ALL THE INFORMATION YOU’LL EVER NEED

TO CREATE THE BEST AIRCRAFT MODELS 4 NEW BUILDS

INSIDE
HOLDING
UP THE SKY
REVELL’S 1:144 A400
ATLAS AND AH-64
APACHE JOIN FORCES
TO CREATE AN
ERS
U B S CRIBIDE IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY…
S S
FOR TAILS IN
DE

www.modelairplaneinternational.com

January 2019
£4.75 / Issue 162

KIT BUILD

FROM EMIL
TO FRIEDRICH
WE TAKE A IN-DEPTH LOOK AT EDUARD’S
RENDITION OF THE STUNNING BF109F-2.

PREVIEW

■ TAMIYA 1:48 SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.I

■ AIRFIX 1:48 BRISTOL BLENHEIM MK.1F
■ REVELL 1:144 ANTONOV AN-225 MRIYA

SHOWTIME

■ HIGHLIGHTS FROM SCALE MODEL

WORLD 2018. THIS MONTH WE LOOK
AT THE COMPETITION…

KIT BUILD

NIGHT OWL WE TAKE A DETAILED LOOK AT REVELL’S IMPRESSIVE 1:32 HEINKEL HE219 UHU

THE SPITFIRE THAT WENT TO SEA 62

HOW TO GET THE BEST FROM SWORD’S SEAFIRE MK.XVII IN 1:72… 9 771747 504069
 How to contact us:

Contents Tel: 01525 222573

Model Airplane International. Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane,
Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, England
VOLUME 14. ISSUE 162. JANUARY 2019
VOL.14 ISS.162 JANUARY 2019
Editorial:
REGULARS P72 NEW RELEASES BOOKS Editor: Spencer Pollard
The latest additions to your library shelves. spencer@doolittlemedia.com
P04 - IN THIS ISSUE Publisher: Alan Harman
P06 - NEWSLINE FEATURES Group Editor: Marcus Nicholls
P08 - COMMENT Administration Manager: Hannah McLaurie
P76 - EVENTS DIARY Office Manager: Paula Gray
P12 HOLDING UP THE SKY Advertising Manager: Richard Andrews
P77 - CONTACTS DETAILS Huw Morgan builds Revell’s excellent 1:144 A400 richard@doolittlemedia.com
P81 - NEXT ISSUE Atlas, together with a suitably warlike load…
P82 - FINAL THOUGHTS… Art:
REVIEWS P20 THE SPITFIRE THAT WENT TO SEA Editorial Design: Peter Hutchinson
Jamie Haggo gets the best from Sword’s Seafire Advertising Design: Peter Hutchinson & Alex Hall

P10 ONE, ONE, FOUR FOUR NEWS Mk.XVII in 1:72…

Advertisement and circulation:
All that’s new for fans of this increasingly popular scale. Model Airplane International, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane,
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P28 KIT PREVIEW Highlights from this year’s Scale Model World 2018. Tel: 01525 222573
Tamiya has released their spectacular 1:48 Spitfire This month we concentrate on the competition. E-mail: sean@doolittlemedia.com
Mk.I. We take a detailed look…
Distribution:
P40 THE YEAR OF THE BIG KIT… Seymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue,
P44 KIT PREVIEW We take a look at some of the spectacular, large- London, EC1A 9PT.
Airfix upscale their Blenheim Mk.I. We assess this scale releases from last year’s Scale Model World Tel: 020 7429 4000
new kit ready for a full build in a future issue… 2018.
Newstrade:
P54 KIT PREVIEW P46 FROM EMIL TO FRIEDRICH Select Publisher Services, 3 East Avenue,
Though not due for release until 2019, Revell has Bournemouth, BH3 7BW.
handed over a test-shot of their massive 1:144 Messerschmitt’s improved Bf109 variant is the Tel: 01202 586848 E-mail: tim@selectps.com
Antonov An-225 Mriya. Huw Morgan is the man in perfect subject for a quarter-scale model. We take
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in part or whole of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure the content of Model Airplane
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Doolittle Media’s standard terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising sales department of MAI.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 3

IN THIS ISSUE...
Hello everyone, welcome
to the January 2019
edition of your favourite
aviation modelling
magazine!
efore I begin with my round up of
B
the contents of this particular issue, I
Written by would like to take this opportunity as
Spencer Pollard this is the final MAI of 2018 (despite
the date on the front cover!) to wish
all of our readers a very merry Christmas and a
happy and prosperous New Year.
This issue of MAI concerns itself
unashamedly with goings on at the 2018 Scale
Model World in Telford. Widely regarded as
one of the largest modelling events in the
world, SMW is a place where modellers and
4 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
the companies that supply them, can all get
together to showcase their projects, those built
by the enthusiast and those ready for said
enthusiasts to buy and enjoy. This year was
certainly no different in that regard, with one of
the best events for some time taking place in
Shropshire.
As discussed in more detail later on (and
indeed next month), SMW 2018 will perhaps
be remembered as much for its showcase
releases from the likes of Airfix, Wingnut Wings
and Hong Kong Hobbies as it will for the
competition that forms such an important part
of its yearly appeal. The huge models that they
announced with some fanfare on both Saturday
and Sunday of the event certainly turned heads
and gave onlookers much to ponder over the
months to come. With two 1:32 Lancasters,
a 1:32 0-400 and a stunning 1:24 Hellcat to
look forward to, it’s unlikely that many with
large benches and even larger wallets will be
disappointed or left wondering what to build in 2019.
Along with the kit releases that we all I am sure
admired, the competition held much fascination for
those with competitive leanings. Drawing in modellers
from all around the globe, the 1200+ entries captured
all that is good within the hobby, showcasing talent,
imagination and no little skill across the huge number
of classes and genres that make up the competitive
element of SMW. From the smallest builds right the
way through to the incredible scratchbuilt flying boat
that won the grand prize, the models were from the
hands of some of the best modellers in the world, and
that could not have resulted in anything less than an
inspirational experience for anyone keen to brave the
hordes of onlookers that found their way upstairs to
the capacious competition room.
And finally we had the club stands to enjoy. It can
with some justification be argued that some of the
best work on show can be found within these displays
rather than with the competition and that seemed to be
proven once again with carefully planned collections
that offered stunning builds to admire. From the
Special Interest Groups though the home-grown club
stands and on to those that had travelled from afar to
display their work, this part of the show was a feast
for the senses and to this particular scribe at least, left
you with nothing but admiration for those that had put
the time in on their own to build the models and then
travelled to Telford to show them off.
We hope that you enjoy our round-up of highlights
from Telford, as do we the builds that this edition of
MAI also includes. This month we continue with Jamie
Haggo’s Seafire series, enjoy John Wilkes’ look at the
1:32 Revell Heinkel He219 Uhu, Huw Morgan’s build
of the Revell 1:144 A400 Atlas and finally, Alan Price’s
appraisal of Eduard’s excellent 1:48 Me Bf109 F-2.
So this is the January 2019 edition of Model
Airplane International. I hope you enjoy this issue and
I look forward to seeing you again next month! ■
DOOLITTLE MEDIA
adhpublishing.com

HOW TO BUILD TAMIYA’S 1:48

SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.I
hen Tamiya released their 1:32 scale Between these covers, we provide an exhaustive step-

W Spitfire Mk.IXc in 2009, they set a new

standard for plastic model kits. As one of
the most popular subjects in the history
of scale modelling, we should not be
surprised to find that Tamiya has now released an all-new
Spitfire kit in 1:48 scale.
Tamiya’s brand new 1:48 scale Spitfire Mk.I delivers
innovative design, outstanding detail, an accurate outline
and crisp, subtle surface textures. This model has nothing
at all in common with their 1993 kit.
by-step illustrated guide to building Tamiya’s 1:48 scale
Spitfire Mk.I straight from the box plus tips on painting
and weathering. Plenty of inspiration is offered with two
different configurations plus a conversion to the Photo
Reconnaissance version with models by Brett Green and
Marcus Nicholls.
Also included are a walkaround of a surviving Spitfire
Mk.I, a summary of other Spitfire Mk.I model kits available
in 1:48 scale, a list of available accessories and decals
plus a catalogue of helpful references.

“TAMIYA’S BRAND NEW 1:48 SCALE SPITFIRE MK.I DELIVERS INNOVATIVE DESIGN, OUTSTANDING
DETAIL, AN ACCURATE OUTLINE AND CRISP, SUBTLE SURFACE TEXTURES.”

*Pre order now – published late December/early January

6 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

AIRFIX
www.airfix.com

1:48 HAWKER HUNTER F6

s far as classic British jet aircraft are concerned, few would argue

A that the beautiful Hawker Hunter should be placed at the head of

this group, entering RAF service in 1954 and still providing training
support almost 40 years later. The definitive interceptor version of
the Hunter was the Mk.6 and by the end of 1958, all of the RAFs day
fighter squadrons in Britain and Germany were equipped with these aircraft.
This new 1:48 kit from the Airfix stable will replicate this aircraft in great detail
and in so doing, offer the modeller a chance to finally build an accurate replica of
what to many was the most beautiful of all Cold War jets. Along with the plastic
components needed to build this aircraft In miniature, the kit also includes decals
for the following aircraft:

● Hawker Hunter F6 - No. 63 Sqd., RAF Waterbeach, England, September 1958

(Commander’s aircraft marked for 1958 Battle Of Britain Display).
● Hawker Hunter F6 - No. 4 Flying Trainer School, RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales,
September 1968.
● Hawker Hunter F6 - No. 324 Sqd., Royal Netherlands Air Force, Leeuwarden,
The Netherlands, 1964.

ITALERI
www.italeri.com

1:48 TORNADO GR.1/IDS - GULF WAR

he multi-role Tornado is a twin-engine always been to perform low-altitude penetrating strike aerial bombing campaign was the suppression of

T combat aircraft with a variable-sweep

wing. This aircraft was the result of a
joint development project carried out by
British, German and Italian companies.
Although during its lifetime it has been used for
several purposes (ground attack, electronic combat/
reconnaissance, interceptor), its main role has
missions. Tornado can load and use a powerful and
varied set of offensive weapons. Thanks to its two
powerful afterburning turbofans, the Tornado can
reach the max speed of Mach 2.2. The Tornado’s
baptism of fire took place in 1991 during the Gulf War
in which the Italian Tornados IDS took part, beginning
on the 17th January of that year. The goal of the
military targets and infrastructures.
This reissued kit replicates both the GR.1 and IDS
variants of this famous attack aircraft. High levels of
detail and decals for 6 versions are included. The kit
will be available from all good model shops as this
magazine goes to press.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 7

 WHEN SIZE REALLY DOES MATTER!
Written by Jonathan Mock
ords that
W jumped out on
the box front of
the Monogram
1:72 B-36
Peacemaker kit when it was
first released in 1980. And who
couldn’t fail to be impressed?
The kit was 27 inches long
and had a 38 inch wingspan, it
dwarfed the record previously set
by Monogram’s own 1:72 B-52
Stratofortress. Of course that kind
of plastic behemoth also came at
a price, way out of the range of
my meagre pocket money at the
time, but we can all dream, right?
Prior to that my experience of
“big” kits was limited to the 1:24
Spitfire I’d been bought for my
sixth birthday and the 1:72 Airfix
Lancaster my father had built for
me. To my small hands these
were already giants and were way
beyond the Series One Spitfires
or Orange Range Hurricanes I
was making.
That period of the mid-to-late
1970s saw Airfix expand its 1:24
‘Superkit’ range, Monogram
chipped in with 1:48 models of the
B-17, B-24 and B-29 (even at that
scale its wingspan fell short of the
B-36 in 1/72!), Tamiya their 1:48
Lancaster and, for reasons that
still seem rather bizarre, Revell
chucked in a 1:48 B-1 bomber
at the height of the recession-hit
1980s.
But then big kits fell out of
fashion. World-wide economic
realities bit home, the 1980s
saw a drastic reduction in new
kits being released and people
genuinely wondered whether the
hobby would even survive into
8 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
the 1990s.
Fast forward to 2018 and not
only is the hobby in rude health,
but the big kits are back and
Scale Model World 2018 saw a
number of announcements that
made the show stick out as being
one of the most memorable in
recent times.
First up were the two 1:32
Lancasters from Hong Kong
Models and Sir Peter Jackson’s
Wingnut Wings. The HK kit had
been trailed for some years now
and each SMW saw updates
and progress, with the kit having
been extensively reworked from
it’s original designs. SMW 2018
saw an impressive model on
display with the release date now
tantalisingly close. Any other year
this would have been the highlight
for many, but elsewhere in the
Pacific Rim Wingnut Wings were
also working on their own 1:32 kit.
To be fair, theirs was apparently
even longer in the loop, having
been originally scheduled to
tie-in with the ‘Dambusters’
remake that Peter Jackson had
started working on. Alas, that
movie seems to have slipped into
production hell right now leaving
Wingnut with the tooling but no
supporting movie, hence the
decision to release it and realise
their investment.
Wingnut’s Lancaster showed
slightly different design detail
approaches to the HK one, the
gun turrets and engines are works
of art in their own right, and WNW
are even going to release the
forward fuselage as a separate
kit. Both the HK and WNW Lancs
are astonishing models and
modellers now have two to look
forward to in 2019. Not bad for a
dying hobby eh?
Saturday morning saw the
countdown to the big Airfix reveal,
a tradition that was started a
couple of years ago where they
announce a showcase kit for the
next year’s range. This year’s
announcement was one that
took everyone by surprise – a
1:24 Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat.
The ripples of amazement were
a testament to how well Airfix
had kept a lid on this kit, a move
vindicated by how none of the
various rumour threads on forums
got anywhere close with their
guesswork.
The Airfix Hellcat displayed
astounding levels of detail, from
the packed cockpit and engine
– again models in their own right
– to the depiction of overlapping
panels and stressed skin. The kit
even supplied two sets of wings,
one rigid and the other folded.
As well as extending the 1:24
‘Superkits’ range close to 50
years since the first 1:24 Spitfire
was released in 1970, it’s also
the first American subject in that
range since the P-51D Mustang
in 1973.
But the fun was over quite yet.
Wingnut Wings still had an ace
up their sleeve with their own
exclusive announcement at the
show on the Sunday with the
reveal of their 1:32 Handley Page
O/400 bomber. If you thought their
previous Gotha and Felixstowe
kits were big, the O/400 kicks
them into the long grass. With
a 37 inch wingspan, the kit only
just falls short of topping that
Monogram B-36 – that honour
goes to the Hobby Boss 1:32
B-24J Liberator, another huge
kit recently released. The plus
side with the WNW O/400 is that
you can also fold the wings back
leaving a span around that of a
1:48 Spitfire! For more information
on these kits, please see the
editor’s feature on page 22 of this
issue of MAI.
What has precipitated this
surge in large-scale kits in recent
years? Technology mostly. The
kinds of computer aided design,
LIDAR scanning and machine
advancements that have been
made each decade have meant
that previously unobtainable
things like levels of detail and
engineering problems at that size
have been made workable. When
you looked back to the previously
laborious – albeit highly skilled
- methods of hand drawn plans,
wooden masters, pantographing
etc… it’s like chalk and cheese.
That’s not to say that today’s
methods are devoid of skills, far
from it – there tends to be a notion
that these days kit companies
can rock up, LIDAR a subject
and then press a button that says
“make kit”. As we’ve touched upon
before in these pages, not every
kit gets the LIDAR treatment and
it’s more a method of being able
to get shape and proportion data
which serves as a tracing layer
over which the CAD data is then
built.
And while all these
advancements have certainly
improved and sped up the design
and production process (relative
to the old methods) they still
 “ The LARGEST plastic scale model
airplane kit ever produced!
required huge investment by kit
companies, not only in research
and design, but also in personnel
hours. Anyone who thinks it’s
just button pushing should try it
for themselves to realise it still
requires great skill.
Which leads us to the end
costs – these kits do not come
cheap. Modellers who want large
scale, highly detailed kits and
then want them cheap are going
to be in for a disappointment. The
end price reflects not only the
R&D and manufacturing costs,
but also thing like transport and
freighting. For anyone who says
“I’d really love one but can’t afford
it…” I’d go back to something
I’ve written about before here,
that if a modeller is spending an
equal amount on volumes on kits
as they would on that one they
“really want” then they can afford
it. They just need to prioritise their
spending.
No doubt there will be
”
grumblings from modellers about
being priced out of the market
etc…, but the market remains as
varied and as accessible as it’s
always been. If someone has the
expectation that a 1:32 Lancaster
should cost only a bit more
than a 1:72 one, then they’re
always going to be disappointed.
Likewise if they churn out
excitable lists of hypothetical
large scale kits (“what about a
1:24 Vulcan?!!!!”) then they can at
least support the market they’re
eulogising about rather than
sitting on their hands and saying
“that’s very nice, what are you
doing next?”.
As for the future, well that’s
dependent on the present. How
many of these kits will end up
being built and displayed at
model shows will be interesting
to see, they certainly pose
transport challenges that will no
doubt be met, but as far as the
kit companies go it’s the sale
that counts – what happens after
money has changed hands is
immaterial.
What will Hong Kong Models
follow the Lancaster with? Will
Wingnut Wings branch out into
1:32 interwar or WW2 subjects
(no they won’t - Ed.)? What other
1:24 subjects could Airfix work
their magic on?
That we’re talking about this in
2018 is all the more remarkable.
It’s often said we’re living in a
new golden era of the hobby,
perhaps that needs to be updated
to platinum.
As I’m writing this post-Telford
with the scent of Christmas
around the corner, I’d like to
extend my best wishes for
whatever way you mark the end
of the year and wish you all health
and happiness in 2019.
You’ll certainly need more glue. ■
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 9
ONE, ONE, FOUR FOUR NEWS

Roy Kinsella rounds up some of the latest releases from this increasingly
popular aircraft scale. This month he looks at ...

RETROWINGS
www.retrokitonline.net
MIG-21I ANALOG CONVERSION KIT -
PRODUCT CODE: RW44144
Two Mig-21i aircraft were produced to test the proposed wing design for the
planned Tu-144 passenger aircraft. The aircraft first flew in April 1968 and both
aircraft accumulated hundreds of flying hours during testing and trials. In 1969
the first prototype crashed, the second prototype was then handed over to the
Monino Museum where it can be seen today.
This conversion set can be used with any current variant of the Eduard Mig-21
kit and is designed to allow the modeller to build the natural metal airframe Mig-
21i (also known as the A-144-2), this is the second Analog prototype, the one
that survives today. The kit comes with a finely cast resin airframe, spine and
tail. Construction is incredibly simple using any of the Eduard Mig-21 kits on the
market. Decals are also provided.
The first Mig-21i (Also referred to as the A-144-1) can also be built from the kit
using the spine from the Eduard Mig-21MF kit.
RetroWings advises the builder that although there is minimal scratch work
involved, the livery scheme of the first prototype is quite complicated for this
scale and no decals are provided in this kit for that variant.

MARK I/JACH
www.4pluspublications.com
MARK I and JACH have released a generous series of new kits this winter. These late Spitfires and Mosquitos are very extensive and cover many
different marks and liveries and should be incredibly appealing to many modellers.

SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.XIV BUBBLETOP ‘IN
EUROPE’ - PRODUCT CODE: MKM14489
The Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV was a British fighter developed during
WWII. This Griffon Engine powered Spitfire saw significant service late
in the war. Two injected moulded kits are provided in this boxing. Each
kit contains 31 parts and one clear canopy section. A compressive decal
sheet is also provided. Colour schemes in this kit include:
● Spitfire F.Mk.XIV (type 379), NH745, Sky EB-V, No.41 Sqd., RAF,
Eindhoven, Netherlands, March 1945.
● Spitfire FR.Mk.XIV (Type 379), MV263, Sky GCK, No.125 Wing, RAF,
Twente Airfield, Netherlands, April 1945.
● Spitfire FR.Mk.XIVE (Type 379), NH895, Sky NI-K, No.451 Sqd.,
RAAF, British Air Forces Occupation (BAFO), Wunstorf, Germany, 1945.
● Spitfire FR.Mk.XIV (Type 379), SG-46 (ex-RM625), Black UR-G, No.2
Sqd., (2ème Esc.), Belgian Air Force, Florennes, 1948.
SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.XIV BUBBLETOP ‘FAR
EAST SERVICE’ - PRODUCT CODE: MKM14490
Colour Schemes in this kit include:
● Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire FR.Mk.XIV (Type 379), RN218, White
MS-F, No.273 Sqd., RAF Far East Air Force (FEAF), Tan Son Nhut
Airfield (Saigon), French Indo-China (Vietnam), Dec 1945.
● Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire FR.Mk.XIV (Type 379), MV363, White N,
No.11 Sqd., RAF (FEAF), Seletar Air Base, Singapore, 1946.
● Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire FR.Mk.XIV (Type 379), NH871, Black
G, No.4 Sq, Royal Indian Air Force, British Commonwealth Occupation
Force (BCOF), Miho Air Base, Japan, May 1946 to July 1947.
● Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire FR.Mk.XIVE (Type 379), s/n U14-1/93
(ex-SM914), Black I, No.41 Sq, No.4 Wing, Royal Thai Air Force, (Kong
Thap Akat Thai), Takhil Royal Air Force Base, 1951-1955.

10 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.XVIII ‘MIGHTY EIGHTEEN’ DE HAVILLAND MOSQUITO B.IV ‘WOODEN BOMBER’
BUBBLETOP ‘IN EUROPE’ - PRODUCT CODE: MKM14491 (RAF) - PRODUCT CODE: MKM14483
The Supermarine Type 394 Spitfire Mk.XVIII was a British designed
fighter which evolved from the F Mk.XIVE and was proposed as a ‘Super
Spitfire’, Although very effective in design, this Rolls Royce Griffen
powered Spit came just too late for wartime service during WWII. Two
injected moulded kits are provided in this boxing. Each kit contains 31
parts and one clear canopy section. A compressive decal sheet is also
provided. Colour schemes in this kit include:
● Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk.XVIII (type 394), TP222, White
B, No.60 Sqd. (based at Seletar, Singapore), RAF, Fair East Air Force
(FEAF), Kuala Lumpur, Malayan Union, 1947.
● Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire FR.Mk.XVIII (type 394), TZ233, White T, No.208
Sqd., RAF, Middle East Air Force (MEAF), Fayid Air Base, Egypt, 1949-51.
● Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire FR.Mk.XVIII (type 394), TP424, White
T, No.28 Sqd., RAF, Far East Air Force (FEAF), Kai Tak Air Base, Hong
Kong, August 1949 – February 1950.
● Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire FR.Mk.XVIII (type 394), HS636, White 96,
Advanced Flying School (India), Indian Air Force, Ambala, India 1948.
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British designed and produced
multi-role twin engine aircraft developed in 1939. The aircraft was
constructed almost entirely of wood and quickly earned the title ‘The
Wooden Wonder’. During its service life the Mosquito served in many
various roles and was used in almost every theatre of WWII. This
injection moulded kit contains 64 parts and eleven clear sections. A
comprehensive decal sheet is also provided. Colour schemes in this kit
include:
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B.Mk.IV (Srs.II), DZ548, Sky GB-D,
‘Knave of Diamonds’ No.105 Sqd., RAF, Marham Airfield, June 1943.
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B.Mk.IV (Srs.II), DZ515, Sky XD-M,
No.139 (Jamaica) Sqd.. RAF, Horsham St. Faith airfield, Summer 1942.
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B.Mk.IV (Srs.II), DZ518, Red AZ-F,
No.627 Sqd., RAF, Woodhall Spa airfield, Aug 1944.
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B.Mk.IV (Srs.II), DZ525, Red AZ-S,
No.627 Sqd., RAF, Woodhall Spa Airfield, 1945.

DE HAVILLAND MOSQUITO PR.IV B.IV ‘SPECIAL LIVERIES’
(RAF, BOAC, LUFTWAFFE) - PRODUCT CODE: MKM14494
Colour schemes in this kit include:
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito PR.Mk.IV, DK310, Sky LY-G, NO.1 PRU,
RAF, Benson airfield, Summer 1942
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito PR.Mk.IV, DZ473, No.540 Sqd., RAF,
Leuchars airfield, photographing Peenemünde with V-2 rockets, June 1943.
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito PR.Mk.IV, G-AGFV (ex-DZ411), Black
G-AGFV outlined in Light Grey, British Overseas Airways Corporation
(BOAC), Leuchars airfield, used for high speed diplomatic courier and
‘ball-bearing’ flights between the UK and Sweden, early 1943.
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B.Mk.IV (Srs.II), Black T9+XB, 2/VVB
OKL, Trials and Research Unit of the Luftwaffe, Germany, Summer 1944.
DE HAVILLAND MOSQUITO B.IV, PR.IV ‘SWIFT WARRIOR’
(RAF, SWISS AF, SOVIET AF) (RAF, BOAC, LUFTWAFFE) -
PRODUCT CODE: MKM14484
Colour schemes in this kit include:
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B.Mk.IV (Srs.II), DZ633, Red AZ-D,
No.627 Sq, RAF, Woodhall Spa airfield, June 1944.
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B.Mk.IV (Srs.II), DK333, Red HS-F
‘Grim Reaper’, No.109 Sq, RAF, Wyton airfield, January 1943.
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito PR.Mk.IV, E-42 (ex-DK310), White B-4,
KTA War Technical Detachment (Kriegstechnische Abteilung), Swiss Air
Force, Federal Aircraft Works F+W, Emmen Air Base, 1946.
● de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B.Mk.IV (Srs.II), Black DK296, VVS KA
(Air Force of the Red Army), summer 1944.

BRENGUN
www.brengun.cz
BRENGUN HO-229 NIGHT FIGHTER - PRODUCT CODE: BRP144010
Brengun are back once again with another exciting kit release, this time a beautiful rendition of
the Ho-229 night fighter. This is a plastic injected kit with photo-etch and decals. Having seen
one recently built, I can assure you this is a fascinating little kit and great value for money.

BRENGUN HO-229A - PRODUCT CODE: BRL144143

Bregun have released a photo-etch kit which can be used with their Ho-229A kit.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 11

 KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

SPECIFICATION: BUILT AND WRITTEN BY HUW MORGAN

Revell A400M Atlas

HOLDING UP
Kit No: RV04859
Materials: IM,
Status: New Tool
Availability: On Line Model Shops
Price Guide: £ 29.99

Revell AH-64D Longbow Apache

Kit No: RV4046
Materials: IM,
Status: New Tool
Availability: All good model shops
Price Guide: £ 6.99

THE SKY
BEFORE STARTING:
● Tamiya OF2 side cutters
●#3 and #4 scalpels with #11,#23, and#25 blades
● Deluxe Perfect Plastic filler
● AK Interactive filler
● Mr Hobby Cement S
● Loctite cyanoacrylate glue
● Albion Alloys and Flory Models sanding boards
● Abralon 600, 1000 and 3000 grit foam abrasive
● Micromesh polishing cloths
● Tamiya masking tape
● Pacer Formula 560 canopy glue
● Bare Metal Foil Chrome We build Revell’s excellent 1:144 A400 Atlas, together with a
● Artists’ grey green and brown tone pastel chalks
suitably warlike load…
ADDITIONAL BITS:

I
Babibi Decals: A400M Multinational, 2016 n nature, animal gestation periods can European transport aircraft more capable than
vary enormously, from the 20 days for the C-130 Hercules and the T160 Transall,
PAINTS USED: a mouse, to around 650 days for an and less expensive to operate than the jet-
Mr Hobby Aqueous: elephant. The gestation period for aircraft powered Galaxy; with over 175 units ordered,
H332 Light Aircraft Grey
H307 Grey are typically rather longer than this, but the resulting aircraft has to be considered a
H78 Olive drab(2) it turns out that of what became the A400M success.
H77 Tire Black
H416 RLM 66 grey must however rank as a statistical outlier, and Through the mid and late 1980's and 1990's
GX 100 Gloss one of the longest on record. the aerospace companies from a number
GX113 Flat
The A400's history is inextricably linked to the of European countries worked together in
Alclad: turbulent politics and technical one-upmanship a number of fluid conglomerates seeking to
Aluminium associated with the race to develop a new specify and design what was initially known
Steel
Jet Exhaust
Pale Burnt Metal

Halfords:
Grey Primer

Windsor and Newton oils:

Burnt Umber
Lamp Black
Titanium White

12 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

There’s quite a lot of plastic in Revell’s box, the fuselage is designed around inner and outer shells
and there are two complete sets of propellers; deployed and feathered.
The kit includes markings for French and German
operational aircraft, as well as the first demo airframe.
Turkish manufacturer Babibi offers an interesting
decal sheet to make RAF, Turkish, French, German and
Malaysian aircraft from 2016.
One planned load option for the A400 are two AH-64
Apache attack helicopters. Possible scale differences
and the constraints of moulding thickness means that
actually fitting them in there isn’t really practical! Note
that in reality, the forward Apache would be loaded nose
first, skewed at an angle so the tails would overlap.
The nose compartment has a nice representation of the flight deck, including rest bunks and the
loadmaster’s station, even though relatively little will be visible through the windscreen and the
open crew entry door.
as the Future International Military Airlifter;
several organisational iterations later, the
project was handed to Airbus Military to
manage. Design delays including those
associated with the brand new Europrop
TP400-D6 of 11,000 shp, meant that the
scheduled first flight slipped from 2008 to
December 2009, and the first operational
aircraft was delivered to the French Air Force
in August 2013.
The A400M is a flexible, long-range
transport capable of operating from short,
unmade strips, configurable for troop transport,
cargo and medevac roles, and with some
additional components, and as AAR tanker.
In flight the A400M can routinely receive fuel
using the probe-and-drogue system, or can
be re-configured to accept the flying boom
alternative. The TP400 engine is the most
powerful single-rotation turboprop in the world,
only the contra-rotating Kuznetsov NK-12
producing more oomph. To manage the huge
power output the A400M uses Ratier-Figeac or
Hamilton-Sundstrand FH385/6 8-blade props,
arranged in two counter-rotating pairs on each
wing to reduce torque effect.
In Miniature
Revell's 2014 release of the A400M is a new
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 13
tool, produced on 6 grey plastic runners plus a
single clear runner offering a total of 151 parts.
Decals are offered for three airframes:
● F-WWMZ Airbus 400M, c/n 0006 trials
flight 2013
● 54+01 Airbus 400M, c/n 0018, Luft
Transport Geschwader 62, Wunsdorf, 2014
● F-RBAB Airbus 400M, c/n 0008 “Ville de
Toulouse” French Air Force, 2014.
The aftermarket decals I used are from
Turkish manufacturer Babibi models and
offer markings for French, German, Turkish,
Malaysian and the all-important RAF versions,
the British aircraft being from LXX (#70)
Squadron which has flown the Atlas since
2014. RAF codes are supplied to build any
airframe from ZM400 to ZM407 and the
sheet includes the special tail markings of
the winged lion seen on ZM406, picking up
on the Squadron crest, itself thought to be a
reference to the use of the Napier Lion in the
1920s.
The moulding is typical of Revell's recent
offerings, being clean and sharp, with subtle
surface features and a reasonable amount
of internal detail. Construction follows the
pattern set in the 1:72 scale C-54/DC-4 with
KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE
Fuselage construction is based on inner and outer shells, which allows good detail, but forces a
non-scale wall thickness. Interior detail is fine for what’s visible.
A strip of lead weighing around 40 gm was used to check the nose weight, with the airframe
roughly taped together.
complete internal fuselage shells fitted with
the internal floor etc., which nest within outer
fuselage halves; it's a neat way of getting
detail on both surfaces, but the penalty is a
non-scale fuselage wall thickness. The smaller
parts are nicely done and two complete
sets of propellers are included for feathered
or non-feathered options, although they all
have ugly sprue gates connecting to the fine
blade edges which will need careful cleanup.
Typically, colour references are for generic
Revell acrylics only, requiring several colours
to be mixed and the decals look to be well
printed with good colour density, but if previous
experience is an indicator, will be rather thick
and reluctant to conform to curved surfaces.
The construction is described over 47 steps
in the incredibly monotone instructions and
the airframe can be modelled in the in-flight or
landed configuration, with the tail ramp open
or closed.
One of the planned loads for the A400 are
two complete AH-64 Apache attack helicopters
14 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
The kit instructions recommend 40 gm of nose weight which a crude balance suggested was about
right. This amount of lead needed a bit of squeezing in under the cockpit floor. Note here the tape
belts added to the seats.
All four engines are identical, each being made up of ten parts, including representations of the
compressor and turbine faces and the through duct. Fit is reasonably good although the small size
of the parts means that careful clean up is needed.
with the main rotors folded, and so it wasn't too added; the instructions quoting around 40
big a step to be convinced that having a pair grammes. A crude test with a strip of lead
of Apaches being loaded would make for an suggested this wasn't an exaggeration, so
interesting scene. the problem becomes one of packaging, and
where to fit it all! Before closing up the outer
Building The Heavy Lifter fuselage halves, the instructions call for the
Revell's kit starts with building up the main small windows to be added; these could be left
cargo bay floor, together with a comprehensive out and the apertures glazed with PVA or an
forward crew area, complete with flight deck alternative but in this case, I chose to include
crew seats, rest bunks and a load master’s them, masking the outer faces with drops of
station on a lower level. These stages are Microscale’s masking fluid and it's at this point
pretty straightforward, and there are rather
generic painting instructions along the way,
although it's all rather moot since virtually none
of it will be visible through the windscreen
and potentially, the open crew steps on the
port side. The cargo floor itself and the inner
fuselage halves need painting at this point,
tones of grey and olive for the troop seats
being the order of the day. The inner fuselage
halves close up around the floor without any
drama but before the outers can be fitted,
there's some significant nose weight to be The one-piece propellers are pretty impressive although
moulding constraints means that each blade has an ugly
sprue attachment point. Use a sharp blade to minimise
the bending force applied to the blade root.
that one needs to decide whether to have the
tail loading door open or closed. Typical of
modern airliner model practice, the windscreen
glazing is provided as part of a large section
which includes the cabin roof to help with
blending in; I'd prefer to see bigger margins at
the sides and lower edges as well.
With the main fuselage complete, attention
switches to the wings and engines. The former
are pretty straightforward with a one-piece
upper surface and separate undersides, but
the addition of the multi-part flap tracks needs
some care to get the right parts in the right
place, paying particular attention to cleaning
up the mating faces to get the best fit.
All four engines are essentially identical,
each being assembled from ten parts,
although the engineering of the propeller
housing seems rather over elaborate and for
the unwary, can result in some misalignment,
- it seems a consequence of wanting to make
the propellers free to rotate, which is a rather
anachronistic gimmick in the present day. The
assembled engines fit to the wings with only
minor filling and sanding.
The instructions would have you build
up the six undercarriage trucks and their
paired wheels next, fitting them to the inner
faces of the sponsons before the belly plate.
Conscious that this would make masking
tricky at best, I decided to leave the trucks
off at this stage, having convinced myself
they could be manipulated into place after
painting. The order with which you attach them
notwithstanding, the fit of the assembled trucks
and wheels into the sponsons is very tight
indeed, and to get them to fit without distortion
I needed to shave the sides of the sponson
aperture, and drill the wheels to allow them to
sit further onto the stub axles.
The stand-out feature of the A400M are the
unique eight-bladed scimitar profile propellers,
visually exaggerated by the fact that they're
fitted as counter-rotating pairs on each wing,
rotating towards each other from their upper
arc. Helpfully, the kit offers the props as
one-piece mouldings, in either deployed or
fully feathered configuration, the latter being
common when the aircraft is on the ground.
There are some interesting videos of an Atlas
engine start procedure on YouTube, which
show the blade pitch cycling from feathered
to fine, so I decided to build one propeller in a
fine pitch condition, and the first to be started.
The propeller mouldings themselves are very
nice, although production constraints mean
that each blade has an ugly sprue attachment
point, which are not too difficult to deal with,
but use a sharp knife! Each blade needs to
be sandwiched between a backplate and a
spinner however, and here the moulding is
less that perfect, it being necessary to clamp
the spinner and backplates together and drill
out locating holes for the blade roots. Jumping
ahead, the propeller parts were painted by
priming with Halfords grey and satin black and
the kit's tip stripe decals applied. These are
supplied as butterfly shapes meant to wrap
around the blade tip, unfortunately, the decals
themselves are too thick and stiff to do this
reliably, so I cut them in half and applied all
64 individual pieces; the props were finished

As now appears normal practice, the windscreen transparency includes a large section of the Aiming to fit the wheels after painting brings some issues with the close-fitting sponsons, as-built,
cockpit roof although personally I’d prefer more margin at the lower and rear edges. Only a modest the sponson edges force the wheels into an unrealistic camber.
amount of filling is needed.

Fitting the wheels and suspension arms is helped by shaving some plastic from the sponson edges, The excellent propeller blades are sandwiched between the hub backplate and the spinner. The
and drilling the wheels to allow them to fit closer to the suspension arm. rather indistinct moulding of the locating holes needs some help from a drill.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 15

KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

Decals are provided for the yellow stripes for the 32

propeller blades, unfortunately they’re very reluctant to
curl around the tips, and I ended up cutting each in two
(64!) to place each one individually. They don’t stick very
well, resulting in some touch-up being needed.

Revell’s Apache kit comes on two main runners holding

78 green plastic parts.
The fuselage halves close around the cockpit without any difficulty,
although the seam needs a bit of attention in places.

The two clear parts allow the pilot’s door to be posed

open.

The tiny cockpit tub has generic decals for the side
consoles and instruments, and I added (rather clunky)
seat belts from lead foil.

by applying leading-edge wear strips using a
silver permanent marker.
Painting The Beast
A400M airframes are delivered to customer
services in overall grey, and for the RAF
version I was modelling, I chose to use Mr.
Hobby H307 as the primary colour, pre-
shading with black to give some depth.
Thinned 50:50 with Mr. Hobby Levelling
Thinner, this paint gives a smooth, glossy
finish good enough for decals without any
additional preparation. I deliberately didn't
apply too much contrast in the finish, since
photographs of the real aircraft show a very
uniform colour. Before applying the grey I'd
painted the radome Tire Black (H77) and
masked it.
Applying the decals is straightforward
albeit a bit tedious given the number of
placards and stencils called for. Revell's
placement instructions are verging on
useless since they're so small and cluttered
that differentiating individual designs can
be extremely difficult. The Revell decals are
a bit thick and inflexible and take ages to
separate from the backing and leave a very
matt backing film. The Babibi decals are much
finer, albeit with a tendency to grab
the surface, and using plain water
instead of any decal solution
slowed that down. I chose to
mark mine up as ZD406 since
there are plenty of images
of this airframe with the
commemorative LXX Squadron
markings offered by Babibi.
With the decals fully dry, the
finish was brought together by
several light applications of Mr. Hobby
GZ100 gloss to try and disguise the decal
backing, followed by GX113 Flat, and some

16 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

The straight lines of the canopy framing make masking relatively straightforward, despite the diminutive size of the panels.
light weathering around the engines and
undercarriage using pastel chalks.
Adding final details called for several blade
antennae and the undercarriage doors, all
attached using water-soluble acrylic glue, and
fixing the rear loading ramp and its extension
to suggest a loading operation.
Load It Up!
Revell's 2005 issue of the AH-64D appears
to be a new tool and not related to the earlier
Dragon release of 2000 which was also issued
by Italeri and Revell, but without an example
of the earlier one to hand, direct comparison
I’d decided to undertake a
home-made rotor fold on one
of the helicopters, so needed
to scratch build the support
frame from plastic strip. There
are some useful reference
videos of the folding operation
on the Internet.
isn't possible and so the kit needs to stand on
its own two feet. Presented as 79 dark green
plastic parts, the moulding is very clean and
sharp (although both my kits used here were
acquired several years ago) and the surface
detail is very fine. The canopy includes a
separate section for the pilot's side panel,
potentially allowing this to be posed open. Dry-
fitting suggests that the build would be trouble-
free and that fit wouldn't be an issue.
Construction of the Apache starts
conventionally with the tandem cockpit. I was
planning on leaving the canopy open, so
took some care with the painting and added
Here’s the
completed rotor
fold. It really
ought to have
remove-before-
flight tags.
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 17
seatbelts from lead foil. The kit's decals add
some worthwhile finesse to the consoles,
although they're rather generic in their detail
and need some trimming to fit. The completed
cockpit tub is fixed to one fuselage side,
together with the rotor mount and the fuselage
closes up without any hassle. Cleaning up the
seams and adding the stub wings and tail is
straightforward.
In planning this build I'd envisioned two
Apaches being loaded (or unloaded?) into
the A400 and was keen to show one fully
rigged for flight and one packaged, rotors
folded, for stowage. The ready-to-go option
A comparison of
the folded and
unfolded options,
the latter carrying
a ferry tank, but no
weapons.
Ready to go, the
about-to-launch
AH-64, complete
with fire control
radar.
KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

is pretty straightforward, needing only the
rotors assembling and the canopy fitting and
masking before painting, no after-market
masks are available, but the preponderance
of straight lines makes cutting masks in-situ
reasonably easy. The folded-rotor option was
deliberately built as stripped-down as possible
with no under-wing racks and with the rotor
head cut to allow the rotors to be placed in the
characteristic layered and canted positions.
Helping in achieving this was a scratchbuilt
support frame as seen on Apaches in the
field, in doing this I relied heavily on Internet
references, particularly some YouTube videos
of maintenance crews actually undertaking the
folding process.
Given the provision of a separate entry
door in the kit parts, I was keen to show this
open, so having masked both sides and filled
the cockpit with foam, the entire airframe was
painted with Mr. Hobby Olive Drab (2) (H78).
Some fading was applied using the base
colour lightened with yellow and the basic
decals sourced from my spares. ■

FINAL VERDICT
Both the Revell Atlas and the older AD-64 build into excellent representations of the real thing without any
significant problems or omissions and are fine additions to any 1:144 scale collection. Typical of Revell, the out of
the box decal options for the Atlas are a bit limited and parochial, but the Babibi set goes a long way to correcting
that, and Revell’s persistence in referencing only their own paint brand with the need for colour mixing seems to be
rather narrow-minded in the present day. Recommended.

18 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

SPECIFICATION:
Sword Seafire Mk.XVII
Kit No. 72058
Materials: IM
Availability: All good model shops
Price £14.99

BEFORE STARTING:
Swann-Morton Scalpel
Tweezers
RB Scriber
Mr. Hobby Epoxy Putty
Plasticard
Tamiya Superfine Primer
Mr. Neo Masking Sol
Mr. Color Leveling Thinner

AIRBRUSH:
Iwata Revolution CR

PAINTS USED:
MRP
Dark Slate Grey
Extra Dark Sea Grey
Sky
Interior Green

Mr. Color
Dark Iron

Mr. Hobby
GX-100 Super Clear Gloss

Tamiya
Rubber Black

Vallejo
Matt Varnish

Alclad
Duralumin

BUILT AND WRITTEN

BY JAMIE HAGGO

THE SPITFIRE
THAT WENT TO SEA
How to get the best from Sword’s Seafire Mk.XVII in 1:72…

W
elcome to the third in the Seafire series. This
article sees a change of scale, down to 1:72 and
a change of marque, this time to the Mk.XVII,
to many the prettiest and most effective of all.
The preceding Mk.XV had a few vices which is
not totally unexpected as it was a bit of a lash up, those areas
of weakness were dealt with in the Mk.XVII which rather than
being a converted Spitfire had navalised features designed in
from the outset. The most important was the extension of the
oleos eliminating the tendency of the Mk.XV to bounce on landing

20 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

 thus making
deck landings
much safer. The
teardrop canopy
was introduced but this
wasn’t the Spitfire MkXVIs
canopy, this one was designed
for deck operations and the
windscreen was cleverly designed
to maximise water run-off.
In Miniature
I wanted a Mk.XVII in 1:72 so bought
the Sword kit — and what a deal that
turned out to be! Two full kits are
included in the box, a third spare high
back fuselage, two sets of resin gun
barrels and exhausts and decals
by Techmod, one of my favourite
decal manufacturers - bargain!
However, it’s a typical short
run affair featuring nicely
recessed panel lines
but quite a bit of
flash, some soft
mouldings,
largish sprue
gates,
average detail and fit that can at times
be demanding. To that end I decided
to build one from the box (this article)
and use the other parts with an Eduard
Spitfire Mk.XVI in order to produce a
well-detailed, sharply defined model.
Cockpit
The cockpit in this kit is quite bare, but
as I was going to have the one-piece
canopy closed, I wasn’t too worried. The
instrument panel was painted and just a
few dials were added in. It was all rather
crude, but it wouldn’t be seen. If you
want to open the canopy I’d definitely
source some photo-etch and perhaps
indulge in a little scratchbuilding to add
any missing detail.
The cockpit was base coated with
MRP Interior Green and Tamiya Rubber
Black. This was then gloss coated with
Gunze GX-100 Super Clear Gloss ready
for a wash. That wash was a 50/50
mix of Johnson’s Klear and water with
some Tamiya Semi-Gloss Black. This is
a fantastic pin wash and due credit must
go to Roy Sutherland, he of Barracuda
Studios who came up with it. With the
KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE
Being limited-run the cockpit is not that well detailed and it’s quite soft. Here are the fuselage
halves basecoated and glossed.
wash done, the interior was flattened down
with a coat of Vallejo Matt Varnish prior to seat
straps made from Tamiya tape being added.
These look crude, but again, under that
canopy they’ll pass.
Airframe Construction
There are no locating pins in this kit which
is not surprising being a limited-run affair,
therefore both fuselage halves were rubbed
flat on a Flory Models sanding board to make
the joining surfaces true. That done, they
were glued together using Ammo of Mig liquid
cement and set aside for at least 72 hours to
dry thoroughly. I always wait at least this long
as it ensures there won’t be any sign of the
dreaded ghost seams. The fit is pretty good
by the way. When dry, the seams were rubbed
down again using the ubiquitous Flory Models
sanding sticks and the panel lines repaired,
while I was doing that I sharpened up some of
the panel lines all over the airframe with an RB
Productions scriber as they are a little soft in
some areas.
Being limited-run, I was concerned over the
fit of the wing to fuselage, being such a focal
Not exactly up to Eduard photo-etch
standards! But, under a closed
canopy it’s adequate.
Note how the wash effectively pulls into all the details.
point of a model. Therefore, I departed from
the usual construction sequence and after
some minor fettling with a stiff sanding stick
the upper wings were glued to the fuselage
wing roots. This would minimise any filling
and worked very well. The lower wing fit was
reasonable owing to the preparatory work
done before hand (minimising ejector pins,
sanding mating surfaces et cetera). In fact
quite a bit of material needed to be removed
from the rear of the lower wing to get it to mate
with the under fuselage area properly. Talking
of the lower wing, filler was needed on the
lower left area near the tip as it was sunken
and there were some very large gaps near
the flaps. Mr. Hobby Epoxy was the product
of choice here as when dry, it scribes just like
plastic (see the Seafire III in part one of this
series).
The tailplanes and rudder are butt joints
which is asking for trouble! These were pinned
with brass rod for strength and the gaps
filled with Deluxe Plastic Putty which can be
cleaned up with water.
Holes were opened up for the resin gun
barrels which needed a little clean up owing
to a few minor moulding imperfections. These
also had metal pins installed for strength.
The canopy was cleaned up then masked.
This was quite tricky as the frames aren’t
too pronounced and it’s very small. The fit
was okay but the windscreen was faired into
the fuselage to eliminate a small gap, again
Deluxe Plastic Putty was used but this time it
was wet sanded with a Flory Models skinny
blue sanding sponge, as I didn’t want to take
off too much.
Painting
I took ages deciding which scheme to do this
one in but as this was a limited-run kit with
no riveting I thought the three-tone maritime
scheme may hide a few things if needed. The
chosen scheme is from the box, but I’m not
100% sure on the yellow markings; looking at
the one photo I found of this machine I kind
of think they may be either Chamois or Green
primer? But I chickened out and went with
yellow all the same, but not leading edges as
some profiles depict it.
The first job was to spray the interior colour
over the masked canopy before a coat of
After a flat coat
the parts are
ready for the
fuselage halves
to go together.
Yes they are
chunky but even
though it’s a
bubble canopy
not much will be
seen.
 During the curing process quite
a bit of cement was applied to
the inner wing join, I wanted a
strong bond.

The cowling is one-piece and fits well,

note the tiny dab of Mr. Surface just behind
it on the fuel tank cover. The upper wings
have been joined; doing it this way will
improve the fit and minimise filling.

The fuselage halves have been prepped,

hands to glue stations!

An awful lot of sanding was needed to get the lower wing halves to fit
better, mainly at the rear and the tops of the radiators.

primer, in this case first undercoated with Tamiya white, then over this was MRP’s Sky. More masking preceded
decanted and slightly coated with MRP Swedish Yellow with a drop the top coat, again MRP Dark Slate Grey
thinned Tamiya Fine of Red. When dry, the appropriate areas were and Extra Dark Sea Grey this time applied
Surface Primer. This was masked before the underside colour could be freehand. Even in this diminutive scale it looks
lightly polished before the yellow areas were sprayed on and as with all my Seafire models, fine, a testament to MRP’s quality.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 23

KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

This model will need a layer of

primer owing to the limited-run
nature of the kit just to check
things over.

That’s a lot of masking

covering the yellow and
Sky areas!

In order to lightly weather the base

coat, tints and fading were applied
but these machines were not abused
so it was kept subtle, and the wash,
matt varnish and filters will tone
things down further.

All masking is removed. Note

Things have moved on quite a the sheen from the MRP paints,
bit here, the model has been this means only a very light
decalled, a wash applied and gloss coat will be needed.
the final matt coat misted
on which does a great job
of blending everything in. In
hindsight I should have added
a bit more red to the yellow With all the Oilbrushers blended and a little
as it’s still a bit too lemon in post shading with a thin grimy tone this is the
hue, the original being more result: suitably filthy.
orange.

24 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

 When dry, the model received a sealing coat
of Gunze GX-100 Super Clear Gloss, only a
thin coat being needed owing to the smooth
satin finish that MRP’s paints create.
The decals as predicted, behaved very well.
I was nervous about the thin walkway stripes.
Initially, I’d considered painting them but tried
the decals and using plenty of water they went
settled down really well especially after a few
coats with Solvaset.
After a wipe down to remove excess dried
setting solution and a sealing coat of gloss the
model was ready for the wash. In this case I
again went for an oil sludge wash removed
with a kitchen towel after a few hours drying.
Even though the oil wash appears dry it wipes Ammo of Mig Oilbrushers are superb, being very useful for aircraft modellers too. Here Starship Filth is drawn on.
off a gloss surface quite easily.
With the wash dry the model could be
sprayed with a sealing coat of Vallejo Flat
Varnish. This is my favourite stage because
to me the model starts to look like a miniature
aeroplane rather than a small toy! Weathering
was kept quite restrained, a little paint chipping
with Ammo of Mig Steel applied with a fine
brush followed by some post shading with a
dirty mix of well thinned Tamiya Black and Red
Brown. A few oil streaks were applied using
Ammo of Mig’s Oilbrusher method as seen in
the previous Seafire articles.

Finishing Off…
If painting and weathering is my all time
favourite bit, then adding all the bits and
pieces is one of the worst. It’s not because it’s
particularly difficult it’s just that the model is
so close to being done yet this stage seems
to take ages, much longer than I usually
estimate. Anyway, at least there’s not
loads of ordnance to faff with, just the
Eduard undercarriage which needed
a fair amount of super glue to ensure
it was anchored sufficiently. The After around 10 minutes or so the oil paint is blended with a flat brush moistened with thinner, the result being a subtle
tailwheel simply slots in and I used grime effect having been affected by the slipstream.

Now Oilbrusher Black is drawn on for the distinctive Seafire/Spitfire oil streaks.
KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE

the kit doors which are thin enough, but very

plain.
The tailwheel guard was fashioned from
Albion Alloys brass rod and painted in situ.
All that remained was to add the whip aerial
from fine steel wire and remove the canopy
masking. That revealed small bits stuck onto
the inside of the canopy from static, I flicked
the canopy and they disappeared! ■

FINAL VERDICT
This kit takes work but actually the fit is pretty nice so it’s a good one to cut your teeth on if you haven’t tackled
a short-run kit before. Take your time and resort back to the basic modelling techniques and all should be well, and
if it isn’t then there’s another kit in there and if that doesn’t get finished either it’s not been an expensive waste,
and you still will have learnt something and improved your skills along the way. However, getting to the end will be
satisfying, you’d have had fun and you’ll have a very pretty little model for your collection, even if it’s not one
of the most refined detail wise.

26 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

WE TAKE A DETAILED LOOK AT
THE TAMIYA 1:48
WRITTEN BY SPENCER POLLARD
n 1993, Tamiya added to their growing
I range of 1:48 aircraft kits with the intro-
duction of a delicately moulded Spitfire
Mk.I. Initially lauded thanks to its excellent
production and fine detail, the kit would
subsequently come under fire because of a
less-than-accurate shape and though it has
soldiered on for the best part of 25 years,
many modellers have always considered that
Tamiya, often regarded as standard bearers
28 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
where accuracy is concerned, had dropped the
ball with not only the Mk.I, but also the Mk.Vs
that followed.
Fast forward to 2018 and Tamiya have now
made the unusual decision to replace their
earlier kit with a brand-new offering that not
only appears to be accurate in terms of shape
and dimension, but also complete in terms of
detail and features. Though this progressive
marque has often replaced armour and vehicle
kits with newer tools, there have been precious
few examples of that happening with aircraft
so the decision to do this is as welcome, as it
is surprising.
With first released, Tamiya’s Spitfire was a
very simple affair that comprised little more
than 50 parts, contained almost no design
flourishes that set it apart and was available
at a reasonable price that placed it well-within
reach of those used to buying and building kits
from competitors closer to home. This new
release is somewhat more lavish, containing
as it does around 130 plastic parts, a full set
of etched-steel details, canopy masks and self
adhesive panels for an early pre-war aircraft.
That being so, rather than being just another
plastic model kit within their range this new
Mk.I is a kit that is designed to go head-
to-head with Eduard’s range of ‘Profipack’
Spitfires, where all of the items seen here, are
seen as standard within Eduard’s kits.
Though the two MK.I kits share a common
ancestry, scale and subject, that’s where the
comparisons end, so from here on in it is best
that we only deal with what’s ahead and leave
the past behind us (though for our build feature
next month, we may be tackling both kits for
your enjoyment).
Moulded in dark grey plastic, Tamiya’s latest
1:48 offering is everything that I’m sure you
would hope for and though its approach is
simple and much of its production as ex-
pected, there are some intriguing inclusions
8 SPITFIRE MK.I
that show us just how clever they can be, even
with something that is a superficially basic as
this kit.
Breakdown is straightforward, with familiar
fuselage halves, one-piece lower and two-part
upper wings, separate tailplanes, rudder and
ailerons. Though the latter are separate, they
are designed to only fit in one position, large
tabs forcing their location. Some modification to
the tabs would enable a degree of deflection to
be shown, but only a few hours at the bench will
prove whether that is indeed the case on not.
The fuselage is the first point at which we
see a clever idea, separate inserts that sur-
round the cockpit being used to allow open
or closed canopies. Though superficially the
same (in fact, they initially looked identical!)
these inserts differ in width and thus allow
the sliding portion of the canopy to sit over a
separate rear section of glazing. Should you
choose to have the canopy closed, both the
rear part and its sliding partner are moulded in
one, thus easing the process. Given their in-
nate similarity, please be careful to ensure that
the correct parts are used, it being easy to mix
them up. Ask us how we know…
Internally, the kit fares very well indeed,
being as complete as you could possible wish
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 29
for. Comprising almost 35 parts along with
some additional etched details, the cockpit
is truly a work of art and will certainly repay
care and attention during the painting process.
We mentioned earlier that the kit includes an
etched fret and it is here that that comes into
play, small items being used around the rudder
pedals and compass, upper headrest and of
course, the seat straps. The complete picture
is more than pleasing as you can imagine
and bears testament to the designer’s desire
to create as accurate a Mk.I as possible. The
instrument panel is decorated with a decals
for the dial faces and then you are offered the
choice of a pilot, or empty seat, both being
embellished further with those aforementioned
etched straps. It’s here where we see the
second clever idea: a brace that bridges the
gap between the seat’s mounting frame and
the rear cockpit member. You temporarily drop
the brace between the two bulkheads so that
you can fix the straps in place without fear of
pulling the two parts out of alignment and then
remove it once the straps are in place and the
glue set. This is such a simple idea, I was left
to wonder why it had not been used before!
Moving on, we come to the wings. These
are exceptionally simply in approach, a single
span lower panel and then two upper panels
taking care of the bulk of their construction.
Within the wings, the kit includes multipart
wheelbay liners à la Eduard, a box spar that
completes the bays and then stiffens the
underside of the wing, individual guns and
then separate wing-tips and ailerons. The
wings are completed with the addition of the
undercarriage and it is here that are find our
last major innovation: undercarriage legs that
are supplied as one single, bridged section. In
every Spitfire kit I can think of, the undercar-
riage legs are supplied as separate parts that
need to be carefully aligned to ensure that they
are set at the correct angle and rake. Here,
that is done for you, the inclusion of a single
part that simply drops into a well underneath
the main wing ensuring that with a single drop
of adhesive, everything is perfectly aligned and
sold as a rock. Once in place, two small panels
cover the brace before adding the wheels and
doors. Genius!
The underwing radiators are another area
of the model that combine plastic and etched
metal, both materials bing used to create
intricate subassemblies that fit neatly under
the wings. Along with those sections, the kit
offers wonderfully clear glazing that includes
early ‘unarmoured’ and later ‘armoured’ wind-
screens, along with canopy masks, optional
early and late aerial poles, glazed or beaded
gunsights, propeller and finally, self-adhesive
panels that must be applied to the early pre-
war variant’s nose.
Having completed your model, you are now
faced with the choice of three different aircraft.
The choices are as follows:
● P9495 DW-K, No. 610 Squadron, Royal
Air Force, Battle Of Britain, 1940
● K9906 FZ-L, No. 65 Squadron, Royal Air
Force, 1993 - aircraft flown by Roland Robert
Stanford Tuck.
● N3200 QV, No. 19 Squadron, Royal
Airforce, Operation Dynamo, 1940 - Geoffrey
Dalton Stephenson’s aircraft that crash landed
on the beach at Sangatte near Calais during
the operation to recover British and Allied
forces from Dunkirk.
A comprehensive decal sheet supplies all
of the national and unit insignia relevant to
the three aircraft featured, as well as an A3
sheet of full-colour drawings with Tamiya paint
references to help you finish the model prior
to decalling. Incidentally, as with all Tamiya
kits, no stone is left unturned when it comes to
the painting directions within the instructions,
every single piece being annotated as work
progresses. Obviously Tamiya’s own paints
are front and centre, but it will be very easy to
cross reference those with other ranges should
you so chose. ■

VERDICT
This is a very neat kit from Tamiya that simply and elegantly replaces their earlier offering to create a
wonderfully detailed and accurate replica of this all-time classic. As mentioned, the kit goes a long way to
prove that Tamiya can also offer the same comprehensive packages as Eduard, everything that you need to build
the model being supplied in the box. I’m very much looking forward to getting started on this kit and seeing
what is possible from the contents. Thanks to the Hobby Company for this early sample.

30 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

 WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY ALAN FIRBANK

SCALE
MODEL WORLD 2018
We visit Telford to bring you some highlights from this year’s wonderful event
undreds of modellers made the at 11 am on the Sunday but this year the event event where the competition and the gathering

H annual pilgrimage to one of the

biggest annual modelling events
in the world held during the
second week of November. It is
normal to perform a remembrance ceremony
was extra special as it marked exactly 100
years since the fighting in northern France
came to a stop.
Scale Model Word was initially the IPMS
UK National Championships, a small one-day
of members from around the country was what
the event was all about. Now, the competition
is still an important part of the show but it is the
gathering of clubs, traders and modellers from
far and wide that is the main feature.

The Senior National Champion was George Tenediotis with his amazing, built from scratch, Oeffag-Mickl G Series Flying Boat G-6. As winning
the top award, the model was surrounded with many trophy awards.

32 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

André Kliebisch’ incredible 1:32 T-28 Trojan. Just look at that finish The scheme on this German Tornado would be difficult enough in 1:48 so hats off to Gerry Doyle
for a well-deserved Silver in Class 1.

This pair of Victors in their contrasting schemes during Desert Storm was Commended in Class 1. This Caudron C.600 Aglion out of the box won the Gold award in Class 3 for 1:72 aircraft with a
The builder was Albert Tureczek. propeller. The builder was David Pratt.

This Japanese ASDF F-15J with its challenging digital camouflage pattern won the Gold award in Class 4 for 1:72 jets. With another amazing digital scheme, Tze Lim collected a Silver award in Class 4 too with his
The Eagle also picked up the Japanese Aviation Trophy and second place in the Hannants Trophy for builder Tze Lim. Ukrainian MiG 29UB from the Trumpeter 1:72 kit.

Edoardo Rosso’s much enhanced Gladiator from the 1:72 Airfix kit took the Gold medal in Class 5. Eduard’s 1:72 Me 110 G-4 Nightfighter built by Albert Tureczek took the second place in Class 6 for
The Ron Rowley Memorial Trophy was also awarded to this outstanding model. detailed prop models.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 33

This excellent natural metal finish on a 1:72 Convair B-58A Hustler, “Firefly” by Piotr Wit richly This stunning EB-47E Stratojet entered in Class 8 by Vladislav Seidl took second place in its class for 1:72 converted aircraft.
deserved its Gold in Class 7. It was also awarded first place in the Hannants Trophy and the IPMS Farnborough award for the best natural metal finish.

Chris McDowell’s name is often on the winner’s list. Here is Chris’ Gold winner in Class 9 with his Joseph Fenech is another name we remember from previous years. This year his Eduard 1:48
1:48 Bf109 E-3 out of Eduard’s box. Grumman Hellcat Mk.1 won a Bronze in Class 9.

Chris McDowell’s superb Eduard 1:48 MiG-21 SMT 582nd Squadron was placed second in the A good Phantom always catches our eye. This F-4B Phantom II “Sundowners” with its excellent
Class 10 for jets out of the box. Great paint job. finish by Martin Dytrych was Commended in Class 10.

Marco Viselli’s Fiat CR-42 with its taxing camouflage scheme was the winner of Class 11 for 1:48 Martin Placek’s detailed Junkers Ju-87B with petrol drums, etc. won the Gold award in Class 12
detailed models with propellers. at Telford.

34 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

The Airfix 1:48 TSR.2 does not get the attention it deserves these days. This example by Jerzy Alan Kelley’s Treble One Squadron Lightning with its impressive natural metal finish took the Silver
Greinert took the Gold award in Class 13. award in Class 13.

Albert B M Tureczek’s excellent Mosquito with its first class paint job took the Gold award in Class Keith Robson’s eye-catching 1:32 A-6E Intruder in a crowded Class 16 takes the Bronze award.
15 for 1:32 models straight from the box.

Placed second in Class 18, Hugh Beyts’ Supermarine

Channel Mk.I Flying Boat. This lovely model also won the
Aviation Hobby Shop Trophy.

One of the best looking aircraft in the competition was this scratchbuilt English Electric P.1 that won Gold in Class 18 built by Nick
Hooper. The project was produced from plans and visits to see the real aircraft at Cosford and the Manchester Museum of Science
and Technology. The model also won the British Aerospace and Albion Alloys Trophies.

For this irst part of our report on the show,
we will look around the competition tables to
Class 19 is for aircraft up to 1:72, super-detailed, won by
this L.39 ZA Albatross by Francois Binder.
see the skills on show.
While taking part in the competitive part
of the event is not for everyone, there are a
large number of modellers looking to see how
their work compares with fellow modellers.
Some 391 modellers brought entries to the
competition, almost 50 more than last year.
Many of these entered several models, placing
a total of 1,338 on the tables, a 24% increase
on last year. Telford really is the united nations
of modelling with entrants from 30 countries.
The international theme continued on the loor
of the halls with clubs and traders coming
from far and wide. Wingnut Wings from New
Zealand being the furthest travelled. Also
a modeller from New Zealand entered to
competition. How the inluence of Wingnut
Wings has transformed the number of biplane
models at the show.
Support for various classes waxes and
wanes as it often seems to be the case.
Where a competitor sees a poorly supported

Class 20, also for superdetailed models but larger than

1:72. The winner was the superb Hawker Tempest Mk.V Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 35
built by Zdenek Sebesta.
Well-known UK modeller, Jamie Haggo’s Mi-4 Hound took top honours in the smaller scale (up to Another Russian helicopter, the Mi-24A Hind from the 1:72 Zvezda kit built by Nigel Poole took the
1:72) helicopter Class 21. Bronze award in Class 21.

Andrzej Ligocki’s Mi-17-1V in Polish Air Force markings was awarded Gold in Class 22 for larger Ian Barraclough’s derelict Wessex HC.2 took the Silver award in Class 22. It must have been a close
(over 1:72) helicopters. call between this excellent model and the Mi-17-1V.

Albert B M Tureczek’s HKP 9 from the Italeri Bo 105 kit was the Bronze award winner in Class 22 and Model airliners are often just so pretty. This Gold winning Boeing 737 “The Simpsons” by Radu
picked up the IPMS Deutschland Trophy. The tricky Swedish camouflage scheme was top class. Brinzan from Class 23 was a good example.

This sleek Tupolev Tu-154M in Russian airline colours took the Silver award for Echaide Jose Luis Proof that it can be possible to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse, here in the form of Bronze winning Douglas
in Class 23. DC-7C built from the ancient 1:96 Frog kit by Graham Davies in Class 23 for the smallest scale civil aircraft.

36 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

Alexandre Bigey’s tiny Avia BH-11 took first place in Class 24 for civil aircraft between 1:89 This zebra-stripped Dornier Do-27 by Libor Maly took the Silver award in Class 24 at Telford.
up to 1:65.

Class 25 was won by this lovely 1:48 Eduard Bf 108 “Andes Crossing” by Robert Booth. A much-modified 1:35 Dragon UH-1N Huey turned into an Italian Forestry AB 412EP by Ian
McGonagle in Class 25 won a Silver.

Class 26 winner by Ladislav Hancar, a superb Antonov An-2. Stephen Irwin’s lovely little Sablatnig SF.2 took the Gold award in Class 27 for pre-1918 aircraft up
to 1:72.

Stephen Irwin also won the Class 27 Silver award with his Countant RMC 17. Class 28 is for aircraft pre-1918 up to 1:48. The Silver award went to Jiri Machacek’s Airco DH-2.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 37

 class this year, he may well build a
model for that class to enter next
year in the hope of improving his
chances. There seemed to be a
rush to ill the spaces dedicated
to small models this year as 1:144
gains in popularity for aircraft
builders. We didn’t envy the judges’
task in sorting out the best ones
for awards. One great thing about
these small models is that they are
easy to transport to the show.
A look through the list of winning
entries again shows that many of
the names would suggest that the
builders are from over the water.
Jiri Machacek amongst the awards again with his Gold winning R.E.8 in Chris Jones’ lovely Wingnut Wings Sopwith Dolphin 5F.1 took the Silver More than half of the category
the hotly-contested Class 29 for larger scale pre-1918 aircraft. award in Class 29. winners were from overseas.
It made a nice change to not
hear any grumbles about the
judging. The Senior Champion
was a stunning 1:48 scratchbuilt
lying boat. The builder listed the
minor items such as turn buckles
that had come from a commercial
source, everything else was from
scratch. The longer you looked
at the model the more stunning it
became. Also superb was the Junior
Championship winning WWI Male
Tank with a weathered inish that
would beat most in the competition.
We bring you a selection of the
competition models that caught
Class 30 for ‘anything goes’ gliders was won by Echaide Jose Luis with John (Tigger) Wilkes with another winning entry, Revell’s 1:32 LS-8 our attention. We hope you enjoy
his colourful Lunak LF-107. gained a Bronze award in Class 30 for gliders. them. n

Class 81 for an aircraft themed diorama saw Guy Goodwin’s Junkers Junked awarded Silver. The Richard Nicholl’s clever diorama “Bird on a Wire” took the Bronze award and the Airfix Trophy in the
diorama also won the Gas Patch and Alan Hall Memorial Trophies. aircraft diorama class. The photo that inspired the diorama is seen next to the model.

The standard of many of the Junior Aircraft Class entries were excellent. This F4D Skyray by Jakub This excellent Eduard Spitfire Mk.IXc by Lukas Hlozanka was the Silver winner in the Junior Aircraft class.
Matejcek took the Gold award.

38 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

THE YEAR OF THE
BIG
This year’s Scale Model World was memorable for all sorts of reasons, not least
of which were some astonishingly large new releases…
rom a personal point of view, SMW many modellers, all of my work builds up to
KIT…
WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED
BY SPENCER POLLARD

This year’s SMW was a show that became

F is the bookend for my working

year, my 12 months of building and
writing ending and beginning over
the weekend of the event. As with
the Friday of the show, so by its completion on
Sunday night, I can finally take a breath, ready
to start over with plans and ideas for the next
twelve months.
important for a number of reasons, not least
of which are my professional responsibilities
with Model Airplane International and the usual
round of meet and greets, conversations with

The stunning Airfix Hellcat shows off for the camera. Built from an early test-shot, this build gives a fair idea of what modellers can expect from this kit next year.

40 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

The surface detail on the Hellcat is stunning, being a step on from that seen in their Typhoon kit. Though the kit will include optional folded wings, I think that the model looks much better with it’s
wings open and the gun bays on show…

Stripped away, the levels of detail found in this soon-to-be released kit are plain to see. The star of the show for many, Wingnut Wings’ incredible 1:32 Lancaster.

those that have supported us through the
previous year and the general energy and
vibrancy of the event and you get some idea of
why this show is such an important curtain-
drop for not only myself, but the industry as a
whole.
There is no getting away from the fact
that SMW is a huge gathering of modellers,
their models and the traders that we all visit
to purchase the kits and materials needed
to complete each one. This year was no
different and though the cloud of uncertainty
that is our current political situation hung in
the air, modellers from around the world came
together to share in a common passion - that
of building models and talking about them! And
boy did they come - seemingly huge numbers
queuing up long before the doors opened on
the Saturday morning - thank goodness for the
tradesman’s entrance!
And Then There Were THOSE New Kits…
Though the show will be remembered for
the basics that are now so familiar such
as the clubs, traders and oh-so-important
competition, it will also live long in the memory
for four other reasons: two 1:32 Lancaster’s,
a huge Hellcat and what to me was the real
show-stopper: Wingnut Wings O-400…
Over the last few years or so, Airfix has
used the event to announce their showcase
release for the following year, as well as the
smaller, cheaper kits that form the basis of
their range. We have seen this previously with
the announcement of their 1:72 Victor and
1:24 Typhoon, modellers being able to see
either test-shots, or printed mock-ups of these
models within a central display case that’s
unveiled almost magically at 11am on the
Saturday morning of the show. This year, as
the crowds collected in eager anticipation, the
Airfix ringmaster pulled forth the velvet cover
to reveal what may be their most daring kit yet,
a huge and frankly astonishing 1:24 Dash 5
Hellcat…
Hands up who expected that news?! One…
Two…Three…
Like many, this caught me by surprise,
the news of another 1:24 release being as
shocking as it was welcome. Resisting the
temptation to berate Airfix for once again
ignoring my pleas for a 1:24 Harrier GR.9(!),
I did take up the chance to chat to the design
team and get their take on this new project and
how it had made its way to fruition. Seemingly
in development for around 4 years, the kit was
originally chosen from two possibilities, the
other being a particularly famous ‘bent-Wing
Bird’, that choice being curtailed rather by the
appearance of not one, but two kits from the
Far East that all-but closed the large scale
book on that particular story. Add to that the
mountain of information that came the way
of Kent via the United States, and the design
team had all they needed to create this large
scale kit.
Fast forward four years and the design for
the kit has been completed and we are well
of the way to seeing it hit the model shop
shelves in May of next year, a date that’s
refreshingly close to Saturday’s announcement
and a pointer to Airfix’ new-found desire
to only reveal new releases when they are
almost ready to go, rather than as distant
products running the risk of being forgotten
amongst the fog of other announcements.
And what a splash it made! Though there has
been the usual round of criticisms from those
complaining that it is too big, too expensive,
not their scale, or not British enough (despite
one of the core schemes in the kit being
Royal Navy(!) many have been thrilled by
what looks to be an evolutionary leap for Airfix
where many of the design ideas trailed in their
Typhoon (such as rippled skin panels) have
now been perfected in the Hellcat. Add that the
idea that it contains an 80+ part engine, full

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 41

As with the Hellcat, many were wowed by this kit’s surface detail, despite it being only part way The detail within the cockpit is astonishing!
through completion at this point.

Though the kit is obviously of a complete airframe, Wingnut Wings will also release a separate kit that The Hong Kong Hobbies Lancaster was also on show in Telford, ready for its release in December.
will feature just the nose - a very good idea for those with no space to display the complete model. As you can see, the results are very impressive!

Thanks to clear fuselage halves all of the interior detail can be seen. Unlike the Wingnut Wings kits, HK’s is detailed throughout the fuselage. You pay your money, you
take your choice…

cockpit and gun bays and for what we believe
is the very first time in a kit in this scale,
folding wings, and you get some sense of what
you can expect from this £120 kit when it’s
released next spring.
Just Like Buses…
Whilst Airfix were basking in their moment of
plastic Hellcat glory, across the halls, Wingnut
Wings were wowing crowds with their 1:32
Lancaster kit. Having worked on it in secret for
the past 9 years (yes, you read that correctly:
9 years…) Wingnut Wings were rightly proud
of what to many onlookers, appears to be the
finest plastic model kit ever produced…and
that, despite the fact that the build on show,
was incomplete and not finished with its full
complement of surface detail! The results it
has to be said were, are, will be, staggering,
with levels of detail and an airframe surface
that is almost startlingly lifelike in its depiction
of the Lancaster’s construction. Discussions
with Richard and David behind the stand
revealed that unlike the Hong Kong Hobbies
kit, this one is not fully detailed within the
fuselage, but no matter, what you can see —
especially in the cockpit and thanks to the kit’s
1000+ parts — there is more than enough to
satisfy all but the most pernickety of modellers.
Though the kit will obviously be a complete

42 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

Lancaster when it appears towards the end of
2019, the nose will also be offered as a separate
section, as it would appear, will the engines. Plans
seem to be in place to only supply one Merlin in
the box, others being offered as separate add-ons
should you wish to display more as part of your
build. Frankly, I think that this is a good idea and
offers a degree of welcome customisation when
the time comes. The separate nose kit is genius!
I can see a huge number of these being built by
modellers who would like to enjoy the whole kit, The star of the show for me, Wingnut Wings’ 0/400 was a stunning announcement.
but who may not have the model, time and space
to deal with the complete kit…
But of course Wingnut Wings’s kit was not the
only Lancaster and it was pleasing to also see
more of HK’s approach to the this aircraft in 1:32.
Simpler is design and cleaner in finish, their kit is
no less impressive, with high levels of detail for
the modeller to enjoy. Talking about the kit with
HK’s owner, they have unashamedly created a
kit that though huge, should be well within the
grasp of modellers with average levels of skill,
larger parts being created to deal with complex
Detail on the 0/400 was comprehensive and very Many modellers will be happy to see that this model can be
sub-assemblies and detail. Unlike the Wingnut
impressive… completed with wings folded, thus saving on the considerable
Wings kit, HK’s features detail that runs the entire space need to display the model with wings out!
length of the fuselage and though the surface
finish is smooth, the way that they have dealt with
the panel lines and rivets will no-doubt please
modellers used to this manner of production and
the possibilities that this type of panelling allows,
when it comes to painting and weathering.
So that was that - or so we thought. Wingnut
Wings had other ideas…

From The Sublime To The Sublime…

They had already announced that they would be
revealing a new project at the show, so we all
waited with increasing levels of anticipation to see
what the new kit would be and then it arrived…a
1:32 0/400, the huge biplane bomber used by the
British during WWI. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve
ever been so gobsmacked by a new kit release
as I was when I saw what Wingnut Wings have
planned for this one. It’s huge of course being
only a couple of feet narrower in span than the
Lancaster, but its biplane construction and the
way that they have approached it that makes it so
awe-inspiring. We are of course used to seeing Just look at that engine detail!
large kits from this company, but this seems to
take that idea one step further and that has, or
rather will, result in something to truly enjoy when
the time comes midway through next year…
Once again, further investigation revealed
that the kit will be detailed within the fuselage
will be comprehensive, two complete engines
will be included and that the wings can be posed
open, or sweet back against the fuselage,
carefully included spars ensuring strength and
integrity across the wings. From what we could
see, the kit will be a fitting tribute to this most
incredible of aircraft and something that will form
the centrepiece of many collections for years to
come. Having already decided that I want to build
this one myself, I cannot tell you how excited
I am by what the the kit will include and how I
will approach its construction and painting next
summer… ■

A final view of Wingnut Wings astonishing 0/400.

WE TAKE A DETAILED LOOK AT
THE AIRFIX 1:48 BRISTO
WRITTEN BY SPENCER POLLARD
rguably one of the most significant
A aircraft of the interwar years, the
Bristol Blenheim can trace its
lineage back to a privately funded
venture and a determination
to place Britain at the head of the aviation
world. Frustrated by a succession of aviation
records achieved by overseas manufacturers,
Lord Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail
Newspaper and keen observer of the aviation
scene, invited Britain’s leading aircraft
manufacturers to do something about the
situation. Resolved to capture the civilian
aircraft world speed record for Britain, he
offered to fund the development of an aircraft
capable of achieving this feat, which eventually
resulted in the Bristol Type 142 taking to the
air. This sleek, twin engined design was both
beautiful to look at and extremely fast in the
air, easily managing to capture a new world
speed record for a civilian passenger aircraft.
Setting a new mark of 307 mph, the new
Bristol design gave Lord Rothermere what
he had been desperately hoping for and he
christened the spectacular new aircraft ‘Britain
First’.
In widespread service with the Royal
Air Force at the start of WWII, the Bristol
Blenheim and its brave crews would be asked
to shoulder a heavy burden in the months that
followed, with a Blenheim mounting Britain’s
first sortie of the war just 63 minutes after
war was declared against Germany. Living up
to the name ‘Britain First’ Lord Rothermere
bestowed on his spectacular Bristol Type
142 civilian transport and inspiration for the
44 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
Blenheim, these aircraft went into combat
determined to show Britain’s defiance and
determination to prevail in this second global
conflict. Significantly, the pace of aviation
development in the 1930s continued to
increase and whilst the Blenheim was a
ground-breaking aircraft design when it first
entered RAF service, it was quickly outclassed
by the latest breed of fast monoplane fighters.
With relatively light defensive armament
and weighed down with the equipment of
war, gallant Blenheim crews would suffer
terrible losses at the hands of the Luftwaffe,
particularly during the early months of WWII.
(Airfix)
In Miniature
Though overshadowed by the more glamorous
fighters, the Blenheim is an important part of
the history of the RAF and thus its inclusion
within Airfix’ 1:48 range is more than welcome.
Though we have already seen both the Mk.1
and Mk.IV variants appearing within their 1:72
collection, seeing it in this larger scale with the
heightened levels of detail that 1:48 can offer,
is as pleasing as it is impressive, now that the
kit is finally to hand.
Comprising 216 finely-moulded plastic parts,
this new kit replicates the blunt-nosed Mk.1F
heavy fighter, with its underfuselage machine
gun palette and single-gun upper turret.
Decals are supplied for two different aircraft,
one in standard night colours of Dark Earth,
Dark Green and black and the second in
overall matt black. The choices are as follows:
● Bristol Blenheim Mk.1F - No. 23
Squadron, Royal Air Force Wittering,
Cambridgeshire, England, February 1940
(this scheme is currently applied to G-BPIV
flying with the Aircraft Restoration Company,
Duxford)
● Bristol Blenheim Mk.1F - No. 54
Operational Training Unit, Royal Air Force
Church Fenton, North Yorkshire, England,
December 1940.
From the moment you open the kit’s box,
you become aware that Airfix have taken
considerable trouble to create as detailed
a replica as possible. From the superbly
appointed cockpit, through the complex
undercarriage and on to the two complete
engines and their delicate cowlings, you know
that from the box this will be a superb replica
of this important aircraft; add detail and it will
be a show-stopper.
First stop on the journey is the cockpit.
Detail within this part of the model is superb
and I can see very little that could, or
should be added, other than seat straps.
Of course with all of that glazing to peer
through everything will be on show, so
careful construction and painting will almost
be mandatory if the illusion of realism is to
be maintained. Though the kit offers raised
details throughout, the instruments are
further embellished with decal faces which is
a nice touch. Though a single pilot figure is
included, there is no gunner which is more
than understandable given the difficulty that
that would pose trying to either squeeze him
OL BLENHEIM MK.1F
around the detail in the turret, or design him
to part of it from the ground up. Detail within
the turret incidentally is every bit as fine as the
cockpit and thanks to the ultra-clear glazing, is
all on show.
Moving on, the undercarriage and wings
are our next stop. Options here too, with
raised or lowered gear legs the former being
used in conjunction with the pilot figure and
a separately available display stand. The
undercarriage units are once again very
impressive and though comprising a large
number of delicately moulded parts, appear
to be easy to assembly to create a faithful
recreation of the Blenheim’s legs and wheels.
One thing worth pointing out here is that the
gear will need to be painted and assembled
before they are mounted within the wings, so
that will demand a degree of head-scratching
and forward planning when it comes to final
painting and masking. Forewarned…
With the undercarriage and cockpit dealt
with the airframe comes together quickly,
familiar fuselage and wing halves being used
to create the type’s distinctive shape. As
with many kits from this stable, the wings,
tail and tailplanes are embellished with
separate control surfaces that allow a degree
of flexibility when it comes to final set-up and
display. Add to that the chance to drop the
flaps and open up the cowlings and cockpit,
and the possibilities available from this kit are
plain to see.
Across the board the surface detail is as
fine and delicate as I have yet seen from
Airfix. Incised panel lines hold hands with
both incised and raised rivets, the latter only
apparent as you run your fingers over the
surface of the plastic. Similarly, the fabric flying
surfaces are sensational being more than a
match for the heights that Airfix reached with
the geodetic structure in their recently released
Wellington. In combination all of these
features helps to not only create a wonderfully
realistic surface finish, but also illustrates the
lengths that Airfix are going to, to push the
boundaries and the quality of the kits that they
manufacture.
The final major areas of interest are the
engines. Airfix has once again taken the time
to model these as completely as possible,
the depiction of the aircraft Bristol Mercury
powerplants being superb and the perfect
basis for superdetailed replicas that can be
displayed with the cowlings open. Once again,
assembly looks to be straightforward and
though you need to carry out the work twice, a
fun part of the model that will repay your time
with two of the best engines yet seen in this
scale from this brand.
The remainder of the build deals with
the smaller features, underfuselage gun
pack, undercarriage doors and then finally,
the glazing. The clear parts in this kit are
wonderfully realised, but they will take some
care to assemble cleanly. With the main
glazing being split vertically, I can see much
gnashing of teeth, the need to paint the glazing
and apply and adhesive carefully being of
paramount importance. I’m assuming here that
the fit will be almost perfect, but even so, inert
adhesives such as PVA may well be the most
sensible route to take to ensure that nothing is
damaged during this most critical of assembly
stages…

VERDICT
This is a very fine kit, simple as that. When announced and the CAD files started to roll in, the prospect of a
highly-detailed replica became more than apparent; now that we have kit to hand, that promise has been fully
realised. Modellers will find that this is an engrossing project that will result in a stunning replica of
this important aircraft — just how stunning, will be seen in a future issue.
Thanks to Airfix for the review sample looked at in this feature.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 45

 KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE

BUILT AND WRITTEN BY ALAN PRICE

FROM EM
SPECIFICATION:
Eduard Bf109F-2
Scale: 1:48
Kit No: 82115
Materials: IM/PE
Available From: All Eduard Stockists
Price Guide: £32.30

FRIEDRICH
BEFORE STARTING:
● Humbrol Liquid Poly
● Tamiya Masking Tape
● Sprue Cutters
● Tweezers
● Scalpel
● Plasti-Zap Cyanoacrylate Glue
● Gunze Sangyo Mr Cement S
● Gunze Sangyo Mr Surfacer 500
● Microscale Micro Set and Sol Decal Solution
● Microscale Micro Kristal Klear

PAINT USED:
Microscale Micro Gloss
Microscale Micro Flat
Tamiya Color Acrylics
X- 27 Clear Red
X-25 Clear Green
XF-1 Flat Black
XF-64 Red Brown
XF-69 NATO Black

Mr. Hobby Acrylics

H068 RLM74 Dark Grey
H069 RLM75 Grey
H065 RLM70 Black Green
H417 RLM76 Light Blue
H416 RLM66 Black Gray
H070 RLM02 Gray

Humbrol Enamels:
33 Matt Black
34 Matt White
11 Silver

Flory Washes:
Black

AIRBRUSH USED:
Iwata HP-B Plus and HP-BH

REFERENCES:
● Squadron Messerschmitt Bf109 F, G & K Series – Jochen
Prien & Peter Rodeike, Schiffer Military History, ISBN
0-88740-424-3
● Luftwaffe Colours 1935-1945 - Michael Ullman, Hikoki
Publications, ISBN-13: 9-781902-109077

46 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

 Messerschmitt’s improved Bf109 variant is the
MIL TO
perfect subject for a quarter-scale model. We
take a detailed look at Eduard’s rendition of
the stunning Bf109F-2, finishing it as Wilhelm
Hachfeld’s JG51 mount.
H… T
he Messerschmitt 109 has been
a favourite of modellers and kit
manufacturers for many years
and today we are blessed with
a huge range of 109 kits of all
models and scales. Eduard stepped into
the fray in recent years with their superb
1:48 109E series and followed this up with
the G series. Problems with this kit led to
its complete re-working and the result was
an acclaimed model of the 109G series.
Eduard has now added to this range by
tackling the F series with the 1:48 F-2
version being reviewed here. The Me109 F
first entered service as the Battle of Britain
was closing in late 1940 and by 1941
the F-2 had become the main production
variant with over 1300 being produced by
August that year.
Eduard’s Kit
This kit is the Profipack version and is
supplied in a large sturdy box with a
superb artwork on the top, typical of the
sort we expect from Eduard these days.
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 47
The kit covers five sprues, one of those
being clear. Three photo-etch sets are
also supplied as is a set of masks. Usually
Profipacks are supplied with Cartograf
decals, but this one has Eduard’s own
decals – more of which later. The decals
cover five sets of markings, all of which
are interesting colour schemes, mostly
from the Eastern Front. A large, full-colour
instruction book is supplied with a full page
colour painting guide for each of the five
colour schemes.
Lets get Building
Construction begins with the cockpit, no
surprises there! This is very nicely detailed
even with just the plastic parts used but
adding the photo-etch really lifts things to
another level. The fuel hose fitted to the
starboard side of the fuselage is provided
in clear plastic to allow the sighting glass
to be left clear, which is a very nice touch.
The interior of these aircraft was painted
in RLM66 Black Grey so after assembling
the plastic parts and adding any photo-
KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE
The cockpit is very well appointed, the mix of quality injection
plastic and photo etch parts make up into a superb interior.
etch that needed painting, I airbrushed the
assembled parts with Mr. Hobby H66 Black
Grey. The parts next received a drybrush with
a light grey and over this I applied a black
wash using Klear mixed with water and a drop
of matt black acrylic paint. Once dry, the pre-
painted photo-etch could be glued in place. I
then airbrushed on a coat of Microscale Flat
and finally added a drop of gloss varnish to
each instrument dial.
The exhausts have to be fitted at this stage,
not ideal but unavoidable. Though they fit
well, the photo-etch shields supplied for them
were a bit problematic. The 109F had a shield
on the port side to prevent exhaust gases
being ingested into the supercharger intake. A
similar shield was fitted to the starboard side,
probably to help reduce glare from the exhaust
at night. Early aircraft had a simple shield with
later ones having a curved one which bent
over the top half of the exhaust stubs. Eduard
Once the cockpit had been assembled and painted, the
fuselage could be closed up. After addressing the seams it was
necessary to repair rivet detail lost in sanding. New panel lines
were required to be engraved along the top and bottom of the
fuselage aft of the cockpit.
48 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
The wings left a slight gap at the wing root, this was filled with
a bit of Deluxe Materials Perfect Plastic Putty, great stuff for
a job like this. Note the tape used to protect the completed
cockpit interior.
only provides one of each style and so to
model an early aircraft you have to either leave
off the starboard one or attempt to modify
the port one. As it was, the exhausts on the
starboard side fitted so tightly I was left with
no way to fit the guard so this early style guard
was fitted on the port side.
The completed cockpit was now glued
into one side of the fuselage and the whole
fuselage closed up. Fit was pretty good though
under the nose the front seam needed a bit
of filling and the lost rivet detail then had to
be reinstated. The seams to the rear of the
fuselage provide a bit more work. Having
sanded these down lightly I had to scribe a
new panel line along the top and bottom. The
‘109 fuselage was made in two halves, joined
along the top and bottom so unlike most kits,
we do actually want a line along the seam.
Any lost rivet detail had to be re-done and
then the engine cowlings and oil cooler were
attached. The fit here was excellent.
Wings & Things
Wings came next. The fit was not marvellous
at the leading edge but most of the seams are
hidden by the control surfaces so this was not
a big issue. The radiators have to go on next
and this is not too easy as it’s not really clear
The wing to fuselage join is quite good underneath with little
work needed here.
which way round each radiator face fits, a bit
of test-fitting was needed to establish which
way round these went. The photo-etched
faces to the radiators are pretty much invisible
once the covers go on the radiators. The kit is
designed to have the inboard split flaps (which
also form the radiator openings) in the open
position. The main flaps are also designed to
be down. I decided to see how easy it was to
have the flaps up and radiator split flap closed.
The answer was – a bit tricky! The split flaps
will close up but it took a bit of sanding and
trimming – plus a 0.25 mm plasticard shim on
one side to get them closed. The main flaps
also needed a bit of trimming to make them
fit, even then, the gaps above and below the
wing were uneven, only slightly and to be
fair, it’s not noticeable on the finished model.
After attaching the ailerons I moved on to the
tail surfaces. These fitted perfectly and the
airframe was now complete. A few small parts
were added to finish things off and then the
front and rear parts of the canopy were glued
in place. These were then masked using the kit
supplied masks and the framing was painted
RLM66. I gave the model a wipe down with
some Xtracrylix thinner to remove any grease
then sprayed it with a coat of Mr. Surfacer to
act as a primer.
 The undercarriage was assembled and painted
separately. Lead wire was used to make the brake
hoses.
The prop had some sink marks, though only slight I
knew these would annoy me if I didn’t deal with them
so I filled and sanded them prior to painting.
The prop and spinner were painted and assembled off
the model. The spinner was surprisingly tricky to mask
as the edges of the white segment are very close to the
prop cut-outs in the spinner.
Ready for the painting process, here the cockpit is all masked and the model cleaned in preparation
for paint.
After a bit of fiddling around with the flap, the build was almost ready for paint. If you want an easier life – go for the kit option of
flaps down!
With the model ready to paint I next dealt
with the undercarriage. The struts were
cleaned up and glued to the undercarriage
doors. Brake hoses were added using 0.5
mm lead wire then the struts and inside of
the doors were painted RLM02 Grey. The
outside of the doors received a coat of RLM 76
Light Blue. The wheels were assembled then
painted. I used the same drybrush and wash
method as in the cockpit to bring out the detail
on these parts. The prop had some sink marks
on the rear face of each blade so these were
filled and sanded before painting RLM70 Black
Green. The spinner was also painted RLM70
before masking and painting a segment white
as per the colour guide in the instructions.
Fighting Colours
By this stage of the war the Luftwaffe had
moved to the grey camouflage of RLM 74
Dark Grey, RLM 75 Grey and RLM 76 Light
Blue. I had decided to build option E, Red 1
of JG 51, based at Kiev in the Soviet Union
in the summer of 1941. This aircraft had the
standard RLM74/75/76 camouflage with yellow
theatre marking under the nose and wingtips
plus a fuselage band. The aircraft was also
First stage in painting – priming. Here I have used my favourite primer, Mr. Surfacer.
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 49
equipped for bombing with a four bomb carrier
under the fuselage. Painting began with a coat
of Mr. Hobby H417 RLM76 on the underside
and fuselage sides. The top and sides of the
fuselage were painted using Mr. Hobby H68
RLM74 and Mr. Hobby H69 RLM75, following
the Eduard painting guide to re-create the
fuselage mottled pattern. Next the RLM 75
Grey areas on the wings were painted using
Mr. Hobby H69. The wings’ camouflage pattern
was finalised using Mr. Hobby H68 RLM74.
Having allowed the paintwork to dry for 24
hours I then masked the yellow areas and
painted these white before applying a coat of
Mr. Hobby H413 RLM04 Yellow.
A coat of Microscale Gloss varnish was
airbrushed on and I was ready to apply the
decals. I began with the wing crosses and
straight away I could see there was an issue.
The crosses were not black, they were grey,
and the printing seemed full of holes which
allowed the white base layer to show through.
The decals looked okay on the backing paper
but awful on the model. I removed them and
found some of the correct size on an Xtradecal
sheet. These were perfect, the difference
was quite marked. I had to use the other
KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE

After priming I pre-shaded the model along all the panel and rivet lines. The mottling was recreated carefully with the airbrush following the painting guide in the Eduard instructions.

Here we see the finished fuselage, this took only about 30 minutes to complete. After masking the wing roots, the wing camouflage was applied freehand. These aircraft generally had
a soft edge to the splinter camouflage so applying it freehand will recreate this.

markings and though they didn’t appear to be stencil markings were mostly supplied on a any residue from the decalling process, then
as bad as the crosses, the printing was still separate sheet and these worked fine, printing gave the model a coat of Klear. Over this a
not particularly good. The Swastikas were was good on these ones. With the decals now Flory Models Black Wash was applied to bring
supplied from another Xtradecal sheet. The finished, I wiped the model down to remove out the surface detail. I then used oils to apply

A bit more masking and all the yellow theatre markings are painted. The tape on the bomb rack Painting was completed by painting the recesses for the slats with RLM02. The prop is simply pushed
is just to prevent damage to the paintwork. in place here to show how it will look.

50 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

 Decals – the mix of Eduard and Xtradecal
eventually led to a good finish.

some oil stains and dirt. Exhaust stains

were airbrushed on with a thin dark grey
mix. Now I could add the undercarriage
and prop, these were glued onto the
model along with the aerials. I had some
Eduard Brassin bombs which I painted
RLM70 Black Green and then glued
them onto the bomb carrier and the
model was ready for its final finish to be
applied.
Having tried various methods to get
a good flat finished I have now settled
on a new method. My preference A Flory Models black wash helped to pop the superb detail on The undercarriage is a bit of a loose fit, take care to align it
the model. correctly, I think mine has ended up a bit too steep, it should
has always been for Microscale Flat have a touch more forward rake to it.
however this can be affected by any
grease on the model so now I apply a
coat of MRP Super Clear Semimatt first,
this is unaffected by grease, effectively
sealing the paint. A coat of Microscale
Flat over this now goes on perfectly.
Why not just use MRP I hear you
say? Well, I have found that MRP can
become a bit opaque after a few coats
whereas Microscale Flat doesn’t so this
combination gives a flat finish using less
varnish.
The cockpit masking was removed
and the open canopy glued on. I added
wingtip lights using Microscale Kristal
Klear and an aerial lead using Uschi van
Der Rosten elastic line and the model
was complete. Almost there – the slats have been attached so its just the final finish and the delicate bits left to do.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 51

KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE

FINAL VERDICT
Eduard’s Me109F-2 is a very nice kit indeed and I think the photos of the finished kit here tell you all you need to
know. I don’t think it’s quite as good as the Spitfire series, the fit isn’t as good in places, but its close. The
detail is excellent and with the kit coming with the additional photo-etch parts it represents great value for money.
I was disappointed with the decals and I’ve since had the same issue with a 1:72 Eduard Spitfire so I hope this isn’t
going to be a problem going forward. Eduard produce some of the best kits in the world and as such they need to supply
decals to match – I’m afraid what was in this kit left a lot to be desired.
Thanks to Eduard for the review sample built this month.

52 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

VintageLimited Edition Prints

visit: www.aeromodeller.com for the full range

Vintage AeroModeller A3 Cover Artwork - Limited Edition Prints

A DREAM OF A KI
CLEAR YOUR DESKS - THE BIG ONE IS HERE! WE TAKE A DETAILED LOOK AT THE SOON TO BE RELEASED REVELL 1:144, ANTONOV AN-22
he Antonov An-225 can legitimately
T claim to be unique; not only has
there only ever been one built, it still
holds the record for the heaviest
aircraft ever and then holds an
impressive clutch of payload records, including
that for the heaviest individual item ever
airfreighted at nearly 190,000 Kg. It remains
the only aircraft in regular use with six engines
and its name ‘Mriya’ is Ukranian for ‘dream’
or ‘inspiration’! - interestingly, other than in
overall length, the Mriya is still smaller than
the famous Howard Hughes-inspired Spruce
Goose. As a comparison with newer aircraft
however, the An-225 is very close in size
(but not weight) to the Airbus 380-800, and
significantly larger than the Boeing 747 and
777.
Developed originally as a carrier for the
Soviet Space Shuttle ‘Buran’ (the equivalent
of the smaller NASA Boeing 747 Shuttle
Carrier Aircraft) the An-225 was an evolution
of the Antonov An124 ‘Ruslan’ heavy carrier
with a significantly altered airframe featuring
fuselage and wing root extensions, twin
54 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
tails and two additional engines; the single
unit being completed in 1988 and when the
Buran programme was abandoned, it was
mothballed.
Realising the potential for a heavy/outsize
lift vehicle, Antonov revived the airframe in
1996 under the auspices of Antonov Airlines,
and in the new entrepreneurial environment in
the former Soviet Republics, set about pitching
the Mriya into the commercial airfreight world.
Other than its obvious external vital statistics,
the An-225 has a number of features designed
to facilitate its use as an extraordinary freight
vehicle; - there are internal cranes for handling
smaller items; the fuselage and landing gear
is designed so that at rest, the aircraft can
‘kneel’, lowering the nose gear to provide a
straight-in loading ramp; the 32-wheel main
gear also has some bogies that steer, allowing
the entire aircraft to turn within a 60m wide
runway, and the whole of the 1300 cubic metre
hold is pressurised.
The An-225 is still proving an asset to
the civil and military airfreight business,
and Antonov are understood to have had
discussions with the Chinese national
aerospace corporation on prospects for a re-
start of production.
Revell announced a 1:144 model of the
Mriya early in 2018, and with a scheduled
release date of December 2018, MAI was
fortunate to be offered a test shot to evaluate.
As often the case with test shots, the plastic
reviewed here might be tweaked slightly for
final release, and although a full set of decals
was available, the instructions were colour
photocopies of what will probably be the final
layout. It’s possible to build the model in one
of four configurations: in-flight with everything
tucked away, and on the ground with the nose
closed up; nose open with loading ramp folded
and nose open with the fuselage ‘kneeling’
with the ramp deployed. These options are
clearly illustrated in the instructions by the use
of coloured silhouettes. The decals provided
offer the single latest scheme for the An-
225 in white upper surfaces and light blue
fuselage underside, separated by a slightly
curving yellow and blue cheat line, painting the
demarcation will require some careful masking
IT…
25 MRIYA. WRITTEN BY HUW MORGAN

and a paper template would have been useful.

Colour references as usual are for Revell
colours, with a couple needing to be mixed.
The kit is produced over 8 frames holding
208 plastic parts, in greys and maroon for the
test shot, although no doubt final production
of the main parts at least will be in white, there
are two small frames of clear parts for the
windscreen and observation windows. The
enormous fuselage halves are supplied as
full length sections, aside from the separate
nose door, and there’s a huge upper fuselage
closing panel which serves to move the root
joint with the upper wing outwards from the
fuselage. Each of the six engines is made up
of separate hot sections and fans, the latter
being assembled with one-piece cowling
noses, although the main cowlings are split
conventionally to sandwich the internals.
There’s a reasonably detailed interior, with a
full floor, bulkheads, cranes and internal ribs
and there are alternative undercarriage parts
to allow for the kneeling version; there are
32 individual wheels to paint. Surface detail
is by fine engraving but the finish of a few
of the larger parts is a little grainy, no doubt
something that will be ironed out in production
trials, but in any case, is nothing that a light
polish with wire wool can’t cure.
Construction follows the method adopted
in many of Revell’s latest big airliners and
transport aircraft where an internal shell is
constructed with the floor and deckhead
joined by the fore and aft bulkheads, and this
assembly is clad in the thin fuselage halves,
making for an inherently stiff structure. The
fuselage is closed by the large upper plate
and a smaller belly plate, the former carrying
a hefty wing spar. Joint alignment over all
these long joints will be critical to the final
appearance of the airframe, especially when
painted white. The hingeing nose and loading
ramp is quite intricate and Revell’s instructions
would apparently have you fix the nose in the
open position at this stage, before painting and
decalling; a bit of study shows that it ought to
be possible to treat the nose as a separate
item and add it right at the end, although it
looks unlikely than it can be fitted temporarily
in the closed position to simplify painting. ■

VERDICT
So, a very impressive package in more ways than one; the parts look to be well produced and engineered,
quickly taping some of the bigger parts together suggests that fit will be reasonable, but some care will be
needed to get the best alignment of some joints. I’m really looking forward to building this one, but will
have to clear some space first, it’s a very big model!

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 55

 KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED

BUILT AND WRITTEN BY JOHN “TIGGER” WILKES

SPECIFICATION:
Revell Heinkel He219 A-0/A-2 Night-fighter
Kit No: 03928-0379
Materials: IM
Status: Reworked Tool
Availability: All Good Model Shops
Price Guide: £ 34.99
NIGHT O
T
his kit is essentially a reissue of of the model once complete, when I saw
BEFORE GETTING STARTED Revell’s earlier He219 with the the example in the National Air and Space
● Swan Morton Scalpel
● Super Glue addition of some parts unique Museum in Washington D.C. in 2008 it
● MEK to this version and in essence was disassembled so didn’t really get a
● VariousVallejo paints is a reasonable kit from the perspective for the aircraft.
● Tamiya Masking tape
box. By the time that you read this I am
● Kip Fine-line masking tape
● Tamiya fine surface primer sure there will be no end of resin and etch Contents
● Vallejo Matt Varnish as well as decals to update this model This is pretty much everything we would
● Mr Surfacer 500 black further. I was surprised by the sheer size expect from a modern Revell kit, the model
● Alcohol
● Cellulose thinners
● Various Alclad II metallic paints
● Mig Productions Cool Grey wash
● Gaia gloss clear
● Elastic thread

PAINTS NEEDED:
Mr. Color Lacquers
C2 Black
C37 RLM 75
C117 RLM 76

Tamiya Acrylics
X-19 smoke
XF-2 Flat white

56 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

OWL
is moulded in blue-grey plastic exhibiting
finely recessed panel lines and a few rivets.
The parts count is a healthy reaching 259,
split between 16 runners, several of which
We build Revell’s huge Heinkel He219 - from the box…
are duplicated. Markings options are for three
aircraft as follows, all being RLM75/76 with
black undersides.
● He 219A-0, G9+FB, 1./NJG 1, Maj.
Werner Strieb, Venlo, 1943
● He 219 V-12 (prototype in A-0
configuration),
● G9+FK, 1./NJG 1, Hptm. Modrow, Venlo,
1944
● He 219A-2, B4+AA, Nacthjagdgruppe
Norwegen, Grove, 1945
The whole package is presented in a
typically flimsy Revell box that contains all
of the runners individually wrapped in clear
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 57
plastic along with a set of their new, easy to
follow instructions, all presented in colour
with reference to Revell’s own paint. Decals,
printed in Italy, are provided, though you will
need to find suitable swastikas to adorn the
fins. There has been speculation over the
shapes of the engine nacelles, but when built
this does look like a ‘219 and for me that is
good enough. There will inevitably be
KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
Cockpit sections are provided in different materials. This
is the case for the fuses and fuel pipes running through
the cockpit.
Here can be seen the fantastic HGW seat belts which are to
my eye probably as good as can be achieved in scale.
Apart from the seatbelts, everything else comes in the box.
Instrument decals have the coloured surrounds which is
a nice touch.
I added the exact amount of suggested weight by using air
rifle shot and held in place with candle wax. This was not
nearly enough as I found out later on!
I used Superglue to fix the fuselage seam and accelerator to
make it really hard. The bonus was that the top and bottom
fuselage have these long panels which cover the seams.
Once assembled and painted the
whole tub looks well detailed. The
instruments are all decals.
comparison to the ZM kit but to be honest I
have had so many people who have seen
this, ask if it is that kit! If you cannot spot the
difference, then the choice is yours…
Getting Started…
Revell logically begin construction with the
cockpit. This was built from the box with the
exception of a set of seat harnesses from
HGW (my go-to seat belts these days).
Instruments are provided as decals to go over
moulded representations of the instrument
bezels. I think that this is probably the best
compromise short of an Eduard or Yahu
panel. All of the decals settle well into position
with setting fluids and were then given a drop
of clear gloss from Tamiya to represent their
glass faces. A pair of basic ejection seats
are provided each having some harnesses
moulded in place. One seat has the shoulder
harness and the other has the lap belts!
Rather odd that neither has a full set. Suffice
to say that I simply placed the HGW set over
the errant detail and that solved having to
remove each one. In a short time frame the
cockpit bathtub was assembled along with
the nose gear bay which is integral to this
Follow the instructions to the letter and you will see that in order to have the flaps deployed
you need to remove small sections of the wing panels.
construction. There are a pair of what I can
only describe as pipes running away from the
seat frames and under the side panels. These
were to be a pain as I could not see where
they were supposed to go and I would have
left them out if I had known that they were all
but invisible once assembled!
At this point you will need to chose which
airframe you are building and drill out a small
aerial mounting hole in the nose cone. Revell
has done a good job of highlighting the extra
parts that need to be added throughout the
instructions and it all seemed to be a simple
process of adding parts as you go along. The
radar operator’s station behind the pilot is well
catered for and provides all of the necessary
boxes along with the decals that once again
decorate a number of these details. You can
now bring the fuselage halves together.
Guns
A very simple drop-in section is provided for
the guns or what you can see of them which
is just the end of the barrels in the belly of the
bird. This part really could have done with being
replaced with brass parts, but as I was building
the kit from from the box I stuck to the contents.
There are drop-in inserts to fill the
sections removed.
 That long fuselage joint was now hidden
by a drop-in top and bottom panel. These
negate any issues with the filling and sanding
of any awkward seams that might fail under
stress over time. I liked this idea and it saved
considerable strengthening work as I simply
added a bead of superglue to the original
fuselage joint and set it with accelerator.
Wings And Things
I have to say that I was surprised by the span
of this model once assembled. The slender
wings include flaps and ailerons that can be
deflected so I set them somewhere between
lowered and retracted. This is achieved by
removing small sections of the wings which
are clearly indicated in the instructions. During
the fitting of extended flaps there are a couple
of drop-in sections which fit without fuss. The
biggest issues I had with this model concerned
the engine nacelles. These needed really
careful alignment, especially around their rear
ends. Also, where they met the wings I had
fairly major joints to deal with; here I used
superglue and a light layer of Mr. Surfacer to
ensure the joints were good.
Adding the wings to the previously
assembled fuselage was something that I
wasn’t sure would be a great fit, however,
I was soon to find that everything fit almost
perfectly without any need to fill joints. I
assembled everything with superglue though,
the wings sliding over a pair of large central
spars with a satisfying degree of precision.
The flaps and ailerons were then added and
left moveable although I did later fix them in
place, because their movement caused some
breakage around their hinges.
Engines
To be honest, little if any of the engines
will be seen. Despite this, Revell provide
enough to indicate the presence of these
large powerplants. Inside the simple cowl
rings are situated a set of circular radiators

Yes that is a gap! I filled it with superglue and faired it in All of the parts which go into making up each wing and engine nacelle. Those wheel bays are
with Mr. Surfacer 500 Black. This was the same on both a little devoid of detail, so some simple wiring would add greatly to the illusion of reality.
wings inner and outer joints.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 59

KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED

As with the outside joint, the inside of the wheel bays have large Wing to fuselage joints were almost perfect even without glue Little of the actual engines would be seen and there is a
and difficult to seal joints. As long as no one picks my model up as in this image. reasonable representation of the radiator faces that sit inside
they will not see them anyhow! the cowl. These were awkward to line up but worked out okay
in the end.

In order to save the shape of the wheels I used a seam scraper That gangly gear will be holding a fair weight and if building Tamiya Fine Surface Primer works well for me giving a
to remove any remnants of a joint. I have started to use these another kit I would either replace them, or drill and pin each one. consistent smooth coat which aids in finding snags. Once fixed
scrapers more and more as they are able to get right into tight they blend in with another coat of the same primer.
corners where sanding sticks cannot.

After the first colour I applied the darker grey using random cut masks. I had approx twelve of
different patterns and this made painting easier than the other options.

60 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019


that need an extra pair of hands to fit! These
cowls are then slotted over the front of the
nacelles. Unfortunately, the way in which they
are moulded means that the cooling flaps
are scribed, but quite faintly. I reinstated then
with a pencil later making a simple card mask
which I then used to aid the pencil lines. All of
the exhausts are shrouded and mostly hidden
by flame dampeners. These simply slide over
the exhaust so you will need to ensure that the
exhaust are set at an appropriate angle before
they dry out.
Undercarriage
Close inspection of the real thing in the Air
And Space Museum left me thinking the real
undercarriage units are massive and these are
well-represented in miniature within this kit.
Adding the nose gear leg means that you will
need to assemble the wheel and yoke before
attaching it and then setting the forward rake
using the strut provided. With the addition of
the weight as per the instructions I had a gut
feeling that this wasn’t enough and the plastic
parts would over time eventually fail. I was
right and some weeks into the build the main
gear failed one after the other. I would if I were
doing this again be tempted to add a set of
Once complete, the model has lots of small bits that stick out all over the place so care is needed
during handling.
metal legs but with this build I simply stuck it
all back together and so far it’s holding. I have
considered drilling and adding a metal pin too.
Back to the weight of the model which was
increased greatly with the aid of Lead shot
held in place with melted candle wax. Even
adding the exact amount as described by
Revell, the model was a tail sitter and I ended
up adding almost twice as much as indicated.
With the gear in place the whole model sits
quite high off the ground and any imbalance
will lead to the tail dropping. Gear bay doors
attach with their associated actuator struts,
there being no issues encountered with this
part of construction, although they are flimsy.
Further choices of canopy are available
at this juncture. Though the clear parts are
good, I gave them a polish and Polymer wax
treatment and they suddenly looked so much
better. I masked off the clear parts and added
final details to the rear of the fuselage. All of
the nose aerials were assembled and attached
nearer the end as they are just right to be
knocked off for the carpet monster to devour!
Painting And Weathering
In order to ready the model for painting
I sprayed a coat of Tamiya Fine Surface
Some final small weathering was achieved with the use of pencils of various colours.
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 61
Once painted, the whole model received a coat of clear gloss
lacquer ready for the decals. I applied another coat of the same
to seal the markings once in place.
All of the small parts that would get broken or lost were made
separately away from the main model and added during final
assembly.
Primer over the entire model and then once
dry, rectified any issues and resprayed the
airframe. Once I was totally happy with the
finish I gave the model its first coat of paint,
in this case I reverted to cross referencing the
paints in the instructions with Gunze Lacquers.
RLM 76 is listed in their range as C117 or
H417 in their aqueous range. Sticking with the
lacquers I thinned them with Mr. Color Leveling
Thinner throughout and once thinned, they
spray through the airbrush superbly. You could
add some retarder to slow down the drying
time but I prefer to have them dry as soon
as possible to avoid dust and other airborne
impurities settling into the paint. I left the
model overnight and then the next day came
back and considered how I was going to do
the RLM75 patches.
I had read that there was a pattern which
was produced by laying rope over the surface
then the dark grey was sprayed. I considered
this method but had visions of all sorts of
overspray issues. Then I considered free
hand, again I wasn’t confident that the final
finish would give the result I wanted. I even
considered White Tack sausages. In the end I
decided to make about 12 irregular cardboard
masks from the box. Each was unique and I
KIT BUILD
SKILL LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
Attaching the gear doors was slightly difficult as the attachment
points are so fragile. This resulted in several breakages along
the way.
With the flaps deployed the bays can be seen they are simple
drop in inserts added after removal of small sections.
62 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
Aligning the aerials was something that I don’t quite think I
mastered as the weight of the parts bends them out of position,
its difficult to believe that all of this is cast plastic!
A little light weathering with some oil paint gave a fluid leak.
made each with a small handle and enough
surround to avoid any accidental overspray. I
then held each template over the surface and
airbrushed the RLM 75 Gunze C-37, again
thinned with Levelling thinners. This was a
swift method but kept the edges quite tight.
I later went back and added some smaller
freehand patches and this resulted in the
pattern you see in the images, maybe not
100% accurate but it was the impression that
I was after.
A coat of Gaia Clear was airbrushed
over the entire model and any accessories
added. After a couple of hours I proceeded to
apply the decals. These are pretty typical of
Revell’s recent offerings and they are good
in colour and opacity. They tend to be a little
thick and there is no Swastika included to
meet various countries regulations. I sourced
a set of the right size from an old CAM
Decals sheet.
With the markings completed I sealed
them with another layer of Gaia Clear before
weathering with a medium grey oil wash.
This was subtle and I wasn’t too happy with
its contrast against the rest of the kit. I then
went over the model with dusting coats of
thinned white and clear in a squiggle pattern
Whilst this main gear looks sturdy the extra weight made it fail Panel lines were reinstated by using a 2B pencil, all sealed with The large clear parts benefited from a polish. I have no idea on
later on. Vallejo Matt Varnish. how the radar operator got in and out as there is no option to
have his glazing open!

which imparts a worn look. Panel lines were
then further defined with highly thinned layers
of Tamiya Smoke X-17. A coat of Vallejo Matt
Varnish followed and this then allowed me to
reinstate panel lines that had not filled with the
oil wash by using a 2B lead in a mechanical
pencil. Any errors could be easily fixed with an
eraser or a cotton bud with a little water.
All of the accessories and aerials were
attached before I removed the canopy masks.
There are a pair of aerials running from the
mast at the back of the rear cockpit to the tip of
each fin and I achieved this with elastic thread
secured with superglue. Wingtip lights were
added and painted in their respective colours
before this one could be called complete and
ready for the display cabinet. ■

FINAL VERDICT
I have resisted comparing Revell’s ‘219 with the ZM kit which I have in my stash. I built this model as a standalone
replica. I can say that despite some people saying that the engines are incorrect, once complete this looks like
the He-219 and that is good enough for me. The sheer size of this model was a surprise and there is a need to add
considerable weight to the nose to prevent tail-sitting. I would replace the gear legs if building this kit again, but
that is only to manage the extra weight needed. Some of the panel lines were lost due to the way in which the model
is moulded but to be honest, this can easily be reinstated by re-scribing which would be no more than a regular model.
I liked the way in which the kit was broken down to allow for different spines and this negated the worry and need to
work on a long spine joint which inherently becomes weak over time. The new Revell instructions are a vast improvement
over the previous issue of this model and make building their kits a breeze.
I would recommend this model to those with several builds behind them due to some of the complexities of the kit such
as the aerials. Again, these could easily be replaced by the use of aftermarket brass.
Thanks to Revell for the review sample built this month.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 63


HAWK T1
Scale: 1:72/Italeri/Materials: IM/Kit No. 1396/Availability: All Good Model Shops/ Price: £15.99
I
taleri’s Hawk has been something of an ever-
present within their range since it first appeared
in 1995. Since that initial release we have
seen a variety of different kits appear, both as
homegrown aircraft and more exotic export
variants. This, the latest incarnation deals with the
Mk.1, offering three RAF aircraft, one Saudi and one
Swiss Hawk along the way.
This is a simple kit with few parts and even fewer
flourishes. With a parts count that can be numbered
in tens rather than hundreds the contents of the box
will test no-one and that makes it the perfect offering
for either the beginner keen to build something
quickly for their collection, or the more seasoned
amongst you looking for a base onto which can be
added extra detail.
Close examination of the crisply moulded parts
reveals detail that can justifiably be described as
variable. Though the surface detail is delicate, that
found on the wings is noticeably finer than that
inscribed into the two fuselage halves for instance
and that creates a rather inconsistent finish.
Internally, you will find a reasonably complete cockpit
and a fair stab at the aircraft’s Mk.10 bang-seats,
moulded shoulder straps but nothing for the pilots’
laps, being a somewhat surprising compromise. Tape,
cut into fine strips, or a dive into the aftermarket, will
spruce these up nicely. Similar points apply to the
undercarriage, the legs and wheels being rather nice,
the gear bays being rather empty. Once again, the
modeller can embellish these areas with rod and strip
should the mood take them in that direction.
With the bulk of the fuselage dealt with, you can
add the intakes (and perhaps deal with the lack of
any intake tunnels, or simply paint the interiors in
black to hide the omission) centreline gun pod and
VERDICT
Italeri’s hawk is not a bad kit, but given its price I do feel that it’s starting to look a little long in the tooth and detail is perhaps not what we expect today. It will
build nicely and thanks to those wonderful decals should look pleasing once complete - just don’t expect miracles from the box. What chance an accurate, state
of the art kit of this famous aircraft sometime soon? (Spencer Pollard)
64 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
NEW RELEASE - KITS
then deal with the canopy. The canopy is well-
moulded and even includes the detonation cord
inside the main area of glazing. The windscreen it
has to be said looks off to me, its shape and the
fact that it sits on a forward portion of the nose that
looks too pinched, leaves me to conclude that this
part of the model is not all it could be accuracy-wise.
Similar concerns were raised about Italeri’s 1:48 kit,
so maybe similar data was used to create this and its
later brother?
Underwing stores complete the plastic picture, two
drop tanks and then a pair of AIM-9L Sidewinders
giving your model some additional punch.
As with many of Italeri’s reissued kits, it’s the decal
sheet that’s the real highlight and that is certainly
the case here. Five options are provided on the well-
printed sheet, the choices being as follows:
● RAF 19 Sqd., “70th Anniversary Of The Spitfire”,
UK, 2008
● 4 Sqd., RAF Valley, 2001
● FRADU, RNAS Yeovilton, 1998
● Hawk Mk.65, Royal Saudi Air Force, Farnborough
Air Show, 2000
● Hawk Mk.66, Swiss Air Force Fliegerschule,
Emmen, 1992
The decals are superb, being well-printed and
exhibiting almost perfect colour. Along with the colour
profiles on the back of the box, the instructions
include a full set of four-view drawings that are also
offered in full colour so you will be in no doubt what
goes where, and in what colour! Paint references
understandably concern themselves with Italeri
acrylics, but thanks to them also listing FS numbers,
alternatives will not be hard to find.
The subject of Italeri’s kit, 19 Squadron’s Anniversary aircraft
as seen at the Royal International Air Tattoo, Fairford, during the
summer of 2008. (Alan Firbank)
F/A-18 HORNET “TIGER MEET 2016”
Scale: 1:72/Italeri/Materials: IM/Kit No. 1394/Availability: All Good Model Shops/ Price: £17.50

t’s difficult to know where to start with this reis- much (not reflected on the decal sheet incidentally)

I sued kit from Italeri, so I will start with the pur-

pose of its appearance: the depiction of a special
scheme and thus the decals that replicate it. The
Swiss are well-known for their flamboyant ‘Tiger
Meet’ schemes, their F-18s having been decorated
with some wonderful tail markings over the years.
One of the most spectacular of all was seen in 2016
when J-5011 was decorated with multicoloured black
and yellow tails emblazoned with a superb Tiger’s
head on the outside face of each one. Italeri’s incred-
ible decal sheet deals with those markings brilliantly,
all of the detail and colour created by the artist that
painted the originals, being captured to perfection. If
anything the kit is worth buying for the decals alone
and so we move on to the plastic…
First released in the mid-eighties, Italeri’s kit
reflects the technology of the day with a low number
of parts, raised panel lines, simplified details and
weapons that can best be described as mediocre.
Dig a little deeper and you will not find much in the
way of detail within the cockpit, intakes that look very
little like the real thing, upper fin tips that curve far too
what looks to be a fully compressed nose gear leg,
a canopy that can only be posed closed, and jet
nozzles that are not only completely devoid of detail
on their inner surfaces, but show absolutely no
evidence of jet pipes leading up to them. Weapons,
though comprehensive in their number and variety,
are poorly detailed and somewhat vaguely shaped.
All in all, it’s not that pretty a picture.
As a kit for beginners I could perhaps offer a
degree of recommendation, but I haven’t tried to
assemble the parts so cannot verify the fit, but the
breakdown of the nose and rear fuselage looks
likely to offer challenges especially around the upper
nose and spine. The kit, being a hybrid that includes
everything that you need to build both single and
two-seat aircraft, includes an upper panel that the sits
on top of the nose halves and it is here that I foresee
filler and sanding and thus the removal
of those raised panel lines.
I’m sure it can be done,
but whether it is worth it is
another matter…

VERDICT
I really don’t like to condemn kits, so in this case I’ll try and draw at least some positives from the fact that the decals really are superb and given the price of
a similar aftermarket sheet, this kit may well be worth buying for the markings alone. As for the rest of it, it’s hard to find much to say that’s not negative when
there are far better offerings out there from the likes of Academy, who offer for a similar price, a kit that’s light years ahead in every way. Nice decals, shame
about the plastic. (Spencer Pollard)

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 65

 NEW RELEASE - KITS
F-15C EAGLE
Scale: 1:72/Italeri/Materials: IM/Kit No. 1415/Availability: All Good Model Shops/ Price: £17.50
he third of Italeri’s kits to be seen this month
T is their rendition of Boeing’s F-15C. Initially,
I thought that this was a simple reissue of
Italeri’s earlier F-15A/C, but a dig into the
box and a lengthy chat to my good friend
Drewe Manton proved it to be anything but. In fact,
rather than a reissue it appears to be a reworking. Let
me explain…
Italeri have over the years rereleased plenty of
their own kits, so I checked to see if this was one
of those kits, but as I did it became apparent that
the layout of the runners and the detail was not the
same. Contacting Drewe and then sending him some
pictures confirmed that, so we concluded that it may
well be a reissue of ESCI’s kit, but once again the
layouts didn’t match. So what do we have here?
Checking individual parts against images online it
would appear that this is indeed based on ESCI’s kit,
Basking in the midday sun, this F-15C from the 493rd Fighter Squadron “Grim Reapers”, was a highlight of RIAT 2015. (Spencer Pollard)
66 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
but that the moulds have been reworked and maybe
even recut to create a reworked product, much as
they did with their F-100. Certainly, individual details
look identical, as do the larger parts, they are just in
different places on the runners hence the conclusion
that this was originally ESCI’s but perhaps the moulds
had degraded, so using original data new ones had
been cut.
With the lineage out of the way (we think!) how
does the kit stack up? Rather nicely, actually. Across
the board the parts are well-moulded and detail is
nicely recreated. Unlike the Hornet, the surface detail
is recreated with finely recessed panel lines, those
on the wings in particular being superb. The cockpit
interior is tidy and reasonably well-appointed, a
multipart ejection seat and highly-detailed instrument
panel decals adding to the illusion of reality. The
canopy in this case can be posed in an open position
as indeed can the airbrake.
There are as many ways to break down an F-15’s
shape in miniature as there are manufacturers, Italeri
choosing to offer large upper and lower fuselage
panels, along with separate wings, tailplanes and
fins. Intakes are simple affairs that end alarmingly
at the point where they naturally droop on the
real aircraft (meaning that they either need to be
opened up or decorated internally with some clever
painting). The fuselage is then completed with a
rather blunt nosecone that would benefit from a little
work with a sanding stick to sharpen it up and then
two Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFTs) that complete the
picture for the Israeli aircraft offered on the decal
sheet, along with their requisite pylons and Sparrow
missiles.
Smaller details include a neat set of undercarriage
legs and wheels, a single centreline tank, jet pipes
and then underwings pylons and their associated
missile rails and Sidewinders. Though the centreline
tank is more than acceptable, the missiles are rather
less so, being heavily moulded and poorly detailed.
The same can be said for the jet pipes which
although making an attempt at depicting the naked
look of the originals sans petals, do so with rather
less detail than we would like in a modern-day kit and
so either the spares’ box or aftermarket may be your
point of call, as will they to deal with the missiles.
Though the plastic in this kit is rather pleasing to
behold, it is the decal sheet that’s the real star of the
show, being as fine a sheet as I have seen in some
time. Not only is it incredibly detailed, beautifully
printed and in perfect register, it offers no less than
four options, together with a huge number of stencils
for both the airframe and missiles. The choices are
as follows:
● F-15C MSIP, 65th Aggressor Sqd., Nellis AB,
Nevada, March 2014
● F-15C MSIP, 125th FW, Florida ANG, Leeuwarden
AFB, April 2015
● F-15C Baz, No. 828, 106th “Spear Head” Sqd., Tel
Nof AB, Israel, June 2010
● F-15C, Royal Saudi Air Force, 7th Wing, 2nd Sqd.,
Nacy AB, Exercise “Green Shield”, 2014.

VERDICT
This kit was something of a surprise, being as it is a kit that we’ve not seen before. Though I was initially sceptical about the contents of the box, it didn’t take
long to win me over and thus I think that with a little work and some careful construction, the resulting model should look more than pleasing. Testament
perhaps to ESCI’s abilities during their heyday, this ‘new’ kit will no-doubt please modellers looking for an 1:72 F-15 all over again, especially when that
incredible decal sheet is taken into account. Recommended. (Spencer Pollard)

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 67

NEW RELEASES: DECALS

XTRADECAL
www.hannants.co.uk

Just back from Telford with a handful of great new sheets from Hannants/Xtradecal. The
first is for a couple of RAF transports in 1:144 scale, only Xtradecal’s ninth release in this
scale. We were amazed at the number of models entered in the competition in this small
but increasingly popular scale. More sheets for popular subjects follow.

RAF HAWKER SIDDELEY ARGOSY AND

BLACKBURN BEVERLEY (SHEET NO. X44009)
I can just remember being very impressed when seeing the occasional Beverley flying
from RAF Dishforth, a massive box on wings that was the transport workhorse of the RAF
in the 1950s and 60s. The Argosy (The Whistling Wheelbarrow) followed before the C-130s
arrived. We have four great Argosy schemes and three Beverleys on this sheet. Each set of
markings comes with the appropriate roundels and fin flashes.

● Blackburn Beverley C.1 XL149, ‘X/149’ with No. 242 Operational Conversion Unit at RAF
Lyneham in September 1958. The scheme is overall High Speed Silver with the top of the
fuselage painted White.
● Blackburn Beverley C.1 XM112 ‘112’ with No. 34 Squadron at RAF Seletar, Singapore in
September 1962. The scheme is Silver and White as No. 1 above.
● Blackburn Beverley C.2 XL149 ‘X’ with No. 84 Squadron in Kenya in 1967. The
camouflage scheme was a pattern of Light Stone and Dark Earth on the upper surfaces,
White around the upper cockpit area with Night Black undersides.
● Hawker Siddeley Argosy C.1 XR106 ‘106/473’ with No. 70 Squadron at RAF Akrotiri,
Cyprus in 1975. The same Light Stone/Dark Earth/Black scheme as on the above Beverley
applies to this Argosy.
● Hawker Siddeley Argosy C.1 XR106 ‘106/473’ with No. 114 Squadron, Air Transport
Command at RAF Benson in 1971. The Light Stone/Dark Earth/Black camouflage pattern
above applies here too.
● Hawker Siddeley Argosy C.1 XN817 ‘817’ with A&AEE at Boscombe Down in 1982. This
Argosy is in the ‘Raspberry Ripple’ scheme commonly seen on Boscombe Down aircraft.
The upper fuselage surfaces are White, lower surfaces and wings Light Aircraft Grey with
Signal Red tail fins and wing tips. Sets of black and white checkers apply around the rear
fuselage loading ramp.
● Hawker Siddeley Argosy C.1 XP412 ‘412’ with No. 105 Squadron at RAF Khormakaar,
Yemen in 1966. The fuselage upper surfaces are White with Light Aircraft Grey undersides
and wings.

A grubby Tornado F.3 ‘WA’ in the No. 56 Squadron 2005 Tornado Display Aircraft
scheme being used as the ‘spare’ at RIAT Fairford, 2005.

68 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

FIESLER FI 156 STORCH & MS 500 (SHEET NO. X72306)
Here we have another of those “spoiled for choice” sheets from Xtradecal with twelve aircraft from which to choose.

● Fi156 C-3 Trop ‘DJ+PC’ as it appeared on a rooftop in Austria where it crashed on 16th August 1943. The scheme is RLM
79 Sandgelb on the upper surfaces with RLM 68 Hellblau undersides.
● Fi 156 C-3 ‘5K+ZA’ with Stab/KG 3 at Smolensk in Russian in April 1942. The scheme is a pattern of two Dark Greens
RLM 70 and 71 on the upper surfaces and RLM 65 Hellblau undersides. The rudder is RLM 04 Yellow with a Yellow band
around the fuselage.
● Fi 156 C-3 ‘Green Z’ with Stab II/Sch G 1 in Russia in 1941. The scheme is as 02 above but without the Yellow rudder.
● Fi 156 C-3 Trop ‘SF+RL’ with Wustennotstaffel 1 in North Africa in 1942. This Storch was Rommel’s personal transport.
The standard RLM 70/71/65 is over-painted with a generous squiggle of RLM 79 Sandgelb.
● Fi 156 C-3 ‘T1+PK’ in Greece in April 1941. The scheme is the standard RLM 70/71/65 with a RLM 04 Yellow nose and
band around the rear fuselage.
● Fi 156 D-1 ‘KR+QZ’ with Wustennotstaffeln as seen on a frozen lake in Norway. This was an ambulance Storch in RLM
231 White on the upper surface and RLM 65 Hellblau undersides. Large Red Cross symbols are applied to the fuselage
sides and upper and lower wing surfaces.
● Fi 156 C-3 with the Royal Romanian Sir Force on the Eastern Front in 1942. The scheme is the standard Luftwaffe
colours with a generous application of RLM 79 Sandgelb added to the upper surfaces.
● Fi 156 C-1 ‘ST-112’ with the Finnish Air Force in 1941. The camouflage scheme is standard Luftwaffe with a Yellow
fuselage band. This Storch is equipped with skis.
● Fi 156 C-3 ‘6-3/4’ captured in Tunisia and operated by the Americans. US insignia was applied to the standard Luftwaffe
scheme with a Grey and White rudder.
● Fi 156 (probably a) C-3 ‘White 67’ with the Swedish Air Force. The upper surfaces are painted Olive Green with Bright
Blue Grey undersides.
● Fi 156 C ‘96-1’ with the Spanish Air Force in 1943 to 1962. The scheme is overall Light Grey on the upper surfaces and
Light Blue undersides.
● MS 500 Criquet ‘White J’ as used by French Army Light Aviation from 1945 to 1958. The paintwork is overall Dark Olive
with Black and White D-Day-type stripes on the upper wings and a tri-colour rudder.

FIESLER FI 156 STORCH & MS 500 (SHEET NO. X48196)

This enlarged version of the 1:72 sheet drops half of the
schemes and includes the following:
● Fi156 C-3 Trop ‘DJ+PC’ as it appeared on a rooftop in
Austria where it crashed on 16th August 1943. The scheme is
RLM 79 Sandgelb on the upper surfaces with RLM 68 Hellblau
undersides.
● Fi 156 C-3 ‘5K+ZA’ with Stab/KG 3 at Smolensk in Russian
in April 1942. The scheme is a pattern of two Dark Greens
RLM 70 and 71 on the upper surfaces and RLM 65 Hellblau
undersides. The rudder is RLM 04 Yellow with a Yellow band
around the fuselage.
● Fi 156 C-3 ‘T1+PK’ in Greece in April 1941. The scheme is
the standard RLM 70/71/65 with a RLM 04 Yellow nose and
band around the rear fuselage.
● Fi 156 C-3 with the Royal Romanian Sir Force on the
Eastern Front in 1942. The scheme is the standard Luftwaffe
colours with a generous application of RLM 79 Sandgelb
added to the upper surfaces.
● Fi 156 C-3 ‘6-3/4’ captured in Tunisia and operated by the
Americans. US insignia was applied to the standard Luftwaffe
scheme with a Grey and White rudder.
● MS 500 Criquet ‘White J’ as used by French Army Light
Aviation from 1945 to 1958. The paintwork is overall Dark
Olive with Black and White D-Day-type stripes on the upper
wings and a tri-colour rudder.

PANAVIA TORNADO F.3 56(F) SQUADRON RAF COLLECTION (SHEET NO. X48195)
Next we have four sets of markings for F.3 Tornados, ideal for
the Revell kit that was released not too long ago. No. 56(F) and
No. 111 Squadrons operated the F.3 and both were particularly
good when an excuse for a colourful ‘special’ came along.
● Tornado F.3 ZE339 ‘AV’ in the 2000 Display scheme at RAF
Coningsby. This Tornado carried the spectacular Firebird in the
flames on the tail fin with flames along the spine to the canopy.
The scheme is Barley Grey on the upper surfaces and Light
Aircraft Grey undersides.
● Tornado F.3 ZG772 ‘WJ’ in the 2005 Display scheme when
based at RAF Leuchars. The basic scheme is as above but with
a Red chevron on the tail fin and a checker pattern on the top
of the tail fin.
● Tornado F.3 ZG772 ‘WJ’ also in the 2005 Display scheme.
As far as I can see the only difference between No. 2 and 3 is
the colour of the checkers on the tail fin, turning from black
and white to red and white.
● Tornado F.3 ZE287 ‘TO’ at RAF Coningsby on 1st December
2006. This Tornado is painted overall Medium Sea Grey with a
red and white checkers on the top of the tail fin.

RAF MCDONNELL DOUGLAS PHANTOM FG.1 AND FG.2

STENCILS PT1 (SHEET NO. X48197)
Builders of 1:48 Phantoms will welcome this sheet and can spend hours adding the, getting on for 200
items, to finish off their model. As the sheet is described as Pt1, I can only guess that this sheet for earlier,
camouflaged Phantoms, will be followed by one for the grey ones.
The individual items are nicely spaced for cutting out but some of them are about the size of a full stop on this
page. Each item can be read under a magnifying glass, the printing is first class.
Placement instructions are spread over the back of the title sheet and two sides of a folded A4 sheet. If I was
going to set about applying this lot, I think I would be making an enlarged copy, especially of the underside
guide that is on the back of the A5 title sheet. There are a lot of items under the Phantom and following the A5
sized guide as it is will be a test of even the best eyesight.
Thank you to Hannants of Lowestoft for supplying their latest Xtradecal releases for review. See their web site
(hannants.co.uk) for new and reprinted sheets. (Alan Firbank)

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 69

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H.M.H. PUBLICATIONS
www.hmh-publications.com

FULCRUM - MIG-29 VARIANTS IN AIR FORCES AROUND THE

WORLD (AIRCRAFT IN DETAIL 004)
● By Duke Hawkins/N.
Debeock/R. Pied
● Published by H.M.H.
Publications
● Guide Price £22.00
● ISBN: not present
● 112pp softback, 240 x 240 mm
e are just back
general comment, both books
are really well printed and the
standard of pictures is very high,
all crisp and clear.
These days when some of our
NATO allies are still operating
old Russian types, we have
excellent access to such as the
MiG 29 featured in this book. We
photos are general shots of
Fulcrums in the air, on the ground
and on carrier decks, showing
some great combat camouflage
schemes.
After the first few pages, the
photos are grouped into very
useful references, from nose
to tail, beginning with the nose
and wheel wells. If you would like
to add extra detail to these areas
of your model, you will find it all
here.
At the end of the book, there
is a close look at the tail end of
the Fulcrum and several pages
of the aircraft in the maintenance
hangar. Open panels are shown

W from Scale
ModelWorld
at Telford and
again had the
pleasure to meet Duke Hawkins
and his crew from Belgium. As
well as their back titles, Duke was
there with his two new Aircraft in
Detail books and kindly passed
us copies for review. They are
so new that I can still smell the
printer’s ink when opening the
copies. Before taking a specific
look at the Fulcrum book, a
can still remember the blurred
photos of the old days. Many of
the photos in this book, especially
the interior photos are of MiG 29s
belonging to the Polish Air Force.
We are lucky enough to see these
as regular visitors to the Royal
International Air Tattoo. As well
as Polish MiG 29s we see photos
of examples from the Indian Air
Force, Russian Air Force, Royal
Malaysian Air Force, Hungarian
Air Force, North Korean Air Force
and the Slovak Air Forces. These
area. Some of these are general
shots and others are close-ups of
features around the outside of the
Fulcrum’s nose. We then move aft
to the forward fuselage and then
around the air intakes, outside
and inside the intake trunking.
with all of the interior plumbing
and cables, weapons and pylons,
all in fine detail.
Anyone looking to produce
a model of a Fulcrum will find
having a copy of this book to hand
a very useful aid to your build. Kit
Following more excellent general instructions can often leave you
and close-up photos, we are guessing as to where some of
treated to ten pages of excellent those small detail parts belong.
cockpit interior and surroundings You will find all of the answers
photos. Several pages show all within these covers.
that modellers will need to know
about the undercarriage, wheels

A German Air Force Tornado ECR in 60th

Anniversary markings depart RIAT in July 2016.

72 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019

PANAVIA TORNADO - FLYING IN THE RAF, GERMAN, ITALIAN AND SAUDI AIR FORCES
(AIRCRAFT IN DETAIL 005)
● By Duke Hawkins/N.
Debeock/R. Pied
● Published by H.M.H.
Publications
● Guide Price £22.00
● ISBN: not present
● 112pp softback, 240 x 240 mm
or a long time the
that can be vague and confusing.
As well as help with all of those
bits and pieces, there are many
excellent photos showing how the
paintwork wears and weathers.
As in the case of the Fulcrum
book, the photos in this volume
on the Tornado are second to
none. There are some particularly
with pages full of both general
and detail shots of those areas.
All areas are well covered but
modellers will find those of the
wings particularly useful where we
see clear views of flap, slats, wing
gloves, etc. from all angles. Again,
we see ten pages of the cockpits
area from all angles. Photos of the
forces listed in the book’s title and
we see several pages showing
examples of missiles, bombs
and pods. As mentioned earlier,
the book concludes with useful
references to the long-nosed F.3
Tornado.
As mentioned at the end of the
Fulcrum book review, this is a

F Tornado has been used

by the air forces listed
but modellers have only
had mediocre kits from
which to choose. In recent times,
we have seen some much-im-
proved boxes of Tornado kits and
though not perfect, are a big-leap
forward in quality and detail. If
you are thinking of getting stuck
into any of these, you will find
this book a great help. Some of
the kits may be new but several
contain antiquated instructions
outstanding photos taken by those
hardy and very patient individuals
who sit on mountainsides in North
Wales to get top shots as aircraft
fly the Mach Loop. An example is
printed on the front cover. Most
of the photos feature the short-
nosed versions of the Tornado but
there is a section at the back of
the book dedicated to the F.3s.
This book follows a similar
pattern to the Fulcrum book,
broken down into sections,
working from the nose to the tail
seats both in position and outside
of the aircraft show just how
complex the harness is, not easy
to reproduce in any scale.
More complex areas are the
wheel wells, undercarriage, jet
pipes and braking buckets around
the jet pipes. All are shown in
clear photos from many angles.
The section of Maintenance
photos shows many of the panels
opened and the bewildering mass
of plumbing within. Stores carried
by Tornados vary between the air
cracking book on the Tornado and
a ‘must have’ for those with a kit
in the stash and a build in mind.
Or for those who just love jets and
great collections of photos of their
favourite subjects.
Thanks to Duke Hawkins for
passing us a review copy of his
new books at Telford. Both are
highly recommended whether you
are thinking of building either of
the aircraft or just love modern
jets.

MMP BOOKS
mmpbooks.biz

FINNISH JET COLOURS

● By Kyösti Partonen
● Published by Stratus/MMP
Books
● Guide Price £40.00
● ISBN 978-83-65281-35-7
● 216pp hardback, 305 x
218 mm
hose with an
manufacturers such as
the Vampire and the Gnat.
These were replaced by
the French Magister, in the
light jet trainer category.
Many of the Finnish heavier
jet aircraft came from over
the border, in Russia. MiG
15s and 21s became the
camouflage and special
schemes. The chapter on
the BAe Hawk is a good
example, showing many
different colour schemes.
Those looking for something
unusual to apply to a Hawk
model will find some good
ones here.

T interest in military
aviation, whether
historic or current,
could not fail to
recognise that the Finnish
Air Force use aircraft from a
wide variety of sources. Dur-
ing WWII, aircraft from Ger-
many, Italy, Russia and the
UK could be seen in Finnish
markings. Some of these
had been bought and some
had fallen into the hands of
the Finns during the conflict.
That pattern continues today
with trainers from the UK and
fast jets from America. This
book covers the post WWII
period until current times.
In the 1950s, Finland
used several jets from UK
Finnish air defence fighter
aircraft of choice. In time,
these were replaced with
jets from another neighbour,
Drakens from Sweden. More
recently, Hawks from the UK
and Hornets from the USA
arriveD to form the backbone
of the Finnish Air Force.
This book covers the
aircraft in chronological order
as the Finns progressed
to the present day. The
interesting copy is lavishly
illustrated with photos of
the types and some great
colour illustrations of many
Finnish jets. Many great
colour schemes can be
seen from overall silver to
some interesting tactical
At the back of the book,
the appendixes explain
the Finnish roundel, serial
numbers, squadron badges,
special schemes, etc.
MMP/Stratus aircraft
books are always produced
to a high standard and often
cover subjects that are not
seen elsewhere. This is
another example that will be
of interest to both modellers
and those interested in
modern military aviation. An
excellent read and reference
book
Thanks to MMP Books for
supplying their new book for
review. Check mmpbooks.biz
for availability.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 73

VALIANT WINGS
www.valiant-wings.co.uk
THE BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER – A DETAILED GUIDE TO BRISTOL’S HARD-HITTING TWIN
- AIRFRAME ALBUM NO. 14
● By Richard A. Franks
● Published by Valiant Wings Publishing Ltd
● Guide Price £18.95
● ISBN 978-0-9957773-8-5
● 176pp softback, 297 x 210 mm
e are pleased to bring two
W new Valiant Wings books
away from Telford for review.
One is this all-new Airframe
Album on the Bristol Beau-
fighter and the second, a revised edition of the
Dornier Do 335 book from 2016.
After spending five minutes looking through
this new Beaufighter book I realise how
little I knew about the aircraft. I have looked
longingly at The Fighter Collection’s example
that is being restored to flight in their hangar
at Duxford, hoping to live long enough to see
it fly. Progress has been painfully slow but
fingers crossed, one day we will see it finished.
This is a complex aircraft and no doubt a
return to flight restoration has produced some
challenges along the way.
We have seen several Airframe Album
aircraft profiles over the years and this one
follows the familiar pattern. All of them must
take a considerable amount of effort to
research, write and produce and this one is
no exception. Richard Franks must draw a
The Polish Air Force’s Fulcrums feature often in Duke Hawkin’s new profile on the
Russian jet. This example is seen at RIAT 2016.
74 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
huge sigh of relief as the final pages go to the
printer.
The Introduction occupies almost thirty
pages at the beginning of the book. The
Beaufighter was not without issues in the
beginning. In fact, looking through the
book, the Beaufighter seems to have been
something of ‘a work in progress’ throughout
its career. We see many photos and kits of
Beaufighters with radial engines but Rolls
Royce Merlins and Griffons were fitted to some
versions. As well as being used by the RAF
and Royal Navy in a wide variety of roles and
in all theatres, Beaufighters would be used
by several nations and would see operational
use into the early 1950s. TFC’s Beaufighter in
restoration is an Australian Mk.Ic.
The next fifty or so pages are taken up by
the technical description of the Beaufighter
with its many variants. This chapter is sub-
divided into sections: fuselage, engines,
armament, undercarriage, etc. nine in all. As
before, each section is illustrated with archive
drawings, diagrams and photos as well as
some detail pictures taken of TFC’s example
at Duxford. To say that the cockpit is ‘busy’ is a
massive understatement.
The following thirty-five pages describe,
in diagrams and text, the evolution of the
Beaufighter through its numerous versions
and sub-types. The final one being the front
end of a Beaufighter protruding from a shed
classroom, used to enable students to ground-
run the engines and systems, protected from
the prop-wash and noise.
The familiar Camouflage & Markings chapter
shows a vast array of different colour schemes
applied to Beaufighters and Beaufighters in
the markings of nations around the world.
Archive photos, mainly black and white show
many schemes but again Richard Caruana’s
excellent colour profiles transform some of the
photos into colour illustrations. A handful of
colour photos from WWII are reproduced here
but we have seen most of them used in other
books in the past.
Two full kit reviews are provided in this
book, both recent TF Mk. Xs, the Airfix 1:72
kit and the Revell 1:48. Both reviewers give
a balanced view of the build experience
‘enjoyed’ by them and come to the conclusion
that there is still room for a top-quality
Beaufighter kit. For a WWII aircraft that was so
widely used, kit manufacturers have not been
as forthcoming as they might and those kits
that are available are not without their issues.
As is the tradition, the final pages provide
lists of kits, accessories, decals and books.

THE DORNIER DO 335 PFEIL – A COMPLETE GUIDE
TO THE LUFTWAFFE’S FASTEST PISTON-ENGINE
FIGHTER AIRFRAME & MINIATURE NO.9
● Second edition, updated and
expanded. Includes the Zoukei-Mura
1:32 kit build.
● By Richard A. Franks
● Published by Valiant Wings Publishing
Ltd
● Guide Price £18.95
● ISBN 978-0-9957773-9-2
● 160pp softback, 297 x 210mm
ime moves on and sometimes
T it is appropriate to revisit past
projects as in this case. In the
world of modelling, new kits
and accessories arrive and
sometimes, the publication of a book
will result in more information coming
to the surface. A major kit of the Do 335
has appeared since this book was first
published in 2016, the Zoukei-Mura 1:32
kit. Zoukei-Mura has taken plastic kits to
a new level, very much in the same way
as Wingnut Wings has done with WWI
aircraft. The release of the Zoukei-Mura
kit also renews interest in a good refer-
ence book, hence the decision to revise
and reprint this book.
In many ways this book is similar to
the Beaufighter book but the Airframe &
Miniature series is biased towards the
modeller with more modelling content
than in the Airframe Album series.
The book opens with the history of the
Do 335. It is not one of those ‘what-if’
Luftwaffe aircraft we see sometimes in
kit form. The design pre-dates WWII.
The push and pull twin-engine layout
was used by Dornier on several of their
AVAILABLE FROM
DOOLITTLE MEDIA
www.doolittlemedia.com
flying boat designs. Photos, showing the
aircraft surrounded by people, show what
a large aircraft it was, as someone could
stand upright under the wings.
The Camouflage & Markings chapter
describes the handful of possible
schemes and Richard Caruana illustrates
them in his excellent profiles. The next
chapter takes a more in depth look at
the Do 335 kits available with full build
reviews of the Zoukei-Mura and HK
www.doolittlemedia.com
Models 1:32 kits as well as the Tamiya
1:48 kit to mention just three. For builders
of 1:72, the Dragon and Revell kits are
reviewed too.
A Building a Collection chapter looks
at the various versions of the Do 335,
showing how the basic airframe can be
modified and detailed to produce further
sub-types. The next, In Detail chapter
shows plenty of photos and diagrams of
all aspects of the Do 335 that anyone
building a kit would need. At the end of
the book, we find the usual lists of kits,
decals, accessories and further reading
and finally, a set of fold-out plans in 1:48
scale.
Again, if you are looking to build/buy
a Do 335 kit, the price of the book is well
worth the investment for the information it
contains. Highly recommended.
Thank you once again to Valiant
Wings for supplying their latest excellent
releases for review. See their web site:
valiant-wings.co.uk for availability and
their range of books and offers. (Alan
Firbank) www.doolittlemedia.com
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 75
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EVENTS DIARY
Model shows for 2019
February 10th
Halifax Show 2019 to be held at North
Bridge Leisure Centre, North Bridge
Street, Halifax, HX3 6TE. Please note
that due to circumstances beyond the
control of the show organisers, the
show has been forced to look for a new
venue Admission will be: Adults £4,
concessions and IPMS members £3.
Contact Geoff Milnes or Alan
Paul. Tel: Geoff 0113 289 3152 or
01132893152, Paul 07811358355.
Email: huddersfieldshow@gmail.com
February 24th
South Cheshire Militaire to be held at
Malbank 6th Form College,
Nantwich, CW5 5HD. IPMS South
Cheshire Military Modelling Club’s 35th
Annual Universal Model Show will
see 100+ Exhibitors showcasing the
very best of modelling across many
different genres Military models,
sci-fi & fantasy, wargaming, train
layouts, R/C, boats & aircraft, wartime
dioramas best in show competition,
traders, buy & sell stand, star wars
characters, military vehicle display,
hot food & refreshments, plus much
78 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
more. Free parking! Great day out!
Admission: Adults £3.50, children &
concessions £1.50
Contact: South Cheshire Militaire:
Steve Morris. Tel: 07807722582.
Email: morris_sj@live.co
Website: www.scmmc.co.uk
March 16th
Southern Expo 2019 to be held at
Hornchurch Sports Centre, Harrow
Lodge Park Hornchurch Road,
Hornchurch, Essex RM11 1JU. 10am to
5pm Saturday & 10am to 4pm Sunday
Entry: Adults £3.00, Children £1 &
Senior Citizens £2 Open Competition
(Sunday only) – the Senior competition
is being sponsored by Models For Sale
www.modelsforsale.com
Contact Pete Bagshaw.
Tel: 01708 726102.
Email: SouthernExpo@tiscali.co.uk.
Website: www.southernexpo.co.uk/
March 23rd
Yeovil Model Show 2019 to be held at
Bucklers Mead Academy, 1 St Johns
Road, Yeovil, BA21 4NH. 1000’s of the
best models from the South West on
display including aircraft, cars, military,
ships, tanks, motorbikes, figures,
boats, railway, busts, sci-fi & fantasy
painting, gaming and airbrushing
demonstrations. Large selection
of trade stands selling kits, paints,
brushes, glues, tools, accessories,
books. Disabled Access. Hot and Cold
Refreshments. Free Parking. Free
children’s activities. Please note there
are two entrances, BA21 4NH and
BA21 4FE. Contact Ken Bugler.
Tel: 07759 137000.
Email: yeovilmodelshow@gmail.com
May 19th 2019
East Midlands Model Show 2019 to be
held at The Leisure Centre, Hinckley,
The Leisure Centre, Argents Mead,
Hinckley, LE10 1BZ. The 29th Annual
Show for the East Mids Model Club
Show. £4.00/Adults, £1.50/Child/Conc,
£9.00/Family ticket. Prices held for the
4th year. See the web page for more
details and updates.
Contact: Jon Arnold, East Midlands
Model Club. Tel: 07931 338498.
Email: Jon@jonarnold.net.
Website: www.eastmidsmodelclub.co.uk
May 25th
IPMS Torbay and South Devon Model
Show to be held at Torquay Town
Hall, Castle Circus Torquay, Devon,
TQ1 3DR. Exhibitions, club displays,
competitions, trade stalls. Admission:
adults £2.50, over 65s £1.50, under
13’s: £1.00,
family: £5.00.
Contact: IPMS Torbay & South Devon.
Email:
torbayandsouthdevon.ipms@gmail.com
Website: www.ipmstorbay.com
August 11th
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
to hold their Fourth Model Show in
Hangar 1, Old Sarum Airfield, Old
Sarum, Salisbury, SP4 6DZ. Displays
by model clubs across the region along
with trade stands and other displays.
Entry includes the model show and
museum, as well as the experience of
sitting in a fast jet cockpit!
www.boscombedownaviationcollection.co.uk
CONTACTS
Contact details for companies featured in MAI this month...
Azur/Frrom
**See Special Hobby Ltd**
Albion Alloys
518 Wallisdown Rd, Bournemouth,
Dorset BH11 8PT
www.albionhobbies.com
Tel. 0044 1202 511232
Fax. 0044 1202 539967
Creative Models Ltd
Creative Models Ltd, Unit 6-10 Ind Est
Chatteris, PE16 6TG
Tel: +44 (0)1354 760022
Fax: +44 (0)1354 760037
www.creativemodels.co.uk
Eduard M.A.,
170 Obrnice, Obrnice,
435 21, Czech Republic
Tel: 420 35 6 11 81 86
Fax: 420 35 6 11 81 71
Email: info@eduard.cz
Hannants
Harbour Road, Oulton Broad,
Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 3LZ
Tel: 01502 517444
Fax: 01502 500521
www.hannants.co.uk
Hasegawa Corporation,
3-1-2 Yagusu Yaizu,
Shizuoka 425-8711, Japan
Tel: 81 54 6 28 82 41
Fax: 81 54 6 27 80 46
Historie & Collections
5 avenue de la Ræpublique
F-75541, Paris Cédex 11
Tel: 01 40 21 18 20
Fax: 01 47 00 51 11
www.historieetcollections.fr
The Hobby Company Limited
Garforth Place, Knowlhill,
Milton Keynes, MK5 8PH
Tel: 01908 605 686
Fax: 01908 605 666
Email: sales@hobbyco.net
or enquiries@hobbyco.net
www.hobbyco.net
✆
ICM Holding
Borispolskaya 9, Building 64,
Kiev 02099, Ukraine
Tel/Fax: (+380 44) 369 54 12
Email: export@icm.com.ua
Italeri S.p.A
Via Pradazzo 6/B,
I-40012 Calderara di Reno,
(Bologna), Italy
Tel: +39 051 72 60 37
Fax: +39 051 72 64 59
Email: italeri@italeri.com
Lela Presse S.A.R.L.
29, rue Paul Bert,
62230 Outreau, France.
Tel: 03 21 33 88 96
Fax: 03 21 32 00 39
www.avions-bateaux.com.
Email: info@avions-bateaux.com.
MARK I Ltd.
PO Box 10,
CZ-100 31 Prague 10 – Strasnice,
Czech Republic
Tel: +420-241 765 158
Fax: +420-241 765 158
Email: mark1@cmail.cz
Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 79
✉
Master Model Revell GmbH & Co., KG
71-126 Szczecin, Abteilung X, Henschelstr 20-30,
ul. 26 Kwietnia 49/44, Poland D-32257 Bünde, Germany
Tel: +48 0 503 072 624
Email: info@master-model.pl Special Hobby Ltd
www.master-model.pl Mezilesi 718, Prague 9 193 00,
Czech Republic
Mushroom Model Publications www.cmkkits.com
3 Gloucester Close, Petersfield,
Hants. GU32 3AX Wydawnictwo Stratus s.c.
Tel: +44 (1)1730 265014 PO Box 123, 27-600 Sandomierz 1,
Email: rogerw@mmpbooks.biz Poland
www.mmpbooks.biz Tel: 0-15 833 30 41
Email: office@stratusbooks.biz
Pocketbond Ltd. www.stratusbooks.com.pl
POCKETBOND
Bachmann Europe PLC Trumpeter
Moat Way, Barwell Wa San Development (Macau) Ltd
Leics LE9 8EY Rampa Dos Cavleiros No.9,
Tel 01455 841756 Block 5, Floor 16, Flat AS EDF,
info@pocketbond.co.uk Jardim Sun Yick Garden,
Macaua, China
Revell GmbH www.trumpeter.com
Unit 10, Old Airfield Industrial Estate,
Cheddington Lane, Tring, HP23 4QR Wingnut Wings Ltd
Tel: 01629 660291 PO Box 15-319, Miramar,
Email: ukbranch@revell.de Wellington 6022, New Zealand
www.revell.de/en www.wingnutwings.com
EBUYERSGUIDEBUYERSGU
KIT KRAZY MODEL SHOP HANNANTS MODEL SHOP
Tel: 020 8298 7177
303 The Broadway, Bexleyheath, Kent DA6 8DT
Tel: 0208 205 6697 Fax: 01502 500521
Unit 2, Hurricane Trading Estate, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, NW9 5QW
NEW AND PRE-OWNED KITS, COLLECTIONS BOUGHT AND SOLD. OPEN 10.00AM - 5.30PM, THURS & FRI OPEN UNTIL 7.00PM
OVER 20 MAJOR BRANDS OF ARMOUR KITS IN PLASTIC AND RESIN, NO1 IN EUROPE FOR PLASTIC KITS AND ACCESSORIES
BOTH CURRENT AND OOP - 70P S.A.E FOR OUR LIST INCLUDING THE FULL RANGE OF TAMIYA (NOT RC)
Opening hours: 9-30am-5.30pm (Open Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday) email: sales@hannants.co.uk www.hannants.co.uk
You can also find us at most major model and airshows throughout the year
1/2 MILE FROM
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 S ubscrib
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A LEGEND REBORN SCALE MODEL WORLD 2018

Delayed from last month, the editor takes a detailed look at Tamiya’s brand-new Part 2 of our highlights package from one of the world’s largest two day model
1:48 Spitfire Mk.I. shows. Next month we look at the traders and club stands…

EYE OF THE STORM

Drewe Manton tackles what he considers to be the best fighter of WWII, as he
builds Eduard’s brand-new 1:48 Hawker Tempest Mk.V.

Issue 162 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 81

FINAL THOUGHTS
DONNIE AND JETT -
JUNIOR KITS TO MAKE YOU SMILE!
I
t goes without saying that the vast majority of what we do here at
MAI can be seen to fall within the ‘serious’ end of the hobby, where
real machines are replicated to create miniatures that well, look
like the real thing. That’s all very well but to many — small children
included — it can sometimes be a little stuffy and it’s not often
that you see something that makes you smile or even laugh out loud.
Thanks to Revell, we may just have found two kits that do just that…
Whilst examining their incredible trade stand at SMW I was taken by
many of their new kits, the appearance of their soon-to-be-released F/A-
18E being particularly eye-catching. But it was two other kits in 1/20 that
really caught my eye - Donnie and Jett from their Junior Super Wings
series! Large and brightly coloured, I couldn’t help but be impressed by
these wonderfully beguiling models. Designed for small children, these
kits offer play value as well as the need to construct each one using
“Wingnut Wings 0/400 may have been the star of the show in Telford, but Donnie
and Jett were my real favourites - just don’t tell anyone!”
82 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - January 2019
the clips and screws supplied in the box. They can be displayed as
traditional aircraft (albeit, amusing, cartoon-shaped aircraft with smily
faces!) as well as on legs, transforming into something akin to a robot.
They are large, shiny and utterly glorious!
This is the type of model kit that can be a gateway into other types
of model that we all enjoy day to day and for that reason alone, I
think we should thank Revell for taking the time to create them and
the other Junior kits for their range. I think they are fabulous and I’m
looking forward to building both for my office - who knows, I may even
feature them in MAI if I get the chance! Wingnut Wings 0/400 may have
been the star of the show in Telford, but Donnie and Jett were my real
favourites - just don’t tell anyone!
See you next time. ■
KIT PREVIEW
TAMIYA 1:48 SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.I ● KIT NO.61119
BIRTH OF A NEW ICON
Tamiya have created an 100%, all-new 1:48 kit of the
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I and it has to be seen to be believed
T
he Supermarine
Spitfire needs little
introduction. As the
best known aircraft
deployed by the Royal
Air Force – and arguably
the most famous aircraft
of the Second World
War – Reginald Joseph
Mitchell's fighter battled
the Luftwaffe in 1940 for
control of the skies over the
English Channel during
the the Battle of Britain.
The Spitfire Mk.I had a
streamlined form with
elliptical wings designed
for speed and fast turns in
dogfights. It was powered
by a twenty-seven litre,
V12 Rolls Royce Merlin
engine that produced around
1,300hp in flight.
Now, thanks to Tamiya,
this legendary British
fighter gets completely
re-tooled for totally updated
appearance in the 1:48
Aircraft Series. ●
Features:
• The airframe's form was accurately
replicated in miniature after numerous
in-depth study sessions of real Spitfires
• The model can be assembled with the
canopy section and access door open or
closed. Two different fuselage inserts are
provided for these options
• Spitfire Mk.I cockpit is a near perfect
miniature of the real thing
• Photo-etched metal parts for bulkhead
surface, compass bracket, seat harnesses
and rudder foot-straps
• Three individual decals provide the dial
faces for the instrument panel
• Pilot figure comes with separately
moulded head for fine detail
representation
• Initial-variant Mk.I gunsight is recreated
with photo-etched parts
• Choice of two clear-moulded parts for
Spitfire Mk.I reflector gunsights
• Three types of front canopy are included;
two with different bulletproof glass
designs and one without
• Slide-in one-piece horizontal stabilizer
assembly and rudder for perfect
alignment
• Wing-gun muzzle detail is included to fill
the wing gun ports
• Hoses and photo-etched grilles are
provided for the underwing engine and oil
radiators
• Two types of aerial mast and pitot tubes
are included
• Multi-part exhausts allow for extreme
accuracy and detail
• Three markings-options are offered;
DW-K (P9495) of No.610 Squadron, Battle
of Britain 1940
FZ-L (K9906) of No.65 Squadron, pre-war
1939
QV (N3200) of No.19 Squadron, Operation
Dynamo (Dunkirk) 1940
• Canopy masking sheet provided
• Propeller is mounted on a polycap to
allow rotation
“ Tamiya’s brand new 1:48 scale
Spitfire Mk.I delivers innovative design,
• Recessed panel lines across entire
airframe
outstanding detail, an accurate outline
and crisp, subtle surface textures...
Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited - www.hobbyco.net
Advertisement
”
(Brett Green)