Scale Aviation Modeller International – September 2019

Supersonic VTOL

Stephen J Di Nucci reviews the A&A Models 1/72 EWR-Sud VJ 101C X-2

EWR-SUD VJ 101C X-2

MANUFACTURER: A&A Models

SCALE: 1:72

KIT TYPE: Limited run injection

moulded plastic

KIT NUMBER: 7202

B

y the time the 1960s had

arrived, the free world’s

military had become

worried about the short length

of time that ixed runways

might survive an exchange

of tactical nuclear weapons.

Getting aircraft into the air

without a runway seemed

unavoidable. Many NATO

countries threw themselves

into V/STOL experimentation,

among them West Germany

where, most notably, was the

EWR-Sud VJ 101C. The VJ 101C

was built and lown in the

shape of two prototypes, the X-1

and the X-2. They had features,

and a supersonic performance,

that owed some allegiance

to the Starighter, but that

is where any comparisons

ended - this was a true VTOL

aircraft, powered by two lift

jets in the fuselage and four

jets in tilting wingtip pods.

 On opening A&A Model’s

stout box, nice artwork, you get

the immediate feeling of a very

comprehensive package. Yes,

there’s an injection moulded

kit, running to 107 parts, with

neat indented panel lining, a

smooth surface inish, decals,

instructions and two canopies,

but there’s also a small etched

fret providing a seat harness,

and canopy masks. There’s

even a boarding ladder. I was

so impressed that it was only

later that I realised the kit is

short-run moulded. First of

was cleaning up the cockpit

and nose gear openings. The

combined cockpit and gear

well makes up nicely from four

parts, but some trimming was

necessary to get a it. There’s

a very nice instrument panel

with neat, and accurate, dished

dials. A&A have decals with

dials and instruments in black,

but with each dial inely edged

in white. Really nice. An on-

line image of the 101C cockpit

shows the panel and consoles

were black. I didn’t appreciate

until later just how good A&A’s

decals were, and instead I took

a generic approach and used

some ‘spares-box decals’ for

both the main panel and the

consoles. Wished I hadn’t. The

ejection seat, is made up from

nine styrene parts no less, and

really looks the business, even

without the etched harness.

However, I preferred a pair

of overhead iring loops to

A&A’s single handle. The back

cushions should be painted

light khaki brown, not ‘leather’

as noted by A&A. The stick

should be itted into the hole

at the very front of E15.

 The main wheel bay is a

separate item made up from

four parts, but again trimming

is needed to get a good it. The

probe at the head of the in is

hugely fragile so I replaced

it with a ine needle point. At

the bottom end of the fuselage

engines I found a bit of a hole

ahead of the forward exhaust

can which needs to be illed;

this would be covered if the

delector shield, part E1, were

to be modelled in the stowed

position. A&A do not mention

any nose weighting - my model

just avoided needing ballast,

but a weight may be needed if

you intend to model the wingtip

engine pods in their vertical

positions. With all fuselage

issues resolved, I brought the

two halves together, followed

by an easy one-piece wing

and a pair of easy tail planes.

Some iller was needed. The

wingtip engines and pods

were the full-size aircraft’s

most complex area, and such

is the case too with A&A’s kit.

Overall, A&A have done a nice

job, even providing a pair of

quite lengthy jet pipes for each

pod. By far the most diicult

part of the model is the inal

work on the pods. In the full-

size, the whole front end of

each pod could slide forward

on “pegs”, to permit auxiliary

air to enter. A&A bravely

replicate this as an option

for the modeller, providing 8

pegs but with no holes drilled

and only ive location points

marked. Holes are necessary,

otherwise the assemblies will

be very insecure. Rather than

use the tiny pegs provided,

I decided to use microrod.

Marking and drilling fully

aligned holes in both the pods

and the front ends, had to be

done very carefully but, even

so, the result was not perfect.

 I decided that painting the

pods would be essential of the

model, and that the separate

intake lip sections would be

best painted (orange) before

assembly. So, with the airframe

done and the windscreen

itted and masked, using A&A’s

superb vinyl masks, it was

time for some paint. Unless

I’m using Alclad, I usually start

with a gloss undercoat, but note

that it will be diicult to rub

down if any laws subsequently

You get the

immediate

feeling of a very

comprehensive

package

50 SEPTEMBER 2019 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

KIT REVIEWS