ON THE SHELF
NIMBLE SINGLE SEATER
1/48
Spad 13
By: Dragon
Item no: 5902 Price: £19.99
Web: www.hobbyco.net
Dragon has re-released its lovely Spad XIII along with the original boxtop artwork as part of its ‘Knights of the Sky’ series. The moulds might be more than 25 years old, but the parts are flash-free and feature crisp surface detail, while the photoetched (PE) metal fret and three lengths of steel wire (supplied for the rigging) are as per the earlier iterations. Together these make for a surprisingly well-furnished model, despite the comparatively low parts count, with PE seatbelts, cockpit controls, machine gun cocking handles and exterior embellishments adding plenty of refinement. The single scheme depicts an aircraft flown by Lt Reed Chambers, 4th Aero Squadron, United States Air Service, Nieuwied, Germany, 1919. This machine was clad in a stunning red/white/blue livery and while decals are supplied for the staradorned sections, and the upper fuselage red stripe, the remainder must be masked and painted.
GALLIC FREIGHTER
1/72
CASA C-212-300 France
By: Azur/FRROM
Item no: FR0040 Price: €30
Special Hobby’s splendid CASA C-212 has been re-boxed by Azur-FRROM to cater for Frenchoperated variants, the only changes between this and previous iterations are a new photo-etched brass fret and styrene runner… the latter supplies larger wheel sponsons and a fuselage-mounted radome. Although stated as a -300 version, one marking scheme depicts a -100, and there are separate construction sequences to allow either of these to be built. The Cartograf-printed decals feature vibrant tones and sharp demarcation, and all the dark grey trim required for the CAE Aviation machine is supplied on a separate sheet. There are four schemes:
• C-212-300, c/n 378/F-ZVMP/MP, French AF Flight Test Centre, Istres, France, January 2015
• C-212-100, F-GOGN ‘Velocity’, Boogie Performance, Agen-la Garenne, France
• C-212-300, c/n 387/F-HBMP, CAE Aviation, France, 2009-14
• C-212-300, c/n 377/F-ZVMO/MO, French AF Flight Test Centre, Istres, France, 2009-11
FINAL BIPLANE VICTORY
1/48
Avia B-534 III.serie
By: Eduard
Item no: 8478 Price: €22.45
Web: www.eduard.com
Avia’s B-534 is famous for being the last biplane fighter to score an air-to-air ‘kill’, and Eduard has repackaged it’s 1/48 kit in ‘Weekend’ format, which includes just the styrene parts (on five runners). It’s a splendid offering, with a well-detailed cockpit, refined surface features (notably the ribbing strips on the wing and horizontal stabilisers) and replicates the distinctive airframe accurately. Despite its low parts count, there are still options for spatted/unspotted mainwheels and a tail skid/wheel, while the rudder and elevators can be deflected if desired. Eduard’s B-534 is ideal as an introduction to biplane models (as is the 1/72 version), due to its simple construction and minimal rigging. Two liveries are included: • E5, Rtm K Sykora, 40th Ftr Sqn, Air Regt 4, Czechoslovak AF, Hradec Králové, August 1937 • DD+VJ, AFFS A/B 24, Olomouc, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, September 1941
TWIN-PROP ATTACKER
1/72
OV-10A Bronco
By: Revell Item no: 03909
Price: £19.99 Web: www.revell.de/en
Modellers who missed the chance to buy Academy’s 1/72 OV-10A now have a second opportunity, thanks to this Revell re-boxing. While the crisply moulded parts, supplied on five styrene runners, are unchanged, there’s a new decal sheet, which offers markings for US Navy and US Air Force machines. This is the best kit of the type in the scale, featuring delicate engraved panel lines, sway braces for the under-fuselage bomb racks and a well-appointed cockpit, which will be highly visible through the capacious and crystal-clear canopy. A comprehensive range of weaponry is supplied, from fourand 19-shot rocket pods, to 500lb Mk.82 bombs, centreline fuel tank and underwing AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles. The airframe choices are:
• 155471/106/UM, VAL-4 ‘Black Ponies’, Binh Thuy, South Vietnam, late 1969
• 14643, 19th TASS, Bien Hoa, South Vietnam, 1971
FLYING LEAGUE
1/48
Legie Spad XIII
By: Eduard Item no: 11123
Price: €22.46 Web: www.eduard.com
Eduard’s Spad XIII has been re-issued in limited-edition Legie (league) format (effectively a ProfiPACK release) and features airframes flown by Czechoslovakian pilots. It comprises three styrene runners, plus separate windscreen parts, a pre-cut wheel/glazing mask set and a partially pre-painted photo-etched metal fret; the latter mainly provides cockpit refinements, along with the engine grilles. On its won this would be a great value offering, and one suitable for most modellers, but the historical twist is a neat touch, and on ethat adds further interest. The chosen airframes are:
• S2807/White 3, Adj Augustin Charvát, Spa 315, Chaux, France, September 1918
• S8875/White 4, Adj Václav Pilát, Spa 124, France, autumn 1918
• 9151, Cpl Bohumil Siegl, 33 Sqn, Air Regt 2, Lipa, Czechoslovakia, September 1, 1924
• 9152/White 23, Sgt František Lehký, 32 Sqn, Air Regt 1, Bliževedly, Czechoslovakia, August 28, 1924
NOCTURNAL PREDATOR
1/144
Horten Ho 229A
By: Brengun Item no: BRP144010
Price: €11.85 Web: www.brengun.cz
Luftwaffe ‘what-if’ designs are a popular subject, and none more so than Horten’s flying-wing configurations. Brengun’s Ho 229 depicts the planned night fighter variant, and comes on two styrene runners, plus a separate canopy and a photo-etched brass fret for the miniscule FuG 220 antennas. It may be small, but there’s a pleasing amount of detail for modellers to enjoy, from the basic cockpit, intake screen and exhausts. Similarly, the undercarriage is a commendably accurate representation of the V3 airframe units. Two notional schemes are included, one with black undersides and mottled upper surfaces, while the other is overall RLM 76 with an RLM 75 disruptive pattern on top:
• Wk Nr 552621, Lt Thomas Malek, Stab. I./NJG 1, Münster-Handorf, April 1946
• Wk Nr 552654, Hpt Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, II./NJG 1, Westland-Sylt, April 1946
BOMB-TOTING FOXBAT
1/72
MiG-25RB
By: ICM Item no: 72173
Price: £22.40 Web: hannants.co.uk
ICM has been quick to release the baseline MiG-25RB reconnaissance-bomber variant and, as might be expected, it shares many parts with the firm’s previous -RBT kit. There are three new runners to add to the original six, and these supply a new nose section, plus eight FAB-500 freefall bombs. Its great to see the design principles adopted for ICM’s 1/48 Foxbats have been scaled down for the 1/72 kits, so there’s a fully detailed cockpit, plus wellappointed undercarriage bays, full-length intake and exhaust trunking…even alternative brake parachute housings for early and late-production airframes. Markings are supplied for four overall grey machines:
• Blue 57, 154th Independent Air Det, Cairo-West, Egypt, May 1974
• Blue 55, Soviet Air Force, late 1970s
• 63rd Independent Air Det, United Arab Republic, 1971-72
• 125, Iraqi Air Force, 1980
DIMINUTIVE JUGS
1/144
P-47D Thunderbolt
By: Platz Item no: PDR-3
Price: £11.99 Web: platz-hobby.com
Small-scale modelling appears to be enjoying a renaissance, and Platz is one of several firms releasing high-quality 1/144 aircraft kits; its P-47D is no exception, with parts for two models. This is the ‘bubbletop’ version, and while the subject is tiny, the detail is exquisite, notably the engraved panel lines and singlepiece radial engine. The refinement extends to the weapons, with a centreline fuel tank, plus underwing bombs and rocket launchers, while the provision of three different propellers hints at further releases to come. Platz 1/144 kits are available in the UK via Coastal Craft (www.coastalcraftmodelsuk.com). The schemes are:
• 228932, 388th FS, 365th FG, 1945
• 227277 ‘Miss Ann’, 315th FS, 324th FG, 1945
• 420566/AJ-D, 356th FS, 354th FG, 1945
• 433813 ‘Balls Out’, 509th FS, 405th FG, Capt Milt Thompson, 1945
BUDGET INTERCEPTOR
1/72
F-15C Eagle
By: Italeri Item no: 1415
Price: £17.50 Web: www.hobbyco.net
Italeri’s F-15 might be getting long in the tooth, but it’s still surprisingly well detailed for such an old kit, with the added bonuses of featuring recessed panel lines and is based on its F-15E parts. This confers a level of flexibility other, more expensive offerings can’t match; add one of Italeri’s gorgeous decal sheets (often worth the price on its own) and it’s a winner. The cockpit benefits from excellent instrument panel details, and there’s a selection of weaponry. It includes conformal tanks from the -E variant (employed on the Israeli ‘Baz’ option), and there are alternative antenna blades for early/ late airframes. The four schemes are:
• 78-0470, 65th Aggressor Sqn, Nellis, March 2014
• 81-0023, 125th FW, Florida ANG, Leeuwarden, April 2015
• 828, 106th ‘Spear Head’ Sqn, Tel Nof, Israel, June 2010
• 205, 2 Sqn, 7 Wing, Exercise ‘Green Shield’, Nancy, France, 2014
MULTI-ROLE FISHBED
1/72
MiG-21MF Fighter-Bomber
By: Eduard Item no: 70142
Price: €17.57 Web: www.eduard.com
Having ‘teased’ modellers with a Gorkiy-factory built MiG-21 in its initial release, Eduard has now issued the more commonly seen Moscow-built airframe, with the parts tweaked suitably to reflect the panel changes between the two. It’s a ProfiPACK offering, so the four styrene runners are joined by a pre-painted photo-etched metal fret and a pre-cut selfadhesive canopy/wheel mask set.
Much is unchanged, so modellers can savour a delightfully furnished cockpit, plus a full-length exhaust, while there is a choice of open/ closed canopy and airbrake, and a generous selection of underwing stores and pylons. Five markings options are provided:
• Red 5121, 921st Ftr Regt, Noi Bai, North Vietnam, December 1972
• 8447, 46 Sqn, Egypt, 1973
• Yellow 127, 812th Trg Air Regt, Kharkov Higher Military Aviation School, August 1991
• 9111, 3rd Tactical Aviation Sqn, Poznań-Krzesiny, Poland, 2002
• 9712, 9th Ftr Regt, Bechyně, Czechoslovakia, 1989-93
ERICH’S MOUNT
1/72
Bf 109G-6 Erich Hartmann 1943
By: FineMolds
Item no: 75998 Price: US$21.02
Web: www.finemolds.co.jp
FineMolds’ 1/72 Bf 109s might have been around since 2005, but they are still arguably the best in the scale. It comprises ten styrene runners, and offers a pleasingly well-appointed cockpit (with pilot figure), refined undercarriage bays and the option of displaying the engine. Exterior features are in the form of the now customary recessed panel lines, and even the wheels benefit from delicate detail on the hubs. The canopy is supplied as a single-piece item, but is commendably clear, while the nuances of the G-6 airframe have been reproduced accurately, (notably the nose cowling bulges). Markings are supplied on three decal sheets; one is a generic Bf 109 item, while the remaining two provide specifics for Oberleutnant Erich Hartmann’s aircraft when he was Staffel Kapitan of 9./JG 52 in October 1943. FineMolds kits are available in the UK via Tiger Hobbies (www.tigerhobbies.co.uk)
FAR EAST ODDITY
1/72
Vickers Type 267 Vildebeest Mk.III
By: Special Hobby
Item no: SH72400 Price: €30
Web: www.cmkkits.com
Azur’s Vildebeest makes a welcome return in Special Hobby’s packaging but, other than the new artwork, is unchanged from the original offering. This means there are four styrene runners, plus a photoetched (PE) metal fret and eight crisply cast resin parts, the latter includes a gorgeous single-piece Bristol Pegasus engine. The type’s ungainly design is replicated faithfully, with exterior detail rendered as fine engraved panel lines and fasteners. Despite being of limited-run nature, there is a busy interior, with the styrene enhanced by PE and resin additions. The four schemes, comprising a mix of doped aluminium and RAF Day Fighter camouflaged machines, are:
• NK-K, 100 Sqn, RAF Seletar, Singapore, 1941-42
• K4176/B, 36 Sqn, RAF Seletar, Singapore, 1936
• NZ109/B1, B Flight, No.2 Flying Training School, Woodbourne, New Zealand
• K4602/OE-J, 36 Sqn, RAF Seletar, Singapore, 1941-42
