Kovozávody Prostejov Alpha Jet A ‘Bundesluftwaffe’ (KPM0266) 1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov

[Julien]

Alpha Jet A ‘Bundesluftwaffe’ (KPM0266)

1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov

 

 

At the end of the 60s, with the SEPECAT Jaguar 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 appended, and limited export success brought the Alpha Jet to Francophile countries in Europe and Africa, with a number of ex-Luftwaffe aircraft finding their way to Thailand and Portugal. 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, with the later MS2 with new avionics, engines, a glass cockpit and improved weapons carrying performance used to train pilots on modern types.

 

 

The Kit

Originally released in 2021, there have been a number of reboxings of the core kit, with various markings options and parts to address the needs and wants of us modellers, which is their stock-in-trade.  This boxing offers you the ability to model the A, E or more advanced MS using the parts in the box, but the decals supplied are purely for the A, as stated on the box, opening the door for anyone with aftermarket decals for the other types to use this boxing to apply their own decals.  Good to know.  The kit arrives in a figure-type end-opening box, with two sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, decal sheet and instruction booklet.  The rear of the box has all the profiles for the marking options printed on it in colour.

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the cockpit, which revolves around the two-seat tub, with the two seats having belt decals, a pair of control columns, additional console parts, and decals for the side consoles.  The two instrument panels also have decals, with a choice of decals, depending on which mark you are depicting.  The cockpit and rear coaming are inserted into the fuselage along with the nose-gear bay, and in anticipation of adding the underside insert, the main gear bays are built on a single roof part with bulkheads separating them and outfitted with landing gear struts and wheels, then glued into the inside of the insert, which can be fitted into the fuselage, closing up the underside.  The wings are simple structures with two main parts each, the undersides smaller than the uppers, to make for a slimmer trailing edge, and attaching to the fuselage by the usual slot-and-tab method, as are the elevators, with a pair of blade antennae fixed near the top of the tail fin.  The intakes are also installed at this stage, which each have an inner splitter plate with a C-profile intake trunk joined together and offered up to the fuselage either side of the rear pilot’s cockpit.

 

The mark of your model is determined by the instrument decals within the cockpits and the nose cones, which you have a choice of for all three types of this aircraft.  The decals are for the A, which has a pointed nose and pitot probe, and required the removal of a strake on each side of the nose, which is shown in the diagram.  The E has a rounded nose, while the MS has an angled flat tip.  A busy diagram shows the installation of the nose gear and all the remaining bay doors, the former being made from three parts with an additional retraction strut added as it is inserted into the bay.  Four underwing pylons are included in the kit, which can be left empty or have two extra fuel tanks slung under them, with the option of a central gun pack under the belly.  The forward sections of the flap fairings are moulded into the wings, but the aft sections are added from separate parts on the moulded-in flying surfaces.  The sensor fit differs between options, with extra steps showing those for French, Canadian and QinetiQ, then the one-piece canopy is glued in place with a small intake on the side of the spine, after which it’s time to paint your model.

 

 

Markings

A separate sheet shows the location of all the stencils, of which there are quite a few, then you refer to the rear of the box for your main markings options.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

 

Decals are printed without acknowledgment, and have good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.  The upper wing stencils are printed on a single decal per wing, so care will be needed to ensure it doesn’t break up, and here the thin carrier film will be a boon once applied, but tricky during fitting.

 

 

Conclusion

I’ve always liked the Alpha Jet, and this is a great little model with lots of detail moulded-in, and some nice decal markings for in service German Jets.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[Hook]

Thanks for the review!

 

Anything looks good in a Luftwaffe splinter. 😎

 

Cheers,

 

Andre

Edited March 19, 2023 by Hook

[Julien]

9 minutes ago, Hook said:

 

 

Anything looks good in a Luftwaffe splinter. 😎

 

Oh yeah!

[Shalako]

Wow, it's been a year since this review and I have to say the KP kit is quite nice. A bit soft "on the edges" but nice.

 

However, with that said, I believe the Fujimi kit still stands the test of time (with the exception of the decals and the seats, among some other things). So, if I had to choose between these two the answer is easy ... BUY BOTH!!!!

[MigModeller]

Are there Humbrol enamel codes for option two: Blue grey?  dark olive green?  and I presume for the underside light blue grey?

 

[Creepy Pete]

They should be RAL 7012 Basaltgrau, RAL 6014 Gelboliv and RAL 7001 Silbergrau. I'm not sure what they were thinking with that first profile, though. "Dark Black Green" and "Light green" is a bit vague.

 

I don't think Humbrol does exact matches for these.

[PhantomBigStu]

2 hours ago, Creepy Pete said:

They should be RAL 7012 Basaltgrau, RAL 6014 Gelboliv and RAL 7001 Silbergrau. I'm not sure what they were thinking with that first profile, though. "Dark Black Green" and "Light green" is a bit vague.

 

I don't think Humbrol does exact matches for these.

Indeed , 6014 is notably darker than humbrol 155 though it looks ok as sub, h123 is pretty decent for 7012 though revell 77 is a superior match, h167 is ok for 7001 though again revell do a far superior version, their 374 

Edited November 16, 2023 by PhantomBigStu

[MigModeller]

On 11/16/2023 at 6:52 PM, PhantomBigStu said:

Indeed , 6014 is notably darker than humbrol 155 though it looks ok as sub, h123 is pretty decent for 7012 though revell 77 is a superior match, h167 is ok for 7001 though again revell do a far superior version, their 374 

Thank you!  I have Revell374.  Will Revell 363 do for "dark olive green"?  And Revell 371 underside?

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by MigModeller
forgot

[PhantomBigStu]

25 minutes ago, MigModeller said:

Thank you!  I have Revell374.  Will Revell 363 do for "dark olive green"?

363 is unfortunately nothing like it, as I said its a dark olive drab, theres no revell aqua close to it

Edited November 18, 2023 by PhantomBigStu

[JayBee]

On 11/16/2023 at 5:30 PM, Creepy Pete said:

 I'm not sure what they were thinking with that first profile, though. "Dark Black Green" and "Light green" is a bit vague.

 

 

The Alpha Jet 41+50 in the first profile is painted in the newer "Norm 83B" scheme.

 

Colors are FS 34079 and RAL 7021 for Norm83B

 

Colors are RAL 6003 and RAL 7021 for Norm 83A

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by JayBee

[MigModeller]

49 minutes ago, JayBee said:

 

The Alpha Jet 41+50 in the first profile is painted in the newer "Norm 83B" scheme.

 

Colors are FS 34079 and RAL 7021 for Norm83B

 

Colors are RAL 6003 and RAL 7021 for Norm 83A

 

Do you care to suggest enamel paints for 40 + 86?

Not sure what to add to the inboard pylons.  might just leave them unburdened

[JayBee]

3 hours ago, MigModeller said:

Do you care to suggest enamel paints for 40 + 86?

Not sure what to add to the inboard pylons.  might just leave them unburdened

 

Xtracolor should be real close. X251, X254, X255.

 

About the loadout: On most pictures only the fueltanks and the Mauser 27mm  are installed.

 

Sometimes Rocket pods, on a double bomb carrier Matra 250 or BL 755 bombs on the inner pylons if the fueltanks are installed.

 

Dont know if there are available in 1/72 scale. Wingman Models made the DBC, the Matra and the BL 755 in 1/48 scale.

 

Its in German Language, but there is a picture in the review how the double bomb carrier looks if installed.

 

 

 

[MigModeller]

On 11/18/2023 at 9:16 PM, JayBee said:

 

Xtracolor should be real close. X251, X254, X255.

 

About the loadout: On most pictures only the fueltanks and the Mauser 27mm  are installed.

 

Sometimes Rocket pods, on a double bomb carrier Matra 250 or BL 755 bombs on the inner pylons if the fueltanks are installed.

 

Dont know if there are available in 1/72 scale. Wingman Models made the DBC, the Matra and the BL 755 in 1/48 scale.

 

Its in German Language, but there is a picture in the review how the double bomb carrier looks if installed.

 

 

 

Schade dass es an 1/48  orientiert ist.

X251 =green

X254 =light grey

X255 = silver grey

 

Hertzlichen Dank JayBee!

[tempestfan]

On 11/19/2023 at 11:41 PM, MigModeller said:

Schade dass es an 1/48  orientiert ist.

X251 =green

X254 =light grey

X255 = silver grey

 

Hertzlichen Dank JayBee!

BL755s were included in the Airfix Alpha, and IIRC in abundance in the Airfix Tornado/MRCA. 

I painted my RMM (née Heller Cadet) Alpha in Ocean Grey over plastic color with MSG undersides (Humbrol Authentics from my father's RAF set), ca. 1980. Those were the times... I guess it would still look quite convincing in DSG/DG/LAG.