INTERMEDIATE BUILD
Wingman Models’ superb 1/48 Alpha Jet A receives a colourful Luftwaffe display livery, courtesy of Duncan Cooke
ALPHA JET A
Dassault/Dornier’s nippy Alpha Jet trainer and ground-attack aircraft was developed in response to French and West German requirements for Fouga CM.170 Magister and Fiat G.91 replacements respectively.
A collaborative approach was agreed, with two distinct versions produced; an inexpensive trainer for the French and a close-air support platform to address West German needs. The full production version reached squadrons in late 1978, with West Germany obtaining 173 aircraft. Its service was destined to be relatively short, and the type was retired from the Luftwaffe between 1992 and 1999, with the final tranche of 25 Alpha Jets sold to Thailand for a reported US$27,000 each.
Climbing aboard
Wingman’s re-boxing of Kinetic’s 2013 Alpha Jet A/E (#48043) added a full resin cockpit (including ejection seats, instrument panels and bulkheads) to the basic styrene, plus a replacement nose and main undercarriage wheels. Furthermore, an additional casting of alternative tail cones and other surface detail was included, but wasn’t referenced in the instructions. Confusingly, …
