ALL THE INFORMATION YOU’LL EVER NEED

TO CREATE THE BEST AIRCRAFT MODELS 4 NEW BUILDS

INSIDE
KIT BU ILD

TANTE JU
REVELL’S 1:48 JUNKERS
JU-52 IS A WONDERFUL
S
IBER
KIT, AS WE SET OUT TO
S U BSCIRNSIDE PROVE…
FOR TAILS
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www.modelairplaneinternational.com

October 2019
£4.75 / Issue 171

KIT BUILD

A CANDID APPRAISAL
ZVEZDA’S 1:144 IL-76 HAS ALREADY GARNERED
MUCH PRAISE. WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE LATEST
ADDITION TO THEIR FAMILY.

KIT BUILD

FREDDIE OHR’S MARIE

EDUARD’S BRAND-NEW 1:48 P-51D MUSTANG STEPS INTO THE SPOTLIGHT.

KIT BUILD

FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER

AIRFIX’S 1:48 HAWKER SEA FURY ENJOYS AN ANTIPODEAN MAKEOVER. 9 771747 504069
 How to contact us:
Contents Tel: 01525 222573
Model Airplane International. Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane,
VOLUME 14. ISSUE 171. OCTOBER 2019 Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, England

VOL.14 ISS.171 OCTOBER 2019

Editorial:
Editor: Spencer Pollard
spencer@doolittlemedia.com
REGULARS FEATURES Publisher: Alan Harman
Group Editor: Marcus Nicholls
P04 - IN THIS ISSUE P22 IT’S SHOWTIME! Administration Manager: Hannah McLaurie
P06 - COMMENT IPMS Avon’s annual show opens its doors... Office Manager: Paula Gray
P08 - NEWSLINE Advertising Manager: Richard Andrews
P78 - EVENTS DIARY P28 IL-76: A CANDID APPRAISAL richard@doolittlemedia.com
P79 - CONTACTS DETAILS
P81 - NEXT ISSUE Huw Morgan builds Zvezda’s very impressive Art:
P82 - FINAL THOUGHTS… 1:144 kit. Editorial Design: Peter Hutchinson
Advertising Design: Peter Hutchinson & Alex Hall
REVIEWS P36 FREDDIE OHR’S MARIE
Do we need another 1:48 P-51D Mustang? Advertisement and circulation:
Model Airplane International, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane,
P10 KIT BOX Eduard seem to think so as they release their Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX.
Which models will you be building over the brand-new kit… Tel: 01525 222573
coming months? E-mail: sean@doolittlemedia.com
P50 TANTE JU
P20 IN PRINT Ivan Jensen Taylor build’s Revell’s very impressive Distribution:
The latest additions to your library shelves… 1:48 Junkers Ju-52. Seymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue,
London, EC1A 9PT.
P26 ONE, ONE, FOUR FOUR NEWS P58 FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER…
Tel: 020 7429 4000
All that’s new for fans of this increasingly
popular scale. Mike Williams reviews Airfix’s latest 1:48 Newstrade:
Sea Fury release. Select Publisher Services, 3 East Avenue,
Bournemouth, BH3 7BW.
P66 KIT PREVIEW Tel: 01202 586848 E-mail: tim@selectps.com
Spencer Pollard takes an in-depth look at Revell’s P70 TATTOO ARTISTS!
latest 1:32 aircraft kit, the F-18E Super Hornet. Alan Firbank brings us some of the highlights from Subscriptions:
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Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 3

IN THIS ISSUE...
Welcome to the October issue of your favourite
aircraft modelling magazine!
his month we continue with
T what has been a theme over the
last couple of issues or so, to
concentrate predominantly on a
brand-new aircraft kit release, in
this case, Eduard’s 1:48 P-51D Mustang.
Splitting opinion somewhat amongst
those that feel a new kit is welcome, and
those that feel another Mustang is far from
Written by original in the face of more ‘interesting'
subjects, the appearance of this long-
Spencer Pollard since announced kit from Eduard is to
us a welcome change from the German
subjects that they have concentrated
on of late. The kit seen this month (a
limited-edition released replicating Edward
Pogue’s “Chattanooga Choo Choo”) sets
4 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
the scene for what will no-doubt be a long
list of ’Profipack’ and ‘Weekend’ releases
covering most of the P-51D’s sub-variants
and colour schemes, both WWII and
post-war. Having now built one for this
issue, we can’t help but be impressed by
the Eduard design team’s desire to create
an all-encompassing package straight
from the bat, the box containing virtually
everything that you will need to build almost
every variant of ‘filleted’ P-51Ds, thanks
to the inclusion of so many optional parts.
Those that have seen earlier releases from
Eduard will no-doubt be unsurprised by
this approach, but even so, it is welcome
nonetheless.
Along with Eduard’s latest release, we
are taking a look, albeit a cursory one at this stage,
at Revell’s 1:32 F-18E Super Hornet. Announced
at last year’s IPMS Scale Model World, we have
waited a long time to get our hands on the kit and
now that it is here, we can begin to make plans for a
full build later this year. Revell are not exactly known
for their model jet releases in 1:32, most of their new
kits being either helicopters or WWII types, so the
appearance of this most impressive of USN jets, is
as welcome as it is surprising. This month we have
a full preview of the kit ready for the aforementioned
build, which should give you plenty of information
should you be planning on tackling one for your own
collection.
Alongside our fighters, we also have two very fine
features on two of the world’s most famous transport
aircraft, the Ilyushin IL-76 ‘Candid’ built from
Zvezda’s 1:144 kit and the Junkers Ju-52 built from
Revell’s 1:48 offering. Built by Huw Morgan and Ivan
Jensen Taylor respectively, these two features are
both in-depth looks at aircraft that though perhaps
not holding the same levels of glamour as their
smaller, more pugnacious partners, still offer much
in the way of interest and detail. But more than that,
the sheer number of these machines that have
appeared in service over the years in a bewildering
variety of different versions and specifications, will
allow any modeller the chance to build something
just a little different - and we all want that, right?!
We complete this month’s content with a
feast for the eyes in the form of a photo-feature
memorialising many of the wonderful aircraft
and colour schemes seen at this year’s Royal
International Air Tattoo. Brought to you by the pen
and camera of Alan Firbank, we hope that this will
provide much in the way of inspiration should you
be a fan of modern aircraft in bright colours and
markings. We have our favourites, I wonder which
will be yours?
This then is the October issue of Model Airplane
International. We hope that you enjoy it and that we
see you next month. ■
 SEEING IS NOT
BELIEVING
Jonathan Mock looks – literally – at how sometimes what we see at museums and air
shows might not be how it’s meant to be
ack in 1996/97 when
B Tamiya released their
1/48 Gloster Meteor
Mk.I there were gasps
of surprise on the
(then) still new modelling bulletin
boards and fledgling forums. It
was a bold choice by Tamiya
and a subject that hitherto had
not been realised in that scale
since the old AMT kit from the
1970s that was of varying quality
and accuracy. Here Tamiya were
bringing their trademark eye for
detail and accuracy, what could
possibly go wrong? Quite a bit as
it turns out… Evidently Tamiya’s
R&D team had used the restored
Meteor Mk.I, DG202/G, at RAF
Cosford as the basis for their kit
and, believing what they were
looking at was genuine, followed it
down to every last detail.
The problem was that Cosford’s
‘Meatbox’ was a bit of a hybrid
and down the years, had
somehow acquired a set of Mk.III
wings with the airbrakes and had
6 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
been painted in spurious colours,
all of which Tamiya reproduced
in their kit. Of course the Online
response was measured and
restrained – in as much as people
started throwing toys out of
prams and the kit was declared
“unbuildable”, a mindset that has
changed little in the intervening
22 years. The reality –– for those
who wanted to add a 1:48 Meteor
Mk.I to their collections –– was a
little less dramatic or apocalyptic.
I bought and built the model for an
article in Scale Models at the time
and went through the process
of correcting the wings and
colour scheme. It really was just
basic modelling stuff that barely
interrupted the rapid progress
of the project and, unlike those
who went off in a huff that the kit
wasn’t perfect straight from the
box, I had a 1:48 Meteor for my
shelves.
Consequently Tamiya not only
released a Mk.III but also went
back and corrected the Mk.I,
retooling the wing and getting
rid of the superfluous airbrakes.
Anyone who has a copy of the
original erroneous kit has a
minor collectors item on their
hands these days. But it did go
to show that even Tamiya could
be caught short by preserved
machines, their 1:32 F-4 Phantom
kit appears to have repair panels
from an instructional airframe
that weren’t standard on the
production aircraft.
What Tamiya’s Meteor shows
–– and one or two other kits since
then –– is that when presented
with a first-hand example to
photograph, measure and even
scan, it cannot be entirely treated
as verbatim and other references
have to be consulted to make
sure that what people are seeing
is representative of the object
and not the result of ad-hoc
repairs, parts scavenged from
another (similar) type or modern
adornments for flying and safety
purposes.
Colour schemes can also
be problematic, though usually
they are easier to spot. For
some quite odd and bizarre
reason –– or perhaps through
an absence of it –– museums in
the UK went through a period of
repainting aircraft, sometimes
losing valuable archaeological
evidence with regard to accurate
colours. Whether as a result of
well meant but poor research, or
a stiffly penned memo by a senior
manager who fancied themselves
as an authority, museums ended
up with aircraft in “odd” schemes.
The Cosford Meteor is a good
example of this, it is painted in
what would appear to be the
“official” colours for prototype
aircraft of Dark Green, Dark
Earth and Yellow undersides
– except that DG202/G was
painted with Ocean Grey not Dark
Earth. Cosford’s Dh Mosquito
B.35, TA639, is similarly and
erroneously painted with Dark
Earth presumably because

someone somewhere at the time declared that
that was how all RAF bombers were finished,
this was a bomber variant of the Mossie, ergo
paint it this way. Monogram’s 1:48 Mosquito
Mk.IV released in 1966 also promulgates a
similar error in thinking that RAF Mossies
wore Dark Green and Dark Earth camouflage
– be nice if they had!
But before you think it was the RAF
having a field day slapping the wrong paint
on their precious artefacts, the Royal Navy
was also wielding the paintbrush on some of
their aircraft and we ended up with Martlets,
Hellcats, Corsairs and Avengers where
valuable insights into their former schemes
were lost under thick layers of gloss blue
paint. It has to be said, and to their eternal
credit, Dave Morris and his team down at
the Fleet Air Museum have undertaken two
mammoth restoration jobs in recent years,
one which was uncovering various layers of
paint on their Corsair, KD431, that revealed
some incredible insights into not only the
previous paint schemes and colours but also
the manufacturing origin of some parts. The
other was Grumman Martlet l, AL246, one of
a batch of aircraft designated G-36As and
meant for the French Navy. Again the team
went through layers of paint applied down the
decades until they started finding some of the
unique colours that they believed were from
the original delivery scheme for the French.
The wings on AL246 display the various
layers of original colours whereas the fuselage
– stripped to bare metal long ago – was
repainted in what are believed to be accurate
representations of the original French colours.
Alas, some of the worst victims of this fetish
for colour revisionism have been what few
Luftwaffe aircraft survived WW2. Decisions
were taken to repaint them in what was
“thought” to be standards colours – for that
read the kinds of black-green and light green
splinter patterns with oddly proportioned
markings – so beloved of film productions at
the time. It’s only been in recent decades that
the nuances and complexity of RLM colours
has really started to be fully appreciated
and references get revised with each new
discovery. The National Air and Space
Museum (NASM) restoration of their Heinkel
219 has been painstaking to make sure that
everything is as accurate as possible – 50
years ago someone with a roller and some
tins of emulsion would have probably been
told “paint it like this because that’s what all
Luftwaffe aircraft look like’.
Perhaps the saddest example of
unsympathetic restoration was the very recent
‘Europe’s Number One Model Shops’
www.hannants.co.uk
FREEDOM MODELS
CARICATURE SERIES
NO SCALE APPROX. 10CM LONG
FD162702 - Lockheed F-104/TF-104/RF-104
discovery in the Al-Wadi al-Jadid deserts of (Compact Series) Includes 3 Kits £27.50
Egypt of a P-40 Kittyhawk Mk.IA, ET574,
flown by Flight Sergeant Dennis Copping.
The aircraft was stunningly well-preserved
in places despite the privations of the
desert conditions and it was recovered and
restored. Alas the final paint scheme was
comical in it’s lack of either awareness or
understanding of the subject, everything from
the choice of garish gloss colours to the utterly
inappropriate roundel type and size was a
stark reminder that restorations need to be
done with forensic care.
Today’s warbird scene has thankfully FD162705 - Lockheed F-104 & TF-104 NATO Starfighter
started to take accurate period markings a lot (Compact Series) Includes 2 kits £19.99
more seriously, certainly in the UK the level
of research and skill that goes into repainting
vintage aircraft is a gladdening sight, though
you still get some privately owned aircraft that
slip through the loop and end up with glossy
finishes and inaccurately proportioned or sized
markings.
When it comes to natural metal warbirds
like P-51 Mustangs it can be very easy to
see the glossy, gleaming bright metal finishes
flying today and think this was how they
would have been during WW2. A study of FD162706 - Northrop F-5E & F-5F 7th FTW 40th
period photos will quickly show how dull the Anniversary ROCAF (Compact Series) Includes 2 Kits £19.99
metal finishes on Mustangs often became
despite the best efforts of ground crews to
keep them clean and squeeze out those extra
few knots that could make the difference
between life and death for the pilot. Anyone
using a modern warbird as a starting point for
a metal finish may well produce something
that is glorious to look at and a testament to
their painting abilities – but it’ll be about as
right for the period as that poor glossy P-40
now ignominiously stuck on a plinth at the El
Alamein Military Museum.
Perhaps the funniest example of trusting FD162710 - F-16C (Compact Series) Includes 2 Kits £26.50
what you see was Trumpeter’s 1:72 Fairey
Gannet that used a single machine as gospel
and included a rather cryptic and unfortunately
worded decal that was assumed to be part
of the general airframe stencilling – it was
in fact a museum sign warning people
“TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED”.
With any point of reference, a single source
should always be used as a starting point and
then be verified by other sources. Of course
this sometimes throws up inconsistencies and
can ask more questions than it answers but
FD162711 - IAF F-16I SUFA /Storm & F-16C
that’s half the fun. (Compact Series) Includes 2 Kits £19.99
As soon as I finish this piece I have to go
paint some wheel wells on a model but I’m
okay there as I have some reference photos I
took in a museum. Assuming they got it right H.G.Hannant Ltd,
of course… ■ Harbour Road, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR32 3LZ, England.
Open from 09.00 to 17.30 Monday to Saturday.
Phone: 00 44 (0)1502 517444 (8 lines) 0845 130 72 48 local rate
from UK phones only (NOT mobiles)
Fax: 00 44 (0)1502 500521 E-Mail: sales@hannants.co.uk
This month’s round-up of all that’s new in the world of aircraft modelling...
BACHMANN
www.bachmann.co.uk
AVIATION 72 RANGE TAKES BACHMANN EUROPE TO NEW HEIGHTS
Bachmann Europe are pleased to announce that
they have been appointed distributor of the highly
regarded Aviation 72 range of 1:72 scale Diecast
Military Aircraft. A selection of more than 50 models
will now be available from Bachmann stockists.
Each aircraft is highly detailed, fully assembled and
authentically decorated with fine printing where
appropriate. Models from the core AV72 range
feature a fixed undercarriage and plastic stand whilst
those sold under the AV72 Premium Range banner
include separate interchangeable undercarriage &
armaments and an adjustable metal stand. Models
AVAILABLE FROM doolittlemedia.com
8 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
from both ranges will be offered by Bachmann
Europe alongside a 1:144 scale Vickers Valiant BK.1
(modelled on XD818 which is preserved at Cosford)
and two 1:200 scale C-130J Hercules modelled on
RAF ZH884 and ZH883 – the latter carrying the
special markings that it received during 2016 to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Hercules in
RAF service.
The full range available from Bachmann stockists can
be found on their website:
www.bachmann.co.uk/aviation-72/
These models are in stock and available to order
now. To find your nearest stockist please visit:
www.bachmann.co.uk/stockists/
Aviation 72 is the perfect addition to Bachmann
Europe’s ever-expanding portfolio of model and
hobby products, expanding the selection of highly
detailed, assembled and decorated aircraft already
available from the likes of Easy Model and Merit
International.
 The International Plastic Modellers Society (UK) presents

The World’s Greatest Model Show

Incorporating the IPMS (UK) National Competition

Over Almost
180 200
Trade Branches
Stands & Clubs

Saturday Sunday
9th November 2019 10th November 2019
Open: 10.00am to 6.00pm Open: 10.00am to 4.00pm
Admission: Adults £12.00 Admission: Adults £10.00
*
Concessions £9.00 Concessions £7.00*
Two day pass £20.00 ~ Children under 16: FREE (up to 2 children per full-paying adult)
Advance ticket sales now available from: ipmsuk.org/ipms-scale-modelworld

IPMS Members FREE Admission

The International Centre Telford Shropshire TF1 4JH

*Concessions means either Seniors (over state retirement age) or Registered Disabled (accompanying carer gets free admission)
KIT BOX
TAMIYA
www.tamiya.com
FORK-TAILED LIGHTNING: TAMIYA’S 1:48 P-38G/H BREAKS COVER...
Airfix/Materials: IM/Kit No. A01005/Availability: All Good Model Shops/Price: £6.99
A
s this issue was going to print, we received a ‘white-box’ sample of
the brand-new Tamiya P-38G/H Lightning that is set for release in
November. Because of the very short amount of time that we have had
to look at the kit before print, we simply have not been able to write
anything about the contents of the box beyond this most concise of
paragraphs. Suffice to say that the kit looks to be everything that you could wish
1:48
JUST
IN!
for in a plastic model kit, with superbly-moulded parts, excellent detail and as
usual in a Tamiya kit, design ideas that make you smile from ear to ear! Despite
time being so short, we couldn’t resist dropping some pictures into this section of
the magazine to let you see what you can expect when it is released in several
months time. As for our sample, we’ll be taking a far more detailed look at it in the
next issue...
TAMIYA
www.tamiya.com
1:72 MESSERSCHMITT BF109G-6
Tamiya/Materials: IM/Kit No. 60790/Availability:
All Good Model Shops/Price: £16 Approx.
T
hough hardly a regular occurrence,
Tamiya have over the years chosen
to accompany their 1:48 aircraft
releases with 1:72 versions, kits
that though simplified in design,
still build into fine replicas in their own
right. Latest to hit the model shop shelves
is the Messerschmitt Bf109G-6, a kit that
is as simple as it is impressive, despite its
diminutive size!
If you have already built Tamiya’s 1:48
‘109G-6, don’t be fooled into thinking this one
will offer the same features: it won’t. What
it does offer is a finely moulded, delicately
detailed kit that builds into arguably the best
Me109 available in this scale. Indeed, as
far as this particular variant is concerned,
Tamiya has all-but closed the book on it in
1:72 and unless a company comes along
with a hyper-detailed offering with a full
engine bay, I see this as the benchmark kit
for some tome to come. But enough of these
heady plaudits, what does the kit actually
provide and what are our opinions on it?
Lift the well-illustrated box lid and you
will find three plastic runners, two in grey for
the airframe and one in clear for the canopy
and gunsights. Moulding quality is as you
would expect from Tamiya, that is clean,
crisp and entirely blemish-free. Detail is finely
rendered, the panel lines in particular being
absolutely superb, sharp, fine and entirely
consistent across the surface of the model.
Construction begins sensibly within
the cockpit, a floor/bulkhead part being
embellished with seat pan, control column
and sundry smaller details. Seat straps
are supplied in decal form which though
acceptable for a model with the canopy
closed, will not look so impressive with
the canopy open. Given the number of
aftermarket straps available to the modeller,
this is unlikely to be an issue, but is worth
mentioning nonetheless. Having built the
basic floor and seat, the interior walls can
be dealt with, separate overlays being used
to create a pleasing depth of detail over that
already moulded onto the inner surfaces of
each fuselage half.
The airframe’s breakdown and
construction follows a reasonably traditional
route with the usual fuselage halves, full-
VERDICT
This is a very fine addition to Tamiya’s range of 1:72 aircraft kits. Its simplicity will appeal to modellers who are maybe starting out on their journey through
the hobby, as well as those looking for something quick and easy to enjoy in between larger, more complex projects. Though it is rather more expensive than
many of its competitors, the quality of the package is undeniable and this falls squarely within the field of “you pay your money and take your choice”. Having
bought this kit at a recent model show I certainly did just that and I look forward to seeing how it builds and compares to its competition, later this year. In the
meantime I can do little more than recommend this kit and look forward to building it in due course. (Spencer Pollard)
1:72
span lower wing panel and upper halves,
individual fin and tailplanes, all being present
and correct. Where the clever design work
comes in, is around the cowling where three
parts combine along panel lines to both allow
fine detail to be incorporated and then cut
down on any damaging clean-up. Having
been impressed with Tamiya’s legendary fit
over the years, the idea that this will not run
on rails seems implausible, so I was more
than happy to see this route taken. Similarly,
the wonderful instructions make mention of
the seam line that runs along the spine and
belly of the ‘109 and how you shouldn’t clean
it up, but then you weren’t going anyway,
were you?
Unlike its larger brother, this kit offers
nothing in the way of drooped flaps, slats
and other control surfaces, everything
being moulded in place in neutral positions.
Though this no doubt simplifies construction
and reduces the number of parts needed to
complete the model, I would certainly have
liked to see at least some of these within the
kit as they are so much part of the look of a
‘109 on the ground. As it is, you are left to
either complete the model as-is, or carry out
some very delicate surgery to remove the
control surfaces as you see fit. For our build
we will be leaving well alone…
With the airframe complete, you deal with
the smaller details: undercarriage, exhausts,
propeller and a rather neat underbelly
drop tank. Everything here is once again
detailed with aplomb, the undercarriage
legs in particular being very impressively
in-scale, cleverly designed tabs atop each
one ensuring that they are fixed at the correct
forward angle and rake. Finally, we have
the canopy and two optional gunsights, the
former allowing the canopy to be posed in its
open position thanks to small tabs that you
simply remove should you chose to close
everything up.
A well-printed decal sheet is supplied
that not only offers marking for two different
aircraft, but also the aforementioned seat
straps, stencils and thankfully, swastikas for
the tail. The choices are as follows:
● 4./JG51, Radomir, Bulgaria, June 1944.
● 9./JG54, February 1944.
Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 11
KIT BOX
1:72
AZUR/ FFROM
www.frrom.com

1:72 SMB-2 SUPER MYSTÈRE B2 EARLY

Azur/ FFROM/Materials: IM/Kit No. FR0035/Availability: All Good Model Shops/Price: £20 Approx.

F
ollowing the success of its Ouragan, Mystère II and Mystère IVA designs
Dassault developed their Mystère IVB into the Super Mystère. The
Super Mystère B1 was powered by an Avon engine, and the B2 by an
Atar 101. The Super Mystère B2 prototype made its maiden flight on
May 15th, 1956 at Villaroche, piloted by Gérard Muselli. It was the first
European aircraft outside of the USSR to go supersonic in horizontal flight.
This is the second Azur/FFROM kit to pass across the editorial desk in recent
months and the second to impress with its level of detail, accuracy and finesse.
Designed in the Czech Republic, the plastic is beautifully moulded and in places,
detailed to levels that would impress the most ardent of enthusiasts. The fact that
it all combines to replicate one of the best-looking jets of the immediate Post-War
era, only adds to the pleasure that one gets from examining the contents of the
beautifully illustrated box.
Azur/FFROM have released a number of individual kits of this aircraft, the one
seen here being the ‘Early’ French variant finished in natural metal (the ‘Later’
aircraft offering only camouflaged jets). With only the ‘Early’ box to hand it’s
difficult to tell if their differ much in the way of plastic, though it would appear from
the Azur/FFROM website that the ‘Late’ box contains the extended tail pipe seen
fitted to Israeli jets. Being so impressed with the one to hand, I may buy the later
aircraft as well - if I do, I’ll let you know if there are any differences!
Across the board, detail is excellent, both in terms of fine features such as the
cockpit and undercarriage, and over the surface of the airframe, the panel lines
and other features being exceptionally pleasing. Though highlights are numerous,
I was particularly impressed with the cockpit and its delicately rendered features,
the multipart ejection seat and extraordinary rudder pedals, being particularly
noteworthy. Instruments are delicately raised so painting should be easy enough
within a predominantly black interior. A decal is then supplied to deal with the
instrument faces - a nice touch.
The airframe is superb, the sweeping lines of the Mystère being captured to
a tee. Surface detail takes the form of delicately engrave panel lines and control
surface breaks. Rivets are noticeable by the absence, though with the numerous
tools available to the modeller to replicate such things, adding them to the model
during construction, will not be hard to do. Within the fuselage you not only add
the cockpit, you will build and locate a full-length intake trunk and what looks to be
an accurately deep jet pipe, each completed with relevant turbine faces. Though
not noted within the instructions (though it is on their website) the kit will need

AIRFIX
www.airfix.com 1:144
APOLLO SATURN V
Airfix/Materials: IM/Kit No. A11170/Availability: All Good Model Shops/Price: £44.99

T
here are plenty of kits out there that can claim to be ‘classics’
and I’m sure that many of you will have your own personal
list of subjects. Following the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo
moon landings, it comes as no surprise to see an absolute
classic being released once more: the Airfix 1:144 Apollo
Saturn V.
Part of a collection of space kits released during the 1970s, the
Saturn V has not only formed the centrepiece of many a small boy’s kit
collection, it has been part of a staggering number of film miniatures,
with model makers from many of the world’s studios having used it to
detail some of the world’s most iconic spaceships.
Seeing the kit once more, you can’t help but still be impressed with
the size and detail created by those Airfix designers over 40 years ago.
The finesse of the parts, the detail found on each one, the number of
separate sections and the sheer presence of the model once complete,
point to a kit that must have been amazing when first released. Even
today it holds up well, and now, thanks to the addition of some state of
the art decals, you can finish it without compromise.
Many of you will no doubt have either seen one of these kits, or even
built one over the years, so it seems odd to be reviewing it in detail

12 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

nose weight to balance the model on all three wheels. Space for this should not be
a problem, so forewarned is forearmed.
As with Tamiya’s Bf109G-6, the kit offers little in the way of set-up options, all
of the control surfaces being modelled in their neutral positions. That said, there
are choices, with the chance to open the canopy to display the cockpit interior
and then build and install small or large underwing tanks, along with Sidewinder
missiles. As with the rest of the kit, these small details are captured well, with
incredibly delicate detail in evidence, especially that seen on the missiles.
Having built the kit, you are faced with a choice of three different aircraft to
paint. The instructions suggest that these jets are all natural metal in finish, but
they may have been sprayed aluminium. Time and a little research will confirm
which is correct, but either way, thanks to the alternate pale blue, green or red
trim, the completed model will look superb once complete. The choices offered are
as follows:
● SM B2 Nr 110, 10-SB from 04/24/59 to 11/20/64, EC 01/10 “Valois”, Creil.
Engaged in the SEATO cruise to Bangkok in March 61.
● SM B2 Nr 18, 12-ZH from 02/07/68 to 04/03/70, EC 02/12 “Cornouaille”,
Cambria.
● SM B2 Nr 60, 5-NJ from 05/03/61 to 05/04/64, EC 01/05 “Vendée”, Orange-
Caritat.
Decals are superb. The Cartograf printed sheet includes not only the national
insignia and unit markings, it also offers three sets of trim in the relevant unit
colours, as well as stencilling for one aircraft. Printing looks to be perfect and
colour as close to spot-on as you could hope for. Whichever version you choose
–– and we’ve decided on the box-art, pale blue trimmed EC 01/10 aircraft –– you’ll
have a stunning model at the end of the process. Very impressive!

VERDICT
This is a fine kit of a very attractive aircraft. With little more than the Airfix kit for competition, the market has been crying out for a modern kit of Dassault’s
iconic jet and Azure/FFROM have filled that gap in some style. We are really looking forward to building this kit and bringing you a full report on how it goes
together. Maybe, I should now buy the ‘Late’ version? Hmm… (Spencer Pollard)

here. Still, for those that haven’t seen one, a few pointers may be in order. Of
course the first thing that strikes you is the size of the kit and the parts that come
together to build it. In reality the Saturn V was huge, so even in the diminutive
scale of 1:144, the completed model is impressive, standing at around 18 inches
tall. Each of the individual stages is offered, with a complete set of engine bells
on show, from he massive F-1 engines of the first stage (S-IC), through to the J-2
engines of the later, second and third stages (S-II and S-IVB respectively). Add to
that the depiction of the Lunar Module, Service Module, Command Module and
Escape Rocket and the number of areas to model, is easily seen.
Detail is still very impressive. The surface of the rocket is well-captured, as are
those engines. The detail obsessives amongst you will no doubt find additions that
could easily be made and should you decide not to stack everything together to
create a vertical display, instead choosing to split everything and lay the pieces out
horizontally, you will be able to see much of your handiwork. Though the rocket is
predominantly white with black trim, don’t be fooled into believing that that is it, as
there is plenty of other colours and textures to recreate the engines in particular
being a mass of metallic shades, as indeed is the tiny Lunar Model. It will be a
challenge to assemble and paint, but a fun one that will result in a fine replica of
the most powerful machine ever created by man.

VERDICT
I was really hoping that this kit would reappear as I’ve always wanted to build one. Now that it is here, I have every intention of doing that, both as testament to the
Airfix designers that were bold enough to create this kit in the first place, but more importantly to those incredibly brave men that flew these rockets on the way to
the moon.
Thanks to Airfix for the review sample seen this month. (Spencer Pollard)

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 13

KIT BOX
EDUARD
www.eduard.com
MIRAGE IIIC ‘SHACKAK’
Eduard/Materials: IM/Kit No. 11128/Availability: All Good Model Shops/Price: £37.99
L
atest in a long line of Mirage III kits from Eduard, this one deals with
the Mirage III in Israeli service from 1969 through to 1980. In so doing,
the kit offers 5 different aircraft in 4 different schemes: camouflage (two
variations), natural metal and two-tone grey.
Eduard’s latest kit is a ‘Limited Edition’ offering that not only includes
their impressive plastic kit, it also features two sets of etched details (one
coloured), a set of masks for both the canopy and intake trim, as well as a bag of
resin that deals with the later, rear fuselage jet pipe and exhaust applicable to the
Atar 9C engine that was found within two of the choices on the decal sheet.
Detail is, as you would expect from this manufacturer, very impressive, despite
some of the parts exhibiting a little flash here and there. Work begins with the
cockpit, plastic parts being embellished with coloured, photo-etched details, the
14 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
1:48
seat being a particular recipient of this multi-media approach with its seat straps
and pull handles. The instrument consoles and main panel are also helped out by
the addition of new parts, the latter being overlaid with no less than six pieces of
etch to create a most impressive facsimile of the original. Should etch not be your
thing, the decal sheet includes a design that will help decorate the stock, plastic
part.
The airframe is broken down in a familiar fashion, though despite the innate
simplicity of Dassault’s masterpiece, the kit is rather more complex than you might
imagine, with a lot of parts within the fuselage and then an equally impressive list
of parts around that distinctive delta wing. Having built one of these kits recently,
Mike Williams noted some fit issues, so I would suggest a series of dry-runs
before committing to the glue pot, the fit between the lower nose and wing, and
the rear fuselage and wing, being worthy of consideration - especially on an
aircraft finished in natural metal.
In terms of changes and the use of those additional resin parts, the instructions
are explicit in their guidance, but as we have yet to put this one together, we can’t
comment further on fit, or a clear path to their union with the plastic rear fuselage,
once the unwanted area has been removed.
Being a pure interceptor, the kit offers stores appropriate to the role: underwing
tanks, centreline tank, MATRA 530 and finally Sidewinder -9D missiles. Though
the bulk of the stores are plastic, the slimline 500 litre tanks are further detailed
with photo-etched fins and braces to create a rather distinctive look, a clever
template being supplied to ensure that the three fins are correctly spaced.
Having built the kit, you are faced with your choice of colour schemes. The
individual choices are also follows:
● No. 177, 117 Tayeset, Ramat David Air Base, Israel, 1977.
● No. 70, 117 Tayeset, Ramat David Air Base, Israel, June 1967.
● No. 778, 101 Tayeset, Hatzor Air Base, Israel, 1972.
● No. 153, 253 Tayeset, Eitam Air Base, Israel, 1980.
● No. 758, 119 Tayeset, Tel Nof Air Base, Israel, 1969.
The decal sheet is a real highlight of this kit, being large, well printed and
offering not only the unit markings and other individual designs, but also those
distinctive yellow/black triangles for the wings, full red trim for the intakes and then
a comprehensive set of stencils to add that extra layer of gloss.

VERDICT
This is an impressive reboxing of Eduard’s stalwart Mirage II kit. Though the plastic parts are now more than familiar to most, the additional resin and etched parts,
and then that excellent decal sheet, certainly make this as a complete an offering as possible. Given its ‘Limited Edition’ tag, should you want one to add this iconic
aircraft to your collection, I would grab one whilst you can and though relatively expensive, we are sure that many modellers will still see it as good value given the
additional parts and the replica that is possible from the box. Thanks to Eduard for the review sample. (Spencer Pollard)

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 15

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Doolittle Media Ltd., Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, Great Britain
IN PRINT
BACHMANN EUROPE PLC
www.bachmann.co.uk
RAD SHUTTERS AUTO
■ By Stuart G Reid
■ Published by Bachmann Europe Plc
■ Guide Price: Free inside the Hong Kong
Model’s Dambuster’s 1:32 Lancaster kit.
■ ISBN: not present
■ 32pp softback, 210 x 148 mm
M
any readers will recognise the
Bachmann company name in
connection with excellent model
railway sets. They now look after
the importation and distribution of
several familiar kit brands in the UK such as
Trumpeter, Takom, Academy and Hong Kong
Models.
We have been sent this Dambusters booklet
as an introduction to the HKM Dambusters
Lancaster version of their 1:32 kit that has just
appeared in the shops at the time of writing.
This booklet has been written especially to
be included with the Dambusters Lancaster
kit by Stuart G Reid. Regular attenders at air
shows between 1999 and 2010 will probably
have seen Stuart Reid at work as the main
display pilot of the Battle of Britain Memorial
Flight’s Lancaster and Dakota. Having spent
HOST MODELS
www.radubstore.com
18 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
Please send all items for review to the following address: Model Airplane
International, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6
1QX, United Kingdom. Companies in the European Union should also
many hours at the controls of a Lancaster, he
is well qualified to write this companion to the
magnificent HKM kit.
Stuart Reid begins his book with a brief
history of his career in the RAF. The booklet
goes on to describe the reasons for the
Dambusters raid in May 1943 and the complex
issues that had to be resolved prior to the raid.
Busting the dams in the Ruhr valley would not
be simple a case of flying over and dropping
bombs from a safe height. The famous
‘bouncing bomb’ as depicted in the HKM kit
would provide the means of delivering high
explosive to the base of the dams in order
to set up a powerful shockwave that would
breach the dam wall. Stuart Reid describes
the development of Barnes Wallis’s bomb, the
formation of a special unit, No. 617 Squadron
and the raid itself. At the end of the book we
find several thoughts on the raid from some of
those that took part.
To include this booklet with the magnificent
kit is a lovely thought by Bachmann but will
only apply to kits sold in the UK and imported
by Bachmann. On top of this gesture to
modellers of the big Lancaster, the RAF
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF ROMANIAN AERONAUTICS, BRITISH
AIRCRAFT IN ROMANIA – HAWKER HURRICANE
■ By Horia Stoica and Vasile Radu
■ Published by Host Models
■ Guide Price 20 euros
■ ISBN 978-973-0-25783-0
■ 88pp hard back, 242 x 170 mm
W
e have been passed a copy of
the first of a series of books on
aircraft used by the Romanian
Air Force. A leaflet shows the
Hurricane book followed by
ones on the Storch and the 109 in Romanian
service. For those who’s Romanian is not up
to scratch, all of the text is printed in English
as well as Romanian. Having said that, there
is not very much reading, the overwhelming
amount of space is covered with black and
white pictures. We do see some notes on
the background to the use of the Hurricane
in Romania. Romania had placed an order
for fifty Hurricanes in 1938 but following
the outbreak of WWII the order was very
nearly stopped. The RAF needed all of the
planes that Hawkers could produce but the
Romanians managed to persuade the British
government to part with a dozen aircraft. An
order for Blenheims at the same time did make
it to Romania before war broke out.
This book tells the story of each of the
twelve Hurricanes, chapter by chapter, with a
few words but mainly pictures with informative
SAMPLES FOR REVIEW
add our VAT number, which is GB 789 7020 84
Benevolent Fund will receive a donation of
£1,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the
Dambuster Lancaster. By buying the kit, you
will be supporting a very worthy charity that
does valuable work with ex-RAF personnel.
Thanks to Bachmann for sending us the
‘Rad Shutters to Auto’ booklet and well done
to them for their generosity.
captions. When the British government
decided to release the first batch of Hurricanes
it was decided to move them from the UK to
Romania by boat and train. A team of British
mechanics were waiting to put the planes
together and a small number of pilots were
sent to train the Romanians. By the time all
of this took place there was the odd situation
where German personnel were doing the
same work with a batch of He 112s bought by
Romania from Germany. As was the tradition,
the German and British took each other on
in games of football. At the end of the book
we see the addition of Hurricanes 13,14
and 15. These were ex-RAF examples that
had been captured in good condition by the
Germans and then sold on to the Romanians.
There are some good Hurricane reference
photos illustrating one of those more obscure
stories from WWII. Romanian markings on
a Hurricane model will make an out of the
ordinary exhibit on your club’s table.
Thanks to Host Models for supplying the
first of an interesting series of books for both
modellers and those fascinated by WWII
aviation history. The publishers have the
ambitious aim to produce 100 similar volumes.
I managed to find that Scalemates in Belgium
can supply these books if you are looking to
buy a copy or order from a specialist book
shop such as Bookworldws.co.uk.

VALIANT WINGS
www.valiant-wings.co.uk
THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY – 4TH TO 7TH JUNE 1942 –
AIRFRAME EXTRA NO.10
■ By Various Authors
■ Published by Valiant Wings
Publishing Ltd
■ Guide Price £11.95
■ ISBN 978-1-912932-05-4
■ 72pp softback, 297 x 210 mm
quick flick through the
A
pages of this book when
it arrived the other day
reveals another excel-
lent Airframe Extra title
from Valiant Wings. The book is split
roughly one third on the history of
The Battle of Midway and two thirds,
kit builds and reference on a selec-
tion of kits of aircraft that took part in
the battle.
Firstly, we read about the lead-up
to the Battle of Midway beginning
with the surprise attack by the Japa-
nese on the US Navy base at Pearl
Harbor in December 1941. It was this
attack by the Japanese that would
finally pull the USA off the fence
regarding participation in WWII. The
Midway Atoll is a tiny group of islands
in the Pacific Ocean about halfway
between Hawaii and Japan. The
battle for control of the islands would
take place only six month after Pearl
Harbor. Although the islands are very
small, they were of great strategic
importance.
Using text, maps and photographs,
the opening chapter describes the
battle and the ships and aircraft tak-
ing part. In those few days of one of
the biggest naval battles in history,
the Japanese would lose two thirds
of its fleet. While the US were able to
replace its losses with relative ease,
AVAILABLE FROM
DOOLITTLE MEDIA
Japan would not be able to catch
up but fought on stubbornly for the
next three years until the atom bomb
attacks finally forces the Japanese
surrender in 1945. This chapter ends
with a useful table of Colour Refer-
ences showing the correct colours
for the main organisations taking part
in the Pacific campaign. References
are shown using enamel, lacquer and www.doolittlemedia.com
acrylic colours from the regular paint
suppliers.
The rest of the book consists of a
series of full kit build reviews. For the
builders of 1:48 there is the Hasega-
wa Nakajima B5N2 Kate, Italeri
(ex-Accurate Miniatures) Grumman
Avenger and Academy (ex-Accurate
Miniatures) Vindicator. In 1:72 we
have the Airfix B5N2 Kate, Hasega-
wa Dauntless and Airfix Wildcat and
finally the 1:144 Sweet Zero. Each
review is similar to those we find in
regular monthly modelling magazine,
describing the build and illustrating
the stages with good colour photos.
At the end of each review we find a
true and honest verdict on the kits.
Scattered between the reviews there
are eight pages of colour profiles
showing schemes applied to US and
Japanese aircraft that took part in the
Battle of Midway.
This is another great addition to
the Airframe Extra list of publications
and comes highly recommended.
See the Valiant Wings web site (val-
iant-wings.co.uk) or specialist book
outlets for ordering and availability.
www.doolittlemedia.com
Thanks to Valiant for supplying
their latest excellent title for review.
www.doolittlemedia.com
Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 19
IN PRINT

RED KITE
www.wingleader.co.uk
This month we are pleased to introduce a publisher that we have not featured in our book reviews before. Those who admire aviation art will
recognise the name, Mark Postlethwaite who, with Simon Parry, an aviation historian are the people behind Red Kite, founded about 20 years
ago. Their books are produced to the highest standard and the contents feature many photos that we have not seen before, all ideal reference and
reading for modellers. We bring you some samples of their recent work and recommend you take a look through their books when the opportunity
arises or visit their web site wingleader.co.uk. where you can join the readership of the excellent online Wingleader magazine, free of charge.
Also, there is a very good, short video on You Tube that describes the Battle of Britain Combat Archive series and shows how Mark Postlethwaite
constructs some of his superb paintings that appear on and inside the books mentioned below. Thanks to Red Kite for supplying the following books
for review.

BRISTOL BLENHEIM MK.I & MK.IF

■ By Alan Price and Mark Postlethwaite
■ Published by Red Kite/Wingleader
■ Guide Price £20
■ ISBN: 978-1-906592-51-6
■ 96pp softback, 210 x 297 mm

T
he heading along the spine of this book reads
‘Modeller’s Photographic Archive 1’ and this
describes the contents of the book perfectly.
These books all feature stunning artwork by Mark
Postlethwaite. Text is kept to the minimum but says
all that is necessary with a brief history of the Blenheim and
descriptions of the main components of the aircraft at the
beginning of each section. The A4 landscape is an ideal
format, allowing the photos to be reproduced to a much
larger size than would be possible in A4 portrait.
The photos of Blenheims are all from WWII, the publishers
avoiding the temptation to feature photos of recently restored
aircraft. Some of the photos are looking as fresh as if they
were taken yesterday with even a handful in colour. They
show Blenheims in the air and on the ground with the usual
ones showing mishaps. As well as the photos we see a
generous number of colour profiles showing Blenheim
schemes and squadron markings. Those with a copy of the
1:48 Airfix Blenheim will find much of the content of this book
helpful with your project. All of the photos are accompanied
by informative captions and the tables of Blenheim facts will
come in handy. One shows the squadrons who operated
Blenheims with lists of fuselage code letters.The book
concludes with a short chapter on overseas Blenheim
operators and a selection of Blenheim RAF squadrons with
photos and colour profile illustrations. Photos of Night Black
painted Blenheim night fighters make excellent references to
tatty finishes common on these aircraft and will be invaluable
to those hoping to replicate such tricky schemes. This is an
excellent modeller’s aid on an aircraft that played a vital part
in operations against German at the beginning of WWII.
MESSERSCHMITT BF 110 UNITS IN THE BATTLE OF
BRITAIN – PARTS ONE AND TWO
■ By John Vasco
■ Published by Red Kite/Wingleader
■ Guide Price £20 each
■ ISBN: Part One: 978-1-906592-53-0, Part Two: 978-1-906592-56-1
■ Part One 112pp, Part Two 128pp, softback, 210 x 297 mm
These two excellent books on the Bf 110 arrived together but the first one
was published in 2018 and the second, this year. They are also sub-headed
‘Modeller’s Photographic Archive’ in the same way as the book on the
Blenheim reviewed elsewhere. The A4 landscape format is ideal for producing
large photos with some side-view colour profiles printed across the double
page spread. Long, thin aircraft look well in this format.
Part One begins with some background information on the Messerschmitt
Bf 110. The author takes issue with those publications that have in the past
described the twin-engine fighter/fighter bomber as something of a failure
that could only operate with fighter escort during the Battle of Britain. As well
as dozens of excellent reference photos of the 110s in all situations, we read
some accounts written by aircrew that took part in The Battle. We get the
impression that the 110 was capable of absorbing a degree of punishment
before it refused to go any further. We see many photos of 110s that had
belly-landed, some on English soil and others that managed to limp across
the English Channel before setting down on French soil. Crew would often
survive to either fight another day or spend the rest of the war in captivity.
Many photos show close-ups of various parts of the 110 and in situations that
would look good transformed into dioramas. Informative captions describe
the contents of the pictures and in many cases name the personnel posing
by their aircraft, with dates and locations. We can guess that some of the
information has come from the writing on the reverse of the original photos.
Many of the photos are translated into colour artwork profiles at the top of the
pages.
Part Two begins with four pages of plain profiles showing the differences
between the Bf 110 variants that took part in the Battle of Britain. The next
dozen or so pages explain the Camouflage and Markings applied to the Bf 110
units during the Battle of Britain. Most of the rest of the 128 pages are split
between photos showing the aircraft of ZG 26 and ZG 76. The 110s of ZG 76
have been a popular choice of scheme on kit and aftermarket decal sheets
with their bold sets of shark’s teeth on the noses of their aircraft.
Whether you are interested in the Bf 110 because you have a kit sitting in your
‘to do’ pile or are interested in the Luftwaffe during the summer of 1940 you
will find this pair of titles and excellent addition to your bookshelf. We see both
parts together but we bet that those who bought Part One last year couldn’t
wait to get their hands on Part Two.

20 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

BATTLE OF BRITAIN COMBAT ARCHIVE NO. 6 AND 7
■ By Simon W Parry
■ Published by Red Kite/Wingleader
■ Guide Price £25 for Part 6 and £20 for Part 7
■ ISBN: Part 6: 978-1906592-47-9, Part 7:
978-1-906592-50-9
■ Part 6 127pp, Part 7 102pp, softback, 297 x
210 mm
W
e have seen books in the past
that have covered the period of
the Battle of Britain, describing
in fine detail those few weeks
in the summer of 1940 but this
is a quantum leap ahead of anything we have
seen so far, or are likely to see. It is difficult
to imagine how anyone can better describe
what happened during that vital time for Great
Britain.
The Battle of Britain Combat Archive begins
on the 10th July 1940, Volume 1 reports on
the days from 10th July to 22nd July. Volume 2
is from 23rd July to the 8th August. Volume 1
begins on page one, then the page numbering
continues from book to book. Red Kite is
planning on the complete history of the Battle
of Britain to be told over 12 books. As some
days were busier than others, so the number
of pages per book can vary, as does the price.
As the years have passed, so more
information has become available and
therefore a more complete account of what
took place on each day can now be told. If we
take the 22nd and 23rd August as examples: it
takes nine pages to report on the events taking
place on the 22nd but only two for the 23rd.
Factors such as the weather played a large
part in the amount of flying activity on each
day. Early mist, fog or rain would delay flying
until later during the day or prevent all but the
occasional high altitude reconnaissance raid.
The 22nd August commences with one of
Mark Postlethwaite’s pieces of artwork, two
Me 109Es scrapping with a pair of Spitfires
at 13.25 off Maston in Kent. The day was
cloudy with wind and rain but never-the-less
536 RAF fighters took part in 141 patrols. On
the following page we see a map of the early
combat activity, similar to those plotting tables
we see in photos of RAF Operations Rooms
at the time. A large force of German aircraft
are approaching the Kent coast from the east
looking to attack a convoy of ships just off the
English coast. One squadron of Spitfires and
two of Hurricanes are scrambled to defend the
ships. The RAF destroyed or damaged three
of the Germans and the Luftwaffe claimed
four Spitfires before turning back for home.
The names of all those making claims are
listed and the aircraft types claimed. Such
is the detail in this book. Notes from each of
the RAF squadron’s Record Books describe
their part in the action with photos of two of
the pilots involved, one from each side of the
fight. Three of the RAF pilot’s Combat Reports
are reproduced. We see the results of these
engagements, where aircraft crash-landed or
limped back to base and the condition of the
crews. It is interesting to see some famous
Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 21
names appearing amongst the reports and lists
of claims: Pete Brothers, Bill Beaumont, S/Ldr I
R Gleed on the RAF side, Joseph ‘Pips’ Priller,
Adolf Galland and Hans-Joachim Marseille
from the Luftwaffe.
Several more actions took place on that
day in the southeast and at tea time, Luftwaffe
bombers were attacked off Portland in
Dorset. One Do17 was shot down and a Ju88
damaged. Minor incidents such as damage
to F/Lt R. L. Smith’s Hurricane by a Me 109,
while on a convoy protection patrol, is also
described. The level of detail in these books
is amazing and makes for interesting reading
on every page. For example, Me 109s first
appeared on 28th August 1940 with Yellow-
painted noses, so those modelling a Battle of
Britain period Me 109 needs to take note of
that date.
This series of books comes with the highest
recommendation. Those who have not seen
these books so far can order the earlier issues
from the wingleader.co.uk web site or from
Avid Reader/bookworldws.co.uk who are the
UK distributor of the Red Kite range. If you are
interested in this short period of WWII, one
look at a copy and you could be hooked.
Thanks to Red Kite/Wingleader for supplying
their new titles for review. These are only a
sample of their excellent books. Look at their
web site for others that are available. (Alan
Firbank)
 WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY SPENCER POLLARD

IPMS AVON
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS YEAR’S IPMS AVON SHOW FROM THORNBURY LEISURE CENTRE, IN THE
WONDERFULLY PICTURESQUE COUNTY OF SOMERSET

We are now starting to see Airfix

Hellcats appear at model shows around
the UK, this part-finished model being
exhibited in Thornbury.
Our favourite aircraft model at the show, this F-4EJ was beautifully finished in stunning high It’s not often that you see Lancasters in anything other than RAF markings, so seeing this one in
visibility markings. Argentinian colours, was a real treat!

Kitty Hawk’s 1:32 T-28 Trojan builds up into a very fine model, as can be seen here. Easily our favourite model at the show, this little vignette made us smile all day long!

Part of a much larger display, this finely built Apollo 11 ‘Columbia and Eagle’ drew admiring No show report would be complete without a Harrier! This FA2 was superbly finished, its pale grey
glances. colours being particularly well-done.

A new aircraft to us here at MAI, this Bezabrazov Triplane was an incredible, 1:72 scratchbuild. The RF-4 looks very smart in Israeli colours, especially so in this air-superiority scheme…

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 23

The ‘Diorama Association’ display featured some very impressive set-pieces. Just look at that finish!!!

Built incredibly quickly, this rendition of Wingnut Wings’ amazing 1:32 Gotha G.1 was our first chance to see the model complete. Massive and highly detailed, it gave us a good idea of what to expect
when we built our UWD variant later this year.

A very fine build of Special Hobby’s 1:32 Hawker Tempest. One of two Hong Kong Models 1:32 Lancasters, this one was seen in the competition.

Though an old kit, Fujimi’s diminutive OH-6D looks great once complete. Another Harrier, this time Trumpeter’s 1:32 offering. I really must build one of these…

24 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

A simple build can be just as pleasing as one that’s more complex, as proven by this The Frog/Hasegawa 1:72 B-47 Stratojet is an ancient kit, but still looks great when carefully built
delightful 1:48 Rafale. and painted.

Beautiful colours made this Firefly drone stand out from the crowd! Built from the Airfix kit, this Lightning featured an amazing amount of additional detail…

The Kamov Helix is a stunning

looking design, translated in
miniature really well thanks to
Hobby Boss. Of course it also
helps that the kit is as well-built
as this brilliant example!
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 ...

ANIGRAND CRAFTSWORK
www.anigrand.com
CONVAIR NX-2: AMERICA’S ATOMIC-POWERED BOMBER CONCEPT (1961)
This is certainly an interesting subject and one with an acquired taste, Fantastic Plastic Models’ NX-2 depicts the three-engined version of
but Anigrand kits are never mainstream and certainly not boring. Convair’s design. As such, the kit features the following:
This is what is so exciting about their products. In keeping with their
experimental schemes Anigrand have produced this kit exclusively for l Scale: 1:144
the popular US online trader Fantastic Plastic. It certainly looks like a l Material: Resin
fun project! l Number of pieces: 41
During the 1950s and 1960s, the United States military actively pursued l Length: 14 inches
development of a long-range strategic bomber powered by atomic l Pattern by Anigrand Craftswork
energy. Of all the designs developed during this period, Convair’s l Casting by Anigrand Craftswork
were probably taken the most seriously - to a point! Its NX-2 design l Decals Designed by JBOT
offered two principal variants; the irst had three nuclear X211 turbojets l Decals by Printed by Tango Papa Decals
housed in its rear fuselage, plus two underwing nacelles housing single
Pratt & Whitney J75 chemical jets for use during take-off and landing; For more information and to reserve reserve your copy of this kit, please
the second,had four NJ58 nuclear turbojets placed in pairs, but no email FantasticPlast@aol.com who will supply you with all information
conventional jets for assistance. Unsurprisingly, in 1961, President that you need. For all other information on Anigrand’s range of kits,
Kennedy decided that nuclear power for jet aircraft was unfeasible, and please visit their website noted above.
ordered the program cancelled.

PLATZ/F-TOYS
www.platz-hobby.com
F-5E/N TIGER II - A NEW RELEASE IN A COMPETITIVE FIELD
This month’s release from Platz appeared with very little notice and from the crowd. The Cartograf printed decals offer the following choices:
is once again a collaboration with F-Toys. The F-5 is certainly not a
subject in short supply in 1:144 scale and it will be interesting to see l “Red 27” US Navy VFC-13 ‘Fighting Saints’ 2007 Fallon Naval Air
what this boxing offers above and beyond say, that released by Revell Base,
as part of their excellent range of 1:144 ighters. The decal options are l “Red 13” VFC-13` ‘Fighting Saints’ 2017 Fallon Naval Air Base,
certainly very colourful and that may be enough to make it standout l Swiss Air Force, Filegerstaffell 8 (J-3079)

26 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

 1:144

HEROES MODELS
heroesmodels.it
NEW DECAL SHEETS RING THE CHANGES...
HEROES MODELS of Italy are back again this month with three very affordable and colourful decal sets. All three subjects need no introduction and
are readily available in 1:144 scale, the Skyhawk being timely thanks to the re-release of the Platz kit as part of the Eduard range. The new releases
are as follows:

● A-4E Skyhawk - The Flying Wing Squadron IAF (HM-OS14412)

● F-16B - 3rd Squadron, Indonesian Air Force (HM-OS14408)
● RAF Tornado Gr.1 - “Scud Hunters” Operation Telic, Kuwait (HM-OS14417)

ZOUKEI MURA
www.zoukei-mura.com
ZM’S LATEST ‘FLYING WING’ COMPLETES THE SET!
The legendary producers at Zoukei-Mura have added a 1:144 Horton
Ho-229 to their recent line of productions, meaning that they have now
replicated this enigmatic aircraft in 1:32, 1:48, 1:72 and now 1:144 -
surely unusual within a standard range of kits! Can anyone else think
of another company that has done such a thing..? Revell? From the
images the kit looks to be superb and though obviously nowhere near
as complex as its larger brethren, it will still look very pleasing one
complete! European buyers can purchase this from RB Productions:
www.radubstore.com

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 27

KIT BUILD
BUILT AND WRITTEN BY HUW MORGAN

IL-76:
A CANDID
APPRAISAL
We take a detailed look at Zvezda’s rendition of
this class Russian heavy lifter.

riginally conceived in 1967 as a

O replacement for the Antonov An-12

'Cub', Ilyushin's Il-76 (NATO code name
'Candid') was proposed to answer a
specification calling for a cargo aircraft
capable of lifting 40Te over a 5000 km range, and
capable of operating in the harshest environments
seen in the Soviet Union. The resulting aircraft has
been an enduring design that has seen extensive
use across the world by both military and civilian
operators, some 39 countries being known to have
used it. A four-engined heavy cargo aircraft which
can land and take off from undeveloped strips, it has
been developed into several overtly military variants;
the Il-78 dedicated tanker, the Beriev A-50 Mainstay
AEW platform and the Chinese KJ-2000 equivalent.
The original transport model has been upgraded
many times in its life, most significantly by the
replacement of the original Soloviev D-30 engines with
more efficient, quieter Aviastar PS-90 high-bypass
turbofans.

In Miniature
Zvezda have already released a widely-acclaimed
model in 1:144 scale of the military Il-76MD version, and
their latest issue reviewed here is of the civilian Il-76TD
equivalent, presented in the markings of a water bomber
of Emercom, the Russian Ministry of Emergencies,
(MCHS Rossii) although the kit doesn't appear to include
any new parts to represent the cargo bay tanks and
spray chutes that are fitted into the cargo compartment,
slightly disappointing given the dramatic box art.
Aside from a few scoops and aerials, the main visual
difference between the two types is the lack of a tail
 1:144
SKILL LEVEL:
Intermediate

SPECIFICATION:
Zvezda IL-76TD EMERCOM
Kit No: 7029
Materials: IM,
Status: Reissue
Availability: Online Model Shops
Price Guide: £ 29.99

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
Artists’ grey green, black and brown tone pastel chalks

ADDITIONAL PARTS USED:

Metallic Details engine set, resin and PE.

PAINTS USED:
Tamiya:
X-2 White
XF-18 grey-blue
XF-7 Red
XF-63 Dark Greyish-blue
XF-80 Light Greyish-blue
XF-53 Greyish-blue
XF-81 Green
X-28 Bright green

Mr.. Hobby Aqueous:

H77 Tire Black
GX 110 Gloss
GX 113 Flat

Alclad:
Aluminium
Steel
Stainless Steel
Jet Exhaust
Pale Burnt Metal
Transparent Blue

Halfords:
Grey Primer
Gloss Appliance White

Windsor and Newton oils:

Burnt Umber
Lamp Black
Titanium White

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 29

KIT BUILD
Metallic Details produce a terrific resin and brass set for the opened thrust reversers, although There’s some useful interior structural detail around the opening tail if the builder chooses that
some of the parts are very fine. option.
Clamping the wing parts during gluing is advisable to ensure they remain straight. The inner fuselage is built up with the cockpit before fixing into the outer shells.
There's a reasonable
representation of the cockpit,
although not much will be
visible when closed up. I used a
home-made mix for the Russian
interior green.
30 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
defence turret in the civilian version, it being
replaced by a smoothly-contoured tail cone.
The kit represents an earlier airframe with
the Soloviev engines, although aftermarket
conversions are available.
Zvezda's Plastic
The kit comprises 207 grey plastic parts on
nine separate sprues (two are duplicates for
the engine parts) and a small clear sprue
with nine parts that are required; out of the
box it's possible to build the model in three
configurations: in flight with wheels up and
perched on a supplied stand, parked with
loading ramp open, and in take off/landing
with wheels, flaps and leading-edge slats
deployed, again on the stand. Two complete
sets of undercarriage legs are provided for
the compressed and fully extended options.
The moulding is typical of Zvezda's recent
offerings, being sharp and clean with nicely
consistent panel lines and the engineering is
also typical of modern kits of transport planes
in 1:144 scale, with the cargo bay interior
assembled to the floor, ceiling and cockpit
before being sandwiched by the exterior
fuselage halves. There's some reasonable

The Metallic Details set includes replacement resin fan
faces and better centre bodies, compared here with the
kit plastic (centre).
The engine cowlings have separate front rings which
need some clean up courtesy of foam-backed abrasive.
interior detail on offer, but no attempt is made
to replicate the clutter of ancillary equipment
usually visible. The four engines are pretty
simple; two cowling shells, fan and turbine
faces and intake and exhaust cones, but in
the kit there's no option to deploy the reverse
thruster buckets. There's a reasonable
representation of the cockpit, and construction
looks straightforward without any significant
pitfalls. The moulding appears universal for the
type, with the military tail included alongside
the civilian version.
In keeping with the subject matter, only a
single marking scheme is offered, in white and
grey with rather attractive orange and blue
trim, at the time of writing there's not much in
the aftermarket for this kit (there are some bits
for the rather simpler Trumpeter Il-76) but it
appears that some alternative schemes may
be creeping in (there's a Libyan one already
Each engine is made up of
vertically-split cowling halves,
front ring (here wing internal
colour masked) and fan face, and
either the kit thrust nozzle (upper)
or closed.
The complex clear parts for
the upper and lower glazing
fit reasonably, although
some filling is needed. The
lack of commercial masking
sets is a shame.
available). I couldn't find a masking set for the
multi-paned glazing, but the frame definition
is good, so cutting masks shouldn't be too
onerous. I did however get hold of a set of the
superb Metallic Details resin and brass engine
thrust reversers which are very prominent on
the real thing in a landing configuration.
Work Begins...
Having thought about how to present the
model, I decided that I didn't need another
opened-up cargo aircraft, and that Zvezda's
“flying” option, whilst useful, wasn't for me;
instead, I went for a hybrid approach, with
fully deployed flaps and slats, tailplane in the
exaggerated forward tilt position and all the
thrust reversers open, replicating the point
of touchdown just as the brakes are applied,
and with the end of the short strip looming...
to extend the image I decided to mix and
Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 31
1:144
match with the undercarriage, showing the
nose wheel fully compressed, the rear main
gear fully extended and the forward main gear
somewhere in between, to give a distinct nose
down stance.
In typical Zvezda style, the construction
process has a few quirks, being presented
as a general build sequence using sub-
assemblies detailed in side bars to the main
instructions, thus encouraging a modular
approach. The cockpit is first up; there's a
reasonable level of detail in the four seats,
centre and side consoles and control yokes,
these fitting to an upper deck which sits above
a lower floor with a fifth seat in the nose
for a bombardier (in the military version) or
observer. All these were painted with Tamiya
XF-89 grey and the interior panels picked out
in the typical Russian blue/green colour, in
this case a home-mixed combination of Mr.
KIT BUILD
Hobby blues and greens, the seat cushions
were painted olive green and various consoles
in black.
The fuselage is constructed in parallel with
the cockpit, an inner box comprising the cargo
floor, sides and ceiling forming the interior
structure which has the cockpit fitted before
being sandwiched between the outer fuselage
shells. An early decision is needed at this point
about the final deployment of the model, the
option of opened rear doors needing several
specific parts around the rear fuselage interior.
With the fuselage closed up, various intakes
and wing fairings can be added, as can the
one-piece cockpit window moulding which
according to current practice, has a sizeable
section of fuselage roof included - laudable,
but it would have been more helpful if
extended sides had been included as well, the
lower section of the complex glazing has no
sanding margin, but fortunately fits pretty well.
Regrettably the masking manufacturers hadn't
caught up with this model at the time of the
build, so I was obliged to rely on Tamiya tape
and a sharp blade.
Wings And Things
The engines are entirely conventional in
construction, vertically split halves including
the pylons with separate fan and turbine faces,
a one-piece nose ring and a representation of
the complex nozzle/thrust reverser assembly.
Having assembled the engine bodies and
cleaned up the seams the nose rings were
tidied up before painting their interiors with
Tamiya XF-57 Buff, and masking prior to
spraying Alclad Aluminium on the intake lip.
The kit's fan faces were replaced with the resin
ones from the Metallic Details set, only really
because I had them as the kit ones aren't bad
The thrust reversers were painted before fitting to the
engines, using a whole range of Alclad colours.
32 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
at all. Since the essence of the Il-76 was its
ability to operate from marginal strips, and
the powerful thrust reversing was thus an
essential element of its design, I was keen to
show this in action. The Metallic Details set
allows all four thrust reversers to be shown
in the fully deployed position and includes 44
photo-etched brass and twelve resin parts to
replace the kit's four plastic items. The brass
reverser buckets need careful bending to suit
the curvature of the forward stiffening rim and
each of the four tiny actuating struts for each
engine needs careful alignment to get the
whole lot to sit together. I'd test fitted the resin
nozzle bodies to the engine nacelles early on, The resin and photo etched thrust reversers need some
so was confident enough that I could leave care in construction, but are impressive when built.
these delicate items off the model until the
final assembly stages, so they were painted
now using a range of Alclad colours, including
Transparent Blue to suggest heat tinting.
The wings build up straightforwardly from
a one-piece upper and separate lower pieces
and depending on the display option chosen,
there are different flap track and slat sections
to be added, the flaps and slats themselves
were left off at this stage to simplify painting.
The wing-to-fuselage joint is pretty good,
although dry-fitting and easing of the joint
surfaces pays off in getting a good upper
surface joint between the wing trailing edge
and the fuselage spine, where only minor
applications of filler were needed.
Painting And Decals
With the bulk of the construction done, the
painting process can begin with the usual
primer coats to highlight areas where
remedial work is needed, -
I'm constantly amazed at
how this step shows up
The aim when painting the
thrust reversers was to show
the effects of a gradation
of temperature, the entire
assembly shown here is
around 1 cm across.
 1:144

Very little filler is needed, other than a smear of superglue on the long fuselage joints, only the The one-piece upper wing means that the only tricky bit is the trailing edge joint in the complex
under side of the wing, and some of the flap tracks needed attention. curvature where it meets the fuselage spine.

The leading edges of the fin, tailplane, engine intake lips and the slats were painted with Alclad Tamiya vinyl tape was used to mask the curved boundary of the red tips to the tailplane, - the red
aluminium prior to masking. wing tips were a straightforward straight line, so tape was used.

glaring flaws which one would have sworn
didn't exist! I had given a lot of thought to
the masking sequence which would be most
efficient and effective and had concluded
that the first of the real colours should be the
upper fuselage white, quickly applied using
my standby Halfords Gloss Appliance White
which is easy to apply, has terrific coverage
and dries as hard as nails, being tolerant of
wiping with Isopropyl alcohol should there be
any overspray issues. The wing underside
demarcations along the root were slightly
tricky to mask, although Tamiya's flexible vinyl
tape proved its worth here. Having studied the
decal placement, I decided to try as much as
possible to place the white/grey demarcation
along the line of the blue central stripe of the
cheat line, some careful measurement being
the order of the day. The lower surfaces had
a mottled grey finish using several different
shades before unifying the whole lot with very
thin XF-80; conscious of the possibility of
areas difficult to reach, I'd sprayed the grey
into the underside wing roots before attaching
the flaps. Masking removed, I gave the whole
airframe several coats of Mr. Hobby GX 100
gloss, thinned with Mr. Color Levelling Thinner
in preparation for the decals, it's worth noting
that there was no adverse paint reaction
between the Tamiya (and Halfords) base paint
and the lacquer gloss.
Zvezda's decals are nicely printed and are
fairly easy to handle, although they can be
brittle if roughly treated, and needed some
patience and lots of setting solution to get
them to settle over the bigger bumps. In my
usual craven way I cut the long cheat lines
into two sections, hiding the joint under the
wing, the only real difficulty I had was with the
extremely fragile forward door outlines which
are presented as two halves as part of the
cheat line stripes (why?) where after a near
disaster with the first attempt, I cut them from
the stripes and added them separately. Come
on Zvezda, separate door outlines would have
been so much easier! The fit of the decals is
pretty marginal and I ended up with small gaps
in the cheat lines at both the nose and under
the tail, given the shapes of the pieces it's
hard to see how a different placement would
have eased to problem, once again, a perfect
opportunity for the manufacturer to provide
some small blocks of the basic colour on the
decal sheet to allow some patching.
Once the decals were fully dry the airframe
was given an overall coat of satin, mixed from
equal parts of Mr. Hobby GX 100 and 113 to
make the model look a little more worn and
final detailing didn't involve much, just the six
undercarriage legs and the four antennae on
the fuselage.
A Modicum Of Weathering...
Photographs of the IL-76 in service generally
show the underside to be quite dirty, it's
obviously a leaky aircraft and its typical service
environment means it picks up lots of muck. I
started the weathering on the upper surfaces,
using Tamiya X-19 Smoke to develop some
stains on the flaps, from the slat hinges
and generally on the upper wing, applying
temporary masks with Post-It notes which are
usefully low-tack. I added a few spots of oil
paint to the white fuselage upper and blended
them in using a flat brush dampened with
white spirit. For the dirty underside, I again
used temporary masks, but sprayed heavier
coats of X-19 and XF-64 Brown in line with the
airflow, the backwash from the thrust reversers
creates a distinctive black staining on the
wing around the pylons, so this was simulated
with thin Tamiya NATO Black. With the bulk of
the weathering achieved using paint, I added
an extra dimension with pastel chalks, in

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 33

KIT BUILD

The initial stage of painting was to apply the upper fuselage white using Halfords With all the masking other than the cockpit windows removed, the main airframe Rather scary wrinkling of the decals
Appliance Gloss white, straight from the aerosol can. Here the wing tips have been colours are revealed. conforming surfaces.
painted red in anticipation of masking, and the tailplane has been completed since it
had been left separate until the end of the build.

particular enhancing the jet exhaust staining
under the wings, and the streaky leaks from
the flaps.
In keeping with the premise of an aircraft
just landing on an out-of-the-way strip, I made
a simple base using a piece of MDF inside a
low-cost picture frame, the latter sprayed matt
black and the base painted grey using artists'
acrylic with sand scattered on the periphery
onto PVA woodworking glue. ■

The demarcation between the

white upper surfaces and the
lower grey areas was masked
using Tamiya tape, with that
company's flexible vinyl tape
used for the curved under
wing joint which was masked
and painted before attaching
the inner flaps. Careful
measurement meant that
the demarcation matched the
decals' line.

34 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

 1:144

s soon smooths out into reasonably Careful measurement and masking puts the white/grey demarcation along the The door outlines are supplied as two halves, attached to the nose and mid-section
darker blue cheat line. stripes. A near disaster with the first meant that I cut the subsequent ones free.

FINAL VERDICT
The IL-76 is an important aircraft in the air transport arena, and given its widespread use it’s a little
surprising that the model industry has been slow to react to the presence of an excellent kit like this one
offered by Zvezda. Certainly the kit isn’t without its quirks and minor issues of fit, and the single colour
scheme is a bit limiting, but one can’t help but feel that the potential of this model isn’t being fully
realised; I’d definitely build another given some alternative marking options.

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 35

KIT BUILD
BUILT AND PAINTED BY SPENCER POLLARD

FREDDIE
OHR’SMarie
We take a detailed look at Eduard’s brand-
new 1:48 P-51D Mustang, building and
painting it, step by step.

36 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019


I
t could be argued that the last thing
the model aircraft world needs right
now is another family of 1:48 P-51D
kits. With the excellent Airfix and
MENG Mustangs released in a variety
of different configurations over the last
few years (with more still to come) on top
of an already well-established selection
from the likes of Tamiya and Hasegawa,
there is certainly plenty to chose from
within what is understandably a crowded
field. Despite that, Eduard announced last
year that they would be adding to their
collections of Spitfires, Messerschmitt
Bf109s and Focke Wulf Fw190s, a new
one dedicated to North America’s
masterpiece.
Though many hoped that they
would do so with earlier P-51Bs
and Cs, Eduard have chosen
the later P-51D and as such, will
Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 37
1:48
SKILL LEVEL:
BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE
SPECIFICATION:
Eduard 1:48 P-51D Mustang “Chattanooga Choo Choo”
Kit No: EDK11134
Materials: IM/PE/Mask
Available From: All Good Model Shops
Price Guide: £34.99
BEFORE STARTING:
Tamiya Extra Thin Cement
Gunze Sangyo Mr Cement S
Tamiya Masking Tape
Xuron Cutters
Tweezers
Swann Morton No.10 Scalpel & 10A Blades
Plasti-Zap Cyanoacrylate Glue - thin and medium
viscosity
Gunze Sangyo Mr Filler Primer
PAINTS USED:
Tamiya Acrylics
X-18 Semi Gloss Black
XF-1 Flat Black
XF-2 Flat White
XF-85 Rubber Black
AS-12 ‘Bare Metal Silver’
X-8 Lemon Yellow
X-7 Gloss Red
X-6 Gloss Orange
X-35 Semi Flat Clear
Gunze Sangyo Mr Hobby Acrylics
Light Aircraft Grey (H332)
Interior Green (H58)
GX Clear
Games Workshop Acrylics - colours for detailing and
matt varnish
Winsor & Newton Oil colours
Raw Umber
Payne’s Grey
Lamp Black
release it would appear all of the sub-variants
based on that one airframe, including it is
assumed, the post-war P-15K. The first kit to
appear is the one seen here, a limited edition
boxing timed to coincide with the IPMS USA
National Championships in Chattanooga,
featuring, rather obviously, Edward Pogue’s
“Chattanooga Choo Choo”, of which, more
anon. The kit specifically models the early
P-51D-5 with a dorsal fin fillet, but even so, the
box contains many additional parts that though
not used for this build, point to other variants,
with an optional fin fillet; underwing stores
(including bombs and rockets); three types of
propellor; three different canopies; fabric or
metal elevators; two types exhausts; optional
cockpit coamings and gunsights and finally,
three types of nose vents, all being included
in the box. From this package you could
pretty much build any of the later P-51Ds,
only decals and references being needed to
KIT BUILD
complete the task. Or, as will be done here,
you could simply wait and see what Eduard
come up with!

In The Box…
Those of you that are familiar with Eduard’s
kits will find much that is recognisable
within this new one. Open the box and you
will discover five pale grey runners that
carry the bulk of the parts, one in clear for
canopies, gunsights and lights, one set of
canopy and wheel masks and finally, a fret of
predominantly coloured, photo-etched details,
most of which find their way into the already
detailed cockpit.
Detail is sublime. Eduard has built a
reputation for creating kits that exhibit
extraordinary levels of surface detail and this
kit is no different, all exterior components
being decorated with petite panel lines and
rivets and where needed, raised surface
features such as control surface ribbing.
Though many in-service P-51Ds featured
puttied wings, Eduard has not entirely gone
down that route, but they have elected to only
replicate riveting on the fuselage and not the
wings, meaning that the filling of unwanted
panel lines is made somewhat easier. Having
filled wings on two previous Mustang builds,
I was not keen to repeat the trick –– despite
the appearance of the finished model being
more accurate as a result –– so chose to leave
well alone and show you exactly how the kit is
supplied, built from the box.
Within the model you will find a fully-
appointed cockpit that includes all of the
major features found in the real aircraft. All
structural members are present and correct,
as are two different seats, the lightweight
seat used as part of this build, and a single-
part alloy seat, that is not. Across the board
the detail is delicate and well-moulded and
even in just plastic, more than enough to
pass muster. As mentioned earlier, the kit
offers etched brass embellishments around
the cockpit, small details that help to raise
the levels of intricacy. The major recipient of
these improvements is the instruments panel,
a plain plastic part being overlaid with no less
than eleven individual brass pieces, many of
them absolutely tiny! The effect though is very
impressive and though a two-part plastic panel
is also included to simplify the process (along
with a decal), I would certainly recommend
you having a go with the additional details to
create a truly impressive and very complete,
miniature cockpit.
The breakdown of the airframe differs little
in this kit from the approach seen in many
others, so construction is both familiar and
straightforward. Fit is, in the main almost
perfect, with only the depth of the separate
main gear bay giving a little cause for concern,
its height causing the wing halves not to join
without a little extra persuasion. As it was, with
a little brute force and the use of some clamps
the bay located properly, resulting in a build
that was entirely filler-free.

38 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL

 1:48
The wings are split as shown here. To simplify the
recreation of ‘puttied’ wings, these parts feature none of
the rivets seen on the fuselage halves.

The fuselage halves are simple

pieces with minimal additional parts.
Surface detail is superb.

The cockpit wall structures are

supplied as individual parts that
are then further embellished with
photo-etched details.

The basic cockpit parts ready for painting.

Assembly is easy and straightforward.

In mentioning the main gear bays, it may

A final test-fit of the cockpit
components prior to painting.
Even at this early stage,
the levels of detail can be
appreciated.
well be worth expanding a little on their
construction and detail. Much like previous kits
from Eduard, plenty of attention has been paid
to this often hidden area of the model, with
lots of individual parts and subsequent detail
combining to create a very impressive sub-
assembly, even when built from the box. Care
though needs to be taken during assembly,
many of the structural members being delicate
and easily mixed up. You will also need to
pay attention to painting and weathering and
as seen as part of this build, some deviation
from the instructions may well pay dividends in
order to simplify the process.
As mentioned earlier, the kit offers a number
of additional parts that are used to create
specific changes to the set-up and appearance
of the model, and a number that are just
spares. Amongst those that are to be used,
are the optional metal or fabric elevators. The
only issue with this is that the instructions
are less than specific when it comes to which
one is used with which scheme! Though
the rest of the otherwise well-drawn and
informative instruction booklet is extremely
detailed with regard to specific parts and

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 39

KIT BUILD
The main gear bays are a complex collection of delicate parts that need to be
carefully assembled and painted. The colours within the bay are predominantly
Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver and Gunze Sangyo H58 Interior Green.

The bay has been completed and then the

detail accentuated with a wash mixed from
Raw Umber oil paint and Humbrol Matt Black,
both thinned with white spirit.

Before beginning work on the cockpit, the inner

surfaces of the two fuselage halves were airbrushed in The completed
Tamiya Yellow Green (tailwheel bay), Bare Metal Silver instrument
(intake interior) and Interior Green (cockpit walls). panel, built
as supplied in
the kit.

The cockpit frames were painted in Interior Green and then carefully
washed with our Raw Umber/Matt Black mix used early. A little drybrushing
with a lightened layer of Interior Green helped to pop the detail, ready for
the photo-etched parts to be dropped into place. The blank instrument
panel was prepped with a simple layer of Tamiya Flat Black.

The basic cockpit components have colours, the completion of the tailplanes is
been airbrushed, washed and then rather lacking, so I have to conclude that either
detail-painted according to the kit
instructions. The use of dark green on the Eduard didn’t know what was used where,
seat rather than the Interior Green used or they simply forgot. That being so and with
on its surroundings, adds another layer of my own references failing me, I chose the
contrast and interest. metal elevators as I like the way they look in
combination with the rest of the tailplanes. I’m
sure that there is someone out there that could
tell me I’m wrong, but until such times I’m
happy with my decision…
Remaining construction deals with the
smaller airframe details, flaps, undercarriage,
exhausts, propellor and the underwing tanks,
either standard metal items, or the larger
‘paper’ tanks used by this aircraft. All of these
smaller details are well-moulded and neatly
detailed, but there is an issue with the metal
drop tanks, not a deal-breaker, but worthy of
note nonetheless. Eduard’s tanks are delicate
and feature a very fine lip that runs around
the edge of each one. As moulded, their

40 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

 1:48

By spraying the cockpit frames with a lightened layer of Interior Green (created using Interior Green mixed 50% with Yellow Green) I could create a high level of contrast without the need for excessive
drybrushing. Note the individual details in this shot, picked out with Games Workshop acrylics and then embellished with those etched details mentioned earlier.

The large black areas within the cockpit were first airbrushed with Tamiya Flat Black and then
oversprayed with German Grey. A little light drybrushing with oil paints helped to pop the detail, some
Prismacolor silver pencil paint chips, adding the finishing touch.

The basic cockpit structure is now

complete and all painting, finished
according to the instructions. The seat
straps are supplied in the kit, offering that
much needed final layer of detail without
additional expense.

connection to the runner sits right on

top of this lip, ensuring that not only
have you a very tricky removal task,
when it comes to cleaning up the
unwanted plastic from the runner, you
are left with an almost impossible task to
create a clean, sharp finish and not damage
any of that important lip. In this case, it would
have been far preferable to have seen the
connection to the runner under the part, so
that any unwanted material could simply have
been filed away. As it was, I used the tanks
and removed what I could, but even now, I’m
far from happy with the final finish.
The undercarriage and flaps are simple to
construct, sensible breakdown and the bare
minimum of parts, helping things along. The
use of separate hubs and tyres also simplifies
painting, the fit being such that all can be
finished separately and then brought together
with little more than a dab of cement. Flat
spots on the tyres are not part of the design,
which suits me, so if you want to incorporate
such things into your finished model, be
prepared for a little additional work.
Almost ready to close up the fuselage halves.
Colour Schemes And Markings
The kit includes painting instructions and

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 41

KIT BUILD

The cockpit interior sub-assemblies fit together perfectly, needing only tiny drops of adhesive to keep everything in place.

With the fuselage halves dry-fit together, the look of the completed cockpit can be appreciated for In order to simplify masking around the cockpit opening, the outer fuselage surfaces were given a
the first time. As you can see, even from the box, very little additional detail will need to be added. coat of Tamiya Bare Metal Silver, a spare canopy being use to mask the interior when the time came.

Weapons of choice when it came

to the assembly of the airframe:
Tamiya Extra Thin Cement ‘Quick
Setting’ and Gunze Sangyo Mr.
Cement S. Tamiya masking tape
held the parts together whilst the
glue set.

All dry and ready for clean-up.

42 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

 1:48

Viewed through the opening in the lower wing, the

excellent levels of detail within the main gear bay can
be easily appreciated.

Having built a number of P-51Ds over the last

few years, I had a set plan in mind to create
With the wings being ‘painted’ rather than ‘natural the natural metal/sprayed aluminium finish.
metal’, I wanted to impart some wear and tear, so used The first step was to mix Tamiya AS-12 Bare
an FX airbrush template to create a dappled finish, Metal Silver with a little Light Aircraft Grey, this
before applying some shading around panel lines using colour being sprayed onto the wings, above
a slightly darkened mix of the basecoat. and below. Once dry, the wings were masked
and then the fuselage sprayed with neat AS-12.
Happy that the finish was smooth (helped out
with Micromesh polishing cloths), individual
panels were masked and sprayed with Gunze
Sangyo Super Metallics: Superfine Silver, Super
Stainless and Super Iron.

decals for six individual aircraft, five in natural
metal and sprayed aluminium and a sixth in
Olive Drab over Medium Grey. The choices
are as follows:
● Mustang MC-R, “Chattanooga Choo
Choo”, s/n 44-13535, flown by Lt. Edward
F. Pogue, 79th FS, 20th FG, 8th AF, Kings
Cliffe, United Kingdom, 1945.
In this shot, the multiple shades of metal applied over ● Mustang QP-B, “Meg”, s/n 44-13984,
the surface of the fuselage, can be easily seen.
flown by Lt. Clarence Boretsky, 334th FS,
4th FG, 8th AF, Debden, United Kingdom,
Autumn, 1944.
● Mustang QP-Q, “Marie”, s/n 44-13298,
flown by Capt. Fredie F. Ohr, 2nd FS, 52nd
FG, 15th AF, Madna, Italy, Autumn 1944.
● Mustang C5-M, “Rovin’ Rhoda”, s/n
44-13783, flown by Lt. Irving Snedeker,
364th FS, 357th FG, 8th AF, Leiston, United
Kingdom, April 1945.

And overall view of the model with

the basic ‘silver’ finish in place.
Time to add some yellow trim...

Using Tamiya masking tape I carefully marked out where

the yellow wing stripes would be sprayed on.

Happy with the position of the stripes, the surrounding Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 43
wing surfaces were masked off and then the guides
removed.
KIT BUILD
The tail could now be masked off, along
with the stripes on the flaps.

A warm yellow/orange colour was mixed to match the

colour seen in the instructions. This was created using
Tamiya Gloss Lemon Yellow mixed with a few drops
of Gloss Red. In order to achieved a deep finish the
stripes and tail were first sprayed with Flat White and
then oversprayed with several thin layers Tamiya Gloss
Orange to create a little preshade layer. Happy with that,
the yellow could be applied, several layers being needed
to create the finish and colour density seen in this shot.

Happy with the yellow, the

masking could be removed
and then the red nose trim
added, this time using Tamiya
Gloss Red. This was then left
to dry overnight, before giving
the model several thin layers
of Gunze Sangyo GX Gloss in
preparation for the decals.

The decals in the kit are absolutely superb, being

perfectly printed and thin enough in the main to
be applied without setting solutions. Despite
that, each was dropped into place on the
model using the full Microscale system,
Micro Sol and Set being utilised to help
each snuggle down over the kit’s delicate
surface detail. Happy that they were in
place, the model was sealed with another
layer of GX Gloss and then over the wings
and major markings, Tamiya Semi Flat Clear
to create a difference in patina across these
disparate surfaces. Once dry, the anti-glare panel was
very carefully masked and sprayed with Tamiya Olive
Drab lightened with Flat Yellow, the matt finish of this
paint helping to create another layer of contrast.

44 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019


There are plenty of stencils under the wings of this model, many
of which can be seen in this shot.
With the varnish coats dry, the surface detail could
be accentuate using my now familiar oil paint
washes, in this case mixed from Raw Umber and
Payne’s Grey, thinned with white spirit.
Where the larger markings sat on top of panel lines, they were
very carefully slit with a new No.10A scalpel blade, a few more
drops of Micro Set being used to help them settle down further
into each line.
1:48
Not mentioned yet, the windscreen was fixed in place prior to
painting and then masked with the panels supplied on the kit’s
masking sheet. The rest of the interior was protected with a
spare canopy from the kit, the part simply being held in place
during the painting process.
Though the washes over the wings are
extremely simple, in conjunction with
the underlying mottled finish mentioned
earlier, the effect is nice and busy.
Compare this shot with the untreated
finish seen earlier.
The undersurfaces were
similarly washed with old to
bring out the detail.
KIT BUILD

Along with the washes, neat oil paint was used to add further
layers of dirt and stating, especially around the nose and upper
wings. There was no real method to this, Raw Umber, Lamp
Black and Payne’s Grey being mixed in varying amounts and
then applied almost dry, around panel lines, filler caps and other
areas of wear.
Though the wash looked pleasing on the metal surfaces, it
looked particularly nice over the yellow tail, the panel lines and
rivets being brought to life with this very simple technique.
Neat oils were also used to imitate the exhaust staining along
the sides of the nose. Though I would normally airbrush these
stains into place, I’ve found recently that oils offer a greater
degree of control, so that’s now the route I now go down to
achieve this effect.

● Mustang OS-X “Miss Steve”, s/n 44-
13677, flown Lt. William G. Cullerton, 357th
FS, 355th FG, 8th AF, Steeple Morden, United
Kingdom 1944.
● Mustang CS-E, “Caroline”, s/n 44-13893,
flown by Lt. Thomas P. Smith, 370th FS, 359th
FG, 8th AF, East Wretham, November 1944.
The decal sheet is a real highlight of the
kit, offering a superb selection of specific
markings, national insignia and stencils.
Colour and printing is flawless and in the main,
much of the hard work is done for you in terms
of the trickier areas of trim, especially that
around the nose of Pogue’s aircraft. For this
build feature, Freddie Ohr’s yellow-trimmed
machine was chosen, its bright tail and wing
markings, contrasting nicely with other P-51Ds

Overall views of the now completely washed

airframe, ready for final assembly.

The propeller is very easy to build and paint. Decals

recreate manufacturer’s logos and warning panels.
The hub was painted with Tamiya Gloss Red and
then weathered with oils, the blades in Rubber Black,
oversprayed with German Grey to recreate fading. Paint
chips, added with a Prismacolor pencil, finished this
pleasing little sub-assembly.

The drop tanks discussed

in the text are seen here in
detail. Heavy weathering
helps to disguise the
damage to the delicate ribs
that run around each one,
caused by their removal
from the kit’s runners.
Decal placards add a
much-needed splash of
colour.

46 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

 1:48

Undercarriage parts assembled, painted and weathered. Each

of these parts was sprayed with Bare Metal Silver, washed
with oils and then where needed, detailed with acrylics. The
tyres were airbrushed with Rubber Black and then washed with
Humbrol Dark Earth, any excess being removed with a cotton
bud soaked in white spirit.

in my collection. Honestly though, any

of the machines on the decal sheet
would have look pleasing in miniature,
Thomas Smith’s green-trimmed 359th
FG aircraft being our next favourite
choice. When it comes to P-51 Mustangs,
you are never short of colour schemes to
chose from! ■

Undercarriage legs in place. Fit here is tight, the rear pip on the base of each leg having to be Heavy weathering around the legs and wheels helps to create the illusion of use. Note the tiny stencils
removed to allow each to be fitted comfortably in place. Superglue held everything together once on the undercarriage leg.
the legs had been adjusted.

As with almost every Mustang kit, the fit of the flaps is tight and extreme care needs to be taken Fixing the underwing tanks in place under the wings is an absolute trial, thanks to almost no definite
to ensure that they are glued neatly in place. Note in this shot how the ‘metal’ finish on the flap location points. Superglue and care was therefore needed to ensure each was in place and then set
contrasts with the ‘painted’ finish on the upper wing. at the correct angle.

Issue 144
171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 47
KIT BUILD

On its legs at last, our Mustang is ready for final assembly.

FINAL VERDICT
This is a very fine kit and looks to set up their new family of P-51s, perfectly. being limited run in
nature, by the time that you read this article, this particular offering with no doubt already be sold out,
but the next kit (what looks to be a early aircraft sans fillet) is just around the corner, so it shouldn’t
be long before you can get your hands on one and see what all the fuss is about.
At the start of this feature I posited the idea that the modelling world may not feel that another 1:48
Mustang kit –– and a P-51D at that –– was needed, but having seen this one and examined it in detail during
my build, I can conclude that its release was indeed worth it, the resulting replica being a step up from
those already possible in miniature.
I really enjoyed building Eduard’s latest WWII aircraft kit and I’m more than happy to display the results
alongside the rest of my collection. It’s well-detailed, very easy to build and looks every inch the
thoroughbred that it sets out to replicate. Yes, I very much enjoyed, and so I feel, will you.
Thanks to Eduard for the review sample built for this issue.

48 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

KIT BUILD
BUILT AND WRITTEN BY IVAN JENSEN TAYLOR

We take a

TANTE JU
detailed step
by step look
at building
and painting
the excellent
Revell 1:48
JU-52/3M

n this month’s issue I bring you a of positivity regarding this kit in terms a couple of weeks. I wanted to make

I look at the recently re-released, old

but gold, Revell Junkers Ju-52/3M.
Upon taking procession of this kit
I had already heard an abundance

50 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

of quality and enjoyment that it brings
to whoever builds it. I knew that this
build was not going to be a quick, build
and paint project that would be done in
something special from this model as
with its sheer size and footprint, it would
certainly be an eye-catcher.
Throughout this project I shall take you
 1:48
SKILL LEVEL:
Intermediate

SPECIFICATION:
Junkers Ju 52/3m
Kit No: 03918
Materials: IM
Available from: All good model retailers
Price guide: £39.99

BEFORE STARTING:
Tamiya Extra Thin Cement
Tamiya Extra Thin Cement Quick dry
E.M.A Model Supplies Plastic Weld
Tamiya sprue cutters
Xuron cutters
Tamiya fine tweezers
Tamiya Design Knife
Zap-A-Gap Medium CA glue
Zap Kicker
Vallejo putty
Mr. Hobby Levelling Thinner
Microscale Industries Micro set and Micro Sol
Walthers Solvaset

PAINTS USED:
MRP Paints
MRP-4 White
MRP-5 Black
MRP-50 RLM 02
MRP-58 RLM 65
MRP-60 RLM 70
MRP-61 RLM 71
MRP-68 RLM 79

Mr. Hobby Paints

H90 Clear Red
H94 Clear Green

Mig Panel Line Wash

PLW Deep Brown A.MIG-1618
Mig Oilbrushers Dark Brown A.MIG 3512
ACCESSORIES USED:
Eduard canopy mask for Junkers Ju-52/3m EDEX070 –
www.Hannants.co.uk
Infini rigging line – Fine

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 51

KIT BUILD

1 2

3 4

5 6
1. The cockpit will be very visible due to the large greenhouse style canopy that the Ju-52 houses. The level of detail that is provided within
the cockpit is of a very high quality and would not look out of place on a kit released more recently. It proved a lot simpler to assemble
all the cockpit components before painting. 2. The radio detail on this kit is very crisp, although, anything rear of the cockpit would not
7
be visible, even through all the windows. This resulted in these parts getting painted black and getting a wash and a dry brush with a
light grey. 3. Seat harnesses are moulded to the seats, usually this would be an inconvenience to me as I usually find that moulded seat
harnesses are bulky and poorly moulded. However, in this case, they are finely moulded and very crisp which makes them very easy
to paint having them look as natural as possible. 4. In most cases I either buy an Eduard photo-etch instrument panel or a Yahu panel,
but in this case I found that the decal was of high enough quality to use, that in combination with the lack of visibility of the instrument
panel resulted in me painting the panel black and then applying the decal over the instrument and setting it down with Walthers
Solvaset. This resulted in the industry known ‘painted-on’ look. 5. I really had a struggle photographing the off-white plastic, but
more lighting in future steps sorted that issue out. To better present the detail of the interior walls and such, I primed the interior
with Mr Surfacer 1200 grey. This allowed the camera to pick up all the interior framework details. These details will really pick up a
wash nicely, though sadly once again, this would not really be visible once the airframe was together. 6. This is the first build that I
have primarily used MRP paints on. I have heard nothing but raving reviews about their pigment density, coverage and how smooth
they lay down. The interior of this aircraft was RLM02 which was the main interior colour used on all early Luftwaffe aircraft until
they switched to the dark grey RLM 66. Painting this was this first time I had put MRP in the colour cup. 7. Again, all interior parts
were base coated in RLM O2 and then left to dry for a couple of hours, being a lacquer, the paint dries very quickly. Then once dry,
I painted all the brown leather areas including the seats and the bottom of the control sticks with Andrea Acrylics Dark Leather
Brown and highlighted slightly with Andrea White. Anything that is painted black received a drybrushed layer of slate grey to
add a worn look. The seat harnesses have been painted with Ocher. The buckles and scratches have been painted with
Citadel Runefang Steel. The chips have been sponge applied.

52 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

8. My go-to out of the bottle wash is the Mig Panel line wash. I really like this wash as it suites
a large majority of the subjects that I build. It is a very neutral colour to use to make details and
areas look less clean. 9. When applying the wash to areas that have lots of raised and recessed
1:48
details, I am not overly cautious with my application. I slather the wash everywhere, but I don’t
apply so much that it created pools. If you allow the wash to pool too much it will take a long
time to dry and it will be a waste of product. 10. Once the wash has dried for around about 10/15
minutes I take some very cheap cotton buds which can be found at any supermarket and removed
the wash from all the raised areas and try and leave a trace of the wash left in all the recesses
and around any details. It is important to make sure the wash is dry before removing. If you try
and remove a wash whilst wet, it will get wicked away and the wash will be absorbed. Resulting
in all the wash being remove and you having to reapply the wash again. 11. Once the wash has
been removed you can see that it provides more dimension to the interior of the fuselage. Though
it’s only subtle, it does take away that clean look and gives the paintwork some variation. 12.
The interior of this aircraft is fitted out to be used for paratroopers. There is seating along all the
windows, all of which are moulded with seat harnesses. Everything was painted as in the cockpit
and given a brown glaze to dull down the fabric. Sadly, none of this area would be seen so I didn’t
spend a whole lot of time trying to weather down the crew compartment. Maybe if I’d chosen to
open all the doors and hatches, I would have spent a lot more time on the interior. 13. With the
interior now complete, it was time to install the side windows which are supplied as one long
piece for each side. This made work a lot easier and cleaner due to having more areas that I could
glue the window frames in non-visible locations. I must be honest, aligning the interior with the
fuselage half grooves did prove to be a very snug fit and needed some fettling to get perfectly
in place. Once aligned, the halves were pulled together tightly and glued. Whilst the fuselage
was together, I installed the horizontal stabilisers and had them held at the correct dihedral with
Tamiya tape. 14. With the fuselage drying I worked on many sub-assemblies to make the final
assembly as easy as possible. The wing assembly was a simple top to bottom join, though with the
wingspan being quite substantial, there would be a large seam running along the entire leading
edge of the wing and engine mounts. To check the main seam lines, I used a standard off-the-
shelf whiteboard pen. Being Black it can show any imperfections in the plastic.
8

9 10

11 12

13 14

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KIT BUILD

15 16

17 18

21
20

19

22

54 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL

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23 24
15. After I’d gone around all the joint lines, I had an
image to see what they were like. I used a Flory Models
Dual Sander for jobs like this. I use the hard side of the
sander to remove the bulk of the step (should there
be one) and then use the sponge side of the sander to
smooth out the surface and remove any sand marks in
the plastic. After that I go over all sanded surfaces with a
polishing stick. 16. This image shows what the surface
will look like after sanding. As you can see, there is a very
fine black line in the seam which indicates that there is
still a small seam to remove. The seam will be completely
gone when the black ink has disappeared. This is a
technique that I picked up from Spencer Pollard on his
YouTube channel. This is a technique that I use every
single build I do. 17. Masking sets are a godsend when it
comes to complex and awkwardly shaped canopies like
these. Eduard once again answered the call and I was
able to acquire one of these mask sets from Hannants. To
prevent any damage to the mask set I used the Tamiya
fine tip tweezers to pickup and place on the canopy.
There is very little margin for error and the size and fit of
the mask is perfect to the framework. 18. Now we have
joined the fuselage and wings, we can really get a feel
25
for the sheer size of this aircraft. Now I know I am not
exactly neat with my whiteboard marker but I really want
to be thorough and make sure the model is as seamless
as I can possibly get it. Luckily, once sanded and all the
seams are fine, the whiteboard marker can be cleaned off
with airbrush cleaner. The wing to fuselage join is nothing
short of perfection and I am still amazed by how well this
kit goes together considering its age. There are kits being
released to this day that do not fit as well as this one.
19. Engine work begins with priming all three engines
in a gloss black base coat. Whenever I do metalwork, I
always start with a gloss black base. This has become
more a habit rather than a necessity. All three engines will
go through the same painting and weathering stages.
20. Once the gloss basecoat had dried, I painted the
engines with AK Extreme Aluminium. Though at this stage
the engine is looking very clean and very shiny, the next
steps will make the engine more mechanical and dirty.
21. Now that the aluminium paint has dried, I used these
two products to weather the engine. I have come to really
like the combination of AK Engine & Turbine wash and
Citadel Nuln Oil shade. I use the AK engine wash to give 26
a mechanical look and then the Citadel shade to dull
down the effect and redefine the details. 22. The first
stage in getting the engine to look grimy was to apply
AK Engine & Turbines wash. I have found this was to be
perfect if you want parts such as engines, landing gear or
any mechanical sections to look more realistic and give
that appearance of wear and tear. 23. With the AK wash
dried, I needed to redefine the detail that is moulded
on the engine and add another layer of depth. This was
done using Citadel Nuln Oil. This was applied liberally
to the entire engine assembly. With this wash dry, you
can see the details are more sharply defined. 24. One
part of engine work I really enjoy is doing the exhausts.
I start by cleaning up the exhausts as there was burring
on all the parts. Then I base coat them in Tamiya XF-9
Hull red, then I take some Andrea French orange paints 27
and apply some to a bit of kitchen towel. I take some
ripped up sponge and apply the paint to the exhaust in a
stippling fashion. I apply the orange paint the same way
you would apply sponge chipping. 25. Now that we have
the aircraft seamless and looking as good as we could
possibly get it, it was time to prep the aircraft for paint.
My primer of choice for this build was Stynylrez black. I
used this mainly as I was nearly out and wanted to use
the last of it up and I wanted to use a black primer and
it’s the only one I had. The primer does dry smooth, but
I find that the negatives outweigh the positives. 26. This
is the selection of paints that I used to paint the aircraft.
I have found that the colour matching is near perfect and
the coverage is sublime. As I was doing the North Africa
scheme I used RLM 70 and RLM 71 to create a standard
camouflage pattern from the early stages of the war that
had been overpainted using RLM 79 to disrupt the green
and add the desert camouflage. 27. Whenever doing a
camouflage pattern I freehand the first colour and try and
create a rough outline of the camouflage pattern. Once
again, the MRP paint covered the black base impeccably.
I always try to overspray the camouflage patterns a
little, so I don’t end up with any black spots after I have
masked off the second colour.

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KIT BUILD

29

28

28. I used Tamiya masking tape to mask off first coat of paint. When I first started this build, I
thought that the corrugation of the airframe would make it hard to mask off and that I would
get spray under the masking tape, but the corrugation is very crisp but fine. This image also
shows why I overspray the camo slightly. 29. Now that I don’t have to be careful with where
I spray, the second colour of RLM 70 was painted to complete the camouflage pattern. Being 30
a lacquer paint, it was dry after an hour so more work could commence without having to
wait overnight. 30. Here we can see the usual two-tone early war Luftwaffe camouflage
scheme and at this stage I was contemplating doing the battle of Britain scheme rather than
the North African scheme, but as I am yet to see a north Africa scheme JU-52... 31. Using a
low air pressure of 8psi I freehanded the RLM79 Sandgelb. With a low pressure it allowed me
to spray a tight pattern without getting spidering on the surface of the model. I did not follow
any references or images to do the desert camouflage pattern, but I did try to be as random
as I could, doing different areas of the model at a time to keep the patterns random. I used
my Iwata HP-C plus for all my paintwork as I have found it to be best all-round airbrush for
doing all jobs, from large coverage to very fine work. 32. With the aircraft fully painted and the
camouflage pattern complete, it was time to give the aircraft some fading and break up the
uniform paint surface. Though the camouflage pattern itself is disruptive and colourful, it still
looked very clean and a bit toy-like. My fading technique is as simple as it gets. I take the base
colour and add a small amount of white to the mix and then spray very small patterns
inside of each panel. This was the longest step in the painting stage. Not
wanting to give it a patchwork quilt look I had to do little squiggles
and figures of eights in the paint. This provides a more
mottled, faded look.

31

32

33

56 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

 34
1:48

35

33. When it comes to building aircraft, my least favourite stage

though the steps of the build and try to provide
you with some tips and tricks that could
make your build, should you choose to build
one, a little bit easier. In this build I realised
that that my technique bank was massively
overcluttered and I needed to really focus
on getting the basics perfect before trying to
attempt anything advanced. There have been
many builds in the past where I have focused
to much on more complex techniques that I
have let my basic standards slip. This build
was an education for me and hopefully can be
a help to you as I take you from start to finish.
Throughout this build, everything you will see
will be completely from the kit box, except
for the Eduard Mask set for the canopy and
windows. I have seen many of these aircraft
kits built from earlier releases of this kit, but I
really wanted to bring a North African flavour
to the legion of Ju-52’s out there. Thankfully,
Revell provided such an opportunity. Though
this is not a shake and bake kit, it will do
wonders for your modelling skills and bring
a grin to your face. We really hope that you
enjoy the build! ■
of the build is decalling. I prefer to paint on all my markings,
but I couldn’t find a paint mask set for this kit. and I find that
inconsistencies in kit decals can knock my confidence when
decalling. However, in this kit the decals were spectacular! They
conformed to the surface detail so well that they look painted
on. I started by soaking the decals in warm water and then
applying Micro Set to the surface of the model. Once the decal
comes away from the backing paper, I place the decal onto the
surface and then remove all the water from under the decal
surface using a cotton bud in a rolling action. Once the water
has been removed from the decal, I applied a layer of Micro Sol.
Once that had dried and the decal had softened, I applied a final
layer of Walthers Solvaset, this is a harsh solvent and gives the
decal that painted-on look. 34. After all the decals had dried
and settled it was time to apply final weathering. I didn’t do an
awful lot of weathering with this build. I mainly just did some
work with oils to add some life and dimension to the aircraft. I
used Mig Oilbrusher Dark Brown applied to wing roots, control
surfaces and anywhere natural shadows would form. The oil
was brushed on and then left for around ten minutes, before
being blended-in with a soft, round brush. 35. I try and get
my models to be realistic to the setting that they are used in.
With this being a North African campaign aircraft I wanted to
add a dusty and sandy form of weathering to the underside
of the aircraft. This was done with Mig Oilbrusher Buff. This
was applied and then streaked back in the direction of airflow
and built up areas where there would be a lot of dirt and sand
build-up.

FINAL VERDICT
Now that I have finished this project two months after starting it, I can say with confidence that this is
one of, if not, the best kits that I have ever had the pleasure of building. For a kit that is older that me
(Moulded in 1988) I was in awe of the detail that is produced in this kit. When I first took possession of
this kit I was not overly inspired or excited by the build I had ahead of me. There have been many comments
made on the re-release of this kit by Revell and many have said that this kit should be re-tooled
or upgraded. Before building this kit, I would have agreed with these comments, but now that I
have built the kit myself, I can honestly say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with it!
To re-tool this kit would be a waste of time, money and effort. Why retool a kit when the
original is superb, as it is? I can now understand why no other company has bothered to try
and rival this kit; this kit is ‘the’ 1:48 Ju-52 to buy. Throughout this build I couldn’t
help but express my enjoyment. Is this kit perfect? No. Will this kit bring you joy?
Absolutely. Would I build it again? I guarantee I will. Thank you to Spencer Pollard for
allowing me to build this kit - I hope you all enjoyed it, because I certainly did!
Thanks to Revell for the review sample built this month.

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 57

KIT BUILD
BUILT AND PAINTED BY MIKE WILLIAMS

FROM A LAND
DOWN UNDER
We build the latest Airfix Sea Fury release, this
time with an Antipodean twist…

58 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

 1:48
SKILL LEVEL:
Intermediate

SPECIFICATION:
Airfix 1:48 Sea Fury
Kit code: A06106
Materials: IM
Availability: www.airfix.com and all good model shops
Price : £24.99

BEFORE STARTING:
Tamiya Extra Thin Cement
Tamiya Extra Thin Cement Quick setting
EMA Plastic Weld

R
Tamiya masking Tape
Swann-Morton Scalpel No.3 handle with no.11 blades
Wilder pointed tweezers
Sponge sanders
Vallejo Plastic Putty
Micro drill and bits
Super glue

AIRBRUSH:
Iwata Revolution CR
Bartsharp 180

PAINTS USED:
Tamiya Fine White Primer
Tamiya XF-66 Light Grey
Tamiya XF-4 Yellow Green
Tamiya XF-8 Flat Blue
Tamiya XF-85 Rubber Black

Mr.Color GX112 UV cut Gloss Clear

Mr.Color Super Metallic Chrome Silver

F
ollowing on from their very
successful first release of the mighty
Sea Fury in 1:48 Airfix have seen fit
to release this, the export version. In
the box is essentially the same kit as
before with a new decal sheet featuring three
different air arms from the Royal Navy options
that were included in the first edition.

● A. VW645 Sydney August 1955

● B. FB11 803 Squadron Royal Canadian
Navy 1948
● C. Sea Fury FB. MK50 no860 Squadron
Royal Dutch Navy – Aerobats

Never one to build the ordinary, I started

to search for alternative schemes to those
included in the box and came up with a myriad
of marks and colour schemes from which to
choose from. Those that really piqued my
interest were the current crop of racers and
“warbirds” that are flown all over the world at
airshows and air race meetings. A little while

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 59

KIT BUILD

These teardrop shapes needed removing for a modern machine, here you can see before and after Reskit wheels replaced the kit wheels after careful removal from their moulding blocks. The kit
on the left and right gear doors. undercarriage legs are very nicely detailed.

The completed cockpit received a wash to pop the detail. The kit supplied decals for the instrument With a generic set of Eduard belts fitted, everything clicks snugly into the fuselage halves. Also
panel work perfectly. Note the grey interior of a modern aircraft compared to the black interiors of visible here is the main spar which fixes the wings straight and true.
in-service machines.

spent on YouTube and I found some great
footage of modern day racers doing their
thing and drawing inspiration from these, I
investigated what was out there for my build.
Big Prop? Little Prop?
I settled on a modern day racing warbird in
Royal Australian Navy (RAN) colours. There
were two differing variants that kept cropping
up time and again; one was a machine fitted
with a five-bladed prop that was UK based for
many years before being sold and shipped to
Australia (where it was flown for many years
with their RAN Historic Flight before being
sold on again). The second, was dare I say,
a more impressive looking option. This was
the re-engined, US-based machine with a
massive four blade prop and a P&W Twin
Wasp engine that was used in those amazing
Reno Air Races. Though both were finished
in a beautiful Oxford Blue with highly polished
exteriors, they were also fitted with a pair of
different wheels, as I was to find out! These
are non-standard and were actually F-102/106

Here you can see the sum of parts for the engine and cowling, notable are the finely moulded The lower wing centre-section fits perfectly, as does the engine and cowling. There is an option to
exhaust stubs. fold the wings if that is your preferred method…

60 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019


The upper wings and outer
sections also fit without
issues. I left the cowling
ring off until I had painted
and fitted the engine front,
such as it is.
Despite the beautifully applied glossy finish of Mr.
Color H5 Blue, this was to be too dark and would need
stripping back to the plastic.
wheels, more of which, later…
Having sourced a suitable prop (pinched
from a 1:48 F8F Bearcat) I just needed a
four-blade spinner. The search for this was to
prove fruitless until a fellow modeller based
in France offered to send me a spare, which
then got lost in the post somewhere between
their place and mine. So it seemed fate had
chosen the five bladed Aussie machine for my
build, though another fellow modeller (a little
farther afield in Australia) had seen my plight
on good old Facebook and offered to send me
the relevant decals for the machine I wanted to
make. Within a working week they arrived and
I was finally able to see a purpose for my build.
Clean Cockpit
Searches Online furnished me with some
1:48
With the bulk
of construction
complete, seams
dealt with and the
windscreen masked
and fitted, it was
almost time for
painting…
interior photos of the Sea Fury I was to build. A good soaking in foaming oven cleaner lifts the acrylic
Unlike most in-service aircraft which are paint after an hour or two…
painted predominantly black inside, it was
light grey and immaculately clean. To that end
all interior parts were cut off their runners,
cleaned up, assembled and sprayed a medium
grey shade before having their details picked
to highlight the various switches and buttons,
before a light wash could be applied to lift
the details. A set of generic WW2 Eduard
Steel belts were fitted to the seat, otherwise
everything you see is what was in the box,
including the superb decals for the instrument
panel. As a bonus, the grey interior helps you
see inside on the finished model as it is a very
small opening, a black interior resulting in
detail that almost disappears.
Washed under running water with a kitchen sponge pad
saw it back to bare plastic.
KIT BUILD Airbrushed over a
basic white primer,
the Tamiya XF-8 Flat
Blue was a far better
shade that was nearer
to Oxford Blue as
used by the Royal
Australian Navy

Tamiya XF-4 Yellow Green is a good approximation of the Zinc Chromate primer that’s found in the undercarriage bay interiors.

Two good coats of Mr. Color GX112 Gloss

Clear turned the flat blue into a bright, shiny
shade in readiness for decals

(In)Correct Cowling
With the cockpit complete and installed the
build continued apace with little to do except
The shiny exhaust outlet heat plates and stubs were airbrushed Chrome Silver after some delicate masking had been applied to follow the instructions. The fuselage fitted
the surrounding sections.
together beautifully and cleaned up with
ease, as did the wings and lower fuselage. A
minor stumbling block was to be the cowling,
as I am sure many of you who built their first
incarnation found out to your peril. The way
Airfix have seen fit to break it down
is, shall we say, odd? The
panel lines along the side of
the cowling are incorrectly
placed so would need
either some remedial
work, or replacing with
an aftermarket resin
correction set (Barracuda
Studios and Aerocraft
produce such pieces now
should you wish to upgrade). To be
brutally honest it wasn’t a deal breaker for me
and I was eager to build this, so I built it as per
the kit. I wouldn’t be using a panel line wash to
enhance them as being a dark blue scheme,
The matt black wing walk ways were easily sprayed on, though decals are supplied if that is your preferred method.
 1:48

The decals were applied before a further coat of gloss

clear sealed them in…look at that shine!

little would be too obvious - at least to my

eyes, anyway!

Into The Blue

With all major assemblies glued together and
sanded, it was fast approaching painting time
so my attention turned to my paint stocks to
see what, if anything I had that would suffice
as trying to find a “correct” Oxford blue was
proving as troublesome as sourcing a four
bladed prop!
Humbrol make an exact match, but I’m
loath to use them due to their extended drying
time. I had a couple of various blue shades
in acrylics which would be my best bet - well,
nearly. In my haste to get some colour on this
model I failed to test the paints and just went
ahead and sprayed the shade that looked
closest to what I had in my minds eye: Mr.
Hobby H5 Gloss Blue. It went down beautifully
and looked great, right up until the point I
offered up the first roundel decal and it became
horrifyingly clear it was far too dark a shade
of blue, and the roundel all but disappeared
against it.
With hindsight, I should have tested the blue
paints I had chosen and possibly used a lighter
shade as a primer to lift the hue, to that end I
decided to strip the paint off and start afresh.
An hour or so soaking in foaming oven
cleaner and a rinse under the kitchen tap with

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 63

KIT BUILD
a sponge scouring pad and I was back to the
bare plastic to repaint it.
Once thoroughly dried off, I decided to prime
the model with a coat of Tamiya Fine White
Primer (decanted for use through my airbrush)
in the hope that it would act as a catalyst to
lighten the blue shade.
I lightly polished the primer coat with a
32000 Micromesh polishing pad to smooth out
any blemishes before giving it a generous coat
64 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
of Tamiya XF-8 Flat Blue, followed by a couple
of coats of Mr. Color GX Gloss Clear. Happy
with the shade and gloss finish it was left for
24 hrs or so to harden before I could get the
decals on.
Decals And Details
Not being very familiar with Aussie Decals, I
gave them a coat of Microscale liquid decal
film to ensure they were sealed and wouldn’t
break up during handling. They all soaked
off with ease and stuck without issue to the
model, though I had to use some decal solvent
to help them settle into the panel lines on the
wings. With the decals drying out, attention
turned to the undercarriage and propeller.
As I have previously alluded to, a lot of
modern Warbirds and especially racing aircraft
are fitted with different wheels to those as fitted
when the aircraft were built. They are actually

wheels previously fitted to the Convair F-102
Delta Dagger and F-106 Delta Dart, the reason
being (as far as I know) that they have better
brakes. Aftermarket resin wheels are readily
available from ResKit and are a reasonable fit
with a little drilling out of the connection points,
the moulded details however are superb and
respond well to painting and washes. The
undercarriage bays and doors have their
interior painted in what appears to be a Zinc
Chromate primer, a good match for which
is Tamiya XF-4 Yellow Green. So, following
some careful masking they all received a
coat of paint and were assembled and fitted.
The undercarriage legs have very solid and
substantial locators within the bays, thus sitting
at the correct forward rake and alignment.
The propeller was painted black with yellow
blade tips and the spinner was airbrushed
Neutral Gray before being carefully joined
1:48
and along with the airframe, given another
light coat of clear gloss to seal the decals and
eliminate any carrier film.
The canopy was unmasked and fitted along
with the tailwheel and inner undercarriage
doors, finishing off this somewhat protracted
build of one of the finest piston engined
fighters to ever fly. ■

FINAL VERDICT
Airfix continue to impress with their recent re-releases. The ease of build with the detail included makes
for an enjoyable build for all skill levels.
If I were to nit-pick, the sprue attachment points are a bit chunky in places so care needs to be taken when
removing parts. But overall it is a superb kit that looks fantastic in any colour scheme and is what I would
call an elegant brute of a machine, which Airfix have captured perfectly in 1:48 scale.

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 65

REVELL’S SUPER-SCALE, SUPER BUG
WRITTEN BY SPENCER POLLARD
verything comes to he who waits, or
E so the old adage goes. Well, wait we
have, because finally after its initial
announcement last year we have a
sample of Revell’s much discussed
F-18E ‘Super Bug’.
Revell, not known for replicating many
modern jets in 1:32 and then even less to this
level of complexity, surprised the world in 2018
with the announcement that they were going
66 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
to be releasing a kit of the Legacy Hornet’s
big brother. Images were released and then
as news of it trickled out and we got to see the
completed model within the glass display cas-
es at Scale Model World, we all got a glimpse
of how large and detailed the completed model
would be. And large it is; at around 20% bigger
all round than an F/A-18C, the Echo-Model
certainly commands attention - and attention it
will get, both in this extended preview and then
as part of a full build later this year.
Normally when you open a kit box, the first
thing to grab you are the plastic parts, but in
this case I’m going to make an exception and
begin with the instructions. At 64 pages long,
it’s been some time since I’ve seen a lengthier
tome dedicated to the construction of a plastic
model kit (indeed, I’ve seen shorter maga-
zines!) so it is worth grabbing the instructions
first to initially familiarise yourself with the work
that stands before you. Everything is laid out
clearly, and though there are some odd direc-
tions such as fixing the undercarriage in place
before completing the airframe(!), much can be
followed with confidence.
Moving on to the kit itself, the box is
crammed full of plastic parts, 246 in total. All
are well-moulded, reasonably detailed and in
the case of the upper fuselage, huge! Along
with the airframe, the kit also includes an
whole arsenal of weapons, a set of optional
dropped down steps, flaps that can lowered or
raised, wings, folded or down, canopy open or
closed and then two sets of markings.
Breakdown of the kit looks to not only allow
an F-18F to be produced later on (with the
tantalising prospect of a Growler…) but also
seems to follow that seen in almost all other
Hornet kits seen thus far. As such, the rear
fuselage is split horizontally, trapping internal
features such as intake trunks and exhausts
and undercarriage bays, and then the nose
is split vertically, this time enclosing the nose
gear bay and cockpit. Wings are then complet-
ed, and fins and nosecone added to complete

G, HITS THE DECKS…
the picture… Well, almost; along with the basic
airframe components, you also deal with all of
those additional parts mentioned earlier such
as control surfaces, pylons, undercarriage
and weapons. There’s a lot to build and just
as much to paint, but given the quality of the
moulding and the breakdown of the parts, the
process looks to be relatively straightforward,
despite the initially daunting size of the kit.
This rather sombre VFA-27 Royal Maces Super Hornet blends-in nicely with an overcast Japanese sky. (Image: Alan Firbank)
Detail is variable. The main wing and
fuselage components are decorated with
petite panel lines and delicate rows of incised
rivets that combine to create a suitably busy
surface that modellers will enjoy accentuating
with paint. Given the US Navy’s reputation
for operating aircraft that look anything but
clean, seeing so much surface detail to bring
out is pleasing and that will certainly help
Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 67
1:32
INFO:
REVELL 1:32 F-18E SUPER HORNET
Scale: 1:32
Manufacturer: Revell
Materials: IM
Kit No. 04994
Availability: All good model shops
Price: £69.99
break up what are often relatively bland colour
schemes.
The smaller features fare no less well
thanks to their levels of detail and finesse - at
least in part. Work begins with a large internal
sub-assembly that is built around two large
pieces that include the forward intake tunnels
and rear jet pipes. Onto this are built the
main undercarriage bays, a high number of
individual components being brought together
to replicate the involved structures within
each one. In combination with the gear legs
and wheels, this is perhaps the most involved
part of the build and seemingly one that will
need the most care, the instructions guiding
you through the need to move material from
bulkheads that are moulded as part of those
two large sections. Why this is needed is
unclear, so I assume that the design added too
much material around these areas and so they
fouled the fit of the rear fuselage halves. As it
is, you will need to be careful to ensure that
any remedial work is carried out accurately to
ensure that fit is as tight as possible.
Moving on to the cockpit, we find detail that
is, shall we say, workmanlike, rather than stel-
lar. Sure, you have a multipart ejection seat,
but with the rest of the cockpit only comprising
four parts: tub, instrument panel, throttle lever
and control column, you are hardly over-
whelmed. Detail is fine as it goes, but hardly
representative of the original in all of its glory
68 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
and when you consider that there is absolutely
no sidewall or sill detail, things start to look
rather undernourished. Indeed, when you con-
sider that there was just as much detail within
Hasegawa’s 1:32 kit released in 1980, you get
some idea of the omissions and the paucity of
detail incorporated within this new kit. I have to
say that this was something of a surprise given
the accomplishments elsewhere, so be pre-
pared for extra work should you wish to have
similar levels of detail across the entire model.
Incidentally, seat straps are moulded as part of
the seat cushions, but are poorly detail and far
too shallow. Though a difficult job to rework, I
would still suggest removal and replacement
with either aftermarket parts –– should they
be available –– or your own belts made from
scratch.
In terms of shape and accuracy, Revell’s
Super Bug scores highly, the heft of the real
machine being well captured. Comparison
with reference photos show that in the main,
the Revell designers have done their home-
work and the resulting model should look
very pleasing once complete. That said, I do
have one concern and that is the shape of
the spine immediately behind the canopy. In
order to facilitate the release of a two-seat
jet later on down the line, Revell have, much
like other manufacturers, used a separate
insert to shorten the spine for the single seat
cockpit and canopy. Though a good idea, this
part, in conjunction with the spine that it sits
upon, creates an area that looks to be too flat
across its upper surface. In reality, the spine is
a flowing, curved shape that mirrors that seen
on Legacy Hornets and this kit doesn’t capture
that correctly - at least to my eye. A look at the
completed model shots and then comparison
to my reference pictures certainly seem to
reinforce that feeling, so work may be needed
to soften the sides of the spine in that area, to
create the curved appearance that’s needed
for absolute authenticity.
Moving through to completion of the model,
attention is drawn to the wings, their flaps and
slats, folded outer wing panels and then un-
derwing pylons. These items are well-rendered
by Revell, simple construction and what seem
to be in the case of both the outer wings and
the larger trailing edge flaps, reasonably solid
joints being in evidence. Despite that innate
simplicity, you will still need to take care with
the location of the flaps, the hinges that attach
each one seemingly only having one set of
split hinges that are used for both dropped and
retracted flaps, so you will need to brace the
flaps in some way until the two-part hinged
joints have fully set. The simple two-part fins
and underwing pylons can now be added,
as can the very simple single-part jet pipes,
optional open or closed pipes being supplied
for use, as you see fit.
All the remains is to deal with the undercar-
riage and then weapons fit. The undercarriage
is notoriously complex on the Hornet and in
this kit, though not quite as part-heavy as that
found in Academy’s 1:32 offering, the gear
legs, thanks to their kinked design, comprise
plenty of individual pieces that need to be care-
ful assembled and aligned ready for painting
and installation. Thankfully, unlike Hasegawa’s
woefully inadequate peg and socket joints, the
union between the legs and the main gear bays
look to be solid, so you shouldn’t have issues
with each one collapsing under the weight
of this substantial model. The nose gear is
similarly impressive, multiple parts once again
combining to recreate the complex look of the
original. In order to maintain the aircraft’s clean
lines with the gear up, the kit supplies all three
of the gear bay doors in one piece, each hav-
ing to be split carefully with a scalpel to allow
the individual doors to be dropped. This looks
to be a relatively easy process, despite the
inevitable clean-up of the edges of each door
that will result from this work.
Much of your time with be taken up during
the building and especially painting of this kit
with the weapons that are supplied. As you
can imagine, Revell have not skimped in this
area, a fairly comprehensive collection of
bombs and missiles being offered to fill the
eleven stores stations found on the aircraft.
The weapons supplied in the kit are as follows:
● AIM-9M Sidewinder
● AIM-9X Sidewinder
● AIM-120C AMRAAM
● GBU-12 Paveway II
● GBU-31-3B Joint Direct Attack Munition
(JDAM)
● GBU-38 JDAM
● FPU-11A Drop Tanks
● AN-ASQ.228 ATFLIR Sensor Pod
All of the weapons exhibit fine detail and
high levels of accuracy. The instructions are
explicit when it comes to the colouration of
these miniature weapons and though the
decal sheet isn’t entirely complete when it
comes to stencilling over the surfaces of each
one, similarly comprehensive when it comes
to decoration from the large sheet of decals.
Intriguingly, the kit also offers markings for a
blue Sidewinder drill round, which will no doubt
add a splash of colour should you wish to com-
plete your model in toned-down colours and
markings. Indeed, should you wish to be really
clever with the finish, you could paint all of the
weapons as drill rounds, which would look very
impressive…
The decal sheet provides markings for two
very different aircraft, the bright and colourful
box art machine, or a rather more toned-down
version. The choices are as follows:
● F/A-18E Super Hornet, ‘Vampires 111’,
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron VX-9,
China Lake NAWS, California
● F/A-18E Super Hornet, ‘Gunslingers 401’,
Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-105, USS
Harry S. Truman, 2010.
All of the markings are well-printed and
comprehensively detailed, the bright (some
would say gaudy) trim for the Vampires jet,
being particularly impressive. Along with the
national and unit insignia, the sheet also offers
plenty of stencilling, as well as placards and
screens to decorate the cockpit. All in all, a
very impressive offering from Revell. ■

FINAL VERDICT
With the exception of the caveats mentioned within this extended preview, this looks to be a fine kit of this impres-
sive aircraft. Though large, the number of parts and the relatively straightforward way that the kit has been bro-
ken down, should mean that the package will be a pleasure to build, even for those with only a few kits under their
belts. Detail levels are high in the main and though there is room for improvement, even from the box, the completed
model should look very impressive. We are planning to carry out a full build of this kit later this year, so will
leave the final word to John Wilkes who will be in the hot seat when the time comes. Thanks to Revell for the sample
seen this month. (Spencer Pollard)

Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 69

SHOW…

We were expecting to see the Frecce Tricolori in the new Leonardo T-346As but the old 339s
continued to put on a great display at RIAT 2019.

70 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

 FULL-SIZE
TATTOO
ARTISTS!
ALAN FIRBANK BRINGS US SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS
YEAR’S ROYAL INTERNATIONAL AIR TATTOO.
he world’s largest military
T air show seems to come
around increasing quickly
as the years go by. This
year, the RIAT theme
was the celebrations of the 70th
Anniversary of NATO and the 50th
Anniversary of the first landing
on the moon. Both turned out to
be rather low-key events and the
casual visitor to the show would be
hard-pressed to notice either one.
The 75th Anniversary of D-Day was
not long ago, only about six weeks
but that event hardly had a mention
other than a couple of pages in the
programme brochure.
Part of the Moon Landing
celebration was a visit from
our International Space Station
astronaut, Tim Peake. Tim gave a
Q&A session early on Friday morning
that was packed with school children
sheltering from the rain. Tim fulfilled
a long held ambition to have a trip
with the Red Arrows and took a ride
behind Red One, so he was one
happy spaceman.
The Turkish Air Force Phantoms displayed
spectacular tail art. This one was about their
squadron and the 70th anniversary of NATO.
Issue 171 -www.modelairplaneinternational.com 71
The NATO Flypast looked great
in the flying display programme
but dissolved into disappointment,
literally on the Friday, when nothing
flew for most of the day because of
the rain. I believe that only the E-3A
Sentry that was to lead the flypast
took off and flew up and down a
couple of times before landing. The
NATO Flypast was to be repeated on
Saturday and took place in near ideal
conditions but several components
were missing and those that did
fly had enormous gaps between
them. What could have been a
memorable event was something of
a disappointment for no apparent
reason, on an ideal day.
The 75th Anniversary of the
Normandy landings was covered on
five pages of the official programme
but had only scant mention in the
flying programme. We noted that the
RAF made no effort at all to decorate
an aircraft with D-Day stripes.
Surely someone could have found
a couple of pots of black and white
paint?! The Battle of Britain Memorial
The other tail art is celebrating 60 years of
Phantom service. Goodness me, where did that
go?
SHOW…

This Cessna F406 was an unusual sight at RIAT. The Fisheries Protection aircraft is a much- One of the best special schemes was shown off by the Royal Danish Air Force on their F-16.
modified Cessna Caravan II.

Another great-looking special scheme on the Belgian Air Force display F-16 seen on arrival on the Performing one of the best departures was this Leonardo M-346A brought to Fairford by the
Thursday before the show. company’s Aircraft Division.

This USAF F-15E from Lakenheath dips a wing for the FRIAT members on departure day.

76 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - July 2019

 FULL-SIZE

The RAF’s new F-35B was in short supply at Fairford this year. One
made a very brief appearance, hovered for a few minutes then returned
to RAF Marham.

Yet another anniversary celebration, 100 years of British Airways. This 747-346 in the old BOAC livery performed a
flypast with the Red Arrows on Saturday in perfect conditions.

One of the most hotly anticipated displays was that of the Spanish
Navy’s two EAV-8Bs. They arrived with lovely RIAT tail art and thrilled the
crowd with a two-ship show.

The German Air Force produced some brilliant schemes on their aircraft
and this Typhoon EF2000 celebrated the squadron’s history from WWI,
the days of The Red Baron. The two Flankers from Ukraine are always crowd pleasers. They joined up for a departure flypast as their Il-76
support aircraft took off below them.

A close-up of the tail of the German Typhoon with its Manfred von
Richthofen artwork. The designer and painters deserve all the credit
possible.

Now that the RAF’s Tornados have gone it was good to see the German Air Force bringing a couple of their Tornados
to Fairford. TLG-51’s fine scheme shows WWI Ace, Max Immelmann on one side of the tail fin.

Flight’s Spitfire that has carried D-Day
marking recently was left at Coningsby:
why? It flew at Sunderland Air Show the
following weekend. Some of the visiting
aircraft carried D-Day markings but the
USAF didn’t bring one of their superb
F-15Es with D-Day markings for the
static park or even more surprisingly
didn’t include them in the three-ship
that took part in the NATO Flypast on
Saturday that flew in from Lakenheath.
The USAF has applied D-Day markings

Issue 171 -www.modelairplaneinternational.com 73

Another overseas air force making an effort in the form of this WWII RAF
fighter scheme on the F-16B from Norway.
SHOW…

Northrop Grumman’s Firebird in its manned configuration is towed away to be prepared for the There was great relief as the pair of MiG-21s arrived late on Thursday afternoon. One of them taxis
return journey to the States after RIAT 2019. off Fairford’s runway.

to several of their aircraft but none of them
appeared at Fairford.
2019 also marked the 50th Anniversary of
the first flight of Concorde 002 when in April
1969 the aircraft was flown from Filton, Bristol
to Fairford where several years of flight-testing
would take place. A one-off tribute to the
Anglo-French Concorde was a flypast by the
Red Arrows in their Concorde formation with
Patrouille de France’s version of the Concorde
formation. This looked really good with both
teams keeping it nice and tight in front of the
crowd on Saturday afternoon.
A British Airways 747-436 in the old BOAC
colour scheme celebrated 100 years since the
birth of the airline. The 747’s flypasts with the
Red Arrows was one of the most memorable
items in the flying programme.
For many, the return of the Ukrainian
Flankers, the pair of MiG-21s of the Romanian
Air Force, the pair of Spanish Navy Harriers
and the Turkish F-4E Phantoms were the

A close look at the badge on one of the Romanian Air

Force MiG-21 Lancer Cs.

The RAF’s secretive, all-seeing, Sentinel R.1 from No. 5 Squadron sets off for home on Monday after the Air Tattoo.

Rolling-out after another impressive display, the Swiss Air

Force F-18C Hornet folds its wings.

The German Air Force provided a great range of aircraft for RIAT 2019, this Tornado ECR IDS from TLG 33 was one of the last to leave Sad that we no longer see the RAF’s yellow rescue Sea
the show. Kings, but this Sikorsky S-92A looked splendid in its
Coastguard Agency colours.
74 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
 FULL-SIZE

The second Turkish Phantom sets off for the long flight home on Monday afternoon. The Belgian Air Force’s F-16 in its D-Day Anniversary scheme on Fairford’s runway.

The Royal Jordanian Falcon’s support C-130H prepares to leave Fairford. It had Falcons artwork on The Flanker’s support Il-76MD lifts off Fairford’s runway for the long flight back to Ukraine.
this side and Air Tattoo artwork on the reverse.

highlights of the show. It was good to see a
few Tornados again following the retirement
of the RAF’s aircraft earlier this year. Those
braving the rain of Friday saw the Harriers
shifting gallons of water from Fairford’s runway
as they put up a short display for the brave
souls in the crowd that were watching.
Despite everything, RIAT is still the best
military air show in the world but this year it felt
like a show of several missed opportunities.
Much of the flying was excellent, but if the
performers move any further away from the
crowd line we are all going to need stronger
spectacles in future.
We hope you enjoy some of the items that
caught our eye at this year’s show. Next year
they will do it all again on 17-19 July. Early bird
tickets are on sale soon. ■

Ukraine’s Su-27UB Flanker departs Fairford at the end of the show.

Issue 171 -www.modelairplaneinternational.com 75

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EVENTS DIARY
Model shows for 2019
September 14th 2019
IPMS Farnborough Modelfest 2019 to be
held at Kings International College, Kings
International College, Watchetts Drive,
Camberley, GU15 2PQ. In addition to the
work of IPMS Farnborough members,
Modelfest features the work of IPMS
and non-IPMS clubs from a wide area.
Traders selling new and secondhand
kits, accessories, tools, decals, books
and other modelling-related items will be
exhibiting. There will also be tombola and
refreshments.
Contact: IPMS Farnborough –
Tony Andrews
modelfest@virginmedia.com
September 21st 2019
West Cornwall Show to be held at St
John’s Hall, Elverton Road, Penzance,
Cornwall TR18 2QW. Show will feature
Club stands, traders, make & take,
competitions, raffle, refreshments. Entry
£1, family £4. Pay & display car park.
Contact: Jay Forrester
Tel: 07889368728
trurobuildnights@hotmail.com
September 22nd 2019
Wings & Things 2019 to be held
at University Academy Holbeach,
University Academy Holbeach, Park
Road, Holbeach, PE12 7PU. Clubs and
SIG’s from around the Midlands and
Anglia will be displaying the best in
scale modelling, gaming and railways.
A selection of traders will be on site
selling kits, airbrushes, paints and other
accessories. Parking is free and the
site offers disabled access Hot and cold
refreshments will also be available. The
event is run to support the Lincolnshire
and Nottinghamshire air ambulance, with
all proceeds from the show going to the
organisation
The show is once again being sponsored
78 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019
by Models for Sale.Com Entry is £2.00 for
adults and £1:00 for children and OAP’s.
Contact: Andy Agar
Tel: 07769978505
ipms.fenlandandspalding@gmail.com
September 22nd 2019
Keighley Plastic Model Club ‘Edition II
2019’ to be held at University Academy
Keighley, Greenhead Road Keighley,
BD20 6EB. Traders, Clubs, SIGs,
Competitions. Senior Best of Show
sponsored by Halifax Modellers World.
Junior Best of Show sponsored by Plastic
Hobbys. Tombola. Free on-site parking,
and catering. Adults £3, under 16s/
concessions (OAPs) £1.
Contact Keighley Plastic Model Club
Tel: 07738245421
keighleyplasticmodelclub@gmail.com
September 28th 2019
South West Model Show Autumn Edition
2019 to be held at The Tank Museum,
Bovington Wool, Dorset, BH20 6JG.
Over 2 days the Tank Museum will be
inviting exhibitors from across the UK
to exhibit their models throughout the
Museum. Boats, Cars, Plane, Trains,
Military Vehicles and, of course, Tanks!
Book online for reduced prices. Annual
Passes are valid for this event. Over two
days, see a wide range of models and
buy your own!
● Exhibitors and traders throughout the
Museum
● Model boats, cars, planes and trains
– and, of course, tanks!
● Models and modelling paraphernalia
on sale, suitable for novices up to the
experienced modeller
● Demonstrations from traders
throughout the day
● Tank Museum volunteer modellers
will give you expert tips and tricks
Please note: due to the nature of the
event, there will be a limited number of
Museum tours and talks taking place
throughout the day. Some of the indoor
exhibits may also be obstructed from
public view.
Contact The Tank Museum
Tel: 01929 405 096
events@tankmuseum.org
www.tankmuseum.org
September 28th 2019
Scale Scotland 2019 to be held at BT
Murrayfield Stadium, BT Murrayfield
Stadium, Roseburn Street, Edinburgh,
EH12 5PJ. Our 5th scale model show,
2nd one at Murrayfield. Wide variety
of traders, club stands. Competition,
modelling techniques demonstrations. Up
to 800 free parking spaces. Open from
10.00am to 5.00pm. Entry £5.00, under
16s free.
September 29th 2019
St Ives Model Show to be held at Burgess
Civic Hall, Burgess Civic Hall, Westwood
Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire PE27
6WU. Adults £1:50, Concessions 50p
70+. Model displays, 20+ traders, Airfix
“Make & Paint”, ‘Best Table Display’. The
show will raise money for Hospice at
Home, Huntingdon MS Centre & MAGPAS
charities.
Contact IPMS Brampton, Alec Smith
Tel: 01480 896949
bramptonshow@hotmail.co.uk
October 5th 2019
IPMS Abingdon Model Show to be held
at Larkmead School, Larkmead School,
Abingdon, OX14 1BB.
Contact IPMS Abingdon, Simon Fisher
Tel: 07769345271
JV44SF@gmail.com
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
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5 avenue de la Ræpublique PO Box 10, Abteilung X,
F-75541 CZ-100 31 Prague 10 – Strasnice, Henschelstr 20-30,
Paris Cédex 11 Czech Republic D-32257 Bünde,
Tel: 01 40 21 18 20 Tel: +420-241 765 158 Germany
Fax: 01 47 00 51 11 Fax: +420-241 765 158
www.historieetcollections.fr Email: mark1@cmail.cz Special Hobby Ltd
Mezilesi 718,
The Hobby Company Limited Master Model Prague 9 193 00,
Garforth Place, 71-126 Szczecin, Czech Republic
Knowlhill, ul. 26 Kwietnia 49/44, www.cmkkits.com
Milton Keynes Poland
MK5 8PH Tel: +48 0 503 072 624 Wydawnictwo Stratus s.c.
Tel: 01908 605 686 Email: info@master-model.pl PO Box 123,
Fax: 01908 605 666 www.master-model.pl 27-600 Sandomierz 1,
Email: sales@hobbyco.net Poland
or enquiries@hobbyco.net Mushroom Model Tel: 0-15 833 30 41
www.hobbyco.net Email: office@stratusbooks.biz
Publications
3 Gloucester Close, www.stratusbooks.com.pl
ICM Holding Petersfield,
Borispolskaya 9, Building 64, Hants. Trumpeter
Kiev 02099, GU32 3AX Wa San Development (Macau) Ltd
Ukraine Tel: +44 (1)1730 265014 Rampa Dos Cavleiros No.9,
Tel/Fax: (+380 44) 369 54 12 Email: rogerw@mmpbooks.biz Block 5, Floor 16, Flat AS EDF,
Email: export@icm.com.ua www.mmpbooks.biz Jardim Sun Yick Garden,
Macaua
Italeri S.p.A Pocketbond Ltd. China
Via Pradazzo 6/B, POCKETBOND www.trumpeter.com
I-40012 Calderara di Reno, Bachmann Europe PLC
(Bologna), Moat Way Wingnut Wings Ltd
Italy Barwell PO Box 15-319,
Tel: +39 051 72 60 37 Leics LE9 8EY Miramar,
Fax: +39 051 72 64 59 Tel 01455 841756 Wellington 6022,
Email: italeri@italeri.com info@pocketbond.co.uk New Zealand
www.wingnutwings.com
Lela Presse S.A.R.L.
29, rue Paul Bert, Revell GmbH
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Tel: 03 21 33 88 96 Tring
Fax: 03 21 32 00 39 HP23 4QR
www.avions-bateaux.com. Tel: 0845-459-0747
Email: info@avions-bateaux.com. Fax: 01296-660041
Email: ukbranch@revell.de
www.revell.de/en
Issue 171 - www.modelairplaneinternational.com 79
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 S ubscrib
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To d
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NEXT ISSUE 76

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SO WHAT’S PLANNED FOR THE NEXT ISSUE?

c
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HIGH FLYING RETRO HIGHLIGHTS

NINE AND HARRIERS…
Jason Brewer tackles Eduard’s rendition of Supermarine’s high altitude Glenn Sands brings us some of the highlights from this year’s International Air Day
Spitfire HF Mk.XIc at RNAS Yeovilton…And Harriers!

LARGE-SCALE LANCASTER John Wilkes builds the amazing 1:32 Hong Kong Models
kit for a specially extended review.
FINAL THOUGHTS

ARE YOU UP FOR A

CHALLENGE?
Written by Spencer Pollard
have to say that I’m not really that much of a fan of models of

I wrecked aircraft. To me, an aircraft loses much of its value once

not in service and through I’m happy to see aircraft in museums,
the sight of them abandoned, stripped and unloved, makes me
feel a little sad. As a result, I have yet to build an aircraft model
that replicates machines in this state, well, at least aircraft, as I’m
not quite as precious about more land-based subjects!
Of course there are plenty of very fine modellers out there that
revel in the idea of building aircraft that have seen better days.
Jamie Haggo for instance, regular author in these parts, has made
something of a career from building stunning replicas of all manner
of dilapidated aircraft, even writing a book on their depiction in
miniature and though I’ve yet to feel the love for such subjects,
the desire to have a go is becoming rather too much to resist.
As a result of this Damascene Conversion to the dark arts of the
unkempt, I’m looking for a suitable subject to model. During a
recent trip to the States, a group of friends and I visited Battleship
Memorial Park in Alabama where we discovered the F-86L
Sabre Dog seen here. Seemingly damaged by Hurricane Katrina
(amongst many other things, by that dreadful storm) the aircraft is
in the process of being repaired. As such, it would be a wonderful
subject for a model and a real challenge to paint. So, as noted at
the start of this piece: are you up for a challenge? Or should that
question really be: am I?

See you next time. ■

82 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - October 2019

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make it perfect for airbrushing large areas. Mix 1 part colours are safe to touch after an hour and can be paints is a big advantage in the weathering process
Lacquer Paint with 1-2 parts dedicated thinner, and masked on top of 24 hours later, saving valuable too, as enamel paints are most commonly used for
make 2-3 passes over the subject with your airbrush. time in the production of your masterpiece. Again, the application of washes and depiction of dirt, grime
Pick out the details with Tamiya Colour mini acrylic as Lacquer Paints provide a durable base coat that and oil, in particular on military model subjects. Just
paints: Lacquer Paints provide a durable base coat remains undamaged by enamel counterparts, there apply a Lacquer Paint base coat and get to work
that remains undamaged even by enamel topcoats. is less worry during paint jobs that require multiple weathering!
layers of paint.

ITEM 87198 - PAINT RETARDER ITEM 87194 - LACQUER THINNER RETARDER TYPE ITEM 87077 - LACQUER THINNER
This paint retarder is dedicated to This new product not This thinner has a variety
the Tamiya line of lacquer paints. only thins lacquer paints of uses in addition to the
Retarder slows drying of paints for airbrushing, it also thinning of lacquer-based
for beautiful finishes and limits includes retardant to paints. It is also useful when
blushing in humid conditions. By slow the drying of the cleaning painting tools
slowing the drying of the paint thinned paint, particularly and airbrushes, removing
it lessens the likelihood of brush useful in covering up any unwanted paint or excess
marks remaining and blemishing overspray and getting a putty, and even thinning
your surface coat. glossy finish. liquid surface primers.

Sign Up to our Newsletter Tamiya Accessories are distributed in the UK by Check out this video on using
on www.hobbyco.net The Hobby Company Limited, Knowlhill, Milton Keynes, MK5 8PG the new Tamiya lacquer paints:
Find us on facebook See the full Tamiya range at www.hobbyco.net
search Plastic Kit UK https://youtu.be/KrIokZv3Gq4
Tamiya Accessories are available from all good model shops