malpaso Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Hmm, what to build I thought. Plenty of trainer types in the stash, from a Jenny to an Aggressor. Then there's the Eduard Albatros jet, but I've already started that, if not 25%. Hmm... Aha, this was found in the stash - it came from our club's dealer of old kits, though where he unearthed it I've no idea. Behold the AIDC AT-3 Tzu Chiang (self-reliance), Taiwan's indigenous light-attack trainer. As well as Taiwan's first jet it seems also to be Lo Models first kit. Quite an attractive plane in the typical style with straight wings. Like many advanced trainers it's also the mount of the ROCAF display team the "Thunder Tigers". https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDC_AT-3 The kit is fairly basic, probably most like a Matchbox. A few faults with the mouldings, quite hard plastic, but it seems to fit together reasonably with a bit of effort, after all i presue it was made to sell in droves to Taiwan's youth.Heres the sprues, so far I've only glued the seats to the cockpit... Cheers Will 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 All new to me, but looks like a really nice choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Cool choice Will! I had no idea a kit of the AT-3 existed. Might have to go searching for a copy now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malpaso Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 I had no idea the plane existed, let alone a kit, till I bought the kit last year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 (edited) 16 minutes ago, malpaso said: I had no idea the plane existed, let alone a kit, till I bought the kit last year! First came across the type in an issue of Warplane magazine during the late 80s and always thought it looked quite a cool design; slightly cartoonish in a way but also somehow 'right' if that makes sense. Edit- I'll let you read this page about the kit in the best traditions of Forewarned is Forearmed https://adamrehorn.wordpress.com/model-kits/planes/lo-models-172-aidc-at-3-tsu-chang/ Edited March 9, 2019 by Col. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malpaso Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 Thanks Col. I had seen that but also this, which seems a more positive view? http://www.kgwings.com/at3_tzuchiang/at3_tzuchiang.html Either way, it seems to end up as a neat little aircraft. The crew look quite nicely defined, I think I'll paint them up and see whether to include them or invent some scratch interior. Cheers Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 I did see the kgwings pages after that as well. As you say a much more positive view that perhaps reflects the different attitudes of the individual authors. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faust Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 (edited) Well, as the author of the Sprue Lagoon (the less positive) page, I can tell you one thing: when you get a review from me, you get one that honestly reflects what I experienced. My reviews are not here to make everything seem rosy, they're here to tell people the honest truth as I experienced it. My attitude is that truth is more valuable than false hope. As you can see, I found the kit to be a bit of a handful, more like an old Matchbox than anything. Now, I LOVE Matchbox kits, so don't get me wrong.... the AT-3 is a neat kit of a neat plane, but you will fight for it if you want it to look half as good as a more modern, better-made kit. To me, there's nothing wrong with that - but I put it up there so people will know what they're getting into. Some don't mind the elbow grease. Some want a shake-n-bake. I know that if you're expecting an easy time and you find the kit's a dog, it is a lot more offputting than if you go in knowing you're not in for Tamigawa standards! I'm glad to see someone else building the kit, though. It's a cool looking plane and I'm always glad to see more oddballs being built! Good luck with it! Edited March 9, 2019 by Faust 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malpaso Posted June 12, 2019 Author Share Posted June 12, 2019 (edited) Sorry guys, I got the cockpit together then lost my mojo. In fact for a while I thought the carpet monster had got the kit! I couldn't find it for two months, then remembered I'd put it in a project tin, but forgot where! Maybe I need to tidy up... Anyway there've been some great builds in this GB. I will build the AT-3 eventually and put it in RFI. Cheers Will Edited June 12, 2019 by malpaso 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted June 13, 2019 Share Posted June 13, 2019 I'll look out for your progress when you continue with it Will. Still tempted to get a copy of this kit myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azureglo Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Well, well well, this is a pretty little thing: I bet the undercarriage is pants, perhaps a job for some acrylic rod and magnets? Anil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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