unsuccessfull operation to liberate Dien Bien Phu. All-in-all, quite a career for an aircraft that some considered to be a failure. As you might have spotted, this is Academy´s SB2C-4 kit with extra parts produced by Special Hobby to enable construction of the Dash 5 version. I shan't go into great detail about Academy's kit, save to say that it is accurate, well detailed and throughly modern. The kit has a good reputaton, and deservedly so. Special Hobby's extra parts include the enlarged bomb bay doors, the spinnerless paddle-shaped propeller and the revised canopy. The kit also includes a range of resin ordnance, including napalm tanks, the AN/APS-4 radar and rockets for the underwing hardpoints. Also included are resin wheels, complete with detailed tyre tread and separate hub covers. The decal sheet provides for four options: SB2C-5 89357, Flottille 3F, Aéronavale, French Indo-China, 1954. This aicraft operated from the carrier Arromanches; SB2C-5 215, VB-9, USS Lexington, US Navy, Pacific Ocean, August/September 1945; SB2C-5 80036, Italian Aeronautica Militare, 1950-55; and SB2C-5 3329, No.336 Squadron, Larissa, Hellenic Air Force, 1949. Conclusion It's interesting to see Special Hobby release another manufacturers kit with their own additional parts and decals in order to produce another version. The Academy kit is already a very good kit, while the addition of Special Hobby's extra parts opens up some great new possibilities and some attractive schemes. Overall, this is a nice kit an can be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I first wanted to do a Sea Balliol after seeing a picture of Captain Eric Brown taking off from an aircraft carrier in a Balliol. I've got a resin version in the stash but the Special Hobby version is much more up my street. Mainly injection moulded with a bit of etch. I think the cockpit etch, especially the seatbelt/harness is a bit oversize. But here it is. Built pretty much OOB. It went together OK but the canopy seems over big and needed some filling around it. Revell Aluminium for the airframe,Tamiya red for the recognition stripes and Citadel yellow for the 'trainer' stripes. So here is WP328 from the the Maintenance Test Unit at RNAS Abbotsinch in 1963. A rather nice little aeroplane

I know I have a bit of a reputation for doing stupid amounts in a GB so I would hate to break the mould. Here are three Mirage F1s, using the excellent Special Hobby kit. As you can see from the jumble above, only one of the kits is in a box. The two single-seaters are from the bagged "simple kits" that Special Hobby released about a year ago. These are simply the plastic parts with no decals, supplied in a bag. In effect, they are Special Hobby's equivalent to Eduard's "overtrees". I will be building the following: Mirage F1AZ - Gabonese Air Force. This will use the LF Models conversion set. @Giorgio N will be using the same set for his build, which will be a bit more involved than mine. You can see his build here. Mirage F1JA - Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana This is the export version of the F1E. I was struck by the two green camouflage as shown on the Xtradecal sheet and a couple of photographs on the net. @eclipse pointed out in the chat thread that the scheme is actually green and brown. Different references give different paint numbers for the lighter colour, so this will be quite interesting to research while the build progresses. Mirage F1B - Armée de l'air You can't build a batch of Mirage F1s without building one in the classic French blue scheme. It's The Law! The Special Hobby kit provides a suitable scheme, but it is a special scheme. I much prefer standard line jets, so I'll be using a scheme from an Xtradecal scheme. It's really quite plain, which I like. Let's have a look at the parts. Here are the fuselage halves for the single seater. The first batch of these kits had a slightly damaged bit at the very front of the part. this was rectified in subsequent batches. These parts are actually from a boxed kit which had the damage. I replaced these parts in the box with perfectly formed parts from a simple kit. I will be using them on this build for the Mirage F1AZ. It will be having major surgery to the nose anyway, so I thought that the damaged part wouldn't be an issue.

A new and upgraded - new mould for small parts - boxing from the old 1/48th IMAM (Romeo) Ro.37 kit is in progress by Special Hobby - ref. SH48183 Source: http://www.specialhobby.net/2017/05/modely-v-priprave-v.html V.P.

Based on the academy kit with dedicated injected parts like a new canopy, Special Hobby is to release in Spring 2017 a 1/72nd Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver kit - ref. SH72324 Source: http://www.specialhobby.net/2016/12/sh72350-sb2c-5-helldiver-172.html box art V.P.

Newsletter January 2017: http://www.specialhobby.info/2016/12/special-hobby-newsletter-january.html Newsletter February 2017: http://www.specialhobby.info/2017/01/special-hobby-newsletter-februarry-2017.html V.P.

Hello everyone! I just saw this notice from Special Hobby that they're discontinuing all their Azur and MPM kit lines. They're now running a 50% off sale to close out their inventories of them. Anyone else here catch wind of this and what's behind it all? Are the moulds going to be taken into the Special Hobby line? Eliminated entirely and redone, eventually, with new tooling? Special Hobby Website Announcement - Plastic & Steel Online - Azur and MPM product lines are being discontinued now!

Model 239 Buffalo "Taivaan Helmi over Findland" 1:48 Special Hobby The Buffalo was designed by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation in 1935 a US Navy requirement for a carrier based fighter to replace the Grumman F3F Biplane. As such it was one of the first US monoplane fighters. The prototype first flew in 1937 with deliveries commencing in 1939. Brewster had production difficulties and only 11 of the early F2A-1 aircraft were delivered to the USN with the remainder of the order being diverted to the Finnish Air Force. The US Navy and Marine Corps would order and receive the later F2A-2 and F2A-3 models although it was realised by this time that the Buffalo was no match for more modern fighters. It had been suggested that the later orders were just to keep the Brewster factories running, in fact they would later go on to produce Corsairs and other aircraft for the USN. Overseas Finland ordered the aircraft in 1939, the aircraft being assembled by SAAB in Sweden. The Finnish after initial doubts liked the aircraft. The cooler weather in Finland solved overheating problems with the engine, and the aircraft went on to become a success with 477 Soviet aircraft being destroyed for only 19 Buffalos. Belgium had ordered the aircraft but only one was delivered before the country fell to the advancing Germans. Their order was subsequently transferred to the British. The British facing a shortage of combat aircraft purchased the Buffalo. The original assessment by the RAF was not brilliant. The aircraft lacked pilot armour, was under gunned, had poor altitude performance and there were issues with overheating, maintenance and controls. The UK still ordered 170 aircraft which were sent to Australia, New Zealand and the RAF. The aircraft were initially sent out to the Far East. The aircraft were plagued with reliability problems in the hot climate, performance was poor, and the pilots did not have adequate training on the aircraft. Given all these problems and the superior numbers of Japanese aircraft the Buffalos did not fair that well. Some did escape to the Dutch East Indies where they would join those operated by the Netherlands East Indian Army. In Finnish service the aircraft arrived too late for the winter war but did take oart in the continuation war. The Finnish pilots like the Buffalo and called it Taivaan Heli "The Haven Pearl". Many pilots would become aces flying it with H Wind scoring 39 of his total 75 victories flying the Buffalo. With the arrival of Bf 109s the Buffalos were considered obselete but they fought untill the end of the continuation war, with the last battles being against their former allay of Germany. They were retired from service in 1948. The Kit Even in 1:48 this is a small aircraft. The kit is the original Classic Airframes molding and so is mixed media with injected plastic, resin and photo etched parts. In a break from tradition construction starts not with the cockpit but with the wheel wells inside the wings. The resin wells are placed inside the wings before they can be assembled. Luckily tradition resurfaces with the wings as the are conventional single part lower, and left & right uppers. A ventral pnael is also installed under the main wings at this time. The gun front gunbay/wheelbay is then made up, this sits between the cockpit and the engine. The rear bulkhead forms the front of the cockpit, and the front bulkhead the engine firewall. The top of the compartment forms the gun bay with the guns and ammo boxes, and the lower part the main gear retraction parts. Once made up it can be installed in the completed wing section. The cockpit fllor is then installed on the rear, and the engine and its mounts on the front. The cockpit floor parts are then installed on this section as well. Moving on to the main fuselage the rear cockpit bulkhead, rear shelf behind the pilot and the tail wheel area are all installed into the right fuselage. This is then installed onto the wing section. All the cockpit parts including the seat, instrument panel, controls etc are then installed onto the cockpit. The main fuselage can then be closed up. The tail cone, tail planes and engine cowl front can then be added. The framing for the area behind the cockpit is then added. The modeller can now move onto the landing gear. The tailwheel needs the moulded wheel removing from the housing and the correct wheel added on. The left & right main gear weels are added to the legs, the retraction struts added and then they can go into the fuselage. The outer doors are then added. To finish off the canopies and propeller are added along with the a few aerial and other small parts. Markings Markings for 4 aircraft are provided. The decals are by Cartograf so should post no problems. The Finnish markings are in two parts for obvious reasons. BW-393, Pilot Hans Wind, Finlands Top scoring ace with 75 victories, 39 in Buffalos, 1/LLv.24, Suulajarvi, April 1943 BW-393, Pilot Kni Eino Luukhanen, He marked his victories with Lahden Erikois beer bottle labels stuck to the fin. 1/LLv.24, Suulajarvi, Nov 1942 BW-378, Pilot Kni Per-Erik Sovellius, Otto Werde was painted under the canopy for Swedish Baron Hugo Hamilton who raised funds for the aircraft. 4/LLv.24, Lunkula, Herbst/Winter 1941 Conclusion Even though this kit is an older one now the parts are still good and the model should build up to a good looking aircraft in markings you dont see to often. Recomended. Review sample courtesy of

Here's my entry into the Radial Engines Rock GB, Special Hobby's Tempest II in 1/72nd, No.33 Sqn based in Butterworth in 1951. Not a bad fitting kit, the main wing was the worse aspect, good job they include 2 vacform canopies as well. Vallejo ModelAir paint, decals by Xtradecal, rockets by Pavla.

I eagerly purchased a couple of Special Hobby Mirage F1s when they were first released and have been keeping them aside with this GB in mind (I may have purchased a few more since then, I couldn't possibly comment). Although I haven't narrowed the subjects of this project down to particular machines, the intended builds will both be late service examples, probably reflecting some of their operational use. To that end, I'll almost certain that I'll be using Berna Decals for both jets; I haven't used them before but they look very nice. Other aftermarket will include Master pitots, Peewit paint masks and a CMK 'Iraqi' centreline tank for the F1CT. The F1CR will utilise one of the kit-supplied recce pods. Pics of the sprues - apologies for odd effect created by photographing two sets of sprues together... P1000621 P1000623 thanks for looking, Andrew.

MD-500E 1:72 Special Hobby The MD 500 is one of the latest in a series stemming from the original Hughes OA-6A. Boeing sold the former McDonnell Helicopters business it acquired in 1984 to MD Helicopters 1999 and the type continues to be produced today. The 500E is a conventional tail rotor aircraft with a five bladed main rotor. The E model features a more pointed nose than other models allowing more head & leg room for the pilots. The Kit This is a new tool kit from Special Hobby. The main feature you notice on opening the box is that the main cabin is made from clear plastic which means not trying to avoid getting glue on the main transparency when gluing it in. Construction starts with the interior for the main cabin. The front and rear seats are attached to the main cabin floor along with the bulkhead which separates the cabin. The rear bulkhead needs to be added which support the back seats. The front instrument panel is added (instruments as a decal). Controls of cyclic & collective sticks are added long with rudder pedals. The completed interior can then be added into the clear fuselage. The tail boom is then attached. Depending on the version being modelled long or short skids are attached. The front & rear cabin doors can be added along with the T tail, and the tail rotor. The main five bladed rotor is then made up with each blade being individually added to the hub. The Chilean version has two photo-etched vents added to the upper transmission housing. Various antenna, cable cutters and light housings are added depending upon which version is being built. Decals Decals are from Aviprint and should pose no problems. Markings are provided for 3 examples; Kawasaki OH-6D, 2118779 Japanese Maritime Self Defence Forces. MD-500E, HH-11 Finish Army. MD500E (MDD-369FF) Chilean Army. Conclusion This is a great little kit with an innovative way of making the main fuselage . Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

MD-520N NOTAR 1:72 Special Hobby The MD 500 is one of the latest in a series stemming from the original Hughes OA-6A. Boeing sold the former McDonnell Helicopters business it acquired in 1984 to MD Helicopters 1999 and the type continues to be produced today. The 520N introduced a revolutionary concept to Helicopter design with a single main rotor. Here the tail rotor has been done away with and to counteract torque from the main rotor exhaust from the turbine engine is directed down the tail boom. The thruster at the end is also controllable for yaw control. By doing away with the tail rotor there are less moving parts, less noise (as everything is contained) and there are less problems of potential ground incidents associated with conventional tails. This system was imaginatively called NOTAR (No tail rotor). The Kit This is a the old Profiline kit with new parts from Special Hobby for the NOTAR setup. The main feature you notice on opening the box is that the main cabin is made from clear plastic which means not trying to avoid getting glue on the main transparency when gluing it in. Construction starts with the interior for the main cabin. The front and rear seats are attached to the main cabin floor along with the bulkhead which separates the cabin. The rear bulkhead needs to be added which support the back seats. The front instrument panel is added (instruments as a decal). Controls of cyclic & collective sticks are added long with rudder pedals. The completed interior can then be added into the clear fuselage. The tail boom is then attached. Depending on the version being modelled long or short skids are attached. The front & rear cabin doors can be added along with the T tail, and the tail rotor. The main five bladed rotor is then made up with each blade being individually added to the hub. The Chilean version has two photo-etched vents added to the upper transmission housing. Various antenna, cable cutters and light housings are added depending upon which version is being built. Decals Decals are from Aviprint and should pose no problems. Markings are provided for 3 examples; OK-YIK Private Operator Czech Republic. G-14 Belgian Federal Police. G-SMAC Private Operator UK. D-HABF Private Operator Germany. Conclusion This is a great little kit with an innovative way of making the main fuselage. It is welcome in this boxing that masks for the glazing have been included. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Just wanted to share some pics of one of my latest finished models. Supermarine Seafire FR.46, LA546 / 600 LM, RNAS Lossiemouth, 1948. From the Special Hobby kit #72231, just added a few details in scratch, a new instrument panel, scribed some lost panel lines and rivetted the whole airframe. Here's the model: And a picture of the real thing... Hope you like it! UnCarlitosModelista

Special Hobby is to release 1/72nd Messerschmitt Me.209V-1 & V-4 kits - ref. SH72138 & SH72221 Source: http://happy.ap.teacup.com/runchicken_s/ V.P.

JA-37 Viggen Canard Correction Set (4362) AJ/SF/SH-37 Viggen Canard Correction Set (4361) (for Special Hobby/Tarangus) 1:48 Special Hobby Tarangus brought us a newly tooled JA-37 Viggen a few years ago, consigning the old Airfix kit to history, and Special Hobby - the people behind the tooling and moulding of the Tarangus kit - brought us the AJ-37, AJS-37, and the SH/SF-37 was handled by Tarangus again. As a Viggen lover, I'm still waiting for the two-seater, so if anyone in a position to help move that along is listening, get a move on! Every model has its flaws, and it seems that the angle of the leading edge of the flaps on the canards was a little off, so Special Hobby have created these two sets to correct that issue. They also add a smidge of additional detail to the flap itself, including the see-through parts, and each set has the correct number of vortex generators on the rear edge of the fixed portion of the canard. The canards have the root fairing along their full length, which leaves a thin section where the flap sits, so take care when removing the parts from the casting block. One of my samples had warped in the box, but this is easily fixed by taping the part to a flat surface and pouring hot water from the kettle over it, then dousing it under the cold tap. Handily, the correct angle of droop for the flaps is given on the instructions as 30o, but do take care not to cut off the lugs from the fairing sides, as they are the locating point on the fuselage. A couple of small air bubbles mar an otherwise good set slightly, but this is easy to clean up, and casting thin parts is prone to this kind of issue. As usual with resin, take the precaution of wearing a mask when cutting or sanding resin, as the tiny particles are harmful to your health if breathed in. Washing the parts in warm water will also improve the adhesion of paint, as there may still be some moulding release agent on the parts when you receive them. AJ/SF/SH-37 (4361) JA-37 (4362) Review sample courtesy of

Hello Here is my new finished kit with this 1/72 Special Hobby Nakajima Ki-43-III when used by the Armée de l'air (French Air Force) in Indochina between December 1945 and February 1946. The GC I/7 Provence stationed at Po Chen Tong near Phnom Penh when they used less than a dozen former Japanese Army Air Force Nakajima fighters. There were many accidents and after a couple of months they were replaced by Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX, and this is another story. The kit is easy to assemble. For the very worn effect I painted first the kit with Alclad Duralumin. Next I applied with a piece of sponge some masking fluid before airbrushing the dark green. After one hour I peeled off the paint with the finger. I made the same for the yellow identification markings. I saw on the pictures that the metal blades of the propeller were in perfect conditions. The transfers came from two sheets on the subject by Printscale. I say two because the transfers are too thin and after the first I could see the mottle effect through the white and red transfers. Then I bought another sheet to put exactly a second layer of the same transfers. Patrick

Hello I have just finished in time this 1/72 Special Hobby Boulton-Paul Balliol as the factory demonstrator aicraft #G-ANSF in a nice red and white dress for the "Made in Britain" GB. The red came from acrylic range Gunze Sangyo H-33 Russet which is not visible on the pictures. You can go to work in progress here : Patrick

Hello I am joining this Group Build with this training aircraft which is the Boulton Paul Balliol. As I have been seduced by the box art of this recent kit made by Special Hobby, here she is in civilian guise. This airplane was used as a demonstrator. First I started to make the cockpit with the metal and injected parts from the box. The instrument panel was made of a picture behind the metal part Next I painted the cockpit with mainly a very dark grey I glued the cockpit in the starboard fuselage half To be continued... Patrick

Next Special Hobby reboxing from a Classic Airframe kit will be the 1/48th IMAM (Romeo) R.37bis - ref. 48185 Source: http://www.specialhobby.net/2017/03/sh48185-imam-romeo-ro37bis-148.html Original CA box art and kit review: http://kits.kitreview.com/ro37reviewse_1.htm http://www.stormomagazine.com/Reviews/CA_Ro37bis_1a.html V.P.

I got this a couple of weeks ago and although I've lots of things on the stocks, a few KUTAs, a Wessex, a Fulmar to photograph and my 'Find the Bismark' Maryland. I couldn't resist starting it. I've also got another but a double start is probably too much. There are a lot of well moulded parts, no resin or etch, and markings for two Operation Tungsten birds, one form 829 squadron and one from 830. More later on but I do like the box top illustration with Furious and Victorious in the background. Mind you torpedoes weren't used against the Tripitz.

Letov Š.328v “Czechoslovak Floatplane” 1:72 Special Hobby Letov was one of the most important manfacturers of aircraft in pre-war Czechoslovakia. The Š.328 was a development of the Š.28, a multi-role biplane which entered service in 1935. Until the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939, the type was primarily assigned to reconnaissance and light bomber units. Despite its obvious obsolescence, the type remained in service after the outbreak of the Second World War. It was used in a variety of roles including reconnaisance, bombing and anti-partisan activities. Four Letov Š.328 were used as target tugs operating in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. These aircraft were fitted with a metal floats, but could be converted back to standard undercarriage for use in the winter months. Special Hobby's Š.328 is one of the Prague-based firms more recent offerings, having first seen the light of day in 2015. This, the third iteration of the kit, comes with extra plastic parts for the floats, as well as resin and photo etched parts for the target winch system and float rudders. The other three sprues of grey plastic parts are the same as those supplied with earlier versions of the kit. Construction starts with the winch system and engine before moving on to the cockpit. The interior part of the target winch is cast as a single piece of resin, while the exterior part is a mixture of resin and photo etch. The cockpit comprises the tubular framework of the sidewalls, as well as the usual control column, seats and instrument panels. The small observation windows on either side of the fuselage do not need to be fixed in place before the cockpit parts as they are thankfully fitted from the outside. Once the fuselage halves have been joined together, the flying surfaces can be added. The vertical tail is moulded as part of the fuselage, but the rudder is a seperate part. The elevators are moulded in place with the horizontal tail, with a pair of extra support braces on either side. Both wings are moulded as solid parts. The lower wing fits into the underside of the fuselage, while the upper wing relies on eight struts for its strength. I don't imagine it will be a particularly easy job to align everything correctly, but those practiced in the dark arts of biplane assembly shouldn't find it too challenging. The floats fit onto the fuselage by virtue of four struts. As with the wings, care and patience will be needed in order to ensure everything lines up nicely. interestingly, Special Hobby have included a note explaining that all of the aircraft featured on the decal sheet can be fitted with the standard wheeled undercarriage if desired, as the four floatplanes were converted back to conventional use during the winter months. A couple of rigging diagrams are included. Although the target tugs were unarmed. twin machine guns are included as one aircraft had these fitted specifically for the 1937 national aviation exhibition in Prague. The decal sheet provides for four aircraft, all practically identical apart from serial numbers and minor differences between the pennants. They are Š.328v 18, 19, 20 and 21, all of the Czechoslovak Air Detachment, Kumbor, Bay of Kotor, Kindom of Yugoslavia (modern day Montenegro), 1936. The decals themselves are nicely printed, with bold colours. Conclusion Special Hobby's Š.328v is an interesting kit of an elegant interwar biplane. In floatplane guise, it looks very similar to a Fairey Swordfish, albeit slightly more slender in the fuselage. I can just picture them cruising lazily around the sin-kissed Adriatic coastline in the years before the outbreak of war. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I decided a while ago to build the new 1/32 scale Special Hobby Yak-3 kit in this GB as I have a bit of a soft spot for the Yakovlev piston fighters. But I was undecided in what colour scheme to paint the model. I didn't like to make a Normandie-Niemen Yak-3 in this scale as I prefer to make one in 1/48 as a companion to my Yak-1 build which still needs to be completed. When I downloaded the PDF instructions for the new Begemot decals of the Yak-3 in 1/32 scale (still waiting for its arrival), it contained all the favored markings seen on models in the past, but one scheme was new and it looks stunning My thanks go to Dimmy who located these sensational pictures. This plane was flown by Senior Lieutenant Ermohin Valentin Grigorievich of the 402nd Fighter Regiment (265th Fighter Air Division, 3rd Fighter Aviation Corps, 16th Air Army, 1st Belorussian Front). He shot down 9 enemy aircraft between July 1944 and April 1945 and several of them on this aircraft. There is an excellent page where I got this information from This will be my first 1/32 scale build and I am exited having a go at it. The kit looks great in the box - maybe a bit simple with not too many parts for the scale. Will be interesting to see how it goes together. I will use some aftermarket parts, Eduard PE and HGW fabric seatbelts which hopefully arrive shortly too. Cheers, Peter

Gloster Meteor Mk.IV 'World Speed Record' 1:72 Special Hobby The twin-engined Gloster Meteor was jointly developed by Frank Whittle’s Power Jets Limited and the Gloster Aircraft Company. It was first flown in March 1943. When 616 Squadron commenced operations on the type in July 1944, it became the first jet fighter to enter operational service with the Royal Air Force. Forbidden to fly the Meteor over occupied territory, 616 Squadron used the new aircraft to combat the threat of V-1 flying bombs, eventually accounting for 14 of them. The design evolved considerably in the post-war period, spawning night fighters, reconnaissance aircraft and target tugs among other variants. The Mk. IV was the first major post-war variant. It was powered by Derwent 5 engines, housed in elongated nacelles. Additional wing strengthening was incorporated into the design, but was found to be insufficient. The clipped wing was introduced in order to reduce stress on the airframe, resulting in improved maneuverability but reduced rate of climb and service ceiling. The type was used to set a number of speed records, a fact which this edition of the kit celebrates. Special Hobby's Meteor is a tried and tested kit, having been released in multiple guises by Special Hobby themselves, Revell and (briefly) Airfix. The cockpit is well detailed for the scale, and there is a decal for the instrument panel. Nose weight is an absolute must, and there should be enough space for this in the area of the nose in front of the cockpit. The lower wing is moulded as a single span up to and including the engine nacelles, with seperate outer wings, while the upper wing is split into four parts. If you want to build the overall blue aircraft, you'll need to use the clipped outer wings, while the other three aircraft all have the regular MK.III style wing. The landing gear is nicely detailed, but joins to the landing gear bays by way of a simple butt joint, so watch out as it could be easily broken off once fitted. The canopy is pretty good, and Special Hobby have included masks for all of the different marking options provided on the decal sheet. This is handy as some of these machines had specially adapted canopies. The decal sheet provides for three options: Meteor EE455, a Mk.III converted to a Mk.IV and flown by Gloster Chief Test Pilot Eric Greenwood OBE, who achieved a speed of 603mph on 7 November 1945. This aicraft is finished in yellow, with silver outer wings and horizontal tail; Meteor EE454, another Mk.III converted to a Mk.IV and flown by Wing Commander Hugh Joseph Wilson, AFC and two Bars, who achieved a speed of 606mph on 7 November 1945. This aircraft is finished in standard Ocean Grey and Dark Green over Medium Sea Grey camouflage; Meteor EE549, an adapted Mk.IV with modified canopy (for which paint masks are included), flown by Group Captain E.M. Donaldson, who achieved a speed of 616mph; and Meteor EE549, another adapted Mk.IV with clipped wings. This aicraft established a new Paris-London record of 520mph on the return from the 1946 Parish Air Show. It is finished in overall pale blue. Conclusion Special Hobby has the day fighter Meteor market pretty sewn up, but it's still good to see them using their tooling to release some special scheme boxings like this. The overall package is pretty complete, partcularly with the addition of paints masks, decals and full-colour painting diagram. Overall, this is a nice kit an can be highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Asian Elephant 1:72 CMK It's not ivory day that an item as original as this lands on the BM review desk. While an elephant might seem to be an unusual choice, it's good to see that CMK refuse to be part of the herd and are happy to produce items that are a little left of field. So let's see if they are up to the tusk, or if this product is, in fact, a white elephant. The overall size and shape of the beast looks good to me, and the features of the Elephas maximus indicus appear to have been captured accurately. The casting is pretty good, but there is a large casting seam running along the spine of the creature, as well as a few bubbles on the surface. This surprised me, as I've never encountered problems with CMK resin in the past. Perhaps this one just needs a pachydermitologist. Conclusion It's great to see that some manufacturers can maintain the elephant of surprise and bring us some genuinely interesting items. Far from being irrelephant, this item will be a fantastic addition to many dioramas from the Asian theatre of war. Thanks a ton, but I'm afraid that's all the elephant puns rhino. Review sample courtesy of