AIRCRAFT KITS

HARTMANN’S HUNTER

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Bf 109G-14

By: Eduard Item no: 82118

Price: £23.30 Web: www.eduard.com

Eduard has worked its way through the Bf 109’s later variants since its re-worked Bf 109G-6 in 2016. This ProfiPACK edition features the G-14 version, and provides the correct enlarged cannon bulges, taller rudder and revised ‘Erla’ canopy on its six styrene runners. A pre-painted photo-etched brass fret and a pre-cut self-adhesive canopy wheel mask completes the package. There’s much to appreciate, from the detailed cockpit and recessed exterior panel lines, to the alternative exhausts, cannon bulges and tailwheels. Five late-war markings are provided:

G-14/U-4, 1 + —, Hptm E Hartmann, 4./JG 52, Csór, Hungary, 1944

G-14/U-4, Wk Nr 512382/3 +, Lt H Schlick, 4./JG 77, Schönwalde, Germany, 1944

G-14, Wk Nr 464380/1 +, Magg M Bellagambi, 5a Squadriglia, Osoppo, Italy, 1945

G-14, 8 +, Oblt R Schlegel, 10./JG 4, Jüterbog-Damm, Germany, 1945

G-14, Wk Nr 464534/25 + I, EJG 2, Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, May 1945

GREAT VALUE BURRO

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I-16 Type 29

By: ICM

Item no: 32003 Price: £32.99

Web: www.hannants.co.uk

This is the third large-scale I-16 offering from ICM, and portrays the final variant of this pugnacious Soviet monoplane fighter, the Type 29. To reflect this, it shares three of the previous kit’s four styrene runners, replacing Runner B with a new frame for the gun-less wings and provision for rocket rails, different cowling ‘nose’ and exhaust panels. These are joined by an extra runner for weapons, short-chord ailerons and underwing fuel tanks. All components are moulded to the manufacturer’s exacting standards and are flash- and blemish-free, with delicate features on the engine cylinders.

There are four schemes:

• Red 75, 4th Guards Ftr Regt, Baltic Fleet Aviation, 1942

• White 12, 4th Guards Ftr Regt, Baltic Fleet Aviation, 1943

• White 75, 71st Ftr Regt, 1941

• White 13, 158th Ftr Regt, North Fleet Aviation, Pskov, July 1941

STUBBY SWEPT-WING SOVIET

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MiG-15 Fagot

By: Zvezda

Item no: 7317 Price: £10.50

Web: www.hobbyco.net

Dragon’s MiG-15 returns in Zvezda packaging, but the parts are otherwise unchanged from the original 1993 release. While it has been surpassed by Eduard’s offerings, it’s arguably the best budget-level 1/72 Fagot available, despite its minor shape issues, and it at least looks like a MiG- 15 when completed. With just three styrene runners, the low parts count makes this ideal for novice modellers. Options include baseline MiG-15 and -15bis airframes, but no differences are highlighted in the instructions. The four schemes are:

• MiG-15bis, Blue 37, Soviet Air Force

• MiG-15bis, Red 132, 17th Ftr Aviation Regt, Korea, 1952

• Aero S-103, Black 3905, Cech AF, Berlin-Gatow Museum

• Lim-1, Red 712, Polish AF, AF Museum Krakow

TRI-MOTOR ‘TANTE JU’

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Junkers Ju 52/3mg4e Transport

By: Revell Item no: 03918

Price: £49.99 Web: www.revell.de/en

Revell’s big Ju 52 makes a welcome return; it appears identical to the initial 2006 release, with five styrene runners offering well-moulded parts for a baseline military transport and four German Fallschirmjäger figures. Despite the relative age, there is no flash, and plenty of detail on offer, from the representation of the type’s corrugated exterior and busy radial engines, to the inclusion of interior framework, seating and both cockpit and dorsal defensive gun positions.

Note just MG 15s are supplied for the latter, but some aircraft were fitted with MG 131s. Two schemes are supplied, but references indicate the second was a /3mg7e variant, with larger cargo door, plus defensive gunnery positions on each side.

4U+NH, 1.(F)/123 Derna, Libya, 1941

C3+KH, Transport Staffel, II. Fliegerkorps Reggio, Italy, December 1942

MOTTLED RECCE BIRD

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Ki-15-II ‘Babs’

By: FineMolds

Item no: FB25 Price: £25.85

Web: www.finemolds.co.jp

FineMolds’ collection of 1/48 Ki-15s is rounded off by the final version to serve with the Imperial Japanese Army. All necessary parts to replicate this variant’s smaller powerplant and associated cowling are supplied on a replacement Runner G, along with new instrument panels and a two-bladed propeller. Otherwise the contents are immediately familiar, offering a wonderfully detailed interior (including camera mounts, radios and spare magazines for the defensive machine guns), while the exterior panels are rendered as delicate engraved lines. Clever design allows the wheels to be added to the spats after painting, and decals are provided for the instruments. FineMolds’ attention to detail means there are even decal inserts for the wing Hinomaru, to cover the aileron actuator fairings.

The two schemes are:

1st Coy, 8th Air Regt, Burma, 1942

3rd Coy, 8th Air Regt, Burma, 1942

FORGOTTEN JUNKERS

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Ju 86 E1/E2

By: Italeri

Item no: 1391 Price: £24.99

Web: www.hobbyco.net

Despite serving with 12 air forces and eight airlines, the Ju 86 has been neglected as a model subject, with just two kits (albeit re-released on multiple occasions). Italeri’s offering is the oldest, but provides plenty of material to work with. Surface detail is rendered as raised lines and rivets, and the interior (for its time) is more than acceptable, with several compartments and bulkheads.

The highlight is the decal sheet, with perfect register, sharp colour demarcation and excellent opacity.

There are seven schemes:

• S7+C136, Flugzeug Führer School C, Germany, 1939

• TO+BU, Flugzeug Führer School (C) 16, Prague, 1942

• RX+HN, Flugzeug Führer School C, 1941

• SE+PX, Flugzeug Führer School, Prague-Ruzyne Airport, 1942

• ANI, 12th Bomber Sqn, South African AF, 1939

• 253, Gruppo de Bombardamento Diurno, Portuguese AF, 1942

• 311, Luftstreikrafte, Vienna, 1939

BOXY BRITISH BIPLANE

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SE.5a Hispano Suiza

By: Eduard Item no: 8453

Price: £11.78 Web: www.eduard.com

Having delighted modellers with its 1/48 ProfiPACK SE.5s, Eduard has focussed on the baseline kits, starting with the Hispano-Suizapowered variant (although parts for a Wolseley-fitted machine are listed as unused). There are three styrene runners, with one dedicated to the windscreen and control cable inspection windows, and all components are moulded to a high standard, with crisp detail (notable on the wing ribs and fuselage stitching). The cockpit is magnificent, and a full interior framework, plus sidewall controls are included; modellers can add internal wiring and exterior rigging if desired, thanks to the helpful diagrams. Two markings options are provided, one of which features an unusual disruptive pattern camouflage on top of the standard PC10 Green tone:

• D3511, Maj RS Dallas, 40 Sqn RFC, Bruay, France, May 1918

• D536, 2nd Lt KW Junor, 56 Sqn RFC, Baizieux, France, March 1918

ANIMATED ROTARY HEROES

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Rescue Wings UH-60J

By: Platz

Item no: RW72 Price: £28.10

Web: www.platz-hobby.com

Platz has repackaged Hasegawa’s later UH-60J kit with a white metal TV/Infra-red sensor from the latter’s own Rescue Wings release.

This means there are nine styrene runners, plus a photo-etched brass fret and a brand-new decal sheet, which enables any UH-60J featured in the series (serials 38-4578, 18-4552 or 92-3017) to be built. Most parts are the same as Hasegawa’s original 1985 UH-60A release, so the interior is acceptable, while the exterior benefits from fine engraved panel lines. Moulding quality differs markedly between these items and those on the later HH-60 and Japanese-airframe-specific runners, which add all necessary exterior fittings, including external fuel tanks, flare dispensers, surveillance equipment and bulged side-windows. Helpful 1/72 diagrams assist in locating all the antennas, plus the various airframe lumps and bumps, and these provide measurements for exact placement.

GERMANY’S MEDIUM TWIN

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He 111H-20

By: ICM Item no: 48264 Price: £41.99

Web: www.hannants.co.uk

ICM continues its 1/48 Heinkel He 111 odyssey with the final major variant, the H-20. Compared to earlier releases there are two new runners, which supply parts for the engine flame dampeners, dorsal turret, and different nose-gun positions.

Otherwise, the well-moulded parts are unchanged, with a selection of SC 250 and SC 500 bombs, two styles of external bomb rack, and a highly detailed fuselage interior. There are two complete Jumo engines, which can be displayed if desired, and a selection of defensive gun arrangements. Either a late H-16, or an H-20 can be built, as both shared the dorsal turret and MG 81Z gondola armament. There are four options:

He 111H-16/R1, CI+IE, EKdo 16, 1944

He 111H-16/R1, G1+DK, 2.KG 55, Sarabuz, Crimea, December 1943

He 111H-20, A1+KM, 4./KG 53, Poland, June 22, 1944

He 111H-20, 5J+ES, 8.KG 4, Berlin- Gatow, April 1945

CARRIBEAN SUB-HUNTERS

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B-18B Bolo

By: Special Hobby

Item no: SH72230 Price: €37.50

Web: www.specialhobby.eu

Special Hobby’s B-18 makes a welcome return, as an antisubmarine patroller equipped with nose radome and tailmounted magnetic anomaly detector (MAD). Surprisingly, there’s just a single change to previous offerings, with the MAD boom included on a tweaked Runner B. All styrene parts are moulded crisply, although there was a slight roughness to the exterior surfaces, but the resin items are of the highest quality; a PE fret and pre-printed acetate sheet complete the package.

These combine to provide a busy interior, notably in the cockpit, and overall it’s a splendid kit of an unusual subject, and well worth considering. The two schemes are:

• 37-623, 6th Air Force, Puerto Rico

• 37-530, 1st Sea Search Attack Group, July 1942

KRIEGSMARINE FIGHTER

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Messerschmitt Bf 109T-2

By: Brengun

Item no: BRP72033 Price: €17.46

Web: www.brengun.cz

This is Brengun’s first 1/72 Bf 109 and, in keeping with the company’s approach, is one of the lesser well-known variants, the T-2. It comprises four styrene runners, plus seven finely cast resin components and future releases are indicated by the inclusion of shorter-span wings (probably for an E-3 or -4). The plastic parts are well moulded, although they require neatening, as there is flash across many apertures. Options are limited to just an open/ closed canopy, but the cockpit is pleasingly detailed and exterior panels are represented by finely engraved lines. Four markings schemes are supplied:

• Wk Nr 7778/8 +, 4./Jagdgruppen Drontheim, Trondheim-Vaernes, Norway

• 5 +, 2./JG 77, Lister, Norway, summer 1941

• 7 +, I./NJG 101, Manching, Germany, 1943

• Wk Nr 7767/6 +, Oblt H Christmann, 11./JG 11, Lister, Norway, summer 1944

PARASOL-WINGED SNOOPER

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Renard R-31

By: Special Hobby

Item no: FR0039 Price: €32.50

Web: www.specialhobby.eu

Here’s another unusual subject by Azur/FRROM, in the form of Belgium’s Renard R-31 reconnaissance aircraft. This newly tooled offering comprises two styrene runners, plus separate windshields and a small photoetched brass fret for seatbelts, aileron actuators and crew steps. The interior is more than acceptable for a short-run kit, with representation of interior framework, plus bulkheads, convincing dials on the instrument panels and a well-rendered slotted cooling jacket on the rear cockpit machine gun; diagrams indicate where rigging is attached (if desired). Unfortunately, the decals were slightly out of register on AMW’s example, but otherwise exhibit good colour density and demarcation.

Three Belgian Air Force machines are provided:

N12, 9 éme escadrille, January-May 1940

N9, Cne P Henry de la Lindl. 11 éme escadrille, January-May 1940

N18, Wewelghem Flying School, 1936