Model Aircraft – August 2019

(^24) Reichenberg IV
Patrick ‘Paddy’ Bryan builds the 1:35 Bronco
Piloted V
(^64) T-10S-3 - Streak Flanker
Snorre Sandviken builds the recored breaking
1:48 Eduard SU-27 Prototype
(^30) Photo-Recce - MCAS Yuma
Airshow March 2019
Paul Bradley reports from sunny Arizona
(^70) Weekend Hellcat!
Jezz Coleman builds the 1:48 Eduard F6F-
(^42) Mustang from Down Under
Mark Casiglia builds the 1:32 Tamiya P-51K
Mustang in RAAF service
(^74) Mission Models Masterclass -
Recce Stinger
Mac Patterson builds the 1:48 Kinetic
F/A-18D ATARS
this into a piece of plastic card sat on a large blob of plasticine - hey presto!I then cut the bulkhead
out with a sharp knife, and after some rubbing down and fettling,
the bulkhead dropped in the gaping hole almost perfectly. Next, Reichenberg t the wings. I wanted
them detached from the aircraft, so I needed to replicate the little ixing lugs and aileron attachments. Again, carefully looking at exploded diagrams and period pictures, I was
able to craft the smaller parts using plastic strip and card, and then I glued them to their respective locations on the fuselage. The same procedure followed regarding the detached
wings. I hollowed them out as thin as I
ends. I then carefully cut out a framework and itted them on. from plastic card to it over the could then made some spars
aircraft to look abandoned, as if it was left in an old hangar or factory for some time. I base coated the fuselage with Stylinrez Grey Primer and gave Then it was time to paint, and I wanted the
it a basic pre-shade along panel lines with Tamiya Flat black. I then used Vallejo model air paints, spraying the underside of the fuselage and wings with RLM Lichtblau. The upper surfaces was a
mish-mash of RLM greens, with sections painted slightly diferently, to give the impression of an hastily and modularly constructed airframe. The entire airframe was then given a wash of thinned
Agrax Earthshade, to accentuate panel
U
pon opening the Bronco box, you are greeted with three medium grey plastic sprues. Two for the main components of the lying bomb, one
a clear sprue etched pieces for the seat belts, and a couple of other bits. I originally planned to build the model as depicted on the box art. with parts for the trolley. You also get
however, as I delved more and more into the history of this fascinating little creature, things soon changed! So, assembly started as usual with cockpit. A basic seat, stick and cockpit
loor was given a coat of Vallejo model air RLM 66. The etched belts panted with a mix of white and dark yellow, then the whole assembly was given a wash with Citadel Agrax Earthshade.
The details received a light dry brushing of grey, and the instrument panel was painted
with the dials carefully picked out in white. However, after this I found out that the cockpit in this particular aircraft would most probably have been red primer.
assembly. This is when I decided to build the Reichenberg IV semi complete and abandoned, as many are shown this way Attention turned to the fuselage
in period photographs. The fuselage went together extremely well, with no iller needed. The pulse jet is also
moulded as part of each fuselage half, which is worth noting.to leave the front section, which contains the Now this is where the fun began! I decided
warhead of completely, so I had to make a slightly domed bulkhead. Carefully studying reference photographs, I managed to carve
a shape from a block of old balsa wood. I then heat moulded
Patrick ‘Paddy’ Bryan builds the 1:35 Bronco Piloted V1Manufacturer: Bronco
ScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberGerman Fieseler V-1 Piloted Flying Bomb: 1: 35: Plastic injection moulded with etch: 35059
German MannedFlying Bomb!
Tthe Fieseler Fi 103) produced for attacks in which the pilot was likely to be killed or at best to parachute down at the attack site, which were to be carried out by the Leonidas he Fieseler Fi 103R, code-named ‘Reichenberg’, was a late-World War II German manned version of the V-1 lying bomb (more correctly known as
Squadron, V. Gruppe of the Luftwafe’s Kampfgeschwader 200. The V-1 was transformed into the Reichenberg by adding a small, cramped cockpit at the point of the fuselage that was immediately ahead of the pulsejet’s
intake, where the standard V-1’s compressed-air cylinders were itted. The cockpit had basic light instruments and a plywood bucket seat. The single-piece canopy incorporated an armoured front panel and opened to the side to allow
entry. The two displaced compressed-air cylinders were
replaced by a single one, itted in the rear in the space which normally accommodated the V-1’s autopilot. The wings were itted with hardened edges to cut the cables of barrage balloons. It was proposed that a He 111 bomber
would carry either one or two Reichenberg’s beneath its wings, releasing them close to the target. The pilots would then steer their aircraft towards the target, jettisoning the cockpit canopy shortly before impact and bailing out. It
was estimated that the chances of a pilot surviving such a bailout were less than one-percent due to the proximity of the pulsejet’s intake to the cockpit.
24 REICHENBERG IV WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2019 REICHENBERG IV 25
T
he SU-27 was developed as an answer to the American F-X progra -m, which resulted in the F-15. The Soviet leaders had learned that the US was
present a serious problem for them, so they decided to develop their own counterpart. The demands required the new ighter to be long-developing a new ighter that could
range, yet have a short-ield perfomance. It had to be agile, heavily armed and exceed Mach 2. The speciications required posed a problem for the designers, as it would be too costly to
develop one single ighter to ill both roles, so two were designed instead. The irst version became the Short Range Tactical Fighter, the Mig-29 and the second version became the
Heavy Long-Range Fighter, the SU-27 and all its derivatives. The irst prototype, the T-10 took its maidewas shortly after was spotted by Western n light on May 20th, 1977, and
observers and given the NATO reporting name ‘Flanker-A’. There were several prototypes built with diferent modiications and updates. The prototype T-10-15 was renamed T-10S-
and was the one that the production speciications were based on when work started on the Su-27. The irst production recieved
the NATO designation ‘Flanker-B’.
Eagle’ set many altitude and speed-records, and the Soviet Leaders couldn’t accept that, so after still useful. In 1975 the American F-15A ‘Streak However, the Prototype T-10S-3 was
development of the SU-27 was complete and the aircraft put into service, the T-10S-3 was put back into development and redesigned, with the single mission - to beat all the American
records. The redesign involved shortening the
central tail-boom, reducing the tail area, the drag chute compartment was removed and the slats in the front of the wing was welded into one position. The radar and weapon-systems
were removed and the nose-cone was replaced by a lighter metal-version. All drag producing elements were also removed and the even the paint was stripped. The engines were also
modiied to produce more thrust. The plane was designated P-42 in commemoration Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. The plane was ready in late 1986, and within a year it had
claimed twenty-seven records, several of which stands to this date.
began easily enough, putting together the build of one of my favourite aircraft. It convinced it would be an easy, quick Going into this project I was
cockpit from a wide assortment of etched parts and some nicely detailed resin. You also need to widen a few openings in the fuselage to make room for the etched control panel.
There are also some etched parts supposed to be mounted under the canopy behind the cockpit tub, but either the instructions are not completely clear on a couple of points
regarding the etched parts, or I might be a bit slow, because I had some problems iguring them out! But in the end, it didn’t matter, because they wouldn’t it with the canopy, so
they were removed. There is also a number of
T-10S-
Streak Flanker
Snorre Sandvikenbreaking 1:48 Eduard SU-27 Prototype builds the recored
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberSu-27 Flanker B: 1:4 8: Multi-media: 116 7: Eduard
THE T-10S-3 PROTOTYPE WAS REDESIGNED WITH THE SINGLE MISSION - TO BEAT THE AMERICAN FLIGHT RECORDS
64 SU-27 FLANKER B WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2019 T-10S-3 STREAK FLANKER 65
MCAS Yuma
Airshow March 2019
F-35B 169590/03 of VMFA-122 ‘Flying Leathernecks’ pull skywards after take-of
F-35B 169589/04 of VMFA-211 ‘Wake Island Defenders.’
F-5N 761589, Bort 10 Red, of VMFT-401 on a fast pass
F-35B slow approach to the hover
VMA-214’s squadron commander’s aircraft, the specially-marked 165001/
Paul Bradley reports from sunny Arizona
M
arine Corps Air Station Yuma is one of the premier USMC airbases and is home to Marine Air Group 13 and other
base celebrated its 60th anniversary in Marine Corps hands with a fascinating display of current and future Marine air power. Prominent in the associated units. This year, the
static display was F-35B Lightning II 169589/04 of VMFA-211, the ‘Wake Island Defenders,’ which displayed a variety of mission markings on its nose gear door, representing JDAM
and Paveway munitions. In September 2018, VMFA-211 deployed aboard US2) as part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group deployed to the Persian Gulf/Indian S Essex (LHD-
Ocean region. On 27 September 2018, an F-35B from the squadron carried out an air strike against a Taliban position in Afghanistan using a precision-guided bomb – this marked the irst
US combat use of the F-35. Talking to one of the pilots, he stated that the F-35 was a very capable
aircraft and a huge step up from the F/A-18A+ he had previously lown. Aside from the Lightning, there were many other Marine Corps aircraft on display, both static and airborne. New
this year was a demonstration by the USMC’s sole Aggressor squadron, VMFT-401 ‘Snipers’ with their ex-Swiss Air Force F-5N Tiger II, who worked with the AH-1Z and UH-1Y of VMX-1 to
demonstrate how helicopters can avoid attack by fast jets.Ground Task Force) demonstration, involving The show also featured a MAGTF (Marine Air-
air and ground assets including the F-35B, AV-8B, UH-1Y and AH-1Z in roles covering the insertion of ground troops by a CH-53E to ight of the nefarious Wasabi Terrorist organization.
Accompanied by lots of explosions and the iring of blanks, the demo highlighted the close coordination between ixed- and rotary-wing air support and boots on the ground. The AV-
8B+ was provided by based squadron VMF-214 ‘Blacksheep’ and this also gave a splendid solo
display with an extended period of hovering. The static display featured the squadron commander’s specially marked aircraft, BuAer 165001 complete with dark sea blue in and
drop tanks. In speaking with one of the unit’s pilots, the AV-8B will only be around for a few more years, with VMF-214 to transition to the F-35B starting in 2021. The co-based
VMF-311 will begin their transition in 2022 and Harriers are due to end their lying at Yuma by 2024. The 3.5 hour air display also featured a variety of civilian warbirds, including the Tora,
Tora, Tora display by the Commemorative air Force, featuring a B-17 and A6M, D3A, B5N, P40 replicas, as well as the Canadian Harvard’s of the Yellow Thunder Formation Aerobatic
Team. With a comprehensive and varied static display, the Yuma Airshow is an excellent service airshow and well worth a trip if you are in the area. Next year, the show will be held on
February 29th, 2020, with a twilight show on the evening of February 28th. MA
Letting it all hang out in the hover
The angular lines of the F-35B nose. Note the mission markings on the nose wheel bay door
(^30) PHOTO RECCE – MCAS YUMA 2019 WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2019 PHOTO RECCE – MCAS YUMA 2019 31
and the seat and front instrument panel. The interior was then painted using Tamiya Cockpit Green, and a dark green oil wash was used raise the details, and I also picked the iner
details such as the instruments and switches, with a paintbrush and using various colours. I theas the cowling and the rear stabilisers. The n started work on the sub-assemblies such
wings and the smaller assemblies were then glued into place once and I took care of any
seams with a wipe of putty and some sanding sticks. I needed then masked of the canopy and painted the insides with the same Interior Green I used for the cockpit earlier. As I was
building this kit with the canopy closed it was then glued into place using PVA.I was now ready for the painting stage, and
I
’m sure all the readers of this ine publication know what the Eduard ‘ProiPACK’ boxings are all about, as they include lots of very inely detailed etched
of decals with multiple colour and marking schemes and well illustrated instruction booklets. However, their ‘Weekend Editions’ are parts, and sometimes a vast selection
also excellent and contain a no nonsense, no
frills model kit. So, with that in mind I decided to see if indeed I could build and paint their 1:48 F6F-3 over a weekend. So, irst thing Saturday morning
I opened the box and jumped right in as the countdown had begun.cockpit. This was a straightforward assembly of As with most aircraft kits I began with the
the cockpit loor, the rear wall, the side consoles
Weekend
Hellcat!Jezz Coleman builds the 1:48 Eduard F6F-
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberF6F-3 Hellcat ‘Weekend Edition’: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded: 8 4135: Eduard
70 F6F-3 HELLCAT ‘WEEKEND EDITION’ WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2019 WEEKEND HELLCAT! 71
both the engine and cockpit assemblies, which join together as a single unit for insertion into the fuselage. Not enough can ever be said The process began with construction of
for the quality of detail that these Tamiya kits provide. Whilst there is room for aftermarket, there’s really no need. Once again Tamiya uses a very sensible approach with engineering and
making sure everything its togetheThe cockpit dials are the typical reverse decal laid over the clear dials, inserted into the instrument panel. A great system which allows r lawlessly.
detail to come through neatly and authentically. The harnesses come as etched parts, and once formed and painted they come across as quite authentic. One change I decided to make was
to replace the kit’s seat cushion with one I made up with light-cured dental composite resin illing material. You can use epoxy, but being a dentist by trade, I found this easier to access and
more familiar to use! Making my own cushion resulting in something more realistic. The engine and cockpit went together perfectly. All of the surfaces, including the inner fuselage,
W were primed with black Stynylrez and painted using Tamiya Acrylics thinned with Tamiya X-20A. I used the instruction’s suggested paint mix for the interior green, the colour of which is
hen I decided to tackle Tamiya’s 1:32 P-51D/K, the decision was mostly driven by my desire to seek shelter in the quality of a
any new build, was to decide what scheme to present. Now, I have to admit, I put way more priority on choosing a subject that captures Tamiya kit! The irst step, as with
my eye and imagination than on subjects that perhaps have more historical or deeper signiicance. Also, I always try to steer towards
something from my little corner of the world. In the past, other Tamiya 1:32 kits I’ve done in a local scheme have been an RAAF Spitire VIII and a RNZAF F4U-1A Corsair. The modelling world
doesn’t see too many of these variants so it’s also nice to build something that isn’t generally seen. With this in mind, I searched around and found a decal set for an RAAF P-51K, showing
a mid-blue tail and red propeller framing an all-over camoulage pattern. Apart from looking interesting as presented, I also relished the idea
of a Mustang without the typical bare metal and invasion stripes. Although lacking in some of the striking nose art of these variants, I saw this one as something refreshingly diferent, with the
iconic Southern Cross depicted on the tail. The subject of my build, serial number KH677, which was original codes CV-P until 11th December 1944. The aircraft was part of the RAAF’s No.
Squadron, stationed in Fano, Italy. Unfortunately, the aircraft was lost in No.3 Squadron’s last fatality of the war, on 11th April 1945.
1:32 Tamiya P-51K Mustang Mark Casigliain RAAF service builds the
Mustang
From Down Under
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberNorth American P-51D/K Mustang: 1: 32: Plastic injection moulded: 60323: Tami y a
THE SUBJECT OF MY BUILD WAS KH677, WHICH WAS PART OF THE RAAF’S NO.3 SQUADRON STATIONED IN FANO, ITALY
Cockpit, engine and fusealge parts ready for assembly....
...and here you can see the parts in-situ
42 NORTH AMERICAN P-51D/K MUSTANG WWW.MODELAIRCRAFTMAG.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2019 MUSTANG FROM DOWN UNDER 43
T
he F/A-18 Hornet family has, over the years evolved into a multi-task ‘jack of all trades’ aircraft, with numerous roles in its arsenal, from leet air
way through to electronic warfare. The Hornet in question here is based on the Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System lown defence, ground attack and all the
by the US Marine Corps, commonly known as ATARS, and these aircraft can provide high resolution digital imagery, day or night, via the dedicated palletised equipment located in the
nose of the aircraft.and adds another highly detailed Hornet to the company’s portfolio of F/A-18s. The large box This is one of Kinetics most recent releases,
is adorned with the Kinetic ‘Gold’ logo hinting at extra goodies inside, and on examining the
contents you can quickly see this is a detailed and reined ofering, with exceptionally inessed engraved detail. Kinetic have obviously tried to squeeze every last Hornet variant from
their mouldings, and the subtle diferences across the leet are inside the box, with extra parts including optional nose and vertical stabilisers, as well as the dedicated parts for the
ATARS aircraft. This has to be a positive move for the modeller, and particularly for Hornet fans, as you will be able to build a leet of modern, quality kits from the early ‘A’ types, through
to the two-seater ‘Ds’, with Navy, Marine and foreign operators covered. But is there a price to pay for this lexibility? Initial viewing of the sprues does indicate a complex build process,
with potential alignment issues...we shall see.To do such a quality kit justice I thought I’d
go for a ‘straight-from-the-box build, using only the manufacturer supplied components. So, this process began with the cockpit. Out of the box, the detail displayed in this area is excellent, the
two-seater oice has delicate, raised console elements, and this comes complete with separate side wall parts. Similarly, the moulding on the front and rear instrument panels is
intricate and beautifully inessed with two multipart ejection seats with separate etched harness parts, complete the look. Keeping weathering to a minimum, I airbrushed the tub
with Mission Models Light Ghost Grey, and once dry the consoles were masked and given a coat of Mission Models Tyre Black. The tiny, raised buttons and switches were then picked out with
a ine brush in white, grey and red acrylics. The completed cockpit sits in a dedicated position
on the lower section of the fuselage, and as well as this, and prior to closing the fuselage, you need to build and position the internal intake trunking. The location for these parts is a
little vague and it proved challenging getting a seamless inish between the trunking and the intake. I was never happy with the appearance of this area, so eventually decided to fabricate a
set of intake covers to resolve the issue.the kit fuselage is not broken down by the more traditional left/right coniguration, rather the The unique proile of the Hornet means that
lower part is mated with the upper fuselage and wing. As mentioned earlier, Kinetic seem to be
attempting to retain a degree of commonality to their F/A-18 tooling’s, but it does mean that there is quite a lot of ‘interchangeability’ to create the diferent marks of Hornet. For
example, with this build, the nose section is entirely separate to the main fuselage. Once made up it locks into the main airframe via a system of tabs, what this means is that the
‘universal’ fuselage part has a rather delicate, unsupported upper section which needs to be very carefully aligned with nose part. Once done you do get a ‘step’ below the windscreen,
but this was easily rectiied with careful illing and sanding. The dedicated ATARS modiication
then simply slips into the recess on the lower side of the nose. An interesting feature of the kit is the option of displaying the wings in the folded position, this is something that can prove
to be a tricky process, however, Kinetic provide the outer portions of the wing fold option as separate moulded parts, with the chunky, toothed fold mechanism as an individual item.
If you go for this option (as I did) you do need to remove the upper section of wing from the main airframe. There is positive, recessed detail line to follow to get an accurate cut, and this
was done with a sharp blade, and cleaned-up with a sanding stick. Personally, I think Kinetic
Recce Stinger
Mac Patterson1:48 Kinetic F/A-18D ATARS builds the
Mission Models Masterclass
ManufacturerScaleK i t Ty p eKit NumberF/A-18D ATARS: 1:4 8: Plastic injection moulded with etch: 48033: Kinetic
The detail provided in the kit is superb The cockpit is really well detailed
74 F/A-18D ATARS WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2019 WWW.MISSIONMODELSUS.COM MISSION MODELS MASTERCLASS 75
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MODEL AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2019
VOLUME 18 ISSUE 08
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