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  1. Hi all I thought even though I have a few builds on the go, 2 Beaufighters and a Seafire, I have been drawn to this little cutie. Well I do like a yellow Aircraft. I didn't finish a Biplane last year so thought I would put that right early on. Looks quite a lovely kit. I would like to thank the guys who responded for info requests in the WW2 aircraft section amd uploaded some lovely photos and info. They are @Work In Progress @JWM @dogsbody @marvinneko and @KRK4m Thanks guys I have made a start, the resin engine is together with the cowl panel fettled and dry fitted at the mo. Cockpit sidewalls with added 0.3 mm Brass wire Painted and cockpit floor and seats painted with spares box PE belts and kit supplied resin control columns added Pleased with it so far Thanks for looking. Chris
  2. de Havilland Tiger Moth (A04104A) 1:48 Airfix The de Havilland Tiger Moth was one of the most important and widely produced trainer aircraft to have seen service with the RAF. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland himself in the 1930s and was based on the Gypsy Moth, suitably redesigned to meet Air Ministry Specification 13/31. In comparison to its predecessor, the Tiger Moth's wings were swept and repositioned, and the cockpits were redesigned to make escape easier. The airframe was also strengthened and the engine exhaust system was redesigned. The Tiger Moth entered service with the RAF in 1932 and remained in use until well after the war. Over 8,000 examples were completed, and the type also served with the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force as well as a great many other military and civilian operators. In service it proved itself to be ideally suited to its role, being easy enough to fly, but challenging enough to weed out the weaker students. It was also cheap and easy to maintain. Further variants would be the DH.82C fitted with an enclosed hood for cold weather operations in Canada, and the Queen Bee, which was an unmanned radio-controlled target drone that resulted in a thinning of the herd of surviving airframes. Always popular with civilian users, many Tiger Moths found their way into private ownership after the War, with many maintained in flying condition to this day. The Kit This is a reboxing with new decals of the 2019 tooling that made many quarter-scale modellers very happy. We didn’t get chance to review the original release, so it’s good to finally see one in the photo booth. The kit arrives in a suitably sized red-themed top-opening box with some dramatic artwork on the top, depicting the last landing of a biplane on a British Carrier in 1964, which involved HMS Eagle and an airframe from Britannia Royal Naval College in Plymouth wearing a silver dope and dayglo striped scheme, as shown here. Inside the box are three sprues of dark grey styrene, a small clear sprue, decal sheet and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on matt paper, with painting and decaling profiles on the rear pages, plus a comprehensive rigging guide that extends to two pages of the booklet. Detail is as we’ve come to expect from Airfix, including restrained scalloping of the fabric surfaces, detailed cockpit and even an engine details inside the nose with the option to open one side of the cowling, and the afore mentioned rigging diagram should go a long way to calm any modellers that are rigging-phobic. Construction begins with the cockpit floor, fitting the rear seat and bulkhead, then making up the front seat and its bulkhead, which is a strange shape due to the seat being half-buried in the bulkhead, giving both crew a control column before it is inserted into the port fuselage after doing some detail painting, ensuring that a tab on the front of the floor fully latches in a slot moulded into the firewall in the fuselage halves. A set of rods are inserted into the half engine moulded into the port fuselage, with a scrap diagram showing it from the front, then the two instrument panels with their dial decals are painted and installed in front of each crew member, again after detail painting. The starboard fuselage side has a pair of crew doors moulded into it, but with the perimeters thinned to ease cutting them out if you wish to open them, although you don’t need to retain the cut-out doors, as extra parts are included on the sprues. Engine detail is glued to the flat side of the engine moulded into the fuselage half, and if you plan to use an Airfix stand, there are two flashed-over holes under the cockpit that you can cut out, painting the sidewall detail before you close the fuselage halves and deal with the seams. A curved fairing is fitted to a depression in the port side of the fuselage behind the engine, and on the starboard side the exhaust is attached to the engine, then after drilling a 0.4mm hole in the firewall, the A-frame engine mount is fitted over the engine details after painting and weathering them according to your taste. A top cowling panel is mounted over the top of the motor, fixing the front cowling with intake port and prop fairing, fitting the lower and port engine cowlings in the closed position, then deciding whether to open the starboard cowling to expose the engine detail, or closing it using the same part, a scrap diagram showing its opening angle. A jig is found on sprue C, and is mounted over the tail without glue, which allows you to remove a shallow section of the fuselage top to accommodate the strakes added to the elevators of decal option A. The instructions show it from two angles to assist you, and a file icon suggests what to use to remove this area. After you are happy with the job you’ve done removing the plastic, the elevators with strakes are glued in place for option A, and a different part without strakes is used for option B. Both tail styles are supported by diagonal struts that pin at both ends, plugging the rudder into the rear of the fuselage and adding a tail skid with the aid of a scrap diagram nearby that shows the assembly from another angle. The lower wings are moulded as a single part that is linked by a narrow section that slots into a groove in the fuselage underside. Once the glue is cured, cabane struts are mounted vertically on the curved fuselage sides, preparing the upper wing by adding a ribbed fuel tank on the centre section, then flipping it over to slot the interplane struts into grooves moulded into the wing surfaces. You might wish to align the upper wing with the model while the glue cures, and once everything is set, the two wings can be glued together, ignoring the rigging aspect of this model for the time-being. A scrap diagram shows how the cabane struts fit into grooves in the underside of the upper wing, either side of the fuel tank. The instructions suggest you apply the underwing codes before fitting the aileron actuators that are mounted under the wings, although the decals stop short of interfering with these parts on the diagram, then a handle-shaped part is fixed on the fuselage underside between the wings. The landing gear is created from a bridged W-shaped main strut, which is braced by a pair of diagonal forward struts, one on each side, adding another smaller pair behind the legs while slotting the single-part wheels onto the axles. Turning the model over onto its wheels for the first time, a vent is added to the fuel tank, and a choice of two prop styles are pinned to the front of the model by a separate part, which can be left mobile if you are careful with the glue. Returning to the cockpit, padded coamings are fitted to the front of the cockpit openings, adding faceted windscreens to slots in the top of the fuselage, then if you have cut out the crew doors, two new door parts are installed in the open position, leaving ‘just’ the rigging left to do. Most biplane modellers have their own preferred method for rigging their models, and here Airfix have provided two pages of diagrams to assist with the process, which would be most useful for anyone not familiar with the task. The Tiger Moth isn’t overly complex in its rigging either, so if anyone was thinking of joining the biplane community, this could be a good kit to start your journey with. Markings There are two decal options included on the sheet, with suitably different markings and schemes to broaden its appeal. From the box you can build one of the following: BB852/E, Britannia Flight, Britannia Royal Naval College, Roborough, Plymouth, Devon, 1st July 1965, the last biplane to land on a British carrier (HMS Eagle) No.9 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School, RAF Ansty, Warwickshire, England, October 1940 Please note that the Dayglo Orange decals above appeared light pink after scanning, so the colour has been approximated by eye and reference to a photo taken on an iPhone in PhotoShop Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film on the dayglo orange decals, and gloss carrier film everywhere else, cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A welcome re-release for those that didn’t manage to pick the kit up first time around, or just wanted another kit, while the new decals add extra interest, especially the last biplane to land on a British carrier, which will be a bright model thanks to the dayglo stripes, which aren’t pink on the sheet, I promise. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  3. AVRO Anson Mk.I in Worldwide Service Photo Archive Number 25 ISBN: 9781908757371 Wingleader Publications Originally designed as a fast mail carrier in the early 30s, the original AVRO design was amended in the mid-30s in response to a specification issued by the Air Ministry for a reconnaissance aircraft that could also perform other roles. It beat a similarly militarised de Havilland Rapide and was awarded a contract for series production with the name Anson after an 18th Century Admiral of the Fleet. At the outbreak of war it was still performing its given roles, and was engaged in the Dunkirk evacuation where it surprisingly managed to shoot down two Bf.109s and damage another, as they found the low speed of the Anson hard to gauge, overshooting straight into the line of the nose-mounted .303 machine gun operated by the pilot. She was thoroughly outclassed as a front-line aircraft though, so was soon withdrawn from fighting service to form part of the training fleet, and as a communications ‘hack’. Despite its withdrawal from front-line service, more aircraft were built, and they were used as trainers for radar operators, navigators and as a stepping-stone for pilots that were destined to fly multi-engined bombers. Its replacement in maritime service was the Lockheed Hudson, which had a substantially increased range and speed, the Anson only being capable of a four-hour endurance that prevented it from covering much of the Atlantic or North Sea before it had to turn for home. It could carry a small bomb load however, so could take offensive action if it was to find a U-boat on its travels. Following WWII, Faithful Annie as she became known was used as a civilian and business aircraft, although some of the wooden-winged examples that were used overseas began to suffer from problems due to humidity’s effect on the timber areas. Not all Ansons flew on wooden wings though, and some of the wooden winged aircraft were retrofitted with the improved metal wings, although even these were eventually retired, leaving only one airworthy by the turn of the new millennium. The book This twenty fifth volume in the series by Andrew Thomas and Simon Parry covers the Anson Mk.Is exclusively, as they made up the majority of airframes built, even though there were several other variants during its service. The book starts with the prototype that was created for civil use by Imperial Airways as the Type 652, gaining the approval of the military procurement staff as a potential trainer for pilots, navigators and gunners of the RAF and FAA. Pictures of the civilian and military prototypes are to be found on the front few pages of the book, the original needing dozens of changes to be accepted for service, arrowing the square windows as one such item. Some of the photos are of course staged for official use and in publications of the time, but there are also a large number of candid, personal and engineering shots, and some are of damaged aircraft, one lying flopped on the airfield after a less-than-successful landing by a novice pilot, another damaged by a “forced landing”, which could be pilot-speak for a mistake. The photo of the Anson “parked” on top of another on the airfield will have you scratching your head until you read the caption. Believe it or not, they collided mid-air and became locked together but with a degree of control, and miraculously, managed to land in that same predicament with no loss of life. A visually impressive book with plenty of reading material into the bargain that will have you coming back to it again and again. The inclusion of a unique float-plane conversion is tempting, and it was used as a teaching airframe for pilots before they progressed to Sunderlands, instructing them on water-handling of heavy aircraft without taking a four-engined Sunderland flying boat off front-line service. There is also a section on Ansons in foreign service, including a batch sold to America from Canadian stock fitted with new engines and wearing stars-and-bars. The last page of photos is a rare colour imagine of an Anson with a female aviator in the pilot’s seat, which faces a couple of tables printed on the inner cover that reproduces a list of all operational squadron codes, and serial number batches that the type used. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  4. Alpha Jet 50th Anniversary (03810) 1:144 Carrera Revell At the end of the 60s, with the SEPECAT Jaguar project transformed from a trainer into an attack aircraft, it left the advanced jet trainer replacement unfulfilled, 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 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, 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, Morocco, and Portugal. One of Britain'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 elsewhere, with the later MS2 fitted with new avionics, engines, a glass cockpit and improved weapons carrying performance used to train pilots on modern types. Civilian operators are currently receiving support from dedicated companies that have been set up with this purpose in mind, providing upgrades, repair and maintenance service, helping to keep the remaining airframes in the air for the enjoyment of spectators at airshows and in use as adversary trainers around the world. The Kit This boxed set first hit the shelves in 1993 in the old Revell blue boxes as a single kit, while this box has three identical kits in the box, each one comprising two small sprues, a clear sprue, shared decal sheet, instruction booklet and an A3 poster of the box art minus all but an unobtrusive Revell logo in the bottom right corner. The total sprue count is six in grey and three in clear, with a surprising level of detail visible on the exterior, and a basic two-seat cockpit inside. Firstly, bear in mind that each kit is identical, so we will look at one set of sprues and you should imagine doing everything three times over. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is a single part that has ejector seats and control columns moulded-in, with enough detail to be suitable for the task when painted and viewed through the canopy. The main gear bay former is slipped into the lower portion of the fuselage halves as they are glued together, adding 5g of nose-weight before gluing them together. The intakes are made from splitter plates and trunks that are joined and applied to the fuselage sides, with single part exhausts added behind, fitting the elevators on flat spots either side of the tail, which would benefit from pins to strengthen the join. The belly insert covers a blank spot under the fuselage, adding an additional fairing between the engine nacelles for the German version, and closing the forward half of the nose gear bay with a door that opens and closes only during take-off and landing, or for maintenance. The wings are each single parts that attach to the fuselage using traditional slot and tab, adding optional strakes and arrestor hook under the tail of the German variant. The German Alpha Jet carries two tanks with stabilising fins under the wings, consisting of two halves and a separate pylon that mounts on a pair of pins under the wings. Germany also had a probe on the nose of the aircraft, while other variants had a simple cone instead. The main gear struts are each a single part that are well-moulded, and have separate wheels added, fixing them at the rear of the bay openings on a wedge-shaped tab, which is shown more clearly in a scrap diagram. The small bay door is fitted to the top edge of the bay, and the blank interior of the bays will probably never be seen again, which is a good thing, as they have an ejector-pin mark in the centre on each side. The nose gear has the wheel moulded into the strut, and the bay is further enclosed by fixing an L-shaped door to the rear of the bay. The last parts are wedge-shaped actuator fairings under the wings, two on each side. Markings There are three decal options on the sheet, and for a change you can build all of them from the box, which is nice. Alpha Jet A, Cottesmore, UK, June 7th 1996 Alpha Jet E, Fairford, UK, July 16th 2007 Alpha Jet E, Florennes, Belgium, June 15th 2017 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion I was prepared to smile politely and describe an old, clunky kit, but was pleasantly surprised to see the quality of the sprues in the box. If you’re an Alpha Jet lover and don’t have the space for larger kits, you can get a quick fix within this box, building three kits and decals for different operators. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  5. DH.94 Moth Minor (RRK48006) 1:48 Red Roo Models In 1929, the de Havilland aircraft company identified a potential market for a simple and relatively inexpensive aircraft that would cater for the growing interest in amateur flying. This resulted in the DH.81 that was to be named Swallow Moth, and by the August of 1931 the sole example of this type was flown. However, demand for the subsequent DH.82 exceeded expectations despite its significantly higher price and complexity, and this resulted in the DH.81 project being shelved to free up production capacity. Five years later, the project was resurrected in the form of the DH.94. Taking advantage of some structural techniques used in the Comet and Albatross, the first prototype, now known as the Moth Minor, was completed at the dedicated production facility at Hatfield and flown for the first time in June of 1937 by Geoffrey de Havilland. The Moth Minor featured an open two-seat tandem cockpit configuration and was usually flown from the front seat. Power was provided by a 90hp Gypsy Minor engine, giving a maximum speed of over 100 mph. Range with the standard fuel tank mounted beneath the front pilot’s seat was a respectable 300 miles however this could be increased by a further 300 miles if the optional wing mounted extra tankage was fitted. Built entirely of spruce and ply, the overall length of the fuselage including the propeller and the fabric covered rudder was 24’5”. The wings were built around a two-spar layout with ply covering back to the rear spar. The ailerons were fabric covered as were the large upward folding wing sections. The latter being necessary to allow the main planes to be folded rearwards and secured to the tailplane for stowage in a much smaller space. Additional fuel tanks or luggage lockers could be installed in the wing as required. The fabric covered areas were secured to the underlying structure by means of spruce cap strips which although recessed, stood slightly proud of the surrounding area. A large combined flap and air-brake was fitted below the fixed portion of the wing and fuselage to give greater glide slope control during landing. The large perforations in the air-brake surface reduced the natural nose-down trim change when deployed, allowing for better speed management. In keeping with the overall simple design and manufacturing philosophy, the undercarriage was also uncomplicated, utilising a fixed single strut main leg with a light alloy streamlined fairing. Shock absorbing rubber blocks were used to provide some cushioning, and a steerable tail wheel was fitted to the rear fuselage. By the outbreak of World War II some 71 production examples had been completed, including nine of the optional enclosed cockpit variant, known as the Moth Minor Coupé, an option that featured a raised rear fuselage and hinged cockpit covers. Early in 1940, production capacity at Hatfield was urgently required for aircraft more vital to the war effort and so all Moth Minor drawings, jigs, components, part completed, and finished but undelivered airframes were delivered to de Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd at Bankstown, Australia where more than 40 were supplied to the Royal Australian Air Force. They were found wanting as an ab initio trainer due to the lack of flap and brake controls in the rear cockpit, so many were instead tasked with communications and hack duties, only a few making it through WWII before being written off, crashed or dismantled. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from Red Roo, and is a multi-media resin kit for the experienced modeller, including Photo-Etch (PE), wire, white metal, and clear resin parts that require some experience and modelling skills to put together. It arrives in a flat white box with a sticker covering most of the lid, giving product details and scale, plus a couple of side profiles. Inside the box are twenty-six grey resin parts, two clear resin windscreens, three white metal gear legs, four 3D printed parts, a small PE sheet, two punched 4mm discs of styrene sheet, two lengths of copper wire of different gauges, a decal sheet, all of which are packaged in heat-sealed sections of two main bags, keeping the parts from shifting in transit. The instruction booklet rounds out the package, consisting of nine printed pages of A4, plus a separate sheet concerning small details on the model. The booklet is unusual because it has extensive notes about the aircraft’s development, colour notes and photographs, plus acknowledgements of the books and sites used in research of the kit. Decal application is also discussed at length, and each of the seven decal options have a full side devoted to four-view profiles, followed by a parts diagram after which the building of the model is shown over four sides at the rear of the booklet. Construction begins with removal of the casting blocks from the resin parts, which should be relatively straight forward due to the clean casting, and sensible location of the blocks. Care should be taken with the two fuselage halves, as they are necessarily thin between the two cockpit openings, and a ham-fisted modeller could easily over-stress them if they are not careful. Once you are happy with your prep work, the build can begin in earnest, starting with the two instrument panels, both of which have resin compasses fitted on PE brackets at the bottom of the panel. The front panel has a spacer slotted into a groove along the bottom, and both panels have decals depicting the dials that can be applied once painted to add extra detail. The cockpit floor is a single part with a raised area down the centre, which receives the seat supports and seats, plus control columns for both crew, and bulkheads front and rear. Two PE quadrants are folded up and applied to the sides of the front seat, noting the location tabs on the front face of the support. Painting of the insides of the fuselage and the cockpit will intervene before the cockpit can be installed, adding a pair of 3D printed voice-tubes to the starboard side, as radio wasn’t yet all that common in aircraft then. Note that there are two print bases of these parts, as they are very fine and prone to damage, as can be seen from the photos. There are two/three intact tubes between them, saving wastage of partial prints. The port side has throttle quadrants fitted, then the fuselage can be closed and the seams dealt with in your preferred manner. The closed fuselage is completed with the nose fairing, which has an insert behind it to depict the front of the engine that will be dimly seen through the narrow intake opening – another nice touch. The empennage, or tail feathers consist of a single width elevator, which is glued into a recess in the fuselage, fitting the rudder into position via two locating pins and holes, then adding 3D printed supports under the elevators to complete the assembly. The windscreens are cast in clear resin, and although they are a little hazy in my example, some careful polishing and a dip in Klear/Future or your equivalent should see them looking appropriate for the task of keeping oil and bugs out of the crew’s faces. The wing is a single part that has a pair of raised location tabs moulded into the centre that fit snugly into recesses in the inner fuselage sides, so should make for a good join, slotting the PE perforated flap/air brake into the rectangular recess under the centre panel of the wing. The main wheels are resin, while the struts are white metal, so epoxy or CA (super glue) will be needed to glue the parts into their recesses, taking a moment to ensure they are correctly aligned with the airframe and each other. The tail wheel slots into a hole under the fuselage, and can be posed at an angle if you wish, as it was steerable. The last part is the two-blade prop, which is supported along its entire length by fingers rising from the casting block, so take care when separating it to avoid snapping the thin trailing edges. The separate instruction sheet refers to the two mass balances under the ailerons, which they suggest be made from a few lengths of 0.15mm wire that is provided, using the drawings and colour photo to determine shape and length. There is also a short discussion of the throttle quadrants that are linked between cockpits, although the wire can be disconnected and hooked under the front quadrant to exclude the rear pilot from adjusting the power. The plastic discs in the bag and more wire can be used to complete this, which is probably an “experienced modeller” task unless you like a challenge. Markings There are a generous seven decal options included on the sheet, each of which has their own page in the instructions, and a wide variation of schemes. There is also a little block of text on each page giving a potted history of each one, including its ultimate destination. From the box you can build one of the following: A21-7 23 Sqn. RAAF A21-8 83 Sqn. Hack A21-9 25 Sqn. 1943 then 35 Sqn. 1944 A21-18 2 Sqn. Then 7 Service FTS 1941 A21-12 25 Sqn. 1941 then 9 FTS 1944 A21-36 Lost status card A21-5 22 Sqn. Then 2 Communications Unit The decals appear to be 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 should mean that the carrier film on the 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 It’s a glorious multi-media kit of this endearing little trainer, and once the resin parts are cleaned up, it should build very much like an injection moulded kit, except for the glue you’ll need to use, and the sense of satisfaction you’ll get from completing it. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  6. Hi all I wonder if if there is anyone that knows the interior colour for the cockpit of the Fleet Finch Trainer . I can see online the Canadian Warplane Heritage machine which is a light grey, but I wondered if during WW2 the cockpit interior would have been interior grey green. There is a Fleet Fawn online and that one has a grey green interior. I might have to consider modelling a Fawn too, looks incredibly sweet. Thank you in advance Chris
  7. T-2 Buckeye Anniversary Markings (SH48231) 1:48 Special Hobby Following WWII, the US Air Force embraced the jet engine wholeheartedly, with the Navy lagging behind a little due to the slow spool-up of the early jet engines that made wave-offs and go-arounds a cheek-clenching prospect. By the early 50s the T-28 Trojan was showing its age, so those in command began looking for a replacement. North American of P-51 Mustang fame won a contract in the mid-50s, and the T-2A flew by 1958, entering limited service a year later, with only one jet engine installed in the earliest variant, which was also called the T2J-1 at the time, although consolidation of naming in 1962 renamed it as the T-2A. By the time the T-2B entered service, the engine count had increased by one to give it more speed and similarity of operation to the aircraft that the trainees would eventually fly after graduation. Around 600 airframes were built in total, and the type had a long career that spanned around 40 years, with most pilots during that time having spent part of their training flying a Buckeye, the name given to it that relates to the location of the factory in Ohio that made them, which has a state tree by that name. The T-2C was the final variant in US service, with GE engines replacing the Pratt & Whitney units, presumably for efficiency and maintenance reasons, as they brought no extra power to the party. 50+ D and E variants were built for overseas operators in South America and more notably Greece, who took 40 and are still flying them at time of writing. In US service the Buckeye was retired in 2008 when it was replaced by the more modern T-45 Goshawk, which is a substantially re-engineered and Navalised version of the BAe Hawk, as used by the RAF and the famous Red Arrows. The Goshawk is faster and more agile than its predecessor, getting close to the sound barrier and with advanced avionics that mimics those of the current fighters better than the worn-out Buckeyes could manage. A few T-2s are still flying in private hands, and make appearances at air shows, as do the Greek airframes if you’re lucky. The Kit This is a welcome reboxing of the 2009 tooling that initially appeared under another manufacturer’s name, but with Special Hobby doing the tooling, while subsequent boxings were released under Special hobby’s own name, so if you missed out on those, now is the time. The kit arrives in a top-opening box that has a pair of profiles of the decal options laid over a merged US and Greek flag. Inside are five sprues of grey styrene, two small clear sprues, one for the canopy parts, a small bag with thirty-nine resin parts, two decal sheets, a fret of pre-painted Photo-Etch (PE) parts, and finally an instruction booklet printed in colour on glossy white paper, with painting and decaling profiles on the rear pages, followed by some adverts for some of Special Hobby’s other products. Detail is good, and improved further by the resin that’s included, especially a pair of ejection seats and four side consoles that are very well done, as is the rear-seater’s coaming, especially the wiring on the rear. Engraved panel lines, accompanied by raised and recessed features where you’d expect them go to make a good-looking model that has a reputation for being one of those models that you need to keep your wits about you when building, as there are fit issues that will need fettling. It’s certainly not unbuildable as some wavers-of-hands would bemoan, as it has been made by many a modeller in the years since it first appeared, with results varying according to level of skill and patience applied during building and painting, as with most things. Please note that the swirls visible on some of the parts above are from the moulding process and will disappear under paint. Construction begins with the cockpit, diving straight into the instrument panel, which has a lamination of two pre-painted instrument panels layers placed over the flat front under the coaming, with a styrene part with raised and recessed details on the surface for those who don’t like PE wrangling, a job that is repeated to make the rear instrument panel, which is a different shape, with the deeply recessed rear of the panel depicting the backs of the instruments and their wiring. The four resin side consoles are detailed with additional parts, including the rudder pedals from the sides, all of which has colour call outs using letters that correspond with a table of Gunze Sangyo paint codes, which carries on throughout the build. The next step is bringing together the various sub-assemblies on the cockpit floor, adding bulkheads behind each pilot, control columns, two more small parts on the tutor’s coaming and one on the student’s, and a rounded enclosure on a shelf behind him. There is a lamination of two PE parts for the mini-coaming around the instrument box on the top of the tutor’s coaming, which represents the instruments deep within. Finally, a small bulkhead is fitted to the front of the cockpit assembly. The rest of the internals need to be built and painted before closing the fuselage, starting with the long intake trunks, which are each made of two halves, attaching to a bulkhead that has the first compressor faces moulded-in, which should be painted metallic before installation. The same part-count and a similar bulkhead is used to create the exhausts, although the painting will be more of a burnt metallic shade for the whole assembly, thanks to the high temperatures there. The nose gear bay is in two halves, so mating them neatly will reduce any clean-up work before you can apply the paint. Adding 10 grams of nose weight during closure, along with the cockpit, intakes, nose gear bay, and exhausts, after which you can deal with the fuselage seams in your preferred manner. The rest of the flying surfaces are made up for a break from detail work, including the ailerons, elevator panels and separate flying surfaces, flaps and the two rudder panels, each one put together from two halves. The main planes are separated by the fuselage and are provided as top and bottom surfaces, adding two gear bay wall sections before closure, painting them and the detail moulded into the upper wing interior as you go. The wings, elevators and their panels, plus the two rudder halves are all installed, leaving the flaps until after completion of the lower fuselage. The open lower fuselage is filled with an insert with a small resin insert in the insert to be inserted (yikes!) to add detail where it would otherwise have been impossible with a two-part fuselage design, then a quartet of small intakes are fitted on marked locations on the lower sides of the fuselage where the engines are found. The exhaust trunks are finished with their pen-nib fairings, and the intakes are extended with a two-part fairing and fine lip to complete the assembly that is plugged into the fuselage sides under the rear cockpit. Finally, the arrestor hook is glued under the tail with a PE support near the hinge-point, the whole length of it painted in black and white stripes. The flaps can be attached tucked away for flight, or deployed for take-off and landing by adding three brackets per side to the leading edges before installing them in their wells. A clear light is inserted into a socket under the belly, and another flat light with a PE bezel is fixed under the nose, just behind a probe. The main gear legs have a sturdy upper section that needs the pegs cutting from the pivots, and these are joined to the lower on a stepped join for strength, adding PE tie-down lugs, separate scissor-links and a retractor jack that needs a 2mm piece of 1.5mm diameter rod fitting on one side. The leg has a two-part captive bay door applied to the outer surface, while the inner bay door hangs down, and is retracted by a delicate resin H-frame. The wheels are two parts, and slip over the stub axle at the bottom of the yoke, facing inboard. The nose gear is a single strut with an additional cylinder added to the front, and two scissor-links at the rear, installing another two-part wheel that is different from the main gear wheels. The bay doors are simple side-opening parts that hinge along the bay sides. Flipping the model over, the two-part tip-tanks with clear light added to the centre outboard and with a clear tip insert, are fitted to the wings, with three more lights on the tail fin plus a pitot probe, and two strakes on the fuselage sides under the tail fillet. A conformal landing light lens is inserted into a cut-out in the port wing leading edge, fitting the two resin ejection seats into the cockpit, which were painted and decaled while the cockpit was being made, adding a stripey black/yellow actuation handle to the headbox from the resin parts. The windscreen is glued into the front of the cockpit over the forward coaming, fitting the canopy in either open or closed positions. Before it is installed, a bulkhead is fixed under the rear of the canopy, with a resin bracing strut in the centre and a pair of rear-view mirrors in the front frame. To pose the canopy closed, a short ram is fixed under the cross-brace, with a longer one used to lift the canopy up for crew access. Markings There are two decal options on one sheet, with the second sheet containing stencils for around the airframe. From the box you can build one of the following: T-2C Buckeye, Bu.no.155241, No.309, VT-23 ‘The Professionals’, NAS Kingsville, Texas, 1976, marking the US Bicentennial. T-2E Buckeye, Bu.no.160084, No.84, 363 Air Training School (MEA) ‘Danaos’, 120 Air Training Wing (PEA), Kalamata, Hellenic Air Force, celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the 363 MEA. 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 It’s good to see this kit back on the shelves in my preferred scale, and with marking for US and Greek aircraft included to widen the appeal. The resin does a good job of increasing the detail of the model, especially those ejection seats and other cockpit details. Incidentally, if you have one of the early boxings and don’t like the vacformed canopies that come with those, Special Hobby have released just the canopy sprue for purchase separately, which you can find here. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  8. Tachikawa Ki-54Hei/Hickory (SH72270) 1:72 Special Hobby The design that was to become the Ki-54 was requested as a response to the need for a twin-engined trainer aircraft to teach novice pilots that had already learned to fly single-engined aircraft to specifics of flying a multi-engined aircraft. Tachikawa was a major aircraft manufacturer between the wars, and it was their design that won the contract and first flew in the summer of 1940, successfully entering service during 1941 before the Japanese Empire attacked Pearl Harbour and brought the USA into WWII. It was one of those aircraft that most multi-engined pilots spent time earning their wings on at the time, before they moved on to fly the Ki-21 bomber, which had similar flight characteristics to the Ki-54, so was ideal for the task. The initial Ki-54a variant was designed for pilot and navigator training, and given the suffix Koh, followed by Ki-54b, a Gunnery and Wireless trainer variant called Otsu, and finally the Ki-54c Hei, which was a transport and liaison variant that was also used in civilian service. A few airframes were converted to Ki-54d standards as anti-submarine bombers that were named Tei, with a total of just over 1,300 aircraft produced spanning all types. Named ‘Hickory; by the Allies for ease of identification, the aircraft survived the end of the war, with numerous airframes used by the Allies for sundry roles, and more finding their way to different parts of the world in civilian hands. It is perhaps for this reason that two still exist in China and Australia. The Kit This is a 2021 tooling of this lesser-known type, and arrives in a small top-opening box with a painting of the subject matter flying over a coast that is covered in thick jungle. Inside the box is a resealable clear foil bag that contains four sprues in grey styrene, the wing sprue in a different hue in my example, a small clear sprue and decal sheet in their own separate bags, plus the A5 portrait instruction booklet that is printed in colour on satin paper, with painting and decaling profiles on the rearmost pages. The wing sprue gives the impression that it is from a slightly earlier period, partly due to the colour of the styrene, but also because the fabric control surfaces are a little softer than those of the tail surfaces. Detail is good overall, and includes a seating area in the main fuselage behind the cockpit, gear bay details and a representation of the Hitachi radial engines that will be seen through the front of the cowlings. Construction begins with joining the two halves of the centre console together, then building the two crew seats from four parts each, with decal lap-belts on the sheet. Both crew members also have a two-part handed control column made, and the instrument panel has a decal applied to depict the dials, and a small V-shaped coaming to the front, after which the assemblies can be brought together on the small floor, starting with the centre console that also acts as the base for the instrument panel. The seats and control columns are mounted behind on raised location points, then the passenger seats are built with two short C-shaped legs under each cushion, adding the seat back to the rear, making six of them in total. They mount on the floor after it has the two spar sections glued across it, locating the seats on short rails moulded into the floor, and fitting raised sides that represent the inner root of the wings. A scrap diagram shows the location of the three bulkheads in red, which are fitted next along with what looks like overhead lockers along the insides of the fuselage above the side windows, cutting an extra window for one decal option that is marked by a depression from inside, all of which are glazed after the fuselage is closed, although for the sake of losing one or more inside, it might be wise to glue them into position beforehand. The cockpit bulkhead door has a small window added, fitting the cockpit in front, and the tail-wheel bay in the rear, then closing the fuselage, dealing with the seams in your preferred manner, and gluing the canopy over the cockpit cut-out. If you’re wondering why the passenger floor hasn’t been mentioned in closing the fuselage, it’s because it can be installed from beneath, locating on tabs moulded into the bottom of the bulkheads, taking care that the seats are facing forward. As you may have already surmised, the lower wings are moulded as a single full-span part, and once the seams with the upper halves are dealt with, you should paint the underside of the wing where the gear bay will be a suitable green shade before adding the three struts that begin the landing gear assembly. The nacelles are built in a slightly unusual manner, as the upper wing has the cowling moulded-in, requiring just the lower halves of the nacelles to be glued under the wing after inserting a bulkhead that is previously mated to the main gear legs and separate oleo scissor-links. A scrap diagram helps you with this, and two additional small parts are added while the lower nacelles are brought up to complete the shape. Another jack is fitted after the nacelles are complete, and a line drawing of the completed gear mechanism is shown to help with alignment of the parts. The two engine cowlings are each split horizontally, and are assembled in preparation for the engines over the page, first joining the wings to the fuselage and fitting the two elevators, one either side of the tail fin, their tabs slotting into holes beneath the fin with moulded-in rudder. The engines are each moulded as single parts that have a bulkhead moulded into their rears, mounting on the nacelles by way of a keyed peg that slots into a hole in the rear, covering them over with the nacelles, then adding an auxiliary intake and exhaust to the outer nacelle sides. The model is flipped over onto its back to complete the landing gear, adding two-part wheels to the axle on each strut along with a narrow captive gear bay on the forward side, inserting the tail-wheel with moulded-in strut into the tail, and the crew step under the port trailing-edge of the wing. Righting the model, the two-bladed props and separate spinner are slipped into the bell-housings on the front of the engines, clear landing lights and wingtip lights are inserted into the leading-edges of the wings, plus a pitot probe in the starboard side. Another clear light is inserted in the end of the fuselage, an antenna mast over the cockpit, and the side access door is fitted with a small window before it is fixed to the fuselage in open or closed position. If you plan on closing the door, it might be best to glue it in before the fuselage is closed, as this will give you the best chance of getting it nice and level with the surrounding fuselage skin. Incidentally, a scrap diagram shows that the landing light parts have a circular depression moulded into them for you to fill with paint to depict the reflector around the bulb if you wanted to add a little extra detail. Markings There are four decal options on the sheet, three of them have a green squiggle camouflage over the entire upper surface. Happily for the squiggle averse, one option is painted the basic grey/green shade worn by many/most Japanese aircraft of the day wore. From the box you can build one of the following: C/n 5541, 38th Sentai, Noshiro Base, Japan, 1943 Recovered from Towada lake and on display in Misawa Museum 28th Dokuritsu Hikotai, Chofu Base, Japan, 1945 10th Dokuritsu Hikodan Shireibu, Borneo, 1945 10th Dokuritsu Hikodan Shireibu, Borneo, late 1945 operated by the Japanese Capitulation Delegation. Currently intact in Australia 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 A well-detailed kit of this minor type from the Allies point of view, but an important one for the Japanese pilots that trained in them. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  9. Bücker Bü.181 Bestmann (KPM0404) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov The Bücker Bü 181 Bestmann was intended to be a light trainer with reconnaissance capability, and first flew in early 1939 before WWII began in earnest. It was similarly laid out to the Bf.108, with the pilot and copilot sitting side-by-side in an extensively glazed cockpit, and with its low wing offering good all-round visibility that made it well-suited as a trainer, the role for which the Luftwaffe used it extensively, although it was also used as a hack for communications, and occasionally as reconnaissance where its small size and good view from the cockpit came in useful. In March 1945, orders were given to convert some airframes to mount pylons above and below the wings to carry two pairs of Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons that carried a shaped-charge to defeat enemy armour. The weapon had a very short effective range however, so the pilot would need to follow an almost suicidal course directly toward the tank, often at low level, leaving it until the last second to launch his weapon and pull out, in order to give the charge any chance of even hitting the mark, let alone penetrating the armour. Unsurprisingly, they achieved only minor success for extreme losses, but it was a sign of the desperation of the Nazis to stop the Soviets and Allies from rolling towards Berlin. Production of all types during WWII extended to over 700 airframes, but the Bestmann’s career did not end when the war did. Further variants were built by Zlín in Czechoslovakia after the war, and as the Gomhouria in Egypt, while the Swedes built theirs as the Sk 25 under license from Bestmann, bringing the overall total of all variants to over 4,000, of which only a handful remain. The Kit This is a reboxing of a kit that was launched in 2021 by a company called Stransky, although the copyright on the sprue is marked as 2019, before the fan became covered in Covid virus bacteria. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box with a painting of the plucky Bestmann in action against Soviet T-34s, flying very low to the ground in amongst the dust and flames. On the back are the decal profiles in colour, and inside is a resealable bag that contains a single sprue in grey-white styrene, a clear sprue of five parts, decal sheet in its own Ziploc bag, and the instruction sheet, which is printed on folded A4 paper on all sides. Detail is good, with raised and recessed features all-over, and a well-appointed cockpit, which should be visible through the crystal-clear canopy, especially if you leave the side access doors open. There are however some very slight layer marks visible on parts such as the elevators and the rear of the fuselage that gives away the fact that this is likely to have been developed initially from 3D printed masters. They are nigh-on invisible however, and if they can be seen after priming, a light sanding will be all that is needed to render them invisible. Construction begins with the cockpit, adding the seat backs to the moulded-in bases, and fitting this and a rear bulkhead into the fuselage during closure, after the detail painting of the cockpit and sidewalls are complete. The lower wing is full-span, and the uppers are separate halves, mating to leave a gap for the fuselage between them, and with the underside of the forward fuselage moulded into the lower. Two panels are slipped into the cockpit sides after painting brown, and the elevators are glued to the sides of the tail onto butt-joints that would be stronger with the addition of some brass pegs. The cockpit has two pairs of rudder pedals inserted into the front, and a single part that depicts the two control columns on a central base in front of the pilot seats. A scrap diagram shows these parts from the side and from an angle to assist with placement. Decals are supplied for the seatbelts, which are shown on a very faded see-through diagram of the cockpit, which could easily be missed while you are wondering what the two-part assembly to their left is. It turns out to be a pair of bulkheads spaced apart by two tapered cylinders, and these are inserted into the engine cowling before installation of the main canopy part, which includes a portion of the upper fuselage, the windscreen, roof panel, and the rear screen. The instrument panel is glued into the front of the canopy before installation, and the side doors are shown in closed position, as well as hinged open at the forward edge, much like the American P-39 Airacobra. A pair of small curved rear-view quarter-lights insert in the rear of the cockpit sides, or blanking plates can be used instead, although all decal options show the clear parts in use. The Hirth HM 500 engine is not included in this kit, but the exhausts are, and here you must open up the pinholes in the underside of the fuselage before inserting them from inside, test-fitting to ensure you don’t oversize them. Three pipes are moulded on one carrier, with another separately on its own carrier. A central divider is installed in a bracket moulded into the lower, and painted black, after which you can add the upper cowling and the nose fairing, with asymmetrical intake slot, with the prop sited on a pin that projects from the fairing. Sights for the Panzerfausts are fitted on the top cowling in front of the windscreen, along with the venturi sensor, with a pitot probe under the wing. The fixed landing gear is made up from strut with moulded-in oleos, and a separate wheel, one for under each wing leading edge, with a scrap diagram showing their orientation from the front, plus a pair of actuators for the flying surfaces are also sited under the trailing edges. The tail wheel is fixed in a hole under the rear, then it’s a case of fitting the four Panzerfausts with moulded-in pylons, which are mounted under and over the wings, with a flashed-over hole visible on the inside of each part. It would be best to open these up before closing the wings, and take careful note of how the redundant manual sights on the weapons should be oriented, using the scrap frontal diagrams to aid you. Markings There are four decal options on the sheet, and they have managed to include profiles for all angles on the rear of the box, along with swatches of the paints used and their colour names, having no allegiance to any particular brand. From the box you can build one of the following: 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 The Bestmann is a small aircraft that has a certain elegance to it, which is portrayed nicely by this kit. The juxtaposition of the Panzerfaust armament is at odds with the overall design, but it shows the insanity of war eloquently. A nicely detailed kit with some interesting decal options, not all of which are armed. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  10. AVRO 626 Prefect (KPM0413) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov Developed from the AVRO 621 Tutor, the 626 was intended to be a jack-of-all-trades for training pilots of smaller air forces, and was structurally almost identical to the Tutor, save for the fact that there was an additional crew position behind the second cockpit. The third opening had a scarff ring installed for gunnery training, but could also be used to seat a wireless operator or a navigator, as well as riding with two crew for pilot training, hopefully without the gunnery training going on that could well have deafened the instructor, and possibly rained hot brass cartridges down the back of his flight suit. Although it first flew in 1930, it was entirely fabric-covered, resembling a WWI biplane more closely than the Spitfires and Hurricanes that first flew only a few years later. Early incarnations had a tail skid, but were later fitted with a tail-wheel for reliability and comfort, and many were sold to overseas air forces as originally envisaged. The RAF took a handful on charge, and these saw service at home throughout WWII, although its Armstrong Siddeley Lynx IVC 7-cylinder radial engine with a maximum speed of 112mph would mean it would be easy prey if had the misfortune to be intercepted by an enemy fighter. The British gave it the name Prefect, but it served in greater numbers in countries around the world, including Commonwealth Allies such as Canada and New Zealand, several South American nations, European and Eastern European countries, and China, some of which may have been pressed into operational service. Only one Prefect survives today, and that can be found in flying condition in New Zealand. The Kit This is a reboxing of the original release from 2007, but with a pair of new fuselage halves moulded in a different colour on my example, as the original boxings had two-seat cockpits and a smoothly faired-over rear training cockpit. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box that has a nice painting of a Spanish airframe on the front, and the decal options on the rear. Inside is a resealable bag that contains two sprues and two separate parts in grey styrene, plus the new fuselage halves in a tan colour. The package is rounded out by a large decal sheet, a small slip of acetate film with the windscreens printed on it, and the usual folded A4 instruction sheet that is printed in colour. Detail is good for the scale, including interior ribbing on the fuselage, fabric effect on the flying surfaces, and a representation of the seven-cylinder radial engine. Studying the sprues 'Forensically' shows that the two grey parts were originally part of the larger sprue above, but were removed with nippers to fit the box. Construction begins with painting of the two instrument panels according to the diagram, then building the engine from front and rear halves, which also has a painting guide. The two crew seats are simple parts that are detailed with decal four-point seatbelts, installing them on the flat cockpit floor and adding control columns for both crew members, then a two-part cowling is made, painted interior green and slipped over the engine. The interior of the fuselage halves are painted interior green before the instrument panels are fitted into the starboard side, inserting the cockpit assembly and then closing the fuselage. This edition’s tan fuselage halves have the third cockpit faired over with a raised flat cowling that is otherwise identical to the grey fuselage halves, so it’s a straight forward substitution. The main gear legs are then fixed underneath, starting with a triangular strut that is supported by adding another strut behind it, then mounting the wheel on the short stub-axle. This is repeated on the other side, followed by the tail-wheel and the engine, which is glued to the front of the fuselage after installing the exhaust ring on a peg at the top to ensure the exhaust pipe is correctly oriented. The lower wings mount on flat root fairings on the fuselage sides, and would benefit from brass rod spars to strengthen the bond, but the elevators are moulded as a single part that fits into a depression at the rear of the fuselage, fixing the fin and integrated rudder on the rear once complete, then supporting the elevators with a strut under each side. Before the upper wing is considered, the two windscreens are cut from their acetate sheet, folded at the lines, and are glued to the front of the cockpit openings. There is a third windscreen printed on the sheet, which could be used as a backup, and might be fitted on future boxings with the third cockpit opened for training. The upper wings are separated from the lower by two wing-mounted Z-struts with additional straight struts behind them, and another two cabane Z-struts mounted on the cowling in front of the forward cockpit. Before the upper wing is mated to the tops of the struts, the fuel-tank must be laid over the centre of the wing, which can thankfully be done without cutting the centre out, although the join may need a little work to get it to seat neatly, possibly removing the ribbing to let the tank sit closer to the wing. Ignoring the rigging for a moment, the leading-edge slats on the upper wing are glued in place, then the two-blade prop is slipped over the drive-shaft on the front of the engine. Rigging of the model is depicted in the final diagram in red, and should be viewed in conjunction with the box painting, and as many photos of the real aircraft that you can find. The technique you use however is entirely up to you. Markings There are four decal options on the sheet, and the back of the box covers three views, although the right-side, top and bottom profiles are necessarily smaller and with shorter wings as you can see below, but it shouldn’t cause any issues. From the box you can build one of the following: 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 Many interwar aircraft aren’t as well known as they might have been due to WWII, and trainers even less so. This is a nicely detailed model of one of AVRO’s unsung heroes that trained some of the future pilots that later fought in the war, and flew many hours all over the world. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  11. Zlín Z-142 Export (KPM0407) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov Zlín originally produced gliders, beginning operations in the 1930s, soon venturing into powered flight to build a few sports aircraft before the outbreak of WWII. After the war, they continued to produce the occasional glider, but also produced light aircraft of various types, which continued throughout the 40s and 50s, until the Z-42 single-engined trainer aircraft was introduced in 1967. Development of the type continued with several variants that led to the Z-142, which although it looks very similar to its progenitor is a larger aircraft with side-by-side seating for the two crew behind a more powerful Walter engine that benefitted from a supercharger to output 210hp from its fuel efficient inverted 6-cylinder fuel-injected motor. The Z-142 first flew in 1978, and as well as seeing extensive use as a trainer, it is commonly employed as a personal aircraft and a glider tug, having some acrobatic capabilities too, although best not done whilst towing a glider! Over 350 airframes were built, and development continued to improve the type further, the Z-242 having a Lycoming flat-four engine that necessitated a wider cowling to accommodate the engine’s extra width. The Kit This is a reboxing of the 2015 tool of this type with new decals, and it arrives in a small end-opening box with a painting of the aircraft on the front and the decal option profiles on the rear. Inside is a resealable clear bag containing a single sprue of grey styrene, canopy in its own Ziploc bag, two decal sheets, and the instruction booklet, printed in colour on a piece of folded A4. Detail is good, however there is a little texture apparent on the parts that could be attributed to over-application of release agent on the moulds, and there will be some ejector-pin turrets that need cutting off to allow some parts to fit together, although that’s not the most difficult task in the modelling world if you have a pair of nippers and a sanding stick. Construction begins with the instrument panel, which is painted and has a decal applied from the smaller sheet, which also includes a decal for the earlier Z-42. It is glued under the coaming, and set aside while two seats are painted and have their decal four-point seatbelts applied so that they can be installed on the stepped cockpit floor, adding two control columns in front of the seats, and fixing a rear bulkhead at the back of the raised portion. The completed cockpit is trapped between the fuselage halves, painting the cockpit sidewalls before applying glue, and remembering to also place the instrument panel and coaming in the front of the cut-out. The open fuselage front is closed by the nose cowling, and underneath a pair of raised panels are added, one of which has a hole in it to accept the nose gear leg, which is built from strut, separate mudguard and the wheel, which flex-fits between the yoke. The main gear legs are curved struts with the wheel added to the axle at the bottom, each one fitting into a hole in the lower sides of the fuselage. The wings are each made from two halves that butt against the fuselage, but would benefit from pinning in position to strengthen the joint, while the elevators are a single part and slot into a groove under the moulded-in tail fin at the rear. The port wing has a small cut-out in the lower half, into which is placed a clear lens, remembering to paint the space silver before fitting the clear part. The single part canopy glues over the cockpit cut-out, the two-blade prop with moulded-in spinner is inserted into a hole in the nose cowling, and a pitot probe is fitted under the port wing to complete the build. Markings There are four decal options on the main sheet, demonstrating the “export” part of the kit’s title by having four different countries as subjects. From the box you can build one of the following: 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. If you’ve noticed that the Canadian flag has no white background, fret not – it’s applied to a white painted tail fin. Conclusion Trainers often look similar, but the similarity is softened slightly by the variety of schemes that they will be wearing in this boxing. The texture on the styrene will be simple to remove with some light sanding, so don’t let that stop you from picking up one of these less common aircraft from Eastern Europe. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  12. This was a great little kit to build. It fit nicely and was a very fast paced model. I used a matt black undercoat with Vallejo's aluminum color. The pilots are painted with Testor's enamels. The one problem I had with this model is that the some of the decals shredded. They were out of the package but I kept them out of the way and covered so I'm unsure of what could've happened. If you've experienced this and know what might of happened, please comment! Enjoy the photos! -Joanna
  13. This is the Sword 1/72 North American T-28C Trojan. This turned out to be a very nice kit with very good fit, even the transparencies fit well. The only issue I had with it was that I did not seem to be able to get enough weight in the nose to make it sit on the nose wheel. I searched around for and appropriate prop to put under the tail when it come to me; use the tail hook. So I lowered the hook and now it sits perfectly. The decals were printed by Eduard and worked fine with no silvering. The paint schemes listed were 2 red/orange and white ones and a gray and white one. The gray and white scheme was too late for my liking and I have had issues with decal density where using the Red/orange and white schemes. Looking through the Frankel/Thomason "Training the Right Stuff" book I saw this all yellow scheme from on of the same squadrons and I decided to go with that. So a very pleasant build. I just wish that all Sword kits were this good. Next up will be the Hasegawa T-34A Mentor, although I have an AD-4N Skyraider 90% complete and just waiting for some decals to arrive so if they come soon I might finish that first. Enjoy.
  14. Fiat G.50B Bicomando (SH32083) 1:32 Special Hobby The G.50 was Italy’s first all-metal monoplane with retractable undercarriage, and was in-service by 1938, performing well amongst its contemporaries. It was somewhat short-ranged, and had issues with its initial armament being a little light, originally consisting of two .50cal equivalent machine guns in the wing. The Hawker Hurricane could out-fly it however, as well as being faster by a good margin, and as time went by the shortcomings became more apparent. Several attempts to remedy its problems were made, including improvements to the engine, more fuel and armament changes, but even the installation of a Daimler Benz 601 didn’t give it enough of a boost. By this time the G.55 was designed and production was underway, taking full advantage of the DB engine at the start of its journey to obtain an excellent reputation as a good all-round fighter. Under 800 of the G.50 were made, with around 100 of the G.50B Bicomando two-seat trainers amongst them, and over half of the rest as the G.50 Bis, that took the airframe as far as was practical. The Kit The one-seater variant of this kit has been around for almost 10 years now, but this boxing is the two-seat trainer, so a rare beast indeed. It arrives in a standard top-opening box in the Special Hobby style, and inside are five sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, two identical sheets of Photo-Etch (PE), a big bag of resin parts, decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour with markings profiles on the rear pages. The major detail of this kit is to be found in the resin and PE parts, the styrene providing the structure on which to base your exploits. The resin especially is crisp, and is it just me, or do those cylinders look a little bit like stylised owls? Construction begins with the cockpit, building up the twin rudder pedals on a resin part that has the retention straps added from the PE sheet, one of each placed in the cockpit stations with a pair of flat foot pads under each pilot’s legs. Twin control columns and levers are also fixed to the deck, and the seats are built up from a styrene chair with two brackets at the back, then a set of seatbelts and harness with chain sections for the pilot, shown being made up in steps for your ease. The ‘pits are separated by a pair of C-shaped bulkheads, and each pilot has a two-section instrument panel made up into an almond shape, with decals applied to the surfaces to depict the dials. A resin trim adjustment wheel is inserted between a folded PE A-frame for later installation in the rear cockpit. The fuselage halves have detail moulded into their interiors, which is augmented by adding several panel sections on the port side with PE levers and styrene trunking, plus a side console on the starboard along with other dials, equipment and an oxygen cylinder. Two of the decal schemes need a small section of the aft cockpit opening removed to be replaced later by clear panels, the location for which is marked in red on the instructions along with the schemes that require this simple alteration. With that work complete as well as painting and weathering of the cockpit, the fuselage can be closed around the cockpit, remembering to install the trim wheel and the instrument panels at the front of each cockpit, and a rest at the back of the rear seat. The lower wings are full span and have the simple gear bays moulded into their surface, needing just a pair of resin filters inserting into the leading-edge intakes before gluing down the upper wings, then dropping the fuselage in between the gaps. The elevators have separate flying surfaces, and are all made from top and bottom layers, allowing you to deflect them as you see fit, and the rudder is fixed to the moulded-in fin to complete the empennage. There are a couple of adverts for their own resin sets at this juncture, including a handsome pair of wheels and a stylish Italian pilot figure. You can’t blame them for a little self-promotion! Speaking of resin, there’s a lot of it to be used in the next few steps, so make sure you have it all removed from its casting blocks and cleaned of any residual mould release agent before you begin. The engine is built up around the central core, adding each cylinder, its trunking and push-rods as you progress, noting that the push-rods should be made from 0.3mm diameter wire from your own stocks, each cut to 8mm long. There are sixteen cylinders in all, so be prepared for a bit of work. The completed engine has an adaptor plate fixed to the rear to facilitate mounting on the fuselage later, but first the two-part cowling and the horseshoe exhaust pipe should be glued around it, using the resin upper section for one decal scheme, and plastic parts for the rest. The main wheels are each built from two halves, and are trapped between two halves of a yoke at the end of the main gear legs, one side separate to ease installing the wheels. Each leg also has a captive door added to the outside, and as they are inserted into the bays, a retraction jack and PE ancillary bay door are included. The engine is mated to the front of the fuselage in the closing stages along with a resin intake trunk under the chin, installing the canopy over the front half of the cockpit, leaving the back open, but replacing the removed fuselage sections with the clear panels on the sprue. A pair of pitot probes are inserted into the leading edge of the wings, with four horn-balances top and bottom of the ailerons, a short pin on top of the fin, a clear light in the tip of the tail, plus the prop, which is built around a two-part central boss, into which the three blades are inserted, with a choice of leaving the axle stub visible, or putting a two-part spinner on the front. The last job is to install the two-part tail wheel into its yoke and insert it into a hole in the fuselage under the tail. Markings There are a choice of four disparate markings options on the decal sheet, under the auspices of various operators. From the box you can build one of the following: Black 136, MM6425, Advanced Flying School, Regia Aeronautica, Italy, 1941 No.3510, MM6477, 1 Sqn., 1 Group, Air Base, No.1, Croatian Air Force, Zagreb-Borongaj, Croatia, June 1942 B, MM unknown, Luftwaffe, Italian Social Republic, Mid 1943-early 44 Black 1, MM6843, 3ᵃ Squadriglia, 2° Gruppo Scuola Volo, Aeronautica Militaire, Brindisi, Italy, 1946 The decals appear to be printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion An unusual subject to hit 1:32 scale in one seat fighter, never mind two-seat trainer guises. There’s plenty of detail to be had, as long as you remember that you can’t just pour glue in, shake the box and out drops a model. Put some skill and effort into it and great replica will be the result. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  15. L-4 Cub – European Cubs in Post-War Service (SH48222) 1:48 Special Hobby The Piper Cub was a light aircraft developed before WWII with production continuing throughout WWII and into the late 40s. In military service as a communications, reconnaissance, or spotter aircraft, it was known as the L-4 Grasshopper, and 20,000 plus were built due to its success in various roles, including trainer and glider tug. It was powered by a flat-4 engine, and despite the limited power it was agile in the air, with docile handling characteristics and a very low stall speed, which made take-off and landing a simple process, and let the aircraft use strips that were far too short for other types. After the war, many of the former military aircraft were re-purposed for civilian use, or sold to other nations in similar roles. Due to the simple nature of the type, maintenance was straight-forward and cost-effective, leading to many airframes surviving to the present day in private hands. The Kit This is a reboxing of Special Hobby’s 2022 new tool that we somehow missed until now, so it’s our first look at the plastic, although we have reviewed the 3D printed engine upgrade set, which truly is a sight to behold. The kit arrives in a modest top-opening box, and inside are two full-size sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE), a casting block with four parts, a tiny slip of over-printed clear acetate, the A5 instruction booklet in colour, and the decals in a separate resealable bag. Detail is good, although there are some ejector-pin marks here and there by necessity, and some of them might need dealing with during assembly and painting. Construction begins predictably with the cockpit, starting on a floor part that is detailed with rudder pedals, fire extinguisher and other small parts, plus the linked control columns, the four-part seat for the pilot, with a choice of two types of rear seat installed later. The Continental motor is started by gluing the top and bottom halves together, with optional heat shielding over the piston banks, and a central air intake system underneath. This is slipped through the piston slots in the starboard fuselage half, which has the cowling details adjusted for one of the decal options on both sides. The firewall with moulded-in tank separates the engine from the cockpit, and after gluing the floor into the bottom, a sloped rear bulkhead is placed on ledges. A choice of two additional intake parts is inserted under the motor, created by removing the tip for one decal option. Whilst closing the fuselage, two rods are inserted low on the firewall, linked diagonally to the sidewalls, then your choice of rear seats, one option that is similar to the pilot’s seat but with a single mounting frame, the other a single cushion with PE belts and no back. For three of the decal schemes there is an additional grating inserted and glued to the front bulkhead, and a tonneau cover is spread over the rear cockpit area. The instrument panel is created by adding a curved insert across the front of the opening, to which a choice of printed acetate film or a decal is applied, adding a PE surround over the top. At the front of the tonneau, one option has a PE belt strung across from one sidewall to the other. The Cub’s extensive glazing is next, with a choice of closed or open starboard side panels, which is accomplished by using one of two parts supplied on the clear sprue. The port side is always closed, and is first to be placed in position, linked to the opposite side by an asymmetrical framework over the heads of the crew that holds the tops of the windows at the correct width. There are details moulded into the insides of the glazing parts, so masking inside and painting them will increase the realism appreciably. Special Hobby have a set of masks to help in this regard. The clear roof is applied over the top, and in front of that the lengthy spar and an inverted V-frame is added that is covered by the crystal-clear curved windscreen. Once the glue and paint are dry on the canopy, the wing halves are joined over the spars, taking care to smooth down the ejector-pin marks that are present on the centre surface of each part, just in case they clash. A few seconds with a motor tool or coarse sanding stick should see them gone, as you don’t need to be too careful. The single-thickness elevators are slotted into the tail, then it’s a case of adding all the detail, starting with the landing gear struts under the fuselage. The engine is also detailed with resin exhausts and intake filter, plus a small “pot” on the top of the cowling. The wings are supported by a V-shaped strut between the fuselage and outer wing, with an additional stay around half-way, and some tiny PE actuators fitted to the ailerons. You will need to find some 0.3mm wire or thread to replicate the aileron control wires that run down the front support and pop out again to mate with the PE actuators added earlier. This is replicated on both wings of course. The tail wheel is fixed to the moulded-in strut under the tail, and there are twin control wires added to the elevators, with the control wires replicated top and bottom, and two more to control the tail-wheel itself for ground-handling. More short wires are added on the topside of the ailerons, and the two-part balloon-like tyres are slipped over the axles on the gear legs. If you have elected for an open cockpit, the open window is fixed almost flush with the lower wing and held in place by a PE stay, while the lower trapezoid cockpit door is folded down with a PE handle and retaining clip glued to the bottom edge. It isn’t mentioned, but we assume that if you close the window you should glue the door in the closed position earlier in the build. There is a short antenna inserted into a hole in the roof, which has a wire strung between it and the top of the fin, then the two-bladed prop is slipped over the shaft at the front of the engine, with a shallow spinner included for one of the decal options. Markings There are a healthy four decal options included on the sheet, and if you’ve been staring at grey jets a lot recently, you might want your sunglasses, as some of them are a bit colourful. From the box you can build one of the following: L-4J Grasshopper OK-YFJ c/n:12830 ex-USAAF 44-80534, owned by J Zítka, Rtyně v Podkrkonoši, Czechoslovakia, 1947 L-4H Grasshopper HB-OUD c/n:11854 ex-USAAF 44-79558, private owner in Bern, Switzerland, 2004 L-4H Grasshopper G-AIIH c/n:11945 ex-USAAF 44-79649 private owner, Great Britain, 1993 L-4H Grasshopper SP-AML ex-USAAF 44-79884, Warsaw Aero Club, Poland, 1949 The decals appear to be printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion I wasn’t all that interested in this aircraft until I saw the 3D printed engine set that we reviewed recently, and now I’m all over it. It’s an acknowledged fact that I’m fickle, but it’s a really nice kit of a surprisingly common and persistent aircraft that will appeal to civilian aircraft modellers as well as some of the many pilots that earned their wings flying in one. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  16. Siebel 204E (SH48212) 1:48 Special Hobby The Siebel Si 204 was based on the earlier Siebel Fh 104 Hallore, and was originally designed as a light transport and trainer aircraft. It was initially ordered by the Luftwaffe with its canopy altered to the stepless type, possibly to replicate that of the He.111 that pilots might later progress to. The last variant, the 204E was intended to be a light bomber and trainer, although it was perilously close to the end of the war, so not many were made. As a footnote to its German service a 204 had the dubious honour of possibly being the last aircraft to be shot down by the Allies in WWII on the 8th May 1945. After WWII, Czech company Aero produced almost 200 airframes in training (C-3A), bombardier training (C-3B), transport (D-44) and civilian (C-103) flavours, which carried on in service until the end of the 40s and beyond, while a few airframes soldiered on a little longer in Hungarian service. The Kit This is a reboxing of a 2019 tooling from Special Hobby with some additional parts to depict this variant, and although I’d never heard of it until the original sample arrived, it has an ungainly appeal with its strangely shaped fuselage, blunt glazed nose and long narrow wings. It arrives in a standard blue/white themed Special Hobby box, and inside are a surprising nine grey sprues, one clear sprue and a new nose glazing in a ziplok bag, plus four resin exhausts on two casting block, the decal sheet and instruction booklet. The wingspan hits you immediately, as it has surprisingly long wings, and the boxy fuselage isn’t exactly tiny either. The external surfaces are engraved with SH’s usual fine panel lines, and the part count for the detailed internals is also pretty high, although some parts aren’t used, particularly on sprue F and the main clear sprue, which has only about half the parts used. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is assembled on a wide floor part with side consoles, centre console, detailed seat on large framed base with curved head armour, instrument panel and control column, backed by a bulkhead with doorway into the rear of the aircraft. Unlike many aircraft models, the floor doesn’t end behind that bulkhead, but extends all the way to the rear, with a well-detailed radio rack, navigation table, additional seat, a section of the main spar and two upstands that bracket the bomb bay front and rear. The two bomb racks hold four bombs each, which have separate perpendicular fins and a small locating hole on the backside. The two completed racks are then inserted into notches in the bay aperture, and braced against the fuselage roof by a three-part triangular frame. Another bulkhead with open door and stowage rack is added half way to the tail, then another shorter bulkhead terminates the interior in front of the tail. If you want to pose the rear fuselage door open, the instructions show where to cut the fuselage as well as the two halves of the bomb bay doors in the underside of the fuselage. The resulting interior is finished at the front with the rudder pedal assembly, plus the instrument panel, control column with decals, and an overhead insert. Before closing up the fuselage, the windows and the wing root covers that prevent you from seeing the attachment points are glued in, and the interior is painted. With the interior glued into the starboard side, a vertical beam is inserted between the wing spar and roof, then the two halves are joined. The canopy is applied to the stepped front, consisting of the domed nose part and a separate C-shaped canopy, the former having a few small details added inside before it is fixed in position. The Si.204 has long wings mounted low on the fuselage, so each one is made up from two parts that incorporates the rear nacelle fairings to which the cowling, exhausts and intake trunking are added, then each one is slotted into the appropriate wing root and is joined by the H-shaped tail, which fits on two smaller tabs at the rear. A pair of clear wingtip lights are supplied, as are two new bomb bay doors and their actuators. The landing gear can be left off until after painting, and consists of a sloped leg with integral brace to which two more are added on the sides. The oleo then attaches to this assembly and is bracketed by a pair of gear bay doors and a two-part wheel with smooth tread. There is a wheel under each nacelle as you’d expect plus a small tail wheel with split yoke. Horn balances are fitted to the top and bottom of each elevator, a pair of stump antennae at the rear of the cockpit with wires leading to the rudders, then the turret is made up. It starts with the two-part circular base, with the underside brace and seat made up first while it is inverted, then once it is flipped over, the gun and its concertina fed dump-bag are inserted and surrounded by additional parts. Beneath the bag another C-shaped brace is added, which is probably a foot rest for the gunner. A pair of flared gun muzzle stubs are inserted into the underside of the nose, a couple of external bomb racks with anti-sway braces are fixed just in front of the small bomb bay, with a D/F loop and an aerial being fixed behind it. a pair of two-bladed props with serrated spinner caps are made up from four parts each, then if you have opened up the hatch on the side, the replacement door is fitted along with a ladder. The circular turret opening has a number of tubular rails glued on around the perimeter, then the turret is dropped into position and covered over with a shallow clear dome. Two grab-handles are fixed on the sides of the fuselage next to a pair of aerodynamic fairings, probably for access or egress of the gunner. Markings There are three decal options included on the sheet with four-view drawings in colour at the rear of the instruction booklet, all of which share the same RLM70/71 splinter pattern over RLM65, with a yellow tail band. From the box you can build one of the following: Siebel Si.204E-0 1K+BA Stab./NSGr.4, Balice Airfield, occupied Poland, Autumn 1944 Siebel Si.204E-0 1K+AL Stab./NSGr.4, Balice Airfield, occupied Poland, Autumn 1944 Siebel Si.204E-0 V-22, Red D, possibly prototype bomber version from an Si.204D The decals are printed in-house with good register, sharpness and colour density, and include a number of instrument decals for the interior. Conclusion A welcome reboxing of the type as the last variant of the Si.204 in German service, with new parts to make an interesting and detailed model. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  17. Here is my build of Wolfpack's North American T-2C Buckeye. The Buckeye was the US Navy's primary jet trainers from 1959 until 2008 when it was replaced by the Boeing T-45. The T-2C version was introduced in 1968. This is my first full kit by Wolfpack. I have previously used their wing upgrades, that I found to be excellent. This kit had generally good fit, but there were some issues, primarily with the fit of the intakes. Included with the kit was a decal sheet printed by Cartograf, that worked excellently and a canopy mask that fit perfectly. I also purchased their "update" (should be upgrade) interior kit that included very nice seats and some photo-etch. Finally I bought a 2 Bobs decal sheet printed by Microscale that was very good. The white was painted with Tamiya Fine Surface primer in a jar and airbrushed. The red was Humbrol 19 and the orange was Humbrol 18. All in all a pleasant build. Next up will the a TH-1H using the Hasegawa UH-1H kit Enjoy
  18. This is the Italleri 1/72 Bell OH-58A kit built as a US Army Bell TH-67A Creek training helicopter. No major issues and just one minor one. The minor issue deals with the spine on top of the tail boom. This covers the drive shaft for the tail rotor. The Italeri kit does not have the cover, but leaves the drive shaft exposed. In stead of using that I used a couple of styrene strips that I glued onto the boom and shaped to the right shape. The candy stripes on the tail were a pain to do, and took a couple of iterations to mostly get right. The decals are home printed on my HP 1505 laser printer using Sunnyscopa laser decal paper and work fine with no silvering. I did not need to overcoat them with decal film. On the whole it was a pleasant quick build. Next up is the Constanza T-3A Firefly Enjoy.
  19. This is HobbyBoss' 1/48 Hawk. Overall this was a very enjoyable kit to build and well engineered. This fit was good throughout and though I am definitely no Hawk expert, it looks right to me! I built the kit OOB and having seen the rather unusal ETPS scheme I was instantly made-up on what markings my hawk would be in! Painted with a mix of Tamiya Acrylics and Humbrol enamels, I weathered the model using oils and washes. Thanks for looking! Angelo
  20. Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep (DW48043) 1:48 Dora Wings Curtiss-Wright designed the AT-9 as an advanced two-engined trainer for new pilots to learn how to fly the new high-performance twin-engined bombers and fighters that were coming into service, such as the B-25 Mitchell and P-38 Lightning. As such it was aerodynamically unstable to mimic their characteristics, and was ideal for teaching candidates that were previously only trained on single-engined airframes. Its prototype was made from a tubular framework covered with fabric on the fuselage and wings, but for the production machines, a metal stressed skin was substituted, giving it a sleek look. The Lycoming R-680-9 engines were mounted low on the low wings, which gave the pilot a good view from the cockpit, although the thick frames on the side doors reduced that a little, but they were relatively underpowered, so the aircraft couldn’t break 200mph even at full throttle, which gave plenty of time to get out of the way. Around 500 of the AT-9 were made, and they gained the nickname Jeep in preference to the official name ‘Fledgling’, and a further 300 of the improved AT-9A were made with more powerful Lycoming R-680-11 engines, and new hydraulics that were improved over the original. Production ceased in 1943, and once the airframes were out of service, they weren’t offered to the general public as they were considered a little too twitchy for inexperienced civilians. As a consequence, there is only one complete example in existence in the US, which was rebuilt by using the parts from two incomplete aircraft, with another partial airframe at Pima that they are hoping to restore at some point. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from our friends at Dora Wings, who continue to create unusual, interesting subjects in the major scales. This one is 1:48 of course, and arrives in a small top-opening box that contains seven greenish-grey sprues of styrene, a clear sprue in a Ziploc bag, two Photo-Etch (PE) sheets, printed clear acetate sheet, vinyl masks (not pictured), all in another bag with a card stiffener. The instruction booklet is A5 portrait format, printed in colour, with colour profiles on the rear pages to assist with painting and decaling. I built their P-63 Kingcobra when they were a fledgling (unintentional pun!) company, and this tooling is a very crisp-looking model, with plenty of detail and extras that improve the detail still further. It’s great to see their progress over just a few years. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with highly detailed pedestal and lower centre consoles, plus PE and styrene detail parts, all of which is installed on the cockpit floor along with the twin control columns and seats, adding PE lap belts to each one. The instrument panel can either be made from a styrene backing with PE lamination and acetate instruments, or a styrene panel with moulded-in dials that you’ll need to make your own dials for – I know which on I’ll be using! The panel is fitted out with rudder pedals and a coaming, which is suspended from the front bulkhead that fixes to front of the cockpit floor, and has a rear bulkhead with fire extinguisher added to the rear. There’s no other detail on the rear bulkhead, so if you’re going for open doors you might want to add something there. I’ve done some searching briefly, but haven’t come up with anything useful yet. The fuselage halves make an appearance, as they are skinned inside with detail inserts, and the fuselage is thinned out where the inserts go so it doesn’t increase the thickness too much. The canopy is also fitted with the overhead console, which locates on two depressions in the clear part, after which you can close up the fuselage halves, add the nose cone, the canopy and the two side doors open or closed, P-39 Cobra style. The flying surfaces are made in quick succession, the main planes having a full-width lower and two upper halves plus ailerons, while the elevators have separate fins with each one fitted to the fuselage on two pegs, along with a two-part rudder, offering lots of potential for offset to give your model some extra visual interest. The main wheels are each made of two halves, and their struts have the main leg, separate oleo-scissors, and three-part top sections where they join the bays. The bays are each made from two curved sides and a narrow roof, with triangular PE webs added to the sides, and the struts inserted into holes in the roof. They are put to the side while the twin Lycoming engines are made up, with the nine pistons depicted with push-rods, exhaust collector and a PE baffle layer for each one. The main gear bays are inserted into the engine nacelles from underneath, then closed around by the tapered cowling parts, and each nacelle is fitted with a circular firewall that has four holes pre-drilled for the engine mounts. The engines have their M-shaped mounts and exhausts added, then they are glued to the firewalls to be closed in by the top and bottom cylindrical cowling sections and the front cowling ring, plus a small insert under the engine that forms the intake. The two-bladed props have four additional parts added to detail them, then the small parts such as aileron guides, clear landing lights in the lower wings, tail wheel and pitot probe are all glued to the airframe. Markings There are four options included on the decal sheet, with some interesting variations in colours that should appeal to many without resorting to any aftermarket decals. From the box you can build one of the following: 41-12043, 556th School Squadron, crashed May 27, 1942 41-12059, Lubbock AAF, 1942-3 42-56947, Randolph AAF, 1942-3 41-11978, 338th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group, 1944 Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion I’d not heard of this cute little trainer before, and now I have, I like it. It has just the right combination of strange and sleek to hit the spot for me, and the detail is nicely rendered. It’s the Olive Drab over grey option that I fancy. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  21. Hello there, Henrik here again. A week ago, I finished my second (painted) scale model, a Revell Hawk T.1 used by the RAF. Got it from my first visit to a model kit store one or two months ago with a epic 40% discount, so it was definitely worth it. More detailed explanation below (text wall warning lol) Fully out of box, second painted scale model, took exactly one month to build. (16/10 to 16/11) Base made from styrofoam and card paper painted with craft acrylic. Model itself primed with Gunze Mr Primer Surfacer 1000 lacquer spray can, main color brush painted with Vallejo Model Colour Acrylic Black paint and glossed with MIG Lucky Varnish acrylic gloss. Finally I gave it a quick panel line wash with Medium Grey Panel Line wash from MIG followed with final gloss varnish coats. All other parts were painted with Vallejo with craft paint in really minor areas for detail. *Entirely brush painted except the primer of course* Enjoy the pics~ ^base made with help from a Model Minutes tutorial ^one mistake I made which you can see here is I accidentally filled up some panel lines and stuff on the right wing while spray priming. Learnt not to get too happy with the spray can next time 😁 ^landing gear gave me so much pain as expected and refused to stay straight or not collapse when I set the whole model on the gear itself 😬 ^Tried my best at the cockpit, the seats already have p nice detail out of box but I added seatbelts made out of masking tape below the headrest which were missing. You can also clearly see a decal I screwed up here ^another decal I screwed up was the major tail decals which you can see missing when compared to the box art. Learnt to more carefully handle these decals (especially the thin Cartograf ones) and not break them easily. Build was good in general, parts fit quite well and good detail in many places such as the cockpit and other small parts. Decent amount of armament is provided but i chose to left then off as I forgot to drill holes for the pylons and when I realized that it was too late lol. I made lots of mistakes and messed up some stuff like the aforementioned tail decals which were ruined too badly, but still it was a fun build and a good challenge and I look forward to building more models in my newbie modeling journey What's next? For my third scale model, I bought an Academy 1/72 F/A-18+. Should be a good build after hearing good things about it. Also, I just recently bought my first airbrush kit and the Academy kit will be my first airbrushed scale model. Looking forward to starting on it once the airbrush arrives and I get paint and supplies. 😊 What do you guys think? Comments and critique greatly appreciated. Feel free to share them here. Thank you for reading!
  22. Curtiss-Wright SNC-1 Falcon II (DW48041) 1:48 Dora Wings via Albion Alloys The SNC-1 began its gestation at Curtiss-Wright as the CW-22, and was developed as a light trainer and reconnaissance aircraft, flying as early as 1940, then entering service in 1942. It was a small aircraft with two seats and large canopy that afforded the pilots an excellent view of proceedings. A number were exported to various operators including the Dutch, although because of the state of the war, they were delivered to them elsewhere. The US forces ordered a number to fill gaps in their inventory, with successive increases in the orders resulting in just over 300 airframes entering service in total. A small number also found their way into Japanese service after being captured during their advances across Asia. The Falcon name was conferred to the type by the US Navy, which was otherwise known as the CW-22N. The RAF even had a few that they inherited from the Burma Volunteer Air Force. The Kit This is a brand-new tool from Dora Wings of this unusual little aircraft, and the first mainstream kit in this scale, although there have been a few others over the years from niche producers in resin and other materials. It arrives in their standard top-opening box, and inside are seven sprues in mid grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, vinyl masks (not pictured), decal sheet and instruction booklet that is roughly A5 in a portrait format. Perusing the sprues reveals a nicely detailed kit that shows continued improvement from their initial releases, and it is a comprehensive package with a crystal clear single-part canopy. Construction begins with the cockpit, with the two instrument panels attached to their bulkhead hoops and detailed with a decal for each one. The cockpit floor is outfitted with controls, fire extinguisher and a number of other frames, including a pair of PE rudder pedals on an inverted U-shaped former. The two seats are on a separate sprue, and each has a PE four-point harness fitted before they are installed in the cockpit, with a forward and aft bulkhead bracketing the assembly. The fuselage halves are prepared internally with an insert that covers up the wing root, throttle quadrants, levers and instrument boxes, with a little painting to finish off. The engine has to be made up before the fuselage can be closed up, and this is depicted by a two-part cylinder bank, a PE wiring loom and a front bell-housing that is then surrounded by the exhaust collector, after removing a 2mm length from the aggregation outlet, which exposes the hollow interior that runs all the way around the ring. A flattened intake and some small parts are fitted to the front and sides of the engine, then at the rear the input tubing spider is fixed over a donut-shaped spacer and has a simplified depiction of the ancillaries and an exterior ring added before it is glued to the front of the cockpit on a pair of Z-shaped mounts. The fuselage can then be closed up around the assembly, and the landing gear is made up. The wheels are inventive, having two outer halves and a central boss between the halves that gives a completely see-thru look if aligned correctly. The struts are single parts with a perpendicular axle, with separate oleo-scissor link and retraction jacks at the base of each leg. The lower wings are full-width with some nice detail moulded into the central section, and as expected the upper wings are separated with a gap for the fuselage to fill. The ailerons are separate, and a two-part U-shaped fairing is added to the main gear bays for later completion, then the tail feathers are installed, all with separate flying surfaces and fine trailing edges. The airframe is flipped on its back to add small PE cross-members within the main bays, and the lower engine cowling around the exhaust, then the gear legs are fitted on triangular hinge-points, with a bay door on each side, plus a fairing around the exhaust. Actuators within the bays join the doors together; the landing lights are inserted into depressions under the wings; actuators for the ailerons are added to the wingtips; a D/F loop is glued under the fuselage, and the tail-wheel fits into a small hole in the rear of the fuselage. The twin-blade prop is a single part with a boss and axle added front and rear, which is fitted at the end of the build. From the box the cockpit aperture is oversized, and this is corrected by an insert in each side, each of which has a pair of levers installed before they are joined together, then glued into the cockpit with a roll-over cage between the two pilots. The canopy is a single part, which is a shame for this model, as the cockpit is open and well-detailed out of the box. It is very clear however, so your hard work will still be seen, so don’t fret. An antenna mast is glued into a hole in the surround to the port side front, a pitot probe is mounted in the leading edge of the port wing, and the prop is inserted into the hole in the front of the bell-housing. Done. Now for paint and decals. Markings There are three decal options in the box, one for each of three operators, with a disparate set of schemes into the bargain. From the box you can build one of the following: SNC-1 NAS Corpus Christi, April 1942 SNC-1 Ecuador, 1943 SNC-1 15 Escuadrilla de Observación Terrestre, Peru, 1942-45 Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas, and as mentioned there are decals for the instrument panels in the cockpit. Conclusion The Falcon II is a niche subject, and it’s kind of cute and an interesting shape. The detail is good, and the model should build up into a good replica of a left-of-field subject, which is Dora Wings’ stock-in-trade. Highly recommended. Available in the UK from all good model shops. Review sample courtesy of
  23. Meteor T.Mk7 (FR0045) 1:72 Azur FRROM The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet aircraft during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft itself began in 1940, although work on the engines had been underway since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. Nicknamed the "Meatbox", the Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in terms of its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces and remained in use for several decades. The Meteor saw limited action in the Second World War. Meteors of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) provided a significant contribution in the Korean War. Several other operators such as Argentina, Egypt and Israel flew Meteors in later regional conflicts. Specialised variants of the Meteor were developed for use in photo-reconnaissance and as night fighters. The T.7 twin seat trainer was developed from the Mark 4. 640were produced for the Royal Air Force, 43 for the Royal Navy; and 72 for export. 20 Belgian F.4s were modified locally into T.7s. Many nations would operate the T.7 with a pair of T.7s being the first jet aircraft to land in Israel. These were locally converted to carry belly mounted camera. The Kit This is a re-release by Azur Frrom of the MPM kit. This now includes masks (not shown) for the heavily framed canopy. The masks look to be the same as the new tape masks from Special Hobby. Construction first begins in the cockpit which builds up to a complete module that slots into the fuselage when built up. The centre bulkhead is added to the floor and then side consoles are added. The centre instrument console is then built up and installed along with both seats. The rear bulkhead goes on, and both control columns. To the underside of this module the nose gear well is then added. This assembly can then go into the right fuselage. The pilots instrument panel then goes in as do the remainder of the side consoles. The fuselage can then be closed up with the nose gear now being fitted. Construction now moves onto the wings. Firstly the engines and jet pipes need to be assembled. There is a basic representative of the Derwent which you will see the front face of through the intake. Behind this there is the jet pipe, and exhaust. These go into the one part lower wing. In front of the engines goes the fairing over the front wing spar which is seen through the intake. Single part intake inners are then fitted. Moving on the the upper wing the main gear wells need to go in. The two wing sections can then be joined. The intake leading edges, and exhaust trailing edges are then fitted. The fuselage can now be joined to the wings. At the rear the tail planes then go on. The main gear units are then assembled and added along with their retraction struts and the main gear doors. Like the real units these are complicated and care need to get them right. Take note to assemble the wheels correctly and not as per the instructions. The wheels are not handed like most aircraft. Luckily here the wheels are separate from the mud guards so they can be put in the correct way around. The modeller will need to make their own stay from the rear of the mudguard. To finish off the wing and belly tanks are fitted followed by the canopy, aerial and pitot tube. Markings The glossy decal sheet is printed in house and looks sharp and in register. There are markings for four aircraft Nr 9, coded 30-MY, Escadrille 2/30 "Camargue", Tours 1956 ED-42, Ecale de Chasse de Coxyde, Belgium, 1958 Black 15 with Suez / Operation Kadesh stripes, Israel 1957 Conclusion It is good to see the T7 back out there. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  24. I think I'm pretty lucky. I earned by glider and power pilot wings through the most excellent Royal Canadian Air Cadet program. Went on to get my commercial, multi-engine and instructors rating all before 20 years of age. I had two airline jobs lined up in 1981 but due to a recession at that time they never came to be. No worries, I ended up having a great career at Honda Canada, where I had multiple jobs that took me coast to coast and even to Japan. I have a terricfic wife and two grown successful sons. I retired at a not too old age some years ago and in 2018 I couldn't resist the "Flying Bug" anymore, renewed my license and joined a small flying museum 15 minutes from the house. Edenvale Classic Aircraft Foundation (www.classicaircraft.ca and on FaceBook) has a small group of volunteers and we look after a number of RCAF artifacts and four flying aircraft. We have a 1943 DH82a RAF Tiger Moth and a 1943 Fleet PT-26 Cornell both of which we use for public rides. We also have a 1947 (1963 rebuilt) Fleet Canuck and a 1947 Auster A.O.P. VII ex RCAF and these are used for pilot training. I am lucky enough to have flown them all and will be doing my check out on the Tiger Moth this summer. Lucky guy for sure! Any way this brings me to this subject, the 1/48 Planet Models Fairchild PT-26 Cornell. This is the only option (I believe) for a kit of our Cornell. I have decided to model it after our own since I have all the reference I need and I really want to have one on the shelf. I have a Silver Wings 1/32 Tiger Moth to do after that check out. The kit is resin and requires some skills to bring together. Typically the parts have a few issues such as slightly warped fuselage halves, some parts are a bit crude and details that do not match our aircraft. In addition to building with superglue I will be correcting some details and (gasp) scratchbuilding the two cockpit interiors. I have not done very much scratch work and this will push my comfort level. It will also give me practice for another Tiger Moth, this one a Matchbox, that I am building for one of our members who restored our museum Tiger. First off her is our handsome pilot and model builder with our Fleet PT-26 (Fleet built PT-26s under license in Fort Erie Ontario). She was RCAF FV720 built in late 1943, delivered to RCAF in Sept 1944 to No. 1 Air Traning Command in Brandon Manitoba, she was actually kept in Reserve and sold in 1946. More history is available if anyone wants to know. The kit in its flimsy box Which provided all of the parts safely EXCEPT for the one-piece wing which is no longer "at one with itself". Oh well it will be fixed. Here is a typical part, the right wing tip. Some flash but very few pinholes or short molds. Overall the quality of casting, outline and detail is very good. THE NOTCH in the wing tip is supposed to be there but it is a hand-hold and so I will need to add the outer portion, essentially a bar that continues the wing outline. Like this... Well time to start dry-fitting and see how it is going to come together. Thanks for looking.
  25. Harrier T.12 Conversion Kit (4373 for Hasegawa) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby The Hawker Harrier, later under BAe’s auspices has had a two-seat trainer in both its original metal-winged version and the newer composite winged upgrade. Kinetic’s newish kit covers the T.2. T.2A, T.4, T.4N and T.8 variants, but there were another two, the last of which was the T.12, a series of nine T.10s that were upgraded to GR.9 standards, the last of the British Harriers in service with the RAF. There were also T.12As with more powerful engines, with T.10s onwards being combat capable should the need arise. If you want to model a T.12, this new set coupled with the rear-end of a Hasegawa Harrier is now your eariest option. The set arrives in a good-sized sturdy cardboard box, and the reason for this becomes clear when you open the top flap. There are two large single-piece vacform canopies pulled from a single sheet, a fuselage front half as a single moulding with 20 more parts in grey resin, a small sheet of decals, two slips of clear acetate sheet with the HUD glass shapes printed on them in black, and two small Photo-Etch (PE) frets and a folded up instruction booklet that acts as protection for the parts during transport, as do the two ziplok bags that the parts (except the fuselage) arrive in. First impressions are excellent, and live up to the “The best for the detail hungry” motto on the rear of the box. The canopies are crystal clear and very crisply formed, and a spare is always welcome in case you slip-up during cutting out. After the parts diagram, the first step shows the parts of the kit that need adjusting, including removing the slime lights on the LERX, removal of the tail stinger, and tabs on each side of the nose parts that are no-longer needed. It’s all pretty straightforward, then it’s a case of removing the casting blocks from the resin parts and cleaning up the cuts. They’re sensibly placed so that it shouldn’t take too much effort, and their contact patch cross-section has been minimised to assist in this. Construction revolves around the forward fuselage, with the rudders and control sticks added first, then the aft spine with bulkhead, central coaming with detail insert, and front coaming fitted, including two instrument inserts glued into the two main panels. The adjusted kit nose fits onto the front, then the twin seats and HUDs are made up from PE and acetate parts before the canopy is glued over the whole, having a separate windscreen part. If you wish to cut the canopy to open them up, there is the aforementioned spare, then you add two intakes either side of the spine and join the assembly to the rest of the fuselage, remembering to paint the short intake trunking at the rear of the cockpit. At the rear, a totally new larger tail fin replaces the kit part, and the removed stinger is replaced by the longer resin part, with the blade antenna facing downwards. Resin usually comes still attached to its pour block, which is where the resin is poured into the mould and acts as an overflow and bubble-catcher for more rustic manufacturers that don’t have access to pressure casting methods. These will have to be removed before you can assemble or paint the parts, so there will be a little extra time needed to prepare the model for construction. With resin, you should take the precaution of wearing a mask when cutting or sanding it, as all 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 mould release agent on the parts when you receive them. Take care not to use water that is too hot, as this may cause deformation to more delicate parts, but this factor can conversely be used to fix warped parts, using cold water to “freeze” the changes in the parts. My sample had no such issues of course. Markings The instructions advise that the colour of the twin-seater cockpit is identical to the single seat variant that can be found in the kit instructions, and includes additional decals for two airframes, so you can build one of the following: Harrier T.12, 105/ZH657, 800 NAS, FAA, 2010 Harrier T.12, 108/ZH660, No.20(R) Sqn, RAF, 2010 The decals are printed for Special Hobby by Eduard, and are in good register, sharpness and colour density. The diagrams show the kit decals required in purple, and a pair of det-cord canopy breaker decals are included for your use. Conclusion An excellent set that is full of detail and should be relatively easy to build even if you have never used a resin conversion kit before. As long as you have a motor tool or razor saw to cut away the casting blocks, you should be fine. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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