X-Scale Models ATR-42-300 American Eagle (X144009) 1:144

[Mike]

ATR-42-300 American Eagle (X144009)

1:144 X-Scale Models

 

 

ATR is a joint-venture by companies that became Airbus in France, and Leonardo from Italy, intent on developing a range of smaller Regional Transport airliners, creating two basic models from which other variants were derived.  Its first product was the ATR 42, working on the initial variant that was a high wing turboprop airliner, although it was referred to as the 42-200 during prototyping, with just a few examples produced before the name change for the initial production airframes to 42-300.  It first entered service in 1985 and could carry around 50 passengers, sharing much of its design language with its larger sibling, the ATR 72, which can seat around 30 more passengers.  The ATR 42 has proved a popular purchase for many years, the production lines running with the -300 until the mid-90s, to be replaced by an improved -320 that had more powerful Pratt & Whitney PW121 engines, then the -400 with 6-blade props that better took advantage of the power delivery of the new engines.  More incremental upgrades followed, taking the designations up to the 600 series, and improving efficiency, avionics and passenger comfort along the way.  It is also available as a cargo hauler, with a few airframes adapted for specialist duties, including VIP transports and maritime operations, the latter known as the ‘Surveyor’.  There were over 60 -300s, with all models accounting for over 300 examples, and while there have been some crashes where loss of life was the result, the type is well-liked, trusted, and popular with operators, passengers and crews alike.

 

 

The Kit

This is a new tooling from X-Scale, who have become a champion of airliner modellers, creating many kits in the de facto scale of 1:144 with a higher level of detail than has been available historically.  The kit arrives in a small top-opening box with a painting of an American Eagle ATR-42 banking gently over a mountainous surface, as this is a passenger aircraft, not a fighter.  Inside the box are five sprues of various sizes in grey styrene, a clear sprue in a separate Ziploc bag, an A5 instruction booklet printed on glossy paper with decal profiles in the centre pages, a separately bagged decal sheet with pre-cut vinyl masks to round out the package.  Detail is good, extending to the cockpit interior, landing gear bays, and of course the exterior, which has finely engraved panel lines, and elects to represent the passenger windows with decals, which allows easy switching between seating configurations for subsequent boxings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with the main instrument panel, which is a modern glass panel, and joins to the centre console, which also has some panels on its detailed surface.  The crew seats are fitted to the floor with separate bases, adding control yokes and rudder pedals in front of them, then fitting the side consoles, main panel, and a bulkhead behind the crew to complete assembly.  The nose gear bay is a detailed single part, into which the four-part strut is placed, which allows the fuselage to be close around the bay, cockpit, and an insert that includes a small forest of sensors and aerials on the spine behind the cockpit.  The main bay is four parts, split into two sections by a bulkhead, inserting the completed assembly into the belly insert that is then installed in the opening under the fuselage, adding two clear lenses in the forward edge, and a blade antenna just in front.

 

The upper wings are full-span, adding the separate lowers inside the full-thickness flying surfaces and tip that permit realistically thin trailing edges of this model.  A pair of exhausts are made from two parts each, fitting them in the two engine nacelle halves, and adding a plug in the chin intake.  Another intake is fixed below the nacelle, and a prop backing plate is inserted in the circular front of the nacelle before they are mated with the wings, which have fairings moulded into the upper surface.  Clear wingtip lights are fitted at this time, then the wings are inverted to mount the flap actuator fairings, adding six under each wing when you include two smaller parts for the ailerons.  The elevators on the T-tail are each single thickness parts with an actuator fairing at the inner end of each one, fitting them to the sides of the two-part fin after the wings have been mated to the top of the fuselage, covering the opening in the centre of the wing root fairing.  The canopy is moulded with a portion the surrounding skin integrated, which makes installation a simple affair, and the supplied masks will ensure the exterior remains clear during the painting process.

 

Next are the main gear legs, starting with a three-part strut on each side, which receives a wheel on each side of the axle, is inserted in the bay, and has three retraction jacks that pull the leg into the bay on retraction.  Each bay has a four-part bay door that is assembled, then fitted to the upper edge of the bay, attached to the gear leg by a short jack.  The nose gear is finished by adding twin wheels to the strut, then bracketing the bay with two longitudinal doors, plus a blade antenna on the centreline behind it.  You have a choice of two types of prop blades, one moulded as a single four-bladed part that is trapped between a spinner and back-plate, the other made from two paired blades that are set perpendicularly to each other, taking care to choose the same blade type for both engines.  Your choice of prop assembly is slotted into the holes in the centre of the nacelle fronts, finishing the model with three more antennae/sensors down the centreline, as is common with modern airliners.

 

 

Markings

This boxing depicts an American Eagle Airlines aircraft, which is a sub-brand of American Airlines, and shares some of its livery design cues.  From the box you can build the following:

 

• ATR-42-300, American Eagle Airlines, Chicago O’Hare International, USA, 1996

 

 

 

Decals are by X-Scale’s usual partner, 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

Airliner models with a hankering to build an ATR-42 in this scale haven’t been very well served by an entirely injection moulded kit, with the majority using other moulding methods for at least some of the main parts.  This kit brings excellent detail and simplicity of build to the modeller, which should help sales.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

 

[Skodadriver]

I'm working on one just now. It's painted and waiting for decals and I hope to have it in RFI by the end of the year provided I don't make a terminal mess of it.

 

Generally it's a nice little kit. I've had a couple of fit issues, notably joining the combined belly section and undercarriage bay to the main fuselage which required a lot of sanding and filing and eventually had to be forced into place with a G clamp. If I build the kit again I'll think about attaching the upper wing to the fuselage first before adding the lower halves to make it easier to adjust the fit between the lower wings and the fuselage sides. The separate part with the sensors and aerials (E24) is a novel idea but in reality it's a nuisance and compromises the sanding of the top fuselage seam. I just sanded it smooth and replaced the lumps and bumps from thin plastic at a later stage.

 

The main undercarriage is super fiddly - think Revell Avro RJ but smaller and with more parts - but once it's done it looks really good. 

 

I agree with Mike's recommendation but you do need to be happy dealing with the typically X-Scale plethora of small parts!

 

Dave G 

 

 

[aircraftkit]

As usual Mike, a well-written, interesting, useful and informative write up. Great photos, too.

 

Hopefully this release will prove to be a winner with both civil aircraft and airliner enthusiasts alike, unfortunately there still aren't that many injection moulded prop-liners and commuter types available to modellers, so this one is very welcome.

 

Hopefully we'll see more of this ilk - KP Models are apparently working on a 1/144 (and other scales) Saab 340 but we could also do with an up-to-date Embraer Brasilia, Bae Jetstream 41, Bae ATP, ATR 72, Dornier 328 (prop and jet) and others to go with this one.

Nevertheless its good to see a subject like this making an appearance. It's certainly more refined than the equivalent F-Rsin offering and its appearance definitely looks like an improvement over the old Italeri offering (albeit that these older kits provided the more commonly found six-bladed prop option).