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  1. RS Models is to release a new variant from its 1/72nd Bš.322 kit (link) - ref. 94019 - Avia Bš.322.1 - limited edition Source: https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/424/94019-avia-bs-322-1 Box art Scheme: 1. Avia Bš.322.1, III. Národní let RČS a II. Národní soutěž v letecké akrobacii. Kbely 1937 V.P.
  2. Messerschmitt P.1101 ‘Nightfighter’ (48010) 1:48 RS Models As the war turned against Germany in 1943-4, the German Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM), or Ministry of Aviation in English, issued a specification for an Emergency Fighter Programme, which was to become the Volksjäger, or People’s Fighter programme, based upon the desire for the resulting aircraft to be easily piloted by a novice so that members of the public could be drafted in to fly them after only a short period of training. They had high hopes of darkening the sky with these aircraft and destroying the Allied bomber streams, although this was clearly over-optimistic, especially given the parlous state of German industry at the time, and the poor availability of advanced metals to make the engines that were to power them. Messerschmitt’s Dr. Woldemar Voigt created a basic design for the programme under the name P.1101 only a few days after the requirement was issued, which implies that work had already been underway on a similar project in anticipation. It was to be powered by the Heinkel HeS.001 engine, which was an advanced engine that was still under development, and would remain so for the rest of the war, partly due to the lack of metals that could stand up to the heat generated. The design progressed through various incarnations, considering alternate power sources, changing the variable geometry compound-swept wing to those of the Me.262’s outer panel, and considering then rejecting a V-tail, but keeping the extended fuselage and mounting a standard swept tail design instead. By the time the contest was decided, the Focke-Wulf Ta.183 design was selected, but the P.1101 was retained as a back-up on reduced funding, in part because considerable design work had already been carried out, and many of the problems encountered had been resolved. Its simplified, more practical form carried a single pair of Mk.108 30mm cannons in the sides of the cockpit in cramped compartments near the main gear, retaining the initial tricycle landing gear design with the nose gear in the front of the pointed nose where the intake trunking was sited. As the intended Heinkel engine was still non-operational at the time, a working Jumo 004B unit was installed for test flights. The Front was approaching the test site at Oberammergau, and on 29th April 1945, the American infantry that over-ran the base were surprised to find the partly-finished prototype tipped up onto its tail with missing panels and partly completed wings. Several photos were taken of soldiers and other service people posing next to the aircraft, which have provided some interesting references to researchers post-war. The airframe was eventually shipped to the US, where a look-alike was completed as the Bell X-5, taking the ground-adjustable wing-sweep and making it so that it could be adjusted on the fly, quite literally by the pilot. Bell had intended to create a low-cost fighter for NATO forces base on the design, but the unpleasant spin characteristics of the airframe led to cancellation of the project, which with hindsight would probably have ended the P.1101’s career with the Nazis too. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from RS Models of this innovative design that almost flew during WWII, but has been consigned to the Luft’46 category, even though it continued development under the auspices of Bell after the war. Most Luft’46 or paper-projects are tooled in 1:72, which is a blow for 1:48 builders such as myself, but RS Models have made my year by tooling this in 1:48. The kit arrives in a modestly sized top-opening box with a dramatic painting of the Night Fighter on the front with its whisker-like antennae bristling from its nose, and there are another two boxing options available if you prefer, one of the captured prototype with a couple of alternative in-service decal options, and another boxing with in-service decal options and rockets under the wings. We have the Night Fighter variant to review, and that suits me just fine, as I have a thing about Night Fighters for no reason that I can explain. RS Models produce kits that are somewhere between mainstream and medium-run, so although detail is relatively good, there will be some ejector-pin marks to deal with, and areas that the detailers may wish to improve upon. That said, the exterior detail is excellent, with fine recessed panel lines, a good cockpit on which to base your efforts, plus a choice of additional fuel tanks, a pair of well-detailed Ruhrstahl X-4 air-to-air missiles, and a set of radar antennae whiskers. Inside the glossy top-opening box are two large sprues of grey styrene, a small sprue of clear parts, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, decal sheet, and combined instruction booklet and painting guide, printed in colour on glossy paper. Construction begins predictably with the cockpit, adding side consoles and a rear bulkhead to the floor, then installing the seat, rudder pedals on a cross-bar, and the control column atop a conical base. The instrument panel and electrical panel are applied to the starboard fuselage half, but first the intake trunking is made from the nose cone, with two-part trunk installed in the rear, and a blanking plate preventing a see-through look. The trunk has a couple of raised ejector-pin marks inside that you may wish to remove, or you could paint the interior your blackest black and ignore them. The intake is inserted into the front of the starboard fuselage half along with the nose gear bay, which also has an ejector-pin in the centre that will be seen, so choose your preferred method of cutting it back and smoothing it out before gluing it into the fuselage. The main gear bays also have ejector-pin marks in the centre, so while you have the tools out, you might as well deal with those too, which shouldn’t take long. Each bay is shown having the gear legs installed, with separate oleo-scissor links, and two retraction jacks that fit into recesses in the bays, adding a two-part wheel to the axle at the bottom of the leg. I’ll be trying to leave the gear legs off until after painting when I build this, as I’m a clumsy modeller. The cockpit is added to the starboard fuselage, as is the main gear bay, creating the exhaust from three parts, including a blanking plate that would have benefitted from a rear engine face engraved inside. A deflector plate fixes to the margin between the intake and rear fuselage, closing it up by joining the port side and its gear bay. The bay doors can be fitted to the top of the bay cut-out, but they’re better left off until after main painting. The wings are each made from two halves, and slot into the fuselage sides on tabs, taking care to align them correctly with zero dihedral. There is a choice of two tail styles, either fitting a flat-topped fin with T-tail on top, and sanding and filling the elevator root fairings on the sides of the fuselage, or fitting a traditional fin and slotting separate elevators into the root fairings mentioned earlier. I think I’m going to need two of these now! The canopy is provided as a single part, so if you’re very brave, you might consider cutting it, or just leave it as one part, fixing it in place with some non-fogging glue. There are two external fuel tanks that are built from halves, adding a short pylon and two sway-braces between them, and a pair of X-4 missiles in halves that have two fins moulded-in, and two more fitted into slots on the perpendicular sides, adding a tail cone at the rear, and the pylon between two fins. The fuel tanks are shown located on the inner wing, with the missiles on the outer position, although the instructions show them perpendicular to the trailing edges of the wing, which would have horrible aerodynamic qualities. Rotate them inboard a little match the line of flight for a more realistic appearance. The nose gear leg has its wheel moulded-in, and two retraction jacks added to the rear, plus a side-opening door and another to the front that is captive to the strut. With the model almost compete and main painting too for the sake of the delicate parts, the four radar antenna can be installed on the nose, each one made from a pair of H-whiskers on an L-shaped mount that are etched as one part, thickened at the base by another L-shaped layer, and with a strengthening web at the base that is folded over around the support, as shown in the scrap diagram. Only the webs will need bending along the pre-etched lines, so they will be easy for even the novice to build, as long as you are careful with alignment in three dimensions, so check it from multiple angles before the glue fully cures. Markings There are three decal options for this speculative Night fighter, as it didn’t see service during WWII in Nazi or Allied hands. From the box you can build one of the following: NJG.1, Luftwaffe, 1946 NJG.3, Luftwaffe, 1946 Captured Airframe under test in Great Britain, 1946 The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that 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 Luft’46 can be a polarising sub-genre, getting some modellers unreasonably angry for no apparent reason, but it also appeals to many for the technical merit of these prototypes and paper projects that could have made a difference to the outcome of the war if they had been created sooner, or in greater numbers. Thankfully they didn’t, but they’re still an interesting concept, and RS Models have done a good job of bringing this aircraft that almost was to 1:48 scale. Thanks guys! Can we have some more now please? Highly recommended. Nightfighter (48010) Day Fighter (48009) Captured Prototype (48011) Review sample courtesy of
  3. New RS Models kits will be 1/48th Messerschmitt P.1101: - ref. 48009 - Messerschmitt P.1101 - https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/421/48009-me-p-1101 - ref. 48010 - Messerschmitt P.1101 - Nightfighter - incl. antennas PE set - https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/422/48010-messerschmitt-me-p1101 Source: https://www.facebook.com/RSModels.cz/posts/pfbid0AhKZaQXMWPdudHyDA8wSnXrKbV4TdG6zV2P3suUvbr4npczbWYmkye7hEPPGViTMl Box art, schemes & decals 1. Messerschmitt P.1101 - 1./JG51, 1946 2. Messerschmitt P.1101 - 9./JG52, 1946 3. Messerschmitt P.1101 - Czechoslovakia, 1947 1. Messerschmitt P.1101 - NJG1, Luftwaffe, 1946 2. Messerschmitt P.1101 - NJG3, Luftwaffe, 1946 3. Messerschmitt P.1101 - testing aircraft, Great Britain, 1946 V.P.
  4. Seen at the Spielwarenmesse Nürnberg 2014. RS Models is to release a 1/48th Kawasaki Ki.-61 II Kai/Hien kit - ref.48002 Source IPMS Germany: http://www.ipmsdeutschland.de/Ausstellungen/Nuernberg2014/Bilder_VH/165.html V.P.
  5. Read in Modelforum.cz. There's a add in the CZ magazine REVI n°135 (http://www.revi.cz/cz/revi/135.html) about a future 1/48th Bristol Bulldog Mk.II/IIa kit by RS Models. Source: https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=68170&start=15975#p2570827 Nothing yet in the RS Models homepage or Facebook. Wait and see. V.P.
  6. This is my last model of 2023 - Avia Bk-534 by RS Models. When I was buying it at a store I was sure I'm getting Eduard kit. I don't know why I thought that, I think box art was similar. Anyway this is not Eduard quality kit. I wouldn't recommend it if you want nice relaxed build. Had issues with upper wing mount. I have old KP kit - even that one is better. First time using Mr. Hobby Aqueous paints and that was real pleasure to work with.
  7. The Nakajima Ki-87 was another of the Japanese fighter designs that were intended to attack the B-29's flying over Japan, but never got off the ground (or indeed the drawing board) as Japan ran out of time, fuel, metal and pilots. It would have been a big aeroplane, with a 4 bladed propellor and a turbocharger on its radial engine, heavily armed, or at least proposed to be heavily armed - 2 20mm cannon in the wing roots, 2 30mm cannon outboard of the landing gear. Compared to the Ki-61 Tony and Ki-44 Tojo you can see how big this plane would have been. Here's the box lid - And the paint schemes provided. I decided to make mine in the captured scheme as shown, for a change from Hinomarus. Actually, this particular plane - a prototype - was almost certainly never captured in a flying condition, so it becomes another of RS models what ifs. It's a short run kit which has some fit issues - one of which I got so fed up sanding filling sanding etc I left it as it was, you can see where I tried to fill the gap with superglue. It also had parts on the sprues not mentioned in the instructions and parts mentioned in the instructions not present on the sprues! Weird, really weird. The box art shows the turbocharger casing in silver, but I forgot to do that, and left it in dark Iron. However, the majority of the kit fitted reasonably well, save the engine and cooling fan on the rear of the propellor which were very tight into the fuselage. The fan in particular needed reducing in width by cutting the fan blades back before it would fit. And the canopy didn't fit very well, sanding and shaving with a scalpel didn't help much, but enough to get it to sit in the right place. (Gaps filled with Glue n glaze) I used montex canopy masks which were not very good at all. I think my experience with them was enough to make sure I use Eduard, Peewit or dead design masks in future, which have all been excellent on other kits. Decals - went down pretty well, no complaints there, though they did take a while to slide off the backing paper. Painted with Mr Color and Tamiya paints, varnish matt galleria by Windsor & Newton A little Albion Alloys tube for the gun barrels and pitot, and a yahu instrument panet that you can't see. However, I know it's in there! Am I pleased with the model? Certainly pleased it's finished, a bit disappointed with the paint finish - I failed to thin the Mr Color Nakajima dark green paint and you can see that it was a bit thick on the kit via brush painting. Overall, I don't think this is a bad effort, certainly no major complaints about the kit, which is a refreshing change. Thanks for looking.
  8. This started life as an over-ambitious second build in the recent Blitzbuild GB here and didn't make it, so here we are. It's a kit with lots of lovely details, but it is undeniably short run. However, as I work through it I am beginning to really like and appreciate its finer points. I spent a fair bit of time thinning the interior of the wing trailing edge halves to get a thin trailing edge, and ended up with this after putting on some filler: After a little bit of sanding it has ended up like this: Not exactly razor sharp, but certainly good enough for me!
  9. Well, I was thinking my choice of kit for this Blitzbuild was looking a bit sensible so I've taken a leaf out of James's @81-er book and lined up a second candidate: If the first one goes swimmingly then this could be on the cards... I blame James... Regards, Adrian
  10. RS Models is to release 1/48th Mansyū (Manshu) Ki-79 kits - ref. 48005 - Mansyū Ki-79a - http://rsmodels.cz/en/produkt/default/manshu-ki-79-a?katnum=48005&do=setLang - ref. 48006 - Mansyū Ki-79b - http://rsmodels.cz/en/produkt/default/manshu-ki-79-b?katnum=48006&do=setLang V.P.
  11. RS Models is to release in May 2023 a 1/72nd Zlín Z-XIII kit - ref. 82283 Source: https://www.facebook.com/RSModels.cz/posts/pfbid0XmXSnWaMu19hEq3gyyJBF8FiW3qSu5LAWdQVUfJ9VbqeydtCc3sWVfP1YVXVB3sul V.P.
  12. RS Models is to release a new the 1/72nd Bücker Bü-131 "Jungmann" kits . - ref. 92192 - Bücker Bü-131A "Jungmann" Source: http://rsmodels.cz/en/modely-letadel/plastikove-modely/1-72/92192/bucker-bu-131a - ref. 92193 - Bücker Bü-131D "Jungmann" Source: http://rsmodels.cz/en/modely-letadel/plastikove-modely/1-72/92193/bucker-bu-131-d V.P.
  13. RS Models is to reissue its 1/72nd Ba.122 kit: - ref. 94018 - Avia Ba.122 - Zürich 1937 - František Novák Sources: https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/419/94018-avia-ba-122 https://www.facebook.com/RSModels.cz/posts/pfbid0HD1rJdUtV8xEiFnP9ee69Dmpsa3xHMgXs1b251Zxkc11dVSQBkZydSggf5BibpoYl V.P.
  14. RS Models is to release Heinkel He.46 kits. - ref. 92284 - Heinkel He.46C - ref. 92285 - Heinkel He.46eUn Source: https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=95825&start=14325#p2569217 V.P.
  15. Slightly odd one here, This is something of a mule build of RS Models' Ki-87 prototype. The design really caught my eye, with pleasing lines and the turbo unceremoniously crammed in and sticking randomly out the side. The slender shape belies the size; this thing is about on par with a P-47 and looks ludicrously out of scale next to something like a Spitfire. The kit itself is nice; the detail parts are very basic, the frames and sprue gates are pretty messy and limited-runnish and the hand drawn instructions having a about the detail and precision to match the parts themselves. Still, I think RS have got the important stuff right; while I can't speak to the accuracy of the shape, the surface detail is fine (if a little simple) and canopy aside, the overall shape comes together quite nicely with a bit of care and cleanup. Overall quite enjoyable. The canopy needed a fair bit of reshaping, both inside the clear part and on the fuselage; and frankly still required rather more work than I ended up putting in. I hope you'll forgive a bit of drivel, I've been too lazy to document this stuff in a WIP. The build itself is rather rough I'm afraid. I used this really as a training model, trying out lots of things for the first time, and consequently didn't go to any great effort to get it perfect, nor to add detail. Really the plan was to learn to use metallics; mostly getting a good finish and then experimenting with ways to weather them, and break up that rather bland, sharp-edged look that you get once they're freshly applied. I wasn't particularly bothered about accuracy, really just playing with techniques that could just as easily go on sci-fi build or something. The various experiments were as follows: I had a first, rather lazy go at riveting the model (again in the hope of breaking up the metallics a bit). The work is pretty rough, nice to have the practice. Getting a good gloss layer for the metallics is always a work in progress. In this case I used black Mr finishing surfacer 1500, then sanded back with 1200-5000 grit to smooth the slightly rough plastic down (until speckly gray and black). Then glossed with Mr Color 002, polished a little, followed by Alclad Dark Aluminium and patches of stainless steel. I was pretty happy with the result. The good bit about this scheme, there was no need for any decals. The Antiglare, leading edges, Hinomarus and prop were masked, then got a protective Aquagloss; VMS chipping solution; Tamiya acrylic satined with X22. A bit of chipping and wearing, a bit of repairing, then all sealed again with aquagloss. I had a first go at shading panel edges and general dirt with Tamiya X19 smoke. This wasn't particularly successful, and since it comes out almost wet glossy, required those areas to be toned down again with VMS satin varnish, which affected the metal look somewhat. The overall look is a rather overblown attempt at shamelessly stealing this lovely brushed metal effect. I used very thinned brushed on Tamiya NATO black, but being Tamiya it's rather unforgiving and a lot of stripping and metallic repair work resulted. The brushed effect probably isn't very realistic, but (in the other model) I thought it looked really nice and added nice 'texture' to the metals. Mine turned out way over the top however, and the smaller scale probably didn't help. I'd try a more forgiving type of paint next time. I had a mess around using oils to highlight and shade panels in between rivets. It didn't work at all. In the end there's some finishing with tamiya powders, oil washes and other faffing around. Anyway sorry after all that spiel, this is what I ended up with: Anyway, fun experiment. Thanks for looking in. Andy
  16. Following a short discussion on my Arma Yak-1b thread with @Bertie McBoatface about P-39s, my crazy thought processes sent me off down yet another rabbit hole. Utter lunacy. A P-39 intended for the US Navy, but only ever a prototype..... RS Models Bell XFL-1 Airabonita in 1/72 scale. Kit ordered. Am I completely crackers? Cheers, Mark
  17. Following our Leader's plea for a little Arado floatplane, I somewhat foolishly put my hand up with the offer to build this, the RS Models offering of the Arado Ar-199 ("early version" - whatever that means!). Now, I know next-to-nothing about these little aeroplanes, and as I don't really intend to wipe the bloom off my cherished ignorance it'll be built largely OOB (although I don't expect I'll be able to resist adding to the interior detail ). Of the marking schemes provided I really prefer the box-top example, but unfortunately it operated off a fresh-water lake ergo, it'll have to be either of the others both of which appear to have had briny boots. It looks like Kora do a beaching trolley arrangement, so I may end up with one of those at some point. More when the plastic turns up! Cheers, Mark
  18. Hi, today I would like to share my Avia B-534 in the markings of the plane flown by Captain Jan Pernikar, 44th Fighter Squadron of the 1st Air Regiment, Czechoslovak Air Force, 1936. The plane's serial number is B.534.81. On June 19th 1936, Cpt. Pernikar suffered an accident in this aircraft at Uzhhorod. He later flew Hawker Hurricanes in No. 245 Squadron RAF in 1941, and participated in the Slovak National Uprising in 1944. This was a charming and well-designed little kit that took me about a week to build. It is brush painted and the rigging is EZ Line .003" elastic. Thanks for looking and enjoy the pictures!
  19. RS Models has just reissued its 1/72nd Kawasaki Ki-60 - IJA Heavy Fighter - under ref. 92282 Sources: https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/409/92282-kawasaki-ki-60 https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/RSMI92282 Box art Markings: Ki-60, 2nd prototype, Japan 1941 Ki-60, 244th Sentai, Japan 1941 /alternate marking/ Ki-60, 244th Sentai, Japan 1941 /alternate marking/ Ki-60, captured by the Americans, 1945 /alternate marking/ V.P.
  20. Source: http://modelweb.modelforum.cz/2013/09/23/novinky-rs-models-na-rijen-2013/?lang=CS New RS Models 1/72nd Lockheed P-38D Lightning kit - ref.92154 V.P.
  21. My latest build is a Yak 11 trainer as flown by the Austrian Airforce in the 1950's. I have to say this was an exasperating build, as the kit suffered from several areas of deficiency, mostly in fit, but it had its fair share of other awkwardnesses. My late mother in law was Austrian, and because of that family tie, I've already built some planes as flown by the Austrian Air force (AAF) and have several more to do. We used to see planes and helicopters from the AAF bimbling along the valley below us on our fairly regular visits to Austria to visit relatives. Ummm .. "bimbling along the valley below us", you say? Yes, as the relatives we stayed with lived half way up the valley, about 3,000 ft up, and there was another 2 or 3,000 feet of valley above us. So we'd, as I say, often see planes following the river at the bottom of the valley, below us, which was quite an interesting sight! When I saw the model advertised and it had decals for an AAF plane, and wasn't trainer yellow, but a more modest blue grey, It had to join the others in the stash. It's not a particularly big plane, but it is noticeably bigger than the Zlin Z-126 trener which I've recently built in 1/72. The kit suffered from bad fit. It's easy to blame failings on the kit (and you'll see plenty in the photos) but genuinely, this kit don't fit. The worst was the cockpit, where the instructions have an arrow from the "floor" to vaguely near the fuselage side wall. The "floor" of the cockpit is so narrow, that if you fixed it to one side, it would be 6 mm or so distant from the other half of the fuselage. I made a sort of frame for the floor to fix on to is the cockpit opening at what I thought looked like middle and the right height.. The wing didn't fit to the fuselage, the cowling - fitted perfectly on one side, but was 2 mm too wide on the other side. Much sanding and cursing, even though I could have used a shim. The little bit of etch I used went on ok, but there's an area on the fuselage forward of the canopy with a vent covered by a grill, but there isn't a mesh grill in the p/e for this. It does kind of cry out for an etch piece there; checked the stash of unused etch from previous builds and had nothing useful, so left it in the end. I used some Brengun P/e, yahu instrument panels, montex masks, some albion alloys tube, and humbrol 247 to represent the blue gray colour. Seatbelts were from some generic Japanese set, they aren't particularly visible so I think I'll get away with it. Much cursing, sanding, filling and almost binning went on, for far too long on this build. The cockpit canopy gave me grief too, being not quite the same shape as the opening on the fuselage. In the end, after I somehow managed to get a superglue trace on the canopy, I filled the gaps (badly) with Canopy 580 which hasn't improved the look. Probably masking and painting it off the model didn't help. Still, as my mate in Canada says when I tell him the litany of woes around my builds, "a blind man would be glad to see them". latest on the bench is the Revell 1/72 He 162 A-1, which from Scalemates looks to be a re box of a Lindberg model, from something like 1965, though the box I have shows a copyright date of 1984. I've already had as little go at dry fitting some parts - they fit excellently! I almost damn near fainted.
  22. RS Models is to release a 1/72nd Praga E-141 Diesel kit - ref. 94004 Source: http://rsmodels.cz/cs/modely-letadel/limitovana-edice/1-72/94004/praga-e-141-diesel V.P.
  23. I never found the elusive Airfix Lightning back in the pre-internet days. Looking forward to finally be able to build one - not being nostalgic I went for a more modern kit: This is a blond spot for me - I know nothing about the plane, operations they were invlolved in, or even what’s in the box. Will I want some AM goodies? Next week will be spent pondering about this and learning something about the subject.
  24. This is @Col. fault. I mentioned in my XIII thread that the XII came with the kit too. So here is a place marker to build thee Zlin XII 2-seater prototype using the RS Models kit in 1/72. The scheme I'll be doing. It's the bigger bag and also comes with some PE and a resin nose. Stuart
  25. Here is one of my entries for this GB. I recently stumbled across this racer and promptly acquired this Zlin Z-XIII racer, a type I've never heard of before. Designed in 1937 as either a high speed executive transport or as a single seat competition aircraft where they fitted a shorter canopy, removed the front seat and fitted a fairing...novel. Box art. Stuff in a bag, a collection of plastic, resin and PE. Can't remember building a kit from this manufacturer so it'll be interesting. Stuart
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