Scale aviation modeller international

P Z L P. 7 a

Arma 1/72 PZL P.7a

(Deluxe set) by Juan

Manuel Valea

MANUFACTURER: Arma

SCALE: 1/72

TYPE: New-tool

PARTS: 4 resin, 39 grey plastic, 2 clear

plastic, etched brass.

MARKING OPTIONS: 8

THE PLANE

A

ccording to Wikipedia (the

source of all quick answers

nowadays), the PZL P.7 was

a Polish fighter aircraft designed

in the early 1930s at the PZL

factory in Warsaw. With state-of-

the-art construction, and as one

of the first all-metal monoplane

fighters in the world between 1933

and 1935, it was the main fighter

of the Polish Air Force. It was

replaced in Polish service by its

follow-up design, the PZL P.11c.

More than 30 P.7 fighters remained

in service during the Invasion

of Poland, scoring several kills

despite its obsolescence.

THE KIT

Spoiler alert, and a strange opening

for a review article: this may be

the best kit I have ever built in

my almost 35 years as a modeller,

and later I will tell you why!

The kit comes in an end-opening

box with attractive box art of the

PZL. Inside you ́ll find everything

you need to build two full kits:

two identical sprues with grey

plastic parts (39 each); two small

clear sprues with two models of

windshields each (if you fancy you

can build your own windshield

with the photo-etch frame and

clear sheet included – but not

me!); two identical etched frames

with several parts (30), including

seat belts, instrument panel, and

instrument panel film; vinyl masks

for the windshields and tires; and

a little resin cast with four wheels,

which boast magnificent detail,

no bubbles anywhere to be seen.

To complete the package,

you have comprehensive

instructions and a great-looking

decal sheet by Cartograf.

On first inspection, the kits

parts reveal some really well-

executed engraved panel lines and

raised detail (where needed). The

wings came as a single piece made

up of upper and lower sections,

which eases the alignment

process enormously. Some parts

exhibit a small amount of flash

on several pieces, but nothing

to worry about too much.

BUILD AND PAINT

As per the norm I started with

the well-detailed interior. The

instrument panel is comprised of

a piece of film, a piece of photo-

etch, and a plastic base, which

received a coat of white before

attaching the film. The photo-etch

instrument panel received a lick

of dark grey acrylic and a subtle

dry brush of a lighter shade; later

a pair of control knobs painted

red and yellow were added.

The seat, seat rest, and back

plate are made from several bits of

plastic; these are nicely detailed

with photo-etch seatbelts, which

are really soft and easy to work

with. The cockpit floor received

a pair of photo-etch parts, as did

the control sticks and the rudder

pedals. A few levers were added

to the sides of the fuselage, which

also has some nice raised detail.

The interior was painted in

custom mixes from the Citadel and

Vallejo acrylic paint ranges: a base

coat of light grey for the interior;

steel for the seat and light brown

for the seatbelts; a dark acrylic

wash for the rest of the interior;

and some light chipping in metallic

colours. Once completed, the

interior looks rather stunning, and

fortunately being an open-cockpit

plane, something of it will be seen!

Closing the fuselage and

adding the wings and tail planes

was pretty straightforward,

with almost no filler used.

Next came building the engine/

exhaust/cowling group. Here it ́s

advisable to take a few minutes and

carefully study the steps to take.

Every exhaust looks the same (and

there ́s eight of them), but they are

not; they need to be placed in the

exact hole of the exact cylinder

or you will have a problem.

With that task completed, on to

the cowling, which comes in two

pieces, with a ring of photo-etch

braces to be added. If you follow

the instructions and use a little

care you will produce a stunning

replica of the Bristol Jupiter engine.

PAINTING

The model received a coat of

Tamiya Light Grey as a primer,

and also to see if they were any

blemishes. After that I sprayed on

a pre-shade in Tamiya Dark Green

(which cannot be seen at all, rats!).

The lower part received a custom

mix of light blue and grey, made

from Tamiya Royal Grey, a bit of

Tamiya Royal blue, and Lichtblau

from the Aqua Colour line of Revell,

all diluted with a mix of window

cleaner and water. To replicate

the Polish greenish khaki for

the topside, I used several light

coats of a mix of Vallejo English

Uniform and Olive Drab, with a

dash of US Dark Green added.

After letting it all dry I ran a

mechanical pencil with a 2b lead

through the panel lines, making

sure to take my time. Next I sprayed

few light coats of GloCote floor

polish before adding the kit’s decals.

DECALS

The kit provides decals for eight

versions; mostly Polish, but also a

Romanian and a Luftwaffe machine.

• PZL P.7a, 123. Fighter Squadron
  from Cracow. For participation
  in P.7a airplane testing the unit
  has been granted the right to use
  the PZL factory symbol as a unit
  marking. In 1939 the squadron
  became part of the Warsaw
  Pursuit Brigade. On September
  1 the squadron commander,
  Capt. Mieczysław Olszewski,

66 • APRIL 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

KIT REVIEWS

062-67-Reviews-0418.indd 66 09/03/2018 16:09