Swordfish Spitfire

Charlie Duke
Fishbed Specifics
F-86D MiG-21MF MV249

Combat Zone
Supermarine Attacker

EDUARD
1:48 Scale
D.III Dutch Vol 19 Iss 08 £4.95

Albatros
AUGUST 2020
Printed in UK

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Model Aircraft Manual ‘Expanded’
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MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
A Certain Flare
A
s we work our way through the
current crisis, and slowly emerge
from our enforced hibernation, it’s
good to see that aircraft modelling
is still on a high! Once again it is
a pleasure to present to you another feature
packed issue of Model Aircraft. I am also pleased
to bring you articles on three British designs,
namely the Supermarine
Spitfire and Attacker, the
elegant Hawker Hunter and
the Boulton Paul Defiant.
I think I alluded to a story
about Boulton Paul a few
years ago, but it’s one that
deserves re-telling! My
grandparents lived very close
the Boulton Paul factory in the
West Midlands, and my dad
would often tell me about
the German raids, especially
one night when German
bombers attacked the plant
and pathfinder flares were
dropped before the bombers arrived. One hit
my grandparents’ roof, broke off a number
of tiles and then burned in the garden, whilst
another set fire to a neighbour’s house further
down the road. Happily, he was in the air raid
shelter at the bottom of the garden! Historian
3
VOLUME 19 ISSUE 08
Malcolm V Lowe gives us an insight into
Boulton Paul’s most famous son the ‘Defiant’
in our Research Feature. Elsewhere, we ‘take
a break’ as Dawid Branski enjoys a chocolate
treat care of Airfix and his Spitfire build, and
on the subject of the Spitfire, Alan Price brings
yet another of his superb builds with his 1:48
Mk.XIV as MV249, the mount of RAF pilot John
Wilkinson. We also have another of the excellent
Kinetic F-104 Starfighters to
bring you, and this one is
courtesy of Marcin Torbinski,
as he faithfully reproduces a
worn Danish version. Also, a
reminder not to forget to visit
the MA Bookshop pages or go
to www.modelaircraftmag.com
where you will find information
about our current and future
books, plus back issues of our
magazines and subscription
offers. So, all that remains for
me to say is , keep calm, stay
safe and……
Happy Modelling!
Andy
4 CONTENTS
6 SPITFIRE SPECIFICS
Spitfire
Specifics
I T
have been fortunate in the pursuit of this
hobby to come into contact with many
interesting people and been able to work
on a lot of fascinating projects. One of
these people is John Mollison who runs
the website www.oldguysandtheirairplanes.
com. John and I have collaborated on a
number of projects over recent years, John
interviews retired pilots, he puts the interview
on the website and does a colour profile of
their aircraft. I help John with the research
and build a model of the aircraft. When John
interviewed former RAF pilot John Wilkinson,
we really wanted to build a model of the
aircraft, MV249. At the time the only available
option was the Sword 1:72 kit. I did manage to
6 Spitfire Specifics
Alan Price builds the Airfix 1:48 Supermarine
Spitfire XIV as MV249 the mount of RAF pilot John
Wilkinson
56 F-104G STARFIGHTER
Drab Danish
STAR
E
very modeller has his own key for
choosing the models that will be on
his workbench. It’s sometimes the
matter of the shape, the beauty or the
history of a machine as in the case
of Supermarine Spitfire, Grumman F-14
Tomcat or Sukhoi Su27. Other times,
it is the matter of memories, one’s
personal experiences of their
childhood when say a MiG-21,
F-4 Phantom or Hawker
Harrier, symbols of the
Cold War flew over their
heads. In my approach
however, I decided to focus on the technical,
artistic aspect. In every build I like to try a new
approach, from the gluing to the final touches,
a constant perfecting and adding different of
modelling techniques with a continued search
for interesting paint and visual effects that will
catch the eyes.
So, here I focussed on the Royal Danish Air
Force. My wish was to create a collection of
three of its aircraft - the SAAB 35 Draken,
the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter and the
North American F-100. These aircraft
all shared one common feature, a
matt green finish, which the RDAF
used as their camouflage. The
56 Drab Danish Star
Marcin Torbinski adds a unique worn camouflage
scheme to the Kinetic F-144G Starfighter
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
Alan Price builds the Airfix 1:48
Supermarine Spitfire XIV as MV249 the
mount of RAF pilot John Wilkinson
build it – only
just in time as
John Wilkinson sadly
passed away just after
it was completed. With the
new Airfix kit on the market I really
wanted to build one to represent John
Wilkinson’s aircraft, this was the kit I always
wanted to build for this project
John Wilkinson was with No.41 Squadron
and in March 1945 they were based in Holland.
Spitfire Mk.XIV MV249 was almost brand
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
Marcin Torbinski adds a
unique worn camouflage
scheme to the Kinetic
F-144G Starfighter
quality of the paint used
until 1979, was so poor that
it faded after few months. It
became extremely flat and rough
and together with the underpainting
it created a mosaic of the most amazing
shades. As much as the painting was a
pain to the mechanics of the Danish Airforce,
it remains a delightful canvas to practice
your modelling skills. Since my approach
focuses on painting, a straight-from-the-box
model with no additions turned out to be a
perfect candidate. So, I chose the 1:48 F-104G
Starfighter from Kinetic, as the quality of sprues
is just so good. The kit also includes a radar as
well as a detailed electronics bay.
So, my first step was black basing. With the
use of a Uschi van der Rosten’ Trinity Splatter
Airbrush Stencil, I created differentiating
patterns on the surfaces. My next step was
finding the right shade of paint, which was
supposed to be a faded colour. This was quite
hard, especially that I had to think ahead about
the following steps and bear in mind that the
shades will get darker. In my work, I use Hataka
colours and blended several different shades
such as SEA Camouflage Green, Bulkhead Grey
to create a shade similar to the Danish faded
green. Browsing through the photographs
of Starfighters on the Internet you may
feel tempted to divide the shades into two
groups. The first one, for aircraft numbered
R-850 to R-600, the oldest machines, of which
discolorations were light green or in some
shots, even grey. In some cases, the greyed
paint on the tail had a yellowish hue to increase
in temperature in that area. The second group,
on the other hand, are the aircraft below R-600.
7 14 COMBAT ZONE – ATTACKER
SPITFIRE SPECIFICS
The camera ports have to go.
Several rounds of filling and
sanding were required to
permarine
erase the evidence of these
The British Su
new when it was assigned to the Squadron
in early March and John used this aircraft
Attacker
T
on a number of sorties from Eindhoven he Attacker is a British single-seat naval
and Twente before moving to Celle jet fighter designed and produced by
in northwest Germany. This was aircraft manufacturer Supermarine
not far from the Bergen-Belsen for the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm,
concentration camp, which and the type has the distinction of
John saw after it was being the first jet fighter to enter operational
liberated. On the 16th of service with the FAA. Performing its maiden
April, John shot down an flight on 27 July 1946, the flight-testing phase
Fw 190 which exploded, of development was protracted due to several
badly damaging MV249. issues, including handling difficulties. The
He managed to land back first Attackers were introduced to FAA service
safely, and the aircraft during August 1951. Common to the majority
was sent for repair but of other first-generation jet fighters, the
with the end of the war it Attacker had a relatively short service life before
being replaced, this was due to increasingly
was no longer needed so
it was struck of charge on advanced aircraft harnessing the jet engine
the 19th of May. being rapidly developed during the 1950s and
Having picked up one 1960s. Despite its retirement by the FAA during
of the new Airfix kits, the 1954, only three years following its introduction,
next issue was how to back the Attacker would be adopted by the newly
date this to an early Mk.XIV? formed Pakistan Air Force, who would continue
I had had the opportunity to to operate the type possibly as late as 1964. As
email John Wilkinson during the originally intended, the Attacker programme
original project and he was able to was supposed to provide an interim jet fighter
give me a lot of details over the course
of the original build. Most Mk.XIVs were built
as FR.XIVs, that is with the reconnaissance
capability built in, in the form of the camera
ports. This is how the Airfix kit is. John’s aircraft
had full span wings, not clipped ones, and
did not have the fuel tank behind the pilot.
Fortunately, the kit comes with full span
wings so that was not an issue. Markings were
14 Combat Zone - Navy Attacker
Lee Powell builds the 1:48 Trumpeter F.B2
57 60 HAWKER HUNTER F.6
DRAB DANISH STAR
Valley Hunter
James Bamford
builds the 1:48
Airfix Hawker
Hunter F.6
F-104G Starfighter
Manufacturer: Kinetic
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 48083
T
he Hawker Hunter is without a doubt
one of the most iconic British aircraft
to grace the skies. Designed in the
late 1940’s and first production
through the 1950’s, the Hawker
Hunter entered RAF service in 1954. Production
started with the F.1, leading to the most
prominent versions being the F.6 and FGR.9.
Over the years, eighteen primary versions were
developed and used by the RAF and RN, and
a huge forty-four versions were converted or
made for the export market. The RAF were just
one of twenty-two operators of the type. Other
notable users being Belgium, The Netherlands,
India, Switzerland and Sweden. Other nations
such as Chile, Iraq, Jordan, Oman and Rhodesia
also flew the type. The Hunter was retired from
UK military service in 1999 when the Empire
Test Pilots School retired theirs, however, the
Hunter would live on elsewhere in the world
until 2014 when the Lebanese Air Force finally
retired theirs from active military service.
The Hunter can still be enjoyed even now
with many civilian companies flying the type.
Hawker Hunter Aviation (HHA) also operate
a few within a fleet of ten ex-Swiss Mk.58s
which provides Aggressor role aircraft to work
60 Valley Hunter
James Bamford builds the 1:48 Airfix Hawker
Hunter F.6
COMBAT ZONE
FIGHTING COLO U R S
to equip the RAF while another aircraft, the
Gloster E.1/44, that was also powered by the
same Rolls-Royce Nene engine, completed
development. On 30 August 1944, an order for
three prototypes was placed with Supermarine,
and it was stipulated that the second and third
prototypes were both to be navalised. On 7 July
1945, a follow-on order for a further twenty-four
pre-production aircraft, six for the RAF and the
remaining eighteen for the Fleet Air Arm was
also placed.
Handling problems with the Supermarine
Spiteful prototype delayed progress on the
jet-powered version, leading to the pre-
production order being stopped, although
work on the three prototypes continued. Due to
the delay, the FAA instead procured a batch of
alongside contractual military operations to act
as the enemy. Most recently, one turned up to
RIAT 2019 in a stunning tri-tone grey splinter
camouflage - one that must be modelled soon
with this cracking Airfix kit!
Airfix announced in late 2018 that they
would be releasing a brand new tooled 1:48
scale Hawker Hunter in the 2019 catalogue
and this was met with great delight as the
closest and best tooling in the scale to this
point was the Academy offering. The Academy
kit was good in many ways, however, from
my experience and many others, the cockpit
seemed way too small - closer to something
like 1:60, and so a resin bang seat was needed
at a minimum to fill the cockpit, ideally a resin
cockpit would be the best course of action
though. The Airfix Hunter boasted some
fantastic out of box detail. The ejector seat had
two options for pre-moulded belts or without
if you were to add photo-etch to them, which I
did. You were also provided different tail units
to have the brake shute housing or not which
opens up the ability to model a huge amount
of options. Crisp details are found all over the
model and carry onto the canopy parts which
are also nice and clear with no distortion.  cockpit as the instrument panel decal was very
The kit started off in the usual style with
cockpit and seat first. To quickly note, the only
addition I made to this kit was the addition of
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E
COMBAT ZON
S
OUR
COL
NG
HTI
FIG
eighteen De Havilland Vampire Mk. 20s for the
purpose of gaining experience with jet aircraft.
After evaluating both the Jet Spiteful and the
E.1/44, the RAF decided to reject both designs
since neither aircraft offered any perceptible
performance advantage over contemporary
fighters such as the Gloster Meteor and the
de Havilland Vampire, which were the RAF’s
first two operational jet aircraft. Following the
design’s rejection by the RAF, Supermarine
decided to approach the Admiralty with an
offer of developing a navalised version of the
project. On 27 July 1946, the maiden flight of
the type was performed by prototype Type 392
serial number TS409, a land-based version, by
test pilot Jeffrey Quill. The Air Ministry issued
Specification E.1/45 to cover production aircraft;
meeting its various requirements necessitated a
range of extensive modifications to be made to
the design, including a revised fin and tail plane
arrangement, as well as an increased internal
fuel capacity. Accordingly, a large external
ventral fuel tank was adopted, along with an
extended dorsal fin and folding wing tips. Flight
testing was largely conducted at Supermarine’s
newly created experimental establishment at
the former RAF Chilbolton. The Attacker had
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
Hawker Hunter F.6
Manufacturer: Airfix
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: A09185
Eduard’s superb seat belts designed for this
newly tooled Hunter. These sat beautifully
on Airfix’s three-part seat of which, as I stated
above, has the option of a detail-less seat to
allow the addition of a pilot or aftermarket
seat belts. I made use of this and added the
seat belts in with superglue once the main
colours of black and the olive-green seat were
dry. The two-part cockpit tub and instrument
panel was then glued and also painted black.
I had no need to add any other etch into the
nice and conformed perfectly to the supplied
kit part. It is sharp and clear and stands out in
the enclosed cockpit. Other small details were
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
also picked out in respective colours. Once
dry, the cockpit assembly was glued into one
fuselage half and building of the intakes could
commence. An engine face piece sat halfway
down the fuselage halves, not only to give
detail deep in the intakes but also to add extra
structural support to the fuselage. This was
painted silver however, once closed up, would
not be seen. The intakes were in two-pieces for
each side. Once mated, these curved from the
engine face piece out of a gap in the side of the
THE SCHEME I HAD CHOSEN WAS FOR A MACHINE
FROM NO.4. FIGHTER TRAINING SCHOOL BASED AT
RAF VALLEY IN 1974
COMBAT ZONE
FIGHTING COLO U R S
fuselage and fit
into two locating
holes on the outside
of the fuselage. This
gave a great representation
of the curved intakes of the
real Hunter, unlike some kits that
allow the intakes to simply disappear
into the wings. These fit in with no problem.
At this point it is important to note that before
mating the fuselage halves, the kit requires
at least twenty grams of weight in or around
the nose, forward of the main landing gear in
order for it not to be a tail sitter. Of course, the
further back you put the weight, the more you’ll
need. I ended up putting around thirty grams
in. About 10g went into the nose cone itself
and the rest sat behind the cockpit tub. Once
the weights were glued in place with copious
amounts of superglue and Blu-Tac, it was time
to mate the fuselage halves. The fit was very
nice, if a little tight. This did lead to the need of
15
COMBAT ZONE – ATTACKER
several deficiencies, one of which was using the
Spiteful tail-wheel undercarriage rather than a
nose-wheel undercarriage, a configuration that
resulted in the Attacker being considerably more
difficult to land on an aircraft carrier.
On 17 June 1947, the first navalised prototype,
Type 398 TS413, conducted its first flight, flown
by test pilot Mike Lithgow, occurring four years
after the Meteor had performed its first flight.
On 5 May 1950, the first production variant of
the aircraft, designated Attacker F.1, performed
its first flight, one year later, deliveries of the
type commenced. While originally designed
to a wartime requirement for the RAF, it was
not introduced until the early 1950s, and was
ultimately developed for use aboard aircraft
carriers. For a jet aircraft, the Attacker’s design
was unusual, with a tail-dragger undercarriage
with twin tailwheels, as well as an unswept wing.
The flight controls were relatively conventional,
based on those of the Spiteful. The forward
position of the cockpit was well-received and
provided an exceptionally good view for the pilot.
The Attacker had a relatively strong structure,
making extensive use of heavy-gauge materials,
principally aluminium alloy, which were used
with stressed-skin construction and supported
by twenty-four closely spaced stringers and
formers. The nose had an unusual lobster-
61
VALLEY HUNTER
a small amount of filler, but this
could have been easily rectified
if the sides of the cockpit tub
had been sanded down for a
less tight fit. 
The tail pipe was my next
port of call and because of
the scheme I was to be modelling this
aircraft on, it required the use of the tail without
the parachute housing. I imagine that the
chute-housing tail is in there for a later release
of the kit with different options or maybe an
FGR.9 version? That would be nice! Anyway,
this was fitted around the three-part exhaust
pipe and glued to the underside of the tail with
no problems whatsoever. Another piece of
wonderful engineering on this kit is the wing
assembly. Unlike other kits, in both 1:72 and
1:48, where they have two separate wing sets
with two pieces being top and bottom, Airfix
have very cleverly provided one wing, which
perfectly slits into the gap on the top of the
fuselage halves with no problem. This also
has most of the spine on the top wing piece
which marries up with the beginning of the
tail with an almost seamless transition. This
20 MA RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
Model Aircraft Research Department
by Malcolm V Lowe
All images are credit - Boulton Paul, JB via Malcolm V Lowe
and The Malcolm V Lowe Collection
Defiant to the Last
The Boulton Paul Defiant was the RAF’s only single-engined front-line two-seat turret-
equipped fighter of World War Two. It had a chequered career as both a day fighter and
a nocturnal warplane, as Malcolm V Lowe explains
he Boulton Paul Defiant received
much fanfare at the time of its
creation in the second half of the
1930s. At that time Britain was faced
with the growing need to defend
itself in the future against formations of enemy
bombers, the prevailing thinking being that
incoming enemy bombers would fight their
way unescorted to their targets. Therefore,
defending fighters would simply need to shoot
down the bombers using a heavy offensive
armament, without the need to defend
themselves against enemy fighters which would
not be present to look after the bombers. With
hindsight this thinking was fatally flawed, but
Air Ministry Specification F.9/35 of 1935 asked
20 The Model Aircraft Research
Department - Defiant to the Last
Malcolm V Lowe looks at the Boulton Paul design
64 MIRAGE F1C
‘Orange’
Interceptor
Ashley Dunn builds
the 1:48 Italeri
Mirage F1C in the
colours of EC 1/5
from Orange in 1978
T
his is a re-boxed version of the
venerable Esci kit which was first
issued in 1978. The kit, by todays’
standards is a little basic in areas but
must have been fairly cutting edge
in its day. It comes on four sprues in a light
grey plastic which is relatively soft and features
recessed panel lines through-out, two different
types of ejection seats and a nice selection of
weapons. Lastly, a clear sprue for the canopy
and glazed elements. The decal sheet is a real
Mirage F1C
Manufacturer: Italeri
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 2790
64 ‘Orange’ Interceptor
Ashley Dunn builds the 1:48 Italeri Mirage F1C
in the colours of EC 1/5 from Orange in 1978
35 Model Aircraft Manual
The Northrop F-5 Tiger II
‘Aggressor - Train to Fight’
Two Seat Bandit
Andy Renshaw builds the 1:48 AFV Club
F-5F Tiger
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
Britain’s aircraft industry for a two-seater fighter,
armed with a gun turret, for just this purpose.
Specialist Company
One manufacturer in particular was well-
placed to answer this requirement. The original
Norwich-based Boulton & Paul company (the
aviation-related department of which became
Boulton Paul Aircraft in 1934) was a world-leader
in gun turret design and manufacture. The
company was fully aware of turret developments
that were taking place during that era in France
and used some of the French technology
in its own gun-equipped turret design and
manufacture. The company’s development
work also led to the four-gun turret design
highlight featuring no less than nine different
options – six of which are in the French Non-
Specular Blue the other French option being in
desert colours. There’s a Spanish three colour
camouflage scheme with another in Greek
and finally a Royal Jordanian Air Force scheme.
The build began with the cockpit area, which
is a little basic but acceptable given the age of
the kit. There are no raised or recessed details
on the instrument panel or side consoles
instead decals are supplied which are a little
on the heavy side as far as detail goes. The
kit seat when built, painted and weathered
looks acceptable. I did add some seat belts by
the way of painted masking tape strips. The
cockpit tub is made up of three pieces – the
main tub and two bulkheads, one for the front
which includes the instrument panel and
rudder pedals and the rear for the area behind
the ejection seat. Everything was then sprayed
Tamiya XF-85 Rubber Black and left to dry. It
was then just a case of adding some shades of
Khaki Green to the seat cushions. I added
the decals for the side consoles and
instrument panels but added some
colour in the way of switches
painted on in red and
yellow to add some
interest.
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
A well-known ‘publicity’ image of a standard
production Defiant Mk.I, possibly N1573, showing
the typical 1940-era day fighter configuration of
the ‘bomber interceptor’ turret-armed Defiants.
(Photo: Boulton Paul)
that became a central feature of its response to
Specification F.9/35. Initially designated P.82 by
the company and eventually named Defiant,
the Boulton Paul design was a potential winner
from the start because it incorporated all of
the company’s know-how in turret design and
technology.
Allocated the British military serial number
K8310, the initial P.82 aircraft made its first flight
on 11 August 1937, piloted by company test pilot
Cecil Feather. It was not fitted with a turret at
that time and looked sleek and purposeful. The
armament chosen for the Defiant was a Boulton
Paul ‘A’-series turret, based on a French de
Boysson design, mounting four 0.303in (7.7mm)
Browning machine guns. But there was no fixed
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
The instructions would have you add the
front undercarriage to the underside of the
cockpit tub in the next stage, but a quick
test fit revealed this could be left off till the
end and would ease painting later and limit
any potential damage. Next up were the air
intakes with the shock cones. These are two-
piece for each side and fit is almost perfect
with the fuselage sides. Only a quick swipe
Adding a
Gloss Black
base coat
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 21
DEFIANT TO THE LAST
distinguished itself in the air battles over the
Dunkirk beaches during the evacuation of British
and French forces. Nonetheless, several Defiants
had been shot down by German fighters, and
the type’s vulnerability was becoming obvious. A
second Defiant Mk.I unit, 141 Squadron, became
operational in the early summer of 1940.
The Battle of Britain began on 10 July 1940.
During July and August the Defiant force fought
bravely but suffered considerable losses to the
Luftwaffe’s nimble, well-armed Messerschmitt
Bf 109E. Initially the Germans had been caught
out by the Defiant’s unusual armament
configuration, but it soon became obvious how
to defeat the unconventional fighter, which
was vulnerable to frontal attack. Eventually the
Defiant was withdrawn in late August/early
September from daytime fighter operations, just
when the Battle of Britain was reaching its peak.
The less than successful daylight aerial combat
experiences of the Defiant did not stop the type
With aerials mounted on its starboard wing leading edge and elsewhere on
the airframe, the radar-equipped Defiant Mk.II represented the state-of-
Looking more like a sleek racing machine rather than a frontline warplane,
the very first Defiant was K8310, and was originally designated by Boulton
Paul as the P.82. It was initially built ‘clean’ without the fuselage turret fitted,
although it had been installed by the time of this image. (Photo: Boulton Paul)
the-art in night-fighter technology during the period 1941 into 1942.
(Photo: Boulton Paul)
forward-firing armament within the Defiant effect being a ‘bomber interceptor’. It was from eventually becoming a useful fighter, but in
itself – which was to prove a costly deficiency. already becoming obvious even in early 1940, a far different role. Both 264 and 141 Squadrons,
Retractable fuselage fairings ahead of and just however, that Defiants were going to have to and later several other units including the
behind the turret gave the turret an excellent face formidable German fighter opposition – for Polish-manned 307 Squadron, commenced
traverse and field of fire. The first prototype which the lack of fixed, forward-firing armament using their Defiants for potentially less hazardous
was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin I engine of was going to be a huge disadvantage. night patrols. Success was achieved with several
1,030hp. The squadron became operational during German bombers intercepted in the dark by
A second, supplemental prototype (K8620) March 1940, and was involved from the outset 141 Squadron during September 1940 as the
flew in May 1939, but long before this, during when the Germans attacked France and the Low Germans increasingly switched to nocturnal
April 1937, an initial batch of Defiant Mk.I had Countries in May 1940. Early encounters with operations. At first the Defiants were very austere
been ordered. The first production aircraft, Luftwaffe aircraft were encouraging, several night-fighters, with no radar and relying on the
L6950, flew in July 1939. Dimensionally, with a being shot down by the Defiants, and the unit pilots’ skills to operate in the dark.
wing span of 39ft 4in (11.99m) the Defiant Mk.I
was just smaller than a Hurricane and larger
than a Spitfire, but was longer than both of
these with a length of 35ft 4in (10.77m). Power
for the production aircraft was provided by the
improved Merlin III engine, of similar rating to
the Mk.I.
Early Problems
The initial RAF frontline recipient of the Defiant
was 264 (Madras Presidency) Squadron, which
received its first aircraft in December 1939. The
unit moved to RAF Martlesham Heath to operate
the Defiant, but several varied malfunctions
were found with the new aircraft, while special
tactics had to be worked out to decide the most
effective use of the heavy gun turret. An attack
from below into the target aircraft’s ‘blind spot’ Photographed in flight during daylight, this nocturnal Defiant Mk.II night-fighter, AA436 coded DZ-V,
was the most obvious approach, the Defiant in was flown by 151 Squadron. (Photo: JB via Malcolm V Lowe)
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 65
‘ORANGE’ INTERCEPTOR
The upper areas were
with a sanding stick is required to get a flush primed with Vallejo
Light Grey Primer
finish. The cockpit can then be sandwiched in
between the fuselage halves and closed up.
The fit is really good on the topside but slightly
off on the underside, and this required some
Mr Surfacer 500 and some re-scribing of panel
lines but nothing too serious. The instructions
have you remove some pre-moulded aerials
on the upper surface which I believe are part of
the Mirage F1CT. Next up were the wings and
rear horizontal stabilisers. Each wing has an
upper and lower element, not quite in halves I then added some
pre-shading
though. The lower section fits ‘within’ the upper
wing but along panel lines so as to eliminate
any sanding. The fit was exemplary. These are
offered into slots on each side of the fuselage
which are very positive and provide just a nice
level of resistance for fixing and gluing. The
seam line between the wing and fuselage was
hardly noticeable. The rear horizontal stabilisers
are one-piece each with a good solid tab for
fixing into the fuselage.
Next, it was time to add the exhaust section, For the upper surfaces, I used Gunze
but I left it off to ease painting and masking. Up Intermediate Blue H56 mixed with
Greyish-Blue H337 with a drop or
next was the nose cone and the requirement for two of white
adding 20g weight to this area. I added some
Blu-Tac and fishing weights followed by some
Deluxe Materials Liquid Gravity to fill any gaps.
The fit of the nose cone was slightly off, being
slightly wider in diameter than the fuselage
end and required some decent sanding to get
MODEL AIRCRAFT
26 ALBATROS D.III
Kees Kleijwegt
builds the
1:48 Eduard
Albatros D.III
Dutch
Albatros
D
uring the Great War, the Dutch
government chose to remain
neutral. As a result of this, by
international law, it was not allowed
for countries taking part in the War
to cross the Dutch border with personnel or
material. Instead of taking prisoners, all troops
and vehicles crossing the Dutch border were to
be ‘interned’ until the end of the War. Between
1914 and 1918 quite a lot of British, French
and German aircraft made a crash landings
in the Netherlands, or sometimes the pilot
just got lost and landed in the ‘wrong’ place.
26 Dutch Albatros
Kees Kleijwegt builds the 1:48 Eduard Albatros
D.III
70 SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE FR MK.XIV
Dawid Branski ‘Takes a Break’ with the 1:48 Airfix
Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk.XIV
Kit-Kat-Spit
T again…’
his kit had a very unusual addition
– a Kit-Kat snack bar contained on a
sprue! It’s even mentioned as ‘step
38’ in the instructions and marked as
‘take a break and treat yourself with
a chocolate bar’ - nice move Airfix! I began
with assembling the cockpit, and immediately
replaced the seat with a resin one from Quick-
Boost. I also added a few extra little details
onto cockpit side walls using few small pieces
cut from some very thin polystyrene sheet
and 0.2mm copper wire. I sprayed the cockpit
with Hataka HTK-C026 Interior Grey Green,
and other sections were treated with some
AK Interactive Xtreme Metal Aluminium. I
then brush painted the other details, and then
added some Flory Models Dark Dirt Wash to
weather the interior.
After joining two halves of the fuselage
together and fixing the wings, I noticed a
few gaps here and there. So, these were filled
with some Vallejo Putty, and some CA glue,
70 Kit-Kat-Spit
Dawid Branski ‘Takes a Break’ with the 1:48 Airfix
Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk.XIV
In many cases the aircraft only had minor
damage and were added to the fast-growing
inventory of the ‘Luchtvaartafdeeling’ (literally
Aerospace Department) of the Dutch Army, the
forerunner of the current Royal Netherlands
Air Force. In 1917, German pilot
Franz Becker of Jasta 20 landed
in Breskens with his Albatros
D.III after he became lost in the clouds.
The aircraft was undamaged and as such was
added to the ‘Luchtvaartafdeeling’. His aircraft
is the subject of this build.
As usual, construction started with the
Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk.XIV
Manufacturer: Airfix
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded with chocolate
Kit Number: A05135
carefully applied using toothpick. For sanding,
I used some Tamiya 400 and 2000 grit sanding
sponges. I then primed the model with Mr
Surfacer 1500 Black, and the gave some careful
consideration about how the model would look
when finished, and how much weathering to
add. At this stage I decided that on the lower
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surfaces I wanted to
add just a couple of small chips with brush or
sponge after painting. So, the lower surfaces
were then painted with Hataka C034 Medium
Sea Grey. On the upper surfaces where the
traffic would be higher, certain spots where the
pilot and ground crew would be walking, I find
AUGUST 2020 5
VOLUME 19 ISSUE 08
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 27 MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 45 52 MIG-21MF WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 53
DUTCH ALBATROS
MODEL AIRCRAFT – F-5 TIGER II
SWORDFISH FISHBED
Swordfish
CRAZY AND UNIQUE CAMOUFLAGE SCHEMES
Model Aircraft Manual REALLY APPEAL TO ME!
Albatros D.III
Manufacturer: Eduard
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number:
Working on
the interior
The Northrop F-5 Tiger II Fishbed
History Colour Profiles Scale Plans Step by Step Build Walk Around
David Rainer builds the 1:72 Eduard The detail in the
cockpit is raised and
MiG-21MF Weekend Edition really nice
The fuselage of the
Albatros D series were
Two Seat Bandit
constructed of plywood and in most
cases were not painted, only varnished
THE ROUNDEL FOR THE ‘LUCHTVAARTAFDEELING’ WAS JUST Andy Renshaw builds the 1:48 AFV Club F-5F Tiger
AN ORANGE CIRCLE, SO CIRCULAR MASKS WERE CUT FROM
F-5F Tiger II
A
BROAD TAMIYA TAPE AND PAINTED USING MRP ORANGE dversary aircraft are always a
favourite amongst modellers, and Manufacturer: AFV Club
with the availability of great A-4 and Scale: 1:48
F-5 kits, the only thing needed is Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded To begin, I applied
an overall coat of
E
decals. Luckily, we have seen a huge Kit Number: AR48106 duard has a wide range of MiG-21 Primer. Once the cockpit was finished it was colours in several thin layers, that way I can
influx of great aftermarket decals, with Furball Furball Aero Design #48-056 Top Gun Tigers & Talons Ammo by MIG One
models, and when they released this closed up (either temporary with some putty control how much of the pre-shading remains Shot Black Primer
Aero Design providing a sheet in several scales 1:72 Polish kit I had to build it, as crazy or permanently with some glue). After that I visible. In this case, I applied four layers of
covering the USN Adversary F-5’s for a good and unique camouflage schemes applied an overall coat of Ammo by MIG One paint. Once the main colour was dry, I painted
span of time. One scheme in particular caught really appeal to me! Shot Black Primer, followed by some mottling in the smaller areas such as the nose cone and
my eye, on an F-5F BuNo 160965, with its tan, The kit has some outstanding detail and a and pre-shading. I like to spray the camouflage exhaust nozzle.
brown, and green scheme. It may look familiar great fit, and only a few areas required sanding
to those who have F-5 kits, as it’s the same and filling. The detail in the cockpit is raised
scheme in the old Monogram F-5F kit. I had I added some and really nice, so I decided to completely hand
built that kit in my youth, with a not so stellar additional detailing paint it. The chrome intake ring was painted Masking canopies in
to the cockpit 1:72 takes patience!
job at painting, and it eventually ended up in with Molotow Liquid Chrome after I applied
the bin as better builds graced my shelves. some black Ammo by MIG One Shot Black
However, I never did get another F-5F built. So,
with the decals in hand, and the fantastic AFV
Club kit at the ready, this was a great time to
remedy that!
The AFV Club kit needs no long introduction
as it has been out for some time. There are
some minor improvements you can make to
the stock kit, while keeping the aftermarket to and wire was added to the
a minimum. First, using the cockpit. I added rear bulkheads adjacent to each
coiled wire for the cords on the cockpit lamps seat location to busy this up a bit. Then
along the starboard wall. Some other bits of rod using reference images, I also built some of the
missing linkage for the rear canopy actuator. MiG-21MF
This is the same on the single seat F-5E, while Manufacturer: Eduard
THE ‘RED 47’ IS PLACED AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ON EACH the forward canopy has a much simpler
mechanism. A few lengths of brass wire, some
Scale: 1:72
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
SIDE AND IS NOT SYMMETRICAL plastic rod, and a few plastic boxes were added Kit Number: 7451
for a much more detailed result. The seats were
35 Model Aircraft Manual – 52 Swordfish Fishbed
The Northrop F-5 Tiger II David Rainer builds the 1:72 Eduard MiG-21MF
‘Aggressor - Train to Fight’ Weekend Edition
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 71 74 F-86D SABRE DOG WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM 75 78 CHECK YOUR REFERENCES WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 79
KIT-KAT-SPIT
MISSION MODELS MASTERCLASS
CHECK YOUR REFERENCES
Mission Models Masterclass Aircraft of the Astronauts #6 CHECK YOUR
REFERENCES
Models Aircraft’s Monthly Look at New Books
The cockpit is
Mac Patterson builds surprisingly well
detailed
the 1:48 Revell F-86D in
the colours of Apollo 16 Hawker Siddeley
astronaut Charlie Duke
Charles Moss Ikarus IK-2 Fairey Swordfish (BAe)/McDonnell- Coastal
Duke Jr Publisher: Kagero
Authors: Aleksander M Ognjevic Mk.I, II, III, IV Douglas/Boeing Command’s Air
• Lunar Module Pilot Apollo 16 and Branislav J Mirkov
ISBN: 9788366148628
and Floatplane Harrier War Against the
• Cap Com Apollo 11 Publisher: Kagero
Format: Softback
Price: £22.00
Publisher: Kagero
Author: Anirudh Rao Author: Salvador Mafe Huertas German U-Boat
IBN: 9788366148871 IBN: 9788366148833 Publisher: Pen and Sword
T his book is a history of Format: Softback Format: Softback Author: Norman Franks
pre-war Yugoslav aircraft Price: £13.00 Price: £15.00 ISBN: 9781783831838
production, in particular the Format: Softback
W W
Ikarus IK-2, which was designed by ith production starting ith a brief introduction Price: £14.99
I added some wiring in the cockpit…. also used MDC Cold War era dial face decals to
two Yugoslav engineers who had in 1935, the Fairey on the development of
replicate the instrumentation. The ejection seat
Secret Wings of Swedish Bomber
Dog appeared to have been on strength with
the squadron during Duke’s early service in
West Germany, so fitted the bill.
This must have been one of Monogram/
is refined being made up of a number of parts,
once painted I used Eduard pre-printed etched
seat belts for added realism. The completed
cockpit section is then glued in place, sitting
World War II
Publisher: Lance Cole
Colours 1924-
1958
been trained in France. The first
third of the book is a very detailed
history of the aircraft development
in Yugoslavia and describes the
Swordfish became
the main torpedo bomber and
reconnaissance plane for the
Fleet Air Arm, flying both from
the British Harrier, and the
subsequent building under licence
in the US, the subject aircraft within
this book centres on the US built
T his book summarises the
story of how RAF Coastal
Command overcame the
German U-boat danger during
Author: Norman Franks trials for the IK-2 as it progressed to aircraft carriers and the floatplane aircraft in service with the Spanish the Second World War and how
Revell’s finest offerings, as the silvery/grey on the top of the engine intake trunking, this
plastic has delicate, well defined recessed entire subset in then attached to the interior ISBN: 9781526782021 Publisher: MMP Books production, and finally into service version catapulted from capital Navy. With the first aircraft, officially the escalation of the U-boat war
‘We’re breathing
Author: Mikael Forslund and combat. Most pages have ships. Starting with a short text titled ‘Matadors’, (but not a regularly promoted the development of
THE CHOCOLATE BAR IS MENTIONED panels, the cockpit and ejection seats look
especially nice, and the decal sheet was glossy
of the fuselage via locating tabs. Including
sufficient blast in the nose to ensure the Dog
Format: Softback
ISBN: 9788365958372 period photographs or illustrations, on the aircraft in both English used name), arriving in 1976. Both anti-submarine warfare, leading
Price: £14.99
AS ‘STEP 38’! and well printed. Building straight-from-the-
Grumman F-14 Tomcat Format: Softback and also images from manuals. and Polish, the following pages single seat and two-seat trainers to victory over this menace in
box, the cockpit has lovely console detail with
fine switches and dials, these pop out really
well with some patiently applied paint, similarly
the instrument panel has recessed dial faces. I
Kagero Kit Built 1
Publisher: Kagero
Authors: Robert Skalbania and
with relevant information. It is
refreshing to see that the authors
have made use of products from
T here are many myths
and legends surrounding
the advanced German
aeronautical technology of the
Price: £TBC
A n illustrated study of
Swedish bomber aircraft
There is a technical description of
the various sub-assemblies, again
with images, data on the armament
and translations of Yugoslav military
have 1:72 multi-view drawings
of the Gloster Gladiator Mk.I,
Mk.II, Sea Gladiator, Mk.II Meteo,
Mk.I Tropical, J-8 Finnish export
were bought and operated from
the Spanish Navy’s aircraft capable
ships, the Dedalo (decommissioned
in 1989) and the Principe de Asturias
the Atlantic. At the start of the
war, RAF Coastal Command had
virtually no real chance of either
finding or sinking Germany’s
Adrian Wolnicki a variety of manufacturers, using Second World War. There are also deployed before and terminology. Other charts list the model, and Mk.I and II with skis. (decommissioned in 2013) and submarines, but within a short
F-86D Sabre Dog IBN: 9788366148567 what they consider to be the best facts and proven events. Yet within during World War II and in the airframe serials of individual aircraft The drawings are then repeated in Juan Carlos I. Details of the second period of time, new methods of
Manufacturer: Revell/Monogram on the market. The finish on these these stories and behind these facts early 1950s. The camouflage and their history, comparison of the larger 1:48, including fuselage generation aircraft are given, along detecting and delivering deadly
…and then did some detail painting Format: Softback
Scale: 1:48 models is superb, especially the lie conspiracy theories, mistaken and markings on the aircraft aircraft and geographical locations. sections, ideal for scratch-building with a list of airframe numbers and ordnance with which to sink this
Price: £18.00
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded weathering on the first aircraft. assumptions and denials that seem (which were sourced from many This second section consists or checking kits. The centre individual histories, but the major underwater threat were dreamt
T
Kit Number: 48176 his is a ‘how to’ book, which At the back of the book are seven to contradict the evidence. So, what different foreign countries) are of twenty-five sheets of scale four pages contain four colour plus of this book is the excellent up and implemented.  It took the
illustrates the modelling pages with ten colour profiles, really happened? How far ahead described in unparalleled detail drawings in both 1:48 and 1:72, profiles, with an additional two colour photographic coverage. Both men of Coastal Command long
techniques used to produce and the back cover has a beautiful were the German scientists? And, by the well-known author Mikael with details, fuselage and wing on the back cover. In common in-flight and parked up aircraft are hours patrolling over an often
B
eing a member of the exclusive Duke’s only space flight, but he does have the Dogs and later, F-102 Delta Daggers ready to two different models of the F-14 rendition of a pair of Tomcats of even greater interest, why and Forslund. They are then shown sections, covering prototypes with the Kagero range, there is seen in great detail, along with the hostile sea, in all types of weather,
‘Moonwalkers Club’ would seem to privilege of being the youngest man to walk scramble at a moment’s notice. This project Tomcat made from the 1:48 on patrol. As with many Kagero how? There have been other books in many previously unpublished and production models. The third also two large pull-out sheets pilots often named. Four colour but their diligence, perseverance
be enough recognition for anyone, on the Moon. He and mission Commander had the falsest of false starts, as I had elected Tamiya kit and the 1:72 Fine Molds publications, there is a bonus of about advanced German wartime photographs and in exclusive section consists of some 116 pages with the drawings in 1:32, making profiles of three Spanish and one and dedication won through,
but for Charlie Duke as ‘Capcom’ John Young would spend just under three days to build a Delta Dagger from Duke’s squadron, kit. The former is a carrier-based a decal sheet containing both aeronautics, yet few authors have colour profiles created for this of computer-generated 3D views it an ideal one-stop publication. Thai aircraft complete the book. saving countless lives of both
of the Apollo 11 landing, with his conducting experiments on the lunar surface, having the old Monogram/Revell 1:48 boxing to aircraft, the latter, trainer in 1:48 and 1:72 markings. The first fully examined the detail of the book by the artist Karolina Holda, of the IK-2 seen from all angles. The Another excellent booklet from Despite being a rather niche subject, merchant and navy seamen out
distinctive southern drawl, responding to leaving photographs of his family in the soft hand I began to build the kit. Although an older desert camouflage. In each case in a new series from Kagero, this designs and their relevance to the Marek Radomski and others. Kagero bonus is two large pull-out Kagero ideal for both the model- this is an excellent book which will in the cold wastes of the Atlantic
Armstrong’s ‘The Eagle has landed…” message, lunar dust. production, with raised panel lines and some we are given an introduction ideal for those wishing to build a fighter and bomber legends of www.mmpbooks.biz sheets with 1:32 drawings, sections maker and aviation enthusiast. prove invaluable to both model- and contributing much to the final
will be forever etched in people’s memories. As with all of the Apollo Astronauts, Duke slightly clunky detail, the kit went together well into the research and sourcing model of the subject aircraft, not the 1950s and 1960s, let alone the and details. This is an excellent Paul Middleton makers and aircraft enthusiasts. victory over Nazi Germany. This
Famously capturing the tension of the had a fascinating military flying career, after - right up to the point where I couldn’t find the of the kit, and the approach necessarily those illustrated, as current crop of military and civil collection of material on a quite www.casematepublishing.co.uk Numerous kits in a variety of new addition to the Images of War
moment, Duke allowed his test pilot cool to slip graduation he joined the Air Force and would nose cone, and without this part, I was unable taken. In addition to large format the details are applicable to other all-wing or blended-wing aircraft. obscure aircraft, (only twelve were scales are available of the Harrier series serves as a tribute to these
for just a second as he replied; ‘Roger Twank… select frontline service with the 526th Fighter to complete the build- a lot of harsh language photos of the completed models, aircraft. This book charts the story from built). For those interested, it is a in different versions. This book is a men, recording their exploits in
Tranquilty, we copy you on the ground…’ that Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, was used! An alternative was required, the process of construction Paul Middleton its origins, through current-day ‘must have’ whether a model-maker must for those wishing to make an words and images.
slip of the tongue revealing the very human, during the height of the Cold War. On constant fortunately a slightly forgotten Revell boxing of and painting is illustrated with www.casematepublishing.co.uk innovations and beyond, into the or just interested in aviation history. accurate model of a Spanish version. www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
true nature of the man. Apollo 16 was to be alert the squadron would have F-86D Sabre the F-86D resurfaced from my stash, the Sabre detail photographs annotated all-wing future of tomorrow. Paul Middleton Paul Middleton
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk www.casematepublishing.co.uk www.casematepublishing.co.uk
74 Mission Models Masterclass – 78 Check Your References
Aircraft of the Astronauts - ‘We’re Latest Book reviews.
breathing again…’
Mac Patterson builds the 1:48 Revell F-86D in the
colours of Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke
ANT TO THE LAST
DEFI
ARCH
ESE
R
MA
6 SPITFIRE SPECIFICS
Spitfire
Specifics
I
have been fortunate in the pursuit of this
hobby to come into contact with many
interesting people and been able to work
on a lot of fascinating projects. One of
these people is John Mollison who runs
the website www.oldguysandtheirairplanes.
com. John and I have collaborated on a
number of projects over recent years, John
interviews retired pilots, he puts the interview
on the website and does a colour profile of
their aircraft. I help John with the research
and build a model of the aircraft. When John
interviewed former RAF pilot John Wilkinson,
we really wanted to build a model of the
aircraft, MV249. At the time the only available
option was the Sword 1:72 kit. I did manage to
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Alan Price builds the Airfix 1:48
Supermarine Spitfire XIV as MV249 the
mount of RAF pilot John Wilkinson
build it – only
just in time as
John Wilkinson sadly
passed away just after
it was completed. With the
new Airfix kit on the market I really
wanted to build one to represent John
Wilkinson’s aircraft, this was the kit I always
wanted to build for this project
John Wilkinson was with No.41 Squadron
and in March 1945 they were based in Holland.
Spitfire Mk.XIV MV249 was almost brand
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 7

SPITFIRE SPECIFICS
The camera ports have to go.
Several rounds of filling and
sanding were required to
erase the evidence of these

new when it was assigned to the Squadron

in early March and John used this aircraft
on a number of sorties from Eindhoven
and Twente before moving to Celle
in northwest Germany. This was
not far from the Bergen-Belsen
concentration camp, which
John saw after it was
liberated. On the 16th of
April, John shot down an
Fw 190 which exploded,
badly damaging MV249.
He managed to land back
safely, and the aircraft
was sent for repair but
with the end of the war it
was no longer needed so
it was struck of charge on
the 19th of May.
Having picked up one
of the new Airfix kits, the
next issue was how to back
date this to an early Mk.XIV?
I had had the opportunity to
email John Wilkinson during the
original project and he was able to
give me a lot of details over the course
of the original build. Most Mk.XIVs were built
as FR.XIVs, that is with the reconnaissance
capability built in, in the form of the camera
ports. This is how the Airfix kit is. John’s aircraft
had full span wings, not clipped ones, and
did not have the fuel tank behind the pilot.
Fortunately, the kit comes with full span
wings so that was not an issue. Markings were
8 SPITFIRE SPECIFICS
straightforward, the kit has the correct roundels
already so I just needed the Sky squadron code
letters and Xtradecals provide a sheet with late
war style code letters in 24 and 36 inch sizes,
just what I needed. Time to get building!
For once, I didn’t start with the cockpit but
the fuselage sides. I had to remove all trace of
the camera windows, to do this the kit windows
were first glued into the fuselage halves. Next I
filled over the windows completely and sanded
back to ensure the fuselage shape was kept
correct. This took three rounds of filling and
sanding back before the windows were
erased completely. The fuselage had
to then be re-engraved. On the port
side, the window was fitted to the radio
compartment opening so the panel
lines were correct and just needed
tidying up. On the starboard side this
was not the case and I consulted photos to
check how the panel lines appeared. Work
then moved on to the cockpit. Airfix supply a
very nice cockpit out of the box but I added
a bit of extra detail in the form of copper
piping made from fine copper wire and a Yahu
instrument panel. The seat was improved with
the addition of an Eduard Steel seat harness.
Tamiya XF-71 Cockpit Green was used for the
basic interior colour, dry brushed with a lighter
shade then given a thin black wash.
I had noticed comments online suggesting
that fixing the saddle ahead of the cockpit
seemed to be a problem so I carefully dry
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Cockpit detail is very good and repays careful painting. A
light green dry brush and dark wash help to bring out the
details in the cockpit
fitted the cockpit and fuselage to test this and
found that it all seemed to fit fine and once
everything was glued I found that the saddle
still fitted just fine. The kit has raised detail for
the engine cowling fasteners, I was not keen on
these, so they were all removed and replaced
with engraved detail. This was done with
a beading tool, carefully pressed into the
plastic. The fit of the fuselage halves was
good, and I filled and sanded the seams,
re-engraving any lost detail as I went
along. The wings were dealt with next;
these have to have the undercarriage
bays assembled into them first and
then they were airbrushed with Alclad II
ALC-101 Aluminium. I found the fit of the wings
to the fuselage to be not so good, the starboard
wing root was ok but on the port side there was
a bit of a gap. This had to be filled in and then
the lost detail re-engraved. The fuel filler aft of
the cockpit was also filled and sanded back.
The bulged cam covers in the engine cowling
needed a bit of attention too, these were
Some copper wire and a Yahu instrument panel blended into the fuselage with some Deluxe
help to improve the cockpit detail as does an Materials Perfect Plastic Putty. I wasn’t too keen
Eduard seat harness. Note that the holed in the
bulkheads have been drilled out on the kit cannon barrels so I sourced a pair of
ON THE 16TH OF APRIL, WILKINSON SHOT DOWN AN FW 190,
WHICH EXPLODED, BADLY DAMAGING MV249, ALTHOUGH HE
MANAGED TO LAND BACK SAFELY
The fit of the fuselage halves is very good and little work
was required to eliminate the seams. Here the camera ports
have been painted to test the effectiveness of the filler
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 9

SPITFIRE SPECIFICS
The port wing root needed filling as the fit was not too good, some detail Eduard cannon barrels were a simple improvement to the kit parts. Note
was lost and had to be re-engraved. The filled in fuel filler opening can also the filler applied around the cam covers to help blend them in
be seen aft of the cockpit

Construction almost complete – the prop has

been test fitted, this would not be glued in place The wing radiators are a good fit as is the carburettor intake however a little
until the end of the build filling and sanding was required along the centre seams as can be seen here

Ready for paint –

all masked and the
canopy framing
painted interior
green

At the tail, the missing rudder actuator was

replaced with a length of brass rod. An unsightly
ejector pin marking had to be erased from inside
the tail wheel undercarriage bay too

Eduard ones from the spares box, these fitted
well and looked much better.
The tail surfaces were attached without
issue as were the ailerons. No actuator was
provided for the rudder so one was fashioned
form a small length of brass rod. Under the
wings, the large radiators were assembled.
The radiator faces were painted with Alclad II
Aluminium ALC-101 then given a black wash,
the interior of the radiator assembly was
painted with Mr. Hobby H335 Medium Sea
Grey. The completed radiator assembly was
then glued in place. The carburettor intake was
then assembled and attached, this needed a
little filling and sanding to tidy up the seam.
The prop was painted with Tamiya XF-69 NATO
Black while the hub and backing plate were
painted with Mr. Hobby H-12 Flat Black. These
were then glued together into a complete
assembly that could be fixed in place at the
end of the build process. I next prepared the
undercarriage parts. The block tread tyres
were chosen, photos of other early Mk.XIVs
suggested that these were in use at the time.
Before painting could begin, the cockpit
and canopy were first masked as were the
undercarriage bays and radiators. The first
stage was to apply a primer, and for this I used
my usual Mr. Hobby Mr. Surfacer 1000, applied
from an aerosol tin. This was cut back with
3600 grit Micromesh to remove any defects.
The panel lines were then pre-shaded with
black. The underside was painted first using Mr
Hobby H335 Medium Sea Grey. Once dry this
was masked and the upper surface camouflage
was applied using first Tamiya XF-82 Ocean
Grey and then Mr Hobby H73 Dark Green, these
were applied freehand to give a soft edge
between the colours as seen on the real aircraft.
I left the model overnight before assessing the
camouflage and I wasn’t too happy with the
pattern on the starboard wing, so this received
some corrective work. I then masked the wing
10 SPITFIRE SPECIFICS WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

A pre-shade was applied to the

panel lines using black before
the camouflage colours were
A coat of Mr. Surfacer was airbrushed on
applied as a primer before
painting the camouflage.

After painting and masking the

underside, the upper camouflage
colours were applied freehand

Painting complete – a coat of gloss was

airbrushed on ready for the decals to
be applied

Wing walkways and leading-

edge identifications strips were
masked and painted

A dark wash was

applied over the entire
model to bring out the
engraved detail

The decals were a

straightforward job,
applied over two
evenings

An Artool mask was used to help

fade the paint, several colours
were used to tone down and
apply dirt to the paint
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 11

SPITFIRE SPECIFICS
Oil paints were used to create the typical staining seen under the fuselage
of Spitfires.

walkway markings and used for both. After a further coat of gloss, a
airbrushed these wash was applied using Flory Models Dark Dirt.
back. This was Next the exhaust stains were applied using
followed by the different shades of grey, mixed in the airbrush
wing leading edge cup. This aircraft was almost new when John
yellow identification Wilkinson was flying it and he used it for just a
markings. These were few short weeks. With that in mind, weathering
carefully masked along needed to be restrained. These aircraft were
the length of the wing in a lot of use, during the early part of the year
leading edge, outboard of so did get dirty but being almost new, showed
the canon barrel up to the wing little signs of wear and tear. An Artool mask
tip navigation light. The area was painted white was used with a number of different shades
first followed by several coats of yellow. A coat of green, grey and brown to tone down the
of Microscale Gloss was then applied to prepare paintwork and create some staining. Some
the model for the decals. light chipping was applied using grey Humbrol
The mix of Airfix and Xtradecals were enamels around the wing root. Oils were used
applied easily with Microscale setting solutions to create stains on the underside. Finally, Mig
Productions Pigments were used to create dirt
effects on the wheels and around the wing
root. The final finish was applied using MRP
12 SPITFIRE SPECIFICS WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

Super Clear Semimatt MRP-126 and then a

light coat of Microscale Flat. The whip aerial
on the fuselage was made using a length of
Nylon thread and the wingtip navigation
lights were cut to shape then filled with
Microscale Kristal Klear, once dry
these were painted with
Tamiya clear colours. The
square style exhausts were
used on MV249 and these
were first painted with Alclad
II Aluminium ALC-101 then
given a light coat of Jet
Exhaust ALC-113. The
completed exhausts
were then fixed in place.
The last job was to remove the
canopy masking and attach the
pilot’s door and canopy in the
open position. This was a very
enjoyable build, the Airfix kit
is excellent and I’m just sorry
that John Wilkinson never
got to see his old Spitfire
built from this kit. MA
 OUT
BUILDING THE

NOW
Spitfire

!
Model Aircraft ‘Extra Special’ #6 MODEL
AIRCRAFT

The Supermarine Spitfire

EXTRA

No.6
he iconic Supermarine Spitfire, the most strategically important

T British single-seat fighter of World War II. The Spitfire, renowned

for winning victory laurels in the Battle of Britain along with the
Hawker Hurricane, served in every theatre of the War and was produced
in more variants than any other British aircraft. The Spitfire was designed
by Reginald Mitchell of Supermarine Ltd., in response to a 1934 Air Ministry
specification calling for a high-performance fighter with an armament of
eight wing-mounted 0.303-inch machine guns. The airplane was a direct
descendant of a series of floatplanes designed by Mitchell to compete for
the coveted Schneider Trophy in the 1920s. One of these racers, the S.6,
set a world speed record of 357 miles per hour in 1929. Designed around
a 1,000-horsepower, 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled Rolls-Royce PV-12 engine
(later dubbed the Merlin), the Spitfire first flew in March 1935. It had superb
performance and flight characteristics, and deliveries to operational
Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons commenced in the summer of 1938. A
more radical design than the Hurricane, the Spitfire had a stressed-skin
aluminum structure and a graceful elliptical wing with a thin airfoil that,
in combination with the Merlin’s efficient two-stage supercharger, gave it
exceptional performance at high altitudes. The version of the Spitfire that
fought in the Battle of Britain was powered by a Merlin engine. Faster than
its formidable German opponent the Bf 109 at altitudes above 15,000 feet
and just as manoeuvrable, Spitfires were sent by preference to engage
German fighters while the slower Hurricanes went for the bombers. More
Hurricanes than Spitfires served in the Battle of Britain, and they were
credited with more ‘kills,’ but it can be argued that the Spitfire’s superior
high-altitude performance provided the margin of victory. Meanwhile,
Supermarine was developing more-capable versions of the Spitfire driven BUILDING THE
by progressively more-powerful Merlin’s. The eight 0.303-inch machine

Spitfire
guns gave way to four 0.8-inch automatic cannons, and by war’s end the
Spitfire had been produced in more than 20 fighter versions alone,
powered by Merlin’s of up to 1,760 horsepower. Though outperformed
by the German Fw 190 on that aircraft’s introduction in 1941, the MAE6
Spitfire restored parity the following year and eventually regained
the advantage. It remained a first-line air-to-air fighter throughout
Spitfire Compiled by Andy Evans

the war. Spitfires were used in the defence of Malta, in North

Africa and Italy, and, fitted with tail hooks and strengthened tail
sections, as Seafires from Royal Navy aircraft carriers from June
£17.99
+P&P
1942. Spitfires helped to provide air superiority over the Sicily, Italy,
and Normandy beachheads and served in the Far East from the spring
of 1943. Fighter-bomber versions could carry a 250 or 500lb bomb
beneath the fuselage and a 250-pound bomb under each win One of the
Spitfire’s most important contributions to Allied victory was as a photo-
reconnaissance aircraft from early 1941. Superior high-altitude performance
MA PUBLICATIONS LTD
rendered it all but immune from interception, and the
fuel tanks that replaced wing-mounted machine guns and
ammunition bays gave it sufficient range to probe western
Germany from British bases. n late 1943 Spitfires powered by Rolls-
Royce Griffon engines developing as much as 2,050 horsepower began
entering service. Capable of top speeds of 440 miles per hour and ceilings
of 40,000 feet, these were used to shoot down V-1 ‘buzz bombs.’ During
World War II, Spitfires were exported in small numbers to Portugal, Turkey,
and the Soviet Union, and they were flown by the U.S. Army Air Forces in
Europe. When production ceased in 1947, 20,334 Spitfires of all versions had
been produced, 2,053 of them Griffon-powered versions. Fighter versions
of the Spitfire were withdrawn from RAF service during the early 1950s,
while photo-reconnaissance Spitfires continued in service until 1954. In
Model Aircraft ‘Extra Special’
#6, the biggest book of this
series some 22`Spitfire build
projects will be included,
in a ‘how-to’ format, and
continue this fantastic series
modelling guides from MA
Publications, the new name
in scale modelling.

PO Box 1592 | Bedford | MK40 9FD | UK

T: +44 (0) 1234 331431 E: info@modelaircraftmag.com
www.modelaircraftmag.com
14 COMBAT ZONE – ATTACKER
h Supermarine
ritis
The B
Attacker
T
he Attacker is a British single-seat
naval jet fighter designed and
produced by the aircraft manufacturer
Supermarine for the Royal Navy’s
Fleet Air Arm, and the type has the
distinction of being the first jet fighter to enter
operational service with the FAA. Performing its
maiden flight on 27 July 1946, the flight-testing
phase of development was protracted due to
several issues, including handling difficulties.
The first Attackers were introduced to FAA
service during August 1951. Common to the
majority of other first-generation jet fighters, the
Attacker had a relatively short service life before
being replaced, this was due to increasingly
advanced aircraft harnessing the jet engine
being rapidly developed during the 1950s and
1960s. Despite its retirement by the FAA during
1954, only three years following its introduction,
the Attacker would be adopted by the newly
formed Pakistan Air Force, who would continue
to operate the type possibly as late as 1964. As
originally intended, the Attacker programme
was supposed to provide an interim jet fighter
COMBAT ZONE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S
to equip the RAF while another aircraft, the
Gloster E.1/44, that was also powered by the
same Rolls-Royce Nene engine, completed
development. On 30 August 1944, an order for
three prototypes was placed with Supermarine,
and it was stipulated that the second and third
prototypes were both to be navalised. On 7 July
1945, a follow-on order for a further twenty-four
pre-production aircraft, six for the RAF and the
remaining eighteen for the Fleet Air Arm was
also placed.
Handling problems with the Supermarine
Spiteful prototype delayed progress on the
jet-powered version, leading to the pre-
production order being stopped, although
work on the three prototypes continued. Due to
the delay, the FAA instead procured a batch of
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
COMBAT Z
ONE
S
O U R
COL
NG
H T I
F IG
eighteen De Havilland Vampire Mk. 20s for the
purpose of gaining experience with jet aircraft.
After evaluating both the Jet Spiteful and the
E.1/44, the RAF decided to reject both designs
since neither aircraft offered any perceptible
performance advantage over contemporary
fighters such as the Gloster Meteor and the
de Havilland Vampire, which were the RAF’s
first two operational jet aircraft. Following the
design’s rejection by the RAF, Supermarine
decided to approach the Admiralty with an
offer of developing a navalised version of the
project. On 27 July 1946, the maiden flight of
the type was performed by prototype Type 392
serial number TS409, a land-based version, by
test pilot Jeffrey Quill. The Air Ministry issued
Specification E.1/45 to cover production aircraft;
meeting its various requirements necessitated a
range of extensive modifications to be made to
the design, including a revised fin and tail plane
arrangement, as well as an increased internal
fuel capacity. Accordingly, a large external
ventral fuel tank was adopted, along with an
extended dorsal fin and folding wing tips. Flight
testing was largely conducted at Supermarine’s
newly created experimental establishment at
the former RAF Chilbolton. The Attacker had
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 COMBAT ZONE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S
15

COMBAT ZONE – ATTACKER

several deficiencies, one of which was using the
Spiteful tail-wheel undercarriage rather than a
nose-wheel undercarriage, a configuration that
resulted in the Attacker being considerably more
difficult to land on an aircraft carrier.
On 17 June 1947, the first navalised prototype,
Type 398 TS413, conducted its first flight, flown
by test pilot Mike Lithgow, occurring four years
after the Meteor had performed its first flight.
On 5 May 1950, the first production variant of
the aircraft, designated Attacker F.1, performed
its first flight, one year later, deliveries of the
type commenced. While originally designed
to a wartime requirement for the RAF, it was
not introduced until the early 1950s, and was
ultimately developed for use aboard aircraft
carriers. For a jet aircraft, the Attacker’s design
was unusual, with a tail-dragger undercarriage
with twin tailwheels, as well as an unswept wing.
The flight controls were relatively conventional,
based on those of the Spiteful. The forward
position of the cockpit was well-received and
provided an exceptionally good view for the pilot.
The Attacker had a relatively strong structure,
making extensive use of heavy-gauge materials,
principally aluminium alloy, which were used
with stressed-skin construction and supported
by twenty-four closely spaced stringers and
formers. The nose had an unusual lobster-
16 COMBAT ZONE – ATTACKER
claw structure, comprising thick laminated
aluminium-alloy sheet at the top and bottom,
with no stiffening members and it gave armour
protection to the pilot and carried pressurisation
loads. The tip of the nose was detachable to
accommodate a gun camera or ballast; between
this and the cockpit was an avionics bay. Aft of
the cockpit was the semi-monocoque fuel tank,
followed by the engine bay. The fuselage was
continuously curved with no straight lines. It was
shaped to have some of the wing’s laminar flow
characteristics and its lines were interrupted only
by the faired cockpit canopy and the engine
air intakes on either side of the cockpit. The
intakes diverted the front fuselage boundary
layer to prevent it entering the engine, tests with
the diverters faired over gave reduced engine
performance including thrust.
The design of the wing was largely
unchanged from the Spiteful, save for being
slightly enlarged to match the bigger Attacker.
It used split flaps along the trailing edge, as well
as slotted ailerons and electrically operated
trim tabs. With a single main spar and one
auxiliary spar, the wing was bolted directly
onto stub spar booms as there was no centre
section. The exterior skins were flush-riveted
and manufactured with considerable care in an
COMBAT ZONE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S
attempt to achieve the laminar flow predicted
from wind tunnel tests. Flight attributed the
laminar-flow wing to enabling the Attacker to
exceed the maximum speed of the Spiteful
by more than 100 mph. However, other
reports claim that the Attacker’s wing was
aerodynamically inferior to the original elliptical
wing of the Spitfire, possessing unfavourable
characteristics such as a lower critical Mach
number. The Attacker was powered by a single
Rolls-Royce Nene Mk. 101 turbojet engine; at
the time, the Nene was the most powerful jet
engine in the world. The engine was supported
by a heavy box-section rear spar frame, which
was braced fore and aft to the main spar. As the
jet-pipe was relatively long, a manually operated
variable exhaust outlet was used during engine
starting to prevent jet-pipe resonances and
excessive turbine temperatures. The exterior
skin surrounding the intake had several louvres
to regulate pressures during starting and they
automatically closed to seal the engine bay
after starting. The engine bay incorporated
a pilot-operated fire extinguisher system.
Although an automatic fuel transfer system was
not originally incorporated, experience with
the initial prototypes led to its incorporation. In
terms of armament, the Attacker F.1 had four 20
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
mm Hispano Mk. V cannon, at the time, this was
viewed as the standard armament for a frontline
RAF fighter. These cannon were fired using
electronically-operated Maxifiux-Star units. The
inboard cannon had a maximum capacity of 167
rounds of ammunition each, while the outboard
cannon had up to 145 rounds each. External
stores included two 1,000 lb bombs or four 300
lb rockets
During August 1951, the Attacker entered
operational service with the FAA, the first
squadron to receive production aircraft was
No.800 Naval Air Squadron, based at RNAS
Ford. Following the introduction of the Attacker
F.1, two further variants of the aircraft were
developed and produced for the FAA. The
Attacker FB.1 was a fighter-bomber which
differed little from the original F.1 model, except
that it was expected to operate as a ground
attack aircraft. The third, and last, variant was the
Attacker FB.2, which was powered by a more
capable model of the Nene engine that was
accompanied by various modifications to its
structure. On this model, Supermarine Attacker
was furnished with a total of eight underwing
hard points, which could carry a pair of 1,000lb
bombs or a maximum of eight unguided rockets.
Across the three variants to be adopted by the
FAA, a total of 146 production Attackers would
be delivered to the service. It had a relatively
brief career with the FAA, none of its variants
seeing any action during the type’s service life
with the FAA and being taken out of front-line
service during 1954. For several further years, the
Attacker remained in service with squadrons of
the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), the
type being finally taken out of reserve service
during early 1957. During the early 1950s, the
newly formed Royal Pakistan Air Force (RPAF
- later Pakistan Air Force) sought to acquire jet
fighters. A combination of a lack of funds and
political pressure that was exerted by British
suppliers persuaded the service to acquire a
variant of the Attacker, known as the Type 538,
which was essentially a ‘de-navalised’ variant of
the aircraft used by the FAA.
Only a single unit was ever equipped with
these aircraft, No.11 ‘Arrows’ Squadron and it
received its first Attackers during 1953.
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
Navy
Attacker
Lee Powell builds the 1:48 Trumpeter F.B2
T
he 1:48 Trumpeter kit was first
released in 2012 in the F.1 Version, this
was followed in 2014 by this version
the FB.2. It is a very basic but nicely
detailed kit comprising of three grey
sprues, a clear sprue a small etched fret and
a sheet of decals. The approximately ninety
parts are provided with some very nice fine
THERE ARE TWO MARKINGS
PROVIDED, I CHOSE TO GO
WITH WZ283 FROM NO.1831
NAVAL AIR SQUADRON
COMBAT ZONE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S
engraved detail and no flash. The cockpit is
very simplistic with a seat that uses etched
parts for the seat belts. (There are also two
nose antenna parts on the small etched frame)
along with a control stick and a control panel
that uses a decal to replicate the instruments.
Trumpeter offers the opportunity to build
the model with the wings folded, and I chose
to go with this option and to do this I had to cut
the wing ends off with a fine saw. I have to say
the fit of the wing detail parts is excellent! As
far as the control surfaces are concerned, the
flaps are poseable but not any of the ailerons
or elevators without
cutting, shaping and
sanding them.
17
COMBAT ZONE – ATTACKER
Supermarine Attacker FB.2
Manufacturer: Trumpeter
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 42810
The front air intakes are shown nearly closed
but that is not that big an issue, because once
the inner baffles have been installed, it will be
nearly impossible to see through them and see
there is nothing there! The fuselage and wings
are all nicely detailed and fit quality is great with
minimal filler required, the model also has an
optional large underfuselage fuel tank. The
18 COMBAT ZONE – ATTACKER
main undercarriage is
made up of seven parts
(Including the wheel) for
each side and is very fiddly but
is nice and strong once assembled,
the tail undercarriage has two wheels, one
on either side of the main strut, which makes it
look very strange on a jet aircraft having a ‘tail-
dragger’ undercarriage.
After the quick, straightforward build came
painting, first of all I masked off the cockpit area
as I had painted this before assembly and gave
the model a coat of Tamiya Grey Fine Surface
Primer. When this had dried it showed a couple
of areas that needed some minimal filling,
COMBAT ZONE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S
so these were
filled and sanded
before another coat
of Primer. Panel lines were
airbrushed with some Hataka
Orange line Night Black paint before
the main painting began. For this build, I
decided to try something different to see how
good a finish I could get with Humbrol Spray
Rattle Cans. I used Humbrol 27 Matt Sea Grey
for the upper surfaces and Humbrol 90 Matt
Beige Green for the lower surfaces. First off,
the bottom areas were masked off and then
two thin coats were sprayed on to the upper
surface. This covered fine and left a very subtle
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
shadow effect along
panel lines. After drying
overnight, I then masked off
the upper surface and this time,
three light coats were sprayed on the lower half,
again leaving a very subtle shadow effect along
the panel lines. When this had dried overnight, I
proceeded to detail paint the rest of the aircraft
painting the jet exhaust, undercarriage bays,
undercarriage, wheels and the Wingtip lights
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 COMBAT ZONE
F IG H T ING COLO U R S
as well as the pitot tube on the tip of the wing.
Next up was a coat of Tamiya TS-13 Clear, this
gave a nice glossy sheen in preparation for
the decals. There are two markings provided,
I chose to go with WZ283 from No.1831 Naval
Air Squadron. Now with the kit being so good,
I expected the few decals to be a nice quick
straightforward affair, but no! All twenty-six
decals were cracking and falling to pieces. The
decals all settled well with Micro Sol and Micro
Set and when they had dried the kit received
another coat of Tamiya TS-13 Clear.
Ammo by MIG Deep Grey Panel Line wash
was used to accent panel lines but as the detail
was so fine and the spray can paint a bit thicker
than airbrushed paint, not a lot of it stayed in
the panel lines, even when
lightly wiped off. I was
happy enough with the
19
COMBAT ZONE – ATTACKER
majority of what I had, and then I used a soft 3B
pencil to lightly go along some panel lines, and
softly smudged this in with a cotton bud until I
had the effect that I was looking for. When this
had dried overnight I gave it a couple of coats
of Tamiya TS-80 Flat Clear which really brought
the kit to life, all that was left was to use some
Citadel Nuln Oil Shade, applied lightly over
the undercarriage and the wing folds to make
it stand out a bit and then some gloss varnish
over the wing tip lights and after gluing the
canopy on, the build was complete.
This is a great kit of a rarely seen aircraft or
model kit, the Engineering of it is great with
enough detail to keep most modellers happy
though beware of the decals! Hopefully I
just had a rogue sheet. Now if only someone
could produce an Injection moulded 1:48
Supermarine Scimitar! MA
20 MA RESEARCH DEPARTMENT WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

Model Aircraft Research Department

by Malcolm V Lowe
All images are credit - Boulton Paul, JB via Malcolm V Lowe
and The Malcolm V Lowe Collection

Defiant to the Last

The Boulton Paul Defiant was the RAF’s only single-engined front-line two-seat turret-
equipped fighter of World War Two. It had a chequered career as both a day fighter and
a nocturnal warplane, as Malcolm V Lowe explains

T
he Boulton Paul Defiant received
much fanfare at the time of its
creation in the second half of the
1930s. At that time Britain was faced
with the growing need to defend
itself in the future against formations of enemy
bombers, the prevailing thinking being that
incoming enemy bombers would fight their
way unescorted to their targets. Therefore,
defending fighters would simply need to shoot
down the bombers using a heavy offensive
armament, without the need to defend
themselves against enemy fighters which would
not be present to look after the bombers. With
hindsight this thinking was fatally flawed, but
Air Ministry Specification F.9/35 of 1935 asked
Britain’s aircraft industry for a two-seater fighter,
armed with a gun turret, for just this purpose.
Specialist Company
One manufacturer in particular was well-
placed to answer this requirement. The original
Norwich-based Boulton & Paul company (the
aviation-related department of which became
Boulton Paul Aircraft in 1934) was a world-leader
in gun turret design and manufacture. The
company was fully aware of turret developments
that were taking place during that era in France
and used some of the French technology
in its own gun-equipped turret design and
manufacture. The company’s development
work also led to the four-gun turret design
that became a central feature of its response to
Specification F.9/35. Initially designated P.82 by
the company and eventually named Defiant,
the Boulton Paul design was a potential winner
from the start because it incorporated all of
the company’s know-how in turret design and
technology.
Allocated the British military serial number
K8310, the initial P.82 aircraft made its first flight
on 11 August 1937, piloted by company test pilot
Cecil Feather. It was not fitted with a turret at
that time and looked sleek and purposeful. The
armament chosen for the Defiant was a Boulton
Paul ‘A’-series turret, based on a French de
Boysson design, mounting four 0.303in (7.7mm)
Browning machine guns. But there was no fixed
 MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 21

DEFIANT TO THE LAST

A well-known ‘publicity’ image of a standard distinguished itself in the air battles over the
production Defiant Mk.I, possibly N1573, showing Dunkirk beaches during the evacuation of British
the typical 1940-era day fighter configuration of
the ‘bomber interceptor’ turret-armed Defiants. and French forces. Nonetheless, several Defiants
(Photo: Boulton Paul) had been shot down by German fighters, and
the type’s vulnerability was becoming obvious. A
second Defiant Mk.I unit, 141 Squadron, became
operational in the early summer of 1940.
The Battle of Britain began on 10 July 1940.
During July and August the Defiant force fought
bravely but suffered considerable losses to the
Luftwaffe’s nimble, well-armed Messerschmitt
Bf 109E. Initially the Germans had been caught
out by the Defiant’s unusual armament
configuration, but it soon became obvious how
to defeat the unconventional fighter, which
was vulnerable to frontal attack. Eventually the
Defiant was withdrawn in late August/early
September from daytime fighter operations, just
when the Battle of Britain was reaching its peak.
The less than successful daylight aerial combat
experiences of the Defiant did not stop the type

With aerials mounted on its starboard wing leading edge and elsewhere on
the airframe, the radar-equipped Defiant Mk.II represented the state-of-
the-art in night-fighter technology during the period 1941 into 1942.
(Photo: Boulton Paul)
Looking more like a sleek racing machine rather than a frontline warplane,
the very first Defiant was K8310, and was originally designated by Boulton
Paul as the P.82. It was initially built ‘clean’ without the fuselage turret fitted,
although it had been installed by the time of this image. (Photo: Boulton Paul)

forward-firing armament within the Defiant
itself – which was to prove a costly deficiency.
Retractable fuselage fairings ahead of and just
behind the turret gave the turret an excellent
traverse and field of fire. The first prototype
was powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin I engine of
1,030hp.
A second, supplemental prototype (K8620)
flew in May 1939, but long before this, during
April 1937, an initial batch of Defiant Mk.I had
been ordered. The first production aircraft,
L6950, flew in July 1939. Dimensionally, with a
wing span of 39ft 4in (11.99m) the Defiant Mk.I
was just smaller than a Hurricane and larger
than a Spitfire, but was longer than both of
these with a length of 35ft 4in (10.77m). Power
for the production aircraft was provided by the
improved Merlin III engine, of similar rating to
the Mk.I.
effect being a ‘bomber interceptor’. It was
already becoming obvious even in early 1940,
however, that Defiants were going to have to
face formidable German fighter opposition – for
which the lack of fixed, forward-firing armament
was going to be a huge disadvantage.
The squadron became operational during
March 1940, and was involved from the outset
when the Germans attacked France and the Low
Countries in May 1940. Early encounters with
Luftwaffe aircraft were encouraging, several
being shot down by the Defiants, and the unit
from eventually becoming a useful fighter, but in
a far different role. Both 264 and 141 Squadrons,
and later several other units including the
Polish-manned 307 Squadron, commenced
using their Defiants for potentially less hazardous
night patrols. Success was achieved with several
German bombers intercepted in the dark by
141 Squadron during September 1940 as the
Germans increasingly switched to nocturnal
operations. At first the Defiants were very austere
night-fighters, with no radar and relying on the
pilots’ skills to operate in the dark.

Early Problems
The initial RAF frontline recipient of the Defiant
was 264 (Madras Presidency) Squadron, which
received its first aircraft in December 1939. The
unit moved to RAF Martlesham Heath to operate
the Defiant, but several varied malfunctions
were found with the new aircraft, while special
tactics had to be worked out to decide the most
effective use of the heavy gun turret. An attack
from below into the target aircraft’s ‘blind spot’ Photographed in flight during daylight, this nocturnal Defiant Mk.II night-fighter, AA436 coded DZ-V,
was the most obvious approach, the Defiant in was flown by 151 Squadron. (Photo: JB via Malcolm V Lowe)
22 MA RESEARCH DEPARTMENT WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

Employed as a development machine for the target-towing conversion of the Defiant layout, DR863 carried a ‘P’ marking on its fuselage to denote its
prototype status. Target-towing became an important second-line role for the Defiant later in World War Two. (Photo: Boulton Paul)

Believed to have been taken at RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey during early August

A large amount of work was needed to convert the Defiant into a target-
towing aircraft, as illustrated by this example with modified lower rear
fuselage, lack of turret and fuselage-mounted propeller for the on-board
winch mechanism. (Photo: Boulton Paul)
1940, this image includes an important Defiant Mk.I. In the foreground,
L7005/PS-X was at one time flown by Sergeants Edward Thorn (pilot)
and Fred Barker (air gunner), the most successful Defiant crew with
approximately a dozen claims including one at night.
(Photo: Malcolm V Lowe Collection)

Radar Controversy radar-equipped Defiants were slow to reach night-fighter Defiants, some of these operating
Production of the Defiant Mk.I eventually operational units. In practical terms the aircraft’s Mk.I alongside Mk.II airframes. Some sources
ended with over 700 manufactured, but pilot used the radar equipment, with a cathode claim that Defiants fitted with radar were
Boulton Paul was always seeking to improve ray tube display mounted in the cockpit. This designated Mk.IA.
the type. A change of power plant to the Merlin distracted the pilot from flying the aircraft and Night-fighter Defiants were later replaced
XX of 1,260hp (940kW), plus other alterations spoilt his immediate night vision. Other items by the more powerful twin-engined and
including a modified fuel system and slightly related to the radar were located elsewhere in radar-equipped Bristol Beaufighter and de
enlarged vertical tail surfaces resulted in the and around the airframe. Havilland Mosquito. These enjoyed the obvious
Defiant Mk.II. This was arguably the best of However, thus kitted-out the radar-equipped advantages not only of greater armament
the breed, and at once the new type became Defiant night-fighter was one of the most (including hard-hitting 20mm cannon),
important for the night-fighter role that the advanced types in front-line service anywhere but each also had a second crew member
Defiant was making its own from late 1940 in the world at that time, a significant role that dedicated to operating the on-board radar to
onwards. it played until eventually replaced from 1942 the best of its capabilities, thus freeing up the
Developments in airborne radar equipment onwards. Ultimately at least 13 squadrons flew pilot to fly the aircraft.
allowed the Defiant to be fitted with Airborne
Interception (AI) radar, for which prominent
aerials were attached to various parts of the
type’s airframe. Initially, it appears that the AI
Mk.IV radar was fitted in a small number of
examples, including limited operational use.
However, in recent times this point has caused
considerable controversy, with at least one
historian who has access to Boulton Paul files
pointing out that no Defiant flew with AI Mk.IV
radar installed.
What is certain is that the later, AI Mk.VI radar
was definitely fitted to a number of Defiants,
particularly the Defiant Mk.II. Boulton Paul Parked in front of a camouflaged hangar (possibly Boulton Paul’s flight sheds), this early Defiant Mk.I,
was already working on a radar installation serial number L7012, was from the first production batch. It is seen awaiting delivery apparently
without guns in its turret. (Photo: Boulton Paul)
during the latter half of 1940, although the
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020

Technican Data
Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.I
Crew: 2
Wing Span: 39ft 4in (11.99m)
Length: 35ft 4in (10.77m)
Height: 11ft 4in (3.45m)
Empty Weight: 6,078lb (2,757kg)
Loaded Weight: 8,318lb (3,773kg)
Maximum speed: 302½ mph (487km/h) at 16,500ft (5,029m)
Service Ceiling: 28,100ft (8,565)
Range: 465 miles (748km)
Engine: One Rolls-Royce Merlin III of 1,030hp (768kW) at 16,250ft (4,953m)
Armament: Four 0.303in Browning machine guns in power-operated fuselage turret

Remaining Active
The withdrawal of Defiants from front-line duties
did not end the type’s usefulness to the RAF, and
the type embarked on a new career in various
second-line and special roles.
The many Defiants that were increasingly
redundant from front-line activities resulted in
a number being converted for target-towing.
Well over one hundred new-build aircraft
were additionally finished to target-towing
standard. Others intended as fighters were
made into target-towers on the production
line (some sources stating 140 examples). The
TT.Mk.I roughly equated to the Defiant Mk.II,
while the TT.Mk.III was related to the original
Mk.I. Conversion work to make the Defiant into
a target-towing aircraft included the removal
of the heavy turret and its replacement with
a transparent covered fairing. The lower rear
fuselage was modified to carry a drogue or
sleeve target, and a fuselage-mounted propeller
was installed to provide power for the on-
board winch mechanism. The Defiant proved
successful in this role and literally served world-
wide with many different gunnery schools, 05691 Gift Set - Battle of Britain 80th Anniversary, 1:72
specialised gunnery training flights and anti-
aircraft co-operation units. Two target-towing
Defiants were employed on ‘reverse Lend-Lease’
in Britain by the USAAF.
In addition, the Defiant became for a short
time an important air-sea rescue (ASR) aircraft.
The type largely replaced Westland Lysanders in
this role during 1942. An air-droppable dinghy
could be carried on underwing racks originally
03851 Hawker Tempest V, 1:32
intended to carry small bombs, and eventually
five RAF squadrons flew a mix of Defiant Mk.I
and Mk.II aircraft.
A little-known but important role
played by the Defiant was as an electronic
countermeasures (ECM) aircraft. A unique RAF
unit, 515 Squadron, was established at RAF
Northolt in October 1942 to operate specially-
configured Defiants; using ‘Moonshine’ and
later the much better ‘Mandrel’ radar jammers 03853 Tornado GR.4 “Farewell”, 1:48
to protect RAF night bombers, these special
Defiants taking on electronically Germany’s
Freya and Würzburg radars. They were among
the first ECM aircraft ever deployed in combat.

03854 Bristol Beaufighter IF Nightfighter, 1:48

03860 F-16 MLU 31 Sqn Kleine-Brogel, 1:72

Available from all good model

stockists and online from

How many groundcrew were needed to work on a Defiant? This posed propaganda photograph
suggests at least six, more than necessary for a fully-functioning machine. Belonging to 125 Squadron hobbycraft.co.uk/brand/revell
(‘VA’ codes), the official caption claims that this Defiant night-fighter was at RAF Fairwood Common
(nowadays Swansea Airport), Wales, in January 1942. (Photo: JB via Malcolm V Lowe)
24 MA RESEARCH DEPARTMENT WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

An air gunner wearing the unique GQ Parasuit

climbs into the turret of his Defiant Mk.I of 264
Squadron in August 1940. When the Defiant
The initial RAF unit to equip with the Defiant Mk.I was 264 Squadron. Coded ‘PS’, its Defiants were eventually left frontline service, many Defiant
fully involved in the major air battles over Dunkirk and later during the initial stages of the Battle of gunners were transferred to Bomber Command.
Britain. (Photo: Malcolm V Lowe Collection) (Photo: JB via Malcolm V Lowe)

Eventually their role was taken over within
515 Squadron by the larger and more suitable
twin-engined Bristol Beaufighter. The last known
‘Mandrel’ sorties flown by ECM Defiants were
made on the night of 17 July 1943.
A far less dramatic war was fought by the
Defiants that were used by the RAF simply as
standard or specialised trainers, quite in addition
to the aircraft specifically used for target-towing.
One example was employed by the famous
Martin-Baker company on early ejection seat
trials: in May 1945, Martin-Baker used Defiant
DR944 to test its first ejection seat with a
dummy launch.
A further ‘domestic’ user of the Defiant was
Britain’s Royal Navy. The aircraft involved were
used as shore-based trainers, and at least 16 Fleet
Air Arm squadrons eventually flew Defiants as a
part of their equipment for training and general
fleet requirements purposes.
Over 1,000 Defiant’s of all versions were
built by Boulton Paul at Wolverhampton
(Pendeford). The exact total is open to some
debate, mainly because of the change of mark
for some aircraft on the production line, and
the subsequent conversion of others. Historian
Alec Brew, who had access to Boulton Paul
company archives, has stated a total of 1,062 (2
prototypes, 713 Mk.I, 207 Mk.II, 140 TT.I) with
production ending in 1943. MA

‘Coimbatore II’ was a Defiant Mk.I night-fighter, N1801/PS-Y of 264 Squadron. Although the 0.303in Browning machine guns, as fitted in the Defiant’s
fuselage turret and in other RAF fighters was not as hard-hitting as had been hoped, some Defiant crews scored notable successes. (Photo: Malcolm V Lowe Collection)
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26 ALBATROS D.III
Kees Kleijwegt
builds the
1:48 Eduard
Albatros D.III
Dutch
Albatros
D
uring the Great War, the Dutch
government chose to remain
neutral. As a result of this, by
international law, it was not allowed
for countries taking part in the War
to cross the Dutch border with personnel or
material. Instead of taking prisoners, all troops
and vehicles crossing the Dutch border were to
be ‘interned’ until the end of the War. Between
1914 and 1918 quite a lot of British, French
and German aircraft made a crash landings
in the Netherlands, or sometimes the pilot
just got lost and landed in the ‘wrong’ place.
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
In many cases the aircraft only had minor
damage and were added to the fast-growing
inventory of the ‘Luchtvaartafdeeling’ (literally
Aerospace Department) of the Dutch Army, the
forerunner of the current Royal Netherlands
Air Force. In 1917, German pilot
Franz Becker of Jasta 20 landed
in Breskens with his Albatros
D.III after he became lost in the clouds.
The aircraft was undamaged and as such was
added to the ‘Luchtvaartafdeeling’. His aircraft
is the subject of this build.
As usual, construction started with the
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 27

DUTCH ALBATROS
Working on
Albatros D.III the interior
Manufacturer: Eduard
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number:

The fuselage of the

Albatros D series were
constructed of plywood and in most
cases were not painted, only varnished

THE ROUNDEL FOR THE ‘LUCHTVAARTAFDEELING’ WAS JUST

AN ORANGE CIRCLE, SO CIRCULAR MASKS WERE CUT FROM
BROAD TAMIYA TAPE AND PAINTED USING MRP ORANGE
28 ALBATROS D.III
cockpit. The Eduard kit parts include some
etched pieces resulting in a very detailed
cockpit. I used an aftermarket padded seat
cushion from RES-IM and seatbelts from HGW
to enhance the cockpit just that little bit more.
The wooden parts were replicated using both
my airbrush and oil paints, but more on that
later. Before closing the fuselage, the small but
detailed Mercedes engine was constructed
and painted using Alclad Jet Exhaust. This
resulted in a dark but still metallic sheen. For
some reason, Eduard didn’t include the fuel
tank, but since this is quite visible in the engine
compartment, a resin fuel tank from RES-IM was
painted brass and glued into place. As usual, I
picked out the details with Vallejo shades.
I painted the fuselage before adding the
wings. The fuselage of the Albatros D series
were constructed of plywood and in most cases
were not painted, only varnished, so I had a
long think about how to replicate the wood
grain on the fuselage. After considering decals
or replicating the wood grain with oil paints,
I came across paint masks with wood grain.
These etched masks, produced by Zoukei Mura,
are actually scaled-down versions of the wood
grain masks by RB models and are available
with two types. To enhance the effect and to be
able to use a filter as a way to adjust the colour
of the end result, I chose to add an oil filter
anyway. I spent quite some time searching for
the combination of colour for the woodgrain
and a filter, resulting in the yellowish colour of
plywood I was looking for. The woodgrain was
airbrushed on a pre-shaded base coat and on
individual masked panels. I also changed the
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
The kit parts
are too small in
diameter and in
width, so to correct
this, RES-IM wheels
were used
direction of the grain on some panels for
variation. For the filter, I used Abteilung
502 oils. After priming the wings in Alclad
Grey Primer, I placed pieces of 0.4mm
Aizu tape along the raised
lines of the ribs.
Over the lines
of tape, Tamiya
XF-83 Rubber
Black was sprayed on as a pre-shade. Over the
pre-shaded wings the camouflage colours were
airbrushed on and here I used Gunze Aqueous
paints, with the light blue and red brown mixed
from different shades. The same procedure was just an orange circle, so circular masks
was used on the rudder and elevator, which were cut from broad Tamiya tape and painted
I painted in a linen colour based on the few using MRP Orange. The shading along the
reference pictures of this aircraft. wing ribs was repeated within the orange
The roundel for the ‘Luchtvaartafdeeling’ roundels, this time serving as a post-shade.
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 29

DUTCH ALBATROS
Some parts on World War I German aircraft,
mainly the metal ones, were painted in a grey
green shade. As this shade closely resembles
the later RLM02, the cowling, struts and spinner
were painted in Gunze H70. I chipped the metal
30 ALBATROS D.III
parts with Vallejo Neutral Grey and a small
piece of sponge. The last thing to do before
assembly was the construction and fitting of
two Master Model Spandau 08/15 machine
guns. These turned brass replacements were
really small, but the detail was just amazing.
All holes needed for the rigging were drilled
in the relevant parts at this point. Next up was
assembly of the wings, and for this I used a
jig, having first added the cabane struts to the
fuselage. Next, I glued the top wing on, making
sure this was perfectly level. When the bonds
were dry, I glued the outer wing struts to the
top wing, and these were now ‘hanging’ from
the top wing. Finally I glued the lower wings
to the outer wing struts and to the fuselage,
and this building order resulted in the correct
dihedral for the lower wings. One thing Eduard
got quite wrong in this kit is the size of the
wheels. The kit parts are too small in diameter
and in width, so to correct this, RES-IM wheels
were used. The bungee around the axle was
replicated using sewing thread, which was
stiffened using a mix of white glue and water.
Next up was the rigging, and for the eyelets
and buckles I used Gaspatch metal parts, which
are thin but surprisingly strong. For the wire I
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
used Uschi van der Rosten Rigging Wire and
small pieces of tube from Bob’s Buckles. As a
finishing touch, a hand made wooden Axial
propellor from LF models was fitted. All in all,
this was a bit of an experiment for me regarding
replicating the wood grain, but all in all a very
enjoyable build and certainly not the last
Eduard World War I kit I will build. MA
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MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 35

MODEL AIRCRAFT MANUAL

Model Aircraft Manual
The Northrop F-5 Tiger II
History Colour Profiles Scale Plans Step by Step Build Walk Around
36 MODEL AIRCRAFT MANUAL
AGGRESSOR - TRAIN TO FIGHT
T
he Northrop F-5 is a family
of supersonic light fighter aircraft
initially designed as a privately
funded project in the late 1950s
by Northrop Corporation. There are
two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B
Freedom Fighter and the extensively
updated F-5E and F-5F Tiger II. The design
team wrapped a small, highly aerodynamic
fighter around two compact and high-
thrust General Electric J85 engines,
focusing on performance and a low cost
of maintenance. Smaller and simpler than
contemporaries such as the McDonnell
Douglas F-4 Phantom II, the F-5 cost less to
procure and operate, making it a popular
export aircraft. Though primarily designed
for a day air superiority role, the aircraft
The Northrop F-5 Tiger II
is also a capable ground-attack platform.
The F-5A entered service in the early 1960s,
and during the Cold War, over 800 were
produced for US allies. Though at the time,
the United States Air Force (USAF) did
not have a need for a light fighter, it did
procure approximately 1,200 Northrop T-38
Talon trainer aircraft, which was based on
Northrop’s N-156 fighter design. In 1970, After
winning the International Fighter Aircraft
Competition, a program aimed at providing
effective low-cost fighters to American allies,
Northrop introduced the second-generation
F-5E Tiger II in 1972. This upgrade included
more powerful engines, larger fuel capacity,
greater wing area and improved leading-edge
extensions for better turn rates, optional
air-to-air refuelling, and improved avionics
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
including air-to-air radar. Primarily used by
American allies, it remains in US service to
support training exercises. It has served in
a wide array of roles, being able to perform
both air and ground attack duties, and the
type was used in the Vietnam War. F-5N/F
variants remain in service with the United
States Navy and United States Marine
Corps as adversary trainers. The F-5 was also
developed into a dedicated reconnaissance
version, the RF-5 Tigereye, and the Northrop
F-20 Tigershark, an advanced variant to
succeed the F-5E was ultimately cancelled
when export customers did not emerge.
The F-5 development effort was formally
started in the mid-1950s for a low-cost,
low-maintenance fighter. The company
designation for the first design as the
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 37

MODEL AIRCRAFT – F-5 TIGER II

N-156, intended partly to meet a US Navy
requirement for a jet fighter to operate from
its escort carriers, which were too small to
operate the Navy’s existing jet fighters. That
requirement disappeared when the Navy
decided to withdraw the escort carriers,
however, Northrop continued development of
the N-156, both as a two-seat advanced trainer,
designated as N-156T, and a single-seat fighter,
designated as N-156F. In 1970, Northrop
won the International Fighter Aircraft (IFA)
competition to replace the F-5A, with better
air-to-air performance against aircraft like the
Soviet MiG-21. The resultant aircraft, initially
known as F-5A-21, subsequently became
the F-5E. It had more powerful General
Electric J85-21 engines and a lengthened and
enlarged fuselage, accommodating more fuel.
Its wings were fitted with enlarged leading-
edge extensions, giving an increased wing
area and improved manoeuvrability. The
aircraft’s avionics were more sophisticated,
crucially including a radar (initially the Emerson
Electric AN/APQ-153) (the F-5A and B had
no radar). It retained the gun armament of
two M39 cannons, one on either side of the
nose of the F-5A. Various specific avionics
fits could be accommodated at a customer’s
request, including an inertial navigation
system, TACAN and ECM equipment. The first
F-5E flew on 11 August 1972, and a two-seat
combat-capable trainer, the F-5F first flew
on 25 September 1974, with a new nose, that
was three feet longer, which, unlike the F-5B
,which did not carry a gun, allowed it to retain
a single M39 cannon, albeit with a reduced
ammunition capacity. The two-seater was
equipped with the Emerson AN/APQ-157
38 MODEL AIRCRAFT MANUAL WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 39

MODEL AIRCRAFT – F-5 TIGER II

radar, which is a derivative of the AN/APQ-153
radar, with dual control and display systems
to accommodate the two-men crew. On 6
April 1973, the 425th TFS at Williams Air Force
Base, Arizona, received the first F-5E. The F-5E
eventually received the official name ‘Tiger
II’ and 792 F-5Es, 146 F-5Fs and twelve RF-5Es
were eventually built by Northrop. More were
built under license overseas by Switzerland,
South Korea, Taiwan. And the F-5E went
on to serve with a number of international
operators.
The F-5 was also adopted as an opposing
forces (OPFOR) ‘aggressor’ for dissimilar training
role because of its small size and performance
similarities to the Soviet MiG-21. In realistic
trials at Nellis AFB in 1977, the F-14 reportedly
scored slightly better than a 2:1 kill ratio against
the simpler F-5, while the F-15 scored slightly
less. There is some contradiction of these
reports, another source reports that ‘for the
first three weeks of the test, the F-14s and F-15s
were hopelessly outclassed and demoralised,
but after adapting to qualities of the F-5 and
implementing rule changes to artificially favour
long range radar-guided missiles, the F-14s
did slightly better than breaking even with the
F-5s in non-1 v 1 engagements and the F-15s
got to almost 2:1. The F-5E served with the US
Air Force from 1975 until 1990 with the 64th
Aggressor Squadron and 65th Aggressor
Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada,
and with the 527th Aggressor Squadron
at RAF Alconbury in the UK and the 26th
Aggressor Squadron at Clark Air Force Base in
40 MODEL AIRCRAFT MANUAL
the Philippines. The US Marines purchased
used F-5s from the Air Force in 1989 to replace
their F-21s, and they served with VMFT-
401 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. The
Navy used the F-5E extensively at the Topgun
Naval Fighter Weapons School when it was
located at NAS Miramar, California. When
Topgun relocated to become part of the Naval
Strike and Air Warfare Center at NAS Fallon,
Nevada, the command divested itself of the F-5,
choosing to rely on VC-13 (redesignated VFC-
13 and which already used F-5s) to employ their
F-5s as adversary aircraft. Former adversary
squadrons such as VF-43 at NAS Oceana, VF-
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
45 at NAS Key West, VF-126 at NAS Miramar,
and VFA-127 at NAS Lemoore have also
operated the F-5 along with other aircraft types
in support of Dissimilar Air Combat Training
(DACT). The U.S. Navy F-5 fleet continues to
be modernised with thirty-six low-hour F-5E/
Fs purchased from Switzerland in 2006. These
were updated as F-5N/Fs with new avionics
and other improved systems. Currently, the
only US Navy and US Marine Corps units flying
the F-5 are VFC-13 at NAS Fallon, Nevada, VFC-
111 at NAS Key West, Florida, and VMFT-
401 at MCAS Yuma. Currently, VFC-111 operates
eighteen Northrop F-5N/F Tiger IIs. Seventeen
of these are single-seater F-5Ns and the last is a
twin-seater F-5F ‘FrankenTiger’, the product of
grafting the older front-half fuselage of an F-5F
into the back-half fuselage of a newer low-
hours F-5E acquired from the Swiss Air Force. A
total of three ‘FrankenTigers’ were built.
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 41

MODEL AIRCRAFT – F-5 TIGER II

74-1556, F-5 Tiger II,-527th AGRS, RAF Alconbury UK

74-01557, F-5E, 57th FWW, 64th FWS, Nellis AFB, NV

01542, 42, F-5, USAF, 527th Aggressor Squadron, 1977

761526, 11, F-5, VMFT-401 ‘’SNIPERS’’, MARINES, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, AZ
42 MODEL AIRCRAFT MANUAL WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

F-5 Tiger II 1:72 Scale

43

MODEL AIRCRAFT – F-5 TIGER II

AUGUST 2020
MODEL AIRCRAFT
44 MODEL AIRCRAFT MANUAL WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

761548, 101, F-5E, VFC-111 ‘’Sundowners’’ Naval Air Station Key-West, Florida

761550, 121, F-5, VFC-111 ‘’Sundowners’’ Naval Air Station Key West, Florida

761578, 13, F-5, VFC-13 ‘’Saints’’, NAS Fallon, Nevada

7615236, 02, F-5, VFC-13 ‘’Saints’’, NAVYNAS Fallon, Nevada

MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 45

MODEL AIRCRAFT – F-5 TIGER II

Two Seat Bandit
Andy Renshaw builds the 1:48 AFV Club F-5F Tiger
F-5F Tiger II

A
dversary aircraft are always a
favourite amongst modellers, and Manufacturer: AFV Club
with the availability of great A-4 and Scale: 1:48
F-5 kits, the only thing needed is Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
decals. Luckily, we have seen a huge Kit Number: AR48106
influx of great aftermarket decals, with Furball Furball Aero Design #48-056 Top Gun Tigers & Talons
Aero Design providing a sheet in several scales
covering the USN Adversary F-5’s for a good
span of time. One scheme in particular caught
my eye, on an F-5F BuNo 160965, with its tan,
brown, and green scheme. It may look familiar
to those who have F-5 kits, as it’s the same
scheme in the old Monogram F-5F kit. I had I added some
built that kit in my youth, with a not so stellar additional detailing
to the cockpit
job at painting, and it eventually ended up in
the bin as better builds graced my shelves.
However, I never did get another F-5F built. So,
with the decals in hand, and the fantastic AFV
Club kit at the ready, this was a great time to
remedy that!
The AFV Club kit needs no long introduction
as it has been out for some time. There are
some minor improvements you can make to
the stock kit, while keeping the aftermarket to of rod and wire was added
a minimum. First, using the cockpit. I added to the rear bulkheads adjacent
coiled wire for the cords on the cockpit lamps to each seat location to busy this up
along the starboard wall. Some other bits a bit. Then using reference images, I also
built some of the missing linkage for the rear
canopy actuator. This is the same on the single
THE ‘RED 47’ IS PLACED AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ON EACH seat F-5E, while the forward canopy has a
much simpler mechanism. A few lengths of
SIDE AND IS NOT SYMMETRICAL brass wire, some plastic rod, and a few plastic
boxes were added for a much more detailed
46 MODEL AIRCRAFT MANUAL WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

I began applying the

camouflage with
the tan and brown
shades…..

The kit builds up

very easily

…followed by
the green

The decals came from a Furball sheet

I just added some light

weathering

Close up on the cockpit

MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
The natural metal areas were treated with Uschi
van der Rosten polishing powder
result. The seats were replaced with items
from Quickboost, which only require careful
painting to bring out the details.
The rest of the fuselage was
assembled per the instructions,
with extra attention needed
around the intakes and lower
fuselage. Once these areas
were smoothed out, panel
lines were replaced by
scribing. Once the cockpit
and canopy was masked
off using a combination of
tape, foam, and silly putty, the
model was primed and pre-shaded
using a dark grey enamel. Three colours
are needed for this F-5F, these being FS34079
Dark Green, FS30400 tan, and FS30140 brown.
I started with the Tan using a Model Master
shade but adding a few drops of orange. I had
looked at colour photographs, plus my FS color
fan deck and it appeared to need a little more
warmth than what was provided out of the
bottle. Once dry I used Silly Putty and tape to
mask off the pattern, spraying the brown, then
the green, using Hataka Orange Line lacquers.
Note here that there is one discrepancy on
the Furball instructions. On the lower fuselage
below the cockpit, the colour surrounding the
nose landing gear bay and immediately aft of
it should be swapped. The FS30400 Tan
should surround the bay, not the
47
MODEL AIRCRAFT – F-5 TIGER II
green. Speaking of Furball, the decals
went on flawlessly, and yes, the ‘Red 47’
is placed at different locations on each side and
is not symmetrical.
Weathering started after an acrylic clear
coat and consisted of various enamel panel
line washes and some minor staining. These
aircraft are well maintained and tend to get
repainted frequently. You will not see the heavy
fading, staining, nor chipping as you may see
on a combat zone aircraft. There will be some
specific stains from the engine and mechanical
areas, mostly on the underside aft fuselage.
With the weathering done a final flat clear coat
was applied. Then the natural metal area was
masked off, and Alclad metallics were applied,
followed by an application of some Uschi
van der Rosten polishing powder.
Attaching the canopy and wheels
wrapped up the build. Now to
choose the next F-5 off of that
fantastic decal sheet! Many
thanks to Furball Aero Design for
supplying the decal sample! MA
48 MODEL AIRCRAFT MANUAL WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

F-5E Walk
Around

Note the perforations in the splitter plate

Nose wheel and leg Looking up inside the wheel bay Note the dedicated intake cover

Starboard side of the fuselage Port side nose detail

Stencils and area around the canopy Navigation light on the starboard intake
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 49

MODEL AIRCRAFT – F-5 TIGER II

Note the contrasting colours on the ‘Marines’ legend
Rear fuselage showing access panels and stenciling

Vertical tail of and F-5N and ‘Soviet-Star’

Panels on the vertical tail of an F-5E Rear fuselage detail

Close up on the engine housing

50 MODEL AIRCRAFT MANUAL WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

Leading edge slat

low-set tailplane

The airbrake from below The airbrake for the rear aspect

The rear underside showing arrestor hook

Looking up into the main wheel bay

 Modellers Datafile • 37

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52 MIG-21MF WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

Swordfish
Fishbed
David Rainer builds the 1:72 Eduard
MiG-21MF Weekend Edition

E
duard has a wide range of MiG-21 Primer. Once the cockpit was finished it was colours in several thin layers, that way I can
models, and when they released this closed up (either temporary with some putty control how much of the pre-shading remains
1:72 Polish kit I had to build it, as crazy or permanently with some glue). After that I visible. In this case, I applied four layers of
and unique camouflage schemes applied an overall coat of Ammo by MIG One paint. Once the main colour was dry, I painted
really appeal to me! Shot Black Primer, followed by some mottling in the smaller areas such as the nose cone and
The kit has some outstanding detail and a and pre-shading. I like to spray the camouflage exhaust nozzle.
great fit, and only a few areas required sanding
and filling. The detail in the cockpit is raised
and really nice, so I decided to completely hand
paint it. The chrome intake ring was painted
with Molotow Liquid Chrome after I applied
some black Ammo by MIG One Shot Black

MiG-21MF
Manufacturer: Eduard
Scale: 1:72
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 7451
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 53

SWORDFISH FISHBED
CRAZY AND UNIQUE CAMOUFLAGE SCHEMES
REALLY APPEAL TO ME!

The detail in the

cockpit is raised and
really nice

To begin, I applied
an overall coat of
Ammo by MIG One
Shot Black Primer

Masking canopies in
1:72 takes patience!
54 MIG-21MF WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

I applied a mottled
pre-shade on the
upper…..

…and lower surfaces

I originally wanted to use the kit

decals for the ‘Swordfish’ that runs along
the fuselage sides, but due to the complex
fuselage shape and the raised rivets on the
bottom, I didn’t think the decals would work
and I decided to mask and paint the ‘Swordfish’
instead. For masking complex shapes
or round parts, I cut Tamiya masking
tape into super thin strips. Then with
the help of the instruction manual, I
I added the main began to mask the ‘Swordfish’ and started
colours….. painting. Here, I used highly diluted Hataka
paint with a 0.2mm nozzle on my airbrush,
I started with the darkest colour and ended
with the lightest. Since the red numbers on
the fuselage were part of the fish decal, I had
to paint them too. In order to do this, I had to
make some custom masks using Tamiya tape
using the decal as a template and a new blade
in my hobby knife.
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 55

SWORDFISH FISHBED
After the painting stage, I applied a
few coats of `Johnson’s ‘Pledge’ to get a
gloss surface for the remaining decals and …in thin layers
stencils. These all settled well with very well so as to control the
amount of pre-shading
without any silvering. I then applied a coat of showing through…
Vallejo Matt varnish in preparation for some
weathering. I decided to keep this light, using
only an Ammo by MIG Blue Dirt Panel Line …until I was happy
Wash and a few streaks here and there, as the with the look
star of the show are the markings, not the
weathering. Finally, I applied a couple of
coats of Vallejo Satin and attached all of
the smaller parts like pitot tubes, wheels,
weapons and landing gear doors. MA I decided to mask and paint the
Swordfish markings
56 F-104G STARFIGHTER WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

Drab Danish
STAR
Marcin Torbinski adds a
unique worn camouflage
scheme to the Kinetic
F-144G Starfighter

E
very modeller has his own key for
choosing the models that will be on
his workbench. It’s sometimes the
matter of the shape, the beauty or the
history of a machine as in the case
of Supermarine Spitfire, Grumman F-14
Tomcat or Sukhoi Su27. Other times,
it is the matter of memories, one’s
personal experiences of their
childhood when say a MiG-21,
F-4 Phantom or Hawker
Harrier, symbols of the
Cold War flew over their
heads. In my approach
however, I decided to focus on the technical,
artistic aspect. In every build I like to try a new
approach, from the gluing to the final touches,
a constant perfecting and adding different of
modelling techniques with a continued search
for interesting paint and visual effects that will
catch the eyes.
So, here I focussed on the Royal Danish Air
Force. My wish was to create a collection of
three of its aircraft - the SAAB 35 Draken,
the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter and the
North American F-100. These aircraft
all shared one common feature, a
matt green finish, which the RDAF
used as their camouflage. The
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 57

DRAB DANISH STAR

quality of the paint used such as SEA Camouflage Green, Bulkhead Grey
until 1979, was so poor that to create a shade similar to the Danish faded
it faded after few months. It green. Browsing through the photographs
became extremely flat and rough of Starfighters on the Internet you may
and together with the underpainting feel tempted to divide the shades into two
it created a mosaic of the most amazing groups. The first one, for aircraft numbered
shades. As much as the painting was a R-850 to R-600, the oldest machines, of which F-104G Starfighter
pain to the mechanics of the Danish Airforce, discolorations were light green or in some Manufacturer: Kinetic
it remains a delightful canvas to practice shots, even grey. In some cases, the greyed Scale: 1:48
your modelling skills. Since my approach paint on the tail had a yellowish hue to increase Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
focuses on painting, a straight-from-the-box in temperature in that area. The second group, Kit Number: 48083
model with no additions turned out to be a on the other hand, are the aircraft below R-600.
perfect candidate. So, I chose the 1:48 F-104G
Starfighter from Kinetic, as the quality of sprues
is just so good. The kit also includes a radar as
well as a detailed electronics bay.
So, my first step was black basing. With the
use of a Uschi van der Rosten’ Trinity Splatter
Airbrush Stencil, I created differentiating
patterns on the surfaces. My next step was
finding the right shade of paint, which was
supposed to be a faded colour. This was quite
hard, especially that I had to think ahead about
the following steps and bear in mind that the
shades will get darker. In my work, I use Hataka
colours and blended several different shades
58 F-104G STARFIGHTER
They mainly have a discoloration with a lighter
brownish hue.
The hardest stage was getting the colour
onto the aircraft in a realistic manner, and this
involved some very precise applications to
match the characteristic patterns, which ran
not only along the panel lines, but frequently
across, sometimes in a chaotic manner.
Obviously, I worked very closely with reference
photographs. This stage is quite long and
painstaking as here I was trying to blend
the contrast between the fading and the
underpainting. One thing is certain, this is the
stage in which you get to know the capabilities
of your airbrush and your skills in working with
it! You need to control the amount of paint that
gets onto the model as well as its density very
carefully. The next step involved a technique
borrowed from modelling armoured vehicles.
I noticed that very diluted oil paints or actually,
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
according to their marketing name, colour
filters, allow to control the contrast between
the fading and the underpainting. This gives a
fantastic 3D effect of a flat surface. Funny as it
may sound, even standing next to a real aircraft
you get the impression that on every panel
there is a whole range of different colour and
light effects. In this case, I used Burnt Umber,
Raw Umber and Terre Verte Antique, and only
then did the model become close, colour-wise
to my references.
The final step which highlighted and
finished the camouflage used Faber-Castell
artists pens. I must confess, that this discovery
was a great help when I wanted to highlight
a discolouration, blemish or some add some
small dots. These work well in highlighting
the lines, on flat overcoat oiled surface or
wet spots and panels. To me, the creative
progression itself was an enjoyable process,
and I thoroughly enjoyed recreating the
uniquely weathered Danish camouflage, and
I am looking forward to trying it out again on
another build. MA
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 59

DRAB DANISH STAR

THE QUALITY OF THE PAINT USED UNTIL
1979, WAS SO POOR THAT IT FADED AFTER
FEW MONTHS
60 HAWKER HUNTER F.6
Valley Hunter
James Bamford
builds the 1:48
Airfix Hawker
Hunter F.6
T
he Hawker Hunter is without a doubt
one of the most iconic British aircraft
to grace the skies. Designed in the
late 1940’s and first production
through the 1950’s, the Hawker
Hunter entered RAF service in 1954. Production
started with the F.1, leading to the most
prominent versions being the F.6 and FGR.9.
Over the years, eighteen primary versions were
developed and used by the RAF and RN, and
a huge forty-four versions were converted or
made for the export market. The RAF were just
one of twenty-two operators of the type. Other
notable users being Belgium, The Netherlands,
India, Switzerland and Sweden. Other nations
such as Chile, Iraq, Jordan, Oman and Rhodesia
also flew the type. The Hunter was retired from
UK military service in 1999 when the Empire
Test Pilots School retired theirs, however, the
Hunter would live on elsewhere in the world
until 2014 when the Lebanese Air Force finally
retired theirs from active military service.
The Hunter can still be enjoyed even now
with many civilian companies flying the type.
Hawker Hunter Aviation (HHA) also operate
a few within a fleet of ten ex-Swiss Mk.58s
which provides Aggressor role aircraft to work
alongside contractual military operations to act
as the enemy. Most recently, one turned up to
RIAT 2019 in a stunning tri-tone grey splinter
camouflage - one that must be modelled soon
with this cracking Airfix kit!
Airfix announced in late 2018 that they
would be releasing a brand new tooled 1:48
scale Hawker Hunter in the 2019 catalogue
and this was met with great delight as the
closest and best tooling in the scale to this
point was the Academy offering. The Academy
kit was good in many ways, however, from
my experience and many others, the cockpit
seemed way too small - closer to something
like 1:60, and so a resin bang seat was needed
at a minimum to fill the cockpit, ideally a resin
cockpit would be the best course of action
though. The Airfix Hunter boasted some
fantastic out of box detail. The ejector seat had
two options for pre-moulded belts or without
if you were to add photo-etch to them, which I
did. You were also provided different tail units
to have the brake shute housing or not which
opens up the ability to model a huge amount
of options. Crisp details are found all over the
model and carry onto the canopy parts which
are also nice and clear with no distortion.  cockpit as the instrument panel decal was very
The kit started off in the usual style with
cockpit and seat first. To quickly note, the only
addition I made to this kit was the addition of
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
Hawker Hunter F.6
Manufacturer: Airfix
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: A09185
Eduard’s superb seat belts designed for this
newly tooled Hunter. These sat beautifully
on Airfix’s three-part seat of which, as I stated
above, has the option of a detail-less seat to
allow the addition of a pilot or aftermarket
seat belts. I made use of this and added the
seat belts in with superglue once the main
colours of black and the olive-green seat were
dry. The two-part cockpit tub and instrument
panel was then glued and also painted black.
I had no need to add any other etch into the
nice and conformed perfectly to the supplied
kit part. It is sharp and clear and stands out in
the enclosed cockpit. Other small details were
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
fuselage and fit
into two locating
holes on the outside
of the fuselage. This
gave a great representation
of the curved intakes of the
real Hunter, unlike some kits that
allow the intakes to simply disappear
into the wings. These fit in with no problem.
At this point it is important to note that before
mating the fuselage halves, the kit requires
also picked out in respective colours. Once at least twenty grams of weight in or around
dry, the cockpit assembly was glued into one the nose, forward of the main landing gear in
fuselage half and building of the intakes could order for it not to be a tail sitter. Of course, the
commence. An engine face piece sat halfway further back you put the weight, the more you’ll
down the fuselage halves, not only to give need. I ended up putting around thirty grams
detail deep in the intakes but also to add extra in. About 10g went into the nose cone itself
structural support to the fuselage. This was and the rest sat behind the cockpit tub. Once
painted silver however, once closed up, would the weights were glued in place with copious
not be seen. The intakes were in two-pieces for amounts of superglue and Blu-Tac, it was time
each side. Once mated, these curved from the to mate the fuselage halves. The fit was very
engine face piece out of a gap in the side of the nice, if a little tight. This did lead to the need of
THE SCHEME I HAD CHOSEN WAS FOR A MACHINE
FROM NO.4. FIGHTER TRAINING SCHOOL BASED AT
RAF VALLEY IN 1974
61
VALLEY HUNTER
a small amount of filler, but this
could have been easily rectified
if the sides of the cockpit tub
had been sanded down for a
less tight fit. 
The tail pipe was my next
port of call and because of
the scheme I was to be modelling this
aircraft on, it required the use of the tail without
the parachute housing. I imagine that the
chute-housing tail is in there for a later release
of the kit with different options or maybe an
FGR.9 version? That would be nice! Anyway,
this was fitted around the three-part exhaust
pipe and glued to the underside of the tail with
no problems whatsoever. Another piece of
wonderful engineering on this kit is the wing
assembly. Unlike other kits, in both 1:72 and
1:48, where they have two separate wing sets
with two pieces being top and bottom, Airfix
have very cleverly provided one wing, which
perfectly slits into the gap on the top of the
fuselage halves with no problem. This also
has most of the spine on the top wing piece
which marries up with the beginning of the
tail with an almost seamless transition. This
62 HAWKER HUNTER F.6
top wing piece also has the wheel well detail
in the top of it along with the fittings for the
three-part wheel well side walls. Once in place,
the bottom wings could be glued in place,
again, without any problems! At this point,
it was a matter of glueing all the extra bits in
place. The elevators and rudder were glued in
position, along with the flaps in a straight set
position, even though they are poseable. The
massive airbrake was attached underneath
along with the gun ejector ports. The last
thing to do before painting was masking of
the canopy. As I wanted to show off the
internal cockpit detail, especially all
the etch harnesses, I opted
for the open canopy
option which is
given to you in the kit alongside a fixed position
canopy. This was masked with Tamiya masking
tape and a sharp knife once a cocktail stick had
been run around the inside edge to follow
the contour of the canopy framing. The
front piece was glued into place whilst
the rest of the cockpit was masked
up. I would usually leave the
canopy on as well not only to
mask the cockpit but also
to aid in painting the
canopy, however,
it didn’t sit very
well, probably
because it’s
narrower to sit
properly over the
rear of the fuselage in
its open position. This
meant it was to be left off separately and I had
to mask over the exposed cockpit with tape
and the wet tissue technique.  bottoms of the wings with a nice crisp line
Once everything was masked and in place, I
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
was able to give the whole model a few coats of
a Humbrol 33 Matte Black base coat. This would
allow me to cover the whole model in white
mottling to accentuate panel lines and various
panels in a lighter tone when the colours would
go on top. The scheme I had chosen to go with
was from the Xtradecal set #X48192 as this had
a lovely white, red and grey scheme of No.4.
Fighter Training School based at RAF Valley in
1974. I have been to RAF Valley myself whilst
on holidays in recent years and have always
enjoyed watching the more recent Hawk T.2s
doing circuits and touch and goes. My plan is to
build a few of the trainers that have flown from
RAF Valley in the past and so with a Hawk T.1
and Gnat in the stash awaiting build, I thought
I’d start with the type that is currently the gate
guardian in the same scheme. The first thing
to do was paint the white across the fuselage
and up the tail. This allowed me to mask the
wing roots off to then paint the grey tops and
with no problems. To finish, I masked the red
sections off with long pieces of Tamiya masking
tape and sprayed the red on. All the paints I
used on this build are Hataka’s superb Orange
Line Lacquer paints. I specifically used Traffic
White, BS Signal Red and Light Aircraft Grey, all
thinned roughly 60:40, thinner to paint. Once
dry and unmasked, there were a few touch
ups needed from where some paint had bled
underneath the masking, but it was only very
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
minor bleeds that were easily touched up. This
was then followed up with a few light coats of
Alclad II Aqua Gloss to give a lovely level and
gloss finish ready for the decals and wash. The
Xtradecal decals went down perfectly fine with
no problems as they are perfectly in register
and thin enough to not break but conform to
the panel lines with no problems. With the help
of Micro Set and Sol and another few coats of
the Aqua Gloss, the decals were all set in place
and ready to receive a wash. I used Flory Models
Washes for this stage, covering the whole
model in a mixture of black and a grimy grey
colour to get a nice contrast that isn’t too dark
but enough to stand out a little. This was left to
dry for about half an hour and then I was able to
remove it all with a dry piece of kitchen roll and
then cotton buds for the slightly harder places
to reach.  I really enjoyed
From this point on, there wasn’t a massive
amount of stuff to do to finish the build off.
I sealed everything in with a few light coats
of Ammo by MIG Lucky Varnish Matte which
brought everything together and unified the
model. Following this, I attached the last pieces
of the build. This included the landing gear
which has a very nice way of fitting together.
The way Airfix designed it means that the
landing gear is very strong and stable. The main
legs themselves are quite thick as well so that
it can hold the weight of the model, which is a
• New tool plastic kit
•
•
6 markings options
Photoetched parts
• Canopy and wheels masks
63
VALLEY HUNTER
bonus! The wing fuel tanks were also attached
at this point. The canopy was finally able to be
unmasked to bring some light back into the
cockpit. The bang seat was placed inside the
cockpit and the open canopy fit into position
without glue as the fit was perfect. This means
for travelling to shows I won’t have to risk it
getting damaged as I can put it in a tub to travel
safely, and also model the canopy in a variety of
different positions. So, with a few final touches,
the fabulous Hunter was complete.
this build and I’m
glad I did as I have
three more in the stash
with various schemes to
look forward to building! The fit
and detail is crisp and excellent with no major
hiccups anywhere to mention. I do recommend
the addition of the etch belts but if you are
happy with painting the raised details option
then that option is there for you and can be
made to work with no problems! MA
FM-2
Wildcat™
64 MIRAGE F1C WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

‘Orange’
Interceptor
Ashley Dunn builds
the 1:48 Italeri
Mirage F1C in the
colours of EC 1/5
from Orange in 1978

T
his is a re-boxed version of the
venerable Esci kit which was first
issued in 1978. The kit, by todays’
standards is a little basic in areas but
must have been fairly cutting edge
in its day. It comes on four sprues in a light
grey plastic which is relatively soft and features
recessed panel lines through-out, two different
types of ejection seats and a nice selection of
weapons. Lastly, a clear sprue for the canopy
and glazed elements. The decal sheet is a real
Mirage F1C
Manufacturer: Italeri
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 2790
highlight featuring no less than nine different
options – six of which are in the French Non-
Specular Blue the other French option being in
desert colours. There’s a Spanish three colour The instructions would have you add the
camouflage scheme with another in Greek front undercarriage to the underside of the
and finally a Royal Jordanian Air Force scheme. cockpit tub in the next stage, but a quick
The build began with the cockpit area, which test fit revealed this could be left off till the
is a little basic but acceptable given the age of end and would ease painting later and limit
the kit. There are no raised or recessed details any potential damage. Next up were the air
on the instrument panel or side consoles intakes with the shock cones. These are two-
instead decals are supplied which are a little piece for each side and fit is almost perfect
on the heavy side as far as detail goes. The with the fuselage sides. Only a quick swipe
kit seat when built, painted and weathered
looks acceptable. I did add some seat belts by
the way of painted masking tape strips. The Adding a
cockpit tub is made up of three pieces – the Gloss Black
base coat
main tub and two bulkheads, one for the front
which includes the instrument panel and
rudder pedals and the rear for the area behind
the ejection seat. Everything was then sprayed
Tamiya XF-85 Rubber Black and left to dry. It
was then just a case of adding some shades of
Khaki Green to the seat cushions. I added
the decals for the side consoles and
instrument panels but added some
colour in the way of switches
painted on in red and
yellow to add some
interest.
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 65

‘ORANGE’ INTERCEPTOR
The upper areas were
with a sanding stick is required to get a flush primed with Vallejo
Light Grey Primer
finish. The cockpit can then be sandwiched in
between the fuselage halves and closed up.
The fit is really good on the topside but slightly
off on the underside, and this required some
Mr Surfacer 500 and some re-scribing of panel
lines but nothing too serious. The instructions
have you remove some pre-moulded aerials
on the upper surface which I believe are part of
the Mirage F1CT. Next up were the wings and
rear horizontal stabilisers. Each wing has an
upper and lower element, not quite in halves I then added some
though. The lower section fits ‘within’ the upper pre-shading
wing but along panel lines so as to eliminate
any sanding. The fit was exemplary. These are
offered into slots on each side of the fuselage
which are very positive and provide just a nice
level of resistance for fixing and gluing. The
seam line between the wing and fuselage was
hardly noticeable. The rear horizontal stabilisers
are one-piece each with a good solid tab for
fixing into the fuselage.
Next, it was time to add the exhaust section, For the upper surfaces, I used Gunze
but I left it off to ease painting and masking. Up Intermediate Blue H56 mixed with
Greyish-Blue H337 with a drop or
next was the nose cone and the requirement for two of white
adding 20g weight to this area. I added some
Blu-Tac and fishing weights followed by some
Deluxe Materials Liquid Gravity to fill any gaps.
The fit of the nose cone was slightly off, being
slightly wider in diameter than the fuselage
end and required some decent sanding to get
66 MIRAGE F1C WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

The decals settled well

with Micro Sol and Set

Vallejo Metal Color

Aluminium was used
on the undersides

everything flush. pylons already in place and just needed the the main body. These required sanding down
The plastic pitot tube trimming, the seams sanding, and they were somewhat as they were too thick, and I couldn’t
was glued into place, but it ready for painting. The two pairs of Mantra 550s get them to fit at right angles to the missile
looked fragile, so I added one of required assembling and this is where I found a body. The fins were massively overscale, so
those plastic tubes you get on paintbrushes slightly unusual form of construction. The R550 I ended up trimming and shaping them to
to protect the bristles and tapped it down bodies are one-piece with one half of the fins something more realistic. The R530’s were
to add some protection. Lastly, there were included and moulded in place. The second similar except the bodies were in two halves.
some vents, ducts and aerials to add to the set of fins are also one piece but slot ‘through’ But again, having to sand the fins to get them
underside and the main airframe was pretty to fit just felt a bit of a long-winded exercise
much complete. I then moved to the ordnance. compared to say just adding individual fins
I chose to fully load the Mirage out and use all where required. I got there in the end though.
the hardpoints available. This consisted of a
belly fuel tank, two Mantra R550 Magic
air to air missiles (wing tips),
two Mantra R530 air
to air missiles (inner
wing pylons), ESD
Barax electronic
countermeasures pod (outer pylon
port wing) and a Mantra Phimat chaff
dispenser (outer pylon starboard wing).
The latter two are moulded with the
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 67

‘ORANGE’ INTERCEPTOR
The belly tank was a five-piece affair consisting
of two halves, a rear section with fins and a
ventral fin fitted to each side. A bit of filling and I chose to fully
sanding was required for the rear section and load the Mirage
out and use all
particular care was required to ensure a smooth the hardpoints
finish as the tank was to be painted in metal available
which is notorious for showing flaws off. Various
grades of sanding sticks were used to achieve
this. The glazed parts were carefully removed
from the sprues with both the canopy and
front windscreen and were dipped in Johnson’s
‘Future’ prior to drying and masking. The front
frame was then glued into place with the main
canopy being lightly tacked in place with some
Blu-Tac. The last items prior to painting
were the undercarriage legs and these
just required some cleaning up
and they were ready to go.
Onto the priming and
for this I used two
only five minutes of drying time as stated on
the bottle, but I prefer to leave them overnight
just to be safe. The exhaust received three
different shades (Aluminium, Steel and Burnt
Iron) with each masked up prior to the next.
With the metallics completed it was time to
mask up the underside of the fuselage. I then
primed the upper areas with Vallejo Light Grey
types, both from Vallejo. Primer thinned 50:50 with their own brand
The first was Gloss Black for thinner and once complete, I continued with
the metallic areas. This was thinned some pre-shading. Tamiya XF-63 was used for
slightly with their own brand thinner and this as I thought black would be too stark under
sprayed through a 0.3mm nozzle at around the blue/grey colour. I then went over the panel
15psi. Initially, I sprayed a light mist type coat lines and then mottled the airframe to provide
to key into the plastic and provide something some contrast under the main final colour.
for the main coat to bite into. This was followed For the upper surfaces, I used Gunze Aqueous
up by more of a medium type wet coat which, Intermediate Blue H56 mixed with Greyish-Blue
as it dries provides a nice glossy finish for the H337 in a 2:1 ratio with a drop or two of white.
metallics to go onto. This was left for forty- A test spray revealed this to look very close to
eight hours to dry thoroughly the real colour in my various reference images.
before using Vallejo Metal I thinned this with Mr Color Thinner in a ratio
Color Aluminium. Nice of 60:40 in favour of thinner and sprayed this
light coats slowly built up through a 0.2mm nozzle at around 15psi. I
the colour for a good slowly built this colour up just enough to allow
realistic result. These the pre-shading to show through and provide
can be masked after some subtle tonal variations. It was at this
68 MIRAGE F1C
stage I managed to snap the pitot tube off by
knocking against the spray booth. Luckily, I had
a Master Models replacement. It did require
some fettling and a little putty, but it worked
well. After the repair work and re-spraying any
touch-ups I allowed the model to thoroughly
dry overnight. The next day I gave the model
a light sanding down with 2500 grit wet and
dry sandpaper to remove any slight blemishes,
dust etc. This was followed by a medium coat of
Alclad Aqua Gloss in preparation for decaling.
The scheme I chose was aircraft 207, EC 1/5 from
Orange circa 1978. The decals are printed in
Italy by Cartograph and are very high quality,
and they only required a small amount of Micro
Set to soften and conform into the recesses and
panel lines. I let them dry and adhere overnight
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
before wiping away any excess decal solution
with a damp piece of kitchen roll prior to
adding another coat of Aqua Gloss to seal them
in. Once this was dry, I added a coat of Windsor
& Newton Galleria Matte varnish. I sprayed this
thinned with Tamiya X-20A and it provided a
lovely even flat coat.
My usual weathering preference is oil paints
thinned with odourless thinners in various
degrees. First, I used a mix of
Lamp Black, Paynes Grey and
Burnt Umber. I used this to add
to panel lines, recesses and raised areas. I let
the mixture for around twenty minutes or so
before removing any excess with a cotton bud.
After this, I thinned the mixture a bit more and
used it as a filter. I added this to localised areas
where wear and tear would occur to provide a
more used and abused look. I carried this out a
couple of times until I was happy with the effect
and then sealed it in with another mist coat
of Matte. It was then just a case of adding the
undercarriage legs, doors and the external re-
fuelling probe to the nose. Finally, the ordnance
was added to the pylons and then to the wings
and the model was complete. Overall, this was
a fun kit to build, and an excellent result can
be achieved with minimum effort. Add to that
the amount of decal options, not only within
the kit box, but also aftermarket and this gives
the opportunity to find a scheme that will suit
most. MA
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Arnaud Delalande

‫ﻟﺒــﻨﺎﻥ‬ ‫ﻟﺒــﻨﺎﻥ‬ ‫ﻟﺒــﻨﺎﻥ‬

‫ﺑــﻴﺮﻭﺕ‬ ‫ﺑــﻴﺮﻭﺕ‬ ‫ﺑــﻴﺮﻭﺕ‬

‫ﺩﻣــﺸﻖ‬ ‫ﺩﻣــﺸﻖ‬
FALL OF THE FLYING DRAGON ARAB MiGs ARAB MiGs

ARAB฀MiGs฀฀|฀฀Volume฀3฀•
‫ﺩﻣــﺸﻖ‬

South Vietnamese Air Force 1973–75

ARAB MiGs ‫ﺳــﻮﺭﻳﺎ‬
Volume 2
‫ﺑــﻴﺮﻭﺕ‬
‫ﻟﺒــﻨﺎﻥ‬

‫ﺍﻟﺠﻮﻻﻥ‬ ‫ﻩﻀــﺒﺔ‬
‫ﺳــﻮﺭﻳﺎ‬
Volume 3
‫ﺳــﻮﺭﻳﺎ‬
‫ﻩﻀــﺒﺔ ﺍﻟﺠﻮﻻﻥ‬
Volume 1 ‫ﻩﻀــﺒﺔ ﺍﻟﺠﻮﻻﻥ‬
‫ﺩﻣــﺸﻖ‬

‫ﺳــﻮﺭﻳﺎ‬
Mikoyan i Gurevich MiG-15 and MiG-17 in Service with Supersonic Fighters, 1958 –1967 ‫ﻩﻀــﺒﺔ ﺍﻟﺠﻮﻻﻥ‬ The June 1967 War
Albert Grandolini Air Forces of Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco and Syria
Tom Cooper and David Nicolle Tom Cooper and David Nicolle, with Lon Nordeen and Patricia Salti
By Tom Cooper & David Nicolle ‫ﻐـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻀــﻔﺔ ﺍﻟ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻀــﻔﺔ ﺍﻟ ﻐـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬
‫ﺗﻞ ﺃﺑﻴـﺐ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻀــﻔﺔ ﺍﻟ ﻐـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﺃﺑﻴـﺐ ﺃﺑﻴـﺐ‬
‫ﺗﻞ ﺗﻞ‬ ‫ﻐـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻀــﻔﺔ ﺍﻟ‬ ‫ﺗﻞ ﺃﺑﻴـﺐ‬
‫ﻋــﻤﺎﻥ‬ ‫ﻋــﻤﺎﻥ‬ ‫ﻋــﻤﺎﻥ‬
‫ﻋــﻤﺎﻥ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻘــﺪﺱ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻘــﺪﺱ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻘــﺪﺱ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻘــﺪﺱ‬
‫ﻗـﻄﺎﻉ ﻏـﺰﺓ‬
‫ﺑﻮﺭﺳــﻌﻴﺪ‬

‫ﻗـﻄﺎﻉ ﻏـﺰﺓ‬ ‫ﻗـﻄﺎﻉ ﻏـﺰﺓ‬

‫ﺍﻟـﻌﺮﻳـﺶ‬
‫ﻗـﻄﺎﻉ ﻏـﺰﺓ‬
‫ﺑﻮﺭﺳــﻌﻴﺪ‬ ‫ﺇﺳـﺮﺍﺋﻴﻞ‬ ‫ﺍﻷﺭﺩ ﻥ‬ ‫ﺑﻮﺭﺳــﻌﻴﺪ‬
‫ﺑﻮﺭﺳــﻌﻴﺪ‬
‫ﺍﻟـﻌﺮﻳـﺶ‬ ‫ﺍﻟـﻌﺮﻳـﺶ‬
‫ﺍﻟـﻌﺮﻳـﺶ‬
‫ﺇﺳـﺮﺍﺋﻴﻞ‬ ‫ﺳــﻴﻨﺎء‬ ‫ﺇﺳـﺮﺍﺋﻴﻞ‬ ‫ﺍﻷﺭﺩ ﻥ‬ ‫ﺇﺳـﺮﺍﺋﻴﻞ‬ ‫ﺍﻷﺭﺩ ﻥ‬
‫ﺍﻷﺭﺩ ﻥ‬ ‫ﺍﻟـﻘﺎﻩـﺮﺓ‬
‫ﺍﻟــﺴﻮﻳﺲ‬

‫ﺳــﻴﻨﺎء‬ ‫ﺳــﻴﻨﺎء‬
‫ﺍﻟـﻘﺎﻩـﺮﺓ‬ ‫ﺍﻟـﻘﺎﻩـﺮﺓ‬
‫ﺍﻟـﻘﺎﻩـﺮﺓ‬ ‫ﺟﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﻣـﺼﺮ ﺍﻟﻌـﺮﺑﻴـﺔ ﺍﻟــﺴﻮﻳﺲ‬ ‫ﺍﻟــﺴﻮﻳﺲ‬
‫ﺍﻟــﺴﻮﻳﺲ‬ ‫ﺳــﻴﻨﺎء‬
‫ﺍﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ ﺍﻟﻌـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬
‫ﺍﻟﺴــﻌﻮﺩﻳﺔ‬

‫ﺟﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﻣـﺼﺮ ﺍﻟﻌـﺮﺑﻴـﺔ‬ ‫ﺟﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﻣـﺼﺮ ﺍﻟﻌـﺮﺑﻴـﺔ‬ ‫ﺟﻤﻬﻮﺭﻳﺔ ﻣـﺼﺮ ﺍﻟﻌـﺮﺑﻴـﺔ‬

‫ﺍﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ ﺍﻟﻌـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ ﺍﻟﻌـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ ﺍﻟﻌـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬

‫ﺍﻟﺴــﻌﻮﺩﻳﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﺴــﻌﻮﺩﻳﺔ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﺴــﻌﻮﺩﻳﺔ‬

‫ﻟﺒــﻨﺎﻥ‬ ‫ﻟﺒــﻨﺎﻥ‬ ‫ﻟﺒــﻨﺎن‬

‫ﺑــﻴﺮﻭﺕ‬ ‫ﺑــﻴﺮﻭﺕ‬ ‫ﺑــﯿﺮوت‬

‫ﺩﻣــﺸﻖ‬ ‫ﺩﻣــﺸﻖ‬ ‫دﻣــﺸﻖ‬

ARAB MiGs ARAB MiGs ARAB MiGs

ARAB฀MiGs฀฀|฀฀Volume฀4฀•

£74.99 £114.99 ‫ﺑــﻴﺮﻭﺕ‬

‫ﻟﺒــﻨﺎﻥ‬

‫ﺩﻣــﺸﻖ‬

‫ﺳــﻮﺭﻳﺎ‬
Volume 4
‫ﺳــﻮﺭﻳﺎ‬
‫ﻩﻀــﺒﺔ ﺍﻟﺠﻮﻻﻥ‬ Volume 5 ‫ﻩﻀــﺒﺔ ﺍﻟﺠﻮﻻﻥ‬
‫ﺳــﻮﺭﻳﺎ‬
Volume 6
‫ﺳــﻮرﯾﺎ‬
‫هﻀــﺒﺔ اﻟﺠﻮﻻن‬

NEW! NEW! ‫ﺗﻞ ﺃﺑﻴـﺐ‬

‫ﻩﻀــﺒﺔ ﺍﻟﺠﻮﻻﻥ‬

‫ﺍﻟﻀــﻔﺔ ﺍﻟ ﻐـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻘــﺪﺱ‬
‫ﻋــﻤﺎﻥ‬
Attrition War, 1967–1973

Tom Cooper and David Nicolle, with Lon Nordeen, Patricia Salti and Martin Smisek

‫ﺗﻞ ﺃﺑﻴـﺐ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻀــﻔﺔ ﺍﻟ ﻐـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬
‫ﻋــﻤﺎﻥ‬
October 1973 War: Part 1

Tom Cooper and David Nicolle, with Holger Müller, Lon Nordeen and Martin Smisek

‫ﺗﻞ ﺃﺑﻴـﺐ‬
‫ﺍﻟﻀــﻔﺔ ﺍﻟ ﻐـﺮﺑﻴﺔ‬
‫ﻋــﻤﺎﻥ‬
October 1973 War: Part 2
Tom Cooper and David Nicolle, with Albert Grandolini, Lon Nordeen and Martin Smisek

‫ﺗﻞ أﺑﯿـﺐ‬
‫اﻟﻀــﻔﺔ اﻟ ﻐـﺮﺑﯿﺔ‬
‫ﻋــﻤﺎن‬
‫ﺍﻟﻘــﺪﺱ‬ ‫ﺍﻟﻘــﺪﺱ‬ ‫اﻟﻘــﺪس‬

‫ﻗـﻄﺎﻉ ﻏـﺰﺓ‬
‫ﺑﻮﺭﺳــﻌﻴﺪ‬

‫ﺍﻟـﻌﺮﻳـﺶ‬
‫ﻗـﻄﺎﻉ ﻏـﺰﺓ‬ ‫ﻗـﻄﺎﻉ ﻏـﺰﺓ‬ ‫ﻗـﻄﺎع ﻏـﺰة‬
‫ﺇﺳـﺮﺍﺋﻴﻞ‬ ‫ﺍﻷﺭﺩ ﻥ‬ ‫ﺑﻮﺭﺳــﻌﻴﺪ‬ ‫ﺑﻮﺭﺳــﻌﻴﺪ‬ ‫ﺑﻮرﺳــﻌﯿﺪ‬

‫ﺍﻟـﻌﺮﻳـﺶ‬ ‫ﺍﻟـﻌﺮﻳـﺶ‬ ‫اﻟـﻌﺮﯾـﺶ‬

‫ﺳــﻴﻨﺎء‬ ‫ﺇﺳـﺮﺍﺋﻴﻞ‬ ‫ﺍﻷﺭﺩ ﻥ‬ ‫ﺇﺳـﺮﺍﺋﻴﻞ‬ ‫ﺍﻷﺭﺩ ﻥ‬ ‫إﺳـﺮاﺋﯿﻞ‬ ‫اﻷرد ن‬
‫ﺍﻟـﻘﺎﻩـﺮﺓ‬
‫ﺍﻟــﺴﻮﻳﺲ‬

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Reference Title

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Subtitle
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Author

LAIDLAW-JACKSON
Format

HARDBACK
Subject

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Publisher

THE MODEL AERONAUTICAL PRESS LTD

Published

1949
Pages

160
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FAIR
£ Price

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2 DIECAST TOY AIRCRAFT AN INTERNATIONAL GUIDE RICHARDSON HARDBACK AEROMODELLING NEW CAVENDISH BOOKS 1997 320 MINT 20.00

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4 MODELLING SCALE AIRCRAFT OSPREY MODELLING NO. 41 GREEN SOFTBACK AEROMODELLING OSPREY 2008 80 VERY GOOD 5.00

5 MODELLING THE F/A-18 HORNET OSPREY MODELLING NO. 16 COUGHLIN SOFTBACK AEROMODELLING OSPREY 2005 80 MINT 10.00

6 MODELLING THE HARRIER I AND II OSPREY MODELLING NO. 1 ASHLEY SOFTBACK AEROMODELLING OSPREY 2003 80 MINT 10.00

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70 SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE FR MK.XIV WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

Dawid Branski ‘Takes a Break’ with the 1:48 Airfix

Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk.XIV

Kit-Kat-Spit
T
his kit had a very unusual addition
– a Kit-Kat snack bar contained on a
sprue! It’s even mentioned as ‘step
38’ in the instructions and marked as
‘take a break and treat yourself with
a chocolate bar’ - nice move Airfix! I began
with assembling the cockpit, and immediately
replaced the seat with a resin one from Quick-
Boost. I also added a few extra little details Supermarine Spitfire FR Mk.XIV
onto cockpit side walls using few small pieces Manufacturer: Airfix
cut from some very thin polystyrene sheet Scale: 1:48
and 0.2mm copper wire. I sprayed the cockpit Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded with chocolate
with Hataka HTK-C026 Interior Grey Green, Kit Number: A05135
and other sections were treated with some
AK Interactive Xtreme Metal Aluminium. I
then brush painted the other details, and then carefully applied using toothpick. For sanding, surfaces I wanted to
added some Flory Models Dark Dirt Wash to I used some Tamiya 400 and 2000 grit sanding add just a couple of small chips with brush or
weather the interior. sponges. I then primed the model with Mr sponge after painting. So, the lower surfaces
After joining two halves of the fuselage Surfacer 1500 Black, and then gave some careful were then painted with Hataka C034 Medium
together and fixing the wings, I noticed a consideration about how the model would look Sea Grey. On the upper surfaces where the
few gaps here and there. So, these were filled when finished, and how much weathering to traffic would be higher, certain spots where the
with some Vallejo Putty, and some CA glue, add. At this stage I decided that on the lower pilot and ground crew would be walking, I find
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 71

KIT-KAT-SPIT
I added some wiring in the cockpit….

THE CHOCOLATE BAR IS MENTIONED

AS ‘STEP 38’!

…and then did some detail painting

72 SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE FR MK.XIV
I then primed the model with
Mr Surfacer 1500 Black…..
it better to use the hairspray technique for more
expansive chipping. So, I sprayed on some AK
Interactive Xtreme Aluminium where I wanted
the chips to appear, and also along some of
the panel lines and on the wing roots near the
fuselage. Next, I decanted some hairspray into
my airbrush and sprayed this over all of the
Aluminium spots. Hairspray dries pretty quickly,
so after just a few minutes I was ready to add
the main camouflage colours. Here I used
Hataka C032 Ocean Grey and C016 Dark Green
from their Royal Air Force Paint Set.
In order to activate a hairspray when using
lacquer-based paints, you will need to use
harder brushes and plenty of water, and it’s
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
…and the added selected spots of AK
Interactive Xtreme Aluminium
better to sand down the paint
a little first, using 2000 or 3000 grit
sanding paper or sanding sponges. With
the chipping complete I coated the entire
model with Hataka XP09 Gloss, and once dry
I began to apply the decals. For better decal
adhesion I used Micro Sol and Set and gave the
decals a full twelve hours to set. I then applied
another Gloss coat. I started weathering by
applying some Flory Models Dark Dirt Wash,
and later I did some oil dot filtering using some
grey oil paint all over the model, and then a
muddy brown wash on the wings where pilot
and crew would have been walking. Exhaust
smoke stains were created by airbrushing on
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 73

KIT-KAT-SPIT
some highly diluted black and then some white oil paint
was blended in using AK Interactive Enamel Thinner. I
finished the model by sealing everything in with a coat of
Hataka XP07 Matt clear and then I fixed the canopy with
Revell Contacta clear glue. This was a lovely build, with a
tasty snack to boot! Thanks to Airfix for providing me with
the build sample. MA
The undersides were
painted with Hataka C034
Medium Sea Grey….

….and the upper surfaces

with Hataka C032 Ocean Grey
and C016 Dark Green
74 F-86D SABRE DOG
Mission Models Masterclass
Mac Patterson builds
the 1:48 Revell F-86D in
the colours of Apollo 16
astronaut Charlie Duke
‘We’re breathing
again…’
B
eing a member of the exclusive
‘Moonwalkers Club’ would seem to
be enough recognition for anyone,
but for Charlie Duke as ‘Capcom’
of the Apollo 11 landing, with his
distinctive southern drawl, responding to
Armstrong’s ‘The Eagle has landed…” message,
will be forever etched in people’s memories.
Famously capturing the tension of the
moment, Duke allowed his test pilot cool to slip
for just a second as he replied; ‘Roger Twank…
Tranquilty, we copy you on the ground…’ that
slip of the tongue revealing the very human,
true nature of the man. Apollo 16 was to be
Duke’s only space flight, but he does have the
privilege of being the youngest man to walk
on the Moon. He and mission Commander
John Young would spend just under three days
conducting experiments on the lunar surface,
leaving photographs of his family in the soft
lunar dust.
As with all of the Apollo Astronauts, Duke
had a fascinating military flying career, after
graduation he joined the Air Force and would
select frontline service with the 526th Fighter
Interceptor Squadron at Ramstein Air Base,
during the height of the Cold War. On constant
alert the squadron would have F-86D Sabre
WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM
F-86D Sabre Dog
Manufacturer: Revell/Monogram
Scale: 1:48
Kit Type: Plastic injection moulded
Kit Number: 48176
Dogs and later, F-102 Delta Daggers ready to
scramble at a moment’s notice. This project
had the falsest of false starts, as I had elected
to build a Delta Dagger from Duke’s squadron,
having the old Monogram/Revell 1:48 boxing to
hand I began to build the kit. Although an older
production, with raised panel lines and some
slightly clunky detail, the kit went together well
- right up to the point where I couldn’t find the
nose cone, and without this part, I was unable
to complete the build- a lot of harsh language
was used! An alternative was required,
fortunately a slightly forgotten Revell boxing of
the F-86D resurfaced from my stash, the Sabre
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM
Aircraft of the Astronauts #6
The cockpit is
surprisingly well
detailed
Dog appeared to have been on strength with
the squadron during Duke’s early service in
West Germany, so fitted the bill.
This must have been one of Monogram/
Revell’s finest offerings, as the silvery/grey
plastic has delicate, well defined recessed
panels, the cockpit and ejection seats look
especially nice, and the decal sheet was glossy
and well printed. Building straight-from-the-
box, the cockpit has lovely console detail with
fine switches and dials, these pop out really
well with some patiently applied paint, similarly
the instrument panel has recessed dial faces. I
75
MISSION MODELS MASTERCLASS
Charles Moss
Duke Jr
• Lunar Module Pilot Apollo 16
• Cap Com Apollo 11
also used MDC Cold War era dial face decals to
replicate the instrumentation. The ejection seat
is refined being made up of a number of parts,
once painted I used Eduard pre-printed etched
seat belts for added realism. The completed
cockpit section is then glued in place, sitting
on the top of the engine intake trunking, this
entire subset in then attached to the interior
of the fuselage via locating tabs. Including
sufficient ballast in the nose to ensure the Dog
76 F-86D SABRE DOG
MISSION MODELS ACRYLICS PRODUCE A LOVELY
SMOOTH FINISH, REQUIRING JUST A LITTLE
THINNING OUT OF THE BOTTLE
This must have been
one of Monogram/ ….using Mission
Revell’s finest Models Insignia
offerings
White and Red
wouldn’t be sitting on its tail, the two
fuselage halves were brought together,
this process reinforced what a quality
I primed the Sabre production Revell have here, leaving
with Mission virtually no need to fill the join. The wings
Models Grey
Primer MMS 003 also fitted to the fuselage exceptionally well,
and a nice touch here were the separate slats
which I left off to paint once the main fuselage
had been completed.
After priming the surfaces with
Mission Models Grey Primer
MMS 003, I decided to create
the red and white sunburst
tail markings via airbrushing
rather than decalling. The tail was
given a base coat of Mission Models
I decided to MMP 104 Insignia White, and once
create the red and completely dry the markings were
white sunburst
tail markings via masked and give a couple of light coats
airbrushing rather of MMP 101 Insignia Red from the same
than decalling….. manufacturer, when the tape was removed
the sharp, crisp ‘sunburst’ was revealed. I
elected to use MMM 003 Faded Aluminium
to replicate the natural metal finish on
the Dog, as the Mission Models
WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM
I elected to use
MMM 003 Faded
Aluminium to
replicate the natural
metal finish
range of acrylics produce a lovely smooth
finish, requiring just a little thinning out of
the bottle. Leaving the paintwork to dry for a
couple of days, I masked a few selected panels
and gave them a light coat of MMM 07 Dark
Aluminium, these slightly darkened areas of
the overall Aluminium finish give a modulated,
dimensional effect to the airframe. The
characteristic radome ’snout’ of the F-86D was
airbrushed flat black, and the anti-glare panel
forward of the windscreen was given a coat of
Dark Green at the same time.
The challenge with a lot of these ‘Aircraft
of the Astronauts’ builds is finding images of
specific planes they flew, research revealed a
fair amount of useful images of F-86D’s from
Duke’s squadron, but non that positively
linked him to a specific aircraft, therefore the
aircraft number and markings needed to be
an educated guess. The kit supplied
decal sheet is very well printed
and this supplied the bulk of the
markings including the national
MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020 WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM 77

MISSION MODELS MASTERCLASS

Aircraft of the Astronauts #6

The kit supplied

decal sheet is very
well printed and this
supplied the bulk of
the markings

insignia, USAF lettering and the very

comprehensive selection of airframe
stencils, the squadron emblem was
sourced from an old sheet from my stash.
The decals were sealed with Mission Models
Clear Coat, the lovely recessed detail being
picked out with dilute Lamp Black oil paint,
which ran into the panel lines and rivets, and
then any excess was removed with a
damp cotton bud. The Revell
F-86D is a real highlight in
the company’s portfolio
being beautifully detailed
and straightforward to build,
along with a lovely decal sheet
with a variety of aircraft options, it’s
a real treat of a kit to build.
During last year’s fiftieth
anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon
landings, it was a treat to see the involvement
of Charlie Duke and fascinating to hear his
memories of that day and his involvement
in his own lunar adventures. I’ve had the

Research revealed
a number of
useful images
of F-86D’s from
Duke’s squadron

great fortune to meet several of the astronauts

involved in the Apollo programme, including
a memorable chat with Charlie Duke himself.
He struck me as a genuinely nice man who had
achieved incredible and historical things but
seemed to be happiest ’shooting the breeze’ in
that relaxed southern drawl of his! MA
78 CHECK YOUR REFERENCES
CHECK YOUR
REFERENCES
Models Aircraft’s Monthly Look at New Books
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
Kagero Kit Built 1
Publisher: Kagero
Authors: Robert Skalbania and
Adrian Wolnicki
IBN: 9788366148567
Format: Softback
Price: £18.00
T his is a ‘how to’ book, which
illustrates the modelling
techniques used to produce
two different models of the F-14
Tomcat made from the 1:48
Tamiya kit and the 1:72 Fine Molds
kit. The former is a carrier-based
aircraft, the latter, trainer in
desert camouflage. In each case
we are given an introduction
into the research and sourcing
of the kit, and the approach
taken. In addition to large format
photos of the completed models,
the process of construction
and painting is illustrated with
detail photographs annotated
with relevant information. It is
refreshing to see that the authors
have made use of products from
a variety of manufacturers, using
what they consider to be the best
on the market. The finish on these
models is superb, especially the
weathering on the first aircraft.
At the back of the book are seven
pages with ten colour profiles,
and the back cover has a beautiful
rendition of a pair of Tomcats
on patrol. As with many Kagero
publications, there is a bonus of
a decal sheet containing both
1:48 and 1:72 markings. The first
in a new series from Kagero, this
ideal for those wishing to build a
model of the subject aircraft, not
necessarily those illustrated, as
the details are applicable to other
aircraft.
Paul Middleton
www.casematepublishing.co.uk
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
Secret Wings of Swedish Bomber
World War II Colours 1924-
Publisher: Lance Cole
Author: Norman Franks 1958
ISBN: 9781526782021 Publisher: MMP Books
Format: Softback Author: Mikael Forslund
Price: £14.99 ISBN: 9788365958372
Format: Softback
T here are many myths
and legends surrounding
the advanced German
aeronautical technology of the
Second World War. There are also
Price: £TBC
A n illustrated study of
Swedish bomber aircraft
deployed before and
facts and proven events. Yet within during World War II and in the
these stories and behind these facts early 1950s. The camouflage
lie conspiracy theories, mistaken and markings on the aircraft
assumptions and denials that seem (which were sourced from many
to contradict the evidence. So, what
really happened? How far ahead
were the German scientists? And,
of even greater interest, why and
how? There have been other books
different foreign countries) are
described in unparalleled detail
by the well-known author Mikael
Forslund. They are then shown
in many previously unpublished
about advanced German wartime photographs and in exclusive
aeronautics, yet few authors have colour profiles created for this
fully examined the detail of the book by the artist Karolina Holda,
designs and their relevance to the Marek Radomski and others.
fighter and bomber legends of www.mmpbooks.biz
the 1950s and 1960s, let alone the
current crop of military and civil
all-wing or blended-wing aircraft.
This book charts the story from
its origins, through current-day
innovations and beyond, into the
all-wing future of tomorrow.
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
 MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2020
Ikarus IK-2
Publisher: Kagero
Authors: Aleksander M Ognjevic
and Branislav J Mirkov
ISBN: 9788366148628
Format: Softback
Price: £22.00
T his book is a history of
pre-war Yugoslav aircraft
production, in particular the
Ikarus IK-2, which was designed by
two Yugoslav engineers who had
been trained in France. The first
third of the book is a very detailed
history of the aircraft development
in Yugoslavia and describes the
trials for the IK-2 as it progressed to
production, and finally into service
and combat. Most pages have
period photographs or illustrations,
and also images from manuals.
There is a technical description of
the various sub-assemblies, again
with images, data on the armament
and translations of Yugoslav military
terminology. Other charts list the
airframe serials of individual aircraft
and their history, comparison of
aircraft and geographical locations.
This second section consists
of twenty-five sheets of scale
drawings in both 1:48 and 1:72,
with details, fuselage and wing
sections, covering prototypes
and production models. The third
section consists of some 116 pages
of computer-generated 3D views
of the IK-2 seen from all angles. The
Kagero bonus is two large pull-out
sheets with 1:32 drawings, sections
and details. This is an excellent
collection of material on a quite
obscure aircraft, (only twelve were
built). For those interested, it is a
‘must have’ whether a model-maker
or just interested in aviation history.
Paul Middleton
www.casematepublishing.co.uk
Fairey Swordfish
Mk.I, II, III, IV
and Floatplane
Publisher: Kagero
Author: Anirudh Rao
IBN: 9788366148871
Format: Softback
Price: £13.00
W W
ith production starting
in 1935, the Fairey
Swordfish became
the main torpedo bomber and
reconnaissance plane for the
Fleet Air Arm, flying both from
aircraft carriers and the floatplane
version catapulted from capital
ships. Starting with a short text
on the aircraft in both English
and Polish, the following pages
have 1:72 multi-view drawings
of the Gloster Gladiator Mk.I,
Mk.II, Sea Gladiator, Mk.II Meteo,
Mk.I Tropical, J-8 Finnish export
model, and Mk.I and II with skis.
The drawings are then repeated in
the larger 1:48, including fuselage
sections, ideal for scratch-building
or checking kits. The centre
four pages contain four colour
profiles, with an additional two
on the back cover. In common
with the Kagero range, there is
also two large pull-out sheets
with the drawings in 1:32, making
it an ideal one-stop publication.
Another excellent booklet from
Kagero ideal for both the model-
maker and aviation enthusiast.
Paul Middleton
www.casematepublishing.co.uk
Hawker Siddeley
(BAe)/McDonnell-
Douglas/Boeing
Harrier
Publisher: Kagero
Author: Salvador Mafe Huertas
IBN: 9788366148833
Format: Softback
Price: £15.00
ith a brief introduction
on the development of
the British Harrier, and the
subsequent building under licence
in the US, the subject aircraft within
this book centres on the US built
aircraft in service with the Spanish
Navy. With the first aircraft, officially
titled ‘Matadors’, (but not a regularly
used name), arriving in 1976. Both
single seat and two-seat trainers
were bought and operated from
the Spanish Navy’s aircraft capable
ships, the Dedalo (decommissioned
in 1989) and the Principe de Asturias
(decommissioned in 2013) and
Juan Carlos I. Details of the second
generation aircraft are given, along
with a list of airframe numbers and
individual histories, but the major
plus of this book is the excellent
colour photographic coverage. Both
in-flight and parked up aircraft are
seen in great detail, along with the
pilots often named. Four colour
profiles of three Spanish and one
Thai aircraft complete the book.
Despite being a rather niche subject,
this is an excellent book which will
prove invaluable to both model-
makers and aircraft enthusiasts.
Numerous kits in a variety of
scales are available of the Harrier
in different versions. This book is a
must for those wishing to make an
accurate model of a Spanish version.
Paul Middleton
www.casematepublishing.co.uk
79
CHECK YOUR REFERENCES
Coastal
Command’s Air
War Against the
German U-Boat
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Author: Norman Franks
ISBN: 9781783831838
Format: Softback
Price: £14.99
T his book summarises the
story of how RAF Coastal
Command overcame the
German U-boat danger during
the Second World War and how
the escalation of the U-boat war
promoted the development of
anti-submarine warfare, leading
to victory over this menace in
the Atlantic. At the start of the
war, RAF Coastal Command had
virtually no real chance of either
finding or sinking Germany’s
submarines, but within a short
period of time, new methods of
detecting and delivering deadly
ordnance with which to sink this
underwater threat were dreamt
up and implemented.  It took the
men of Coastal Command long
hours patrolling over an often
hostile sea, in all types of weather,
but their diligence, perseverance
and dedication won through,
saving countless lives of both
merchant and navy seamen out
in the cold wastes of the Atlantic
and contributing much to the final
victory over Nazi Germany. This
new addition to the Images of War
series serves as a tribute to these
men, recording their exploits in
words and images.
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
80 CHECK YOUR REFERENCES
Desert Air Force
1942-1945
Publisher: Bryn Evans
Author: Norman Franks
ISBN: 9781526781949
Format: Softback
Price: £14.99
C ompared to the RAF’s
Fighter and Bomber
Commands, the Desert
Air Force (DAF) is far less well
known, yet its achievements
were spectacular. DAF led the
way in North Africa and Italy in
pioneering new tactics in close
Army-Air Force co-operation on
the battlefield, DAF and Allied
air forces gave Allied armies in
North Africa and Italy a decisive
cutting edge. While the Axis
forces used the many rivers and
mountains of Tunisia and Italy
to slow the Allies advance, DAF
was there to provide that extra
mobile firepower the artillery
from the sky. They were the first
multi-national air force, and the
first to introduce air controllers in
the front lines of the battlefield.
With first-hand accounts by
veteran airmen form Britain,
Australia, Canada, New Zealand,
South Africa and the USA, this
book reveals the decisive victories
with which DAF won the war over
North Africa, the Mediterranean
and Italy in 1942-45.
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
Fairchild
Republic A-10
Thunderbolt II
Publisher: Peter C Smith
Author: Norman Franks
ISBN: 9781526759269
Format: Hardback
Price: £30.00
T he A-10 Close Support aircraft
has become a legend over
its long front-line life. Known
as the Warthog due to its unusual
appearance, this little aircraft has
built up an awesome reputation in
the specialised ground-attack role,
where her accuracy and deadliness
are widely recognised as the best
of their kind. Hard lessons from
the Second World War, that were
reinforced by the bitter experience
of the Vietnam War two decades
later, showed that it was both
impracticable and highly non-cost
efficient to use supersonic fighter
jets in the close air support mission.
A requirement was therefore drawn
up for an aeroplane capable of
carrying a heavy and varied load
of ordnance, which had good
endurance and unprecedented
manoeuvrability, and which could
survive heavy ground fire – thus
the A-10 was born. But, by the time
it came into service her role had
changed to that of a tank-buster
in the defence of Western Europe
in the face of the overwhelming
numbers of Soviet battle armour.
With her straight wing, twin tails
and turbine engines mounted high
on her rear fuselage, this single-
seat aircraft certainly presented a
unique appearance. But all these
features served a vital role, as
the author explains in this highly
detailed study.
www.pen-and-sword.co.uk
WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM
Ho Chi Minh Trail 1964-73
Publisher: Osprey
Author: Peter E Davies
ISBN: 9781472842534
Format: Softback
Price: £14.99
T he ‘Trails War’ formed a
major part of the so-
called ‘secret war’ in
South East Asia, yet for complex
political reasons, including
the involvement of the CIA,
it received far less coverage
than campaigns like ‘Rolling
Thunder’ and ‘Linebacker’.
Nevertheless, the campaign
had a profound effect on the
outcome of the war and on its
perception in the USA. In the
north, the ‘Barrel Roll’ campaign
was often operated by daring
pilots flying obsolete aircraft, as in
the early years, US forces were still
flying antiquated piston-engined
T-28 and A-26A aircraft. The
campaign gave rise to countless
heroic deeds by pilots like the
Raven forward air controllers,
operating from primitive airstrips
in close contact with fierce enemy
forces. USAF rescue services
carried out extremely hazardous
missions to recover aircrew who
would otherwise have been
swiftly executed by Pathet Lao
forces, and reconnaissance pilots
routinely risked their lives in solo,
low-level mission over hostile
territory. Further south, the Steel
Tiger campaign was less covert.
‘Arc Light ‘B-52 strikes were flown
frequently, and the fearsome
AC-130 was introduced to cut the
trails. At the same time, many
thousands of North Vietnamese
troops and civilians repeatedly
made the long, arduous journey
along the trail in trucks or, more
often, pushing French bicycles
laden with ammunition and rice.
Under constant threat of air attack
and enduring heavy losses, they
devised extremely ingenious
means of survival.  The campaign
to cut the trails endured for the
entire Vietnam War but nothing
more than partial success could
ever be achieved by the USA.
This illustrated title explores
the fascinating history of this
campaign, analysing the forces
involved and explaining why the
USA could never truly conquer the
Ho Chi Minh trail.
www.ospreypublishing.com
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82 VOLUME 19 ISSUE 08 WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM

In The Next Issue

For the September Issue of Model Aircraft, here’s just a
little of what we have planned!
Little Buckaroo Top Gun Tiger
Jarek Rydzynski builds the 1:32 Trumpeter Barry Koervers builds the 1:48 AFV Club
P-38J Lightning ‘Sundowners’ F-5E

Playing a Blinder Frogfoot in the Congo

Snorre Sandviken goes large with the 1:72 Snorre Sandviken tackles the 1:48 Smer Su-25K
Revell Tu-22B
The Need for Speed
Bf 109G-10 Defence of the Reich Dawid Branski brings Maverick and Goose’s
Jay Blakemore returns to his favoured Defence F-14 to our pages with his build of the 1:48
of the Reich period when he builds a late-War Tamiya Tomcat
Eduard Bf109G-10 Mtt Regensburg ProfiPACK
Plus, much, much more!
Model Aircraft Manual – A-26 Invader
with colour profiles, background details, scale
plans and a full build of a 1:48 A-26K Counter
Invader from Ian Gaskell

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