fought and died in this aircraft.- PZL P.7a, 162. Fighter Squadron
from Lwów. In 1939 the unit
took part in the battles as a
part of the Łódź Army. The
damaged airplane was lost
during an attack of German
saboteurs on September 6, 1939. - PZL P.7a, the Scoala de
Perfectionare (Advanced Flying
School), Romanian Air Force,
November 1940. Aircraft from
123. Squadron evacuated to
Romania by Cpl. Pilot Eugeniusz
Nowakiewicz after September 17,
1939. Note the Polish asymmetrical
insignia and underwing codes
overpainted with a brighter shade. - PZL P.7a, one of the machines
captured by the Germans at
the Dęblin aviation school
airfields. The airplane was
repainted in German colors
and used for training; there
are two versions, with either a
white spinner or a green one. - PZL P.7a, 132. Fighter Squadron
from Poznań. Markings for the mid
1930s military manouvers, applied
with white removable paint. - PZL P.7a, aircraft of commander
of Toruń III/4 Fighter Wing
Capt. pil. Leopold Pamuła,
with the markings of the 141.
Fighter Squadron, which Pamuła
commanded before promotion
to the Squadron command. - PZL P.7a, 122. Fighter Squadron,
Cracow. Markings from 1933-
36. On this plane Cpl. pil. Karol
Pniak from the aerobatic
“Bajan Trio” took part in an
impressive in-flight photo
ssession and in many air shows. - PZL P.7a, Kościuszko 111. Fighter
Squadron, Warsaw 1933-35.
I chose the first example,
because I like that it used the
emblem of the PZL Company
as the squadron badge.
The decals worked superbly
well, being thin, in register,
and with good colour density.
They did receive quite a lot of
Micro Set and Micro Sol, mostly
because of the raised texture
of the wings and tailplanes,
but they conformed flawlessly,
with no silvering anywhere.WEATHERING AND
FINAL BITS
I applied another coat of gloss
and a final coat of matt varnish
by Tamiya, with a drop of light
grey added to tone down the
decals and make the airplane
look more worn (my aircraft was
one that had already finished
operational use and was assigned
to a flying school, before being
pressed back into active service).
The last step was to weather
the airframe by using watercolour
pencils to add some random
chipping. I used silver, light grey,white, and two shades of light
green, making scratches in the
areas that would be more prone
to damage and wear. If I think
the effect is too over the top it
can easily be reversed by using
a cotton bud dipped in water to
remove the effect. I also ran the
white pencil over the sides of the
tires to give them a weathered
look and show the brand name
of the tire, which is faithfully
reproduced on the side wall.
Finally, the spinner hub was
painted in the same colour as the
aircraft, while the blades were
painted with a mix of black and
brown as per instructions. The
lasts bits added were the pitot
and pilot’s step. The two rods
between the landing legs were
made of stretched black plastic.CONCLUSION
As I said in the introduction, this
might be the best kit I ́ve ever built.
Was it because of the superb fit?
No, it required some trimming
and a little putty here and there.
Was it because there was no
flash? No again, there was some,
though it was easy to remove.
The fact is that some kits when
built still look like kits; there ́s always
something that gives them away.
But not this kit – it looks just like
a miniature airplane. The interior
looks as if you could put a tiny Polish
pilot in there and he could go flying;
the engine looks like you can add
petrol and oil and bring it to life. The
whole plane looks like a real plane.
It may sound silly and maybe
the photos don ́t reflect it, but
I cannot explain it better. It has
been a big and pleasant surprise.
Arma has done a splendid job in
designing a magnificent kit.
This is truly a deluxe set, with
everything you need included in
the box, and I can recommend it
to everyone (except the complete
novice, and that is only due to the
multimedia nature of the kit).
My thanks to Arma for
supplying the review sample.KIT REVIEWS
WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • APRIL 2018 • 67
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