Airfix Model World
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AIRCRAFT KITSON THE SHELF
AIRCRAFT KITSRevell has re-released Italeri’s 2000D but it suffers from exactly the
same problem it did first time around...it’s not a D, but an N variant.
Structural features missing from this kit, to make a proper ‘Delta’,
include the slim fairings above the existing blocks on leading and trailing
edges of the vertical tail, and the chaff/flare dispenser in the spine. The
2000D had its nose pitot deleted, so one also needs to attach the kit
pitot, cut it off close to the radome tip and file the nose. There are fairly
fine engraved panel lines, AS.30
and Matra Magic missiles, an Atlis
II pod and centreline fuel tank...but
no large wing tanks almost always
carried by the 2000D. The decal
sheet is tidy and offers two liveries:- 133-IV/683, EC 01.003 Navarre,
2014 - 3-XJ/602, EC 03.003 Ardennes,
2014
Eduard now offers this D.Va in ProfiPACK format, so besides the two styrene
runners one also receives masks and photo-etched (PE) metal. There’s much
to revel in here, such as the lovely fuselage and over-wing radiator detail,
a good engine and, unusually, an excellent pilot figure. A well-appointed
cockpit heightens the detail, as do PE cooling jackets for the guns. Other PE
parts include seatbelts and strut mounts. The kit also seems to conform well
in shape when compared to plans.
There are dazzling colour schemes,
and decals for the complex lozenge
patterns and rib tapes:- 6550/17, Hans von Hippel, Jasta 5,
Cappy sur Somme, May 1918 - Jasta 5, Boistrancourt, Jan-Feb 1918
- 6633/17, Michael Sigmann, Jasta 78b,
April-Aug 1918 - Pilot von Hunoldstein, Jasta 14, 1918
MASS-PRODUCED BIPLANE
NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Centre in California employs Legacy
Hornets for camera chase and flight training duties. Hasegawa has
picked up on the fact and now offers its generally excellent 1/48 kit
in appropriate white and blue markings. Anyone who hasn’t built this
offering in the past is in for a treat, as there is an impressive detail
quota; super-fine panel lines and rivets, very busy undercarriage bays
with full plumbing, moulded cockpit features and a decent seat, and
optional dropped flaps and slats.
This particular release also provides
sharply rendered white metal
undercarriage and photo-etched
metal embellishment (HUD, chaff/
flare dispenser faces, boarding
ladder and more. In comparison
with the box top, though, the decals'
blue is more akin to dark blue-grey,
so one might wish to paint these
portions instead.SPEEDY CAMERA SHIP
DELTA IDENTITY CRISIS
PRODUCT SPEC
F/A-18A Hornet ‘NASA’
By: Hasegawa
Item no: 07384
Scale: 1/48
Price: £59.99
Available from:
Amerang,
http://www.amerang.co.ukPRODUCT SPEC
Albatros D.Va
By: Eduard
Item no: 8111
Scale: 1/48
Price: €17.25
Available from:
Eduard, http://www.eduard.comPRODUCT SPEC
Dassault Mirage 2000D
By: Revell
Item no: 04893
Scale: 1/72
Price: £13.50
Available from:
Revell, http://www.revell.de/enDespite its age and raised lines, Super Model’s MB 339 is a fair package and
here it appears in an Italeri box...in ‘Falklands War’ guise with superb decals
and 30mm gun pods. The need for re-scribing aside, the kit offers a decent
shape, two styles of wing tanks, under-wing tanks and rocket pods. Seat-wise,
the kit items are passable likenesses of the Martin-Baker IT 10LK, but many
modellers will replace these. With
some effort a later C-model could be
replicated. Four schemes are given:- 4-A-115, Ten.di Navio Owen Crippa,
Argentine Navy, May 21, 1982 - 61-32, 61̊ Stormo, 213̊ Gruppo, Lecce
Galatina, Italy, 2014 - RS-43, Reparto Sperimentale Volo,
Pratica de Mare, Italy, 1983 - 432, Khalifa Bin Zayed Air College,
UAE Air Force, Abu Dhabi, 2005
ARRESTING AERMACCHI
PRODUCT SPEC
MB 339 A
By: Italeri
Item no: 1354
Scale: 1/72
Price: £13.50
Available from:
The Hobby Company,
http://www.hobbyco.net96_Aircraft Kits.CC.indd 96 19/03/2015 10:08