Model Aircraft – September 2019

(^24) Night Stalkers Little Bird
Michael Franz builds the 1:34 Kitty Hawk Boeing
AH-6J
(^64) ‘Bella’
James Ashton builds the 1:48 P-39 Dual Combo
Limited Edition
(^30) Photo Recce - F-4J Phantoms
To compliment Ashley Dunn’s build of an F-4J,
we provide some references to add a little
inspiration
(^70) Desert Striker
Dawid Branski builds Erich Rudorfer’s Fw-190A-
(^42) Operation ‘Paper Tiger II’ –
Vietnam Toilet Bomber
Snorre Sandviken adds an unusual warload to the
1:48 Tamiya A-1H Skyraider
(^74) Mission Models Masterclass -
Highway to the Danger Zone
Mac Patterson builds the 1:48 Academy
F-14A Tomcat
scale 1:35 – and it still is a small model in this scale, compared to other helicopter kits. It includes a detailed Allison T63 engine, open/closed positionable doors, diferent options
of weapons (7.62 miniguns, Gatling guns, with M260 seven-shot and M261 nineteen-shot rocket pods, Hellire launchers and rockets), etched parts (seat belts, ammunition belts,
small details) and decals for ive diferent versions (mainly used in Somalia). compartment, which is very well detailed, Assembly started with the engine
including some very ine parts, some of which are hard to position and mount. The cockpit area is fully detailed and was assembled next. You can now choose between a fully
equipped attack version or a personal carrier with troop seats on both sides. I chose the attack version which looks very aggressive. The engine compartment was painted light
grey, the engine itself was in jet exhaust, with silver and black. For the main aircraft colour I chose Lifecolor Matt Black and Dark Grey with a few drops of Olive Drab added, and the
result matched very well when compared to the original colours. The interior was airbrush painted black and a ine brush was used to paint all the details in the cockpit. White
pigments were dry brushed over all surfaces next to emphasise the details and edges and to
B
oeing’s AH-6 is a series of light helicopters mainly used for special operations of the US Army. Its development began in the early
helicopter, also able to perform personal transport or attack operations. The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), 1960s as a light observation
also known as the ‘Night Stalkers’ are main user of this small helicopter. It is used for attack, assault and reconnaissance tasks, mainly at night, in full speed, low attitudes and on
short notice. Due to its small size compared to the other aircraft of the 160th SOAR (MH-60, MH-47) it received its call sign ‘Little Bird’ and went into action in conlicts all around the
world such as Somalia, Iran and Iraq. The ‘Little Bird’ was also part of the well-
known operation near the Olympic Hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia which was ilmed in the movie ‘Black Hawk Down’. Kitty Hawk ofers the AH-6J as a wonderfully detailed kit in
Night Stalkers
Little BirdMichael Franz builds the 1:34 Kitty Hawk Boeing AH-6J
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberAH-6J/MH6-J Little Bird – Night Stalkers: 1: 35: Plastic injection moulded with etch: KH50003: Kitty Hawk
(SOAR), KNOWN AS THE ‘NIGHT STALKERS’ ARE MAIN USER THE 160TH SPECIAL OPERATIONS AVIATION REGIMENT OF THIS SMALL HELICOPTER
The cockpit area is fully detailed
The engine itself was painted with jet exhaust, with silver and black
24 KITTY HAWK BOEING AH-6J WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 NIGHT STALKERS LITTLE BIRD 25
run producer to becoming the state of the art kit manufacturer that we know today. It set new levels of detail and engineering for Eduard that meant they were able to compete with the
mainstream producers. In particular it would go head to head with the Hasegawa kit and the fact that it is still being made to this day shows that it held up well.
Limited edition ‘Dual Combo’ oferings which contain two kits. With their unequalled etched sets in both colour and standard brass to This particular kit is one of Eduard’s popular
detail the cockpit, wheel wells and fuselage along with die cut masks these boxing’s are great value for your hard earned bucks. The
engineering of the kit is good and makes for a straight forward quick and fairly easy build with no it issues providing you take care when aligning before ixing parts into position. As you
progress the superb instruction sheet gives you clear direction on which photo-etch parts to use for the particular variant you have chosen. I was particularly impressed with the colour
photo-etch instrument panel. I have always been a fan of these as the printed instrument dials are always unmatched by decals or hand painting. Upon closer inspection I noticed that
these ones had clear glass over them adding even more detail to the realism of the cockpit parts. Further enhancements were found
T
he Bell P-39 ‘Airacobra’ was an unusual design concept with a mid-mounted engine driving a tractor shaft driven propeller. Armed
hub two nose mounted machine guns and four wing mounted machine guns in various conigurations the ‘Airacobra’ had a venomous with a cannon iring through the
bite. However, due to its non-supercharged engine it was not suited to the European high-
altitude theatre of operations. On the other hand, it was the perfect machine for the ‘Red Air Force’ who operated it at lower altitudes to devastating efect. The most produced
variant was the P-39N/Q and with variations to the armament and fuselage reinforcement it became a popular choice for Soviet pilots who preferred it over Spitires and P-40’s. Getting
on for close to twenty-years old Eduard’s excellent P-39 kit was a transition from short
‘Bella’
James AshtonDual Combo Limited Edition builds the 1:48 P-
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberP-39 ‘Bella’ Dual Combo Limited Edition: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded with etch: 11118: Eduard
THE ‘AIRACOBRA’ HAD A VENOMOUS BITE
64 P-39 ‘BELLA’ DUAL COMBO WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 ‘BELLA’ 65
To compliment Ashley Dunn’s build of an F-4J, here are some references to add a little inspiration
A spectacular view of the NACES seat test using YF-4J Phantom II at China Lake in 1987. This aircraft had originally been delivered as a F-4B and was later converted to a YF-4J
An F-4J of VF-213 ‘Black Lions’ on the catapult of the USS Kitty in the South China Sea
An F-4J from VF-21 ‘Free Lancers’ launching an AIM-7 Sparrow
An F-4Jfrom VF-33 ‘Tarsiers’ gets airborne from HMS Ark Royal
Photo Recce
F-4J Phantoms
An F-4J of VF-194 ‘Red Lightnings’ at NAS Miramar
(^30) PHOTO RECCE – F-4J PHANTOMS WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 PHOTO RECCE – F-4J PHANTOMS 31
both straight lines on rounded shaped sections like on the fuselage. I painted rudder and the lower section of engine cowling with Hataka C107 Signal Yellow and once dry I added a coat
of Hataka Gloss. The gun barrels were painted with Tamiya XF-84 Dark Iron.
I
have a weakness for desert camouand I have to admit this was not my irst desert schemed model kit and surely will not the last. Fortunately, Eduard released lage,
theirs ProiPACK boxes, and the kit really was a joy to build with an almost perfect it perfect. This particular aircraft was lown by German this very nice paint scheme in one of
ace pilot Erich Rudorfer in Tunisia in 1942. The cockpit section and the seat were painted with Tamiya XF-85 Rubber Black and I also did a little brush chipping with Vallejo Aluminium. Next,
I clear coated everything with Hataka XP09 Gloss, and later I used a Tamiya grey panel line wash grey to pick out the details. I then ixed
all of the supplied etched cockpit parts, which really raised the look of the cockpit. Next, I joined both fuselage halves together, ixed wings and few other details on the inside of the
wheel wells. I then primed model with Ammo by MIG Black Surface Primer. Model Air shades. Next, I applied the black For the camoulage colours, I chose Vallejo
basing technique and followed this with a marbling coat. Then I applied a coat of Vallejo RLM79 on upper surfaces and RLM78 on the undersides. One dry I masked and painted on
the white fuselage stripe using Hataka C101 Traic White. I used Tamiya masking tape for curves, and this works perfectly to achieve
Desert Striker
Dawid BranskiRudorfer’s Fw-190A-4 builds Erich
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberFw 190A-4: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded with etch: 82142: Eduard
THIS PARTICULAR AIRCRAFT WAS FLOWN BY GERMAN ACE PILOT ERICH RUDORFFER IN TUNISIA IN 1942
70 FW 190A-4 WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 DESERT STRIKER 71
serves as the bottom of the fuselage. Next the instructions call for installation of the landing gear and the laps, which can be positioned up or down. The landing gear is probably
better left opainting will be a little easier. The dive brakes f until the end of the build so that
were next and since I opted to have an on the ground plane, these were shown closed. Many people build the Skyraider with gear down and dive brakes open to show them of, but in real
life these were not open on the ground. The propeller was held in place with a poly-cap, but it is loose enough for the propeller to spin if you blow on it!
Ammo by MIG One Shot Grey Primer, before the panel lines were darkened using Matt Black. Then the entire model, apart from the The model was then primed using grey
rudder, the top of the vertical stabiliser and
O
n November 4 1965, US Navy Skyraider ‘572’ rolled of the elevator and onto the launch deck of USS Midway. With a somewhat
right wing. There had been much secrecy about what had been going on below deck the days before, but a toilet that had been unorthodox bomb under its
decommissioned and was supposed to be dumped over board was rescued in the last minute for a special mission. Somebody made a rack and ins for it and a nose fuse in the
front. The technicians involved in the build carefully positioned themselves to block the view for both the Captain and the Airboss, as the plane taxied onto the catapult and as they
successfully launched the plane. The plane
went on to deliver its payload. The aircraft was also given an unoicial nickname for the mission, ‘Paper Tiger II’ and the ‘special weapon’ and designation was aimed to
commemorate the six-millionth pound of ordnance dropped over Vietnam. After reading 5’72s’ story, I knew I had to try and replicate this in scale, so I dug out the A-1h from my
collection and added to this Eduard interior and exterior etched sets plus the Brengun ‘toilet bomb’ and got to work.Construction began as with the cockpit and
the control stick, seat and instrument panels. The original sidewalls and instrument panels has raised details, but for the etched details to sit right, the raised details had to be sanded
down. The etched harness was then installed
on the seat. As with most Tamiya kits the it is excellent and placing the cockpit inside the fuselage and closing the fuselage halves around it required no efort. The engine on the
kit is made up from ive very detailed pieces that it together nicely. I also chose to enhance it even further using etched details from the Eduard exterior set. Sadly, the etch isn’t very
visible once the cowling is in place - strange how we modellers do this. The engine was then attached to the main fuselage, together with the exhaust pipes and the air-intake
for the turbocharger. Next up was the assembling the wings and this started with installing
the gear-bay doors to the lower half of the wings, before
adding the top part of the wings. The wings are a three-piece section where the lower part also
Operation ‘Paper Tiger II’
Vietnam
Toilet Bomber
Snorre Sandvikento the 1:48 Tamiya A-1H Skyraider adds an unusual warload
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit Number: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded: 61073: Tami y a
Eduard FE296Eduard 49296Brengun BRL48040 - Cockpit Interior Set – Engine and Exterior Detail Set Toilet Bomb and Decals Set
Douglas A-1H Skyraider
42 DOUGLAS A-1H SKYRAIDER WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 VIETNAM TOILET BOMBER 43
I
t may be gone, but it’s deforgotten! The mighty Grumman F-14 Tomcat has long been a favourite model subject, through all variants from A initely not
myriad US Naval squadron markings, adversary camoumodellers can indulge their ‘Need for Speed’ to D, whether wearing any one of the lage or as an exotic Iranian export,
in a variety of scales. The subject of this build, the 1:48 Academy Tomcat, which has been in their stable kit for a number of years, and in a ‘target rich environment’, has had to tangle
with Hasegawa, Italeri and notably Tamiya who have also now entered the fray. On opening the Academy box, you will ind
the kit has some very nice recessed detail and panel lines, and the cockpit and instrument panels are also well deined. True Tomcat bufs may query the accuracy of speciic screens and
dials, but they do give the impression of being busy and involved. Interestingly you get pilot and RIO igures, I wouldn’t generally use these parts, but this became my starting point for
the build. Once painted they were positioned on the reasonably detailed, kit-built ejection seats and set aside for later use. The cockpit and instruments panels were given a coat of
Mission Models MP064 Dark Gull Grey, with the various screens, dials and switches picked out in their respective colours. I further enhanced
the panels with some MDC Modern Aircraft Dial Face decals to represent the instrumentation of the early Tomcats.One of the longstanding observations
regarding the Hasegawa kit lies in its complexity, and the apparent the over engineered breakdown of its parts, with the resultant alignment issues. On initial inspection
the Academy kit appeared to be a much more straightforward proposition. The irst step in creating the fuselage is to paint the intake trunking and add the fan blade parts. The main
body is split into upper and lower decks, with the actual intakes being separate parts that require careful alignment. The lower portion of
Highway to the
Danger Zone
Mac Pattersonthe 1:48 Academy F -14 A To m c a t builds
Mission Models Masterclass
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberF-14A Tomcat: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded: 12 2 53: Academy
the nose then has to be attached to the upper section. This leaves a signiicant ‘dog leg’ join that requires illing and sanding and means a lot of the original recessed detailing is lost. Once
I was happy with the join, I rescribed the lost panel lines and moved on. The kit allows you display the radome in the open position, but these parts are over simpliied, so after adding
suicient weight to the front section to avoid any tail sitting issues, I glued the nose cone in place. To my eye, the proportions of the nose don’t look quite right, giving the Tomcat a
slightly stubby appearance. This may be correct, but I’m still not convinced.
‘solid’, with no option to open the slats or laps, which makes them perfectly suited for a fully swept, parked up aircraft. On previous Tomcat The Academy kit wing parts are moulded
or Tornado builds I’d always found keeping the wings of the fuselage until inal construction has allowed for accurate painting and weathering. So, with a razor saw I removed the moulded wing sweep mechanism section after making up the wings. I then test itted them and found that they slotted into the fuselage and sat perfectly in the swept back position. All of the
individual elements, such as the fuselage, wings, stabilisers and the distinctive twin tails were
The cockpit looks quite presentable
sweep mechanism....I cut aways the wing ...and went for a fully swept ‘parked’ look
74 F-14A TOMCAT WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019 WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM MISSION MODELS MASTERCLASS 75
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MODEL AIRCRAFT SEPTEMBER 2019
VOLUME 18 ISSUE 09
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