103 Aircraftt Edition - November ‘19 Military Illustrated Modeller

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military illustrated

I N G S
LIG Tamiya’s brand new 1:48 scal
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FREE GIFT Details Inside
£6.75 - November 19 (issue 103)

modeller

Aircraft edition Eduard 1:48 P-51D Lightning • Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1a/U1 • Zoukei-Mura 1:32 Horten Ho 229 • P-51D Mustang Close Up and more…
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military illustrated

Contents ISSUE No.103 November 2019

4 NEWS
What’s happening in modelling and aviation

12 6 REFERENCE
P-51D Mustang In Action and Close-Up

10 PREVIEW
Wingsy
ingsy 1:48 Ki-51 Sonia

12 EDUARD PONIES UP
Eduard 1:48 Chattanooga Choo Choo P-51D-5 by
James Hatch

24 PREVIEW
Revell 1:72 C-54 Thunderbirds

CO
COVER STORY
26 LIGHTNING STRIKES!
Tamiya
amiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning by Brett Green
and Chris Wauchop

42 PREVIEW
Kinetic 1:48 F-104G Star
Starfighter

44 FLY
Y BY NIGHT PT. 2
Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1/U-1 Night Fighter
by Brett Green

56 FUTURISTIC PREDATOR
FROM THE PAST
Zoukei-Mura 1:32 Horton Ho 229 V6 by Leo Stevenson
44
60 BLAST FROM THE PAST
Revell 1:72 Halifax by Brett Green

65 NEXT ISSUES
What’s coming up in the next issues of
Military Illustrated Modeller

66 TAILPIECE
Exercise Cobra Warrior

26

Aircraft Edition 3
 News
PRIMERS FROM LIFECOLOR
The Airbrush Company has announced a new range of acrylic
primers from Lifecolor:
Six Pack
- LC-PS01 - LifeColor Primer Set (22ml x 6)
Individual Bottles
- LC-BC01 - LifeColor Primer Panzer Dark Grey (22ml)
- LC-BC02 - LifeColor Primer Red Brown (22ml)
- LC-BC03 - LifeColor Primer Olive Drab (22ml)
- LC-BC04 - LifeColor Primer Tank Interior (22ml)
- LC-BC05 - LifeColor Primer Burned Base (22ml)
- LC-BC06 - LifeColor Primer Panzer Yellow (22ml)
- LC-PRIMER - LifeColor Primer White (22ml)
These are available now from The Airbrush Company
www.airbrushes.com
SWORD
NEW RELEASES
Sword has announced two new releases,
due in October 2019:
- SW72128 P-80C vs IL-10 over Korea 2 in 1
series. 1:72 scale Limited edition 500pcs 2
complete kits. 3 markings (2 P-80C,1 IL-10)
- SW48010 Reggiane 2005 Sagittario 1/48
scale, a brand new kit of this Italian Fighter
from WWII. Three marking choices are
included.
Kits contains plastics and resin parts (exhausts)
Thanks to Sword for the information and
images https://swordmodel.cz/cs/
DORA WINGS
1:48 MARCEL-
BLOCH MB.151
Dora Wings has sent images of their
newest kit - their 1:48 scale Marcel-
Bloch M.B.151.
The kit is available soon - stay tuned
for more details!
Thanks to Dora Wings for the
information and images
www.dorawings.com
4 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019
BUILDING THE
WINGNUT WINGS
HANNOVER CL.II
A
lbatros Productions have just published the
eighth title in their acclaimed Modelling
Special series coinciding with September's
reissue of Wingnut Wings' popular
Hannover Cl.II! For all those serious enthusiasts
seeking to get the very best from this excellent
kit, WWI aero-historian and author Ray Rimell
brings over 60 years of modelling experience
to present a truly comprehensive guide for
creating a perfect miniature in 54 colourful and
inspiring pages.
Profusely illustrated with over 190 images, his
unique monograph carries an extensive build-
log of WNW's Hannover kit with extended
coverage on painting and decal application
helping modellers to achieve a realistic and
convincing finish. Each stage of the assembly is
discussed in meticulous step-by-step detail with
supportive archive photos and contemporary
sketches along the way.
Every key aspect is featured, from super-
detailing cockpits, Argus engine, armament and
observer's gun ring, to specialized treatment of
'lozenge' fabric covering and creating masks
for the complex fuselage camouflage pattern. In
addition there are nine new colour profiles from
Ronny Bar including a multi-view centre-spread,
along with a 12 page gallery of rare wartime
images, most previously unpublished and
reproduced to large area format highlighting the
smallest of details.
For modellers looking to convert the kit to
Cl.III or Cl.IIIa variants, the book covers that
too with 1:32 scale fuselage drawings of both
aircraft. With comprehensive after -market
accessory and decals listings, plus a jargon-
buster and an extensive bibliography, the latest
Special is a goldmine of modelling lore and full-
size data for these famous German WWI two-
seaters. Whilst the focus of attention is naturally
on the WNW kit, this high-quality publication
will also prove equally invaluable for those
building model Hannovers to any scale.
Price of the new Special is £26.00 (plus post,
packing and handling) available directly from
our webstore www.windsockdatafilespecials.
co.uk or direct from Albatros Productions Ltd.,
10 Long View, Berkhamsted, Herts,HP4 1BY,UK
and selected Worldwide outlets.
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 REFERENCE P-51D Mustang In Detail and In Action
P-51D MUSTANG
IN DETAIL AND IN ACTION
The Editor shares some
photographs of two
restored and flying
Mustangs from Wings
Over Wanaka air show
and the Festival of
Flight at Watts Bridge,
both in 2006.
T
he prototype NA-73X Mustang was designed
and rolled out by North American Aviation
a mere 102 days after the specification was
issued by the British Purchasing Commission.
The initial operational Mustang variants were
powered by the Allison V-1710 engine, which was
optimised for low-altitude performance. The P-51
Mustang flew its first operational missions with the
Royal Air Force in the reconnaissance and fighter-
bomber roles.
The combination of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine
with the innovative airframe and laminar flow
wing design of the A-35/P-51A resulted in one
of the best fighter aircraft of World War Two.
6 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019
However, the P-51B/C series (Mustang III) was
somewhat hampered by poor visibility through
its heavily framed canopy. It was also difficult to
bail out in an emergency due to the multi part
canopy. The Malcolm Hood was a sliding, one-
piece canopy designed by the British to be fitted
to the Mustang III to address the bailout problem.
However, this was a stopgap measure.
The airframe was therefore redesigned with a
cut-down rear fuselage and a large, bubble-topped
sliding canopy. This would become the P-51D - the
definitive version of the Mustang, and perhaps the
classic American fighter of the Second World War.
A total of 7,956 P-51Ds were produced.
North American’s Inglewood factory could
not keep up with the pressing demand for this
high-performance fighter, so production was also
undertaken at Dallas. There was also a shortage
of Hamilton Standard propellers. The "P-51K"
designation was applied to a further 1,500
machines built at this Dallas facility. The P-51K
was almost identical to the P-51D except for the
propeller.
The P-51K was equipped with a four-bladed
Aeroproducts propeller assembly. This could be
distinguished from the Hamilton Standard prop
on the P-51D by the lack of the characteristic
"cuffs" at the root of each propeller blade and a
narrower chord.
THE SUBJECT AIRCRAFT
The first aircraft was built as a CA-18 Mk.21 and
restored as P-51D-NT Mustang IV A68-769 at the
Caboolture Warplane Museum, Queensland. It has
been flying as VH-MFT from 2002.
The New Zealand marked aircraft is based at
Ardmore and is painted in the colour scheme of
NZ2415 from No. 3 Squadron (TAF), flown in the
early 1950s by Squadron Leader Ray Archibald,
the squadron's CO. It was originally built in 1944
at Inglewood (P-51D-30-NA, Ser no 44-74829,
c/n 122-41369) and served with the Royal
Canadian Airforce. It was imported into New
Zealand in 1984 by Sir Tim Wallis and first flew
here in January, 1985. Tim Wallis subsequently
sold the aircraft and it was operated by a trust set
up to keep it in the country, before passing to an
Ardmore based syndicate.
This syndicate disbanded and NZ2415 has
been owned by Christchurch based Graham
Bethell. Apart from occasional sorties south,
NZ2415 operates from Ardmore and provides
many joyrides. •
NZ 2415 background from NZ Warbirds website by Stuart Russell
https://nzwarbirds.org.nz/gallery/warbirds-family-album/
North+American+P-51D+Mustang.html
CA-18 Mk.21 Mustang, Australian civil register VH-MFT, running up
at the 2006 Festival of Flight at Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield.

VH-MFT taking off with a lucky passenger on board. A nice close up of the engine cowling and the cuffless chisel blades.

Mustang in profile.
Aircraft Edition 7
 REFERENCE P-51D Mustang In Detail and In Action

Above: NZ 2415 beside the tarmac at the Warbirds Over Wanaka air show, 2006.

Below: The fabric covered rudder in detail.

Bottom: The pilot accesses the fuselage hatch.

8 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

 Top: A close-up of the exhaust and the side of the cowling.
Above: Dropped starboard flap.

Below: This Mustang is finished in a silver painted scheme and wears the markings of New Zealand’s No. 3 Squadron (TAF).

Aircraft Edition 9
 KIT PREVIEW Wingsy Kits 1:48 IJA Type 99 Army Assault Plane Ki-51 Sonia • Kit No. D5-04
SONIA OVER CBI
T
he Mitsubishi Ki-51 (Army designation "Type 99
Assault Plane". Allied nickname "Sonia") was
a light bomber/dive bomber in service with the
Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. It
first flew in mid-1939.
Initially deployed against Chinese forces, it proved
to be too slow to hold up against the fighter aircraft
of the other Allied powers. However, it performed
a useful ground-attack role in the China-Burma-India
theater, notably from airfields too rough for many
other aircraft.
As the war drew to a close, the Japanese began
using them in kamikaze attacks.
Total production was around 2,385 units. On the
day Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb,
two Ki-51s were responsible for the last Japanese
sinking of a US warship, sinking USS Bullhead (SS-
332) with all hands.*
Wingsy Kits is a Ukranian model company and
a relative newcomer to the market, with their first
releases being the 1:48 scale A5M Claude family in
2018.
Wingsy Kits' has now released a 1:48 scale kit
no. D5-04 - IJA Type 99 Army Assault Plane Ki-51
Sonia.
Ki-51 fans have had limited choices over the
years, with the only option in 1:48 scale being the
1975-vintage Nichimo kit.
Wingsy's brand new 1:48 scale Ki-51 Sonia
comprises 167 parts in grey injection moulded
plastic, 17 clear parts, 59 photo-etched metal parts,
one die-cut self-adhesive canopy masking sheet and
markings for four aircraft..
The first thing you'll notice when you examine the
contents of the stout cardboard box is the intricate
surface textures. Panel lines are finely recessed, and
complimentary rows and columns of rivets are subtly
The full span
lower wing half.
10 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019
Wingsy Kits
releases a Surface texture is by way of recessed panel lines and rivets.
brand new
1:48 scale
Mitsubishi
Ki-51 Sonia.
The Editor
takes a look.
Alternative bomb configurations are included.
done.
I cannot find any sink marks or ejector pin circles
on any visible surfaces.
The parts are attached to the sprues with
reasonably fine attachment points.
Detail parts are equally impressive, with a
complete cockpit supplemented with photo-etched
harness straps, instrument panel and more. A decal Spatted main undercarriage.
overlay is supplied for the instrument panel.
The engine is also highly detailed, with push rods
on two hemispherical parts, exhaust and manifolds
on a third part and a two rows of cylinders.
The clear parts include different parts for open or
closed configuration.
The white self-adhesive canopy masks are a nice
touch on this intricate glasshouse.
Options include three different styles of underwing
bombs and racks. Three alternative spinners are
supplied too.
Assembly looks pretty straightforward although The cockpit features nice detail.
some of the fine photo-etched parts will require care
when handling and gluing. The instructions are well
illustrated.
Markings are supplied for four aircraft. Two are
finished in overall IJA Grey Green, one in IJA Grey
Green with Green mottling, and an Italian-looking
scheme of red brown and green mottles over IJA
Green.
The decal sheet does not indicate who printed
them (they are simply labelled Wingsy Kits) but they
are in register with thin surrounding film and satin in The engine is also crisply detailed.
finish.
Wingsy's 1:48 scale IJA Type 99 Army Assault
Plane Ki-51 Sonia is a quality kit with impressive
surface textures, a high level of detail and useful
options.
Even if you are not a fan of early-war IJA light
bombers, this is definitely worth a look. It might just
turn your head! •
Optional clear parts are supplied for the canopy to be
posed open or closed.
Thanks to Wingsy Kits for the sample https://www.wingsykits.com
* Historical summary adapted from Wikipedia
Photo-etched parts are included for bomb fins, gunsights
and other details.
The kit decal sheet.
 FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Chattanooga Choo Choo P-51D-5 • Kit No. 11134

EDUARD PONIES UP
James Hatch builds
Eduard’s new 1:48
P-51D-5 Mustang

12 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

 T
he North American P-51 Mustang occupies
a legendary space in aviation history along
with the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mitsubishi Zero,
Fw 190 and Bf 109. Without a doubt, it is
one of the most recognisable aircraft in the history
of warfare. Its appearance over Berlin in the latter
Eduard’s attractive and gripping
stages of the war, was lamented by Reichsmarshall
box art was designed to Göring, who pretty much admitted that he believed
knock ‘em dead at its release the war was lost to Germany at that point. Of
at the recent IPMS show in course, his words were off the record and Hitler
Chattanooga. It certainly did that!
was initially kept unaware, allegedly, of the P-51
incursions deep over Reich territory.
Designed to a specification issued by the
British Purchasing Commission, the P-51 Mustang,
designed and built by North American Aviation,
rolled from the drawing board and into the air in a
And onto my usual pile ‘o sprues shot.
little over 3 months. As this machine was originally
This kit has five grey sprues and one designed for the RAF, it was with this Air Force
in clear, accompanied by a fret of with which it had its inaugural service. Originally
colour PE and some masks. No resin powered by an Allison engine, the initial design
though in this edition.
had a relatively poor performance compared to
the Packard Merlin powered variant that would
eventually see mass production. The bubble-hood
P-51D was introduced in order to rectify the poor
rear visibility of the earlier variants. A number of
other main modifications were also present in the
'D', including a redesigned wing.
The P-51 became invaluable as a long-range
fighter escort for B-17s operating over Europe, and
its contribution to the war effort is without doubt.
The P-51 operated in all Theatres of Operation
during WWII, from Europe to the Pacific, as well
seeing active service in the Korean War. With
over 15,000 being built, the P-51D finally retired
from its last military service with the Dominican
Republic in 1984.

Aircraft Edition 13
 FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Chattanooga Choo Choo P-51D-5 • Kit No. 11134

ONWARDS!
Eduard timed their new Mustang to be released
in limited numbers at the recent IPMS Nationals
at Chattanooga, which is probably the best
marketing strategy for a kit named ‘Chattanooga
Choo Choo’! It certainly paid off as all kits were
sold and the rest of the run for the global market
soon followed suit, with this kit now being shown
as ‘Discontinued’ on their website! Just amazing
for a brand-new release. I don’t think I’ve seen that
happen as quickly. Was the hype worth it though?
We’ll see now as we stroll through the assembly
of this kit, which includes colour-printed photo-
etch parts and a set of masks. The Limited-Edition
release came with six scheme options. I decided,
with some soul-searching, to go with the option
with the striking yellow tail; the mount of Capt.
Freddie F. Ohr, of 2nd FS, 52nd FG, Madna, Italy,
Autumn 1944.
This new-tool kit consists of four sprues of
Eduard’s usual grey styrene, and one clear. The
latter contains three hoods, including the ‘Dallas’.
As with the larger scale Tamiya kit, the forward
windscreen is moulded along with the adjoining
fuselage panel. Eduard plan a full suite of P-51Ds,
so it goes without saying that a lot of parts in Here you can see the basic airframe parts, sans tailplane.
this kit won’t be used, including the underwing Initial fit showed no problems, and after building their Spit,
190 and 109, I certainly expected no issues.
rockets etc. There are also three types of prop,
of which only one is for use in this incarnation.

The first job was to fit the exhaust mounting blocks from within the Also installed at this time was the cooling air outlet plate and the rear I quite like this neat idea for the tailwheel gear bay, but Eduard suggest
fuse halves, and also the inner landing flap undercut area. Tweezers belly tunnel. These fit like a dream with no adjustments necessary. I did you glue it together and paint it before installation. I opted to glue the
were needed for the latter. test both fuse halves together at this point, just to confirm. halves into the fuselage halves instead, and then paint.

Here’s the array of most of the cockpit parts, but by all means,
not all of them. The breakdown of things is clearly seen here,
and that fuel tank is actually separate to the cockpit floor.

14 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

Around fifteen minutes after laying out the sprues,
I’d clipped the main parts from them and done
a routine test fit of the main airframe parts. All The cockpit sidewalls are glued
seemed good, so it was now time to properly into position and left to set
sweep the bench and get my hands dirty. whilst other subassemblies are
built in readiness for paint.
Before commencing my stint in the pilot’s office It’s worth testing the fit of
(as usual), there are just a few minor things to the sidewalls against a dry fit
do with the fuselage halves. These include fitting of the cockpit floor, to ensure
the blocks into which the exhausts will plug, and there’s no fouling.
also the inboard, inner wing area into where the
landing flaps would fold. These seem to have
been moulded separately to simplify the moulding
process and prevent an awkward undercut. I also
take the opportunity to add the belly rear tunnel
and cooling air exit flap interior. Eduard also have
a really neat solution for recreating the tail wheel
bay. They supply it as a unit that is moulded as
halves and incorporates the gear bay doors. What
they do though is suggest you glue this together
and paint in chromate yellow before gluing it
into the fuselage. For me, I thought this would
be easier to fit the bay halves into the fuselage
halves first, and then paint then instead. One thing
that I did later find out is that this design of bay
made it quite awkward to fit the tail gear strut
I place, irrespective of my change in approach
at this stage. It would be a short while before I
encountered that though.

IN THE PONY’S SADDLE

It is obvious that Eduard set out to create the
I couldn’t resist another test fit, but this time
definitive quarter-scale P-51D, from the inside out. with all the fuselage’s internal components in
If, like me, you love to build a good, detailed place. I’m pleased to say that no issues were
cockpit, then this model really does set out to give found. Now I felt I could proceed with paint.
you that, without the need for extras. However,
this model also includes colour PE, so I would
fit elements of that in here too. As I received my
sample kit before any resin sets were made, I can’t
say for certain whether there will be a resin pit,
but I can say that the design of this would make
a Brassin option a drop-fit, with all internal wall
detail etc being separate to the fuselage halves…
so no scraping or thinning styrene parts. There
are around 25 basic parts for this area alone,
including the electrical equipment on the deck to
the rear of the pilot. There is an instrument panel
with moulded detail, plus a decal to mould to it
(optional), but I will use the plan part onto which
the PE will fit. Before I start, a small amount of Before getting to
moulded detail needs to be removed from the the cockpit, I took
the opportunity
sidewalls. Eduard made such a good job of these
to airbrush the
parts that I opt not to use all the PE. I could be very tailwheel bay
selective in my approach as it seemed senseless to with zinc chromate
create work for myself with minimal or zero return. yellow, and the belly
tunnel in aluminium.
Two types of seat are included in this Choo

Aircraft Edition 15
 FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Chattanooga Choo Choo P-51D-5 • Kit No. 11134
Choo release, and again, only one is to be used.
My first task was to glue the built and modified
sidewalls into the fuselage halves, following
convention. This includes fitting the avionics and the
oxygen pipe. There is a little play in the sidewall
positioning, so it’s important that you temporarily
fit the floor to make sure the sidewalls won’t foul
it. Numerous assemblies are built up at this point,
such as the fuel tank and pipes, instrument panel
and pedals, plus the seat and mount. Thankfully,
Eduard has moulded the fuel tank separately to
the floor, meaning no awkward masking. Before
any paint could be spilt in the cockpit however,
I decided to crack open my Gunze Chromate
Yellow and paint the tail wheel area. Xtreme Metal
Aluminium was now used in the lower tunnel area,
and finally Zinc Chromate Type 1 (green) was
airbrushed over the interior areas. These included
the rear cockpit floor, seat assembly, instrument
pane/rudder pedals combo. Tamiya Black was
airbrushed over the battery/avionics, and XF-85
for the vulcanised rubber fuel tank. A little variation
goes a long way.
Vallejo paints were used to detail the cockpit interior, as well as further
pieces of colour PE. With all details added, the interior was sealed
with Klear.
As you can see, Eduard’s
new P-51D has a rather
nice interior with plenty
of detail…
16 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019
One piece of photo-etch that I didn’t fit inside
the cockpit was the curved piece that fits over the
port-side console, plus the associated levers. The
definition of the plastic parts was more than up
to scratch, and this just seemed very awkward to
prepare and fit. Colour photo-etch was fitted with
Loctite super glue with the exception of the upper After loading up with interior zinc chromate green, the rear internal
deck, instrument panel/pedals, avionics rack, seat and control stick
layers of the instrument panel which were affixed were painted. Rubber black was used for the fuel tanks, and flat black
with a few spots of Klear. This stuff really does for the avionics and forward cockpit floor.
have great adhesion when it comes to this sort of
work and I have no hesitations in using it in my
modelling despite howls of derision from certain
online quarters about its use in modelling. Eduard
provide PE seatbelts for this model, and these are
carefully fitted to the small, delicate seat using a
few well-placed spots of super glue. For the smaller
details that required some manual colouring-in, I
use Vallejo’s excellent acrylic paints range which
are applied with some small brushes from Zoukei-
mura. Mr Metal Aluminium was used to paint the I opted to use the blank
canopy rails at each side of the cockpit, and where instrument panel so I could fit the
supplied colour-printed PE parts.
my brush had wandered off mark, I found Vallejo’s These were fitted with a combination
094 Russian Uniform WWII colour to be a good of either CA or with brushed Klear.
AK’s Dark Brown wash was applied to the various internal details. After airbrushing the interior in Gunze H20 Flat Clear, weathering
When dry, the excess was removed with both cotton buds and a small pastels were used to add some further dimension. Micro Kristal Klear
paintbrush. as also applied to the instrument panel faces.
…and installation to the
fuselage is also effortless.
 With all internals now fitted, I could finally close up the
fuselage. Tamiya Thin cement is my glue of choice, creating a
nice gooey seam when pulled together. Tape is left in position
until the glue is fully cured.

To protect surrounding
details, masking tape
is applied either side of
the glue seam, and then
gradually finer grades
of stick and sponge are
used to remove the
seam, followed by a
polishing stick.

Building the tailplanes was a

simple affair, and the elevators
are moulded as single-piece items.
Overall fit was excellent.

I could now add the tailplane parts to

the fuselage, along with the fin fillet.
I needn’t have worried about the fit
of this as it was also perfect.

Aircraft Edition 17
 FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Chattanooga Choo Choo P-51D-5 • Kit No. 11134

match for the interior green, helping to repair any

mistakes. With all details now in position, a coat of
protective Klear was airbrushed around the interior
and left to thoroughly cure.
Another gem of detail is the main gear
AK’s Dark Brown wash is applied to the bay. This comprises of a ceiling, front
various raised and recessed detail edges and and rear walls, and a centre panel.
allowed to dry for a couple of hours before excess
removal with both a cotton bud and a small, flat
paintbrush. The wash really helps those details
to pop and brings things to life. Gunze H20 Flat
Clear is now airbrushed around the various interior
subassemblies, followed my Micro Kristal Klear Into this fits a series of ribs. I carefully
being added to the instrument panel gauge faces. glue these so they adhere to the front
When dry, this will look like glass. Eduard actually wall and ceiling, but not the rear wall
as this will be removed during painting.
do provide these now as raised and glossy areas
on their printing process, but my varnish removes
that effect, hence the reason to restore it. Tamiya’s
excellent weathering pastels are now used to add
some wear and tone to the floor area and the fuel
tank etc. I didn’t go overboard with the scuffing
on the floor and simply wanted to show some
movement of the pilot’s boots over the black surface.
Finally, it came time to fit the completed cockpit
within the fuselage and close things up. No
problems were encountered at all and assembly
was textbook. Regular Tamiya Extra Thin cement
was used to glue things up, working along the A test fit shows the gear bay fits perfectly to the lower wing
seam, section by section, and creating a gooey panel. One weak area is that dividing strip between left
and right bay areas. On mine, it had snapped.
joint which I could squeeze together and push
melted plastic out of the seam. Once I’d worked my
way along the joint, it was left to dry for several
hours. A series of Albion Alloys sanding sticks and
MDC sanding sponges were then used to eradicate
the excess, oozed plastic and eliminate the seam,
checking it against the light to ensure it had gone.
A rivet tool was used to reinstate lost details, as
was my GSI (Gunze) scribing tool. A quick tickle
with a buffing sponge and a light painting with
Tamiya cement saw these amendments blend into
the rest of the moulded details. I now also added
the grille plates to the forward nose cowls, the With the gear bay now
nose intake and the belly scoop. To complete this divided, I could start to
section, the tail fillet is now glued into position. This paint this assembly.
kit’s engineering is superb, as can be seen by the
fit of this crucial area.

WINGS
Whilst I was waiting for the fuselage seam to
cure, I clipped off the parts for the stabilisers
and elevators. These are very traditional in their
approach, with the elevators being single-piece
units with a suitably thin trailing edge. These were
quickly assembled, and their seams also removed
before attaching them to the airframe. The fit, as
with everything else on this model, was flawless. A
quick brush of Tamiya thin cement, and these were
Chromate Yellow was airbrushed over the rear wall, whilst Xtreme After sealing with Klear, a neutral wash was applied to the gear bay
permanently secured in position. Metal Aluminium was airbrushed everywhere else, including the ends details. Any excess was removed with a cotton bud and/or small
The main undercarriage bay is a work of art of the rear wall. flat brush.
and one for those with an eye for detail. The
main parts comprise the ceiling, front, rear walls
and thee centre section with the plumbing detail.
These complicated shapes fit together so well that
you would swear they were moulded as one item.
Into this assembly fits the various ribs. A quick test
fit of this to the wing parts showed a fit that was
every bit as good in terms of precision. This gear
bay though, has some painting quirks that ideally
needed some forward thinking so as to avoid a
masking tape nightmare. With the forward wall
glued into position only, and the rear wall/centre With the wash complete,
section only taped in position, the various ribs the gear bay was final
were added, with care being taken not to glue glued together, ready for
them to the removeable rear wall. After leaving installation to the wing.
this to fully dry, the wheel way was split into two

18 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

sections, ready for painting. I use AK’s Xtreme
Metal Aluminium for the main section, including
the ribs, and Chromate Yellow Primer for the rear
section. More aluminium is used for the ends
of the rear wall. AK’s paint applies flawlessly,
almost in a single pass. Both colours are then
sealed and protected with a couple of light coats
of Klear before a neutral wash is applied to both
the aluminium areas and yellow chromate area.
These are typically left a couple of hours before
I’d forgotten to drill the fuel tank pylon mount holes. Thankfully, the chute Clear yellow, green and red were applied to the wing underside
the excess is carefully removed with a cotton bud. blanking plate had only partially obscured the rear holes. lamps. When dry, a coat of Super Metallic Chrome was sprayed
Once satisfied with the result, the sections are over them to create a reflector-like appearance from underneath.
finally married together, and cement brushed onto
their joints. One further piece needed to be painted these as two parts that create a hollow flap. For an A LITTLE TRAINING REQUIRED
and added, and this was the panel with the aircraft with famously puttied and smooth wings, it’s A quick test fit of the wing to the fuselage showed
plumbing lines. Before installing the bay, I’d noticed surprising how many rivets on the control surfaces that there was a slight gap at either side at the front
that I’d forgotten to drill the holes in the lower wing actually have some raised rivets! The flaps are set edge. This was probably just over 0.5mm. Having
panel for the tank pylons to fit. For one hole per aside until later in construction, but I do take the spoken to Brett Green who is also building this
side, I needed to dig a little into the cartridge chute opportunity to add the single-piece landing flaps. model, he said he didn’t experience this. As I know
blanking plates that I’d already fitted. That’s what One area that I needed to fix were the leading- it wasn’t of my making, I can only presume that the
happens when you don’t follow the instructions edge gun port inserts. Whilst these generally fit sprues were perhaps packed a little too tightly and
carefully enough! It was an easy fix though as the very well, they weren’t quite deep enough to be there was minimal deformation. Either way, it was
rearmost hole was only partially obscured by the flush on upper and lower wing faces. This was an a super-easy fix that just required a short length of
plate. Phew! easy fix, requiring no filler. First, I removed the four sprue inserted in the forward fuselage, splaying it
Before the wings could be closed up, I needed moulded pins (not really needed) and splayed the outwards to meet the wing root. With the wing and
to add the starboard side lights from the inside piece apart ever so slightly. This created the depth I fuselage sat snugly together, Tamiya cement was
panel. This is a single, clear piece, and I used needed. The inserts were then glued in situ, and the brushed along the joints, permanently welding them
Tamiya Clear Yellow, followed by MRP Clear wing was ready for installation to the fuselage. together. The landing flaps were now added.
Green and Clear Red. When dry, Gunze SM06
Super Metallic Chrome Silver was airbrushed over
The wing could now be built,
the interior, creating a mirror-like finish behind with the result being a pretty
the colours, resembling the reflectors. With the rigid assembly.
bay now glued into place, I could fit the upper
wing panels. Zero problems here and this went
smoothly. A lick of cement was also run between
the panels and the ceiling of the main gear bay.
For the landing flaps, Eduard has chosen to make

Landing flaps were constructed from

an upper and lower panel, creating a Ailerons are now fitted to the wing, and
hollow assembly that I would fit to the leading-edge gun port panels. These
the model a little later in the build. were a little shallow, so I splayed the
plastic apart a little to compensate.

The wings now fit perfectly! They are

finally welded in situ with a brushing
of Tamiya thin cement. I also take the
opportunity to fit the landing flaps.

A final test fit of the wing highlighted a gap in the forward wing root
area. To fix this, I glued a small length of sprue inside the forward
cowl, pushing the sides out a fraction.

Aircraft Edition 19
 FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Chattanooga Choo Choo P-51D-5 • Kit No. 11134

A LOVELY COAT…
I admit that I’ve never liked silver finishes as no
matter how much prep I’ve put into something
(even if I’ve used primer!), masking tends to lift the
paint. The only exception I’ve had is with Tamiya
AS-12. After wiping the model with a cloth soaked After wiping the model with IPA, the forward cowl was
in isopropyl alcohol, I airbrush flat black over the airbrushed in flat red, then Gunze Red Madder. The canopy
canopy frames. Tamiya Flat Red is then airbrushed area was sprayed in black, and the yellow areas in a 60:40
mix of flat yellow and orange-yellow, respectively.
over the nose, and that is augmented by a few
passes of Gunze Red Madder. An odd anomaly in
the instruction manual shows the tail surfaces and
stripes in bright yellow, with the paint code also
showing a plain yellow paint. However, Eduard call
the colour ‘Orange Yellow’. I felt that plain yellow
was too bright, so I cut this 40% Orange Yellow
to create what I thought would be the correct hue.
Orange Yellow alone looked too orange, so this An olive drab anti-glare panel was now
seemed a good compromise. At the same time, I added, as well as black areas adjacent
also painted the oleo bay door exteriors in the same to the yellow. Thin strips of masking
tape were then added to create black
mix. A little more masking was still needed before I bands. Xtreme Metal Steel was also
could add the main silver shades. AK’s Xtreme Metal added to the exhaust panel area.
Steel was applied to the exhaust panel on the engine
cowl, and Olive Drab to the anti-glare panel in front
of the windscreen. The latter also extends partially
onto the forward windscreen. All I had to now do at
this point was to mask the yellow areas and apply a
black paint adjacent to them before masking this off
with thin, 1mm stripes of masking tape.
It’s well known that the P-51D wings were
finished in a silver paint over the puttied rivets
(yes, the wings tend not to have rivet lines!), so Tamiya AS-12 was decanted into an
my paint of choice for this was Tamiya’s AS-12 airbrush and thinned 50% with Levelling
Bare Metal Silver. Instead of applying from the Thinner. This was now airbrushed over
the upper and lower wing areas.
aerosol, tis was decanted into the airbrush cup
and cut 50:50 with Mr Levelling Thinner before
being sprayed onto the wings. These are the only
areas on this scheme that call for this. This colour
was left overnight to fully cure and next day, I used
de-tacked masking tape to prepare the model for
the Xtreme Metal Aluminium that would be used to
represent the bare metal areas. This imparts a nice
shine, covers easily, and nicely contrasts the AS-12
that I had already applied. All remaining model After masking the AS-12 areas,
areas were airbrushed with this colour, including Xtreme Metal Aluminium was sprayed
wing flaps and ailerons etc. Finally, a light coat of over the remaining airframe…
Gunze SM06 Super Metallic Chrome Silver was
misted over the aluminium, to further enhance the
sheen. This is, of course, applied straight from the
jar with no need for thinning. Unmasking the model
revealed no blemishes. Klear was again used to
seal the paintwork.

…WITH SOME NICE MARKINGS …followed by a misting of Gunzee

A single sheet of Cartograf-printed decals Super Metallic Chrome. This creates
a nice metal finish that is suitably
accompany this kit, and this includes a full suite of different from the AS-12.
stencil decals. Mr Mark Setter Neo is used to help
the decals bed down into the surrounding detail.
Decaling took three bench sessions due to the
number of stencils involved. Despite these being This is the result
after unmasking.
done in cooperation with Fündekals, I really
Thankfully, no touch-
do find pin-prick size decals to be far from ups were needed,
fun, however, I persevered and added and I could give the
them all, bar two that I lost, but I’m model a protective
coat of Klear.
not saying which! Once complete and
left for the remainder of the day, Klear was again
used to seal the decals, but this time carefully and
thinly hand-brushed over them with a flat brush.
AK’s Dark Brown wash was then applied to the
model, including the rivet lines and any other
small details, as well as the usual panel
lines etc. After a couple of hours, the
remainder was either removed
or carefully buffed into the
surrounding paintwork.

20 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

Decaling took a little time due to the
number of stencils supplied, and I also
used Mr Mark Setter Neo to aid the
decals in settling down. Klear was
now used to seal the decals.

AK’s Dark brown wash was applied to

the model, including the fine rivet lines.
After two hours, the excess wash
was removed and/or buffed into the
surrounding paintwork.

Here you see the components

for the propeller option that we
will use on this kit incarnation.

After assembly, the prop is airbrushed in flat black, and the spinner in the
same colour I used for the forward cowl. I also used the yellow paint mix It’s easy to paint these parts as the
for the prop tips. These parts are then assembled and coated in Klear prior main wheel hubs are separate from the
to decals and washing. wheels. Rubber black is used for the After decals and washing, the various small parts are
latter, with Xtreme Metal Aluminium now ready for their final journey to the airframe.
being used on the hub areas.

After a coat of flat varnish,

heavily thinned so it imparts a
slight sheen, the model is ready
to have canopy masks removed.

Aircraft Edition 21
 FEATURE ARTICLE Eduard 1:48 Chattanooga Choo Choo P-51D-5 • Kit No. 11134

HANDS ON DECK
It’s time for all those small details to built and
painted. Eduard has provided the propeller as
Here you can see the undercarriage
two cross pieces which lock into each other. These
and drop tanks finally fitted, along
are assembled and the propeller given a coat with the gear bay doors.
of Tamiya Flat Black. The two-part spinner is
also painted in the same red colour as
the forward engine cowl was at the
beginning of the painting session.
These are then assembled and
cemented together. I did save some
of the yellow mix from earlier in the
painting job and applied this to the
tips of the prop blades. Klear is now used
to seal the paint and provide a gloss coat against
which to add the decals. The prop actually has
no less than twelve decals in total. A wash is also
applied to the spinner. Eduard has also chosen
to mould the wheels separate to the hubs. Hubs
are provided as inner and outer plates. Once the
wheels are assembled and the seam removed,
they are given a coat of Tamiya Rubber Black and
sealed for protection as I always find these rubber/
tyre colours have soft pigmentation which is easily
damaged. I also airbrush the tail wheel. Xtreme
Metal Aluminium us used to airbrush over the hubs,
undercarriage doors, door actuators, landing gear
struts, and the drop tanks/pylon assemblies. The
inside of the main gear doors are first airbrushed,
internally, in zinc chromate yellow and the
area masked off with the provided masking
set. Klear is again used to seal the paint
before decal application, followed
by another coat prior to the Dark
Brown wash being used. With
these parts complete, they
are now carefully installed to
the airframe. I also paint the
exhausts in Gunze Dark Iron
and buff to a shine. These are
also fitted to the model. I did
find the tailwheel a little awkward
to mount, so take care if you build
this model. The location point for it
is almost hidden, at the back of the bay.
Next time, I’d fit this before closing up the fuselage.
With the model now in an upright position and
standing on its own legs (once cured), I airbrush
Gunze H20 Flat Clear over the whole model, but
I make sure it’s highly thinned
so as not to kill too much of the
shine. However, I do make sure “It is obvious that Eduard set
the anti-glare panel is matted, as
well as the wheels. My last task is out to create the definitive
to fit the canopy. After unmasking
the glazed areas, a small hole is quarter-scale P-51D, from
drilled in the sliding hood. This is
just big enough to pass the elastic the inside out.”
rigging cord through. I also drill
a hole in the correct position on the leading-edge
of the tail fin. Uschi van der Rosten rigging cord
is now fixed, with a spot of CA, to the equipment
at the rear of the pilot seat. Once gassed out,
the cord is threaded through the canopy and the
canopy glued in an open position with a few spots
of Micro Kristal Klear. This is left to thoroughly set
before the other end of the aerial wire is glued to
the hole I drilled into the fin. With that, Eduard’s
latest masterpiece is complete.
My sincere thanks to Jan Zdiarsky at Eduard for
kindly sending out one of these kits to me before
they were released. As these are already sold out,
this was a real privilege to have received and had
the opportunity to build it. •

22 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

MODELSPEC
Eduard 1:48 Chattanooga Choo Choo P-51D-5 Kit No. 11134

Accessories Used: 031 Flat Red, 014 Deep Yellow, 147 Leather
• None. Kit built entirely out of box
• None. Brown, 096 Camouflage Olive, 002 Foundation
White, 169 Black, 179 Gunmetal
Tools,
ools, Equipment and Errata: • Gunze SM06 Super Metallic Chrome Silver, 352
Chromate Yellow, H52 Olive Drab, H24 Orange-
• Swann
• Swann Morton scalpels no.11 and no.15
Yellow, 68 Red Madder, H20 Flat Clear
• MDC sanding sponges
•
• Mr Metal Color Aluminium, Dark Iron
• Albion Alloys sanding sticks
•
• Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red, XF-3 Flat Yellow, XF-85
• Loctite CA
• Rubber Black, XF-24 Clear Yellow, XF-1 Flat Black,
• Mr Dissolved Putty
• AS-12 Bare Metal Silver
• Fine tweezers
• • AK Neutral Wash
• GSO Creos scriber
• • AK Dark Brown Wash
• Allen Sidney micro drill bit set
• • Tamiya weathering pastels
• Tamiya Extra Thin Cement
• • PremiAir Liquid Reamer
• Mr Masking Tape (MRP)
• • Johnsons Klear
• Wave Advance airbrush
•
• Micro Krystal Klear
• Micro References:
• Mr Mark Setter Neo
• Google images is most definitely your friend
• Zoukei-mura fine paintbrushes
•
• Uschi van der Rosten rigging cord
• Uschi Really good to see a modern Eduard tooling of
this iconic fighter, and more will come!
Paint and Finishing Products:
• Xtreme Metal Aluminium, Steel
• Xtreme To be honest, I can’t think of anything negative.
• MRP 266 Red Clear, 268 Green Clear
• Credit where it’s due.
• Vallejo 094 Russian Uniform WW2, 134 Tan Earth,
•
Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Aircraft Edition 23
 KIT PREVIEW Revell 1:48 Douglas C-54D Thunderbirds Platinum Edition • Kit No. 03920
THUNDERBIRDS
SKYMASTER
T
he Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined
transport aircraft used by the United States
Army Air Forces in World War II and the
Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain,
the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilian
airliner (the Douglas DC-4).
Besides transport of cargo, the C-54 also carried
presidents, prime ministers, and military staff. Dozens
of variants of the C-54 were employed in a wide
variety of non-combat roles such as air-sea rescue,
scientific and military research, and missile tracking
and recovery. During the Berlin Airlift it hauled coal
and food supplies to West Berlin.
After the Korean War it continued to be used for
military and civilian uses by more than 30 countries.
This was one of the first aircraft to carry the President
of the United States and to assume the call sign Air
Force One. *
Revell released their 1:72 scale C-54D kit in
2015. This was fitted out in troop carrier and cargo
configuration with bench seats and webbing along
the cabin sidewalls.
A DC-4 version was offered in 2016, presumably
in commercial passenger configuration.
Revell's has now delivered a Douglas C-54D in
USAF Thunderbirds aerobatic display team markings.
This is labelled as "Platinum Edition".
The kit comprises around 334 parts in grey
plastic, 22 clear parts and decals for the one very
colourful marking scheme.
The "Platinum" element is four photo-etched frets.
Three of these are pre-printed in colour.
This is an impressively big model, even in 1:72
scale. Surface textures are mainly very fine and
crisply recessed panel lines.
The big kit decal sheet.
24 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019
Revell adds
photo-etch and The new kit is moulded in white plastic.
colourful USAF
Thunderbirds
markings to
its big 1:72
scale C-54
Skymaster. Interior parts are different from the original release.
The long span wings and separate control surfaces.
Trailing edges of the separate control surfaces are
impressively sharp.
Flaps may be posed dropped or raised too.
Interior detail looks very good. The cockpit
features all the main elements including well-detailed
bulkheads and consoles.
The cabin interior is totally different to the initial
troop carrier / cargo release. The interior sidewalls Clear sprue.
are smooth and passenger seats are supplied.
The big cargo doors may be posed in a number
of different open or closed positions. The forward
cockpit entry door is a separate part too.
The engines look great, each featuring fine detail
and six rows of cylinder banks, pushrods, manifolds
and exhausts.
A number of different wheel options are provided.
Eduard's photo-etched frets are supplied in three
different packs, each with their own instructions. They
are not integrated with the kit instructions. The first of the photo-etched frets is presented in colour
The colour photo-etched cockpit fret provides the and offers cockpit detail.
big instrument panel, throttles and quadrants, pilot's
and co-pilot's harness straps, control yokes and
more.
The second part of the interior details provides two
frets of in-scale red webbing and lap harnesses for
bench seats, so you won't need these here.
Highlights of the exterior fret are the four ignition
harnesses for the engines and undercarriage and
wheel bay detail.
The clear sprue includes the side windows, each
side moulded as one strip, making assembly easier
and cleaner. The canopy features extremely fine
windscreen detail, although it is likely that this part
will be more defined when the final version of the kit
is released. Other clear parts include several domes,
windows and lights.
Markings for the colourful Thunderbirds scheme
are provided on the big decal sheet. These have
been printed by Cartograf.
All the markings are in perfect register on my Two colour photo-etch provide webbing and seat lap belts.
sample.
This is a big, well-detailed kit of an important
subject. The addition of Eduard photo-etch and thes
colourful Thunderbird markings makes the model
even more appealing. •
Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers.
For details visit www.revell.de/en, @RevellGermany or facebook.com/Revell
This photo-etched brass fret includes engine and
undercarriage detail.
 FEATURE ARTICLE Tamiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning • Kit No. 61120

LIGHTNING
Brett Green builds and Chris Wauchop
T
he Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a American World
War II two-engine fighter aircraft.
masterfully paints, weathers and details Developed for the United States Army Air Corps,
the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a central
Tamiya’s wonderful new 1:48 scale nacelle containing the cockpit and armament.
Allied propaganda claimed it had been nicknamed the
P-38F/G Lightning. fork-tailed devil (German: der Gabelschwanz-Teufel) by the
Luftwaffe and "two planes, one pilot" by the Japanese.
The P-38 was used for interception, dive bombing,

26 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

STRIKES!
level bombing, ground attack, night fighting, photo
reconnaissance, radar and visual pathfinding for
bombers and evacuation missions, and extensively
as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with
drop tanks under its wings.
The P-38 was used most successfully in the
Pacific Theatre of Operations and the China-
Burma-India Theatre of Operations as the aircraft
of America's top aces, Richard Bong (40 victories),
Thomas McGuire (38 victories) and Charles H.
MacDonald (27 victories).
In the South West Pacific theatre, the P-38 was
the primary long-range fighter of United States Army
Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of
P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war.
The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, since
the exhaust was muffled by the turbo-superchargers.
It was extremely forgiving and could be mishandled
in many ways but the rate of roll in the early
versions was too low for it to excel as a dogfighter.
The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft
in large-scale production throughout American
involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to
Victory over Japan Day.
At the end of the war, orders for 1,887 more
were cancelled.*
* Historical text adapted from Wikipedia
Aircraft Edition 27
 FEATURE ARTICLE Tamiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning • Kit No. 61120

The full-span upper wing includes the top half of the fuselage pod. The parts breakdown includes plenty of hints about other variants to follow.

The lower fuselage pod and integral lower inboard wing sections. Different instrument panels are supplied for the P-38F and G. A nicely moulded pilot figure is included.

Engine nacelles and tails. Outboard lower wings, the big horizontal stabilisers and other parts. Standard Lockheed drop tanks and large ferry tanks are included.

The long wing spar also incorporates the nose wheel well ceiling. The undercarriage doors are each secured with a The clear sprue.
stout mount.

Three steel ball bearings will ensure this one is not a tail sitter. A self-adhesive masking sheet is included, but you’ll have to cut The kit decal sheet includes two sets of markings.
the individual pieces out yourself.

28 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

THE P-38 LIGHTNING IN 1:48 SCALE
There has been no shortgage of 1:48 scale P-38
Lightning kits over the last six decades.
Monogram released their initial 1:48 scale P-38
Lightning kit in 1964. That makes it nearly as old as
I am! This was hailed as a great kit in its day, but
time has taken its toll on the mouldings. Even so, it is
still widely available and is occasionally re-released.
Hasegawa's debut 1:48 scale P-38J Lightning
was launched in 1993 - more than 25 years ago.
This was a good kit for its day but it quickly earned
a reputation for being difficult to build, especially
aligning the booms and wings.
Academy was up next in the very same year
with their 1:48 scale Lightning. Detail was not up to
the same standard as Hasegawa and once again it
proved to be a difficult kit to build.
Both Hasegawa and Academy eventually
released a wide range of variants from the P-38E to
the P-38L and most of the family in between.
Minicraft also released several 1:48 scale P-38
variants. I recall at the time that there was some
confusion about whether these were an original kits
or re-pops of the Academy Lightnings, and I'm still
not sure of the final conclusion.
In 2014, Hobby Boss broke the Lightning
drought with a new 1:48 scale kit. Sadly, despite
clever engineering for assembly of the main parts,
that kit suffered from a long list of inaccuracies and
shortcomings. Check out Lynn Ritger's review on
HyperScale for full details.
Regardless, it is now more than a quarter of
a century since Hasegawa released 1:48 scale
Lightning kit; and those currently on the market
are either challenging to build, to say the least, or
deeply flawed.
I never built Hasegawa's or Academy's 1:48
scale Lightning kits due to their widespread
reputation for difficult alignment and poor fit.
Tamiya has now changed that.
IN THE BOX
Tamiya's brand new 1:48 scale Lightning kit may be
built as a P-38F or a P-38G straight from the box.
The kit comprises 207 parts in grey coloured
plastic, 18 parts in clear, self-adhesive canopy
masks, three large chrome ball bearings and
markings for two aircraft.
Please note that the sample that I am building is
a pre-production test shot in a plain white box. As
far as I can tell, the sprues in the production kit are
the same but they are moulded in Tamiya's classic
darker grey plastic.
Surface texture is everything we would expect
to see on a Tamiya 1:48 scale new release - crisp
and subtly recessed panel lines with some selected
rivets as appropriate.
Options include alternative parts in the cockpit,
turbo-supercharger, stores and more that allow
either the P-38F or G to be built. Ferry tanks and
standard Lockheed drop tanks are also included.
Parts breakdown reflects the unusual
configuration of the aircraft and appear to be
designed to ensure precise alignment. The upper
wings and the top of the centreline fuselage pod
are moulded as a single full span part. The entire
nose in front of the windscreen is designed to be
covered by two parts over the top and the sides.
This makes it possible for Tamiya to introduce
other types including the F-4 and F-5 photo-
reconnaissance variants.
The lower half of the fuselage pod is moulded
with the inboard lower wing sections.
A long wing spar extends either side of the roof
of the nose wheel well. This will ensure perfect
dihedral.
Cockpit detail is very good. Decals are supplied
for the instrument panel. These align perfectly over
the raised instrument bezels. Two different styles of
instrument panel are provided for the P-38F and G.
A nicely sculpted seated pilot figure is offered as
an option for the cockpit.
The assembled cockpit is designed to be trapped
between the upper and lower fuselage pods. The
first of the three large chrome ball bearings is also
fitted between the pod halves as nose weight.
Tamiya has moulded the wings with wide
separate leading edge inserts. These will permit
later variants with leading edge landing lights.
Two styles of turbo-supercharger are supplied for
the F and G.
The wheel wells are busy with plumbing, rivets Note the raised sprue attachment on the mating surface of the wing.
and other structural features. The completed wheel There are a number of these that will need to be cleaned up prior to
assembly.
wells along with the other two nose weights are
fitted between the boom halves. Interestingly,
Tamiya has supplied the mesh boom intake grilles
as decals.
The completed booms are glued to the bottom of
the engine nacelles and are locked into place with
the large, one-piece horizontal tail surfaces (Part B7).
The booms are moulded with separate inserts at
the bottom cowling area and a cover at the top,
suggesting that we might see later variants such as
the P-38J and L from Tamiya in the future.
Two styles of main wheel are offered - covered
and spoked. The wheels are supplied in two halves
each and they are neither bulged nor flattened.
Landing gear doors have been a common factor Cockpit tub elements.
of frustration for those building the Hasegawa and
Academy kits. Tamiya has addressed this challenge
by moulding a mounting rail onto the hinges and
doors, ensuring an easy and robust fit.
The crew boarding ladder may be built
deployed or stowed.
The pilot's seat and the radio gear on the rear
deck are fitted very late in construction. This is a
good idea as they would risk being damaged or
knocked off during assembly. I'll probably wait
until I have finished painting the model until I install
these. Decals are supplied for the pilot's harness.
The counter rotating propellers are correctly Instrument panel parts.
depicted. Make sure you attach these to the correct
sides!
Canopy parts are thin and clear. Two styles of
canopy are included, and they both may be posed
open or closed. Both canopies feature the framed
rear section.
Self-adhesive masks are provided for the canopy.
As is usual with Tamiya masks, the outlines are
printed onto the Kabuki-tape masks and the modeller
is required to cut out the shapes. I used a sharp
hobby knife on mine and had no problems at all.
MARKINGS Assembly of the cockpit gets underway.
Markings are supplied for two aircraft:
• P-38G Lightning - White 147 of 339th FS, 347th
FG, 13th Air Force, Operation Vengeance (this
was the attack on Admiral Yamamoto's aircraft
based on Guadalcanal in April 1943
• P-38F - White 33, 39th FS, 35th FG, 5th Air
Force, Port Moresby, late 1942. This aircraft
features sharks mouths and eyes on the engine
nacelles.
Both aircraft are finished in the early scheme of
Neutral Grey lower surfaces and Olive Drab upper
surfaces. Full colour, double-sided A3 marking
guides are suppied for each aircraft.
Nice shiny mirror stickers are supplied on the
sheet, including the unique oval mirrors on the
lower inboard engine nacelles. Nice touch.
Printing, colours and registration is perfect on my
The parts are test-fitted here. Looking good!
sample.
Aircraft Edition 29
 FEATURE ARTICLE Tamiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning • Kit No. 61120

ASSEMBLY
This P-38G Lightning was assigned to Capt. Bob
Petit of 339th FS/347FG while operating from
Kukum Field on Guadalcanal.
Lt. Rex Barber was flying this aircraft during
Operation Vengeance on April 18 1943 over
Bougainville Island, when he shot down the G4M
‘Betty’ bomber carrying Admiral Yamamoto.
Half of this kill was claimed by Capt. Lanphier
but this claim was strongly contested by Barber until Tamiya supplies a layover decal
his death in 2001. sheet for the instrument panel dials.
Alternative parts are supplied for this P-38G and
the P-38F that is the second marking option. You
need to pay attention to the instructions to ensure
that the correct parts are used for this version. Cockpit parts were
I built the model straight from the box using the separated into different
colour groups.
test shot sprues. The model went together with no
problems whatsoever in a little over two days.
There are plenty of inserts but don't be alarmed -
fit is perfect. You will be hard pressed to pick a join
line from a recessed panel line.
The cockpit components were painted and
weathered after they were removed from the sprues.
Cockpit colours were mixed as recommended
by Tamiya – two parts Tamiya XF-3 Yellow and
one part XF-5 Flat Green. Cockpit parts were
highlighted with dry-brushing and shaded with a
wash comprising water, Future floor polish and a Cockpit parts were highlighted
with dry-brushing and shaded
drop of Vallejo Panzer Aces 337 Highlight Ger. with a wash comprising water,
(Black). The instrument panel decal settled down Future floor polish and a drop
over the raised plastic bezels with a little help from of Vallejo Panzer Aces 337
Solvaset decal setting solution. Highlight Ger. (Black).
The wheel wells were painted before any of
the parts were removed from the sprues. Thanks
to Tamiya’s thoughtful placement of the wheel
well parts mostly on a single sprue, Tamiya AS-12
Bare Metal Silver was used to spray all the parts
straight from the spray can. A blend of Winsor &
Newton Raw Umber and Lamp Black oil paints
was mixed with Ronson lighter fluid to create a A flat coat seals the
thin wash that was applied to the silver painted instrument panel decal
parts. The wheel bay parts were then cut from the and the weathered
cockpit paint job.
sprues and assembled.
The balance of assembly was completed
according to the instructions. Building the kit was
a real pleasure from painting the cockpit parts to
clicking the horizontal tail surfaces in place to lock
in the characteristic forked tail.

The instrument panel decal

The cockpit tub almost settled down over the
clicks together. raised plastic bezels with
a little help from Solvaset
decal setting solution.
30 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019
 The deck behind
the cockpit was
masked off…

…and sprayed with the Tamiya Interior Green mix.

The cockpit tub was glued onto

the locating circles moulded to the
inside of the upper wing half.

The wheel wells were painted before any of the parts were removed from the sprues.
Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver was used to spray all the parts straight from the spray
can followed by a thin dark oil wash.
The nose wheel
bulge was sprayed
Interior Green.

The nose wheel bay is built up over the wing spar. Bulkheads and detail parts for the nose wheel well.

Aircraft Edition 31
 FEATURE ARTICLE Tamiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning • Kit No. 61120

“Tamiya has a happy knack for

producing a kit that looks good on
the sprues but gets even better
when you start building it...”

The completed nose wheel well.

The first of three big ball

bearings is fitted in front
of the nose wheel well.

CHRIS TAKES OVER

The ball bearing is trapped
between the top and bottom
halves of the nose.
I had just completed the model to the painting
stage when I received an unrelated phone call from
Chris Wauchop. I felt that this was fate tapping me
on the shoulder. “Hey Chris” I said, “would you
like to paint the new Tamiya P-38 Lightning”. The
rest is history!
The model was delivered to Chris with the
undercarriage parts, pilot’s seat, radio and battery
compartment and clear parts yet to be fitted. I
thought that it would be much easier to paint
without these parts glued in place.
The instructions require that several delicate
support struts should be fitted to the front of
the main undercarriage bays (Parts C15, C16,
C36, C37, D12 and D23). These mostly broke
off during subsequent handling, masking and
painting. It might be worth trying to fit these after
painting, or protecting them in some way while
handling the model.
Chris added home-made harness straps from
strips of lead foil and fine wire for the buckles and
mounts.
Electrical cabling for the radios and batteries
was cut to size and bent from lead wire. Chris
hand-painted stencils on the various boxes in
the compartment. Lead wire was also used for
creating the two loops on the front of the nose
undercarriage leg.
Fine wire was used to recreate the hand hold
on the top of the windscreen frame. A number of
scoops and small intakes were also hollowed out.

32 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

Upper nose covers, wing leading edge inserts, nose cap and machine guns. The fit of the upper nose covers is perfect. The starboard nose awaits its cover.

A view from
below the partially
completed wing.

The lower outboard wing sections. The fuselage identification Wing tips and ailerons are separate parts. The bases for the turbo superchargers.
lights are supplied as an insert. An alternative insert without
the lights is also included on the sprue.

Main wheel well bulkheads and detail parts. The painted main wheel wells awaiting assembly.

Aircraft Edition 33
 FEATURE ARTICLE Tamiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning • Kit No. 61120

This complex assembly is quite

delicate and exposed when the
wheel wells are complete.

Wheel well assembly underway. Fit is

excellent, but you need to be careful with
the alignment and placement of the detail
parts, especially the landing leg supports.

Wheel well detail

is fantastic.

The radiator intake and the circular temperature

regulators are painted and ready for assembly.

Boom intakes are masked and

sprayed Tamiya Olive Drab.

A completed radiator intake.

The wheel well is fitted to one of the

booms. Note the nacelle ball bearing
weight in place here too.

The boom halves are

now joined, trapping the
undercarriage bay and
the nacelle weight.

34 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

Approaching the moment of truth – the wing booms, wings and fuselage ready to be brought together. Snap! The wing is attached to the boom at an angle via a tab at the back of the turbo supercharger mount.
With the tab slotted in, the boom is raised to meet the front of the boom at the engine nacelle.

Fit is so good in this critical area that

glue would not really even be required.
Even so, I did apply a couple of lines of
Tamiya Extra Thin Liquid Cement.

The fit of the wings and the booms is perfect.

The one-piece horizontal

stabiliser is simply slipped
onto the back of the booms
and firmly pressed into place.

Aircraft Edition 35
 FEATURE ARTICLE Tamiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning • Kit No. 61120

The distinctive grid pattern around the nacelle panel lines was replicated by masking with Tamiya’s new Chris continued the weathering, shading and fading after the masking tape was removed.
white flexible tape and overspraying with lines of “scale black”, a thin mix of Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black
and XF-64 Red Brown.

PAINTING, MARKINGS AND WEATHERING were created with a silver Prismacolor pencil. circumstances, but he said he would have preferred
Chris started the paint job with a coat of Tamiya Tamiya supplies machine gun barrel decals with to have had the perforations moulded in place
acrylic XF-53 Neutral Grey lightened with X-2 printed perforations. These are designed to wrap rather than decals.
Gloss White. around the barrel but I had already glued the The main decals performed well. There were
The upper surface colour was a mix of Tamiya barrels in place by the time I handed the model also more than 100 sometimes very small stencil
XF-62 Olive Drab lightened with around 30% over to Chris. He did the best he could under the decals that had to be applied too. Some of these
Gunze Sangyo acrylic H81 Khaki.
The distinctive grid pattern around the nacelle
panel lines was replicated by masking with
Tamiya’s new white flexible tape and overspraying
with lines of “scale black”, a thin mix of Tamiya
XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown. When the
masking tape was removed, Chris continued the
weathering, shading and fading.
The turbo superchargers also received the “scale
black” treatment after a base coat of AS-12 Bare
Metal Silver and followed by a dark wash.
Panel lines received a thin wash of Tamiya X-18
Semi-Gloss Black thinned with water. This was
applied with the tip of a fine blush and capillary The standard Lockheed drop tanks, painted and weathered prior to their final The turbo superchargers received a base coat of AS-12 Bare
action drew the thin mix into the panel lines. Flat Coat. Metal Silver followed by “scale black” -a mix of Tamiya
The extensive chipping and exposed fasteners XF-1 Flat Black and XF-65 Red Brown. When this was dry,
a dark wash finished the job.

Electrical cabling
for the radios
and batteries
was cut to size
and bent from
lead wire.

Chris hand-
painted stencils
on the various
boxes in the
compartment.

The radio
and battery
compartment in
place on the deck
behind the pilot.

36 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

Weathering continues.

“There is nothing fancy about Tamiya's Lightning - no engine to display,

photo-etch or moving parts. What we have instead is a delightfully detailed
and accurate model that goes together without any drama.”
tended to silver, so make sure you have a fully ovals for the mirrors on the inner surfaces of the impressed with the result!
gloss surface to apply them. forward engine nacelles. These are quite effective. The finishing touch was the aerial wires, which
The model was sealed with a final coat of The high gloss metallic finish on the undercarriage was made from nylon monofilament (invisible
Winsor & Newton Galeria Matt Varnish. This is an oleos and the landing light was created using a mending thread). A short length of very fine
artist’s acrylic varnish that is supplied in a 250 ml Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen. These alcohol-based brass tube was used for the isolator. This also
tub. It may be thinned by acrylic thinners and is marker pens contains a highly pigmented special conveniently joined the two threads from the back
also available in Satin and Gloss finishes. ink that produces a high-gloss opaque liquid chrome and the single thread attaching the wire to the
Tamiya supplies two self-adhesive reflective foil effect with mirror-like characteristics. Chris was very canopy.

The undercarriage ready for final assembly. The kit’s plastic wheels have been flattened with a coarse sanding stick. The undercarriage doors, painted and weathered.

Aircraft Edition 37
 FEATURE ARTICLE Tamiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning • Kit No. 61120

B C

D E

38 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

 CONCLUSION
More than 25 years after Hasegawa launched their
P-38 Lightning family, Tamiya has now released
their own state-of-the-art effort.
Tamiya has once again woven its magic,
this time on a subject whose forerunners from
Hasegawa, Academy and Monogram have all
been notoriously difficult to build.
There is nothing fancy about Tamiya's Lightning
- no engine to display, photo-etch or moving parts.
Tamiya also supplies the big ferry
tanks. These may be interchanged with
the standard Lockheed drop tanks.
F G
What we have instead is a delightfully detailed
and accurate model that goes together without
any drama.
Tamiya has a happy knack for producing a kit
that looks good on the sprues but gets even better
when you start building it. Not for the first time
during assembly, I find myself grinning at the clever
choices made by Tamiya's design team, especially
in the cockpit, wheel wells and the breakdown of the
wings, booms and the big horizontal tailplane that
precisely anchors the Lightning's complex geometry.
Detail in the wheel wells is some of the best
that I have seen anywhere. The cockpit also looks
significantly better assembled than it does flat on
the sprues.
Tamiya's brand new 1:48 scale P-38F/G
Lightning is a worthy replica of this beautiful
aeroplane. You can be confident that the kit will
line up perfectly and fit together without any
resistance too! •
A. Chris added home-made harness straps from strips
of lead foil and fine wire for the buckles and mounts.
B. Tamiya’s self-adhesive foil “mirrors” on the inner
surfaces of the engine nacelles.
C. The heavy, chalky exhaust may be seen in many
wartime photos.
D. The extensive chipping and exposed fasteners were
created with a silver Prismacolor pencil.
E. Tamiya supplies machine gun barrel decals with
printed perforations. These are designed to wrap
around the barrels.
F. Don’t glue the drop tanks when you are building the
model. That way, you can just remove one drop tank
and replace it with another, as I have just done here.
G. The high gloss reflective finish on the landing light
was created using a Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen.
Aircraft Edition 39
 FEATURE ARTICLE Tamiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning • Kit No. 61120

The completed model.

MODELSPEC
Tamiya 1:48 Lockheed P-38F/G Lightning Kit No. 61120

Accessories and Materials Used: • Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen

• Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen
• Tamiya Flexible Masking Tape (various widths)
• Tamiya Flexible Masking ape (various widths) • Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Mediums – Matt Varnish
• Winsor Newton Galeria Acrylic Mediums Matt arnish
• Lead Foil
• Lead Foil • Ronson lighter fluid (thinner for oil wash)
• Ronson lighter fluid (thinner for oil wash)
• Fine Wire
• Fine ire
• Lead Wire
• Lead ire Clever
Clever and modeller-friendly design; excellent detail
and modeller-friendly design; excellent detail
• Nylon Monofilament (invisible mending thread) throughout; crisp and restrained surface textures; useful
options that will permit the F or G to be built straight from
Paints and Finishing Products Used: the box; nice seated pilot figure; includes self-adhesive
canopy masks.
• Tamiya Acrylic Paints - XF-1 Flat Black; XF-3 Flat Yellow; XF-4
Yellow Green; XF-5 Flat Green; XF-7 Flat Red; XF-53 Neutral Grey;
XF-62 Olive Drab; XF-55 Deck Tan; XF-64 Red Brown; X-2 White; Nothing worth mentioning.
X-24 Clear Yellow; X-25 Clear Green; X-26 Clear Orange; X-27
X-24 Clear ellow; X-25 Clear Green; X-26 Clear Orange; X-27
Clear Red.
Clear Red. Rating: 9.5 out of 10
• Tamiya Spray Can - AS-12 Bare Metal Silver
• Tamiya Spray Can AS-12 Bare Metal Silver
• Gunze Sangyo acrylic paints - H81 Khaki, H58 Interior Green
• Gunze Sangyo acrylic paints H81 Khaki, H58 Interior Green Thanks to Tamiya Japan for the sample www.tamiya.com
Thanks to amiya Japan for the sample www.tamiya.com
• Vallejo Panzer Aces acrylic paint - 337 Highlight Ger. (Black)
• Vallejo Panzer Aces acrylic paint 337 Highlight Ger (Black) Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited
Tamiya kits are distributed in the UK by The Hobby Company Limited
• Silver Prismacolor Pencil
• Silver Prismacolor Pencil www.hobbyco.net

The main decals

performed well

40 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

 The finishing touch was the aerial wires, which was made
from nylon monofilament (invisible mending thread).

Tamiya’s new 1:48 scale P-38F/G

Lightning is a wonderful kit.

Aircraft Edition 41
 KIT PREVIEW Kinetic 1:48 F-104G Starfighter • Kit No. K48083
LUFTWAFFE STARFIGHTER
he Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-
T engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft
which later became widely used as an
attack aircraft. Initially a day fighter, it was
developed into an all-weather fighter in the late
1960s. It was originally developed by Lockheed
for the United States Air Force (USAF), but was
later produced by several other nations, seeing
widespread service outside the United States.
One of the Century Series of fighter aircraft, it
was operated by the air forces of more than a
dozen nations from 1958 to 2004. Its design
team was led by Kelly Johnson, who contributed
to the development of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning,
The fuselage sprue.
Cockpit tub and parts for the main undercarriage bay.
42 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019
Lockheed U-2, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, and other
Lockheed aircraft.
The F-104 set numerous world records, including
both airspeed and altitude records. Its success
was marred by the Lockheed bribery scandals, in
which Lockheed had given bribes to a considerable
number of political and military figures in various
nations to influence their judgment and secure
several purchase contracts; this caused considerable
political controversy in Europe and Japan.
The poor safety record of the Starfighter also
brought the aircraft into the public eye, especially
in German Air Force (Luftwaffe) service. Fighter ace
Erich Hartmann was forced into early retirement
Restrained surface textures on the wings.
Both the Martin-Baker and Lockheed ejection seats are on the sprues.
Kinetic graces us with
a 21st Century kit
of the sleek F-104G
Starfighter. The Editor
examines this brand
new model in detail.
from the Luftwaffe due to his outspoken opposition
to the selection of the F-104.
At the same time that the F-104 was falling out of
U.S. favour, the West German Air Force was looking
for a multi-role combat aircraft to operate in support
of a missile defence system. In response, Lockheed
reworked the Starfighter from a fair-weather fighter
into an all-weather ground-attack, reconnaissance,
and interceptor aircraft, and presented it as the
F-104G. The redesigned aircraft was chosen
over the English Electric P.1 (later the Lightning),
Grumman F11F-1F Super Tiger, Chance Vought F-8U
Crusader, and Republic F-105 Thunderchief.
The Starfighter found a new market with other
The early style non-bulged main undercarriage doors are included on the sprues.
Plenty of ordnance!
 Three varied marking
options are included.
NATO countries as well, and eventually a total of
2,578 of all variants of the F-104 were built in
the U.S. and abroad for various nations. Several
countries received their aircraft under the U.S.
government-funded Military Aid Program (MAP).
The American engine was retained but built
under license in Europe, Canada, and Japan. The
Lockheed ejector seats were retained initially but
were replaced later in some countries by the safer
Martin-Baker seat.
The so-called "Deal of the Century" produced
substantial income for Lockheed, but the resulting
bribery scandals caused considerable political
controversy in Europe and Japan. In 1976, a U.S.
Senate investigating committee led by Senator
Frank Church determined that Lockheed had
paid US$22 million in bribes to foreign officials
during the negotiations process of the sale of
its aircraft, including the F-104 Starfighter. In
Germany, Minister of Defence Franz Josef Strauss
was accused of having received at least US$10
million for West Germany's purchase of the F-104
in 1961. On 26 August 1976, Prince-consort
Bernhard of the Netherlands was forced to resign
as Inspector-General of the Dutch Armed Forces
after being accused of accepting approximately
US$1.1 million in bribes.
The international service of the F-104 began
to wind down in the late 1970s, being replaced
in many cases by the General Dynamics F-16
Fighting Falcon, but it remained in service with
some air forces for another two decades. The last
operational Starfighters served with the Italian Air
Force, which retired them on 31 October 2004. *
Modellers have had a number of choices when
it comes to the Starfighter in 1:48 scale. The first is
a 1950s vintage kit from Lindberg, that has been
re-released by AMT as recently as 2017. This kit is
best consigned to history.
Monogram also offered 1:48 scale F-104C and
F-104G kits. These first appeared in 1978 and
were typical of Monogram kits of the time - raised
panel lines and pretty good detail - but they have
been eclipsed by later releases.
Hasegawa's 1:48 scale Starfighter family kicked
Speed brakes may be posed open or closed. Crisply detailed instrument panel and avionics bay.
The kit’s clear sprue.
off with an F-104J in 2000. This was a beautiful kit
for its time, but some modellers did not like the rivet-
festooned wings. Cockpit detail was a bit basic
and ordnance was as stingy as you would expect
in a Hasegawa kit. There were also comments
about a few minor dimensional discrepancies.
Nearly 20 years on, Kinetic has now introduced
an all-new 1:48 F-14G Starfighter in its Gold series.
This all-new kit comprises 193 parts in grey
plastic; 28 parts in clear a small photo-etched fret
with 12 parts and markings for three Luftwaffe
aircraft.
Surface textures are world-class fine and crisp
panel lines supplemented with appropriate recessed
rivets. Please note that the main surfaces of the
wings do not have rows of rivets, which will please
most modellers.
Kinetic includes both the Lockheed C-2 and
Martin-Baker GA-7A ejection seats, although only
the Martin-Baker is called out for this boxing. Photo-
etched harness straps are included for both.
The rest of the cockpit is nicely fitted out with
a detailed tub, integral side consoles and an
instrument panel with raised bezels and switches.
The nose radar module is fully fitted out and
the nose cone may be posed open to display
the dish nd electronics. The avionics bay behind
the cockpit is similarly detailed and a separate
poseable hatch is included. Undercarriage bay
detail is also well done with separate side and
top panels plus plenty of detail by way of raised
hydraulic lines and cables.
The rear engine pipe includes separate fan and
flame holder parts as well as a crisp one-piece
nozzle.
Undercarriage legs are well done. The wheels
are bulged and flattened, with a choice of styles
for the nose wheel. The bulged and early style non-
bulged main undercarriage covers, as well as the
More parts not used on this version, including the narrow main wheels.
The photo-etched fret offers another 12 parts. The decal sheet is printed by Cartograf.
narrow main wheels are included on the sprues,
suggesting that we will see different versions
from Kinetic in the future. The forward main
undercarriage doors may be depicted closed or
partially open.
Fuselage speed brakes are separate parts that
may be posed open or closed. Flaps, ailerons,
leading edge slats and the rudder are all separate
parts that may be posed to taste.
Clear parts are thin and free from distortion. The
windscreen is a separate part and the canopy may
be fixed in the open or closed position.
A nice selection of underwing and wing tip
drop tanks as well as a choice of under wing and
fuselage mounted rockets.
Three varied marking options are offered:
• 22+39 finished in splinter pattern green and grey
over aluminium painted lower surfaces.
• 21+64 finished in four colour wraparound lizard
scheme.
• 26+60 in two tones of grey attached to German
Naval Air Wing 2
The decals are designed by Crossdelta and
printed perfectly by Cartograf.
Instructions are supplied in a 16 page booklet
across 30 steps. Four-view illustrations of all
marking schemes are included.
Kinetic’s 1:48 scale F-104G Starfighter is
certainly worthy of the Gold Class label.
The model scores big points in every category
- its surface textures, high level of detail including
fully equipped radar and avionics bays, poseable
control surfaces and speed brakes, and a lovely
Cartograf-printed decal sheet.
Kinetic’s new 1:48 scale F-104G is one Century
Series fighter that is quite at home in the 21st
Century!
Thanks to Lucky Model for the sample www.luckymodel.com
Aircraft Edition 43
 FEATURE ARTICLE Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1/U-1 Night Fighter • Kit No. 04995

FLY BY NIGHT
After nearly three years, Brett Green
finally finishes construction and
paints Revell’s new 1:32
Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1a/U1

T
he Messerschmitt Me 262 B was originally
planned as a trainer for conversion of piston-
engine pilots to the new turbine technology.
Germany's desperate situation in the final
weeks of the war saw a number of these two seater
Me 262s pressed into service as night fighters.
A total of 15 night fighters were converted as
the Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1a/U1. Several are
known to have seen action and scored victories in
defence of Berlin while attached to 10./NJG 11,
"Kommando Welter".
Trumpeter released a single seat 1:32 scale
Messerschmitt Me 262 A back in 2006, followed
by a 262 B-1a night fighter in early 2008.
Trumpeter's 1:32 scale Me 262 B-1a/U1 was
made up from around 400 parts in light grey
plastic, three vinyl tyres; three white metal cast
undercarriage legs; 14 photo-etched parts and
a small acetate film for instruments. It was a very
well detailed kit, although the surface detail on the
fuselage was noticeably heavier than its single-
seater predecessor.

REVELL’S 1:32 ME 262 B-1A IN THE BOX

By contrast, Revell’s all-new 1:32 scale
Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1a is all-plastic with no
multi-media elements. The parts count is much lower
too – 208 parts in grey plastic and eight parts in
clear – but detail does not suffer as a result.
All control surfaces, including slats and flaps, are
separate. The rudder is the late style - appropriate
for these night fighters. It will a very simple matter to
reposition the small locating pins to alter the position
of the control surfaces on the finished model.
Clear parts are very thin and free of distortion.
The windscreen is moulded onto a section of
the forward fuselage deck. This will reduce
the risk of smearing the windscreen with glue.
The armoured glass panel is supplied as a
separate part. Once again the instrument
panel is offered as a clear part, yet the lenses
of the instruments are hollow.
The kit features two full Jumo turbojets. The
Jumos are reasonably well detailed straight
from the box, but the determined super
detailer will probably add some extra wiring
and plumbing if the engines are destined for
display. The small upper engine nacelle panels
are separate to display some of the engine
detail, but the lower engine access panels are
moulded closed. A little careful attention with a
hobby blade will be required if you want to leave
these large covers off.
Interior detail is very thorough. Detail is also
present on the outside of the fuselage tub, all
of which will be visible through the lower wing
opening for the main undercarriage bay.
The wheels are tyres are moulded in left and
right halves and are all plastic. A choice of smooth
or treaded nose wheel tyres is offered. The nose
wheel strut does not include the oleo scissor.

44 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

Aircraft Edition 45
 FEATURE ARTICLE Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1/U-1 Night Fighter • Kit No. 04995

You can find a detailed article describing initial

construction in MIM Issue 69, January 2017.
Still available from www.doolittlemedia.com

The state of play as

of January 2016.

In the intervening three years, the port side wing root join popped open, also
Revell offers the four-gun nose. Check your The losing the inboard flap as a consequence.
wheels are tyres are moulded in left and right halves
and are all plastic. A choice of smooth or treaded
nose wheel tyres is offered. The nose wheel strut
does not include the oleo scissor.
Revell offers the four-gun nose. references, as
some Me 262 B-1a/U1 night fighters were fitted
with the two-gun nose.
Nose weight is not supplied but it is certainly
required. Fortunately there is plenty of room under
the forward gun cowl.
Two sets of markings are offered - Red 10 and
Red 8 attached to 10./NJG 11 in 1945.
The instructions call out the colours using only
Revell paint numbers and names.
For Red 12, they seem to suggest a finish of RLM
75 Grey Violet over RLM 76 Light Blue for the upper
fuselage, RLM 81 Brown Violet and RLM 83 Dark
Green on the upper wings and tail planes and black
lower surfaces.
I adapted the port side
For Red 8, Revell appears to advise RLM 81 Brown flap from Trumpeter’s Some reshaping was
Violet and RLM 83 Dark Green over RLM 76 Light Me 262 night fighter to required to make the
Blue for the upper fuselage, solid RLM 83 Dark Green replace my lost part. Trumpeter part fit.
upper wings and tailplanes, with black lower surfaces.

The wing root and flap under repair. On the other side, the wing root join was perfect,

46 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

 Ailerons are supplied as
upper and lower halves.
A few gaps and steps remained to be filled and sanded on the lower nose. I had a few attempts at fixing the short shot fin. Here, I have
simply applied some Milliput two-part epoxy putty. This did
not work.

Revell offers nose

guns and separate
hatches.

I decided not to fit the guns, which meant that I had more space Large fishing sinkers were glued underneath the gun cowlings.
for nose weight.

More weights were

squeezed into the
forward gun cover.
The covers were glued shut and taped to set. Mr Surfacer was used wiped
on to fill the joins.

ASSEMBLY it up and finish it.

This model was an early test shot from Revell. I
did most of the basic assembly including adapting
the Eduard interior set for the Trumpeter kit (which
worked with very little modification) but I shelved
it at that point in 2016. You can find a detailed
article describing initial construction in MIM Issue
69, January 2017.
After mocking me from the windowsill for the last
three years, the model finally persuaded me to pick
My Stormbird had accumulated a thick layer of The nose cap and
dust over the years so I filled up the kitchen sink, radar mount.
added some detergent and thoroughly washed the
model.
A few running repairs were needed. The port
side wing root join had popped open, which also
meant that the port side inboard flap was MIA.
I fixed the damage, completed construction and
got to the painting stage at last.

I returned to the short shot fin. A piece of plastic card was first glued The correct profile was marked onto the top of the fin. This was then cut and sanded to the correct size and shape.
to the top of the fin.

Aircraft Edition 47
 FEATURE ARTICLE Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1/U-1 Night Fighter • Kit No. 04995

The short shot parts do not appear

on the production kit. These were
only an issue on early test shots.

The airframe is just

about ready for paint.

“This is a great kit.

All you really need to
add is harness straps
for the seats.”

PAINTING
Many unanswered questions hang over the actual
colours used on these expedient night fighters. No
two seem to be painted exactly the same.
My best guess is that they were originally The ETC racks have been fitted
to the nose. These will mount
delivered as trainers in a typical late-war scheme the 300 litre fuel tanks.
of RLM 81 Brown Violet and RLM 82 Light Green,
with lower surfaces in RLM 76 Light Blue. The
easiest course of action after the conversion of
these airframes to night fighters would be to
simply overspray the dark upper surfaces in
a more appropriate pale shade - either RLM
76 Light Blue or one of the late-war "Sky"
shades - with patches of the underlying RLM 81
and 83 showing through as an apparent mottle.
Contemporary photos suggest that the wings on
some of these aircraft retained the dark upper
surface colours.
I decided to attempt this scheme, oversprayed
with the Sky shade on the upper fuselage but
retaining its RLM 81/82 splinter pattern on the
upper wings and tail planes.
The fuselage mottling required a couple of
attempts and a bit of tidying up with RLM 81 and
82 before I was happy with the effect.
With the basic colours in place, weathering
was added in the form of a thin, selective sprayed The lower surfaces.
shading plus a panel line wash.
The entire model then received several coats
of Future Floor Polish thinned with around 20%
Tamiya Acrylic Thinner.
Decals were sourced from Xtradecal’s
1:32 scale Me 262 B-1a / B-1a U1 decal
sheet. These performed perfectly over the
glossy Future base.
The final coat was a 50/50 mix of
Alclad II Clear Lacquers Flat Clear &
Matt Clear.

48 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

 Gallery Sakatsu yellow
coated wire was used
to add detail behind the
instrument panel.

Short lengths were

added to the rear of the
instrument bodies.

The intakes and exhaust

interiors were painted
prior to final assembly.

The intakes.

Two Jumo jet engines

are provided.

Exhausts.

One assembled and one

unassembled engine.

I decided not to display the

engines. Some additional
detailing work would be
required if I did.

The engine nacelles

ready to be fitted.

Aircraft Edition 49
 FEATURE ARTICLE Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1/U-1 Night Fighter • Kit No. 04995

The engine nacelles have been installed.

Clamps are being used to hold the
nacelles in place as the glue set.

The gun sight and its mount

were fitted inside the
windscreen prior to gluing
it to the fuselage.
Eduard masks were used to prepare the canopy parts for painting.

50 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

 Ready for paint.

The entire cockpit opening was masked with Tamiya tape.

Revell provides an optional parts for the closed undercarriage. The nose wheel well was blanked off with Tamiya tape and tissue paper. Tape and tissue was also used to block off the engine intakes and exhausts.
This was used to mask off the wheel well.

The entire model was sprayed with Tamiya

grey primer straight from the can.

Aircraft Edition 51
 FEATURE ARTICLE Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1/U-1 Night Fighter • Kit No. 04995

The lower surfaces were painted a

shade of scale black, a 50/50 mix of
XF-1 Flat Black and XF-64 Red Brown.

The fuselage was sprayed

Tamiya AS-5 Light Blue
straight from the can.

A bit of pre-shading was

applied to panel lines using
Gunze-Sangyo Mr Hobby
Lacquer Paints’ No. 122
RLM 82 Light Green…

“Many unanswered
questions hang over the
…followed by a heavily
actual colours used on
mottled application of
the same colour. these expedient night
fighters. No two seem
to be painted exactly
the same.”

A splinter pattern was

applied using Gunze-
Sangyo Aqueous Hobby
Colours – H304 Olive Drab
FS34087, representing
RLM 81 Brown Violet.

The fuselage splinter scheme was partially oversprayed with a Sky shade
(Gunze-Sangyo Mr Hobby Lacquer Paints – 26 Duck Egg Green).

52 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

 The fuselage mottling required a couple of
attempts and a bit of tidying up with RLM 81
and 82 before I was happy with the effect.

With the fuselage painting

complete, the RLM 81/82 pattern
was applied to the upper wings.

Weathering was added in the form

of a thin, selective sprayed shading
plus a panel line wash.

Decals were sourced

from Xtradecal’s 1:32
scale Me 262 B-1a /
B-1a U1 decal sheet.

Decals performed perfectly

over the glossy Future base. The final coat was a 50/50
mix of Alclad II Clear Lacquers
Flat Clear & Matt Clear.

Aircraft Edition 53
 FEATURE ARTICLE Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1/U-1 Night Fighter • Kit No. 04995

FINISHING TOUCHES
Scale Aircraft
I used Scale Aircraft Conversions’ 1:32 scale Me Conversions’
262 B-1a/U-1 Landing Gear. This was designed 1:32 scale Me
specifically for the Revell kit, and includes nose and 262 B-1a/U-1
main undercarriage legs. I like SAC’s white metal Landing Gear.
undercarriage as they permit adjustment to splay and
This was designed
rake even after the parts have been glued in place.
specifically for the
Casting quality and detail are great too. Revell kit, and
Although I had a set of replacement radar, I decided includes nose and main
to use the kit’s plastic parts instead. The array is fairly undercarriage legs.
fine and it looks good when painted and in place.

CONCLUSION Bare metal

Revell’s 1:32 scale Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1a/U1 parts were
continues in the tradition of their recent large scale separated and
sprayed with
Luftwaffe subjects with a high level of detail, crisply
Tamiya AS-12
recessed surface textures and excellent value for money. Bare Metal
This is a great kit, and terrific value for money too! • Silver.

MODELSPEC
Revell 1:32 Messerschmitt Me 262 B-1/U-1 Night Fighter Kit No. 04995
Accessories Used:
• Eduard Item No. 33057 - Me 262 B Interior SA
• Eduard Item No. 32867 - Seatbelts Luftwaffe WWII Fighters STEEL
• Eduard BRASSIN Item No. 632100 - Me 262 Wheels for Revell Kit
• Eduard Item No. JX196 - Mask for Revell Me 262 B-1
• Scale Aircraft Conversions Item No. 32115 - Me 262 B-1a/U1 White
Metal Landing Gear Painted
• Yahu Item No. YMA3211 - Me 262 A undercarriage Radar, wheels and drop tanks
parts. ready for installation.
• Xtradecal Item No. X32068 - Me 262 B-1a / B-1a U1 Decals
Tools and Modelling Products Used:
• Gallery Sakatsu Item No. 4512 – 0.38mm Yellow Vinyl Coated Wire
• Tamiya masking tape (various widths)
• Tamiya Extra Thin Cement
• Revell Contacta Cement
• Selley’s Super Glue
• Zip Kicker (super glue accelerator)
• Milliput White Two Part Epoxy Putty
• Blu-Tack
• Irwin Clamps
Paints and Finishing Products Used:
Cockpit Interior:
• Tamiya Acrylics: X-18 Semi Gloss Black; XF-1 Flat Black; XF-24 Dark Grey
• Vallejo Model Color Acrylics: 919 Foundation White; 70950 Black;
70953 Flat Yellow; 70957 Flat Red
• Vallejo Panzer Aces Acrylics: 301 Light Rust; 337 Highlight Ger. (Black)
• Future Floor Polish
• Alclad II Flat Klear
• Ronson Lighter Fluid
Airframe:
• Tamiya Light Grey Spray Can Primer
• Gunze-Sangyo Mr Hobby Lacquer Paints - 26 Duck Egg Green; 117 RLM
76 Light Blue; 122 RLM 82 Light Green
• Gunze-Sangyo Aqueous Hobby Colours - H304 Olive Drab FS34087
• Tamiya Acrylics - XF-1 Flat Black; XF-2 Flat White; XF-24 Dark Grey;
XF-64 Red Brown
• Solvaset Decal Setting Solution
• Alclad II Clear Lacquers - Flat Clear & Matt Clear (50/50 mix)
• Vallejo Flat Clear

Accurate overall; clever engineering / parts breakdown;

crisply recessed panel line detail; poseable control surfaces.

Some fit challenges.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

The port side drop tank was
Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For overpainted with black and chipped
details visit www.revell.de/en, @RevellGermany or facebook.com/Revell to reveal the metal colour beneath.

54 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

The leading edge slats
were glued in the
dropped position.

Revell’s 1:32 scale Me 262 B-1a night

fighter was a very enjoyable project.

Aircraft Edition 55
 GALLERY Zoukei-Mura 1:32 Horton Ho 229 V6 • Kit No. 32008

56 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

 T
his is the Zoukei-Mura 1:32 kit of the Horten
Ho 229. This is a wonderful kit, famous for
its spectacularly detailed interior that can be
seen if the transparent exterior components of
the kit are used. I’ve seen several such builds on
the internet and I have to say that, impressive as
they are, I wanted to do something different with
this model.
Why? Philosophically, if we ignore the fact that
this aircraft was designed as a killing machine,
it was incredibly beautiful, almost like a piece
of sculpture by Constantin Brâncuși. To show
this aspect off at its best I firstly decided that its
aesthetic appeal would be undermined by showing
off its interior in the way that Zoukei-Mura intended
so I decided that nearly all those complex interior
parts would be hidden under opaque paint.
Secondly, like other great aeronautical beauties
of the 20th century such as the Spitfire or
Concorde, it doesn’t look as good with the wheels
down as it does when in the air. This is especially
true for the Ho 229 because it had a massive and
slightly silly looking front wheel that was necessary
because of its high landing speed, so I decided
to depict my model with the wheels up and I also
made a Perspex stand for it so that it could appear
as if flying, free as a bird.
History is full of ‘what ifs’, tantalising
speculations about what might have happened
if this or that did or didn’t happen. My model
represents what very nearly became a tangible and
frightening reality for the allied forces at the end
of the war, only being stopped at the prototype
phase by the chaos and lack of resources that the
Germans suffered in the last months of the war and
then finally with the end of the war itself.
This radical design was years ahead of its
time in many respects. The ‘flying wing’ design is
recognisable to us through the current B2 bomber
but it is worth reflecting just how revolutionary this
design was in 1945, not just because of its overall
shape, but because it included so many advanced
features including air-brakes, an ejector seat and
having a drogue parachute, all features we still
have in today’s fighting jet aircraft of course.
The Ho 229 has been called a stealth fighter/
bomber, but this claim is anachronistic because the
main objectives of its design were not invisibility
to radar (although it would have had a smaller

FUTURISTIC
radar signature because of its shape and the
fact that most of it was made of wood) but were
instead speed, range and destructive power. The
design was instigated by Herman Gőring who
wanted a light bomber that was able to fly at
1000 kilometres per hour (620mph), to fly without

PREDATOR
refuelling for 1000 kilometres, and to carry 1000
kilograms of bombs. It was initially designed by
the brothers Reimar and Walter Horten, and the
prototypes were built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik.
Amazingly, one of these prototypes still survives
and is currently held in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy
Center in Washington.

FROM THE PAST

Leo Stevenson gives flight to Zoukei-Mura’s
1:32 scale sleek Horton Ho 229 V6.
The Ho 229 was reported to have good
handling qualities and it is said that it many
respects it outperformed the Messerschmitt Me 262.
If it had gone into production it certainly would
have outrun and out-gunned most allied aircraft too
because the Ho 229 was designed to carry two
MK 103 Autocannons, fearsome 30mm weapons.
Now let’s imagine if the war had gone
differently. Suppose the triumph of the D-Day
landings that we are familiar with had actually
turned into a disaster, and that the allied forces
were beaten back or defeated by the weather.
Imagine that Germany’s forces were then able to

Aircraft Edition 57
 GALLERY Zoukei-Mura 1:32 Horton Ho 229 V6 • Kit No. 32008

The pilot figure was cobbled

together from several sources.

The camouflage is based on a rough amalgamation of the actual

camouflage seen on the surviving Ho 229 prototype in Washington and
the ‘Arabesque’ squiggles seen on many late-war German aircraft.

58 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

re-group and re-build their industries in the wake
of the failed allied invasion and that gradually,
with luck on their side and bad luck on ours, that
over the course of 1945 the Luftwaffe regained
their strength and, by improving existing designs
of aircraft or building new designs of advanced
ones such as this Ho 229, they managed to gain
the upper hand in the air. With this advantage it
is entirely possible that by the end of 1945 the
production of this high-speed fighter/bomber could
have been in full swing, with increasing units
switching to it from outdated designs such as the
Fw-190 and Me 262. It is in this imagined scenario
that I built this model.
The camouflage is my invention and is based on
a rough amalgamation of the actual camouflage
seen on the surviving Ho 229 prototype in
Washington and the ‘Arabesque’ squiggles seen on
many late war German aircraft. I mixed both greys
myself. I also had some fun with Alclad II paints to
simulate the heat-staining of the panels behind the
jet exhausts, but having thought I’d polished-out the
slight surface texture in this area before spraying
Markings represent
Jagdgeschwader 5.
“The ‘flying wing’ design is recognisable
to us through the current B2 bomber but it
is worth reflecting just how revolutionary
this design was in 1945…”
it the ever-merciless metalizing paints revealed that
I hadn’t done this too successfully. Too late to go
back; time to move on. The red stripe on the tail
can represent anything you want it to.
There are no photo-etched parts used in this
model but I did use the nice Mk 103 Autocannon
parts by Master instead of the kit’s gun parts, and
I added a brass pitot tube made for an F-104 also
by Master which looked longer, better and more
plausible than the kit’s plastic pitot tube.
I assigned this aircraft to Jagdgeschwader 5 for
no better reason than this is historically plausible
and that I had spare decals to do this. I only used
the numbers and the red-dotted walkway markings
from the kits’ own decals, the rest, including the
large swastika, were taken from various spares I
had in hand.
Lastly, historical purists might notice that the
pilot I made for it could, arguably, not be correct
for the Ho 229 because it’s an historical fact that
there was a
special and
strange pressure
The model was built to show off
its sleek lines in flight. It was
mounted on a Perspex rod.
suit that was made for the pilots of this aircraft
by Dräger in Lűbeck. Although Zoukei-Mura do
indeed make a scale figure for this model wearing
such a suit it looks a bit like Buzz Lightyear and,
worse still, the transparent helmet that this figure
wears is – surprisingly crudely – represented as a
solid block with the helmet’s transparency meant
to be simulated by silver paint, which would be
very unconvincing. In the end I had to make a
more realistic looking pilot who is not wearing
such a suit. I did this by creating a Frankensteinian
combination of parts from several seated pilot
figures because I just couldn’t find anyone who
sold a good quality 1:32 seated Luftwaffe figure
wearing a mask and that would fit into this very
snug cockpit. The figure I made was created on
the assumption that some pilots might have actually
preferred to wear a conventional oxygen mask
and helmet - remember that we are in the realms of
historical speculation here! •
Aircraft Edition 59
 BLAST FROM THE PAST Revell 1:72 scale Handley Page Halifax B. Mk.I/II, GR.II • Kit No. 04670

KITBASHED HALIFAX
The Editor revisits his kit-bashed Revell 1:72 scale
Halifax, which appeared in a detailed article in Issue
11 of Military Illustrated Modeller, March 2012.

H
ere is my 1:72 scale Halifax B.Mk.II Series
1, based on the Revell kit no. 04670
released in 2012.
On the one hand, this model features
a high level of detail and moulding, excellent
surface detail that is both crisp and restrained,
some of the nicest clear parts that I have seen in
this scale and many options including clear or
turreted nose, optional dorsal turret, glider tow
attachment, drop fairing for the ventral turret
opening, three styles of engine intake, three or
four bladed propellers and more.
Inexplicably, however, this new state-of-the-art
Halifax also suffers from obvious shape problems in
some important areas.
The main issue is the engine nacelles. To put
it simply, they are noticeably too wide and too
squared-off. This directly results in other problems,
including gaping intakes, oversized spinners and
wide undercarriage bay. The main wheels and tail
wheel are also too small in diameter, whilst the
shape of the propeller blades is not correct either.
The old Matchbox kit is still widely available,
mainly in its Revell reboxing (kit no. 04394).
Some of the equivalent parts in this kit are closer
to the proper size and shape than the new Revell
kit, but the Matchbox nacelles are actually slightly
too narrow.
I therefore decided to do a partial kitbash,
partial reworking using elements from both kits
to improve (note that I do not say "correct") the
offending areas.
I adapted the much smaller Matchbox intakes
to the wide Revell nacelles, using bulk quantities
of Milliput and coarse sanding sticks to backfill,
rebuild and recontour the shape. Here are the
nacelles during the transformation process, but
before final sanding and scribing.
Other improvements included fitting the
Matchbox wheels (makes a big difference,
especially the tail wheel), spinners and propeller
blades, although the prop blades are too wide and
not particularly accurate. Both Freightdog Models
and Aeroclub will be coming out with alternatives
for these areas though, so stay tuned for more news
on that front.
The unique markings were sourced from
Xtradecals decal sheet no. X72133, while the
national markings are a combination of Fantasy
Printshop decals and from the Revell re-boxing of
the Matchbox kit.
A detailed description of construction and
modification of this model featured in a ten-page
illustrated Feature Article in Issue 11 of Military
Illustrated Modeller. •

60 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

Revell’s kit nacelle (left) and the modified nacelle using One of the nacelles underway. Check A dramatic comparison – Revell (left) and The full set of four modified nacelles, three awaiting primer.
Matchbox, Revell and scratch built elements. out the difference in width between the modified (right)
Revell nacelle and the Matchbox intake.

Nice cockpit detail, straight from the box.

The completed airframe.

MIM 011
March 12

Back issues are available at

the current cover price and
can be ordered online at
www.doolittlemedia.com or
by calling 01525 222573 Aircraft Edition 61
 BLAST FROM THE PAST Revell 1:72 scale Handley Page Halifax B. Mk.I/II, GR.II • Kit No. 04670

Lots of masking!

The completed model.

Fit was good enough so that the fuselage and wings could be painted separately.

Somewhere in England…

62 Military Illustrated Modeller - November 2019

The revised engine nacelles
make a big difference to the
finished model.

Aircraft Edition 63
 raft T
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modeller Next Issues
military illustrated

ISSUE No.103 November 2019

Editors; Aircraft Edition - Brett Green Military Illustrated Modeller Issue 104
Publisher;
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AFV Edition on sale November 21st
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...AND MORE!
Aircraft Edition 65
 The Last Post...
MULTI-NATIONAL ALLIED AIR FORCES
ARRIVE FOR EXERCISE COBRA WARRIOR
A
ircraft from the German, Italian and
Israeli Air Forces have arrived at RAF
Waddington to participate in Exercise
Cobra Warrior. They will join aircraft
from the Royal Air Force and United States
Air Force in high intensity large force tactical
training over the coming weeks.
Around 50 aircraft of various types will be
participating in the exercise. The exercise will
take place from the 1-20 September and will be
controlled by directing staff at RAF Waddington.
The Exercise Director, Group Captain
Robert Barrett said: “The RAF welcomes the
participation of our Air Force colleagues from
other nations and we welcome the opportunity
to train alongside all of the participating
66 Model Military International - November 2019
nations’ forces on this challenging exercise.” the Italian Air Force said: “We are honoured
Lieutenant Colonel Dirk Pingel the head of to participate again in this very demanding
Weapons Instructor Training for the German and well organised international exercise. It
Air Force said: “Cobra Warrior offers us the will be a chance to fly with a selection of the
opportunity to complete training within the best Weapon Instructors of the participating
Mission Employment Phase for our future countries. Sharing our experiences will
Weapons Instructors. The level of training mutually increase our capabilities.” ■
combined with the
variety of training
partners help achieve
the required standards
within the Weapons
School Criteria.”
Colonel Urbano
Floreani, the 4th Wing
Commander, from
Time Takes It's Toll by Dennis Lee Gerber

The effects of
Wind and Rain on
Vintage Aircraft
"Time Takes It's Toll" is not just another Aviation
photo book. Most books show shiny refurbished
examples housed in indoor museums. This
book features hundreds of photos of aircraft
that have been parked outside for years out in
the elements exposed to the hot sun, wind and
rain. They take on a character and beautiful
patina that is stunningly amazing in all their
faded glory. This book also features some one
off examples of aircraft that are the last ones
is in existence. It includes propeller and jet
engine aircraft and some vintage helicopters.
Aircraft enthusiasts and modellers alike will
enjoy "Time Takes It's Toll", a very unique book
with some truly amazing photographs along
with descriptions of each aircraft.

358 pages and thousands of amazing photos

Purchase at pocketmags: Just

https://pocketmags.com/modellers-reference-library-magazine £13.99

Your purchase can be read on any of the following platforms Requires: iPad and iPhone devices running iOS 10.0 or above, Android should be:
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) or above , Kindle Fire (Gen 3) or above, Windows 8 tablets,
Windows 8.1 Phones, and PC and Macs with a html5 compatible browser.