Scale Aviation Modeller International - August 2015

y

D S R UH AWCA -1 I LE H N Hu G e S

701-Cover-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 09:50 Page 1

THE No.1 MODELLING MAGAZINE

DEEP SERVICE HUEY

1/35th Diorama By Oliver Doering

Big

Butcher Bird SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM Vol 21 Iss 08 August 2015 £4.50 Printed in UK

Hasegawa’s 1/72nd

Zoukei-Mura’s 1/32nd

Kitty Hawk’s 1/48th

S2F TRACKER

HORTON HO 229

F9F-8T COUGAR

702-Volks-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:40 Page 1

703-Gaspatch-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:40 Page 1

10 Types Lewis Guns

Salmson Late 2A2

h c t s a l e P d s o a m G Scale 1/48 Navy Vickers MKIII 0.5

9 Types Vickers Guns

Lewis RNAS Pattern

Scale 1/32 & 1/48

Scale 1/35 Spandau 08/15

www.gaspatchmodels.com

Spandau Early 08

Parabellum 14

Parabellum 14/17

Copyright © 2015 GasPatchModels All rights reserved

7 Types Metal Turnbuckles

Salmson Mid 2A2

Vickers K

Scale 1/48

Scale 1/35

704-05-Contents-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:09 Page 704

CONTENTS

Scale Aviation Modeller International AUGUST 2015 • VOLUME 21 • ISSUE 8

704 |

IN THIS ISSUE

MODELLERS PORTFOLIO

706 NEWS 708 CZECH OUT 712 CREATIVE TIMES 714 FIRST LOOK 716 ACCESSORIES 720 DECALS 724 SHOW REPORTS 728 REVIEWS 790 CLASSIC PLASTIC 794 BOOKS & MEDIA 798 BACK PAGE

748 UH-1H HUEY 1/72nd Scale Drawings and Colour Artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm

736 BIG BUTCHER BIRD

740 DEEP SERVICE

758 A NEST OF VIPERS

762 STOOFS

A Quick Build of Revell’s 1/32nd Focke Wulf Fw190 F-8 by Angelo Picardo

HUEY

Two 1/144th F-16’s from Revell and Trumpeter by Mike Verier

A 1/72nd model build and conversion of the S2F Tracker by David H. Minton

AUGUST 2015 •

Oliver Doering’s 1/35th Diorama using MRC’s Bell UH-1C Huey

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

704-05-Contents-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:09 Page 705

EDITORIAL

Weather or not

I

know the English are well known for talking about the weather and certainly when my club visited the ModelBrno Show in the Czech Republic it was a big topic of conversation! I am not talking the meteorological type of weather of course, but how weathering was applied to models. The Czechs love their weathering and seem to use all the tricks you can think of from ink panel lines to filters and washes and then add a few pigments and amazing airbrushing for good measure. The results are certainly artistic, but accurate? Well, that is down to the individual! Personally I prefer a much more subdued approach, and have in the last year come to love the Ammo by MIG range of washes which go over my preferred acrylic paints with minimal effort and just pick out

enough detail that they can be seen by a viewer at normal distance from my model on the table at shows - that for me is the key. If you look at a model from 32/48/72 or 144 feet away how much detail can you see? In most cases no panel lines will be visible and maybe just a subtle change in shades between panels, especially on modern types, the only exception I have seen are USN jets just off a carrier and that appearance does not last long. When I toured the Flightline at NAS Oceana last year I was amazed how clean looking most of the F-18 Hornets were, not what I was expecting at all. But if you put something in a show competition that looked as plain as a real aircraft you would probably not get very far. So how much is too much? - well,

that really is down to the modeller, if you love all the weathering processes and can spend hours weathering the panels of your models who’s to say that it is wrong. Certainly I would not and at the end of the day like most things in modelling, beauty is in the eye of the modeller. So whatever you model and however you model the most important thing is to have fun! I hope you enjoy the latest issue of your magazine, and as always if you have any comments please contact me via the editorial email address.

David Francis Editor [email protected]

Subscribe to Scale Aviation Modeller see page 756

770 TWOGAR Kitty Hawk’s 1/48th Grumman F9F-8T Cougar by Steven J. Corvi

774 THE LUFTWAFFE’S FLYING WING Zoukei-Mura’s 1/32nd Horton Ho 229 by Tim Upson-Smith

780 CLARK’S FIELD HobbyBoss’ 1/72nd Zlin Z-42M & Z-142 by Dick Clark

784 PAINT IT WITH TESTORS Special Hobby’s 1/72nd Gloster Meteor T Mk.7.5 by Adam Rehorn

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 705

706-07-News-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:04 Page 706

NEWS

in association with

www.spruebrothers.com

JULY 2015

news AUGUST 2015

A

s I write this I have not long been back from ModelBrno in the Czech republic and most of the news from that show is in the Czech sections on the next page. However, a number of manufacturers have supplied us with details of their plans for the next few months.

SUBSCRIBERS’ MONTHLY PRIZE DRAW WINNER: Mr Moine, Switerland WINNER: Mr Wilkinson, UK WINNER: Mr Minick, USA Entry to the monthly prize draw is FREE to all subscribers

Alley Cat Models The relaunched Alley Cat Models has supplied us with details for their planned releases in July. First off a reissue of the Post War Test Hellcat decal sheets in both 1/72 ACD72005 £5 and 1/48 scales ACD48006 £6.50, I/32 scale might happen if there are enough requests. Next a simple drop-in replacement set of block tread wheels in 1/32 scale mainly

Kitty Hawk Models This company's new 1/32 scale P-39 project moves close with sightings of the marking options and box art, to add to the sprues we previewed last month.

intended for the new 1/32 Tamiya Mosquito kit, but also usable on a Beaufighter. Also in 1/32 scale we have 2 new conversion sets for the Revell 1/32 Bf 109G-6, firstly a conversion for the G-2 AC32011C £8, and then without the unbulged wheel wells, one for the G-4 AC32016C £5. The next new set is AC48054C Intake trunking blanks for the Kitty Hawk F9F Panther and Cougar kits £6. The kit has an empty hole and these parts provide an extension to the fuselage and curved trunking blanks to imitate the missing items and add a little extra nose weight! Not leaving out the very popular 1/72 scale, a set of underwing pods for RAF Air Sea Rescue aircraft, in particular the

B.P. Defiant AC72030C £2.50, also suitable for Lysanders that used a single pod. All of these are available from Alley Cat Models' website this August

Avant-Garde Model Kits New Club Announcement SOUTH SOMERSET MODEL CLUB The start-up of South Somerset (So-So) Model Club, covering the entire southern half of Somerset and East Devon, will result in IPMS modellers from Bristol to Lands End, from Barnstaple to Yeovil being able to access an IPMS club rarely more than one hour’s travel away! The first meeting of the South Somerset (So-So) Model Club will be at 7.0pm on Friday 14th August at Donyatt Bowling Club, near Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0RG Future meetings will be on the 2nd Friday of every month. • For more detailed information, call Club Secretary, Brian: 07932 275 770; • E-mail us: [email protected]; or visit our most informative Website: http://sosomodelclub.wix.com/ssmc Young or old; beginner or expert – all are welcome – we need you!

706 |

AUGUST 2015 •

At ModelBrno this manufacturer had some of the sprues from the MiG31 Foxhound but I discovered too late that my colleague overlooked these when doing photography in favour of Czech Items. What I can say is that the sprues on show did have a good level of detail and some major reinforcement to insure that the moulding have strength as well as no sink marks on the visible surfaces. And the one-piece mouldings of the missiles were a sight to be seen. Sadly we were advised that the 1/32 B-58 hustler poster on display was more of an excuse to display a scantily clad lady than an actual project!

Bronco Models The Red Berets of British Airborne troops have always been a popular choice for figure modellers and now Bronco have

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

stepped up to add a Horsa Glider in 1/35 scale to their range. Test shots and box art have been seen, so expect this one to fly off the shelves later this summer.

706-07-News-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:04 Page 707

NEWS

GT Resin

HobbyBoss J-79 F-4C Exhaust Set: • Correct diameter seamless exhaust tubes • Correct diameter and Highly Detailed nozzles • Highly Detailed rear engine face w/ flame holder and igniter

GT Resin have announced a special release to the 2015 IPMS National Convention of a “F-4C Wild Weasel Super Set” to accurately model the first Phantom SEAD jets used in the closing stages of the Vietnam War. The Super Set is designed to be used with the Tamiya F-4C/D kit; the F-4C Wild Weasel Super Set will contain the following: Complete GT Resin F-4C cockpit featuring: • Highly detailed & corrected one-piece cockpit tub that installs as easily as the kit tub • Highly detailed and accurate sidewalls for both cockpits • Mk 7 USAF Martin Baker ejection seats with moulded seat belts and hardware • Highly detailed pilot instrument panel with dash, integral RHAW Scope and HUD frame mount • Detailed control stick for both cockpits • Landing gear and tail hook operation levers • Front windscreen IFF indicator lights and compass • Detailed Throttles with HOTAS controls • Detailed WSO Radar dish control handle • WSO “Wild Weasel” control panel and side panels • WSO cockpit black boxes and rear seat rails. Phase 1 Weasel Antenna Package: • APR-25 Fin cap equipped Antenna • APR-25 Chin Pod Antenna • APR-25 Blade Antenna • BR-142 DF Intake side mount Antennas • ER-142 Omni Stub Antennas • ER-142 Homing Antennas • ER-142 Receiver • KA-71 Strike Camera and Tape Recorder

• •

• •

• • •

Anti-radiation Missiles with Launchers: New tooled and drawn AGM-45 Shrike missiles complete decals set for 'Shrike Missiles' including colour bands for HE and Phosphorous warheads. New Tooled LAU-34 Launcher cast in multiple parts to get all the details. Decals for the LAU-34’s including launcher serial numbers and corresponding airframe serial numbers Missiles feature integrated rear fins and 4 separate wings Two missiles with launchers provided with each Super Set Detailed Instructions

In the last few year Hobbyboss have been gradually working their way through the various versions of Corsair, Fw 190 and Me 262. And due over the summer we will get some more is the shape of a two-seat night fighter 262, an early Corsair and the Fw 190D-13. HobbyBoss are also starting a new series with the announcement of a Bf 109F-4. I am not sure if that is groans or cries of delight greeting that announcement!

ALQ-87 ECM Pod Decals: • Correct marking for the pods used in training at Nellis and in combat during the Linebacker raids over North Vietnam • Choice of several different pods AIM-7E2 Sparrow Missile set. • The C Weasels carried 2 in the rear Sparrow wells, just in case! • New tooled missiles mastered by Paul Stoner • Missiles are highly detailed with separate control rear fins and separate wings • Missiles come with complete decals that are unique to the E2 version of the Sparrow Missile. • Detailed Instructions

RAM Models

Airframe Marking Decal Set: • Decals Researched and designed by Tony Thornborough This will be a limited production conversion set with 50 units being made for sale. The conversion kit price is $155.00 + shipping though you can pick up at the US Nationals for free. Orders are now open and can be made by emailing : [email protected]

This Month in Model Aircraft A Mighty Juggernaut – Malcolm V. Lowe looks a the history of the P-47 with a full 1:48 model build from Angel Esposito Sentando a Púa’ - Juan Contreras builds the legendary P-47 Thunderbolt in Brazilian markings Battle of Britain Hornet -Derek Heyes reports on the 2015 CF-18 75th Anniversary Jet Sundowners Phantom – Andy Renshaw’s builds an F-4 from VF-111 Combat Zone - Chasing the Bear’ - Anthony Tucker-Jones takes a look at the development of the Soviet Union’s powerful bomber fleet In Profile #5 – The CF-100 Canuk

Air Wars – Fighting Colours - ‘Spey Engined Spooks’ - The British Phantom described with a full model build by James Dickerson MIG Masterclass Mirage MiG Killer - Yoav Efrati builds the Eduard Mirage IIICJ Brazilian Bird - Mario Serelle details the 1:48 HobbyBoss EMB-314 ‘Joker Squadron’ Super Tucano German Jet-Swallow - Marc Rocca builds the 1:48 Tamiya Me 262A-2a

Have announced that they planning to launch a Vickers VC-10 kit in 1/72 scale, each kit will contain two vacform moulded styrene sheets, a clear moulding for the cockpit cover and white metal undercarriage legs and wheels. The kit will be released in four boxings with the same options as the RAM Model 1/144 decal sheets in the decal section. Once completed the model will have a length 67.1cm, and a span 61.8cm.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 707

708-10-CzechNews-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:01 Page 708

NEWS

in association with

www.cmkkits.com

CZECH OUT

Our monthly look at News from the Czech Republic

W

ell, ModellBrno 2015 has now happened and a really good show it was too (see elsewhere in this month's issue for a show report). With so much to see and do, this one-day show goes by in a flash! The Editor and myself tried to see as many people as we could, so here is the latest news from the Czech Republic.

BOA Decals New from BOA is a set of decals in 1/144 scale for the new Italeri kit of the ATR-42500 in EuroLOT markings.

By Tim Upson-Smith

Special Hobby/CMK In the middle of the hall at ModellBrno was a stand with test shot sprues of the proposed new releases from Special Hobby/CMK/MPM. Presented in a variety of scales and a variety of subjects, there looks to be something for most people coming up in the next few months! First up in 1/72 scale is the Folland Gnat F.1/Hindustan Ajeet. I must admit I have always preferred the look of the Gnat in its single seat form. Also in 1/72 for fans of interwar Czech aviation is the Letov S.328; the sprue shots feature floats as well so we can look forward to the land and water versions in due course.

LF Models

In 1/48 scale comes the IMAM Romeo Ro.44 interwar Italian biplane and an SG.38 Schulgleiter. Last but not least, in 1/32 scale the Hawker Tempest Mk II/V/VI. Of all the sprues on display the Tempest appeared to be the least advanced, as it was only the

parts without the sprue frame so we may have to wait a little longer for this one. That said if all of these kits come to fruition this year we are looking at a very good year indeed!

It was a pleasure to meet up with Ladislav from LF Models and see at first hand the range of hand carved wooden propellers. I reported last month that they are available in 1/48 and 1/32 scales, and you can now add 1/28 scale too! Look out in next month's accessory section for a closer look. www.lfmodels.com.

Marabu Design This is another company new to us who we met at ModellBrno, who produce some rather nice looking PE. Two of the examples passed to us for review are for the new 1/72 scale KP kits of the Zlin 226 and the P-51B/C Mustang. The other set is a boarding ladder for the new Revell 1/72 scale JAS-39 Gripen. A look at their web page www.marabudesign.com will show you their full range. We will bring you a closer look at these items in next month's accessories section.

AZ This month sees two new 1/72 scale releases, both of which are presented in several versions. The first is Bf 109G-10 WNF (AZ7502), which is also presented as Bf 109G-10 Diana Special Markings (AZ7503) and Bf 109G-10 Diana of JG 52 (AZ7501). The other release is the Fw 190D-9, the first boxing for an example from JG.2 (AZ7500), the second boxing has special markings (AZ7499). The last two 1/72 scale re-releases this month are JOYPACKs where you get three kits in a box but no decals, these are really great for using up the extra decal options! The first is (AZ7704) Bf 109G2/4/6/14 , JOYPACK,3in1, and the second is (AZ7705) Spitfire Mk IB,IIB,VB,VI, JOYPACK, 3in1. Well I must confess I succumbed and treated myself to the new Macchi M.5 at ModellBrno. A preview is featured elsewhere in this month's issue. I have started to remove the casting blocks and I like what I see!

HpH

708 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

708-10-CzechNews-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:01 Page 709

CZECH OUT

Eduard Three kits from Eduard this month, of the three the 1/48 scale Spitfire M XVI duel combo boxing has to be the pick of the bunch, with options for both the high and low back version and some pretty cool

Fly We have now seen some sprue shots of the new 1/32 scale Wessex and it looks good; as to a release date? Hopefully it is imminent!

Kovozavody Prostejov (KP) colour schemes including a racer! If you like Avia B.534s then you will be pleased to see the 1/72 scale Series 3 B.534 in a weekend boxing, continuing the now traditional two markings options in the box, with a Czech and Luftwaffe option.

If jets are more your thing then the limited edition boxing of 1/48 scale Vietnam Scooters may be up your street, although you will need to move quickly as this item is selling very fast! The kit uses the Hasegawa plastic with Eduard PE and a Brassin seat. Decals are by Cartograph for six Vietnam era A-4E/Fs. August will see the re-release of the 1/48 scale Bristol F.2B Fighter in a Profipack boxing, and the 1/72 scale F6F-5 also in a Profipack boxing. In 1/144 scale we have in the Super44 series the MiG-15 in a Duel Combo boxing, and in 1/48 scale as a limited edition boxing the Yak-1b. We are advised that these will be available at the US Nationals at the end of July. As ever to keep up to date with all of the accessories released by Eduard visit their webpage at www.Eduard.com.

A supprise release from KP at ModellBrno was a 1/72 MiG-23MF (KPM0050), they only had time to mould 300 examples before the show and they all sold, so I hope to bring more news when we recieve a sample for review. The only other new kit this month is an Avia C-10(S-99) (KPM0052). Also released this month are mask sets for the Avia S-199 Late (KPEX004), the Zlin Z126/226 (KPEX005), the Piper L-4/K-68 (KPEX006) and a set for the Piper J-3/NE-1 (KPEX007). KP have also released a PE set for the P-51B/C (KPEX008). I am assured that we can look forward to the Lavochkin family soon in 1/72 scale!

708-10-CzechNews-0815_Layout 1 12/07/2015 10:32 Page 710

NEWS

in association with

www.cmkkits.com

Brengun Two new 1/72 releases from Brengun this

month, first up is the production version of the Letov S.16 bomber and reconnaissance plane (BRP72017) and the second the rocket powered version of their previously released Blohm und Voss BV 40, the BV 40R (BRP72016).

Extratech New from this source is a set of 1/144 scale PE external details for the Zvezda kit of the Ilyushin Il-62M.

Mark 1 Models It was good to catch up with Mark 1 Models at ModellBrno and see the new Beaufighter in 1/144 scale built up. Unfortunately the decals for the kit had not arrived in time for the show, but we hope to bring a look at this one just as soon as we can as I am sure it will be popular! The Beaufighter by the time you read this will be available in three boxings, which are: • Bristol Beaufighter Mk IF ‘Night Fighter’ (MKM14434) • Bristol Beaufighter Mk IC ‘Coastal Patrol’ (MKM14435) • Bristol Beaufighter Mk VIF/C ‘Formidable Fighter’ (MKM14436) • Other news from Mark 1 includes the recent releases of the following: • Focke-Wulf Ta 152H-0 'Reich Defender' (2in1) (MKM14437) • Focke-Wulf Ta 152H-1 'High-altitude Fighter' (2in1) (MKM14438) • Aero L-39ZA Albatros/L-139 Albatros 2000 (MKM14439) • Aero L-39MS/L-59 'Super Albatros' (MKM14441) For further details take a look at the 4+/Mark 1 web page www.4pluspublications.com.

710 |

AUGUST 2015 •

Q-M-T (Quick Model Detail) This is a new company to these pages and one that caught our eye at ModellBrno, as it has just launched a range of PE, resin and masks for British Phantoms in 1/72 and 1/48 scale. The 1/72 scale sets are for the Fujimi kit and the 1/48 scale for the Hasegawa and Revell kits. As well as the Phantom sets they are doing replacement 1/48 scale seamless exhaust nozzles for the Jumo 004 engines in Me 262 kits from Dragon, Italeri, Tamiya and HobbyBoss. A range from Q-M-T that is in the development stage is Quick Model What If; the first conversion kit in preparation is a 1/48 scale Rolls Royce Merlin powered P38 Lightning, which if it had existed would have been quite a beast! Also in preparation is a 1/48 Jumo engined Spitfire. Their web page is under construction at present, but I look forward to seeing what else this company will produce! My thanks to Martin Rychlý for providing us with the review samples, we will bring you a closer look in next month's accessories section.

RS Models Quite a bumper month from RS this month seeing some new kits and some reboxed with new markings; first up is the rather attractive Avia Ba.122 sports biplane with some very nice civil markings (Product code: 92182). Next is the cannon armed version of the Avia B.534, the Bk.534 (Product code: 92186). The Avia Bk.534 was to be a cannon armed version of the B.534 with a licence manufactured HispanoSuiza HS-12Ycrs with the cannon barrel through the hollow airscrew reduction gear shaft. More Avia Bk.534’s were made for the Nazi Luftwaffe than for the Czechoslovak Air Force. With the exception of the three first machines, the Bk.534s from the second batch procured were taken over by the German occupants. Next is the Avia B.534 Series 1. version (Product code: 92185), this kit has been re-boxed with new markings options and is a welcome reissue as it is the beginning of the B.534 family. So far only RS Models and HR Models have produced the Series 1 version of the B 534. The new Flettner Fl 282B-2 (Product code: 92184) will make a rather dimuntive model! The innovative Fl 282 was one of the first operational helicopters that was used on board ships. Being the

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

Czech Company Miss ing from our report ?

If your company or product is no t featured and yo u would like it to be included, pl ease contact us at the edito rial email address.

successor of the Fl 265 which first flew in May 1939, the Fl 282 was only built in small numbers. The prototypes were build in different variants, one- or two-seater, closed or open cockpit. In 1941/1942 the Kriegsmarine used a Fl 282 for tests on board the CL Köln. With a landing platform mounted on turret Bruno, several operational patterns were successfully tested. 32 pre-production aircraft were delivered, and three were taken home as war booty by Russia and the United States. The last release this month is a varient of the Ki-61 I Hein from last month, the Ki-61 Otsu (Product code: 92179). The Ki-61 Hien /Type 3 Fighter was the only Japanese fighter powered by a liquid cooled, inline inverted engine. The Hien came to the frontlines in the summer of 1943 and flew in battles over New Guinea, the Philippines, Okinawa, and in the defence of the Japanese Home Islands. Over 3,000 examples of various Ki-61 variants were built. The Ki-61-I-Otsu was the second production variant. Two 12.7 mm Ho-103 machine guns replaced the wing machine guns and the tailwheel was in a fixed position.

Mastered-Adverts-AV-0815_AV-0606 10/07/2015 12:42 Page 711

HANSEN FINE ART Aviation, Naval & Military Art Specialists

Blackbushe Bound by Roger Murray AGAvA 3 Sizes from £24.00

Curvaceous Connie by Roger Murray AGAvA

BEA Trident by Roger Murray AGAvA 3 Sizes from £24.00

3 Sizes from £24.00

Last Man Home by Paul Couper AGAvA

Running on Vapours by Paul Couper AGAvA

Little and Large by Paul Couper AGAvA

3 Sizes from £24.00

3 Sizes from £24.00

3 Sizes from £24.00

Email: [email protected]

750+ EXCLUSIVE PRINTS ORIGINAL PAINTINGS & GREETINGS CARDS WWW.HANSENFINEART.CO.UK

Tel: 020-3371-9462

712-CreativeTimes-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:00 Page 712

Sponsored by Creative Models www.creativemodels.co.uk

PREVIEWS

CREATIVE TIMES

A Selection of new releases now available from Creative Models TRUMPETER

F-16B/D Fighting Falcon INFO

SCALE: 1/144 KIT NO: TRU03920 PRICE: £9.99

The latest in Trumpeter's F-16 series is the long awaited two-seat version, which comes with two marking options.

STATUS: Revised tooling

TRUMPETER

TRUMPETER

Su-9 “Fishpot”

F-14D ACADEMY

F/A-18C Hornet VMA-232 Red Devils

KIT NO: TRU02896 PRICE: £34.99 STATUS: New Tool

KIT NO: TRU03919 PRICE: £9.99

SCALE: 1/72

INFO

SCALE: 1/144

INFO

INFO

SCALE: 1/48

Both the 1/72 and 1/32 scale Hornets have been reissued with very colourful markings for the U.S Marines “ Red Devils”. Again the amazing decals sheet could be sold on its own for more than the price of the kit,

KIT NO: ACA12520 PRICE: £15.99 STATUS: New Decals

STATUS: Revised Tooling

A long pipe with wings is probably the best description of this aircraft, and at nearly twice the size of a MiG-21 a real beast of a model.

Probably the best 1/144 Tomcat has now been upgraded to the final variant, the F-14D; markings for one high viz and one low viz aircraft are included.

REVELL

REVELL

Eurofighter Bronze Tiger

Mil Mi-24 “Hind-D”

TRUMPETER

Chengdu J-7G Personally I had never heard of this aircraft, starting as a licence-built MiG-21 the

SCALE: 1/48

KIT NO: RV03790 PRICE: £6.50 STATUS: New Decal

INFO

SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: TRU02861 PRICE: £24.99 STATUS: Revised Tooling

712 |

AUGUST 2015 •

Chinese have upgraded the airframe with a double-delta wing as well as many internal changes. This model comes with markings for the Chinese Air Force and a very nice low viz grey option from Pakistan.

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

The Revell Eurofighter is a great kit and this reissue adds an amazing decal sheet for the Bronze tiger scheme that if sold separately would cost twice as much as the kit!

INFO

INFO

SCALE: 1/144

KIT NO: RV04942 PRICE: £22.99 STATUS: Reissue Ex Monogram

Surprisingly this is still the best Mi-24 in 1/48 scale so a welcome reissue from Revell with new decals for East Germany and Post-unification Germany and Poland.

713-Ultimate-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:40 Page 1

Ultimate Burnishing Liquid Our carefully developed weathering liquid designed for use with metal tracks, such as those produced by Friul Models, provides a fast and effective solution to make your aftermarket tracks look naturally weathered & rusty. .....A must for all AFV modellers..... Ultimate Thinner & Cleaner Our Ultimate Thinner & Cleaner is specifically formulated to work with ALL brands of acrylic modellers paint. Our blended formula provides a fast drying, smooth finish every time. Weathering Wash Our weathering wash has been formulated with several key non-toxic ingredients to bring you a superior clay based wash to add detail and realism to your model. Modellers Sanders We have a full range of sanding solutions including normal modellers sanders, thinny sticks & thinny sponges for finer work plus exceptionanlly fine buffers for a completely smooth finish. Photo-Etch Placer Our photo-etch placer is a re-usable wax based positioning stick that will help to hold and place even the smallest piece of photo-etch or styrene.

email: [email protected]

www.umpretail.com

714-15-FirstLook-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:59 Page 714

FIRST LOOK

SBS MODELS 1/72

D.H.88 Comet By Tim Upson-Smith his new release from SBS can only be described as sublime! Normally when you open a resin kit there are massive pour stubs to remove, but this kit has none what so ever. The kit comes in a stout-top opening box with colour artwork for your chosen option; I could not resist the ‘Black Ones’ boxing which includes ‘Black Magic’ and its Portuguese incarnation ‘Salazar’. Other boxings available are French and RAF Comets, and Red and Green Comets, this last boxing of course including the most famous Comet, ‘Grosvenor House’. The resin parts in this kit are first rate and this is the first resin kit where I have seen proper locating pins on the fuselage

T

and tongue and slot fixings for the wings. When I spoke to the chaps from SBS at ModellBrno they said the kit had been over a year and half in the making, and the final product really shows that labour of love that went into it. As well as the resin parts there is a small PE fret for cockpit and undercarriage details and a white

The kit had been over a year and half in the making

714 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

metal landing gear which is cast in the UK by Marsh Models. The instructions are provided on a folded A4 sheet and are clear and easy to follow. Surprisingly no colour callouts are given for the interior but a quick ‘Google’ search reveals a number of cockpit shots of the preserved D.H.88 at the Shuttleworth Collection in the UK; that said, this may not be in original colours so a bit of artistic licence could be used. The colour and markings sheet is colour printed on A5 with a scheme on either side. The decals look really good with the markings for ‘Black Magic’ printed in gold, as they should be. A nice touch is that the propeller stencils are also included on the sheet, something that is often missed. I am really looking forward to building this one, once I can clear a slot on my very busy workbench! My thanks to SBS Models for providing the review sample, and the full range and profiles of all the available Comet options can be seen at www.sbsmodel.com

714-15-FirstLook-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:59 Page 715

FIRST LOOK

HPH MODELS 1/32

Macchi M.5 Flying Boat Fighter By Tim Upson-Smith s I mentioned in last month’s Czech Out column, this kit came out of the blue with no fanfare or build-up whatsoever! After seeing the kit in the resin at ModellBrno in the Czech Republic (which as I write was only last weekend) I could not resist treating myself. The kit comes in the standard HpH sturdy top-opening box, in which you find a number of re-sealable plastic bags containing all the resin parts, the etched steel fret, the HGW fabric seatbelts, the decals, the clear resin windshield, the wooden beaching trolley and a compact disc with the instructions on it. As an aside it should be noted that the HpH instruction booklets can be downloaded as PDF files from the HpH webpage and if you have the capability can be opened in iBooks on your mobile device. Of course also in the box is the small chocolate, which has become a standard treat to be found in an HpH kit! The resin castings for this compact flying boat fighter really do look good, the fuselage is of particularly note as it is almost a single casting, and the cockpit is inserted from below and is

A

outer-wing support struts; an Albion Alloys strut-maker and a supply of brass tube and rod will sort that out, though. The beaching trolley for the flying boat has been supplied in laser cut wood along with a couple of trestles to support either end of the fuselage. A number of parts on the PE fret are used to dress up the trolley, which should look very good with a couple of washes.

The resin castings for this compact flying boat fighter really do look good

sealed in by the bottom of the hull of the boat keeping seam lines to an absolute minimum. The wings feature beautifully restrained rib tapes and stitching which will look just right under a coat of paint. As is the case with other HpH kits you will need to do a bit of scratchbuilding for the

In this release from HpH the markings are supplied as decals and they supply two Italian options. • 1. Macchi M.5 M.7288, Tenete DV Alberto Bantolozzo OC, 260a Squadriglia Venice, summer 1918. This option features a skull motif on the nose and red and green stripes around the rear of the fuselage/hull. • 2. Macchi M.5 M.13083 261a Squadriglia Venice, 1918; this aircraft has the white painting of the waterline on the hull extended up the sides in a zigzag pattern. I am sure that with this release the aftermarket decal manufactures will produce the markings for the fish/dragon-adorned example.

CONCLUSION The casting blocks on this kit seem to be smaller than on other HpH kits and therefore easier to remove, the parts count is also lower due to the diminutive size of the original, so a quick and relatively easy build should follow suitable for anyone with some experience working with resin. This kit will be next on my bench and I have set myself the challenge of completing it for the Eday issue of SAMI on sale in September 2015!

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 715

716-18-Accessories-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:16 Page 716

ACCESSORIES

GT Resin

SBS Models At Model Brno we caught up with Hungarian manufacturer SBS who have been spending most of their time on their new D.H.88 Comet family. But this has not stopped them from producing three new 1/72 scale wheel sets. We start with both four- and five-spoke wheels for the Supermarine Spitfire as well as a more modern set for the Revell Saab Gripen. What I particularly like about this set is that the tyres do not have that heavily punctured look seen on some other sets.

1/72 SCALE Spitfire 4-spoke wheel set Part No 72027 Designed for :Any Spitfire 5-Spoke Wheel Set Part No 72028 Designed for :Any SAAB Gripen Wheel Set Part No 72030 Designed for: Revell

CONCLUSION Three simple resin sets for those who feel the need to upgrade the kit wheels on their Spitfire or Gripen. The full range can be seen online at their new website www.sbsmodel.com and in the UK the SBS range is now being stocked by Hannants. Our thanks to SBS Models for the samples.

This manufacturer was not one that I was aware of until I heard about them via a friend who had purchased their F-4G sets for his Revell Phantom. I was immediately impressed by their range which covers a range 1/32 aircraft including no fewer than 35 sets for nearly every visible area of the Phantom for all major variants available in kit form. This month we have details of some of their latest sets, which cover both the Tamiya F-4 and F-16, as well as three sets that combine existing individual detail sets in one-stop packages for Trumpeter's F-105D/F/G.

1/32 SCALE F-16C Block 42/52 NSI Intake and Exhaust Set This set supplies a set of seamless intake and exhaust for the Tamiya F-16CJ, something I found nearly impossible to achieve on my review kit. F-4 USAF Resin Intakes for Tamiya This set supplies seamless intakes and fans with the correct detail for a USAF operated aircraft. F-4 USN Resin Intakes for Tamiya This set is identical to the one above but with the fans changed to the US Navy version, which is also suitable for anyone building one of 74 Squadron's F-4J (UK) Phantoms. F-105D Detail Set This set includes a correct profile radome, ventral fin and tail surfaces plus a one-piece

716 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

seamless exhaust, strike camera and RHAW sensor, which are supplied in all of the F-105 Thunderchief detail sets. You also receive a detailed canopy frame for the D variant. F-105F Detail Set The standard package as above plus a detailed canopy frame for the F-105F F-105G Detail Set The standard package as above plus a detailed canopy frame for the F-105G F-105B Corrected Nose This can be combined with the GT resin individual sets or the F-105D Detail Set to produce the distinctive pointed nose of the B variant.

CONCLUSION I am very impressed with this range and if you like large scale metal you really should check out this range on the Large Scale Planes modelling forum which hosts GT Resin's stock list and order details (www.largescaleplanes.com) and they also have a store at http://stores.ebay.c...enter762 ?_rdc=1. They can also be contacted direct via email at [email protected]. Our thanks to Gary of GT Resin for supplying the information on his range.

716-18-Accessories-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:16 Page 717

ACCESSORIES

Brengun The latest batch of sets from Brengun includes a simply stunning multi-media representation of an A/S32A-32 Spotting dolly in 1/72 scale. This is a small motorised unit that is used to move aircraft on United States Navy carrier decks and its small size and tight steering circle means that it can be used in very confined areas of the carrier deck not possible with larger units. This mini kit is predominantly resin with brass details, while a small decal sheet supplies you with stencil markings. Moving up to 1/32 scale we have a resin and brass representation of the cylindrical fuel tank that was rarely seen under the fuselage of the Supermarine Spitfire. Finally in 1/144 scale we have a simple set to produce four steel containers and

Master Models Last month we reviewed a selection of new releases from Master Models, and this month we have the rest of the sets in the latest shipment which is actually very similar to last month's but in different scales. Each set comes with a small instruction sheet, not needed on the one-piece pitot tubes but very handy on the Spitfire set.

1/32 SCALE although slightly more complicated is an amazing 50plus brass set to add detail to Revell’s F-18 Hornet family. A nice touch is that brass is supplied for all the missile fins which in this scale are tiny, but Brengun have also supplied six templates to make sure these are assembled square and true.

BRL 144110 F/A-18C Detail Set Designed for Revell

1/72 SCALE BRS 72003 A/S32A-32 Spotting Dolly

1/32 SCALE

1/48 SCALE

BRL32- 019 50 Gal British Drop Tank

AM-48-106 Aero L-39 Albatros Pitot Tube Designed for: MPM

1/144 SCALE

CONCLUSION

BRL 144111 Steel Containers X4

I am truly stunned by the spotting dolly and I really hope that Brengun would consider producing the item in 1/144 and 1/32 scale at some point in the future. 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.

Expo Tools Airbrush and Compressor set By Alec Smith Expo Tools have boxed up a very nice Airbrush and Compressor set (AB605) that although aimed more at the beginner end will be suitable for most modellers at a very reasonable price. There is a nice amount of clever engineering, for want of a better word, in the set, with the

AM-32-076 Aero L-29 Delfin Pitot Tube Designed for: HPH Models

AM-48102 Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX/XVIE Gun Barrels Late version with rounded fairings Designed for: Eduard

1/72 SCALE AM-72-083 Folland Gnat T.1 Pitot Tube Designed for: Airfix

AM-72-084 Aero L-29 Delfin Designed for: Any compressor having a parking slot for the airbrush. The dual action airbrush is of the gravity feed hopper variety, and has a decent size hopper. It also comes with a braided hose that is a good 6ft long! The action works very smoothly with the spray width being adjustable between 0.5 and 40mm. All of this along with the mains power adaptor come in a very nice and durable looking foam lined metal and ABS plastic compact ‘flight’ style case, making for a great all round little package, perfect for those who travel. Thanks to Expo Tools for the review sample.

AM-72-085 Aero L-39 Albatross Designed for: Eduard

CONCLUSION Honestly, in my view these are among the most-value accessories that we receive and the gun barrels in particular offer truly outstanding value for under £5.00. The full Master range can be viewed on their website at www.master-model.pl and in the UK the range will be stocked by Hannants and also available from the Master Model stand at Telford in November. Our thanks to Piotr Czerkasow for supplying us with the review samples.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 717

716-18-Accessories-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:17 Page 718

ACCESSORIES

Attack Squadron Models

Aero-line By Plus Model Handed over at Model Brno were the three latest additions to the Aero-line. In 1/72 scale we have another set for the Roden C123 Provider, this time the tail surfaces are supplied in resin with etched brass detail, and at this rate there may not be much of the original donor kit left if you use all the Plus Model sets. Also in 1/72 scale we have a beautiful example of the Wright R-3350, an engine that powered many types from the A-I Skyraider to the B-29 Superfortress, to name but two. Finally in 1/48 scale we have a nicely cast Japanese WW2 pilot with one hand on hip, while the other holds a Katana sword in its scabbard.

Attack Squadron have returned to their first love, 1/72 scale US Navy with three of this month's five sets. We start with a really simple conversion for the USN version of the B-25 Mitchell, the PBJ-1H, which basically has a large radome grafted on to the starboard wing which Attack supply in resin. Another simple conversion set is to produce a non-folding plank-wing F4F-3

which can be easily fitted to Hasegawa’s F4F-4 Wildcat. Finally we have a set of RATO rockets to mount to your heavily loaded A-4 Scooter, or to be more accurate Scooters, as two sets of RATO bottles are supplied. The only nonNavy subjects is a set of five F-16 pylons for the recent Tamiya F16C Block 50 and a replacement stabilizer set which includes brass discharge wicks.

1/72 SCALE PBJ-1H Wing Mounted Radar Product No: 72-021 Designed for: Any B-25H F-16 Pylons Product No: 72-030 Designed for: Tamiya

F4F-3 Wildcat/Martlet III Conversion Product No: 72-041 Designed for: Hasegawa RATO for A-4 Skyhawk Product No: 72-044 Designed for: Any

CONCLUSION F-16 Stabilizers Product No: 72-034 Designed for: Any

1/72 SCALE Tail Surfaces for C-123 Provider Part No. AL7012 Wright R-3350 Engine Part No. AL7013

These are simple, high quality resin sets and are highly recommended; to see the full range visit www.attacksquadron.pl where you can also see a list of stockists from around the world. Our thanks to Attack Squadron for supplying us with the review samples.

1/48 SCALE Pilot A6M Zero Part No. AL4057

Revell Tools

CONCLUSION Another nice selection of resin sets from the Aeroline range, definitely worth seeking out. If you are interested in this range you can purchase them direct from the manufacturer at www.modelchoice.net and in the UK this range is now available from Hannants Our thanks to Plus Model for supplying the review sample.

It is a logical move for some of the larger kit manufacturers to sell a range of tools that can be purchased at the same time as you purchase their model kits. This month we have 3 samples from the Revell range which are all made to a very high standard.

TWEEZER SET Part Number 39063 This set provides 3 styles of tweezers: 1. Pointed nose, straight 2. Pointed nose, curved 3 Self Locking

PRECISION SAW A fine saw with three different profile blades that are easily interchangeable, perfect for conversion work .

718 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

HAND DRILL This is my favourite of the three sets as it fits the hand so comfortably and also includes three useful sizes of drills, 0.7, 1.0 and 1.3mm Our thanks to Revell for supplying the review samples which can be purchased from hobby shops that stock the Revell range, which can also be seen on their web site at www.revell.dr/eng

719-SAC-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:40 Page 1

Scale Aircraft Conversions White Metal & Resin Aircraft Parts Since 1990

32094 Pfalz D.IIIa Landing Gear (WW) (replacement for 1/32 Wingnut Wings) MSRP $15.95

48281 SAAB Viggen Landing Gear (Tar) (replacement for 1/48 Tarangus) MSRP $19.95

72103 Rafale M Landing Gear (Rev)

14419 C-119 Boxcar Landing Gear (Rod)

(replacement for 1/72 Revell) MSRP $13.95

(for all 1/144 Roden C-119 variants) MSRP $12.95

C-46 Curtis Commando in JSDF Livery

Carmel Attard (a.k.a. “The Maltese Magician) proves that a 40 year old kit can be used to produce eye popping results. Carmel replaced the vintage William’s Brothers kit gear with SAC gear which offers greater strength and improved detail. An in-depth review can be viewed at: http://www.arcair.com/Gal14/13301-13400/gal13357-C-46DAttard/00.shtm.

scaleaircraftconversions.com

720-22-Decals-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:15 Page 720

DECALS

Print Scale Decals The latest from Russian manufacturer Print Scale include a truly stunning digital scheme for the Su25s of the Ukrainian Air Force in 1/72 scale. The other 3 sheets this month are for aircraft in low viz in the shape of the EA-6 Prowler, F-15 Eagle and CH-53 Super Stallion. The instructions supply all the information you need as well as period photographs with descriptions of the colours rather than matches to individual paint ranges.

1/72 SCALE PS72-069 Digital Su-25 Frogfoot • 1. Su-25, Blue 6, 299th Aviation Brigade, Kulbakino, Nikolaev, 2014 • 2. Su-25, Blue 7, 299th Aviation Brigade, Kulbakino, Nikolaev, 2014 • 3. Su-25, Blue 8, 299th Aviation Brigade, Kulbakino, Nikolaev, 2014 • 4. Su-25, Blue 38, 299th Aviation Brigade, Kulbakino, Nikolaev, 2014 • 5. Su-25, Blue 40, 299th Aviation Brigade, Kulbakino, Nikolaev, 2014

Starfighter Decals There are few manufacturers who produce decal sheets in 1/144 scale, but fortunately for US Navy fans Starfighter have made many sheets in this scale, and this month we have the latest featuring three legacy F-18Cs with attractive markings. The decals are well printed and this is just as well as a small registration issue would have ruined this sheet. But the printers have got it as near perfect as possible in the scale. The instructions supply all you need to know for all three schemes.

PS72-67 F-15E Strike Eagles This sheet supplies 9 options all of which have bomb scoreboards on the fuselage sides from missions in Afghanistan between 2007 and 2009. No squadron details are

• •

PS72-137 Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion • CH-53E Super Stallion, 162483, YK/07, HMH-466 “Wolfpack” MCAS Tustin, California 1980. • CH-53E Super Stallion, 161533, HC/533, HC-4 ”Black Stallions” Sigonella Italy, 1993 • CH-53E Super Stallion, 161184, EN/04, HMH-464 ”Condors” MCAS New River, North Carolina, 1990

1/144 SCALE SD144-204 Legacy Hornets in Colour • 1. F-18C Hornet, VFA-87, Golden Warriors, CVW-8, 2005 • 2. F-18C Hornet, VFA-105 Gunslingers, CVW-3, 2004-5 • 3. F-18C Hornet, VFA-113, Stingers, CVW-14, 2000-1

CONCLUSION If you needed an excuse to lay down a couple of Revell F18Cs plus Retro Kits' resin cockpits and upgrades plus this sheet you will have a nice little collection of Hornet models for less than the cost of an out-of-the-box 1/48 scale example. These sheets are available from Starfighter-decals.com and Hannants in the UK.

CONCLUSION I really like these sheets, especially the Digital Frogfoots, and I am pleased to say that these sheets are available in 1/48 scale as well. Our thanks to Olimp Models for supplying the samples from the Print Scale range. supplied but they carry the tail codes from Seymour Johnson, Davis Monthan and Lakenheath. PS72-073 EA-6B Prowler • EA-6B Prowler, AB621, BuNo. 159584, AB621, VAQ-137 “Rooks” • EA-6B Prowler, AB500, BuNo. 160709, AB500, VAQ-137 “Rooks” • EA-6B Prowler, “Rookie” BuNo. 161779, VAQ-137 “Rooks

720 |

AUGUST 2015 •

EA-6B Prowler, “Ready on Arrival” BuNo. 163047, VAQ-137 “Rooks” EA-6B Prowler, NK500, BuNo. 163527, VAQ139 “ Cougars”

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

720-22-Decals-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:15 Page 721

DECALS

RAM Decals At last the prayers of our group editor have been answered with the release by RAM Decals of a decal sheet devoted to the early days of Royal Navy and Royal Air Force F-4K and M Phantoms in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale, perfect for the Fujimi and Hasegawa kits. But they have not stopped with just the Phantoms as they have also produced a sheet for four 1/144 scale VC-10 Tankers of the RAF, all carrying special anniversary schemes. • 1/144 RAM144-001 VC-10 C Mk 1 Anniversary Schemes “The Complete History” • 1. Vickers VC-10 C Mk 1K, XV104, Red Tail celebrating 40 years of RAF service. • 2. Vickers VC-10 C Mk 1K, XV102, Tail markings celebrating 1,000 years of the county of Oxfordshire. • 3. Vickers VC-10 C Mk 1K, XV105, Black Tail celebrating 90 years of 101 Squadron. • 4. Vickers VC-10 C Mk 1K, XR808, Celebrating 50 years of VC-10 operations and the 95th anniversary of 101 Squadron. •

•

•

•

1/72 SCALE RAM72-001 Early British Phantoms • 1. McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 XT595 Flown by Chief Test Pilot Joe Dobronski, June 1966 • 2. McDonnell Douglas •

•

Phantom FG.1 XT595 Flown by Chief Test Pilot Joe Dobronski, June 1966. 3. McDonnell Douglas Phantom Alternative Markings for option above 4. McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 XT859, 725 of 700P Naval Air Squadron, Intensive Flying Trials Unit, RNAS Yeovilton, September 1968. 5. McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 XT867, Naval Air Support Unit, RNAS Yeovilton, September 1968. 6. McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 XT857, Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment. Royal Navy during deck trials aboard HMS Eagle, 10 - 21 March 1969. 7. McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 XT868, 767 Naval Air Squadron. RNAS Yeovilton, 17th July 1971. 8. McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 XV579, 797 Naval Air Squadron, RNAS Yeovilton 1969. 9. McDonnell Douglas •

Phantom FG.1 XT853. BAe 1967, F-4M XT852, 17th July 1967 10. McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 XT597, Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment, Boscombe Down, 1982.

1/48 SCALE RAM48-001 Early British Phantoms Same as the 1/72 scale sheet

CONCLUSION I am strangely drawn to the RAF camouflaged example carrying the Yellow Bird of 767 RNAS on the tail and am now looking at auction sites to see if I can pick up the Hasegawa kit to put it on. The VC-10 sheet is not really my scale in 1/144 but that black tail scheme would nice on RAM Models' 1/72 kit due for release later this year. Our thanks to RAM Models for the decal sheets which can be ordered at www.rammodels.co.uk

Out Now!

MDF Scaled Down #3

Fairey Firefly

In this new MDF Scaled Down book, author Paul Bradley looks at the history and development of this famous British carrier-borne aircraft, and its operational use from World War II to the Korean War and beyond. Variants, Squadrons and Operators Walk Arounds Colour Side Views Model Builds and Kitography £9.99 Order from the SAM Shop

www.sampublications.com +44 (0)1234 211245

720-22-Decals-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:15 Page 722

DECALS

Xtradecal Prussia, 1939. 3. Heinkel He 111P-2, 1G+DL, 3/KG27, “Mak-Man Haben” Munster-Handorf, 1940. 4. Heinkel He 111P-2, 1G+FH, 5/KG27 “Hexe” Gabblingen, 1939 5. Heinkel He 111P-2, 1G+EK, 1/KG27 “Spassmacher” Neukuhren, 1939 6. Heinkel He 111P-2, G1+JL, 3/KG55, France 1940. 7. Heinkel He 111P-2, S7+HA, Stab Atg/3, Derna, Libya, 1941 8. Heinkel He 111P-2, 25+E33, 3/KG255, Menningen, 1939.

The latest decals from Xtradecal are all for Pre-War and World War 2 subjects from both the Luftwaffe and its allies as well as the RAF. In both 1/72 and 1/48 scale we have sheets for Battle of Britain Spitfires and Hurricanes, while in the smaller scale we have sets for the He 111P including one in an early three-colour splinter camouflage which is very attractive. A similar scheme also features on the sheet for the Ju 87 which has a stunning selection of schemes from different Axis nations. Each sheet has instructions with colour profiles and colour instructions using the Xtracolor range.

1/72 SCALE •

•

•

•

•

•

X72220 Heinkel He 111P-2 • 1. Heinkel He 111P-2, IG+BB, Stab.1/KG27 "Der alte Fritz” Paul Hollinde, Gablington, 1939 • 2. Heinkel He 111P-2, IG+HL,3/KG27 “Luftikus” East

X7221 Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a Battle of Britain Part 1 • 1. Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a, R6776, QV-H, 19 Squadron, Flt/Sgt George Unwin, RAF Fowlmere • 2. Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a, R6800, LZ-N, 66 Squadron, S/Ldr R Leigh, RAF Gravesend. • 3. Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a, P9398, KL-B, 54 Squadron, P/Off Alan Deere, RAF Hornchurch • 4. Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a, RN-N, F/Off Desmond Sheen, 72 Squadron, RAF Leconfield. • 5. Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a, K9935, ZP-A, Flt/Lt Sailor Malan, RAF Hornchurch. • 6. Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a, N3290, GR-U, 92 Squadron, RAF Hornchurch. • 7. Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a, X4382, LO-G, 602 Squadron, RAF Westhampnett.

8. Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a, N3093, QJ-W, 616 Squadron, Flt/Lt Denis Gillam, RAF Leconfield. 9. Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a, X4593, UO-A, 266 Squadron, RAF Wittering •

•

X 7222 Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 Battle of Britain • 1. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1,P3395, JX-B, 1 Sqn, Flt/Lt Arthur 'Darkie' Clowes RAF Northolt. • 2. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1,P2754, YB-W, 17 Sqn, RAF Debden. • 3. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1,P3144, GZ-B, 32(F) Sqn, RAF Hawkinge. • 4. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1,P2798, LK-A, 87 Sqn, Flt/Lt Ian Gleed RAF Exeter. • 5. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1, unknown serial, SO-E, 145 Sqn, RAF Croydon. • 6. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1, L1754, DZ-E, 151 Sqn, RAF Martlesham Heath. • 7. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1, P2946, VK-A, 238 Sqn, RAF Middle Wallop. • 8. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1,V7467, LE-D, 242(Canadian), Sqn/Ldr Douglas Bader RAF Coltishall.

•

•

9. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1,V6665 RF-J 303 (Warsaw-Kosciusco) Polish Sqn Flt/Lt J.E.Kent RAF Northolt. 10. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1,P3148, NN-Q, 319 (Czech) Sqn RAF Duxford.

1/48 SCALE X48143 Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1a Battle of Britain Part 1 This set includes options 1,4,6,7,8,9 from the 1/72 scale set. • X48144 Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 Battle of Britain This set includes options 4,5,8,9,10 from the 1/72 scale set.

CONCLUSION These are both superb sheets, very well printed with good instructions and colour notes keyed to this manufacturer's enamel and acrylic paint ranges. If you have any of the three subjects above on the bench it is well worth seeking out these sheets. Our thanks to Hannants for supplying the review samples.

Old 66 Decals with Starfighter Decals I am sure many modellers in their 50’s will remember the Apollo space flights and the recovery of the crew by Helicopter 66 of HS-4 after the capsule's landing in the Pacific. And many like me also waited and hoped for the recovery of Apollo 13 after a near disastrous fire in an oxygen tank led to this craft's return to earth in dramatic fashion. Which of course many years later was turned into an award winning film. Now using the Hasegawa Sea King as a base, Starfighter and Old 66 Decals have produced a decal to produce Old 66 as it appeared during and immediately after the Apollo 13 mission, and a few extra decals are supplied so you can also produce the aircraft at the time of the Apollo 12 mission if you have the references. The instructions not only supply full colour profiles but clear instructions on how to adapt the Hasegawa

722 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SH-3H to the earlier SH-3D, though some scratchbuilding will be needed to produce the cameras and their associated mountings. You are also supplied with a template to reduce the size of the stabilizer to the early appearance. Of course you also get a history of the aircraft as well as a discussion of the evolution of its markings.

1/48 SCALE AD4802 “Old 66” The Navy’s most famous Sea King 1. SH-3D, BuNo152711, Old 66, HS-4, Apollo 13 recovery 17th April 1970

CONCLUSION This is a very nice sheet, and I am really hoping that some enterprising manufacturer will produce the

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

camera mounts and Yagi antennas so there would only be minimal modification to the kit parts for less skilled modellers, like me, who struggle to make complicated structures from tubing and plastic. These sheets are available from starfighter-decals .com and also in the UK from Hannants.

723-AcrylicosVallejo-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:40 Page 1

i

l

i

j

2015 i dd 1

23/06/15 11 46

724-25-Show-580Mod-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:14 Page 724

SHOW REPORT

The Northern Model Show was even better than last year. Although personally I missed the railway traders, who were present last year, they had been replaced by more major traders to the show this year, who had evidently heard this has now become a show that is not to be missed. There were some unbelievable bargains too with the recent Zvezda 747-800 in 1/144 being offered for just £10 (yes, new).

Double Top SUNDAY 24TH MAY & SUNDAY 7TH JUNE

North Midlands Expo & Northern Model Show By Geoff Cooper-Smith of 580 Modellers omething slightly different this month, as 580 Modellers have attended two shows since the previous report; one with, and one without, your columnist (who was once again enjoying the sun in southwest Spain), so the text covers the North Midlands Expo, while the photos cover the Northern Model Show. The North Midlands Expo signified the rebirth of the old Meir Model Show, which last occurred in 2010, since when they have been looking for a new venue. The reborn show was held at the Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, Blurton, Stoke-on-Trent (jointly with Black Pyramid Gaming) with no less than six of the 580 crew exhibiting,

S

including a new exhibitor: ‘Michael's Dad’. Michael Booth exhibited with us for the first time at Cosford this year (remember his wonderful hand painted Airfix Do 17?) and brought his whole family along. The crew reported back that the venue and food (a Meir tradition) were good but some work is needed on other things, particularly the tables, seating and the layout in general. Due to the surfeit of table space the competition became well subscribed and 580 talent shone through as we took no less than two gold, three silver and two bronze, which is quite a haul. So congratulations are due to all who have worked hard to revive the show

The hosts once again put on a large display themselves of great variety. That ain’t any ordinary MiG-21, with an attendant fueller, that’s a PFM!

Our Rob Cookson took the Andy Hodgson Trophy for Best in Show, this being his second such award in a row. Rob, who has been knocking out a succession of Wingnut Wings masterpieces in recent months decided to ‘take a break’, which constituted producing a ‘scaled down’ Roden D.H.2 in 1/48; there really is no hope for the rest of us and we really are not worthy.

724 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

and I am sure they will learn from the experience and return with an improved show next year, although Meir Model Club are actually already no more (!!!), for after the show they changed their name to Stoke-on-Trent Model Club, to better reflect the area they serve. Finally, a small indulgence if I may: One of the 580 crew, Radleigh Bushell, will probably be recuperating from a major back operation by the time this appears in print and consequently we wish him all the best and a speedy and trouble free recovery and naturally a quick return to the fold.

724-25-Show-580Mod-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:14 Page 725

SHOW REPORT

Model Show News Compiled by Geoff Cooper-Smith of 580 Modellers JULY 2015

09th (Sunday)

BASEMENT PRESENTS FIGUREWORLD

IPMS AVON IN ASSOCIATION WITH LINCOMBE BARN WARGAMING SOCIETY PRESENT THE PLASTIC MODEL AND WARGAMING SHOW

at Oundle School, New Street, Oundle, Northants, PE8 4GH. Doors open at 09.30 and the show closes at 16.00. Admission is £3. For further details see: www.facebook.com/FigureworldModelShow for further details.

25th (Saturday) Please note the change of date

IPMS DUNDEE PRESENTS THE EAST OF SCOTLAND MODEL SHOW at Marryat Hall, Caird Hall Complex, Dundee, DD1 3BY. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 4pm. Admission is adult £3, child/concession £2, family (2 adult, 2 children) £8. For further details see: www.ipmsdundee.co.uk.

at Thornbury Leisure Centre, Alveston Hill, Thornbury, South Gloucester, BS35 3JB. This is the 25th Jubilee Show for IPMS Avon and the show has expanded further, now occupying all 3 halls! Doors open at 09.30 and the show closes at 16.30. Admission is adults £4.50, children under 16 £2.00. For further details see: ipmsavon.org.uk.

SAMI ATTENDING 16th (Sunday)

HULL SCALE MODEL CLUB PRESENT THEIR FIRST HULL MODEL EXPO at KC Stadium, West Park, Hull, HU3 6HU, in support of the Hull Veterans Support Centre. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 4pm. Admission is adults £2, OAPs £1, children free. For further details see: www.hullscalemodelclub.co.uk.

26th (Sunday)

The winner of Junior Best in Show was this very nicely constructed and finished Spitfire, which thoroughly deserved its accolade.

AUGUST 2015

25th (Saturday)

IPMS BIRMINGHAM PRESENTS MIDLANDEXPO 2015 at Leasowes Sports Centre, Leasowes High School, Kent Road, Halesowen, B62 8PJ. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 4pm. Admission is adults £4, OAPs and children £2, family (2 adults and 2 children) £10. For further details see: midlandexpo.blogspot.co.uk.

SAMI ATTENDING 26th (Sunday)

IPMS HORNCHURCH, IPMS SOUTH EAST ESSEX, CHELMSFORD AND ESSEX MAFVA PRESENT THE ESSEX MODELLERS SHOW

23rd (Sunday)

IPMS LANCASHIRE HOST THEIR ANNUAL NORTH WEST KIT SWAP at The Canberra Club, Samlesbury Aerodrome, Balderstone, Lancashire, BB2 7LF. Doors open at 10am and the event closes at 3pm. Admission is adults £1, children free. Tables for hire at £5 each, which includes entry for one. For further details see: ipmslancashshire.wordpress.com.

at Hannakins Farm Community Centre, Rosebay Ave, Billericay, Essex, CM12 0SZ. Doors open at 10am and the show closes at 4pm. Admission is adults £3, Child/OAP £1.50. For further details contact Jim Smith on 07787 381976.

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

Now this is simply unbelievable and Winner of Class 11 Dioramas. It features F4U Corsairs at Bougainville in the South Pacific replete with figures and vehicles ALL in 1/350 scale. It was extremely well thought out and very, very effective. It set you thinking as to the possibilities in this scale. One great aspect of the show, and why it is worth the long journey up to North Shields, is that a lot of Scottish clubs reciprocate and make the long journey south. The Scottish Aviation Special Interest Group put on a fantastic little display which covered many aspects, including a little vignette covering the history of the beach landing strip on the Isle of Barra.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 725

726-27-Show-ModelBrno-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:13 Page 726

SHOW REPORT

ModelBrno 2015 19TH & 20TH JUNE 2015

Brno Exhibition Centre, Czech Republic By Tim Upson-Smith, Photographed by Petr Bartak ell, at last after mentioning my impending visit to ModellBrno in the Czech Out column I have now been, and what a show! I travelled over with Editor David Francis as part of a group of 9 from Milton Keynes Scale Model Club One of the highlights for the Friday afternoon is the ModellBrno XXL workshops. Each session was limited to 15 people each and all of the sessions were fully booked in advance, The small groups made for a nice atmosphere where people were free to ask questions. The modellers giving the presentations were from The Czech Modellers Seriously group and are all recognised masters of their subjects. In the evening there was a barbeque with entertainment in the form of 8 chaps in full ballet get-up, but instead of wearing tutus around their middles they had representations of British and German WW1 planes, dog fights ensuing with much hammy acting to

W

726 |

AUGUST 2015 •

the dying swan from Swan Lake and a background of the film Flyboys on a screen! The show soon filled up on the Saturday morning with plenty of traders to see and buy from as well as club stands to look at, and the incredibly well attended competition with over 2000 models taking part! One of my harder tasks was to pick the SAM Publications special prize winners for best Junior aircraft and best Senior aircraft. With so many to choose from the Junior prize went to a young lady, Matej Hromada, for a 1/72 scale

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

726-27-Show-ModelBrno-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:13 Page 727

SHOW REPORT

Granau Baby, and the Senior award to Alexandre Bigey for a scratch-built 1/72 scale Chilton DW.1. Any number of models could have been chosen, but these two stood out for me! There was also plenty to do and see outside with re-enactors, large scale tank battles and unique to this show ‘Butch of the Year Award’ for the modeller who could throw their

completed model the furthest! Who amongst us has never wanted to throw a model to the wall? Not many, I’ll warrant! My thanks to the team from KPM Brno and KPM Bratislava for putting on such a fantastic show.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 727

728-33-Reviews-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 15:09 Page 728

REVIEWS

REVELL 1/144

MiG-31 Foxhound By Huw Morgan

TECH

SCALE: 1/144 STOCK CODE: 04086 NO OF PARTS: 30 DECAL OPTIONS: 1

he MiG-31 Foxhound has a reputation as one of the world's fastest interceptors. Developed in the mid-70's as a replacement for the MiG-25 to counter the potential threat of fast, high-flying American intruders like the SR-71, the MiG-31 could routinely achieve Mach 2.8, and over Mach 3 with consequential damage to the engines, at altitudes up to 67,000 feet. Built largely of steel with speed as a primary goal, its agility at altitude was poor, and successful interception depended on large, long range missiles like the R33 (AA-9, the Russian equivalent on the AIM-54 Phoenix) and the R-40 (AA-6 Acrid) infra-red or radarguided weapon. Some 400 MiG-31s have been built, with service use expected until around 2028.

T

728 |

AUGUST 2015 •

THE KIT This kit appears to be a re-issue of Revell's kit of 1990, with updated decals produced by Syhart for a single all-grey example of a Russian Air Force aircraft “Blue 17” – RF-92367 from 2014. The plastic represents an early model without the prominent semirecessed in-flight-refuelling probe of the upgraded MiG-31MF which one might expect a 2014 machine to have, and which is in fact shown in the box art and the painting instructions. Packaged in Revell's usual endopening box, there are 2 light grey sprues amounting to 30 parts, a small clear canopy and a simple decal sheet for the minimal markings and dielectric panels. Revell's classification of skill level 3 seems a little optimistic. (or should it be pessimistic?) The moulding isn't too bad, with

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

minimal flash and sink marks, but the engraved panel lines are heavy, very simplified, (even for this scale) and rather This is the updated kit box, - the artwork represents a later arbitrary in their version than the kit placement. It's a mile away from the decals for the mountings. The auxiliary current generation of Revell kits like the tanks are very poor, being the wrong F-16 and F/A-18. There's no cockpit, shape (hardly Mach 3 capable!) and although with the tiny glazing area, with very deep, spurious little would be seen anyway, and the circumferential grooves. The two undercarriage is rudimentary. missiles provided are representations Underwing pylons are provided for two of the R-40 IR-guided items. tanks and two missiles, although the signature load of fuselage-mounted R33 missiles is only represented by

728-33-Reviews-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 15:09 Page 729

REVIEWS

Typical of the simplified engraved panel lines

Time spent thinning the intake edges is well worth it since they're so visible

This is my attempt at improving the realism of the main undercarriage doors, compared with the kit item tacked to the wing

Aluminium 62 with Citadel Warpstone Glow(!) green for the hubs. I think the XF-20 is in fact too dark, despite a second application with white added. The Syhart decals went on without any serious problems, - they are very thin and have a rapid 'grab' so aren't keen to move once they're down, so care is needed. I highlighted the engraved panel lines with an oil wash and a fine pencil, and drew in a few other panel lines based on drawings I found from a Russian website. The box art and on-line photographs show the cockpit glazing outlined in yellow/orange, although it isn't represented on the decals or painting guide. I used a fine-tipped orange marker to add them. Some grey pastel grubbying of the upper surfaces and wheels completed the model.

This is what you get in the box. 30 flash-free parts, but with heavy, simplified detail

Some filling is needed around the base of the fins, stabilisers and strakes.

CONSTRUCTION The construction sequence is pretty flexible. The horizontally-split upper and lower fuselage halves fit quite well, I added a plastic strip tab at the vertical joint behind the wing for strength, and I also added a mock bulkhead inside the intakes to prevent a hollow look. There's no mention of the need for nose weight, but a trial balance suggested that tail sitting was on the cards, so a bit of lead was added just behind the main intakes. Very little filling was needed to produce a neat fuselage/wing joint. I spent quite a long time thinning the leading edges of the enormous intakes since they draw the eye like magnets. Fit of the vertical fins is not so good, particularly at the trailing edge. I couldn't decide if it was the front or back of the fin which was wrong so ended up packing the trailing edge. Stabilisers and ventral strakes fit reasonably although there's none of the sophistication of angled mounting faces found in current Revell models. Undercarriage and wheels are very simplified but not very visible, but the U/C doors and wheel wells are completely wrong, with the doors moulded as large single sections, and without the characteristic forwardopening air brakes/doors that are obvious on parked aircraft. The nose

wheel is missing the mud/debris guard typical of Russian military aircraft and the side fairing for the GSh-6-23 cannon, located immediately aft of the starboard wheel well, is also missing. I rebuilt the doors using plastic card and tube, and made airbrakes from card, not 100% accurate but better than nothing. I carved a gun blister from plastic strip and rod and added the tiny fairings (radar warning receivers?) at the forward edge of the intakes. Most of the photographs of parked or flying aircraft I could find show them

It's always good to see less well-known aircraft offered in 1/144

without auxiliary tanks or outer pylons, and given the poor representation of the tanks provided, leaving them off was an easy decision. I stuck with the kit missiles despite the thick wing surfaces, - they look enormous on the model, but in fact scale out as 1.5mm too long and exactly right on wingspan.

PAINTING AND MARKINGS With undercarriage set aside for painting, the colour scheme was simple, – grey. I airbrushed Tamiya XF63 for the radome, which I also used for a bit of pre-shading, XF-20 for the bulk of the airframe and Vallejo Oily Steel and Bronze for the burner cans. I hand painted the undercarriage Vallejo

CONCLUSION It's always good to see less wellknown aircraft offered in 1/144 and Revell have been stalwart supporters of the scale. This model can be built out of the box as a reasonable replica, either by novice modellers, or as a quick interlude by those more experienced. It isn't up to Revell's latest standard, however, and is lacking some crucial details. If I was to build this again, and I probably will, I'd do it in flight, I'd close and fill the undercarriage doors, and add a scratch-built refuelling probe. The type was used by the Soviet Union, Russia and Kazakhstan, so there must be some more interesting marking options out there. My thanks to Revell GmbH for the review sample.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 729

728-33-Reviews-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 15:09 Page 730

REVIEWS

REVELL 1/72

UH-60A Transport Helicopter By Carmel J Attard

eveloped after experience gained with the Huey UH-1 helicopter, evolved in Vietnam for mobility use, the UH-60A had improved performance and better accommodation to carry troops, as well as better crashworthiness/survivability rating. It is powered by two General Electric T700-GE-700 turbo-shafts which drive a four-bladed, good performance main rotor, can carry 11 troops with two pilots and has the ability to carry heavy underslung loads up to 3.6 tons from an external underside cargo hook. Named Black Hawk by the Army it entered service in June 1979 with the 101st Airborne Division. The UH-60 has a high survivability level for the pilots whose seats are surrounded with special Kevlar armour. Almost the entire helicopter is able to absorb small arms fire up to 7.62mm calibre without catastrophic failure. The main rotor blades can even tolerate moderate fire from a 23 mm cannon. Similarly protected are the fuel tanks as well as the fuselage, which are crash and bullet proof and therefore protect the crew as well. The extremely strong non-retractable landing gear absorbs almost all impact forces. The tail rotor is inclined at 20 degrees which is a feature intended to produce a certain amount of lift. The UH-60 also has exhaust-gas diffusers to reduce its vulnerability to heatseeking missiles. It also carries shoulder mounted stub wings with an ESSS system with four stations that can carry additional fuel tanks and weapons such as Hellfire anti-tank missiles and rocket pods.

D

TECH

HISTORY

SCALE: 1/72 MANUFACTURER: Revell KIT NO: 04940-0389 TYPE: Reissue Ex Italeri

The Black Hawk’s first missions were during a crisis in 1983 in Ronald Regan's term as president of the USA, as part of operation Urgent Fury and the invasion of Granada. The Gulf War back in 1991 saw 300 UH-60s in different versions being deployed close to the front line of the battlefield on a variety of missions: transport, resupply, rescue, and medevac.

THE KIT The 1/72 scale UH-60A transport helicopter issued by Revell is a detailed model having nice injected mouldings that can be built as a UH-60A

employed in the ‘Tinnin’ operation during Desert Storm, Iraq 1991 and finished in beige silky matt livery, or as a UH-60A of 1st Mountain Division, Iraq, March 2008. This one is matt dark olive green overall. The two options also differ from one another as the former version could carry cabin-mounted machine guns while the latter had the ESSS wing to carry fuel tanks on four pylons, or if used as an attack type could carry rocket pods and Hellfire missiles. Upon opening the box one finds 2 medium grey sprues and one clear, all sealed in polythene bags. The parts contain minor traces of flash but panel lines are beautifully engraved. The 10page instructions contain a brief history, and sprue plans which contain five redundant items blanked out. There are 44 stages of construction and a two-option colour guide that refers to the colours used, in various languages. At every stage the colour for each part is defined. The kit has a structurally detailed two-piece hull, with the entire cockpit and instruments and central console all enclosed. There is a transport floor with 14 benches. Main and tail rotors are movable. There are 128 parts altogether including sensors

and aerials. The cockpit has crew seats, pedals and two control columns. Construction and painting of this and the main cabin followed the instructions. The seats have moulded-on belts, and were given a dirty wash. The complete cockpit assembly was secured to one fuselage half before joining the halves together. After closing a few areas needed filler, these are marked with red arrows. Featured in the kit are separate cabin sliding doors with machine gun positions and one cabin door that can be assembled open. The decal sheet is of good quality and has a decal for cockpit instruments as well as the upper control console, although the latter cannot be seen to good effect once in place. Short decal strips for the lurid yellow electro-luminous formation lights are included. The dark decal stripe on the leading edge of the fin is a further communications antennae. This I found too long and therefore it should be shortened by 3 mm. The decals also include black walkway areas. Fitting the clear parts appeared to be a problem and the best remedy to fit these is by sliding the clear part in place when the doors are separate and

This is an interesting kit and overall is well produced

730 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

728-33-Reviews-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 15:09 Page 731

REVIEWS

Hand picked selection for Summer 2015 NEW TOOL

04869 Focke Wulf Fw190 F-8, 1:32 then seal them with a coat of Future. The clear curved parts at the nose need trimming at their mating surfaces in order to fit well. Using a sharp trimming knife and frequently checking the fit of the clear parts made this OK. An area that required careful planning was at stage 14 involving the exhaust. Parts 64, 65 and 52,54 needed a couple of dry fits to find the best positions, as there was an absence of guides for items 64 and 52 in particular. I also chose not to leave the main doors open, otherwise I would have had to show detail inside the cabin, and there were no locators of any sort to keep the doors in their right position. I applied liquid cement to the base area and closed the doors carefully followed by more application of cement all around them. If you build the transport version and need to fit the ESSS wings there is no exact indication where these are to fit but reference to the excellent box art helps to approximate their location. It is a pity that no external fuel tanks are supplied since these would be more appropriate for this transport version. Coming to the pylons/Hellfire stage, these are best treated as separate subassemblies as fitting them corresponding to the instructions may be prone to difficulties. The armament pylons that fit into the optional stub wings require some filing too. Yellow legend decals that fit to both sides of the Hellfire missiles made them look all the more authentic.

The main rotor has four short pins, which are the four linkage and control rod parts B70 x 4, in stage 43. I found that these were not long enough to reach to their intended ends so I replaced them with metal pins, slightly longer than originally supplied. Looking with hindsight these proved beneficial if you intend to make the rotor rotate as they make a much stronger assembly. To the wire cutter positioned over the cabin roof I added side brackets made from cut metal wire as depicted in the box art. For the external camouflage I used Tamiya XF-62 Olive Green that seemed to be an exact match. An armour plate was also added at the top of the exhaust outlet. This is a rectangular plastic card 4x6mm. Two small antennae that were under the fuselage were removed and replaced at the nose as shown in the box art.

04900 B-1B Bomber, 1:48

CONCLUSION

04997 Concorde, 1:72

This is an interesting kit and overall is well produced. Maybe some will agree that if you make a transport version, no armament other than defensive machine guns need to be added, with the option of having the small side wings with a set of ferry tanks to fit. Our thanks to Revell for supplying the review sample which can be purchased from most good model shops; to see the full range visit their website at www.revell.de.

Limited Edition

NEW TOOL

07008 BMW i8, 1:24 Available from branches of

and all good Toy and Model shops and online at

Visit our brand new website and online shop

w w w. r e v e l l . d e/e n facebook.com/Revell

@RevellGermany

Revell GmbH, Unit 10, Old Airfield Industrial Estate, Cheddington Lane, Tring, HP23 4QR Tel: 0845 459 0747, Fax: 01296 660041, Email: [email protected] ©2015 Revell GmbH. A subsidiary of Hobbico, Inc. All rights reserved. Trade enquiries welcome.

728-33-Reviews-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 15:09 Page 732

REVIEWS

REVELL 1/32

Bristol Beaufighter Mk 1F By Patrick Mizgala THE KIT his kit was originally released when Sweet and Gary Glitter were topping the charts in 1974. Feelin’ old yet? Over the years I have seen this reissued a number of times and I have always liked the Beau so have built a couple in 1/72. But this is much cooler and way bigger. Let’s see what we get on opening the box, and a top opening one at that. Three sealed bags with two grey and one clear sprues, plus the decal sheet. Panel lines are raised but restrained. The canopy is thick but quite clear after a few dips in Future. The formation lights (clear) have sink marks, but after a bath in Future they really can’t be seen. The plastic parts have very little flash. All the parts are a bit basic, slightly chunky and easy to work with. Plus you get 2 figures which are not bad, just a bit old fashioned and basic. The instructions are 6 pages of exploded drawings.

T

CONSTRUCTION Tip#1: be patient. Everything does line up…eventually. Tip#2: open up the holes for the pegs on the fuse and wings a mm wider. This gives a bit a wiggle room. OK. For a change of pace the engines are first. 6 pieces for each engine, and they are very nicely detailed, I’m guessing because Revell supply the option of open cowlings. Unfortunately, if you want to close the cowlings up, you have to trim about 2mm off the top of each cylinder to make them fit tightly, I used a Dremel tool to grind them down. There are sink marks on the back of the props, but a little filler smoothed them out. I wanted to have a clean Beaufighter. As the engines were drying I moved on to the cockpit. Consisting of 5 pieces not including the pilot, it is very basic with decals for the instrument panels, pilot and observer cockpits. Not the best representation, it

does work though. I used the two figures to fill the empty seats and hide the lack of moulded detail. The observer station tub is shown backwards in the instructions, but use a few brain cells and it all works out. The innards were painted British interior green. Tip#3: trim the tail wheel strut insert holes half way. This will enable you to add the tail wheel assembly after the painting is completed. Next up…the wings. The plastic mouldings have large tabs which should create a tight bond and the correct dihedral. I tried to get them to line up but no go. So I cut off the tabs. Some strips of styrene and half a tube of putty later it was all blended in. Afterwards I thought I should have just filed and sanded the tabs a bit more. Brain cells? I should have used mine. The wheels are in two halves and clean up very nice but the gear doors have no detail, but do have sink marks. A bit of sanding and all was good. The wheel struts are pretty nice, made up of four pieces they are quite strong once in place. Surprisingly there is no gunsight so before adding the

I really enjoyed building this beastie

canopies I made one up using after market scraps. With the canopies in place and masked, the tailplanes were added, no filler needed here so It was on to the paint shop.

DECALS AND PAINTING As always the colours are called out in Revell’s own range. I am not complaining, but mixing colours does use up paint pretty quickly. And some

SCALE: 1/32

TECH

KIT NO: 04889 DECAL OPTIONS: 2 PANEL LINES: Raised STATUS: Reissue/1974 TYPE: Injection molded PARTS: Plastic 103, Clear 7

732 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

728-33-Reviews-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 15:39 Page 733

REVIEWS

of the names of the colours are different. As a USA citizen I can barely speak American let alone proper English. You get 2 options: one for an allblack night fighter of 406 Squadron at RAF Coltishall, England, August 1941, and 252 Squadron RAF Abu Sueir, Egypt, May 1941. The latter is the option I chose. Dark earth and light sand on top and azure blue on the bottom. Two coats of Future to produce a gloss coat and the decals were ready to go

on. The decals are user friendly. The only problem I had was the upper wing roundels, they flaked in a couple of small spots when they had dried. On the upside, they look worn and weathered and I had no silvering. But the 'sky codes' on the fuse look like the glow-in-the-dark green on a wristwatch and really should be replaced. After everything was sealed with a coat of matte, I added the antennae and pitot tube. Unmasking the glazing, I sat back and took in the beauty of the Beau. What a great plane.

CONCLUSION I really enjoyed building this beastie. The kit/detail is basic but, I think this would be a great kit to practice scratch building on. Sadly I couldn’t find any aftermarket sets for this kit, but again, I think you could use just about any photo-etch for other kits in this scale and really dress it up. And at $40.00 here in the States, it is well worth the money. I will be getting another one or two to do the night fighter option and also one in RAAF dark green and blue/white national markings. Many thanks to Revell for supplying the review sample, and you can see the full range at www.revell.de.

One-stop shopping for modellers Order online at www.hannants.co.uk

Products of the Month

No.1

MACH7259 1:72 AS-350 Ecureuil French Gendarmerie....... ...............................................................................£14.99 MACH7260 1:72 AS-350 Ecureuil Squirrel Australian Navy/Army ..............................................................£14.99 MACH7261 1:72 AS-550 Fennec Danish Army .......£14.99 MACH7262 1:72 Westland HR.3 Dragonfly BEA G-AJOV..... ...............................................................................£14.99 MACH7263 1:72 Martin WB-57F NASA ..................£45.99 MACHL018 1:72 Vostok Moscow Museum/Paris Air Show 1967 .......................................................................£39.99

for Mail Order We stock the largest ranges of plastic, resin and vacform kits, accessories and conversions, photo-etch sets, paints, airbrushes, tools ands books. Everything under one roof from Academy to Zvezda. We specialise in decals and stock ALL available sheets from just about every manufacturer in existence. We carry over 50,000 items from all over the world.

UK Distributors for MPM, Azur, Special Hobby, Eduard, Classic Airframes and many more. If it’s advertised or reviewed in this magazine try us first. We probably have it in stock now. Mail Order: (all major credit cards accepted)

Harbour Road, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 3LZ England UK local rate number: 0845 130 72 48 Tel: 01502 517444 (8 lines), Fax: 01502 500521

Hannants London: Unit 2, Hurricane Industrial Estate, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London NW9 5NQ Next to the RAF Museum, Hendon Tel: 020 8205 6697 Email: [email protected] www.hannants.co.uk

734-35-RevSp-Albatros-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:23 Page 734

REVIEWS

REVIEW

special!

TECH

High quality, injection-moulded kit.

EDUARD 1/72

Aero L-39ZA Albatros

Re-issued without PE or resin details. 58 Parts, incl. 3 transparent parts. Two Decal options, for Czech and Algerian Air Forces.

(Weekend Edition)

Bruce Leyland-Jones really love Eduard kits and the work of our modelling Czechmates. Great kits. More to the point, in these cashstrapped times, I appreciate Eduard's marketing strategy and their ability to meet my needs, no matter my current financial situation. At one end of the scale, there are very cheap kits, consisting of plastic sprues only, in a poly bag. At the other, we get kits with resin and PE extras and more decals than you can shake a sticky stick at. Somewhere in the middle are their

I

734 |

AUGUST 2015 •

really good value, 'Combi' kits and, again at the cheaper end, we get their Weekend kits. All that said, regardless of boxing, the quality of the basic kit remains high and so I looked forward to building this 'Weekend' edition, of their highly successful L-39 Albatros kit. Besides, there was a Bank Holiday Weekend to play in, it was raining and the whole concept of a 'Weekend' kit is

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

that it can be done over a weekend.

THE BUILD It's an Eduard kit, so fine details are fine, the plastic is free from flash and generally flawless, the transparency is crystal clear and the decals look superb...but more on those later. Because this is the 'Weekend' boxing, there's no photo-etch or resin and you

get only two decal options. Some may feel the seats are too generic and I would agree that the PE harness supplied with more expensive boxings certainly adds to the cockpit. However, built and painted straight out of the box and embellished with the wonderful decals, I felt happy enough. Of course, I did have some spare harness in my bits box and I could

734-35-RevSp-Albatros-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:23 Page 735

REVIEWS

have added Tamiya-tape harness, but I thought I'd show a completely out-ofthe-box build, just for a change. So the fuselage went together easily and the intakes also produced no gaps and the wing sub-assembly also built up a treat. Likewise, the wing-fuselage join was problem-free and I saw this was going to be a relatively short review, there wasn't even any need for nose weight so, very soon, I found myself at the painting stage.

PAINT AND DECALS

various on-line images. Now then, those decals are in perfect register and are perfectly opaque with even the tiniest script readable. And there are lots and lots of stencils.

Some skip on the stencils, but I don't. I like the visual 'noise' they contribute to the look of the finished model and so am practised at applying many of the little things. However, whilst each and every decal is clearly numbered and the instruction sheet told me where to place each and every one, the decals themselves seemed arranged at random across the decal sheet. Minutes passed trying to find particular decals, that

then only took a few seconds to apply. Still...it kept me off the streets and out of the Bank Holiday rain!

CONCLUSION This is definitely a kit I'd recommend to any modeller, regardless of skill level. In particular, it might be useful for those of us who feel trepidation at tackling something with resin and photo-etch, or who might want a practice subject, before splashing out on something more expensive. Regardless, this Weekend kit kept me happily (and cheaply) occupied for a weekend and I'd be more than chuffed to repeat the exercise at a later date. I thank Eduard for supplying us with the review sample.

It's an Eduard kit, so fine details are fine

Options are for a Czech machine or one from the Algerian Air Force. Previous builds of this delightful kit have furnished me with Czech, Cuban and Iraqi examples, so I thought an Algerian version would suit the bill nicely. Paint call-outs are for Gunze Mr.Color, so I had some licence in translating these to Humbrol-ese. In the end up, I went for Humbrol H121 and Humbrol H86, with Humbrol H19 for the red bits. To my eye, these looked good enough, having looked at

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 735

736-39-QB-Fw190-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:22 Page 736

REVIEWS

QUICK BUILD!

Big Butcher Bird REVELL 1/32

Focke Wulf Fw190 F-8 By Angelo Picardo he Fw190 F-8 was the dedicated ground attack version of the Focke Wulf 190 stable of aeroplanes. It was fitted with bomb carrying shackles under the wing as well as the centre line. It also had extra armour to protect the pilot from ground fire, and the wing was strengthened The outer wing guns were removed leaving the inboard cannons, and the machine guns on top of the engine. The modifications, extra armour and airframe strengthening increased the overall weight of the aeroplane which affected the performance.

T

736 |

AUGUST 2015 •

Revell’s new kit comes in an end opening box which contains thirteen light grey sprues, three clear sprues, a busy decal sheet, and a fifteen page instruction sheet with seventy eight stages of assembly. The 199 plastic parts, of which thirteen are not used, feature some fine engraved panel lines and fastener detail. There is however, some flash and sink marks present. There are twelve clear parts which are thin and clear, with two options for main canopy hood in either open or closed variants. Other options are for underwing bombs or drop tanks, raised or lowered flaps, and raised or lowered undercarriage. If you choose raised wheels, then Revell supply a substantial five piece display stand.

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

CONSTRUCTION Assembly begins with the lower wing/fuselage, depending on how you wish to display your model, you will need to open various flashed over holes to accommodate bomb, or fuel racks, holes for the stand, or holes for the cockpit step. After this assembly moves on to the cockpit this is a reasonably welldetailed cockpit with some nice raised details. Decals are provided for the instruments, which I replaced with some from MDC. Decals are also supplied for the seat harness, but I used a spare set of etched ones from Eduard. The gun sight has separate lenses, but the main body is also provided as a clear part and this has quite a bit of

flash which is awkward to clean up, as it is a rather small part. The cockpit module is designed to pop into the fuselage from the undersides once the two halves are brought together. But first the rear undercarriage wheel needs to be built first and the instrument panel and shroud has to be added too. The fuselage has the engine cooling gills moulded in the open position, and there is a fair amount of flash closing over the openings. A quick bit of work with a sharp scalpel blade soon cleaned all this up. The lower wing/fuselage has a large spar attached, along with stiffener, this spar also includes the firewall onto which are attached the two ammunition cans for the over

736-39-QB-Fw190-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:22 Page 737

REVIEWS

Right side showing flash covering cooling gills opening. Left shows part after clean up Flashed over holes need opening for weapons and pilot’s step.

Cockpit assembled with aftermarket harness added

Cockpit with base cote of dark grey added

Wing spar and stiffener added to lower wing

Undercarriage bays clamped to wings

Sink marks marring propeller Flash surrounding guns site

Cockpit painted and weathered Instrument panel and shroud

engine machine guns, and the engine mounting frame. This looks quite flimsy, but does form a sturdy frame to attach the BMW radial to. The inboard cannon barrels are meant to be fitted now, but I left them off until later to avoid damage, and in the end I replaced the plastic with Albion Alloys metal tubing. The upper wing surfaces are next

and these feature separate ailerons, though the fixing tabs will only permit them to be fitted in neutral alignment these can be modified easily. The flaps can be positioned raised or lowered, and separate pieces are provided for each option. Fitting the upper wings to the lower half is done, according to the plans, after the lower half is attached to the fuselage. Apart

The cockpit module is designed to pop into the fuselage from the underside

from needing a fair amount of clamps to hold the parts in place as they dried, there were no problems. The tiniest amount of filler was required at the trailing edge of the wing to fuselage join, but the rest of the seam was a perfect fit. Like the ailerons, the elevators and rudders are separate parts, but their fixing tabs will again only allow them to be mounted in a neutral position, but I found if you clipped the tabs off,

you can pose them in a deflected position with no problems. Next up is the BMW radial, this is a nicely detailed item featuring both cylinder banks, with the push rods, and exhausts nicely rendered. The exhausts have hollowed out ends, and though they appear complex to fit, go together easily with no real fuss. To really finish the engine off, all that needs to be added is the ignition harness from wire. Once assembled

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 737

736-39-QB-Fw190-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:22 Page 738

REVIEWS

Fuselage clamped and taped together

Fuselage halves held together as they dry

The BMW radial engine assembled, painted and weathered

Exhausts painted

DECALS AND PAINTING

the engine fits onto the mounts securely and the cowling panels are assembled around the power plant, though the cowlings can be modelled open so the engine can be viewed if you wish. For the undercarriage Revell give you the option of having it lowered or raised. In the retracted position alternate, less detailed parts to use if you display the wheels up, otherwise the gear is well detailed, and the kit replicates the stance of the Focke-Wulf very well. Two types of canopy hood are provided, straight or blown. The kit supplies two of each to allow the canopy to be positioned open or closed and these parts are thin and very clear. Two different types of internal fittings are also included depending on which canopy you use. With the blown canopy the aerial

738 |

AUGUST 2015 •

cable goes slack when the canopy is opened as this later style of hood did not feature the pulley system keep it taught when the canopy is open. When it comes to underwing stores, there is quite a choice, three types of bombs, and two types of drop tank. So you can have a centre line bomb, and under wing bombs, or centre line bomb and underwing tanks, or tanks all round. All the various racks are supplied to use depending on what load you use. The last thing to apply to finish her off is the engine cooling impeller and the propeller, sadly the latter is marred by some hefty sink marks at the root but a little bit of filler soon sorted this out.

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

Two schemes are included both are from the same unit, black 6 and black 2 0f St Sg 10 based in Czech territory in 1945. Both machines are RLM 83/73 over 76 and have a yellow rudder and noseband. Black 6 also has a white number 20 on the nose while the centre line bomb on this aeroplane also features a fearsome set of teeth and eyes so I chose as many will to use this scheme. I used Xtracolor RLM matched enamels I applied the yellow to the

The engine now mounted onto the fuselage

nose first, masking it then painting the camouflage colours over the top. The rudder was left off my model and added after it was painted. I decided to try some pre-shading, It seemed to work on the underside, but disappeared under the darker top colours, so I post shaded with Tamiya Smoke. For the noticeably scalloped edged demarcation line along the wing leading edges I used balls of Blu Tac to achieve the desired effect.

736-39-QB-Fw190-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:23 Page 739

REVIEWS

Elevator showing fixing tabs that have to be removed to position them drooped

Pre shading applied to panel lines

Fuselage assembled and cockpit masked ready for painting

RLM 76 now applied, and masking tape and Blue Tac being used to mask the top colours

Blue Tac balls used to achieve scalloped edge to camouflage demarcation

Yellow nose band unmasked, and rudder colour applied

CONCLUSION

Camouflage colours applied

The upper fuselage colours were then masked with a length of Modelcraft masking tape that had a wavy line cut into it. The mottling and other demarcation lines were painted free hand with my airbrush on a low PSI setting. The decals are nicely printed on a busy sheet, which means some decals

The decals settled down well over a gloss cote, with the carrier film disappearing completely, they are well printed in perfect alignment with good colour density. I decided to make the machine look well used and give it a grubby look, A panel wash of raw Umber oil paint was applied, and some heavy exhaust staining was applied to the fuselage with more Tamiya Smoke and pastels. Paint chipping was applied using aluminium paint applied with torn sponge, then refined with a silver pencil. Finally the last things attached were the aerial cable and the replacement steel tubing cannon barrels.

have to be cut off to get to the ones you need. No Swastikas were provided in any form, so I added some from a generic sheet by Xtradecal. Some decals do not appear on the instruction sheet so decaling is a bit confusing, and frustrating, The walkways for the wings are all individual pieces and go on well, as does the spinner spiral.

Revell have produced a lovely looking Focke Wulf 190. Out of the box there is sufficient detail to

produce an impressive replica but if the modeller wants to add and improve detail, the scope for super detailing is there. The engine and its compartment can be detailed with wiring and plumbing, and the cockpit has plenty of room for extra details. Though in places it looks complicated, the kit is a straightforward build, and not beyond the skills of a novice builder who would like to attempt a 32nd scale model. It is a bit disappointing to see flash and sink marks marring some parts on such a new kit, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed fairly easily. Very highly recommended.

The kit is a straightforward build, and not beyond the skills of a novice

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 739

740-46-FEAT-Huey(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:20 Page 740

DEEP SERVICE HUEY

1/35

By Oliver Doering, Photo’s By Joey Hernandez

I

have always been a huge fan of Bell Helicopters, but Hueys, in any version, have the strongest attraction. Even the most illiterate in helicopter aviation are familiar with this helicopter, and this may be why I chose to build it. I wasn’t trying to duplicate any armed forces or particular unit from any country for this aircraft, I just wanted to duplicate an everyday maintenance scene, happening on any runway at any time.

740 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

I feel that the MRC kit in 1/35th scale is by far the most accurate version of any Huey, in short body form, that is available on the market. Although it came out several years ago (2008) it can still hold its place in the modelling world. I understand that the 'Charlie model' in this configuration was never used as a medevac unit, however I chose to take 'creative licence'. I used a combination of Eduard photo-etched products along with styrene, brass, and aluminum to scratch build, create and enhance the details of this kit. During my weekends and any

other time I could spare, it took me 5 years to craft. As pointed out above, this diorama is fairly fictitious, because my style of building is more about the end result. In other words, a primary goal is how cohesive the whole finished product will be in the end. When I first began I wanted this to be on an aircraft carrier, but changed my mind at the last minute.

740-46-FEAT-Huey(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:20 Page 741

FEATURE

CONSTRUCTION Cockpit/Cargo Bay I did spend a good amount of time on the cockpit since I knew I was planning on having all the doors open. I began the project by making the litters that carried the wounded soldiers. I made these with soldered brass frames, and then added black aluminum paper to duplicate the canvas of the litters, then painted it all with Life Color paints. Life Color paints are rather tricky to deal with. For me they require a lot of thinning, which causes them to dry too quickly either on the brush or needle. This in turn requires extra coats to get the desired effect. I added a hoist from the Blackhawk kit and painted it yellow, as I wanted to add

colour inside the cabin since everything was so drab, and there wasn’t anything in there to draw the eye. Instead of using the kit parts, I remade the jump seat in brass. Again, because I wanted to add some colour and draw the eye in, I added a touch of red to the seat on the other side of the cockpit. I did my best attempt at duplicating the pilot's seat frames out of brass, but unfortunately was unable to get it just right, so decided to go back and rely on the kit parts. I duplicated the sheepskin on the seats with aftermarket carpet material which is supposed to be used on model car seats in 1/24th scale. The cockpit floor was first painted in Tamiya Flat Brown for

I just wanted to duplicate an everyday maintenance scene, happening on any runway at any time

pre-shading and then overpainted with Medium Grey for the main color. I now added some chipping in German Grey at the edges of the floor to simulate footmarks. A light coat of diluted Black was sprayed lightly all over the top, tying all the colours together. The pilot’s helmets were taken from a Verlinden Tank Crew Set. The visors

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 741

740-46-FEAT-Huey(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:20 Page 742

DEEP SERVICE HUEY

1/35

are green plastic strips that I cut to shape and coated with clear resin. I also added the microphone piece from an Eduard armour set. The instrument panel is also from Eduard. (ED32086) I added some coloured placards and painted it to improve realism, then coated all the dials with clear resin to simulate the glass. The seat belts were again from Eduard, but I found they were somewhat difficult to assemble and fold to shape before painting. Once the cockpit was finished I dry brushed it all with halfwhite oil paint. I usually do two coats of dry brushing over a three-day period.

ENGINE AREA I cut out the moulded mesh on the cowlings and replaced them with Eduard parts, but be careful, I damaged mine and had to find another kit to donate the cowlings, and next I added wiring on the inside of the cowlings using soft computer wire. I cut into the back of the kit in order to prepare for the engine floor. This was the hardest part of the build since the kit is not designed for that kind of detailing. I also need to remove the top of the tail

742 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

boom in order to add the floor for the tail rotor shaft - this is a large area to be detailing, so careful steps had to be taken. The hardest part was to sand everything flat so I glued a piece of sandpaper to a piece of 4" by 1" wood to get the area as even and flat as possible. Once the engine floor was in place I started on the firewall and engine filters. This area is entirely from scratch. Since this was my first attempt at heavy detailing, and I was learning as I went, a lot of brass and plastic pieces were being wasted before getting the

right shapes. The engine and transmission were made out of brass and the main body of the transmission was turned aluminum rod. I now added details around the transmission tower from brass and plastic. I used Detailmaster parts to supply all the hoses and wiring while the engine brackets were made from

Since this was my first attempt at heavy detailing, and I was learning as I went

740-46-FEAT-Huey(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:21 Page 743

FEATURE

bent brass rods and various photo-etched bits that I carry in my spares box to use as spare detail parts. The fuel tank was made out of styrene sheets bent into shape and I used Archer Resin Rivets to add a touch of realism. The painting of this area was done in several steps, the main colour is Tamiya Yellow Green with details painted in a combination of Tamiya Nato Black and Flat Brown.

ROTOR MAST AND BLADES I used an aluminum rod that I had in my spares box instead of using the plastic main rotor mast in the kit. The rotor assembly is missing the two linkage rods on each side so I added these using two small brass rods. The blades are from the kit and don’t really need any work since they are pretty accurate for the “C” model.

The main rotor mast and blades are an exact replica of the real thing. First I painted the whole unit Nato Black, then faded the black by adding grey (not white.) Once painted I did a wash of half white all over the piece and dry brushed the various edges to highlight and make the details pop out. I then sprayed diluted Flat Brown in the middle of the blades to simulate the engine exhaust staining. The tail rotor and rotor blades were painted using the same technique. The main rotor shaft is not glued to the fuselage so the rotor can be removed while I transport the model.

FUSELAGE The two halves were glued together in two stages. First the front and then the back, even being careful I needed to adjust the engine floor to the fuselage at the end of the gluing process with a little sanding needed to make the engine floor sit flush with the fuselage. A large gap at the bottom of the fuselage is a factory mistake, but that was easily fixed by

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 743

740-46-FEAT-Huey(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:21 Page 744

DEEP SERVICE HUEY

1/35 adding some styrene sheet pieces. I lost a lot of the rivet detail during the sanding especially at the bottom of the tail boom. I mostly re-riveted this area with Archer Rivet decals. The top of the cabin roof was also detailed with Archer Rivets to add some realism to this flat area. The overhead windows were painted with Tamiya Clear Green and coated with clear resin after the fuselage painting. The front windshield has a nasty gap all the way around the window frame and fits really poorly, so first I dipped it in Future (floor wax) before gluing the window in place to the fuselage. I now added small strips of plastic all the way around the window frame to get rid of the gap and added Archer Rivets again to replace the lost details. It took a little effort but the trick worked, and I had no gap. Pre-shading of the fuselage was done with Tamiya Nato Black and a second preshading was done with flat white in some areas (mostly the roof) to prepare for the first coat of Tamiya Olive Green. I used several light coats of green over 3 days (drying time) to paint the fuselage; some fading of green was added with yellow rather than the normal

744 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

white or grey. I wasn’t looking to do a heavily weathered Huey so I stopped the painting and weathering process here. The skids were painted black and faded accordingly with various small scratches added using silver paint. A light dry brushing was done mostly to lift out the raised rivets.

740-46-FEAT-Huey(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:21 Page 745

FEATURE

DIORAMA PIECES Engine The engine was also one of the first things that I wanted to have noticed in the diorama. It had to be placed right up front and needs to be extremely detailed in order to draw the attention of the viewer right away. Thanks to a great friend of mine, I was lucky enough to be supplied with tight close-up photos of both sides of the engine. Looking at these photos, I decided to sand down all the details from the kit, and add my own. I used styrene rods, squares, strips and tubes in addition to various photo-etched pieces to detail my engine. All the hoses and wires are again from the Detailmaster range. Detailing the engine took me about 2 months before I started painting. I used Tamiya Medium Grey as the main coat, and the shadowing was done using German Grey. A wash of Raw Umber was done in a few areas that needed to show more contrast. I finished the engine with a light dry brushing in Oil of Beige. For a finishing touch of colour I added Eduard “Remove Before Flight” tags.

were added last in a painstaking process to get them evenly spaced and level. At least painting was straightforward. Priming in black first, then various coats of Tamiya Flat Yellow. I did some fading, but only on top of the handrail. I wanted the piece to look worn out from heavy use, so I went heavier on the wash using a combination of Flat Brown and Raw Umber. Paint chipping was added using German Grey. The wheels and chains were added once all the painting and weathering was complete.

inserting two brass strips at the top of the walls. I used the blades from another helicopter kit to fill the box. I used Tamiya OD Green as the main colour; Flat White was used for the outside and the top cover, next some shading was added with the Tamiya Olive Green to give it a warmer, aged look. Finally a heavy oil wash of beige was applied before adding a streaking effect using heavily diluted Nato Black to finish the crate.

Blade Stowing Crate This was the last piece added to the diorama. I felt there needed to be just one more addition demonstrating that the helo was being worked on. I used styrene sheets for the bottom and walls to make the case. It was left to dry overnight only to find out the next day that the walls had warped during the gluing session. I had to rectify the warped walls by

The engine was also one of the first things that I wanted to have noticed in the diorama

Scaffolding When I began the scaffolding, I thought it would be a quick accent to the scene, however it quickly became one of the toughest things to do since all I had for tools were a ruler and anvil to get the angles right. I started with the walkways first and the handrails after. I made sure everything was glued long enough so the torque in the plastic during the gluing process would not change the shape of the piece, and this took forever. The steps

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 745

740-46-FEAT-Huey(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:21 Page 746

DEEP SERVICE HUEY

1/35

Tarmac I built a frame from styrene square pieces, reinforcing the inside with brass rods. Several smaller square pieces were cut in order to duplicate the cement squares of a runway. Various holes were drilled in the squares to accommodate the small rings for aircraft tie-downs. A metal toothbrush and PVC glue were used to duplicate the roughness of the runway. The glue was applied on each rectangle and once the glue had melted the plastic I stippled it to create an uneven pattern. Once it was dry I sanded it flush. Before painting my entire piece, I took a trip to my local airport and took some photos. I saw yellow, blue, brown, and several shades of grey in the real runway, so I first primed the whole piece grey, then added streaks of yellow and brown. All the edges of the rectangles were painted diluted black to simulate shadows. A second coat of grey was applied to blend everything together. Flat brown was added in various areas to duplicate oil spots. Blue was then added to the center of the rectangles to break up the monotone grey colour, a third and last coat was sprayed all over the

This was by far the most challenging build I have ever tackled

746 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

piece and more black and brown mix was sprayed until I was satisfied with the weathering. Next I dry brushed flat white but only on the edges of the rectangles. With the main painting complete I added the small metal tie-down rings. I now used thin aquarium sand mixed with white glue for the groundwork before adding the runway lights which came from an old train set, to finish the diorama.

CONCLUSION This was by far the most challenging build I have ever tackled. I had to teach myself how to work with new products and learned how to make new pieces to create the various items I envisioned. I made a lot of mistakes and wasted a good amount of brass and plastic to get to the final product. And ended up using 3 kits

to make one. Fortunately I had the support of friends and colleagues and mostly my wife who was always there to take a critical look at what was being built or painted. She’s known around here as the Model Widow. I could not have built all the minute details without the help of my friend Ray (Rotorwash) and his vast amount of knowledge on the Bell Huey and its variants along with his stunning research photos; this build was definitely a combined effort with him. I have already started on the US Navy Seahawk from Academy in 1/35th, so I guess I’ll see you guys in about another five years.

747-Osprey-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:39 Page 1

The Destination For Military History

A NEW LOOK FOR OSPREY’S AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES & COMBAT AIRCRAFT TITLES THE LAUNCH TITLES PREPARING FOR TAKE-OFF IN JULY 2015 COMING SOON

AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES

COMING SOON

COMBAT AIRCRAFT

www.ospreypublishing.com

748-54-ModellersPortfolio-AV-0815_Layout 1 12/07/2015 10:31 Page 748

MODELLERS PORTFOLIO

US ARMY 69-15215 III CORP US Hueys were painted in Olive Drab, however there were a variety of shades used over the years and the environment and weathering altered the colour. 69-15215 was involved in ferrying troops during a combat assault with III Corp near Xuan Loc, Vietnam in 1970.

US ARMY 498 1ST AIR CAVALRY An interesting scheme worn by 498 (full BuNo unknown) of the 1st Air Cavalry, a yellow shield, code and identification mark over a completely black tail.

US ARMY 66-16827 FLORIDA AIR NATIONAL GUARD Based in Florida circa 1979 and used for medevac by 347 Medical Detachment of the FLANG. Painted in all over Olive Drab including the main and tail rotors.

US ARMY 72-21549 TONY THE TIGER Based at Fort Rucker and serving as a flight instruction airframe, 72-21549 received an experimental scheme based on those of the T-38C, FS16118 Gunship Grey and FS16473 Light Aircraft Grey with a view to painting all the helicopters. However the scheme did not prove popular and was not expanded. The aircraft came to be known as Tony the Tiger.

Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk

748 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

748-54-ModellersPortfolio-AV-0815_Layout 1 12/07/2015 10:31 Page 749

MODELLERS PORTFOLIO

US ARMY 74-22465 RED 65 Painted in what appears to be a Tan and Dark Earth scheme with Blue underside, Red 65 was used at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, by the United States Army Europe, Hohenfels, Germany. The JMRC 4 remaining Hueys were retired on 27th April 2011.

FUERZA AÉREA ARGENTINA AE-464 A special scheme worn by AE-464 which was an ex demonstration Huey at a presentation ceremony at Campo de Mayo, Buenos Aires on 9th December 2009. The markings were also applied over the windows. Nose was painted anti-glare black.

AUSTRALIAN ARMY AVIATION A2-489 Australia was the first overseas user of the UH-1 and acquired 54 UH-1Hs from 1966 onwards. The type continued in service until retired in 2007. This Huey was finished in a variation of Tan and Medium Green but with weathering and fading, circa 1987.

ROYAL AIR FORCE AE-413 AE413 was operated by the Batallón de Helicópteros de Asalto 601 during the Falklands war. During the conflict it was overpainted with whitewash and red crosses on the nose/fuselage for medevac flights. Artillary fire from British forces damaged it whilst at Port Stanley and it was captured and returned to the UK where it was displayed at RAF Finningley open day. The crosses were whitewashed over and a UK painted on both sides.

Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 749

748-54-ModellersPortfolio-AV-0815_Layout 1 12/07/2015 10:31 Page 750

MODELLERS PORTFOLIO

1/72

SCALE PLANS UH-1H HUEY SCALE DRAWINGS BY CHRIS SANDHAM-BAILEY/INKWORM WWW.INKWORM.CO.UK

750 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

748-54-ModellersPortfolio-AV-0815_Layout 1 12/07/2015 10:31 Page 751

MODELLERS PORTFOLIO

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 751

748-54-ModellersPortfolio-AV-0815_Layout 1 12/07/2015 10:31 Page 752

MODELLERS PORTFOLIO

ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE 118106 The UH-1H was redesignated the CH-118 Iroquois in Canada. 118106 was painted in a special Tiger scheme to celebrate the 70th anniversary of 439 squadron RCAF during 1994.

FUERZA AÉREA DE CHILE (CHILEAN AIR FORCE) H-78 Chile received the first 12 UH-1Hs in 1967. The UH-1H remains in survey to this day. Following the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 Chile provided some UH-1Hs as part of the United Nations relief programme. Painted in overall white with Black markings and the Chilean Air Force crest on the door.

FUERZA AÉREA DE REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA (DOMINICAN AIR FORCE) FAD 3031 The Dominican Republic currently operates 2 UH-1Hs and 8 Huey IIs. During 2004 the entire Huey fleet was painted in a two tone grey scheme with a gloss finish.

FUERZA AÉREA SALVADOREÑA (EL SALVADOR) The El Salvador Air Force has operated the UH-1H and UH-1M for many years and currently operate 13 Hueys. The UH-1H wears minimal markings with the national roundel and code on the tail. Painted in all over Dark Green

Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk

752 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

748-54-ModellersPortfolio-AV-0815_Layout 1 12/07/2015 10:31 Page 753

MODELLERS PORTFOLIO

HELLENIC AIR FORCE (GREECE) E 680 Since 1969 the Hellenic Air Force has flown the Huey, with the type still in service. Painted in overall Dark Green the aircraft have weathered heavily with the extensive use and during 2008 E 680 looked particularly dirty with the national flag on the tail being heavily worn.

LUFTWAFFE 71+11 The UH-1 was built in Germany by Dornier under licence, with a total construction run of 690. Several of these were converted to the SAR role and wore the camouflage of Black Grey, Olive green and Yellow Green with the door in Dayglo Orange.

FUERZA AÉREA GUATEMALTECA (GUATEMALAN AIR FORCE) FAG 170 FAG 170 was part of a second batch of UH-1Hs delivered to the FAG during the early 1980s, some have since received upgrades, 16 UH-1Hs are currently in service. FAG 170 wore an overall Grey with Green upper surfaces in 2007.

POLICE NATIONALE D’HAITI N126PT Haiti had a single UH-1H which it acquired in 2003 for coast guard purposes by the Police, however by 2010 it was non operational. Painted in overall White with Black markings these had all extensively faded and weathered by 2010.

Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 753

748-54-ModellersPortfolio-AV-0815_Layout 1 12/07/2015 10:31 Page 754

MODELLERS PORTFOLIO

SPANISH AIR FORCE 78-54 Used as a trainer by the Spanish Air Force Helicopter school, Armilla AFB, Granada. Painted in all over aluminium with Dayglo Orange bands. White tail with Black cross. The trainers were retired in 1991.

FUERZA AÉREA PANAMEÑA (PANAMANIAN AIR FORCE) FAP-104 One of a small number of UH-1H operated by Panama, painted in over all Grey with White upper surface, Black band running the length of the tail. Scheme was worn in 1970 when FAP-104 was one of three UH-1H bought. Hueys now operated by the Fuerza Pública de la República de Panamá (Panamanian Public Forces).

POLICÍA NACIONAL DEL PERÚ (PERUVIAN NATIONAL POLICE) PNP 334 The US supplied 12 UH-1H to aid the war against drugs in 1989, further Hueys have since been supplied and are operated by 21 and 22 squadrons. Painted in Grey with Red cheat line running the length of the fuselage and tail.

TAIWAN NATIONAL AIRBORNE SERVICE CORPS NFA-901 Wearing the striking Yellow, Orange and Red scheme that NASC, NFA-901 is one of a small number operated as fire fighters and in the search and rescue role. The majority of the Hueys are in service with the Taiwan Army.

Colour artwork by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk

754 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

755-MigJimenez-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:39 Page 1

SAM-Subscription-DPS-August-2015_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:59 Page 1

to our market leading magazines...

www.sampublications.com Order hotline +44 (0)1234 211245 Secure online ordering at

...our publications are also available digitally

SAM Publications Ltd International Books & Magazines

AMMO BY MIG JIMENEZ We are now stocking a range of Weathering Sets, Filter Sets, Washes and more from AMMO of Mig Jimenez Visit our website to view the full range of products.

SAM-Subscription-DPS-August-2015_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:59 Page 2

Magazine Subscriptions

Please start my subscription from the next issue for the following titles: Scale Military Modeller UK

Scale Aviation Modeller Europe

Model Aircraft

World

12 issues

£40.00

£50.00

£60.00

24 issues

£75.00

£95.00

£115.00

RRP based on UK prices.

Binders Available to all readers, strong, robust ‘Cordex’ binders to hold 12 issues of Scale Aviation Modeller (in green) or Model Aircraft (black) or Scale Military Modeller (Blue).

n n n

£10.99

Scale Aviation Modeller Model Aircraft

EACH inc p&p

Scale Military Modeller

Order Form DELIVERY and PAYMENT Mr/Mrs/Ms Initials

Surname

Address

Postcode/Zip

Country

Subscription Reference

Daytime Telephone Number

A

I enclose a £ Sterling cheque made payable to ‘SAM Publications Limited’

B Please charge my

Visa

Valid From

Mastercard

American Express

Expiry Date

Maestro (Switch/Solo)

Maestro (Switch)/Solo Iss No

Card Number Security Code

Signed

Last 3 digits (4 for Amex) of the Security Number on reverse of card

Today’s Date

Payable by • Cheque • Credit/Debit Card • via PayPal to [email protected]

Please note we now accept US Dollar and Euro cheques made payable to SAM Publications Ltd. When paying by credit/debit card, please ensure you include your Security Number as payment cannot be taken without it. Please quote your Sub Ref No if known. Please allow 28 days for delivery.

Send to: SAM Publications Limited, Media House, 21 Kingsway, Bedford, MK42 9BJ, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1234 211245 • Fax: +44 (0) 1234 325927 email: [email protected]

SAM Publications Ltd International Books & Magazines

758-61-FEAT-NestOfVipers(4)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:32 Page 758

A NEST OF VIPERS

1/144

A NEST OF

VIPERS By Mike Verier

W

e have waited a long time for a new-tool F-16 in 1/144 scale and now like buses, two come along at once!

REVELL The Revell offering has 109 parts plus the canopy and comes with a very colourful decal sheet giving the 65th Anniversary ‘stars ‘n' stripes’ scheme of the Texas ANG 149th FW. The colour call-outs give the usual Revell mixes, and, I note, FS numbers – a real improvement. Its high points include a very good canopy and a pretty convincing representation of the cockpit. There are also alternative horizontal and vertical tailfeathers as well as two exhausts and optional inserts with and without the latemodel blade antennae forward of the canopy. Consequently you can produce A or C models from this kit. Surface detail is excellent and comprehensive. Plenty of stores are supplied including three fuel tanks, Sidewinders, AMRAAMs, Litening pod, jammer pod and LGBs – most of the current options in fact. There is also a very detailed undercarriage and all the doors have internal detail. One can only summise that a two-seater is also planned as the separate forward fuselage produces a difficult-to-fill (and otherwise unnecessary) joint line. Given that the intake is another multi-part assembly this excellent model is perhaps just a tad over-engineered.

758 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

Revell F-16C, Trumpeter F-16A/C Block 15/30/32, MYK decals & Retrokit replacement cockpit

758-61-FEAT-NestOfVipers(4)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:32 Page 759

FEATURE

CONSTRUCTION Just to make it difficult I wanted to make a ‘clean’ airframe with the wheels up. This was because I have been saving an excellent MYK decal sheet for the wonderful (and sadly missed) Dutch demo aircraft. Having also acquired SyArt’s essential pearlescent orange paint for this airframe (they should get it right – they designed the full-scale scheme!) it had to be done ! Domi Jadoul at RetroKit has produced a superb drop-in resin replacement cockpit for this kit. In the end however I have saved it for the next one as installing a pilot would cover most of the extra detail. Revell provide very detailed u/c bays and excellent undercarriage parts which again were saved for another model. Assembly goes well albeit a good deal of

care is required to get everything lined up and minimise filling. I initially left the jet pipe off on the basis that I would paint the metal separately – this subsequently had to be re-thought as some of this part needs to be orange !! On the plus side the jet pipe is deep and detailed internally. In the case of the display aircraft none of the pylons are fitted except the centreline one (which carries a rather spectacularly marked fuel tank/baggage pod when required for transits between venues). Consequently there is plenty of fodder for the spares box !! However everything went well and eventually I had it all together and smooth – in view of the forthcoming decaling I left the vertical fin and ventral strakes off for the time being. A pilot from the spares box

The Revell offering has 109 parts plus the canopy and comes with a very colourful decal sheet

was installed and the canopy was fixed in to place. The clear parts are commendably thin and very clear which is a huge improvement on earlier efforts in this scale. Unlike previous kits the whole canopy (including the framing) is given which makes an open canopy perfectly feasible.

PAINTING AND DECALING Painting was always going to be a bit of a challenge. Essentially the pearlescent orange is an airbrush-only translucent lacquer that needs to go over a yellow undercoat – which in turn needs a white base. Thin coats with much drying time and polishing between gradually built up the colour density required – the whole exercise taking something over a week to complete. Following that another week of decaling. As you can imagine the decals are multilayered and complex but very complete, the only real omission I could find being some

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 759

758-61-FEAT-NestOfVipers(4)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:32 Page 760

A NEST OF VIPERS

1/144 it is slightly out of step with the very crisp detail the rest of the tooling exhibits. Finishing touches include thinning the pitot to a more scale appearance and sourcing two slightly overscale AIM-9s (mine came from a Platz Crusader) to replicate the wing-tip ‘Smokewinders’ (the MYK sheet even includes the decals for these)

CONCLUSION In summary the kit will produce a first rate current generation F-16 from the box, with plenty of room to cover most variations as well as earlier variants (I note that RetroKit have already produced the conformal tanks, almost the only thing missing from the kit). It has slightly more parts than strictly necessary but that pales into insignificance when you look at earlier offerings with little more than a top and bottom in the box. Revell’s offering is fantastic value for money too – get several and enjoy!!

TRUMPETER

stencilling on the nose wheel door. The ‘lion Rampant’ design is superbly done but needed some touching up where the decals – designed before the Revell kit – didn’t quite meet, matching the colour was tricky, fortunately a ‘new’ Gunze shade H-47 Red Brown, happens to be almost spot-on. As an aside MYK decals work best with hot water. The jet pipe was eventually finished

760 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

with Gunze’s metallics – if you haven’t tried them yet you should, they brush on, dry almost instantly, and buff to an amazingly good finish, going from ‘so what?’ to ‘WOW!’ in a few seconds. The jet pipe needs careful painting as its external detail lacks definition in places due to moulding limitations. This might seem a carping criticism when compared with what passed for detail previously, but

Trumpeter’s offering differs in being simpler (one-piece top, for instance) but it too will produce a super replica – coming as it does with the ‘Alaska’ black/white/grey aggressor scheme it is sure to be a winner. A two-seater will be available by the time you read this so it’s a real good time to be a ‘sixteen fan’. The package includes two other schemes, both in standard greys, a US based Norwegian aircraft and a fairly anonymous USAF Block 30 airframe from NY ANG. Another point of difference is the full-colour profiles provided against Revell’s sometimes

758-61-FEAT-NestOfVipers(4)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:32 Page 761

FEATURE

difficult to follow line drawings. Colour callouts feature Gunze, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol references (but no FS numbers) One point I do like about Trumpeter is the way they package their models, all in separate bags with protective foam around the transparencies – lid-and-tray boxes also make it less likely that loose parts will go astray.

Once in place however it is a huge improvement and well worth the effort. Small details missing from the kit are two leading-edge sensors (they are shown on the boxart) - as it happens Revell supply them as separate pieces which weren't needed for the Dutch variant I had built, so no problem. Fortunately the three-colour camo scheme has hard edges as it will be important to accurately position the bands of colour. This is because various markings, including walkway lines and national insignia, are reversed (eg black on white) to contrast with the camo colour beneath. At the risk of the colour pedant’s ire my regular reader will know that in 1/144 the colour intensity needs reducing to get a more in-scale look to the model. It so

Trumpeter’s offering differs in being simpler (one-piece top, for instance) but it too will produce a super replica

CONSTRUCTION In this instance the tool makers have gone for fewer parts to simplify construction. Thus the main undercarriage legs are onepiece with only the main legs vs Revell’s more accurate four pieces including the retraction jacks – both approaches do the job so it’s down to the modeller, certainly if you are doing a fleet of ‘16’s the Trumpeter will assemble quicker. It also becomes apparent that the engineering is exceptional with all parts dropping together very smoothly. An example is the two ventral strakes which each have a strong and positive location tab , setting the correct angle and making them hard to knock off. Revell’s conversely have a somewhat vague location with a tiny tab needing a lot more care. As with Revell there are alternative tail fins and jet-pipes. No stores are provided other than two slightly skinny-looking wing tanks. Strangely there is no centreline pylon provided whilst all the others are. Cockpit is again adequate. You actually get two seats (to allow for the forthcoming upgrade). They are quite accurate in shape but have no harness detail. On the basis that the instrument panel is just a flat surface I decided to see if the Retro cockpit would fit this model. It does, albeit there is a deal of fettling to remove the kit panel and surplus plastic under the coaming.

happens that the grey is fairly closely replicated by the ubiquitous Halfords primer which I used as a base. Gunze white applied over this allows some tonal variation, the black being replicated by Gunze tyre black which is actually a very dark grey and spot-on in this scale. A coat of Klear allows for the decals and a subtle oil wash using various greys (never black in this scale). The decals are very thin – I lost one complex walkway which just refused to uncurl after admittedly clumsy placement. but they do go on well with ample colour density and no silvering. Once everything is done a coat of Gunze matt varnish brings it all together and the stores, pylons and undercarriage can be installed. In summary 'you pays your money'. Both kits will produce a very good F-16, the choice comes down to level of detail and ease of build. It is also obvious that some cross-kitting is perfectly possible...........so just buy both, get a stock of Domi's drop-in cockpits and enjoy!!

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 761

762-68-FEAT-Stoofs(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:30 Page 762

S2F TRACKER

1/72

STOOFS

1/72 S2F Model Build and Conversion By David H. Minton

HISTORICAL NOTES

A Comparison photo showing detail of Hasegawa kit, at top, is finer. Note especially the propeller, as compared to Hobby Craft kit at bottom.

762 |

AUGUST 2015 •

lthough previously considered, submarine warfare was not much recognized as a serious threat until the end of the American Civil War, particularly with the exploits of the CSS Hunley. Just over 60 years later, the Germans demonstrated it as such a deadly success that many, both inside and outside Germany, argue it was one of the main contributors to Germany’s crippling retributions at Versailles. By the end of the first world war it had spawned an entirely new type of warfare, Anti-submarine warfare (ASW). During WWII, the Germans enjoyed such an initial

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

success of submarine warfare it forced the Allies, primarily Britain and the US, to respond. They did so with the development of Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) and Sound Navigation and Ranging (SONAR). SONAR was often called ASDIC during WWII. It was named after the group that discovered ways to exploit sound in water, the Anti-Submarine Detector Investigation Committee. Although common during the war, the term is rarely used today. Recognizing the need to wage this type of warfare from carriers, the Grumman S2F was born from the need to consolidate hunter-killer teams for ASW. The HunterKiller concept has been widely used in many guises in warfare. In Vietnam, we called it LOACHing. We’d take a light, mostly unarmed, observation helicopter, like an OH-53 or OH-58, and fly it around low and slow, doing reconnaissance. Somewhere, nearby, would be an AH-1 gunship. When we drew enemy fire, we’d call in the gunship over the spot and make life hard for the guys shooting at us. The ASW Hunter-Killer concept worked in much the same manner, except that the separation was driven primarily by

weight, not strategy. The problem was that the amount of weight the various radar and sonar systems needed to find a submarine used up so much of the aircraft’s payload, no munitions could be carried. This weight comprised the tubes, or valves, the copper coils to power the devices, the silicone rectifiers--nearly as big as carry-on bags in the war years - and the gyrators necessary to generate the current to run the devices. These weighed thousands of pounds. Likewise, the amount of weight used by munitions took up so much of the payload there was no room for detection equipment. To solve ASW as a mode of warfare, the US Navy had developed teams of Hunter-Killers based on the Avenger and the subsequently developed Grumman Guardian. One aircraft was manned with all of the required detection equipment and it coordinated with another similar aircraft carrying the necessary torpedoes and depth bombs. But coordination between the Hunter-Killer teams remained onerous and risky. Desiring to simplify the prosecution of enemy submarines around a Battle Group or convoy, the US Navy announced its intention to procure a

The Hunter-Killer concept has been widely used in many guises in warfare. In Vietnam, we called it LOACHing

762-68-FEAT-Stoofs(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:30 Page 763

FEATURE

design which enabled the complete mission in a single airframe. In due time, after discussions and negotiations with several vendors, a contract was awarded for the Grumman G-89 design. The Grumman design included a highwing, twin-engine aircraft with a crew of four, suitable for carrier operations. The twin engines gave enough power to lift the necessary sensor equipment and weapons systems, plus a bonus of safety. The sensor systems included the AN/ASP (radar), located in a dome which could be raised or lowered in the belly of the aircraft; the Magnetic Anomaly detector (MAD), the boom for which protruded from below the vertical tail; and acoustic sonobuoys, which were ejected from the rear of the engine nacelles. The crew included four, the pilot and copilot, who sat in the cockpit, and the sensor operator and navigator, who operated the sensor systems and communications systems. They sat behind the pilot and copilot, through a cabin portal in what you might consider as the passenger cabin. Completing its carrier qualifications it deployed operationally with VS-26 early in 1954. The stubby little Grumman went on to serve faithfully for another 28 years before being replaced by the jet engined S-3A Viking, built by Lockheed. In its operational career the Grumman S2F

More forward side view, engine nacelles and landing gear are gloss white on the interior, as with US aircraft. Note this photo also shows, to some extent, the comparative lack of visibility of the clear parts on the Hobby Craft kit, as compared to the Hasegawa kit, even after Kleer treatment.

Comparison photo between Hasegawa kit, on top, and Hobby Craft kit at bottom, illustrating overall finer fineness and detail of Hasegawa injection; including wing slots, flaps and cooling intakes. Note raised detail on both kits.

Comparison of alternative engines. Engines ‘n Things casting is at top, Quickboost engines next down, next are Hasegawa kit engines and the bottom is the Hobby Craft engines. Note only Quickboost engines provide for ignition manifold around crankcase housing.

family made over 744,000 arrested landings aboard aircraft carriers. A famous quote concerning the quality of Grumman aircraft is to the effect that “The name Grumman on an aircraft is like sterling on silver.” This quote is most often attributed to Admiral John McCain, who was one of the strongest proponents of carrier warfare in the beginning. He graduated from the US Naval Academy and went on to become a four star. His son, also John McCain, likewise graduated from the US Naval Academy and went on to achieve four-star rank during the VietNam war. This made them the first father-son pair to graduated from the academy to each achieve four-star rank. The younger John’s son, also John McCain, graduated from the academy and went on to be shot down over North VietNam, flying a Douglas aircraft. He is currently the senator from Arizona and chairman of the Senate Defense

Comparison showing the Pavla light tan resin cast interior details on the right aside the Hasegawa interior details on the left. Hasegawa details as shown do not include instrument panel. The arrow shaped piece with the Pavla parts is the overhead engine controls, common to Grumman multi-engine aircraft.

Comparison photo showing areas of fuselage that have to be cut away to fit the Pavla interior parts. The bottom photo is the Hasegsawa kit with the areas behind the cockpit and in front of the wing removed, while the top photo is the Hobby Craft kit with the areas still present.

Committee. Although it is most likely that the senior McCain was referring to Grumman fighter planes, like the F4F Wildcat, the Tracker is also nicely described by this quote. In addition to

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 763

762-68-FEAT-Stoofs(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:30 Page 764

S2F TRACKER

1/72

Chain drilling the fuselage cabin entry door to remove it so Pavla part can be used. After all the holes are drilled, door is cut out and edges cleaned up with a file. In this case, I also found it necessary to thin edges of kit door opening to maintain scale appearance.

This photo depicts a similar effort underway on the Hasegawa instrument panel which was then used in the Hobby Craft kit. It was made up in part from kit decals. It is not nearly as detailed as the Pavla part, nor as generally accurate, but is barely visible in the finished model due largely to the opacity of the clear parts of the Hobby craft kit. Pavla instrument panel during construction. Individual instruments are from my decal bank, buttons and switches are picked out with Vallejo white and grey. After some additional Vallejo red and yellow, and flat used to paint around individual instruments, the panel was ready for installation. I left the decal shinny finish for the instrument glass, it worked fine in this scale.

Chain drilling in the upper forward wing of the Hasegawa kit, which I also found the easiest way to remove the excess plastic necessary to accommodate the Pavla interior parts.

Problems with the registration of the rescue arrows. The decal on the upper left is from the Micro Scale sheet, and it wasn’t adequately registered. The decals on the right came from the Hasegawa kit and the ones on the bottom from my decal bank. Photo showing reshaped rear engine nacelle of Canadian aircraft after the kit hawk bill was cut away and the resulting area evened out, filled, and sanded.

serving with the US Navy in the ASW role, the Tracker was modified to become a cargo Carrier On-board Delivery (COD) aircraft and used in the electronics warfare role with a big radome on top. In the primary role, the S2F was usually called the “Stoof” by crewmen, sometimes also the “Stewfee,” even though its official name was the “Tracker.” Although the aircraft was known virtually all its operational life as the S2F, it did undergo a change in designation in 1962, which leads to some confusion among modellers. Table 1 summarizes the original designation for the aircraft and the new designations after the US Navy shuffled the deck.

TECH DATA

Illustration showing fishing weights packed around the Pava interior parts as necessary to prevent the Hasegawa kit from being a tail sitter. I estimated the required amount by taping the main parts together, balancing on dividers, and then adding weights until the nose went down. Packing was not as difficult on the Hobby Craft because of the minimum number of cockpit parts.

ORIGINAL DESIGNATION POST 1962 DESIGNATION S2F-1

S-2A

S2F-1S

S-2B

S2F-1S1

S-2F

S2F-2

S-2C

S2F-3

S-2D

S2F-3S

S-2E

In the COD role it was officially known as the C-1 “Trader,” although carrier crews

764 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

often referred to it as the “mailman,” and around Christmas, “Santa Claus.” In the AWACS role, with the big radome on top, the official designation was the WF-1 “Tracer.” One of the early missions of this aircraft was to assist the Tracer in maintaining specific tracks for submarine interdiction. This plane was called, by the crews, a “Willy Fudd,” or a “Stoof with a roof.” These naming conventions did not change during the operational life of the aircraft. As time progressed, the “Stoof” was adapted to other roles, such as multiengine carrier training, advanced training, ASW training, station hack, target towing and utility. In addition, the aircraft served in the military of several other countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Venezuela, Japan, South Korea, Holland, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Taiwan, Argentina, Italy, and Turkey. Originally, the first S2F aircraft had engine nacelles which tapered more or less uniformly to the rear. Later tests revealed the plane would fly smoother and longer if the rear of the nacelles was replaced with a “hawk bill,” sometimes called a “parrot’s beak,” at the rear of the nacelles. Still later, the engine nacelles were refined again to a smooth taper. In addition to this smooth taper, the later aircraft had an enlarged weapons bay and longer wingspan. The vertical tail was also increased in size. The sensor suite onboard the aircraft extended from the low level acoustic to the upper levels of the magnetic spectrum.

Problems fitting the Hasegawa wing walk decals to the Hobby Craft kit. The kit decals were quite fragile and easy to tear or fold without much provocation, I used a lot of water and a bodkin to tease them into the proper locations.

As components became smaller and more versatile, and frequency ranges were moved higher and higher; the sensor equipment of the S2F was constantly upgraded. The main sensors were the ANAVQ-2 searchlight, mounted on the port wing. It was originally rated at 70 million candlepower, eventually to 85 million candlepower. The AN in the nomenclature stands for Army Navy and it simply means that, for the particular piece of equipment, spare parts were standardized and shared among the US services. There was an AN/ASQ-10 Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD) boom which extended nine feet behind the vertical tail when deployed. It was used to detect large ferrous masses below the aircraft, like submarines under water. Because of its appearance when deployed, the antenna was fondly known as a “barber pole” antenna. Originally the ventral radome, which was raised on the ground but could be lowered in flight for operation, contained the housing for the AN/APS-38 radar antenna assembly.

762-68-FEAT-Stoofs(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:30 Page 765

FEATURE

Close up of the Los Alamos aircraft. Details noticeable in this photo are the added engine wiring and rod details, lack of nose taxi light and the two open doors, the cabin door on the right and the escape hatch on the top.

Although the radar processing equipment, like the acoustic equipment, was upgraded several times during the life of the aircraft, the antenna housings remained the same. The rear of the engine nacelles held the AN/SQQ-2 sonobuoys, which could be ejected in flight and land on the surface of the water. From there they listened for any acoustic noise and sent the information up to the aircraft circling overhead. Later versions deployed an explosive device and listened for an echo. Just behind the cockpit the prototype had a wishbone shape, sometimes called a bipole. On production aircraft, this was replaced with a football shaped dome on a short mast. This was the AN/ACD-3 direction finding antenna. Canadian aircraft had virtually identical antennas

Deicer boot painting underway on the Canadian Tracker. In this case all the masking was done with Kabuki tape, and engine exhaust stain are being painted at the same time, as are the nose wheels mounted on pins in the upper left.

Close up of the top of the Los Alamos aircraft, visible are interior details through the escape hatch, also the clear green overhead cockpit is well shown.

Detail shot of the front of the Los Alamos aircraft. Green tinted windows above cockpit show clearly, as are access doors, one under the wing and one bedide the radome. and sensors systems, except for this one antenna, which was not mounted on de Havilland produced aircraft. Instead they mounted a shorter, rectangular assembly. Although it was purchased under lendlease, or similar supporting acts, by most countries, the Canadians built it at de Havilland of Canada, under licence from Grumman. A total of 99 were manufactured, plus one purchased for pattern work and one leased for systems integration. The number obtained by the Royal Canadian Navy was based on the calculations seen using

At the end of its military career in the US and Canada the Tracker, and in some cases the Trader, went on to adapt to civilian uses

the early attrition rates seen in the US Navy. In point of fact, the plane never achieved such high mortality rates in the Royal Canadian Navy. Operating from the new HMCS Bonaventure, as well as other stations like HMCS Shearwater, the Tracker, as the Canadians also called it, went on to a likewise long and successful role, keeping the Canadians at the forefront of ASW and Maritime Surveillance for many years. These aircraft were kept upgraded with modern sensors and weapon during their operational career, but they were designated the CS2F-1 throughout, and the basic airframe remained the same. For the Canadians, although they didn’t change the designation of their aircraft, they did change the designation of their military. Originally they were called the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and so forth. In 1964 they began consolidating their military to became the Canadian Armed Forces, concurrently, in deference to their New France heritage, also called the “Forces Armée Canadienne.” At that time, the Navy became primarily the Maritime Surveillance branch and the ASW mission ceased, and the RCMS Bonaventure

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 765

762-68-FEAT-Stoofs(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:30 Page 766

S2F TRACKER

1/72

Front illustrating detailed engine harness, painted dark brown, as well as lack of taxi light, which is not provided in the kit.

became razor blades. At the end of its military career in the US and Canada the Tracker, and in some cases the Trader, went on to adapt to civilian uses. It served faithfully as a bush plane in Alaska, resupplying many remote gold claims and other frontier sites. It was adapted as an executive transport. And of course, its most successful civilian role came as a firebomber. After some interesting initial problems, such as it being a land based plane and forest fires not always cooperating by locating themselves near airports, it went on to become quite successful. Stripped of all warfare components and with a large fire retardant tank in the weapons bay, it entered service. Thereafter, it was reengined by Marsh Aviation in Arizona with five-bladed Garrett turboprops and it continues flying today.

MODELLING IN 1/72 SCALE: Side view, both search light and canopy parts are fairly clear after treatment with Johnson’s Kleer.

766 |

AUGUST 2015 •

There are two models of the S2F manufactured to 1/72 scale, one by Hasegawa and the other by Hobbycraft. Finding one of each in my stash, and wanting to build this aircraft for my collection, I decided to build both at the

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

same time. For no reason other than the Hobbycraft kit came from Canada, I decided to build it as a Canadian version. I usually try to build aircraft, when I can, that in some way reflect my interaction with them. In the case of the S2F, I’ve worked with it in the training and hack roles and I also worked at Los Alamos, so it seemed a natural fit to build the other model as the Los Alamos version. Let me say right up front that although the two kits are nearly identical in parts, parts count, and assembly, the Hasegawa kit is more finely pressed, evenly engraved, and better fitting. I had also acquired Eduard etch, a Pavla interior, and Quickboost engines for the models. I decided to use the Pavla and Quickboost parts on the Hasegawa kit and save the etch, which was somewhat redundant, for a later time. I also planned to use left-over Hasegawa parts where useful on the Hobbycraft kit, since they were generally finer and the fit was one-to-one. The Canadian version, of course, required conversion. The

main features of the conversion are to convert the airframe from the S2F-2/3 version represented by both kits to the earlier S2F-1 version, flown by the Canadians. This conversion, although a bit fiddly, is largely straightforward. The main changes involve changing the rear of the engine nacelles to the earlier arrangement. This means removing the “hawkbill,” above the nacelle trailing edge where the sonobuoys are carried, and shrinking the horizontal tail. The changes in tail dimensions are so small in this scale as to be achieved with a couple swipes of sandpaper, and can safely be ignored if desired. Although I built the models in tandem, I will cover them separately as builds to minimize any confusion. Good S2F references are: “S2F Tracker in Action,” by Jim Sullivan, Squadron/Signal 100, ISBN 0-89747-242-X and “Grumman S2F, Tracker TF-1 Trader and WF-2 Tracer,” by Charles Stafrace, Warpaint series No. 76.

HASEGAWA This is an early kit from them and though I’d hesitate to call it a shake-and-bake kit, I didn’t find any major problems with the construction. It has raised surface detail which made no difference to me in the build. There are many other reviews of it available, so I am only going to cover details relevant to my build. I had procured the Pavla resin interior set, somewhere along the line, with the intention of using it during the build, so I did. I have something of a love-hate relationship with these sets, which it seems to me I share with some of my fellow modelers. When their parts and components work, they are splendid. But just like the little girl in the nursery rhyme, “when they are

There are two models of the S2F manufactured to 1/72 scale, one by Hasegawa and the other by Hobbycraft

762-68-FEAT-Stoofs(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:31 Page 767

FEATURE

Exhaust stains and weathering were very light on these well maintained aircraft. Wing walk areas were not marked on all of the orange and white painted versions. bad, they are horrid.” On the whole, however, used wisely, I find they generally enhance the modelling results.

CONSTRUCTION Unsurprisingly, I began with the interior. I know some modellers take some time to match the printed grey on the Eduard brass to the grey being used to paint the interior, but having been in many, many military aircraft, I can tell you with some authority, this is rarely the case with the actual aircraft. They are often painted with whatever shade of grey, or whatever colour is on hand in an operational environment. Given how dark the interior of the aircraft is going to be through the canopies, I elected to paint it this lighter colour, which, as they say, “is close enough for government work.” With this in mind, I painted the interior components Light Gull Grey, (FS26440) using Testor’s Model Master Enamel. These planes were generally well maintained, at least any time I was around them. I then began detailing the interior, painting the seat cushions and headrests appropriately. For this I largely use Vallejo acrylics, and again, I don’t much agonize over the exact colour. An early test fit made clear to me that there wasn’t going to be a lot of detail visible, once I got the cockpit all buttoned up, so I didn’t waste a lot of time shading and highlighting it. In fact, I generally tried to make the colours as light as possible, just to keep visibility inside better, so I didn’t do any shading in this case at all. I then began fiddling with the rest of the build so I could bring the pieces together. I cut out the cabin entrance door and overhead escape hatch by chain drilling, which I find more trustworthy than scoring. The problem with scoring is that it relies on the lattice structure of the plastic, which can be somewhat reliably

Although there are cabin windows, they are quite small and virtually nothing can be viewed through them. I used Micro Soft Kleer to make them.

depended on in sheet plastic but is a real crap shoot in injected plastic. So I rarely use it on injection models, depending on sawing and drilling instead. Note, that in chain drilling the main cabin door, I avoided getting to close to the upper edge, because it would have been easy to drill outside of the dimensions of the main door. Leaving the extra plastic at the top made it easier to even out with a file after the drilling was completed. Because the fuselage plastic was very thick, I filed down the edges to achieve a more scale like appearance at the door openings. I then added the sensor and radio components to detail to the cabin. These components, however, are going to be a bit harder to see, even though I opened two doors. For the major cockpit components, the instrument panels, side consoles and seatbelts, the improvements were great and can be seen through the main cockpit clear parts, which are quite transparent. The main cabin is a bit harder and to see, and if I had it to do over I may have thought of a different arrangement, like putting it in a diorama. Even so, I did end up with a couple of unused parts and being the modeller that I am, however, the parts I did not use went into my spares box—you never know. Not wanting a tail sitter, I then added fishing weights where I could fit them around the resin parts, holding them in place with epoxy. Once the fuselage interior was done, I mounted the radar dome and glued the fuselage together. For the cockpit overhead window, I used a thin coat of Tamiya Clear Green, which seemed to work fine to tint it correctly. The canopy is two halves that

can be fitted after the fuselage is assembled, but be careful with the centre joint that you don’t end up with a glue smear. I replaced the engines with the Quickboost parts, which were a direct fit. I painted the engine overall Alclad Flat Aluminum, with the gear reduction box being painted Engine Grey, FS36099, using Pro Modeler dark wash to provide shading. I added a copper transformer wire harness, which I painted dark brown. The inside of the nacelle is gloss white. All gloss white I used on both models came from the small Testor’s square bottle of gloss enamel. Otherwise, I merely cleaned up and dressed the parts and carefully painted them to obtain the finished model. I did not fit the horizontal fin vibration stabilizer, or the external antennas to either of these kits. I find these items prone to breaking, especially as my children investigate the models, so I typically don’t place them unless building a model specifically for a contest.

Once main gear doors are attached to the engine nacelle, the total lack of interior detail is barely noticeable without a mirror or picking the model up and turning it over.

HOBBYCRAFT KIT As already mentioned, this kit was not as finely injected as the Hasegawa kit. This translated, in building, to sink holes, uneven edges and joints, and flash all of which were attended to as needed with putty and sandpaper.

CONSTRUCTION The Hobbycraft kit assembly was pretty much the same as the Hasegawa kit. But since the quality of the Hasegawa kit is somewhat better and the parts fit very similarly, I used whatever left-over cockpit parts, instrument panel and so forth that I could from it. I again started with the interior and again painted it

Arresting hooks were virtually always painted white with black stripes on both US and Canadian S2Fs, although overall grey versions occasionally were seen.

The hawk bill rear of the engine nacelles are very noticeable in the second generation of the S2F, although they were later streamlined without the overhanging beak.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 767

762-68-FEAT-Stoofs(7)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:31 Page 768

S2F TRACKER

1/72 Model Master Light Gull Grey. Once the main fuselage was all buttoned up, I assembled the wings and began the conversion. Although relatively straightforward, you will want to be careful because you will end up with a big hole in the engine nacelle. The main issue is to eliminate the upper part of the nacelle, which extends over the top of the wing. I did this by sawing it off. This leaves a gap in the upper wing. You will also need to saw off the “parrot beak,” removing it from the rear of the nacelle, making the entire assembly even and forward slanting, as seen in the pictures. I then glued a piece of 40 thou scrap plastic inside the wing, to fill the gap solidly. Once this was cured, I used epoxy putty (Apoxy brand) to build up the contour to the original wing surface. Then it was a matter of carving, sanding, and using Tamiya putty to get the final shape correct.

Anti-glare panels and de-icer boots were almost always black on grey and orange aircraft.

COLOURS In the US, the original colours for the S2F were Dark Sea Blue FS15042. Aircraft were delivered from the factory at Bethpage in these colours when the Navy changed the tactical colour scheme from blue to Light Gull Grey FS26440 over Gloss White. Most operational aircraft, including the mail planes, Willy Fudds and Marine Corps, were operated in these colours. Around 1976, to celebrate the bicentennial, many Navy and Marine aircraft were decorated with various combinations of red, white, and blue, especially if they had a ‘76’ in their serial. Toward the end of its career, as it was used more and more for training, support, utility, qualifications and a hack, it began to appear in different colours, including target towing red and yellow. One of the

Close up of front of Canadian model illustrating Hasegawa engines in Hobby Craft kit painted with no additional details added. Props on Hobby Craft kit are slightly thicker and clear parts, even with Kleer treatment, are not very clear.

most attractive of these combinations was, I think, the gloss white and international orange, FS12197, often seen on training aircraft, but also on other utility and station hacks. This is the colour scheme I chose for my US Navy version of the S2F. After I painted the white and orange, I masked with Tamiya kabuki tape and painted the deicer boots. The props were black with red/white/red tips. I didn’t experience any problems with the Micro Scale decals. In Canada, the first S2F was delivered as a pattern aircraft. It was overall Gloss Sea Blue, as with the US Navy. Apparently the US national markings were quickly overpainted in the

same colours and it was perhaps flown a time or two with some Canadian markings. But it was quickly painted in the RCN tactical scheme of the time, Sea Grey over Light Grey. Operationally, most Canadian Tracers and Traders were painted in this scheme until the forces' consolidation, previously discussed, in 1964. When that occurred, both RCAF and RCN aircraft took on a new tactical scheme. It consisted of overall Aircraft Grey, called by the Canadians 512, but a very close match to FS16473. This is the scheme I chose for my model. I painted it with Testor’s Model Master enamel. I masked and painted the deicer boots, the props were black with yellow tips. Except for the wing walk decal, which came from the kit, the other decals went on without any problems. Although a variety of ensign representations and fin flashes were present on the aircraft during the operational time period, having lived in Canada for several years I’ve always liked the brilliant red maple leaf, so I chose that for the model.

Both models respond well to careful construction and painting

CONCLUSION Although the finesse, detail and fit of the Hobbycraft kit are somewhat less than the Hasegawa kit, the parts are nearly identical and the builds quite similar. Both models respond well to careful construction and painting. The Pavla details, although a bit clunky in places, add a new and interesting dimension to either model. I already have another Hasegawa kit in my stash, slated for a conversion; but I don’t think I’d build another Hobbycraft. Both models are now in my cabinet, nice additions to my collection of patrol aircraft.”

768 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

Mastered-Adverts-AV-0815_AV-0606 10/07/2015 12:35 Page 769

N EW S AT R A V EN

S C A LE M O D

EL S Available to pu rchase from our web & eBay shop Navigation, be s acon, strobe & la nding lights Modelling clu b discounts avai lable

R AV EN S CA LE M OD EL

Clifton Curios Models We now stock Products

S

LIGHTIN550G7210K99ITS BEACravONenSscaleMmoOdeDls.EL tel: 01 com m www.

alemodels.co

email: bml@ravensc

Bringing new levels of realism to model making. Set your models apart with our ready-to-fit LED kits with pre-programmed cts authentic strobe effe

L IG HT IN G FO R A IR CR AF T, S CI

-F I & MO RE ... Install into your models to see them light up & com e alive Discover our exciting dev elopments in space & Sci-Fi modelling – including a ligh ting kit for the Star Trek ‘Into Darkness’ USS Enterpris e Mains conversion & dou ble-flash strobe lighting kits now available Contact the designers reg arding custom model lighting projects

EAST MIDLANDS VENUE Close to East Midlands Airport, Donington Park Race Circuit and Ashby de la Zouch Easy to reach from A42 & M-1 Derby, Leicester, Loughborough, & Nottingham LOCATED in GRANARY ANTIQUES at BREEDON PRIORY Ashby Road, Breedon on the Hill, DE73 8AZ EVERY SATURDAY, SUNDAY & BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY 9:30am - 4:30pm CAFÉ & FREE PARKING on site

Brushes; Glues; Fillers; Scenic Materials; Tools; Aviation & Military Books; Magazines

Clifton Curios Models – Vintage Postcards & Ephemera tel. 01827 373497 (after 6p.m.) www.cliftoncurios.co.uk

MAGNA MODELS Scale Model Aircraft Kit Manufacturers Magna Models, Buzon 27, La Crujia 29719, Velez Malaga, Malaga, Espana. Tel: 0034 951 066 690

FOR SALE! Due to my advancing years Magna Models is for sale. All moulds, masters, decal positives, packaging, decals, packed stock, loose stock, instruction sheets etc. Sale to include 1/72nd and 1/48th scale kits. For full details, please contact me at the above address/phone number

Martyn N Gomm

770-73-FEAT-Twogar(4)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:28 Page 770

GRUMMAN F9F-8T COUGAR

1/48

TWOGAR Building Kitty Hawk’s Grumman F9F-8T Cougar By Steven J. Corvi

HISTORY

T

he F9F-6/7/8 Cougar was the logical swept-wing progression from the Panther design. It was the fastest and most economical way to increase performance of the F9F2/3/4/5 Panther airframe and to enter the fray of swept-wing technology which was prevalent at this time. The single-seat F9F-8 Cougar never saw combat and served as an interim fighter design until the more advanced trans/supersonic next generation fighters were to be implemented in the fleet. It served admirably but in a very short span of service 1953-1959, in which it was replaced by F-8 Crusaders, F11F-1 Tigers and the F4D Skyray (which served concurrently with Cougars on some US Carriers). However, The F9F-8T trainer two-seat version served for a longer span (19571974) and saw action in Vietnam as an FAC (Forward Air Controller) aircraft. The F9F-8T also played an important role in training most of the pilots who were later to fly combat missions in Vietnam. The two-seat cougar was a stable and reliable platform for training, and it was also used by the US Navy Flying Demonstration team the Blue Angels (1957-1968). This was an important and influential airframe in US Navy Aviation history and was later replaced by the T-2C Buckeye (which also served concurrently with the F9F-8T).

THE KIT Kitty Hawk released the 1/48 F9F-8T in 2014 and it was much anticipated by many (including myself). The perplexing question everyone was wondering is why Kitty Hawk released the two-seat version before the single. Perhaps to increase sales for a lesser known variant? After the release of the 1/48 Kitty Hawk F-101A/C Voodoo and some of the negative aspects of the fit and plastic quality, there were some trepidations on the release of this kit. After close inspection it seems this kit is an improvement over the Voodoo BUT it seems that Kitty Hawk used a different plastic, ABS vs. Styrene, which may or

Construction as usual begins with the cockpit, which was pretty straightforward

770 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

770-73-FEAT-Twogar(4)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:28 Page 771

FEATURE

may not create issues with cement adhesion depending on what kind of plastic cement you use. I used Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid cement in the assembly of this build and had no problems, but be warned. The kit includes a gorgeously printed decal sheet, full colour decal placement guide, etched brass components for details and real nice packing and research by Detail and Scale. Kitty Hawk also provide a large ball bearing which is used as ballast (though it is not mentioned in the instructions?). Everything one needs is in the box, it even includes two types of ejection seat. The early Grumman proprietry seat and the later MartinBaker seat. Overall a real nice package …now on to the build!

THE BUILD Construction as usual begins with the cockpit, which was pretty straight forward and Kitty Hawk includes etched brass details for both the cockpit tub and seats and this builds rather nicely from the box. The whole nose section fits nicely but I suggest a little dry fitting before you commit to glue. As this was set aside to dry I turned my attention to the main airframe section and realized quickly that this would go together much better if you assemble it from top to bottom rather than traditional left /right halves. I deviated from the instructions in this manner and I also removed the tabs from the wings so I could display my airframe with the wings in an extended position. The kit is supposed to be built as a folded-wing version which is not to my taste (though it does save on storage space). If you do decide to make the folded-wing version this is nice but could use some extra detail as I found the visible areas of the fold a little oversimplified. For the extended wings I used plastic strip to reinforce the wing joints and I recommend anyone who is building the kit with extended wings to do the same. One thing I did notice early on was the lack of any detail in the intake trunks. They are rather blank and devoid of any details. I think the aftermarket may come to the rescue on this. But since I wanted to build the kit straight out of box (kind of?), I ignored this issue and overall it isn’t that noticeable in the completed model unless you know it’s missing! Overall, construction does requires a little dry-fitting and clamping to get the whole rear section in place but there isn’t anything any modeller with a modicum of skill couldn’t overcome. Another area that needs attention is the canopy. It has a rather ungodly seam down the middle and this needs to be attended to. I suggest sanding and polishing with sanding sticks. I used the

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 771

770-73-FEAT-Twogar(4)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:28 Page 772

GRUMMAN F9F-8T COUGAR

1/48

Micro-Mesh series that goes all the way down to 12000 grit (Available from our shop at www.sampublications.com Ed) This worked well and I finally applied some plastic polish to make it really shiny. One problem with this kits is the nose gear which is rather short and gives the airframe the wrong sit, but fortunately for me SAC (Scale Aircraft Conversions) was

772 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

able to provide me with a replacement white metal set that rectifies this situation nicely. If you have a rotary tool (Dremel) I recommend you use a brass bristle brush to polish up the SAC white metal parts. This gives a nice realistic metal look and prepares the metal for primer and paint adhesion. However, I would add a few more grams of weight in the nose to counteract the slight shift in the center of gravity since the kit-provided ball bearing will not hold the kit down on its tricycle undercarriage with the new SAC white metal gear correcting the sit . Painting and decaling The interior painting is rather straightforward as Gray (FS 26440) is the prevalent colour. The airframe itself was painted in white. My favorite white for this job is the decanted Krylon Fusion (for plastic) Toluene/Acetone based paint which does NOT attack plastic. It goes on nicely with an airbrush and it covers beautifully and dries quickly. Since white can be a problem this was my best

solution. The other major colour was Testors International Orange FS 12197, which is of course an enamel. This laid over the white with no problems and did not bleed through my Tamiya masking tape. Now I sealed the airframe with Testors Lacquer Gloss Clear. The decals went on with no problems and reacted well to Micro Set & Sol decal setting solutions. I then added a water based panel line wash (Flory Models) and some weathering using MIG pastels, in this case I decided to show a well-worn training bird showing the wear of many carrier landings. These birds took a beating since the budding aviators were learning their respective craft and the airframe would absorb some of their mistakes! Finally all the final bits were attached and the airframe was ready for display.

CONCLUSION This was overall a nice build with a few areas to be aware of. My perceived problem with the plastic did not seem to impact on the final build though I would test your favourite glue on scrap sprues (from the kit) before starting construction,

770-73-FEAT-Twogar(4)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:29 Page 773

FEATURE

to see if adhesion is a problem. I found the fit in this kit better than the earlier Kitty Hawk releases I have built and the tooling is also improved. If I could make one suggestion to Kitty Hawk I would look into fit as a major area of improvement, since this is a crucial area for many modellers (especially beginners). The subject matter is unique and it is refreshing in the overabundance of World War II subjects, especially Luftwaffe (109’s come to mind). This bodes well for future releases from Kitty Hawk if they carry on picking subjects not considered by other kit manufacturers. So I am looking forward to some of Kitty Hawk’s future release in 1/48: RF-101C, F9F-8 (single-seater), and the F2H Banshee series.

•

•

•

REFERENCES Famous Airplanes of the World: F9F Panther/Cougar No.10 (1988). F9F Cougar in Detail and Scale, Bert Kinzey, Aero Publishers, (1983). The Encyclopedia of World Airpower,

•

Bill Gunston, Crescent Books, (1981). F9F Cougar Walk Around (series), Ken Neubeck, Squadron/Signal Publications (2012)

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 773

774-78-FEAT-Horton-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:25 Page 774

HORTON HO 229

1/32

The Luftwaffe’s

FLYING WING

Building Zoukei-Mura’s 1/32 Scale Horton Ho 229 By Tim Upson-Smith

N

ow as a model maker I do not tend to build German aircraft and certainly not Luft 46, but I do rather have a thing for flying wings, so when this kit was announced I was quite keen to have a go. The aircraft has the most wonderful shape, which is somewhat spoilt by the undercarriage with its giant single nose-wheel, which must have made take-off and landings interesting, to say the least… Amazingly for this aircraft one of its prototypes survived the war and is currently being restored in America at the National Air and Space Museum. The kit is based on this surviving prototype, but imagines it as a production machine with its twin guns fitted. I was also keen to see how a Zoukeimura kit would go together having read the reviews of their earlier kits but not yet having had a go at making one myself. Well, the box is absolutely massive, with a dramatic illustration of a 229 shooting down a Lancaster on the lid and is packed with plastic! There are 19 sprues in total

774 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

moulded in a mix of clear, clear frosted and grey plastic. Also in the box is a small sheet of masks for the canopy, the decal sheet and the very comprehensive instruction booklet. The instructions have been printed to mimic a 1945 German manual for the type. They start with a introduction to the type which is followed by the 229's specifications. Then they take you through the construction stages, the main headings for which are in German, with Japanese and English translations. The instructions are incredibly detailed and really do require you to study and follow them very carefully; you may notice this as a theme running through this article, because if you are anything like me you may not always follow the instructions quite as carefully as you perhaps should? Or is that just me? So then, how does it build?

CONSTRUCTION For this build I decided to use the recommended Vallejo Model Air paints, as my paints do not include many Luftwaffe colours and I would have to buy more anyway. An order was duly placed with Airbrush Heaven for the paints and it was on with the build. Construction begins with the engines and it is at this early stage in the build that I have a confession to make - I did not fit all of the compressor fans on the inside of the Jumo engines, and you cannot see that I missed them off. The main reason I did not fit was them was because a fellow model club member had asked if he could have any spares for a cutaway engine he was making. You really do have to follow the instructions but if you do you will have no problems and before I knew it I had a pair of basic engines ready for paint. For the front half of the engine you have to mix the light

There are 19 sprues in total moulded in a mix of clear, clear frosted and grey plastic

774-78-FEAT-Horton-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:25 Page 775

FEATURE

grey green (RLM 02) with silver to give a metallic shade of the colour. I found that the Model Air colours mixed really well and the resulting colour really looks the part. With the basic engines assembled you then have to add all of the external pipework, this is quite fiddly and again I can not stress this too much, follow the instructions! The pipes and other external parts were painted by hand and again I found the Model Air paints brush really well. On the engine sprue there are parts to make two engines stands, to either hold the engines during construction or to display them outside the airframe. I assembled both to hold the engines whilst assembly continued. The next stage is the fuselage framework, and this was the part I was really dreading, as it looks really rather complicated in the instruction book. If I was to have a minor gripe with the kit it would be that the bulk of the fuselage tubular framework and that for the cockpit

had a raised mould seam. On several parts I thought I had removed it only to find it pop out under a coat of paint; it is not too onerous to remove, just a bit fiddly. I did briefly consider not painting all of the parts of the interior, but it becomes clear quite early on that the fuselage will be quite open and that there is very little of it that will not be visible in some way on the completed model. I sprayed the bulk of the parts on the sprue in advance, as most of the parts are RLM 02. When removing the parts from the sprues you really do need to be careful to remove all of the moulding pips and not part of the actual piece, again careful study of the

instructions is needed. If you follow the diagrams carefully this stage whilst looking really complicated is not, as a lot of the diagrams are for information showing you how the parts should fit. Once you have assembled the fuselage, construction then moves onto the cockpit,

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 775

774-78-FEAT-Horton-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:26 Page 776

HORTON HO 229

1/32

which is essentially a small structure seemingly bolted on the front and sandwiched between the two engines. I was quite surprised to see that the cockpit is actually open to the engines and the main undercarriage bay. I do wonder whether on the production machines the cockpit would have been a little more enclosed? For the cockpit you get a choice of two seats, one with moulded seat belts and one without. I decided to use the one with the moulded belts as I was not going to be fitting a pilot figure (available separately) on my example.

776 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

With some careful painting the moulded belts really do look fine and they have a bit of depth to them which can be lacking in photo-etch belts. As the seat was an early ejector seat, it can be fitted later into its launch rails, what I did not find clear though was its actual launch mechanism (must do some research…). You also have options with the instrument panel, firstly the choice of

either the clear part or the grey plastic part. If you choose the clear part you will need to mask off every dial and then paint the panel applying the decal to the reverse of the panel. If you use the grey part you are given three different ways of finishing it, firstly to apply the decal over the whole part, as the instructions say this is the easiest way of doing it, secondly and the option I went for, painting the panel and then applying each individual instrument decal and then covering with a drop of gloss varnish. The final way suggested is to paint the entire panel by hand. I found that the individual dials settled well with the use of Micro Set and Sol and I was happy with this method and its result.

For the cockpit you get a choice of two seats, one with moulded seat belts and one without

774-78-FEAT-Horton-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:26 Page 777

FEATURE

The grey plastic panel also has the backs of the instruments moulded on its reverse. With the fuselage and cockpit assembled the instructions want you to assemble the undercarriage next. I decided that this would make final painting rather tricky so after a test fit of the outer skins with the legs it became clear that the legs could be added at the end of the build. With this in mind I decided to add all of the outer skins to the fuselage framework. These skins are moulded in frosted clear plastic which is rather brittle so great care is needed to remove them from the sprue; I ended up using a fine razor saw with a new blade for the task. I must admit to finding the clear plastic a little gimmicky and I had decided from the beginning my model was to be painted as in service, so after priming the skins the insides were painted RLM 02, as I believe that like the British Mosquito although made of wood, the wood would have been primed. The outer skins fit really well with no issues and at this stage it is really beginning to look the part. In keeping with my closedup build I fitted the airbrakes to the fuselage in the closed position. I would have preferred the plastic for the outer skins to be moulded in grey and the option for totally clear given instead of the frosted clear which is neither one thing or the other. The wings like the fuselage have full internal detail which unlike the fuselage cannot be seen through the panels or any gaps, so I decided to just paint everything in the wings RLM 02, and with this done the wings were quite quickly assembled. Again on the wings I decided to fit the airbrakes closed, I did find the fit here less than satisfactory but they are designed to

be left open really, so my use of filler and rescribing could have been avoided if I just fitted them open. To ease final painting I left the wings off, just temporally fitting them so I could draw the camouflage pattern across the top to ensure that it all lined up at the end of the build when everything was fitted together.

PAINTING AND DECALING Two colour schemes are provided for on the instructions, but as this is a ‘what if’ no units are given. Both schemes have RLM 76 light blue undersides with RLM 81 brown violet and RLM 82 light green topsides. Decals are provided for two different Reich defence bands, one orange and yellow stripes, the other green and blue checks. No swastikas are provided but of course there is the question as to where they would have been painted! I decided to leave my Horton plain with just the crosses and the stencils as I found this quite a pleasing anonymous finish.

CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES The undercarriage can be assembled and painted as separate units and fitted at the end of the build. I did find, though, that I could not get the main gear leg retraction jack to fit, but this is not noticeable on the finished model as the undercarriage doors hide the fact it is not there. I did make a bit of a mistake with the rear

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 777

774-78-FEAT-Horton-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:26 Page 778

HORTON HO 229

1/32

undercarriage legs which was entirely my fault as I did not read the instructions properly. For some reason I felt it looked better with the wheels on the inside of the legs and I was getting quite frustrated that the other parts of the leg just did not fit very well, thankfully the glue had not entirely set by the time I noticed my mistake so I was able to sort it, and funnily enough after this the other parts fitted really well I must follow my own advice in future! I replaced the pitot with Albion Alloys slide-fit aluminium tubing, not because there is anything wrong with the kit part, but because the metal parts offer greater strength for a model that is to travel. With that the model was pretty much done, just a coat of matt varnish and a very light

778 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

weathering to tie everything in. I left the two engine covers on the top of the fuselage loose so that the engine detail can be seen, I also left the sliding part of the canopy loose so it could be displayed either open or closed.

pass on: when you finish a section put a pencil cross through that stage, that way you can really keep track of where you are! So, as a build, it was quite out of my normal range of interests having far too few wings, but I am very pleased with the end result and now may have to build a Trumpeter Me 262 to go alongside it to give a sense of scale. I thoroughly recommended this kit as something just that little bit different. As a final comment on the quality of the kit and its accurate representation of the engines, on a recent visit to the Science Museum in London, my 12 year old son, whilst we were in the aircraft gallery, pointed to a real Jumo 004 engine on display and said ‘isn’t that the same as the engine in your model Dad?’ I was quite chuffed with that!

I thoroughly recommended this kit as something just that little bit different

CONCLUSION Well, for my first Zoukei-mura kit I have to say I really enjoyed building this one. The instruction book does make the build look really complicated but when you actually start and again really follow the instructions you will find that the model does go together very well. With the instructions I do have a helpful hint to

779-Zvezda-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 14:05 Page 1

780-82-ClarksField(3)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:40 Page 780

ZLIN Z-42M & Z-142

1/72

ZLIN

HobbyBoss 1/72 Zlin Z-42M & Z-142 By Dick Clark

The upper fuselage with instrument panel and superfluous (because it can never be enough) lead strip installed, and the lower fuselage/wing with the cockpit floor pan fitted

780 |

AUGUST 2015 •

W

ell over a year ago I started Hobby Boss’s little Zlin Z-142, just as a private project. Shortly before Christmas 2012 I abandoned the model as I was experiencing so many problems with the decals; they are incredibly thin and fold up easily, and take ages to soak off. I couldn’t face tackling the long stripes down the side of the fuselage. Not long after

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

Christmas 2013, whilst clearing up my office, I rediscovered the model and decided to either finish applying those decals, or re-finish it in a ‘what-if’ livery. I cut those stripes into two sections, which made them much easier to apply, and finally got it done! It was a tailsitter, so I made a small base for it

and stuck it down permanently. I then realised I had taken no build photos, so decided to purchase the other Zlin offered by HobbyBoss, the Z-42M. These really are the ultimate ‘Easy Build’ kits. The fuselage and

These kits really are the ultimate ‘easy-build’, as the fuselage and wings are single pieces

780-82-ClarksField(3)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:40 Page 781

FEATURE

The underside prior to fixing the model permanently on its base wings are single pieces, strangely moulded in clear plastic. The cockpit consists of a floor-pan and seats moulded as one piece, to which only the joysticks have to be added. This then fits to the one-piece wing/lower fuselage part. The tailplane also fits to this piece. The instrument panel fits to the upper fuselage. The interior can be painted quite effectively and there is a nice decal for the instrument panel. I added seat belts cut from Tamiya masking tape. I added as much lead strip as I could possibly fit into the noses of both models, but due to the way the aircraft sits back on its tail, in neither case was it enough to prevent tail sitting. The fuselage upper clips onto the lower section - the whole model can be built without glue, though I did add glue for stronger, cleaner joins. The canopy fits over the cabin, and it only remains to mask the canopy and the model is ready for painting. For the Z-142 I primed in grey. The yellow areas were sprayed first then masked off before the lighter blue was sprayed overall. The darker areas were masked using Blu Tack to give soft edges.

And that’s it, masked up ready for paint!

It looks OK from the overhead view…

I have to admit I have no idea what colours I used for this model. The Z-42M was considerably easier; just a couple of coats of white auto primer, which was then masked up for the blue. For this I used a can of Hycote Fiat Capri

Blue I happened to have lying around - I wasn’t being too picky on this! The decals on this were a complete contrast to those on the previous model easy to soak off and easy to apply. The only problem with them is that the blue

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 781

780-82-ClarksField(3)-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:40 Page 782

ZLIN Z-42M & Z-142

1/72

…but come down lower and the tailsitting is revealed!

Photographed beside a couple of well-known objects to show just how tiny this model is

782 |

AUGUST 2015 •

stripes on the vertical tail don’t quite match up to those on the rear of the fuselage, even allowing for my not getting the blue area on the rudder quite right, and the stripes around the tailplanes

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

aren’t quite long enough. I ‘lost’ the shortfall by not covering the trim tabs underneath where they can’t be seen. Cunning, huh? All that remained was to paint the undercarriage legs and attach them, and the propeller and spinner. One of the prop blades on the Z-42M is at a slightly odd angle because I nearly broke it off, fixing it back with a tiny drop of CA glue. These are two lovely little models of diminutive little trainers/light aircraft. They are very simple to build and are simplified a little in as much as small details such as mass balances and some

aerials are missing, but they look great when done. I feel this is a much-neglected area of post-war and modern aviation. There are dozens, probably hundreds of small light aircraft types and they can be just as fascinating as any fighter or bomber. Where are the Jodels, the Cessnas, the Pipers? The Stinsons, Taylorcraft, Aeroncas, or Luscombes? I know Minicraft have a good range of Pipers and Cessnas in 1/48, but come on, kit makers, take up the challenge, let’s have some new 1/72 private light aircraft!

Mastered-Adverts-AV-0815_AV-0606 10/07/2015 12:35 Page 783

1/48 scale WWI pilots

Cornwall’s best selection of scale model kits AIRFIX – REVELL – TAMIYA - EDUARD and many others Tools, solvents and accessories

Open Monday-Saturday

MC48001 MC48005 MC48007 Werner Voss Manfred & Lothar von WWI British RFC Pilot & $12.50 USD Richthofen $22.50 USD Mechanic $22.50 USD

11 Pydar Mews, Truro TR1 2UX and at shows throughout the South West

01872 273582 www.t7models.com

1/9 scale Busts MC19006 Royal Flying Corps sculpted by Carl Reid $47.00 USD

KINGKIT

THE ORIGINAL KIT DEALER (Est. 1983)

Due to the continued success of our new web site, we are looking to buy all types of second hand models, accessories and related books....please contact us for a quote

Model Cellar www.kingkit.co.uk THE

PLEASE NOTE: all our figures and accessories are unassembled and unpainted To place an order and to see more please visit our website:

www.ModelCellar.com

NEW

ADDRESS!

Unit 8, Cedar Court, Halesfield 17, Telford TF7 4PF

TEL: 01952 586 457 e-mail [email protected] www.kingkit.co.uk

784-88-Testors-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:39 Page 784

Sponsored by

GLOSTER METEOR T MK.7.5

www.testors.com

1/72

A MEATBOX For Two Detailing the Special Hobby 1/72 Gloster Meteor T Mk.7.5

Once completed, the Meteor T.7.5 looks really good in its IAF camouflage. The constant rescribing has allowed me to preserve all the extremely fine detail, and with the pastelling this shows up well.

By Adam Rehorn

W

784 |

AUGUST 2015 •

GLOSTER METEOR T MK.7.5 This is what’s in the box. You can see the two separate subsprues for the tall tail and the recce nose, as well as the nicely appointed decal sheet. The black rectangle is the canopy mask. You can also see the resin tip tanks and three separate canopies!

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

pretty two-seat variants as well, including the T Mk.7/Mk.7.5. This 1/72 offering allows you to build all of those variants, including the bizarre-looking tank trial version! The box-art features the beautiful Gloster-registered G-ANSO, the blue company testbed, used for tip tank development, flying among the clouds. This is a good image for making the kit jump out of a crowded shelf, but for someone who doesn’t like one-offs, it might be misleading. Still, the box clearly states that you can also build Israeli, British and Belgian variants - so don’t be fooled. In the box you have four bluish grey plastic sprues, as well as three different canopies and a small bag of resin parts that include the tip tanks and their

TECH

ith the introduction of jet fighters at the end of World War II, it became very clear, very quickly, that expecting inexperienced pilots to jump from prop trainers to flying solo on jets was just asking too much. The British encountered the problem with people transitioning to the Meteor, so it was no surprise then, that two-seat variants of the early jet trainers were required to bridge the gap between the prop-driven advanced trainers and new high-performance jet fighters. What is surprising, however, was just how long these first stopgap jet trainers stayed in service. One of the most successful of the early conversions were the two seat Meteors, which continued to keep pace with the developments of their single-seat brethren, as well as being developed into early all-weather and night fighters. The ultimate version of the trainer was the Mark 7.5, which was a Mk.7 with the enlarged tail of the F.8 fighter version. While the Meteor is an important jet and has been kitted by many, one of the more extensive range of Meteor variants has been that released by Special Hobby/CMK. On top of their singleseater’s, the good folks at Special Hobby have also been kind enough produce some

MANUFACTURER: Special Hobby SCALE: 1:72 KIT TYPE: plastic injection moulded KIT NUMBER: 72317

stabilising fins. There’s also an instruction booklet with coloured profiles, a nice looking decal sheet and a set of canopy masks for the trainer version’s canopy! The parts are all well detailed, and there is very fine, recessed detail on all surfaces. The only issue is that the panel lines are all very soft. This might be more realistic but is likely to cause a problem when it comes time to paint; there’s a good chance they will be at least partially obscured during priming and painting. Given that a lot of the detail runs over the seams, there’s also going to have to be some rescribing in the areas subjected to sanding.

784-88-Testors-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:39 Page 785

Sponsored by AIRCRAFT USAGE & NOTES

www.testors.com

PAINT IT WITH TESTORS

FEDERAL STANDARD 595A/B METALIZER LACQUERS

Insignia Black (flat) Insignia Black (gloss) Insignia White (flat) Insignia White (gloss) Israeli Dark Blue Israeli Dark Blue (RAL 5008 spec) Israeli Dark Tan Israeli Dark Tan (RAL 8008 spec) Israeli Light Gray Israeli Light Gray (RAL 7044 spec) Metallic Aluminum Metallic Aluminum Metallic Jet Exhaust

FS37038 FS17038 FS37875 FS17875 FS35042 FS35042-FS35045 FS30219 FS31090-FS30140 FS36495 FS36440 1401 Aluminum Plate (Buffing) 1418 Aluminum (Non-buffing)

MODELMASTER ENAMELS

MODELMASTER ACRYL

POLLY SCALE ACRYLICS

1749 Black 1747 FS17038 Black 1768 FS37875 Insignia White 1745 FS17875 Insignia White 1717 Sea Blue 1717 Sea Blue 1742 Dark Tan 2111 Italian Dark Brown 1732 Light Gray 1730 Flat Gull Gray 1781 Aluminum 1781 Aluminum 1796 Jet Exhaust

4768 Black 4695 FS17038 Black 4769 FS37875 Insignia White 4696 FS17875 Insignia White 4226 Sea Blue 4686 Dark Sea Blue 4709 Dark Tan 4608 Raw Sienna 4765 Light Gray 4763 Flat Gull Gray 4677 Aluminum 4677 Aluminum 4676 Jet Exhaust

F505350 NATO Tricolor Black

NOTES:(~) = approximate Testors® Paints — Israeli Meteors

Of the four sprues, one is a separate ‘sub-sprue’ for the ‘tall tail’ of the Mk. 7.5, including top and bottom halves of the stabiliser and left/right halves of the vertical tail. The catch is that these aren’t moulded as part of the airframe. In fact, you have to cut off the existing tail to put the tall one on! There’s also separate recce nose for the RAF Experimental Flying Department version, too. The clear parts look very nice, quite clear and fairly thin, and the decals are all in register and the masks look promising. The instructions are full colour, and have the painting plans scattered among the assembly drawings. Each scheme is assigned a letter, and the optional parts are called out in reference to this letter. Overall, the instructions are pretty good, but they do tend to be a little unclear in spots. The decals have markings for four different machines - one

F505011 White F505092 US Sea Blue A/N607 F505092 US Sea Blue F505392 US TAC Tan F505372 US Brown Special F505280 Sky Gray F505380 Light Gull Gray F414299 Aluminum F414299 Aluminum

Ask your hobby shop for Testor® products — or visit www.testors.com

This is how the instruction book is (or rather isn’t) put together. They look nice, and the colour paint plans are excellent, but the weird non-interleaved assembly is counterintuitive and a bit annoying while building.

Israeli, one RAF one, one from the Belgian AF and the aforementioned company development airframe G-ANSO. One interesting thing that’s not in the box is any photo-etch, which I know this will upset some people, but for me it’s not a big deal, although some etched seat belts would not have gone amiss! As with almost every aircraft kit, the first step should be the cockpit, and oddly here, the side consoles on one side are shown mounted to the wall of the cockpit, with the others are shown

The good folks at Special Hobby have also been kind enough produce some pretty twoseat variants including the T Mk.7/Mk.7.5.

Here are the injector nubs on the inside of the tall tail replacement parts. Clearly, these have to be cut off before any assembly of the tail can be done. This is the first indication you’re working with a short run-type of kit. Not for the faint of heart. mounted onto the cabin floor. I put them all on the floor, and it worked fine. There isn’t a lot of room for shot in the nose, but without some weight the Meteor is going to be a tail-sitter, so cram whatever you can in there. I chose to install the seats and front instrument panel after building, but they say to put them in in the early steps. Since the Meteor is an early British jet, the inside of the cockpit is almost black; I used Model Master Acrylic Schwarzgrau RLM 66 #4779, and once this had a grey wash applied it was even darker. A little silver was also dry brushed onto the cockpit details to bring them out, and a silver pencil crayon was rubbed lightly over the rear control panel to bring out the instruments. This model is a short run kit, so it came as no surprise that there wasn’t much in the way of location

The very small metallic jet nozzles were difficult to preserve due to the sanding needed to fair them in. These were painted Model Master Steel and given a dark wash.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 785

784-88-Testors-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:39 Page 786

GLOSTER METEOR T MK.7.5

Sponsored by

www.testors.com

1/72

This is the sheet styrene ‘shelf’ that I made for behind the cockpit. You can see the tape ‘template’ is still on it. The part outside the tape is a collar to facilitate installation; a nice big edge to glue on always helps!

Well, it’s not quite perfect… The tall tail doesn’t quite match up to the contours of the body and you can see the step in the lower fuselage here. This is actually a phenomenon that occurs all around the fuselage’s circumference. This requires some intense sanding to correct.

The Meteor’s distinctive wing shape really shows up from this angle. Having all that nice detail on such broad flat wings adds a lot of visual interest to the completed kit. You can just see the gunsight through the front windscreen panel, too!

for the cockpit in the forward fuselage. There’s also precious little to help you line up the fuselage halves, but it’s not hard to get things aligned when it’s gluing time. The fuselage fit is dodgy, however. I had great trouble getting the fuselage halves to meet properly, and even when I did get it together, there was quite a seam. I filled this with melted styrene where possible. However, there was a section where I actually put a very thin shim of styrene sheet in between the fuselage halves, and then melted everything in place with copious amounts of glue. One odd thing is that there is nothing behind the rear bulkhead of the cockpit. Normally, there would be a ‘shelf’ built into the canopy rails, I believe. However, there’s no such thing here. So I used some masking tape applied from inside the fuselage to act as a pattern, traced the contours of the fuselage to it and then used it to make a small sheet styrene shelf. The ‘tall tail’ is similar to the fuselage in that there aren’t any location guides at all, but with a little patience the ‘tall tail’ went together nicely. Now installing the ‘tall tail’ was an adventure. I cut off the original tail at the appropriate place, and when I lined up the new tall tail with the rest of the fuselage, it was apparent there was a major issue. The diameter of the fuselage that is part of the tall tail is noticeably less than that of the rest of the plane. Thus, there’s a pronounced step in the fuselage where the two tails join. To smooth this out

786 |

AUGUST 2015 •

The wing/lower pan unit doesn’t quite match the fuselage, so a plug of sheet styrene had to be inserted to fill the gap. Many inexperienced modellers will not have sheet styrene around; the need for tricks like this puts the Meteor T.7 clearly into the domain of more veteran modellers.

If you thought the tail had fit issues, check this out! The belly tank doesn’t quite conform to the fuselage. You can finesse this fit with putty or sanding the tank, or you can just literally flood the area with glue and melt the whole darn thing together. Guess which I chose?

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

requires considerable sanding and recontouring. The problem is that the detail on this kit is so fine that it will not survive. To ensure it did make it though, I rescribed the panel lines in the affected areas, and periodically rescribed them as they wore down with the sanding. Once the grinding and reshaping was done, the tall tail looked like it was supposed to be there, and the horizontal stabilisers fitted into the groove cut for them extremely well, and required no sanding once in place. Due to the midwing placement of the Meteor’s engines, there’s quite a bit of work to do on the power plants before you can glue the wings together. The back wall of the intake was painted with the Model Master

RLM 66 #4779 as was the cockpit. The intake trunk wall, as well as the splitter was painted Model Master Light Grey #1732. The exhaust turbine was painted Model Master Jet Exhaust #1796 and were given a wash that highlighted the fineness of the turbine detail. The jet pipe was similarly painted and then the assemblies were ready to go onto the wings. The wings themselves have no location pins, but are also devoid of the large protrusions found on the tailplane components. The landing gear bays were glued in place, these being surprisingly self-locating, and the wing halves were then glued together.

784-88-Testors-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:39 Page 787

FEATURE This is the finished cockpit of the Meteor, just before the ‘lid’ goes on. You can see the gunsight, instrument panels and the ‘shelf’ I made earlier. The front coaming doesn’t fit the opening, either, but that doesn’t really show, thank goodness.

The finished intake and exhaust components were then glued on. Next a ‘collar’ of molten styrene was put around the intake trunk seam, and once dry, there was a lot of sanding and shaping to do to make the engine pods look like one contiguous assembly. Again, it was essential to rescribe and rescribe the detail in the areas requiring the sanding again in order to make sure that the detail survived to the painting phase. There were similar, but less severe, issues on the exhaust nozzles, and patience and care are the watchwords here. Most of the Meteor family carried a large conformal belly tank, and It can be challenging to make a plastic tank fit perfectly on a model’s belly, but the difficulty is often lessened by positive location pins or tabs.

Well, just like on the fuselage and wings, there are no tabs for the tank on the Meteor. Add to this that the position is only vaguely called out on the instructions, and you have a potential for a headache, but with some good references, I sorted it out! . Sadly, the tank is far from a perfect fit, so you can’t just fidget it into position until it ‘looks right’. The tank/belly interface has serious contour issues, causing pronounced gaps, so tacked the tank on with a bit of Ambroid ‘Proweld’, and then once it was tenuously in place, I flooded the seam with glue. This caused the tank/belly surfaces to melt together, and produced a nice solid seam. The Meteor was first given a primer coat of Model Master Light Grey #1732, but as I feared on closer inspection some of the details had been lost in the construction or were covered even under a thin coat of primer, so more re-scribing was in order. Up to now I have never had the luxury of using pre-cut canopy masks, and those on the Meteor are made of a black vinyl-like material, and are extremely precise, and I would say using them made life easier overall, and I thank Special Hobby for putting them in there. I painted all the landing gear bays, door insides and gear components in Model Master Aluminium #1420. This was given a very light wash to highlight the detail. Once the gear bays had dried, they were given a quick dusting of Future to nail everything down, and then they were masked with ‘Silly Putty’. Of the four schemes on offer, I chose the Israeli one, and what I found surprising was that the camouflage was not tan and

green, like I expected, but tan and blue! So reviewing pictures online and in various books I set about mixing up a colour to emulate it. I applied Model Master Light Grey #1732 to the underside of the model, as this colour comes close to what was actually applied to IAF machines. I then masked the underside, which is no mean feat given that bulging belly tank. I then applied some Model Master Dark Tan #1942 to the entire topsides, as this again seemed a good match. For the disruptive colour I used Model Master Dark Sea Blue #1717 and adjusted accordingly with a little Medium Blue #2131 and a little Light Grey #1732. With the Tan applied I decided just to paint the blue by hand as this is a very doable approach for hard edge camouflage. With the paint finally on, I pencilled in all the panel lines, which doesn’t really show on the blue, but it does on the grey and tan. I then applied a few coats of Johnson’s ‘Future’ and then sanded everything smooth. I was then ready for the decals which are very thin and conform quite well to the surface detail on the model, and react well to Micro-Sol and Micro-Set. However, disaster struck when I tried to put on the black lines on the top of the wings. The ‘centre’ section of this is a large decal with a lot of film. Now normally, I would have trimmed this out, and I suggest you do too. However, I tried to put it on as it came off the sheet. This was a bad plan. Not only did the decal fold anyway, when it was dry, I had silvering regardless. But, and there is a but, I had a lot of trouble trying to remove it and ended up having to repaint and rescribed the affected area. I then tried putting on some of the smaller wing stencils, but one fell off and on curled into a ball when it became separated from its sheet. At this

This is one of the main gear, showing the nicely detailed wheel hub and gear bay. I flat-spotted the tyres manually; they were moulded round.

From below, the detail on this kit is even more apparent. The pastelling on the light grey is very faint, despite being two layers thick. I guess I need to adjust it just a touch darker.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 787

784-88-Testors-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:39 Page 788

GLOSTER METEOR T MK.7.5

1/72

Seen from the rear, down low, the fine detail of the turbines in the exhausts can be seen. There is a distinctive ‘kink’ in the blue/grey separation line where the fuselage changes diameter from the main body to the new tall tail. This is the most telling evidence that the two aren’t a perfect match.

point, I gave up on stencils altogether, as the plane just looks fine without them. I then added a coat of Model Master Flat and then added a few pastel shades to add interest around the engines. The landing gear were assembled and attached once the paint was done, and they went in very well. Even the gear doors mated up to the plane’s contours quite well, something that I’m not all that used to encountering! One thing of note is that the mudguards over the wheels do not come with the attachment arms. The instructions call these out to be scratch built! This is a definite sign that this Meteor is a short run kit - if you didn’t already know, but I didn’t bother. I then added the seats and control sticks, and attached the prominent gunsight to the front coaming. To simulate the wingtip navigation lights, I used some Bare Metal Foil covered with Model Master Clear Red and Clear Blue. The canopy fitted on quite nicely and I used some white glue to hold it down. Firstly, I would like to thank Special

From this angle you can see a bit of the detail inside the engine inlets, as well as the red and blue lights on the wingtips.

There is really not a lot to see in through the heavily famed canopy. The work done on the interior is essentially lost, although at least the builder knows it’s in there!

Hobby and our esteemed Editor for giving me the chance to build this model. I love the Meteor and I find its twoseat variants very attractive, so having this opportunity is very much appreciated. I have learned a lot building this kit, and it pushed a number of my skills further than most other models I’ve built. It was hard work, but like all hard work it was worth it!

Under other flags! The Matchbox Hunter T.66 (converted) in Omani markings makes an interesting comparison with the Israeli-marked Meteor T.7.5. The level of detail on the Meteor is clearly superior to the now-ancient Matchbox, as you would expect. The difference in aerodynamics and design philosophy between the two aircraft is also quite telling.

788 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

Mastered-Adverts-AV-0815_AV-0606 10/07/2015 12:35 Page 789

HPM HOBBIES ENAER

MIRAGE ŝŘCN PANTERA

Albion Hobbies – for the following products:-

1:72

Fuerza Aérea de Chile

Albion Alloys Precision Metals for Model Makers

www.hpmhobbies.com UK: www.freightdogmodels.co.uk CAN: www.westcoasthobbys.com IT: www.misterkit.com NL: www.aviationmegastore.com AR: www.hobbieslc.com.ar JP: www.willing-hobby.com

Precision tubes, rod, strip, sheet and angle and channel.

NEW RELEASE

Connecto – an amazing product – you can now create 3D shapes from Albion Alloys micro tubes. Works with our brass, aluminium and nickel silver tube – from 0.4 mm o.d. to 1.4 mm tube sizes

HPK072103 Flex I File and Albion Alloys abrasives –

Mr Hobby (Gunze Sangyo – GSI Creos)

Probably the most comprehensive range of abrasives, glue applicators DQG¿QLVKLQJSURGXFWVDYDLODEOH including some of the most popular modelling tools ever produced.

An incredible array of paints, thinners and primers – widely seen as the best quality paint currently on the market. A thoroughly professional product and a correspondingly wide range of colours, primers and associated tools – you’ll want the whole range in your inventory.

An inspired and inspiring range of modelling aids, decals and diorama accessories. What started off as a small selection of wood grain decals has grown in to a list of must have items for the keen modeller. Rigging threads, oil paint drying accelerator, scenic diplays and much more.

For details of your nearest dealer / stockist / distributor please contact XVRQ Email: [email protected] Website: www.albionhobbies.com Telephone: 01202 511232

Uschi van der Rosten

Since 1985! The GREATEST NAME in Selling (and Buying) Old Model Kits for 30 Years!

www.rare-planedetective.com Your ONE-STOP WEB SHOP specializing in rare, hard-to-find and out-of-production kits from the 1950s to the Present... all at SANE pricing!

• Aircraft! • Armor! • Sci-Fi! • Ships! • Automotive! Distributors for:

• Anigrand Craftswork Resin Kits! • Miniwing 1/144 Resin Kits! We carry LOADS of aftermarket items as well... • Decals! • Resin & Photo Etch Detailing Sets! • Figures & MUCH MORE!

You always get more hobby for your money at Rare-Plane Detective! www.rare-planedetective.com

Need Rare Kits? 5000+ kits worldwide shipping every kit you see is in stock

[email protected] $10 OFF on your Web Site Order! Check-Out PROMO CODE: SAM10

www.oldmodelkits.com

790-92-ClassicPlastic-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:38 Page 790

In association with

CLASSIC PLASTIC

Plastic CLASSIC

Edited By Paul Bradley

A

h, nostalgia. I recall my first ever flight was back in 1970-ish, from Glasgow to Southampton, as my dad had been posted from one boat at Faslane to another at Dolphin – submariners will know what I’m on about. We must have moved half-a-dozen times by the time I was 10, but we’d always driven before - mum and dad and my sister and I, all packed into the family saloon with our

worldly goods following us in a Pickford’s lorry. Anyways, that flight was memorable for many reasons – the pure excitement of flying for a budding aviation enthusiast, watching the land go by under the wings of the aircraft, final approach to Southampton over a cemetery….. And that first flight was taken on a British Caledonian BAC 1-11….

Airfix 1/144

BAC 1-11 By Andy Hazell THINGS CAN STILL BE HOW THEY USED TO BE? Every now and then I fancy a bit of a change and this usually results in an airliner being added to my collection. Now, being of that generation who can remember the arrival of colour television (my first non-monochrome viewing in 1973 being that cold war classic “Ice Station Zebra”), there really was only one range to consider -

790 |

AUGUST 2015 •

yep, the Airfix range of 1/144th civil airliners; the Caravelle was my favourite but the BAC 1-11 came a very close second. Fast forward more than 40 years. I know, how did that happen? Blink and they were gone with no need for a Tardis or De Lorian! So with rose tinted nostalgia, here I am again with an old friend, the BAC 1-11. Granted it is a later reissue with a much improved decal sheet, but that striking British Caledonian livery still looks absolutely fantastic.

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

DOWN TO BUSINESS Although these airliner kits are very straightforward and easy to build, the challenge is the colour scheme. As everything is so prominent, any surface defects will show up immediately. The secret is to ensure that all the joints are clean and even and filling is kept to a minimum.

Fortunately the moulds seem to have survived the tests of time and despite a little flash here and there, parts seem to align very well. Recently, I have taken to removing the major parts from the sprue using a razor saw. This development is not in respect of damaging the parts, rather an attempt at self preservation. Last

790-92-ClassicPlastic-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:38 Page 791

CLASSIC PLASTIC

to prevent fogging. I chose to assemble and paint the engine nacelles separately as it would make the masking easier. The base for the scheme was Halford’s White Plastic Primer followed by Appliance White for the upper fuselage. I always give this a week or so to dry as it seems to remain soft and easy to mark, even when apparently dry. Tamiya tape was used to mask off as gradually I built up the scheme. Life Color light grey acrylic was airbrushed into position followed by Halford’s Aluminium straight from the can. I know we are meant to decant aerosols and airbrush the contents for a superior finish, but I am lazy and just cannot be bothered with all the effort. Rattle cans are fine with painted the whole interior matt black, year I slipped and stabbed the web of me. remembering to add the required nose skin between my thumb and Three good coats of Klear were weight first. I just use a couple of old forefinger. You know it is bad when it airbrushed to even up the various nuts, I have quite a stock of these, does not hurt and the whole kitchen is paint surfaces and provide a nice gloss, used for, err ... fixing damaged rapidly turning red. If further evidence decal friendly surface. The kit decals motorcycles! that I am clumsy is needed, I can worked perfectly and settled down The airframe went together very confirm that I managed to fall off my nicely with Micro Sol. The only quickly and without the need for filler, motorbike last weekend, on a precaution I took completely dry was to cut the and empty road. larger decals into The bruises are Building something with one’s own two to assist the healing quite hands can be the most therapeutic positioning and well. Pride will reduce the risk of take a little process I know. breakage. longer. The I fitted the undercarriage was the finishing touch. doors to the fuselage before joining the just carefully cleaning up and dry I have learned to take my time over fitting of parts to ensure a good fit. two halves together. I find I can this. These small detail parts can make The windscreen was secured with achieve a better fit when things can be or break any project and carefully superglue gel, having been given a adjusted from both sides. As there is painted wheels will lift any model. couple coats of Johnson's Klear earlier no decal option for the windscreen I

Rush these and untidy detailing will give the impression that you just don’t care, which would actually be true.

BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND? Well, on balance, yes, I enjoyed building the 1-11 more the second time around. Why? Well, as a child, enthusiasm to complete always seems to result in a compromised outcome. Things are rushed, corners cut and errors made. Not that that seemed to matter as in youthful innocence the finished item was always a wonder to behold when hanging from the bedroom ceiling. (You mean you don’t still do this…? PB) Now, while somewhat older and hopefully wiser, the aim is not to complete the project as quickly as possible, but rather to achieve the best that the kit has to offer and more importantly to just enjoy the simple process of creation. Building something with one’s own hands can be the most therapeutic process I know. Sort of on par with going to the pub for a couple of pints and a few games of pool with your childhood friends, who now all seem a little more portly and with somewhat grey hair, if indeed it is still there at all! What was it that wise old Greek said, something like “Wisdom of maturity will always outweigh the enthusiasms of youth”?

KITS OF THE MONTH By Paul Bradley

T

ime to toot my own horn here, if you will indulge me. Some of you will no doubt have noticed that I have a new book due out, the latest in the SAM Publications’ Scaled Down MDF series, on the Fairey Firefly and available by pre-order now at the SAM Publications website. So I thought it appropriate to take a look at the two classic Firefly kits, the Mk 5 from Airfix and Frog’s Mk I, both to 1/72 scale. The Airfix kit was the very first Firefly in injection-moulded plastic, being first released in 1965. Exterior detail is depicted with raised lines and rivets, both overscale, and sparse interior detail in both cockpit areas – though Airwaves has a PE set that will aid with this. This kit is the only Firefly in the scale to feature wings that can be posed folded without surgery, if desired, but the detail is very crude –

James Perrin’s boxart Firefly for the Classic British Kits SIG stand at Telford, 2014

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 791

790-92-ClassicPlastic-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:38 Page 792

In association with

CLASSIC PLASTIC

Airfix 1/72 Fairey Firefly boxart

Airwaves has another PE set for this and there are major fit issues if you want to depict the wings spread. The kit has a number of other flaws, the most noticeable being the fuselage width which is far too narrow, and the nose area which is underscale, neither of which is readily fixable. In addition, the wings are too narrow in chord. The transparencies are a poor fit. Only one decal option is provided, WB351, 202/K of 817 Sqn RAN, on board HMAS Sydney off Korea, 1951. All in all, it does resemble a Firefly when completed, though somewhat lacking in bulk and size, almost as if the whole model is underscale. Following Airfix’s kit, the second Firefly to be released was of the earlier mark. Released by Frog in 1972, this kit has also been released by Novo, SMER, Chematic, Eastern Express, Modelcraft and, currently, Ark. The kit has very little in the way of interior detail, while exterior detail is fine raised panel lines. The kit represents a late F.1/FR.1 with raised canopy and fully faired cannon, but without the ASH pod, and markings are provided for two FR.1s. The basic shapes and dimensions are very good, with no big discrepancies against plans. Moulding is nice, but there are a few sink marks to deal with. As mentioned, detail is quite sparse, the interior represented by a pair of seats and an instrument panel moulded into the fuselage halves. The clear parts are nice, if a little thick, with restrained framing, while their fit is fair. Exterior detail is

Decals for the Airfix kit offer a single RAN option

represented by fine raised panel lines, which are a good basis for re-scribing. The propeller is moulded in one piece, and looks very good – in fact, better than the one provided by Special Hobby in their kits! The undercarriage is a bit basic and the wheels could stand being replaced, and I’d advise you to check out the items by Barracuda Models – although intended for the Special Hobby kits, there’s no reason they couldn’t be used for the Frog kit. Recently, Master has released various styles of Firefly cannon to enhance this area, too. The decals provide all the national and individual markings, but no stencilling. Options are for PP484/F6, 860 Sqn, Royal Netherlands Naval Air

Boxart for the Frog kit

The Frog kit converted to represent the first prototype

792 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

The author’s Airfix kit built as a U.9

Service, Java, 1946, and PP402/ AB-O, 826 Sqn, Royal Canadian Navy, 1946. This kit is a good but basic representation of the early Firefly and if the will is there for some scratchbuilding and superdetailing, a very nice model can be built from it. Not one to be written off, as my builds previously featured in Classic Plastic show. Of course, modern kits, especially those from Special Hobby, have surpassed both of these old ‘uns,

but the Frog kit especially is a cheap and cheerful option. And to get the best out of it, check out the period photos, colour profiles and walkarounds in the book…!

Frog’s decals offer two options including a Royal Netherlands Navy machine

British Pacific Fleet markings by Aeromaster adorn this example of the Frog kit

793-Bookworld-SAMI-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:39 Page 1

BOOKWORLD wholesale

Blackburn Buccaneer

The awesome Flying Banana Jet in Royal Air Force Service by Willy Peters and Glenn Sands with Andreas Klein.65 pages,full colour

£15.00

Warpaint 101. De Havilland D.H82 Tiger Moth Author Adrian Balch takes you through the typeís history, with notes on each air armís operations, and over 90 rare, top quality colour photos illustrate some of the many colourful schemes.Also there are detailed close-ups of the salient features and various modifications made to the type. Renowned artist Richard Caruana enhances the book with more of his superb authentic colourful profiles, making this a ëmust haveí book for the modeller.

McDonnell-Douglas F-4C/RF-4C Phantom II This book is a concise, illustrated history of the legendary McDonnell Douglas F4C and RF-4C Phantom II. Covered are its technical developments, markings, and use by Spanish forces.Published by Schiffer.48 pages,74 color & b/w photos

£12.50

The first in this new series covers building and finishing 1/72 scale model aircraft. The author Libor Jekl, is a modeller right at the top of his game with the ability to share his techniques and demystify the more complex processes of advanced model construction. Step-by-step images take the modeller through each process and explain in simple stages how to tackle modelling tasks that can baffle the most experienced of us.120 pages.

Aircraft Pictorial 8. F4UCorsair Volume 2 by Dana Bell.72 pages,Black/White & Colour photos, colour profiles.

£16.99

Finnish Fighter Colours Volume 2

This second illustrated book completes an in-depth history of the colours and markings of Finnish Fighter aircraft deployed during World War II. Camouflage and markings of the fighters which were obtained from France, the USA, Germany, the UK and the USSR are described in unparalleled detail by the well-known Finnish aviation expert Kari Stenman.Hardback

£35.00

£13.95

Tel: 01299 823330 Fax: 01299 829970 web: www. bookworldws. co. uk email:info@bookworldws. co. uk

The Macchi Mc.202 Folgore. A Technical Guide A wealth of historical photographs ‘Walkaround detail period pictures’ A mass of period diagrams from original flight manuals ‘Detailed study of structure, equipment and armament’ Colour profiles and camouflage and marking detail by Richard J Caruana ‘Lists of all kits, accessories and decals produced in all scales’ 92 pages in A4 format.

£12.95

£14.50

Airframe Workbench Guide No.1.

Bookworld Wholesale Ltd. Unit 10 Hodfar Road, Sandy Lane Ind Est, Stourport, Worcs DY13 9QB

Messerschmitt Bf 109 Early Versions

The monograph devoted to the early versions of the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the most famous WW2 German fighter, discusses its origins and development with coverage of changes made in its first prototypes, A-D variants and their subvariants.Hardback,108 archival photographs, 103 renders, 18 painting schemes, 32 pages sheet of scale drawings.

£25.99

Flying Wings. A Visual History of the Northrop XB35 & YB-49 Flying Wings By David Doyle One hundred twenty eight pages, soft cover, over 260 black & white and color images. This highly unique title provides complete coverage of the aircraft that would become the B-2 bomberóall told completely in rare period photos, many published here for the very first time.

Famous Russian Aircraft Sukhoi Su-24 Illustrated with over 750 photographs many hitherto unpublished as well as line drawings, colour side views, insignia, unit badges and nose art this latest addition to the Famous Russian Aircraft series will be of interest to aviation enthusiasts and scale modellers alike.

£39.95

Aircraft Scale Modelling. F.A.Q. This book is a compilation of aircraft scale modelling techniques, step by step guides with hundreds of colour pictures for WWI, WWII, coldwar and modern aircraft, showing a wide range of painting and weathering techniques.380 pages, more than 2.500 images.

£47.99

The RAF's rugged twin-rotor Chinook support helicopter has been involved in most of the UK's military operations stretching back to the Falklands Conflict, Northern Ireland and in both Gulf Wars, to peacekeeping in Bosnia, operations in Kosovo, the evacuation of Sierra Leone, and most recently its high profile missions in Afghanistan.Hardback, 270 x 210mm, 160 pages, 250 colour & 25 mono illustrations.

£22.99

Airplanes in Scale

The Greatest Guide.Compilation of the most popular planes from WWII with the latest available kits and accessories. A complete guide employing the most common techniques and the latest assembly and painting tricks. Step by step explanations easy to follow.200 pages,full colour.

£31.99

Encyclopedia of Aircraft Modelling Techniques 1: Cockpits. The definitive encyclopedia of model aircraft performed by the world famous modeler Diego Quijano and a selection of the best worldwide aircraft modelers, led by Mig Jimenez.Paperback,123 pages,full colour.

The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver served the U.S. Navy as a carrier-based dive bomber during the last two years of World War II. Helldivers helped sink the battleship Musashi in October 1944 and, in April 1945, sent the battleship Yamato to the bottom of the ocean the two heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever built. 194 photos, many in color, 80 pages

£14.99

£21.99

Over 180 pages are dedicated to the modeler and contain the following: avionics - cockpits - landing gear engines - most recent armament fuselage details - camouflage schemes 1/48 scale drawings.Over 950 images,An absolute must have for the fans of this unique British aircraft.

£35.00

£23.99

Naval Fighters 100. Blue Goose This book covers US Naval Aviation from its beginnings in 1911 until 1961 through the interesting and some times colorful "Blue Goose" or Command Aircraft. "Blue Goose" refers to a color scheme that developed for these aircraft in the 1930s.

£30.99

Dornier Do17/Do215 The monograph on the WW2 German bombers Dornier Do 17 and Dornier Do 215 discusses their design, development and operational history.2 double A3 sheet with drawings, 24 pages A4 sheet of scale drawings, 194 archival photographs, 13 painting schemes.

£17.99

Wingspan Volume One. 1:32 Aircraft Modelling.

SB2C Helldiver in Action. RAF Chinook Owners Workshop Manual

The BAE Systems Harrier II GR.9 and T.12 in the 21st Century.

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

An illustrated technical history of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter supersonic interceptor and fighter-bomber. Features 40 superb colour profiles of camouflage and markings, walk-around colour photographs and rare b&w archive photographs.

Big planes deserve a big format This exciting new series is dedicated entirely to the increasingly popular 1:32 aircraft scale. The landscape format and large photos afford the opportunity to explore the models closely, and to truly appreciate the level of detail achievable in this scale.

£19.99

£19.99

MDF Scaled Down No.3 The Fairey Firefly. The Modeller’s Guide Superdetailing, Painting and Weathering Aircraft of WWII, with airfield accessories, ordnance and diorama.The book is intended for both beginners and advanced modellers as it covers a wide variety of modelling tasks.178 pages,full colour

£18.95

YOU CAN VISIT OUR WEBSITE: www. bookworldws. co. uk Stockists of the following subjects: Aviation, Military, Naval, Modelling, Railway, Motoring Major credit cards accepted, UK cheques payable to Bookworld Wholesale Ltd

Author Paul Bradley looks at the history and development of this important aircraft, and details the types development, its war and peacetime roles and the armed forces the Firefly served with. This book covers the variants, squadrons and operators with clear and concise text, Colour and black and white images, Colour side views, walk-arounds, a kitography and how to model the Firefly in popular scales.

£9.99

The Weathering Magazine Special World War.1 This the first Special Issue of the Weathering Magazine, the only modeling publication completely devoted to painting and weathering techniques.75 pages,200 pictures,30 colour profiles.

£13.99

The Weathering Magazine 11 The only modeling magazine in the world devoted entirely to painting and the effects of weathering. Featuring for the first time a very special and attractive subject for a lot of modelers - the year is 1945.Paperback,68 pages,full colour.

£8.99

UK POSTAGE SINGLE BOOKS £2. 50 TWO OR MORE BOOKS £4. 50 OVERSEAS AIRMAIL PLEASE ADD 15% OF ORDER VALUE MINIMUM £4. 50

794-95-Books-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:37 Page 794

BOOKS AND MEDIA

his disc, despite having a photo of a hot air balloon on the cover, covers all aspects of civil aviation, including two balloons, with amongst others helicopters, microlights, PUBLISHER: Aero Research Co. historic and SERIES: Civil Series modern civil aircraft and CAT. NO: 5009 workhorses like WEB: www.AeroResearchCDs.com crop dusters. It is an eclectic mix on this disc but it really does show the variety of civil aircraft out there. I am not sure how many of the more obscure types have been produced by kit manufacturers but I am sure it is only a matter of time! These discs bring together previously unpublished photos and share them with a wider audience, something which is to be applauded. My thanks to Aero Research Co. for the sample copy.

INFO

T

Finnish Fighter Colours Vol 2 1939-1945, White (Rainbow) Series No 9128 his is volume 2 in this series and covers such diverse types as the Hawker Hurricane, Caudron-Renault CR.714, Curtis Hawk 75, Bf 109G, Myrsky, Polikarpov I-15bis, I-153, I-16, Lavochkin-Gorbunow-Gudkov LaGG-3 and the Curtiss P-40M Warhawk. Each section has a short text as introduction which is illustrated with contemporary images, followed by a section on colours and markings, with colour profiles of each type. The book is rounded off with appendices, looking at the structure of the Finnish Air Force, Aviation Ranks, Airfields, Trainer Markings, Aerial victories and Units. This book is AUTHOR: Kari Stenmam and extremely comprehensive and if Karolina Holda you have an interest in this field COLOUR PROFILES: Karolina Holda this book is unlikely to be PUBLISHER: Mushroom Model bettered as a reference. If you Publications are stuck for which models to ISBN: 978-83-63678-44-9 build MPM/Special Hobby have a number of aircraft in Finnish FORMAT: Hardback markings in their catalogue, including a 1/32 scale Caudron which passed me by, oh the temptation! My thanks to Mushroom Model Publications for supplying the review copy.

T

INFO

Civil Collection No.4

F2A/Humu Buffalo Walk Around #15

World War II in Photographs

I

INFO

794 |

AUGUST 2015 •

INFO

T

PUBLISHER: Peregrine Publications FORMAT: CD-ROM WEB: [email protected]

Mitsubishi A6M Zero his book starts with a short introduction to the type, before moving on to sections on each model. These sections each have a short introduction, plans to 1/48 scale showing the differences between the variants, contemporary photos and colour profiles. The second half of the book, however, is taken up with detailed coverage of the airframe using contemporary images, colour photos of surviving museum examples and extracts from technical manuals. The final section comprises colour profiles showing the unit fuselage and tail bands. If you are looking for a detailed written history of the type then you will need to refer to the books in the bibliography, but if you want an accessible history of the type with plenty of pictures giving the relevant detail for your latest model, then this book is a must for your bookshelf and indeed workbench. I really like these books from MMP, they give just enough history of the type, and then lots of images with which to inspire your latest creation. My thanks to Mushroom Model Publications for supplying us with the review copy.

T

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

AUTHOR: Artur Juszczak

INFO

his book has 900 captioned photographs covering every aspect of the Second World War and the major theatres of war. Each section is accompanied by an accessible historical commentary. This is one of those books which if you are looking for an AUTHOR: David Boyle introduction to PUBLISHER: Rebo International the history of the war will be a ISBN: 978-90-366-1800-7 good starting FORMAT: Hardback 600pp point. As the subject of the book is war the photographs can make uncomfortable viewing and the accompanying text uncomfortable reading, as the book does not shy away from the horrors of the war. My thanks to the publisher Rebo International for supplying the review copy.

f you like Finnish aircraft this is your lucky month, with the MMP book on Finnish fighter colours and this disc looking at the F2A/Huma Buffalo preserved in the Central Finland Aviation Museum. Pretty much every aspect of the airframe is covered which will be a real bonus if you have a kit of the type on the workbench. My thanks to Steve Muth of Peregrine Publications for supplying the AUTHOR: Steve Muth review copy.

PUBLISHER: Mushroom Model Publications ISBN: 978-83-63678-29-6 FORMAT: Hardback 116pp

794-95-Books-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:37 Page 795

BOOKS AND MEDIA

Aircraft of the Aces 127

Polish Spitfire Aces

FF-1 Flying Barrel Walk Around #20

INFO

I

After the Flood What the Dambusters did next verybody knows about the Dambusters raid and I am sure most will be able to hum the march too, but what I am less sure about is how many people know what 617 Squadron did next? This book sets out to redress the balance using contemporary documents and interviews with surviving aircrew, leading the reader through actions against the Tirpitz, rocket sites, and the Eagles Nest to name but a few. If you like to read about the background and the aircrew of the models we make or just enjoy reading well researched and written books, After the Flood ticks all the boxes. Highly Recommended. My AUTHOR: John Nichol thanks to the PUBLISHER: William Collins publisher William Collins for ISBN: 978-0-00-810031-5 supplying the FORMAT: Hardback 366pp review copy.

INFO

E

Combat Aircraft 110

Dornier Do 24 Units his is one of those aircraft I had heard of but knew very little about - at a push I would be able to recognise it in a photo, but beyond that not a lot! Having thought of the type as German I was surprised to learn that it served with the Dutch navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, as well the Luftwaffe and the Spanish Air Force where the type was not retired until as late as 1969! As we have come to expect from Osprey the text is supported throughout with contemporary photos. This book has 15 pages of colour profiles with two to a page. It is worth noting that these profiles have been painted by the UK-based airbrush artist Chris Davey, absolutely stunning work. If flying boats are your sphere of interest, I am sure you will be looking forward to the release of this book. My thanks to Osprey Publishing for supplying this prerelease review copy.

T

Modellers Guide to the Hercules Part 1 his disc, unlike the others reviewed from this source, takes the form of a PDF book on the type. The PDF starts with an introduction,, followed by reviews of the available kits of PUBLISHER: Aero Research Co. the Hercules; CAT. NO: 9004A this section also includes a look FORMAT: CD-ROM at the available WEB: www.AeroResearchCDs.com accessories and decals. The bulk of the publication, however, is taken up with detailed descriptions of the many variants, illustrated with a profile highlighting differences, photos if applicable and a suggested kit to make that variant. If you have a kit of the earlier versions of the Hercules and you missed out on the print version of this book then this PDF version will come in very handy. I will be building an RAF C-130J soon so I am looking forward to Part 2! My thanks to Aero Research Co. for the sample copy.

T

INFO

INFO

T

his disc takes the form of a photo essay looking at FF-1 Flying Barrel. The disc has an introduction to the type, a history of the surviving example, a section looking AUTHOR: Steve Muth at the colours PUBLISHER: Peregrine Publications and markings and a FORMAT: CD-ROM bibliography for WEB: [email protected] further reading. The rest of the disc is taken up with photos of the sole survivor which in itself has quite an interesting history, being the only example supplied to Nicaragua. It was scrapped in 1942, but found in the 1960s and restored to airworthiness, then flown back to Oklahoma in 1966. It was then purchased by Grumman and restored and placed on display at the National Naval Museum where it is still on display. The photographic coverage of the airframe covers everything a modeller could need to superdetail a kit. My thanks to Steve Muth of Peregrine Publications for supplying the review copy.

INFO

do like this series, because as a modeller I like to find out about the people who flew the real thing that I am building a model of. This series really ticks the box for that and this newest title does not disappoint. The text is illustrated throughout with black and white images; in the middle of the book are 12 pages of colour profiles, three to a page, showing the aces' Spitfires. This book took me back to a Christmas many years ago when my Grandad bought me an Airfix Mk V Spitfire which I remember assembling on the dining table after Boxing Day dinner, the markings were of course RF-D, a Polish Squadron Spitfire, and for several years it AUTHOR: Wojtek Matusiak and was one of my best models! Robert Grudzien So if you like Spitfires (and PUBLISHER: Osprey Publishing who doesn’t) and the real life ISBN: 978-1-4728-0837-0 stories of the pilots who flew them, this book should find a place on your bookshelf. My thanks to Osprey Publishing for supplying this pre-release review copy.

AUTHOR: Peter de Jong PUBLISHER: Osprey Publishing ISBN: 978-1-4728-0570-6

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM •

AUGUST 2015

| 795

796-97-ShopWebGuide-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:37 Page 96

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 [email protected]

HPM HOBBIES Producers of high quality screen printed civil aircraft decals.

www.hpmhobbies.com

CF-BXO

Secure online ordering Realtime stock levels Worldwide shipping

BXO

Stockists of kits, paints, tools, decals, accessories and modelling materials. ALASKA QUEEN

KENTING AIR

PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY CORP. LTD.

AIRLINES LTD.

KENTING AVIATION LIMITED

FALCON - JAYS - OZMODS - REDROO PJ PRODUCTIONS - FCM DECALS

GNDN

OTTAWA, CANADA

Distributors of Hobbyboss, Vallejo, MiG, AK Interactive, Miniart, Model Master and many more…

$ www.halifaxmodellersworld.co.uk Shop Hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs 10.30-17.30, Fri 10.30-17.00, Sat 9.30-17.00, Sun 10.30-16.30, Closed Wednesday

01354 760022

HALIFAX MODELLERS WORLD 3 29 Union Street, Halifax. HX1 1PR p 01422 349157 YORKSHIRE

Units 6-10 Honeysome Ind Est, Honeysome Road, Cambridgeshire, PE16 6TG www.creativemodels.co.uk

UP TO 20% OFF ALL KITS ONLINE AND MAIL ORDER Incorporating 1,000’s of deleted and new kits. 303 The Broadway, Bexleyheath, Kent DA6 8DT Tel/Fax: (020) 8298 7177 MON/TUES/THURS/FRI/SAT 9.30-5.30 CLOSED WEDNESDAY

PLASTIC & METAL KIT RETAILERS HOBBY & PASTIME MATERIALS

www.kitkrazy.com

Email: [email protected] NEW MAIL ORDER LISTS – SEND 70p SAE

At least 5-10% discount off manufacturer’s prices Fast and friendly service Easy to navigate webshop Large range of over 3500 models, figures, tools and accessories from Revell, Airfix, Italeri, Tamiya and many more, ready for immediate despatch Based in the Midlands since 2001 with worldwide shipping available

Web: www.models2u.co.uk Email: [email protected] Phone: 01543 433999

121 HIGH STREET, UCKFIELD, TN22 1RN

SCALE MODELS

48

YEARS

Sheffield’s Specialist Model Shop ( 0114 2449170

www.marcway.net

KITS • PAINTS • GLUES • AIRBRUSHES • TOOLS • STYRENE ETC Friendly service & advice - Mail Order Open Tuesday – Friday 10 – 5.30. Saturday 9.30 – 5.00. Closed Sunday and Monday.

www.thehobbybox.co.uk Vast selection of plastic kits - Aircraft - Tanks - Military - Ships - Cars - Bikes - Space - Trucks etc

HUNDREDS OF RARE & OBSOLETE KITS Dioramas - Scenic Materials - Plastic, Metal & Wood sheet and sections - Modelling Tools, Paints, Brushes, Airbrushes & Compressors Also Model Railways, Die Cast Models and Scalextric WORLDWIDE MAIL ORDER

598-600 Attercliffe Rd, Sheffield S9 3QS 0114 2449170

Open 10am - 5pm, 6 days • Situated 2 miles from M1 (junc 34) • 200 yds from Attercliffe Tram Stop

01825 765296

City Cycle Centre We have a large selection of Plastic Kits from Airfix, Revell, Tamiya, Italeri, AFV Club, Academy and more. Also Paint and Sprays from Humbrol, Tamiya, Revell, Vallejo and Games Workshop

CITY CYCLE CENTRE 3 7 Market Street, Ely, Cambs, CB7 4PB Q [email protected] $www.citycyclecentre.com CAMBRIDGESHIRE

p

01353 663131

52 Holdings Road, Sheffield S2 2RE South Yorkshire England

Tel: [0114] 2761587

www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk

STANG MU

ALBION ALLOYS Precision metals for industry www.albionalloys.co.uk

MOTOR BOOKS The world's oldest motoring bookseller • AVIATION • BUSES • TRAMS • COLLECTABLES • MARITIME • MILITARY • MISCELLANEOUS • MOTORCYCLES • MOTORING • MOTORSPORT • RAILWAY • WORKSHOP MANUALS •

www.motorbooks.co.uk

HO

B BIES

Mustang-Hobbies.com Models, Decals, Books, and Much More !

796-97-ShopWebGuide-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:37 Page 97

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 [email protected]

MATADOR MODELS and

Resin kits, conversions and upgrades

www.alleycatmodels.co.uk

Your one stop toy soldier, games & hobby shop Open 7 Days a Week

Hobby Bunker, Inc. 33 Exchange Street Malden, Massachusetts 781-321-8855 781-321-8866 (fax) [email protected] www.hobbybunker.com

Airfield Accessories ranges

EXTENSIVE 1/76TH ARMOUR AND WHEELED VEHICLE KITS AND CONVERSION RANGES, FROM WWI TO THE 2000’S and Airfield Accessories 1/48th. 1/72nd. 1/76th. 1/144th scale ranges of British and German airfield vehicles and equipment including ambulances, refuellers, tractors, G.S. and specialist vehicles, figure sets etc.

B W MODELS RANGE OF MILITARY TRANSFERS www.matadormodels.co.uk

OXONIANS

GINTER BOOKS NAVY / AIR FORCE

PLASTIC

TEL: (805) 584-9732 FAX: (805) 584-6604 WEB: www.ginterbooks.com 1754 Warfield Circle, Simi Valley, CA 93063, USA NF-301 Black Knights Rule .........................................................$49.95 NF98 Douglas AD/A-1 Skyraider Part One ...........................$52.95 NFAF216 United States Air Force in Vietnam.......................$39.95 NFAF217 Curtiss XP-55 Ascender ............................................$24.95 NF97 Martin PBM Mariner...........................................................$52.95 NF96 Consolidated P2Y Ranger ................................................$32.95 NF95 Douglas R4D-8/C-117D Super Gooney.......................$32.95 NF99 Douglas AD/A-1 Syraider Part 2 US Navy Squadron ...$55.95

FANTASTIC

Specializing in white metal landing gear 3795 Shady Hill Drive, Dallas, Texas 75229, USA +1 (214) 477-7163

www.scaleaircraftconversions.com

We now have the complete Pavla Resin and SAC undercarriage ranges in stock and on our website. You can also view and buy from our huge stock of Eduard kits, etch and Brassin, Aires, SAC, Pavla, Brengun, Valom, Quickboost, Rob Taurus, Amodel and many other hard to find manufacturers.

www.oxoniansplasticfantastic.co.uk [email protected] - DON’T FORGET ALL UK ORDERS ARE POST FREE -

www.mjwmodels.co.uk Discounted Prices and Many Special Offers Orders despatched within 1 working day

MJW Models ONLINE MODEL SHOP

Stockists & Suppliers of Model Aircraft Kits, Accessories and Paint Sets by :Eduard, LifeColor, MPM, Special Hobby, Sword, Vallejo, and many more

Email us at: [email protected] Like us on Facebook

SPECIALIZING IN PLASTIC MODEL KITS Some of the brands we carry, AFV Club, Tamiya, Airfix, Bronco, Hasegawa, Sword, AZ Models, Special Hobby, Revell, MPM, Dragon, Miniart, Master Box, S-Model, Modelcollect, Meng, Takom, Aires, Eduard, Ace, MACO, Pontos, Wolfpack and a whole lot more! Free shipping on all domestic orders over $100.00

SCAN HERE!

MegaHobby offers over 35,000 hobby products, from plastic model kits to detail sets, from a fully-stocked paint store to all the tools and accessories. Browse our website to see the amazing selection of products we have to offer. Place an order and we guarantee you will be a customer for life. Shipping goods online since 2000!

www.megahobby.com YOUR FAVORITE ONLINE HOBBY SHOP

Visit our retail store located at. Level 3, Unit 2, 258 Little Bourke St Melbourne 3000 Tel: 03 96545956

www.showcasemodelsaustralia.com.au

If you are looking at this... then it’s working! Promote your company here and be seen in all 3 of our quality titles – Scale Aviation Modeller International, Model Aircraft and Scale Military Modeller International – with a combined circulation of 126,000!

To be seen in our next issue, call Rebecca Harris on 01234 211245

798-BackPage-AV-0815_Layout 1 10/07/2015 13:34 Page 798

AUGUST 2015

THE BACK PAGE

Noel Mackin Work Bench

Scale Aviation Modeller International

Australia

AUGUST 2015 VOLUME 21 • ISSUE 8

read your article in relation to model workspace and this is a subject close to my heart. I spend many hours in my holy of holies for several reasons but the main one is my fortress of solitude. I enjoy the hobby and I have been building models since I was knee

I

high to a grasshopper, in other words ever since I can remember. One day we had our shower area renovated and I asked the tiler what he was going to do with the shower screen door since this is toughened glass. "Throw it away" he said. I had the bright idea. No way. I can use this as a top for my desk and what a great idea that was. It made the workspace larger. Spilt paint, glue you name it, it can be scraped off once a job is finished and I start again with a nice clean bench top. Now everything is around me including my

Modelling Glossary

PRODUCED BY MEDIA HOUSE

TV to keep me company when I am building. In relation to displaying them I got a cabinet maker to design me a wardrobe with clear glass doors, with shelves inside, and hey presto, one display case. So, this is my workspace.

Our look at words found in modelling (C)

camouflage schemes involves outlining the areas compasses with a blade on one arm and a needle Carpet Monster You know when that piece of kit to be masked with thin rolls of Blu Tack (see above) point on the other. (See also 'Compass Cutter'). you've been working on, drops to the floor and and filling the areas to be masked with Copydex. Carpet the because That's disappears forever? After drying for a few hours, it forms an impervious A product. Humbrol useful a is This Clearfix an Monster has eaten it. This creature has barrier which can simply be peeled off after the an as use for solution solvent-based polymer insatiable appetite for all things kit and will paint is dry. adhesive on clear plastic parts without the risk of assuredly devour your dropped offerings at a rate using seen sometimes effect 'frosting' the piece the that is proportional to the value of The spreading rate of a paint or coating, Coverage small making for also and traditional glues, dropped. The more unique the piece, the more usually expressed in metres squared per litre. windows or translucent areas of 3mm or less. likely it will get snaffled. Some modellers have been Coverage figures are a useful guide, but it's worth blood a make to order known to cut themselves in remembering that practical coverage will vary from A modeller's basic tool, clippers are used sacrifice to the Carpet Monster. This is futile, unless Clippers modeller to modeller depending on the painting to cut plastic, most notably in the detachment of you actually bleed polystyrene, or shed photo-etch. style, for example if the paint is applied more gives a clippers of pair good A sprue. a from parts kin has it Monster, Carpet the Although known as thickly. nail standard use modellers Some cut. clean very which are equally at home in linoleum, parquet effect. good to clippers for this purpose, flooring, slate tiles and rubber rooms. See also; Crack Goblin The little beggar responsible for Sprite Speck Fairy, Hair Crack Goblin, placing cracks in your immaculately filled, sanded Clothes Pegs (Clothespin US) Used to hold parts and finished model, usually after you've just during modelling and domestic abuse when the Cats Cats are the boon companion of many a applied the most perfect, streak free paint job. This wife or partner finds out! modeller, although they come with certain creature adores fresh filler, although you can Carpet the When cs. disadvantageous characteristi supply it with so much that it is violently sick, or restaurant certain a in Found Stirrers Monster has eaten that ever-so precious piece of Coffee with a large M, free multi-purpose tool for sneezes. Obviously, this would not be good on a starting superbly folded photo-etch, stroking the cat can freshly painted model. Stick) Stirring Flat (See modeller the whilst However, nerves. of sooth the most frayed on your knees, looking in vain for the missing part, sticks Craft sticks are essentially wooden Craft above listed stirrer coffee Similar to a Tiddles may well be atop the tabletop, exploring Coke spoon lollipop sticks for grown ups. Available with a small flat area at its base available at fast food your carefully arranged pieces, casually batting big packs from craft stores, they come in the in outlets shedding more choice items to the floor and traditional lolly size (ca. 15cm x 1cm) and the exquisitely fine hairs all over your previously 'tongue depressor' size (ca. 20cm x 2.5cm). matching Adjusting a paint's composition immaculate paint jobs. Whilst building that Classic Colour Invaluable for attaching small parts to while a Also, standard. agreed an to conforms it that so and decade, a over Ship you’ve had in storage for painting (perhaps using Blu Tack (see above)) so obtain will who AMS, with those by used method rummaging below for that lost capstan, that they can easily be manipulated and kept from the mix to attempt authentic paint chips and then cracking sound above will be the wonderful noise Carpet Monster (see above) colour. exact the match to paints standard yard top your with teeth her of Mrs. Tiddles picking arm. Miss Kitty may also decide to sit on your Dried paint that has developed lines Crazing in looks colour particular How a work, demonstrating that it is she who should have Colour rendering resembling crazy paving. Causes include specific lighting conditions. Different types of light your undivided attention, as opposed to the silly incomplete drying of the paint film below when natural example for differently, colour render room. the pieces of styrene now scattered across recoating, where the solvent in the topcoat sunlight contains more blue light, whereas artificial That said, a cat's whiskers make mighty fine aerials redissolves the first coat, or by an aggressive lights contain more orange. Thus blues will appear for AFV's and aircraft! (Tempting though it might solvent in the topcoat attacking the first coat. If light. artificial in than daylight in intense more and cruel both is be, removing a cats whiskers using different types of paint in successive coats '). 'Metamerism also (See unnecessary, as cats shed their whiskers naturally you should always do a test area on some excess and should be collected from the floor/blanket/cat plastic or cardboard first. down paint to reduce its Watering wash Colour bed). opacity and give a 'washed' appearance. This is then Kit Using parts from more than one kit of the Cross technique, weathering applied to a model as a CBK Classic British Kits. i.e. any kit of British same type to produce a superior example. where the wash flows into crevices and engraved manufacture made some 25 years ago. details, highlighting them. Curing Allowing a paint or adhesive to fully dry. CE Mark Conformit Europene (French). Symbol Curing is the chemical reaction with atmospheric 'Circle Cutter'. used to indicated that a product conforms to the Compass Cutter See oxygen that dries solvent-based paints and glues. and safety relevant European health, It is also responsible for skins appearing in paint the in used unit motorised A r environmental quality standards. All kit Compresso of paint when using an airbrush. The cans, caused by the can not being fully airtight application manufacturers' products, on sale in Europe, should when closed. an airbrush through paint the forces compressor packaging. product the on carry the CE mark using high pressure and ensures it is atomised to Cutting Mat See 'Modelling Mat'. give a smooth final appearance. Cellulose thinners A blend of solvents that are very good for removing paint. In the USA this is ate Copydex Copydex (made by Henkel) is a latex-based Cyanoacryl called Lacquer thinners. glue, which is an excellent and rather cheaper Proper name for Superglue. Fluid (see below). One Masking to alternative sheet in circles cutting for tool A Cutter Circle technique for masking and painting wavy-edged plastic. Designed like a pair of mathematical

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.

798 |

AUGUST 2015 •

SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

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 27 August 2015

21 Kingsway, Bedford MK42 9BJ Telephone: +44 (0)1234 211245 Fax: +44 (0)1234 325927 Email: [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 GROUP EDITOR Andy Evans [email protected] EDITOR David Francis [email protected] ASSOCIATE EDITOR

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 PAGE DESIGN & LAYOUT Andy Folds PRE-PRESS PRODUCTION Media House PRINT PRODUCTION Headley Brothers Ltd, UK AVIATION ILLUSTRATIONS Vincenzo Auletta Chris Sandham-Bailey SCALE PLANS Chris Sandham-Bailey SAMI TEAM

Paul Bradley Dick Clark Geoff Cooper-Smith Andy Evans Adam Rehorn Chris Sandham-Bailey Alec Smith Tim Upson Smith CONTRIBUTORS THIS MONTH

Carmel Attard John Bisset Steven Corvi Oliver Doering Bruce Leyland-Jones David Minton Patrick Mizgala Huw Morgan Angelo Picardo Don Robinson Mike Verier ADVERTISING SALES Rebecca Harris [email protected] DISTRIBUTION COMAG Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE Tel: 01895 433600 NORTH AMERICAN DISTRIBUTION Disticor 695 Westney Rd South, Suite 14, Ajax, Ontario, Canada L1S 6M9 Tel: + 1 (905) 619 6565

Media House is a member of The paper used in this magazine is made from timber sourced from sustainable managed forests; the pulp is ECF (elemental chlorine free); the manufacturing mill is accredited with ISO14001 and EMAS for their environmental controls.

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 8, August 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

799-Testors-Recreate-Aircraft-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:39 Page 1

800-Airfix-0815-WP_Layout 1 10/07/2015 12:38 Page 1

1:72

NAKAJIMA B5N2 ‘KATE’

A04058

NAKAJIMA B5N2 ‘KATE’

With a much more powerful engine than that of the B5N1, the BN52 had several other modifications to streamline it. This aircraft is particularly known for its involvement in the attack on Pearl Harbour and the sinking of the United States Navy aircraft carriers Lexington and Hornet.

Length 143mm Width 216mm Pieces 107

Official Product

ALUÀ[FRP

DQG DOO JRRG UHWDLO VWRFNLVWV #ALUÀ[ 3436AX AMW Ai fi

A

t A04058 N k ji

K t

Join the Official Airfix Club

Ad 2 i dd 1

For schools and all youth organisations

Secondary School History Project

humbrol.com

18/06/2015 16 15