modeller www.militaryillustratedmodeller.com
PETLYAKOV
PERFECTION
Aircraft edition
Zvezda’s 1:48 Petlyakov Pe-2
£6.50 - May’16 (issue 061)
Eduard 1:48 Ultimate Avon Sabre Conversion • RB Productions 1:32 Ohka Type 22 • Kitty Hawk 1:32 Kinfisher • Trumpeter 1:32 Sukhoi Su 35S conversion • and more…
military illustrated
p 01 Cover MIM 061B.indd 1
04/04/2016 14:18
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
Contents
modeller m military illustrated
ISSUE No.061 May 2016
4
NEWS
6
PETLYAKOV PERFECTION
What’s happening in modelling and aviation
Zvezda 1:48 Pe-2 by Brett Green
16 PREVIEW
Eduard 1:48 SBD-5 Dauntless
18 THESE FOOLISH THINGS RB Productions 1:32 Ohka Type 22 by James Hatch
28 FULL SIZE REFERENCE Planes of Fame Ohka
30 OBSERVATION ON FLOATS
30
Kitty Hawk’s 1:32 scale OS2U Kingfisher by Kamil Feliks Sztarbała
44 ARCTIC FLANKER
Trumpeter 1:32 Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker B by Leo Stevenson
50 FULL SIZE REFERENCE CA-27 Avon Sabre
52 ULTIMATE SABRE THE HARD WAY
52
Eduard & High Planes 1:48 CA-27 Avon Sabre by Brett Green
65 NEXT ISSUES
What’s coming up in the next issues of Military Illustrated Modeller
66 TAILPIECE
G.W.H. 1:144 Victor Tanker
44
18 AIR Edition
p 03 Contents 061B.indd 3
3
30/03/2016 09:32
News BACHMANN EUROPE PLC ACQUIRES POCKETBOND AND TOYWAY
Bachmann Europe Plc has announced their acquisition of both the Pocketbond and Toyway brands, together with their respective distributed ranges. This arrangement is effective from the 19th January 2016. Pocketbond are manufacturers of the Classix range of 1:76 scale die-cast vehicles, Conflix wargaming products, Emhar plastic construction kits and figures, Nautix radio controlled ships, Scenix 1:76 scale buildings primarily for model railway use; and the Timpo Soft Touch range of animals, dinosaurs and sealife subjects. Pocketbond also distributes a large range of model and hobby related products including plastic construction kits, figures, tools and accessories. Toyway produces a range of vehicles, animals, figures, gliders, science sets, die-cast aircraft and wooden toys. Bachmann’s David Haarhaus said “the acquisition of Pocketbond and Toyway by Bachmann Europe Plc enables us to build on the success that both companies have enjoyed over the last three decades. It is clear that all brands within this comprehensive portfolio of model and hobby products will benefit our established markets and complement our core product base in the model railway, die-cast vehicles and model soldier sectors”. Bachmann Europe Plc confirm that Neil Fraser will be joining the company. Neil was part of the management team that worked with the late Philip Brook to establish quality products from several manufacturers including Trumpeter, AFV Club and Pegasus in the UK market. The Pocketbond and Toyway ranges will be distributed from Bachmann’s existing facilities and stock is currently being transferred from the company’s previous site in Welwyn Garden City. Thanks to Bachmann Europe Plc for the information.
G.W.H. 1:48 T-33 SHOOTING STAR G.W.H. has a brand new 1:48 T-33A Shooting Start kit due for release about now. The kit is based on 100% new, original research, and has nothing to do with any previous T-33 kit in any scale by any manufacturer. The first test shot was late August (which is what these photos are), so minor changes will be made obviously. The main canopy will be made thinner (and molded in clear!). The kit will be done in “early” and “late” versions, with many subtle differences in panels, wheels, details, and underwing stores. Thanks to G.W.H. and Jennings Heilig for the information.
FISHER MODEL AND PATTERN 1:32 METEOR T.7 CONVERSION
Fisher Model and Pattern have released a 1:32 scale Meteor T.7 conversion for the HK Models Meteor kit. The main conversion parts are in resin including a clear cast resin canopy, with detail parts in photo-etch and a new colourful decal sheet. The conversion is shipping now and available to order online from http://fishermodels.com/
4
SWORD LATEST RELEASES
Sword Models has sent Preview images and information on two new kits that should be available right now: SW72093 F9F-8T/ TF-9J Twogar (Cougar) 1:72 scale with decal versions for: • VMT-1, 147328 • VT-10,146405 (512)Wildcats • VT-23,142958(303)Professionals This model contain PUR ejection seats. SW72094 F3D-2 Skyknight VF-11/ VMF(N)513 1:72 scale: • VF-11,125871(106) Red Rippers • VMF(N)-513 127027(12 7/8 ) Flying Nightmares • VMF(N)-513 127074 (2,Black widow) Flying Nightmares • VMF(N)-513 (23) Flying Nightmares Thanks to Sword for the information and images http://swordmodels.cz/en/
ARISM COMPRESSOR AND AIRBRUSH PACKAGES
The Airbrush Company has announced that the ARISM range of compressors is now available as kits. The kits include: • An ARISM or ARISM MINI compressor • Sparmax MAX-4 airbrush (with 2 year warranty) • 2m braided hose • Sparmax cleaning station Sparmax Arism Compressor Kit: https://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?products_ id=22153 SRP £180 inc VAT. Sparmax Arism Mini Compressor Kit: https://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?products_ id=22153 SRP £150 inc VAT. Thanks to The Airbrush Company Limited for the information and images www.airbrushes.com
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 04 News 061B.indd 4
30/03/2016 09:46
p 05 Vallejo 061.indd 3
30/03/2016 09:20
FEATURE ARTICLE Zvezda 1:48 scale Petlyakov Pe-2 • Kit No. 4809
The fuselage is presented conventionally in left and right halves.
The interior is packed with detail, being made up from more than 100 parts.
PETLYAKOV P Brett Green adds Eduard photo-etched detail to Zvezda’s new 1:48 scale Petlyakov Pe-2.
The model features very crisp and fine recessed surface detail.
Wheel well roof detail is moulded into the lower wing halves – nice approach.
Engine detail looks great. You have the option to display one engine if you wish.
The clear parts are thin and free from distortion. They are also unusually soft and flexible.
A full crew of seated figures is included if you’d like to depict your Petlyakov in-flight.
The decal sheet includes markings for three aircraft.
6
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 6
30/03/2016 09:48
V PERFECTION Part One - Construction Zvezda’s action-packed box art.
I
f it looks right, it is right. There are a number of notable exceptions to this rule, but the Pe-2 is certainly not one of them. It’s sleek lines and attractive proportions resulted in a versatile and highly successful aircraft in the roles of light bomber, dive bomber, ground attack, reconnaissance, heavy fighter and night fighter. The Pe-2 was submitted by Vladimir Petlyakov’s design bureau in response to a requirement for a new highaltitude bomber. The design was very advanced for its time, featuring all metal construction, a pressurised cabin, supercharged engines and sophisticated electrical systems. However, the aircraft’s specifications were downgraded as manufacturing commenced in response to the Luftwaffe’s devastatingly effective use of tactical bombers in the early Blitzkreig campaigns. The Pe-2 was therefore rushed into mass production without cabin pressurisation and superchargers, entering service in Spring 1941. The Pe-2 was fast, manoeuvrable and heavily armed, enjoying success from the first days of the Great Patriotic War until the cessation of hostilities. More than 11,000 Pe-2s rolled off the production lines during the Second World War, making it the third most numerous twin-engined combat aircraft after the Junkers Ju 88 (16,000+) and the Vickers Wellington (11,461). The Pe-2 continued to be manufactured after the end of the Second World War, in Soviet and foreign service.
AIR Edition
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 7
7
30/03/2016 09:49
FEATURE ARTICLE Zvezda 1:48 scale Petlyakov Pe-2 • Kit No. 4809
IN THE BOX
There has been no particular shortage of 1:48 scale Pe-2 kits over the last two decades. Koster Aero Enterprises was first on the scene with their vacform kit. MPM released their offering in 2000, followed by Historic Plastic Models (more often known as HiPM) Pe-2 early and late versions later the same year. MPM's and HiPM's kits shared no parts in common, and were typical limited run fare of the time. In other words, surface textures were fine but there was a fair amount of clean-up and test-fitting involved. Zvezda has now released a 1:48 scale Pe-2 kit that is light years ahead of limited run. Zvezda's 1:48 scale Petlyakov Pe-2 comprises 305 parts in grey plastic (with an additional 21 not used), 17 parts in clear plastic plus one decal sheet covering three subjects. Quality of the plastic is excellent. It is neither too soft nor too brittle, and I can't find any sink marks on my kit. Sprue attachment points are fine and flash appears to be non-existent. Surface detail is also first rate. It is crisp and thin throughout, but it is noticeably finer on the fuselage. Two styles of exhausts are included - separate stacks or straight-through flame dampers (although the latter appears to apply to all three marking options in this box). Other options include retracted or lowered undercarriage (main and tail wheels), alternative positions for the mid-upper glazing, and separate control surfaces that may be posed to taste. The wheels are all plastic and they look great. The fuselage interior is a work of art, being made up from around 100 parts. Decals are offered as an option for the instrument panels, while various quadrants, handles, bulkeads and details are supplied as separate parts. The machine guns and their ammo look fantastic. There are also four very nicely moulded multi-part seated crew figures, although there is only room for three of them. Canopy parts are clear and thin. The bomb bay is also fully fitted out with bulkheads, racks and two bombs. The fuselage bomb bay doors may be posed open or closed. Two additional bombs are included to sling under the wings. The decal sheet looks to be well printed but the decals are pretty much dead flat, which always makes me nervous. Ensure your model has a nice glossy surface before applying the decals and some setting solution probably won't hurt. The instructions are well drawn and quite logically laid out. I wasn't wild about the simplification and apparent linking of the engine display and undercarriage position options, but if that is the worst criticism I can find, this must be a very good model!
The landing gear light is boxed in with a separate part.
The wing trailing edge join can be sealed with a bead of Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement.
Belts and braces - the main wing halves glued, taped and clamped. You can never be too careful!
Undercarriage sidewall detail in place. The real nacelles are ready for assembly.
8
As I was not displaying the engine, construction gets underway with the wings.
Don’t forget to drill out the holes for the bomb racks from the insides of the bottom wing halves.
The leading edge is a separate insert, while the ailerons may be posed to taste. Remember that they will be deflected in opposite directions though.
The assembled rear nacelles awaiting mating with the wings.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 8
30/03/2016 09:49
Here are the parts for the rear engine plug and inside of the nacelle. The assembled rear engine plug and oil tank.
INSTRUCTION ERRATA
The kit instructions are clearly illustrated, but there are a couple of mislabelled parts. Before we start construction, it is worth correcting these on the instruction sheet – it’ll save you lots of time spent in futile search. The mislabelled parts are in Step 39: • The part labelled E18 in the instructions is actually part E81 • The part labelled E19 in the instructions is actually part E61 Seems as if somebody must have been looking at the sprue upside-down when they were documenting this Step!
GETTING STARTED
Before cutting the first part from the sprues, the first thing you will need to do is decide whether you want to display one of the engines. The engine is very well detailed, including tanks, radiators, plumbing and bearers. The second engine nacelle is designed to be buttoned up, but it does include an insert inside the nacelle at the front of the wheel well that provides rear engine detail. This will be visible through the open undercarriage doors. The instructions imply that you only have the choice of two configurations • one engine displayed and undercarriage down, or All the elements to bring the wing and the nacelle together.
The forward nacelle parts ready for assembly.
You won’t see much of it when it is fitted to the wing, but here is the pleasing jumble of the rear engine plug – more than a mere suggestion of the engine detail!
Radio face detail was carved off the plastic part in anticipation of the Eduard pre-coloured photo-etched replacement.
Moving along to the fuselage interior, here are some of the sub-assemblies.
Rear fuselage interior parts in place, including the rather natty control rods.
AIR Edition
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 9
9
30/03/2016 09:50
FEATURE ARTICLE Zvezda 1:48 scale Petlyakov Pe-2 • Kit No. 4809
The bomb bay is made up from a modest number of parts but is still nicely detailed. I initially planned to seal this up, but in the end I could not resist displaying the bay and the bombs.
The front sections of the control rods were held in place with Blu-Tack while the glue dried.
Look ma, no glue! Check out the superb fit when the fuselage halves and the wings are simply press-fitted.
The bomb bay incorporates stout spars that will guarantee correct dihedral and a solid fit for the wings.
Zvezda has engineered separate interior wing root inserts.
• both nacelles sealed and undercarriage up. However, although the instructions do not mention it, there are actually two of the rear engine plug inserts so you can build the model with the undercarriage lowered and both engine nacelles sealed. I decided to build mine with the nacelles sealed and undercarriage down. Zvezda’s assembly sequence also installs the main undercarriage parts very early in construction – even before the nacelles are fitted to the wings. To me, this seemed to be a disaster waiting to happen, with the relatively delicate legs jutting out
The pilot’s right sidewall. Note that raised detail has been sanded from the vertical console.
Wing root insert and shelf in place in the starboard rear fuselage.
while construction and painting went on around them. I could not see any reason that the main gear legs should not be fitted at a more conventional time after construction and painting were complete, so I skipped Steps 15 and 16. The multi-part nacelles and the upper rear cowl fairing rang alarm bells in my mind, so I took plenty of time to test fit and check alignment. As it turned out, I worried needlessly – assembly was totally free from gaps. In fact, this was a recurring theme throughout construction. There are many complex multi-part sub-assemblies but with care, the fit is close to
perfect from start to finish. The model really is a credit to its designers.
THE INSIDE JOB
The fuselage interior – the forward cockpit area, the radio operator’s compartment in the rear and the central internal bomb bay – are comprehensively fitted out. In fact, these are made up from more than 100 parts. With the large glasshouse cockpit, lower observation windows, side windows, machine gun ports and the upper fuselage hatch, you will be able to catch glimpses of all this detail on the finished model, so a bit of time spent here is worthwhile.
Interior sub-assemblies have been sorted into groups based on their ultimate colour and tacked to small paint boxes.
Painting gets underway in the cockpit.
10
The interior base colour is Steel Grey. I mixed Tamiya XF-54 Dark Sea Grey mixed with around 20% XF-23 Light Blue for this shade. Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 10
30/03/2016 09:50
Eduard’s pre-coloured photo-etched fret – lovely!
The coloured photo-etched parts are in place and a flat coat sprayed over plastic and metal.
The other main colours are Tamiya XF-67 NATO Green and XF-20 Medium Grey.
The seats and crew floors, colour coded, weathered, chipped and flat coated.
Eduard’s SUPERFABRIC seat belts could hardly be easier to use.
They were simply peeled off their backing sheet and glued in place using Gator’s Grip acrylic glue.
Port side consoles and the pilot’s floor assembly have been threaded through the control rods.
The cockpit looks suitably busy through the opening even before the pilot’s seat and rear machine gun have been fitted. This was taken when test-fitting the fuselage halves.
AIR Edition
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 11
11
30/03/2016 09:49
FEATURE ARTICLE Zvezda 1:48 scale Petlyakov Pe-2 • Kit No. 4809
I decided to supplement the kit’s plastic parts with Eduard’s excellent colour photo-etched parts and their highly flexible SUPERHARNESS straps. I love the interior of this model. The Soviet designers very clearly colour-coded the various components – green if it is a control or a seat, light grey if you can stand on it, and “steel grey” elsewhere. I tried to break down the interior into subassemblies based on the different colours, having four main batches – steel grey, green, light grey and black. The parts in each colour were temporarily attached to small boxes to make handling easier during painting. The instructions call out for the steel grey shade as the main cockpit colour, including the fuselage interior sidewalls. I sprayed these parts in a base coat of Tamiya XF-54 Dark Sea Grey mixed with around 20% XF-23 Light Blue. The broad expanse of grey was broken up with a wash of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 mixed with water and Future floor polish. The paint was only a very small proportion of this mix. The wash was also applied to the green and light grey subassemblies. Quadrants, switches, dials and other small details were picked out with Vallejo acrylics applied with a fine brush. The only parts not painted at this stage were the silver elements in the cockpit. These were left until after the other cockpit parts had been given a flat coat, so as not to dull the metallic sheen of this colour. The Eduard pre-coloured photo-etched parts were now glued to the instrument panels, radios and equipment areas. The seat cushion was painted Vallejo Panzer Aces 337 Highlight German (Black), followed by a highlighting coat of Vallejo Model Color 826 German Cam. Medium Brown on the raised sections. Once the painting of the interior was finished, I sprayed two coats of Alclad II Flat Clear on all the fuselage interior parts. The flexible harness straps were added at this stage, and silver parts were picked out using Vallejo acrylic Oily Steel.
When the fuselage halves are brought together, the ammo feed at the bottom of the fuselage fouls against the radio operator’s floor. The edge of the floor must be carefully manipulated to clear the ammo feed. I used a pair of tweezers for this delicate job.
12
The completed rear fuselage. Windows are about to be fitted.
The pilot’s seat is test-fitted.
Voila! The ammo feed is now where it should be!
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 12
30/03/2016 09:50
The fuselage halves glued and taped.
The oil tank sits on its mountings at the top rear of the nacelle before it is sealed away.
Gone! Nice fit of the nacelle fairing.
Tail plane elements.
Basic airframe construction is complete.
The tail planes have a pronounced dihedral but the vertical fins are parallel.
AIR Edition
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 13
13
30/03/2016 09:50
FEATURE ARTICLE Zvezda 1:48 scale Petlyakov Pe-2 • Kit No. 4809
The upper fuselage hatch and gunner’s windows are masked off from the inside.
Eduard die-cut masks were used for the lower observation windows.
Some running repairs were required for a popped lower seam.
The cockpit entry hatch was sealed from the inside using Tamiya tape.
Eduard’s masking set provides a multi-part solution for covering the oval fuselage windows. First we have a crescent for one side then another crescent for the other side…
I covered the whole window with some Tamiya tape…
…and then cut a rough oval to cover the centre of the window.
Tamiya tape was also used to mask off the large cockpit opening.
Eduard has a pre-cut mask for the leading edge landing light. The wheel wells were masked off with the optional “closed” undercarriage doors. They pressed into place with no need for further temporary adhesive.
COMING TOGETHER
Once the cockpit was painted, assembly picked up pace. Before sealing the fuselage I glued the oval side windows into the fuselage from the inside. I first placed the windows into their recesses, then carefully brushed a spot of Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement into the tiny gap, which was drawn around the oval by capillary action. The small side windows for the machine guns were also glued in place using the same method, but the gun was not fitted at this stage. Test fitting the fuselage showed that it was a tight squeeze in places, but that a gap-free join should be possible. The main challenge was threading the ammo feed past the radio operator’s floor. As I brought the fuselage halves together, I used a pair of tweezers to carefully stretch the ammo feed (Part A44) so that it was positioned in the rectangular opening in the radio operator’s floor part (Part E96). The fuselage halves were now glued together and taped. Once the parts had set, I glued the wings and tailplanes onto the fuselage. Fit was excellent, although the upper and lower fuselage seams popped at a later stage, probably because the glue had not taken properly on the lacquercovered fuselage joins. I must remember to lightly sand the joins next time! I did not fit the pilot’s seat or the navigator’s machine gun assembly at this stage as they would interfere with the masking. •
14
Next Time Next time Brett will describe the painting, weathering and finishing of his Zvezda 1:48 Pe-2.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 14
30/03/2016 09:51
MODELSPEC Zvezda 1:48 scale Petlyakov Pe-2 The model primed and ready for paint.
Kit No. 4809
Accessories Used: Eduard Item No. 49747 – Pe-2 Interior Eduard Item No. 49091 - Pe-2 Seat Belts SUPERFABRIC Eduard Item No. EX488 - Pe-2 Masking Sheet Tools and Modelling Products Used: Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement Revell Contacta Cement Selley’s Super Glue Zip Kicker (super glue accelerator) Olfa Knife Model K B Tamiya Tape – 6mm, 10mm and 18mm Blu Tack Post-It Notes Smoke-Coloured Invisible Mending Thread Paints and Finishing Products Used:
“The Pe-2 was fast, manoeuvrable and heavily armed, enjoying success from the first days of the Great Patriotic War until the cessation of hostilities.”
Tamiya (acrylic): X-18 Semi-Gloss Black; X-25 Clear Green; X-27 Clear Red; XF-1 Flat Black; XF-2 Flat White; XF-23 Light Blue; XF-54 Dark Sea Grey; XF-63 German Grey; XF-67 NATO Green. Tamiya Weathering Master - Weathering Pastels Parts A. Gunze-Sangyo acrylic paints: H70 RLM 02 Grey. Mr Hobby Mr Color Leveling Thinner 400. Vallejo Model Color (acrylic): 865 Oily Steel; 891 Intermediate Green; 919 Foundation White; 70953 Flat Yellow; 70957 Flat Red; 963 Medium Blue; Vallejo Panzer Aces (acrylic): 337 Highlight Ger. (Black) Testor’s Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer Finish Gunze Mr Metal Color (lacquer): 211 Chrome Silver; 214 Dark Iron; 217 Gold; 217 Brass Solvaset decal setting solution Future Floor Polish AK Interactive Dark Brown Wash Winsor & Newton Oil Paints: Lamp Black; Raw Umber Superb fit; excellent surface detail; high level of detail; useful options. Nothing worth mentioning. Rating: 9.5 out of 10 Zvezda kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited www.hobbyco.net
AIR Edition
p 06-15 PE2 Pt1 061B.indd 15
15
30/03/2016 09:50
KIT PREVIEW Eduard 1:48 SBD-5 Dauntless • Kit No. 1165
DAUNTLESS REVISITED Eduard has added resin, photo-etch and a new colourful decal sheet to the original Accurate Miniatures 1/48 scale SBD-5 sprues to deliver an impressive and up-to-date package.
T
he Douglas SBD Dauntless was an American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-borne scout plane and dive bomber from mid-1940 through mid1944. The SBD was also flown by the United States Marine Corps, both from land air bases and aircraft carriers. The SBD is best remembered as the bomber that delivered the fatal blows to the Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. During its combat service, the SBD was an excellent naval scout plane and dive bomber. It possessed long range, good handling characteristics, manoeuvrability, potent bomb
The clear sprue includes optional open and closed canopy parts.
16
load, great diving characteristics, good defensive armament and ruggedness. One land-based variant of the SBD — in omitting the arrestor hook — was purpose-built for the U.S. Army Air Forces, as the A-24 Banshee. The Dauntless was also operated by the French Air Force and Aeronavale, and the Royal New Zealand Air Force.*
IN THE BOX
It is almost unbelievable to realise that Accurate Miniatures released their SBD-5 Dauntless in 1997 – almost 20 years ago. It is even harder to believe when you examine the sprues in Eduard’s reboxed packaging. The level of detail and finesse of surface texture still
rivals the best of today. The plastic sprues contain 105 parts in medium grey and 14 parts in clear. This modest total is reduced by 20 parts marked “not for use” in this iteration. Eduard has added two photo-etched frets, resin parts, self-adhesive die cut canopy and wheel masks and a big new decal sheet to the lovely Accurate Miniatures sprues. Interior detail was always excellent with plastic controls rods, bristling sidewall structures and a clear instrument panel, but Eduard’s PE upgrades will lift the cockpit to a new level with a replacement coloured and layered instrument panel, wide lap belts, radio, throttles and knobs and much more. Ailerons, rudder and elevators are all fixed in neutral positions, but the perforated dive flaps are separate and may be posed to taste. Other options include the tail hook, bombs and the choice of a closed canopy or separate open sections. The resin parts include replacement main wheels with two styles of cover – spoked and solid – plus tail wheel, a gorgeous jewel-like twin .30 cal machine gun assembly. The instructions are supplied as a glossy A4 16 page booklet with colour-keyed assembly illustrations, a masking guide, full-colour four-view diagrams of the five marking options and a stencil marking guide.
The clear instrument panel will be replaced by the colour photo-etched parts in this instance.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 16-17 SBD5 Pre 061B.indd 16
30/03/2016 09:52
Lovely crisp recessed panel lines are complimented by raised strips on fabric control surfaces.
The colour and brass photo-etched parts included by Eduard.
MARKINGS
Decals for five varied options are supplied on a single Cartograf-printed decal sheet: • SBD-5 of 25 Sqn Royal New Zealand Air Force, Piva, Bougainville, April 1944 finished in mid-war three-colour scheme. • SBD-5 of VMS-3, Virgin Islands, Spring 1944 finished in the grey and white Atlantic scheme. • SBD-5 of VMSB-331, Majuro Atoll, Marshall Islands, Spring 1944 finished in mid-war threecolour scheme. • A-24 Banshee of 407th Bomb Group USAAF, Amchitka, Alaska, Summer 1944 finished in Olive Drab and Neutral Grey. • SBD-5 of French Aeronavlae, 4°Flotile, Western France, early 1945 finished in mid-war threecolour scheme. The decals are well printed and appear to be in perfect registration.
The large and colourful decal sheet (not to scale!)
CONCLUSION
Accurate Miniatures’ 1:48 scale SBD-5 Dauntless was a beautiful kit when it was released nearly 20 years ago, and the plastic parts look just as good today. The addition of Eduard’s resin and photoetched parts are a welcome upgrade, and the retail price is very reasonable considering these multimedia bonuses and the large Cartograf decal sheet. Take your time with this one - test fit and follow the sequence of the instructions - and you'll have a lovely replica of the Dauntless for the model shelf or the competition table. Highly Recommended. •
Check out the surface detail on the lower wing.
Thanks to Eduard for the sample www.eduard.cz * Historical summary courtesy of Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Douglas_SBD_Dauntless The dive brakes may be posed open or closed, and are perforated.
Eduard’s new resin parts.
Plastic sidewall detail looks good even compared to the latest releases.
AIR Edition
p 16-17 SBD5 Pre 061B.indd 17
17
30/03/2016 09:52
FEATURE ARTICLE RB Productions 1:32 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Type 22 • Kit No. RB-K32003
THESE FOOLISH T James Hatch builds the RB Productions’ 1:32 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Type 22.
The RB Productions kit comes in a small box, but still has plenty of parts to keep you occupied.
“RB Productions has quite a reputation for quality products for which painstaking research has been spent...”
Y
ou climb into a single-use aircraft, fitted with a jet engine to the rear and a large warhead bolted to the front. You have enough fuel for one mission, and of course, you don’t need to know how or where to land. What could possibly go wrong? The Yokosuka MXY7 ‘Ohka’ Type 22, as with other piloted suicide aircraft, was not named ‘Baka’ or Fool, by the Allies for no good reason. The mindset of the Japanese at this stage of the war was fomented in the psyche of both combatants and the general populace. A fear was driven into them
18
of the unspeakable nightmare of their lands being invaded by the US. Unlike the earlier Type 11, the Type 22 wasn’t used in combat. Thankfully, the war ended before more lives could be lost to this awful weapon. The irony here is that to prevent the use of this and other secret Japanese weapons, the Allies inflicted heavy casualties on Japan with the use of the Atomic Bomb. The Type 22 was a little unlike its predecessor, in that it was powered by a Campini-type thermojet engine, whereas the service Type 11 was fitted
with three solid rocket boosters. The thermojet engine allowed for a longer range under the machine’s own power, so it could be released by the mother aircraft at a longer distance from the target. This carrier aircraft, the Yokosuka P1Y3 ‘Frances’, meant that the wingspan of the Type 22 was decreased further, making the weapon look extremely infeasible. A smaller warhead was also fitted, not that it would’ve made much difference to the unfortunate pilot. Today, only one example of the Type 22 survives, and is on display at the National Air and Space Museum, USA.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 18
30/03/2016 09:53
H THINGS
2.
THE RB PRODUCTIONS KIT
I don’t think anyone really saw this release coming, if you’ll pardon the service analogy/pun. RB Productions has quite a reputation for quality products for which painstaking research has been spent. Even so, an Ohka? Yes, and I really was delighted when Radu said he’d post one out to me. The masters for this kit had been created on a 3D printer, and all of the externals had been polished to a super-smooth finish. Those guys at CMK then cast the parts for this kit, and the whole kit is superbly packed into a smallish but rigid card box
with a product label on the lid. Inside, all resin parts are backed into numerous zip-lock bags. A small photo-etched fret is included, with LOTS more parts, and there is also a clear resin windshield. For the sliding hood, there are two vacform parts, just in case you ruin one. As for instructions, then you’ll need to download them using the link provided on a card insert. I prefer this method to the inclusion of a DVD, as my notebook, a MacBook, doesn’t have a drive for this type of media.
FUSELAGE OR FLYING COFFIN?
Although the instructions guide you towards assembling the thermojet engine, I decided to start with the cockpit. I have to say that the 3D printed sidewall detail is astounding, with all the constructional elements, plus other smaller detail, already in situ. The only reservation I had though was that unlike the polished exterior, you could see the faint banding from the 3D master print process, and there really was no way that you could do much to this without ruining the whole appearance. After assembling a few extra parts to the sidewall,
AIR Edition
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 19
19
30/03/2016 09:53
FEATURE ARTICLE RB Productions 1:32 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Type 22 • Kit No. RB-K32003
using CA, I turned my attention to the cockpit floor. Onto this goes quite a complicated rudder pedal assembly. This involves drilling some 0.4mm holes in a tiny resin part, and threading through some styrene rod. This is then mounted onto a number pf photo-etched parts which make up the pivot for the pedal bar. A couple of small photo-etched pulleys are added to the floor too. Radu has missed nothing from this menacing but elegant little aircraft.
SOLDER INSTEAD OF GLUE? WHY NOT!
Unlike the Type 11 Ohka from HpH, containing a resin seat, the Type 22 has a photo-etch part. This requires some careful bending and manipulation before it’s in a position to be stuck together. For this sort of item, I don’t like to use super glue as it can crack when you later mount it or fit the seatbelts. I prefer to solder, where I can. I learned to solder over many years when I worked as an electronics engineer, but soldering really isn’t a black art, and can be managed with few simple tools. Here is what you need: • Fine or medium tip soldering iron (around 25-30 watts). • Alternatively, a butane soldering iron/blowtorch • Flux compound. • Solder (either old fashioned lead or the new formula, and no need to be cored). • Crocodile clip and a system of holding them such as a ‘helping hand’ tool. • Fine sandpaper or fine metal file. First of all, I have to say that this really works best on bare brass photo-etched parts, as plated ones can be problematic. Using a little fine sandpaper, clean up the part in the area where we are to solder. Alternatively, use ethanol, isopropyl alcohol or acetone to remove any grease or other oily agents. Now, fold the part in question, into its final shape. If necessary, try over-bending slightly so that it will spring into the correct place once release by fingers. Carefully clamp the part in a crocodile clip. I have chosen to use these simply because the surface area won’t transfer all the heat from the joint we will make. If that was to happen, you could have a brittle or dry joint. Now, using a cocktail stick or a match, apply soldering flux to the inside and outside of the joint. Be sparing here as will be used to evenly transfer the heat around the joint and aid solder flow. If you spread it far and wide, the solder may well run there when you apply. Ensure your soldering iron is at temperature. Touch the end with a little solder to make sure it instantly melts, and remove this excess onto a soldering sponge. Don’t breathe in any fumes that may result. Now, apply a little more solder to the tip and touch the iron on the inside corner of the joint you are making, moving the iron down the length of the joint, slowly. The solder should start to flow along the joint. It necessary, add more solder, and continue moving down the seam. You will probably notice the external flue start to bubble and boil, and perhaps a little solder will seep through and you will see the joint here. This is perfectly fine. REMEMBER….you need to make a little solder go as far as you can. You don’t want to create a thick fillet of solder in the corner. Move that iron back up the seam to make the solder melt evenly along it. You must now let the joint cool for a short while before handling, or alternatively, pop it in some
20
A look at the surface details show this to be as good as any injection moulded kit, and the fit of the parts is also precise.
Interior detail is also some of the very best I have seen, with a lot of this being cast into the interior fuselage parts.
A razor saw is needed to remove the resin parts from their casting blocks. Care is needed for removal of small parts, such as these interior pipe parts.
Photo-etched parts are also included for both the interior and exterior of the Ohka, including parts such as the seat, instrument panel, rudder pedal assembly, mass balance arms, and sighting reticule etc.
Forming the various photo-etched parts is quite simple. Here, I’m using a cut down cotton bud to shape the curve on the pilot’s seat. I’m rolling this over a rubber sheet. You might only see a little of the engine, but the parts themselves are very detailed, and all fit together with total precision.
I opted to solder the pilot’s seat instead of using super glue. This provides a strong assembly that won’t break during further construction, and the application of seatbelts.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 20
30/03/2016 09:53
The fiddliest part of construction is the rudder pedal quadrant. Taking your time here will pay dividends in final appearance. Micro drill bits are most definitely needed.
After painting the interior, highlights and lowlights are then added, helping to make the interior look a little more lively.
A number of colours were used to apply details to the interior of the Ohka. Mr Metal Color applies very well as a detail paint, despite being an airbrush-ready colour.
AIR Edition
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 21
21
30/03/2016 09:53
FEATURE ARTICLE RB Productions 1:32 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Type 22 • Kit No. RB-K32003
water to cool the part down. When cool, use more acetone to degrease the joint and remove any extra flux. Finally, use files/sandpaper to smooth the joint and remove any small rough edges that might occur. The result will be a beautifully strong joint that won’t break as you build your model.
PAINT IN THE PIT (THE COFFIN THEY CARRY YOU OFF IN)
Ok, back on track. The interior of the cockpit was painted in a mixture of Gunze Intermediate Blue and RLM75 Grey, mixed 25% of each colour to 50% Mr Levelling Thinner. I kept a little bit of this mixture for later use. Using a small quantity of Gunze Soot, I airbrushed around the various recesses within the pit, cockpit floor, and pilot seat etc. I then used Tamiya Light Grey to add some highlights to centres of panels etc. Use this fairly thin as the coats need to be slightly transparent. Lastly, I use the initial paint mix and apply several thin coats to the internals, blending together the previous colours. I tended to lay the initial base coat a little heavier to try to lessen the effect of the 3D ridges on the sidewalls. I think it worked to a degree, and besides, you really wouldn’t see those ridges once the model was assembled. Detail painting was carried out with Vallejo paints, and also Mr Metal Color Chrome Silver for the various plumbing connectors etc. After airbrushing Klear over all cockpit parts and then leaving to cure, I applied the kit cockpit decals to the various instruments and main instrument panel. I brushed a little extra Klear over them to seal them in. AK-Interactive’s Dark Brown wash was then carefully applied to the interior detail ridges etc. I needed to be careful here too, so as not to disturb the slightly ridged sidewalls. It seems an age since I built up a set of Radu’s paper seatbelts, and this set came with such a set, designed for Japanese aircraft. This consists of a single diagonal shoulder belt which comes in two parts, plus left and right lap belts. After all, your average suicide pilot need to feel safe and secure in his aircraft. Radu’s belts consist of coloured paper parts and some photo-etched buckles and fasteners. These took a couple of hours to assemble, and they were then fitted to the seat. I added a little Klear to these to darken them slightly. I wasn’t really bothered too much about weathering them, or the cockpit. Had the Type 22 been used, they wouldn’t have seen service long enough to get scuffed! After a final matt coat of Gunze H20, I used some Tamiya Weathering pastels on the raised surface edges. These were applied carefully with a soft brush, so as not to highlight any resin ridges.
Dark Brown wash was used to accentuate interior detail, with any excess removed using a cotton bud. Here you can see the finesse of casting on the various fan blades, and the notched system of assembly. This is the best-fitting resin kit I’ve ever built.
Radu supplies his excellent paper and photo-etch seatbelts for this release. They take a little while to assemble, but the result is very good. Remember, not much weathering needed here!
Whoops, I think I need to better align that central decal. The instrument panel of the Ohka was simple. Nothing more was needed for the pilot’s short mission.
Tamiya weathering pastels are used to add a few more highlights to the interior of the Ohka. I apply this with a soft brush, and ignore the poor wand/brush supplied.
THAT AGRICULTURAL JET ENGINE
I really do have to say that this model is extremely well thought out, and the detail is really quite something. Both of these atrributes can be seen in the engine. This composes of a main rear engine block, a fan, stator fan and an outlet cone. You’ll need steady hands to remove the casting blocks from the fan blades as these are so fine, yet perfectly cast with almost zero clean-up required. I removed as much of the block from the rear of the main engine chamber, but a finished surface wasn’t needed as it won’t be seen. A couple of photo-etch intake vanes are fitted to the main block, and then the engine assembled before
22
As you can see, this is a pretty busy interior of what was essentially the pilot’s flying coffin.
The wings are very simple, single piece units, with separate ailerons. These simply plug into the fuselage with no problems.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 22
30/03/2016 09:53
You can’t really see the engine, but what can be seen was painted with various metallic shades from AK’s excellent Xtreme Metal range.
A few bubbles needed to be drilled out and filled with CA. These were only found along the seam area, and were easy to remove.
Avoid a tail sitter by loading the nose with plenty of rolled lead sheet, fastened into place with some epoxy adhesive.
Sanding back the seam will result in some loss of detail. This was reinstated with a scriber, needle, scribing templates and some Dymo tape.
A quick blast with Alclad Primer is a good way to check the seam for any imperfections.
The model comes together quite quickly at this stage, with super glue being used to fit the main parts, and a Gunze adhesive for the windscreen.
CA is applied to some of the smaller gaps, and the excess removed with super glue de-bonder. This is then finished with a little Mr Dissolved Putty.
AIR Edition
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 23
23
30/03/2016 09:54
FEATURE ARTICLE RB Productions 1:32 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Type 22 • Kit No. RB-K32003
being painted with AK-Interactive’s Xtreme Metal Aluminium paint. This was also applied to the rear internal fuselage jet outlet into which the exhaust tube would eventually sit. To help create some shade, I airbrushed a little Xtreme Metal Titanium and Metallic Smoke. I really wasn’t after weathering this as such, for obvious reasons! As per instruction suggestion, the tail pipe was left out until the model was completed. The engine itself was now neatly fitted to the fuselage interior, using Rokit super glue gel. The gel super glue provides me with at least 10 seconds to get the parts into their final position.
FUSELAGE ASSEMBLY
The Ohka was naturally quite nose-heavy due to that warhead, and the dolly trolley that moved these around on the ground was designed to aid this as the Ohka by grabbing the wing leading edge, with the nose sitting over the trolley. If you don’t cater to this with your build, then that long
fuselage is going to give you a perpetual tail sitter. To this end, I used a lot of thin lead sheet, rolled up and fixed as far forward in the nose as possible. To secure, I used Devcon epoxy. After scraping away any paint overspray, the fuselage halves were put together, and I tackled the seam, bit by bit, dribbling super glue into the joint, and prising the other sections apart with a knife blade, which allowed me to continue the gluing process. Alignment was very good, and once cured, I proceeded to sand the joint. A little extra super glue was needed in some spots, and a few small bubbles were drilled out and filled with super glue before sanding and finishing the seam. Where any scribing was lost, this was reinstated with a fine pin and LionRoar scribing templates, before being finally cleaned up with sanding sponges and micromesh. A number of small photo-etched plates were then secured to the exterior, as well as the warhead detonator. Other small exterior parts are left off until the final stage of assembly.
WINGS AND TAILPLANES AND FINAL ASSEMBLY
These really are tiny, and make the earlier Type 11 bird look positively eagle-like in comparison with this later Type 22 version! Each wing is cast as a separate part, and they slot into holes on the fuselage sides. Ailerons are separate, and before these are added, a couple of tiny photo-etched parts are installed to the aileron, creating the actuation mechanism for them. The wings are now fitted to the fuselage, and a couple of small gaps filled with Mr Surfacer. Excess was removed with a cotton bud soaked in Mr Levelling Thinner. I chose to
Before the main scheme is applied, it’s always a good idea to airbrush the interior colour over the canopy areas. It so often gets forgotten.
Tamiya Flat Black is used to pre-shade the model. A surprising amount for such a small model.
A custom mix of RLM 65, Medium Sea grey, and Interior Green, is used to replicate the unusual exterior colour of the Ohka.
Instead of using the decal strip, I opted to airbrush the red stripe that runs down the fuselage. This way, I know it will be straight!
As you can see, the result is simple, yet effective, and breaks up the monotony of the scheme nicely.
Apart from the Cherry Blossom motif, all that needs to be added are a few stencils. It appears that the Ohka didn’t generally wear Hinomaru.
A perfect panel line wash for this colour is Ammo’s PLW Blue Grey, breaking up the colours just nicely without appearing to be weathered.
24
Two intake covers are fitted to the rear fuselage, and for me, there was a small gap around these, and this varied depending on the exact positioning. I moved these into a position that minimised the gap equally, and dripped a Mr Dissolved Putty into the void. Once set, I smoothed the joint and removed the excess with a little Mr Levelling Thinner.
Albion Alloys’ 0.5mm brass tube is used for the pitot. It takes a little care to be able to drill the thin wing leading edge. Patience is required.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 24
30/03/2016 09:54
add the aileron mass balance horns at the end of construction, so as to avoid breakage. One thing that really impresses me with this little kit are the stabilisers and vertical fins. These are actually cast as one part per side, and all you need to do it remove the casting blocks and clean them up. So, there is no having to set the vertical fin part yourself. I did need to re-drill a couple of the elevator and rudder locating holes, as they had been lost in the casting process. After careful clean-up of the elevator and rudder parts, then were secured to the stabiliser/fin part, and then the flying surfaces were fitted to the fuselage. Despite these being fitted by simply slotted to the fuselage, there was a little play in the fit that could’ve translated to a droop. For this reason, I attached them using super glue gel, and filled any gaps with Mr Dissolved Putty. The model was now left, allowing the tail to fully cure before handling again. A number of small mass balances now needed to be added, as well as the exhaust manifolds, forward windshield, pilot armour plating, and a small number of small protuberances. I did find the resin for the windshield to be a little tougher to work with and saw through to remove the casting block, but the part fit superbly. This was attached with Gunze canopy adhesive, so as not to cause any fogging. Before this though, I masked the windshield with Tesa masking tape. Now, love or hate vac-form parts, I’m afraid that is exactly what you have here for the sliding hood. I would’ve liked to have seen resin here, but never mind. The results I had from the included parts soon made me forget any reservations I initially had. To aid the cutting out of this part, I separated the twocanopy vacform into half, and then used Blu-Tak around the cut zone on the inside of the canopy. This helps to prevent too much flexing when you begin to cut. For that cutting, a new scalpel was used and the part scored through until it separated from the excess plastic. A fine sanding stick was now used to clean up the edges. With that done, I also masked this part, ready for airbrushing. Alclad grey primer was now used to check the seams.
Ohka’s trolley is very simple, and offers all manner of finishing possibilities.
Hairspray technique, quite literally. A few coats of this seals in the paintwork and prepares it for the main colour. A stiff brush dipped in warm water, is then used to remove this and reveal the underneath colour.
Flat Earth is airbrushed over the trolley, and Polished Aluminium over the solid fuel booster.
Metal chipping is added using a silver Prismacolor pencil.
Japanese ‘good luck’ symbols were painted on the chassis in a sort of cynical demonstration of warrior resolve. I’m afraid that luck would never enter into the lives of these pilots.
THE PAINT SHADE ENIGMA
Before I forgot, I airbrushed the canopy in the same colour I’d mixed for the inside of the cockpit, and then pre-shaded the model with Tamiya Flat Black. I needed a colour that was suitable for the exterior of the airframe. Internet searches were inconclusive, with many shades being seen on various profiles and on museum Ohka survivors. Using basic descriptions, I made my own colour. This consisted of 60% RLM65, 39.999% Medium Sea Grey, and just a drop of Interior Green. After pre-shading the model in Tamiya Flat Black, the exterior colour was applied, almost obliterating the pre-shade. This should only be faintly discernible and should blend into the main colour, not looking like a chequer pattern! Look at any Ohka type, and you will see a thin red stripe that runs down the fuselage. I think this was for some sort of sighting apparatus, but I’m unsure. Instead of using the supplied decals, and hoping to get them straight, I masked the line and airbrushed Flat White as a base. This was then followed by Flat Red. Once applied, the model was sealed with Klear, before the decals were applied. These consisted of cherry blossom patterns on the
Various good luck symbols could be found online, and I used several of them on this model.
AIR Edition
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 25
25
30/03/2016 09:54
FEATURE ARTICLE RB Productions 1:32 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Type 22 • Kit No. RB-K32003
nose, and just a few stencils. After sealing these under some Klear, Grey-Blue panel line wash was applied, from Ammo. Once dry, any excess was removed with a cotton bud. This colour was perfect for the Ohka, and helped to add some visual interest to the slender airframe. Smaller details were painted with Vallejo black, yellow and red paints. With the model being finished in a semi-flat finish, using Flat Clear H20, and Levelling Thinner, the model was unmasked and the sliding hood affixed with a little spot of white glue on either side of the rail. The final small photo-etched details were painted and fitted, such as the aileron mass balances, aiming bead and sight, and the elevator actuator. As the model was not pretty vulnerable, it was sat down with a little soft foam under the front and mid wing area. This would protect the fragile lower photo-etched parts I had just installed.
Unlike the earlier Type 11, the Type 22 wasn’t used in combat.
TROLLEY
As with the Ohka, this is a very impressive bit of model engineering. The trolley is based around a large frame that needs some resin webs cleaning out and filing smooth. Onto this goes two formers for holding the fuselage, and also two hydraulic rams that have a pump to operate them (in real life, of course!) On top of these rams sit too brackets that sit under the Ohka wing, and grip it by extending over the leading edge. Wheels finish off the assembly, as well as a towing arm at the front. This trolley was constructed from wood, with a few small metal fittings, such as stiffening plates on the wing brackets, and the hydraulic pump/ jacks etc. Assembly of the trolley is simple, and all performed with Rokit super glue. I left off the wheels and towing arm at this point. For painting, an undercoat of Tamiya Flat Earth was applied, acting as the timber colour. At this point, I airbrushed the rocket booster with Xtreme Metal Aluminium. These was then literally sprayed with Hairspray! I left this to cure overnight, then applied Tamiya NATO Green to the trolley and solid fuel rocket booster. This was pretty close to the IJN Green that was missing from my collection of paints. After around 30 minutes, I used a stiff brush, wetted with warm water, to remove the green paint and show the timber underneath. Some Japanese ‘good luck’ symbols were then hand-painted onto the trolley, and a number added. Several washes in brown and black were added to the various details, and then a silver Prismacolor pencil used to show where the paint had word from the metal areas. For the wheels, I used Tamiya Light Grey for the hubs, and then masked these with an ancient Eduard vinyl mask set, before Mr. Paint Rubber Grey was airbrushed over the wheels. These were then slightly faded with Tamiya Weathering pastels, and then fitted to the trolley with super glue gel. A few passes of Gunze H20 Flat Clear were then used to finish the trolley and remove any glossiness from the washes. Finally, the Ohka could be mounted to the trolley. My sincere thanks to Radu Brinzan for the opportunity to build this beautiful little kit. Check out my model on his stall at a modelling show near you! Thanks also to Matthew from Albion Alloys, for the material I used for the pitot, plus the indispensable Mr Dissolved Putty. •
26
The red line is quite striking on the finished model.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 26
30/03/2016 09:54
A view into the dark, cramped cockpit.
MODELSPEC RB Productions 1:32 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Type 22 Kit No. RB-K32003 Accessories Used: None whatsoever. Very much an OOB build Tools and Modelling Materials Used: Lead sheet Albion Alloys 0.5mm brass tube 0.5mm styrene rod Soldering Iron and flux paste Iwata HP-CH airbrush Tamiya Extra Thin Cement Loctite brush-on CA Rokit Odourless/Gel super glue types Swann Morton #11 & #15 scalpel blades Mr Dissolved Putty MDC/Albion Alloys sanding sticks/sponges Hold ‘n Fold photo-etched bending tool Fine tweezers Micro Drill Set Xuron wire cutter and photo-etched bending pliers Tesa Masking Tape Mr Mark Setter LionRoar Scribing Templates The trolley cleverly hooks onto the leading edge of the wing.
Paints and Weathering Materials Used: Alclad Grey Microfiller Primer Gunze Intermediate Blue, RLM75, Soot, RLM65, Interior Green, Medium Sea Grey, Aluminium, Brass Tamiya Light Grey, Flat Earth, Nato Green, Flat White, Flat Red Mr. Paint Rubber Grey AK Xtreme Metal Aluminium, Titanium, Metallic Smoke Vallejo Red, Yellow, Black, Sky Grey Mr Levelling Thinner Ammo Blue- Grey PLW Johnsons Klear Tamiya Weathering Pastel sets AK-Interactive Streaking Grime, Engine Oil, Dark Brown Wash Tesco Hairspray Reference: Supplied reference with kit Internet searches Unusual subject, superb fit, plenty of detail. Ideal first resin kit. Pure modelling fun! Some ridges on interior, from initial 3D print process. Rating: 9 out of 10
The Type 22 was powered by a Campini-type thermojet engine.
RB Productions products are available online from their website https://www.radubstore.com
AIR Edition
p 18-27 Ohka 061B.indd 27
27
30/03/2016 09:54
REFERENCE Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka
1
Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka Brett Green explores the Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka on display at the Planes of Fame Museum in Chino California.
T
he MXY-7 Navy Suicide Attacker Ohka was a manned flying bomb that was usually carried underneath a Mitsubishi G4M2e "Betty" Model 24J bomber to within range of its target. On release, the pilot would first glide towards the target and when close enough he would fire the Ohka's three solid-fuel rockets, one at a time or in unison, and fly the missile towards the ship that he intended to destroy. The design was conceived by Ensign Mitsuo Ohta of the 405th Kōkūtai, aided by students of the Aeronautical Research Institute at the University of Tokyo. Ohta submitted his plans to the Yokosuka research facility. The Imperial Japanese Navy decided the idea had merit and Yokosuka engineers of the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical created formal blueprints for what was to be the MXY7. Later versions were designed to be launched from coastal air bases and caves, and even from submarines equipped with aircraft catapults, although none were actually used in this way. It appears that the operational record of Ohkas
28
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 28-29 Planes Ref 061B.indd 28
includes three ships sunk or damaged beyond repair and three other ships with significant damage. The USS Mannert L. Abele was the first Allied ship to be sunk by Ohka aircraft, near Okinawa on 12 April 1945. The only operational Ohka was the Model 11. Essentially a 1,200 kg (2,646 lb) bomb with wooden wings, powered by three Type 4 Model 1 Mark 20 solid-fuel rocket motors, the Model 11 achieved great speed, but with limited range. This was problematic, as it required the slow, heavily laden mother aircraft to approach within 37 km (20 nmi; 23 mi) of the target, making them very vulnerable to defending fighters. There was one experimental variant of the Model 11, the Model 21, which had thin steel wings manufactured by Nakajima. It had the engine of the Model 11 and the airframe of the Model 22. The final approach was almost unstoppable because the aircraft gained high speed (650 km/h / 400 mph) in level flight and 930 km/h (580 mph) or even 1,000 km/h (620 mph) in a dive.* •
* Historical text adapted from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokosuka_MXY7_Ohka
30/03/2016 09:56
2
3
4 1. The Planes of Fame Museum is also home to a Japanese Ohka, tucked away in an obscure corner of one of its hangars. This is Ohka Number I-18 captured at Yontan. 2. Unlike the V-1, which was designed as an unmanned cruise missile, the Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka was purpose built as a manned anti-shipping Kamikaze weapon. The simple design included wooden wings. 3. 852 of these one-way aircraft were built, the first being flown in November 1944. This is an Ohka Model 11, powered by three Type 4 Model 1 Mark 20 solid-fuel rocket motors that offered high speed but short range. 4. The aircraft was designed to be launched in flight from underneath a Betty bomber. Note the lifting hook and the crude ring and bead sight. 5. The 1,200 kg Ammonal warhead. A number of wartime operations were mounted but their effect was negligible.
5
A German V-1 Flying Bomb also on display at Planes of Fame. A manned version of this Vengeance Weapon was also produced, but was not used in the Kamikaze role.
p 28-29 Planes Ref 061B.indd 29
AIR Edition
29
30/03/2016 09:56
FEATURE ARTCLE Kitty Hawk Models 1:32 Vought OS2U Kingfisher • Kit No. KH32016
OBSERVATION ON FL Kamil Feliks Sztarbala improves Kitty Hawk’s new 1:32 scale Kingfisher floatplane.
30
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 30
31/03/2016 10:50
FLOATS
I
f one is not familiar with this aircraft, then judging only by its silhouette and the size of the kit box, you might be expecting a giant American beast, additionally expanded with a central float. An extra-large American float, of course. However, in fact, the Vought OS2U Kingfisher was a relatively small observation floatplane, so even its 1:32 scale model isn’t really impressive in size. The presence of the central float makes this aircraft look more robust, but the Kingfisher certainly does not overwhelm us with its size. Therefore, the box isn’t tightly filled with plastic sprues, which is rather unusual for a Kitty Hawk product. Nevertheless, they look very good at first sight. The kit consists of five sprues made of grey plastic, one clear sprue that0 is packed in a separate cardboard box, a small photo-etched fret and an enormous decal sheet. The latter offers
markings for six different aircraft. The plastic parts look quite good. I did not find any sink marks, whilst the ejector pin marks are reasonably placed. The details are crisp and fine, although they could be a bit sharper. The panel lines and rivet detail are nicely reproduced, which can’t be said about those surfaces that were fabric-covered in the real aircraft. The engine parts make a good impression, even though a few details lack definition. The wheels do not stun with finesse, but at least we get weighted tires. All in all, this kit looks like it might have been originally designed in 1:48 scale, and subsequently scaled up to 1:32. If it was released in quarter scale, it would deserve the title of masterpiece, but as a 1:32 kit, Kitty Hawk’s Kingfisher is just good. Nothing more, nothing less.
AIR Edition
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 31
31
31/03/2016 10:50
FEATURE ARTCLE Kitty Hawk Models 1:32 Vought OS2U Kingfisher • Kit No. KH32016
Assembly Due to their size and location, I firstly had to carefully cut the sprue attachments off with a flat blade, and then scrape off the remnants.
Construction of Kitty Hawk’s Kingfisher wasn’t really complicated, although I did encounter a few problems during this process. Most of them were caused by the excessive use of slide-moulding technology. At the very beginning of the build, I had a little trouble with the sprue attachments.
The real issue showed up whilst test-fitting the fuselage. The misalingment of the moulds resulted in a minor but distinct seam on the surface, that had to be removed.
I began by scraping off the excess plastic with a scalpel blade. It was impossible to avoid destroying details, which was the reason for Kitty Hawk using the slide-moulding technology in the first place!
Afterwards, I sanded the irregularities of the surface and gave it the correct shape, using a metal file.
The surface was then smoothed with polishing sponges. During this process I progressively switched to higher grade grits.
Once I’d properly prepared the surface for further work, I proceeded to restore the lost detail. The panel lines were emphasized with a razor saw…
…whilst a sewing needle was used to deepen the nut and bolt detail, and demarcation of access panels.
It is important to smooth the surface again after these processes. The coarse side of a kitchen scourer works well for this purpose.
To dissolve the remaining plastic dust and smooth the edges of panel lines, I ‘painted’ them with a little Tamiya Extra Thin Cement.
32
During the clean up work on the other main parts of the airframe, another unpleasant surprise emerged in form of the square-shaped mounting holes, which actually were only marked on the surface. The designer left drilling them out to the modeller. To be honest, I found this a rather strange idea. To level the edges of the created apertures, I used the excellent micro-files from Hobby Elements.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 32
31/03/2016 10:51
Rivet Detail In my opinion, any large scale kit requires rivet detail. Curiously, a close inspection of the wing surface revealed that the rivet lines were originally reproduced in this kit, but for unknown reasons, the manufacturer eventually abandoned this feature. I had to employ the RB Productions Rivet-R tool and various lengths of masking tapes from Tamiya and 3M.
By pressing the tool into the plastic surface, we end up with a slightly raised area around each rivet. I removed this excess plastic with a fine polishing sponge, in order to leave the surface uniformly smooth.
Upon test-fitting the main parts of the airframe, it turned out that the the entire model could be pre-assembled with the help of just a few lengths of masking tape. Truly exceptional fit!
Interior Now I could focus on the interior. The kit’s parts were supplemented with some details, made from lengths of styrene rod and lengths of lead wire of various thicknesses.
I also added a simple representation of a tank after discovering its presence on one of the reference photos. A mysterious piece that resembled a funnel proved to be the crew urinal in the real aircraft, so it had to be drilled out from above.
Whilst attaching the gun parts to the firewall, it is worth to test-fit them with the cockpit side wall.
The pilot’s seat was improved by adding its adjustment springs, created from lengths of thin guitar string. I also added a length of twisted wire to the bulkhead behind the seat, in order to complete a hoist cable which ends were moulded onto the bulkhead. Note that the designer forgot to mention this in the instructions. AIR Edition
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 33
33
31/03/2016 10:51
FEATURE ARTCLE Kitty Hawk Models 1:32 Vought OS2U Kingfisher • Kit No. KH32016
Although the ammo box for the observer’s machine gun is mentioned in the assembly guide, it isn’t actually included in the kit! This forced me to use one of the ammo boxes that were intended to be stored in a special tray, but I had to reproduce some missing details.
The main parts of the observer’s seat were left separate for the painting stage.
Next, I detailed the radio gear with various lengths of tin and lead wire.
…and filled the free space within the firewall with a piece of styrene sheet, in order to make it more rigid. Once I’d installed most of the interior sub-assemblies, I decided to check once more how the fuselage halves go together. This proved to be a good idea, as test-fitting revealed the necessity of narrowing the middle section of the floor in the rear cockpit.
I then turned my attention to the junction points of the fuselage and central float. Considering the size and weight of the kit, I was worried that the connection may turn out to be too fragile. To reinforce this, I glued a styrene block into the fuselage…
Afterwards, I hollowed out the previously added plastic pieces, and glued lengths of brass tubing inside the resulting apertures.
Two lengths of brass rod that were intended to be inserted into the brass tubing were mounted in the support columns of the central float.
This ensured a solid connection between the fuselage and the main float.
I started by priming all surfaces with Mr.Color C8 ‘Silver’.
Before I could close the fuselage, I had to paint the cockpit. Many details and sub-assemblies were left separate, allowing for easier handling during the painting process.
34
The rear section of the fuselage was airbrushed with a layer of Mr.Color C27 ‘Interior Green’…
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 34
31/03/2016 10:51
…whilst the remaining inner surfaces received a basecoat of Mr.Color C302 ‘FS34092 Green’, which is a quite good match for the Dark Dull Green colour used by Vought.
Once I’d sealed the paintwork and decals with a layer of satin varnish, I could apply the wash. This time, I used AK-Interactive AK070 ‘Brown Blue Wash for Panzer Grey Vehicles’, which was distributed with a brush over the surfaces that had been previously dampened with white spirit.
Next, I added the highlights with a heavily diluted mixture of the base colour and a little Mr.Color C315 ‘FS16440 Gray’. The details were given their appropriate colours using the acrylic paints from Vallejo and AK-Interactive. I also applied the decals for the instrument panel and side consoles.
To emphasize the details to a greater extent, I lightened their edges A similar mixture with more ‘Silver Grey’ added, was used to replicate using the dry-brush technique. For this purpose, I mixed together two some fine paint chips and scratches. acrylic paints from Vallejo, ie. 70334 ‘German Tank Crew I (Field Grey)’ and 70883 ‘Silver Grey’.
More intense damage to the paint layer was added by scratching the surfaces of the most exposed details and edges with a scalpel blade. This resulted in revealing the silver undercoat.
The fuselage halves could now be mated without any problems. Nevertheless, I had to squeeze them with a clamp until the cement had fully cured. I then glued the particular sub-assemblies, and fixed them within the fuselage halves. The observer’s machine gun was attached in stored position.
AIR Edition
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 35
35
31/03/2016 10:51
FEATURE ARTCLE Kitty Hawk Models 1:32 Vought OS2U Kingfisher • Kit No. KH32016
As the fuselage alone was easier to handle, I decided to attach the clear parts. However, not all of them were glued at this stage, in order to enable access to the interior after the painting process. Of course, I test-fitted all the clear parts to avoid any nasty surprises.
Afterwards, I had to sand not only the joint seam, but also the protruding edges of the brass tubing I had previously installed to strengthen the connection between the fuselage and central float.
At the time of this build, no aftermarket items designed for this kit were available, hence I had to mask the clear parts on my own. I taped the latter with strips of Tamiya tape, and cut off the redundant pieces.
I also dealt with the central float support wires. Although the fairings for these were provided with the kit, there was no mention about them in the assembly guide. I drilled the mounting holes and fixed lengths of elastic thread inside them.
After attaching the float to the fuselage, I only had to glue the small fairings to the former, stretching the thread at the same time. The support wires running from the wings, were installed in the same way.
Engine and Cowl
I built the engine as a separate sub-assembly. It was decently reproduced by Kitty Hawk, although it lacked some details.
The rear part of the engine would require quite serious improvement, if one decides to open up this area. As I didn’t plan to do this, I simply completed this section out of the box. Next, I glued the exhaust pipes, but I didn’t fix them to the engine at this stage.
The area between the cylinders received a layer with Tamiya XF-1 ‘Flat Black’. The final touch was to finish the gear reduction housing with Mr.Color C72 ‘Intermediate Blue’.
36
The cowl flaps were enhanced with scratch built lifters, made from lengths of 0.5mm styrene rod.
Once I’d retouched the details, I brought them out with AK-Interactive AK075 ‘Wash for NATO camo vehicles’ enamel.
The engine mount and inner surfaces of the cowl flaps were painted with Mr.Color C27 ‘Interior Green’, whilst the engine itself was given a priming coat of Tamiya XF-1 ‘Flat Black’.
The exhaust pipes were painted with two tones from AK-Interactive Xtreme Metal range, ie. AK488 ‘Matte Aluminium’ and AK484 ‘Burnt Metal’. The finished exhausts were glued to the engine. I also airbrushed a layer of Mr.Color C27 ‘Interior Green’ over the inner sides of the engine cowl parts.
I then airbrushed the middle part of the engine with AK-Interactive AK476 ‘Steel’. Only the cylinder ends were sprayed with a lighter metallic tone, ie. AK488 ‘Matte Aluminium’.
The latter went together without any problems, but I had to adopt a different sequence of assembly than recommended by the manufacturer. I firstly mounted the side cowling parts, and finished by adding the front cowl ring.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 36
31/03/2016 10:52
During the wing floats assembly, it was important to set up and keep the correct angle for them. Their long and rather fragile support struts may be easily twisted.
Next, I could mate the wings. The engine section was only temporarily attached, as I wanted to paint it as a separate sub-assembly.
Before I could begin the painting process, I had to mask off those cockpit areas that had not been covered with already masked clear parts. For this purpose, I used pieces of paper, fixed with masking fluid.
The kit was ready for the painting stage.
AIR Edition
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 37
37
31/03/2016 10:51
FEATURE ARTCLE Kitty Hawk Models 1:32 Vought OS2U Kingfisher • Kit No. KH32016
Painting I chose to finish my kit as the OS2U-3 Kingfisher assigned to light cruiser Miami CL-89 in 1945, which wore a slightly different camouflage pattern than usually seen on these aircraft during that period of war. I only needed to change the number applied to the engine cowl, whilst the remaining markings could be sourced out from the decal sheet supplied by Kitty Hawk.
All surfaces that were metal-skinned in the real aircraft, were primed with Mr.Color C8 ‘Silver’ whilst for priming the fabriccovered areas, I used Mr.Color C308 ‘FS36375 Gray’. The panel lines, details and chosen rivet lines were then darkened with Mr.Color C40 ‘German Gray’.
The undersides were treated in a similar way, but in this case I applied Mr.Hobby H331 ‘Dark Seagray’. The process of building up the colour of the lower surfaces was started by airbrushing a transparent layer of Mr.Color C69 ‘Offwhite’.
My first step was to apply the interior colour to the outside of the canopy. As I planned to mount both sliding parts in the closed position, this was enough to make the interior colour visible on the canopy framing, from within the cockpit.
Using Mr.Color C1 ‘White’, I over-painted chosen panel lines, highlighted various details, and sprayed some fine, meandering lines and streaks. To bring even more variety to the surface colour, I added some fine streaks with Mr.Color C321 ‘Light Brown’. The effect achieved thus far was toned down with heavily thinned Mr.Color C69 ‘Offwhite’, which acted as a filter. The same paint was used to highlight chosen details and create some irregular streaks over the surfaces that had been previously painted with the darkest camouflage colour. The resulting discolouration was toned down with a transparent layer of Mr.Color C365 ‘Sea Blue’.
Next, I applied a transparent layer of the darkest uppersurface colour, namely the Mr.Color C365 ‘Sea Blue’.
Leaving the dark areas for a while, I airbrushed heavily diluted Mr.Color C366 ‘Intermediate Blue’ over those areas that should receive this colour in accordance with my reference photo.
Now I could finish the Intermediate Blue areas. For this purpose, I accentuated the details and selected rivet lines with heavily thinned Mr.Color C334 ‘Barley Gray’.
I then poured a small amount of heavily thinned Mr.Color C366 ‘Intermediate Blue’ into my airbrush cup again. This was used to tone down the paintwork and retouch the camouflage demarcation.
38
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 38
31/03/2016 10:51
Afterwards, I masked off the fuselage and primed the firewall with Tamiya XF-62 ‘Olive Drab’. This was followed by a layer of Mr.Color C27 ‘Interior Green’. Next, I attached a few lengths of tin wire of different thicknesses, and applied an enamel wash with of AK-Interactive AK026 ‘Slimy Grime Dark’.
As the engine section was still separate after the painting process, it was convenient to paint the code numbers at this stage. The simple Roman ‘I’ numeral could be applied with the help of a few stripes of masking tape. The finished engine section was glued to the fuselage.
Using Tamiya tape yet again, I masked off the chosen panels of the central float, and airbrushed a basecoat of Tamiya XF-1 ‘Flat Black’ over the surface that had been previously given a layer of AK-Interactive AK088 ‘Worn Effects’ fluid.
Aiding myself with water, I added some paint chips with a hard bristled brush.
I then brush painted the details and applied the decals. As usual, they went on easily when soaked with a generous amount of Microscale setting solutions.
AIR Edition
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 39
39
31/03/2016 10:52
FEATURE ARTCLE Kitty Hawk Models 1:32 Vought OS2U Kingfisher • Kit No. KH32016
The underside details were brought out with AK-Interactive AK093 ‘Wash for Interior’.
For emphasizing the detail in the areas painted with Intermediate Blue, I used AK-Interactive AK070 ‘Brown Blue Wash for Panzer Grey Vehicles’…
Before the enamel fully dried, I removed the excess using a paper towel and cotton buds. The latter were more useful for working in the various nooks and crannies.
…whilst the darkest surfaces were also treated with AK093 ‘Wash for Interior’, although in this case I collected some dense enamel from the bottom of the jar, which became lighter once dry.
Weathering
In accordance with my reference photo, I began the weathering process by reproducing the distinctive discolouration in the area where the beaching gear was added.
40
Application of dark grey paint over a coat of AK-Interactive AK088 ‘Worn Effects’ fluid allowed me to easily add realistic damage to the paint layer after dampening the surface with water.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 40
31/03/2016 10:52
The archive photos show that a dark fluid, most likely some kind of sealant, was applied by brush over the panel and rivet lines of many Kingfishers. I replicated this effect with Vallejo 70939 ‘Smoke’.
Next, I added some subtle paint chips by scratching the chosen areas with the end of some tweezers, in order to reveal the silver undercoat.
The leakage in the engine area was created using the three enamel products from AK-Interactive AK2000 ‘Aircraft Engine Effects’. I mixed them with each other and white spirit in different ratios, and painted thin lines with long-bristled brush.
Next, I poured a mixture of AK-Interactive AK082 ‘Engine Grime and white spirit into my airbrush cup, and sprayed this over the wing root and near the cockpit entrances. This required setting the micro air control valve on my airbrush to a minimal air pressure.
In the cockpit entrance area, the excess enamel was distributed by rolling it over the surface with a cotton bud, dampened with white spirit. The wing root was treated in a similar manner, although in this case I also used a little AK-Interactive AK017 ‘Earth Effects’.
Afterwards, I started painting the exhaust stains. The basic shape of the stains was airbrushed with a mixture of AK-Interactive AK083 ‘Track Wash’ and white spirit. To enhance the effect, I added a few fine transversal streaks. The distinctive white stains may be faithfully reproduced with Mr.Color C188 ‘Flat Base Rough’. This fluid, when mixed with Mr.Color Thinner, is easy to apply with an airbrush. Once it dries, it gives an interesting and realistic effect.
AIR Edition
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 41
41
31/03/2016 10:52
FEATURE ARTCLE Kitty Hawk Models 1:32 Vought OS2U Kingfisher • Kit No. KH32016
The final step was to mount the antenna wire. I used the elastic thread The thread was passed through the aperture in the small photo-etched yet again. By stretching a cotton bud over a lighter flame, I got a plastic part glued to the end of antenna mast. The process was repeated at the tube, which was useful for making a small loop. tailfin, allowing for achieving the appropriate tension.
MODELSPEC Kitty Hawk Models 1:32 scale OS2U Kingfisher
When the kit seemed to be ready for the final photo-shoot, I discovered a better quality picture of the aircraft I had chosen to depict. The new photo revealed the presence of another two small antenna masts. Fortunately, their creation was fairly hassle free. Firstly, I glued a piece of aluminium foil in the place where one of the masts was to be attached, and drilled a mounting hole for this. Next, I inserted a length of plastic sprue, stretched over a flame, into the mounting hole. The antenna was brush painted with Vallejo 77724 ‘Silver’.
Kit No. 32016 The second aerial was made in the same way, although it didn’t require an aluminium base. I then used the aforementioned metallic colour from Vallejo to paint the main antenna wire.
Tools and Modelling Products Used: Tamiya Extra Thin Cement C.A. glue Plastruct styrene strip and rod Lead and tin wire Guitar string Elastic thread RB Productions Rivet-R 3M tape Tamiya masking tape Paints and Finishing Products Used: • Paints: Mr.Color and Hobby Color series from Mr.Hobby Tamiya acrylics AK-Interactive & Vallejo waterbased acrylics AK-Interactive Xtreme Metal metalizers • Mr.Hobby clear varnishes • Microscale decal solutions • Talens White Spirit • AK-Interactive weathering products: AK017 Earth Effects AK070 Brown-Blue Wash for Panzer Grey Vehicles AK075 Wash for NATO camo vehicles AK082 Engine Grime AK083 Track Wash AK088 Worn Effects AK093 Wash for Interior AK2000 Aircraft Engine Effects Weathering Set Fine surface features; interesting subject; good detail. Detail not quite up to today’s 1:32 standard; misalignment of seams; mould lines; heavy sprue attachments. Rating: 8 out of 10 Kitty Hawk kits are available from hobby shops worldwide and online.
42
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 42
31/03/2016 10:52
AIR Edition
p 30-53 Kingfisher 061B.indd 43
43
31/03/2016 10:52
FEATURE ARTICLE Trumpeter 1:32 Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker B • Kit No. 2224
1:32 s ’ r e t rumpe T s t r e v n con o s n e ev Leo St
sca
L F C I T C R A
44
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 44-49 SU35S 061B.indd 44
30/03/2016 09:59
32
R E K
u-35S S n a -27 to u S i o Sukh scale
N A
it was t a h t ought ake it.” h t I r e t le figh just had to m o r i t l u u-35 m I felt that I S e h t ype of er seen, and t o t o r f this p ft I have ev o s o t w pho ssian aircra a s t s r i If t Ru n s e e h k e W e “ iest sl x e s e h t
FL
T
his is my conversion of the 1:32 Sukhoi Su-27 ‘Flanker B’ kit made by Trumpeter into the heavily upgraded and more modern version of this aircraft into the Su-35S ‘Flanker E’, arguably one of the best aircraft of its type in the world, and probably better in many respects than its nearest American equivalent – the F-15E Strike Eagle. I won’t go into the complex and sometimes confusing history of the various developments of the Su-27, I’ll just say that what I have depicted here is one of two prototypes that have been seen at many air shows and demonstrations to show off the incredible potential of this new ‘generation 4++’ design. The Su-35 is now in production and is officially in use in the Russian Air Force, but the production Su-35Ss differ in a number of ways from the prototype I wanted to depict here. As far as I know the two prototypes are still being flown by Sukhoi (or ‘Knaapo’, the manufacturer), but they will never be used in active military service.
INSPIRATION
When I first saw photos of this prototype of the Su-35 multirole fighter I thought that it was the sexiest sleekest Russian aircraft I have ever seen, and I felt that I just had to make it. The wonderfully dramatic Arctic camouflage was also particularly appealing. As an artist my plan is also to use the model as a three-dimensional reference for a painting that I will do in the next year. Using models in this way is something that always gives a better result than just relying on photographs or drawings alone. I also needed some time off because I have had a health problem that meant that I needed to rest and unwind, and so this beautiful aircraft seemed to be an ideal way to spend my enforced time away from normal work. However, I had naively thought that because the Su-27 looks so much like the Su-35 that the conversion and updating of various details to make it authentic would be a relatively simple task. I could not have been more wrong.
AIR Edition
p 44-49 SU35S 061B.indd 45
45
30/03/2016 10:00
FEATURE ARTICLE Trumpeter 1:32 Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker B • Kit No. 2224
The Su-27 doesn’t have a refuelling probe but the Su-35 does, so a hole in the fuselage for this and the probe was scratch built from plastic card and rod.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FLANKER B AND FLANKER E
The reality is that there are a huge number of subtle differences between the Su-27 and the Su-35. In researching photos and information on this aircraft, I also became aware that the production Su-35s are different from this prototype. Some of these differences with the kit were easy to create for my model, for example just involving the filling in and re-scribing of panel lines, or the re-siting of various aerials and fixture and fittings into different positions, but other tasks turned into little nightmares, pushing my skills and my patience to the limit, especially when I was feeling so ill at the time of doing this work. These more difficult changes included re-making the front windscreen so that the large sensor that is in the middle on the Su-27 is moved to one side on the Su-35S; and re-shaping the protruding tail into a very different shape, both of which turned out to be far more time-consuming processes than I had anticipated. In addition to the basic Trumpeter Su-27 I also bought many after-market items to help improve or change the model into a more convincing representation of this stunning aircraft. Here is a list of some of these: 1. Su-27 Detail set (#2212) made by Aires (not all parts used from this). 2. NATO standard refuelling probe made by ‘Master’ (I don’t know for certain that this – or any other Russian - aircraft uses the NATO standard refuelling head, but it certainly looks very much like it!) 3. Russian pilot and his ejector seat made by ‘Aerobonus (by Aires)’. 4. Brass Anti-static wicks for the trailing edges of the wings empennage made by ‘Master’. 5. Resin pitot tubes and angle-of-attack vanes made by ‘Quickboost’ (meant for the Sukhoi Su-25 kit, but useful for this model) 6. Su-30 Flanker G exterior photo-etched parts made by ‘Eduard’ (an extravagance because not all these parts were used for my Su-35). 7. Photo-etched Su-27/Su-30 Flanker air intakes made by ‘Eduard’ (again, most parts not used in the end) 8. Resin nose cone made by ‘Zactomodels’ (but not used in the end, see text). 9. Resin Sorbtsya Pods made by ‘Zactomodels’. 10.Resin Pylons made by ‘Zactomodels’. 11.Alamo ‘C’ missiles made by ‘Zactomodels’. 12.AA-11 Archer missiles made by ‘Zactomodels’. 13.Full Stencil Data decals “for the Su-27 Flanker Family” made by ‘Begemot’. 14.Decals for the ‘Bort’ number and the Sukhoi logo commissioned from ‘Delta One Decals’. 15.Some decals taken from a 1:32 Trumpeter Su-30 MKK kit. 16.Two KH-31P missiles taken from a 1:32 Trumpeter Su-30 MKK kit. I also bought other after-market items that I didn’t need because I was too stupid to look at my reference photos first, for example I bought a nice pitot tube made by ‘Master’ made for the nose cones of the Su-27 & Su-30 kits by Trumpeter, but this is not needed on the Su-35 because it doesn’t have a pitot tube there! Duh. I should have spotted that.
46
The standard Su-27 nose and windscreen needed a number of important changes.
Eduard’s colourful photo-etched displays replaced the kit’s instrument panel.
A Russian pilot figure from Aerobonus was modified to suit this in-flight, next generation Flanker.
I had to do some careful surgery to cut the mask off and apply it to his face.
The positions of the arms were also modified in order to make them look as if he is convincingly gripping the control stick and the throttle. The Su-27 sensor had to be moved to the right hand side of the windscreen. I therefore had to saw off the whole of the front of the windscreen and glue on a specially shaped piece of transparent material that I bent to shape to form the new windscreen.
The new windscreen was faired in to the forward fuselage.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 44-49 SU35S 061B.indd 46
30/03/2016 10:00
My visual references for this model were mostly taken from the Internet because I couldn’t find any books with good photos of this particular aircraft – ‘bort’ number 902. Sadly, there don’t seem to be too many good high-resolution photos of this particular aircraft out there on the internet. There is one well-known website where there is a very nice computer-generated rendition of this aircraft that seems very plausible, but when I compared it to photos of the actual ‘902’ prototype I could see that these computer-generated images were very wrong and largely had to be discounted. I have several photos of the production Su-35’s but these differ in so many details compared with this prototype that I had to be careful in extrapolating too much from them. So, some aspects of this model are based on informed guesswork, much like the design of any new aircraft I suppose!
WHEELS UP!
There is a key decision that I made early on in the decision making process for taking on this project; I did not want this model sitting on its wheels. Like so many sleek and beautiful aircraft it looks somewhat forlorn when on the ground, like a sick swan. It is much better seen in its element, in the sky, and so to this end I made an acrylic base for it and decided to make it with wheels up as if flying. An added bonus to this arrangement is that I could legitimately depict the nozzles in line with the line of flight, because when the Su-35 on the ground and powered down the swivelling vectoring nozzles of the Su-35 droop, which looks odd, adding to the overall impression of a sad and lame bird. Even a ‘generation 4++’ aircraft still needs a pilot to fly it (!), so this is why I bought the Russian pilot figure and ejector seat made by Aerobonus
The intakes were widened at the front opening. Parts from Eduard’ photo-etched Su-27/Su-30 Flanker air intakes were also used here.
Trumpeter’s standard Su-27 fin.
(by Aires). I usually hate seeing any figures in or near models because I feel that they are rarely convincing and they are always distracting, but I needed this pilot figure to complete the logic of depicting an aircraft in flight. Unfortunately, this figure turned out to be a mistake because he’s too small to be in scale or, if he is correct for 1:32 scale, then the man depicted must be less than 1.5 metres tall. Not impossible, but not likely either. I couldn’t use this Aerobonus figure as supplied because the pilot figure is cast with the oxygen mask dangling on his chest, so I had to do some careful surgery to cut the mask off and apply it to his face as it would be when he’s flying, along with the relevant straps and the oxygen hose. Then I cut and altered the positions of the arms in order to make them look like he is convincingly gripping his control stick and the throttle. The controls and displays of cockpit interior of the Su-35 are very different from those of the Su-27, so I changed these by the judicious wielding of a scalpel along with tiny computer-generated images that I created in Photoshop and printed off. I must admit that neither the pilot figure or the cockpit interior are up to my usual standards of modelling, but my poor health and resulting lack patience forced me to cut corners in this area that normally I would have taken more care on. It is adequate enough if no one looks too closely after the canopy is attached!
SU-35 MODIFICATIONS
There were many other changes that I made to this kit to turn it into a Su-35, here’s a summary of the main changes: • The Su-27 doesn’t have a refuelling probe but the Su-35 does, so I cut a hole in the fuselage for
Trumpeter’s tail area straight from the box.
this and I scratch-built the probe itself from plastic card and rod, adding the head of the refuelling probe made by Master, which is made from turned aluminium. • The engine intakes on this kit, as supplied, are wrong in shape in various ways. I did consider buying the improved and corrected resin replacement intakes made by Zactomodels, which are excellent, but necessarily expensive, but as I had already spent enough on this project so I decided to only concentrate on improving the worst aspect of the kit’s intakes - the width of the their front opening. These were easily slit and widened with the insertion of some plastic card. I also sharpened the leading edge of these opening with a slither of more plastic card. • As I said the canopy windscreen on the Su-35 is different from the Su-27 because the large sensor had to be moved from the middle to the right hand side. Doing this was not an easy task. I couldn’t just hack off the sensor and re-position it, I had to saw off the whole of the front of the windscreen and then glue on a specially shaped piece of transparent material that I bent to shape to form the windscreen. After that I applied a scratchbuild sensor. None of this was easy. I had a lot of trouble trying to find a transparent material that was thin enough to be bent into the correct shape and that could be glued successfully. The only clear polystyrene sheet I find was too thick, which meant that when it was bent to the right curvature it clouded over, which was no good at all. I also tried various grades of acetate and polyester film, but these were difficult to glue. In the end I used a piece of ‘3M overhead projection film’ that I found in my studio, which worked out fine (I don’t know what this is made from).
The newer version of this tail has some very subtle compound curves on it as well as angled and angular lumps that sit astride it. This involved a surprising amount of epoxy resin and patience.
On the Su-35S, the rudders have been extended, and there are sensors and strange shaped aerials protruding from the top of the back edges of these fins. I scratch-built these using various pieces of plastic, brass and copper.
A closer view of the scratch-built fin avionics. AIR Edition
p 44-49 SU35S 061B.indd 47
47
30/03/2016 10:00
FEATURE ARTICLE Trumpeter 1:32 Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker B • Kit No. 2224
• The Su-27 has a large dorsal airbrake on the top, but the Su-35 does not. One of the many changes made to the original aircraft was to use this space on the top of the fuselage to create more room for fuel. This was a simple task of filling and sanding, with some re-scribing of relevant adjacent panels and the addition of rows of rivets where needed. • I bought a nice resin nose for this model made by Zactomodels as a correction for the Su-27 kit, which has a slightly shorter and misshaped nose than it should have. However, I didn’t use this replacement resin nose because I decided to copy the raised ribs on the nose that original aircraft has, and this was easier to do by sticking on very thin slithers of plastic strips to plastic than to resin. Also, I have to say that, nicely made as this resin replacement nose is, it didn’t seem to fit the kit’s fuselage as well as the plastic one that came with the kit. Finally, the nose cone was finished by adding a small block of plastic to the tip where the Su-27’s nose was supposed to have a pitot tube attached, and sanding it to blend in with the form of the nose. The Su-35 doesn’t have a pitot tube in this place. • There is a marked difference between the tail ‘stinger’ on the Su-27 compared with the Su-35. To make this I had to do a lot of filling, sanding and swearing, in that order. The newer version of this tail has some very subtle compound curves on it as well as angled and angular lumps that sit astride it. This involved a surprising amount of epoxy resin and patience, but the end result was very pleasing, aesthetically as well as in terms of authenticity. • The vertical tail fins on the Su-35 differ from those on the Su-27. The rudders have been extended, and there are sensors and strange shaped aerials (?) protruding from the top of the back edges of these fins. I scratch-built these changes using various pieces of plastic, brass and copper. I must admit that I didn’t do as much filling and re-scribing on these fins as I should have done given the differences between the Su-27 and the Su-35, but hey, if I didn’t point that out would you have noticed?! • This prototype of the Su35 has many aerials, angle of attack vanes, small sensors, ‘plume detectors’ and various other devices sticking out all over it. These were mostly very different from the Su-27. This is where I had to look very carefully at my reference photos, adapting or scratch-building all the relevant bits as needed. The position and nature of these devices also differed from how they appear on the production Su-35’s, with many of them being unique to this prototype.
The resin Resin Sorbtsya Pods, Pylons, Alamo ‘C’ missiles and AA-11 Archer missiles are all from ‘Zactomodels’.
A dramatic front-on view.
The nose was improved with scratch built parts including slithers of thin plastic strip for the strakes.
PAINTING, DECALING AND WEATHERING
The Arctic camouflage scheme was achieved by using three colours (all Tamiya acrylics); the lightest was made using white (X-2) with a small drop of ‘Deck Tan’ (XF-55) to make it slightly creamy white. The middle grey is simply ‘Royal light grey’ (XF-80), and the darkest was Tamiya’s dark grey (XF-24) with a small amount of X-2 white to lighten it a bit. The 902 ‘Bort’ numbers and black Sukhoi logo were commissioned from Delta One Decals, with most of the other decals being taken from the kit’s own set, as well as a few taken from a 1:32 Trumpeter Su-30 MKK kit that I have in my stash
48
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 44-49 SU35S 061B.indd 48
30/03/2016 10:01
I built the acrylic display base myself.
of unmade kits. The photographs that I have of ‘902’ do not seem to show much stencilling or markings over the whole aircraft, but this might be a reflection of the fairly poor resolution of these photographs rather than the reality, so I added a liberal sprinkling of such decals over the model on the assumption that sooner or later these would have to be applied on the grounds of the health and safety of all those who use and service this aircraft. Some of these decals were from the ones that came with the Su-27 kit, others were from the astonishingly comprehensive set made by ‘Begemot’. I found these Begemot decals useful, but they were very yellowed and prone to ‘silvering’, so careful touching in with the underlying camouflage colour in between and around these decals was a necessary but irksome task.
WEATHERING
The striking Arctic scheme was painted using a combination of Tamiya acrylics.
Strictly speaking, this aircraft doesn’t appear to be very weathered in any of the photographs that I’ve seen of it, but I couldn’t resist doing this anyway because I find this is the most enjoyable aspect of model making, and I couldn’t resist doing it. This was mostly done with dabbing around diluted paint and ‘post-shading’ with an air brush. Weathering seems to enliven the surface of the model, making it more believable as a representation of the real thing, well, in this case as a version of the real thing. Ok, to be honest I might have overdone this weathering making it look a bit like I did the weathering by continuously throwing the model to a large dog to fetch, but my intention was that I imagined how this aircraft might appear after a few months of exhaustive testing and experimentation, not as it appears at air shows. My apologies to the ladies and gentlemen of Sukhoi and Knaapo for making their pride and joy look so battered. To show the difference in size between different generations of aircraft design I have included a photo here of two Russian singleseat fighters; a Polikarpov I-16 from the 1940’s and this Sukhoi Su-35S from our own time, both models are 1:32 scale.
CONCLUSION
A dramatic demonstration of size – the 1:32 scale Flanker E compared to a WWII Polikarpov I-16 in the same scale!
Phew. It’s over. I have made some mistakes, I admit that, for example there are some anomalies in the positions of the camouflage markings compared with the real aircraft that I should have spotted and corrected, but what is done is done, so I have to admit that this is not a flawless replica of this beautiful aircraft. I could have spent even more time on it, particularly by improving the cockpit area and the pilot, but my health and my patience put a natural limit on this. I am, however, still very pleased with this model, overall. I feel that it gives a good impression of one of the most beautiful and modern aircraft around today. I hope you like it too. •
MODELSPEC Trumpeter 1:32 Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker B
Kit No. 2224
High level of detail; impressive size; good moulding quality. Some inaccuracies. Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Trumpeter kits are distributed in the UK by Pocketbond www.pocketbond.co.uk
AIR Edition
p 44-49 SU35S 061B.indd 49
49
30/03/2016 10:01
FULL-SIZE REFERENCE CA-27 Sabre 1
The Editor takes a walk around an Australian CA-27 Sabre on display at the RAAF Fightertown Museum.
//////CA-27 SABRE CLOSE-UP////////
T
he Avon Sabre was built in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation and was the RAAF’s mainstay fighter during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Australian Sabre was the American design fitted with a more powerful British Rolls Royce engine and twin 30mm Aden canons. Australian Sabres were later modified to carry Sidewinder heat seeking air-to-air missiles.
The first Australian built Avon Sabre flew on 3rd August, 1953 and during its test flight it became the first aircraft in Australia to break the sound barrier. Sabres saw front-line service in Malaya in 1958 and Ubon (Thailand) in 1962. This example at the RAAF’s Fighterworld Museum at Williamtown NSW, A94-951, was built in Australia and delivered to the RAAF on 4th December, 1956. •
2
1. Fightertown’s immaculate Avon Sabre. 2. The side panels for the Avon 30mm cannon were significantly different to the American F-86 Sabre. 3. The deeper intake may be appreciated from this angle. 4. The cockpit interior was painted in light grey and black. 5. AIM-9B Sidewinders were fitted to later Avon Sabres. 6. The unique arrangement of intakes and vents on the starboard fuselage side. 7. The exhaust area for the Avon turbojet engine. 8. The rear port side fuselage. 9. An overview from above.
3
50
4
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 50-51 AvonSabre Ref 061B.indd 50
30/03/2016 10:09
5
6
7
8
// 9
AIR Edition
p 50-51 AvonSabre Ref 061B.indd 51
51
30/03/2016 10:09
FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Ultimate Sabre Limited Edition • Kit No. 1163 High Planes Models 1:48 CAC CA-27 Avon Sabre • Kit No. 4807
ULTIMATE SABRE
THE HARD WAY Brett Green uses the High Planes Models 1:48 scale Avon Sabre conversion on the newly packaged Eduard “Ultimate Sabre” kit.
52
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 52
30/03/2016 10:02
High Planes’ 1:48 scale Avon Sabre comes packaged with Academy’s F-86 sprues in a stout cardboard box.
The low-pressure injection moulded conversion parts.
The plastic is thick and bordered with flash.
The mating surfaces need to be carefully cleaned up before the parts can be used.
By contrast, the moulding quality of Eduard’s re-boxed 1:48 scale Hasegawa F-86F Sabre is stunning. Some of the differences between the American and Australian fuselages may be seen here. Of particular note is the machine gun port with three .50 cals on each side compared to two 30mm Aden cannon for the Avon Sabre.
The intake on the American Sabre is also noticeably shallower than the Avon Sabre.
Plenty more photo-etched replacement and enhancement parts on the brass and pre-coloured frets. Eduard includes a nine-part resin ejection seat with additional details in photo-etch.
AIR Edition
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 53
53
30/03/2016 10:02
FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Ultimate Sabre Limited Edition • Kit No. 1163 High Planes Models 1:48 CAC CA-27 Avon Sabre • Kit No. 4807
T
he F-86 Sabre was produced by North American Aviation and is best known as the United States' first swept wing fighter that could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG15 in high-speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War (1950–1953). Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war, the F-86 is also rated highly in comparison with fighters of other eras. Although it was developed in the late 1940s and was outdated by the end of the 1950s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable, and continued as a front-line fighter in numerous air forces until the last active operational examples were retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994. Its success led to an extended production run of more than 7,800 aircraft between 1949 and 1956 in the United States, Japan and Italy. The Sabre was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with total production of all variants at 9,860 units. Variants were also built in Canada and Australia. The Canadair Sabre added another 1,815 airframes, and the redesigned CAC Sabre (sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CAC CA-27), had a production run of 112. * Australia's Sabres represented a significant revision to the original North American design. The biggest difference was the installation of a Rolls Royce Avon turbojet engine requiring a 60% redesign of the fuselage. Considering the P-51D characterised a famous marriage of a Rolls Royce powerplant and a North American Aviation design, it is perhaps not surprising to see a post-war attempt to capture that magic once more. The RAAF also wanted their Sabre to pack the punch of two 30mm Aden cannon in the nose. These modifications meant considerable changes to the standard airframe. The nose was the most externally obvious change. The intake mouth was deeper to improve the airflow to the bigger Avon powerplant, and the cannon arrangement was revised on the forward fuselage sides. There was a myriad of additional dimensional and detail changes too, including new and relocated panels, vents, hatches and a different tailpipe arrangement.
THE PRICE OF CHOICE
There can be little doubt that we live in the Golden Age of Modelling. There has never been a bigger choice of subjects in a wider range of scales, while moulding quality and detail have reached levels that we could not have imagined ten years ago. Even so, there are some subjects that have not yet reached these dizzy heights of excellence. If you want to model one of these subjects badly enough, you’ll need to take the old school approach –
High Planes provides a deeper forward intake ducting section. This needs lots of clean-up too.
54
The wing parts were taped together in preparation for the first round of test fitting.
After clean-up, the mating surfaces were sanded to improve alignment.
Initial test fitting showed that some plastic had to be cut away from the lower fuselage. The excess plastic has been marked in pencil.
The lower fuselage after trimming.
Not a bad result, but a little more trimming was required after this first round of test-fitting.
The wing root fit was almost perfect.
scratch building, vacform or limited run. I have always wanted to build an Australian CA-27 Avon Sabre, but the only option in 1:48 scale has been the low-pressure, limited run conversion originally released by Red Roo Models and moulded by High Planes.
RED ROO / HIGH PLANES AVON SABRE CONVERSION
Back in 2000, Red Roo Models released a shortrun 1:48 scale injection moulded conversion for the Avon Sabre. High Planes actually produced the
The forward half of the lower kit ducting has to be cut off.
plastic parts and a few years later they packaged the short run conversion parts with the entire Academy F-86 Sabre kit (minus the fuselage sprue) and a new sheet of decals with six markings options. The conversion element comprises just five shortrun injection moulded parts in a fetching shade of “Airfix blue” plastic. The parts are two fuselage halves, the intake, a lower fuselage panel and part of the intake ducting. The plastic has heavy, ragged sprue surrounding the parts, mould flow lines on the inside of parts and the sprue connectors are thick. On the other hand, panel line detail is crisp,
The front wheel well was glued to the deeper ducting.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 54
30/03/2016 10:02
restrained and consistent, and the new fuselage really captures the overall appearance of the unique Australian Sabre. The decals are supplied on continuous decal film, so you will have to carefully cut out each marking before applying them to your model. White backing decals are supplied for the coloured and white markings, The instructions supply detailed text, a few drawings, some poorly reproduced photos and the whole Academy instruction sheet. Experienced modellers with a little extra reference won't have any trouble working out what needs to be done. The Academy Sabre has been available since the mid 1990s and is a very respectable offering, with decent detail and nicely engraved surface detail, but I really wanted to apply this conversion to the Hasegawa kit, as the detail is slightly better and there is less work involved in the conversion. If you are adapting the parts to the Academy kit, you will need to do some additional surgery to the intake ducting and the lower wing. When the Eduard “Ultimate Sabre” re-boxing of Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale F-86F arrived recently, I finally had the base model for this Frankenstein Sabre.
The interior of the fuselage has to be significantly thinned to allow the ducting, the cockpit and the front wheel well to fit.
The locating slots for the horizontal stabilisers were first drilled out then opened up with a sharp hobby knife.
Eduard’s colour photoetched instrument panel and the cockpit tub.
EDUARD’S 1:48 “ULTIMATE SABRE”
Hasegawa released their 1:48 scale F-86F-30 Sabre in 1996. The kit featured very fine and crisp recessed panel lines, full instake and exhaust ducting with engine fans, and nicely detailed wheel wells and speed brake bays. Just about the only criticism was a very basic ejection seat. Academy released their own new-tool 1:48 scale F-86 Sabre in 2000. This added full enegine detail and open gun bays, but cockpit detail was no better than Hasegawa's earlier release. In my opinion, having laid out the sprues side-by-side, the Hasegawa kit narrowly wins in terms of surface textures and general finesse. Eduard has woven its magic on Hasegawa's plastic parts with a new "Ultimate Sabre" package. The sprues contain 87 of Hasegawa's plastic parts in light grey and seven parts in clear. Eight grey plastic parts are not used. Eduard has added two photo-etched frets, nine resin parts, self-adhesive die cut masks and a big new decal sheet to the Hasegawa sprues. The most obvious enhancement is Eduard's multimedia seat. This comprises nine parts in crisp grey resin plus photo-etched harness straps and detail
The cockpit tub astride the intake ducting.
After trimming, thinning and adjustment, the ducting, wheel well and cockpit were glued to the port side fuselage interior.
The view from below. Note that the sides of the forward wheel well line up with the opening in the bottom of the fuselage.
Ready for the fuselage halves to be joined. The tail pipe parts.
AIR Edition
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 55
55
30/03/2016 10:03
FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Ultimate Sabre Limited Edition • Kit No. 1163 High Planes Models 1:48 CAC CA-27 Avon Sabre • Kit No. 4807
parts. The photo-eched parts also enhance the interor with a replacement pre-coloured instrument panel, throttle quadrant, handles, placards and more. The photo-etched parts also add detail to the gun sight, the canopy brace and base. Ailerons, rudder and elevators are all fixed in neutral positions, but the speed brakes on the fuselage sides are separate and may be posed to taste. The canopy comprises two clear parts. The sliding section may be posed open or closed. The clear parts are thin and free from distortion, although there is a very faint raised seam line on the top forward area of the main canopy section that you may wish to polish off. The instructions are supplied as a glossy A4 16 page booklet with colour-keyed assembly illustrations, a masking guide, full-colour four-view diagrams of the five marking options and a stencil marking guide.
Although High Planes’ instructions recommend the use of super glue, I found that Tamiya’s Extra Thin Liquid Cement worked perfectly well on the light blue plastic.
EDUARD ULTIMATE SABRE MARKINGS
Decals for five varied options are supplied on a single Cartograf-printed decal sheet. The base finish for all five aircraft is natural metal: • F-86F-30, Maj John Glenn, 25th FIS/51st FW, Suwon Air Base (K-13), Korea 1953. • F-86F-30, 390th FBS, Alexandria AFB,Louisiana USA, 1955. • F-86F-30, Maj James P. Harrington, 67th FBS, 18th FBG, Osan-ni Air Base (K-55), Korea 1953. • F-86F-25, 435th FBS, Detroit AFB, Michigan USA 1952 • F-86F-30, Lt. K. Ewing, 336th FIS, 4th FIG, Kimpo AB, Korea 1954. The particularly colourful decals are well printed and appear to be in perfect registration.
Moulding fault? My fault? I’m not sure, but I needed to shim this gap in the nose.
The gap behind the wheel well.
The intake fitted perfectly to the front of the fuselage. Shimming the gap would be easier and more accurate than modifying the intake.
WHITTLING OUT A FUSELAGE
There is no denying that High Planes’ low-pressure injection moulded plastic parts look scary, with its thick surfaces, wide sprue attachment and structural flash. I built the High Planes 1:72 scale F4U-5N kit back in 2005, so I had a good idea of the work required and the result that I could expect. The Corsair night fighter was more accurate than any other in that scale with very fine crisp surface detail, but it did demand plenty of time cleaning up and aligning the parts. I thought that the Avon Sabre should be easier as I only needed to use four parts, with the wings, tail planes and all the detail parts sourced from Eduard’s reboxing of the Hasegawa kit. I started by cutting the parts from the sprues then cleaning the waste off with a new hobby blade. The attachment residue included long stubs on the mating surfaces of the fuselage. These were also carefully trimmed flush.
I slid a piece of scrap plastic into the wide gap.
The plastic was marked with a pencil while it was in place, then cut to the approximate profile of the upper nose.
The customised shim was glued in place and allowed to set.
Once it was set, the shim was trimmed and sanded flush with the surrounding plastic.
The sides of the upper fuselage intake was boxed in on each side through Final test fitting suggested that the fuselage would need to be slightly spread the lower fuselage opening. for a totally gap free wing root.
56
The wing glued in place. Note that the centre of the lower wing has cracked.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 56
30/03/2016 10:03
The lower surface awaits some corrective sanding, filling and more sanding.
The lower fuselage was also shimmed with scrap plastic.
Filled and sanded.
The ventral cooling intake, NACA intake and exhaust vent were cut and added to the area behind the main wheel well.
Short sections of soft wire were glued into the cannon troughs…
…then the excess was cut off.
The completed model.
The canopy was masked with Tamiya tape.
AIR Edition
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 57
57
30/03/2016 10:03
FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Ultimate Sabre Limited Edition • Kit No. 1163 High Planes Models 1:48 CAC CA-27 Avon Sabre • Kit No. 4807
The panel lines on the lower fuselage and wing centre section were rescribed.
The first coat of grey primer revealed a few lumps and bumps that were sanded down.
Next, I trimmed off the flash surrounding most of the parts. The mating surfaces of the fuselage halves were now gently smoothed against sandpaper until they mated cleanly along the centreline. The High Planes parts were looking much better now, but preparation wasn’t finished yet.
The second coat of Tamiya Grey Primer.
SADDLE UP
The saddle join between the fuselage and wings would be critical, so I wanted to ensure that the fit was good before assembly got underway. I taped the three main wing parts together and checked for fit, finding that I needed to carve out a few millimetres of blue plastic from the fuselage at the wing’s trailing edge. Some trimming was also required at the lower front fuselage to wing join. These were marked onto the fuselage with a pencil and trimmed with a knife. Once this was done, I found that the thickness of the plastic along the bottom edges of the wing root interfered with the fit of the wing. The lower wing root of the fuselage has to fit inside a slot in the wheel well, so the plastic was thinned by scraping with a hobby knife. After a few more rounds of test-fitting and trimming, a good fit was achieved between the wing and fuselage. There would be a bit of filling required on the bottom of the fuselage, but the join at the wing root looked like it would be just about perfect.
The nose, wing tips and tail plane tips were painted red over a squirt of Tamiya White Primer.
THE INSIDE STORY
Now I turned my attention to the fuselage interior. This must accommodate the intake ducking, forward wheel well, cockpit, and tail pipe. The plastic is quite thick and needs to be thinned, particularly around the openings for the cockpit, wheel well and tail pipe. I used my Dremel motor tool for this task, fitted with a ceramic cutting wheel for the larger areas and fine-tuning with a round dental burr. A few swipes with a coarse sanding stick cleaned up the rough edges. The High Planes intake duct adapter was cleaned up and glued to the kit ducting. The cockpit tub and forward wheel well were tacked onto the ducting and checked for fit between the fuselage halves. As a result, the rear cockpit bulkhead was sanded to a rounder profile to improve the fit. A bit more thinning and sanding of
58
The gun panels and exhaust area were sprayed with Alclad 2 Magnesium.
The metallic areas were masked off too.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 58
30/03/2016 10:03
The model was sprayed with two overall coats of Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver.
The black anti-dazzle panel and de-icing boots were masked.
The model ready for its gloss coat and decals.
“Australian Sabres were painted in a silver lacquer that was mainly seen in a fairly flat finish...”
Decals were sourced from Model Alliance and the High Planes kit.
AIR Edition
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 59
59
30/03/2016 10:03
FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Ultimate Sabre Limited Edition • Kit No. 1163 High Planes Models 1:48 CAC CA-27 Avon Sabre • Kit No. 4807
the fuselage interior was also needed before the fuselage halves would meet. I also drilled out three small holes in the flashedover locating slots for the horizontal tail planes before slicing the slots open with a sharp knife. At this stage the fuselage halves were essentially ready for assembly, so I started building and painting the kit cockpit. Eduard’s resin and colour photo-etched parts really bring the Sabre’s front office up to date. In particular, the nine-piece resin seat is a massive improvement over Hasegawa’s simple kit part. The colour photo-etched throttle and instrument panel look great too, as does the intricately detailed rear canopy deck. A recent visit to the Fightertown Museum at Williamtown RAAF base showed that their Avon Sabre’s cockpit was painted in a fairly light grey and black. I tried to recreate what I saw on the model’s cockpit tub.
Detail parts were tacked to a small box for painting and weathering.
BRINGING IT TOGETHER
The painted cockpit was glued to the top of the intake ducting and the front wheel well glued to the bottom. The tub, the wheel well, the ducting and the tail pipe all fitted perfectly between the fuselage halves, but a new problem revealed itself when I checked the fit of the High Planes replacement intake and the Hasegawa windscreen. The forward fuselage appeared to be too narrow by more than a millimetre. I decided to shim (fill) the upper and lower forward fuselage joins with scrap plastic. Once this was done, the intake was glued in place with no gaps or overlaps. With the fuselage halves joined, I made a ramp for the upper fuselage intake and boxed in the sides with scrap plastic, fitted through the opening for the wing in the bottom of the fuselage. The wing was now glued into place. I used super glue for this task, as I wanted to set the join as quickly as possible. The lower centre section of the Hasegawa wing cracked as I was squeezing it into place. This was later filled, along with the remaining gaps, using Milliput two-part epoxy putty. When the putty had set and was sanded flush, the ventral cooling intake, NACA intake and exhaust vent were cut and added to the area behind the main wheel well. The lower centre wing area was also rescribed at this stage.
The resin and photo-etched seat from Eduard.
The red diamonds are small decals.
PAINTING AND MARKINGS
The paint job started with a coat of Tamiya’s Fine Grey Primer straight from the can. This revealed a number of lumps, bumps and other nasties, which were then filled, sanded and scribed before a second coat of primer. The metallic empennage and the red markings on the nose and tips of the tail planes and wings were sprayed next. These were all masked with Tamiya tape. Australian Sabres were painted in a silver lacquer that was mainly seen in a fairly flat finish. Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver was decanted into my airbrush and sprayed in two thin coats. Black markings were now masked and sprayed – the anti-dazzle strip forward of the windscreen and de-icing boots on the wings and tail planes. At this stage the masks were removed and I sprayed several coats of Future floor polish for a glossy finish. Model Alliance’s decals were used for the main markings and they performed perfectly as expected.
60
The canopy masked and sprayed.
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 60
30/03/2016 10:04
The basic airframe after a coat of Alclad 2 Klear Kote Matte.
Intricate stencilling seems to be a feature of Australian Sabres. I am not usually a big fan of stencil decals but I gritted my teeth and got on with it. I was even more reticent as I did not know how well the ALPS printed, continuous sheet High Planes decals would perform. As it turns out, I settled into a comfortable routine cutting out around ten stencil markings at a time and fixing them in place. Once the job was finished, they looked perfect.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Detail parts such as the undercarriage wheels, legs and doors, speed brakes, Sidewinder missiles and drop tanks were now painted and weathered. The Hasegawa kit provides Sidewinders, but they look like a later version, so I sourced two AIM-9Bs from Hasegawa’s 1:48 scale Aircraft Weapons C set. The seat and rear canopy deck were also assembled and painted at this stage. I found a photo of a Red Diamonds Sabre seat with three red diamonds painted onto a white headrest. I thought this looked pretty interesting so I sourced some tiny red diamond decals from a Fighting 48th! Decal sheet for 1:48 scale British military vehicles. I also made an intake cover from scrap plastic. This hid a variety of evils including an unfilled join between the intake and the ducting, and also a blob of Blu-Tack at the front of the ducting that served as a nose weight! The various sub-assemblies were now sprayed with two coats of Alclad 2 Klear Kote Matte lacquer, which has a very slight sheen compared to the Alclad 2 Flat that I usually use.
Undercarriage parts ready for installation.
Drop tanks, speed brakes and Sidewinders. The AIM-9Bs are from the Hasegawa U.S. Weapons Set C.
AIR Edition
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 61
61
30/03/2016 10:04
FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Ultimate Sabre Limited Edition • Kit No. 1163 High Planes Models 1:48 CAC CA-27 Avon Sabre • Kit No. 4807
CONCLUSION
This was an almost unexpected but certainly an enjoyable project that gave me the chance to try out a number of different kits and accessories. Hasegawa's 1:48 scale F-86 is still a very good kit today, and remains the best 1:48 scale plastic Sabre kit on the market in 2016. The addition of Eduard’s resin and photo-etched parts are a welcome upgrade that really will deliver the Ultimate Sabre. For those that want to build an Australian CA-27 Avon Sabre, the low-pressure injection moulded conversion from High Planes / Red Roo is still the only way to go, but it will deliver a very attractive result and will give you the opportunity to wheel out some fundamental modelling skills. The decals from Model Alliance and High Planes were impressive too. So don’t be discouraged if your favourite aircraft subject is not available as a 21st century mainstream model kit. Just take a nostalgic trip down the scratch build, vacform or limited run path! • * Historical summary adapted from Wikipedia
MODELSPEC Eduard 1:48 Ultimate Sabre Limited Edition High Planes Models 1:48 CAC CA-27 Avon Sabre
Kit No. 1163 Kit No. 4807
The candy stripe on the pitot tube was masked with a single thin length of tape.
Accessories Used: • Hasegawa 1:48 U.S. Aircraft Weapon C – Kit No HSGS1883 • Model Alliance On Target Decals – Profile 6, Pt.2 – F-86 Sabres MK 31/32. Item No. MA-48125 Tools and Modelling Products Used: • Tamiya Extra Thin Cement • Revell Contacta Cement • Gator’s Grip Acrylic Glue • Selley’s Super Glue • Tamiya Surfacer • Zip Kicker (super glue accelerator) • Tamiya Masking Tape • Iwata HP-CH and HP-CP airbrushes Paints and Finishing Products Used: • Tamiya (acrylic): X-18 Semi-Gloss Black; XF-1 Flat Black; XF-2 Flat White; XF-7 Flat Red; XF-20 Medium Grey; XF-64 Red Brown; • Tamiya Spray Can: Grey Primer; White Primer; AS-12 Bare Metal Silver. • Mr Hobby Mr Color Leveling Thinner 400. • Vallejo Model Color (acrylic): 70865 Oily Steel; 919 Foundation White; 70953 Flat Yellow; 70957 Flat Red; 70950 Black • Vallejo Panzer Aces (acrylic): 337 Highlight Ger. (Black) • Alclad II Matte Clear Lacquer Finish • Solvaset decal setting solution • Winsor & Newton Oil Paint: Raw Umber; Lamp Black • Tamiya Weathering Pastels Set A • Future Floor Polish
The intake cover was cut from scrap plastic and detailed with a punched disk and some plastic strip.
Eduard Ultimate Sabre: Very fine crisp surface textures including recessed panel lines; high level of detail; poseable speed brakes; high quality photo-etched and resin upgrades. None noted. Rating: 9.5 out of 10 Thanks to Eduard for the sample www.eduard.cz Eduard kits are available in the UK from Creative Models Limited www.creativemodels.co.uk
62
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 62
30/03/2016 10:04
Canopy parts were fixed to the model using Gator’s Grip Acrylic Glue.
“So don’t be discouraged if your favourite aircraft subject is not available as a 21st century mainstream model kit. Just take a nostalgic trip down the scratch build, vacform or limited run path!”
Fit of the undercarriage and ordnance was positive.
AIR Edition
p 52-63 AvonSabre 061B.indd 63
63
30/03/2016 10:04
For the serious Modeller Issue 59
Issue 60
Subscribe Today 12 issue subscription for all issues (AFV and Aircraft) UK £60, Euro £75, World £85 12 issue subscription for AFV issues (2 years) UK £60, Euro £75, World £85 12 issue subscription for Aircraft issues (2 years) UK £60, Euro £75, World £85 Single issue UK £6.50, Euro £7.95, World £8.95 www.militaryillustratedmodeller.com
Get it first • Delivered to your door • Save Money ORDER FORM - MIMODELLER
Please debit my credit/debit card for £ .......................................
First name ..........................................................................................................
Visa
Surname..............................................................................................................
Card No. ....................................................................................................
Address................................................................................................................
Expiry date................................. Start date ........................................
...................................................................................................................................
Security Number (last 3 digits on signature strip) ............................
Post/zip code ................................................................................................... Country ................................................................................................................ Telephone Number....................................................................................... Email Address..................................................................................................
p 64 Subscribe 061.indd 1
/Mastercard
/Maestro
/other ............................
Cheques payable to: ADH Publishing Ltd. Aircraft & AFV editions: UK
Euro
World
Aircraft editions only: UK
Euro
World
AFV editions only:
Euro
World
UK
Starting from issue ............................................................
Issue No (if applicable) ........................................................................... Signature................................................Date ..................... Please mail this form to; ADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, United Kingdom Tel; +44(0)1525 222573 Fax; +44(0)1525 222574 Online; www.militaryillustratedmodeller.com (Photocopies of this form are acceptable)
30/03/2016 09:28
modeller Next Issues military illustrated
ISSUE No.061 May 2016
Aircraft Edition - Brett Green AFV Edition - Marcus Nicholls Publisher; Alan Harman Graphic Design; Alex Hall Advertising Manager; Sean Leslie Office Manager; Paula Gray Administration Manager; Hannah McLaurie Administration Assistant; Julie Lane MIM Website; ADH Web Team Editors;
Military Illustrated Modeller Issue 62 - AFV Edition on sale 19 May, 2016
Printed by; Symbian Print Intelligence, Hertfordshire, UK Distributed by; Seymour Distribution 2 East Poultry Avenue, London, EC1A 9PT Tel; 020 7429 4000 Newstrade; Select Publisher Services 3 East Avenue, Bournemouth, BH3 7BW Tel; 01202 586848 Email;
[email protected]
ANOTHER RUSSIAN HEAVY
PANTHER, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT
A KV-1 in 1:35 from M Workshop
Beobachtungs (observation) Panther in 1:35
Military Illustrated Modeller is published on the third Thursday of each month by; ADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX UK www.militaryillustratedmodeller.com Tel; +44 (0)1525 222573 Fax; +44 (0)1525 222574
MTLB MASH-UP
1:35 Soviet APC with ZSU guns
Editorial enquiries; Aircraft email;
[email protected] AFV email;
[email protected] Advertising enquiries; Tel; +44 (0)1525 222573 Email;
[email protected] Subscription enquiries; Tel; +44 (0)1525 222573 Fax; +44 (0)1525 222574 Email;
[email protected] Reproduction in part of any text, photograph, or illustration without written consent from the publisher is strictly prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure the contents of Military Illustrated Modeller is accurate, the publishers and printers can not accept responsibility for errors and omissions.
Military Illustrated Modeller Issue 63 - Aircraft Edition on sale 16 June 2016
MAKING BASES
Rafe Morrissey takes us step-by-step through some easy techniques for making aircraft bases.
Advertisements are accepted for publication in Military Illustrated Modeller only on ADH Publishing’s standard terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising department. Please write to the address above. All advertising, circulation and subscription enquiries should also be directed to the UK address above.
Subscription rates are; Option 1 - 12 Issues (AFV & Aircraft) 1 year UK - £60.00 / Europe - £75.00 / World - £85.00 (prices include shipping) Option 2 - 12 Aircraft Editions 2 years UK - £60.00 / Europe - £75.00 / World - £85.00 (prices include shipping) Option 3 - 12 AFV Editions 2 years UK - £60.00 / Europe - £75.00 / World - £85.00 (prices include shipping) For all orders, please call; (UK) +44(0)1525 222573 or visit www.miltaryillustratedmodeller.com
© ADH Publishing 2016
RAG WING HURRICANE RODEN TROJAN
Charles Whall presents Pacific Coast Models’ 1:32 scale early version Hurricane Mk.I.
Roden 1:48 T-28D Trojan by David W. Aungst.
PERFECT PETLYAKOV PART TWO
The Editor paints and weathers Zvezda’s new 1:48 scale Petlyakov Pe-2.
...AND MORE! AIR Edition
p 65 NextIssue 061B.indd 65
65
30/03/2016 10:05
Tailpiece JOLLY PINK
GIANT G.W.H. 1:144 RAF Tanker Victor K.2 • Kit No. L1005
The Editor checks out the latest variation of G.W.H.’s 1:144 scale Victor.
66
The kit decal sheet.
T
he Handley Page Victor was a British jetpowered strategic bomber, developed and produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company, which served during the Cold War. It was the third and final of the V-bombers operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the other two V-bombers being the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. The Victor had been developed to perform as part of the United Kingdom’s airborne nuclear deterrent. In 1968, the type was retired from the nuclear mission following the discovery of fatigue cracks, which had been exacerbated by the RAF's adoption of a low-altitude flight profile to avoid interception. A number of Victors had received modifications to undertake the strategic reconnaissance role, employing a combination of radar, cameras, and other sensors. As the nuclear deterrence mission was given to the Royal Navy's submarine-launched Polaris missiles in 1969, a large V-bomber fleet was deemed surplus to requirements. Consequently, many of the surviving Victors were converted into aerial refuelling tankers. During the Falklands War, Victor tankers were notably used in the airborne logistics operation to repeatedly refuel Vulcan bombers on their way to and from the Black Buck raids. The Victor was the last of the V-bombers to be retired, the final aircraft being removed from service on 15 October 1993. In its refuelling role, the type had been replaced by the Vickers VC10 and the Lockheed Tristar. The Avro Vulcan operated in the conventional and nuclear strike roles until 1982, when it was in turn replaced by the significantly smaller Panavia Tornado. *
to the tops of the wings. The surface and structural features are really very impressive, with a scale appearance even in this small size. The kit is broken down conventionally into two separate fuselage halves plus separate port and starboard wings in upper and lower halves. The pitot tube is moulded to the upper starboard wing. The cockpit is a one-piece moulding with centre console and seats. Don't expect to see much of this moulded detail through the framed canopy though! Each of the intakes are presented as pairs in upper and lower halves, with splitters moulded to the lower halves. Small but perfectly formed jet fans are provided for the rear of the intakes. Separate jet pipes are offered for the rear as well. The large underwing fuel tanks are supplied too. Speed brakes may be posed open or closed. All other control surfaces are moulded in neutral positions. The bomb bay door is closed, and bomb bay detail is not included. The main undercarriage is broken down into ten pieces each side, with crisply moulded individual wheels. The two clear parts are quite thin and as free from distortion as you could expect in this small scale. Markings are supplied for two aircraft. One is finished in the tactical scheme of Dark Green and Medium Sea Grey upper surfaces, with Light Aircraft Grey below; while the other is in overall Desert Pink. Walkway and stencil decals are included. A colour marking guide to the tactical scheme option is provided on the back of the box. Colours look good and everything is in register.
IN THE BOX
The tanker version of the Victor was the one I was really looking forward to, and I am sure that I am not alone. G.W.H. has delivered another high quality product in the niche scale of 1/144. With an aircraft this large, the size is quite respectable in this scale. Combined with the complex, hard-edged camouflage scheme, this will be quite a scene stealer on your display shelves or at your local model club. Highly Recommended. •
G.W.H. released their Victor B.2 bomber late in 2014. They have now followed this up with the K.2 tanker version. G.W.H.'s new 1/144 scale Victor K.2 comprises 74 parts in medium grey plastic, two parts in clear plastic and markings for two aircraft. Most of the main parts are common between the two kits, but one new sprue offers the parts specific to this tanker version. Surface detail is made up from a combination of fine, crisply recessed panel lines and hatches of various sizes. Raised vortex generators are moulded
Military Illustrated Modeller - May 2016
p 66 TailPiece 061B.indd 66
Panel line detail is lovely and fine.
The one-piece V-tail.
Wing detail.
CONCLUSION
Thanks to G.W.H. for the sample
The clear parts are few but nicely presented.
Two schemes are offered.
* background information courtesy of Wikipedia.
30/03/2016 10:06
NEW FROM ADH PUBLISHING
The Modeller’s Guide
Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering
Aircraft of WWII, with airfield accessories, ordnance and diorama
Aleksandar Počuč
‘
SCALE MODELLING: A LOVE STORY READY TO ASSEMBLE TOOLS AND MATERIALS TECHNIQUES BUILDING THE AIRCRAFT ■ SPITFIRE MK. IXC ■ P-47D THUNDERBOLT ■ JU-87D ‘STUKA’ MAKING A DIORAMA
ORDER NOW:
www.adhpublishing.com
✆
01525 222573
Modeller’s guide to superdetailing, painting and weathering aircraft of WWII’ book is intended for both beginners and advanced modellers as it covers wide variety of modelling tasks ranging from basic detailing, scratch-building, painting, weathering, machining custom parts using resin as well as scratch-building part from brass and aluminium and of course, diorama making. Basics about tools, paints and modelling materials have been covered as well. The book revolves around three subjects, P-47D Razorback, Spitfire Mk.IXc and Junkers Ju-87D Stuka, all in 32nd scale. Step by step concept will provide a good reference and ideas to all WWII aircraft modellers regardless of their experience.
✉
[email protected]
FOR ONLY
£18.95 PLUS P&P
ADH PUBLISHING, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX. United Kingdon. TEL: +44(0)1525 222573. FAX: +44(0)1525 222574. ONLINE: www.adhbooks.com
p 67 ModellersGuide 061.indd 1
30/03/2016 09:29
