Austrian Air Force Zlin Z-126 Trener.

[Whofan]

As my mother in law is Austrian (though she died in 2013,  I still think of her as Austrian in the present tense), once I discovered the range of aircraft flown by the Austrian AIr Force it seemed natural to me, with a personal connection to Austria, to build some of them. And also because without actually remembering which ones they were, on many of our vists to Austria we would see Austrian Air force planes follow the river at the bottom of the valley the relatives lived in.

 

The Zlin c-126 trener  was flown by the Austrian air force from something like 1953 - 1965, as best I can find out. So here's the model, finished, with one important flaw of my own making - I wonder how many will see it straightaway?

 

Here's the example of the plane in the Zeltweg airbase museum, which I used as the basis for my model.

 

 

And here's the same angled view of my build;

 

 

Straightaway you'll see that the canopy looks odd; that's because I gave it a coat of Windsor  & Newton Galleria flat varnish. An error that I kick myself over.

 

A couple more views;

 

 

The SD card gives an idea of how small the model is, and therefore how small the actual plane was.

 

 

The kit is the KP 1/72 model, and I used KP's own  cockpit masks. The yellow colour - probably still a touch too yellow - was Hycote rattle can Ford Signal yellow, the blue flash behind the canopy Mr Colour Sky blue. The propeller is part painted in an humbrol wood colour, overpainted with Tamiya clear orange, with the tips in grey on the front face and yellow on the rear.

 

The decals were produced by Daniel Brenter of Brent Air Decals, who is based in Austria and specialises in decals for Austrian civilian and military aircraft.

 

https://www.brent-air-decals.at/en-gb

 

I'm grateful to Daniel for this set for the trener, and I have to say they went on absolutely fine, with no silvering. As can be seen, they are in register, and the white in the cockade is very definitely white, despite being laid straight onto the yellow paint.

 

Except the stencils gave me some trouble, despite my magnifying head light, my fingers aren't as steady as they once were and I had  some trouble keeping them in line with their opposite number! 

 

Apart from the error in painting the canopy is my fault, the kit itself was straightforward to build, with very few gaps needing filler. I used Vallejo plastic putty (70.401) for these and was impressed with how it behaved.

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by Whofan

[AMB]

I never noticed the fogged canopy immediately. I thought the error was in the colours, as the museum aircraft appears to be light grey. Were Austrian AF Treners also painted yellow?

[Whofan]

On 18/11/2021 at 22:54, AMB said:

I never noticed the fogged canopy immediately. I thought the error was in the colours, as the museum aircraft appears to be light grey. Were Austrian AF Treners also painted yellow?

As best I can find out, yes. Daniel Brenter's sheet with the decals has the plane in a light yellow with a blue flash, which suggests perhaps some form of aerobatic or display team.

 

I was surprised to see you  saw the museum example as light grey, to my eyes it looks a much faded pale yellow!

Edited November 23, 2021 by Whofan

[kapam]

Nice job indeed!

I really don't think the fogged canopy detracts, especially on a small subject like this:

Well done!

[Remus389]

Very nice work in such a small scale. 👍

[Bertie McBoatface]

That's a very clean and tidy model. Thanks for posting.