THE No.1 MODELLING MAGAZINE
D
S Il- RA CA 2 W L Stu I E rm NG ov S ik
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IL-2 STURMOVIK 1/48 from Tamiya
SUPER
SNIPE SOPWITH 7F.1 SNIPE 1/32 FROM WINGNUT WINGS
SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM Vol 21 Iss 05 May 2015 £4.50 Printed in UK
KAWASAKI KI-61 1/72 from RS Models
TORNADO GR.1 1/72 from Revell
ME 410
1/72 from Italeri
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eduard
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EDITORIAL
Scale Aviation Modeller International
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[email protected] Use the above address for back issue orders, subscriptions, enquiries or book orders. Note that we cannot undertake research into specific or general aviation queries and that there may be some delays in responses from the contributors, as they are not based at the editorial address. PUBLISHER
SAM Publications Limited
A question of scale
GROUP EDITOR
Andy Evans
[email protected] EDITOR David Francis
[email protected] ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Tim Upson-Smith The editorial emails are ONLY to be used for editorial submissions. They are NOT for subscription payments or queries, back issues or Modellers Datafile orders. Please send all of these to the Media House address detailed at the top of this column. STUDIO MANAGER
Jonathan Phillips
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PRE-PRESS PRODUCTION PRINT PRODUCTION
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AVIATION ILLUSTRATIONS
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Chris Sandham-Bailey SCALE PLANS
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SAMI TEAM
Paul Bradley Dick Clark Geoff Cooper-Smith Andy Evans John Fox Ernie Lee Andy McCabe Colin Pickett Chris Sandham-Bailey Tim Upson Smith CONTRIBUTORS THIS MONTH
Angelo Picardo Christopher Busbridge Tony Grand Wojciech Butrycz Bill Bunting Konstantine Malinovski Adam Rehorn John Bisset Andy Brook ADVERTISING SALES
Rebecca Harris
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MAY 2015 • VOLUME 21 • ISSUE 5
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O
ne of the most frequent questions I have received since I have taken over the editorship of Scale Aviation Modeller International is why do we not feature more build articles in 1/72 and 1/144 scale? The simple answer is that I can only fill your magazine with reviews and articles in any scale if they are supplied to me. Since I have taken over as Editor I have noticed a trend for 1/48 and 1/32 scale, as for every small-scale article received I will get two or three in the larger scales. I was not expecting this to be the case due to the reasonable availability of high quality, reasonably priced 1/72 and 1/144 scale kits that have been issued over the last few years. This surprised me as in my local area you have to work hard to find anything in 1/48 scale, let alone 1/32 scale, and I am normally faced with ordering online or a 100 mile road trip to the nearest large model shop for my 1/32 scale fix. However smaller-scale kits can be picked up relatively easily, though admittedly these do range from state-of-theark golden oldies reboxed since the 1960s and 70s, to the latest state-of-the-art offerings from Airfix and Revell. I have said a number of times in the past that this is your magazine and I am more than happy to fill it with features that represent the wide range of scales and periods that you are asking for, but to do this I will need your help! If you think you scale is underrepresented in our magazine why not submit a build article and help me improve the balance. I am not after national gold winning, jaw dropping models that mere mortals cannot achieve
(Though that would be nice as well) but just good quality models that can inspire and inform others. Our requirements are relatively simple for anyone who has a digital camera, a computer and a large piece of plain white card. Just photograph all stages of your model's construction on the white card and when finished a selection of shots from different angles of the completed model. Then sit down and tell us about your build, what have you added, what tricks have you used and most importantly please do not forget the mistakes you made so we can all learn from them. Finally send the images and text via email to the editorial address or burn them onto a CD and send to our postal address via snail mail, not forgetting to include your contact details. By doing this you may find you enjoy your modelling more as well as sharing your skills, knowledge and your completed model with readers from all around the world, and of course you will also be having a direct impact on the content of your magazine. Have fun
David Francis Editor
[email protected]
REVIEWS 428 POLIKARPOV U-2/PO-2 ON SKIS ICM 1/48 by Dez Burton
430 BRISTOL BLENHEIM MK IVF Airfix 1/72 by Bill Bunting
432 ZLIN Z-126
430 BRISTOL BLENHEIM MK IVF
KP 1/72 by Bruce Leyland-Jones
SUBSCRIPTIONS Cheques/Money Orders in Sterling only made payable to SAM Publications Limited and sent to the address above. Major credit card payment accepted by telephone. Subscription Hotline +44 (0)1234 211245
AMERICAN SUBSCRIPTIONS Wise Owl is no longer selling subscriptions on behalf of Media House. Current Wise Owl customers can renew their subscriptions at the current rates directly with Media House: Subscription hotline +44 (0)1234 211245 – we are happy to call you back to take your order! Email ordering and customer support:
[email protected] Website secure online ordering: www.sampublications.com American shops and trade may obtain copies from Kalmbach Publishing Toll Free 1 800 558 1544 Canadian shops and trade may obtain copies from Disticor Tel: + 1 (905) 619 6565 Scale Aviation Modeller International, Volume 21 Issue 5, May 2015 (ISSN 1356-0530) published monthly by: Media House, 2221 Niagara Falls Blvd, Niagara Falls, NY, 143045709. Periodicals postage pending: Niagara Falls, NY. US Postmaster: Send address corrections to: Scale Aviation Modeller International, PO Box 265, Williamsville, NY 14231
434 BF 109GA-2 & AVIA S-199 KP Models & AZ Model 1/72 builds by Andy Brook
436 PIPER PA-18 WITH BUSH WHEELS Revell 1/32 by Toni Hausler
QUICK BUILD
REGULARS
438 SPITFIRE MK VIII
406 408 412 414 416 422 494 498
Eduard 1/48 By Andy Brook
SHOW REPORT 424 SOUTH CHESHIRE 580 Modellers at the South Cheshire Militaire show by Geoff Cooper-Smith
426 ONTARIO, CANADA HeritageCon 9 show in Ontario, Canada by Adam Rehorn
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SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
NEWS CZECH OUT PREVIEWS FIRST LOOKS ACCESSORIES DECALS BOOKS AND FINALLY
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CONTENTS
448 IL-2 STURMOVIK
440 RUSSIA’S FLYING INFANTRYMAN
458 SUPER SNIPE
466 THE MIGHTY FIN 476 BUBBLETOP
FEATURES 1/72 FEATURE 440 RUSSIA’S FLYING INFANTRYMAN Tamiya’s Il-2 Sturmovik in 1/72
MODELLERS PORTFOLIO 448 IL-2 STURMOVIK •
IL-2 Sturmovik. Artwork and scale drawings by Chris Sandham-Bailey
COVER 1/32 FEATURE 458 SUPER SNIPE Wingnut Wings 1/32 Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe, Early Version by Tim Upson-Smith
1/72 FEATURE 466 THE MIGHTY FIN
1/72 FEATURE 476 BUBBLETOP RS Models 1/72 scale Kawasaki Ki-61-II Kai (Production Type)
CLARK’S FIELD 480 CANADAIR TUTOR Hobbycraft 1/48 Canadair Tutor “Military” by Richard Clark
PAINT IT WITH TESTORS 484 LUFTWAFFE ‘STINGER’ Detailing the 1/72 Italeri Me 410 by Bill Clark
488 CLASSIC PLASTIC Edited by Paul Bradley • Williams Bros. 1/32 Seversky Racer by Matthew Lund • Luftstrietkrafte Duo. Airfix 1/72 Fokker Dr.1 and Albatros V by Andy Hazell • Revell’s Fairey Rotodyne by Rolf Schmidt
Revell’s Tornado GR.1 in 1/72 Scale by Carmel J. Attard
Cover Illustration by John Fox www.design-phoenix.com
1/72 FEATURE 470 A FAST CAT Building the High Planes 1/72 Cheetah D by David H. Minton
Subscribe to Scale Aviation Modeller see page 456
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MAY 2015
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NEWS
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APRIL 2015
news
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MAY 2015
SUBSCRIBERS’ MONTHLY PRIZE DRAW WINNER: Mr Charles, UK WINNER: Mr Brun, France WINNER: Mr Lyddon, UK Entry to the monthly prize draw is FREE to all subscribers
ith all the new stuff announced at the Nuremberg toy fair I was expecting this to be a bit of a lean month for news. But as it turned out we had a few new announcements, including one that I will start with that should please many British modellers.
W
SBS Models A manufacturer who is well known for producing multi-media detail sets released their first kit last year, and have now made a welcome announcement for their second kit. Until know many modellers wanting to reproduce the D.H.88 Comet had to struggle with the ancient Airfix kit. Know SBS have announced the release of an allnew resin kit and if the CAD drawings are anything to go by this looks
Aviattic A name that is getting a massive reputation among World War One modellers is Aviattic’s who are producing decals, detail sets and complete kits. Due in the 1/32 detail range by the time you read this is a amazing reproduction of a Siemans-Halske SH-III a engine, and perfect for your AEG or Gotha diorama, a large refuelling cart.
Bronco Bronco have announced another addition to their BV P.178 Luft46 family. This time they are replacing the bomb in the previous version with a BT700 guided missile torpedo.
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stunning. Even better it will come in two versions with markings for Red and Black. The red options include number 34 Grosvenor House, of course, and the unnamed Number 19 G-ACSR. The black aircraft will include Number 63 Black Magic and CS-AAJ from Portugal.
This Month in Model Aircraft Last of the Gunfighters – The US Navy and Marine Corps F-8 Crusader Down and Dirty Death Angel - Andy Renshaw builds the Monogram 1:48 F-8 Crusader from VMF(AW)-235 during the Vietnam War Air Wars in Focus – ‘Splintered Eagles’ – The USAF’s Fighter Weapons School F-15 ‘Flankers’ In Profile - #1 - The Lockheed Martin A-4AR ‘Fighterhawk Test Varks - Anthony M Thornborough looks at the NASA F-111s
SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
Model Aircraft Extra - Willy Messerschmitt’s ‘Hornet’ - German World War II ‘Heavy Fighter’ and ‘Schnellbomber. Scale Plans, walkaround and model builds. Big Scale Brisfit - Andy Renshaw builds the incredible 1:32 Wingnut Wings Bristol F.2b Fighter Combat Zone – Moscow’s Hunchback – Anthony Tucker-Jones charts the rise and career of the devastating Mi-24 attack helicopter Mil-Marauder – Angelo Picardo builds a Soviet Hind Marine's Dream - James Dickerson guides you through painting and weathering the 1:32 Tamiya F4U-1 ‘Birdcage’ Corsair
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NEWS
Kitty Hawk Models After the release of the 1/48 scale AH-1Z Cobra Kitty Hawk have confirmed more details of the follow-up, the UH-1Y which has been nicknamed Venom. Just like the AH-1Z which was an update of the Cobra, the UH-1Y is an update of the Marines' faithful Huey that has seen many years of service. Of course the four-bladed rotor is the same as the AH-1Z so some parts will be shared between this and the previous kit. Markings will include both a high viz commander's bird as well as a selection of low viz schemes. Also seen for the first time are CADdrawings for an all-new T-28 Trojan, which looks like it is going to be very well detailed, and I await with interest what colour schemes they will pick as the type has carried so many attractive ones over the years of service. I am hoping that we may also see the Fennec as well as other armed versions seen around the world
Italeri Hitting the hobby shop shelves by the time you read this is the latest in the Italeri Stirling family, and this is the one that most have been waiting for as it covers the bombers. As well as the normal RAF aircraft I am intrigued by the inclusion of an example captured by the Germans and flown with a tarpaulin strapped across the damaged nose area.
Canuck Models This manufacturer has announced that it has received permission from the Canadian Department of National Defence to produce decals of the attractive schemes carried by the nation's air demonstration Hornets. Over the years these have included some of the most attractive paint schemes ever applied to military aircraft, and the first examples will include the 2010 and current 2015 aircraft which is part painted in WW2 Spitfire camouflage to celebrate the Canadians involved in the Battle of Britain.. The decals will be available in 1/72 and 1/48 scale and if there is enough demand a 1/32 sheet will also be produced.
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NEWS
in association with
www.cmkkits.com
CZECH OUT
Our monthly look at News from the Czech Republic
By Tim Upson-Smith
fter looking after this column for many years I would like to thank Colin Pickett for all his hard work on the “Czech it out” feature . At the same time I would also like to welcome regular contributor Tim Upson-Smith who is now going to be looking after our monthly look at all that’s new from the Czech Republic as well as our book section. It is a bit of a slow news month, after all of the releases for the Nuremberg Toy Fair, but with the build-up to the 2015 MODELLBRNO Show in June I am sure we can look forward to seeing some new releases. So here is the latest news from the Czech Republic.
A
Eduard
Fly 1/144
Listed as coming soon are the following from Fly, the Wessex should prove popular… No release dates are given but we can only hope that they are soon! •
•
•
•
1/32 •
•
32006 Rotachute Mk IV 32010 Westland Wessex HC.2 32011 Westland Wessex HU.5 32012 Hawker Hurricane Mk IIC • • •
1/48
•
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•
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48010 Ansaldo S.V.A. 10 48011 Ansaldo S.V.A. 9 48012 Ansaldo S.V.A. 5 Float Plane 48020 Jet Provost T.51, 52
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•
•
14412 DC 9-40 Spirit 14414 DC 9-40 Scandinavian 14415 DC 9-40 Airborne Express 14416 DC 9-10 East African 14417 DC 9-10 Aeronavest de Mexico 14418 DC 9-10 DC-9 14419 DC 9-20 Thales 14420 DC 9-20 Scandinavian retro 14421 DC 9-30 Kuwait Air Force 14422 DC 9-30 Aerocaribe 14423 DC 9-40 Finnair 14424 DC 9-40 Ozark
The new Royal Class Avia B.534 is now available and a preview is featured on page 415, it’s nice… Available soon will be a weekend version of the kit which comes with two markings options, Czech and Bulgarian; as with the Weekend boxings no etch or paint masks are supplied but these are available separately if you wish. In 1:48 scale Fw 190A-8/R2 is making a final appearance before it is retooled. There is also a
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new limited-edition boxing of the Hasagawa F-104G in 1:48 scale, with 5 markings options charting its use as a ‘Nato Fighter’. As well as the Hasagawa plastic the kit comes with colour photo-etch, paint masks and Brassin ejector seats and sensors. The last boxing of this kit in German service sold out very quickly so Eduard are advising to order quickly if you want this one as there will be only 1500 released! This month also sees the release of the SSW D.III in a Weekend box. This kit although not featuring brass does have a full complement of lozenge decals in the box. Eduard also have their usual regular releases of masks, etched brass and resin Brassin line, including this month a pair of Brassin wheels, with spats, for their Avia B.534, some nice PE sets for the new Airfix Defiant in 1:72 and sets for the new Gripen from Revell, also in 1:72. In 1:48 scale there are sets for the new F-4J Phantom II by Academy and MiG-21UM by Trumpeter.
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CZECH OUT
AZ Model New from AZ this month are the Gotha P.60 C-6 ‘Raptor’ (AZ7492) which will make the Luft 46 people happy, and if you want a different looking Tiger Moth in your collection look no further than the other new release this month, the long tailfin Tiger Moth (AZ7494). If Spitfires are your interest then AZ’s new Spitfire Mk XIVe (AZ 7320) will be of note and if you like your Spitfire wearing civil schemes look no further than the new Tr.8 (AZ 7478) which has markings for G-AIDN in three rather fetching civil schemes including all-over yellow and allover pale blue. This Spitfire is the prototype Tr.8 and it is still in existence, being restored to airworthy status by Personal Plane Services Ltd. • AZ7492 Gotha P.60 C-6 Raptor • AZ7494 D.H.82 Tiger Moth Long tailfin
Scale Resin As featured last month we can expect the Blackburn Buccaneer S Mk 1 and Blackburn NA.39 soon. Images of the parts have been sent to us and it is looking very good as you can see for yourselves.
RS Models New from RS is a 1:48 scale kit of the Ki-61-II Kai (48003) Japanese WWII fighter. Three markings options are included, two of which are for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Evaluation Department and one for the Akeno Flight Training Division.
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NEWS
in association with
www.cmkkits.com
Brengun The Hermes A1 rocket (BRS144024) (as reported last month) is now available in 1:144 scale. Also available are accessory sets in 1:144 scale for the Mark 1 Models Westland Wessex HAS.1/31A (BRL144107) and a vacform canopy for the Eduard MiG 15 (BRL144108). In 1:72 scale are accessory sets for Brengun’s own Letov S.16 (BRL72087) which would suggest that a kit of the production version of the S.16 cannot be too far behind.
HpH HpH are now taking pre-orders on their new 1:32 scale FockeWulf Fw 189A-1, which really does look impressive. But one that has crept through the net with little fanfare is their new 1:72 scale Tupolev Tu-104, which will have a full interior, although very careful cutting out of the windows will be required to show it off! Also included in the kit is a model of the mobile air steps and these really look the part and would sell well on their own. Markings will be supplied for example from Aeroflot as well as Czech Airlines. Rumour has it that a 1:32 scale Hawker Hurricane is in preparation: watch this space. When we have further news we will be sure to bring it to you.
Mark 1 Models New from Mark 1 Models for May is the Aero L-39MS/L59 ‘Super Albatross’ (MKM14441) This injection-moulded kit contains 31 parts, 8 resin parts and a clear vacuformed cockpit canopy. The decal sheet has markings for four aircraft as follows: • 1) Aero L-39MS Super Albatross, Black 0006, 1st Training Regiment (1. šlp), Czech Air Force (letectvo Armády eské republiky), P erov Air Base, 1993 • 2) Aero L-39MS Super Albatross, Black 0003, 1st Training Flight (1. školní letka), M.R. Štefánik’s Air Force Academy, Slovak Air Force, Košice Air Base, 1999 • 3) Aero L-59E Super Albatros, Black 1807, 88th Squadron, Egyptian Air Force, El Minya Air Base, 1993 • 4) Aero L-59T Fenec, Black Y95063/JG, 16th Squadron, Tunisian Air Force, Gafsa Air Base, 2008
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Kovozavody Prostejov (KP Models) The rejuvenated KP is going from strength to strength as by the time you read this the following should be available: • KPM0021 Zlin C-105 Early • KPM0026 Šk-38,SG-38 Gondola • KPM0027 Sg-38 Gondola type FR • KPM 0028 G-101/TX.1,SG1 • KPM0040 Piper L-4A/B • KPM0041 Piper K-68/C-8 • KPM0042 Piper J-3 Cub • KPM0043 Piper L-4H/J The Piper Cubs have some interesting schemes for as well as the US military versions there is a civil boxing including the wonderfully registered GPOOH… as well as a Czech service boxing with a mix of military and civil markings. Following closely behind the above will be several versions of the P-51B and C Mustang. The KP Junior La-5 in 1:144 scale will also soon be making an appearance and from the sprue shots online looks to be a beauty. This
SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
model will also be scaled up to 1:72 with various versions proposed. KP are also restarting their line of etched brass detail sets, masks and resin accessories under the KP-Expert label (KP released their first etched brass set way back in 1986). The first of the sets are aimed at the new Mustangs and will include paint masks, etched brass and a set of resin fuel tanks and pylons for the P51B/C/D/K.
A CZECH IT OUT REQUEST If your company is not featured or if you have any news about Czech-produced items that you would like to share through these pages, please contact me via the editorial email.
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8 Types Lewis Guns
Salmson Late 2A2
h c t s a l e P d s o a m G Scale 1/48
www.gaspatchmodels.com
8 Types Vickers Guns
Scale 1/48
Air Speed Indicator Spandau 08/15
Salmson Otsu1 2A2
Spandau Early 08
W E N
Parabellum 14
Parabellum 14/17
Copyright © 2015 GasPatchModels All rights reserved
7 Types Metal Turnbuckles
Salmson Mid 2A2
Vickers K
Scale 1/48
Also available in Scale 1/35
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Sponsored by Creative Models www.creativemodels.co.uk
PREVIEWS
CREATIVE TIMES
A Selection of new releases now available from Creative Models REVELL
REVELL
Bell AH-1W Cobra
AC-47D Gunship
SCALE; 1/48
TRUMPETER
J-15W with Carrier Deck INFO
PRICE: £17.99 STATUS: Rebox: Ex Italeri
SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 01670 PRICE: £32.99 STATUS: New tool
Not a type familiar to most in the West, the J-15 Flying Shark is the Chinese built Su-27 Flanker in its Naval variation that is just coming into service on the new Chinese carrier Liaoning. This set not only supplies the
KIT NO: RV0493
aircraft but also the take-off area of the carrier complete with jet blast deflector. Markings are supplied for a number of aircraft that are not yet painted in operational camouflage so feature various shades of yellow and grey.
This is the Italeri AH-1W reissued by Revell and produces the most accurate Whisky cobra on the market to date. Though showing its age in places it should feature in any US Marine collection and can be accurised by adding Cobra Companies resin or a little bit of scratch bulding.
INFO
INFO
SCALE: 1/48
KIT NO: RV04926 PRICE: £29.99 STATUS: Rebox: Ex Monogram
The old but accurate Mongram C-47 was updated a number of years ago to produce the more aggressive AC-47 Vietnam gunship. This was always a hard-to-find kit in Europe so its release by Revell is to be welcomed, even more so as it now comes with an Italian printed decal sheet with two marking options that also include markings for the flare boxes and small stencils that I do not remember on the original.
TRUMPETER
TA-3B Skywarrior
ACADEMY
F-4J Phantom (New Parts)
REVELL
INFO
SCALE: 1/48
STATUS: Revised Tooling
KIT NO: AC12305 SCALE: 1/48
PRICE: £39.99 STATUS: Revised New Tool
New box art and different markings but the same kit number for Academy’s F-4J, new parts are also listed but we will have to wait to see inside the box to find out what else has been added.
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PRICE: £57.99
MAY 2015 •
The latest in Trumpeter's Skywarrior family covers one of the rarer variants in the shape of the TA-3B; only 12 of these trainers were produced out of a production run of over 280. Only one marking scheme is supplied but at least it is a colourful one.
SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
INFO
INFO
SCALE: 1/72
KIT NO: 02870
AH-64D Apache 100 Years KIT NO: RV64896 PRICE: £22.99 STATUS: Reissue, New Decals
This set supplies marking for that rarest of beasts, a colourful Apache painted to celebrate 100 years of
Dutch Military aviation. This is a really colourful aircraft and I would not be surprised to find that one of the aftermarket decal suppliers has had a hand in its production. This set includes four pots of paint, a brush and Contacta glue so for the price is quite a bargain.
Mastered-Adverts-AV-0515_AV-0606 10/04/2015 16:51 Page 413
Aircraft profiles from Publications MBI Focke-Wulf Fw 189 £6.50 Republic P-47 Thunderbolt at £7.40 Polikarpov U-2 / Po-2 at £10.50 Avia B-35 / B-135 at £10.90 Northrop P-61 Black Widow / Lavochkin La-7 (re-print) at £10.90 F-15 Reporter at £10.90 Lavochkin La-5 at £14.50 Heinkel He 162 Spatz (Volksjäger) at £ 13.90 (re-print) Avia B-534 Czechoslovak Fighter 3rd and 4th Version at £ 15.90 (Latest modelFILE profile 73 pages packed full of photos, aircraft manual extracts, detail drawings and colour artwork for this iconic Czechoslovak pre-war biplane fighter aircraft. All MBI profiles have full text in Czech and English)
The Airports of Prague – hardback, bilingual, historical and photographic record Vol. 1 1918 to 1946 at £21.00 Vol. 2 1947 to 2000 SOLD OUTat £24.50 Vol.3 2001 to 2005 at £26.20 Czech-Six Publications – the authorised UK distributor for Publications MBI
Send cheques only please with order, (add £ 0.60 per book for Post and Packaging, overseas rates on request, plus option of PayPal), made payable to Czech-Six Publications, to:
17 Goodwyns Place, Tower Hill, Dorking, Surrey, RH4 2AW Telephone 01306 889584
www.czechsixpublications.com
Václav Lomitzki – VALOM Zlešická 1808, 148 00 Praha 4. Czech Republic Tel. 00420 271910470 Email:
[email protected]
72095 RF-101C Voodoo
72106 N.A. L-17 Navion
72093 F-101C Voodoo
1/72 scale
COMING SOON! 1/72 scale
www.valom.net
14412 SPAD XIII
1/72 scale
1/144 scale
Other forthcoming kits: F-101A Voodoo (1/72), Hanriot HD.1, Nieuport 11 Bébé, Fokker E.III (all in 1/144 scale)
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FIRST LOOK
WINGNUT WINGS 1/32
AEG G.IV Early By David Francis irst we had the Gotha, then just a few short months ago we had the truly massive Felixstowe and now 3 years after it was first announced we have another SUPER kit with the release of early and late versions of the AEG G.IV. The sample we received is the early version with internal bomb racks and Parabellum machine guns on rails fixed around the cockpit openings. The AEG G.IV series was considered the best of the German Heavy bombers carrying a heavier weapon load and being easier to fly than the Gotha. Used at first in a daylight role it was later switched to night bombing and remained in service until the end of the war. For the modeller the AEG will present a few challenges as the engines are mounted rather unusually on a web of struts from the bottom wing only, and further struts going to the fuselage sides. Add to that the fact that the majority of aircraft were in overall lozenge camouflage and many modellers will wonder if maybe Wingnuts have taken a step to far. Well, fear not, this kit is truly outstanding setting new standards in the quality of moulding that should
F
make this complex kit relatively easy for anyone who has a few large-scale biplanes under their belts. The cockpit is wonderfully detailed and most of this will be seen on the completed model including the internally mounted bomb racks with their 12.5kg bombs. As always the instructions are amazingly detailed, very clear with colour call-outs to all the major paint ranges as well as detail photographs of the surviving example in the Canada Aviation and Space Museum as well as period black and white photographs. The engines are truly stunning and can be produced fully cowled or with everything on show with a bit more added detail, though the kit supplies 95% of what you need out of the box. The only area that makes this kit complicated is the overall lozenge camouflage; now Wingnut Wings have this covered
This kit is truly outstanding setting new standards
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SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
as everything is supplied on the five decal sheets. All of the lozenge is supplied on four sheets and fortunately are pre-shaped, but they will certainly be a challenge to apply though the instructions do guide you through the process. However a big plus for the early version boxing is that two of the five marking options are finished in a painted scheme. The first has the day camouflage with light and dark green plus either purple or red brown patches (Both are possible depending on interpretation of the photographs) with light blue under surfaces. The second aircraft has switched to night operations so the light blue under surfaces have a black scribble pattern
though you could leave this off to produce a sixth option. Like all Wingnut kits this release is supported by a website that provides even more period photographs of hints and tips as well as enabling potential purchasers to look at the contents of the box as well as the instructions in full. So if you have not done so before, visit www.wingnutwings.com to see the full range as well as ordering details with free postage worldwide.
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EDUARD 1/72
Avia B.534 Royal Class Tim Upson-Smith THE KIT This is the first Eduard Royal CIass boxing it has been my pleasure to examine at first hand. I have in my stash several limited-edition kits, which have not disappointed, and this is no exception. The box is a nice size, in wine red with an outline drawing of an Avia in gold on the top, along one side of the box are 30 of the 31 colour schemes in side profiles and on the other side some contemporary black and white photos. When you lift the lid you find enough sprues for four different Avias, an open cockpit 3 series, a teardrop canopied 3 series, a standard 4 series and an unarmed 4 series as entered in the 1937 Zurich Air Meeting. Two clear sprues are included which between them have enough canopy options for you to be able to pose them open if you so wish. As you delve deeper in to the box you find the PE brass, a single colour fret with the instrument panels, seat belts, cockpit fittings and gunsights on it, and then four brass sheets with the grilles and flying wires on them. I would have preferred to have seen these sheets in the silver colour as painting the brass
flying wires a steel colour may be a bit tricky, we shall see. With the brass is the sheet of masks, which cover the wheels, canopies and wing and tailplane outlines. Next are the decal sheets, four in all, one has just one decal on it and appears to be an errata, the other three are packed with the markings for the 31 options. The decals are printed by Cartograph and look absolutely superb. I was very surprised in a good way to see that Eduard have included full swastikas as well as split ones on the decal sheet; the full ones are separate from the others so can be cut off if the model is sold in a country where the symbol is banned. Next are the instructions, the first is the construction booklet in typical clear Eduard style, the second and much thicker booklet is the colour notes again in Eduard’s usual style. Unfortunately the notes at the top of each page are only in Czech, as this kit is predominantly
This kit is a very comprehensive package
aimed at the home market. Right at the bottom of the box is a book, again in Czech, which is mostly a photographic study of the options given in the kit.
CONCLUSION This kit is a very comprehensive package covering as it does the series 3 and 4 Avia B.534. There are enough parts in the box to build all four versions and no shortage of colour schemes to choose from. If like me you would like a few more on your shelf than the four in the box Eduard are doing Overtrees of the sprues so you can purchase extra plastic to use up a few more of the decal options (although as I write the Zurich racer has already sold out). My only problem is which to build first! To conclude, this Royal Class boxing is aimed at the Czech home
market, but that said with the aid of an online Czech dictionary it is not too tricky to translate bits or get the gist of the text. It is certainly the best kit of this type on the market and is very unlikely ever to be bettered so if you want the Avia in your collection this Royal Class boxing is your ideal introduction, offering as it does a onestop shop of plastic decals, PE and reference material, all in one rather smart package! Having built the test shot I cannot wait to get started with the production kit, must clear my workbench! Come on Eduard, how about a series 1 and 2 B.534 to complete the family?
AVIA B.534 OVERTREE ZURICH RACER Also supplied with the our copy of the Royal edition was one of the three overtree boxings available only from Eduard’s website. The sample supplied to us was the unarmed Zurich Air Meeting Avia. Like all Eduard overtree boxings it is supplied in a plain white box with no instructions. If you want the brass there is a zoom set available separately which supplies the seat belts, instrument panel and cockpit fittings. The Eduard Avia bracing wire set is also available to purchase as a separate item if required. Also available are Super Fabric seatbelts which are among the most realistic on the market though in this scale quite tricky to assemble; a tutorial on how to fit these is in the latest (April) edition of Info Eduard, the company’s online magazine which is always well worth a look! My thanks to Eduard for supplying the review samples.
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Alley Cat
Aerobonus by Aires This month’s new releases include some beautifully cast drums that can be made as either FOD or FIRE drums using the included decal sheets. We also have an addition to the figure range, this time the first in a series covering USAAC mechanics in the Pacific theatre. The final item this month is another diorama accessory in the shape of a 1,000lb handtruck, which would be suitable for many servicing situations. Each set is extremely well cast and where needed comes with simple instructions though in many cases this month you just need to remove the casting block and paint.
Following the change of ownership Alley Cat are starting to release new subjects as well as some of the most desirable out-of-production sets. This month we have a mix of old and new starting with a simple drop-in replacement, scale thickness canopy for the Arado Ar 196A or B. The new release is a really simple conversion to produce a 109G-8 Photo Reconnaissance version of the Bf 106G-6 by Revell.
1/32 SCALE Arado Ar 196A/B Canopy Designed for : Revell This set enables you to correctly nest the canopies and also includes a set of vinyl masks. Messerschmitt Bf 109G-8 Conversion Designed for: Revell In resin we have 3 parts: the largest supplies the underfuselage camera windows, while you have
a small panel to fit under the instrument panel and a second camera window for the leading edge of the wing which was only fitted on early versions of the G-8. Decals are supplied for three aircraft • Messerschmitt Bf 109G-8, Black 11, Germany 1944 • Messerschmitt Bf 109G-8, Yellow 6, Anzio, Italy 1944. • Messerschmitt Bf 109G-8, White 14, 2/NAGr.12, Oblt. Helmo Emmerstofer, Albania 1944
CONCLUSION These are both simple sets suitable for the novice in using resin parts helped by the clear instructions in the case of the G-8 conversion. Due to the attractive schemes available for both types these sets deserve to sell well. Our thanks to Alec Smith of A2Zee Models for the review sample, which can be purchased from his website at www.a2zeemodels.com
1/32 SCALE FOD Drums Product No: 320 055 1,000lb Handtruck Product No: 320 056
Fire Buckets Product No: 320 058
1/48 SCALE Fire Drums and Buckets Product No: 480 107 US Army Aircraft Mechanic WW2 Pacific Theatre Product No: 480 110 This figure is sweeping the ground with a broom.
Aires Only a few new releases this month, but what we have missed in quantity we have made up for in quality. We start with a lovely 1/32 scale multimedia Martin Baker GQ-7A ejection seat for the F-104 Starfighter which combines 4 beautiful resin castings with etched brass belts and buckles. In 1/48 scale we have two sets for the F/A18E/F Super Hornet, both sets reproducing the exhausts in the closed position and designed for the Revell or Hasegawa kit. Finally also in 1/48 scale we have one of the Aires wheel sets, this time the five-spoke hub wheels used on the Mk.V Spitfire, and as is normal for this range, this set also includes a set of masks for the hubs to make painting easy.
1/48 SCALE F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Exhaust NozzlesClosed Product No: 4636 Designed for: Hasegawa Spitfire Mk V Five-spoke Wheels Product No: 4637 Designed for: Any F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Exhaust NozzlesClosed Product No: 4641 Designed for: Revell
1/32 SCALE Martin Baker Mk GQ-7A ejection Seat Product No: 2199 Designed for: Italeri F-104G
CONCLUSION This range is a godsend for anyone wishing to produce a diorama in 1/48 or 1/32 scale as it is competitively priced and includes some innovative items not available elsewhere, and is well worth seeking out. Our thanks to Stanislav Riegr of Aires for the review samples.
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CONCLUSION So many good sets from Aires this month that it is hard to know which to pick as a highlight, though I think the ejection seat just edges it. Our thanks to Aires for supplying the review samples, which can be purchased from Hannants.
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ACCESSORIES
Brengun
Tamiya
The latest batch of sets from Brengun includes resin, brass and vacform plastic covering all the major scales. In 1/144 we have a pair of super clear canopies for the Eduard MiG15, while etched brass is used to supply a set of crowd barriers perfect for small scale airshow dioramas, and also a stunning set for Mark One's Wessex HAS.1/3. In 1/72 scale a Czech theme is developing as all of the etched brass sets support Czech-produced kits in the shape of Eduard’s B-534, RS
Models' Yak-11 and Brengun’s own lovely Letov S-16. In 1/48 we have another brass and resin set for the Fly Jet Provost family, this time the T.3/4. Finally in both 1/48 and 1/32 we have a pair of very useful pair of modern US Navy wheel chocks.
Not a name we feature in this section that often, though of course they do produce a range of paints, glues and fillers. But it is their yellow masking tape that has earned its place on many workbenches around the world. Well now we have an addition to this range, which is so logical I wonder why no one has thought of it before. Masking Tape with Plastic Sheeting 550mm Product: 87164 This new product supplies a reel of masking tape with one edge extended by the inclusion of clear plastic sheet. This product is designed so that you can mask your spray edge with the yellow masking tape, and the clear sheet can then be used to prevent any overspray on to other model parts. The clear section can be cut to shape and wrapped around a wing or fuselage.
1/72 SCALE BRL 72087 Letov S-16 Designed for Brengun BRL72088 Yak-11/Let C-11 Designed for RS Models BRL 72089 Avia B-534 IV Designed for Eduard
1/144 SCALE BRL 144106 Mobile Barriers X6 BRL 144107 Westland Wessex HAS Mk 1/3 Designed for Mark One BRL 144108 MiG-15 Vacform canopy Designed for Eduard
1/48 SCALE BRL48062 BAC Jet Provost T.3/4 ( Resin and Brass) Designed for: FLY Models BRL48063 US Navy Wheel Chocks (Modern)
CONCLUSION 1/32 SCALE BRL32- 018 US Navy Wheel Chocks (Modern)
A simple idea that will save using lots of tape and paper towels Thanks to the Hobby Company for bringing this product to our attention.
CONCLUSION The full range can be seen at the Brengun website at www.brengun.cz and they can also be contacted via snail mail at Chladkova 14, 616 00, Brno, Czech Republic. Our thanks to Jan Sobotka for giving us the opportunity to show this range.
Just Bases Just Bases are well known in the UK as a regular attendee of model shows around the country with their range of plain and varnished bases and handmade display cases. But now they have branched out into groundwork and we were passed a sample of one of these products, which is designed to represent snow. What makes this different is that it includes powdered quartz so there is a small amount of reflection, which produces realistic ice-like sparkles as your perspective changes. A large pot costs just two pounds and I am now looking for a chance to use this product on a winter diorama. For more details of this range, Just Bases have a website at www.just-bases.co.uk or by telephone on 01803 558520, and if you do not see a suitable base they can also produce custommade bases to any size.
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Scale Aircraft Conversions This month SAC have only released four new white metal undercarriage sets and all but one are in 1/48 scale. Preparation is really simple, just a few minutes work with a jewellers' file to remove any trace of flash from the edge of the castings, and then attach with superglue or epoxy to replace the kit parts.
1/48 SCALE
Eduard This month Eduard have produced sets for the 1/72 scale BP Defiant from Airfix and Revell’s Gripen, the MiG-21UM and F-106 from Trumpeter and F-4J from Academy, while in 1/32 Kitty Hawk’s Bronco and Trumpeter’s early Ju 87 also get upgrades. And of course they have not forgotten their own-brand kits with sets for the simplified SSW in 1/48 and the amazing Avia B.534 in 1/72 scale. Most sets are available as either the basic Zoom range, which supplies just the prepainted brass, whereas the full sets supply a lot of extra details if you really want to go to town.
1/72 SCALE
Supermarine Spitfire Mk I/V Landing Gears Product No: 48282 Designed for: Airfix Price: $13.95
Defiant Mk 1 Part no: 73525 Designed for: Eduard Defiant Mk 1 Landing Flaps Part no: 72600 Designed for: Eduard Saab Gripen Ladder Part no: 72601 Designed for: Revell
Dassault Mirage III or V Landing Gear Product No: 48283 Designed for: Kinetic Price: $16.95 Focke Wulf Ta 152 Landing Gear Product No: 48284 Designed for: Zoukei Mura Price: $15.95
MiG-21UM Exterior Part No 48836 Designed for: Trumpeter MiG-21UMLadder Part No: 48837 Designed for: Trumpeter Mig-21UM Seat Belts (Brass) Part No: 49711 Designed for: Trumpeter SSW D.III Seat Belts (Super fabric) Part No: 49075 Designed for: Eduard F-4J Interior Part No 49172 Designed for: Academy F-4J Exterior Part No 48838 Designed for: Academy F-4J Air Brake Part No 48839 Designed for: Academy
Avia B.534 Wires and stretchers Part no: 72602 Designed for: Eduard
F-4J Seat Belts (Fabric) Part No 49076 Designed for: Academy
SAAB JAS 39C Grippen Part no: 73524 Designed for: Revell
F-4J Seat Belts (Brass) Part No 49076 Designed for: Academy
1/48 SCALE
F-106 Part No: 49714 Designed for: Trumpeter
MiG-21UM Interior Part No 49710 Designed for: Trumpeter
1/72 SCALE
1/32 OV-10D Bronco Interior Part No: 32830 Designed for: Kittyhawk OV-10D Bronco Exterior Part No: 32368 Designed for: Kitty Hawk OV-10D Seat belts (Brass) Part No: 32831 Designed for: Kitty Hawk Ju 87A Part No: 32832 Designed for: Trumpeter Ju 87A Seatbelts Part No: 32833 Designed for: Trumpeter
ZOOM SETS 1/72 SCALE Avia B.534 Weekend Part no: SS518 Designed for: Eduard SAAB JAS 39C Part no: SS524 Designed for: Revell Defiant Mk 1 Interior Part no: SS525 Designed for: Airfix
1/48 SCALE MiG-21UM Interior Part No: FE710 Designed for: Trumpeter
Folland Gnat Landing Gear Product No: 72104, Designed for: Airfix Price: $10.95 This set is designed for the 2012 new tooling, not the original 1960s version.
F-4J Interior Part No FE712 Designed for: Academy
CONCLUSION
F-106 Interior Part No: FE714 Designed for: Trumpeter
As always these samples were provided by Scale Aircraft Conversions and will be available to purchase in the UK from Hannants and www.oxonianplasticfantastic.co.uk The manufacturers also have their own website at www.scaleaircraftconversions.com. Our thanks to Ross McMillan for supplying the review samples.
SSW D.III Part No: FE715 Designed for: Eduard
CONCLUSION If you want to go to town with a full set or just do the basics with the Zoom, Eduard have got most of the new kits on the market covered just a few weeks after their release. Our thanks to Eduard for supplying the review samples.
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ACCESSORIES
Quickboost
Pan Pastel
I cannot believe the rate at which Quickboost release new sets covering all the major scales. Each piece is well cast with only a minimal amount of cleaning up required before use, normally the casting block. And they are always relatively inexpensive and in most cases have detail that cannot be matched using injected moulded plastic.
Last month I looked at the Pan Pastels range of pastels which were launched a number of years ago and stateside have been widely accepted by model railway modellers and diorama modellers as an important tool for weathering. Last month I was given two samples from this range of weathering kits to try, and this month I have a set that contains 3 metallic colours: Silver, Pewter and Copper as well as a selection of the soft applicators that make applying this product a breeze. This set is perfect for World War One modellers or anyone who likes detailing engines. The second set this month supplies two colours, a neutral grey tint and a red oxide, while the final item is a set of applicators that are designed to apply the Pan Pastels range, and these can be washed and reused easily and should last for many months of use.
1/72 SCALE BAE Hawk Mk 1 Corrected Air Intakes Product No: QB 72 466 Designed for: Airfix
Weathering Kit: Metallics II This set contains 1. Silver 2. Pewter 3. Copper
Messerschmitt Bf 109E Control Lever Product No: QB 72 470 Designed for: Airfix F-105 Thunderchief Control Lever Product No: QB 72 468 Designed for: Trumpeter Bristol Blenheim Mk 1 Air Intakes Product No: QB 72 474 Designed for: Airfix Bristol Blenheim Mk 1 Tropical Air Intakes Product No: QB 72 475 Designed for: Airfix
1/48 SCALE PV-1 Ventura Propeller and Alignment Tool Product No: QB 48 627 Designed for: Revell A-37 Dragonfly Ejection Seats with Seat Belts Product No: QB 48 628 Designed for: Trumpeter
MiG-21 Landing Lights Product No: QB 48 638 Designed for: Eduard L-29 Delfin Pylons Product No: QB 48 631 Designed for: AMK PV-1 Ventura Correct Cowlings Product No: QB 48 633 Designed for: Revell Messerschmitt Bf 109G Cockpit Rear Bulkhead – Closed Product No: QB 48 632 Designed for: Eduard Spitfire Mk II Rotol Propeller with tool Product No: QB 48 634 Designed for: Roden Spitfire Mk V Gun Barrels Product No: QB 48 635 Designed for: Airfix Messerschmitt Bf 109G Cockpit Rear Bulkhead - Open Product No: QB 48 636 Designed for: Eduard Messerschmitt Bf 109G Cockpit Rear Bulkhead – Open with MW-50 or GM-1 Product No: QB 48 637 Designed for: Eduard
1/32 SCALE F-104G/Starfighter Control Lever Product No: QB 32 166 Designed for: Italeri Spitfire Mk II Exhaust Product No: QB 32 168 Designed for: Revell
Weathering Kit: Red and Grey This set contains • Neutral grey tint • Red Iron Oxide
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 Corrected Air Intake Product No: QB 32-171 Designed for: Revell
Soft Applicators This set supplies 10 applicators which are easier to use for precision application of the pastel, rather than the broader sponges.
CONCLUSION Many of these sets are just simple upgrades while a few are necessary upgrades to correct errors in the original kits, like the 109G oil coolers and Hawk air intakes for the Airfix kit in 1/72 scale, at a bargain price. Our thanks to Stanislav Riegr of Quickboost for the review samples, which can be purchased from both LSA models and Hannants.
CONCLUSION Application of these pastels is a bit unlike any other weathering. You start by lightly brushing one of the sponges across the pastel; this is the first difference from the normal application of pigments. Unlike my normal brush application method there is very little waste and absolutely no mess. Next the sponge is brushed across the model leaving a light coating of the colour on the model's surfaces. Clean-up was easy too: just put the lids back on the dishes and give the sponges a quick dab into some water to remove the excess, and it was done. I was very impressed with this product and if you need to see the effects that can be achieved have a look at Pan Pastels' website, and there are many interesting videos on YouTube showing the process on model railroad stock which can be adapted to our hobby.
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Eduard Brassin Sometimes quality costs and though the Brassin range is not the cheapest option it's easily amongst the best I have seen. Even relatively simple items like the Corsair wheels show details that plastic ones could never match
1/32 SCALE F4U-1 Wheels Part no: 632052 Designed for Tamiya Lewis Gun WW1 Part No 632049
CONCLUSION 1/72 SCALE GBU-10 Paveway 1 LGB Part no: 672052
RetroWings Masters of 1/144 scale resin upgrades, Retrowings have released three new sets for the beautiful Platz F-8 Crusader. We start of course with the cockpit, and for this resin parts are supplied for the cockpit tub as well as the ejection seat and its pull rings. Moving on to the area under the unique pivoting wing assembly we have a simple one-piece assembly which will add detail to this obvious area of the finished model. Finally the main undercarriage bay gets a set of detail parts that also includes neat scale-thickness undercarriage doors.
B.534 Wheels Part no: 672066 Designed for Eduard
1/48 SCALE AIM-9E Sidewinder Part no: 648196
If you really want to go all out with your latest model you should have a look at the Brassin range, and I was very tempted by that Spitfire gun bay. Our thanks to Eduard for supplying the review samples.
GBU-8/B HOBOS Part No: 648169 Spitfire Mk VIII Gun Bay Part No 648201 Designed for: Eduard
1/144 SCALE RWD-440081 F-8 Crusader Cockpit set Designed for: Platz
Spitfire Mk Vb Gun Bay Part No 648198 Designed for: Eduard
RWD-44082 F-8 Crusader Engine Duct Bay Designed for: Platz RWD-44083 F-8 Crusader Main Undercarriage Bay Designed for: Platz
CONCLUSION I have said it before, but when money is tight 1/144 kits make real sense. I wish I could have a state-of-the-art kit and resin update set like these for such a reasonable price in my preferred 1/32 scale. Now if only I had the eyesight! Our thanks to Retrokit for supplying the review samples, which can be ordered from their website at www.retrokitonline.net and of course at many shows around Europe.
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Lightcraft Age comes to us all and one of the early signs for many modellers is the need to wear glasses for close-in work that I used to see easily unassisted. But now I need further assistance than my reading glasses can supply and I have found the perfect addition to my workbench in the shape of the Lightcraft 5 Lens magnifier. Now I have used a visor magnifier in the past when detailing but it was heavy and cumbersome compared to this product. The basic part is a high quality and lightweight frame that also includes a two-spot LED so you can clearly see the item you are looking at, and even better it can be worn in conjunction with normal reading glasses or on its own. Contained with in their own storage box are 5 interchangeable lenses in a range of focal lengths from semi close-up to very, very close if required. The various size lenses simply clip into place on a slot under the LED assembly and can be rapidly changed if needed.
SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
CONCLUSION I have been using this product for a week and now it is off to the studio for photography I am really not sure how I am going to assemble a set of Eduard cloth seatbelts that I need for my next project. That is how indispensable this product has become for me in a very short space of time. Our thanks to Shesto Ltd, Lightcraft's UK importer, for supplying this product to try. Highly recommended.
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For the Saab Safir Maestro Models - MMMP4822 - 1:48 Saab 91 Safir detail set ........................................................................£11.50
For the Saab Tunnan Maestro Models - MMMP7229 - 1:72 Saab 29A / 29B Tunnan detail .........................................................£11.50 Maestro Models - MMMP7230 - 1:72 Saab 29A / 29B Tunnan canopy mask ..............................................£9.20
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Cornwall’s best selection of scale model kits AIRFIX – REVELL – TAMIYA - EDUARD and many others Tools, solvents and accessories
The Specialist of Italian Aircraft Kits and much more! Visit our website: www.misterkit.com Flying Machines 1/48 plastic kits w/photoetched & resin 02 – Fiat G.50 Bis /A.S...........................................................€ 35,00 03 – Fiat G.50 I Serie ............................................................€ 35,00 04 – Fiat G.50 II Serie ...........................................................€ 35,00 05 – Fiat G.55 I Serie & Torpedo version ..............................€ 35,00 Flying Machines 1/72 plastic kits w/photoetched & resin 01 – Piaggio P. 108 I Serie ...................................................€ 50,00 02 – Macchi M.C. 200 VII Serie .............................................€ 15,00 03 - Fiat G.55 I Serie & Torpedo version................................€ 15,00 RCR 1/72 Photoetched 02 – Fiat B.R. 20...................................................................€ 12,00 03 –Cat Z. 1007 Alcione .......................................................€ 12,00 04 – Caproni Ca 313 / 314....................................................€ 21,00 06 – Cant Z .506...................................................................€ 21,00 07 – Fiat G.91 R/T ................................................................€ 12,00 08 – Fiat G. 91 Y...................................................................€ 12,00 10 – Aermacchi M.B. 326 .....................................................€ 12,00 12 – Re 2000 / 2002.............................................................€ 12,00 13-Fiat C.R. 32......................................................................€ 12,00 14- Fiat C.R. 42 .....................................................................€ 12,00 15 - Seatbelts Regia Aeronautica..........................................€ 12,00 16 - Seatbelts Regia Aeronautica 1/48 .................................€ 12,00 17- Re 2005 1/48..................................................................€ 12,00 18 – Fiat G.55.......................................................................€ 12,00 19 – Savoia Marchetti SX 55.................................................€ 18,00 20 – Fiat C.R. 25 ...................................................................€ 10,00 EDUARD Plastic Kits EDU-R0009 1/48 Bf 109G (Royal Class).................................€ 80,00 EDU-07424 1/72 MiG-15bis (Weekend Edition) ...................€ 10,25
MISTER KIT Authentic acrylic colours U.S. Nvy & Marine Corps W.W. I 3 colours ..........................Available Austro Hungarian W.W. I - 10 colours ...............................Available RCF/RAF W.W. I - 13 colours...............................................Available Russian W.W. I - 5 colours ..................................................Available French W.W. I - 12 colours..................................................Available German W.W. I - 24 colours................................................Available Italian W.W.I - 7 colours.....................................................Available Luftwaffe W.W. II - 33 colours............................................Available French W.W. II - 18 colours.................................................Available Regia Aeronautica W.W. II - 28 colours .............................Available RAF W.W. II - 26 colours .....................................................Available U.S. Navy W.W. II - 30 colours ............................................Available Aeronautica Militare Italiana - 14 colours ..........................Available MISTER KIT plastic kit & conversion set Fiat C.R.42 complete kit w/resin & photoset. .......................€ 15,00 Fiat CR 42 Night figh. Luftwaffe & North Africa ...................€ 15,00 Macchi Mc. 2002 super detail set .........................................€ 10,00 Macchi Mc. 205 Conversion & super set................................€ 10,00 BROPLAN 1/72 174- Aermacchi C.100 ........................................................Available 153 – Caproni Ca-310 Libeccio ...........................................Available 097 – Cant Z.1007 Asso......................................................Available ALI D’ITALIA 022 – Macchi Mc 202 .........................................................Available 020 - Caproni Ca. 133 .........................................................Available 01 – Camouflage & Markings Vol. 1...................................Available 02 - Camouflage & Markings Vol. 2 ....................................Available 03 - Camouflage & Markings Vol. 3 ....................................Available
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Open Monday-Saturday 11 Pydar Mews, Truro TR1 2UX and at shows throughout the South West
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DECALS
Iliad Decals One of the two latest sheets from Iliad is very significant as it includes their first release in 1/32 scale, and it is not a surprise that they have chosen one of the most popular decals from their 1/48 scale range, the Bf 109Gs of 7./JG53. What makes these aircraft significant is the individual cartoon artwork, all based on the unit's ace of spades insignia. The second sheet in 1/72 scale supplies markings for early version of the P-40 including a natural metal P-40, one of the few not to be painted, as well as some RAF Tomahawks, one of which has attractive blue and yellow flashes around the fuselage roundel. As always the instructions supply a brief history of each aircraft as well as all you need to place the markings and paint it correctly in full colour.
Canuck Models The latest Canuck decal sheets cover types that served the Canadians well for many years, the CF-104 Starfighter and CT-13S Silver Star. Both of this month’s sheets are produced in both 1/32 and 1/48 scales. The Starfighter sheet includes markings from the early natural metal scheme (1) to the last camouflage scheme (1) as well as examples finished in overall olive drab (5). The sheet also includes stencil details and the black anti-glare panel in front of the cockpit. A nice addition is a small set of masks for the canopy, wheel hubs and position keeping lights. The T-33 Sheet supplies markings for five aircraft in four styles of camouflage, all based on a grey/green camouflage pattern. Each sheet comes with full instructions and on the F-104 sheet plans for scratch building the RWR sensors as fitted to one version on the decal sheet.
1/32 SCALE 1/72 SCALE IL72014 Early P-40s/Tomahawks • P-40 Air Corps Technical School’s 10th Air Base Squadron. • P-40 New York World’s Fair. • Tomahawk Mk IIB, AK490 of 73 Sqn, Amriya, Egypt, Sept 1941. • P-40 of 33rd Squadron, 8th Pursuit Group, September 1940. • Tomahawk Mk IIA, AH882 of 403 Sqn, RCAF, Bennington, May 1941. • Tomahawk Mk IIB, AK431, of an unknown unit (possibly 5 Sqn, SAAF) Western Desert, late 1942.
1/32 SCALE IL32001 Bf 109G-6 ‘cartoon’ aircraft • Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 White 2 ‘Rocking Chair’. • Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 White 3 ‘Lion’. • Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 White 5 ‘Tank’. • Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 White 6 ‘Target’. • Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 White 8 ‘Club’. • Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 White 9 ‘Seemann’.
CONCLUSION I had so far avoided the temptation to buy the new Revell Bf 109G but with the release of this new sheet in 1/32 scale I might have to give into temptation, but which colour scheme? OK, I may have to buy two. Have a look at the full range at www.iliaddesign.com. In the UK the full range can be purchased from Hannants. Our thanks to Iliad for supplying the review samples.
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030-32 Canadian Starfighters CF-104 This sheets supplies markings for: • CF-104, 104744, 417 Squadron, Cold Lake AFB, NMF with red tailplane, • CF-104, 104706, 421 Squadron, Olive Drab • CF-104, 104892, 441 Squadron, Olive Drab • CF-104, 104868, Tactical Air Meet 1978, Olive Drab with white tail surfaces, Canadian Maple Leaf A • CF-104, 104805, Tactical Air Meet 1978, Olive Drab with white tail surfaces, Canadian Maple Leaf B • CF-104, 104842, Tactical Air Meet 1978, Olive Drab with white tail surfaces, Canadian Maple Leaf C • CF-104, 104847, Tactical Air Meet 1978, Olive Drab with white tail surfaces, Canadian Maple Leaf D • CF-104, 104868, Tactical Air Meet 1978, Olive Drab with white tail surfaces, Canadian Maple Leaf E • CF-104, 104756, 439 Squadron, Olive Drab • CF-104, 104783, Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum 2014, Variegated Camouflage 029-32 CT-133 Silver Stars, Camouflaged Unit Markings • CT-133 Silver Star, 21614, 4 Wing Penguin flight, 1965, upper surfaces grey/green, lower surfaces PRU Blue • CT-133 Silver Star, 21607, 2 Wing Instrument light, France,1962, upper surfaces grey /green, lower surfaces PRU Blue • CT-133 Silver Star, 133542, Kiwi flight, 1965, Overall grey/green • CT-133 Silver Star, 133069, Kiwi flight, 1982, symmetrical grey/green upper surfaces, medium
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•
grey lower CT-133 Silver Star, 133345, Kiwi flight, 1991, symmetrical grey/green upper surfaces, medium grey lower
1/48 SCALE 030-48 Canadian Starfighters CF-104 Details as listed above. 029-48 CT-133 Silver Stars Details as listed above.
CONCLUSION I have said it before, but if you have an interest in Canadian subjects you should check out Canuck’s website at www.canuckmodels.com for all things Canadian. Canuck Model sheets are currently only available from the manufacturer's website and payment can be made using PayPal. Postage to the UK takes approximately 7-10 days depending on Royal Snail. Our thanks to David Winter for supplying the review samples.
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DECALS
Furball Aero-Design We have been sent a whole selection of new releases from Furball, which I will feature over the next two issues. This month I will start with the reissue of one of the first Furball sheets, for the F-4J and N Phantom, which was originally designed for the Hasegawa kit but has now been resized to fit the recent Academy model. Next we have a new departure for Furball as they have teamed up with Detail and Scale to release a truly stunning set for the Kitty Hawk two-seat trainer, with every variation of overall white, white and red, and white and orange. Add some colourful markings and you will certainly have a candidate for most striking model. But also making a claim for this title are the subjects of the next sheet covering F/A-18 Hornets that attended the NAS Oceana air show. Most of the aircraft are show birds with high viz markings, though we do also have a very attractive Aggressor option. Both the early legacy Hornet A/C models and the later super bugs, the E and F, are featured. The final sheet is the first of two to cover the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, this time the A version with markings for 7 USAF aircraft and the first aircraft for the Netherlands and Australian Air Forces. As usual the instructions are in full colour and clearly show the placement of the markings, while Cartograph prints the decals so high quality is assured.
1/48 SCALE FD48-006 Air Wing All-Stars (options for 7 F-4J Phantoms) • F-4J Phantom 153777 VF74 Be-Devilers 1974. • F-4J Phantom 153882 VF92 Silver Kings 1974. • F-4J Phantom 155854 VF-
103 Sluggers 1977. F-4J Phantom 157270 VF114 Aardvarks 1973. F-4J Phantom 155731 VF142 Ghost Riders 1974. F-4J Phantom 155882 VF213 Black Lions 1974. F-4J Phantom 152323 VFMA-531 Grey Ghosts 1980. •
•
•
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F/A-18E 166608 VFA-143. F/A-18F 166621 VFA-103. F/A-18F 166661 VFA-32. •
•
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B u i l d Yo u r D r e a m !
NEW RELEA SES All these brand new releases from Revell display the superb quality and levels of detail which you have come to expect from the world’s leading modelling company.
FD48-038 F-35 Anthology Joint Strike Fighters Part One (options for nine 1/48 F35As) • F-35A 09-0747 33rd FW, 58th FS Eglin AFB. • F-35A 09-0746 33rd FW, 58th FS Eglin AFB. • F-35A 09-5007 53rd Wing, 422nd TES Nellis AFB. • F-35A 10-5009 53rd Wing, 422nd TES Nellis AFB. • F-35A 09-5004 53rd Wing, 31st TES Edwards AFB. • F-35A 07-0744 412 TW, 461 FLTS Edwards AFB. • F-35A 11-5035 55th FW, 61st FS Luke AFB. • F-35A A35-001 (12-5060) RAAF, 2 OCU. • F-35A F-001 (09-5006) FINLAF.
FD48-040 Air Wing All-Stars 2014 NAS Oceana Airshow Review • F/A-18A + 162867 VFC12. • F/A-18C 165217 VFA-34. • F/A-18C 165202 VFA-83. • F/A-18C 165208 VFA-131. • F/A-18E 166650 VFA-105.
F/D&S-4801 Air Wings AllStars: Cougar Trainer CAGs • VT-24 TF-9J 147371 NAS Chase Field 1968. • VT-24 F9F-8T 142526 NAS Chase Field 1961. • VT-25 TF-9J 147414 NAS Chase Field 1968. • VT-25 TF-9J 146395 NAS Chase Field 1967. • VT-26 TF-9J 147299 NAS Chase Field 1968. • VT-26 TF-9J 147274 NAS Chase Field 1969. • CVW-12 TF-9J 147312 NAS Miramar 1964. • CVG-12 F9F-8T 147372 NAS Miramar 1960. • VA-45 TF-9J 147339 NAS Cecil Field 1967.
03986 1:32 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IIa
03987 1:48 Panavia Tornado IDS
CONCLUSION I am honestly struggling to pick a favourite from this month's release; at first I was drawn to the Twogars but then I swung to the Hornet sheet before finally deciding that the Phantom sheet really needs a model to put them on. Even the F-35 got a brief look in as though I am not a fan of the type's looks or colours, who cannot resist an aircraft with Roo’s? Next month we will look at the rest of Furball's new releases, but if you cannot wait visit www.furballaerodesign.com. Our thanks to Furball AeroDesign for supplying the review samples.
04842 1:144 SpaceshipTwo & WhiteKnightTwo
07074 1:24 Red Bull Racing RB8 Available from branches of
and all good Toy and Model shops Visit our brand new website and online shop
www.revell.de/en facebook.com/Revell
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SHOW REPORT
The main hall is light and airy and well laid out and it's probably looking a tad empty because it’s approaching mid-afternoon and the bar is still open (and just behind the photographer so you can guess where he’d been and how he knew where everybody was!)
There is only one aircraft class in the competition but it is made up for by the fact that every model worthy of an appropriate award receives its just reward. Consequently this year there were three gold, two silver and two bronze, with the 580 crew getting awards in each, which resulted in considerable pleasure. This striking F-86D took a well-deserved ‘Gold’.
Esoterica! SUNDAY 22ND FEBRUARY 2015
South Cheshire Militaire By Geoff Cooper-Smith of 580 Modellers rganized by the South Cheshire Military Modelling Club at the Oakley Centre, close to Crewe town centre, and now in its 33rd year, this show is a marvel to behold for the length and breadth of the diversity in modelling on display. Although the accent is on fine scale plastic modelling there is also one of everything else from large-scale radio controlled to a 60’s train layout to a complete fairground in die cast and this year even a radio-controlled simulator so anyone could have a go at flying (crashing) a radio controlled aircraft. Your columnist loves this show for its variety and does miss it so if for any reason the 580 don’t attend during the year. And I don’t think it is a coincidence that this is the show where you always see most families, which can only be a good thing despite the ‘mild peril’ some tables occasionally suffer due to the enthusiasm of childhood.
The host club put on a display of well laid out, varied and presented models, including a 1:48 B-1 with hatches, etc, open which naturally dominated the table. However, it was this MBR-2 which took my eye.
O
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Judging was evidently a painful process as it causes much doubling up. Diligence is evidently to the forefront.
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The Potteries Model Boat Club put on a varied and extensive display of military and civil ships, boats and submersibles but unfortunately they were static.
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SHOW REPORT
Model Show News Compiled by Geoff Cooper-Smith of 580 Modellers APRIL 25th (Saturday) to 26th (Sunday)
THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL SCALE MODEL SHOW at The Dewars Centre, Glover Street, Perth, PH2 0TH. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 5pm (4pm Sunday). Admission is £8 adult, £4.50 concessions, £15 family (2+2) for one day and £12 adult, £7 concessions, £20 family (2+2) for both days. There is a kit swap, tombola, and competition. The show has grown this year to occupy two halls with 45 exhibitors and 25 traders. For more details go to: www.scotnats.org.uk/index.htm.
23rd (Saturday)
MODEL 2015
25th (Saturday)
(Torbay Military Modelling Society) at Torquay Town Hall, Torquay, Devon, TQ1 3DR. Doors open at 09.30am and the show closes at 4.30pm. Open competition with the year ending in 15 as a special theme. For more details go to: www.torbaymilitarymodellingsociety.org.uk.
BRITISH MODEL SOLDIER SOCIETY’S 80TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW
NORTH MIDLANDS MODEL EXPO
at the Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury, Coram Street, London, WC1N 1HT. Doors open at 10.30am (10am for members). Admission is £6, BMSS members £5 with accompanied children free. There will be demonstrations, a ‘paint and take’, and a competition. For more details go to: www.bmssonline.com/annual-show.html.
26th (Sunday)
MODELKRAFT There were several, and varied, die cast displays and dioramas including distribution depots, village scenes and bus depots, some even having working lights. There was also an early air terminal, seen here, with the subjects being moved around to show different aspects of airfield activity during the course of the day.
4pm. Admission is £3.50 adult, £1.50 children (15 and under) and senior citizens, family £6. This is their 15th show and as usual will have fantastic homemade food, free parking and full wheelchair access. For more details contact Jeff Brown on 01285 659254 (after 7.30pm) or
[email protected].
(IPMS Milton Keynes/Milton Keynes Scale Model Club) at Stantonbury Campus, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK14 6BN. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 4pm. Admission is £5 adult, £3 Senior Citizen, with accompanied children free. There will be a competition and refreshments will be available. For more details go to: www.mksmc.co.uk.
SAMI ATTENDING
24th (Sunday) (Meir Model Club and Black Pyramid Gaming) at Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, Beaconsfield Drive, Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST3 3JD. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 4pm. Admission is £2 adult, concessions £1, under 16s. Free parking, modelling demonstrations, wargaming, competition and auction. For more details go to: www.facebook.com/MeirModelClub
30th May (Saturday)
IPMS SALISBURY at Wyvern College, Church Road, Laverstock, Salisbury, SP1 1RE. Doors open at 9.30am and the show closes at 4.30pm. Admission is £3.50 adult, accompanied children free, under 16 £1. Competition, Tombola, demonstrations, refreshments and plenty of free parking For more details go to: www.salisburymodelshow.co.uk/2015-show.
JUNE
MAY 02nd (Saturday)
06th (Saturday)
CARMARTHEN MODELLERS CLUB EXHIBITION
SHEPWAY MILITARY MODELLING SOCIETY
at Carmarthen Town Library, King Street, Carmarthen, SA31 1LN. 10.30am to 3.30pm. Free admission, wheelchair accessible and homemade refreshments. For more details go to: www.clubbz.com/club/38469/ Carmarthen/ carmarthenmodellersclub.
at Hawkinge Community Centre, Heron Forstal Avenue, Hawkinge, Folkestone, CT18 7FP. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 4pm. Admission is £1 adult, 50p under 16’s. Competition, bring and buy, disabled access and refreshments. For more details contact:
[email protected].
02nd (Saturday) to 03rd (Sunday)
SOUTHWEST MODEL AND HOBBY SHOW
There was an extensive collection of radio-controlled aircraft of various shapes and sizes, including a multi-engined Sunderland, a prop powered Red Arrows Hawk and for the ‘very grown up boys’ even micro turbine powered jet aircraft, such as this Baby Boomerang. No doubt a lot of fun, but a tad expensive, to own and operate. The organizers even managed to put a full-scale Land Rover and Wombat anti-tank rifle in the main hall, courtesy of Forces 80, a living history group, which recreates the British Armed Forces between 1978 and 1989. And no, missus, that’s actually a Wombat round in the foreground...
07th (Sunday)
THE NORTHERN MODEL SHOW
at Bath and West Show Ground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 6QN. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 6pm (5pm Sunday). Admission is £15 adult (£13 if purchased in advance on-line), children (under 15) £5, children under 5 free. Two-day tickets and family tickets are also available. Includes all aspect of modelling and miniature engineering. For more details go to: www.swmee.co.uk/index.asp.
(IPMS Tyneside) at Parks Sports Centre, Howdon Road, North Shields, NE29 6TL. Doors open at 9.30am and the show closes at 4.30pm. Admission is £3.50 adult, £2 concession. Competition, bring and buy, refreshments, parking, disabled access. For more details contact:
[email protected]
09th (Saturday)
MODELLBRNO 2015
SOUTH DOWNS MODEL GROUP
will be held at the Brno Exhibition Centre, Brno, Czech Republic. MODELLBRNO is one of the largest European get-togethers for plastic scale modellers and contest exhibition. The event has been held regularly since 1994, and is organized by IPMS Brno in cooperation with IPMS Bratislava, IPMS Prost jov and IMPS Zlín, with support from BVV Trade Fairs Brno, the Technical museum in Brno, SAM Publications and many other partners and sponsors.
at the Parish Hall, South Street, Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 8AJ. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 4pm. Admission is free (donations welcome). Competition, raffle and refreshments. For more details go to: www.lancingmodelshow.org.uk/index.htm
10th (Sunday)
IPMS GLOUCESTER at Churchdown Community Centre, Parton Road, Churchdown, Gloucestershire, GL3 2JH. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at
19th and 20th June 2015 (Friday Saturday)
SAMI ATTENDING
If you would like your event listing then please contact Geoff Cooper-Smith on 07841 417680 or at
[email protected]. Full details of all coming shows and photo reports on those attended can be obtained by visiting www.580Modellers.co.uk
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SHOW REPORT
Looking out from a balcony at the musem, you can see the Canso (PBY-5 Catalina) flying boat, Fairey Firefly and some of the other planes in the museum’s collection. You can make out the “Lanc” in the background. The visible area is about 1/3 the museum’s floor space.
SUNDAY 22ND MARCH
HeritageCon 9 By Adam Rehorn n 2007, the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada chapter of IPMS presented the first of what has become an annual model exhibition. The name of the show is “HeritageCon”; the “Heritage” part of the moniker coming from the show’s association with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope, Ontario. The CWHM is famous
I
as having one of only two airworthy Lancasters in the world, the other being that flying with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. It is an impressive museum with many airworthy warbirds on display. The HeritageCon show is very important in the Southwestern OntarioQuebec-Michigan area as it is one of the first shows of the season, being held traditionally between the middle of February and the end of March. The timing of the show has changed over
HeritageCon from above. The display tables are near the foreground of the picture; you can see the number of entries on the tables; more were still to come when this photo was taken. The very busy vendor’s area is behind the tables, and stretches right to the side wall of the museum.
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Ontario, Canada
SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
the years as the organizers at IPMS Hamilton try to outguess Mother Nature and pick a weekend that is not overrun with slow, sleet and sloppy weather ill-suited to the several hours of driving that most participants and vendors make to get to the show. Despite the risk of bad weather, though, the show is always popular, and it is
well-organized from both a display and vending point of view. One of the unique draws of HeritageCon is that it takes place among the exhibits in the CWHM. This means that visitors to the show are able to view not only the many excellent models on the tables, but they are also able to freely wander in the Museum itself, and take in the displays of primarily Canadian aircraft on display there. Since the CWHM is a “flying museum”, it is usually the case that visitors at this time of year get an extra special treat: winter is when the heavy maintenance and refurbishment work is done on the museum’s aircraft, so visitors can see the planes partially disassembled. This is a particularly fabulous opportunity when it comes to seeing the Lancaster and her mechanicals on display! This year’s show was, as always, an excellent event. The models on display were of excellent quality and amazing variety. There were over 520
This year’s show was, as always, an excellent event
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SHOW REPORT
Dominating the museum’s hangar is the CWHM’s Lancaster, which toured the UK in 2014. The “Lanc” is the centrepiece of the CWHM’s flying collection.
You dropped something! Here you can see CWHM’s famous “Mynarsky Lanc” undergoing engine and landing gear service. Visitors can get very close to the partially disassembled plane, which is excellent for those with an eye for detail!
Another most impressive entry was this 1/48 Jaguar GR.3
Here are some of the 1/32 offerings at HeritageCon
models on display at the show, making this one of, if not the, most well-attended HeritageCons yet.”. Having a model show in a plane museum is a stroke of genius, and makes for a doubly-fun way to spend a day. This year’s show was bigger and better than the last, and all of us who have been going to HeritageCon
More planes! This is some of the 1/72 Jet category's entries, Civil: Here are some Civil aircraft on display at HeritageCon 9
are waiting with baited breath to see what the 10th anniversary edition will be like next year! This show is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in models OR aviation. If you like both, well, you’re just going to have that much more fun!
Exemplifying the high level of workmanship in evidence at the show is this massive 1/32 Su-27UB Flanker. Stunning!
These are some of the 1/72 propeller-driven entries at the show. Everything from the prototype Spitfire to a very war-weary Gabonese Skyraider was represented!
It’s not a show without awards! Medals are presented to first, second and third places, and there are ribbons for Honourable Mention. The blue glass awards are “Best of” awards for each category, and there are several trophies as well, including the one for best CWHM aircraft.
It’s not just planes! There are lots of different subjects on display, as exemplified by this portion of the automotive category.
WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •
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REVIEWS
ICM 1/48
Polikarpov U-2/PO-2 on skis By Dez Burton his is the winterised ski version of the ubiquitous plywood mass-produced, do-anything anywhere Soviet biplane On opening the box you are greeted by 3 medium grey flash free sprues and 1 small separately wrapped clear sprue. The instructions are clear, welldrawn diagrams with both Cyrillic and an excellent English explanations; the instructions also include a rigging diagram. Colour schemes are supplied for two aircraft with colours listed using Testors Model Master range. • 1: U-2 yellow 1 from the 1939 war with Finland, Russian field green over light blue with white bars on the wing tips and the length of the fuselage. I have seen accounts of this being a captured aircraft. I have also seen profiles of this aircraft with yellow bars… confusing • 2: U-2 white 2 of winter 1942 vintage, from which sector of the front I know not where. The paint scheme is field green over light blue, daubed over with whitewash to create the winter cam. The only problem with this is that on the instruction sheet there is only a single LH profile view. My other problem was that this was the scheme I wanted to do! So… some research was required and Google was my friend.
T
The decal sheet consists of instruments for front and rear cockpits, and both bordered and unbordered red stars, and some extra numbers not on the instruction sheet are included as are the fuselage stripes for the first scheme, all in good register and density Those of you that are a bit sharp may have spotted that I built a 1/72 PO-2 a couple of months back. Also by ICM (a nice little kit), well this is a scaled-up version of that with the parts broken down in exactly the same way but with more delicacy on the smaller components i.e. engine components and struts and basket seats (still six components for each seat). The sidewall detail is moulded on as are the ganged throttles. There is an aftermarket resin for this kit,
Opening the box you are greeted by 3 medium grey flash free sprues
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SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
Quickboost (by Aires) QB48619 venturi and landing light set, which do look rather nifty. If I were to ask for etch I would ask for an ignition harness for the engine, very visible in this scale, and the push rods, the throttles and levers and possibly the bell cranks for the controls. Also the bungee springs front and rear which would keep the skis in place during flight, possibly instrument panels too. There are a couple of small, virtually invisible (depends how thick the specs you have on at the time are!) ejector pin marks inside the lower cockpit sidewall which should be covered with the seats in place. Rib definition on the wings is good, not too sharp or high and faded out where the spars meet the ribs, and there is no fabric texture on the canvas.
THE BUILD I started with the cockpit interior sidewalls applying map pockets and the like, shading the framework and painting. All my photo references show a pale ghost grey painted wooden interior with well-worn black seat pads and no harness, which I can believe as at that time people drove racing cars that were faster with no seat belts. The instrument panels were painted black while the map pockets were painted a canvas colour; throttle knobs yellow, and the levers and linkages black.
Whilst the cockpit parts were drying I started to drill out the wings to accept the rigging wires and control lines at a later stage. I chose to use the instrument decals, however they seem to have misaligned register with an offset white rim, so I got the thick specs out again and using an ultrafine pen covered the white areas. Using the pointed end of a cocktail stick I placed a drop of gloss varnish to represent the glass in the bezels. The fuselage fit is very good, no fuss and very little sanding, and no filling either. The forward fuselage engine mounting is a separate 2-part assembly, then the inlet manifold mounts to this having built the engine first. The engine is a 5-cylinder radial consisting of, front to rear : prop, crankcase cover, crankcase and push rods, carburettor, cylinders, pin for the prop, inlet manifold and a full exhaust system (which had the horn shaped part missing in the 1/72 kit - just separate stubs). Having studied pictures of museum and flying examples, in 1/48 the lack of ignition harness stands out like a sore thumb … So I took to the pin vice and a 0.5mm drill and started making holes in the cylinder heads and crankcase cover into which I inserted and glued some very fine copper wire. If I were really mad I would replace and make separate push rods using the same wire (which I may do yet). I also noticed some aircraft have covers over the push rods and the tappets, and some don’t. The paint having dried and being happy with the results I assembled the cowl and engine. The pin for the prop is a bit loose and tricky to engage if you require it to turn. I got there in the end. My modern references show a metal prop fitted to flying examples today, however I suspect a wooden prop would have been in order at the
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REVIEWS start of the war (my speculation) so I painted it as such with a medium brown paint and some chestnut ink to give the impression of laminated timber. I then varnished with Vallejo matt before adding a oily steel finished to the nuts on the boss. The wings were attached with all the seating and controls painted ghost grey with a bit of shading and wear and tear, then assembled, consisting of sixpiece seats, control columns and a single-piece dual control rudder bar. My references show that the seat supports go under the coaming behind each crewman. I managed to misalign mine and the front seat mounting uprights sat in front, with the wings engaged and cemented, so I had to push it back under and secure with a spot of superglue. I elected to go for the ski undercarriage next, which looked fairly straightforward as it stands but turned out to be a bit fiddly - maybe it was me! I was aiming to get the aircraft to sit on the skis flat. If you assemble the parts in the order shown, when you try to fit the legs to the fuselage the axle wants to bend slightly. I located the undercarriage struts onto the axle at the correct angles but then by offering the assembly up to the fuselage I lightly bent the axle to make it sit correctly. I wanted to make the bungee spring things (I don’t know what else you would call them) so I got some more of that very thin copper wire and a thin drill (0.5mm or less) and put it in the pin vice backwards, then wound a close helical coil using the drill as a core. Once the spring is complete make sure you push it off gently. If you try to pull it, the spring will stretch and not return to shape. I had a couple of practice runs then made four good ones and fitted them using superglue and accelerator to previously drilled holes in the tops of the skis and fuselage. Personally I am happy with the result even though they may be slightly over scale. I also made a short spring for the tail ski in the same way. The tailplane: on the real thing this levitates halfway between the fin and the fuselage on the struts. In this kit it seems to rely on a small stub of plastic
which I think is meant to blend in with the fuselage stern post… well it doesn’t, in my haste to try to fit it, I used some superglue and missed the spot! Wrong spectacles again and before I knew it, it had stuck it in just the wrong position. In trying to recover it I managed to snap the stub off and. So I thought would try to support the tail on its delicate struts like the real thing. However the struts don’t seem to fit, if you get one side to fit then the other side are a couple of mm’s too long… yes they are fractionally different lengths front and rear, and yes I got the numbers the right way round. Frustration almost beat me. Walk away and breathe and drink tea. Onto the mainplane top wing: firstly the N struts are extremely well made and delicate, and they feel flimsy as
you trim them off the sprue, but when the upper wing is in place and cemented they turn into a really strong structure just like the real thing. The smallest amount of superglue and accelerator came to the rescue again, though (I don’t like leaving things to set for hours when it is unnecessary). I now inverted the top wing and glued the struts to it being sure to get the ”N’s” the right way round. I then dry fitted to the lower wing and checked all the angles before adding cement to the struts one at a time with a pick. This is where I tried to be clever and use 0.25mm beading wire to rig the thing, but the trouble is, it is too strong with no give and tends to want to collapse the whole structure when you pull it tight. Bending those delicate struts and pinging them away from their fixing points…. oh hell the lot just collapsed on me and snapped a couple of struts into the bargain #@*=!!! This time I did walk away for a good couple of weeks, before I could face it again, building a Revell Fennec recce vehicle to take my mind off it. So I finally got the energy to finish the job as I got sick of looking at it sat on my cupboard awaiting my attention. I re-aligned and stuck the top wing on again and recovered the rigging (hint: fit the forward windscreen before the top wing, there isn’t a lot of room once the rigging is in place). Before attempting the rigging again I decided to paint the white cam pattern with a brush in the same manner as I
This kit is a challenge and not for the novice
assumed the blokes in the field would have done on the real thing, i.e. as quickly as possible cos it was bloody cold! I was trying to get a shabby, ragged, patchy, daubed finish, but don’t look too closely, I think I overdid it, but I am pleased with the effect. I painted the whole thing with Vallejo air Russian green with some shading and staining then applied the white. Undersides are a home-made light blue grey from Prussian blue and white mix, the skis were painted Metheril Silver (Citadel) toned down to give a scuffed alloy look on the base (now somebody will tell me they are wooden), the rigging was finished off with mono filament nylon thread from any good haberdashery shelf in the supermarket. The decals are very thin and delicate but in good register and density, and don’t really want to move once applied. I tried and failed and had to dig out a star from a redundant sheet, which wasn’t as good.
CONCLUSION I didn’t enjoy building this as much as the 1/72 ICM kit, which fell together by comparison, but having said that, this is not entirely ICM's fault, I should have stuck to what I know when it comes to rigging… It is still a very delicate model and bit rough around the edges but would look good as part of a snowy frozen Soviet diorama. I would also liked to have seen a pilot provided (I know ICM make them separately). This kit is a challenge and not for the novice. With my lessons learned, I would build another. My thanks to ICM for supplying the review kit.
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AIRFIX 1/72
Bristol Blenheim Mk IVF hese new Airfix kits are something to behold. They are becoming better and better with every new issue. The Blenheim Mk IVF is one of their newest releases. It is quite sophisticated and very well designed. The parts have fine engraved details but the light blue plastic is slightly softer than some other makes and there is some flash present on many of the parts. The clear parts are well done and although they are just a little on the thick side, they are still quite clear with well-defined framing. The instructions are in Airfix’s current style including black and white drawings with the parts being installed shown in red. Interior painting recommendations are provided with Humbrol colour numbers. This kit is based on the previous Blenheim I release and within the box are new Mk IV nose parts, plus other relevant parts. Most of the main components are shared with the earlier version. One of the really nice features of these newer Airfix kits is that they normally provide an option to display the model with the undercarriage up. This allows you to display the model as if in flight. I chose to build my model in a flying pose with a homemade stand.
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the bomb aimer’s couch and desk. The cockpit canopy and upper nose glazing is provided as a single piece and makes up the top part of the new nose section. The fit of all of these parts is exemplary. You may want to take the time and paint the interior framing of these parts as visibility into the cockpit area is quite good. The completed nose section is now attached to the fuselage and wing assembly. This phase of the build is a bit tricky and the cockpit/ fuselage/ wing joint may not line up very well. I was able to achieve a filler free joint on the top by careful trimming of the joining surfaces and constant dry fitting. This did result in a little bit of difficulty installing the bomb bay doors later on but repairs and filler are less visible on the underside.
CONSTRUCTION Construction begins with the main fuselage and wing; the wing assembly includes front and rear spars that help ensure that the wing has correct dihedral. The next phase is the cockpit. Both the pilot and bomb aimer seats are nicely done but there are no harnesses included. There is a pilot figure but unfortunately he is flying solo with no other crewmembers. Cockpit details are fairly decent with a decal instrument panel, some sidewall detail,
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An alternative would be to install the nose part as is and fill the resulting gap with your choice of filler or thin plastic card. All of the control surfaces including the flaps are separate pieces allowing them to be posed as the modeller wishes. Airfix provide both an open bomb bay/doors piece and a closed door set. For the Mk IVF the closed bay is used and the four-gun pack is placed underneath in lieu of an internal bomb load. The gun pack is the deeper Mark IVF type but the more shallow earlier type is also included. Additionally the modeller has
It is quite sophisticated and very well designed
SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: A04017
TECH
By Bill Bunting
DECAL OPTIONS: 2 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic MANUFACTURER: Airfix
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REVIEWS the option to add the two 40-pound bomb racks on to the rear fuselage section. At this point the engines are assembled and again the detail is very good and the fit is near perfect. The exhaust collector rings are separate allowing you to paint them independently and add them after the main painting. Regarding the exhaust collector rings, Airfix have moulded two air intake pipes onto each ring. These do not apply to the Blenheim but are actually for the Canadian Bolingbroke and provided heat for the cabin. It is not difficult to remove them with a sanding stick. The exhaust pipes benefit from having their ends hollowed out, as do the intake trumpets. The final construction sequences include building the twingun turret with your choice of a tall or shallow cupola. You are given two marking choices. The first is finished in dark green /dark earth topsides with half black/half white undersides. Markings are provided for WR-L, 248 Squadron Coastal Command RAF, North Coates 1940. The second selection is an overall black night fighter Z-WM of
Another winner from Airfix! Very good detail
No.68 Squadron RAF, High Ercall, 1941. The decals are printed very clearly, are in register and have good colour density. They react well to Micro Sol/Set solutions but can be damaged by stronger ones such as Mr Mark Softer, which caused some blistering.
CONCLUSION Another winner from Airfix! Very good detail, accurate shape and good fit. Many options are provided to the builder and interesting colour options. The only drawback is a little clean-up of some of the parts is required, and the tricky fit of the cockpit section. Recommended to all modellers. Our thanks to Airfix for supplying the review sample
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KP 1/72
Zlin Z-126 By Bruce Leyland-Jones ecause of small boys and their unquenchable love of Things Exploding, the makers of plastic kits have generally neglected General Aviation. Even the tube with wings that is your average airliner gets more coverage, and a visit to any airfield will reveal countless types you’ve probably never even heard of, flown by many who are not the glamorous Fighter Jocks said small boys aspire to be. Of course, the aforementioned didn’t suddenly materialise in a cockpit, all ready to deal death from the skies. All were trained to do their stuff and most were trained in relatively nonthreatening aircraft. Whilst many of these trainers were of military origin from the get-go, many more began as simple, easy-to-fly planes from the General Aviation category. The old FROG did rather well with GA, thanks to their outstanding Trailblazer series of models…and they did a wonderful 1/72 Handley Page Herald. Besides their Sky Kings series of airliners, Airfix dabbled ever-so briefly, with a D.H.88 Comet and Supermarine S.6B, but their Piper Cherokee Arrow, whilst a true CBK,
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was only a one-off and, thanks to the aforementioned small boys, didn’t sell well. Lovers of GA, such as myself, ended up de-clawing SA Bulldogs and Chipmunks. FROG also provided the more open modeller with a number of trainer aircraft and I became aware of the Oxford long before AZ Model produced theirs. In fact, it was FROG that showed me why Trainer Yellow was so-called! Fortunately, and probably because of their essential training role, more GA subjects are appearing.
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A few years back, HobbyBoss surprised us with a Zlin and, more recently still, Airfix retooled their Tiger Moth, presenting us with a lovely little crimson beauty. KP are a Czech company of some standing, although their original quality might best be described as FROG on a reasonable day. But that was the old KP and the new, re-vitalised KP is akin to having FROG being picked up by Fine Molds. It is from the new KP that this gorgeous little kit emerges and, for those of you reluctant to go fully General, this aircraft also served as a trainer for various Warsaw Pact forces. Straight away, on opening the box,
The tandem cockpit is adequately furnished
the new KP is evident. The plastic is easily to Eduard standards, with finely rendered, engraved details and a complete lack of flash or other moulding defects. The canopy looked crystal and the decals very sharply printed. Clearly, this subject is intended to be one of many boxings, as
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optional flying surfaces and noses are supplied.
CONSTRUCTION Beginning at the beginning, the tandem cockpit is adequately furnished and I especially liked the separate decal seat belts. Though teeny-tiny, the two instrument panels also had decal embellishment and all fitted very nicely, thank you very much. I now selected the right nose, and I was pleased to see some detail is supplied, so I wouldn’t be disappointed, should anyone decide to shine a torch up a nostril, whilst holding a magnifying glass.
The fit of parts was excellent and the only real “extra” modelling I did was to score the control surfaces, to add some minor animation to them. Oh…I tell a lie. The instructions told me to use wire on the undercarriage. Because wire was mentioned, I assumed the added details were brake
If this is the new KP, then I’m after more
lines. Having since Googled the Z-126, I believe that these are actually part of the undercarriage and fine strips should suffice. The only other bit of scratching I did was with the exhausts, but this was simply because The Carpet Monster grabbed
a snack when I wasn’t looking. Humbrol paints were given as callouts for each colour scheme supplied; the option I chose was a period example of H41 Ivory, with H89 Middle Blue trim. The red was supposed to be H19, but I bottled it and chose H178 British Scarlet instead as this seemed more in tune with the red of the decals.
CONCLUSION This was a sweet little kit of a smart little aircraft, suitably standing astride the military-civil divide. No problems at all during the build and, if this is the new KP, then I’m after more. It is very Chipmunk-like and, for those of you out there, who perhaps believe that flying a Chippie or Tiggie is too pedestrian, then you clearly haven’t flown in either! Our thanks to KP Models for supplying the review model
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REVIEW
double!
KP MODELS & AZ MODEL 1/72
Bf 109Ga-2 & Avia S-199 By Andy Brook his review, for practical reasons, covers two kits in one. Although they are from different manufacturers, AZ Model and Kovozavody Prostejov (KP), they are the same basic kit, with some different sprues and different extras. As one has come to expect from these manufacturers, both kits are well engineered, with lots of finely engraved detail, an interesting selection of colour schemes, beautiful decals and loads of stencils. These models are later derivatives of what I grew up calling the “ME one oh nine”, but which I now know more properly as the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The G (“Gustav”) series was introduced in 1941, fought extensively on all fronts, from North Africa to France and the Soviet Union, and was the most numerous of the Bf 109 variants. It was also operated extensively by Germany’s allies. The AZ Ga2 features four aircraft of the Romanian air force, with their distinctive crosses and
normal for AZ, are on the back. There are three main sprues of a fairly soft plastic. Two sprues are, I suspect, generic for various marks of Bf 109 Gustav, with the third being specific for the Ga-2, with different wheels and engine cowling. Panel lines are distinct and finely scribed. Instructions (very clear and in Czech and English) are on a four-page A4 sheet and are also generic for Gustavs. That’s not very helpful, as the modeller is required to make choices of parts, based on “According (to) the camouflage”. Unless one is an absolute Bf 109 expert, that’s not that easy, as the choice of parts isn’t crossreferenced to the four camouflage options. The KP kit of the S-199 is from its “Premium” range. It has box top artwork of an aircraft taxiing. Two options are in planform on the back of the box, with the third on the single folded A4 sheet of instructions (again in Czech and English). One sprue is common with the Ga-2 kit, with the other two providing the fuselage, wings and propeller for the
KP MESSERSCHMITT BF 109GA-2 “IN ROMANIAN SERVICE” SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: KPM 0019 MANUFACTURER: KP Models
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“Mezek”. There’s also a very clear onepiece bubble canopy, very different from that on its Bf 109 forebears. This kit also contains etch and foil for the instrument panel, etched seatbelts and a length of metal rod for the underwing cannons.
BUILDING THE MESSERSCHMITT BF 109GA-2 To be honest, there is little to say about the construction of either kit (that’s a good thing!). As it happens, I built the Ga-2 first. The cockpit is very well detailed, with a decal for the instrument panel. There are no seatbelts. The S199, however, comes with decals for the belts, so I used those. But once the distinctive Bf 109 canopy is in place, hardly anything of the inside of the cockpit can be seen. The fit of the cockpit within the fuselage was good, and the whole build went together very easily, with no need for any filler. The lower wing is in one piece but, having done some dryfitting, I decided the upper wings fitted so well that I could leave them off until after painting. This would make easier the painting of the complicated mottled paint scheme. Parts are provided for two different type of under-fuselage fuel tank and for the underwing 20mm MG 151/20 cannon pods. I didn’t really know what the real aircraft carried, so fitted both.
They are the same basic kit, with some different sprues and different extras
TECH
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roundels. The Avia S-199 was built in the then Czechoslovakia after the war, on the former G-6 production line. However, after a major fire destroyed the Daimler-Benz engines, Avia switched to using the engine and propeller from the Heinkel 111, the Junkers Jumo 211. This might have been pragmatic but it proved not to be a “marriage made in heaven”, and the S-199 was not the easiest aircraft to fly. Its nickname “Mezek” (“mule”) gives an indication of its handling characteristics. That said, it served Czechoslovakia well for a number of years, and was also exported to Israel. The AZ Bf 109Ga-2 kit is described as a “limited edition”. Eschewing any painting of an aircraft in flight or on the ground, the box top artwork has side and plan views of one of the colour options. The other three options, as
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REVIEWS BUILDING THE AVIA S-199 The “Mezek” went together as easily as the Ga-2. KP, however, provides more extras. They mainly consist of delicate etched seatbelts, and a film and etched instrument panel. Based on my experience of the Ga-2, I didn’t actually bother with the special instrument panel, thinking that the decal provided would be sufficient. I was right. Despite the large and clear bubble canopy, virtually nothing of the interior is visible, and certainly not the instrument panel. So, unless the modeller wishes to model the canopy open, any effort on the cockpit will be largely wasted. I did, however, cut the metal rod in half as instructed to make the barrels for the underwing 20mm cannon, which certainly improves the look. Colour call-outs this time are for Humbrol and the Czech Agama Company. Once again, the decals are excellent, with plenty of stencils, which, of course, are written in Czech. Three options are provided. One is for the steel grey and dark red B-7542 of the Czechoslovak Police Air Patrol. The other
AZ and KP are to be congratulated on the quality of their products
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As noted above, four different colour schemes are provided. All are in shades of late World War 2 Luftwaffe greys, with a considerable amount of mottling and variation. Three options, from 1943 and 1944, carry the Royal Romanian Air Force yellow, blue and red “Michael the Brave” cross. The other (on the box top) has roundels in the same colours from spring 1945, by when Romania had thrown in its lot with the Allies. Paint call-outs are for the Humbrol range. There are plenty of well-printed decals and stencils, the latter having legible lettering in Romanian. I must confess to approaching the painting with considerable trepidation. I have shied away from Luftwaffe camouflage schemes for years, so the concept of trying to achieve the complicated finish required in 1/72 was somewhat scary. I went for what I thought was the easiest option, using the various greys I had in stock. The mottling was accomplished with a couple of fine brushes, and I must confess turned out better than I had anticipated. I wish modellers with more skill than I, the best of luck with the other schemes.
AZ AVIA S-199 “MEZEK” SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: AZ 7488 MANUFACTURER: AZ Model
two are Czechoslovak Air Force aircraft, one, MP-10, in overall light grey green, and the other, GY-37, in a mix of grey green and dark green. I wasn’t sure whether this was a deliberate disruptive pattern or just, as the artwork puts it, “faded camouflage and newly applied paint in some places”.
CONCLUSION All in all, I enjoyed my brief foray into the world of the Bf 109, albeit not the
usual Luftwaffe varieties. These are good little kits of interesting aircraft, which are well made and have excellent decals. AZ and KP are to be congratulated on the quality of their products. As is true of other kits from the same manufacturers, their cockpits can be works of art, but will remain hidden, so long as they only provide the option of closed canopies. Our thanks AZ and KP Models for supplying the review sample
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REVELL 1/32
Piper PA-18 with bush wheels SCALE: 1/32
By Toni Hausler
R
TECH
evell’s family of Cubs is expanding, which can only be a good thing. The latest addition to the fold is the “bush wheel” version of the Super Cub, with its endearingly oversized ‘tundra tyres’. The box art features a dramatic photo of a Super Cub retouched to show the main kit scheme. Skilfully done, but am I the only one who misses traditionally painted box art? A generous number of sprues are provided, which include an option for a more normally-proportioned wheel assembly. An appropriate combination of raised and recessed features accents the parts nicely, though there is minimal detail to be had on a fabricskinned aircraft such as a Cub anyway. A number of large ejector pin marks are stamped on a few semiobvious places, such as the inside of the cockpit door and the seat backs, though these are easily disguised with filler.
KIT NO: 04890 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic DECAL OPTIONS: 2 MANUFACTURER: Revell
The only other thing to watch out for is the relatively brittle plastic used, which along with the thick sprue gates meant that careful cutting was required to prevent the finer pieces from breaking. The undercarriage struts are particularly vulnerable.
CONSTRUCTION We start, as per tradition, with the cockpit – this is a very nicely detailed affair in this case, built as an entirely self-contained sub-assembly which later fits snugly between the fuselage halves. Depending on which decal option you go for, the interior is either a lurid red or a subdued grey. All the major controls are provided, and seatbelts are
moulded directly onto the seats; the instrument panel has raised dials and though a decal is provided, I felt they looked nicer painted instead. This part of the kit easily took up the largest proportion of the build time. The jewelclear canopy and windows make it worth taking your time over, though. The wing spar built into the top transparency provides a clever and sturdy mount for the wing assembly. The second major sub-assembly is the Lycoming O-320 engine, which is a tiny work of art, especially once given a wash to highlight the details. Connecting the exhaust pipework is a little fiddly, but everything locks together nicely and looks quite convincing to my untrained eye. What the instructions don’t tell you, however, is that you have to thread the engine mounts through the rear of the engine before you glue it to the firewall. So, don’t do
as they suggest and install the mounts before the engine, otherwise some careful cutting, contortion and possible cursing will be involved. The five-piece cowling arrangement is a frustrating effort to fit once the engine has been installed, especially the side and bottom panels. I reminded myself that cowlings are never a perfect fit on the real thing either, and settled for leaving one panel hinged up to show off that lovely engine. I suspect that the majority of those who build this kit will want to leave the engine visible anyway. Something I found mildly disappointing is that the top halves of the flaps and ailerons are separate, but not the bottom halves, which are moulded in one piece with the lower wing half. Had I wanted to pose the flaps down, it would have been necessary to cut and reset the control surfaces. Why not have the control
This kit builds up into a very handsome little Super Cub
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surfaces entirely separate – or, conversely, entirely moulded into the wing? I didn’t really see the logic in the arrangement provided. In any case, I was too lazy to cut the flaps off, and so left the assembly as it was. Despite this, the build went smoothly overall and most of the parts, excepting the engine installation, fit very neatly. A few bits of wire for the rigging and control cables and some stretched sprue for the radio aerials atop the wing completed the build. Two colour schemes are provided – the smart blue, white and yellow of the Alaska State Troopers featured on the box art, or a standard Cub yellow with
black trim. I was initially wary of the yellow stripes, thinking they were unlikely to retain their colour well against a dark blue base – but once applied they look beautifully fresh and bright. The decals are well-printed, thin and tough, and can withstand a good deal of handling before settling nicely over the raised details with a mere dab of water. One oddity is that, at first glance, it looks as if the State Troopers emblem is the wrong way round, as for most of their aircraft it slants towards the tail. However, a check online reveals that for this particular machine, the emblem was indeed applied differently
1/48 scale WWI pilots
MC48001 MC48005 MC48007 Werner Voss Manfred & Lothar von WWI British RFC Pilot & $12.50 USD Richthofen $22.50 USD Mechanic $22.50 USD
to normal. So, the decals were right and my gut feeling was wrong. The other oddity was that the decals for the fuel tanks indicate a load of 68 US gallons per tank. Surely not? This seemed to me to be a bit on the generous side.
CONCLUSION If tackled with a little patience, this kit builds up into a very handsome little Super Cub right out of the box, and sits well in a line-up with the rest of
Revell’s Cub family – especially with doors and cowls hanging open to show off the interior detail. Overall an enjoyable and worthwhile build which adds some cheery colour to the display shelf. Thanks, Revell – how about a ski variant next, or a J-3…? Our thanks to Revell Germany for supplying the review sample, which can be purchased at most hobby stores.
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QUICK BUILD!
EDUARD 1/48
Spitfire Mk VIII By Andy Brook ell, it was only a matter of time before Eduard decided to build on its well-regarded 1/48 Spitfire Mk IX kit. Due to be released in March 2015, the Spitfire Mk VIII is an obvious extension, and makes for an interesting range of possibilities, given the numbers of operators, theatres of war and colour schemes. Might a Mk VII be next? The Spitfire Mk VIII was originally meant to be the next step in the evolution of the Spitfire. Developed from the high-flying, pressurised Mk VII, and retaining the “C” wing, it incorporated increased fuel capacity, including wing tanks, a retractable tail-wheel and a new longer filter, designed for tropical operations. Originally supplied with the extended wing-tips of the Mk VII for high altitude operations, most Mk VIII aircraft were fitted with the standard wing-tip. However, to manufacture this mark required new tooling, and the demands
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of war were such that it was supplanted by the “interim” Mk IX, which soon became the standard fighter of, at least, the northern European theatre. That said, 1,658 Mk VIIIs were built, all by Supermarine itself, and were used in the Mediterranean and the Far East. It was obviously a great aircraft to fly, and the Mk VIII with standard wing-tips was the Supermarine chief test pilot Jeffrey Quill’s favourite. The bag I received for this test shot contained five sprues, four in dark grey plastic and one clear. Of the sprues, two are generic from the previous Mk IX kit. The new sprues are for the fuselage (including long filter and extended wing-tips), and for the wings, these feature correctly moulded short ailerons and the extra fuel tank just inboard of the cannon. There are a lot of parts, the detail on which is superb, with finely engraved panel lines and raised rivets where appropriate. Extended, standard and clipped wing-tips are all on the sprues, as are standard and broad-chord rudders, allowing construction of any version of the Mk VIII. Dimensions appear to be spot on. According to the Hannant’s website, this kit initially will be in the ProfiPACK range and will also have photo-etched
There are a lot of parts, the detail on which is superb
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brass and masks, with Cartograf decals for 6 options. As this was a test shot, I had no instructions or decals. But I downloaded instructions for the Mk IX from the Hannants website, which sufficed. And I spent a few hours surfing the Web to find an aircraft for which my spares box could provide the decals and which I could finish in the time available. As it happens, I had decided that I was going to build JF470, before I discovered what options Eduard would be providing. But more of that later.
THE BUILD Reviews have been written before about Eduard’s Mk IX. This is basically the same kit, so I will just jot down in bullet form the notes I made during the build: • There are 39 parts for the cockpit itself (to which I added some Eduard RAF pre-painted belts and Airscale generic British instrument dial decals) • The level of detail inside the cockpit is impressive • The separate sidewalls really give the sense of the cramped cockpit • I had a little difficulty closing up the fuselage in front of the cockpit. Clamps, followed by a little filler and
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gentle sanding sorted out the slight gap There are holes for wing pylons, but none for the centre-line pylon The construction of the undercarriage bays is complicated but really captures the original and results in the correct angle for the legs The legs correctly have forwardfacing torque-links and slightly concave doors The wings “click” onto the fuselage, at the correct dihedral – no filler needed, and no glue either possibly The join between the back of the wing sub-assembly and the fuselage was almost perfect – the best I have ever seen on a Spitfire kit The tailplane assembly is absolutely superb – and just like the original, with a one-piece elevator The exhausts are well-detailed but overly complicated The engine top cowling is in two halves, which seems unnecessary. Fortunately, the soft plastic sanded easily and there was no visible join Likewise the long tropical filter The make-up of the wheels (separate parts for the inner hub, tyre and outer spoked hub) is superb. Really eases painting Two options for the tail wheel – one with the wheel moulded with the leg; the other has the wheel separate Canopy is very clear The clear plastic part for the rearview mirror is well-designed to fit perfectly onto the canopy
It’s probably worth mentioning separately the small circular holes provided by Eduard in the outer wings and in the after under-fuselage. These are for downward identification lamps (red on the port wing, green on the starboard, and orange under the fuselage), about which there is some debate. As noted by some sources (e.g. www.spitfiresite.com), these lamps were deleted in Mk VIII (and VII) production by modification No.746, issued 1 May 1943. But modification No.989, issued 7 December 1944, brought them back in again. So, was there a period of about 18 months when Mk VIII aircraft were built without these lamps? Should only early and late built aircraft have them? Photographs of some aircraft show them, but others don’t. How accurate, then, is Eduard’s kit? I’ll leave that as a rhetorical question. I included the lamps, because, according to the Spitfire production lists, JF470 first flew on 3 May 1943 (www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/home. html) so it would have been built before the modification came into force. The modeller will have to make his or her own choice.
COLOUR SCHEMES Thanks to IPMS Deutschland (www.ipmsdeutschland.de), it’s been no secret what options Eduard provides. These are for a variety of operators, permutations and colour schemes: • MD280 DG-R of No.155 Sqn RAF, Burma 1945 (Standard wing-tips, broad-chord rudder; Dark Green/Dark Earth over Medium Sea Grey) • A58-602 RG-V of No.80 Wing RAAF, East Indies 1945 (Standard wing-tips, broad-chord rudder; Ocean Grey/Dark Green over Medium Sea Grey) • JF470 HL-R of 308th Fighter Sqn USAAF, Fano, Italy 1944/5 (Clipped wing-tips, broad-chord rudder;
Medium Sea Grey over PRU Blue) • JF404 GZ-M of No.32 Sqn RAF, Foggia, Italy 1944 (Extended wingtips, standard rudder; Medium Sea Grey over PRU Blue) • MT714 FT-F of No.43 Sqn RAF, France 1944 (Standard wing-tips, broad-chord rudder; Ocean Grey/Dark Green over Medium Sea Grey) • JF330 HB, personal mount of Air Vice Marshall Harry Broadhurst, 1943 (Extended wing-tips, standard rudder; Mid-Stone/Dark Earth over Azure Blue)
JF470 – LET’S BE CONTROVERSIAL I had chosen this aircraft because it had a simple paint job, I had a tight deadline and the spares box could provide the decals. But I enjoy researching the subjects of my builds, and JF470 was no different. JF470 was an early Mk VIII, and was, I suspect, built (like JF330 and JF404 above) originally with extended wingtips. The Spitfire production lists don’t give much detail, but JF470 arrived at the “NAfricanASC” on 1 November 1943, and was damaged by flak and crash-landed at Fano, Italy on 1 October 1944. The “ASC” is, I think, the USAAF’s Air Service Command. This explains to some extent how JF470 comes to be with the 308th Fighter Squadron of the 31st Fighter Group at Fano in 1944/5. The 308th was a long-established Spitfire squadron, flying both the Mk V and the Mk VIII. With some misgivings, apparently, it exchanged its beloved Spitfires in 1944 for P-51D Mustangs. It’s probably not surprising, then, that it kept or adopted JF470, as the squadron “hack”. Possibly the 308th replaced the extended wing-tips with clipped, which was very unusual for a Mk VIII, but not unlike their new
Mustangs. “What’s that aircraft, Major?” “That, sir? That’s just another P-51, sir.” So, what’s controversial? The eagleeyed will notice that, contrary to what’s on the Internet, and to AZ’s 1/72 kit and Eduard’s new 1/48, my model has red wing-tips and a yellow inner band, and not the other way around. Why? The only contemporary photograph I could find is in monochrome (http://www.asisbiz.com/il2/Spitfire/ LFVIII-USAAF-31FG308FS-HL.html). In WW2 era monochrome photographs, yellow is frequently very dark. On the photograph, you can’t make out the propeller blade tips, which suggests that yellow will be dark. The darker band is the inner. US Spitfires in N Africa and the Med, including those of the 308th, had yellow bands on the wings, inboard of the wing-tips, as a standard identification measure. The 308th’s Mustangs had red wing-tips. Why would they paint JF470 differently? I’m not going to die in the proverbial ditch about this. But, without colour evidence or first-hand testimony to the contrary, I reckon logic is on my side! I have tried to replicate the look by manipulating into monochrome one of my own photos from a similar angle to the original. Modellers may make their own choice.
CONCLUSION Putting that pedantic detail and the identification lamps aside, this is a lovely kit. It’s very well engineered, fits perfectly and has a superb level of detail in plastic straight from the box. And it just looks and sits like a Spitfire. I reckon the hardest thing about this kit will be deciding which option to build. I’m grateful for the chance to build SAMI’s test shot. Well done, Eduard.
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RUSSIA’S FLYING
INFANTRYMAN Building Tamiya’s Il-2 Sturmovik in 1/72
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hen Tamiya announced that they were to release the Il-2 Sturmovik in 1/48 scale I was very tempted to go out and purchase one as soon as I could. Having built the Accurate Miniatures kit many years ago and knowing how good it was, if a little complex in its construction at times, I was intrigued as to how a well-known manufacturer like Tamiya would tackle such an important and influential aircraft. I, like many, who model in 1/72 scale no doubt thought that it would only be a matter of time until it would be released in that scale. Well, it took a while but it was worth the wait, and I have to say it is a very fine piece of plastic engineering by Tamiya. But before I continue onto the details of the construction of the aircraft, I would like to give a brief history of the Ilyushin Il-2. The Russians, like many other nations, took a keen interest in the weapons and newly formed tactics being used in the Spanish Civil War. They were, after all, supporting the Republican side with tanks and aircraft and to a lesser extent men,
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mainly in an “advisory role”. The numbers of aircraft supplied varies depending on source from 600 to 800 planes. The lessons learned indicated a need for a new type of aircraft dedicated to the ground support role. This aircraft would be tasked with infantry support in the roles of tank hunter and bunker busting. In 1938 Sergei Ilyushin and Pavel Sukhoi were ordered to submit designs for such an aircraft. Ilyushin submitted the 2-seat TsKB-55 and Sukhoi the Su-6, though Sukhoi’s submission was late and the Ilyushin design won the contest. The TsKB-55 first flew on 30 December 1939; this aircraft was also known by the initials BSh, an abbreviation of Bronyirovanni Shturmovik or Armoured Assaulter. Ultimately, it became known just as the Sturmovik, though it did have a number of nicknames given to it by both sides. These were the Russian female diminutive of Ilyushin or “Ilyusha”, “Flying Infantryman”,
“Flying Tank” or “Hunchback” due to the shape of the upper nose and cockpit. To the Germans it was variously known as “Schwarz Todt” (Black Death), “Schlachter” (Slaughterer), “Eiserne Gustav” (Iron Gustav) and lastly “Zementbomber” (Concrete Bomber). The prototypes were powered by a Mikulin AM-35 V-12 engine with supercharger producing 1,370 horsepower. However, it was discovered that the supercharger was not needed for the low level flying that would be carried out and the engine was therefore changed to a Mikulin AM-38 V-12 without a supercharger, which actually produced a higher output of 1,680 horsepower. The designers realised early on that due to the low speed, low level attacks that the aircraft was to make, it would be a fairly easy target
I have to say it is a very fine piece of plastic engineering by Tamiya
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The excellent box art, which appears to be a true painting and not a computer generated image as some manufacturers use nowadays
The sprues showing the parts layout
Decal sheet with markings for 3 aircraft, close examination shows the markings to be in perfect register for ground fire from both anti-aircraft guns and infantry with small arms. To protect the pilot, the aircraft was equipped with an armoured tub to afford him some protection. The thickness of this armour was up to half an inch thick in places. Due to high losses from German fighter attacks early in the war, a request from pilots was made to have a two-seat machine built with the second crewman being a rear gunner; this required extending the armour to the rear raising the weight of the tub to 2,100 pounds. Before the newly manufactured two-seat versions started to appear in front line units, it was not unusual for the more resourceful units to carry out field modifications to create a rear position for a gunner. Various types of machine gun
Clear canopy parts along with the poly cap for inside the propeller spinner were used in the field-modified aircraft, but the production two-seat aircraft carried a Berezin UBT 12.7mm heavy machine gun with 150 rounds of ammunition. At this point it is worth noting the other typical armament carried; this consisted of two 23mm VYa-23 cannon, one in each wing, with 300 rounds per gun, two 7.62mm ShKAS machine guns, again one in each wing, with 750 rounds per gun. Internal bay and underwing stores consisted of a mix of bombs and rockets, though typically either two FAB-100kg bombs or two FAB-250kg bombs, along with either eight or four RS-82 or four RS-132 rockets. The Sturmovik was also designed with internal wing bomb bays which could hold a further 4 FAB-100 bombs. These internal bays were more often used to carry PTAB bomblet dispensers, 220 of these 1.5kg
shaped charge bomblets could be carried in the internal bays with a further 192 externally. Early reports of the success of the PTAB munitions against German armoured vehicles were viewed with scepticism by Senior Soviet Commanders. That was until Staff officers and Commanders started flying on combat missions to observe and report on actual attacks carried out. These, at first glance, very light bomblets had the capability of penetrating the top armour of German tanks up to and including the Panther and Tiger 1, proving highly effective at the battle of Kursk in knocking out many German armoured vehicles and thereby assisting the Red Army’s great victory. Monthly production of the Sturmovik increased as the war went on, by constantly finding ways to speed up production by simplifying manufacture so that the overall time taken to produce one aircraft was greatly reduced. By the end of the war over 36,000 had been built making it the most produced aircraft in history, either military or civil, a record that stands to this day. Towards the end of the war the Sturmovik was also operated by the pro-communist Polish Air Force as well as the Yugoslav, Czech and Bulgarian Air Forces. It is also possible that the Il-2 may be the only Red Air Force aircraft to have participated in a joint East-West operation when on the 8 May 1945 four Lockheed P-38 Lightnings joined with two squadrons of Il-2 aircraft to attack a German transport column in Austria. There were many famed pilots of the Il-2 who were awarded the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union, one of the most notable being Anna Alexandrovna TimofeyevaYegorova. Senior Lieutenant Anna Yegorova was part of a squadron of male and female crews, there being no all-female Il-2 unit, unlike some other aircraft units. She was credited with flying 260 missions and was decorated three times with one of these
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The main fuselage halves joined together, note the complex wing joint and also how Tamiya have handled the unusual exhaust set up, by having the final out let as part of the body and the other five outlets as a separate moulding.
being the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. This was mistakenly awarded posthumously in late 1944, as it was thought she had been shot down and killed near Warsaw in Poland. However, she had survived the crash and spent the remainder of the war in a German Prisoner of War camp at Kustrin before finally being released in January 1945 when her camp was liberated. She was then interrogated for eleven continuous days by the NKVD as a potential traitor (a fate that all Russian personnel who were taken prisoner endured). After her release from this she was medically discharged from the Air Force and finally was awarded her Gold Star in 1965.
CONSTRUCTION
Interior of the fuselage showing the radiator intake assembly in place.
The basic breakdown of the cockpit and gunners station, showing the detailed instrument panel. Note the plastic stub on the left hand panel that is referred to in the main text. Also shown is the control column and the rear machine gun mount. (Use either a, b or c)
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Anyhow, enough of the history, let’s get down to building this aircraft. I began by studying the parts breakdown and the instructions, which, as usual, are beautifully clear and show all details of paints used (Tamiya, naturally) in all areas during construction. The parts come on four grey plastic sprues, along with one clear sprue with the canopy, armoured panel for behind the pilot and landing light parts. As is my usual way, I always look for sections that can be built as sub-assemblies at the same time, so as to be able to be working on one area while another has glue or paint drying. Prior to starting any construction, I decided to spray a number of components on the sprue. These were all the cockpit parts, including the armoured panel (part D2) after I masked off the windows, the fuselage interior, the radiator housing and parts, the undercarriage and wheel bays, also the undercarriage door interiors. These were
sprayed with Vallejo Model Air 046 Pale Grey Blue as this seems to closely match the interior colour seen on many wartime Russian aircraft. Some detail painting of the interior and instrument panel was carried out using Citadel paints, which certainly have some interesting names! On the left hand side of the cockpit is a panel (A14) with a single stub of plastic sticking up; this in reality is two levers that operate the engine throttle and the propeller pitch control. The plastic stub was removed and replaced with two short lengths of wire that had knobs created by using superglue, these were then painted Citadel Chaos Black for the sticks and Blood Red for the knobs. Most of the instrument panel switches were picked out in Chaos Black though some were given a bit of colour using Blood Red and Golden Yellow. The pilot’s seat and some of the electrical boxes were now painted Catachan Green. The fuel tank was painted black with the reinforcing bands painted Bolt Gun Metal. Weathering was carried out using Citadel Badab Black wash diluted and worked into all areas to create depth and shadows. Some areas were then drybrushed with Codex Grey to further enhance the detail. Finally, areas that would be prone to heavy wear and tear were picked out with Bolt Gun Metal to simulate the paint wearing through to bare metal. I had already decided to use the decal for the pilot’s seat belts and this was applied and settled perfectly, as did the instrument panel decal. However, I managed to get the instrument decal a bit wonky and could not fix it without it starting to tear, so I left it as it was.
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Fully completed interior prior to installation in the fuselage through the underside opening. You can see the newly fashioned control sticks on the left hand console. The rear gunner’s machine gun mount was also painted at this stage, with the ammunition box and lower area painted 046 Pale Grey Blue and the slide mount Black with Bolt Gun Metal details picked out, the handle was painted Terracotta. The gunner’s sling seat was painted Kommando Khaki with the seat pad in Terracotta. The machine gun was painted separately and while I was looking at the painting instructions I was puzzled by the call-out for silver on a panel to the left of the gun. This, I thought, must be some sort of screen or sight panel. A check of the internet for images of the gun showed this to be the case and that it is a glass offset sight. While I was looking at the pictures and comparing them to the kit part,
I decided to do some extra detailing. All the top protrusions were cut away, the gun's cocking handle was replaced by a small length of brass wire and the lever of the handle by a strip of plastic card. A piece of acetate was cut to size and glued in place to represent the sight glass. The painting of the gun was then finished using Chaos Black, Terracotta was used for the rear pad, pistol grip and cocking handle. The ammunition feed chute was painted Bolt Gun Metal and the centre section where the rounds fed through was painted Dwarf Bronze, which is actually copper coloured and was used to represent the rounds, as a lot of Russian ammunition was actually copper-coated to prevent corrosion. The gun itself was then dry-brushed Bolt Gun Metal to complete the effect. All parts of the cockpit and gunner’s position were now assembled together (minus the rear gun which would be attached later) ready for installation into the fuselage. Whilst I was working on the cockpit I was also assembling the fuselage parts, including the air intake for the radiator. This comprises three parts (A6-8) and is a good example of Tamiya engineering. It goes together well and fits into the fuselage brilliantly. The instructions call out for painting these parts and the propeller mount (A41), although this I think is unnecessary as nearly all of it cannot be seen when construction is complete. Even the parts of the air
A shot of the five piece main wing assembly showing one completed wing along with the centre wing section prior to final assembly. Note the pre painted wheel bays and inserts, along with the radiator housing in the centre section.
intake will not benefit as the gap is so small and after the main camouflage is painted on it would not be noticed anyway. The main wing section was also assembled at this stage, remembering to open up the rocket rail mounting holes. The machine gun parts were fitted into the wing. These are very fiddly to work with and the mounting area and hole in the wing had to be shaved to allow for them to fit. Each outer upper wing has the undercarriage housing fitted before gluing the wing halves together; again there was no problem with this assembly. The centre wing section houses the radiator mount. This had already been painted and put together, so it was just a case of gluing it into place. While on the subject of the wing assembly, am I the only one who finds the sprue tabs fiddly to deal with on the newer Tamiya kits? I am not overly keen on the fact that part of the tab is on the mating faces of the parts. This means that there are now two areas to clean up for each tab, one external and one internal. With the fuselage joints dry it was now time to clean them up with a light sanding to remove the join line. Once I was happy with this, I moved on to cleaning up the intakes on the front of the nose around the propeller. Using a new blade in my knife, I carefully thinned the walls of the intakes to give them a more scale appearance. I also did the same to the large air intake on the top of the nose. The rear machine gun mount was glued into place, followed by the cockpit and gunner’s compartment. This fits into place so well it almost does not need gluing. I did, however,
The Berezin rear machine gun showing the extra detail added
The machine gun parts were fitted into the wing
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A shot of the nose showing the work done to thin the intake walls to a more scale thickness. The main wing spar when fully assembled, note the good joint on the outer side of the undercarriage bays. The bays have now also been given a wash to pick out the details.
glue it just to be safe. Next came the fitting of the main wing to the fuselage. A lot has been written about this joint on the 1/48th scale big brother of this kit, so I had high expectations of the join being every bit as good as those seen on the larger model. I must say that I respect Tamiya’s way of tackling this problem of wing-to-fuselage join, especially in light of the way other manufacturers have tried to carry it out, (I gave up on the Eduard 1/72nd scale Sturmovik, as the wing-to-fuselage joint was a complete mess). The join is very good, though some filler was still required at the rear wing roots. I feel however, and this is my opinion only, that the shape of the joint and the process to get one piece to fit to the other is a bit overly complex. The rear horizontal stabilisers were fitted and at last the whole thing was beginning to look like an aircraft. It was at this point, with the cockpit in place, that I began to regret using the decal for the seat harness. Looking into the opening at the seat, it just was not good enough now. So after checking out a wartime black and white film about flying the Sturmovik, to see roughly what the original harness looked like, I was able
A view of the pilot’s seat showing the pre-painted harness added after I decided I did not like the look of the decal harness. A few of the smaller parts showing the added work given to them. The opened exhausts, the gun barrels replaced with brass wire, and the rear wheel after having the triangular sections opened up as on the real aircraft.
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conclude that for my purposes a spare prepainted Eduard Luftwaffe harness without all the lap pads would suffice. Now, the only problem was how to glue it into place on the seat. After pre-shaping the lap straps first, using both tweezers and a toothpick, I was able to superglue them into the correct position. The same process was used for the shoulder straps. The resulting look was much more acceptable and goes to prove, with a bit of will power and ingenuity, anything can be possible. I was now able to fit the canopy parts. Unlike the larger 1/48 version the pilot’s canopy is moulded closed with only the rear being able to be posed open. These parts had been pre-dipped in Johnson’s Klear, with the excess wicked off and allowed to dry overnight in a dust proof container. This method really does add clarity to clear parts and I would recommend anyone to give it a go. As the rear gunner’s canopy is obviously open for the gun, I decided to pack out the rear tub with some foam to prevent any paint spray getting in there. While fitting the canopy parts, it was noticed that the windscreen (part D4) was badly moulded. The two lower sides of the part that fit into cutouts in the fuselage were not complete and therefore left gaps that needed filling. Having only seen this kit that I was building, I do not know if this is just a one-off or is indicative of a moulding problem at the factory. Some of the smaller parts were given extra work to add detail. The exhausts were carefully hollowed out using both a micro drill and a reamer in a hand held Dremel. The main cannon barrels were replaced with brass wire, as after fitting them before painting, the plastic parts would almost certainly end up broken off while handling the model. The rear wheel mount had two of the triangular sections opened up to more closely look like the real thing. I also decided at this point to add the landing gear visual indicators to the upper wings using some spare metal from an etched fret. Sections 10 and 11 of the instructions indicate the fitting of the undercarriage, which I would normally leave to the end of a kit build. Otherwise, there is always the risk of damage while handling the model further. With this kit, I can see no way around this, as the way the undercarriage legs are fitted and then the housing bulges (Parts A17 and
A20) help to lock them in place and strengthen them means that they have to be fitted now. I have read articles on the 1/48 kit where people say that you can just clip the housing bulges in place until painting is finished then remove them to fit the undercarriage. Yes, they will clip in place, but what worried me was that when everything was painted and they were unclipped there would always be the potential to damage the paint, and even more of that likelihood when refitting them and gluing them in place. For this reason, I decided for once to follow the instructions. All this would mean would be a careful masking job to protect them when painting the underside and for me to be more aware and careful while handling the model from now on. With the canopy and undercarriage legs in place, the model was basically ready to start with the painting stage. The canopy was masked using Tamiya Kabuki Tape. Before I primed the model, I decided to spray the canopy and undercarriage legs with Vallejo Model Air 046 Pale Grey Blue, to match the cockpit interior and undercarriage housings respectively. All panel lines and wing root areas were preshaded with Vallejo Model Air 056 Black Grey. The undercarriage bays were blocked off using small pieces of foam and the legs masked with tape. Before describing the painting of the aircraft, I feel I must say something about the discussion regarding paint colours and shades thereof on aircraft. A great deal has been written over the years, along with many heated debates on various forums, regarding the subject of colours and also scale effect (more on that at a later time). I know that a great deal of people put a lot of reliance in expensive publications that contain facsimiles of colour chips or swatches of original paint. While I do not doubt that these are as accurate as they can be, given modern printing processes, I also feel that they can be equally misleading. My reasoning for this statement is this: nearly all paint manufacturers will have paint records and swatches, and these will invariably be produced under near perfect conditions, usually in peacetime. During war,
The pilot’s canopy is moulded closed with only the rear being able to be posed open
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however, a lot of other variables come into play. These can range from restriction of materials, to the time taken to produce the colours if needed in a hurry. Also a lot of paint schemes, whether they are applied at the factory or in the field (where things can really get into a mess), will be subject to a great number of things that can affect the final colour. I am thinking along the lines of what primer or undercoat is used, how many coats are applied, what material may have been used to thin the paint for application, was the paint allowed to dry naturally or was it force dried? This all means that different factories in the same country may not always paint things the same way, depending on the urgency to get the job done and what materials they have to hand to complete it. Some paints that are poorly applied, or may be of a lesser quality than those normally used, may be more prone to fading and other forms of wear and tear than those painted under ideal peacetime conditions. I suppose what I am really getting around to say is that I will look at many sources and will try to optically match a paint to references and in the end, if it looks right then that is good enough for me. I am certainly not going to be critical of a paint scheme if one or all of the colours are slightly different to those normally expected. After viewing various publications, with some good photos and also colour profiles, I decided to use the following colours to apply the three-colour scheme over blue for this aircraft: Vallejo Model Air 008 Pale Blue for the underside, 022 Camouflage Green, 035 Camouflage Light Brown and 056 Black Grey for the upper surfaces. These were applied with my Iwata airbrush, starting with the blue underside, not forgetting to also paint the undercarriage doors ready for later installation. The demarcation lines on the
fuselage between the blue and the upper colours were masked using rolled Blu Tack. The upper colours were started with the Light Brown which was carefully sprayed over just the areas of the pattern where it was, required. Then using paper masks from an enlargement (about 175% if I recall) of the colour scheme in the instructions, the brown area was covered and then the green was applied to its areas only. The process was repeated to apply the Black Grey. When this was finished, the paper masks were removed and any areas that needed it were touched up freehand with the appropriate colour. The propeller blades were painted Model Air 057 Black and the spinner 022 Camouflage Green to match the rest of the aircraft. The paint finish was allowed to dry overnight and the whole aircraft was given two coats of Johnson’s Klear to prepare the surface for the application of the decals. The decals are very good with a good opacity and went on fine, though I did find them a bit resistant to setting and softening solutions to try and get them to conform into the panel lines, in particular on the stars under the wings and on the tail surface. My solutions of choice are Microscale’s Micro Sol and Micro Set. I did not use the large white decal for the tail surface, preferring to mask the area and spray it using Model Air 001 White. Once happy that all the decals were settled onto the model and had dried out, they were sealed in with a further coat of Klear. Next came the weathering. As this would be an aircraft in constant use, flying from grass strips in all kinds of conditions, it
Top arrow showing the incomplete moulding of the windscreen, the clear plastic part did not fully fit down into the cut out in the fuselage on both sides. The lower arrow shows the added visual indicator for the undercarriage in the down position. Note also the use of putty at the wing joint. The model painted in three colour camouflage scheme and coated with Johnson’s Klear prior to application of the decals.
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The underside showing the weathering carried out using, and also the bombs and rockets in place.
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would follow that it would become quite well weathered and worn in a number of areas. It is also worth pointing out to remember that the rear fuselage was made of wood and therefore would not wear through to any metal. The wing root on the left side was commonly the main point of entry to the cockpit and gunner’s station for the crew and also the ground crew for preparation and maintenance of the aircraft. The right side received less wear and tear as it was accessed only for refuelling and rearming purposes. A good illustration of this can be found on page 24 of Il-2 Stormovik in action by Squadron Publications. To recreate this weathering, I used Citadel Bolt Gun Metal applied with both sponge pieces and stippled using a stencilling brush until I was happy with the result. Other areas such as around the nose near the propeller, the wing leading edges and the edges of some panels were also picked out with Bolt Gun Metal. The exhausts were painted using a combination of a Chaos Black undercoat, dry brushing with Bolt Gun Metal and washes of Blue Ink and then a wash of Terracotta, all going towards an effect of heat burnished metal with a light amount of rusting. They were then fitted to the aircraft. (Note: when working with these exhausts before painting, do not remove the moulding lines
SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
on them, as the real exhausts have this as part of their manufacture). The propeller also received some Bolt Gun Metal weathering on the leading edges of the blades and on the spinner boss. To recreate the exhaust staining and the cordite staining from the cannons and guns, a thin mix of Black Grey was sprayed in light coats, gradually building up the effect. The panel lines were picked out with careful painting using thinned Black Ink. For some reason this would not flow as it usually does into the lines. This may be due to the fact that the lines are so fine and with the Klear in them there was no real indentation to allow the flow of the ink. After this and all the basic weathering was completed, the model was sprayed with Model Air Matt Varnish. All the masking was removed and I was ready for the final stages of wear and tear weathering. The main wheels were painted with Model Air 046 Pale Grey Blue for the hubs and 056 Black Grey for the tyres. The same was carried out for the tail wheel along with its leg structure. The hubs, undercarriage legs and door interiors were all given a wash of Badab Black to help pick out the details. These were then fitted to the aircraft. As I said earlier, these aircraft operated from grass strips and therefore a lot of mud and earth would be thrown up onto the underside from the wheels when taking off and landing and I wanted to replicate this somehow. To do so, I turned to MIG weathering powders, more commonly used for armour modelling and dioramas. I mixed a combination of Europe Dust and Dark Mud and water into a wash of sorts and painted it over the wheels and undercarriage legs and bays and left it to dry. To recreate the mud thrown up onto the underside of the aircraft I used an old brush loaded with the wash and then lightly flicked it onto the aircraft, again slowly building up the effect until I was happy with it. This was mainly applied where the wheels would splash up and along the underside of the fuselage to the rear wheel. Some of this wash was also used
on the upper wing roots and along the wings where the ground crew would walk whilst carrying out fuelling and arming. The beauty of these MIG pigments is they can be left to dry and then the excess rubbed off to create many effects and if it all goes wrong, they can be washed off with water, ready to start again. The rear canopy was removed, the gun installed and the canopy replaced. The bombs and rockets were painted with Black Grey, given a wash of Badab Black then drybrushed with Codex Grey to pick out the details. When dry they were attached to their mounting points using superglue. The aerial, pitot tube, front external sight and the rudder balance were also fitted now. The front sight is a very fiddly part to fit and required some sanding of the part and slight opening of the mounting hole to allow it to fit. These had all been pre-painted in their relevant colours. The landing light on the left wing came next; the interior was painted black with a silver circle to simulate the lens of the lamp. The clear part was then fitted, after some finetuning with a sanding stick, the fit was so tight that no glue was used at all. The aerial wires were once again made using fine filaments of nylon from an old pair of black tights. I finally fitted the propeller to complete the aircraft.
It is a model that I can recommend to all
CONCLUSION This is a marvellous rendition of a classic and tactically historic aircraft; it is superior to other older versions of this aircraft by other manufacturers. I have yet to see the new Academy version so cannot comment on it, though I do have the HobbyBoss Easy Assembly Kit of this aircraft and, though simplified, when compared to the Tamiya kit it looks to be quite a good model also. Tamiya, therefore, have another winner on their hands and I cannot wait to see what they might next release in this scale. It is a model that I can recommend to all, irrespective of their modelling skills. Our thanks to the Hobby Company, Tamiya’s UK Importer for supplying the review sample used in this build
SAM-MDF24-Mustang Part 2-Advert_Layout 1 10/10/2014 14:48 Page 1
T OU W NO
THE NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION
P-51 MUSTANG A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE
Part 2 Merlin Powered
MDF 24
MDF 24
P-51 MUSTANG
£19.99 +£3.00 P&P
By Malcolm V. Lowe
T
he North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was one of the most iconic single-seat aircraft of World War II, and was subsequently used in the Korean War and beyond, and by a host of countries worldwide. The Mustang was conceived, designed and built by North American Aviation in response to a specification issued by the British Purchasing Commission. The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance, and this mark is detailed in Modellers Datafile #21, which is Part 1 of the Mustang Story. The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine to the P-51B/C model transformed the Mustang's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, where it matched or bettered almost all of the Luftwaffe’s fighters at altitude. The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls Royce Merlin 60 Series two-stage, two-speed, supercharged engine, and armed with six .50 calibre M2 Browning machine guns.
From late 1943, P-51Bs, supplemented by P-51Ds from mid-1944, were used by the USAAF’s Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's 2 TAF and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Merlin-powered Mustangs as fighter-bombers, in various roles which helped give the Allies air superiority in 1944. The P-51 was also in service with Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean and Italian theater’s, and saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War. At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang was the United Nations main fighter until jets such as the F-86 Sabre took over their role, and the Mustang then became a specialised fighter-bomber. Despite the advent of jet fighters, the Mustang remained in service with some air forces well into the early 1980sm, and continues this popularity in the Warbird scene.
M DF 24
P-51 MUSTANG
In ‘North American Mustang Part 2 Merlin Powered’, acknowledged author Malcolm V. Lowe continues the Mustang story, looking in depth at the Merlin engined versions as used by the RAF and USAAF in World War II through Korea and beyond, describing its operators and variants, from the P-51B though to the F-82 Twin Mustang. This volume includes colour side profiles, walk arounds, technical diagrams, scale plans production and serial data, and looks at modelling the Mustang in popular scales, backed up with a Kitography of available models, decals and accessories. Fully illustrated throughout, North American P-51 Mustang Part 2 Merlin Powered is the comprehensive guide to one of the world’s most recognisable aircraft.
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MODELLERS PORTFOLIO
IL-2M STURMOVIK 800TH SHAP RED 5 Winter camouflage in patches over upper surfaces of AMT-1 Light Brown,AMT-4 Green and AMT-6 Black and AMT-7 Blue undersides. The white is thinly applied and shows extensive wear, built at Zavod No.1. A photograph of Red 5, flown by A. G. Andrianov during the winter of 1942/1943 shows damage to the port elevator and wingroot.
IL-2M STURMOVIK 46TH SHAP RED 20 Flown by Sobolev of 46th ShAP during the winter of 1942/1943 was heavily damaged due to a forced landing. Painted with AMT-4 Green and AMT-6 Black upper surfaces, the metal wings and nose retained the winter camouflage. Constructed at Zavod No.18
IL-2M STURMOVIK 237TH SHAP RED 11 Standard camouflage overpainted with patchy white, This aircraft was written off on February 1943 as the result of a ground collision with a UTI-4
IL-2M STURMOVIK 15 G.SHAP WHITE 07 The personal aeroplane of V. A. Aleksenko, the squadron commander of 15 G.Shap had a simplified lion on the port tail and a painted lion on the starboard side. It is also reported to have had a silver spinner.
Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk
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IL-2M STURMOVIK 999TH SHAP WHITE 8 Painted in standard camouflage colours, this aircraft crashed in Finland and is thought to have been involved in the Vyborg operation during June/July 1944 against Finnish forces. Probably built at Zavod No. 30
IL-2M STURMOVIK 593RD SHAP BLUE 21 Likely to have belonged to 593rd ShAP, constructed at Zavod No. 30. The number is outlined in either white or silver. Aircraft 01-12 had red numbers and spinner, 13-26 were blue and 27-38 yellow.
IL-2M STURMOVIK 808TH SHAP WHITE 14 Wearing a mixture of standard three colour camouflage with heavily weathered winter camouflage over it. Photographs show the spinner being a lighter colour than the camouflage, conceivably AMT-7 Blue.
IL-2M STURMOVIK 617TH SHAP ORANGE 2 An aircraft from 617th ShAP, 3rd squadron. The three squadrons are reported to have been colour coded with 1st squadron being red, 2nd squadron white and 3rd squadron yellow.
Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk
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SCALE PLANS IL-2 STURMOVIK SCALE DRAWINGS BY CHRIS SANDHAM-BAILEY/INKWORM WWW.INKWORM.CO.UK
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MODELLERS PORTFOLIO
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IL-2M STURMOVIK 90TH G.SHAP WHITE 71 Wearing a variation of the standard template for 1943 this aircraft had white markings and outlines on the stars. It also received some minor modifications to the standard type built at Zavod No.1
IL-2M3 STURMOVIK 874TH SHAP BLUE 16 Typical scheme for 874 ShAP whilst in either Belarus or Poland. Spinner is coloured and thought to be keeping with squadron colours used by other units. Blue number with white outline. Constructed at Zavod No.1
IL-2M3 STURMOVIK 144TH G.SHAP WHITE 6 Wearing typical markings this aircraft has a red spinner and white arrow. Photos show the arrow head being darker than the rest of it, possibly another colour or staining. Built by Zavod No.18
IL-2M3 STURMOVIK WHITE 57 During the latter stages of 1944 it was decided that not just the fighter aircraft were to be painted with AMT-11 Blue Grey and AMT-12 Dark Grey upper surfaces. However due to delays most Il-2 retained their standard scheme. White 57 is a rare example of one that appears to have been painted in this later scheme
Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk
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IL-2M3 STURMOVIK 10 ORAP YELLOW 1 Whilst utilising the standard three colour upper camouflage, the scheme deviates from the standard on the canopy and tail. Yellow number and band. Thought to belong to 10 ORAP, a reconnaissance unit.
IL-2M3 STURMOVIK 198TH SHAP BLACK 2 Wearing a non standard scheme with the tail painted over with a thinned white winter camouflage, it also has a blue spinner and tail band. Built by Zavod No.18 it was flown by Captain A. N. Yefimov during the closing months of the war.
IL-2M3 STURMOVIK 56TH G.SHAP YELLOW 26 Constructed at Zavod No. 30, the aircraft conforms to standard 1943 markings with a white spinner and bands, the number being in yellow.
IL-2M3 STURMOVIK BULGARIAN AIR FORCE Currently on display at the Bulgarian National Museum, Krumovo, this restored Il-2 shows a typical scheme with national markings, all over green upper surfaces and blue undersides. The repainted airframe did not use authentic colours though some fading and weathering has occurred.
Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk
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IL-2M3 STURMOVIK CZECHOSLOVAKIAN AIR FORCE LX-17 Operated by 1st Squadron, 30th Air Regiment after the war, the type was designated the B-31. Painted in all over green with blue underside.
IL-2M3 STURMOVIK CZECHOSLOVAKIAN AIR FORCE (RAF FAIREY BATTLE) An unusual scheme with this B-31 acting as a stand in for one of two Fairey Battles flown during production of the film Nobody Knows Anything. Roundels are an approximation and the tail bar is reversed. Upper wings had yellow bands in place of any national markings.
IL-2M3 STURMOVIK POLISH AIR FORCE
IL-2M3 STURMOVIK YUGOSLAVIAN AIR FORCE Following the war Yugoslavia received several variants totalling 213 aircraft from Russia and Bulgaria. During their operational time many were upgraded locally with aging wooden parts being replaced. The aeroplanes retained their wartime camouflage in most cases and this example was painted with AMT-11 Blue Grey and AMT-12 Dark Grey upper surfaces, AMT-7 Blue undersides
Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk
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TECH DATA
SCALE: 1/32nd STATUS: New tooling PANEL LINES: Recessed where applicable DECAL OPTIONS: 5 MANUFACTURER: Wingnut Wings TYPE: Injection moulded plastic with photo-etch details
SUPER
SNIPE
Wingnut Wings 1/32 Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe, Early Version By Tim Upson-Smith
I
previewed this kit way back in 2013 when it was first released, and my build of it went forwards at quite a pace, but then as so often happens, work and life got in the way, so it has only now passed the finishing line as a complete model. Firstly my day job sent me to Cornwall for nine months, and building a biplane and living in a hotel do not mix! Then last summer we moved house and it took me rather a long time after this move to get back into the habit of modelling again. So when the editor asked me if I had anything nearly ready I thought about the Snipe. I had not opened the box for almost a year
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and I was pleasantly surprised at the progress I had made with the model; it sat in the box with bottom wings on and on its undercarriage… So a quick finish was looking good. I do like to start my builds with a quick look at any surviving airframes of the type that the kit under review represents, and thanks to Sir Peter Jackson's Company ‘The Vintage Aviator’, we now have, here in the UK, a fantastic Snipe replica at the RAF Museum, Hendon. Although it is a replica the airframe has various original parts,
retrieved from the museum store, incorporated into it including an original Bentley BR.2 engine. Prior to the arrival of this example in the UK I would have to have visited either the USA or Canada where two complete restored original airframes are displayed, and also the fuselage of the most famous Snipe of all, the one belonging to Major Barker VC is preserved in the Canadian War Museum. In addition to the example built for the RAF Museum, The Vintage Aviator has built at least two further airworthy Sopwith Snipes, one of which is with
To speed up drying time I decided, that for this build, I would use the Tamiya paint colours
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THE KIT
Kermit Weeks in the United States. As model makers of WW1 models and in my case an enthusiast of the real thing too, we have a lot to thank Sir Peter Jackson for, along with the teams he has assembled that are Wingnut Wings and The Vintage Aviator.
So enough of my preamble, and on to the kit! Inside the high quality box we have come to expect from this source, are seven sprues of grey plastic, a clear sprue, a small fret of etched brass details and a very comprehensive decal sheet. To top it off is the instruction booklet, which includes a number of coloured close-up detail shots of the latest replica made by The Vintage Aviator. Despite only finishing the model in February 2015, I had originally decided way back in the summer of 2013 that this build was going to be a fairly quick one! To this end I studied the instruction booklet very carefully and marked on the sprues, which parts were to be finished in which colour so that they could be sprayed in one go. To speed up drying time I decided, that for this build, I would use the Tamiya paint colours
recommended in the instruction booklet, as these are readily available at what was then my local model shop in Northampton UK, before my house move… So with the sprues marked up I sprayed all of the main parts in their appropriate colours, which in actual build hours really did speed up the process. This may sound obvious to other modellers but this is the
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first time I have really planned a build in this way and this was the first build where I used my airbrush for nearly all of the painting, so it really cut down on time spent cleaning my airbrush. Despite the instructions, starting with the cockpit, I like to start my biplane builds with the engine, as it is one of my favorite parts to paint and this kit is no exception. The Bentley BR.2 really does look the part. Once painted the basic metal colour, I then used Games Workshop washes to enhance the detail, starting with a black wash all
over, followed by a sepia wash to simulate caster oil and just a hint of blue wash on the induction pipes to give the impression of heated steel. I have used the more generic names for the washes as some of the names have changed in recent months, but I have always found the staff in all of the Games Workshop shops I have visited really helpful so I am sure that they will put you right. With the engine painted my attention now turned to the cockpit, and as I had pre-sprayed the parts on the sprue only a little touching-up here and there was needed. There is a choice of wood or black for painting the instrument panel, and I opted for black as it certainly appears very dark in my reference photos. Decals for the dials are provided and these are really good and so detailed; of course they like the rest of the decals are printed by Cartograph. The cockpit fits together very well, but make sure you remove the paint from the mating surfaces as just this small amount can hinder the fit. The twin Vickers guns are more detailed than
I chose option number 4 as the near factory fresh scheme appealed
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others I have seen in Wingnut kits, having two-part cooling jackets and etch details including the cocking handles. These are a little flat so I built up the wooden area with a drop of ‘Micro Kristal Klear’ to give more of a 3-D effect. I did not fit the seat harness at this time, which was a mistake on my part, not because it cannot be fitted later, but because during the house move I mislaid the etch fret, only to find it when the model was finished… Still, not much can be seen in the cockpit opening so their absence is not too obvious. The interior of the fuselage halves had been pre-painted with aluminum, wood effect and linen. All of the metal fittings around the tail end were painted satin black. The fit of the fuselage halves is fine but it was at this point I encountered a small problem. The joint along the top and bottom of the fuselage is quite weak and I kept finding the joint ‘crack’ open even with really careful handling. If I were building another I would try and reinforce this joint with some plasticard strips inside, which should be invisible on the finished model. With everything pre-sprayed the bottom
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wing went on with no fuss, as did the preassembled undercarriage. The top decking is such a good fit it does not really need gluing; with the model at this stage it was put back in the box and that is where it lay for over a year in hibernation. With the model back out of the box construction moved on at quite a pace. Although I had pre-sprayed both wings I had not done the wraparound of the PC12 on the underside of the leading edges, so both wings were masked and this sprayed.
DECALS
•
on the cowl and around the rear fuselage 4. E8069, flown by Baker B Flight 4 Sqn AFC during October 1918, this also in standard factory finish. 5. E8132 A Flight 208 Sqn November 1918.
At this point in the proceedings I started applying the decals, Wingnuts have supplied five choices: • 1. E7992 of the South Eastern Area Flying Instructors School, 1918-19 in allover silver dope with red struts and cowling bands • 2. E8015, A Flight 43 Sqn, OctoberNovember 1918, flown by E Mulcair. This airframe has PC12 wings and tail surfaces but it is thought that the fuselage was repainted in the field in a different shade. • 3. E8057, B Flight 70 Sqn 1919. This airframe is in standard Sopwith factory finish with the addition of white bands
•
I chose option number 4 as the near factory fresh scheme appealed; the decals went on the fuselage with no issues using Micro Set and Sol. An evening was now spent drilling holes for the rigging, all the way through the bottom wing and part way into the underside of the top wing. Before I knew it, it was time to deal with the struts, but before they could be fitted they needed the tiny Sopwith logos placing on their leading edges. I do not know who in the Sopwith factory thought
that wrapping the decal around the leading edge of the strut was a good idea, but… At 1:1 I am sure it is not too tricky but at 1:32 trying to get them all in the same place and the decals to conform is not! Still, with the use of Micro Set and Sol they eventually conformed. Once again the excellence of Wingnut Wings' design and engineering comes to the fore with the struts, each is moulded with a
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different shaped key to fit the lower wing so if you do by accident get them mixed you can still get them in the right locations. With the struts fitted I now threaded Lycra thread through the tiny pre-moulded holes for the cross bracing, which was done prior to fitting the top wing so that I had a clear view of what I was doing. Next the top wing had lengths of Lycra thread glued into all of the deepened holes on its underside and was then fitted onto all of the struts and carefully glued with no alignment issues whatsoever, it really is biplane modelling made easy! All of the
lengths of Lycra were then carefully threaded through the holes on the bottom wing, tensioned and glued with superglue delivered using the tip of a number 11 blade for accurate placing. Once they were dry the excess was trimmed and the holes filled with more superglue if needed and the paintwork touched up. The ailerons; now if you remember I mentioned that I had pre-sprayed the parts on the sprues? When it came to fitting the ailerons I realized that I had painted the top wing pair in reverse so I had to do a quick bit of respraying so the tops were PC12 and the undersides linen, not the other way round, oops, that’s what
The excellence of Wingnut Wings' design and engineering comes to the fore with the struts
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comes of trying to speed up a build! With the ailerons, I drilled and pinned them where they join the wings with short lengths of Albion Alloys brass rod just for a bit of extra strength. With these fitted the rest of the rigging was carried out using Lycra for the flying and bracing wires as to my eye it best represents the aerofoil section RAF wires used by the British. I leave the Lycra unpainted as I feel that when stretched it takes on a metallic look and it satisfies me.
invisible mending thread; my original reel disappeared during the move and I think my replacement reel is a little thicker in diameter, still with perseverance I managed to tie knots in it in the required places. This does need real care around the tailplane as the control horn attachment points are quite small (in scale though!) and I kept breaking one of the underside ones off, but eventually I got it to stay though only by using a little more superglue than I would have liked. As I wanted this model to
It may be heresy to say it but I do not like to represent turnbuckles either, as again in my view they look a bit over-scale, when you stand the required distance away from the real thing you would be hard pressed to spot the turnbuckles on a British plane. This is just my view and I know many modellers fit them with amazing results… My next pieces of rigging were the control wires, which were done with
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be in a fairly fresh factory scheme I opted for a more satin finish and kept the weathering to a minimum. The underside received a wash of the Games Workshop sepia to represent the oil staining seen on rotary powered aircraft even after only a few hours of engine running. The grey painted panels and the cowling also received a light wash of sepia just to
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give a bit of variation to the tone, and with that my Sopwith Snipe was finished, a very quick (2 Years!) and an easy build.
how about a Sopwith Baby or a Dolphin next, please? I hope to see more built at shows over the coming year as this kit really is a stunner and really not difficult to build despite it being a double bay biplane. My sincere thanks to Richard Alexander of Wingnut Wings for supplying the review sample.
‘Best release yet from Wingnut Wings’
CONCLUSION What can I say? In my preview I described this as perhaps the ‘best release yet from Wingnut Wings’ and of all of their kits I have built, this is still my view, it really is hard to see how they can be any better. As the Snipe sits on my bench next to a Pup and a Roden Triplane (I have yet to build my WnWs one) I can only hope that more Sopwiths are released so that my family can grow,
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TORNADO GR.1
THE
1/72
MIGHTY FIN
Building Revell’s Tornado GR.1 in 1/72 Scale By Carmel J. Attard
T
he Tornado has always generated a lot of interest ever since it has been in large-scale service with the air forces of Great Britain, Italy and Germany since 1980. It was first used operationally by the RAF and Italian air force during the 1991 Gulf War, more recently during the Kosovo conflict in
1999, and three years ago during the Libyan crisis. Interest in the Tornado attracted the attention of many modellers and several kits have been made of various versions of the Tornado. Revell have recently come out with a new GR.1 in two different liveries as adopted by the RAF No.9 Squadron based at Bruggen, Germany in 1998. This has a two-tone green and grey wrap-around camouflage. The alternative is for a GR.1 of No.17 Squadron RAF, which was also based at Bruggen in 1998, but this
is in two shades of grey camouflage. The Revell kit is well moulded having fine detail parts and offers several alternative position options for the air brakes, refuelling probe, undercarriage, canopy position and offers a wide variety of ordnance. The kit also offers a swingwing feature and corresponding swivel pylons to go with swing angle of the wing. Instructions indicate that the kit needs weight at nose to stand on 3 legs. There are five frets of medium grey plastic castings and two other frets with clear plastic parts. These comprise no fewer than 174 components. The 12 paged A4 size booklet contains 61 stages of
Revell have recently come out with a new GR.1 in two different liveries
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assembly, well illustrated and easy to follow. There are six components indicated as parts not for use on this version and most likely they go with a German reconnaissance version of the Tornado. No sink marks, misalignment of parts or excessive joint line ridges were encountered, and the only area that needed careful filing and sanding were the attachment of parts to the fret. So care is required when separating parts from the fret, preferably using an X-acto saw in preference to using clippers.
CONSTRUCTION Assembly is not at all complex despite the impression one may have when opening the box and seeing so many small components. One needs to study the kit carefully and decide from an early stage which of the two versions are used by the different squadrons. This mainly is associated with the type of armament and size of fuel tanks used for a particular mission. For example the smaller 1,500 ltr tanks will go with the 4x 1,000 lb bombs, while the larger 2,250 ltr tanks are carried by the type which carries the two laser guided bombs. If you want to add the refuelling probe there are blank holes that need to be drilled open from the inside of the forward fuselage where they are marked.
While all the grey plastic parts are nicely moulded I have reservations with regards to the transparent components, not so much for the canopy parts which fit so precisely but other tiny parts like the HUD part 16 that fits on the cockpit coaming and the front infra-red sensor part 142 which are not quite transparent and their shape leaves a lot to be desired, in fact I made a replacement to the latter by shaping one from clear mica. The instrument panels and side consoles look accurate in detail and the cockpit tab fits well, and since I used the decals provided for instruments I had to sand down the moulded detail so that the decal items rested flat. I found it was easier to cut the decals into smaller pieces
for better placement, and I also had to make sure that I removed the excess transparent film that surrounded some of the images. The main undercarriage bays are adequate for the scale but I decided to change the plastic undercarriage legs for Scale Aircraft Conversions metal ones, mainly because I encountered some difficulty in fitting the multi-piece plastic leg parts together; the metal ones come as a one-piece casting. This SAC Set, 72084, is recommended for anyone building a Revell GR.1/IDS/ECR Tornado. The swing-wing feature would have been nice if Revell had devised a mechanism to allow the four wing pylons to remain parallel to the fuselage as the wings move. Nevertheless there are horseshoe clips provided for each pylon to enable them to swivel separately. Still, to my mind, these did not seem as though they would stand too many adjustments and would easily loosen or break trapping the clips inside the wing. I decided to fix the wings at a desired
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TORNADO GR.1
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angle and attach the pylons permanently fixed parallel to the fuselage. As one would expect with Revell kits, the colour call-outs are for the Revell paint range with a combination of two colours in distinct proportions, and the colours are translated into several languages. Quick reference indicated that the colours for the GR.1 of No 17 Squadron which I was making was
the standard RAF finish of Dark Camouflage Grey BS629 overall with Dark Sea Grey BS638 upper surfaces. The kit comes with a variety of armament stores. Two under-fuselage pylons have extra detail in the form of four small triangular brackets that fit to the side of each. These are to carry the two LGB or the four 1,000lb bombs. Alternatively, if one kits the No.9 Squadron aircraft there are a pair of Alarm missiles which are mounted on additional separate pylons. When it comes to the wing pylons I found it best to fit the Sidewinder missile pylon to the wing inner pylon before attaching them to the wing, as it would be difficult to glue these parts together if the wing pylon was already fixed to the wing due to the confined area you would have to work in.
The finished model looks very pleasing and in general required just basic modelling skills
DECALS Before applying the decals I gave the kit a coat of Klear/Future. The kit decals have minimum carrier film and lay down
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beautifully. The sheet is comprehensive and has good adhesive properties but be careful because the adhesive liquefies quickly and you start fishing for the many tiny parts as they float. The sheet contains so many legend items that one should make a pre-study of their location when it comes to that stage. Decals for the armaments are isolated from the many standard stencils. I marked each stencil on the instructions with a red pen once it was applied to the model. There are also decals on all pylons and orienting them correctly requires care.
CONCLUSION This kit has many positives including a good fit of parts that needed practically no filler. I used just a touch on the bigger fuel tanks where they matched. This was a thoroughly enjoyable build but was also one that slows you down the nearer you get to the end as you cannot go about the decal stage in one go. The finished model looks very pleasing and in general required just basic modelling skills. I would like to thank Revell Germany for supplying this kit for me to build.
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CHEETAH D
1/72
A Fast C at Building the High Planes 1/72 Cheetah D
by David H. Minton
Top view from the right side showing the diamond pattern. Instructions call for overall grey, but even the photo on the box doesn’t match the instructions, although some of the early Cheetah Ds were painted overall grey.
W
The complete contents from the High Planes box, minus the decal sheet, directly on opening. Note the etch, resin, white metal and two vacuumed formed canopies
hen you open the box of the High Planes Cheetah, a true multi-media kit greets you. A few injection trees, some white metal and resin parts, etched metal fret, vacuumformed canopies and, of course, decals, expect a mix of really great detail combined with generic, even inaccurate detail. If that sounds a bit strange consider the following: while the general outline and surface details of the model are very good, the photo-etch is the same in a lot of different Miragebased kits so is not a 100% accurate, missing some features of the Cheetah. High Planes have captured the shape of the Cheetah D, and I personally think the
Cheetah is one of the best looking of the modified Mirage family of jets. The surface detail is very light and looks great in this scale. There is no real construction sequence, only an exploded view with detailed scraps. There are several notes on the instructions, some of which are quite clear and some of which are not. For example, one of the notes states: “canards are horizontal.”. This seems quite clear and I had no problem with it. Another reads: “intake bomb mounts are angled slightly outward” which I found a bit harder to interpret. On the instructions, and the decal drawings, there appear some pylons, which possibly could be bomb mounts, these are attached to the lower fuselage in the general vicinity of the intakes. However, in looking at both the photo provided on the box art and several photos on the Internet, I did not find anything that looked like a bomb mount on the actual Cheetah D. In another case, there is a large ventral fuselage spine near the aft section of the fuselage in front of the tailpipe. In the instructions, a small dark rectangle appears near this with the notation “PE chaff dispenser”. This seems clear enough,
and indeed, an interesting selection of etched chaff-looking dispensers are included on the fret. But of the three different ones provided, there's no information about which goes with this kit and none of them look like the drawing. From a great photo I found on the web, I decided to use the largest one on my model.
CONSTRUCTION Like many limited-run kits, you can immediately see that you will need to do quite a bit of cleaning up of the plastic parts before assembly can start. Even after this you will still some work to establish a good fit. In particular, I found that the trailing edges of the wings required thinning in several places, on the interior as well as at the tips. I then moved on to the fuselage, which required similar effort dressing the mating surfaces and thinning around the interior exhaust area. Squaring the mating surfaces is very important both to ensure a good surface for glue adhesion and to reduce filling needed later. I did a lot of pre-fitting to assure the best joint possible, even though I knew some filler was ultimately
I personally think the Cheetah is one of the best looking of the modified Mirage family of jets
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FEATURE
The injection trees from the kit. The lower right tree is the additional parts for the Cheetah, while the remaining trees are the basic Mirage III kit
Photograph giving close up detail of the non-plastic kit parts, to include the decal sheet, resin and white metal parts, and the brass etch sheet. Note: the one provided resin seat is missing from this photo and the second was not initially provided
although a bit out of focus, this close up conveys a good idea of one of the main build problems. The leading edges of the wing halves are nowhere near each other because of the thickness of the wing centers. Much scraping and sanding away of plastic is required to get a good fit
With the main parts of the wing and fuselage taped together, this photo illustrates the significant gap between them. Work involved cleaning up and fitting the trailing edge wing-fuselage joint, both on the wing part and on the fuselage part, scraping away a lot of plastic
going to be necessary. There are no mounting pins or lugs on this model, so I drilled holed in the wings and fuselage and added some metal pins to give some strength to the joins. With the basic parts ready to go, I was ready to tackle the cockpit interior. The D version of the Cheetah is a two-cockpit version and High Planes provides the basic bucket and seat parts, as well as the instrument panels and some metal etched details. By carefully pre-fitting and cleaning up all the parts, as well as detail painting, you can turn out an interesting and busy looking cockpit for the scale. To be entirely accurate though, I should say almost provides. The kit instructions regarding the interior are very basic and after fitting the parts various times and studying the instructions, and looking at the other Cheetah kit I have, I came to the conclusion a couple of parts were missing, so I emailed High Planes and a few days later, the missing parts showed up in my mailbox. Excellent customer support!
Now armed with a full complement of parts, I set about fitting it all together. I had left the interior completely out of the aircraft until this point, although by now the fuselage and wings were completely assembled. Extremely important to remember during the pre-fitting stage, or you will be truly sorry later, is that the canopy is also a cockpit part. High Planes supply two excellent vacuum-formed canopies. I used one to help fit the cockpit together and I had no trouble getting it separated from the surrounding plastic. Almost immediately I discovered the parts were not going to fit without effort. Starting with the basic interior tub, made from injection plastic, there were two basic problems. First, the parts were too thick and second, the entire assembly was too high at the front. By too thick, I mean that if the parts were used as they came off the sprue, there would be no room in between them for the seats and instrument panels. The tub was so high in the front portion that when I set the seat in place, the
Close-up of the injection gates illustrating where the plastic parts are preferably sawed off and, also notice, flash along many leading edge locations
A view of the tip of the right wing, illustrating the downward cant. This requires significant tender loving care to get a good appearance
canopy siting was about a ½ in (1.25 cm) off the fuselage. I solved this by eliminating the floor in the front, making it so the seat sat instead on the bottom interior of the fuselage. Meanwhile, I retained the floor in the back. The resulting gap is covered by the instrument panel partition between the two cockpits so not visible after completion. To improve the canopy fit, I sanded down the bottom of the seats, checking the canopy fit frequently. I had already attached the face curtain pulls at this point, because they also make the seat slightly wider at the top, and I didn't want to find out later the fit was ruined. Fitting the instrument panels and bulkhead between the front and back cockpit was much the same. I started with the bulkhead and estimated I removed about 50 percent of it, primarily in thickness, before I got a good fit. Next, I trimmed down the white metal instrument panels, a more time consuming exercise with a razor saw instead of a knife, but basically a straightforward
Completed model view of the port side
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Clean up of the landing gear doors for one of the main gear in the works. Like most of the parts, removal of flash and dressing of the edges is required
Right engine intake epoxied in place. The tip of the intake cone was broken off in shipment and I probably would have been better off to try fixing it before gluing it to the fuselage. Note also the spacer from scrap between the fuselage halves. It was necessary to add this to widen the entire fuselage so that both the canopy and tailpipe would fit
In this photo I am fitting the vertical tail. Note I used brass pins to strengthen the butt joint. Also, you can see in this photo the rest of the scrap plastic, inserted at this end so the tail pipe would fit Likewise, cleaning up the fuselage strakes and the air intakes. A lot of fiddly work, but must be done for a neat finish.
More detailed shot of the scrap build up for the canard on one side, had to do the same for the other side. Close up of the left intake, with the strake in place and note that I had to build up the mount for the canard in order to get an even fit.
process of refining the size until everything fitted together. One thing you do need to do is reduce the height of the front panel. I removed a significant portion of the bottom part where it fits against the fuselage and I would recommend this as the best approach. By studying my references and various on-line references, I determined that the basic colour of the cockpit interior is black and the instrument panels are light grey. Therefore I painted the interior of the cockpit Floquil Grimy Black, the instrument panels medium grey, with black instruments and some silver details. The seats themselves I painted Gunze NATO Black, with Vallejo medium green cushions and Vallejo dark tan seat belts. Details were picked out in Humbrol silver. Control sticks, after thinning down, were painted NATO black. Studying the photos, I am now relatively certain there are not any curtain pulls on the Cheetah D, but they were already fitted by the time I realised. Having got this far and having got everything to fit together, I didn't want to
risk any further modification, so I left them in place. The interior now looked adequately busy. I cut out the second canopy and secured it in place with white glue, as the first one had become damaged through handling. Once I had the canopy in place, I attached all of the various bumps and bulges, including the resin intakes. As with much of the rest of the kit, many of these pieces required shaping and thinning, but otherwise attaching was straightforward. The tip of one of the intake cones was broken off so I had to repair it with superglue. The technique is relatively easy. Being of low surface tension, super glue will easily form a blob at the tip location. Use accelerator to hasten the curing, but before it is fully cured (24 hours), carve and sand it to shape and now the repair is undetectable. Sadly I had not noticed this damage before adding the parts to the fuselage, so I made this repair a lot harder for myself than it needed to be, since I had to do the carving and sanding with the
As I’m getting ready to prime the model, I first did the repair work on the intake cone. This was build up with super glue and then carved and sanded to shape before the glue got rock hard. fuselage in the way. Next I attached the refuelling probe, as it is painted the same color as the rest of the aircraft. But as it is resin, be extremely careful once it is attached as it is very easy to break. I selected a few of the various antennas from the etched metal fret to match the appearance of the photo on the box cover and other photos I found online. Finally I could begin the scribing, sanding, and priming process in preparation for the painting stage.
PAINTING AND DECALING Trying to determine the best colours to paint the Cheetah proved interesting. As far as I have been able to learn, the SAAF do not use a colour standard like the US FS 595d. As a result, no specific colours are called out. Various references suggest various colours based on the 595, but I did not find any consistency. The kit
Comparison view of the starboard side, showing decal placement and subdued markings for the springbok.
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Upper view from the left side, illustrates again why the scheme is colloquially called a diamond scheme.
instructions suggest that the marking scheme comes from post-1992 and that the aircraft are coloured very close to FS 36173, Dark Sea Grey. Other references suggest FS 36307, Light Sea Grey. One thing almost all references did agree on was that the colour, whatever it was, faded and weathered badly, due to the weather conditions in South Africa. Frankly, I've been to South Africa and never noticed that the weather conditions were particularly worse than anywhere else, so I wonder if it could be the kind of paint they use. Some references even suggest that not all jets, even in the same squadron, are painted the same. After some research, I concluded that the instructions were probably correct, or at least pretty close to correct, for the first paint scheme as applied to the Cheetah D. However, by this time I had also discovered another paint scheme, which some references refer to as a diamond scheme. I thought this scheme much more attractive, so decided to paint the model with it. After some comparison, I decided that FS 36320, Dark Ghost Grey, and FS 36118, Gunship Grey, were close enough and that is how I painted the model, using Model Master paint. I used the profile in my Cheetah reference for the diamond scheme. I did not try to weather the model much, particularly in this scale. I did not think it would provide any more interest, given the level of difficulty it would take to achieve. Note that sometimes, but not always, the diamond scheme seems also to have a false canopy on the bottom of the fuselage. Not having a great selection of South African decals, particularly the low visibility modern ones, I used the kit decals. After I got the decals on the model I applied a couple of coats of clear flat varnish.
Work on the landing gear underway. I painted these separately, and as with the vertical tail, added metal pins for strength, attaching them to the model when both the gear and the model were finally painted.
Close up of the etch chaff dispenser I finally decided to use. I don’t think any of they were exact but this seemed the closest.
FINAL STAGE
Close up of the squadron insignia located on the tail during the decaling phase of the build. The markings are in a subdued standard tactical scheme
I now added the landing gear, which is painted flat white with Pro-Modeler weathering wash, and I used Floquil Grimy Black for the tires. Fitting the gear to the model is a bit of a problem because no hints are given for the location. From a study of several photographs, I determined that the nose gear goes well forward in the nose wheel well, while the main gears mount to the outside of the wing wells. The landing gear did not quite fit into the wheel wells, so I trimmed quite a bit from the front and the back of the great struts to get an acceptable fit. I also drilled and inserted copper wire pins in the metal gear parts, since the joint would be of dissimilar materials so quite weak. The nose probe was the last thing I added, but the white metal casting provided with the model I found to be large and out of scale. By researching on the Internet, I found that there were at least two different types used on various aircraft, including the one which I replicated by using stainless steel tubing to complete my model.
I am pleased that I could add this attractive aircraft to my Mirage collection
A white metal pitot tube came with the kit, with a bulge in the tip. I felt it was way over scale, and in studying the photos found some Cheetah Ds were equipped with this rather more streamline version, which I made from stainless tubing.
CONCLUSION
Rear view
It is unlikely that any mainstream manufacturer will ever produce examples of the Cheetah. The High Planes kit will produce a nice model of this rather interesting SAAF jet and though it took a bit of hard work I am pleased that I could add this attractive aircraft to my Mirage collection.
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KAWASAKI KI-61-II KAI
1/72
BUBBLETOP RS Models 1/72 scale Kawasaki Ki-61-II Kai (Production Type) By Mike Williams
T The one-piece lower main wing before its flap modification, in which Brengun’s comprehensive etched set dedicates a fair portion of its fine parts towards
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he radial engine was the power plant type of preference for the air arms of both the Imperial Japanese Navy and Army leading up to and throughout the Pacific War, however one exception to this was the superlative Kawasaki Ki-61I Hien (Flying Swallow), Army Type 3 Fighter, given the Allied reporting name ‘Tony’, the only mass-produced Japanese aircraft of the war to use a liquid-cooled inline V-engine, and so successful was this combination that no fewer than 3,159 examples of this design and its variants were finally produced. Given the prominence of the this distinctive fighter I had obviously built examples in the past, namely Revell’s veteran (1963) 1:72 scale, and Hasegawa’s 1:48 (2005) renditions, but these were both some time ago, and I felt that a delve into
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this particular subject was again warranted. However I now wanted to look afresh at this particular subject, but one slightly removed from my previous builds to incorporate within my otherwise predominantly radial engined Japanese aircraft collection, which even included prototype turbojet and rocket propelled examples. The most obvious path here would have been to again embrace either a standard Ki61-1 Otsu, Hei, or Tei (the latter the most numerous and active) example, each type available in all popular scales from renowned manufacturers, and somehow ‘modify’ it. But I wanted to involve myself in something away from the mainstream, but still fully embrace all the salient particulars of this particular fascinating fighter subject. I soon discovered that everything I desired could be effectively based upon one limited-run (2,000 units) model, and involvement of a dedicated after-market etched set, being merged together into one all-inclusive package in my new proposed build. The core foundation for my project was RS Models' 1:72 scale Kawasaki Ki-61-II Kai, with a ‘bubbletop’ canopy, their product code 92104. From the start I desired that my new build was to be greatly enhanced by
Brengun’s complementary etched accessory set BRL72040. All in all quite a nice multimedia proposition, and as I was to find, one in which all these diverse components finally went together without any difficulties. Why the singular prototype Ki-61-II Kai over, say, the very active and numerous Ki61-1 Tei, has to be explained. Firstly I wanted to work on a version I personally had never built before, and I wanted to develop a rather unusual example, and as far as I was concerned the Ki-61-II Kai ‘bubbletop’, now with etch, was as different as it was possible to get from my previous builds and still keep within the direct Ki-61 family with its inline engine. The initial Ki-61II prototype of December 1943 possessed a 10 percent increase in wing area (to 22-sq.m) over the Hien, to try and enhance its manoeuvrability and high-altitude performance, but the initial batch of nine trial machines suffered a number of structural failures. The first Ki-61-II production example which flew in April 1944 reverted to the standard and proven Ki-61-I wings and span of 12-m, but now had a lengthened fuselage to 9.16-m and enlarged rudder, a redesign eradicating the structural problems that had been encountered in the revision of the Hien. In
From the start I desired that my new build was to be greatly enhanced by Brengun’s complementary etched accessory set
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FEATURE
The modified lower wing with the flap compartment opened-out, ready for ribbing
Another beneficiary of Brengun’s set is the cockpit. Note the interior plastic card blanking strips for the exhausts, opened-out port-side access panel, and separated canopy sections
this guise the Ki-61-II now proved to be an outstanding interceptor, capable of 610km/h (379-mph) at 6,000-m (19,685-ft), finally able to maintain combat formation at the operating altitude of the enemy B-29s, with its service ceiling of 11,000-m (36,090ft). Commencing in September 1944 the principal operational Ki-61-II Kai, Army Type 3 Fighter Model 2, was produced in two versions: early Model 2a ‘razor-back’ (fast-back) with two 20-mm Ho-5 forward fuselage mounted cannons and two wingmounted 12.7-mm Type 1 machineguns; while the late Model 2b ‘bubble-top’ with the lowered fuselage spine aft was outfitted with four 20-mm cannons in pairs in both the fuselage and wing positions, with between 200 to 250 rounds per barrel, having an effective range of 900-m. Although 374 Ki-61-II airframes were completed, from the 3,159 total of all Ki-61 types built, only around 69 are purported as actually seeing active service, with an estimated 30 other fighters being destroyed on the ground before delivery to operational units, leaving the fate of the remaining 275 airframes to be addressed. The fatal difficulties in this redesign centred around Kawasaki’s nominal power rated 1,450-hp Ha-140 engine, built at their Akaski plant, a more powerful version of their Ha-40 engine (a licence-built DaimlerBenz DB 601A unit), with an improved altitude rating, specifically intended for their evolved Ki-61-II design. However, only between 163 to 182 such engines were ever produced, never enough for a full scale production run for the new improved fighter, as opposed to the 3,315 Ha-40 units used in the Ki-61-I series. Besides production problems, teething troubles meant that seldom did the Ha-140 render its full potential in service. The tight tolerances demanded had overstretched the capacity of Japanese manufacturing at the close of the Pacific War, and work ceased altogether on the 19 January 1945 when the USAF destroyed Kawasaki’s Akashi engine plant. One authoritative source (Francillon, p.118) states that only one ‘bubbletop’
prototype example was completed, but another (Wieliczko, p.63) mentions “a handful were even delivered to combat units”. How many Ki-61-II Kai ‘bubbletop’ fighters actually saw service is a matter of some conjecture, but the number was obviously very small, and the results negligible. But this lack of inline Ha-140 engines did produce an unexpected very positive result for the beleaguered IJAAF, with the remaining engineless and follow-on airframe production, later using the Mitsubishi Ha-112-II radial engine, to become the successful Ki-100-1 Goshikisen Otsu ‘bubbletop’ Type 5 fighter of which 118 would finally be built, along with 271 Ki-100-1 Ko ‘fast-back’ versions, but that, as they say, is another completely different story.
MODEL Looking around at the 1:72 scale commitment towards covering the overall Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien story, here Hasegawa can be cited with a fair commitment of
around eight releases (with a matching 1:48 scale interest), leaving AZ Model marketing a similar eight 1:72 examples, followed by Fine-Molds' four models over the years dedicated towards this fighter, even including a Ki-61-II Kai ‘bubbletop’ version (FP-1) in 1989, but which is now long out of production. These ranks have been recently complemented still further by the Czech firm of RS Models, through their dual 1:72 scale Ki-61-II Kai releases, covering both the
The area of the wheel wells doors and main undercarriage also profits from Brengun’s set
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KAWASAKI KI-61-II KAI
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The basic fuselage ready for assembly
The underside ready for its fine-etch and final undercarriage fittings
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obscure ’bubbletop’ (No. 92104), and higher-profile ‘fast-back’(No. 92105) versions. They have also lately produced 1:48 scale (Nos. 48002 and 48003 respectively) models of these fighters of some character and obviously enhanced detail in this grand scale, alongside further 1:72 coverage with a pair of Ki-61-I Tei (Nos. 92143 and 92145), and even a trio of follow-on Ki-100s (Nos. 92121, 92126, and 92128) to really envelop this area. Without any doubt the Kawasaki Ki-61-1 and II family has been well and truly modelled. My 1:72 scale RS Models Ki-61-II Kai ‘bubbletop’, which I obtained direct from the manufacturer for 15 Euros (plus 5 Euros P&P), came in their usual side-opening box, which was stout enough to ensure the safe packaging of the poly-bagged single lightgrey plastic parts tree, conveying its 55 principal components, along with a separate one-piece clear bubble canopy, comprehensive decal sheet, and instructions. There was no integral provision of either etched or resin contributions, but the comprehensive decal sheet illustrated three optional finishes. As is to be expected in such a limited-run presentation, there are no helpful location pins and holes, not even any general lugs, just flush mating surfaces. But it has to be stressed that the registration and alignment of all individual parts and sub-assemblies allowed for ideal fits throughout, with minimal filler demands. It has also to be noted that apart from the unavoidable tree attachment points, there is minimal part preparation required, with certainly no demanding extraneous flash, or deformities to rectify. This is a relatively fuss-free build, if care is taken, lending itself towards a first-class result straight from the box by an average aeromodeller. As for the instructions, this is a bi-lingual single monochrome A4 sheet, double-sided
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With the fuselage and wings joined together the basic model is physically complete
and folded to A5, which successfully conveys the nine stages of assembly, through well annotated, clear, exploded isometric drawings. Completely separate from RS Models' core piece, in my particular build special mention has to be made of the supporting etch detailing set from the Czech firm of Brengun, which I fully incorporated into my project. With no integral provision of any etched or resin in this limited-run injection plastic model, an extremely nice example could be readily obtained straight from the box. However I wanted to fully exploit this base, and expand this project into something just that bit different. Fortunately Brengun had within their 1:72 accessories range a dedicated etched set (No. BRL-72040) for RS Models (although ‘Sword’ is noted) Ki61 II Kai ‘bubbletop’, which was reasonably priced at 8 Euros (with 6.05 Euros postage). Its supporting singlesided monochrome A5 instruction sheet clearly illustrates the location of replacement and augmentation etched parts, which I found really enhanced my overall modelling enjoyment, and as I hope you can see from my photographs, final results. One of my first moves right after the usual inspection and check-over of the contents just to ensure everything was present and moulded correctly, was to confirm the overall accuracy of this model through measurement comparisons, and reference to authoritative (Kagero) illustrations. Here the noted overall length of 9.16-m equates to 12.72-cm in 1:72 scale, while RS Model’s replica measures close at 12.65-cm, but it emphatically captures the fine lines of the original. A very pleasing degree of restrained recessed panel detail is present throughout this build, and the fuselage halves carry
this lightly engraved feature very well. I took-up the Brengun option to now open up the upward-opening equipment (Type 99 Hi-3 radio) access panel behind the pilot on the port side, with a nice etch access door, with some scratch-built interior fittings. The original cockpit is very nice, with a fine two-piece seat (not armoured), floor and sidewall detail in this scale, but with Brengun’s addition this is all greatly enhanced, with the provision of individual seatbelts, additional side detailing, and multi-layer instrument panel greatly improving this area, even though most of this is later hidden away. The original single one-piece bubble canopy is more than satisfactory in all respects, thin, crystal-clear, with sufficient raised framework for ease of final masking and painting. However I decided quite early on that since so much work had been incorporated within the cockpit, I wished to open up this area through carefully separating the enclosing canopy into its three main parts. The central section cannot be positioned back on its track, but is just removable. The only visible evidence of the Kawasaki Ha-140 engine possessed by this model is in the linear exhausts stubs forward, apart from the prominent ventral radiator bath amidships. For the former it is recommended that blanking sections of card are placed inside to seal off these openings before trying to position the exhausts. The propeller comes in three parts, the separate spinner (boss), trio of blades, and base. The Ki-61-II Kai’s 12-m span is replicated here precisely at 16.66-cm in this scale, while the outline of the wings also perfectly matches the original. The rib detailing of the fabric covered control surfaces, ailerons, elevators, and rudder (all with tabs), are all well represented features.
Restrained recessed panel detail is present throughout this build
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FEATURE The wings were to see a heavy commitment of additional time and material over a stock build, with the flaps significantly enhanced, through some really fiddly work. The original ‘solid’ integrally moulded flaps were carefully removed from the single-piece lower wing, and replaced by a complex recessed internal structure, with separate flaps possessing individual rib detail following later. While the undercarriage doors and fairings provided by RS Models are more than adequate, the finer replacements offered by Brengun are better. The minimal integral wheel-well detail is passable. Upon reflection, it might have been a nice idea to ‘open up’ a 20-mm cannon mountings access panel on at least one wing, with some internal scratch-building to represent such ordnance. I also suspect the upper bulge to accommodate the breech here should be larger than shown, but I never modified either. However the barrels of the 20-mm cannons should protrude beyond the leading edge, as the 12.7-mm machine-guns of a typical Hien confirm, so just provide these through thin rod. The fitting of the two external 200-litre drop-tanks, complementing the Ki-61-II Kai’s 595 litre internal tanks, were installed on my model since they are noted in their general specifications, and confirmed in one photograph. As for the all-important finish for my example, well my instantly preferred option regarding the three RS Models have covered, was the factual example from the 56th Hiko Sentai, based at Itami Air Base, with two hypothetical schemes completing this presentation nicely presented, but not considered, one for the famous 244th Sentai, Chovu Air Base, and 55th Sentai, Sano Air Base, all schemes dated 1945, which would have to cover the period May to August when the Ki-61-II was operational. Faithfully replicating an operational Ki61-II from the 56th Hiko Sentai, under Major Haruyoshi Furukawa, concentrated my research onto a factual example, which the distinctive unit tail markings confirm as coming from its 1st Chutai. Here all upper surfaces, even extending to the ventral radiator's sides and undercarriage fairings were Japanese Army green (Tamiya XF-13), with a sharp, straight demarcation line to the natural-metal lower surfaces flat-aluminium (XF16), with brown (XF-10) spinner and propellers, constituting the principal components of this standard IJAAF’s S3 scheme, with the involvement of the likes of X-11 chrome silver, X-10 gun metal, XF-63 German grey, and XF-49 khaki, all providing some nice highlighting detail. As for masking off and painting other features, well there is no requirement for a forward anti-glare panel, hinomaru bandages, or combat stripe, but you will
have to reproduce the standard wing leading-edge yellow (XF-3) identification bands, all of which complete the basis for this model’s finish. Weathering and wear is an area for personal taste and application; I kept this to a minimum on my piece as is my preference. Cockpit, wheel-wells, basically all interior surfaces, were predominantly XF-59 desert-yellow, with fine detailing following the general points noted by RS Models, and standard IJAAF practice, with obviously special reference to the Ki-61 Hien family, and here I relied heavily upon Hasegawa’s recommendation in this area. The really comprehensive suite of decals dedicated towards this model is rather impressive upon initial inspection and final use, perhaps too crammed together for easy separation, but care and a sharp scalpel get around this, with quite a few welcome optional items to be consigned to the spares box. In practice I found these decals were certainly thin, and I felt that if over-handled might prove fragile, so I was very, very careful throughout so as to not experience this. Certainly the application of the many small labels and stencil markings was demanding, but upon reflection the time spent here was a pleasing aspect of this model, as I hope the accompanying illustrations convey.
It is a delightful build, resulting in a firstclass display piece
form. RS Models note on their box-top that this item is a limited-run of 2,000 examples, so while readily available at the time of writing (March 2015), it might be hard to obtain when this feature is published, but I believe this firm re-release reboxed runs of popular items, so perhaps its accessibility in the future is assured. But I would certainly recommend you get this now if you can, it is a delightful build, resulting in a first-class display piece.
•
•
•
SOURCES
CONCLUSION Although the Ki-61-II, especially the ‘bubbletop’ version represented here, categorically did not see extensive service, with insurmountable technical and supply difficulties greatly curtailing the number actually produced, it is still nevertheless a welcome addition to any IJAAF collection, especially alongside an example of its far more active and famous Ki-61-I Hien stable-mate, to show the final manifestation of this classic design in model
Separate painting of sub-assemblies and components is the standard approach to cleanly completing such a subject
•
•
Kawasaki Ki-61 ‘Hien’: Richard Bueschel, Schiffer Publishing Ltd, Atglen, PA, 1996. Kawanish Ki-61 ‘Hien’: Rene Francillon, Profile Publications No.118, Windsor, 1982. Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien and Ki-100 (No.58): by Leszek Wieliczko, Kagero Publishing Ltd, Lublin, 2014. Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War: Rene Francillon, Putnam, Conway Maritime Press, London, 1987. Japanese Army Air Force Camouflage and Markings of World War II: Donald Thorpe, Aero Publishers, Fallbrook, California, 1968.
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CANADAIR TUTOR “MILITARY”
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Canadair
TUTOR
The large box belies the relatively small model within
Hobbycraft 1/48 Canadair Tutor “Military” By Richard Clark
M
ost of the models I build are quite complex, and when they’re not I complicate matters by adding resin, etch or aftermarket decals. And that’s great, it’s how I like them, but now and then I just feel the need for a relatively simple, straightfrom-the-box build of an uncomplicated type. Such was my frame of mind when I visited my local model railway shop in Liskeard, looking for some scratchbuilding materials but, as so often happens I was waylaid by his small selection of aircraft kits. And this rare little gem from Hobbycraft looked like just what the doctor ordered. The model is presented in a large topopening box; my example looked somewhat faded, but I was able to check the contents before purchase. It is immediately apparent that a far smaller package would have been perfectly sufficient as the parts do not fill the box. Having said that, the box-top illustration is rather good and the painting and decaling guides, printed on the bottom of the box,
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are excellent. Inside are a couple of sprues of grey plastic holding reasonably welldetailed parts, while another supplies the clear parts, and a simple but clear instruction sheet and a really rather splendid set of decals offering two Canadian and two Malaysian options. The instruction leaflet includes a paint guide showing F.S. Numbers and references for Floquil/Polly Scale, Testor/Acryl and Humbrol paints.
CONSTRUCTION As usual I started with the cockpit, which is not spectacular but is fairly well represented. I did look for some resin seats and settled for a pair WAT T-37 seats, made by Pavla and intended for a Cessna A-37 Dragonfly (Pavla catalogue # 48045); I believe these are very similar to the ones in the Tutor, although I’m not sure if they are 100% accurate.
However, the colour guides printed on the underside of the box are superb
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CLARK’S FIELD
As the airframe comes together it really does make the box look very small! The decal sheet is beautifully printed and offers two Canadian and two Malaysian options
Though they are a great improvement over the plastic items supplied in the kit. I did add the kit canopy breakers, but these should have three holes each of a different size. This was easy to add though I did need a little surgery to the resin seat to accept them. Painting instructions for the cockpit are given in a small box in the main instructions and, judging from online photo references, these seem to be pretty accurate. The instrument panel details are moulded on very lightly; in fact too lightly to drybrush, and unfortunately no decal option is provided. I sprayed the panel white, then oversprayed that with matt black. Next I carefully sanded the black to reveal the white underneath on the raised detail. Even then this was not entirely successful, but it was the best I could come up with. The fit of the instrument panel is somewhat vague; dry fitting left me mystified as to exactly how it was supposed to locate, so I left it out until after I’d closed up the fuselage, then fitted it from outside the completed fuselage. I
found that I needed to trim the outer edges of the panel before I could get it to slot in against the front of the sidewall panels neatly. Before closing up the fuselage halves the tailpipe needs to be fitted, and I also superglued plenty of lead above the nosewheel bay to make sure the completed model did not tail sit. The two halves join really quite well, without need for more than a smear of filler and a light sanding to blend in the joint. I did need to fill the locating holes for the drop tanks as these were not required for the version I was building. At this point I also cut off the solid formation light behind the cockpit and drilled out its base, intending to replace it with a clear part from my spares box after painting was completed. The wing uppers fit well to the onepiece lower section, but do not forget to insert the wheel well sides first. The leading edges do require some work with filler and sanding sticks to make a good edge, and the upper trailing edges needed sanding flatter due to some poor moulding on my example. It may be worth noting here that, if one wants to build the earlier
This rare little gem from Hobbycraft looked like just what the doctor ordered
Canadian version, the nose strakes also need to be removed and the outer surfaces would benefit from a polish to give a smoother surface for your chosen baremetal finish. Both these operations should be undertaken at this point. Next I joined the wings to the fuselage, these were a good fit, but you do need some filler on the triangular fillets just behind the intakes, particularly on the undersides. The horizontal tail surfaces need some careful alignment to ensure they set at the correct 90 degrees to the fin. I found the fit of the instrument panel coaming was a bit vague in the instruction. I glued it lightly where I thought it should fit, then test-fitted the windscreen over it before running glue along its entire front edge to secure it in place. The instructions suggest fitting the wing and nose light covers now, but I left these until later, though I did attach the flap and aileron actuators, as well as the intake plates and
The model coming together. Although the seams show clearly here very little work was needed to blend them in
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CANADAIR TUTOR “MILITARY”
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Underneath, the only area needing any significant filler work shows clearly – the triangular fillet behind the intakes
the undercarriage legs and main doors. There are a couple of pieces to fit in front of the windscreen, which represent warm air vents but these are the wrong shape. I filed these to match my references and added them after fitting the windscreen and canopy as this was the only way to ensure they were located correctly, there being no pin or other definite location for them. At this point, after masking the canopy with Bare-Metal Foil, I considered the model ready for painting.
PAINTING AND DECALING An initial coat of Hycote Grey primer revealed a few areas in need of more work with filler and sandpaper including a slight sink mark in the wing, but these were soon sorted out, and after a final coat of primer the model was sprayed with Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminium. I let this harden for 24
Similar views after the first coat of primer and subsequent finishing work
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hours, then masked up the red areas, spraying them with Humbrol 238 Red Arrow Red. The anti-glare panel was masked up and simply brush-painted with Revell Aqua Colour Matt Black. Next the model was unmasked and given a couple of coats of Tamiya TS-13 Clear Gloss in preparation for decaling, at which point I discovered that TS-13 is incompatible with Aqua Colour Matt Black, when it crazed badly. The decals are a high point of this kit; beautifully printed and easy to apply, the whites are perfectly opaque so the red doesn’t show through. The roundels all have the Maple Leaf printed as separate decals, the Canadian flag on the tail fin has its silver surround as a separate decal and the frame number above it, and the nose number, also has separate backgrounds. This is done to avoid inaccurate, out-ofregister printing, although in the case of the numbers it would also make it relatively easy to represent different numbered aircraft. All settled well, except, strangely, for the ‘050’ on the upper starboard wing, which blistered, I’m not sure if this occurred before or after applying a final coat of gloss clear. Some may consider the engraved detail
a bit heavy but this made it easy to apply a wash to the edges of control surfaces and around the speed brakes and inboard main undercarriage doors. These are all correctly moulded in the closed position. I decided not to add a wash to the rest of the panels as they are perfectly clear without adding any accentuation.
A very relaxing, enjoyable, straightfrom-the-box (well, almost) build
ON FINALS
Final details were now added including the pitot tube, nose-wheel doors and the nose light cover (which needed a polish with toothpaste as it was rather cloudy), and that position light behind the cockpit. This was sourced from the spares box, originating from I know not what, and was drilled out from underneath and the holed filled with red paint to represent the red bulb inside. And there it was: a very smart-looking little trainer and a very relaxing, enjoyable, straight-from-the-box (well, almost) build. This was my first Hobbycraft kit and I am now sorely tempted by their 1/72 F-82 Twin Mustang that is sitting in my stash pile!
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T
he Italeri Me 410 originates from around 1999, and features some finely-moulded parts, with engraved panel lines, which show minimal flash, but do exhibit some mould-misalignment seams on the finer parts. I also used a Techmod decal sheet #72101 for the markings not provided in the kit. As usual, construction begins with the cockpit, which might best be described as adequate for the scale. The pilot’s section is reasonably well appointed, although the navigator/radar operator/rear gunner’s compartment is very basic and too shallow. That said, though, there is plenty of room for the super-detail-minded modeller to get stuck in. Speaking of paint, I didn’t do any painting until the basic airframe was almost complete, since the cockpit is quite easily accessible. I just left the nose-cone panel off until after painting the interior. The fuselage halves go together cleanly, and turning to the wings, the fitment of the upper wheel-well parts is very vague. I think I got them a little too far forward, although this did not become apparent
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until I came to fit the main undercarriage legs and doors, and had to fiddle the doors a bit. So be wary of this. I had to perform a little bit of fettling to the underside of the fuselage in order to get the wings to fit properly, but again, nothing much and the fit was good, without need for filler. Having said that, the upper wing root joins did need a run of CA glue and some attention with a half-round needle file to blend
TECH
By Bill Clark
ME 410 ‘HORNISSE’ MANUFACTURER: Italeri SCALE: 1:72 KIT TYPE: Plastic injection moulded
them in perfectly, but even that was only a few minutes’ work. The tailplanes were a perfect fit. The engine nacelles build up as separate units, and if you want revolving
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primer primer I.D. I.D. I.D./camouflage I.D. I.D. I.D. camouflage primer camouflage camouflage camouflage camouflage camouflage primer primer
FS17178 FS36165 (~) FS33507 (~) FS37875 FS37038 FS31302 FS35052 (~) FS14115 (~) FS35352 (~) FS36081 (~) FS34050 (~) FS34079 (~) FS36081 (~) FS36152 (~) FS36473 (~) FS34151 (~) FS30109 (~)
1781 Aluminum 2071 Grau RLM 02 2072 Gelb RLM 04 1768 FS37875 Insignia White 1749 FS37038 Black 2073 Rot RLM 23 2074 Dunkelblau RLM 24 1224 Green (~) 2078 Hellblau RLM 65 2079 Schwarzgrau RLM 66 2080 Schwarzgrün RLM 70 2081 Dunkelgrün RLM 71 2084 Graugrün RLM 74 2085 Grauviolett RLM 75 2086 Lichtblau RLM 76 1734 Green Zinc Chromate 1785 Rust (~)
4677 Aluminum 4770 Grau RLM 02 4771 Gelb RLM 04 4769 FS37875 Insignia White 4768 FS37038 Black 4772 Rot RLM 23 4773 Dunkelblau RLM 24 4669 Green (~) 4778 Hellblau RLM 65 4779 Schwarzgrau RLM 66 4780 Schwarzgrün RLM 70 4781 Dunkelgrün RLM 71 4784 Graugrün RLM 74 4785 Grauviolett RLM 75 4786 Lichtblau RLM 76 4852 Green Zinc Chromate 4675 Rust (~)
F414299 Aluminum F505075 RLM 02 Gray F505017 Yellow (RLM 04 Yellow) F505011 White F505214 Night Black (RLM 22) F505020 Red (RLM 23 Red) F505023 Dark Blue (RLM 24 Blue) F505026 Green (RLM 25 Green) F505051 RLM 65 Light Blue F505014 Scale Black (RLM 66) F505055 RLM 70 Black Green F505056 RLM 71 Dark Green F505059 RLM 74 Dark Gray F505060 RLM 75 Gray Violet F505061 RLM 76 Light Gray F505096 US Int. Green A/N611 F414293 Zinc Chromate Primer
NOTES:(~) = approximate Testors® Paints — German Me 410 Colors
propellers, you need to fit the backplates and their retaining collets now, although since the backplates need blending into the spinners, I wouldn’t recommend this. The completed nacelles need care to align properly, as their fitting is again rather vague. You may feel some filler is needed at the joins. At this stage I also painted the cockpit interior, adding the nose last. The instructions would have you fit the undercarriage and propellers next, which is a silly idea, in my view. So skipping forward a couple of stages, I fitted the bomb-bay doors closed, and there is the option to fix them open if required. The final job before painting was to fit the windscreen and canopy, and here Italeri have been quite clever. Since the side windows bulge out, obviously the canopy could not be moulded in one piece, so it has been made in two halves with the join running along a natural glazing-bar. Sadly,
Ask your hobby shop for Testor® products — or visit www.testors.com
a section of glazing bar has been omitted from the moulding towards the front on the wider half, but that can simply be masked in. The model was primed using Testors Model Master Fine Grey Primer #2782, after spraying the glazing bars with Testors Dark Grey #2036. All under surfaces were then sprayed with Testors Model Master Hellblau RLM 65 #2087, and the undersides were then masked and the upper surfaces were sprayed with Testors
Model Master Schwartzgrn RLM 70 #2080. I then masked off the upper surface camouflage lines and applied Testors Model Master Dunkelgrn RLM 71 #2081. The model was then given a coat of Model Master Gloss in preparation for the decals. As I had decided to represent this as a fairly new machine, with minimal wear and tear, just a light panel wash was applied, using Vallejo Pale Grey Wash 73.202 on the undersides and 73.201 Black on the upper
There is plenty of room for the super-detailminded modeller
The model was assembled to this stage before any paint was applied anywhere
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ME 410 ‘HORNISSE’
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1/72
Close-up of the rather basic cockpit prior to painting.
surfaces. The decals were well printed, although the white is ever so slightly out of register, but this only shows up on some of the stencils. However, they needed a lot of setting solution, especially on the crosses and codes. By contrast, the Techmod Swastika decals on the tail fin settled easily. It must be said that the stencil placement instructions are extremely vague, so I positioned some in different places where they seemed to make more sense. A final quick spray of Testors Model Master Flat and some light pastel-powder exhaust staining finished things off. I did experience some difficulty locating the main undercarriage legs and found I needed to drill out the forward locating holes. I also found I had to cut the actuators and shorten them by about 1mm. I then also found more difficulties in fitting the main undercarriage doors, due to the legs being a touch too far forward, a problem I solved by trimming a little bit of detail from the front of the legs, allowing the doors to fit at a more correct angle. Do note that the instructions show the main legs being fitted correctly at stage 5, but that the draftsman has transposed them in all subsequent illustrations. I also feel that the tail wheel sits far too high, as if there is no load on it, so it would be more accurate if the oleo were modified and compressed. The underfuselage aerial and step are shown in completely the wrong locations. The aerial, Part 63A, should fit just in front of the long twin aerials, and the step, as far as I can ascertain, just under the rear wing root fairing. The rocket launchers should, I feel, sit at a markedly upward-
pointing angle. This was because the rockets, being relatively low velocity, had a pronounced ballistic fall in their trajectory. So the tubes were angled upwards in order to compensate for the ballistic drop in aiming them. In the end I had a nice-looking
In the end I had a nice looking representation of a Me 410
In our sister magazine Model Aircraft this month we have an unusual take on the Me 410 in 1/48, plus a detailed history, scale drawings and a walk around
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representation of a Me 410 - as long as you don’t look too closely! As a ‘straight-fromthe-box’ build it’s hard to fault, but for the more demanding modeller, it wouldn’t take much effort to make some improvements.
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IPMS (UK) communication com·mu·ni·ca·tion [k mju¦nı’keı∫( )n] n.
Writte
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1 Jan/Feb 2015
Kathy’s Kyle Reese
IPMSmagazine
1
Airfix’s Blenheim Analysed Super(marine) Spitfi re Vb in 1/48th
Issue 1 Jan Jan/Feeb 2015 Jan/Feb
magaz ine
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CLASSIC PLASTIC
Plastic CLASSIC
Edited By Paul Bradley
Williams Bros.
1/32 SEVERSKY RACER By Matthew Lund
E
very now and then I actually finish a model. I build quite slowly, and I enjoy researching real aircraft as much as modelling. For this build these habits came in handy, as I wanted to take a classic kit of a fascinating subject and stretch myself by detailing it.
THE SEVERSKY ‘P-35’ RACERS Now largely a footnote, the Seversky P-35 was seen as a great step forward when it entered USAAC (United States Army Air Corps) service in 1937. An all-metal monoplane with retractable undercarriage and enclosed cockpit, slow delivery and lower than expected performance meant it was soon surpassed. Alexander de Seversky, a Russian expatriate and veteran World War I pilot who had lost a leg in the war, founded his Seversky
Frank Fuller deplanes (photo via Matt Lund)
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Aircraft Company in 1931, but lost control of the company because of mounting debt; it became the Republic Aviation Corporation in 1939 and created the far more famous P-47. Seversky also built civil racing versions of the P-35, including the SEV-S2 for Frank Fuller Jr, a business man from San Francisco. Fuller was highly successful in the 300mph Seversky, winning the Bendix transcontinental race twice in the late ‘30s. I decided to build the 1939 version that flew from Los Angeles to Cleveland in just over 7
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hours at an average of 282mph. It was the last such race before war, where, two years later, P-35s were utterly outclassed.
THE KIT Williams Bros. kitted a range of fairly obscure 1930s racers in 1/32, including this version of the P-35 that I picked up cheap from a second-hand seller online. The Williams kit provides a sound basic shape but lacks detail, especially for the cockpit and undercarriage. The instructions provide detailed history and painting notes and there is a comprehensive decal sheet for a USAAC plane as well as the racer (more on those decals later!) You get options to build either, the racer having a lower canopy, different intakes and no wing dihedral. You also get a remarkably well detailed engine, at odds with the rest
of the kit, so this was the first item I built, detailing with plastic rod and wires. I managed to hand-paint a Pratt and Whitney logo on it, thankful it isn’t twin-engined as I’d never repeat that!
DETAILING THE BUILD Building the cockpit interior involved lots of online research, planning, plasticard, wire and raiding the spares box. It’s the most scratch-building I’ve done and I’m pleased with the fairly accurate representation of the busy interior. I did use some aftermarket – AML’s lovely US seatbelt set, and some Eduard placards for the P-47, keeping it in the family. I re-scribed, boxed in wheel-wells, added canopy rails from Evergreen section, mesh grilles to the intakes and thinned out the cowling flaps, ready to put the main airframe together. This is
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CLASSIC PLASTIC
The engine, remarkably detailed from the box and enhanced by Matt
A period Cleveland Air Races poster (via Matt Lund)
The Williams Brothers Seversky package – note the USAAC decals
The clear parts are also distinctive, where the soundness of the basic kit with a large ‘turtleback’ fairing behind helps, as less filler was needed than the canopy. This fitted well, as did the expected – except where the outer windscreen, but the sliding section was wings join the inner section. The kit is too thick to sit slid back. So, I had my designed with dihedral for the USAAC second ever go at crash moulding, and version, so a ‘flat’ racer wing means eventually got an acceptable huge gaps on the upper surface to fill. replacement ready to mask up. A key feature of the Seversky is its Paint, decals semi-retracted and patience undercarriage I don’t always with streamlined I wanted to take a use primer, but fairings. The kit classic kit of a the build had so u/c is basic so I decided to rebuild fascinating subject many different materials it was it. Looking for a and stretch myself vital to help the suitable new ‘leg’, by detailing it final painting I found that spare stage. I found a Sidewinder few (dozen) missiles were blemishes to deal perfect (I tried with, then polished back to a smooth brass tube, but we don’t get on…), surface. The racer is in a striking green detailed with foil and plasticard. The and yellow scheme, exact shades tailwheel was a write-off, so again spare unknown. I made a mix and after parts came to the rescue, including an masking off the pre-sprayed yellow Airacobra nosewheel.
The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp in all its glory
The (mostly) scratchbuilt cockpit interior
Matt used a lot of plasticard stock in the process
Various diameters of wire also went into the cockpit
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WILLIAMS BROS. COMPANY HISTORICAL NOTES (FROM THEIR WEBSITE)
W
The completed cockpit
Filler was needed to hide the nondihedral outer wing joins, but this was the only place where this was necessary
Matt rebuilt the rather basic kit undercarriage
A look at the seat
nose, misted on many thin coats of green. Now, about those second-hand decals. I’d noted some were out of register, and my brother had run off replacement propeller and sponsor logos. What I wasn’t ready for was each and every kit decal to disintegrate in the water. At this stage I was on a deadline, wanting to get it to the Huddersfield Show, so, rather than fiddle with masking, I (fairly) patiently pieced the decals together as I went. Eventually it was done and somehow looked fine. On the plus side, the decals are thin, opaque and needed no setting solutions to settle down. I added undercarriage and doors, prop and pitot, and a radio wire, and it was done. My brother had created some stunning artwork for me based on 1930s air racing, and I used elements to create a simple picture frame base.
More detail added to the main u/c legs
Sidewinder missiles were part of the new main u/c legs!
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A little filler to blend in the tailplanes
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illiams Brothers began their operation in 1960 in a small garage in Hunnington Park, California, while Granger and Larry Williams were both still working in the wind tunnel section at North American Aviation. Their first moulds were for nylon bellcranks and hinges. This, because Granger recalls, was that he needed those items for his own airplanes, and he felt that other fliers would need them. By 1963 the small time operation had grown out of their garage and into a 1,000 square foot industrial building in Bell, California. As production fell behind orders, they found themselves looking at injection moulding equipment. At the time the new machines didn't fit their idea of what they should be like, so Granger and Larry built their first machine. Although the machine has since been retired and replaced with new ones, it still could do things that new ones can't. In 1970, Granger and Larry packed up and headed for San Marcos, California. There they built a modern day industrial building that would carry their company into the 21st century. By this time the company was producing much more than the nylon hinges and bellcranks. They had gone into plastic spinners, wheels, pilots, engines, engine cylinders, machine guns, wheel pants, pylon racer kits and plastic scale model kits. In 2000, both of the Williams Brothers passed on and Granger's wife Lorraine took over the company which ran until the end of 2004. In 2005, the assets of the company were purchased by Daniel J Brett, who incorporated in the State of Texas under Brett Industries, Inc. and the operations moved to Taylor, Texas where production was continued.
A primer coat hides the differences in materials used to reach this stage
The aircraft was finished in a striking emerald green and yellow colour scheme
CONCLUSION
basis for adding detailing. There were moments when I wondered if it would end well, and I could have done without the decal disaster, but I’m pleased to have stretched my skills and happy with the final result. I may have a break before I tackle another one, though!
This was a long, involved and testing build, and I enjoyed it. Williams have recently re-launched, and the decals may well be far better in new boxings. I’d recommend the kit to anyone looking for something different and, if you find a second-hand one, a cheap
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Andy took the vintage Airfix Fokker Dr.1 and added a few basic upgrades and aftermarket decals
Airfix albatross D.V, Jasta 18, Leutnant Paul Strahle
LUFTSTRIETKRAFTE DUO Airfix 1/72 Fokker Dr.1 and Albatros V By Andy Hazell
N
o, I had no idea either, that the German Imperial Air Force during WW1 was called the Deutsche Luftstrietkrafte! Anyway, this pair came about as a result of a lucky chance discovery at a car boot sale about 6 years ago. While looking at a couple of unmade kits for the princely sum of 50p each, the stall holder said that I could have the lot for £20. As I was looking a little perplexed at how the price had just increased exponentially, he promptly produced from his van a bin bag full of kits. All were without packaging, instructions or decals, but many came with upgrade parts included. Well, it would have been rude not to? So I walked away with a mixed bag of over 45 kits, including mostly classic items from the likes of Revell, Merit, Frog, Matchbox, Airfix and some that I have still to properly identify. I quickly sold over half of them on to friends in the local war-gaming club, just keeping the choice items for myself, effectively free of charge!
1/72ND FOKKER DR.1
1/72ND ALBATROS V
The Airfix kit is very simple and the minimal flash was soon cleaned up with a sanding stick. Detailing was minimal and limited to an Aeroclub metal seat with Tamiya tape belts and very carefully painting of the engine and guns. The wood effect on the propeller and struts was achieved using a light brown base with darker brown “graining” and a top coat of Tamiya Orange Smoke to provide that final laminated wood look. The striking blue and white scheme is I believe that of Lt. von Raben while flying with Jasta 7. The white was Halford’s Appliance White from a rattle can, while the blue was airbrushed Lifecolor Gloss Light Blue. The markings came from a bargain basement A4-sized decal sheet, bought on sale from Hannants for just £1. Talk about value for money - there are markings for about 15 aircraft on this sheet. Happily for me, rigging is minimal and limited to just the bracing on the central struts and undercarriage. A very easy and enjoyable build of kit I first made well over 40 years ago; how quickly time passes…
Again, the Airfix kit was simple and quick and easy to build; however, I chose a much more involved colour scheme this time, involving multiple The model represents a Jasta 7 colours and lozenge pattern on the machine, flown by Leutnant von Raben upper wings. The scheme represents an aircraft flown by Lt. Paul Strahle while serving with Jasta 18. simplify it and just give a Almark Decals provided the 4representation of the wires, using colour lozenge finish for the upper stretched plastic sprue from the kit as wings along with the rib tapes to material. complete the effect. The other All in all, a couple of very cheap and markings again came from the cost effective projects as the upgrade unknown sheet bought from parts were all included in the cost of Hannants as used on the Dr.1. In both the original kits, which at 40p each builds I painted and decaled the wings were not exactly extortionate. Maybe I and struts separately and assembled should try a few more car boot sales?! them using slow drying superglue gel Especially as, to give me plenty against all the of wriggle room odds, the SAAB to line sailed through everything up. All in all, a the MOT test. Additional couple of very Although it extra detailing cheap and cost immediately included a white metal seat and effective projects celebrated the fact by wheels, again illuminating all of from Aeroclub, the dashboard some resin warning lights aftermarket like a Christmas tree… As expected, Spandau guns, from, I think, everything still works perfectly. Funny Quickboost, while a short length of thing, old cars - they have copper wire was used to represent the personalities of their own! radiator pipework. The rigging was much more involved and I chose to
The model features Almark 4-colour lozenge decals
Even these ancient Airfix kits can scrub up well with a little effort
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Ready for take off – you can almost hear the whine of the blade tip-jets…..
REVELL’S FAIREY ROTODYNE doors were restored in a more subtle way. The windows in the fuselage fitted well but were not flat due to sink marks. With sanding and polishing hen I came across they looked nice. After installation they Revell’s Fairey Rotodyne were masked with Tamiya tape against I was looking for my sticky fingers. After closing the something quick, which means in fuse everything was sanded and the my world less than three months. surface structure slightly reduced. The Revell Rotodyne seemed ideal Finally the clear canopy parts were because I didn’t have much glued in with slow curing epoxy resin. documentation about it so no need The advantage is no fogging (I’m not a to bother much about details. Clear fan), the resin can be sanded and Normally I’m an Airfix man but the polished and looks like part of the clear Revell kit is available from new plastic. The fit was poor but with lots with excellent Cartograf decals. So of careful sanding the canopy was on I went around Christmas. flush with the Before closing fuselage and the fuselage I looked really bonded the lots of careful good. cargo doors and sanding the canopy The rest the cockpit door with lots of was flush with the seemed easy, Revell’s enamel super glue to the fuselage and blue matched fuse shells. After looked really good nearly perfectly sanding, the the decals. For panel lines the silver I used around the
By Rolf Schmidt
W
The clear parts were the worst fitting area of the kit, but Rolf used two-part epoxy to set them in place, then sanded to shape
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Rolf built the Revell Rotodyne basically out of the box – unlike Airfix, Revell supply some interior detail
Alclad as always and yes, the wing fit was perfect even by modern standards. The decals are really superb, but the blue stripes on the fuse were 5 mm too short. Maybe it was somehow my mistake but I think it’s a problem of the kit. A phone call to Revell produced another set of decals in the post box. No problem and no extra costs – a wonderful service. The final assembly
was uneventful and I’m quite happy with the result. Building time was 2 ½ months which was more than desired but still quick (for me). It’s a huge model which looks a little bit strange in the cabinet - a reminder of the creative post-war years.
The completed model gets admiring glances from the local farm life – uh oh – where’s Shaun!
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BOOKS AND MEDIA
Thierry Baulard
Included on this disc are 153 photos of ‘Warbirds’, including fighters, bombers and trainers. Although the disc concentrates on US Warbirds, other nations are represented, included are some photos of civil DHC Chipmunks at Sywell, a Northamptonshire (UK) civil airfield and up until recently my local airfield, so I was particularly pleased to see these! What I liked about a lot of the images on this disc, is that they show aircraft in either semi-derelict states in the 1960s/70s or wearing civil schemes before the move in more recent years to restore warbirds to stock condition. So hopefully some of these images will inspire and I look forward to seeing a few more Warbirds wearing civil schemes at model shows. Recommended, my thanks to Aero Research Co. for the sample copy. www.AeroResearchCDs.com
PUBLISHER: Aero Research Co.
INFO
Avions is an excellent French magazine that has been around for many years. They also publish some ‘Hors-Serie’ meaning ‘Special Issue’. This issue number 38 covers Dieudonne Costes, a French pilot whose life was extremely eventful as you’ll find out when reading the text! If you don’t know Dieudonne Costes, here is a small introduction to his life: Mr Costes made history on September 2nd 1930 when for the first time he attempted and succeeded in crossing the Atlantic Ocean (Paris-New York) with Maurice Bellonte, his navigator. His plane remains an icon, the red Breguet 19 called the ‘Question Mark’, which is preserved to this day in the Museum of Air and Space, Paris. Mr Costes’ life was full of twists and turns from his WWI victories where he became the ‘Ace’s ace’ on the Orient front. Between the wars he worked for different airline companies, whilst becoming a specialist in breaking world records. He was also named HispanoSuiza’s administrator (treasurer) at the end of 1930. During WWII, he ‘worked’ as a double agent for the FBI and Nazi Germany which led to a trial for betrayal in France at the end of the war. He was finally declared innocent in 1949. This is an excellent issue of ‘Avions’ with many unpublished documents, most of them from Mr Costes’ own diaries. This special edition will get you hooked and leave you eager to turn the pages and learn more about this exceptional pilot’s life. You will enjoy this if your French is good and if not, you can still get some brilliant references for your next build! Highly recommended.
Warbirds Collection No.6
SERIES: Warbirds Series CAT. NO: 3011 FORMAT: CD ROM
Petistovka (Avia B 534)
INFO
Avions Hors-Serie Number 38
AUTHOR: Jiri Vrany, Igor Mrkvánek, Jaroslav Krec PUBLISHER: Eduard
Two things about this book, firstly it is only available with the Royal Class boxing of the new Eduard Avia B.534 in 1:72 scale, the second is that the book is only in Czech. That said, the content of the book is photographic, with photos and profiles of the subjects of the Royal Class boxing. I have several books on the Avia in my library but this book has many pictures I have never seen before and is the ideal companion to the kit. My ability to read Czech is not great but with the aid of an online dictionary I am getting there! A translation of one chapter appeared in the February issue of Info Eduard. If Czech aviation is your interest then no doubt the new Eduard Avia will have tempted you; the inclusion of this book is for me the icing on an already yummy cake! My thanks to Eduard for supplying the review kit, with this book inside!
Avia B-534 Czechoslovak Fighter 3rd and 4th Version
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MAY 2015 •
SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
AUTHOR: Miroslav Bily and Jiri Vrany
INFO
This timely reissue of this book coincides nicely with the release of the new Avia B-534 from Eduard, which features both the 3rd and 4th versions of the fighter. This book is presented in a bi-lingual format, Czech-English, with all of the text and captions being present in translation. The bulk of the book, however, is taken up with close-up detail photographs and drawings of the airframe, covering the whole aircraft. This is especially useful if you wish to add further detail to your model. The last section of the book is taken up with colour details and profiles of Avias covering the type in Czech, Slovak, German and Bulgarian service. My original copy of this book is now quite battered as it was constantly on my model bench when I built the HpH 1:32 Avia and it proved equally useful when I built the Eduard test shot in 1:72 scale. If the subject appeals you will find this book an invaluable companion for any build in any scale, highly recommended. My thanks to Miroslav Bily for supplying the review copy.
PUBLISHER: MBT ISBN: 978-80-86524-15-3 FORMAT: 72pp paperback
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BOOKS AND MEDIA
Modulation and Light Techniques
Russian Aviation Colours
A complete guide with 4 techniques to create light effects and volume in military vehicles and dioramas
1909-1922, Camouflage and Marking, Vol.1 Early Years
The Warbirds of Walney A concise and lavishly illustrated history of No.10 AGS
INFO
This is the second edition of this book, the first edition was limited to 199 copies which quickly sold out; the first edition was limited due to copyright issues with reproducing photos from the National Archives. This second edition does not have the photos of the 60 Courses that passed through No.10 AGS, so the print run is not restricted. The book takes a comprehensive look at the history of the airfield at Walney and No 10 Air Gunnery School which was stationed there. What makes the book stand out is the use of first-hand accounts and photos, many of which have never been previously published. AUTHOR: John Nixon One of the incidents recorded in the book is the tragic PUBLISHER: Pixal Tweaks loss of Boulton Paul Defiant N3328, the subject of last Publications month’s Airfix build by David Smith (SAMI Vol 21 Iss 4) and ISBN: 978-0-9927514-5-6 the only Defiant to wear a shark’s mouth. This aircraft was lost in bad weather on a ferry flight to RAF Walney resulting FORMAT: 160pp Paperback in the death of the pilot, F/Sgt Goulter RAAF. The cover photo of Defiant N1744 would challenge even the best of model makers, as it is perhaps one of the most weathered British aircraft I have ever seen! If you are interested in local history and finding out about the people and places behind the models we make, then this book should find a place on your bookshelf. Recommended. My thanks to the author John Nixon for supplying the review copy
This book was originally published earlier this year in Russian, and is the first of four volumes looking at camouflage and markings of early Russian aviation. Due to the book being a translation, the language may seem a little odd in parts, but do not let this put you off. The AUTHOR: Marat Khairulin and Boris book is part of a Stepanov series published PUBLISHER: Mushroom Model to commemorate Publications the centenary of ISBN: 978-83-63678-48-7 the First World FORMAT: 176pp Hardback War. It takes the reader on a very comprehensive and well illustrated journey through early Russian aviation symbols, firstly looking at the badges and emblems of the pre-war aero clubs, then moving on to the symbols used by the military aviation units. This section looks at each of the Corps’ Aviation. The second part of the book takes you into the early First World War years. This section opens with a look at the markings adopted by other air forces in Europe and how they settled on those, which are still in widespread use today. The final section looks at the markings used by the Russian Empire's air fleet. As well as being illustrated throughout with contemporary black and white photos some contemporary paintings have been used, which have the advantage of being in colour. The book is further illustrated with colour profiles, three-views and colour reconstructions of the markings described in the book. The detail in the book is phenomenal and is unlikely to be repeated, so if this is your field of interest then this book is very much for you, and I look forward to seeing the next three volumes in the series. My thanks to Mushroom Model Publications for supplying the review copy.
INFO
INFO
As the title suggests this book is aimed at armour modellers, but that said it is certainly an inspiring book which has a lot to offer all modellers, as let’s face it most of us do not just build one type of model… The book opens with an introduction looking at the basic theories of colour modulation developed by Mig Jimenez back in 2008. The book then continues with a look at colour theory which is really helpful, it is one of those things which I have heard other modellers talk about but it is the first time I have actually read the information. The next four chapters take the reader on a step-by-step tutorial through painting a AUTHOR: Javier Soler – Concept by model with Zenithal light, Colour Modulation, Illumination by Mig Jimenez panels and Spotlight PUBLISHER: AMMO of Mig Jimenez technique. Of these I S.L. found the spotlight ISBN: 978-84-943198-4-6 technique absolutely FORMAT: 104pp Paperback fascinating and I think it could be transferred to aircraft with perhaps a diorama showing an aircraft half in and half out of a hanger. The book is lavishly illustrated throughout with clear step-by-step photos of real models, obviously the products listed for use are MIG products, but this does not in any way detract from the quality of the book. It will make a really useful reference for your shelf and I can foresee this book getting a lot of use on my workbench. Recommended for all modellers, not just armour modellers. My thanks to Mig Jimenez for supplying the review copy.
WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •
MAY 2015
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SHOP&WEB GUIDE
Promote your company here and appear in all 3 titles – Scale Aviation Modeller International, Model Aircraft and Scale Military Modeller International – with a total 126,000 circulation. Contact Rebecca Harris on +44 (0)1234 224995
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MAY 2015
AND FINALLY
The Back Page By David Francis raditionally at the end of the magazine we have a few final words from the Editor and our look at what is coming next month, but now I am going to try adding a few new features - this is what I have planned.
T
will be starting to feature these on the back page in the My Place section. If you want to share your workspace from tea tray to full-blown workshop, or how you display or store your models, send some photos and few words to the editorial email address
[email protected] or by snail mail to the editorial address.
MY PLACE
THE MODELLING GLOSSARY
Last month I asked for modellers to send me photos of their work area and these have started to come in from all around the world, so from next month I
The Modelling Glossary will be an informative and light-hearted look at modelling terms from around the world. Want to know the difference
between Lacquer thinners and Cellulose thinners (None) or what is CA accelerator. Or even more importantly, what is a Guffle or a Crack Goblin; all will be revealed in the SAMi Modelling Glossary from next month.
AND FINALLY I hope you have enjoyed your latest issue and next month we will have a few more interesting items as well as the first appearance of a car as a feature build in SAMI? Has the new editor really lost the plot so soon? Only time will tell!
Coming Next Month •
Dave Hooper’s Eduard’s SSW 1/48 with a little help from the aftermarket. •
Colin Pickett Builds Revell’s Jaguar in 1/48 scale. •
AZ Model's 1/72 Ki-78 built with period photographs and history of this one-off prototype •
Phillips Ware’s Telford Gold Winning Model, a Wingnut Wings Pfalz D.XII in 1/32 scale, or rather parts of one!
Questions to Contributors If you have a question or query you wish to raise with any of the contributors to this magazine, they should be made IN WRITING to the Media House address. Neither the Editor nor any of the contributors are at Media House on a daily basis and the Editor asks for all enquirers to appreciate this fact and be patient. Please understand that the staff at Media House do not have access to the information you require and therefore cannot answer your questions on the phone. Please enclose a stamped SAE with all enquiries, if you anticipate a reply. Thank you. Samples for Review Scale Aviation Modeller International is always happy to review new products within its pages. Any item which you feel is appropriate will be given due consideration for inclusion in the title. Any company, trade representative, importer, distributor or shop which wishes to have products reviewed within Scale Aviation Modeller International should send them directly to the editorial address and clearly mark them for the attention of the Editor. Confirmation of receipt of the samples will be supplied if requested. For all international companies etc the above applies, but please ensure that the package is clearly marked for customs as a ‘sample, free of charge’ to reduce the risk of unnecessary delays. Thank you. Company/Suppliers Addresses & Enquiries Please note that the Editor and staff at Media House cannot help with general enquires about contact details for companies, importers or model shops whose products may be mentioned in Scale Aviation Modeller International if the address information is not included with the review etc. Please check the advertisements in this journal for all suitable UK sources and only contact the firm directly if it is noted that there is ‘No UK stockist’. We are sorry, but we cannot help with details of companies which do not advertise in this magazine. Also note that neither the Editor nor contributors will undertake specific or general aviation research for enquirers. Thank you.
Copyright Warning Due to the growing misuse and breach of copyright apparent on the web Media House gives notice that no-one is permitted to reproduce in any way (in original form or ‘modified’) anything published in this, or previous editions of this magazine. All design, layout and studio photography is the copyright of Media House. All profiles, scale plans and supporting photographs are the copyright of the individual authors. None of these may be used without prior written agreement from both the author/artist and Media House. Infringement is a breach of international law, so if you see items posted on the web from this magazine other than on the official Media House website (sampublications.com) please advise the publisher immediately.
© Media House 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted (including posting to a website) in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Scale Aviation Modeller International is published monthly by Media House and is distributed to the news trade on the second last Saturday of each month. Next on sale 28 May 2015
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SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
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