102

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CZECH MATE
Petr Pospisil’s stunning small scale Letov Š-328v
 CONTENTS
2 1:48 HAF TA-7C Corsair
Theodoros Orinos’s super-detailed S.L.U.F. is far from being an Ugly Fella.

14 Letov
Czech Mate; Petr Pospisil’s stunning small scale Letov Š-328v.

28 Loire 130
Frédéric Grassi gets colourful with the Azur 1:48 French Flying Boat.

40 Silver Star
Albert Tureczek’s bare metal F-104G from the Kinetic Gold kit in 1:48.

48 Hurricane Mk IIC
Nino Gakovic samples his first 1:72 Arma Hobby kit.

56 1:72 Flanker take-off diorama

Part two of Andrea Paternieri’s dramatic Su-33 diorama.

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1
 THEODOROS ORINOS
TAKES HIS 1:48 HAF TA-7C CORSAIR
TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL

2
It was 2013 and I was finishing an RF-84F in 1:48 scale, which was
a ‘kitbash’ of the Fonderie Miniatures RF-84F and Kinetic F-84F
kits with the addition of resin and photo-etched parts and a lot of
scratchbuilt details. I have been an active modeller since the early
90’s, I always build 1:48 planes and I always like to improve or add
details in any part of the plane that is visible when the plane is
landed, like cockpit, wheel wells or maybe a gun bay, but I had
never done anything more than that (maybe once in a Mil Mi-24
Hind…). Well things were about to change...
I read an article in a modelling magazine about A-7 Corsair II. This
article contained some very detailed photos taken by a well-known
Greek photographer, Ioannis Lekkas. However the photos in the
magazine were quite small, so not really very helpful for a
modeller. So I did something that I had never done before, I
contacted Ioannis although I did not know him personally and
asked him for some help. And I was really very pleasantly
surprised from his very positive response. So that was it. I had the
material and I started a modelling journey that would last almost 7
years.
You will understand why soon…
3
 The good news when I started this project, were that there was a brand Although, scratchbuilding was the key word in this
new kit of TA-7C Corsair II from Hobby Boss, so no need for kitbashing or project, I did use a number of details sets
resin upgrade or scribing panel lines. The bad news however were, that sometimes in full (Electronic Bay, Wheel Bay) and
the Hobby Boss kit has some quite serious problems in size and shape. sometimes just to complement my scratchbuilt
On the kit box it is stated that the kit’s length is 315.5 mm. If you multiply parts. More specifically I used:
this by 48 it gives 15,14m. However the real length if TA-7C is 14,06m, so
we are speaking of a difference of over one meter. Also the shape of the •Eduard 49 255 A-7E Corsair II
air intake in the front is very different compared to the real one. Even the
•Eduard 48 673 A-7E exterior
width of the fuselage was bigger than it should be…
•Eduard FE521 A-7E interior S.A.
I was quite lucky to have in my stock a resin conversion set from RVHP to •2 x AIRES 4147 A-7E Corsair II cockpit set
convert Hasegawa A-7E to TA-7H/P (Kit No 48040). I did not use this resin •AIRES 4350 A-7D Corsair II Electronic Bay
set in my construction but I used it to compare the dimensions and shape •AIRES 4202 A-7D Corsair II Wheel Bay
after the corrections I made.
•QUICKBOOST 48 394 A-7D Corsair Antennas and
In order to reduce the length of the kit I made some vertical cuts in the
Sensors
center of the fuselage (you can have an idea in photo 5.2 below). The air
intake was a little more complicated to fix, I had to make horizontal cuts
On top of the above a number of Decal sets were
all around and add plastic sheet in order to reshape it. Also some sanding
used, but more on that later.
on the left and right fuselage parts, at the points where the two halves
connect, reduced the width. At the end I was happy with the result and
the comparison to the resin fuselage of RVHP so I moved to the next step.

REAR FUSELAGE
It is time now to start explaining why this
modelling project took so long to finish.
Since I had so much reference material
available, I decided to build the model with
the engine removed. Yes now I know what
this means, but back in 2014 I did not…
The first important issue was that the air
intake should be created complete and
flawless internally, from the nose up to the
bulkhead where the engine would
“connect”, if it had not been removed. That
was not very difficult as part of it was
provided by the kit (parts H1 and H4) and
the rest was scratchbuilt.
The serious work would take place in the
part of the fuselage that actually surrounds
the engine (when the engine is in place).
The first step was to remove a number of
panels, on the sides and mainly at the
bottom. These panels where removed in all
the reference photos I had of an A-7 with
the engine removed and also it was
important to remove them otherwise the
detail work to follow would not be visible
after the model was completed.
The second step was that the remaining
part of the fuselage should be seriously
thinned in order to simulate the aluminium
skin in the real plane. This took a lot of
sanding, trying to keep it equal in all parts.
Then the third step was creating from
scratch all the internal details. Seriously
that was a lot of scratchbuilding! You can
have an initial idea in the three drawings
that follow, which I did by hand, looking at
the various photos I had, and trying to
gather in one drawing all the detail of each
frame to be constructed. Based on these
drawings the various frames were built
from plastic and now it was time to start
working on the interior of the rear fuselage.
It did not take long for me to understand
that trying to add this detail to the left and
right part of the fuselage, as provided by
the kit, would be very difficult. So I decided
to divide this part of the fuselage into three
parts, left right and top, as it is in the real
plane. The three sections can be seen
above, all the detail added from plastic
sheet and wire.
Other parts required to complete the
detailing of this area, that were again built
from zero with plastic and wire. Bulkheads
progressing along the fuselage were
scratchbuilt as can be seen in the images.

4
Once I was happy with all the parts and details described above,
it was time to return to normality that is painting. I airbrushed all
the parts with my favourite mix of Testors Model Master Green
Zinc Chromate and Chrome Yellow that I have used in most of
my modelling projects when painting USA planes interior. Then
the details were painted by hand with various shades of Model
Master Metalizers and other colours where necessary based on
my reference photos. Then everything was airbrushed with Sealer
for Metalizer. When this was dry a wash was applied, followed by
drybrushing with a lighter version of the Green and Yellow Mix
mention above, and finally a touchup on the details and a cover
with Sealer for Metalizer to all the metallic parts.
You can also see that during the process of painting I found it
convenient to cut some of the parts mentioned above in more
pieces. The orange colour was not painted it was just the cover of
the cables I used in the scratchbuilt phase and I just covered it
with Sealer for Metalizer.
Once the painting phase was over, I started connecting the parts
together and adding the final details. A part of this phase was
done before the fuselage halves were glued together. The rear
fuselage was completed after the model was fully assembled. As
a conclusion, the creation of the back of the fuselage of the TA-
7C with the engine removed was the most demanding
scratchbuilding project that I have ever done in my modelling
years (that means from ’92 till now). And the bad thing here is
that after the model was complete a big part of this work is quite
difficult or even impossible to see (so it is a good thing that I have
the photos). However I do not regret this, I really enjoyed it and I
believe this experience will help in some ideas I have for rather
demanding future projects.

5
 COCKPIT AND
CANOPY
If I had decided to build a single seat
corsair, then the cockpit detailing would be
very easy using Aires 4147, A-7E Corsair II
resin cockpit set. However I never liked the
single seat Corsair. It is not only me, Corsair
is known as SLUF, Slow Little Ugly Fella, so I
am not the only one that finds it ugly. The
two-seater however is a different story. For
me it is a very beautiful aircraft. There is
always a price for beauty however and in
this case it was the fact that to my
knowledge there was no resin update set for
the two-seater cockpit. So scratchbuilding
once again…
Well not 100%, as I did use some parts from
two Aires 4147 sets to depict the front
cockpit instrument panel and cover and the
two ejection seats. These parts were based
on the relevant resin parts and photoetched
instrument panel and seat belts of the Aires
set, with detail added by plastic, wire and
copper. The two seats have an important
difference as the front one carries on the
top a Canopy Breaker in case of an ejection.
This was added by plastic. Other parts of
the seats added by plastic and wire were
the pitot tube assemblies, the safe/arm
handles, the ejection control handles and
the personal services connectors.
The bulkhead that separates the cockpit
was based on the kit parts C13, C9 and H2
6
with a lot of detail added by plastic and wire
as well as some detail taken from the Aires
resin set. The cockpit side panels have were
added, based on the front half of kit part C8
and detail added again by plastic. I made
drawings in order to create the plastic detail
to be added on the side panels.
In a similar fashion the rear cockpit, based
on kit parts C12 and the rear half of C8,
detail by plastic, wire and resin taken from
Aires set.
The cockpit floors of the front and rear
cockpits were made by plastic and wire and
using the photoetched detail part 28 of the
Eduard set FE521 A-7E Interior as well as
the structure to hold the rudder pedals (and
some more external details). More details
for the floors and the sides of the cockpits
were added. The pilot control sticks come
from the Aires resin set with little additions,
the rudder pedals from the Eduard set and
the imitation of side panels fabric covers are
made from aluminium sheet. In this photo
you can see also some detail for the panels
to be opened on the fuselage, but more on
this later…
So maybe you think now that we are done
with the cockpit details and we are ready to
start painting. Nope, we forgot the most
visible part which is the canopy!
In the single seat Corsair the canopy
hinges at the back. In the two-seater
however it opens sidewise to the starboard
side of the plane. That means that when it
is open, it is very visible and it does include
A LOT of detail. So here we go again…
First of all I need to say that for many years
now I always use vacuum formed canopies
as I find the result much closer to reality
than using the plastic canopy provided by
the kit. In many cases I have used vacuum
canopies that are part of the Falcon Clear-
Vax Canopy Sets. When the canopy of the
plane I am building is not available to buy, I
create it myself, using Squadron Clear
Thermaform sheet and my Kingston
Vacuum Works tool that really gives a very
professional result!
For this project the main – opening part of
the canopy was included in the RVHP resin
conversion kit I mentioned earlier in this
article. It was very nice in terms of shape
and transparency so no problem at all.
However as this was just a conversion kit, it
did not include the front part of the canopy,
as the idea was that for that you would use
the kit part. For me there was no chance to
do something like that, so I created the
front part on my own using the Hobby Boss
part as a mould and my clear Thermaform
sheet and Kingston tool as described
above. Having the clear part ready it was
time for the interior detail. For the front part
that was quite easy, I just added a very
small part that is barely visible when the
model is finished. But for the main canopy
it was a different story.
The great challenge here is to create this
part that will fit perfectly to the clear
canopy at the end, when everything is
painted, without creating any damage to
the clear canopy during the construction
process. So I started with the three round
frames, front middle and back, using a
suitable plastic strip, by simply bending
and attaching these strips internally to the
clear canopy only with masking tape
(without any glue) and then gluing them to
a temporary plastic base around 2 cm
below the clear canopy. With this initial
structure in place I could remove the clear
canopy and do all the work, adding all
frames, without any fear of damaging the
clear part. When all the frames were in
place, I removed the not needed lower part
and the temporary base and I moved on
adding detail. I was really very happy with
the final result and this will be also be
visible in the painted photos below.
OK, now once again back to normality that
is painting. The colours used in the cockpit
were mainly Humbrol enamels. Most of the
surfaces were black with HU33, some were
gray with HU126. The ejections seat
cushions were Hu83 and the personal
services connector hoses were HU120.
Yellow, red and some metallic shades were
used for the details. Speaking about
details, after the initial stage of painting,
wash and drybrushing, a number of details
was added, mainly on the cockpit side
panels and in other areas, including
buttons, switches and levers made by
wires and plastic.
7
 EXTERNAL DETAILS
So after two scratchbuilding marathons in the rear fuselage and cockpit, it would really
be a shame not to open any details on the external parts of the fuselage. Do not
forget we are speaking of a plane with the engine removed, so practically going
through a serious service, therefore it really make sense to open any panel possible.
And the good thing is that the external detail is much more visible when the model is
finished.
I started with the easy parts:

Wheel Wells
The Aires 4202 A-7D Corsair II Wheel Bay resin update set is really very good and
provides all the detail needed for the Corsair wheel wells. Based on the photos I had, I
added a few details in the port and starboard main wheel wells. Also the main gears
that are a tripod arrangement consisting of three struts each, were improved with
plastic detail and wires. Finally some improvements were also added in the nose gear.
The wheel wells are painted white and certainly this is not my favourite colour,
especially when we speak of an internal and rather dirty bay. To make things even
more complicated I had some photos of wheel wells that were clean and shiny while in
other planes they were dull and dirty. Well I did what I considered more physical, a
wheel well of a plane in action should be dirty, I just did not push it too much.

Electronic Bays
The A-7 Corsair electronic bays on the port and
starboard side of the plane, provide access to a
number of panels and boxes that have to do
with air conditioning, oxygen servicing and
more. Like in the wheel wells, the detail here is
provided by Aires. They have two resin upgrade
sets: 4349 for A-7E and 4350 for A-7D. Both
sets contain 8 parts, parts 1-6 are identical,
while parts 7 and 8, actually the opening
access panels, are different.
So if you build an A-7E or and A-7D you know
which set to use. But when building a TA-7C,
there is a small problem. The opening access
panels have the shape of the parts of set 4350.
However the internal detail of part 8 of this set
is not correct for TA-7C, you need to use part 8
of set 4349. So you have two options. You can
use set 4349 and correct the shape of both
parts 7 and 8. Or if you have both sets in stock,
you can use part 7 from set 4350 and part 8
from set 4349 with correction in shape (on the
top left corner). This is what I did.
8
Coming now to painting. The internal colour of both electronic
bays and access panels was in most of my reference photos the
same as the internal colour of the rear fuselage, so the same mix
of Testors Model Master Green Zinc Chromate and Chrome Yellow
was used. The various panels and boxes hosted inside the bays
were painted with various shades of black, grey and green, using
Humbrol colours and in some cased with Model Master metallic
shades. Again everything was covered with Sealer for Metalizer, a
wash followed and finally dry-brushing.
So the wheel wells and electronic bays were based on Aires sets,
so minor detail or correction was required. So what, no more
scratchbuilding? I could not allow this to myself, so here we go
again…
I started with the front part of the port side, as you can see in
photos above. What was added here, was:
•The air vents (top left)
•The boarding ladder and 4 steps.
•The Gun bay venting system open (below the port side electronic
bay)
•And finally a panel in the middle, that I have not been able to find
in all my references, books or in the web what exactly it does. So I
do not what it is, but I like it very much open.
Moving now to the starboard front side, here things became a little
more serious. Here, in front of the Electronic Bay described above,
At a later stage of the construction I realized that in some Corsairs
the colour used to paint the internal bays was more yellow than
green. Unfortunately that was the case in the specific model I
intended to build. When I realized that it was too late to make
changes in the internal part of the bays, so all I did was a more
yellow dry brushing on the open access panels. Not perfect but
that was all I could do at that point…
the Air Conditioning and Pressurization System is located. A lot of
detail, a lot of tubes painted aluminum, black and even green.
Also some of the tubes have a cover that looks like aluminium foil.
Moving now to the rear part of the plane, more specifically on the
vertical stabilizer, in my reference photos I had two open access
panels that give access to the autopilot, trim and rudder feel units
and controller. For some reason I cannot explain, this was the
scratchbuilt part that really made me very happy and proud. It is
not very big, but includes so many details and at the end I believe
is the point where everyone who sees this model for the first time
will look first.
So that was practically the end of scratchbuilding for this project!
9
 PAINTING
As I have mentioned above, this was the
first time in my modelling years that I have
added so much detail in a project. So
apart from all the work and scratchbuilding
described above, there were some more
issues here. Actually the assembly of the
plane had to follow some rules in order not
to create any damage to the open areas
mainly the rear part of the fuselage.
So the cockpit was first put in place and
the front parts of the fuselage were glued.
The next step was to add the port part of
the rear fuselage. Then I added the parts
below, between the front and rear wheel
wells that is the area of the airbrake.
Initially I planned to leave the airbrake
partially open, but I thought enough is
enough.
Now with the fuselage completed it was
time for the main wings and the vertical
stabilizer. The tail wings were left to be put
later as they are “all-moving” so the
connection to the fuselage is just a small
pin and it would be quite risky to add it
now and also make the painting more
difficult.
So that was it, the “Twosair” had taken
shape and it was time for some final
corrections and touch-ups to the scribed
detail and then the camouflage painting.
Camouflage painting? That triggered some
old memories for me. The two planes I had
finished before the Twosair were an F-100
and an F-84F, both in natural metal finish.
So in a few words it had been almost 10
years since the time I had painted a
camouflage scheme on a plane. I needed
10
to remember some things. The good thing
is my memory is still ok…
Another issue had to do with the very big
number of open panels all over the plane
and the very thin fuselage in the rear. The
masking of all the panels was a project on
its own. And on top of that, holding the
plane was a very difficult task, as there
were so many areas where the detail could
be damaged or the very thin fuselage
could be broken with just a little too much
pressure. Very soon I realized that the only
place that I could safely hold the model
was the part behind the wings and front of
the removed engine. Any other area of
holding the plane could be a risk…
Once all the masking was in place, I
sprayed everything with my favourite
primer that is Alclad grey primer. I know
this is meant for metal finishes but I use it
without any issue also for a standard
camouflage. The TA-7C in HAF service
carried the standard Vietnam camouflage
scheme. For me that simply meant
XtraColor X140 Light Grey-Vietnam, X116
Green-Vietnam, X110 Forest Green-
Vietnam and X102 Tan-Vietnam.
I started with the Light Grey in the under
surfaces followed by the Tan and then
Forest Green and Green. Lighter to darker.
The masking was done with carton paper
that had 5 strips of masking tape
underneath in the middle of each piece
used, so it was not in contact with the
surface. Also for every colour, the inner
surfaces of the panels were sprayed with a
lighter shade of the basic colour.
As I have mentioned in the beginning of
this article, I have too many reference
photos of TA-7C in HAF service. A closer
look on these photos made me understand
that although the camouflage scheme was
similar in most of them, it was not exactly
the same. So in order to be precise I
focused on photos of the specific plane I
had decided to model. That was No
“156787” and the main reason I chose this
was the tiger stripes on the tail rudder.
More on this below in the decals section.
So the tail rudder was painted “tiger
yellow” using a mix of Humbrol 154
Insignia Yellow and 33 White.
The final colour to be added was Humbrol
34 Black in the nose and front part of the
canopy, as well as on the vertical stabilizer
as can be seen in photo 7.1
Two more points that have to do with the
canopy. In the point where glass connects
with the frame of the canopy, there is a
very thin white line. I was thinking initially of
producing that using a thin white marker,
but finally I decided to paint it. It was a
demanding masking exercise but the result
was acceptable.
With all the colours painted, the next step
was covering everything with a layer of
Testors Sealer for Metalizer. When this was
very dry, wash was applied, a lighter shade
on the lighter gray areas and a darker
shade on the rest. The wash was left for a
while and then “cleaned” with cotton tabs
dipped in AK Interactive Odorless Thinner.
The wash procedure was repeated in some
areas and when I was happy with the final
result, another layer of Sealer for Metalizer
was sprayed. Now it was time for decals.
 MARKINGS
Let me start by saying that the specific TA-
7C I decided to depict was not part of any
available decal sheet as far as I knew. On
the other hand I must admit I had a lot of
Corsair decal sheets in my stock, some
from kits and some aftermarket sheets I
had bought in the past. So based on my
reference photos I used parts of many
different sheets in order to come as close
to reality as I could. Below you can find a
list of the sheets used and which decals I
used from each sheet:
XTRADECAL X48082 Foreign Corsairs
•The tail fin flashes but not the serial
numbers as the font did not really match
the font used in the TA-7C. Also I needed
156787 and not 156767 as provided by the
sheet.
•The “ΠΑ” for the nose.
•The white three last digits of the serial
number on the nose. However the number
provided by the decal sheet was 767 and I
needed 787, so I used a second decal
sheet and by adding a second 6 upside
down I turned 6 to 8. You can see the
result in photo 8.1
ICARUS DECALS 48002 Hellenic Air Force
Jets Pt.1
•All the roundels on wings upper and lower
surfaces and on the fuselage sides in the
front.
A big number of stencils, but not all, some
were taken from the sheets below.
The HOBBYBOSS KIT (80346) Decal Sheet
RVHP A-7E to TA-7H/P CONVERSION KIT
(48040) Decal Sheet
REVELL 1/48 04563 VOUGHT A-7E
CORSAIR II Decal Sheet
ALBATROS MODELWORKS ALC/48011
Marauding Corsairs
ICARUS DECALS 48004 F/RF-4E Stencil
Data-Black
Yes I do understand that what is mentioned
above sounds a little too much, however
the stencils used in different versions of
Corsair or in different Air Forces where the
plane served, are not the same. And if you
have a lot of detailed material as I did,
these differences are too obvious to be
ignored. And at the end of the day the
possibility of building another A-7 in my
modelling years, after all the effort and
time put in this project, are quite limited.
Therefore these decals sheets would not
be used anyway. The only possibility I see
would be to build the HAF A-7H Corsair
Tiger, but there are no stencils here, and I
do have the decal sheet untouched, so no
problem!
My Own Decal Sheet
Last part of the decals session had to do
with two items that were not present in any
of the decal sheets I had. I am speaking
about the serial numbers “156787” under
the tail flash fins and the black tiger stripes
on tail rudder. So here I decided to create
my own decals
For the serial number I created it using
PowerPoint. Every number was designed
using black rectangles. “1” was just one
rectangle, “7” was two, but “5” was 10
rectangles… When all black rectangles
were in place, I used white rectangles to
form the “borders” around the numbers
and also the “blanks” between them and
finally the “blanks” in the middle of “5”, “6”
and “8”. Of course I am speaking about a
number drawing that covered one whole
page of PowerPoint. When I was happy
with the result I saved the page as an
image. You can see this in drawing 1.
For the tiger stripes, I enlarged two of the
photos I had and printed the back side,
port and starboard, so that the tail rudder
covered almost one A4 page. Then I used
a transparent A4 page and put it over the
printed tail rudders. I used a black
permanent marker to draw on the
transparent page the black tiger stripes.
Then I scanned it so I had the black tiger
stripes as an image. You can see that in
drawings 2 and 3.
Now with the two images available, I
reduced the size and printed, again and
again until I was satisfied with the size they
should have in 1/48. Then the decal sheet
was created with 10 copies of the serial
number and 3 copies of the black tiger
stripes per side (see the image of the
artwork above).
11
 My decal sheet was ready to be printed. I used a laser printer and
Micro-Mark Decal Paper. The result was very good, however when
these decals are put on the model we need to be careful, as a
home printed decal is certainly not a commercial decal sheet.
I was happy with this result, so I also created a second sheet with
a few stencils that I was missing. I did that in PowerPoint again
using Calibri font and font size 2.
The decals were placed using Microscale decal setting solutions.
Most of them fitted perfectly, however a few of the stencils
betrayed me and I was not completely happy with the result. As I
said before, painting again such a detailed model was not an easy
So here we are. Almost seven years after is started this
project was over. I really could not believe it! Would I do this
again? I do not think so… Maybe in the future. For the
moment however I moved to the other edge. HAF F-16 Zeus,
in flying position with all the panels closed!
References
Apart from the reference material provided to me by Ioannis
Lekkas as mentioned in the introduction of this article, I also had
the following books:
12
task, so I decided to accept the few not very well fitted stencils as
they were. With all the decals in place another layer of Sealer for
Metalizer was sprayed, and when this was dry a final layer of
Testors Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer was applied. Painting
was over…
Well the end of this project was now very close. The only thing that
needed to be done was to add the final parts. To be more specific:
•Main and nose gears and wheels, as well as opened doors in the
wheel wells
•Opening access panels of the electronic bays, as well as the RAT
(emergency air-driven generator.
•Some final details on the upper part of the cockpit and of course
the canopy in open position. That was one of the very few cases I
used two parts epoxy glue…
•The boarding ladder in open position and four steps
•The tail wings
•Antennas and sensors (from Quickboost resin update set)
•Tail hook tied in a rope as well as three hanging “orange” pipes
As you can see above we are speaking of a lot of details and
every time one of them was added, the model was becoming
even more difficult to handle. So I created a special base made or
painting rolls, that you can see in photo 9.9 that allowed me to
place safely the model either with the wheels up or with the
wheels down. Without it I do not think it would be possible to finish
this model.
•NAVAL FIGHTERS NO 78: VOUGHT TA-7C/EA-7L, A-7K
“TWOSAIR” BY STEVE GINTER
•SQUADRON SIGNAL NO 120: A-7 CORSAIR II IN ACTION
•SQUADRON SIGNAL NO 44: A-7 CORSAIR II WALK AROUND
•ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΑΕΡΟΠΟΡΙΑ A-7H CORSAIR II, ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ Θ. ΣΤΕΡΓΙΟΥ
13
 Petr Pospisil’s stunning small scale Letov Š-328v
Letov Š-328 was a Czechoslovakian multipurpose two-
seat biplane manufactured between the years 1934-1939.
The main user was the Czechoslovakian army. As a part
of the first order of 62 pieces it also received four of them
with the production numbers 18-21. These were later
remarked with the military numbering from Š-328v.2 to Š-
328v.5..

These were specially modified to tow the training targets

and their wheels were replaced by floats from the British
manufacturer Short. The main reason for this floatplane
origin were the live tests of the 8,35 cm vz.22 AA gun
made by Skoda manufacturing. Since there wasn’t a safe
area for this task, Czechoslovakia had to ‘hire’ a narrow
strip of the Adriatic Sea and the Kumbor coastline near
the Bay of Kotor. The rocky coastline didn’t allow the usual
take off from the ground and that’s how we know that
these Letovs with floats operated on the coast of Adriatic
sea in summer 1935. In winter, these floats were
dismounted and replaced by the wheels and the planes
were used in the Czechoslovakia again. Letov Š.328 was
the last military floatplane of the Czechoslovakian
projects.

14
1:72

15
 Let the build begin
Before assembly I worked over all the
panel lines with razor saw. Then I drilled-in
all the holes representing quick-screws and
locks. This improved the crisp detail after
weathering.
Since I didn’t like the appearance of the
floats, I began the assembly by working on
them. I considered mainly the panel lines
and their surface details quite soft. Before
gluing the halves together, I even fixed few
metal nuts inside the nose of the floats
with modelling clay. I did that in order to be
certain that the finished model wouldn’t
‘fall’ on the rear end of the floats. More on
that later...
The float halves fit together nicely. When
the joints hardened, I sanded the whole
surface. Then I added the strengthening
16
parts on the upper areas, as well as the
rounded covers. The surface was
completely riveted with my riveting wheel
Rossie the riveter of a 0,45 cm teeth
spacing. Now came the time for the
interior.
The cockpit out of the box was pretty
good. The parts were nicely detailed and in
my opinion there was no need to search
for any accessories. The only thing I added
were the seatbelts. I scratch-built them
from some scrap PE parts from my spares
box. I removed some material from the
seat itself too, in order to make it thinner,
and added some details on it. I also
thinned some of the bars of the inner
construction. I cut one of the bars,
replaced it with a new one and only then I
cut another one. Thanks to that it was easy
for me to keep the geometry of the original
kit. The spotter/shooter side windows were
modified too. There I took advantage of
their thickness. Intentionally I glued them
into place shifted outwards so that most of
them protruded outside of the fuselage.
Then I sanded off the protruding part and
polished it well.
First I sprayed the whole interior with
polishable paste from Agama (aluminium
tone) thinned with Gunze’s Mr. Colour
Levelling Thinner. All the other colours were
hand painted with Vallejo acrylics. Against
the instructions, the inner bar construction
was painted in black as I’d seen in original
photos from the 1930’s.
After completion of the interior I closed the both
halves of the fuselage, sanded the joint and re-
scribed the panel lines. At the upper part, behind
pilot’s compartment, I had to glue a piece of
plastic card since a gap showed there. I used
thick Mr. Surfacer to pronounce the leather
padding around the edge of the pilot and
spotter’s compartments.

I continued by separating the horizontal stabilizers

and gluing them back in deviated position. Also I
removed some material from the vertical stabilizer
in order to secure a nice fit of the separated
rudder. With a piece of plastic I levelled the upper
part of the leather cuff on the bottom tail-part in
order to make a neat fitting transition to the
rudder. Then I attached the lower wings to the
fuselage. Interestingly, they are manufactured as a
one piece in the kit. I had to fill the joint, especially
on the sides of the fuselage. At this point of the
build I added all the bolts to the metal parts of the
fuselage too.

17
 Powerplant
The engine bay in the kit contains the
radial unit itself, an air-cooled 9 cylinder
Walter Pegas II (doesn‘t look bad at all),
two exhausts rings and a engine cover.
Except for the cover, all the other parts
carry really noticeable mould lines
removed by scraping with a sharp blade.
The engine cover has to be glued together
from two halves with no guides. I scratch-
built a new inner construction into the
cover too.
I continued recreating the new exhaust
opening, going through the engine cover in
two places. Three positioning holes and
three pins ensure the right placing of the
engine to the cover. I sanded down few
protrusions, in order to fit the engine into
it’s cover even when glued together. I have
to admit that the whole engine bay is
designed very cleverly and is a better than
usual imitation of the original.
In the next step I wanted to simulate the
carburettor intake. According to photos, it
should be placed just behind the engine.
The kit doesn’t include this detail. I also
added two fuel caps on the upper part of
fuselage and modified the cooler, making it
thinner and adding more tiny details.
After the engine I jumped to the upper
wing. First I cleaned a noticeable mould
line and highlighted the panel lines and
rivets, as well as on the fuselage and lower
wing.
I used a razor saw to cut the aileron lines.
A test fit using Tamiya masking tape
followed. The wing struts were all I needed
to use, they fit really nicely. But I didn’t like
the canopy (“baldachin”) struts, since they
tend to be thinner at the ends, which is not
accurate for the original. On top of that,
they were a little bit shorter than they
should be, so I created an accurate version
from the spare struts for the wheeled
undercarriage. The aileron pull bars were
shorter too, so I scratch-built new ones. In
this stage I decided to drill the holes for the
bracing wires to have them ready when
needed.

Below you can see the refinement of the oil

cooler, the kit part is pretty basic.

1 2 3

4 5
18
 To the left you can see the
process of painting the
propellor. A lot of work but
such a prominent feature
on the finished model, it’s
worth the effort.

Walking on water
Now I turned my attention to the floats and their mounting to the
fuselage. A test fit showed me that something was wrong. The
first most noticeable thing was shape and size of the floats. They
seemed massive compared to the real thing. I thought they
should appear lower and thinner. What to do about it then?
Simply nothing. Unless the modeller wishes to spend some
considerable time building completely new ones from scratch.
And since I already had completed building these and prepared
them to paint, I wasn’t keen on fixing the issue.

The other and more serious problems were the thickness and
shape of the struts, too weak and simplified in the kit. All three
side struts combined make an “N” shape and they should be
glued to the fuselage and the float in one piece. Though in reality
they were not visibly connected from the outside and were
angled a little bit differently. On the real aircraft, when looking
from the side, the angle between the vertical struts and the
water level is much more acute (sharp). The floats then would be
moved forward somewhat. In my opinion, the best way to fix this
was to scratch-build a new more accurate strut system.

I cut and sanded the struts from a piece of a sprue and drilled in
holes at the ends in order to place small pieces of wire serving
as pins securing the strength of the joint. I also moved some of
the anchoring points on the fuselage. I cut the original “N”
shaped struts and assembled new stronger struts placed
between the floats. I made an easy template from a plastic
sheet in order to fix everything in the right alignment and correct
angle. The joint holes for the struts were drilled there at the exact
same places as on the actual aircraft. When the struts were The weight I added to the
finished I could move to the painting stage. floats turned out to be just too
much as I found out later...

I found the best solution

to cure the inaccuracy of
the struts was to start
from scratch.

19
 Time to paint

The whole surface was covered with a base layer of Mr Surfacer. The
lower surfaces were then sprayed with a aluminium tone of Agama’s
polishable paste. Continuing with masking the lower parts, leaving just a
small edging unmasked, as this was originally painted in the same
colours as the upper parts. I used a MRP-169 Light Khaki colour,
originally meant for Avia B.534, a subject from the same era. By spraying
it in various ratios on different areas I did my best to optically separate
the metal parts from the canvas, to imitate sagging of the canvas etc. In
total, the upper surfaces took me three separate phases. The result was
sealed with glossy varnish and the decals were applied. They came with
the kit and there were only 14 of them, leading to rather quick
application. To make it even easier, and a more successful step, I used
Gunze decal solutions. The choice of camouflage was limited by the
number of finished real vehicles, that means four. What’s more, they
differed just a little, mainly by the serial number. I went for the “D” camo,
aircraft Š.328v.5(Š.328.21) – The Czechoslovakian Air Force Detachment,
Kumbor, Bay of Kotor.

20
When the decals were done I started to paint chips on metal
parts of the fuselage, using a thin brush and a light grey Vallejo
colour. I continued weathering with a Tamiya black-brown wash
to highlight the panel lines and riveting. To wrap it up and unify
the look I covered the whole model with a few thin layers of
Vallejo semi-gloss varnish. The floats were sprayed again with
the Agama polishable paste. I didn’t fix them with varnish so
that they kept their metallic feel, I just added some dirt with oil
colours and highlighted the riveting. The float struts were
significantly glossier in the photos as they had been made of
different material. To achieve that effect distinguishing them I
sprayed them with chrome colour by MRP.

21
 Rigged
Now having everything painted I
assembled the wings and added the
bracing wires. I used EZ Line elastic
thread, glued one end to the pre-drilled
hole and stretched by pulling it with
tweezers while gluing the other end to the
second hole. Then I added nearly all the
little details to the model so that I wouldn’t
need to manipulate with it later with the
floats fixed in position. Those were for
example gunsight and windshield. For this
task I used an old P.E. set, that was
originally meant for the kit by KP company.
22
Another detail I decided to add by myself
was the system of pull bars controlling the
float rudders. So I glued some guide rings
for the wires. The wires themselves were
added later when floats were fixed in
position. A thread was used to imitate
them.
The next step was fixing the floats. In order
to maintain the right angles I temporarily
fixed them with a “Tack-it” (Blu-tac) to a
piece of plastic sheet. The axial distance
between the floats was expanded by 2-3
mm. Thanks to the pegs made of wire the
struts were placed to the right position with
no glue. To still maintain the right angles
and distances between the aircraft and the
floats I was supporting the model during
this process with bottles and basically
anything suitable I found lying in my
workbench. Finally when I was absolutely
sure that everything fitted perfectly, then I
started to fix the struts one by one with
glue. And I didn’t remove any support until
I had no doubts that the glue was fully
dried and firm.
The home straight
The last issue I had to solve was in fact
one of my own creation. If I only had
thought through the weight of weights that
I placed into the floats at the beginning. As
I found out later on, when I was removing
the sticky gum holding the floats to the
base, it was a really stupid idea to place a
metal nut into each half of the floats. On
top of that, they were fixed there with a
pretty heavy chunk of modelling clay. When
removing the sticky gum, they started to
tip over, deforming the struts and making
the whole model fall apart simultaneously.
I immediately put back the pieces of sticky
gum and began to figure out a solution. As
I wasn’t experienced enough, I rejected the
idea to create a small vignette with water.
So the only option left was exactly the
same as in real life when the plane had to
be placed on a dry land. Meaning on
special wooden carriage. I scratch-built
them of plastic sheets. Well precisely, I
scratch-built only one and made few
copies of it. Then I created a base into
which I placed sections of hypodermic
needles which made nice joints with the
carriages, going through the wheel axles.
The places where the needles go to the
base were covered with the wheels.
Thanks to this I had a stable and sturdy
base I could place the model on, while the
heavy floats weren’t going anywhere. But
the model is forever sentenced to stay in
place on the carriages, unable to be ever
lifted from them. At the end I just added
ropes to the joint rings of the carriages. I
made them from wires by myself. And
since I didn’t find any reference photo how
or where they were anchored, I just left
them casually laid on the ground.
And finally, it was finished! The concluding
stage and mainly placing the model on a
base cost me a lot of my patience. But
fortunately I went over it with no harm done
which I truly consider a small miracle! I am
very satisfied with the result. Redoing the
strut system helped the look of the model
a lot. On the other hand it was a crazy job
to do and I am not sure I would repeat it.
At the beginning I expected a quick and
pleasant result, and it might have been, if I
didn’t complicate matters myself, I am
really happy that I even finished it. The
model looks amazing but a huge amount
of work is behind it. Fun fact is that even a
straight out of the box build wouldn’t look
bad at all...and if I used a wheeled
undercarriage instead of floats, it would be
half the work!
23
24
Reference materials:
- Illustrated history of aviation – The Triad edition
- HT Model Special Issue – Letov Š-328 a Š-528
- HPH Models instructions – Š-328, Floats for Š-328
- Internet, modelling forum: Modelforum.cz

25
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28
Frédéric Grassi builds the Azur 1:48 French Flying Boat

LOI R E 1 3 0
On June 29th 1933, the French Navy
staff authorized the launch of a new
equipment program for Maritime Aviation:
a surveillance seaplane.
Six manufacturers presented their designs;
The Loire firm designed the model 130,
the CAMS firm it’s model 120, both
seaplanes with hulls, while the four other
manufacturers (Bréguet 610; Gourdou-
Lesseure 820; Levasseur PL.200 and Lioré
& Olivier H43) presented seaplanes with
floats.
The Loire 130 no. 1 made it’s first flight on
November 19th 1934. It was declared the
winner of the competition along with the
Lioré & Olivier H43 of which only several
were built due to a certain number of
defects in manufacturing.

29
 However, persistent problems with the
stability and design of the cooling system
are delayed development. It was not until
August 1936 the first order for 45 aircraft
was placed: 40 in the 130M version (M for
metropolitan France) and 5 in 130C (C for
colonial).
The 130C, the subject of this article, is a
reinforced version of the 130M, with in
particular, a CHAUSSON radiator 20cm
larger to meet cooling requirements in
tropical environments. With the OPL38
sight the 130 M could also be used as a
bomber.
These additions, by increasing the weight
and drag of the aircraft make it slower by
20 km / h compared to its metropolitan
counterpart. Also with the enlarged
radiator, it couldn’t be loaded into the
hangars of Navy vessels.
The aircraft is equipped with a Hispano-
Suiza 12X engine with propeller mounted
on struts on the upper wing.
Despite its unsightly appearance this was a
robust aircraft and its performance is
equivalent to the English Walrus. It allowed
its crew, composed of 3 men (pilot,
navigator and radio operator / gunner), to
be in flight for almost 8 hours in acceptable
comfort, all at a speed of 150 km / h.
The first Loire 130s to join the Aéronavale
squadrons arrived in 1938.
In 1939, the seaplane equipped the 7S1
squadron (aboard the Commandant-Teste),
7S2 and 7S3. The 130s being distributed
among the various French battleships and
cruisers.
Overseas, the Loire 130 served with the
8S2 (in Fort-de-France), 8S3 (in Dakar) and
8S4 (in Tripoli and Lebanon) squadrons.
In 1939 and 1940 new units were formed
both on-board warships and on land
30
bases. Some aircraft were even used by
the 1 / CBS squadron, which belonged to
the Air Force in Indochina.
As all of the Loire 130s ordered could not
be delivered before the armistice of June
1940, the Germans authorized the
Vichy government to build thirty new units
in 1941.
The 150 machines taken into account by
Naval Aviation were used for a large
number of tasks, including reconnaissance,
observation, adjustment of marine artillery,
coastal surveillance, convoy escort, as well
as connecting flights. In the latter case, the
Loire 130 could accommodate four
passengers.
THE LOIRE 130 IN THE FRENCH
ANTILLES:
The montage presented here refers to a
seaplane based in Fort de France during
the Vichy period. Here are a few words
about the use and experience of the Loire
130 during this period:
The Naval Aeronautics in the Antilles was
born in Fort de France, Martinique, in
January 1936.
The FBA 17.HE2 type seaplanes were used
until the end of 1937 and the CAMS 37A
until October 1938.
Replacing CAMS 37, the squadron took
possession of Gourdou-Leseure 812, which
it would keep until July 1944 (date of it’s
dissolution).
It was not until October 17th 1939 that they
received the confirmation of the Loire 130s,
which arrived from February 1940.
It is on one of these seaplanes that we can
see the insignia of the formation which
represents a head of a trigonocephalic
snake, a ‘familiar host’ on the island of
Martinique.
From the start of the war, these seaplanes
made escort flights for ships entering or
leaving Martinique or Guadeloupe.
But after the armistice of June 1940, the
squadron, renamed 17S, saw its activity
decline.
The markings were then repainted, on the
orders of Hermann Goering, with the bands
of “shame”: the famous yellow and red
bands of the Vichy regime.
Surviving more or less despite everything,
the squadron was redesignated 3S in
December 1943 when the Antilles joined
the French liberation committee.
In March 1944, the personnel left Fort-de-
France to join Casablanca or the United
States in order to reinforce the workforce
of the future 8FE. BAN Fort-de-France only
has a “second Maître” pilot left for the two
surviving GLs.
Four months later, the squadron was
dissolved and the BAN Fort-de-France was
put on guard.
The Loire 130 represented in this article is
the 17S-2, according to a photo taken in
flight, in the Antilles.
From research I discovered:
"This morning February 7, 1941 at 7 am, a
crew made up of the pilot “Second Maitre”
Poplimont and the flying “Quartier Maître”
Cornée and Milon deserted, flying the Loire
13017 S 5 (serial number 13) to the English
port of Castries, on the island of Saint
Lucia.” (Marine Archives TTD 791)
Unfortunately I had already marked my
Loire with code ‘13’ so I was not able to
pay homage to SM Poplimont by
representing his aircraft.
Reference and further reading: http://www.francaislibres.net/liste/fiche.php?index=91513
https://books.google.fr/books?id=NGvgAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontc
over&hl=fr&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=loi http://www.postedeschoufs.com/aeronavale/1919_1938/03%20Les
re%20130&f=false %20hydravions%20embarques/les_hydravions_embarques.htm

http://www.aeronavale.org/almana/almanac44.htm http://aviationdumonde.e-monsite.com/pages/les-avions-en-39-
45/aviation-francaise/loire-130.html
http://www.aeronavale.org/almana/almanac45.htm

31
 Knowing the 1:48 kit from Azur has been
commented on as a "challenge" at first look
it appeared more of a trap! Yes, this Loire
130 with is a trap from which it was not
easy to get out ... however, in the end I got
great satisfaction, even if it’s not perfect,
far, far from it! It has a few flaws that you
are sure to notice...
When the box is opened, we are greeted
with injected plastic and resin parts, the
instructions (brief instructions) ... and a
sheet of decals.
The plastic looks soft and pretty easy to
work with so it's time to get started!
Engine and propeller:
The engine detail is made of resin parts,
completed by injected plastic parts.
My first action was to hollow out the air
inlets on either side of the block (nothing
too bad) with the help of a small drill and a
file to finish.
If you refer to the instructions, glue the top
cover in line with the radiator cover, which I
did. Big mistake! It is necessary, in fact, to
leave an offset in height, the radiator of the
C version protruding from the engine cover.
32
It is not very serious but from the start of
the assembly you have a feeling this won’t
be all ‘plane’ sailing...everything had to be
disassembled, adjusted and put back
together. A little aluminum adhesive tape
comes in handy to replicate the hinges on
the top cover as well as some relief detail
on both sides. A small point is used to
represent the rivets on the aluminium.
The legs to hold the engine on the wings
are put in place and glued with green
“Tamiya” glue. I helped myself, for the
gluing, by placing them on the upper part
of the wing to wedge them correctly.
Azur did not provide locations on the
engine housing to place the supports
correctly, everything is done visually
between the parts and the instructions. Did
you say challenge again?
The propeller is also a mix of Resin and
injected parts. No difficulty in positioning
the blades provided you are rigorous in
terms of gluing, which is done with
cyanoacrylate glue.
Floats and cutouts
For the floats, once the halves are
glued, a good dose of filler is necessary in
order to have a correct joint and profile.
After sanding, the three "hatches"
disappeared. A little plastic card does the
trick to make them reappear!
Then the gluing of the legs of the floats is
done, putting them in position on the lower
part of the wing in order to guarantee the
correct shape and the good future location
for the final fixing.
The fin and the flaps are also separated
with an X-Acto blade for a fine cut. Again, I
used plastic card to close the visible open
edges.
A design flaw in the kit means that the
horizontal stabilizers are too small and
refer to the dimensions of the Loire 130
prototype; I had to redo them in plastic
card following good reference.
 Interior and cockpit
I have, in addition, to the resin parts provided in
the box added a little plastic card and some
wiring.
I realized, after closing, that the ‘broomstick’
should in fact be a steering wheel! An error of no
consequence since after closing the fuselage, this
is not visible. The result of a lack of reference, and
not having the Book by Lucien Morareau.

The interior paint is a mix of black with “medium”

blue that I use for my US colours in the Pacific; as
for the details, they are tikkled-in with a little
Citadel paint.
The patina is made with a MIG “NATO” wash and
black Tamiya wash. A few strokes of aluminum
pencils on the corners and angles are also passed
to indicate some wear.

The two half hulls assembled, there

is a nice step at the rear
observation post! Never mind, the
tube of filler yet again had to come
out, after a few sanding sessions
later, I managed to overcome the
issue.

I treated the cockpit floor by painting

a tan basecoat and by brushing
"sienna" and "burnt umber" oil paint
with streaking effects.
As the rear window did not exist, I
filled it in with plastic card and putty.

33
 The masking for the glass parts is homemade, a
real challenge on the rear observation post, which
is made of flexible transparent plastic. Trimming
while trying not to make marks on the flexible
plastic is not the easiest thing to do.
To maintain the required spacing to place the
canopy, the glazed part and the upper part of the
cockpit, I temporarily placed a spacer that I
removed once everything was glued.

The assembly of the airfoil on the fuselage is

simple but despite the care taken to put in place
a spacer, the parts supplied by Azur do not join as
they should, in particular to the right of the wing /
fuselage connection. I had to resort to putty and
sanding again!
Finally, the goal being to produce an aluminum
finish meant much work with a Micromesh
polishing kit on the surfaces in preparation.

Ready for Paint.

The colonial version "Vichyste" that I wished to represent means taking into account
some precautions to have the correct rendering.
So, to start, I sprayed a gloss black undercoat on the whole model. Any glossy
black paint does the trick but I like the rendering of the AK Extreme Metal
blackbase.
The spraying of the aluminum was again with AK Extreme Metal.
Some panels have been treated in "Matt Aluminum", the rest is in "Aluminum". This
paint requires close attention because it is quite fragile.

To make these shades more lively, I go

over the edges and the junctions of Ak
Extrem Metallic smoke.
If I go quickly over the paint of the hull
in matte black, the attention here is to
have a horizontal line on a sloping
support. The masking must be precise.

34
 Making absolutely sure the aluminium shades
were dry I could start making the red and
yellow Vichy bands.
For practical reasons and to make my life
easier, I did not glue the stabalisers .
However, to hide without difficulty, you have
to make sure that they are positioned
correctly beforehand, especially since Azur
has not provided any pegs or location points
to align everything properly.

Besides, I had to make a slight seal with

Deluxe Perfect Putty and re-touch the paint
once it was glued.
Finally, then come the decals, they’re good
quality but after putting the cockades on the
wings, I decided not to keep them preferring
stencils to have the same red tone paint as
the red bands on the upper and lower wings.

The assembly of the linkage, tie rods and floats again sees the
kit instructions fall a little short. The kit provides the
fundamental parts but much is left to the modeller to work out
for themselves...in fact the instructions show an icon of a hand
on certain images, which I interpreted as a "take yourself by
the hand and just do it" ...

The installation of the floats was easy since I had pre-

assembled everything at the start.
The tie rods between the float and the cabin, on the other
hand were also some what of a challenge and I should have
scratch-built the tie rods on the fuselage but did not have the
courage nor the time! After some delicate tweaking back and
forth everything eventually lined-up.

Given the fuel shortage and supply difficulties, it is highly

likely that the seaplanes at Fort de France would have spent
more time on the water than in flight.
So, I opted for a subdued patina without being excessive.
For this, I used Tamiya washes, as well as MIG washes,
especially on the right of the engine with scattered oil
stains.
The hull is also dirty, and some traces of rust were
35
indicated.
 Various antenna wires were finally installed and I
set about gluing the canopy of the kit and…
disaster! We must always be wary, we all make
mistakes, and as soon as the canopy is glued
with cyano, a large immediate white haze
formed that I hastened to sand, to micromesh,
to try to remove with alcohol...no good.

I had to re-create the glazing, this time gluing

with MIG's UltraGlue transparent adhesive which
avoided any damage to the clear parts.

Far from being a beginners kit, this model

requires patience and a good dose of self
control, so as not to make it take an early
maiden flight through the workshop!
The plastic is quite pleasant to work with, a
positive thing due to the work required.
The instructions include the basics, clearer
details would have been appreciated on some
points. The decals are well produced and are
easy to apply.
In the end, even if it is not perfect, it’s a
beautiful representation of a handsome aircraft
that deserves attention from modellers with
experience.

36
 ALBERT TURECZEK GETS NAKED WITH THE KINETIC GOLD KIT

40
The Lockheed F 104 Starfighter was launched in the 1950ties based on
the experience from the Korean war and offered a new concept: Faster
and higher. That is the reason why it often is referred to as the manned
rocket. It was a very successful design with over 1000 units produced
and sold worldwide, including many NATO countries. My choice for this
build was an F 104 G of the Royal Norwegian Air Force 331st Skvn in
Bodø 1966. This was a Lockheed produced airframe, which was ferried
to Norway in October of 1963 and began its service live as a polished
metal aircraft with white wings. Later the Norwegian F 104´S received
an Alu paint and ended as olive green machines. My particular aircraft
however was ill fated and lost during a landing accident after a crash in
1974 unfortunately killing its pilot.

SILVER
STAR 1:48 41
 KINETIC’s KIT
I wanted one of these shiny birds and chose an early Norwegian
aircraft. The plan was to not paint it but cover it in metal using
the foiling technique. The assembly was straight forward and the
kit goes together really well.
The kit comes with a beautiful detailed exhaust section, which is
built into the frame and this way achieves a good depth when
viewed from the rear. I used no aftermarkets parts her. The Glas
parts fit very nicely and are convincing in their thickness and the
flawless transparency. The cockpit is nicely detailed and I opted
for the kit parts which I painted and decorated with decals from
ANYZ and AIRSCALE. For the ejection seat I had to go for the C-
22 type, which the G model was equipped with. Although the kit
42
provides one, I borrowed a resin one from my Eduard limited
edition kit. This meant a fast improvement. The air intakes had
some unwanted ejection marks and had to be thinned
considerably.
The fit was also less than satisfactory and had the be reworked.
In my view it is the Achilles heel of the kit. With this fixed I was
approaching painting stages, which was really easy in my case.
Different to a usual build I started with painting the anti-glare
panel and the antennas before applying the foil, as it would have
been difficult to mask on a foiled surface.
Concluding this step I was ready for the
foiling operation. I did not fix the wings to
the airframe prior to that.
FOILED AGAIN
Only metal looks like metal is my view on the matter and through
the years I have completed quite a few foiled kits. I always start by
creating different panels. This I achieved by sanding the metal
sheets with various grid of sanding papers, both wet and dry.
Although Bare metal foil is an excellent product, which I also use, I
didn´t like the yellowish glow it has. I used almost entirely
common kitchen foil on this build. The disadvantage is that it is not
forgiving when working over strongly curved surfaces. It tears
easily and you also have to apply adhesive to it. Bare
metal foil is easy to massage over
convex surfaces, thicker and softer
than kitchen foil. It also
conveniently comes with adhesive on, ready for use. Still, I didn´t
like the yellowish tone. My model is there for almost entirely
covered with kitchen foil. Now it was a panel-by-panel operation,
working my way placing the foil, pressing it on with a cotton stick
or a cloth and accentuating all surface detail with a toothpick,
thereafter cutting every panel with a No 11 Scalpel, using quite a
lot of them in the process. The same goes for the Glas parts.
Reaching the end of the foiling on the airframe I secured the wings
in place. The next part were the wing tanks, which also had to be
foiled. For this I had to cut the foil in segments, which I then had to
work over each other. Together with the air intakes this was the
trickiest part. Unfortunately the Decal sheet from Cartograph
contains very little stencilling. Again, I raided my Eduard kit. It
contained a full sheet only with stencilling, a very time-consuming
job. I worked my way from the rear to the nose with the foil.
43
 ON POINT

SILVER
There were only a few details to
deal with from here such as the
position and anti-collision lights,
which were part of the kit, I only
had to colour them. The pivot is
replaced with aluminium tubes in
the Slide-to-fit series from Albion
Alloys. The access ladder is from
the DACO update set for the F
104. It was a fun kit to build and
poses no difficulties for the
average modeller. It depicts the
shape of this Aviation icon very
nicely and can easily be
recommended to anyone who
loves aircraft modelling.

44
45
48
NINO GAKOVIC
checks out what all the fuss is
about with Arma’s 1:72 kits

The Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc was to be my first

Arma Hobby kit, a company that allegedly raised the
bar in 1:72 detailing. I’d heard such claims before so
took it with a pinch of salt, yet as I examined the
sprues I was becoming more convinced that these
claims might be true. Wings and fuselage are fully
riveted with a beautifully detailed combination of
recessed and raised rivets. Even at this stage I
could not help myself thinking about nice effects I
could make during the painting phase. Aircraft from
351 Sq. RAF in its distinctive “Red Star” markings
seemed a good choice for this kit.
Studying instructions lead me to the conclusion that
from an engineering point of view, the kit was very
nicely designd which proved to be true during
assembly.

49
 Construction started with assembling the wings and landing gear
bays. Gear bays are also attractively detailed, with raised rivets.
Landing gear bays were painted AK Extreme Metal Aluminium,
followed by simple homemade dark washes. The wash was made
from Future and water mixed 50-50 and a drop of acrylic black
paint. This wash has a great levelling ability, concentrating around
raised details gently bringing them out.
Cockpit assembly starts with choosing to use the instrument panel
directly from the sprue or using the PE parts in which case
instrument panel needs to be sanded of all the details. Although
PE parts are included in the ‘Expert’ version of the kit, they are not
pre painted, so some old school detailing and a steady hand are
required to bring the best out of them. Drops of Micro Kristal Klear
gives a glass effect to individual instruments.
Airframe assembly is truly
flawless. Putty is virtually not
required, with only minor sanding
along the fuselage. Since I was
to use Master’s metal Hispano
Mk II 20mm cannons, I needed
to prepare the wings by
removing some plastic and
drilling holes.
50
After adding PE details to the cockpit it was painted Vallejo IDF
green, which I have been using extensively as interior green.
Same home-made washes that I used in landing gear bay worked
nicely here as well. All the details and crosspieces were
highlighted with a base colour and a drop of white. Weathering
was done by adding random scratches using AK watercolour
pencils Aluminium and Dark Green.
I added some wiring, even though I was not too concerned about
level of details in the cockpit. The Hurricane cockpit is rather
hidden from view even with open cockpit option. At this time, I
was planning to leave the cockpit open. Even two canopies are
provided on a clear sprue for an open or a closed cockpit option.
Nevertheless, clear parts are so thick that an open cockpit was
out of the question after a dry fit. I was disappointed at that point. I
even considered pausing the build until an aftermarket vac-form
canopy was available, however after a futile online search, I
decided to proceed with a closed canopy, at least the clear parts
fit perfectly; the day ended with a sense of joy after all.
It is advisable to drill a slightly
larger hole than required in order to
be able to adjust alignment of the
canons during installation. It is
required to acquire cannons with
round recoil springs for 351 Sq.
Hurricanes. Cannons are soaked in
a burnishing fluid, giving them very
realistic appearance and fixed with
a PVA glue.
Priming duties were done by Mr. Surfaccer 1200, revealing some
minor flaws in sanding which are easily fixed. Preshading started
with aluminium paint along the high wear areas, followed by black
panel augmentation and white for raised panels. Aluminium paint
is randomly masked with Maskol fluid, to simulate bare metal
along walkways and ammunition loading hatches. Mr Hobby
Middle Stone and Dark Earth with AK Azure blue are my choice for
RAF desert camouflage. I have tried many paints over the years,
but settled with these as a favourite. Camouflage type B was
created using Blu Tac ‘spaghetti’. Important tip for using Blu Tac is
to allow paint to properly cure, otherwise it may leave nasty stains.
What was left of worn walkways was painted by brush, adding
some texture to the paint. When the first layer was completed,
highly diluted base paint with a drop of white was sprayed casually
inside panels adding some highlights and tone variation.
When the first layer was completed,
highly diluted base colour with a drop
of white was sprayed casually inside
panels adding some highlights and
tone variation. Progress was saved
with a coat of gloss varnish.
Progress was saved with a coat of gloss varnish.
Lift Here decals make high quality decals for 351 Sq. Hurricanes,
although I had these stored for a while so they were rather fragile.
It required some extra care to place the decals in the right spot,
nonetheless once treated with Solvaset softener they dried nicely
with no silvering. Once again progress was preserved with a coat
of gloss varnish. A.MIG Dark Orange brown wash was used for
the upper and Tan Gray for the lower surfaces. I wanted exploit all
the details, so I was extra tidy in placing a shadow around every
raised detail. All the raised details were afterwards highlighted
with a brush, randomly giving some bare metal scratches. Highly
diluted dark brown, sprayed with an airbrush and afterwards
treated with grey and black pigments accurately represented
exhaust stains. By adding oil and fuel leaks using artistic oil paints
model was ready for a coat of matt varnish to seal the paint job.
51
 Now it was time for concluding details. Propeller blades were
painted black with random passes of highly diluted grey.
Weathering was achieved by adding scratches with aluminium
pencil, while the nose cone was weathered with a graphite pencil
as it was painted sky. Contrast during weathering is something to
keep in mind, balancing with realistic appearance.
I did encounter slight troubles installing the landing gear. Gear
strut and side actuator are made out of a single piece of plastic,
adding structural strength. However, setback is that it may cause
some troubles with alignment. I dealt with it by cutting it into two
parts, enabling some freedom of movement prior to glue setting.
Finally I added antennas specific for late war 351 Sq. Hurricanes
52
(even for early Mk’s.). It meant installing a mast without a wire to
tail section, no IFF wires and with a lower antenna.
Arma Hobby’s Hurricane met all my expectations and was a real
pleasure to build. It was my first kit from this company, but it is not
going to be my last. Not even minor issues with the landing gear
and thick canopy could undermine all the positive sides such as
level of details, perfect fit and high accuracy. I am scanning the
market for a vacuumformed canopy intended for this kit, and as
soon it is available there will be another Hurricane on my bench.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF 351 Sq. Royal Air Force
351 Squadron. was established from mid-1944 until the end of
WWII as a part of No. 281 Wing RAF. It was one of two RAF
Squadrons manned and operated by Yugoslav partisan
personnel. The Squadron was first based near Bengasi, Libya
where pilots started their training on Hurricanes Mk. IIc. By
October 1944 351 Sq. became operational. It was reequipped
with Mk. IV Hurricanes and transferred to Cannae, Italy and
later the island of Vis, (today’s Croatia) where it began flying
combat missions over Yugoslavia. 351 Sq. was used mainly in
ground support role until the end of WW2 during which more
than 200 combat sorties were conducted. After WWII surviving
Hurricanes were transferred to a newly founded Yugoslav Air
Force where they continued to be used until the early 1950s.

53
 Seeing inspirational images in the Italian
modelling magazine ‘Sky Model’, I realised the
only way to construct the bow of the carrier in
1:72 would be to scratchbuild my own. No mean
feat due to the enormous size and potential
weight...time for some serious thinking...

56
 PART
TWO

SU-33, 2ND AS, 279TH CAFR, SUPERCARRIER KUZNETSOV, RUSSIA, SUMMER 2005

ANDREA PATERNIERI’S
DRAMATIC DIORAMA

57
 Pre-paint preparation: The clear canopy was posished
once fitted in place.
The laser designator housing was milled out and interior
detail added. Everything will be covered by a
thermoformed acetate curved part. Pre-shading and pre-lighting
Preshading was with glossy neutral dark gray, diluted
90% with Tamiya laquer, along the panel lines, either
by hand or paper masks.The centre of the panels is
glossy white of the same dilution used for shadows.

First camouflage colour: Second camouflage colour:

The first blue was airbrushed in different
70% diluted layers.
A print-out to scale allows an accurate masking for the second colour.
In this case the painting is easy because the lines of demarcation are solid.
The second blue, in different 70% diluted layers, was airbrushed highlighting the
panels and letting the underlying base shine through, obviously moderating the
contrasts.

Airbrush lightening:
With lacquer tinted by a few
drops of glossy white, I lightened
some areas which would catch
light from above to give a three-
dimensional effect.
Freehand airbrush and masks
give a natural effect.

Washes: Oil colors diluted by

white spirit pick-out surface detail. I
didn’t varnish before washes in
order to obtain a non-consistant
surface effect of the worn surfaces.
Some stencils are for instance, are
more polished because they are
applied in a different finish.
Fluid leaks, eventually fading and
creating a more turbulent trend
towards the end, add some
operational surface wear.

Decals: I used Begemot and

Hasegawa decals, trimming the
base film, and using Microset
and Microsol solvents.

58
First of all I needed to draw the sections
of the hull and the development of the
surfaces. You could rely on construction
drawings but luckily there is a 1/700
scale model to get what is needed. I
studied photographs and derived some
measures and proportions from the most
strategic views.
Using clear adhesive tape applied to the 1:700 model I traced the bow shape and
transfered the tape to a cardboard surface.
The ratio between 1:72 and 1:00 scales is equal to 700 / 72 = 9.72 = 972%
Very simply a photocopier using the magnification function on A3 sheets provided a
‘jigsaw’ of sheets to piece together.
Usually copiers have a maximum of 400% requiring two steps of enlargement providing a
flatterned version of the bow shape.

I made 3 sections creating an external mould of the hull in regular plasticine The contours of the three sections were drawn on
modelling clay. To minimize deformations at room temperature or during handling, cardboard and enlarged to 1:72 scale following
I froze the plasticine block in the freezer and cut it later with a razor blade. the procedure used for the external surfaces.

We use common polycarbonate panel 1cm thick; using the cardboard templates we trace and cut out
the sections drawn in cardboard, and cut out rectangular spacers.
We fix everything using self-tapping screws from wood of different lengths; it will take a nice variety of
lengths so that the parts can be fixed together by the "pull" that the screws will have on the lamellar
structure of the panel.

The next laminated layer was in 1mm plastic card

fastened with short screws. At this point wiring was
added for the LEDs.

I next coated the hull shape with fabric tape for dry-line
building applications.
Two whole rolls were used, placing the tape in different
directions so as to create a realy thick lattice.
The flexible tape has the purpose of creating a support The plaster used is for thick building applications (up to10 mm) Polyfilla
structure for a thick layer of plaster. (from Akzo Nobel) is perfect given the hardness and the lack of shrinkage
and cracks after drying. Four 1kg tubs were used.
59
60
61
 On the sides of the hull there is a sloping
structure that was made using PVC
profiles.
The plaster / filler also
holds well to the PVC.
More complex curves were constructed in strips before
coating with the filler. Starting with course sand paper I
worked through the grades to get a smooth finish.
A large amount of sanding dust was created; working
outdoors with a suitable safety mask is essential.

The anchor, the navy crest and the lips of the elliptical openings The aircraft carrier is equipped with a foldable catwalk which was
are modelled with Prochima modeling wax, a product that can reproduced in a horizontal position. A wooden template ensured
be molded by hand and that can be softened with white spirit. consistant shape. The various details were constructed with
The masters were reproduced in resin. Evergreen profiles of different sections.

A motor tool was the easiest There are several rectangular-shaped

way to cut the appetures in recesses; impossible to mill them
the hull. precisely so 0.25mm ‘boxes’ of
plasticard were fixed with cyanoacrylate
glue and the gaps filled with the plaster.

In the lower part of the sloping sides of the hull there are
crosspieces and pipes, more Evergreen cut and perforated
profiles, and 1.5 mm diameter brass rod was used. A base
coat of good quality aerosol primer was followed by applying
1mm adhesive tape to represent the plate welds. A further
coat of primer gives the correct appearance of the welds.

Seascape
With the size of the base, and the fact that
nothing under the surface will be seen,
resins was not the route for the water’s
surface. The first step was to edge the
plywood base with shaped pvc in black to
follow the water’s swell.
Next plaster mixed with saw dust gives
good texture and body, shaped with
scrunched paper and later smoothed over
with wet plaster. Once dry any pronounced
peaks were reduced by sanding.

Suitable green and blue acrylic

colours were ‘dabbed’ onto the
surface with a large brush and
sponge due to the high
absorbancy of the plaster
surface. Five heavy layers of
gloss clear were applied over the
coloured plaster and allowed to
dry.
62
 Hull details were base-
RAL 7001 was coated with Tamiya acrylic
chosen is a base creating light and wear
colour followed by effects with Lifecolor liquid
various greys and pigments and watercolor
browns airbrushed in pencils.
layers.

The final layers were helped

with the hairspray technique
and salt masking to acheive
random mottles and natural
discolouration.

A pre-shading with contrasting tones started the deck painting

followed by gradual mottled layers by airbrush. A vinyl mask
allowed application of the yellow markings.

More patina is acheived with sponged acrylic tones and dark colour
washes to define panel detail. On areas as large as this a cloth can
be used to remove excess washes.

Finally the gap

between the ‘water’
and hull was filled
A final cleaning of the electrical with the plaster
conectors and a voltage check followed by blue
ensured the aircraft’s LEDs tones and finally
would illuminate. A small spirit- pure white for the
level on the deck made sure the foam of the wake.
hull sat perfectly level on the The foam was
bracket I’d made to be screw- enhanced with
fixed into the ply-wood base. cotton wool strands
set with clear resin.
63
64
65