Scale Aviation Modeller International Vol.19 Iss. 08

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THE No.1 MARKET LEADER MODEL MAGAZINE

Re ve ll’s

1/ 48 Ra fal e

W IN

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Under my Skin Pushing the Boundaries with Tamiya’s Uhu

Incorporating

Our Monthly look in the Attic

Modellers Portfolio Saab Viggen – Artwork and scale drawings

Germany’s Tactical Twin

Frederick the Great

the AEG G IV

A Jack of All Hands Revell’s A-20J

Russia’s Flying Infantryman in 1/72

Zvezda’s Zenith – the Bf 109F in 1/48

Vol 19 Iss 08 AUGUST 2013 £4.25

Printed in the UK

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and all good Toy & Hobby Stores.

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Revell GmbH, Orchard Mews, 18c High Street, Tring, Herts HP23 5AH. Tel: 01442 890285. Fax: 01442 827919. Email: [email protected] © 2013 Revell GmbH. A subsidiary of Hobbico, Inc. All rights reserved. Trade enquiries welcome.

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Scale Aviation Modeller International August 2013 | Volume 19 | Issue 8

PRODUCED BY MEDIA HOUSE

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

Media House

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SAMI TEAM

Jan Bobek Richard Bolingbroke Paul Bradley Dick Clark Geoff Cooper-Smith Andy Evans John Fox David Francis Mike Grant Ernie Lee Andy McCabe Colin Pickett Chris Sandham-Bailey Jack Trent CONTRIBUTORS THIS MONTH

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Editorial Through the Bradford cities and the Oreoles

A

s luck would have it, I have my 1/144 head back on again just in time for the US Nationals, a matter of some significance as for the 1/144 modeller there are always plenty of good bargains, as well as some unique opportunities to buy new releases off the shelf at ‘local’ prices. There is also the matter of getting stuff home to be considered, and there is far more scope for cramming 1/144 kits into my suitcase than for anything larger! This year, if I make it, I am particularly pleased as I will be rubbing shoulders with Rare-Plane Detective/Nostalgic Plastic, US importers for two of the scale’s most innovative ranges in 1/144, Miniwings and Anigrand. The latter’s C-5 Galaxy is a matter of some delight, and the built-up example

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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 Gordon & Gotch Toll Free 1 800 438 5005 Scale Aviation Modeller International, Volume 19 Issue 8, August 2013 (ISSN 1356-0530) published monthly by: Media House, 2221 Niagara Falls Blvd, Niagara Falls, NY, 14304-5709. Periodicals postage pending: Niagara Falls, NY. US Postmaster: Send address corrections to: Scale Aviation Modeller International, PO Box 265, Williamsville, NY 14231

656 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

The

Build Page 658

By Gary Hatcher

on the stand last year was breathtaking. I am currently compiling the annual ‘Nationals shopping list’, and it will include a number of Dragon’s doubleboxings, as well as sundry Minicraft kits and anything by Platz or Sweet that may turn up. I still haven’t managed to get my hands on a Platz F-8, but a chap can dream, and who knows what will turn up in the seemingly bottomless cardboard boxes at Dean’s Hobby Stop? Of course it’s not just about the shopping… or… no… No, it really isn’t! While at the show I will look forward as ever to renewing old acquaintances, shaking hands with old friends, and telling them all the latest gossip on my old colleague Mr. Neil Robinson. Must think up a good one this year - monastery in Tibet perhaps? Running a naturists' resort on the North Yorkshire coast? Currently penning a book on light

civil aviation? No – no one would believe that one! We’ll see… I hope to be accompanied by the new Datafile on the F-111. This is a stunning book, with a mass of scarce material – particularly on the type’s Vietnam service I am advised – and is the first of a number of new titles under production. Lots more to follow, and I will be looking to speak to prospective authors whilst in the US, so do come and have a word at the stand, or if you are not at the show then get in touch via the Editorial contact details. Then of course, should I be fortunate enough to get there, there is that annual sojourn into American culture that is one of the highspots of travel in the US for this Editor, and I am already scouring the Internet for details on the nearest branch of Denny’s Diner to the Convention Centre. See you at breakfast.

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Contents

Contents WIN!

SAMI Forward

Revell’s 1/48 Dassault Rafale M page 725

SAMI Spotlight 676 Night Bomber Germany’s Tactical Twin – the AEG G IV By Roger Humpula

658 Under my Skin How far beyond the box can a modeller go? Pushing the Boundaries with Tamiya’s Uhu By Ricardo Abad Medina

688 Are you ready for Freddy? Modelling Zvezda’s Bf 109F-2 By James Griffiths

710 First Look This month’s Spotlight includes a look at a test shot of the new 1/32 Tamiya Corsair

714 Previews An initial glance at this month’s kits received for preview

664 News News and forthcoming products from around the world, including our At a Glance look at this month's new arrivals

720 Reviews

668 Czech Out

680 Clark’s Field

690 Classic Plastic

News from the Czech Republic

Roden’s T-28D Trojan By Dick Clark

The review team look at more new and recent releases, with a brace of new 1/72 Gladiators from the brushwielding Mr Bruce Leyland-Jones

Our Monthly look in the Attic By Paul Bradley

728 Accessories

SAMI Features

New aftermarket releases this month from around the world

732 Decals This month’s new releases

SAMI Columns 670 Russia’s Flying Infantryman

684 Boston Babies

698 Modellers Portfolio

A Jack of All Hands – Revell’s A-20J By Konstantine Malinovsky

Saab Viggen Artwork and scale drawings by Chris Sandham-Bailey

A Brand New Stormovik in 1/72 By Mark Taylor

The Tin Triangle, the latest benchmarks, and all the rest of our regulars in the SAMI Magazine

1/72 Stormovik Page 670 738 Paint it with Testors

742 Benchmarks 744 746 750

Book Reviews On the Road with 580 Modellers And Finally

Cover Illustration by John Fox www.avroart.com www.sampublications.com August 2013

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SAMI Forward

The Big Build

The

Build

Under my Skin How far beyond the box can a modeller go? Pushing the Boundaries By Ricardo Abad Medina ur subject is one of the most popular German night fighters for modellers – the ‘Uhu’ or ‘Owl’.The idea for this project came from recent books published about this aircraft, in which I found pictures of the surviving fuselage under restoration, and decided to attempt something different from the usual build. The model is presented in an entirely fictitious state, as the unrestored wings were never mated to the restored fuselage.

TECH DATA

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

HEINKEL HE 219A-7 SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 61057 TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic MANUFACTURER: Tamiya

I toyed with the idea of leaving them unmounted, but in the end I decided the contrast between ‘before and after’ that they presented was well worth inclusion.

The basic model seems an easy build, but problems began when I finally decided on the project. The kit depicts an A-7, whereas the museum example is an A-0, so some conversion would be necessary. Both Verlinden and Aires detail sets were included in the build, both good, but the Aires set is more comprehensive. There is little duplication between the two, beyond the engine, although I opted for the Aires parts here, as they definitely have the edge:

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Heinkel He 219A-7

Initial preparation of the fuselage has seen all the hatches opened out. The technique I use is to make one or more small holes – depending on the panel size – with a drill or the tip of a knife and then to work outwards with files until the shape of the hatch is defined. This done the fuselage interior was sanded smooth and prepared with Mr Surfacer 1000. Once dry this was wet-sanded very fine to achieve the desired result

One issue that needed resolving was that the A-0 carried four guns in the ventral position. Additional blast tubes were first cut out, and these were then backed with slivers cut at an angle from sections of Evergreen tube

Here you can see how the open panels have been blanked with card and then the process of cutting out repeated to leave a visible lip around the edge. The card backing was sealed with liquid poly and allowed to cure hard before the final apertures were made

Next came the fuselage frames, for which a contour gauge was used initially to cut out solid bulkheads to the correct cross section. These were traced in two halves onto a sheet of card and cut out, the middle then being removed to make a finished ‘hoop’

The frames were completed with a thin strip of card around the edge, which was initially held in place with superglue. This not only adds to the accuracy of the construction, but helps fix the individual frames in position. Once the frames are offered up and located in the fuselage half, they can be flooded with liquid cement to secure them, and once cured the whole construction can be sanded and blended in

The bottom of the machine gun bay was constructed in a similar fashion to the fuselage interior, the frames being styled with the contour gauge and the whole being built from plastic card and Evergreen rod and strut

Editor’s Note This stunning piece of work presented one or two problems when it came to editing. This build could fill a book, and the task in hand was to reduce it to the size of a magazine article. This we did with some difficulty, and deep regret at the amount of material that had to be cut, but the end result is – I personally feel – both an inspiration and an education. The modeller has used basic techniques to transform the kit, and while aftermarket parts have been employed, they are almost incidental, and the bulk of the real work has come from the spares box, a stock of plastic and Evergreen rod, and some very real inspiration. You don’t have to be interested in the He 219 to appreciate the skill and artistry in this build – the techniques transcend aircraft type and genre and – theoretically at least – any modeller with patience, dedication, and a good reference work has the potential to achieve a similar result with any subject they choose.

AFTERMARKET

For the A-0 it was necessary to add an additional fuel tank to the Aires resin parts. The resin upper part was extended, and the actual tanks scratchbuilt from card. Plenty of wiring and conduits were added, and scratch detail based on that already provided with the resin set

AIRES: #4042 1/48 He 219 detail set for Tamiya kits VERLINDEN PRODUCTIONS: #1323 1/48 He 219A-7 update set for Tamiya kits MASTER MODELS: #48027 FuG Lichtenstein SN-2

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SAMI Forward

The Big Build

The open hatches on the wings were made in the same way as those on the fuselage – cutting an aperture, backing it with plastic card, then cutting it again to leave the lip as required

Now different elements of the interior are brought together. Stringers have been added from Evergreen rod, while the stowed life-raft was fabricated from thin tin. This was achieved by folding the tin over and over until it achieved a wrinkled appearance, like fabric, then rolling it into the required shape. Radio gear came from an old Aires set in the spares box

Preparatory work up to this point has seen most of the major airframe components receiving attention. A lot of work has been done, but there is still much to achieve before assembly can commence

Parts are being carefully painted with RLM 02 and RLM 66 as appropriate. I used paints from the Gunze Sanyo range, lightened somewhat with white to give a better scale appearance

The finished seat assembly, with etched details added, benefits from a careful wash and dry-brushing

660 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

The small compartments for the wing guns were built up from the parts provided in the Verlinden set

Detail painting continues on the interior using a No. 1 Kolinsky brush and Vallejo paints and wash

Seats in place in the finished cockpit, with Aires’ resin parts also included

Prior to paintwork commencing a number of smaller assemblies were completed, such as seats, machine guns, instrument panels and, pedals. Tiny etched parts are stuck with superglue carefully applied with the tip of a toothpick. I decant a small quantity of glue onto the lid of a jar or pot from the kitchen, which works nicely as a disposable ‘pallet’ and enables careful use of the adhesive with less waste and more control

With patience and careful brush technique a satisfactory finished appearance can be achieved. Here the fuselage interior components are now completed and we can begin to prepare the other sub-assemblies ready for addition

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Heinkel He 219A-7

The

Build

The fuel tank assembley now painted and completed

A careful hand with a twist drill was needed to prepare the transparencies. I chain drilled round the individual panes and carefully pared away the plastic until only the frames remained

Building the main spar between the two wings was one of the bigger tasks, as there was less information available on this particular area. Little by little I was able to include all the details I was able to trace from various images and ended up with something that is, I believe, reasonably accurate

This was a delicate task as the plastic is brittle and quite hard, and will split easily. Of course as the clear sections are to be discarded this is less of an issue than might otherwise be the case. The finished frames were painted and detailed with various thicknesses of wire

Here the spar is test-fitted. Everything seems satisfactory so far…

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SAMI Forward

The Big Build

Some work was done on the radar and antenna array, for which the excellent Master Models parts were employed

The

Build

662 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

Careful use of the twist drill and some very fine copper wire from an electrical store were employed to embellish the ‘antlers’

The resin engine parts were detailed up with suitable grades of copper wire

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Heinkel He 219A-7

The wheels were bulged and flattened with the addition of putty, while further wiring and pipework was added to the gear legs prior to painting

One of the last steps before starting to paint the model involved detailing the landing gear wells. This was done by simply reproducing the details evident in photographs with an assortment of different sized wires and scrap plastic

Once completed the engines were painted black mixed with a little matt brown, then details were painted using Vallejo acrylics and a fine brush

The finished wheel wells benefitting from detail painting and careful use of AK Interactive washes.

Painting was one of the easiest parts of the build, and commenced with a grey primer, after which various surface details were tidied up. The typical night-fighter camouflage was applied to the wings, with various shades of bare metal and undercoats used to replicate the restoration that has been undertaken on the fuselage

Final touches added included bundles of very fine wires protruding from various apertures and recesses in the aircraft. The delicate nature of these meant they were the last things to be attached, but they add a nice touch of ‘incompleteness’ to the project, which was entirely intentional

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SAMI Forward

News

in association with

News in August 2013

T

he whole world has gone mad. Some bloke has won a tennis match and complete strangers are walking up to me in the streets with enormous grins on their faces and soliciting my opinion on the matter. ‘I couldn’t possibly comment’, I reply. ‘But if you want some really good news I can confirm that the second boxing of Great Wall’s Vulcan is out, Airfix have some new toolings on the shelf, while Italeri have announced that rather nice 1/48 Hurricane as a IIC. Also, Kitty Hawk

are doing a 1/48 Foxbat, Wingnut an AEG Bomber,and any amount of other good things are happening, so if you really must go about spreading little rays of sunshine, then you might try focussing on something that actually matters… So here’s the News:

Subscribers’ Monthly Prize Draw – July 2013 Mr Hardman, UK – Kit Mr Sanders, UK – Kit Mr Rabe, USA – Kit Entry to the monthly prize draw is FREE to all subscribers

Airfix Airfix’s new releases kicked off this month with a reissue of the old Sea King kit, now presented as #03043, a Westland Sea King HAR.3/Mk 43. This is accompanied by the latest new toolings, including the Fw 190A-8 in 1/72. A01020 comes with a single set of markings for Jagdgruppe 10, Pachim airfield, Germany, Autumn 1944. Also in 1/72 is #05330 WWII RAF Bomber Resupply Set, a very eagerly anticipated package offering various different sizes of bombs - 500lb, 1,000lb, 4,000lb and 8,000lb -

A Model Now this is something to get excited about! The Yak-52 is an attractive and personable trainer in any scale, but a new kit in 1/48 is very much to be welcomed. A Model’s #48006 will no doubt excite a great deal of interest among decal manufacturers, as the type is by no means drab…

664 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

detailed trolleys and tractor, options for Bedford MWD and MWC trucks, maintenance towers, a Standard Tilly, and various accessories such as chocks, bicycle and ladders. To go with this, of course, you will need #08001 Avro Lancaster B.II, a new tooling with Bristol Hercules engines, optional dropped flaps and retracted undercarriage and fully detailed interior. Markings offer ZZombie, No.408 (Goose) Squadron, 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Air Force Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire, July 1944, and Fanny Ferkin II No.514 Squadron, 3 Group, Royal Air Force Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, November 1944. Finally, the new Gladiator tool comes as a starter set, with decals for 80 Squadron, RAF Amriya, Egypt, early 1940.

www.spruebrothers.com

Bunny Fighter Club With the US Nationals about to burst upon us, it seems a good time to remind readers of the benefits of joining the BFC – since Eduard will be there and you will be able to make the most of the opportunity: Membership Benefits • 1.15% Permanent Club discount at Eduard Store – you will receive a permanent 15% discount on all Eduard products and also discounts on various other nonEduard products. • 2. Unique valuable Club kits and accessories – you will gain access to unique and nowhere else to be sold products, specially made for BFC members. • 3. Even better prices at Eduard events stand – Eduard usually have huge discounts on their products

at fairs and events all over the world. BFC members will have even higher discount at these events. • 4. Loyalty price bonuses – for each purchase of products at Eduard Store, you will be able to collect an additional loyalty discount on each of your orders. Accumulate even more discounts! • 5.Club T-shirt – you will receive fancy a BFC T-shirt with unique design and special barcode (used for event discounts). This exclusive T-shirt will be only available to members of the BFC. • 6. Free entry fee on E-day – you will not have to pay a penny to visit Eduard’s E-day. This means two days of carousing and the traditional entry kit, absolutely free! Join the club and wear the lapin rampant with pride!

Excuse me Miss – I followed a sign saying ‘Models this Way?’ Is this the National Convention? I see you are a bunny too – do you have any opinions on the correct shade of Olive Drab for a P-47 in the ETO...?

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in association with

www.spruebrothers.com

Plenty of news in 1/72 this month, with a huge mass of kits from the Czech republic, and some key releases from other parts of the Globe – Italeri has some interesting offerings, mainly reissues, but the Wessex HAS.3 is high on the Editor’s agenda. Look out for those new Vindicators from Special Hobby too. Definitely a long-awaited arrival in ‘the Gentleman’s Scale’.

By special arrangement with Anigrand, Rare-Plane Detective is the first to be able to offer the latest 1/72 release from Anigrand, the C-82 Packet Plane. Designed as a post-war successor to the C-46 and C-47, several hundred C-82s were built before Fairchild redesigned the machine into the C-119 Flying Boxcar. Many of the Air Force’s surplus C-82s were sold into civilian service.

Aerotech Aerotech have passed on an update on the status of their recent releases. Now available is AT32018, the Speed Spitfire Type 323 in 1/32. Meanwhile

they are working on the pattern for the Piaggio PC-7 and that should be out later this year. Research is continuing on other versions of the D.H.88 that will be announced later in the year.

Academy A good time for fans of the Corsair, with the new HobbyBoss late-series kits, Tamiya’s Birdcage in 1/32, and the latest from Academy – a special 1/48 boxing of the F4U-1A/C/D with

VF-17 markings. More recently too is the new 1/48 US Ground handling Equipment set, also in 1/48.

The latest release from Dragon in their 1/32 range is a newly-tooled Bf 109E-7 Trop. This is a highly detailed model including newly-tooled supercharger intake, accurately represented, a newly-designed canopy and optional spinner. Markings offer two desertcamo schemes.

SAMI Forward

AT A GLANCE

Anigrand

Dragon

News

A Model #72230 1/72 Yakovlev Yak-30 'Magnum' A Model #72232 1/72 Yakovlev Yak-32 'Mantis' Admiral #4801 1/48 Heinkel He 70K Hungarian Admiral #4802 1/48 Heinkel He 170A Admiral #7218 1/72 LF-107 Lunak Admiral #7219 1/72 LF-107 Lunak International users Admiral #7220 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB Tropical Aeroplast #90035 1/48 Mil Mi-2 Navy Aeroplast #90036 1/48 Mil Mi-2 Transport Aeroplast #90037 1/48 Mil Mi-2 Attack Helicopter Aeroplast #90038 1/48 Mil Mi-2 Army Aeroplast #90039 1/48 Mil Mi-2 Helicopter 50 years Aerotech #32018 1/32 Supermarine Speed Spitfire Airfix #03043 1/72 Westland Sea King HAR.3/Mk 41 Alley Cat #RK4817 1/48 Shorts Tucano T.1, 2012 and 2013 Display Season AML #7229 1/72 Messerschmitt Bf 109B-2 Armory #48101 1/48 Kamov Ka-56 'Osa' Art Model #7213 1/72 Sukhoi Su-25UTG AZ Model #74016 1/72 Bell AH-1G Huey Cobra Early AZ Model #74017 1/72 Bell AH-1G Huey Cobra Late ‘Vietnam War’ AZ Model #74018 1/72 Bell AH-1G Huey Cobra Special AZ Model #74019 1/72 Bell AH-1G Huey Cobra International AZ Model #74044 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk IXC Recce Azur #6032 1/32 Re-released! Marcel-Bloch MB 152C Brengun #72006 1/72 Hawker Typhoon Mk Ib Car door Early Brengun #72007 1/72 Hawker Typhoon Mk Ib Car doors Early Mid/Mid Brengun #48001 1/48 EMW C-2 Wasserfall Brengun #48002 1/48 Hermes A-1 Cyber-Hobby #5085 1/72 de Havilland Vampire FB.5 Czech Master Resin #1236 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire Prototypes Czech Master Resin #1237 1/72 de Havilland Vampire F.2 Czech Master Resin #7243 1/72 Schleicher ASK 13 Eduard #1177 1/48 McDonnell-Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle (Limited Edition Eduard #2114 1/72 Fokker Dr.I Triplane Stripdown Eduard #84166 1/48 Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 Eduard #008 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX Royal Boxing FLY #72015 1/72 Avrocar VZ-9 'What If' w/ Bazooka FLY #72017 1/72 Avrocar Racer X (#3 Duzi Modell) FLY #72018 1/72 Avrocar Racer X (#4 RS Models) FLY #72019 1/72 Avrocar Racer X (#70 Artillery models) FLY #72021 1/72 Rotachute Mk III (US, England - 1942) Great Wall Hobby #4813 1/48 Mikoyan MiG-29 9-13 ‘Fulcrum’ Late Italeri #0074 1/72 Messerschmitt Me 410 Italeri #1322 1/72 Fiat CR.32 Chirri Italeri #1336 1/72 Panavia Tornado IDS/ECR Italeri #1345 1/72 Macchi C.202 / Macchi C.205 Double Set Italeri #2727 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vc Italeri #2728 1/48 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt Italeri #2729 1/48 North-American A-36A Apache Italeri #2732 1/48 Westland Wessex HAS.3 Karaya #14402 1/144 Yakovlev Yak-40 - LOT/Institute of Aviation livery Karaya #14403 1/144 Yakovlev Yak-40 - Malev/GazpromAvia/White Eagle Kitty Hawk Model #80106 1/48 Sepecat Jaguar GR.1/GR.3 Kitty Hawk Model #80112 1/48 Dassault Mirage F 1B MARK I Models #14408LE 1/144 Mikoyan MiG-19P Farmer B (Czechoslovakia) MARK I Models #14409LE 1/144 Mikoyan MiG-19P Farmer B MARK I Models #14410 1/144 Mikoyan MiG-17PF / MiG-17PFU Fresco D/E MARK I Models #14412 1/144 Aero L-39C / L-39ZO Albatros US Modelsvit #7203 1/72 Tupolev Tu-144 MPM #72574 1/72 Gloster Meteor Trent 'First Turboprop Fighter' Parc Models #7210 1/72 IAR-80M Parc Models #7211 1/72 Polikarpov R-5 Parc Models #7213 1/72 G-11 Glider (gliders) Parc Models #7214 1/72 A-7 Glider (gliders) Pegasus #2018 1/72! Arsenal VG-33 R.V.Aircraft #72029 1/72 MiG-21MF (Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Egypt) R.V.Aircraft #72031 1/72 MiG-21MFN (Czech camo) RES-IM #999 1/48 Yak-23 Flora Revell #04857 1/48 Messerschmitt Bf 110G-4 Nightfighter Revell #04858 1/144 Sikorsky CH-53G Aircraft kits RS Models #92122 1/72 Curtiss BCF-2

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SAMI Forward

News

in association with

www.spruebrothers.com

Great Wall Hobby

Hasegawa

LNRL1002 1/144 RAF Vulcan K.2 Tanker Great news in 1/144 is the follow-up release to Great Wall’s first Vulcan kit – the almost inevitable Black Buck boxing. Now the kit is presented with parts and markings for a K.2 tanker variant, and we are one step nearer to a white anti-flash version. Oh let this not be a one-off from GWH in 1/144! It’s a superb kit, and if

Two new items arriving from Hasegawa are the new MV-22B Osprey, E41 (01571), in 1/72, and a reissue of the 1/16 Sopwith Camel F.1, MU01 (50031). The Osprey includes two pilot figures and parts for a display stand. Markings offer VMM-165 and VMM-265.

this is representative of what they can do in the small scale then there are any amount of kits needing the treatment in injection moulded plastic, starting with the Victor and valiant, and progressing through all the global airlifters – except the C17 – right up to the C-5 Galaxy, a type we had hoped Revell might consider revisiting…

Minicraft New releases in 1/72 from Minicraft are both US Naval subjects – the new-tool Mariner and a stunning take on the Hornet: 11669 1/72 PBM-5A Martin Mariner Minicraft’s Mariner is now shipping. This model represents the only surviving PBM-5A owned by the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and is currently on loan and displayed at the Pima Aerospace Museum in Tucson AZ. This new kit features all new tooling, positionable control surfaces and landing gear, detailed cockpit interior, detailed bomb bays, rotating turrets radar system options and premium Cartograf decals. Martin Mariners served the US Navy and Coast Guard until 1956 when they were phased out of service. The last operational example was retired in 1964. Markings included in this kit are: • US Navy PBM-5A, BuNo 59849, ca. 1945 • US Navy PBM-5A, BuNo 59349, ca. 1947 11673 1/72 F-18 US Navy Aviation Centennial The two new Minicraft F-18s commemorate the Centennial of the US Navy. They represent two ‘classic’ US Naval aviation color schemes from WWII: The US Navy ‘Tri-color’ scheme, and a glossy sea blue colour scheme from the 1950s Marking options included in this kit are: • F-18A 162866, VFA-204, NAS New Orleans, LA — early 1950s USNR scheme

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Revell New releases from Revell announced include a 1/144 Tupolev Tu-144 #04871, a reissue of the 1/48 F/A-18C Hornet as a Swiss Air Force machine, #04874, and a 1/48 Bristol F.2B Fighter, #04873.

Kitty Hawk

• F-18C 163733, VFA-122, El Centro NAF, CA — mid-WWII scheme In 1/144 we are pleased to note a new take on the C-130 kit: 14589 USAF WC-130J This 1/144 scale model represents the WC-130J assigned to 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron ‘Hurricane Hunters’. These aircraft make up more than 95 percent of the total flying missions operating from Keesler AFB in Mississippi. Markings included in this kit are: • US Air Force Reserve, 403rd AW, 2003 • US Air Force Reserve, 403rd AW, 2010

Kitty Hawk have announced a 1/48 kit of the Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat Interceptor. The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 (NATO code name Foxbat) is a supersonic interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft that was among the fastest military aircraft to enter service. The first prototype flew in 1964, and the aircraft entered into service in 1970. It has a top speed of Mach 2.83 (as high as Mach 3.2, but at risk of significant damage to the engines), and features a powerful radar and four air-to-air missiles. When first seen in reconnaissance photography, the large wing platform suggested an enormous and highly manoeuvrable fighter. This was during a period of time when US design theories were also geared towards higher manoeuvrability due to combat performance in the Vietnam War. The appearance of the MiG-25 sparked off serious concern in the West, and prompted dramatic increases in performance for the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle in the late 1960s. The capabilities of the MiG-25 were better understood in

ICM It’s been a while since ICM’s last aircraft kit release, but we note with interest a set of Luftwaffe personnel in 1/48. #48086 WWII German Luftwaffe Pilots and Ground Personnel in Winter Uniform includes five figures, a 50kg bomb, spray gun, barrel, light ladder, sentry box, and control barrier.

1976 when Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko defected in a MiG-25 to the United States via Japan. It turned out that the weight of the aircraft necessitated those large wings. Production of the MiG-25 series ended in 1984 after completion of 1,190 aircraft. A symbol of the Cold War, the MiG-25 flew with Soviet allies and former Soviet republics, remaining in limited service in Russia and several other nations. It is the second fastest and second highestflying military aircraft ever fielded after the SR-71 reconnaissance aircraft. There hasn't been an updated version of the MiG-25 since the old Revell kit was released thirty years ago. Kitty Hawk's kit is a 21st Century designed model loaded with all the detail you've come to expect from this company.

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SAMI Forward

AT A GLANCE

Italeri New from Italeri are some colourful reissues in US Coastguard colours, as well as the latest version of the 1/48 Hurricane kit: • 1348S C-130J 1/72 US Coast Guard • 2726S 1/48 Hurricane Mk IIc

News

• 1346S 1/72 HH60J US Coast Guard • 0849S 1/48 UH-1D

RS Models #92146 1/72 Curtiss F11C-2 Hawk RS Models #92147 1/72 Reggiane 2005 Silver Wings #32012 1/32 Polikarpov I-153 Chaika Special Hobby #48041 1/48 Fairey Firefly Mk IV / Mk V / Mk VI Special Hobby #72243 1/72 SH72243 Vickers Vildebeest Mk IV Perseus Engine Special Hobby #72257 1/72 Vought SB2U-2 Vindicator Special Hobby #72258 1/72 Messerschmitt Me 163C 'Bubble Canopy Version' Special Hobby #72259 1/72 Supermarine Seafire FR Mk 47 Hi-tech version Special Hobby #72263 1/72 Messerschmitt Me 163C ‘What-If-War’ Special Hobby #72265 1/72 Douglas B-18 Bolo WWII Service Special Hobby #72267 1/72 Heinkel He 100D 'Soviet and Japanese Test Plane' Special Hobby #72272 1/72 Vought SB2U-I Vindicator Supermodel #10009 1/72 Fiat CR.32 Supermodel #10502 1/48 Henschel Hs 129 and Kfz 305 Trumpeter #02249 1/32 Grumman A-6A Intruder Trumpeter #02868 1/48 Douglas A3D-2 Skywarrior Valom #72073 1/72 Caproni-Campini N Valom #72079 1/72 Yakolev Yak-9 Valom #72080 1/72 Dassault MD 450 Ouragan Patrouille de France Welsh Models #288R 1/144 Convair CV440 Metropolitan Lufthansa

HobbyBoss Latest new kits on the HobbyBoss horizon include, as mentioned last month, the 1/48 F-80A Shooting Star, the Antonov An-2M Colt, also in 1/48, and in 1/72 a Ju 88, a type we are intrigued to see in the easy assembly range. HobbyBoss’s recent Tu-2 and Bf 110 kits translated the genre into twin engines very effectively, so it seems highly likely the Ju 88 will be

IPMS Belgium National Convention

Trumpeter a winner too. This first boxing seems to be a C-6 – who knows what will follow?

So where did this come from? A 1/144 Rafale M (03914) and a Su-27 (03909)? Will they be as spectacular as the F-22 we saw a few years ago?

This Month in Model Aircraft • US Fast Jets Over Vietnam – Rolling Thunder and Iron Hand the Early Years • The Supermarine Spitfire in Foreign Service – Part 4. Continuing our in-depth scale survey • Kangaroo – Australia’s Super Fighter • SAC Attack – Strategic Air Command’s Swing-Wing Supersonic Bomber The FB-111A • Polish Moth – A Pre-war Trainer • A Yank in the RAF – Revell’s British Hudson • Modellers Portfolio – MiG-21 Scale Drawings and Colour Artwork • What Brawny did Next… The Ilyushin Il-102

• British Late War `Super Fighter'! – Converting the new Airfix 1/48 Spitfire PR.19 into a Spitfire Mk XIVe. By Tony o’Toole • Workbench – Vintage MiG Plus all our usual columns and regulars in the best all round modellers' reference magazine!

5th October and 6th October Affligem, Belgium Plastic & Steel 2013 The IPMS Belgium National Convention Further details on www.ipms.be or by contacting [email protected]

Wingnut Wings Wingnut have announced their latest kit – an AEG G.IV (#32034), in anticipation of which we presnt our vintage 1/48 build elsewhere in this issue. Looks like it will be another impressive piece of plastic from this consistently exciting source.

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SAMI Forward

Czech News

in association with

Czech Out

www.cmkkits.com

By Richard Bolingbroke

Our monthly look at News from the Czech Republic MPM A big month for the Fireflies sees the next two boxings from Special Hobby. This now covers the three most obvious choices of markings sets, meaning the next kit release should cover some of the fascinating postwar options hinted at on the kit sprues. #48131 Fairey Firefly Mk I Pacific Fleet 1/48 sees the Mk I in its later wartime guise with the British Navy. Decals included offer markings for four machines that operated from HMS Indefatigable, HMS Implacable and HMS Venerable. This is accompanied by #48136 Fairey Firefly Mk 4/5 Korean War, also in 1/48. Decals included offer markings for machines deployed in the Korean war. Three of them are for FAA machines, while the fourth is a Royal Australian Navy machine. Under the Azur label we are pleased to note kit A075, the Morane Saulnier MS.410C.1 in 1/72. Morane Saulnier offered modifications to the existing MS.406 produced for Switzerland. The new version was designated MS.410C.1. The modifications comprised a new fixed radiator, new exhausts, bullet proof windshield, Chavier propeller, four wing-mounted machineguns instead of the two, and these beltfed. Despite these modifications time ran out for the French and events overtook them. Finland

bought the seized MS.410C.1s from Germany and deployed them in the Continuation War against the Soviet

Union. Azur release the MS.406 as well. #109 Morane Saulnier MS.406C.1 ‘Battle of France’, also in 1/72 offers markings for four French machines. In 1/32 Azur release #060 Bloch MB.152C.1 ‘Battle of France.’ During the Battle of France MB.152s were widely deployed, and after the armistice was signed Bloch fighters were deployed to Vichy units operating from the homeland. These machines received colorful

identification markings consisting of yellow and red stripes on the cowlings and tailplanes. These identification colours were used until the rest of France was occupied in 1942. This new release of the kit features plastic parts replacing the former resin ones used for the cowling. The kit contains four sprues with grey plastic parts and injected canopy, detailed resin parts for engine and cockpit, while further details can be found on the photoetched fret. Decals included offer three colourful machine, with interesting histories, that participated in the Battle of France. www.cmkkits.com

Mark One Models Branching out from the 4?/Mark I books series, the range of 1/144 kits is growing rapidly. Based chiefly upon the former Attack kits, with some new mouldings being released, the kits offer some unique scope in this scale. The current range is now looking healthy:

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

• 14401 Mikoyan MiG-19S Farmer C 'Warsaw Pact' • 14402 Shenyang J-6/F-6 Farmer C (China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Albania) • 14405 Mikoyan MiG-19PM Farmer D (Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Albania) • 14406 Aero L-39ZO/ZA/ART Albatros (Algeria, Thailand, Libya, Afghanistan)

• 14408 Mikoyan MiG-19P Farmer B (Czechoslovakia) • 14409 Mikoyan MiG-19P Farmer B (USSR, Cuba, Bulgaria, Romania) • 14410 Mikoyan MiG-17PF / MiG17PFU Fresco D/E (USSR, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Egypt) • 14412 Aero L-39C / L-39ZO Albatros 'In USAF, USN & USMC Colours'

Also expanding is the decal range, with new 1/144 sheets being added covering generic national markings – the latest including some very useful modern US Lo-viz markings. Hopefully some number and letter sheets will follow? www.4pluspublications.com

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Czech News

AZ Model

Brengun

AZ Model continue to push out kits in their various 1/72 ranges, including more Spitfires, assorted Japanese biplanes, trainers and exciting second-line types, the new Cobras and, of course, the Tiger Moths. Look out for the radial-engined Heinkels as well – the He 170 in two boxings. UK

Goodness – where did this come from! New to the Brengun range in 1/144 is an astonishing little stripped-down D.H.2, BRS144018. Meanwhile in 1/48 there are three new kits: • BRS48001 EMW C-2 Wasserfall • BRS48002 Hermes A-1 • BRS48003 AGM-109 Tomahawk http://www.hauler.cz/e-shop/1144-accessories-19

importer is Hannants. www.azmodel.cz

SAMI Forward

Eduard In amongst the clouds of Spitfires coming out of Prague at this moment is the new Fokker Dr.I Stripdown kit. This is a new tooling in 1/72, and cleverly designed for easier construction. It looks like a real winner too. The kit includes an almost complete set of plastic parts for the spares box, with one or two pieces supplementing the comprehensive etch. We look forward to presenting a build in the fullness of time. www.eduard.cz

Fly Following on from the astonishing range of Avrocars, the latest new tooling from Fly is #72021, the Rotachute Mk III. www.fly814.cz

RS Models New from RS is #92146, the Curtiss F11C-2 Hawk. On 16 April 1932, the US Navy ordered two prototypes of a new shipboard fighter under the designations XF11C-1 and XF11C-2, with a 700hp Wright R-1820-78 radial. The R-1820-78 Cyclone and mixed structure of the XF11C-2 found favour with the US Navy, and, on 18 October 1932, a production order was placed for 28 F11C-2s, deliveries of which began in February 1933 and were completed in the following May. The fourth aircraft on the contract was completed with a manually-

retractable undercarriage as the XF11C-3, subsequently being redesignated XBF2C-1 with the adoption of the ‘bomber-fighter’ category in March 1934. Simultaneously, the F11C-2s were redesignated as BFC-2s. Armament comprised two 7.62mm Browning machine guns and a single bomb of up to 227kg, or four 51kg bombs could be carried. The BFC-2 remained in US Navy service until 1938. www.rsmodels.cz www.sampublications.com August 2013

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1/72

Russia’s Flying

Infantrym

A Brand New Sturmovik in 1/72

W

hen Tamiya announced a little over a year ago that they were to release the Il-2 Shturmovik in 1/48 I was very tempted to go out and purchase one as soon as I could. Having built the Accurate Miniatures kit many years ago and knowing how good it was, if a little complex in its construction at times, I was intrigued as to how a well-known manufacturer like Tamiya would tackle such an important and influential aircraft. I, like many who model in 1/72, no doubt thought that it would only be a matter of time until it would be released in that scale. Well it took a while, but here it is at last, and I have to say it is a very fine piece of plastic engineering by Tamiya. The Russians, like many other nations,

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

By Mark Taylor TECH DATA

ILYUSHIN IL-2 SHTURMOVIK SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 60781 TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic MANUFACTURER: Tamiya

took a keen interest in the weapons and newly formed tactics being used in the Spanish Civil War. They were, after all, supporting the Republican side with tanks and aircraft and to a lesser extent men, mainly in an ‘advisory role’. The numbers of aircraft supplied varies depending on source from 600 to 800 planes, and the lessons learned indicated a need for a new type of aircraft dedicated to the ground support role, tasked with infantry support

The excellent box art, which appears to be a true painting and not a computer generated image as some manufacturers use nowadays The main sprue of grey plastic parts

in the roles of tank hunter and bunker busting. In 1938 Sergei Ilyushin and Pavel Sukhoi were ordered to submit designs for such an aircraft. Ilyushin submitted the 2 seat TsKB-55 and Sukhoi the Su-6, though Sukhoi’s submission was late and the Ilyushin design won the contest. The TsKB-55 first flew on 30 December 1939; this aircraft was also known by the initials BSh, an abbreviation of

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Ilyushin Il-2 Additional sprues show a consistent quality of moulding

man Bronyirovanni Shturmovik or ‘Armoured Assaulter’. Ultimately, it became known just as the Shturmovik, though it did have a number of nicknames given to it by both sides. These were the Russian female diminutive of Ilyushin or Ilyusha, ‘Flying Infantryman’, ‘Flying Tank’ or ‘Hunchback’ due to the shape of the upper nose and cockpit. To the Germans it was variously known as Schwarz Todt (Black Death), Schlachter (Slaughterer), Eiserne Gustav (Iron Gustav) and lastly Zementbomber (Concrete Bomber). The prototypes were powered by a Mikulin AM-35 V-12 engine with supercharger producing 1,370 horsepower. However, it was discovered that the supercharger was not needed for the low level flying that would be carried out and the engine was therefore changed to a Mikulin AM-38 V-12 without a supercharger, which actually produced a higher output of 1,680 horsepower. The designers realised early on that due to the low speed, low level attacks that the aircraft was to make, it would be a fairly easy target for ground fire from both antiaircraft guns and infantry with small arms. To protect the pilot, the aircraft was equipped with an armoured tub to afford him some protection. The thickness of this armour was up to half an inch in places. Due to high losses from German fighter attacks early in the war, a request from pilots was made to have a two-seat machine built with the second crewman being a rear gunner; this required extending the armour to the rear raising the weight of the tub to 2,100 pounds. Before the newly manufactured two-seat versions started to appear in front line units, it was not unusual for the more resourceful units to carry out field modifications to create a rear position for a gunner. Various types of machine gun were used in the field-modified aircraft, but the production two-seat aircraft carried a Berezin UBT 12.7mm heavy machine gun with 150 rounds of ammunition. At this point it is worth noting the other typical armament carried: this consisted of two 23mm VYa-23 cannon, one in each wing, with 300 rounds per gun, two 7.62mm ShKAS machine guns, again one in each wing, with 750 rounds per gun. Internal bay and underwing stores consisted of a mix of bombs and rockets, though typically either two FAB-100kg bombs or two FAB-250kg

Tamiya provide a full weapons load for the aircraft bombs, along with either eight or four RS82 or four RS-132 rockets. The Shturmovik was also designed with internal wing bomb bays which could hold a further four FAB-100 bombs. These internal bays were more often used to carry PTAB bomblet dispensers; 220 of these 1.5kg shaped charge bomblets could be carried in the internal bays with a further 192 externally. Early reports of the success of the PTAB munitions against German armoured vehicles were viewed with scepticism by Senior Soviet Commanders. That was until Staff officers and Commanders started flying on combat missions to observe and report on actual attacks carried out. These, at first glance, very light bomblets had the capability of penetrating the top armour of German tanks up to and including the Panther and Tiger I, proving highly effective at the battle of Kursk in knocking out many German armoured vehicles and thereby assisting the Red Army’s great victory. Monthly production of the Shturmovik increased as the war went on, by constantly finding ways to simplify manufacture, and by the end of the war over 36,000 had been built making it the most widely produced aircraft in history, either military or civil - a record that stands to this day. Towards the end of the war the Shturmovik was also operated by the procommunist Polish Air Force as well as the Yugoslav, Czech and Bulgarian Air Forces. It is also possible that the Il-2 may be the only Red Air Force aircraft to have participated in a joint East-West operation when on the 8 May 1945 four Lockheed P38 Lightnings joined with two squadrons of Il-2 aircraft to attack a German transport column in Austria. I began by studying the parts breakdown and the instructions, which, as usual, are beautifully clear and show all details of paints used (Tamiya, naturally) in all areas during construction. The parts come on four grey plastic sprues, along with one clear sprue with the canopy, armoured panel for behind the pilot and landing light parts. I always look for sections that can be built as subassemblies at the same time, so as to be able to be working on one area while another has glue or paint drying. Prior to starting any construction, I decided to spray a number of components on the sprue. These were all the cockpit parts,

Clear canopy parts, along with the poly cap for inside the propeller spinner

Decal sheet with markings for 3 aircraft. Close examination shows the markings to be in perfect register The main fuselage halves joined together. Note the complex wing joint and also how Tamiya have handled the unusual exhaust set-up, by having the final outlet as part of the body and the other five outlets as a separate moulding

including the armoured panel (part D2) after it had the windows masked off, the fuselage interior, the radiator housing and parts, the undercarriage and wheel bays, also the undercarriage door interiors. These were sprayed with Vallejo Model Air 046 Pale Grey Blue as this seems to match the interior colour seen on many wartime Russian aircraft. Some detail painting of the interior and instrument panel was carried out using Citadel paints. On the left hand side of the cockpit is a panel (A14) with a single stub of plastic sticking up; this in reality consists of two levers that operate the engine throttle and the propeller pitch control.

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1/72 Interior of the fuselage showing the radiator intake assembly in place The basic breakdown of the cockpit and gunner’s station, showing the detailed instrument panel. Note the plastic stub on the left hand panel that is referred to in the main text. Also shown is the control column and the rear machine gun mount

Fully completed interior prior to installation in the fuselage through the underside opening. You can see the newly fashioned control sticks on the left hand console The Berezin rear machine gun showing the extra detail added The plastic stub was removed and replaced with two short lengths of wire that had knobs created by using superglue, painted Chaos Black for the sticks and Blood Red for the knobs. Most of the instrument panel switches were picked out in Chaos Black though some were given a bit of colour using Blood Red and Golden Yellow. The pilot’s seat and some of the electrical boxes were painted Catachan Green. The fuel tank was painted black with the reinforcing bands painted Bolt Gun Metal. Weathering was carried out using Citadel Badab Black wash diluted and worked into all areas to create depth and shadows. Some areas were then dry-brushed with Codex Grey to further enhance the detail. Finally, areas that would be prone to heavy wear and tear were picked out with bolt Gun Metal to simulate the paint wearing through. I had already decided to use the decal for the pilot’s seat belts and this was applied and settled perfectly, as did the instrument panel decal. However, I managed to get the instrument decal a bit crooked and could not fix it without it starting to tear, so I left it as it was. The rear gunner’s machine gun mount was also painted at this stage, with the

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

A shot of the fivepiece main wing assembly showing one completed wing along with the centre wing section prior to final assembly. Note the prepainted wheel bays and inserts, along with the radiator housing in the centre section

ammunition box and lower area painted 046 Pale Grey Blue. The machine gun was painted separately and while I was looking at the painting instructions I was puzzled by the call-out for silver on a panel to the left of the gun. This, I thought, must be some sort of screen or sight panel. A check of the Internet for images of the gun showed this to be the case and that it is a glass off-set sight. While I was looking at the pictures and comparing them to the kit parts, I decided to do some extra detailing. All the top protrusions were cut away, the gun's cocking handle was replaced by a small length of brass wire and the lever of the handle by a strip of plastic card. A piece of acetate was cut to size and glued in place to represent the sight glass. The ammunition feed chute was painted Bolt Gun Metal and the centre section where the rounds fed through was painted Dwarf Bronze, which is actually copper coloured and was used to represent the rounds, as a lot of Russian ammunition was actually in fact copper coated to prevent corrosion. The gun itself was then drybrushed Bolt Gun Metal to complete the effect. All parts of the cockpit and gunner’s position were now assembled together (minus the rear gun which would be attached later) ready for installation into the fuselage. Whilst I was working on the cockpit I was also assembling the fuselage parts, including the air intake for the radiator. This comprises three parts (A6-8) and is a good example of Tamiya’s engineering. It goes together well and fits into the fuselage brilliantly. The instructions call for painting these parts and the propeller mount (A41), although this I think is unnecessary as most of it cannot be seen when construction is complete. Even the parts of the air intake will not benefit as the gap is so small and after the main camouflage is painted on it would not be noticed anyway. The main wing section was also assembled at this stage, remembering to open up the rocket rail mounting holes. The machine gun parts were fitted into the wing. These are very fiddly to work with and the mounting area and hole in the wing had to be shaved to allow for them to fit. Each outer upper wing has the undercarriage housing fitted before gluing

the wing halves together; again there was no problem with this assembly. The centre wing section houses the radiator mount. This had already been painted and put together, so it was just a case of gluing it into place. With the fuselage joints dry it was now time to clean them up with a light sanding to remove the join line. Once I was happy with this, I moved on to cleaning up the intakes on the front of the nose around the propeller. Using a new blade in my knife, I carefully thinned the walls of the intakes to give them a more scale appearance. I also did the same to the large air intake on the top of the nose. The rear machine gun mount was glued into place, followed by the cockpit and gunner’s compartment. This fits into place so well it almost does not need gluing. I did, however, glue it just to be safe. Next came the fitting of the main wing to the fuselage. A lot has been written about this joint on the 1/48 kit, so I had high expectations of the join being every bit as good as those seen on the larger model. I must say that I respect Tamiya’s way of tackling this problem of wing-to-fuselage join, especially in light of the way other manufacturers have tried to carry it out. The join is very good, though some filler was still required at the rear wing roots. I do feel however that the shape of the joint and the process to get one piece to fit to the other is overly complex. The rear horizontal stabilisers were fitted and at last the whole thing was beginning to look like an aircraft. It was at this point, with the cockpit in place, that I began to regret using the decal for the seat harness. Looking into the opening at the seat, it just was not good enough now. So after checking out a wartime black and white film about flying the Shturmovik, to see roughly what the original harness looked like, I was able conclude that for my purposes a spare pre-painted Eduard Luftwaffe harness without all the lap pads would suffice. Now, the only problem was how to glue it into place on the seat. After pre-shaping the lap straps first, using both tweezers and a toothpick, I was able to superglue them into place. The same process was used for the shoulder straps. The resulting look was more acceptable and goes to prove that with a bit of will power and ingenuity, anything can be possible. I was now able to fit the canopy parts. Unlike the larger 1/48 version the pilot’s canopy is moulded closed with only the rear able to be posed open. These parts had been pre-dipped in Johnson’s Klear, with the excess wicked off and allowed to dry overnight in a dustproof container. This method really does add clarity to clear parts and I would recommend anyone to give it a go. As the rear gunner’s canopy is obviously open for the gun, I decided to pack out the rear tub with some foam to prevent any paint spray getting in there. While fitting the canopy parts, it was noticed that the windscreen (part D4) was badly moulded. The two lower sides of the part that fit into cut-outs in the fuselage

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Ilyushin Il-2 were not complete and therefore left gaps that needed filling. Having only seen this kit that I was building, I do not know if this is just a one-off or is indicative of a moulding problem at the factory. Some of the smaller parts were given extra work to add detail. The exhausts were carefully hollowed out using both a micro drill and a reamer in a hand held Dremel. The main cannon barrels were replaced with brass wire, as after fitting them before painting, the plastic parts would almost certainly end up broken off while handling the model. The rear wheel mount had the link sections opened up to look more like the real thing. I also decided at this point to add the landing gear visual indicators to the upper wings using some spare metal from an etched fret. Sections 10 and 11 of the instructions indicate the fitting of the undercarriage, and this I would normally leave to the end of a kit build, but with this kit, I can see no way around the issue, as the way the parts are designed means that they have to be fitted now. I have read articles on the 1/48 kit where people say that you can just clip the housing bulges in place until painting is finished and then remove them to fit the undercarriage. Yes, they will clip in place, but what worried me was that when everything was painted and they were

unclipped there was always the potential to damage the paint, and even more of that likelihood when refitting them and gluing them in place. For this reason, I decided for once to follow the instructions. All this would mean would be a careful masking job to protect the legs when painting the underside and for me to be more aware and careful while handling the model from now on. With the canopy and undercarriage legs in place, the model was basically ready to start the painting stage. The canopy was masked using Tamiya Kabuki Tape. Before I primed the model, I decided to spray the canopy and undercarriage legs with Vallejo Model Air 046 Pale Grey Blue, to match the cockpit interior and undercarriage housings respectively. All panel lines and wing root areas were pre-shaded with Vallejo Model Air 056 Black Grey. The undercarriage bays were blocked off using small pieces of foam and the legs masked with tape. A great deal has been written over the years, along with many heated debates on various forums, regarding the subject of colours and also scale effect (more on that at a later time). I know that a great deal of people put a lot of reliance in expensive publications that contain facsimiles of colour chips or swatches of original paint.

The main wing spar when fully assembled. The bays have now also been given a wash to pick out the details A shot of the nose showing the work done to sand the intake walls to a more scale thickness

While I do not doubt that these are as accurate as they can be, given modern printing processes, I also feel that they can be equally misleading. Nearly all paint manufacturers will have paint records and swatches, and these will invariably be

www.sampublications.com August 2013

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A view of the pilot’s seat showing the prepainted harness added after I decided I did not like the look of the decal

produced under near perfect conditions, usually in peacetime. During war, however, a lot of other variables come into play. These can range from restriction of materials, to the time taken to produce the colours if needed in a hurry. Also a lot of paint schemes, whether they are applied at the factory or in the field (where things can really get into a mess), will be subject to a great deal of things that can affect the final colour. I am thinking along the lines of what primer or undercoat is used, how many coats are applied, what material may have been used to thin the paint for application, was the paint allowed to dry naturally or was it force dried? This all means that different factories in the same country may not always paint things the same way, depending on the urgency to get the job done and what materials they

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

A few of the smaller parts showing the added work done. The opened exhausts, the gun barrels replaced with brass wire, and the rear wheel after having the links opened up as on the real aircraft

have to hand to complete it. Some paints that are poorly applied, or may be of a lesser quality than those normally used, may be more prone to fading and other forms of wear and tear than those painted under ideal peacetime conditions. I suppose what I am really getting around to say is that I will look at many sources and will try to match a paint optically to references, and in the end, if it looks right then that is good enough for me. I am certainly not going to be critical of a paint scheme if one or all of the colours are slightly different to those normally expected. After viewing various publications, with some good photos and also colour profiles, I decided to use the following colours to apply the three-colour scheme over blue for this aircraft. Vallejo Model Air 008 Pale Blue for the underside, 022 Camouflage Green, 035 Camouflage Light Brown and 056 Black Grey for the upper surfaces. These were applied with my Iwata airbrush, starting with the blue underside, not forgetting also to paint the undercarriage doors ready for later

installation. The demarcation lines on the fuselage between the blue and the upper colours, was masked using rolled Blu Tack. The upper colours were started with the Light Brown and this was carefully sprayed over just the areas of the pattern where it was, required. Then, using paper masks from an enlargement (about 175% if I recall) of the colour scheme in the instructions, the brown area was covered and then the green was applied to its areas only. The process was repeated to apply the Black Grey. When this was finished, the paper masks were removed and any areas that needed it were touched up freehand with the appropriate colour. The propeller blades were painted Model Air 057 Black and the spinner 022 Camouflage Green to match the rest of the aircraft. The paint finish was allowed to dry overnight and the whole aircraft was given two coats of Johnson’s Klear to prepare the surface for the application of the decals. The decals are very good with a good opacity and went on fine, though I did find them a bit resistant to setting and softening solutions. I did not use the large white decal for the tail surface, preferring to mask the area and spray it using Model Air 001 White. Once happy that all the decals were settled onto the model and had dried out, they were sealed in with a further coat of Klear. Next came the weathering. As this would be an aircraft in constant use, flying from grass strips in all kinds of conditions, it would follow that it would become quite well weathered and worn in a number of areas. It is also worth pointing out to remember that the rear fuselage was made of wood and therefore would not wear through to any metal. The wing root on the left side was commonly the main point of entry for the crew and also the ground crew for preparation and maintenance of the aircraft. The right side received less wear and tear as it was accessed only for refuelling and re-arming purposes. A good illustration of this can be found on page 24 of Il-2 Stormovik in Action by Squadron/Signal Publications. To recreate this weathering, I used Citadel Bolt Gun Metal applied with both sponge pieces and stippled using a stencilling brush until I was happy with the result. Other areas

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Ilyushin Il-2 Top arrow showing the incomplete moulding of the windscreen - the clear plastic part did not fully fit down into the cutout in the fuselage on both sides. The lower arrow shows the added visual indicator for the undercarriage in the down position. Note also the use of putty at the wing joint

such as around the nose near the propeller, the wing leading edges and the edges of some panels were also picked out with Bolt Gun Metal. The exhausts were painted using a combination of a Chaos Black undercoat, dry brushing with Bolt Gun Metal and washes of Blue Ink and then a wash of Terracotta, all going towards an effect of heat burnished metal with a light amount of rusting. They were then fitted to the aircraft. (Note: when working with these exhausts before painting, do not remove the moulding lines on them, as the real exhausts have this as part of their manufacture). The propeller also received some Bolt Gun Metal weathering on the leading edges of the blades and on the spinner boss. To recreate the exhaust staining and the cordite staining from the cannons and guns, a thin mix of Black Grey was sprayed in light coats, gradually building up the effect. After this and all the basic weathering was completed, the model was sprayed with Model Air Matt Varnish. All the masking was removed and I was ready for the final stages of wear and tear weathering. The hubs, undercarriage legs and door interiors were all given a wash of Badab Black to help pick out the details. These were then fitted to the aircraft. As these aircraft operated from grass strips and mud and earth would be thrown up onto the underside from the wheels when taking off and landing, I turned to MIG weathering powders, more commonly used for armour modelling and dioramas. I mixed a combination of Europe Dust and Dark Mud and water into a wash of sorts and painted it over the wheels and undercarriage legs and bays and left it to dry. To recreate the mud thrown up onto the underside of the aircraft I used an old brush loaded with the wash and then lightly flicked it onto the aircraft, again slowly building up the effect until I was happy with it. This was mainly applied where the wheels would splash up and along the underside of the fuselage to the rear wheel. Some of this wash was also used on the upper wing roots and along the wings where the ground crew would walk whilst carrying out fuelling and arming. The beauty of these MIG pigments

is they can be left to dry and then the excess rubbed off to create many effects, and if it all goes wrong, they can be washed off with water, ready to start again. The rear canopy was removed, the gun installed and the canopy replaced. The bombs and rockets were attached to their mounting points using superglue. The aerial, pitot tube, front external sight and the rudder balance were also fitted now. The front sight was a very fiddly part to fit and required some sanding of the part and slight opening of the mounting hole. These had all been pre-painted in their relevant colours. The landing light on the left wing came next; the interior was painted black with a silver circle to simulate the lens of the lamp. The clear part was then fitted; after some fine tuning with a sanding stick, the fit was so tight that no glue was used at all. The aerial wires were once again made using fine filaments of nylon from an old pair of black tights. I finally fitted the propeller to complete the aircraft. This is a marvellous rendition of a classic and tactically historic aircraft. It is superior

The model painted in three colour camouflage scheme and coated with Johnson's Klear prior to application of the decals

The underside showing the weathering carried out, and also the bombs and rockets in place

to other older versions of this aircraft by other manufacturers. I have yet to see the new Academy version so cannot comment on it, though I do have the HobbyBoss Easy Assembly Kit of this aircraft and, though simplified, when compared to the Tamiya kit it looks to be quite a good model also. Tamiya have another winner on their hands and I cannot wait to see what they might next release in this scale. It is a model that I can recommend to all, irrespective of their modelling skills.

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Front Parabellum LMG 14 added, and the rear Schwarzlose. Also seen is the instrument panel, bomb release cables and a shadow of the front gun ring

Night Bomber Germany’s Tactical Twin

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he AEG G IV was completed in 1916 as a short range bomber. It was powered by two 260hp Mercedes D IV engines and AEG produced seven G IV bombers per month in 1917 and twenty-seven per month in 1918. The G IV featured an all metal structure of welded steel tubing, wooden wing ribs, plywood nose panel and fabric covering. The robust airframe was capable of withstanding rough handling and crashes better than wooden airframes. 320 AEGs were built from 1917 through 1918. I started this build by gathering as much information on the subject as I possibly could. Some came from Windsock Datafile Number 51, Cross and Cockade, Aero, and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Canada. The CASM has the only surviving example (although not authentic) in the world. It's a good source for airframe details. The kit used for the build was Hi-Tech's number HT-010 in 1/48. This is very basic and needed quite a bit of scratch building to suite my taste, so I also acquired some aftermarket guns and resin engines. I had had this kit laying around for some time and it was about three years ago that I took the plunge. I started with the fuselage. I did some thinning on the inside and built up a new cockpit floor and also built front and rear bulkheads and added the kit fuel cell, pilot's

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

By Roger Humpula TECH DATA

AEG G IV SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: HT-010 TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic MANUFACTURER: Hi-Tech

AFTERMARKET

seat and WW1 Eduard seat belts to the floor. The kit control wheel was added to a length of Evergreen 0.020 rod. Control cables were added to the control yoke with nylon thread, and a hole was drilled in front of the pilot's seat and the yoke added to the floor. The co-pilot's position was a fold-down seat that stowed in the bulkhead behind the seat. The co-pilot's controls were removable, both yoke and rudder pedals, and were stowed on the bulkhead in front of the pilot. The control stick was added and a hole drilled to represent the attachment point for the rudder pedals. There is a resin part in the kit that fits up behind the pilot/copilot's positions, which contains the drop-down seat mentioned above. This was superglued in place after multiple dry fits. A new instrument panel was made from card with levers made from thin wire and knobs from Kristal Klear. I added gauges and dials from punched-out items using Waldron's punch and die set, and also scratchbuilt a set of throttle levers and radiator shutter control levers. These were added to the left

MIRAGE HOBBY: #248001/ #448001 German/Polish bombs

Scratchbuilt cockpit cabin floor. Kit fuel cell, seat, control wheel and rudder pedals. This was also one of my first attempts at simulating wood

side of the cockpit. This pretty much sums up the cockpit area. Using information received from the fine people at the CASM, I built up the front and rear gunners’ stations. The front position held the bomb dropping panel, which I scratchbuilt from card and wire. I also built up the tube frame structure from Evergreen 0.020 and 0.025 rod. The kit pedestal seat was used and after being glued to a section of 0.020 rod, was set in place, as was the bomb selection panel. This finished up the front gunner’s station for now and the rear station was started. I built up another bulkhead and glued this in place in front of the trap door. I constructed two bomb container boxes and glued one to each side. These boxes held 25kg bombs and each one had a door in the belly. This position also had a seat like the front gunner’s position and this was added. The rear gun was mounted on a rail that traversed three sides of this position this rail is represented by a photo-etched part and was added at this time. There is also a crank on the bulkhead that raises and lowers the Cellophane trap door in the

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Fuselage halves with locating tabs. Scratchbuilt bulkheads, instrument panel and framing for tail skid. Small parts in the center are scratchbuilt throttles and radiator shutter controls

Stub wings added using brass rod spars. Strut reinforcement etched parts added to fuselage. Some detail in the rear gunner's position also visible

underside. This was fashioned from wire with scratchbuilt gears and pulleys, with nylon thread for the cable to raise and lower the door. I then added some structure from the last bulkhead to the tail skid area from 0.025 rod with wire cables before the fuselage halves were glued together. I added tabs to each fuselage half to help with alignment before the fuselage was joined. With the fuselage closed I sanded off the detail on the sides of the cockpit and rescribed the panel lines. I then added a strip of thin plastic stock where the plywood nose and main fuselage section join together. The reinforcement plates for the engine/upper wing struts were added at this time. I also drilled holes for the brass wire wing reinforcement rod using a #67 drill bit. This was repeated for the tail surfaces. My next task was to form coaming for the pilot's and rear gunner’s positions. This was done using Milliput rolled into sausages and affixed to the lips of the apertures. After this had hardened, I used Parafilm M to mask these two positions. The nose gunner’s position was masked over by Parafilming over the gun ring and placing the ring over the front position. Next I went to work on the bomb bay area. The instructions have you add some photo-etched bits to this area but is very unclear as to how or where they go, so the project was put on hold to gather more information. After some months of digging, the CASM came to the rescue with some great pictures. This area is open to the cockpit floor and is a tubular framework that supports the bomb release mechanisms. I first cut out the bottom of the fuselage and boxed it in with card and strip stock. A framework was made up from rod and after the second attempt I got it right. Attaching the stub wing was another hurdle. There are two bomb stations on each stub wing, and on the original model, these are poorly represented. Using my Dremel tool, I fashioned two square recesses in each wing, equal distances apart. The ends of the racks fixed into these holes. This accomplished, I primed the whole lot with Humbrol HG 4 Dunkelgrau 74 (Dark Grey). I then misted the whole structure with Future in preparation for decaling. Early on, I decided to model the project

based on a subject in Windsock Datafile 51. The aircraft was an AEG G IV G.850/17 of Bogohl 8 in 1918. I started the painting by trying to replicate the hand painted hexagons on the nose and stub wings with a brush. After the third attempt, I resorted to my precious Americal/Gryphon decals. I was also able to source these, as well as the five-colour night lozenge, from Doug Baumann. He also custom made some of the stencilling for me - a very big and very welcome help! Once the hexagons were done, I moved on to the five-colour decaling. I taped off the area where the tail surfaces were to be glued to the fuselage and affixed Eduard fabric stitching to the lower surface. Within a couple of days the fuselage was done including the pink ribbing tape, again from Doug. The next step was to work up the engines and their nacelles. Each nacelle had the upper portion of the fairing cut away and the rest was thinned to a more scale effect. I scratchbuilt the engine bearers and fastened them into the cowls. The nacelle struts were cleaned up and wires were affixed by drilling the attachment point and supergluing wire into the hole. These were then superglued to the corresponding holes in the nacelle. I was not happy with the kit-supplied engines so I bought a pair of CMK Mercedes 260 hp DIVa engines. These are very nice but I just had to try and make them better. The first thing I did was to replace the rocker arm springs with fine wire wrapped around a thicker wire to form springs. That’s six cylinders with four springs per cylinder times two engines. You do the maths! I also removed the detail on the induction trunk and replaced it with wire wrapped around the flexible portion. I had to trim away some of the bottom of the engine to get it to fit right in the nacelle. I also replaced the crankshaft with plastic rod because one was already snapped off. I tried to use the resin radiators but just couldn’t make them work so I scratchbuilt them from card, wire and Little Cars mesh. This was quite a bit of work but I think they turned out well. These were set aside until later and I began work on the undercarriage. The kit undercarriage struts were cleaned up and holes drilled to receive lengths of wire where they attach to the stub wing. I then built the undercarriage shock absorbers from scratch. Each undercarriage leg has thirty-six springs attached to the leg

A better look at the starboard inside. Bomb control panel and some other controls are on the right hand side of the cockpit Revised engine pods along with the modified CMK engines

Dry run of engine pods and struts. Good view inside modified engine pod. Cockpit openings covered in Parafilm. Note Milliput rear coaming and brass lower wing peg

and axle. I made twenty, with the wire wrapping method, and attached these to the axles. I only used eighteen per side as some of them would not be seen.. Holes were drilled in the stub wing to receive the undercarriage legs. Once I had constructed and painted both units, they were dry fitted until both hit a flat surface evenly. At this point, thin superglue was run into the holes in the stub wing, and the excess wire trimmed back. I also added the twin windscreens, wheels and the tail skid at this stage. The kit included material to make the

Struts being added. Cockpit coamings made from Milliput . Front has kit white metal gun ring temporarily installed

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struts. I used the Windsock Datafile to get the initial lengths for the engine pod struts and used my favorite wire end method, for attachment lugs. By using this method it is possible to test fit before glue is applied. I also added attachment points for some of the rigging at this time. Once I was happy with the way the struts and engine pods lined up, glue was applied to the strut/pod attachment points. Once dry the pod/struts were removed and painted and then attached to the fuselage/stub wing. Rigging was added in this area as well as a tube that runs parallel to the rear engine pod-tofuselage strut. Up to this point, I had the fuselage, landing gear and engines in place. I next attached the tail surfaces. The ribbing on all the flying surfaces is a little overdone so this was knocked down with a file and sandpaper. The horizontal stabilizers needed to be reshaped as the contour is wrong. This is very noticeable in reference materials. After I was satisfied with the look, these were primed in preparation for decaling. Holes were drilled, plastic rod

Another view of the instrument panel. Also note the fuel lines running down the front cabane struts and the tube carrying gas and electrical lines from the fuselage to the engine pods

The five-colour night lozenge and salmon rib tape make for a colourful aircraft

View of the bomb racks. All cable and release mechanisms were scratchbuilt

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spars inserted, and the stabilizers offered up and glued in place. I made up the bracing struts and set them aside until after decaling. Control surface (rudder and stabilizers) would also be added at a later time. The ordnance was added next. A small bomb rack, for 12.5kg bombs, was built from rod and added to the starboard side of the bomb bay. I next built up seven bomb racks from rod and modified kit photoetched parts. Scratchbuilt release mechanisms and bomb cradles, made from twisted and looped wire, were added. I had purchased the Mirage Hobby German/Polish bomb sets early on as no bombs come with the kit. These were painted up, as per instructions, and glued to the cradles. Before I moved on to the wings, my reference for this aircraft showed a set of landing lights located under the nose. I built up a mounting from card, painted it black, added some Little Cars lenses and affixed this under the nose. The path was now open to attach the wings. I started by pegging the three sections of the upper wing together with brass rod. No glue was used yet. The lower wing outer sections were pegged to the stub wing and 10mm dihedral added, still no glue. The washout was not prominent enough in the lower outer wing, so I soaked them in warm water, taped them over a dowel and let them cool. This did the trick.. Also, the outer upper wing panels were upswept and should be level. These were given the same treatment making sure the airfoil shape was maintained. I then drilled holes for the struts and rigging turnbuckles. The wings were given a coat of grey paint and Future, after which I decaled the top of the lower wing and bottom of the upper. When the decals were dry the lower wings were glued in place. The upper wing centre section was then decaled on the lower surface except where the fuel cell is placed. I did some extra work on the fuel cell by adding gauges and fuel lines and affixed this to the wing. I affixed the struts for the wing centre section to the fuselage, the centre section was added, superglued from

above, and then the wires were trimmed back. I next glued the struts to the lower wing. Thin superglue was run into the holes from the underside of the undecaled wing and the excess wire again trimmed away. Turnbuckles, where appropriate, were also added at this time. I glued the upper wing panels to the centre panel only. The wire, on the end of the struts, was fed through the drilled holes at the same time. I started gluing from the inter-struts working my way to the outside. Superglue was again applied from the top. Once dried the excess wire was trimmed away, and I must have dry-fitted this sequence umpteen million times in the process of making the struts. This is where the Datafile is really essential to get the strut lengths right. A plan was worked up for the starting point and sequence of how the rigging was to be installed. This avoids and minimizes multiple attachments. I try to use one piece of nylon thread for this operation. The rigging commenced starting from the fuselage and working outwards, inside to outside. I switched from one side to the other, one turnbuckle at a time, to keep everything in line. I established an anchor point by the dry run and tied off the end. I superglued the knot and moved to the next turnbuckle. The thread was passed through the next turnbuckle, knotted and superglued and so on until finished. I know this sounds complicated but with a little experimentation I found this works best for me. After the rigging was done I finished decaling the upper and lower wings. All of the control surfaces were added and rigged. I added the bracing struts to the fin and stabilizers and at this point sealed the decaled and painted model with a semigloss varnish. The wire guards for the front gunner/bombardier were scratchbuilt from plastic rod and wire. The propellers are the kit’s white metal ones and I painted these up using a method I've developed using dry brushing, masking tape and clear orange paint. To finish the build, I added the machine guns. The front is a Spandau and the rear a Parabellum. These were made from the kit, Tom's Model Works, Copper State, and Eduard parts and a little scratch building. Both gun ring/mounts have varying degrees of kit parts and scratchbuilt items. There you have it. One finished AEG G IV. Throughout this build there were many sessions of dry fitting and taping together of parts. By using the wire method on the struts I was able to do a dry run before glue was applied. For me, this is essential to get things to go together right or just to figure out a better way to make them fit. Anyone who has built this kit or has it, knows this is not an easy build, but with time and patience a very fine model can be achieved. I'd like to thank all the people who assisted me with this build: Doug Baumann and Scott Negron for decal assistance, the fine people at the CASM, without whose help I wouldn't have some of the detail right, and all the others whom I haven't mentioned.

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SAMI Columns Clark’s 1/48Field

The unlimited canvas of

Clark’s Field By Dick Clark

Paris of Plastic A Trojan armed for War

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his is Roden’s third release of their T-28; they got out of sequence, the ‘C’ version coming out last of the four. While most variants of the Trojan (also known as the ‘Fennec’ in French service) were trainers, the ‘D’ was an uprated version of the ‘A’, with a more powerful engine and wings strengthened to enable the aircraft to carry up to 4,000lb of stores, including two 0.50 calibre machine guns in pods, with 1,000 rounds each, and six hard points suitable for a wide range of weapons. Able to operate from the most basic of airstrips, the T-28D proved an able counter-insurgency (COIN) platform, being used by the USAF in Vietnam, other South-East Asian countries and air forces in Africa and Latin America.

In the Box The top-opening box features a Vietnamtheatre aircraft in action over dense jungle; one of three options offered. Inside are eight sprues of grey plastic and one of clear, a long strip of decals in their own

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TECH DATA

NORTH AMERICAN T-28D TROJAN SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 441 TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic MANUFACTURER: Roden

cellophane wrapper, and an A4 instruction leaflet. There are three sprues of pylons and stores specifically for this version, but I would guess the rest are generic parts for all variants. The instructions are for the most part clear, although the precise locations for some of the smaller parts, particularly for the intricate undercarriage, are somewhat vague. But examination of the parts generally makes things clear as you go along. The parts are generally well-moulded, with crisp, recessed panel lines, although some may consider these to be a little heavy. The smaller parts do have mould seams, which will need to be scraped or filed away; a fiddly and rather frustrating job, and it is all-too-easy to miss bits. There

ALSO USED QUICKBOOST: QB 48 459 T-28 Trojan engine QUICKBOOST: QB 48 472 T-28 Trojan airbrake EDUARD: FE601 T-28 Zoom set EDUARD: EX381 T-28D mask set ALBION ALLOYS: 1.5mm Brass Tube

Both the seats and seat backs have ejection-pin scars that need filling

are also some very badly-placed pouring stubs and recesses. The worst of these are on the seats, and on the inner surfaces of the air brake, making the use of a replacement in the case of the latter almost unavoidable, if you wish to show the brake deployed. The undercarriage, as alluded to above, is quite intricate, and the nose-wheel leg is the real weak point of the kit. The nose requires a considerable lump of lead in it, and this places a great strain on the very thin leg. Mine survived right up to the point where I was about to take its photographs, but more of that later! Three versions are offered. First is for an aircraft of the 4400th Training Squadron of

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excellent, though the stencils are nonetoo-clearly printed - I put this down to built-in wear and tear! I chose to model the CAF/CIA version, mainly because of its unusual nature, but I have to say the orange of the bars on the star-and-bars, and the stripe on the tail-flag, are completely the wrong colour. They should be red, or possibly a deep reddish orange. However, I decided the colour as given represented a faded example and went with it anyway!

The completed cockpit tub with the addition of the Eduard Zoom Pre-coloured Set

Construction

the USAF at Eglin AFB, 1964. The second is not very well accredited; the instructions cite it as an aircraft from a ‘Special CIA unit, based at Albertville (Kalemi), Congo, January 1966. Further investigation reveals that this is actually an aircraft ostensibly serving with the Congolese Air Force, although the operations were covertly supplied and staffed by the CIA in fact, The Congolese Air Force did not have a single Congolese national on its strength! The third option is for an aircraft of the 606th Special Operations Squadron, USAF, based at Nachon Phanom, Thailand in late 1960. This latter is the ideal project for anyone who hates decals, having as it does only six items! The decals are a bit of a mixed bag. Some are

The instructions would have you start with the engine, followed by the undercarriage legs and flying control surfaces. A couple of bits of the cockpit interior are thrown in randomly at stages 12 and 13, then we go on to the wings. Again quite randomly, a couple of fuselage interior parts are added at stages 16 and 17, the seat is assembled at stage 18, then it goes on to the underwing stores. It isn’t until stages 24 and 25 that we get to the main cockpit interior assembly! All very bizarre. Well, call me rebellious, but I went with convention and started with the cockpit, not least because, with the addition of the wonderful Eduard pre-coloured etch set, this makes for a great little mini-kit in its own right. I did build up the wings while I waited for other things to set. I found the cockpit tub impossible to position accurately in the right fuselage half as directed, but realised I could join the fuselage halves then fit the cockpit up through the underneath. Doing it this way made the cockpit much easier to locate. It also meant I could fill and sand the fuselage seams without risk of getting dust in that lovely cockpit. I also realised I did not need to fit the engine bulkhead, nor the engine, at this stage, making the adding of nose-weight a lot easier. So the fully assembled cockpit fits neatly up into the fuselage, then the fuselage belly/centre section fits sort-ofish after that, requiring several clamps and

As always Eduard’s colour etch makes a big difference – especially in a grey cockpit with numerous small black panels that would otherwise be a challenge to paint Both wings assembled, complete with pylons and machine-gun pods, but minus the control surfaces

tape to hold everything together until the glue has thoroughly set. The wings and horizontal stabilizers fit reasonably well, although the wings needed to be held in position with masking tape across the top of the fuselage to set the correct dihedral. Very little filler was needed to blend everything in. Now, this model needs a lot of nose weight to prevent tail-sitting, and 25 grams is recommended! I use lead strip intended for weighing down aquarium plants, and up to this point I’ve tended to guesstimate the

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The fuselage assembled, ready to receive the cockpit tub from beneath - a much easier way to go about this stage of the build.

amount required. However, it had occurred to me that, since the lead strip is of a consistent width and thickness, it should be possible to measure weight by length. So just for you, I’ve worked out that 5 grams is 83mm, or 3¼” of lead strip. So there is 415mm, or 16¼” in old money, of lead strip rolled up in that nose! I actually think you could get away with a little bit less, but I’ve seen someone else recommending a bit more, so you take your chances! With the lead weight installed you can go on to fit the engine and cowling. The Aires resin item is a direct replacement for the kit engine and bulkhead, although in

Once the cockpit tub has been fitted the belly/centre section can be added. This part needed clamping and taping to hold everything together while the glue set thoroughly

The lead weight I use for nose-weight. This product is consistent in thickness and width, so can be measured by length. 5 grams = 83mm/3¼”

The heavy weathering was achieved with a combination of a panel-line wash, followed, after the matt clear top coat, by working pastel powders into the panels with a Humbrol 3mm flat brush. This was then sealed in with another coat of clear matt

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either case the location is a bit vague. Test fit and glue carefully; mine has ended up slightly off-centre to starboard, though with the prop on it barely shows. I fitted the cowling flaps before painting. These need to be thinned and filed to shape to fit, and if aftermarket versions are available I’d probably recommend them. I also fitted the windscreen, pylons and 0.50 pods (without barrels) before painting. Painting, Decaling and Weathering The colour scheme for this version is quite simple; Dark Compass Grey above, with Light Compass Grey undersides and rudder. I used Xtracrylix for the first time on this model. I found I needed to fiddle with the pressure and tip setting on my airbrush until I found the perfect set-up, but when I did I got a lovely smooth finish. I think with practice it might even be possible with this paint to get a smoothenough finish that a gloss coat might not be needed in preparation for decaling, so I shall be returning to this product again. However, I did apply several coats of Klear before adding the decals. I found these to be easy to apply, although some setting solution was needed to get them to settle into the panel lines. Incidentally, I positioned the tail-fin flag differently to the instructions; rather, according to the few photographs I found online of other CAF T-28Ds, in particular that of the example of which a fuselage is displayed at the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum.. After decaling a wash was carefully run into the panel lines, using a grey shade mixed from Vallejo 73201 Black Shade and 73202 Pale Grey. The model was then given a coat of Humbrol Clear Matt. I was able to find only one or two photos of these aircraft online, and then only after exhaustive searching, and they appeared absolutely filthy! To replicate this appearance I went to town on a weathering technique I’ve tried sparingly before, using pastel powder. I used a black powder, dipping a Humbrol 3mm flat

brush into the powder, tapping most of it off and wiping the brush on an old envelope, so that the tint was reduced to a bare minimum, then gradually built it up along panel lines and other joints. I find I can vary the effect from just a bit grubby to heavy exhaust staining, and can make the same material replicate oil streaks and stains by loading the brush more heavily. If I overdo it I can wipe it off with a damp cotton wool pad or cotton bud. However, I found I must be very careful not to touch a dampened area with my finger as this is liable to leave a fingerprint that can be difficult to remove. When I was satisfied with the result the whole thing was given another coat of clear matt to seal it all in. A final touch was to go around with a silver pastel pencil, and a dry brush of aluminium to apply scratches and chips. Once the basic airframe was complete I moved on to the many undercarriage parts, the airbrake, stores and prop there’s still quite a way to go! The instructions suggest bare aluminium for all undercarriage parts, except the inside

After all that lovely painting and weathering, and building up that intricate undercarriage, the model’s weak point manifested itself just as I was about to start photographing the finished project!

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faces of the u/c doors. The interiors of the wells are glossed over completely, if you’ll pardon the pun. I opted to paint all u/c parts and the well interiors white. The wells were brush painted; everything else was sprayed, then all parts were quite heavily weathered. The inner face of the airbrake is shown as ‘clear green’, which is just silly. This was painted white as well. You will find painting instructions for the stores at stage 31. As you can see, I opted to paint my bombs the conventional Olive Green with a yellow stripe, rather than light grey as suggested. The tips of the rockets in the rocket pods, and the sway braces, were painted Citadel Boltgun Metal. Paint instructions for the propeller blade tips are very precise, but nonexistent for the hub; following photographic evidence I painted the boss black and the hub itself aluminium. After applying a wash to that little lot, it was time for final assembly.

clearly looked the part among the spares. So the closed position was chosen as the lesser of two evils, although neither option is very satisfactory. The airbrake is the Aires Quickboost resin replacement, which is much better than the kit’s original. There are now many aftermarket parts available for this kit. If you use no other, I would highly recommend Scale Aircraft Conversions' replacement undercarriage set SAC48174, if only to replace the very fragile nose wheel leg. With all that nose weight, this very thin part is under a lot of pressure. Mine survived until just as I was about to start taking the model’s photos! Thankfully I had recently been sent a bundle of Albion Alloys products for review. A repair was effected by selecting the closestfitting brass tube from their Slide Fit Brass pack SFT8 , 1.5mm as it happened (that’s the exterior diameter), cutting a short length to slide over the leg, supergluing it over the break.

Finishing Off

Conclusion

The undercarriage is quite intricate and very well represented. Location points on the instructions are a bit vague, but most become clear when you start the assembly, the one exception being Part #34A - I’m not at all sure where that is supposed to locate on the nose gear leg. It looks superb once it’s all together. Moving to the stores, we have a wide choice of armament, there being three sets of everything. I have no idea what the multiple tube structures are for the outer pylons; I have searched the Internet exhaustively for information and come up blank.. I thought at first they were rocket launchers - they do look like WWII-era 4.5inch rocket projectors, but smaller until I realised the open ends face rearwards. Maybe they’re some sort of flare dispenser? Answers on a postcard, please… I opted for a pair of rocket pods and four bombs, ready for a groundtarget mission. The gun barrels need a fair bit of cleaning up and would be better replaced with resin or turned brass items, if any are available. They were primed with matt black, then drybrushed with Citadel Boltgun Metal. I should refer quickly to my method of painting the red lights above and below the fuselage, just in front of the tail fin (and another inside the cockpit). I first apply a touch of red to the locating pin; this is followed by aluminium over the underside of the part, then light grey around the rim. This gives the appearance of a red light within a clear glass cover. While on the clear parts, I had intended fitting the canopies in the open position, partly because the forward cockpit canopy does not fit well against the windscreen. However, when I came to fit the rear canopy, I found its location vague, to say the least. I’m sure there should be a part to fit in the groove behind the canopy, which would set the canopy frames level, but there’s no mention of such in the instructions and nothing that

This builds into a good-looking model, but it requires patience and some skill, so is probably not ideal for the beginner. As mentioned above, there are now many aftermarket sets available for this basic kit, and if you’re prepared to throw money at it, I am sure it could be made into a real show-stopper. I might now feel inspired to have a go at that old Heller 1/72 version in my stash by way of comparison. Roden offer A, B, C and D kits, and if there are three decal options in each boxing, there is plenty of choice if you’re a real fan; there are certainly a great many different operators and colour-schemes on the fullsize planes, so the world is your lobster. With that said, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this kit.

Measuring the thickness of the undercarriage leg with a Vernier caliper. In the end, although this helped as a guide, trial and error finally found the best fit

The nose wheel leg repaired with a short piece of Albion Alloys 1.5mm brass tubing

Albion’s wide range of rod and tube is especially designed for modellers and has a vast range of practical uses

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1/72

www.revell.eu

Boston Babies

A Jack of All Hands

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he A-20 family of bombers does not need a lengthy introduction. It was without doubt the most successful light bomber design of WW2 and used by a wide variety of Allied air forces. Moreover, its superb flying characteristics and sturdiness turned it into the most versatile aircraft of the war. It was a light bomber, ground attack fighter, night fighter, torpedo bomber - truly the proverbial ‘Jack of all hands’. If you have not heard of the Boston/Havoc, you must have picked up this magazine by mistake. The A-20J was one of the last versions of this aircraft and was designed to lead formations of A-20Gs (which did not have navigators) on bombing missions. The design was based on the A-20G-25 with an additional frameless Plexiglas navigator’s cockpit. Interestingly, a similar modification was performed by DIY methods to A-20Gs in the USSR. 450 A20Js were built and 169 of them were used in the RAF, where they were named ‘Boston Mk 4’.

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By Konstantine Malinovsky TECH DATA

A-20J/BOSTON MK 4 SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 04278 TYPE: Injection Moulded plastic MANUFACTURER: Revell GmbH & Co.KG

Let’s come right out with it – this is a repack of the MPM kit (some also might have seen it under the Special Hobby brand). When this kit appeared in its Czech guise it finally ended the dominance of the ancient Matchbox, Revell and Airfix kits and invited the Havoc/Boston modeller into this century. The chief gripe with this kit was its relatively high price. Well, with this re-issue Revell has taken care of that. The kit parts come on five sprues of relatively soft light grey plastic and one clear, which includes the parts for the bombardier compartment. The panel lines are delicately recessed, of consistent depth and of good definition throughout.

AFTERMARKET MPM: MPMK72003 1/72 Douglas A-20B Havoc details for MPM kits

The representation of the fabric covered surfaces is subtle and to the best standard one can expect from a world class manufacturer. No excess flash anywhere. The clear parts are a gem in this kit. They are thin and crystal clear and might compete with aftermarket vacform replacements. The only downside is the complete absence of any trace of framing on the rear turret glazing, so this will need to be done manually. Being a 21st century kit, this particular

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A-20J/Boston Mk 4

boxing provides a decent amount of the kind of detail that used to be more challenging in the earlier kits. The amount of detail provided for the cockpits and the wheel wells is quite adequate and the intricate structure of the main landing gear is worth special mention here, although it will require additional attention and strict following of the instructions. Keep in mind that this will also require a modeller to assemble and paint the gear first and then build the cowlings around them. Having the legs sticking out from the cowlings from almost the very beginning of the construction process will require additional care in aligning them and not breaking them off during further assembly and painting processes, but given their superb appearance, this is trouble well worth taking. While the gear and wings dry one can

A Douglas A-20C-BO Havoc at Langley Field, Virginia (USA), in July 1942, painted in a British camouflage scheme and most probably built under the Lend-Lease-Agreement for the Royal Air Force. The A-20C was an attempt to develop a standard, international version of the aircraft, produced from 1941. The A-20J, as depicted in Revell’s kit, carried an additional bombardier in an extended acrylic glass nose section. These were intended to lead bombing formations, with the following standard A-20s dropping their bombs when signalled by the leader. A total of 450 were built, 169 for the RAF which designated them Boston Mk IV from the summer of 1944 onwards

pay attention to the pilot’s and bombardier’s cockpits. The latter has enough detail in itself and would only require the addition of safety harnesses. The representation of the Norden bombsight is exceptionally good and great care should be taken when painting it as it will be seen very clearly through the blister. The detailing of the pilot’s office is not bad straight out of the box, but the Editor provided me with the PE detailing set marketed separately by MPM (produced I understand by Eduard). This set will save a huge amount of effort and time and will yield excellent results, so I would strongly recommend investment. The PE set covered all the major parts that would need improvement and I only scratchbuilt a couple of additional items and added an auxiliary gunsight.

Overall the assembly process posed only a few issues that required some effort and delayed the completion of the model. There is no need to describe these stepby-step as it is fairly straightforward, but below is the list of areas that should forewarn a modeller dealing with this kit: • The assembly of the engine gondolas – the diameter of the wheel well housings is noticeably smaller than the engine cowlings. This needed a gentle build up of putty and careful smoothing it over to eliminate the nasty step there • The wing root joint - unfortunately the wing is thinner than the placement stub for it and this again results in a step in that area, which inevitably require puttying and sanding • The turret opening is a little too small for the base • The fit of clear parts for the bombardier’s section will require extra care and dry fitting.

• And, yes, this model is a tail sitter, so do not forget to stuff as much weight as you can into any empty space in the forward fuselage. • Some additional changes I made to the initial kit (although are not strictly necessary) were: • Scratch-building of the position lights on the wings • Replacement of the aerial loop with a thinner metal one. • Adding additional details to the engines (rods and wires). • Some minor details and wiring added to the pilot’s cockpit.

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1/72

• Replacement of the rear turret machine gun barrels with Quickboost products and adding the 50cal ammo belts from a generic PE set • Scratch building an actuator for the canopy hood • Adding brake lines to the undercarriage legs Two markings options are provided by Revell, one for an RAF Boston IV (13 Squadron, 232 Wing) with a wonderful artwork of a stork carrying a bomb and the mission markings, and the other a US A-20J of 646th Bomb Squadron, 410th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force, featuring invasion stripes and the aircraft name Irene. We have to hand it to Revell – lately their choice of colour options for their kits has been extremely good. Initially, I wanted to build the RAF

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aircraft but during research I ran across a photo of Irene before take-off on a bombing mission, and could not resist building it. The decals were of superb quality and reacted perfectly to Micro Set and Sol solutions. The only downside was that the invasion stripes were not provided and I had to mask and paint them. I believe that by repacking the MPM kit Revell have done all of us a huge favour. It is currently the best kit of this aircraft in 1/72, and coupled with the excellent decal

sheet is great value for money. Those few issues experienced during the construction process should not deter any modeller with a medium level of basic skills, and as far as new starters in the hobby are concerned it could also be a great introduction to a more ‘involved’ approach to modelling. With minor investment into aftermarket parts (or even without it) this kit has all the potential to become an award winning masterpiece.

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Are you Ready for Freddy…? Modelling Zvezda’s Bf 109F-2

By James Griffiths

Sprue shots courtesy of Cybermodeller

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he sea of grey plastic sprue which greets you when you lift the lid is quite impressive; there are a lot of parts compared to some of the other 109s available in this scale. Three sprues, plus a separately bagged clear one, are all bristling with finely moulded and detailed parts. The fold-out instructions are very clear and the Russian text is translated underneath into English. The final page provides details of the four decal options contained on the surprisingly undersized decal sheet.

Construction One of the options in the kit is to build the engine cowlings open and the DB 601N on full display - who can resist that? The whole first page is concerned with the building, painting and mounting of the engine, although I found it best to leave it off the

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TECH DATA SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 4802 TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic MANUFACTURER: Zvezda UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company US IMPORTER: Dragon USA

final assembly until after painting to make masking easier. The cockpit comes next, and is a rather well detailed affair, the only things missing are seatbelts for those of us who don’t put the pilot figure in. There is also a sink hole in the bottom of the seat, which is quite difficult to fill. Once the fuselage halves are together, the bulkhead for the engine mount needs to be fitted, and this proved a little problematic

Zvezda also kit the Friedrich in 1/144 – a kit designed for wargamers, but nonetheless nicely executed More recently the kit has emerged as an F-4

as the instructions aren’t 100% clear as to its location and I ended up with mine too high and it had to be cut out and refitted later. Something to keep an eye on there. The wings are very detailed with internal spars and different tips depending on the variant being built. Flaps, slats, elevators and rudder are all separate so can be posed deflected to represent an aircraft at rest (or indeed flight as suggested in the instructions - stand sold separately!) The four paint schemes provide a

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selection of the almost endless colour options found on the 109 series, and I’m sure many of these will show up at model shows across the country. Three of the schemes are ‘namers’ and all four are striking and standout options. The paint numbers suggested are all in Model Master numbers, with no RLM codes, but after a bit of research I was able to determine the correct colours for

In 1/72, Zvezda have released a ‘snap together’ kit of the Bf 109F. This is one of their range of remarkably detailed kits that ‘snap together’ better than some mainstream kits assemble

The decals omit much of the stencilling – although little enough of this is evident in many contemporary images, either wearing off, being painted over and not replaced, or being so unobtrusive as to be unnoticeable in this scale in any case

Maj. Hannes Trautloft, in a Grünherz scheme. The decals are nicely printed and have good strong colour separation, although in places there is a little bit of a register problem, mainly with the red ink, but this wasn’t too much of a problem on my chosen colour scheme. There isn’t a lot of stencilling, making the application a quite short and pleasurable exercise.

Conclusion With its cowlings open and engine on display, without the need for aftermarket enhancements, this kit is a worthwhile addition to anyone’s stash and a reasonably priced one for the amount of plastic in the box. The kit has also been produced now as an F-4, and the number of spare parts suggest other variants in the future, which can only be a good thing! This kit is recommended to all but the complete novice, and offers plenty of scope for those wishing to try their hands at super-detailing. www.sampublications.com August 2013

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Edited by Paul Bradley

Our Monthly look in the Attic!

Revell/Monogram 1/48 T-6 Texan Reno Air Racer Miss Behavin’ By Dick Clark

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he North American T-6 Texan/Harvard needs little introduction. This famous trainer has been operated by over sixty air forces and navies as an advanced trainer since the early 1940s. It has served as a groundattack platform in bush wars, as faux-Japanese fighter/bombers in films such as Tora! Tora! Tora!, as a popular ‘war bird’ in countless air shows around the world, and even has its own class at the famous Reno Air Races. This excellent kit was first released by Monogram in 1979, although this boxing dates from 1990 - another version is in the current Revell catalogue. This version represents one of the most successful T-6 racers, Miss Behavin’, in 1989 livery. She was originally delivered to the RCAF as BuNo

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

ALSO USED EDUARD FE121 etch set (for Occidental kit) EDUARD EX202 mask set (for Italeri kit)

2914, Brought on Charge on 27th February 1941, not to be Struck Off until September 1960. From 1963 onwards she passed through several private owners until acquired by Gifford Foley and Garson Fields in 1987. Tragically, Gifford Foley fatally lost control during an air display over Lake Erie, at Buffalo NY; the accident investigation found the probable cause of the accident to be physical impairment due to the use of an over-the-counter antihistamine. I would

The box-top; did Revell ever produce the white-liveried version in the back-ground?

The year of production embossed on the lower wing section

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guess this model was released before the accident. The model has very good detail, even by today’s standards. Surface rivet and panelline detail is raised but very fine. Raised panel lines may be considered more appropriate anyway, since the panels on T6’s are lapped over one another. Interior detail is comprehensive, if a little chunky. The clear parts on this example were slightly fogged but came up well with a polish and dip in Klear. Unfortunately, the model is moulded in red plastic which is horrible to work with. This was a model that came together over a long period. Bought at Scale ModelWorld at Telford in 2011, it languished in the stash for over a year. The interior was partly built, then the build put aside while other more pressing projects were undertaken. On resuming the build I decided to add some etch, mainly for want of seat belts. Consequently not all has been used; the kit instrument panels were already installed and looked good with drybrushed details. I was unable to determine much about the interior of this particular aircraft, but the interior framing appears to be light grey in some photographs, so this was used for most of the interior. Details were picked out as seemed appropriate. The mostly-assembled interior was fitted to the right fuselage half, leaving the portside framing until last. This proved to be rather a troublesome fit, leading to problems further down the line when closing up the fuselage. Despite all my best efforts, I could not close up the panel immediately forward of the cockpit; I never did figure out why I had this difficulty, but it was the cause of further problems later on when I came to add the panel that covers this up. This was, in fact, the only area that needed any significant filler. The fitting for the horizontal stabilizers is excellent, with long tabs which go right through the fuselage to locate in the opposite slot. I found the same system on Revell’s Razorback P-47D featured previously. I think it is a really good set-up and wonder why it hasn’t been more widely taken up. The wing uppers fit onto a one-piece lower. The inner pitot was not fitted to this aircraft, but this is not indicated in the instructions. For once the flaps, as supplied, are dropped; fitting them closed would entail removal of the locating tabs on the flaps. This would make the decals easier but I went with the dropped option. I used the kit engine but with added etch wiring harness to improve the look. With the basic assembly completed, the canopy was masked using the Eduard set intended for the Italeri kit. This was not an exact fit, so some sections were masked with Bare-Metal Foil instead. When I started painting something very strange happened. I had originally

intended undercoating in white, then masking off the white stripes. But however many coats of white primer I applied, I just could not stop the red of the plastic showing through. It was as if some element of the plastic was leeching into the paint, giving the model a pink hue. Even when I tried sealing it with grey primer, then over-spraying that with white, it still had a pink tinge! So I decided to just spray the red top-coat (Humbrol Red 19 Acrylic Spray) and use the kit decals, but as I feared, the decals proved not to be perfectly opaque and the red tended to show through slightly - though not as badly as it did with the white paint. This bleed-through became more of a problem with the wheels. In the end, I used the white circle decals supplied as a basedecal for RAF roundels with an Xtradecal aftermarket set. These were not a perfect fit, being of slightly larger diameter, so the tyres still had to be touched in by brush around the edges. Of course, the wheel masks supplied with the Eduard set could not be used as they would have pulled the decal off when they were removed. So the wheel hubs are not the perfect discs I would have liked. The interiors of the wheel wells, which appear to be white in photographs, still have a distinctly red tinge. I suppose one advantage of using the decals for the wide white stripes is that their density does match all the other white decals. They’re all equally slightly transparent! Not being modern decals, they’re not perfectly legible, either, so the words cannot be read. But they’re a good attempt, given when they were made. Incidentally, I tried to find contemporary photographs of Miss Behavin’, but could not find any in this exact livery. However, I did discover that small details of her paint

changed from season to season, so I felt I had to accept that the markings supplied were accurate once upon a time! The final touch was to replicate the chrome of the spinner using Plasti-kote

Cockpit interior built into the right fuselage half, with the problemcausing left side frame still to be added. Etch seat belts are also yet to be fitted The cockpit assembly fitted and the fuselage closed up, showing the section in front of the cockpit which gave me so much trouble. Dick never did figure out what was preventing this from closing up properly The ingenious method of fitting the horizontal stabilizers accurately. Why hasn’t this been more widely adopted?

E5408 Chrome Effect spray. This needs about a week to cure fully, otherwise you’ll get fingerprints if you so much as think about touching it! But the effect is cool. And there she is; a very unusual and striking Texan, and another addition to my growing collection of 1/48 racing planes. There are myriad different schemes for Texan/Harvards and, despite being nearly thirty-five years old, this kit is still in production and is a good, cheap-enough representation to build whole squadrons of ‘em. Go get one today!

Showing the step created by the failure of the forward fuselage to close up properly. This was the only area needing any significant filling, though Dick managed to blend it smooth without losing too much of the raised detail.

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The Monster under the Bed (Part 6) – The Final Conflict! By Antique Andy Hazell

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ike two prize fighters slugging it out in the final round, the ‘Big Hurricane’ and I have reached the end of the road, punch drunk, it seems like it could still go either way on a points decision, as neither is as yet prepared to yield. Despite finishing on a high last month with main airframe painted and decaled, the killer blow is actually proving very difficult to deliver, as the ‘Beast’ still has a few bits of final fancy footwork left in it! Why is it that, even with the bulk of a challenging project completed, the final bits of detailing and finishing off always prove so difficult? I think it is a fear of having got so close to the finishing post, there is a dread of screwing up on the final furlong and ruining months of hard work. Without doubt the two biggest worries were the canopy and the undercarriage. The Monster is a truly heavy beast, and there was simply no way the plastic undercarriage legs supplied in the kit were going to support that weight. Therefore I acquired a set of metal upgrades from Scale Aviation Conversions. The problem is that these are for the Trumpeter kit and are about 4mm shorter than the Airfix items. This was enough to make a difference when the undercarriage doors were fitted as they nearly covered the whole wheel and touched the deck. Being no stranger to metal bashing, as pre-war motor bikes are a

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Andy used aftermarket fishtail exhausts – can readers confirm whether this airframe used them? passion of mine, I drilled out the top of the legs and inserted some metal dowels to raise the height by the required amount; problem solved. I used the remaining Airfix undercarriage parts, modified where required, to complete the job. I used the kit wheels with the famous rubber tyres as no alternatives are available, but I am not sure I would have replaced the kit parts even if I had the opportunity as when finished the final result looks perfect - just as if it was intended to be like that in the first place. Galvanised with success, I gave the canopy a couple of coats of Johnson’s Klear The replacement Scale Aircraft Conversions metal landing gear adds strength to the model

to protect the clarity and them masked it with hand cut tape masks. I applied a couple of coats of Interior Green first. The Dark Green top camo coat was applied, then I gave the canopy a couple of coats of Klear, followed by some matt acrylic varnish from a rattle can. This was not because I was going to apply any decals to the canopy - I just wanted to follow the same painting process as used on the main airframe to ensure continuity of colour. With all these coats applied, the masks were removed. The remaining parts, propeller, radio mast and cockpit door in the open position to show off all the extensive detail, were quickly painted up and fitted. Which brings us to the final point of controversy, the exhaust stacks! My younger self had really botched these up during one of the earlier build attempts. What to do? Attempt to resurrect them? (unlikely); buy another kit just for exhausts? (unaffordable); make up some from scratch? (incapable). Surfing the net revealed that Grey Matter Figures produce a set of 1/24 fishtail exhausts for the Spitfire

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and Hurricane, problem solved! Well maybe not - fishtail exhausts were only standardised from the Hurricane Mk II onwards, although some late Mk Is are seen in pictures with them fitted. Now as my Big Hurricane is a Mk I as depicted in late November 1940, I have taken a punt and fitted fishtails. I know I am now likely to be shot down in flames by the purists and accuracy buffs, but I really had no other option. That is unless some kind reader can come to my rescue with photographic evidence of P2961 sporting fishtails? So my 40-year, (well 39 years, 5 months and 15 days, not that I am counting…) odyssey has finally come to an end. My third attempt at building the ‘Monster under the Bed’ is completed. It really has been a titanic contest that has challenged, frustrated, elated and, at times, confounded me. However, and this is in no way meant to seem arrogant, the Big Hurricane is without

doubt my greatest modelling achievement. It is the only project where all my efforts have come so completely together at one time. There is not a single thing I would have done differently or anything that I am not totally happy with. I may have in fact reached Modelling Nirvana! How fitting that this was achieved with a Christmas present bought for me in 1973 by my grandmother - I wonder, if looking down from above, she approves? So is this the end of the story? Not quite. The Hurricane is finished and I am now two stone lighter than when I first started six months ago. My stomach is much improved, although I will be on medication for the foreseeable future. Yet something is still in reality rumbling, no not my stomach, for under the bed sits, and has done for the last decade... the 1/24 Spitfire and Bf 109E... could it be... the revenge of the Airfix Superkit??

The canopy was masked with hand-cut masks

The excellent aftermarket upgrades used in the build were as follows: • Resin fishtail exhausts by Grey Matter Figures (Set GMAA2409) • Metal undercarriage leg upgrade set by Scale Aircraft Conversions (Set 24001) • Etched brass seatbelts by Eduard (Set ED23005) • Instrument panel decal by Airscale (Set AS24HUA) • Decal sheet by Aviology, Vital Storm-Early Hurricanes Pt1 (Set AOD240071) The references used during the project were as follows: • The Battle of Britain (Camouflage and Markings 1940) – The Aviation Workshop Publications Ltd, 2010 (ISBN: 978–1– 904643-36-1) • Hurricane at War – Grange Books 1977 (ISBN: 1 84013 302 3) • Combat Colour Number 2: The Hawker Hurricane 1939 to 1945 –Guideline Publications 2001 (ISBN: 0-9539040-4-0) • British Warplanes of World War II –Grange Books 1998 (ISBN: 1–84013– 391–0)

the GALLERY Terry Coxall, from Colorado USA, sent photos of his Airfix Bristol Superfreighter conversion. Using the Magna Models resin conversion set, he backdated the kit to represent a Bristol Freighter 31M of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Terry tells me ‘I did follow the Magna conversion kit instructions to the letter. The parts fit precisely as advertised. The CanMilAir decals were outstanding and were accompanied by several excellent photographs of the actual aircraft that were invaluable for antenna configurations and locations, as well as the number and location of windows.’ Terry actually photographed this aircraft in France back in 1961! Many thanks to Terry for his submission. If you’d like to submit photos of your latest classic kit build, or even an article, please contact me at [email protected]

Terry Coxall’s splendid Airfix conversion

Using the Magna Models resin set, this model represents a Bristol Freighter of the RCAF in the early 1960s www.sampublications.com August 2013

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The ‘half-pint glass’ canopy for the ANT-25

The basic detail added to the Tupolev’s interior

The Farfarers The Man of Steel and the Iron Duke

I

have long thought, perhaps fancifully, that the vision of our world revealed in the famous pictures of Earth from the Apollo craft had its roots in the 1920s and 1930s, when engines and structures became reliable enough for aircraft to fly long distances non-stop and for their pilots and passengers to see the lands below in a new perspective. As the philosopher airman Saint-Exupéry put it, ‘The aeroplane has unveiled for us the true face of the earth’. The two builds in this article present quite different aspects of the desire, albeit in nationalistic guise, to fly great distances across the globe. I should say at the outset that neither individual aircraft I’ve built was a record-breaker. The Tupolev ANT-25 of the build almost established a record, and the Wellesley concerned was a development aircraft. I stuck with the subjects of the kits, rather than expend undue cost and effort, as departmental responses to MPs’ tiresome requests for information put it.

The ANT-25 ‘Excluding the aeroplane, there are three things alone, according to the proverb, which reach out beyond the edges of the world: the light of the sun, the darkness of the night, and the long arm of God’. To that list might be added, in the case of the ANT25, the long arm of Joseph Stalin, the ‘man of steel’. Soon after the Bolshevik Revolution, the

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Soviet Union realised the value of commercial aviation to the vast territories in its compass, such that by the early 1930s Aeroflot had established a network crisscrossing them. Realising the value of aviation as propaganda, Stalin set Soviet aviators the task of ‘flying farther than anyone, faster than anyone and higher than anyone’. Between 1933 and 1938, the USSR broke sixty-two international flying records and trumpeted the fact. In 1936 and 1937, the commitment in the nation to aviation converged, in what one writer has called the ‘Drang nach Norden’, the fascination with, and desire to exploit, the USSR’s Arctic regions. So came about the great polar flights of those years. One of the vehicles for these was the ANT-25, designed by Andrei Tupolev. It had a high aspect-ratio cantilever wing, of 112 feet span, and a single, 950hp motor. A powered glider, to an extent, similar in concept to the slightly earlier Fairey Longrange Monoplane. (Some sigh for a Merlin, or a kit of a Blackburn Blackburn: but for me it’s the Monoplane. I have the plans: what am I waiting for?) The ‘hero-pilot’ of the ANT-25 that my model represents was Valery Chkalov. Flying via the North Pole, he and his two crew, between June 18-20, 1937, made the first ever non-stop flight from Moscow to the USA. The 5,284 mile (in a straight line) flight took 63 hours and 25 minutes. Portland, Oregon was their planned destination, but critically low fuel forced the crew to search for a place to land safely and, they believed, to protect the

By Tony Grand

Fuselage and lower wing assembly come together Scratchbuilt fairings were made and fitted into the roof of the undercarriage bays

Fitting the upper wing on the ANT-25

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plane from souvenir hunters. Pearson Field, Vancouver, Washington State (a military airfield) was the closest and best solution. The plane was preserved and is on view in the Chkalov Museum, founded on the pilot’s premature death in 1938, next to his birthplace. There is a fine walk-around of the plane on the web. The Soviet Union captured the straight-line record with a second ANT-25, which flew from Moscow to San Jacinto, California, a distance of 6,262 miles, arriving on July 14th, 1937. I didn’t expect there to be a kit but Hannants have it: Eastern Express, a snip at 20GBP. Someone on the web said the flash on this ‘kit would make a strong man weep’. That’s quite an inadequate description. Imagine a vacform after you’ve cut it out roughly: and then imagine the rough edges as very thick injection-moulded plastic. Bring me my power sander! Having thus exaggerated a little for effect, I can say that the (white) plastic is thick but soft, so the excess is easily removed. The outline of the kit is generally accurate according to plans I found online, as is the detail, if a little basic. The kit instructions are simple and adequate. There are few parts, so the build can be relatively rapid. After cleaning up the parts, I dry-fitted the fuselage halves and discovered that the integral fin is much too thick. The easiest way to correct this was filing and sanding the outer surface of the two halves to the correct cross-section, using the photos on the walk-around as a guide. Before I started work on the cockpit, I decided to produce a replacement pilot’s canopy, crash-moulding over the kit item, which looks like it’s made from a half-pint glass. This turned out surprisingly well. The fact that it was actually transparent made some detail in the cockpit imperative, nothing being provided in the kit. The plans had drawings of the cockpit sides, the pilot’s and navigator’s instrument panels. Those, and side views of the seats for pilot and navigator, enabled me to furnish the two offices to a minimal level. In the walk-around there is a photo taken through the canopy but I found this too confusing to work from. A photo of the pilot’s panel turned up, typically, after I’d closed up the fuselage. There are no location pins for the latter but that presents few problems. At this point I added a couple of pieces of brass louvre, picked up at a model railway exhibition, to represent the radiator. Not absolutely prototypical but better than the scratches in the plastic presented by the mould-maker. You can now fit the lower wing. A little surgery here. First, the openings for the main gear bays have a fairing at their rear, I suspect to reduce drag around the semiprotruding wheels. Now, from my perusal of contemporary photos, ANT-25 serial NO25 (my model) did not have those fairings, whilst they are present on the actual record-breaker, NO25-1. (The current condition of NO25 in the museum seems to confirm this, but the plane is some seventyfive years old.) I therefore removed them. Second, the walk-around photos show the

bays to be at least partially roofed in, whilst the kit has merely a rather odd strip to fit above the wheels. I decided to have a stab at reproducing the fairing above the wheels and therefore made four crashmouldings, looking like spats, using a kit wheel, cut out one side of each, then glued the appropriately handed sides together. When trimmed, fixed with copious superglue and painted, they don’t look half bad. Fitting the upper wing halves requires some care without location pins, so I did it a little at a time with superglue and clothes pegs. You will find that the rear of the wing fillet is rather thick, so it and the wing root need ‘gentle’ blending in (ahem). The trailing edges of the wings are quite a subtle shape, with protruding flaps. The mould-maker did his best, but the moulding process didn’t match his Considerable refinement was done on the rudder and tailplane Thin metal was used to represent the cooling louvers

subtlety. So, you may need to fill in gaps and restore with superglue/filler. The walkaround shows that the rudder is mounted with a distinct gap, which reveals a series of openings in the rear edge of the fin. I imitated these and then used thick fusewire to represent the rudder mountings and attachment points for the bracing wires for the horizontal tail surfaces. Some attempt has been made in the kit to represent the contours of the undersurface of the nose, but using the walk-around as a guide I added a thin metal shim to imitate the cooling gills. The main building process was now complete. The painting instructions are basic: red, blue and aluminium. Here we get into one of those circles of confusion. We have the colours of the preserved plane but it has been repainted recently, so how authentically? The plans concur with the kit instructions but what do these colours mean? I recently read a book on language which shows how disparate are the ways cultures refer to colour. Homer never used ‘blue’ for the sky: he called it ‘bronze’ and his sea is famously ‘wine dark’. Looking up the Russian word for ‘blue’ used on the plans, I find that it means ‘a dark blue, sometimes royal blue, and a better general term for blue if you're in some way hardpressed for a single word’. So, I used Humbrol 15, Midnight Blue, as it seemed a reasonable match to the museum colour. Aluminium? The museum colour is on the photos a strange, whitish silver, so I decided to use Humbrol 56, Aluminium Dope, which looks very like the one contemporary photo of NO25 that I have found. Red? I went for Insignia Red but, as it

Painting almost complete. Canopy framing under construction using silver decal

was the only one I had in stock, made the mistake of using Xtracolor, which takes days and days to cure, if brush-painted, as in this case. It looks rather smart, though. I fitted the transparencies before painting the blue stripe along the fuselage spine, blending them in with white glue before painting. For the framing on the pilot’s canopy, I used Hannants’ silver decal strip, a technique which works very well, if you lay it on Klear and seal it in with the same. Time to fit the smaller parts, like the undercarriage, the exhausts and the loop antenna. Only at this point did I discover that the navigator’s canopy, far from being

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Scratch-detailing under way on the Wellesley

The completed Wellesley interior

open at the rear as I had thought, had a fairing to which the loop was attached. (I’d never have made a photo-interpreter…) Some scrap plastic did the job. And if anyone can suggest what the gubbins represents, looking like three oldfashioned car horns, adjacent to the loop, on the port side, I’d be very grateful. The decals are few but accurate representations. They are delicate, however, and the long text broke up on both sides, having to be coaxed back together. It reads: ‘Stalin’s Marshrut’ the latter word coming from the German for ‘marching route’ and means ‘route, itinerary, path, course’. Replete with meaning, in the context. The insignia on the wings also broke up and as they are very matt, no amount of sitting them on Klear, applying setting agent or sealing them with Klear made any difference. The last jobs were fitting the bracing wires (lycra thread) and the wire antenna (a human hair). All in all, I’m pleased with the result, another ‘What on earth is that?’ for my shelf.

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The Wellesley ‘Trust the Brits to name two planes after the same guy!’ was a remark I found on the web. Fair comment. The R100 airship, the Wellesley, Wellington, Warwick and Windsor bombers: all associated with Barnes Wallis, each making use of geodetic construction. A geodetic is the shortest line that joins two points on the surface of a sphere: very apt in the case of the aircraft that was the last before WWII to establish a straight-line distance record. The Wellesley (together with the Battle) was seen as an interim type, pending the entry into service of more advanced aircraft, which were, perhaps strangely to our minds, the Hampden, Wellington and Whitley. Service trials began in early 1937.

The success of my beloved Fairy LongRange Monoplane in establishing, in February 1933, a distance record, from Cranwell to South Africa, encouraged the RAF to form a permanent unit to develop long-range flying. The Long Range Development Unit (LRDU) was formed on January 1st, 1938 and allocated five Wellesleys, as an aircraft which could easily take additional fuel tankage. K7717, the subject of this build was the aircraft allocated to serve as a test-bed for some of the LR Wellesley’s special features. K7717, modified with a three-blade, constantspeed propeller (to help optimise fuel consumption), a NACA long-chord cowling to aid cooling and a new fairing to match it to the front fuselage, flew on January 21st, 1938. Flight-testing was successful enough to encourage a test flight (July 4th-8th, 1938) of the five Wellesleys to Ismailia (City of Beauty and Enchantment, according to the Egyptians) on the west bank of the Suez Canal. This flight in turn encouraged a record-breaking attempt by three of the aircraft, from Ismailia to Darwin, Australia, between November 5th-7th, 1938. All three made Darwin, two non-stop. The FAIratified distance was 7,157.7 miles. The record stood till 1945, when it was superseded by a B-29, flying from Guam to Washington DC. There is only one kit, as I write, by Matchbox, in 1/72, though Valom has announced 1/72 kits of both the bomber and an LRDU plane for June 2013. The kit allows you to build a bomber or K7717, the LRDU development plane. Mike Grant’s build of the bomber was featured in SAMI in 2010. Mike rightly sang the kit’s praises: simplified but accurate, sharply moulded and with a very convincing representation of the geodesic structure under the fabric. I bought it on eBay, for a tenner, another one having gone for £20 the day before. Mike (who did his build more or less OOB) tells you all you need to know about the basic build, namely that it’s very straightforward and that almost the only

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filler you’ll need is where the alternative forward fuselages meet the common rear. I will, therefore tell you what I did to add detail to the kit. The kit pilot has a very simplified seat and I scratchbuilt a new one, working from the very detailed cutaways I found on the web: one from The Aeroplane, 1938, the other from an unidentified French publication, the illustrator being Julian Robanescu. The kit instrument panel is fine if you paint the dials and it’s hardly visible anyway through the canopy. There seemed from contemporary photos to be little in the way of other instrumentation in the cockpit (that being in mid-fuselage with the flight engineer), so I merely added cockpit walls, with a few plastic strip stringers, and the heavy duty fuselage frame behind the pilot. That is connected to the geodesic framework of the main fuselage by a curved ‘beam’. That beam and a portion of the geodetics are so evident through the rear of the cockpit canopy that it had to go in. Perusing the cutaways, I worked out what the arrangement would be and, by using a piece of flexible wire, produced a kind of French curve to make a pattern for the ribs and the beam, using thin aluminium shim. It looks good enough through the canopy, which is a little thick and distorting but accurate, such that it wasn’t worth trying to crash-mould a new one or splash out on the Falcon canopy (in a set). I added a fuselage floor, a suggestion of the geodesics along the fuselage and a couple of instrument panels, all effectively invisible. At this point, I prepared the engine and cowling. As Mike Grant says, the kit Pegasus is quite serviceable but I decided to go aftermarket, using a CMK item. Very nicely detailed. The cowling fits on the front of the fuselage too snugly to be prototypical, so I sanded that down a little to allow a slight gap. It was added after the main painting was complete. After closing up the fuselage and a little

The Matchbox kit is noted for the fine representation of the internal structure under the fabric Valery Chkalov

Conclusion making good of seams, I fitted the canopies and side windows, masking them off with Tamiya tape. Some grey primer and then the three-colour camouflage: black underside, Dark Green and Dark Earth upper. The black was a Tamiya rattle can, the Green a Humbrol can and the Dark Earth a Humbrol enamel tinlet, brushpainted. Most of the decals proved not to have been withered by their age and I used them all except the roundels, which were a little scuffed. The replacements came from an Almark sheet. Now, the code number ‘148’ is Sky in the decals but the colour side view in the Warpaint book states it is white. However, the large, clear picture of K7717 in that book shows that the numbers are not the same tone as the white of the roundel. I therefore stuck with the kit items. The only kit decals I had any trouble with were the logos for the prop blades. I couldn’t get them to lie down, so I omitted them. Time to fit the undercarriage, the antenna mast and the pitot tube. I stuck with the kit main u/c fairings, though they are over thick. Also, I did contemplate opening up the main undercarriage bays (just shallow, though accurate, depressions in the kit) as the cutaways were detailed enough to do this and I even sourced some nice brass Warren truss…The wire antenna is, again, a human hair. Strong and easily available! One last thing, which puzzles me. The rear canopy has the large aperture for the machine gun of the bomber and I cannot see that it was covered in, in any way. Pretty draughty for 7,000 miles!

Another representation for my shelves of episodes in history of which I was not aware just a few months ago. Two kits which offered satisfying modelling opportunities and once again, the power of the Web in providing detail, for both planes, which I would have been hard put to find elsewhere.

References

The contemporary colour photo of NO25

• A Welcome Wellesley: Mike Grant, SAMI January 2010 • Vickers Wellesley: Ian White, Warpaint Series No.86 • Farther and Faster: Aviation’ Adventuring Years, 1909-1939: Terry Gwynn-Jones • Red Arctic: Polar Exploration and the Myth of the North in the Soviet Union 1932-1939: John McCannon • http://walkarounds.airforce.ru/avia/rus/ tupolev/ant-25/index.htm • http://www.vchkalov.ru/eng/article/ read/flyonant.html (Official site of the Chkalov Museum)

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MODELLERS Portfolio

Now under development – a brand new tool Viggen in 1/48!

The Viggen was phased out in favour of the JAS 39 Gripen, with the last front-line aircraft being retired in November 2005

Modellers Portfolio

Viggen in Time

Saab JA 37 taken in February 2004. A total of 110 of the original, ground-attack optimized variants, the AJ 37 were built, with the first operational unit established in 1972 (Rob Vogelaar)

A new kit at last of the Swedish Thunderbolt Scale Plans and Profiles by Chris Sandham-Bailey

A

nnounced last week in our Czech Out news section, MPM’s long-overdue 1/48 new kit of the Saab Viggen will cover both the J/A 37 and the two-seater SK 37 versions. Hitherto a scarcity in plastic, the kit is being developed in conjunction with Tarangus, whose stunning Lansen was featured in these pages last year. The Viggen was initially developed as a replacement for the Lansen in the attack role and later for the Saab 35 Draken as a fighter. The aim was to produce a robust aircraft with good short-runway

performance that could be operated from numerous specially prepared roads and highways. Other requirements included supersonic ability at low level, Mach 2 performance at altitude, and the ability to make short landings at low angles of attack. Saab selected a conventional delta wing with a small, high-set canard foreplane. The final proposal was accepted in September 1962, and the first prototype made its maiden flight in February 1967. Modellers Portfolio is pleased to present a selection of artwork covering the type, in anticipation of what promises to be a stunning kit of this attractive and charismatic aircraft.

The combination of the delta wing and the additional canards made for a manoeuvrable design

The Viggen saw its initial service in a natural metal scheme, later receiving an elaborate disruptive camouflage scheme for the AJ/SF/SH/SK variants and the first twenty-seven JA aircraft

A stunning splinter scheme adorns this two-seat Viggen. In order to make room for the second cockpit, one fuel tank and some avionics were removed. The radar was also omitted limiting the weapons load to gun pods and unguided rockets

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Modellers Portfolio

01 Saab JA 37DI Viggen 37412 / 12-4 The immaculate Black Knight Viggen of F4, also known as Darth Vader! Specially painted, for the Viggen Knight Order, painted in this scheme November 2008

02 Saab JA 37D Viggen 37432 F16-32 Blå Petter (Blue Peter) Painted in the summer of 2000. The colours that were used came from a civilian paint manufacturer, and the blue is of a water-based variety. That means that the aircraft can fly only in good weather

03 Saab JA 37D Viggen 37303 F17-03, The unit started conversion from the Saab Draken in September 1982 and 17-03 was one of the first aircraft received

04 Saab JA 37D Viggen

05 Saab JA 37DI Viggen 37386 F4-46 (cn 37386) Special colours, to mark the end of an era. 1st squadron at F4 converting to the Gripen. Are Östersund (Östersund - Froson) (OSD / ESNZ) Sweden, September 30, 2004, The Great Lake monster!

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

37333 F17-33, F17 Ronneby, September 1982. An interesting hybrid scheme, most of the aircraft being in the grey scheme whilst the nose retains the splinter scheme

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Messerschmitt Bf 110C

06 Saab JA 37C Viggen 37376 F36-4, regular visitor to RAF Fairford during the 1990s

07 Saab JA 37 Viggen 37379 F4-39. Many airframes were delivered straight to the units without having been to the paintshop first. This Viggen was in natural metal finish when it arrived at Östersund, 1983

08 Saab JA 37 Viggen 37410 F16-10. Displaying a distinctive red tail scheme, bearing the Indian-on-horseback badge of 3.FUkomp/F16 to mark the retirement of the Viggen. Having flown a total of 1944 hours 37410 made its final flight on 8th October 2003

09 Saab JA 37 Viggen

10 Saab JA 37 Viggen 37411 F16-11. Wearing a distinctive two-tone grey scheme with the 3.FU-komp/F16 badge of an Indian on horseback on the underside, unofficially the Mustang badge. The scheme was applied in June 2000, when 37411 was designated the official Flygvapnet Viggen display aircraft

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

37304 F21-01. A commemorative scheme worn by 37304 for its final flight on 9th August 2000. Hagbard (Hagar the Horrible) is the badge of 2.FU-komp/F17, then based at Ronneby. The aircraft was retained as an instructional airframe at Ronneby

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Modellers Portfolio

1/144 Scale Plans

AJ37

Saab Viggen Scale Drawings by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk

J37

J37 Top

SF37

SK37

J37 Under J37 Front

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MODELLERS Portfolio

Plans

1/72 Scale Plans Saab Viggen AJ37

J37

SF37

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Modellers Portfolio

J37 Under

J37 Front

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MODELLERS Portfolio

Plans

1/72 Scale Plans Saab Viggen Scale Drawings by Chris Sandham-Bailey/Inkworm www.inkworm.co.uk

J37 Top

SK37

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Modellers Portfolio

11 Saab JA 37 Viggen 37378 F4-38. Having had part of the rear fuselage replaced, 37378 operated briefly with the section in natural metal finish whilst based at Östersund in March 1999

12 Saab AJS 37 Viggen 37059 7-57. The first AJ 37 to enter service in Jaunary 1973 was initially operated in a natural metal finish when it was delivered to F7 (Gustav Blå) and the scheme was retained until at least the autumn of the year

13 Saab AJS 37 Viggen 37027 F10-57. Painted for the disbandment of 1.div/F10, based at Ängelholm, April 2000. Ghost and text are found on the squadron badge. The aircraft was later sent to the Flygvapen Museum in Linkoping

14 Saab AJS 37 Viggen

15 Saab SK 37 Viggen 37811 21-73. The only two-seater Viggen to wear the later two-tone grey scheme with dayglo red tail markings. Based at Luleå, 2005

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

37918 57-21. Following retirement the airframe was acquired by Newark Air Museum in June 2006, having flown in to Cranwell

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Messerschmitt Bf 110D

16 Saab SK 37 Viggen 37809 09-FC. Standard splinter camouflage scheme with extra dayglo noseband that was carried by some twoseat aircraft

17 Saab AJSF 37 Viggen 37950 21-48. Reconnaissance version of the Viggen, one of two that visited Reccemeet at Florennes EBFS, Belgium, July 2003

18 Saab AJSF 37 Viggen 37950 21-48. The same reconnaissance aircraft. But wearing the special Akktu Stakki (Lonesome Wolf) scheme to mark the retirement of the type in April 2005

19 Saab JA 37D Viggen

20 Saab JA 37D Viggen 37445 17-45, typical grey scheme for the JA 37D, took part in exercise Baltic Link in August 2000

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

37402 21-02. Special scheme to commemorate the retirement of the JA 37 from service in June 2004. The cog at the base of the tail represents the maintenance unit (kompagni). The yellow and blue are for the two units (2.div/F21 & 3.div/F21) which flew the type for the longest period. The final flight of 21-02 was on June 17th 2004

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TYPHOON Mk.Ib EARLY CAR DOORS

18.50 €

TYPHOON Mk.Ib EARLY / MID CAR DOORS

18.50 €

SWORD 1/72 LOCKHEED T2V-1 SEASTAR

19.90 €

LOCKHEED F-94B STARFIRE

19.90 €

SPIT Mk Vc / RE.2001 BATTLE OF MALTA

19.90 €

NAKAJIMA KI-44-I SHOKI

19.90 €

AICHI B7A2 GRACE

19.90 €

SPITFIRE Mk.XVIe INTERNATIONAL

19.90 €

T-28C TROJAN

19.90 €

T-28B TROJAN

19.90 €

GRUMMAN AF.2 GUARDIAN

FRENCH PILOT 1940 ACE

17.50 €

JAPANESE ACE SAKAI

17.50 €

ITALIAN ACE WWII SUMMER DRESS

16.00 €

ITALIAN ACE WWII WINTER DRESS

16.00 €

18.50 €

HAWKER TYPHOON Mk.Ib MID PROD

S.E. 203 AQUILON

6.30 € 13.90 €

SPECIAL HOBBY 1/72 SEAFIRE FR Mk.47 KOREAN WAR VOUGHT SB2U-1 VINDICATOR VOUGHT SB2U-2 VINDICATOR

22.90 € 21.90 € 21.90 €

FLY 1/72

HOBBY BOSS 1/72

VALOM 1/72

LAGG 3 4 SERIES

19.50 €

CURTISS BFC-2 GOSHAWK

IOM 1/72

149.90 €

18.90 € 34.90 € 18.90 € 19.90 €

A MODEL 1/48

26.90 € 26.90 € 26.90 € 31.90 €

RS MODELS 1/72 CURTISS F-11C-2 HAWK

SILVER WINGS 1/32

HOBBY BOSS 1/48 FW Ta 152 C-11 F4U-4B CORSAIR FW 190D-9 F8F-1B FRENCH BEARCAT

27.90 € 28.00 € 28.00 €

RV AIRCRAFT 1/72

HOBBY BOSS 1/32

69.90 € 69.90 € 75.90 €

17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 € 17.80 €

MPM 1/72 HPH 1/32

HANSA BRANDENBURG W.18 AUSTRIA HANSA BRANDENBURG W.18 YUGOSLAV HANSA BRANDENBURG W.23 GERMANY

18.90 € 18.90 € 18.90 € 18.90 € 12.90 € 12.90 € 18.90 € 18.90 € 18.90 € 18.90 €

MICRO MIR 1/48

KINETIC 1/48 IAI KFIR C2/C7 ALPHA JET A/E T-45 GOSHAWK E-2C US NAVY HAWKEYE 2000 A-6E INTRUDER C-2A GREYHOUND

VOUGHT F6U-1 PIRATE INTERNATIONAL VOUGHT F6U-1 PIRATE US NAVY GOTHA P.60C.1 WHAT IF ANSALDO S.V.A. 5 INTERNATIONAL LF-107 LUNAK LET LF-107 LUNAK MITSUBISHI KI-30 ANN PACIFIC WAR MITSUBISHI KI-30 ANN OVER CHINA SPITFIRE MK Vb RED STARS SPITFIRE MK Vb TROPICAL VERSION

13.90 €

10.90 € 10.90 €

MD 450 OURAGAN PATROUILLE DE FRANCE 20.90 € CAPRONI CAMPINI N.I

20.90 €

YAKOVLEV YAK-9 EARLY SERIES

17.50 €

DORNIER DO.335 PFEIL F2A BUFFALO BF 110 FIGHTER TUPOLEV TU-2 BOMBER MACCHI MC 200 SAETTA RAF GLADIATOR IL-2M3 STORMOVIK

10.90 € 9.90 € 10.90 € 10.90 € 8.50 € 9.50 € 9.50 €

ROTACHUTE MK.III US / ENGLAND 1942

11.90 €

AVIA BH-21J SKI VERSION

21.90 €

AVROCAR VZ-9

21.90 €

AVIA BH-21 BELGIAN AF

21.90 €

AVIA BH-21 CZECH AF

21.90 €

ANSALDO SVA-5 EARLY

21.90 €

ANSALDO SVA-5 LATE

21.90 €

WEB SITE WITH PAYPAL SECURE ORDER 24H/24H • ALL USUAL CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED • CURRENT STOCK LEVELS IN REAL TIME THESE ARE JUST A SELECTION OF THE 24,000’S OF HARD TO GET KITS WE HAVE • ORDERS ARE USUALLY DESPATCHED ON THE SAME DAY IF IN STOCK

www.specialeast.com

708-09-SAM-MDF19-F-111-DPS-August-2013_Layout 1 12/07/2013 17:30 Page 1

M DF 19

F-111 Aardvark

General Dynamics

F-111 ‘Aardvark’ AM Publications splits the skies ….with a brand new 176 page Modellers Data File featuring the iconic ‘swing-wing’ F-111. Building on our established MDF format, this all-new book is packed with concise user-friendly information, is lavishly illustrated with colour and mono images - many of which have been previously unpublished - has an unrivalled bumper section of technical diagrams, airframe details and colour profiles, together with fold-out scale plans, and a dedicated ‘Understanding the Type’ segment featuring each version of the F-111, which is an ideal companion for the dedicated ‘Model-

S

This book also corrects ling’ and ‘Kitography’ chapters, any errors of past works, and where the awesome Aardvark brings together for the first is detailed in all popular scales. (+p&p) in one volume the complete In this ‘Comprehensive Guide’, F-111 story, from the ‘TFX’ to the acknowledged author Anthony types ‘Last Hurrah’, and its nuts-andThornborough delivers just what a ‘Modbolts delivery conveys the power of the ellers Data File’ is meant to be, an in-depth look at the 562 completed F-111s that flew in all their F-111 in service, and gives you the smell of kerosene and grease at your fingertips! For many guises, focusing on the common and twenty years the F-111 stood on constant salient differences that existed between seven marks, numerous sub-marks and one-off modi- alert, went to War in Libya and Iraq, and now fications, along with the variety of standard and you can read the full story of this incredible all-weather attack jet in this superb new one-off acrylic lacquer sprays that adorned its MDF volume. zinc chromate epoxy–primed skin!

£19.99

Look Inside Chapter 1 – F-111A From Design to Combat in South East Asia

Chapter 9 – F-111F Libyan Raiders and Desert Stormers

Chapter 2 – NASA F-111’s AFTI, TACT and MAW Programmes

Chapter 10 – Modelling the F-111 in Popular Scales

Chapter 3 – F-111B The US Navy’s Failed Fighter

Chapter 11 – F-111 Walkaround

Chapter 4 – FB-111A Silver Bullet Bombers

Chapter 12 – Technical Diagrams

Chapter 5 – F-11C & RF-111C RAAF Service

Appendix I – Technical Specifications

Chapter 6 – F-111D The Digital Age

Appendix II – Kitography

Chapter 7 – F-111E Warsaw Pact Central Heating

Appendix III – Understanding the Type

Chapter 8 – EF-111A Electronic Warfare ‘Ravens’

Index

Secure online ordering at

www.sampublications.com

Order hotline +44 (0)1234 211245

708-09-SAM-MDF19-F-111-DPS-August-2013_Layout 1 12/07/2013 17:31 Page 2

£19.99 (+p&p)

MDF19 F-111 Order Form DELIVERY and PAYMENT Quantity Mr/Mrs/Ms Initials

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A Comprehensive Guide

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ISBN: 978-1-906959-11-1

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

M DF 19

F-111 Aardvark

710-FL-Corsair-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:36 Page 710

SAMI Spotlight First Look

Tamiya’s F4U Birdcage Corsair A fter producing Corsairs in both 1/72 and 1/48 it has been rumoured for many years that Tamiya would scale these up to 1/32. Well now these rumours have become a reality but Tamiya have done far more than just scale up their 1/48 tools. As is normal Tamiya have released what they expect to be the lowest-selling version first, which in the Corsair’s case is the F4U-1 with its birdcage canopy and lowered spine. This was the first version to see service with the United States Navy and Marines as well as the Royal Navy. Thanks to Tamiya’s UK importers Hobby Co we have received an advanced test copy of Tamiya latest 1/32 kit that is complete apart from instructions, which are provided as photocopies, and a plain box devoid of artwork. What is immediately noticeable on opening the box is that Tamiya seem to have achieved the impossible as the engraved detail is even better than the high standard they are already renowned for. This is especially noticeable on the fuselage, with a very fine rivet pattern so subtle that it is only visible when the light shines along the surface. Slide mould technology has been used on items like the exhaust pipes to produce a hollowedout effect that will look very effective once painted. Though many modellers would have been happy with just a scaled up 1/48 kit Tamiya have gone a lot further than that. A perfect example of this is the cockpit,

710 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

FIRST LOOK

TECH DATA SCALE: 1/32 KIT NO: 60324 TYPE: Injection Moulded plastic MANUFACTURER: Tamiya UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company US IMPORTER: Tamiya USA

which in complexity and detail rivals most resin aftermarket sets. This section comprises over sixty parts, including etched brass seat belts and reverse-printed decals for the instrument panels. These decals look like black dots on the instruction sheet but the dial detail is printed on the reverse side and will be applied to the rear of the clear pieces and really look the part once attached to the painted instrument panel. It is the same story in every area, from the wheel bays to the wing folds the detail is an improvement on its smaller-scale brother. The instructions are very clear as to what goes where and not surprisingly the first thirty-nine sections cover the assembly of the cockpit, engine and forward fuselage. The manual then splits into two separate sections, depending on whether you wish to display the wings spread or folded. The decal sheet supplies markings for two Marine and one Navy Corsair and these feature both the early blue/grey over grey lower surfaces and the later tricolour schemes that I normally associate with the type. A full set of kabuki tape masks is

supplied but these have to be cut from the sheet, unlike those produced by the aftermarket manufacturers. The decals are typical of those currently by Tamiya being far superior to those thick glossy ones that always came with Japanese kits, though not quite as good as those produced by aftermarket manufacturers. As well as full stencil detail you also get stencil plates for the undercarriage legs. So in conclusion, this kit is packed with state-of-the-art detail that for most modellers will mean that there is no need to purchase anything further from the aftermarket, though no doubt someone will quickly release a radome to produce the night fighting Corsair and clipped wing tips for the Fleet Air Arm versions, while Eagle Cal have already produced no fewer than three sheets with further marking options for other Birdcage Corsairs. A full build will feature in a future issue and we would like to thank Peter Binger of the Hobby Company for providing a sample of this kit ahead of its worldwide release.

711-ModelHobbies-0813-WP_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:09 Page 1

order hotline 0845 643 1304 www.modelhobbies.co.uk THESE ARE JUST A SELECTION OF THE 1000S OF KITS WE HAVE IN STOCK!

HOBBYBOSS 1/72 GERMAN DAMPFLOKOMOTIVE BR86HELICAT # 82914 HOBBYBOSS 1/48 F6F-3N

HOBBYBOSS 1/35 HUNGARIAN LIGHT TANK 43M TOLDIE AARDVARK III (C40) # 82479

HOBBYBOSS 1/48 F4U-4B CORSAIR A7D # CORSAIR 80388 II

£23.99 £21.59 #80350 £45.99 £41.39

#80344 £27.99 £25.19 £29.99 £26.99

HOBBYBOSS 1/72 SOVIET TU-2 BOMBER # 80298 TORNADO ECR

HOBBYBOSS 1/72 DORNIER DO335 PFEIL HEAVY # 80293 AIRFIX 1/72FIGHTER CURTISS SB2C HELL DIVER

HOBBYBOSS 1/72 MESSERSCHMITT BF110 FIGHTER # 80292 TRUMPETER 1/32 FAIREY SWORDFISH

£25.99£14.99 £23.39 #80340 £13.49

£8.99 £8.09 #80354 £39.99 £35.99

£8.99£5.99 £8.09 #02031 £5.39

HOBBYBOSS 1/35 DONG FENG MENG SHI 1.5T 1/48 SUKHOI SU-24M LIGHTTRUMPETER UTILITY VEHICLE SPECIAL FORCES

HOBBYBOSS 1/48 FOCKE-WULF FW190 D-9 PEGASUS #HOBBIES 817161/18 BELL X-1

#02835 £74.99 £67.49 £19.99 £17.99

#8802 £29.99 £26.99 £14.99 £13.49

HOBBYBOSS 1/700 USS NEW YORK LPD-21 83415 IDS BLACK ITALERI 1/72 #TORNADO

C-11MARCHETTI # 81704S.79 SPARVIERO ITALERI 1/72 SAVOIA

£32.99 £29.69 #1291 £10.50 £9.45

HOBBYBOSS 1/48 FOCKE WULF TA 152

£14.99 £13.49 #1290 £14.99 £13.49

£8.99 £8.09 #03208 £59.99 £53.99

HOBBYBOSS 1/72 US F2A BUFFALO # 80290 AIRFIX 1/72 BELL P-39Q AIRACOBRA

£8.99£4.99 £8.09 #01039 £4.49

HOBBYBOSS 1/700 USS BOXER LHD-4 ITALERI 1/48 BAE# HAWK T.1A RED ARROWS 83405

£32.99 £29.69 #2677 £26.50 £23.85

www.modelhobbies.co.uk Telephone 0845 643 1304

email [email protected] WE ALSO ACCEPT

ALL MAJOR CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS ACCEPTED

712-13-FL-He219-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:35 Page 712

SAMI Spotlight First Look

SWS 6

FIRST LOOK

Zoukei-Mura’s Uhu has landed

By Jack Trent

T

he Uhu has landed, and fans of the type are in for a real treat as not only is the level of detail as impressive as anything we have hitherto seen from this source, but the kit’s design seems to have been geared towards an easier build, and consequently a better finished product. Looking in the box there seem to be more composite parts than in some earlier releases, and while the essential nature of the kit remains true to ZM’s ideal – it is still designed along prototypical lines – it seems to this reviewer that an overall less daunting task awaits the builder for a finished model of the same, if not better quality. This kit has been exhibiting in prototypical form for the last year or so, and some found it remarkable that it was announced at the same time as Revell’s kit, but the two are worlds apart, and offer totally different modelling experiences. They also offer different variants, with this new kit depicting the A-0 and the Revell kit an A-7, so fans of the type can have the best of both worlds. A wide range of add-ons and accessories are available for the kit – or if the smaller scale is more your thing then you could always take your inspiration from this month’s Big Build and do it yourself! On to the kit itself – there are seventeen sprues offering 455 plastic parts, twenty transparent, three die-cast landing gear struts, and one metal nose weight. Decals are by Cartograph and are meticulously detailed, including a great many stencils and placards, and we are advised the language has been proof-read by a German speaker, so the kind of errors that sometimes creep into kits from this end of

712 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

the globe have been eradicated. The decals offer the aircraft flown by Hauptmann Ernst-Wilhelm Modrow, one of the most successful pilots on the type, who flew 109 missions as a night fighter pilot and was credited with thirty-three victories in the He 219. Add-on sets available have been commissioned from some of the most respected names in the industry, with Eduard, MDC, Master model and G-Factor all contributing, while a number of figure sets are also on sale to add life and scale to your model. Accessories available include: • Metal Undercarriage (G-Factor) • Weighted Tyres (Without Tread) • Weighted Tyres (With Tread) • Turned Metal Machine Gun Set (Master Model) • Turned Metal Antenna Set (Master Model) • Photo-Etched Interior Set (Eduard) • Photo-Etched Frame Set (Eduard) • Photo-Etched Access Panel Set (Eduard) • MG 151 Set (MDC) • MK 108 Set (MDC) • MK 103 (MDC) All in all another spectacular release from this unique manufacturer, and a kit full of character and interest that will build into a real eye-opener with astonishing ease!

713-Volks-0813-WP_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:09 Page 1

714-16-Previews-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:54 Page 714

SAMI Spotlight Previews

Previews

AMD Mirage IIIR/RZ/5F TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 721028 PRICE: £27.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 3 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 111, Clear 6, Resin 14 MANUFACTURER: PJ Productions UK IMPORTER: Hannants WEB: www.pj-production.be

MC 202/MC 205 Italian Aces

Douglas C-47 Skytrain

TECHNICAL DATA

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 1345

SCALE: 1/144 KIT NO: 308

PRICE: £14.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 6

PRICE: US$24.99 £16.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 1

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 96, Clear 4 (Two kits included)

PARTS: Plastic 33, Clear 1

MANUFACTURER: Italeri

MANUFACTURER: Roden

UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company

UK IMPORTER: Pocketbond

US IMPORTER: MRC

US IMPORTER: Squadron

This is a comprehensive kit-package including the High Planes plastic parts, along with some beautifully cast resin parts by PJ, a resin cockpit ladder and decals for three options. The resin includes a complete clear nose section, cast in solid resin and, full colour decal placement instructions.

SB2U-2 Vindicator

P-47D Thunderbolt TECHNICAL DATA

Caproni Ca310 Libeccio

TECHNICAL DATA

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 72257

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: A106

PRICE: US$24.75 £16.60 DECAL OPTIONS: 4

PRICE: £17.60 US$25.50 DECAL OPTIONS: 4

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 85, Clear 1, Resin 1

PARTS: Plastic 45, Clear 10, Etched 60

MANUFACTURER: Special Hobby

MANUFACTURER: Azur

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Squadron

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Squadron

Supermarine Seafire FR Mk 47 Hi-Tech

SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 2728

TECHNICAL DATA

PRICE: US$49.00 £25.50

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 72259

DECAL OPTIONS: PANEL LINES: Recessed

PRICE: US$27.75 £18.60 DECAL OPTIONS: 3

STATUS: Reissue

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 128, Clear 8

PARTS: Plastic 110, Clear 9, Etched 52

MANUFACTURER: Italeri

MANUFACTURER: Special Hobby

UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

US IMPORTER: MRC

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Squadron

Fairey Firefly Mk IV/V F-104 Starfighter Aerobatic Team

AH-1G Huey Cobra Attack Helicopter TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 7418 PRICE: US$26.25 £12.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 3 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 56, Clear 1, Etched 14 MANUFACTURER: AZ Model UK IMPORTER: Hannants US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

714 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 48041

TECHNICAL DATA

PRICE: US$45.00 £29.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 3

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 1344

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

PRICE: US£27.00 £12.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 1

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue

PARTS: Plastic 129, Clear5, Etched 2

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

MANUFACTURER: Special Hobby

PARTS: Plastic 61, Clear 2

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

MANUFACTURER: Italeri

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Squadron

UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company US IMPORTER: MRC

714-16-Previews-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:54 Page 715

Previews SAMI Spotlight

Hawker Typhoon Mk Ib TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 72006 PRICE: US$24.50 £13.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 4 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Tooling TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

Avrocar Racer X

Wessex HAS 3

TECHNICAL DATA

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 72017

SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 2732

PRICE: US$29.25 £20.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 1

PRICE: US$59.00 £29.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 3

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 23, Resin 17, Clear 2

PARTS: Plastic 126, Clear 7, Etched 16

MANUFACTURER: Fly

MANUFACTURER: Italeri

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

US IMPORTER: MRC

PARTS: Plastic 95, Clear 7, Etched 5 MANUFACTURER: Brengun UK IMPORTER: Hannants US IMPORTER: Roll Models/Sprue Brothers

2727 Spitfire Mk Vc

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 2727

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 72243

PRICE: US£45.00 £24.99

PRICE: US$24.75 £16.60 DECAL OPTIONS: 4

DECAL OPTIONS: PANEL LINES: Recessed

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

STATUS: Reissue

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 85, Clear 1, Resin 1

PARTS: Plastic 100, Clear 12, Etched 17

MANUFACTURER: Special Hobby

MANUFACTURER: Italeri

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Squadron

US IMPORTER: MRC

Vickers Vildebeest Mk IV

Me 410 Hornisse

TECHNICAL DATA

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 72243

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 074

PRICE: £29.99 US$56.50 DECAL OPTIONS: 3

PRICE: US£24.00 £11.25 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 50, Clear 6, Resin 9, Etched 47

PARTS: Plastic 98, Clear 5

MANUFACTURER: Special Hobby

MANUFACTURER: Italeri

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Squadron

US IMPORTER: MRC

Avrocar VZ-9 TECHNICAL DATA

Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb Trop TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 7220 PRICE: US$28.00 £11.69 DECAL OPTIONS: PANEL LINES: Recessed

SB2U-1 Vindicator

TECHNICAL DATA

Avrocar Racer X TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 72019

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 72014

PRICE: US$29.25 £20.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 1

PRICE: US$29.25 £20.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 1

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 23, Resin 17, Clear 2

PARTS: Plastic 23, Resin 17, Clear 2

MANUFACTURER: Fly

MANUFACTURER: Fly

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

STATUS: Reissue TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 57, Clear 2, Resin 2, Etched 3 MANUFACTURER: Admiral UK IMPORTER: Hannants US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

www.sampublications.com August 2013

| 715

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SAMI Spotlight Previews

Junkers Ju 86 D TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 114 PRICE: US$47.00 £21.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 3 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 112, Clear 5

B-57G Night Hawk Vought F6U-1 Pirate US Navy

TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 174

TECHNICAL DATA

PRICE: US$31.00 £14.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 7224

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue

PRICE: US$26.25 £12.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 3

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue

PARTS: Plastic 114, Clear 5

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

MANUFACTURER: Italeri

PARTS: Plastic 38, Clear 1, Etched 6, Resin

UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company

MANUFACTURER: AZ Model

US IMPORTER: MRC

UK IMPORTER: Hannants US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb ‘Red Stars’ TECHNICAL DATA

AH-1G Late Huey Cobra Attack Helicopter

MANUFACTURER: Italeri UK IMPORTER: The Hobby Company US IMPORTER: MRC

Rare but still highly regarded, the Italeri Ju 86D is presented in the same box and with the original sprues as the first version released in 1973. The hologram on the box includes the sequence number assigned to each kit as a guarantee of limited edition. Produced in the mid 1930s in both civil and military versions, this twin-engined bomber first fought with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. Although the

engines were unreliable, in 1942 it was taken back into front line service as a transport plane, in the desperate attempt to supply Von Paulus’ 6th Army besieged at Stalingrad.

North American T-28C Trojan

Jet Provost T 5/T 5A

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 48013

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 451

PRICE: US$51.75 £31.60 DECAL OPTIONS: 1

PRICE: US$42.00 £32.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 55, Clear 5, Resin 28

PARTS: Plastic 105, Clear 9

MANUFACTURER: Fly

MANUFACTURER: Roden

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

TECHNICAL DATA

UK IMPORTER: Pocketbond

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 7417

US IMPORTER: Squadron

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 7221

PRICE: US$26.25 £12.99

PRICE: £11.69 DECAL OPTIONS: 4

DECAL OPTIONS: PANEL LINES: Recessed

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue

STATUS: New Tooling

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 57, Clear 2, Resin 2, Etched 3

PARTS: Plastic 56, Clear 1, Etched 14

MANUFACTURER: AZ Model

MANUFACTURER: AZ Model

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

UK Importer: Hannants

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

Spitfire LF.Mk IXe ‘Red Star’ TECHNICAL DATA

Gotha P.60 C-1 Special Marking TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 7228 PRICE: US$26.25 £12.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 3 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 44, Clear 1 MANUFACTURER: AZ Model UK IMPORTER: Hannants US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

716 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: AZ 7420

Avrocar VZ-9

PRICE: US$26.25 £12.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 4

TECHNICAL DATA

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 72015

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PRICE: US$29.95 £20.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 1

PARTS: Plastic 57, Clear 1

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

MANUFACTURER: AZ Model

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

UK IMPORTER: Hannants

PARTS: Plastic 23, Resin 17, Clear 2

US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

MANUFACTURER: Fly UK IMPORTER: Hannants US IMPORTER: Sprue Brothers/Roll Models/Umm-USA

717-SAC-0813-WP_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:08 Page 1

Scale Aircraft Conversions White Metal & Resin Aircraft Parts Since 1990

32073 A-1 Skyraider Landing Gear (Trum)

48230 A-3 Skywarrior Landing Gear (Trum)

48231 Fw 190 Landing Gear (HB)

(improved for 1/32 Trumpeter) (set has refined main gear retraction arms)

(improved for 1/48 Trumpeter) (set has refined main gear shape)

48232 Spitfire PR.XIX Landing Gear (AX)

72063 F/A-18E/F Landing Gear (Has)

14414 B-52 Stratofortress Landing Gear (MI) (replacement for 1/144

(replacement for 1/48 Airfix)

(replacement for 1/72 Hasegawa)

Minicraft)

(replacement for 1/48 Hobby Boss)

Batman would be proud to be seen in this Black Beauty! ‘Feast yer eyes’ on Kinetic’s new 1/32 BAe Hawk skilfully rendered as a RCAF CT-155 by expert modeller, Brian Wakeman. In order to provide additional support for added ballast in that long nose, Brian elected to use SAC set no. 32071.

scaleaircraftconversions.com

718-19-Creative Times-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:53 Page 718

SAMI Spotlight Creative Times

Sponsored by Creative Models www.creativemodels.co.uk

Creative Times A selection of new releases now available B-52H Stratofortress

MiG-29 Fulcrum C 9-13

TECHNICAL DATA

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/144 KIT NO: 14641

SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: L4813

PRICE: US$44.99 £29.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

PRICE: US$78.75 £54.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 152, Clear 13

PARTS: Plastic 194, Clear 8, Etched 42

MANUFACTURER: Minicraft

MANUFACTURER: Great Wall Hobby

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

An interesting revision of the earlier kit, including an additional sprue with lumps, bumps and empennage for the contemporary H, along with decals for two aircraft from 2001. No weapons are included, apart from the historical loadouts that came in the original kit. These are present along with stands and decals, and the instructions do point out that they are

From Creative Models

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

incompatible with the modern version of the aircraft, but are provided ‘as a historic representation of typical B-52 loads’.

First impressions on opening this box are stunning. The moulded detail is exquisite,

and the packaging carefully contrived to preserve the parts, with the entire upper fuselage boxed separately inside. Best of all is the blister pack with the main missile loadout moulded, complete with fins, on individual sprues. An impressive package, with some innovative features, and a kit you will want to take some time over to make the most of!

Ta 152C-11 TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 81704 PRICE: £14.99 US$27.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 1 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 89, Clear 3, Etched

F-102A Case X

MANUFACTURER: HobbyBoss

TECHNICAL DATA

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: MNGDS-003

TECHNICAL DATA

PRICE: US$39.95 £21.99

SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 85-5322

DECAL OPTIONS: 3 PANEL LINES: Recessed

PRICE: US$19.95 £14.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

STATUS: New Tooling

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Reissue

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 94, Clear 5

PARTS: Plastic 73, Clear 5

MANUFACTURER: Meng Models

MANUFACTURER: Revell

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models US IMPORTER: Squadron

Soviet Tu-2 Bomber TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 80298 PRICE: US$16.19 £8.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 37, Clear 6 MANUFACTURER: HobbyBoss UK IMPORTER: Creative Models US IMPORTER: Squadron

Messerschmitt Bf 110 Fighter TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 80292 PRICE: US$16.19 £8.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 43, Clear 1 MANUFACTURER: HobbyBoss UK IMPORTER: Creative Models US IMPORTER: Squadron

This first boxing offers an ‘E’ with a separate upper nose section with the vent, and markings for two short-tailed options including a nightfighter in overall black.

718 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

Mr Leyland-Jones, with whom I have had some discourse this month, calls HobbyBoss ‘the new Matchbox’, a description pretty succinct, I think, for a company that has just released a Tu-2 in an easy assembly format. Snap-fit kits usually cover Spitfires, Bf 109s, and other mainstream types, but HobbyBoss are turning out these astonishing toolings at an amazing rate, and taking in some very welcome anomalies. The basic kits feature fine surface detail, minimal parts, and colour options and guides that make no concessions to the ‘beginner’. These are, effectively, regular scale replicas, and can be built and finished as such, and in many cases will yield a better result than some kits that we have accepted for decades. Interior detail and wheel wells are basic, but the potential is there for adding detail –

and to be honest many modellers who concern themselves with these areas would enhance or replace kit parts in any case. The Tu-2 kit features complete upper and lower airframe parts, with integral wings, one-piece nacelles, and clear well-moulded transparencies. It’s a nicely engineered set of parts, and with a UK price of £8.99 is well worth adding to your collection – especially given the scarcity of WW2 Soviet bombers on the market. How far you go with the kit is down to you. I like it!

718-19-Creative Times-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:53 Page 719

Sponsored by Creative Models www.creativemodels.co.uk

F-111E

Creative Times SAMI Spotlight

Lockheed RC-121 USAF

TECHNICAL DATA

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/144 KIT NO: 14650

SCALE: 1/144 KIT NO: 14645

PRICE: US$13.99 £6.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

PRICE: US$29.99 £20.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 32, Clear 1

PARTS: Plastic 66, Clear 1

MANUFACTURER: Minicraft

MANUFACTURER: Minicraft

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

This is a kit that will benefit from our new Datafile on the Aardvark. It’s an old tooling, short on detail in areas like the wheel wells and cockpit – which lacks any interior whatsoever – but the basic parts are there to get started on, and there is little other option. On the plus side the engraving is very restrained, and will be unobtrusive on the painted model, being far finer in this small scale than many contemporary kits in 1/72 that have far less justification…

The decal sheet is concise, and offers two options. No stencilling is provided, but, like panel lines, 1/144 is better off without all but the most obvious and unavoidable. In short, a project, but one worth undertaking, especially with the availability of weapons and stores and – of course – a good book on the subject!

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

The military Connies of the USAF and Navy offer some fascinating schemes and sinister appearances, and this is the scale to build them in. Minicraft’s latest boxing of this venerable kit still holds good, and now includes decals for two attractive bare metal options. The kit includes the dorsal and ventral radomes, separate wingtip tanks, and simply oozes charisma.

F-16A Fighting Falcon TECHNICAL DATA

MiG-25 Foxbat

SCALE: 1/144 KIT NO: 14598

TECHNICAL DATA

PRICE: US$13.99 £5.50 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

SCALE: 1/144 KIT NO: 14654

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

PRICE: US$13.99 £6.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 3

F4U-4B Corsair

Pilots of Luftwaffe WWII era

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: Revised Issue

TECHNICAL DATA

TECHNICAL DATA

PARTS: Plastic 32, Clear 1

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 80388

SCALE: 1/32 KIT NO: 3202

MANUFACTURER: Minicraft

PARTS: Plastic 31, Clear 1

PRICE: US$55.99 £29.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2

PRICE: US$19.95 £9.99 PANEL LINES: Recessed

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

MANUFACTURER: Minicraft

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

STATUS: New Tooling

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 198, Clear 11

PARTS: Plastic 28

MANUFACTURER: HobbyBoss

MANUFACTURER: HobbyBoss

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

UK IMPORTER: Masterbox

US IMPORTER: Squadron

US IMPORTER: Dragon USA

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

F2A Buffalo TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 80290 PRICE: US$16.19 £8.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 1 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 19, Clear 1 MANUFACTURER: HobbyBoss UK IMPORTER: Creative Models US IMPORTER: Squadron

F-102A Case X ‘George Walker Bush’

Dornier Do 335 Pfeil Heavy Fighter

TECHNICAL DATA

TECHNICAL DATA

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: DS-003

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 80293

PRICE: US$39.95 £24.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 3

PRICE: US$16.19 £8.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 1

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

PARTS: Plastic 94, Clear 5

PARTS: Plastic 21, Clear 1

MANUFACTURER: Meng Models

MANUFACTURER: HobbyBoss

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

This kit is the limited edition offered by Meng at IPMS Scale Model World 2012.

US IMPORTER: Squadron

Focke Wulf Fw 190D-9 TECHNICAL DATA SCALE: 1/48 KIT NO: 81716 PRICE: £14.99 US$27.99 DECAL OPTIONS: 2 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 118, Clear 5, Etched 6 MANUFACTURER: HobbyBoss UK IMPORTER: Creative Models US IMPORTER: Squadron

Engineered much along the lines of their Ta 152, this is a simple-looking kit to build, omitting the complexities of the Eduard kit, and offering some attempt at replicating the wheel wells correctly. There are still issues in this area, however, with detail sparse although the back of the engine is provided and there is scope for detailing further.

www.sampublications.com August 2013

| 719

720-25-Reviews-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:51 Page 720

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SAMI Spotlight Reviews

1/72

REVIEW

Gloster Gladiator Mk 1 (New Tool)

TECH DATA

W

hoever designed this kit deserves a solid pat on the back, because they obviously did their research on the subject itself and on previous Gladiator kits. Surface detail is quite lovely and Airfix seem to have suppressed their resident trench-digger. The plastic may be slightly soft for some and some may whinge about the large sprue attachment points. That said, where these need to be fine, they are indeed fine. As you would expect from a 21st century, newly tooled kit, the pieces are flawless, with only the barest hint of seams to clean up. Whilst this particular boxing does not contain skis, it does offer optional carburettor intakes, including a Vokes filter and a choice of windscreens. You also get the option of open canopies, which is useful, as many pilots apparently preferred their flight al fresco. There are also different wheels supplied: bulged, for the grounded model and un-bulged, should you choose to stick your Gladdy on a stand. It is worth noting that Airfix have thrown in another nice touch, in that the wheels come with separate hubcaps, thereby easing the wheel painting. Being a Mk 1, you only get a two-bladed prop, but you do have the option to use the spinner or not and, if not, the prop boss is suitably detailed and not simply a blank space. This attention to detail is repeated with the underwing guns. If you choose to omit these, you still have the mounting plates showing, on the wing undersides. The decals appear to be perfect, although I would gripe about the lack of imagination regarding the RAF option. The Irish option makes up for this, however. So the build begins with the cockpit and it seems that Humbrol H120 is the new

720 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

By Bruce Leyland-Jones

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 02052 PRICE: £7.99 US$9.25 DECAL OPTIONS: 2 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic

H78. This looks good enough and the cockpit is at least as good as the Heller. The complex detailing behind the headrest and the inclusion of the guns into the internal space lifts the Airfix further. This latter detail also makes for very good-looking guns, when viewed from the outside. Another nice touch is the option for an open cockpit door, requiring only minor surgery of the port fuselage side. NOTE, however, that if you attach the open door before decaling, you may have difficulty placing the Squadron flash decal, as the door falls over it. The instrument panels are represented by decals, but there are four of these and each fits exactly its different panel. Out of the box, you get a fine cockpit and I very, very nearly chose to leave Johnny Pilot out of it. Said Johnny is one of the new crew and just about fits, which was reassuring. In spite of all that internal detail,

PARTS: Plastic 49, Clear 5 MANUFACTURER: Airfix

the fuselage halves fitted together well, with no need for filler. Actually, throughout the build, the fit was truly perfect. The cabane struts are engineered to fit into the upper cowling, not unlike the old Matchbox kit. That said, whereas the old Matchbox told you which way the struts should be facing, you’ll need to check the profile drawings to make sure you put the cabanes on the right way. Still, are we not modellers? Airfix clearly believe we are and have accommodated us with a lovely engine which, given it's buried under a cowling, is almost as good as a resin item. I say ‘almost’, simply because the two breather tubes were not drilled out for me. The exhausts, on the other hand, were drilled out for me...which was nice. By the way, the rest of the cowling consisted of two very finely rendered pieces, which fitted perfectly. I’m thinking Airfix had dioramas in mind, because this model certainly lends itself to diorama possibilities, with its open cockpit, open engine and even a starter handle thrown in, for good measure. The Heller has none of this. Many modellers, even Grown-Up ones, are put off biplanes because the struttery intimidates. Those skinny little lengths of plastic that can be placed in all sorts of angles and those angles have to be just right, otherwise the whole thing ends up rather like a good night on the tiles...all skew-wiffy. Over the years, model companies have tried different methods to assist modellers with their strut-placement. The likes of Roden and other short-run manufacturers tend to leave the modeller to their own devices, simply offering a small dimple for each strut and leaving the modeller to do all of the arranging. Heller adopted a similar

720-25-Reviews-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:52 Page 721

In association with

method, although the struts were so engineered as to be properly leaning forward, once placed in the respective holes. (The cabanes on the Heller kit are already moulded onto the fuselage). The new Sword also has you sticking individual struts into holes. The most effective method, as used by Matchbox and, latterly, HobbyBoss, involves the struts being paired up and joined together by a cross bar, which then fits into a slot in the wing. The Matchbox only had a crossbar at the top of the struts, effectively out of view, whereas the HobbyBoss uses crossbars top and bottom. This method is effective, although some tidying up of the wing-strut area is often required, to blend the crossbar into the wing surface. Airfix are pioneering another method and I was quite impressed with its effectiveness. The struts are perfectly moulded and their tops and bottoms fit into perfectly moulded holes, within the wing surface. Furthermore, the struts are paired and secured at the right angle of lean by an ‘X’ of plastic. Once the upper wing is secured in place and the struts securely sandwiched between the wings, the idea is to then remove the ‘X’. This does work BUT I would strongly suggest that the modeller uses a fresh blade to cut the ‘X’ and might even consider weakening the attachment points, before fitting the upper wing. The plastic is soft and the struts are fragile and removing the ‘X’ requires care. Suddenly, I had an almost-complete biplane in front of me and had suffered no strop with struts! Marvellous. Given that I was modelling my Gladdy with an open door, I also went for the open canopy. This is crystal clear, albeit a little thick. That said, I took some time to mask the interior carefully, so that I could paint the part of the frame that was buried by the open canopy. Tired of the clichéd Old Warden aircraft, I chose to present my Gladiator as one of four flown by the Irish Air Corps. Using the brown as a primer, I found a model without holes, seams or other blemishes. Sticking to the instructions, I used Humbrol H30 Dark Green, with Humbrol H29 Dark Earth. H30 never looks right, to my eye and that of many other modellers, but it gives a different look to my model, when sat next to my others bearing H116, or H163. The undersides were painted with Humbrol Aluminium Metalcote, because I didn’t have any H11 and find the Metalcote easier to brush paint than the more traditional Silver Fox. Another point to note is that the large oil cooler, on the starboard side of the upper fuselage, should not be painted in

camouflage, as indicated by the instruction sheet. I used a metallic shade of grey for mine. After struts, rigging is another putter-offer for biplanes. Personally, I enjoy rigging, using Aeroclub rigging thread, superglue gel and Zipkicker accelerator and I feel that an unrigged biplane is somewhat indecently undressed. In the Real World, the rigging cables do not actually go from strut tip, to strut tip. Rather, they are attached to the wing surfaces next to the struts. Airfix have taken this into account and have provided tiny location points for each line of rigging. They also provide a much simpler set of rigging instructions, following a systematic approach, which I found easy to follow. Okay, so they missed out the rudder cables, but no one is perfect. Interestingly, the instructions refer to rigging as something that ‘experienced modellers’ may wish to add. Now if that isn’t a gauntlet thrown down to those who might fancy a bash at it, I don’t know what is. After painting, rigging and a coat of Klear, the decals behaved superbly. One minor point of caution, aimed at less experienced modellers, would be to note that the large numbers are not printed on large blocks of film and that the film closely follows the outline of the numbers. This means that, if you don’t take care, you can easily have the extremities of the numbers folding over upon themselves. That said, they most certainly are not overly fragile and are quite forgiving, in terms of handling. To summarise, this is a most excellent kit and I believe that Airfix now own the No.1 Spot for Gladiators, with the Heller a close second place. That said, the Heller is no longer so readily available, whereas the Airfix... We know there’s a ski-equipped version on the way and I would not be surprised to see examples from the Middle East appearing, alongside Sea Gladiators. I’d certainly recommend this kit to all modellers and I will be acquiring more and building more. I’ll also be building my few remaining Heller kits, safe in the knowledge that they are now replaceable. I believe my copy of Alex Crawford’s Gloster Gladiator will get some serious ogling.

04929 P P-47D Thunde rbolt

O D E L K I T SE S
P L A ST I C M O N E Y P R IC AT P O C K E T M

untless 04934 SBD-5 Da

04928 P-51B Mustang

1 Corsair 04930 F4U-

Also Available: 04931 F6F-3 Hellcat 04932 P-40E Warhawk 04933 F4F-4 Wildcat 04935 P-39Q Airacobra

Available from your local Toy and Model retailer

Visit our international web site at www.revell.eu Revell GmbH, HP23 5AH. Tel: 01442 890285. Email: [email protected] © 2013 Revell GmbH. A subsidiary of Hobbico, Inc. All rights reserved. Trade enquiries welcome.

720-25-Reviews-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:52 Page 722

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SAMI Spotlight Reviews

1/72

REVIEW

Gloster Gladiator Mk I

By Bruce Leyland-Jones TECH DATA

M

y first-ever Gladiator was a Matchbox kit, a purchase from behind the Penny Tray and inspired by an ‘Air Ace’ Picture Library comic. As with the other Matchbox biplanes, it was an easy and most satisfying build. That said, even I had to pull out the silver paint, rather than leave my fighter in pink and cream! Imagine my shock and disappointment then, upon buying a Gladiator from the modelling giant that was Airfix. Back then, that it was ‘a kit of its time’ didn’t matter to me... I just felt hard done by. Then a mate showed me his Heller Gladiator, which didn’t help matters, other than to show me what a great kit Heller made. The FROG Gladiator was a strange one, being of good fit and even good detail, but over-engineered in its attachment method for the main struts. Even today, with Gladiators from Sword and Pavla, the Heller is still the one to beat and it is against this background that HobbyBoss have released their own, as one of their ‘Easy Assembly’ kits. HobbyBoss produce some truly marvellous pieces of plastic, all of which are carefully bagged and protected by foam tape. Being an Easy Assembly kit, there are few parts and a cursory glance at the chunky locating pins and holes might convince you that this is not a proper model kit, but a toy. Do not be fooled. This is a great kit for a complete beginner to cut their teeth on and easily good enough for an experienced modeller to play with. Granted, the cockpit is basic, but you’ll see very little of it, once the canopy is in place, in spite of its superb clarity. The main fuselage piece sits tightly over the cockpit and the kit is engineered

722 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

SCALE: 1/72 KIT NO: 80289 PRICE: £8.99 US$15.00 DECAL OPTIONS: 2 PANEL LINES: Recessed STATUS: New Tooling TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic PARTS: Plastic 26, Clear 1 MANUFACTURER: HobbyBoss UK IMPORTER: Creative Models

so that the seam becomes almost invisible. The guns are beautifully moulded into the fuselage and the lower wings have the appropriate rigging base plates and access panels. The foam tape wrapped around the lower wing piece was there to protect the gun pods, also integrally moulded and certainly no worse than separately moulded items. Some might argue that the difference in surface texturing, between the metal and doped fabric areas, is overdone. Personally, I was happy enough, knowing that paint would tone things down a little. One of the first challenges in building a biplane is often the placement of the cabane struts. Just as Matchbox’s ingenious engineering solved this problem, so too have HobbyBoss. Each pair of struts will only fit in one particular way, so there is no chance of sticking a pair where it should not be. They are also suitably fine, so some care was needed in removing bits of sprue. All other Gladiator kits have the engine

as a separate component, but the HobbyBoss has the engine and cowling all moulded as one piece of plastic and a surprisingly nice piece of plastic it is too. Metallic paints and dry-brushing revealed gorgeous detail and it was hard to remember that this is intended as an entry-level kit. Having fixed the cabane struts, the next challenge for the biplane builder is the attachment of the main wing struts. Matchbox had these moulded in pairs, joined by a bar across the top and with locating pins for the lower wing. The cross bar fitted into a slot. The old Airfix had single, straight struts, with pins at either end. The FROG had a similar arrangement to the Matchbox, except that the build involved fitting plates, complete with location holes, into the lower wing and plates, complete with slots, into the upper. The Heller adopted a similar method to the Airfix, except that the strut ends were angled and they also had notches moulded in, to accommodate rigging. Short-run kits, such as the Sword, offer struts with butt joints, albeit nicely moulded struts with butt joints. This HobbyBoss kit offers the struts as pairs, with the correct angle of lean determined by cross bars, top and bottom. These bars then fit into slots in the upper and lower wings. Traditionally, this method works well in other biplane

720-25-Reviews-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:52 Page 723

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kits, provided the fit of the bar into the slot is a good one. If it is not, then much filling, in a relatively awkward area, is needed. Fortunately, as already implied, the fit of parts throughout this build remains excellent. Note that the correct Mk I prop is supplied. Also supplied, although not mentioned in the instructions, is another Mk I prop, without the spinner. Whilst the old Matchbox kit supplied the prop with a spinner, it did not supply the prop without and the box art of that Classic British Kit is clearly sans spinner. Exhaust, chin intake and undercarriage all fit exactly as they should and only the undercarriage legs had a slight mould seam line to remove. When building biplanes, I always try to do as much as I can before attaching the upper wing. To emphasise the difference in materials, I used Humbrol Polished Aluminium Metalcote for metal areas and Humbrol Aluminium Metalcote for the rest. I used some Mr.Metalcolor Iron for the radiator, with Dark Iron for the guns. The canopy was given a Klear coat and the framing painted before fitting to the fuselage. This is a very good fit. I used Humbrol H171 for the collector ring and prop, as per the instructions. Throughout the build, I tried to remain out of the box, but decided that, as I was going to rig my model, I should also do a little work on the prominent handgrips, moulded into the rear of the upper wing.

Quick work with a file and pieces of stretched sprue got me what I wanted. Such is the rigging layout of a Gladiator that I was able to rig most of the aircraft without the upper wing being in place. Obviously, no upper wing increases the access for rigging and both upper and lower wings have the attachment points conveniently moulded into place. I used Mr.Metalcolor Dark Iron to paint my Aeroclub threads. Because I was very careful not to foul the strut cross bars with accelerated superglue, the upper wing simply clicked into place. I was then able to complete the rigging and add some to the tail. I’m sorry, but a biplane looks naked to my eyes, without being rigged. If I had to criticise the HobbyBoss kit, I would refer to the lack of information regarding the marking options supplied. That said, being a Gladiator fan, I was soon able to identify the familiar options on offer. The first is a Gladiator from 73 Squadron, RAF Debden, 1937. This squadron was the first to receive the Gladdy and the flying example from the Shuttleworth Collection now carries these markings. Note that both propellers supplied with the kit are appropriate for this aircraft. The second option is for the Sea Gladiator ‘Charity’, flown by Flying Officer Peter Hartley, out of Hal Far, Malta, in 1940. This particular aircraft should have a three-bladed propeller (not supplied) and

rebell hobby

New for Tarangus 1/48 Lansen! S32C Recce Lansen conversion and cockpit detail set from Maestro Models! Decals are available too! Rebell Hobby, Box 2006, SE-16902 Solna, SWEDEN Tel.+46 8 825206 * [email protected] * www.rebell.com

Reviews SAMI Spotlight

should have its upper surfaces in the grey/green camouflage and not simply Dark Green, as suggested by the instructions. I chose the 73 Squadron option. The decals were in perfect register and of good colour. However, the protective film for the sheet was attached by a large piece of tape and the adhesive from this had penetrated to the decal paper from behind and effectively glued a roundel to the sheet. Fortunately, I had a substitute. A second point, more for the inexperienced modeller, is that the underwing serials will need cutting, to allow for the gun pods. No big deal. Before decalling, I had sealed the model in Klear and so there was no silvering. To summarise, this is another great little kit from HobbyBoss. The finished model compares very well against the Heller and Matchbox kits of old. I’d suggest that the old Airfix and FROG kits are best left for collectors and that this new HobbyBoss is the ‘New’ Matchbox. That said, the old Matchbox is now available in a Revell box and should not be sniffed at and Airfix have their new tool on the shelf now. With all of these quality Gladiators about, let the games begin!

AeroVenture Models

at the South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum Open Tue to Sun 10.00am to 5.00pm Dakota Way, Airbourne Road, 01302 761616 during opening hours Doncaster DN4 7FB www.southyorkshireaircraftmuseum.org.uk Enjoy a coffee while looking at our large model selection including: Special Hobby Trumpeter Italeri Revell Airfix HANNANTS XTRACRYLIC, Humbrol enamels, modelling accessories Model magazines, including DATAFILES series Model Club meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month at 7.00pm

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SAMI Spotlight Reviews

Minicraft NASA Space Shuttle

T

he Space Shuttle really does not need any introduction as it was/is one of the marvels of modern aeronautical and space technology. Designed and built by the Rockwell International Company in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, the Orbiter was only one part of the Space Shuttle Assembly, the others being the external solid rocket booster and fuel tank. Six Orbiters were built, Enterprise, Endeavour, Discovery, Atlantis, Columbia and Challenger; the latter two were destroyed in either take off or re-entry accidents, which are well documented with the tragic loss of all of the crew members. Enterprise was only used on proving flights being ‘Launched’ from the Boeing 747 piggyback carrier and was never used for space flights. This aircraft is currently located at the Intrepid Air and Space Museum. There were two other Orbiters built, Inspiration and Pathfinder, but these were full scale mock-ups and only used for Ground Proving and clearance trials, and they never flew. The Orbiter was designed as a re-usable vehicle to take payloads into orbit for either paying customers or for components for the International Space Station. Each had three Rocketdyne Block 2-A SSME liquid fuelled rocket boosters with two smaller rocket motors on either side of the main boosters, and then numerous manoeuvring boosters around the nose and tail. The Orbiter was protected by heatabsorbing thermal tiles, which allowed the aircraft to withstand the enormously high temperatures during re-entry. The wing leading edges were protected by carboncarbon panels, which provided both strength and heat resistance during take-off and re-entry, and it was the failure of some of these due to ice damage on take-off that caused the destruction of Columbia in 1981.

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The remaining three, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour all performed admirably until their retirements in 2011. All have since been moved to museums in the United States. The six Orbiters between them flew 135 flights totalling 1,330 days, eighteen hours, nine minutes and forty-four seconds, making 21,158 orbits with a combined total of thirty-seven ISS and MIR dockings. The Orbiters had a crew of 6-8 and a maximum speed of 17,321 mph, they were and still are impressive machines. The Minicraft kit consist of two sprues of white injection moulded plastic and two smoked grey colour clear plastic parts. The white parts all have raised panel lines with moderate detailing, there is a small amount of flash on some of the parts, the kit also includes one decal sheet with markings for all of the remaining four Orbiters and an instruction booklet with painting instructions at various points throughout the build. The construction begins with the assembly of the cockpit, but as none of it will be seen once the cockpit windows are installed not too much time needs to be spent on detailing it. The cockpit assembly is then fitted to one of the fuselage halves and the upper glazing fitted for the cockpit. This took a bit of trimming to get it to fit and even then the fit was not perfect. The rear cockpit/forward cargo bay bulkhead is then glued into position. The other fuselage half is now fitted and the rear cargo bay bulkhead glued into position. The cargo bay interior was glued together and inserted into the fuselage. There are ejector pin marks to both sides of the bay that are quite noticeable and require attention. The next stage was to assemble the wings, which consist of one entire lower

By Andy McCabe

1/144

REVIEW

section and two upper halves. The leading edges have raised panel lines, which will disappear when cleaning up the joints, and the answer would be to rescribe all the panel lines, but I decided not to. I would regret this later on.

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The wing assembly was now glued to the fuselage. The joints were not that good and filler was needed to make them blend in. The tail was now assembled and fitted, this was not a tight join, but did not require filler. The cockpit glazing was now masked and fitted, and required filler to blend it into the fuselage. The two rear manoeuvring pods were now assembled and fitted along with the main propulsion rocket bulkhead and then the rear stabilizer was assembled and fitted. The landing gear bay doors were fitted in the closed position as I wanted to display the model in orbit with the cargo bay doors open, but landing gear is supplied in the kit if you want to display the model back on terra firma. The two reaction controls were now assembled and fitted along with the nose panel and the model was ready for a coat of primer. A few gaps and unsightly joints were rectified and then the whole model was sprayed with Halfords Appliance White spray. The carbon-carbon leading edges and nose cone were masked and then sprayed with different shades of grey, as can be seen on the real thing, I now ventured away from the kit-supplied items and applied selfmade tile decals to the entire underside, nose sides and stabiliser, and then masked and painted the remainder of the black panels on the wings, elevons, tail, trim tabs and nose. Black decal strips were used for

Reviews SAMI Spotlight

the upper wing stripes and the kit’s decals were used for the stencilling and Orbiter name etc. Four different Orbiter names are provided, Enterprise, Endeavour, Discovery and Atlantis. The Navstar satellite was assembled, painted and then fitted to the cargo bay, and then the cargo bay doors were sprayed and fitted in the open position. The Canadarm was cut from the cargo bay lip, bent into shape and then refitted in the semi-deployed position. A stand from another kit was utilised as it seemed more appropriate for this model. This was simply screwed into the bottom of the Orbiter. The main engine and auxiliary nozzles were now assembled and sprayed with Gunze H76 Burnt Iron and then glued into position. This kit is advertised as being new moulds, but I have to say that the parts do not look like new toolings, unless they are from the original design, due to the raised panel lines and the fit, which is not as good as one might expect. The sprues also have parts for the attachment to the external fuel tank, which again leads me to believe they may not be new. The fit of the parts is generally quite good, although filler was needed in a few areas, and when finished and mounted on the stand (not supplied in the kit) it certainly looks the part and is quite impressive.

Had the Shuttle Orbiter Tile decals still been available from Cutting Edge then these would have been a must-have aftermarket accessory, but they are increasingly hard to find. Ed Bisconti has reproduced a set again, and these can be picked up from eBay occasionally and are not bad. Replacement resin main engine nozzles can be purchased from Real Space models and these are more detailed than either the Minicraft or the Revell ones, it all depends on how far you want to go and how deep your pockets are.

WIN! Revell’s Winning Streak! SAM Publications, in association with Revell, is offering a monthly opportunity to win the latest kits from Revell’s catalogue. Up for grabs this month is the 1/48 Dassault Rafale M

To win Revell’s Transall just answer the following question:

Q. What military action saw the use of Rafales in combat in March 2011? Answers on a postcard please to: Revell’s Winning Streak Competition, SAM Publications, Media House, 21 Kingsway, Bedford, MK42 9BJ

04517 Dassault RAFALE M The Dassault Rafale is a new-generation ultra-modern twin-jet combat plane. It meets the combat requirements for the next century, combining in a single plane the multiple roles that otherwise would be carried out by many different types. The Rafale M is the carrierborne naval version equipped with a reinforced undercarriage for catapult launching. Equipped with two SNECMA M88-2 engines (each with 75 kN thrust) the Rafale reaches a speed of Mach 2. Its long range, enormous load-carrying capacity, precision fire control and survivability gives the Rafale exceptional mission effectiveness. The first production plane went into service with the French navy in 1999.

Competition Rules Employees/volunteers working for SAM Publications, Revell and associated companies or their families are not permitted to enter. Entries are limited to one per person/household. No correspondence will be entered into. The judges’ decision is final. All entries must reach Media House by 23rd August 2013, when the prize draw will take place.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit www.revell.eu or email [email protected]

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Mastered-Adverts-AV-0813_AV-0606 12/07/2013 13:05 Page 727

Cat. No. 1179

AUGUST 2013! LIMITED EDITION of the P-47D Bubbletop in the 1/48 scale Academy plastic parts The Eduard Brassin accessories: the cockpit, wheels and propeller (with two variants of prop blades) Photo-etched color set The decal sheet printed by Cartograf Painting mask

www.eduard.com

P-47D-28-RA, Áown by Capt. Robert Blackburn, 509th FS, 405th FG, 1944

P-47D-25-RE, Áown by Capt. Fred J. Christensen, 62th FS, 56th FG, Boxted AB, Summer, 1944

P-47D-28-RA, Áown by Lt. Harold Cox, 512rd FS, 406th FG, Y-29 – Asch AirÀeld, Belgium, February to April, 1945

P-47D-26-RA, Áown by Maj. Donavon Smith, CO of 61st FS, 56th FG, Boxted AB, Early 1945

P-47D-28-RA, Áown by Lt. Talmadge Ambrose, 410th FS, 373rd FG, March 1945

diorama models import One-stop shopping for modellers Order online at www.hannants.co.uk Kits of the Month! AP90035 1:48 Mil Mi-2 Navy Helicopter £29.99 AP90036 1:48 Mil Mi-2 Transport Helicopter £29.99 AP90037 1:48 Mil Mi-2 Attack Helicopter £29.99 AP90038 1:48 Mil Mi-2 Army Helicopter £29.99 AP90039 1:48 Mil Mi-2 Helicopter 50 Anniversary £29.99

No 1 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 21,000 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:

Hannants London:

(all major credit cards accepted)

Unit 2, Hurricane Industrial Estate, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London NW9 5NQ Tel: 020 8205 6697

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

Next to the RAF Museum, Hendon

Email: [email protected]

www.hannants.co.uk

Via Sardegna 22/D, I-30026 PORTOGRUARO (Venice), Italy eMail: [email protected] web: http://stores.ebay.it/DIORAMA-MODELS-IMPORT-dal-since1989

Italian Model Shop for rare, discontinued and new plastic kits of Aircraft, Armor and Cars. WE SHIP WORLDWIDE

PayPal System Payment

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SAMI Spotlight Accessories

Accessories SBS Models At the Brno show we caught up with Hungarian manufacturer SBS who have supplied us with their latest sets. It does amaze me that when I look on competition tables and find that some modellers will spend hours on detailing the cockpit but then miss out the large openings on the underside of the model! So, if you have an Academy P-39, SBS have produced a nicely cast upgrade for the wheel bays, which are far superior

to the basic plastic parts, and you also get a complete set of doors in etched brass - which in 1/72 will look far more realistic than plastic ever can. A clear instruction sheet shows you exactly where everything fits and the only improvement I would make would be to add some colour notes for those not familiar with the subject - but Google Images is your friend.

1/72 P-39Q/N Airacobra Part No 72012 Designed for Academy

Conclusion

Avionix The HobbyBoss kit is a major undertaking at the best of times – it’s a large and complicated build and anyone setting out to complete it is going to want to make the most of that highly visible cockpit area. The Widow is not shy when it comes to showing off its interior, and Avionix have come up with a comprehensive set of parts in resin that will allow modellers to go to town. The set covers both the cockpit and the gunner’s station for the P-61B, and comprises some fifty parts, all cast in grey resin with beautiful crisp detail. A small acetate sheet contains backing for the instrument panel, and the instructions offer photographs to aid in the construction of some of the multi-part assemblies, like the gunner’s seat and the gunsight. All you need to add is paint!

Another great set that will go very well with the already released propeller and wheel upgrade sets. and I am just hoping they are working on a cockpit to make a complete package. If you are interested in this range you can view it online at the new website www.sbsmodel.com and in the UK the SBS range is now being stocked by Hannants.

1/32 32059 P-61B Cockpit & Gunner Station Designed for HobbyBoss kit Includes cockpit floor sections, instrument panels, sidewalls, central console, rear bulkhead, pilot's seat, gunner's seat, gunsight, control column with yoke, rudder pedals, quadrant levers, cabin heater, fire extinguisher and oxygen hose. Also includes acetate instrument gauge faces.

Conclusion In for a penny, in for a pound! If a job is worth doing it’s worth doing properly, and this set will allow you to do just that! Really high quality casting, nicely designed and guaranteed to make an impact on your model! Available from Squadron at www.squadron.com

Eduard Fans of the small scales have been largely left behind this month, with a huge array of 1/32 covering some of the latest releases from Tamiya, Trumpeter and Revell. The He 111H6 gets the works, as does Tamiya’s P-51K, and you can bet they are already sizing up that Corsair with a mass of etch in mind. Scaling down – to 1/48 for all except one set that covers the 1/72 Airfix Vampire – perhaps the most eagerly awaited will be the masking set for the Airfix Merlin, although that Italeri Sea Hurricane is on many people’s to do list at the moment, so a bit of colour etch in the cockpit there will go a long way.

1/32

32327 P-51K exterior for Tamiya kit 32331 He 111H-6 exterior for Revell kit

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32335 Ju 87R exterior for Trumpeter kit 32341 P-61A/B engine for HobbyBoss kit 32749 Ju 87R interior for Trumpeter kit 32766 He 111H-6 interior for Revell kit 32768 Ju 87R seatbelts for Trumpeter kit 32770 P-61 seatbelts for HobbyBoss kit 32773 Seatbelts Luftwaffe WWII Fighter (fabric) 32776 P-51K interior for Tamiya kit 32778 P-51K gun bay for Tamiya kit 33117 P-51K interior ZOOM for Tamiya kit 33121 He 111H-6 interior ZOOM for Revell kit 33124 Ju 87R interior ZOOM for Trumpeter kit JX150 He 111H-6 masks for Revell kit JX152 Lynx HAS.3 masks for Revell kit JX154 Ju 87R masks for Trumpeter kit JX156 P-51K masks for Tamiya kit

1/48

48773 F-4B exterior for Academy kit 48776 P-40E/K landing flaps for Italeri kit 48779 F-4B airbrakes for Academy kit 48780 Bf 109E-4/E-7 for Eduard kit 49605 F-4B seatbelts for Academy kit 49631 Sea Hurricane for Italeri kit 49644 F-4B interior for Academy kit 49652 P-40E/K for Italeri kit FE631 Sea Hurricane ZOOM for Italeri kit FE644 F-4B interior ZOOM for Academy kit FE652 P-40E/K interior ZOOM for Italeri kit EX389 Nesher/Dagger masks for Italeri kit EX390 Spitfire PR XIX masks for Airfix kit

EX391 Merlin HC.3 masks for Airfix kit EX395 Jaguar GR.1/GR.3 masks for Heller kit EX398 P-40E/K masks for Italeri kit

1/72

73480 Vampire T.11 for Airfix kit

Conclusion A really big month for Eduard, with a range of releases that will keep their products on plenty of workbenches for the foreseeable future – and do not despair if 1/72 is your thing, as there is plenty in the pipeline.

Scaling down further, not that Eduard has dipped a guilty toe in the 1/144 water, who knows what we can expect next? Eduard’s full range can be viewed at www.eduard.com and product is available widely from importers Creative Models, LSA and Hannants in the UK, and various sources including Sprue Brothers and Squadron in the US.

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Accessories SAMI Spotlight

Wings Cockpit Figures 1/32 RFC07B The Fighting Fees RFC Pilot and Gunner Sculptured by Steve Warrilow

Conclusion

Master sculptor Steve Warrilow has been hard at work producing more high quality World War One figures for Wings Cockpit Figures. Sadly the latest releases arrived just as the Editor was about to sign off on this month’s issue but we have managed to fit in a little taster with one of the most animated sets I have seen to date. Entitled ‘The Fighting Fees’ this is the first of two sets designed for the Wingnut F.E.2b two-seater and features a well wrapped up pilot at the controls while his gunner is firing a rear mounted Lewis gun over the wing at an aircraft above and behind. The pilot is supplied in two parts with the left hand as separate part while the gunner comes in four parts - body, left arm and right hand, while the fourth part is his scarf blowing in the slipstream.

As can be seen in the accompanying photos, even without paint these figures look incredibly realistic and even with my basic figure painting skills I think I can produce a good result helped by the minimal amount of bare flesh visible. The only challenge will be how you pose the Wingnut F.E.2b in a flying position to make best use of the figures. The other six releases we have received are for a whole selection of German LSK pilots and we will also have details of some of the future releases, which will include French and American WWI subjects I have not seen covered before in this scale. Our thanks to David Allen of Wing Cockpit Figures for the samples, which can be ordered online and at shows from Model Design Construction and also on their website at www.modeldesignconstruction.co.uk

Latest releases from Plus Model's Aero Line range is a new figure of a Warsaw Pact pilot, which might sounds like déjà-vu as we had something similar a few months ago, but that item was designed for the MiG-21. This time we have a MiG-15 pilot in a much earlier style of uniform complete with aviator goggles and a separate seat pack parachute. This will add a great sense of scale to the Tamiya or Trumpeter kit. Also new this month is a simple correction set for the 1/72 Minicraft Ventura that replaces the kit's cowlings with far more accurate resin parts, including scale thickness cowling flaps.

1/48 MiG-15 Pilot Part No. AL4026

1/72 Ventura PV-1 Engine Cowlings Part No. AL7005

Conclusion The figure is up to the normal high standards we expect to see in Plus Model’s Aero Line range while the Ventura set is beautifully cast and will make a big difference to this older kit. If you are interested in this range you can purchase them direct from the manufacturer at www.modelchoice.net

1/144

Brengun This month we have a whole selection of etched brass sets for all the major scales. We start with 1/144 where the old Fujimi Tojo and Jack get full upgrades including cockpits and undercarriage doors as well as a few other details, and if you have a small scale B-29 we have a nice resin and metal conversion for an aircraft equipped with a AN/APQ-13 radar system. Moving up to 1/72 the RS Model P-39/P-400 gets a new cockpit, which includes a pair of multi-piece cockpit doors that will look very nice and are to scale thickness, while a third sets supplies everything you need to drop the flaps. In 1/48 we have some great diorama accessories including two tool boxes with a nice selection of

Aero Line By Plus Model

BRL 144074 Ki-44 Tojo Detail Set Designed for Fujimi BRL 144075 J2M3 Jack Designed for Fujimi BRL 1440777 B-29 Antennas and AN/APQ13 Radar

tools to fill them, while a second set supplies a section of PSP to display them on. Finally in this scale the Hasegawa Typhoon gets a section of shaped mesh for the air intake which will look a lot better than the kit’s plastic representation. Lastly we have Brengun’s first 1/32 scale sets, which include a whole selection of ring gunsights and some modern Soviet-style wheel chocks. Next we have a selection of intake guards suitable for the Beaufighter, Spitfire and Mosquito. Finally an interesting diorama accessory is a set of four buckets, which could have a number of uses.

1/72 BRL72049 P-39/P-400 Airacobra Flaps Designed for: RS Models. BRL720450 P-39Q/L/N and P-400 Detail set Designed for: RS Models. BRL720450 P-39D/ Airacobra Mk 1 Detail set Designed for: RS Models.

1/48

Hasegawa Typhoon BRL 48050 Tools and Tool Boxes

1/32 BRL 32001 Buckets.

BRL 48048 PSP section

BRL 32002 RAF Intake Guards

BRL 48049 Air Intake Mesh for

BRL 32003 Soviet Wheel Chocks BRL 32004 Gunsights

Conclusion These sets once again offer very good value for money and I really hope we see the tool set issued in all scales as it has so many uses in a diorama. The full range can be seen at the website at www.brengun.cz and they can also be contacted via surface mail at Chladkova 14, 616 00, Brno, Czech Republic.

www.sampublications.com August 2013

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SAMI Spotlight Accessories

Noy’s Miniatures Expanding on an the idea first seen with the World War One base reviewed two months ago, a two-part fixed perspective base, this is a simple idea combining one of Noy’s familiar card tarmac sections with a vertical section illustrating a length of revetment wall used to protect parked aircraft from VC mortar attacks. Over the top of the wall you have some rooftops and a red and white checked water tower and in the distance a typical Vietnam forested hills vista with a Chinook heading away from you. I would suggest making up a wooden support structure from MDF or similar in an L-shape to which you can secure the card

pieces with double-sided tape to produce a simple base for your Vietnam War subjects.

1/144 NM 144014 South East Asia US Airfield Set Length 14.8cm /5.82 Inch Width 10.5cm /4.13Inch

1/72 NM 72014 South East Asia US Airfield Set Length 31cm / 12.2 Inch Width 22cm / 8.66 Inch

1/72 NM 48014 South East Asia US Airfield Set Length 39.5cm / 15.5 Inch Width 28cm / 11.02 Inch

Conclusion As I said last time, this is an interesting idea that you see widely used by railway modellers, which enables you easily to produce a base that will be a good background for those who like to photograph their models, or may make a good background for a boxed fixedperspective diorama.

Conclusion

Scale Aircraft Conversions You can almost set your clock by the monthly releases from SAC as like clockwork they arrive the day before our deadline. This month most of the sets are for new releases - so new in fact that as I write this we have not seen them in the UK yet. Trumpeter's 1/32 Skyraider and 1/48 Skywarrior include corrections to minor inaccuracies in the kit plastic, while the HobbyBoss Fw 190s and Airfix PR.XIX legs add strength to the thin kit legs. Finally two older kits get upgrades, including Hasegawa’s F/A18E/F Super Hornet and the recently reissued 1/144 Minicraft B52 Stratofortress. This latter –

previewed elsewhere - gets both main gear legs and replacement outriggers, which include the wheel as part of the casting.

1/144 B-52 Stratofortress Undercarriage Legs Product No: 14414 Designed for: Minicraft

1/72 Boeing F/A-18E/F Undercarriage Legs Product No: 72063 Designed for: Hasegawa

If you are interested in these bases Noy’s Miniatures are being stocked by Hannants for UK customers. Alternatively you can contact Noy via email at [email protected] and he will be able to confirm total cost including postage to your country. Payment is made via PayPal.

1/48 Douglas A-3 Skywarrior Undercarriage Legs Product No: 48230 Designed for: Trumpeter

As always I thank SAC for acting as my deadline alarm clock, as well as producing legs that can withstand my heavy handling and the occasional mishap on the way to and from model shows. These samples were provided by Scale Aircraft Conversions and will be available to purchase in the UK from Hannants, www.oxonianplasticfantastic.co.uk, and LSA Models, while SAC have their own website at www.scaleaircraftconversions.com

Focke Wulf Fw 190 Undercarriage Legs Product No: 48231 Designed for: HobbyBoss Supermarine Spitfire PR.XIX Undercarriage Legs Product No: 481232 Designed for: Airfix

1/32 Douglas A-1 Skyraider Product No: 32073 Designed for: Trumpeter

RAM 48-002 WMIK Land Rover wheels x 5 Designed for: Airfix

Rhino Armour Models Rhino Armour Models are part of the A2Zee family of model companies and have recently issued four detail sets that will be of interest to both armour and aviation modellers. Airfix have started producing a whole range of 1/48 kits suitable for combining to produce interesting dioramas. These include Lynx and Merlin helicopters, a number of figure sets, plus Afghan buildings and finally a whole selection of modern soft skin vehicles. So far we have two boxing of the Land Rover a snatch and a stripped down WMIK - and both the four-wheel Jackal and

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

six-wheel Coyote, either of which would not look out of place in a Mad Max film. However one problem area is the wheels, which bear no resemblance to those used on the real vehicles on operations. Now Rhino have produced some beautiful resin sets

RAM 48-004003 Supercat Jackal Wheels x 4 Designed for: Airfix RAM 48-004 Supercat Coyote Wheels X 6 Designed for: Airfix

Conclusion that capture the tread pattern perfectly and are simple drop-in replacements for the kit parts with just minimal clean-up of the pouring block needed before painting.

1/48 RAM 48-001 Snatch Land Rover wheels x 5 Designed for: Airfix

These sets should be considered must-haves for anyone building any of the vehicles that Airfix have released, and I hope this manufacturer will consider producing further items to complement the Airfix 1/48 armour range. Items can be purchased from the website at www.a2zeemodels.com.

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Accessories SAMI Spotlight

Hung Aero Decals

Eduard Brassin

As well as the decals reviewed elsewhere in this issue, Hungarian Aero Decals have supplied us with two sets of chocks suitable for the MiG-29 in 1/48 and 1/32. In the larger scale the chocks are supplied in resin while in 1/48 scale they are supplied on an etched brass sheet. Not surprisingly for ease of assembly the resin set wins hand down, though a very delicate touch will be needed to remove the parts from the casting block. The brass parts need some simple folds but will be strong and have scale

Spitfires are still very much on the agenda with Eduard at the moment, and the latest Brassin sets reflect this, with some basic add-ons to throw into the pile of in-depth upgrades released last month.

1/48

thickness in this size.

648107 AIM-54C Phoenix 648108 Spitfire drop tank Eduard kit 648109 Spitfire 500lb bomb set Eduard kit 648115 Spitfire wheels - 4-spoke Eduard kit 648116 Spitfire 90gal slipper tank Eduard kit

1/48 HAD PE48002 Wheel Chocks for Russian Planes

Eduard’s full range can be viewed at www.eduard.com and product is available widely from importers Creative Models, LSA and Hannants in the UK, and various sources including Sprue Brothers and Squadron in the US.

1/32 HAD RE32001 Wheel Chocks for MiG-29

Conclusion An interesting new name to us, and one we hope to see grow and expand. To see the full range visit http://www.had.hu

Pavla At Model Brno we caught up with Pavla who supplied us with some of their most recent releases, as well as some older ones we had missed out on. We start with two sets for a real golden oldie and a kit that I have rarely seen made up - Hasegawa’s B47. This kit is typical of this manufacturer’s 1970s production, with raised panel lines, accurate shapes, but basic details. The main set supplies a detailed cockpit assembly, which includes the lower fuselage hatch and boarding ladder. Of course the kit’s thick canopy would hide all the detail supplied by the resin set so it also includes a vacform canopy. The second set supplies replacement engine nacelle fronts and jet pipes, which are far superior to the kit parts and a noticeable improvement. Another nice cockpit set for an

older kit is designed to fit the Supermodel MB.326K Impala, and careful painting will really lift out the moulded detail and bring the kit to life. Moving up to 1/48 we have two sets for a 2013 kit, the Trumpeter Vampire, for which we get a full cockpit upgrade and a set that replaces the main wheel well and undercarriage doors. Finally, to finish, we have two examples from the super clear vacform canopy range - in 1/48 we have a set for

the ICM LaGG-3 while in 1/32 the Trumpeter MiG-21MF gets the treatment.

De Havilland Vampire FB Mk 9 Main Wheel Bay and Doors Product No: U48-42 Designed for: Trumpeter

1/72

MiG-21F Canopy Product No: V32-01 Designed for: ICM

Aermacchi MB.326K Impala Cockpit Set Product No: C72-117 Designed for: Italeri/Supermodel Boeing B-47E Cockpit Set Product No: C72-114 Designed for: Hasegawa Boeing B-47E Nacelle and Jetpipe upgrade Product No: U72-141 Designed for: Hasegawa

1/48 Lagg-3 Series7-11 Product No: V48-14 Designed for: ICM De Havilland Vampire FB Mk 9 Cockpit Product No: C48-026 Designed for: Trumpeter

Conclusion Like all Pavla resin sets these are well cast and will only require minimal cleaning up and a wash in soapy water to remove any mould release agent before use. The canopies are crystal clear and are vast improvements on some of the thick distorting plastic parts supplied in the donor kit. The full range can be viewed on the website at www.pavlamodels.cz and in the UK the resin sets are available from Hannants.

www.sampublications.com August 2013

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SAMI Spotlight Decals

Decals Syhart Decals A regular feature at Telford for the last few years has been Syhart decals. This manufacturer tends to specialise in exotic one-off schemes, and this of course means we are looking at some of the most colourful and complicated paint schemes ever applied to an aircraft, so are not designed for the novice modeller. A perfect example is the F/A-18F Hornet painted to celebrate 100 years of US Naval aviation in 2011. This aircraft was painted to mimic the blue/grey digital camouflage uniform being issued to the US Navy. To start you assemble the Super Bug of your choice in 1/72 or 1/48 and paint it grey. With the easy part done you now get to apply the 250+decals supplied on five sheets in 1/72. Fortunately the accompanying instructions sheet brings new meaning to the word comprehensive, using clear photos and colour profiles to show exactly where everything goes. On the 1/72 sheets we have you also get alternative plans and decals to fit exactly the Hasegawa or Revell Hornet.

quality of printing is truly breathtaking when viewed under magnification and these badges can be applied to thirty six different aircraft, with a choice of high and low viz markings where appropriate.

After the most complicated schemes I have ever seen on a decal sheet we have two far simpler options for a Slovak MiG-29 or German F-4F Phantom II but do not misunderstand me - these are still stunningly colourful from the white rhino on a dark blue and gold base of the Phantom to the snow tiger markings applied over the standard camouflage on the Fulcram. Finally we have a sheet of insignia for French Naval squadrons. The

• SY 72-070 F/A-18F Suer Hornet, ‘100 Years Naval Aviation’ VFA-122, 2011

1/48 • SY48-911 French Naval Aviation Badges High and Low Viz

1/72

Conclusion

• SY72-040 F-4F Phantom II 38+49 ‘50 years of the Phantom’ and 35 Years of F-4F

A limited production run with such high quality of printing on both the decals and instruction sheets is never going to be cheap, but quality never is. If you visit www.syhartdecal.fr you can see the full range and the full list of dealers around the world. And of course if you are visiting Telford you can see the full range on the Syhart stand but be prepared to be amazed and to come away with your wallet a few pounds lighter!

• SY 72-046 Mig-29A Fulcram, 6829, Slovak Tiger 2002

DRAW Decal This month DRAW have returned to their primary field of interest colourful airliner schemes. To start we have a type that will soon be a regular at British airports, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Thomson Airways are taking delivery of eight to operate their long haul routes in

2013 and Draw have covered the delivery scheme and supply a number jungle so you can produce any of the fleet as they are delivered. Next we have a special scheme applied for the T Mobile Phone Network to a Hapag Lloyd Express Boeing 737 during 2006/7. This is a

colourful scheme but mixing the hot pink shade will be a bit of a challenge. Finally, after two colourful schemes we have a really simple option - just build a Zvezda Boeing 747-800 and paint it overall white. Now you can pick one of the eleven delivered to Pan Am in the classic Billboard scheme with the large blue titles along the side of the forward fuselage. Each sheet comes with full instructions and colour profiles. Note - it is important to read the application instructions before you start to apply to get the best results.

1/144 DD 44-747-49 Pan American 747-8i This sheet supplies all the Clipper names for

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

eleven Pan Am Aircraft and there is no need to do any research as the instructions have a tie-up between the aircraft name and registration. DD 44-737-140 HLX, T Mobile Taxi 1. Boeing 737-500, D-AHLD DD 44-787-8 Thomson 787 Dreamliner 1. Boeing 787, G-TUIA

Conclusion A nice selection of schemes is always guaranteed when you open a packet from Draw and this month’s releases were no exception. A nice touch is that the white on the T Model scheme has the white area double-printed to ensure that there is no colour fade over the pink. A visit to www.drawdecal.com will show a whole selection of decals in all major scales from 1/200 to 1/32.

Mastered-Adverts-AV-0813_AV-0606 12/07/2013 13:05 Page 733

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SAMI Spotlight Decals

Alley Cat The latest decal releases from Alley Cat enable you to produce all three of the specially painted Tucanos used by the RAF for air displays in 2012/13. The first is based on the RAF standard gloss black trainer scheme adding white flashes to the upper wing and tail, a white crown on the tail and most prominently the royal insignia EIIR across the lower fuselage. The second scheme is a far more

1/72

striking red, white and blue example, but this complicated scheme is quite easy to produce as you just paint the airframe white and then add the red and blue using the decals. Finally a desert camouflage scheme with a red spinner first worn by Spitfires in the western desert during 1943 is carried on the RASF display Tucano in 2013. The decals supply enough stencils and markings to reproduce two aircraft in 1/72, while the instructions supply colour profiles keyed to the Xtracolor paint range.

Tucano display aircraft 2012/13 Product: ACD720120 Designed for: Airfix

Conclusion A great sheet for anyone with the reissued 1/72 Shorts Tucano and if you like modelling in 1/48 scale each of these schemes is included in the latest boxings of Alley Cat’s resin Tucano kit. Items can be purchased from the website at www.a2zeemodels.com

1/48

Hung Aero Decals At the Brno Model show we were introduced to a Hungarian manufacturer we had not come across before. Hung Aero Decals (HAD) have a large range of decals and resin detail sets for both armour and aviation modellers. In this review I will cover two of the company’s decal sheets, which cover the MiG-29 Fulcram in Hungarian service. We will start with the 1/32 sheet, which enable you to model either a MiG-29UB trainer or two operational MiG-29B single seat fighters from

either the Dongo or Puma squadron of the 59th TFW, although the sheet supplies a number jungle so you could build most Hungarian MiG-29s if you have the references. The decal sheet also supplies stencil detail and the false canopy painted on the underside of the forward fuselage. This sheet is produced in 1/72 and 1/48. Moving down a scale we have a sheet for what is probably going to be the most attractive scheme ever applied to a MiG-29. A number of years ago the Belgian Air Force painted the plan form of a Spitfire on the upper surfaces of a F-16, which led to one of the most sought after decal sheets when Daco produced it. The Hungarian Air Force came up with a a similar idea in 2008 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its formation. Instead of a Spitfire a MiG-29 received a plan view of a Hungarian Reggiane

HAD 48077 MiG-29 ‘Jubileum’ • 1. MiG-29, Grey 11, Kecskemei, 2008 Air Show

1/32

RE-2000 painted in a desert camouflage. But they did not stop at that as the rest of the upper airframe was painted in a similar pattern, but in two shades of grey. The fins were painted in a Royal Blue colour with a large gold eagle holding a wreath with the number 70. Finally on both sides of the nose we have a blue ribbon with gold trim depicting side profiles of the aircraft operated by the Hungarians between 1938 and 2008. Both sheets are supported by full colour profiles and colour matches to the Gunze Sanyo range, while the 1/32 sheet also supplies a selection of colour photographs.

1/48 Set 48s-Cessna-6 KLM Luchtvaartschool Cessna Citation Is In 1991, the Dutch government sold the

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

Rijksluchtvaartschool (RLS) to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.  Eventually, KLM’s Luchtvaartschool (Flight Academy) painted the newly-acquired former RLS Cessna Citations in the airline’s new colour scheme.  This decal provides the markings for these aircraft used for flight instruction.

1/144 and 1/200 1/144 Scale Set 44s-757-47   1/200 Scale Set 20s-757-47 Thomson Dreamliner Scheme 757s To celebrate its coming Boeing 787 Dreamliners, TUI Travel introduced a new

Conclusion Both of these sheets are very impressive with good instructions and what looks to be very well printed decals. I am sure many will be pleased to learn that this sheet is also available in 1/72, though it is already in its second print run so will sell out fast. To see the full range visit http://www.had.hu

Ryanair Cable & Wireless 737-800 1/144 Scale Set 44s-737-141   1/200 Scale Set 20s-737-141 Ryanair has a long history of operating ‘logo jets’, and operated the blue ‘Cable & Wireless’ jet between 2005 and 2007.  Cable & Wireless was a British multinational telecommunications services company that was taken over by Vodaphone in 2012.

DRAW Decal Further new releases from DRAW offer some interesting options in the usual variety of scales. As usual the printing and presentation are flawless, and the schemes represented are nicely chosen and offer some interesting options. Both the Boeing sets are available in 1/144 and 1/200, while the Cessna is in 1/48.

HAD 32030 Mig-29 in NATO Service • MiG-29B, 04, Puma Squadron , 59th TFW, HuAF, • MiG-29B, 21, Dongo Squadron , 59th TFW, HuAF, This aircraft also features a large advert on starboard nose for Fortis Swiss Watches! • MiG-29UB, 27, Dongo Squadron , 59th TFW, HuAF,

colour scheme featuring waves of blue on a white fuselage.  This livery began being applied to existing aircraft of the TUI family of airlines, starting with Thomson Airways of the UK.  This decal provides the markings for Thomson’s Rolls-Royce powered Boeing 757-200s.

Conclusion One of the most consistent producers of quality decals for civil aviation, DRAW produce interesting and innovative sheets with excellent colour and placement instructions. The full range of products can be viewed at www.drawdecal.com

Mastered-Adverts-AV-0813_AV-0606 12/07/2013 13:05 Page 735

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738-39-Testors-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:59 Page 738

SAMI Columns Testors 1/48

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Scaling Down the Great Wall’s Delta

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By Paul Janicki, Additional sprue images courtesy of Cybermodeler

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his kit, when first announced, must surely have been one of the most eagerly awaited newcomers this year. I know I certainly looked forward to it and so was most happy to receive it to review. The kit has a sturdy box and a separate tray all containing the individually packed sprues. All the parts have incredibly fine surface detail that some will say is too much for such a small scale. Each to their own - but deep trench lines they are not! The breakdown of parts reveals that other versions of the Vulcan will be in the offing with different parts. This particular issue deals mainly with the Black Buck missions of the 1982 Falklands War, and both aircraft are featured in the markings and decal options. The biggest parts in the kit are the onepiece wing and nose portion of the fuselage, dealt with as top and bottom halves. The first part to be inserted from below the top half is the instrument panel that has accurately portrayed control yokes as per the real aeroplane. The intakes are in one piece so no seam lines to deal with and these parts are

738 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

TECH DATA SCALE: 1/144 KIT NO: 1001 TYPE: Injection Moulded Plastic MANUFACTURER: Great Wall Hobby

beautifully done, complete with engine fan detail - using the slide mould technique I presume. These parts are offered up to well-situated location points and fit very well with just the slightest gap at the forward edges. I dealt with filling these gaps after the assembly with Gator Grip and smoothed with a cotton bud. A word of warning if you have this kit and are thinking of doing a dry run…

don’t!! There are around twenty locating points, which take the pins from the upper half, and once the top and bottom halves are pressed together you’ll find it hard to prise apart without damaging. A bit like snap together kits, so make sure you are happy with the locations of the intakes and that the holes drilled out for the underwing pylons for the stores used on the Black Buck missions are opened up before you commit to assembling the two main parts. Having said that, the join and fit is so good that there should be no problem from here on. If there is, then something has gone wrong… The work continues with joining and fitting the fin halves and the main cockpit covers. Seats are included as well as two

738-39-Testors-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:59 Page 739

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aircrew figures. I left mine out, though they will fill up the cockpit but probably will never be seen again under the Vulcan's spaceship-like canopy. Also in stage two the nose thimble pod is added and the flight refuelling probe. I left the latter off until after all assembly and painting to avoid breaking it off. I do feel though, this part looks too thin and lacks the receptacle on the end. The fin has a separate fin top, which fits beautifully. Clearly another clue to earlier versions to come, which did not have the fairings. Turning the beast over, the underside has the engine fairings, separate fuel dump pipes and jet pipes to be added and again a very good fit. The bomb bay door, moulded as one part in the closed position, drops in perfectly, but I suspect this area will be super detailed by many as it is an open invitation to carry out lots of detail work! Maybe some aftermarket company is already looking into it, so to speak. One other separate part is a panel at the rear, so I suspect that a K.2 is planned with the ‘skip’ type air-to-air refueller. Hmm…

Testors SAMI Columns

Last parts to be added are the undercarriage. The wheels are absolutely lovely with excellent hub detail and the breakdown of the gear legs is good and all fit very well. The trick is to paint the hubs first then the tyres while still on the sprue as these are all quite small. Touch up the tyre tread areas once they are fixed on to the axles and they really look great. Adding the assemblies to their respective bays posed no problems and the fit is, once again, superb. The nose bay doors have little pegs that fit into relevant openings in the bay making sure they line up well and represent the hinge points. A very nice touch, and before you know it you have one fine model of one of the greatest British aircraft gracing a small corner of your shelf. Once it’s painted of course, which leads us onto the painting stage. A lovely full colour diagram shows full top, side and lower views indicating where all the tiny and not so tiny decals are placed, but what is more, the views are to scale with the model so one can accurately apply masking to paint the very characteristic camouflage pattern that Vulcans carried. The decals supplied are very nicely printed. They offer XM597 of 101 Squadron and XM607 of 44 Squadron with the Lincoln badge too. The 101 Squadron emblems are a work of art and everything

is so detailed for this scale, even down to the mission tally on the nose with the absolute minutest representations of the Argentinian and Brazilian flags. Missing are the zaps applied to the port main gear door, acquired whilst on Ascension Island, and the 101 emblems were over-painted on the actual missions but I left them as they are so good. I didn’t have any trouble at all with the decals and their application. They all performed well with the usual brands of decal solutions. On the whole this kit is a real gem and could or should be a contender for kit of the year. It captures the lines and shape of the Vulcan very well and the fit of all the parts is very good with only a smear of filler needed around the intakes and minimal cleaning up of the top/bottom joins. Apart from the vague nose probe, the only thing that may put a number of people off is the retail price but, I highly recommend it and look forward to the version I really want - the 1960s era with Blue Steel and the white underside with full D type roundels!

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| 739

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742-43-Benchmarks-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:58 Page 742

SAMI Columns Benchmarks 1/48

Sponsored by Hobbylink Japan

Benchmarks The Hornet Factory

I

had originally intended getting stuck into the canopy of that Italeri Ju 87D-5 and sanding off the external framing, but the best laid plans of mice and men did that thing ‘like what Burns said’, and I ended up with my 1/144 head on, which has consigned a whole pile of Luftwaffe projects to the high shelves, and seen a number of tiny grey jets back onto the workbench – most of them Hornets. For this I blame Mr Bruce Leyland-Jones, a prolific contributor and builder of small models, who had engaged me in a debate on the contents of recent issues of this magazine, as a result of which I became exposed to the bug again, and before I knew what was happening I was regretting having sent him the Dragon X-3 to review, and was sorting through a number of boxes of part-built kits trying to pick up the threads. The project that grabbed me most immediately was the collection of Hornets picked up for a song from the Starfighter Decals stand at the US Nationals last year. I had bought two double boxings of the Dragon kit in 1/144, for around $4 each, with the intention of using some of the loviz decals on the recently tooled Revell kit. This had been languishing half-built awaiting markings for some time, as I was not keen on the special scheme provided, so became the first beneficiary of the new 1/144 impetus. Unfortunately it ran into

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Scale Aviation Modeller International

By Gary Hatcher

subsequent issues with the canopy and found its way into the spares box instead, but during the course of its brief return to the Workbench it did inspire further work on some of the Dragon kits, and as both toolings of the Super Hornet have their own foibles and issues, it seems meet to discuss them both here. The new Revell tooling has almost everything going for it. Surface detail is fine, there is no wingfold to try and work round, and cockpit detail is good, with decals provided for the panels and consoles – an essential inclusion in 1/144, and the omission of which causes no end of headaches and fiddling about. It has an excellent selection of weapons, and goes together easier than the Dragon kit. Decals are splendid if you like special schemes, with comprehensive stencilling provided – although I take issue with the black decals for the spine, which are designed to oblige the modeller to fit them over the transparency, with one particular item for the front windscreen that I defy any but the most committed modeller to get into position. Both Dick Clark and myself have tried and failed. I would have preferred to paint the spine black and to have just the red trim on the decal sheet, and as and when I come to try this scheme on another kit I will certainly go down that route. The big problem with the Revell kit is the canopy, which is in two parts –

Still a mess, but there is a lot more room to work with a 1/144 kit back on the bench This is the Dragon F with the wings fitted and surface detail ‘toned down’ with a great deal of priming and sanding This shows another Dragon kit – an E this time – in the early stages of having the wings attached. The best approach is to smother it in filler then sand smooth. The panel lines can then be restored by running a scalpel blade along them to lift the filler out. The end result is a vast improvement. The starboard wing, here, has had this treatment, and wants only refinement This is how the hinge line looks untreated. It’s an eyesore…

742-43-Benchmarks-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:58 Page 743

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Various stages of completion. Practice has found the task becoming less irksome, and to be honest the whole airframe could do with sanding down a bit as the surface detail is a little robust Before and after. Neither is entirely accurate, but the finished item looks so much better with my glasses off

another pitfall in 1/144. Fine if you want to pose it open – although why you would do this when it is a scale six inches thick is beyond me. Trying to get a tight seamless fit of the two parts ended in a mess on my model, and resulted in it being scrapped after I had pulled the canopy off twice and tried to refit it… The Dragon kit, on the other hand, is a lovely piece of work, with a tight-fitting one-piece canopy, but the most ghastly

wingfold that requires you to fill and sand the entire aircraft thoroughly several times to get a plausible fit with the wings open. This is, in the end, a matter of taste, but the accompanying photos may give some idea of what we are up against. One could, of course, fold the wings, but there is no detail in the area, the moulded hinges are farcical, and to be honest the surface detail is over scale in any case. But filling and sanding is less traumatic

The downside of building multiple Hornets is the need to mass produce armament. Ten or so items per airframe need painting and decaling. Empty pylons are not an option until someone makes some convincing resin ones with detail on the bottom of them. Fortunately both Revell and Dragon kits are blessed with a wealth of ordnance, and the Hornet carries some interesting asymmetric load-outs

The ‘tape pallete’. The grinding drudgery of adding detail to 1/144 cockpits, for want of a couple tiny decals on the kit sheet… I use coloured tape, chopped into tiny squares, to decorate consoles and panels. Multiple layers can be built up into a 3D effect that is sealed in with Klear, then carefully drybrushed. The effect is plausible through a canopy. The red makes warning triangles and placards, while the green will turn into seat harnesses

Hornet factory. Dragon kits joined by a Revell C/D – a lovely kit, and one I would build a dozen of… if only there were available decals

than poor-fitting canopies, so it was onwards and upwards with the Dragon F/A-18F, and at time of writing it is well advanced, the wings are sorted, and there is every indication that it may get finished this time round – with the weapons prepped for the Revell kit hanging underneath - and now I seem to have found a formula for rectifying the wingfolds, there are three more waiting to follow. Then there is the B-52, the EP-3E ARIES II, the Hawkeye, Revell’s F-15E, now I have decals from a kindly-provided Dragon kit, and one day their F-16, which is a delightful little tooling, but as with the Hornet and the Eagle comes with only one unattractive option that I will not expend valuable modelling time on. So, what we need are decals. Decals in 1/144 for Hornets, Eagles and Fighting Falcons, but most of all I need DRAWDecal to release the sheet for the E-6 Mercury that I have at an advanced stage, complete with resin engines and wing tips, and which will complete the trio of Boeings that make up the foundation of my 1/144 collection. In the meantime my workbench is a Hornet factory until the next fatal distraction…

With the aid of Retro Wings, Dragon, Revell, Starfighter and DRAW things are getting very interesting on the workbench

www.sampublications.com August 2013

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SAMI Columns Books & Media

Books

Military Aircraft Visual Encyclopaedia TECH DATA AUTHOR: Jim Winchester PUBLISHER: Casemate UK

The Little Book Of Aviation TECH DATA

A remarkable book for the browser and general enthusiast. Not one for the specialist maybe, but if you like to dip into aviation and have a brief guide to hand this well-researched and beautifully illustrated volume is a bit like having a giant-sized Observer’s Guide to hand. The book provides a fascinating at-aglance guide to every major military aircraft type ever flown, all illustrated with a detailed profile artwork, accompanied by brief details and specifications. Common types such as the Spitfire, Ju 87 Stuka, F-86 Sabre and F-4 Phantom are featured with several artworks showing the range of colour schemes and operators, while the overall arrangement is chronological by type. With over 1,000 colour artworks, this is a marvellous book to have to hand should

AUTHOR: Norman Ferguson PUBLISHER: The History Press ISBN: 978 0 7524 8837 0 FORMAT: Softback, 144pp

Donald Rumsfeld’s comment that there are ‘things that we know, things that we don’t know, things that we know we don’t know and things that we don’t know we don’t know’ came to mind constantly when reading this very engaging book, in which I would suddenly exclaim 'I remember that' or far more frequently 'I had forgotten all about that' or just as often 'I never knew that'. Far from being a weighty (and costly) tome providing every detail of some aircraft type or military campaign this title offers instead some welcome and eminently readable light relief. The author has brought together an eclectic and interesting collection of facts, anecdotes, lists and information that spans the history of flight. For example were you aware that Vickers named many of its aircraft alliteratively, including the well-known Vickers Vulcan? Or what about a list of Commando Comics with an aviation theme; cast and genuine aircrew call signs from the film Top Gun; British airfield gateguards; Rock Star airliners; thumbnail histories of famous aircraft, aviators and

TECH DATA events; and many, many pages of ‘things that we know ..... don’t know ..... know we don’t know ..... and ..... don’t know we don’t know’ . www.thehistorypress.co.uk Des Brennan

Soviet/Russian Unrealised projects 1925-2010 TECH DATA AUTHORS: Yefim Gordon and Sergey Komissarov PUBLISHER: Classic ISBN: 978 19065 373 40 FORMAT: Hardback, 640pp

One might be forgiven for assuming – given the authors’ astonishing output over the years – that this volume might be a footnote to their astonishing lexicon. Almost certainly not the case, of course, but given the breadth of their past coverage of Soviet subjects one is moved to wonder how much more there could possibly be? In this companion to the earlier Soviet Secret Projects the dynamic duo examine a range of projects that, for a variety of specialised primarily in of the reasons, never progressed transports and airliners, and beyond the drawing board. much, much more. These include a mass of As usual the book offers a hitherto obscure concepts such mass of unpublished and unique as the Isayev/Shevchenko 'biphotographs and documentary monoplane' fighters with retractable lower material, with over 800 photographs, and wings developed in the 1930s, the twinsome sixty profile artworks and plan boom fighters and attack aircraft drawings. developed in the late 1940s, high-altitude A staggering piece of work, and a rich 'balloon killer' fighters developed in the and valuable addition to any library on mid-1950s specifically for use against NATO Soviet aviation. reconnaissance balloons, the jet fighters of www.ianallanpublishing.com the Antonov design bureau, which Jack Trent

Book Month!

Scale Aviation Modeller International

you choose to look outside your field of expertise – or if you simply like looking at pictures of aircraft. www.casematepublishing.co.uk Maurice Minnifield

B-25 Mitchell in Action

Unflown Wings

744 | August 2013

ISBN: 978 19066 267 16 FORMAT: Softback, 448pp

AUTHOR: David Doyle PUBLISHER: Squadron/Signal ISBN: 978 08974 762 56 FORMAT: Softback, 80pp

Another winner from the Squadron stable, now with lots of colour and fully-captioned images covering the aircraft’s service from prototype to the final variant, the B-25J. The North American B-25 Mitchell was one of the premier US warplanes of World War II, gaining immortality when a small group of B25Bs under Lt Col. Jimmy Doolittle took off from the deck of the USS Hornet and executed a surprise attack on military targets on the Japanese island of Honshu. Subsequently, Mitchells would see service in every theatre of war, in a wide variety of roles. The US supplied B-25s to the British Royal Air Force and to the Soviet Union, which flew them on the Eastern Front. Modellers will be able to make the most of the many excellent kits available of the type in all the major scales using this excellent reference

work, revised and expanded with eight allnew pages of photographs and information. Illustrated with 225 photographs, more than eighty of them rare period photos in original colour, plus colour profiles and detailed line drawings, like all the books from this source it is an easy to follow, step by step guide to the aircraft’s history and development. Well worth buying if you don’t have it, or as an upgrade for your earlier edition, this book is also released as a hardback, and is highly recommended. www.squadron.com Edward Grant

P-61 Black Widow in Action TECH DATA AUTHOR: David Doyle PUBLISHER: Squadron/Signal ISBN: 978 08974 771 92 FORMAT: Softback, 80pp

With recent new kits in 1/48 and 1/32 the P-61 has been a source of enormous interest over the last couple of years, so it is appropriate that Squadron have offered this edition to modellers to help tackle what is for many a faintly confusing subject. Following the usual format, well laid out and with extremely erudite captioning, this book tells the story of the Black Widow from the experimental XP-61 on through the final production variant, the F-15A,

through black and white photos and vintage colour photos, augmented by four colour profiles and detailed line drawings. Highly recommended www.squadron.com Richard Bolingbroke

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746-47-580Modellers-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:58 Page 746

SAMI Columns 580 Modellers

Our winner of Class 5

A Tale of Two Cities Northern Model Show, 2nd June 2013 Compiled from interviews and edited by Geoff Cooper-Smith

‘I

t was the best of times, it was the worst of times… ….’. IPMS Tyneside decided to move the venue of their annual model show this year. In recent years their show has been held at the Temple Park Leisure Centre in South Shields, but this year they decided to try something closer to Newcastle city centre and so held the show north of the River Tyne at Domain, a venue within Northumbria University. Yours truly was unable to make it, being away on holiday (yes, again) but 580 Modellers did attend with a combination of old lags, who had been to the Northern Model Show several times before, and a couple of ‘freshers’, who had not. Their contrasting views on the various aspects of the show make for some interest. The old lags really liked the Temple Park venue as it was a big, open and well lit space, which resulted in plenty of room for all. This meant clubs could have as much space as they wanted to fill; this is the only show at which 580 have regularly been asked to fill six tables, famously on one occasion with only two members actually present. Other, local, clubs often filled considerably more, with tables occasionally into double figures. Being on the outskirts of South Shields and close to the A19, it was easy to find and unloading and parking were easy. With it being a sports centre the facilities were also good. One of the attractions was always the strong Scottish presence

746 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

with both the trader and club contingent usually well represented. The competition always attracted high quality entries as there is without doubt a plethora of extremely gifted and devoted modellers based in the North East. But what was always noticeable was that the hall never became ‘thronged’ like a Huddersfield or a Bolton although it was difficult to gauge the number of paying visitors as the venue was that spacious. Those who did attend, however, were always good for a chat on models on the table, techniques, etc. So although the Northern Model Show is our longest drive of the year (it is even further than Avon), making for a very long day, it is always worthwhile because it is so different to the other shows attended by the 580 crew. The first thing that struck the freshers was how long it took to get there. Some traders had come from even further south with Models for Sale continuing their epic tour of ‘The Model Shows of Britain’, having been at Lancing the previous day (any further South and you’re in the sea!). Although the campus was easy to find the actual venue was not; signs were seen being erected as the exhibitors and traders were arriving. Finding the competition was also a bit of challenge but ultimately worthwhile as it was once again of a high quality and well patronised with our Mr Foxall taking first in Class 5 with his 1/32 UAE F-16E. The venue itself was, unusually for a model show, on the first floor and so it was a bit of a

A fantastically detailed Fokker Eindecker

A sea of Spitfires…

Careful use of filler and sanding techniques has blended Geoff Cooper-Smith seamlessly into the background, rendering him completely invisible…

746-47-580Modellers-0813_Layout 1 12/07/2013 13:58 Page 747

580 Modellers

Washington Model Club stand at last year’s show – I count 15 tables!

SAMI Columns

UK 2013 Show Diary Compiled by Geoff Cooper-Smith of 580 Modellers Sunday 28th July Midland 2013 Model Expo Presented by IPMS Birmingham at Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre, Alcester Road South, Kings Heath, Birmingham, B14 6ER from 10am to 4pm. Admission is £3.00 adult, £1.50 concession, £6.00 family. Free parking, disabled access, refreshments and model competition. See: midlandexpo.blogspot.co.uk, for further details.

The recently released Airfix 1/48 Spitfire XIX is obviously very buildable as plenty are appearing on the tables

‘free-for-all’ with the goods lift to get chattels, precious exhibits and supporting cast elevated. Once unloaded parking had to be found which was ‘an absolute nightmare’ as there simply wasn’t anything close enough and a major issue (for our driver anyway) was trying to remember where your vehicle had been left when ‘take-down’ time came. And exhibitors and traders are a voracious lot but unfortunately there was no proper on-site catering until after mid-day. Great Expectations? Now, it may seem that we have a ‘downer’ on the event. I am not saying 580 didn’t like the new venue, just it is very different from the old and evidently is going to get some getting used to; the host club will also need time to iron any bugs out. The new venue is considerably smaller than the old (which meant clubs were restricted to the number of tables they could have) but it is closer to the city centre and hopefully a way can be found to get punters flowing through the door which will go a long way to ensuring the financial

A gorgeous Me 262 which really should have been in the competition security of the club. So a big ‘thank you’ is due to IPMS Tyneside for running the Northern Model Show once again and let’s hope they can find the right formula in the future to keep going as there are precious few model shows in the North East. Apparently the highlight of the day was not the infamous Mr Hatcher (infamy, infamy they’ve all got it in for me!) giving the Harrogate Modellers their annual outing but seeing three bulky 580 Modellers shoehorned into the front of a VW panel van (the Silver Streak) while the models and stand ‘slopped around’ in the voluminous rear!!!

An apology And finally a sorry for the misdated report on the IPMS Gloucester Show in the previous issue. The show was held on the 12th May 2013, so a big rap on the knuckles for the Editor, the proofreader, Word spellchecker and of course your useless, illiterate, inept apology for a columnist.

Saturday 03rd August East of Scotland Model Show Presented by IPMS Dundee at the Marryat Hall, Caird Hall Complex, Dundee, DD1 3BY from 10am to 4pm. Admission is £3 adult, £2 concession and £8 family. See: www.ipmsdundee.co.uk, for further details. Sunday 11th August Plastic Model and Wargaming Show Presented by IPMS Avon in association with the Lincombe Barn Wargaming Society at the Thornbury Leisure Centre, Alveston Hill, Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, BS35 3JB (note the new venue) from 9.30am to 4.30pm. Admission is £4.50 adult, £2.00 child under 16. Free car parking, disabled access, cafeteria and open model competition See: http://www.ipmsavon.org.uk/shows.php, for further details. Sunday 01st September East Riding of Yorkshire Model Show Presented by Bridlington & Wolds Scale Model Club in association with Driffield Agricultural Society at the Driffield Show Ground, Kellythorpe, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 9DN from 10am to 4pm. Admission prices still to be confirmed. Free car parking, disabled access, hot and cold refreshments and model competition Contact: [email protected], for further details. Sunday 01st September Fantastic Plastic Presented by the Aero Space & Vehicle Club & IPMS Wombourne at the Community Centre, Church Road, Wombourne, South Staffordshire WV5 9EZ from 10am to 4pm. Admission is £3 adult, £2 concessions, accompanied children under 14 free. Free car parking, disabled access, refreshments, and free make & take. Contact: [email protected], for further details.

Saturday 07th September West Cornwall Model Show Presented by Cornish Scale Modellers incorporating IPMS West Cornwall at St. Johns Hall, Alverton Street, Penzance, TR18 2QR from 10am to 4pm. Admission prices still to be confirmed. Refreshments, living history reenactors, military vehicles, radio control models and model competition. See: www.freewebs.com/cornishscalemodellers.co. uk, for further details Sunday 08th September Model Spectacular 2103 Presented by Sutton Coldfield Model Makers Society at Sutton Coldfield Town Hall, Sutton Coldfield, B73 6AB from 10am to 4.30pm. Admission is £3.50 adult, £2.50 senior citizens and children. Car parking, disabled access, refreshments and open model competition. Contact: [email protected], for further details. Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd September Euromilitaire At Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 2DZ from 10am to 6 pm (4pm Sunday). Admission on the day is £10 adult, £7 concession but advanced and combination discount tickets are available from the website. Car parking, refreshments, model clubs, exhibitors and traders from both the UK and Europe and a model competition with 32 classes! See: www.euromilitaire.co.uk, for further details. Saturday 21st September Modelfest 2013 Presented by IPMS Farnborough at Kings International College, Watchetts Drive, Camberley, Surrey, GU15 2PQ from 10am to 4pm. Admission prices to be confirmed. Free parking, refreshments and Tombola. In support of The Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice. See: www.ipms-farnborough.co.uk, for further details. Sunday 22nd September Wings & Things Presented by IPMS Fenland & Spalding Model Club at Spalding Girls High School, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 2PJ from 10am to 4pm. Admission is £2 adult, £1 senior citizen and children. Free parking, refreshments and Airfix ‘make and paint’. In aid of Lincs/Notts Air Ambulance. See: www.ipmsfenlandandspalding.moonfruit.com, for further details.

If you would like your event included in this show diary then please do not hesitate to contact me on 07841 417680 (note new number) or at [email protected].

www.sampublications.com August 2013

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Shop & Web Guide

Promote your company here and appear in all 3 titles – Scale Aviation Modeller International, Model Aircraft and Scale Military Modeller International – with a total 133,000 circulation. Contact Christine McCarthy on +44 (0)1234 224995 [email protected]

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HPM HOBBIES www.hpmhobbies.com Secure online ordering Realtime stock levels Worldwide shipping FALCON - JAYS - OZMODS - REDROO PJ PRODUCTIONS - FCM DECALS

Home of Blue Max and Pegasus Models ranges Online shop for kits, decals and accessories

www.freightdogmodels.co.uk

+44 (0) 01342 716004 Fairlight, Sandy Lane, Crawley Down, Crawley, RH10 4HX

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

www.scaleaircraftconversions.com

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Shop & Web Guide

Promote your company here and appear in all 3 titles – Scale Aviation Modeller International, Model Aircraft and Scale Military Modeller International – with a total 133,000 circulation. Contact Christine McCarthy on +44 (0)1234 224995 [email protected]

OXONIANS

PLASTIC FANTASTIC

Huge range, specialising in Eduard, Aires, SAC, Pavla, Brengun, Valom, Quickboost, Rob Taurus and all those hard to find east European kit manufacturers.

www.oxoniansplasticfantastic.co.uk Live stock levels – fast dispatch – try us now!

ScaleModelShop

www.modelskills.co.uk

IWATA - AK INTERACTIVE - MIG PRODUCTIONS HUMBROL - TAMIYA - XTRACRYLIX - ALCLAD 2 ALBION ALLOYS METALS & ABRASIVES - MR HOBBY

A comprehensive range of tools, decals and fittings for the bi-plane and general aviation modeller.

SMS 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

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Tel. 01202 511232

R&R HOBBIES www.randrhobbies.co.uk

Based in the Midlands since 2001 with worldwide shipping available

email: [email protected] Tel: 01656 858083 70 New Road, Porthcawl, Bridgend CF36 5DG Opening Hours: 10.30am to 5pm Mon - Sat

Web: www.models2u.co.uk

SCAN HERE!

We stock: Aoshima, Vallejo paints, Trumpeter, Italeri, Tamiya, Hobbyboss, Academy ........and many more!

Email: [email protected] Phone: 01543 433999

Affinity s l e d o M

EXCLUSIVE dealer for the new 1/72 Valom Wellesley Mk.1

p 01782 320990

www.affinitymodels.co.uk Stockists of Tamiya, Dragon, Trumpeter, Hasegawa, Italeri and Mini Art Plastic Kits. Full range of paints from Tamiya Vallejo (Model & Gamecolour), and Humbrol. Evergreen Centre. Excellent range of tools and glues. AFFINITY MODELS 3 38 Trentham Road, Longton, Stoke-on Trent, Staffordshire ST3 4DL Q [email protected] V Mon - Sat 9am till 5pm (closed all day on Thursday)

MATADOR MODELS and

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.

www.matadormodels.co.uk

Megahobby offers thousands of plastic model kits old and new. Browse our website to see the Amazing Selection of products we have to offer – Megahobby stocks deep. Visit the website you will be impressed, place an order you will be a customer for life. Shipping goods online since 2000!

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PARABELLUM Aircraft, armour, vehicles and figures, Vallejo & Tamiya Paints

open 11 to 5.30 Thu, Fri, Sat PARABELLUM 54 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham, BI8 6HR

www.parabellum.co.uk

0121-551-8878

Established over 40 years One of the largest ranges of plastic kits and accessories in the South East of England as well as being a Hornby and Scalextric Main Agent

www.dorkingmodels.com PO Box 10159, Coalville Leics. LE67 1WB

0845 2604413

12-13 West Street, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1BL Tel 01306 881 747

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SAMI Columns And Finally

Questions to Contributors If you have a question or query you wish to raise with any of the contributors to this magazine, they should be made IN WRITING to the Media House address. Neither the Editor nor any of the contributors are at Media House on a daily basis and the Editor asks for all enquirers to appreciate this fact and be patient. Please understand that the staff at Media House do not have access to the information you require and therefore cannot answer your questions on the phone. Please enclose a stamped SAE with all enquiries, if you anticipate a reply. Thank you.

Wash What You’re Doing N

Samples for Review Scale Aviation Modeller International is always happy to review new products within its pages. Any item which you feel is appropriate will be given due consideration for inclusion in the title. Any company, trade representative, importer, distributor or shop which wishes to have products reviewed within Scale Aviation Modeller International should send them directly to the editorial address and clearly mark them for the attention of the Editor. Confirmation of receipt of the samples will be supplied if requested. For all international companies etc the above applies, but please ensure that the package is clearly marked for customs as a ‘sample, free of charge’ to reduce the risk of unnecessary delays. Thank you. Company/Suppliers Addresses & Enquiries Please note that the Editor and staff at Media House cannot help with general enquires about contact details for companies, importers or model shops whose products may be mentioned in Scale Aviation Modeller International if the address information is not included with the review etc. Please check the advertisements in this journal for all suitable UK sources and only contact the firm directly if it is noted that there is ‘No UK stockist’. We are sorry, but we cannot help with details of companies which do not advertise in this magazine. Also note that neither the Editor nor contributors will undertake specific or general aviation research for enquirers. Thank you.

By S.E. Laver

ew from Humbrol – a company pushing neck and neck with stablemates Airfix to innovate and push out new and improved products at a rate of knots, is this definitive range of colour washes for weathering and enhancing your models. Aimed at a wide spectrum of subjects – armour, aviation, railways – these can be mixed together to create different shades and tones to achieve the desired effect, working on the understanding that dirt need not only be black or brown, but comes in coats of many colours…

The washes are enamel-based, and application is by brush. Apply the product to a properly dried surface, and drying time is 20 minutes – although this may vary depending on thinners used. Your regular preferred agent for cleaning up after enamel paints can be used to clean the brush afterwards. Humbrol’s washes come in 28Ml glass jars, retail at £3.99, and come in the following shades: • AV0201 Enamel Wash Black 28ml • AV0202 Enamel Wash White 28ml • AV0203 Enamel Wash Dark Green 28ml

• AV0204 Enamel Wash Dark Grey 28ml • AV0205 Enamel Wash Dark Brown 28ml • AV0206 Enamel Wash Blue Grey 28ml • AV0207 Enamel Wash Sand 28ml • AV0208 Enamel Wash Dust 28ml • AV0209 Enamel Wash Oil Stain 28ml • AV0210 Enamel Wash Rust 28ml Readily available, user-friendly, these latest additions to the Humbrol catalogue are very welcome, and we look forward to seeing what is coming next. www.humbrol.com

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.

Coming Next Month • The Big Build – Westland What? A super-detailed Wyvern in 1/48 • Typhoon Takes – Counterfactual Eurofighters – ‘what-would-havebeens’ • MiG-15 – Scale plans and profiles by Inkworm • Photo Essay – Firefly Mk I • Coanda – Now for something completely different! – Early jet in 1/72 • Tamiya’s Test Shot – The F4U Birdcage Corsair in 1/32 – finished and built

Plus all our usual columns, regulars, News, Previews and Reviews in 100 packed pages of the magazine that gives you more!

© Media House 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted (including posting to a website) in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

Scale Aviation Modeller International is published monthly by Media House and is distributed to the news trade on the second last Saturday of each month. Next on sale 29 August 2013

750 | August 2013

Scale Aviation Modeller International

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The Testor Corporation Adds Creative Models As U.K. Distributor

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