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SEM Super Étendard Modernisé (K48140) 1:48 Kinetic Model via Luckymodel The Super Étendard (SuE) was a development from the original Dassault Étendard, after the Jaguar M was killed off due to its poor handling with one engine stalled, which led to its replacement by this, a single engined design. The logic behind that one is a conundrum, to be sure. The SuE had a new more powerful engine, modernised and more capable avionics, plus a new wing design, all of which made it a more capable aircraft. Later upgrades saw the integration of additional new technologies to improve its lethality, plus a vastly improved radar for threat detection. Although the original French purchase order was scaled back due to unforeseen budgetary restrictions, there were some modest export successes with sales to Argentina and a small loan of aircraft to the Iraqi Air Force, which still led to a total build of less than one hundred airframes. The Argentinian SuEs are perhaps the most infamous, after one of their aircraft unleashed an Exocet missile that hit the Atlantic Conveyor during the Falklands War, which brought the name of the Super Étendard to the everyone’s attention, but that didn't result in any further sales. The later Super Étendard Modernisé extended the service life of the ageing airframes, although their eventual drawdown in favour of the newer Rafale M took place in 2016, around the time that this kit was first released, flying its last mission from the carrier Charles de Gaulle, thereby ending a lengthy 42 year career. The Kit This is a reboxing of a 2016 tooling from Kinetic that was warmly welcomed and applauded due to the age of the only other SuE kit in this scale at the time. It arrives in a large box with a painting of the aircraft in flight with a wingman against a background of fluffy clouds. Inside are and increased seven sprues in mid grey styrene, one in clear, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a large decal sheet plus another smaller one, and the instruction booklet with greyscale profiles on the rearmost pages. Four of the sprues are taken up by weapons, as Kinetic tend to be on the generous side in this department. The kit is well detailed throughout, with plenty of raised and engraved areas on display, especially in the cockpit and landing gear bays. Construction starts with the cockpit, and there is plenty of detail moulded in, with instrument panel decals included on the smaller of the two sheets. The tub has side console detail moulded-in, and you add rudder pedals, control column, and a two-part aft bulkhead, after which you can insert a choice of SuE or SEM control panel and Martin Baker Mk.6 ejection seat. It is a nice rendition of the seat, with a choice of headbox toppers that include either a one- or two-loop ejection handle, but doesn't include the forest of seat belts that typify modern fighters. The nose gear bay sits directly behind the cockpit, so that is built up at the same time, from a three-part assembly, which requires you to insert the nose gear leg into holes in the sides before you install it in the fuselage. This should survive handling during the build, as it is sturdy due to the navalisation of the real thing. For completeness the main gear bays are built up as a single unit with a bulkhead between them, with lots of detail within. Before the fuselage can be closed, you must decide whether you will be depicting the engine in operation or not, as this affects which inserts you use for the blow-in doors of the auxiliary intakes on the sides of the nacelles. The air-brake bays are also added from the inside, just under the wing-roots. The last item for construction before closure are the intakes themselves, which extend to the face of the engine, and use some sensible seam-lines to ensure that there is nothing to sand inside. Each intake has a D-shaped profile, made from a C-shaped section with a single flat wall making the inner face, with one intake being the mirror image of the other, converging toward the rear to make a single trunk that feeds the engine with air. The main gear bay attaches to the underside of the merged intake trunk and the engine front blocks the view into the fuselage for those that actually peer down these lengthy tubes. The cockpit, nose gear bay, intake/main bay assembly and a single piece exhaust tube are all then inserted into the starboard side of the fuselage on their various location points, after which you can close the fuselage. A scrap-diagram shows how everything should look when assembled, so check it and make any necessary adjustments during the dry-fit phase to ensure a good overall fit. After closure, the instructions invite you to detail the fuselage with canopy, refuelling probe, lots of aerials and blade antennae, plus air-brakes and their struts, but much of this is probably best left for later once you have the wings on and have any visible seams dealt with. The intake lips, tail-bullet and windscreen/canopy are probably all you will fit before adding the wings, but that's entirely up to you. The wings can be depicted folded for under-deck stowage, or deployed for flight, and can also be shown with the flaps up or down, just by swapping out the straight actuator fairings for cranked alternatives. The leading-edge slats are separate, and fit onto tabs at the front of the main wing area, adding clear wingtip lights as you do so. The spoilers are PE parts and can be posed open or closed, although you may have to add a little detail within the bay if you do. With your chosen wing position complete, they are fitted to the fuselage root via a pair of short tabs, which means that you might need to keep an eye on the joint as it sets up to get the right anhedral as it is in this case. The elevators have PE swash-plates and separate rear sections, with pins that project through the PE and into the base of the tail. The main gear legs are single struts with moulded-in oleo-scissors, plus an additional damper strut that assists the main oleo during heavy landings, and of course a set of wheels with separate hubs. The finished assemblies fit into sockets in the drop-in outer bay sections moulded into the wings. The inner bay doors are captive to the centreline under the fuselage, and the outers hinge at the outboard edge of the bay. This boxing adds a crew ladder to the kit along with the new weapons, which is built from six parts at the end of the instructions. As usual with Kinetic there are a plethora of weapons and pylons included in the kit, and with these being French specific types, the spares could well be useful later if you build more French subjects. In the box you get: 4 x R550 Magic 2 2 x In-Flight "Buddy" refuelling pod 2 x Damocles Pod 2 x Barracuda ECM pod 2 x PHIMAT pod 2 x underwing fuel tanks 2 x under fuselage fuel tanks 2 x 625 litre fuel tanks 2 x AM39 Exocet anti-shipping missiles 4 x GBU-49 on twin-adapter rails 2 x Chaff & Flare dispensers A full page shows what goes where, and illustrates the appropriate pylon or adapter that is used, but as always – check your references to see what constitutes a realistic load if you are aiming for a real-world load-out. Markings The box includes a large decal sheet, which will allow you to model one of three options from the box, although the decal sheet is identical to that from the previous boxing, so more are possible if you download the relevant instructions from Scalemates (the Kinetic link is broken at time of writing). From the box you can build one of the following: SuE Aéronavale 1980s – grey over white. SEM Aéronavale Afghanistan Missions, 2008 – all over grey. SEM Aéronavale Libyan Missions 2001 All over light grey with dark grey camo on upper surface. 6 airframes of 17F aboard Charles de Gaulle. Apologies for the black & white profiles. That's how they come on the instructions. The addition of a substantial number of serials offers more that could be depicted if the urge takes you. The decals are designed by Cross Delta and printed by Cartograf with the usual perfect registration, sharpness and colour density, plus a closely-cropped glossy carrier film. The additional sheet isn’t marked with a printer’s name, but is of a similar quality, and the addition of instrument decals for the cockpit is a useful extra. Conclusion A welcome reboxing of a modern tooling of this intriguing aircraft, which should be simple enough to build into a good replica of this long-serving French carrier fighter. As well as being available from Lucky Model in Hong Kong, you can now select USA, UK, Australia, and Malaysia with local shipping when purchasing your model, as Kinetic now have local warehouses in these locations to reduce the postage costs for us modellers. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Israel F-16I "SUFA" (Storm) with IDF Weapons (K48085) 1:48 Kinetic Model via Lucky Model I would pretty much assume that almost all modellers reading this review are familiar with the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It is probably the most used combat aircraft in the world at this time. The F-16 was developed by General Dynamics for the USAF. This was as a result of proposals for an Advanced Day Fighter Concept. Following on from an Air Force study group the idea of a Lightweight Fighter was developed. Certain elements of the Air Force remained hostile to this as it was perceived as a threat to the then F-15 programme. In 1972 General Dynamics was awarded a contract to produce the YF-16. The aircraft introduced numerous innovations in fighter design, including a frameless bubble canopy affording the pilot greater visibility. Air-to-air missiles were mounted on wing tip pylons to free up underwing stations and the central control column was replaced by a side stick controller. The pilots seat was reclined by 30° to reduce G forces. In technological terms the aircraft was one of the first to use fly-by-wire and relaxed stability were by the computers actually flew the aircraft instead of conventional inputs. Like many aircraft the F-16 has developed over the years, probably to point where the original designers would marvel at the difference between the YF-16 and the latest 2 Seat aircraft with external Avionics spines & conformal fuel tanks. It has certainly gone from a Lightweight fighter to a more overweight example, no doubt like a lot of us over the years! It is estimated over 4500 F-16 aircraft have now been produced. The IDF ordered what were modified F-16D's with conformal fuel tanks. This freed up pylon space for additional weapons just about doubling the aircrafts weapons load. Another feature of the aircraft is the large dorsal spine which houses additional avionics systems, chaff and flare dispensers and the aircraft’s in-flight refuelling receptacle. The Kit This is a re-issue of Kinetic's F-16 kit which dates back to 2008 and has seen multiple re-issues since. This edition comes with decals, parts and weapons for the IDF F-16I Sufa. Or looking in the box it could be described as an IDF weapons set with a free F-16 thrown in! Construction begins with the cockpit. The centre and rear bulkheads are added to the tub followed by the side instrument panels, the main panel and the side stick controller. We then move to the central air intake duct, the bottom of which also forms the top of the main gear bay. The front and rear bulkheads of the bay are added followed by a fan front part at the rear, it can then it can fitted into the lower fuselage section. We then move to the upper fuselage section. The front part is split to allow single and two seat models to be made from the same tool. The 2 seater front part is added to the rest of the top and the gun muzzle added. IFF antennas are added in front of the cockpit. The completed cockpit from earlier can then be added in. The rear air brakes are moulded closed, however they can be cut off and positioned open if wanted. The fuselage sections can now be joined up. The main single air intake can now be built up. The bottom of this forms the nose wheel bay. The intake is then surrounded by its outer skin and this can the added to the fuselage. The instructions have the modeller add the nose gear at this point, though I suspect most will do this later. The main gear is also built up and added at this time. Moving to the read of the aircraft the exhaust nozzle is built up and added along with the tail planes. The vertical fin is built up from the fin, its base, and the rudder, along with a separate rear housing. Care is needed here as the static wicks are built in. The fin can then be added. Back to cockpit the seats are built up and added. For the canopy Kinetic have moulded the frame and canopy separate to these will need to be carefully joined. The nose cone and pitot probe finish things off. Weapons & Stores Kinetic gives us basically 4 sprues main which deal mainly with weapons and under wing stores. We get A centre line tank, two wing tanks, AIM-120s, AIM-9Ms, AGM-65s, GBU-38s, GBU-31;, GBU-12's, GBU-24s; as well as an AN/AAQ-14 & AN/AAQ-13. Additional spures give us the IDF specific munitions. Here we get Delilah missiles, AN/AXQ-14 pod, RAFAEL Spice missiles, GBU-15s, AGM-142's, and Python 4 missiles. Markings There are four decal sheets with the kit. One for the aircraft and three for all the weapons! The main 2 are by Cartograf, the smaller two dont carry any branding. Markings are included for 2 aircraft; 408 - No,422 The Negev Sqn 425 - No.451 The Bat Sqn Conclusion This is still a good F-16 and its great to see the Sufa available with a full range of weapons. Recommended. In association with

EA-6B Prowler VMAQ-2 Playboys (K48112) 1:48 Kinetic Model via Lucky Model In the 1960s the US Marine Corps was looking for a replacement for its EF-10B Skyknights. The EA-6A was developed from the existing A-6 Airframe with the addition of the electronics, the most noticeable difference being the enlarged tail. 27 EA-6As were produced, 15 of which were newly manufactured. However this was in reality nothing more than an interim solution. A larger airframe was needed in part to also replace the EKA-3B Skywarriors as well. The EA-6B again was a development of the A-6 designed for commonality with the A-6. The fuselage of the new aircraft was lengthened to fit in a larger 4 seater cockpit; this housed a pilot and three electronic countermeasures officers. The forward section of the cockpit accommodates the pilot on the port side and one ECM officer station equipped with the communications, navigation systems, and the defensive electronic countermeasures including the decoy dispensers. The rear cockpit accommodates two ECM officers. 124 Aircraft were built and served with the USN and USMC. As well as ECM pods the aircraft could carry external fuel tanks and the AGM-88 HARM missile. Like any platform and more so with electronics the EA-6B underwent different upgrade programmes over the years. The Advanced Capability or (ADVCAP) programme in the 80s improved the aircraft flying characteristics and the electronics, however this was cancelled. Then much later on the Improved Capability (ICAP) programme was instigated by Northrop Grumman to improve electronic countermeasures with the installation of an ALQ-218 receiver, this with new software provided more precise and elective-reactive radar jamming and deception and threat location. After combat operations over Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria the aircraft was retired in 2019 to be replaced by the F/A-18G Growler. The Kit This is a reboxing of Kinetic's new tool from 2011 which was an ICAP aircraft direct from the box. This new boxing has decals for VMAQ-2 in an earlier configuration, all parts are crisp and well moulded, the kit comes with all the parts in box to fold the main wings. The sprue shots in the instructions show two small sprues CC for the Harm missiles but in fact these are contained on larger sprues which contain cluster bombs from the A-6 kit, these will be a welcome addition to the spares box. Construction starts in the cockpit, to the ain tub are added the pilots rudder controls and control column. A front and rear instrument panel goes in as well as front and rear bulkheads. For the seats four GRU-7 Ejection seats are supplied, these have separate firing handles, and a separate ejection gun behind the seat, however no belts are provided. Next it time for the main fuselage. Here there are left and right sides and a large underside insert for the middle of the fuselage. To this insert, the top of which at the front provides the top of the nose wheel bay, the side of the bay are first added. Now the main fuselage can be closed up around the cockpit tub and including the underside part. To the rear of the main fuselage the arrestor hook area also goes in at this time. The later slime lights must be removed from the fuselage sides for this boxing. At the front of the complete fuselage the three part intakes can go on, and at the rear the rear engine parts and exhausts tubes are fitted. Next up its time for the wings. Here the choice between folded or straight must be made before starting as some of the parts namely the wings, flaps and slats must be cut for folded wings. The wing fold parts are all in the box. Full flaps and slats are provided for either option with the wings being split conventionally left/right and upper/lower. For the ends of the wings the speed brakes can either be modelled in the open or closed positions. The pylons are fitted to the wings at this stage. If folding the wings then the wing stays are also included in the kit. The complete wings (or inner wings of going folded) can then be fitted to the fuselage. The nose can now be added with a recommended 50g of nose weight being fitted. Staying at the front of the aircraft the nose gear can be built up with its twin wheels and added into the nose gear bay. the front door holding the landing light is then fitted. Next up the main gears and its wheels can be built up and installed. The main gear doors can now also go on. Despite an earlier stage showing the wing pylons being attached, they are shown again now being attached? Depending on what they are carrying there appear to be different types of additional pylons available though there is nothing in the instructions to help the modeller here. At the rear the tail planes are fitted. If the wings are to be fitted folded then the instructions now show how to attach them with various fittings going on to help. To finished off various small aerial go on, and at the front the canopies go on along with the refueling probe. The front windscreen is one part, but the two main canopies are slit so care will be needed to get these right. Integral boarding ladders are provided for both sides of the cockpit. For things to hang under the wings the kit comes with three ALQ-99 pods, two fuel tanks and two HARM missiles. Though as this kit has markings for 1978 the HARM is not appropriate. Markings The kit gives markings only for 160432 from VMAQ-2 "The Playboys" from 1978. The decals are designed by Fightertown Decals and printed by Cartograf so should offer no issues. Deck Tractor The kit also includes a USN NC-2A EPU Tractor. For this all 4 sides are fitted to the base with the drivers seat on the front left going in. The drivers controls are fitted, and then the topdeck goes on. To finish off the four wheels go on. Decals are provided on the main sheet for the tugs markings. Conclusion It is good to see this kit re-released but it will need a bit of work to make into the version on the decal sheet, or source decals for a later aircraft. Still highly recommended as a kit though. Review sample courtesy of

Luftwaffe Anniversary Alpha Jet A (K48087) 1:48 Kinetic via Lucky Model At the end of the 60s, with the SEPECAT Jaguar “trainer” had transformed into an attack aircraft, leaving the advanced jet trainer role unfulfilled going forward, so France and Germany began a collaboration to design a new trainer that was to become the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, the Breguet part in the collaboration being absorbed by Dassault when they bought the company. It first flew late in 1973, and went into service with France in 1979 after extensive trials as the Alpha Jet E, fulfilling a similar role to the BAe Hawk in the RAF. The Germans used the jet as a Light Attack aircraft with the A suffix appended, and limited export success brought the Alpha Jet to Francophile countries in Europe and Africa, with a number of ex-Luftwaffe aircraft finding their way to Thailand and Portugal. Britian's defence company QinetiQ bought 6 ex-Luftwaffe aircraft, which occasionally make appearances at airshows. Germany has retired the aircraft now, but many airframes are still in service, with the later MS2 with new avionics, engines, a glass cockpit and improved weapons carrying performance used to train pilots on modern types. The Kit For years people had been wishing for a new Alpha Jet in 1:48 to replace the horrendous Heller kit, and 2013 was the first time that wish had been fulfilled in injection styrene. Kinetic did their research and produced a new tooling covering both the A and the E, with snub and pointed noses. This new boxing represents the Attack variant in decal form with all the parts for the E still on the sprues. The A variant is depicted in the anniversary scheme, as well as a Luftwaffe scheme. The aircraft is compact, and arrives in a large flat end-opening box that has one of each scheme in the box passing the airborne viewer to the right. Inside are three sprues in Kinetic's usual pale grey styrene, a large decal sheet, a small Photo-Etch (PE) brass fret, and the instructions with painting and decaling covered on the back pages in greyscale. The two-seat cockpit is moulded as a single part with the side-consoles moulded-in that have instrument details present. The rudder pedals for each pilot are attached to a block in the foot well, with instrument panels as separate parts that have raised dials that lend themselves nicely to some Airscale instrument faces, as there are no instrument decals on the sheet again. The ejection seats have nicely moulded side detailing, but the seat cushions are a little bland by comparison, although they should suffice with the included PE belts installed and some sympathetic painting. The headbox has a separate drogue pack, and a pull handle between the pilot's knees is also present. The back of the seat is detailed with a representation of the ejection mechanism that should be partially visible only on the front seat. A bulkhead separates the front from the back of the cockpit, and instrument coaming for the rear-seater finishes the job. The Alpha Jet is a twin engine design, following the Luftwaffe's experiences with the single engine Starfighter, which claimed the lives of a number of inexperienced pilots, and the full intake trunk is included in the kit. Each intake is made up from two parts with an engine face part added to the inner end. These are slotted into the fuselage before it is closed up, and the inner lip extends to form the splitter plate on each side. The tail fin and pointed nose are also made up too, with a small upstand removed from the front coaming during close-up operations. With the intakes installed, the curved outer intake cowling parts are added and can be faired in before the fuselage is closed, which has no cockpit sidewall detail moulded within if that bothers you. Various other panels attach to the rear of the fuselage and the three-part tail cone is installed along with the air-brakes that can be posed open or closed using different parts. A small HUD assembly is made up from a PE frame with clear glazing and lens added, to be addded to the front coaming after closureas shown in the instructions. The main gear roof is fitted under the fuselage, with a divider glued in position earlier on. The canopy is made up of four sections, including a well-blended windshield, two opening canopies and the fixed divider between the two, which has been moulded to have the blast shield integral by having it perpendicular to the rest of the sprue. The parts are thin and clear with well-defined canopy framing on all the parts. The extension of the windscreen part further forward to a panel line break on the fuselage simplifies the fairing in of the part to the fuselage, to give a more realistic blended finish, and places the framing detail well away from any putty and sanding activities. The nose gear bay is sparsely detailed, and comprises of the bottom of the cockpit tub and the hollow nosecone. The front bay doors are usually seen closed on the ground however, with only the smaller rear doors open around the gear leg, so it will probably go unnoticed. The main gear is complex and comprises four parts plus a landing light on each leg, while the nose gear has a separate yoke, and all three wheels have separate hubs sandwiched between the two wheel halves, which can ease the painting if you're careful. The shoulder mounted wings are made of top and bottom halves, with long attachment tabs moulded into the lower, which should make setting the anhedral easier. They have separate flaps that can be posed extended or retracted by using different parts for the actuators, clear parts for the wing tip lights, and two pylons per wing. The elevators are single parts, and slip into the rear of the fuselage with substantial tabs to hold them at the right angle. The two-part fin slots into the top of the tail, merging with the spine, so check fit before you glue to ensure it is both upright and aligned well with the rest of the spine. As with the old Heller kit, there is a large insert under the fuselage reproducing the valley between the two engines, which also covers the main gear bays and includes a slot for the arrestor hook that was popular during that era. A couple of holes need drilling out from inside before it is fitted, then the gear bay doors all fit in place using tabs that can be cut off to pose them closed, but again, some careful test fitting would be advisable here. The pylons can be filled with up to four drop tanks, and two choices of gun pack under the belly that aren’t used in this boxing, despite being supplied with the kit. It is also capable of carrying rocket pods, Sidewinders, Matra Magic IIs or even two Mavericks, or iron bombs of up to 2,500lbs, although you'll have to source those yourself. Markings Two decal options are included with the kit, but the primary one is the Luftwaffe's 25th anniversary scheme, which includes those colourful diagonal stripes all over the place. From the box you can depict one of the following: Alpha Jet 40+29, Serial A29, Fürstenfeldbruck, 1982 Alpha Jet 40+44, Serial A44, “25th Anniversary JaboG 43”, Oldenburg, 1982 The decals are designed by House of Phantoms and printed by Cartograf, so have excellent sharpness, register and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film around the printing. The inclusion of a standard decal option in the box is also welcome. Conclusion It has successfully consigned the old clunker of a kit to history for some years, and is still a thoroughly modern tooling of this attractive aircraft, with good detail throughout. Excellent decal quality, PE seatbelts and HUD rounds out a nice package. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

F-104G Luftwaffe Starfighter (K48083) 1:48 Kinetic Model The F-104 starfighter was designed by the famous Kelly Johnson from Lockheed after a series of visits to USAF Bases in Korea where he sounded out pilots about what kind of aircraft they wanted. Their main focus was on a small simple aircraft with a high speed/altitude capability. The new General Electric J79 engine was chosen to power the aircraft and he would wrap around this the lightest possible airframe he could. The new aircraft would be all metal with wings located further back than most designs to allow a minimum drag angle of attack. The aircraft would feature an internal 20mm Gatling gun with additional missile armament. One downside to the new aircraft was the downward firing ejection seat which was developed after concerns of a normal seat clearing the tail. The seat would later be replaced by a conventional one, but only after a significant number of deaths during low altitude ejections. Many operators would replace the Lockheed seats with Martin Baker ones. The F-104G was developed by Lockheed at the time the USAF was not happy with the aircraft. The Luftwaffe at the time was looking for a new multirole aircraft and the Starfighter was reworked with a stronger fuselage and wing, larger fuel capacity, a larger vertical fin, new landing gear, and upgraded avionics. Many of these models would be built under license by Dornier, Fokker, Fiat, Canadair and SABCA. The aircraft had a poor safety record with the German forces leading it do be dubbed the "Widow maker", pilot workload was high and it emerged that original fatigue calculations had not taken into account the new role of the aircraft. It would later transpire that underhand methods secured many overseas orders with German and Dutch officials accused of accepting bribes. The Kit This is a new tool from Kinetic. The Box top is branded as Kinetic Gold, with no explanation anywhere to what makes it a "Gold" kit. The kit features an open electronics bay behind the cockpit, nose radar There are three sprues of grey plastic, a clear spure and a small PE fret. The plastic looks to be upto the recent high standards of Kinetic., the panel lines are very fine and I fear will disappear under primer and paint to a greater degree. Construction begins with the cockpit, and the seat is the first thing to be built up. This is multipart affair and there is a C-2 seat and a Martin Baker one. The back and sides attach to the seatpan, the head part with the handles is attached and the seat gun fitted to the back. Seat rails are then fitted to the sides. PE belts are then fitted. The cockpit tub is built and the control column followed by the seat are installed. Next up we have a few sub assemblies to make. The radar and electronics boxes for the nose are made up. Its worth noting there is no parts in the kit to fold the radome back to expose the radar? The rear jet pipe and the exhaust nozzle follow. For the undercarriage the front and rear bays are made up, and lastly the nose cone is put together. All of these can then be added into the main fuselage and it closed up. Some additional panels are then added to the underside. The top to the T tail is then added as is the rudder. The three part intakes (each side) are built up and added to the fuselage. The nose wheel is now built up and added as well. Two different types of wheel are included, however there is no information as to which to use for any aircraft, so the modeller will need to check their references. The nose boy doors can then be added after the nose gear is in. The main gear is now built up as well, again two types of wheel are supplied, and again without any information. Once the gear is on the doors can be added. Moving to the rear of the fuselage the air brakes can be installed. We now move onto the stubby wings. There is a main centre section with separate leading edges and flaps. Holes must be made if using the underwing pylons. If not using the wing tip tanks then there are PE faces for the end of the wings. Once made up the wings can be attached. Back to the fuselage the cover for the electronics bay behind the cockpit is added. This can be open or closed. The glazing is now added. There are PE parts for inside the canopy. Small parts are then added to the airframe including PE AOA indicators. For stores, fuel tanks are provided for the wing tips, and underwing pylons. A double sidewinder adaptor is provided for under the main fuselage. Markings There are designed by Crossdelta and printed by cartograf. It is noticeable there are very few stencils on the sheet. 22+39 Fighter Bomber Wing 34 Memmingen 1984-87 With Earlier type Splinter scheme 21+64 Fighter Bomber Wing 34 Memmingen 1984-87 With Later type subdued scheme 26+60 German Naval Air Wing 2, Eggebek, 1985 Conclusion This is a great new tool from Kinetic. Highly recommended. In association with

Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master (K48063) 1:48 Kinetic Model The M346 is an advanced trainer / light attack aircraft from Alenoa Aermacchi. If the aircraft looks remarkably similar to the new YAK-130 its because the aircraft was originally developed in partnership with Yakolev. Both companies originally agreed to work with each other in 1991 to compete against Mikoyan. Aermacchi gained the rights to modify and market the design for western market. Even though Aermacchi owned 50% of the venture (with Yakolev 25% & Sokol 25%) they were increasingly putting money in due to lack of Russian support. The companies parted ways in 2000 with Yakolev being paid $77 million for technical documents. The agreement between the companies allows Yakolev to market the Aircraft in former USSR countries, India, Slovakia and Algeria leaving Aermacchi everywhere else. The M346 is a highly modified version of the original aircraft with engines from Honeywell and flight controls from BAe systems. As well as Italian Air Force the aircraft has been bought by Israel, Poland, Singapore, and Turkmenistan. The Kit This is a new tool from Kinetic. The Box top is branded as Kinetic Gold, with no explanation anywhere to what makes it a "Gold" kit. As well as the separate fuselage halves there are three spures of plastic for the kit, 2 armament sprues, a clear spure and a small sheet of PE in the box. Construction begins with the ejection seats, these are a multi part affair with plastic and PE parts being used. The cockpit tub is then built up. At the front the instrument panels, front & rear coaming, and HUDs are added, the side consoles and rear bulkhead follow. The seats are then fitted it. Next up the front wheel bay and leg are built up and out to one side, followed by the main wheel bays. The full length intakes and exhaust cans are then built up. Next attention is turned to the wings. The upper wings are moulded to the upper fuselage and the lower wings must then be added. If you are fitting the pylons then the holes for these need to be opened up. The reason for all the sub assemblies now becomes apparent. The nose gear front in the front section of the lower fuselage and some side parts are added. The intakes and fan fronts are then added in along with the exhausts. The cockpit section has the nose front sides added and the this is attached to the lower fuselage. The upper fuselage can then be added it. The main gears can then be made up and added along with the leading edges to the intakes. All the control surfaces and now made up and including the tail. These are now added along with the tail planes. The kit provides separate flaps, slats and rudder. The nose cone is then added. The prototypes having an instrumented probe, but a simple cone for the production models. A variety of PE parts and aerial are added to the airframe. The large ventral airbrake can be posed open or closed. Two canopies are provided a clear one, and on with det cord moulded in. No mention is made o which to use so again the modeller will have to check their references. Pylons and then weapons may be added as needed. Armament Kinetic have included a generic weapons sprue as used in some of their other kits. The modeller will need to use their references to see which if any can be used. Markings There are 6 options on the decal sheet. This has been designed by Israldecal and printed by Cartograf so there should be no issues with it. There is also a supplementary sheet with weapons markings on it these are also printed by Cartograf. The six options are; Prototype 001 (Blue Aircraft) Initial Production Aircraft (Red Aircraft) Lavi 102 - Israeli Air Force 325 - Republic Of Singapore Air Force 7701 - Polish Air Force 61-10 - Italian Air Force You can find a colour copy of the instructions and profiles here, although the product hasn't yet been added to the product listing on the Kinetic website. Conclusion This is a great new tool from Kinetic of one of the latest trainers / light attack aircraft to hit the market. The moulding are clean and crisp with fine panel lines and good detail throughout. Highly Recommended. In association with

Turkish Air Force F-16C (K48069) 1:48 Kinetic Model I would pretty much assume that almost all modellers reading this review are familiar with the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It is probably the most used combat aircraft in the world at this time. The F-16 was developed by General Dynamics for the USAF. This was as a result of proposals for an Advanced Day Fighter Concept. Following on from an Air Force study group the idea of a Lightweight Fighter was developed. Certain elements of the Air Force remained hostile to this as it was perceived as a threat to the then F-15 programme. In 1972 General Dynamics was awarded a contract to produce the YF-16. The aircraft introduced numerous innovations in fighter design, including a frameless bubble canopy affording the pilot greater visibility. Air-to-air missiles were mounted on wing tip pylons to free up underwing stations and the central control column was replaced by a side stick controller. The pilots seat was reclined by 30° to reduce G forces. In technological terms the aircraft was one of the first to use fly-by-wire and relaxed stability were by the computers actually flew the aircraft instead of conventional inputs. Like many aircraft the F-16 has developed over the years, probably to point where the original designers would marvel at the difference between the YF-16 and the latest 2 Seat aircraft with external Avionics spines & conformal fuel tanks. It has certainly gone from a Lightweight fighter to a more overweight example, no doubt like a lot of us over the years! It is estimated over 4500 F-16 aircraft have now been produced. The Turkish Air Force like a lot of NATO countries has bought F-16s. Eight Aircraft were purchased from the US with Turkish Aerospace Industries licence building a further 232. TAI have also exported aircraft to Egypt. Turkey is one of only 5 countries to locally produce the F-16. The Kit This is a re-issue of Kinetic's F-16 kit which dates back to 2008 and has seen multiple re-issues since. This edition comes with decals for 3 special schemes used by the Turkish Air Force. Construction begins with the cockpit. The read bulkhead is added to the tub followed by the side instrument panels, the main panel and the side stick controller. We then move to the central air intake duct, the bottom of which also forms the top of the main gear bay. The front and rear bulkheads of the bay are added followed by a fan front part at the rear, it can then it can fitted into the lower fuselage section. We then move to the upper fuselage section. The front part is split to allow single and two seat models to be made from the same tool. The single seater front part is added to the rest of the top and the gun muzzle added. The completed cockpit from earlier can then be added in. The read air brakes are moulded closed, however they can be cut off and positioned open if wanted. The fuselage sections can now be joined up. The main single air intake can now be built up. The bottom of this forms the nose wheel bay. The intake is then surrounded by its outer skin and this can the added to the fuselage. The instructions have the modeller add the nose gear at this point, though I suspect most will do this later. The main gear is also built up and added at this time. Moving to the read of the aircraft the exhaust nozzle is built up and added along with the tail planes. The vertical fin is built up from the fin, its base, and the rudder, along with a separate rear housing. This can then be added. Back to cockpit the seat is built up and added. For the canopy Kinetic have moulded the frame and canopy separate to these will need to be carefully joined. Weapons & Stores Kinetic gives us basically 4 sprues which deal mainly with weapons and under wing stores. We get A centre line tank, two wing tanks, AIM-120s, AIM-9Ms, AGM-65s, GBU-38s, GBU-31;, GBU-12's, GBU-24s; as well as an AAQ-29 & AN/AAQ-13. While the Turkish Air Force use of some of these weapons, they dont use them all, and there use on the special schemes is doubtful, the modeller will have to do their research to check. Markings The new decal sheet has be designed by Crossdelta and printed by cartograf so there should be no issues there. The sheet gives 3 special schemes as worn by he Turkish Air Force. 143 Sqn from 2007 20th Ann of Turkish F-16 Operations. The aircraft has a striking red fin & tanks as seen on the box art. 143 Sqn, this was the second special scheme, similar to the red one but using blue. 132 Sqn, aircraft as seen at "Anatolian Eagle 2015" in Konya, Turkey. You can find a colour copy of the instructions and profiles here, although the product hasn't yet been added to the product listing on the Kinetic website. Conclusion This is still a good F-16 and its great to see decals for other users of the F-16, and these special schemes do look good. Recommended. In association with