Scale Aviation Modeller International — November 2017

Sam

THE First Looks!

• Walrus Mk.1 • Macchi M.C. 72


• Grumman F7F-3P Tigercat
  
  
  • MiG-25RB• Fw-190A-4
  
  
  
  

see page 52

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have two sheets available for the Walrus, including an attractive yellow civilian example.

CONCLUSIONThis is a really spectacular kit, and I am very tempted to add one of

these to my personal stash. As with

many of the Airfix kits made for the enthusiast, it will soon disappear from the model shop shelves. When that happens, your only chance of

obtaining one will be by paying a premium price on auction sites.supplying us with the sample Our thanks to Airfix for

ahead of the kit’s UK release.

Walrus Mk.1First look at Airfix 1/48 Walrus Mk.1

Tof what resin and injection-moulded plastic can achieve. And on opening the box of the new his is a month of superlatives, with so many kits pushing the boundaries

Airfix Walrus I was immediately impressed with the quality of the surface detail on the metal areas,

which feature a mix of raised and recessed detail, and on the doped fabric areas, which feature a nice representation of fabric over ribs.

well reproduced. Most of it will be invisible after construction, though, so the only thing that The internal detail is equally

you need to add is seatbelts, and Eduard already have that covered.from the obvious, such as down The kit is packed with options,

or retracted undercarriage, to the subtler, like the option to have a landing light in the wings or not.

There is also a choice of general-purpose bombs or depth charges.appreciated by many is the ability One feature that will be

to fold the wings. If you look at photographs of the real aircraft, you will see that this can be a

weak point, as the hinge point is quite small. Airfix, however, have cleverly engineered a wing

spar that makes this a simple task. In fact, everywhere you look you will find clever engineering

and plenty of detail. It’s all supported by a very comprehensive instruction manual, which clearly

shows where everything fits.colour profiles for the three marking options, and a separate On a separate sheet, you have

A-3 sheet devoted to a rigging diagram. With a number of different views displayed, the

latter sheet should make the task of rigging a relatively simple one. The marking options provide three different camouflage schemes.

• Supermarine Walrus Mk.1, 276 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Harrowbeer, Devon, 1944.


• This was an Air-Sea Rescue aircraft and has nine successful rescues tallied on the nose.Supermarine Walrus Mk.1,
  700 NAS, HMS Sheffield, 1941.

This aircraft was used during the operations that led to the sinking of the Bismark.

• Supermarine Walrus Mk.1, 5CF, Royal Australian Air Force, New Guinea, 1943.
  My only concern with this kit is that the decals are quite thick and some show quite large areas
  of clear film, which may cause silvering unless applied to a really gloss surface. But Xtradecal already

52 • NOVEMBER 2017 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

FIRST LOOK!

AIRFIX – BACK TO THEIR BEST! <<

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B

uilt on the success of the F/A-18C and

D ‘Legacy Hornets’, the F/A-18E singe-

seat and the F/A-18F two-seat Super

Hornet, and the unique EA-18G Growler give

the US Navy an unparalleled seaborne strike

and electronic warfare capability. The newer

Super Hornet is about twenty-five percent

larger than its predecessor, but contains forty-

two percent fewer structural parts, and can

fly greater ranges with heavier payloads, has

more powerful engines and provides greater

survivability, and the brand new electronic

warfare variant, the EA-18G adds tactical

jamming to the aircrafts already impressive

abilities. Entering service in 1999, the Super

Hornet replaced the mighty F-14 Tomcat in the

fleet defence role and also works in conjunction

with the ‘Legacy’ Hornets in the strike role.

The forward fuselage remains unchanged

from the earlier aircraft, but the remainder

of the Super Hornet shares little with the

F/A-18C and D models. In July 2002, the

F/A-18E/F began its maiden operational

deployment on board USS Abraham Lincoln,

and in November 2002, the aircraft made

its combat entry, striking air defence sites

in Southern Iraq with Joint Direct Attack

Munitions (JDAMs). The aircraft was

also deployed as part of Operation ‘Iraqi

Freedom’ in March 2003, and has since

been used in action over Afghanistan, Libya

and Syria and continues in operational

deployments around the globe. This new

Scaled Down from SAM Publications brings

the Super Hornet story to life.

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+ P&P

By Andy Evans

SCALED DOWNM D F^7

THE BOEING F/A-18E/F

SUPER HORNET

and EA-18G Growler

By Andy Evans

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SUPER HORNET

Boeing F/A-18E/F and EA-18G Growler

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Nobody does it better?

I

n the 1960s Airfix

produced some of the

best box art in the world

and then in the 1980s they

managed to produce some

of the worst but now they

are back with some amazing

artwork and this month we

have two of the best yet for

the forthcoming 1/72 scale

B-25 and much anticipated

1/48 scale Sea Fury.

Honestly, I do wish there

were available as prints

as I would love to have both

on my workshop wall. Also

revealed are the two schemes

that will come on the

B-25 decal sheet and

they have certainly picked

two of the more obscure

schemes carried by the type.

Fine Tomcat

N

ews from Japan that will please

Tomcat lovers as Fine Molds

are going to produce a 1/72 scale

F-14 Family. The range will start with

the F-14A in the skull and crossbones

markings of the Jolly Rogers.

Italian Master

T

he Aermacchi is the latest in a

long line of attractive jet trainers,

originally designed in cooperation

with Russian manufacturer Yakovlev but

when the partnership foundered the Italian

went their own way to complete the design.

Currently in service with Israel and

Singapore and on order for both Italy and Poland

as the M346 Master while Yak produced the

similar looking Yak 130. This attractive trainer

will subject to Kinetics’ next 1/48 scale and the

box top shows that the decal will include three

of the prototype aircraft though I am hoping

they will also include an Israeli option as well.

Tamiya’s large-scale F-35?

T

he announcement that Tamiya was

going to release a 1/32 scale F-35 caused

something of a stir and it was not really

surprising as Japan Air Force has already taken

delivery of its first examples of the type and

are scheduled to construct at least 38 more.

This kit will, in fact, be the Italeri kit boxed

for the Japanese market with decals to produce

the Japanese national insignia in either shades

of grey or the more traditional red and white.

It is unlikely that this version will be released

in Europe but I am sure one day we will get

a decal sheet featuring these markings.

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