Scale aviation modeller international

with a drop of Micro-Kristal Klear,

and I must say they really looked

the part. As I was building this

kit out-of-the-box, I refrained

from adding seatbelts, but that

or some suitable crew figures

are really all the cockpit needs

in the way of embellishments

Next thing to assemble was

the inline engine. This is a multi-

part affair, which goes together

really well and looks pretty

good after painting and a wash

with an oily brown coat. As only

the front cylinder can be seen

through the front cowling panel

the detail supplied is more than

adequate. If you want to open

up the cowlings, you could go to

town on adding wiring and fuel

and control lines to the engine.

Construction now started

to move forward at a fast pace,

with the fuselage being closed

up, the bottom wing added, and

all of the cowling panels fitted

around the engine. Care is needed

with the cowlings to make sure

that you get the best fit possible,

and it is certainly worthwhile

to take your time test-fitting

before adding any glue.

Next I added the tailplanes

with their separate elevators, the

rudder, and the undercarriage legs.

The top wing was assembled with

its separate ailerons and as per

the instructions, the interplane

and cabane struts were glued to

the underside of the top wing.

The fit here was very precise, and

once the struts had dried the top

wing was offered up to the bottom

wing with its attached struts and

everything fitted perfectly.

My thoughts now turned to

the rigging and drilling the holes

required. This needed a little

planning and some deviation from

my usual method, where I usually

drill all the way through the

bottom wing and tension

the wires on the underside.

For this model some of the

holes needed to be drilled

all the way through the

top wing as well and then

tensioned from the top.

But I am getting

ahead of myself, so now I

was ready for primer and to

choose a colour scheme.

PAINTING AND DECALS

Four markings options are offered

in the kit, all of which are Second

World War German aircraft. Of

course, due to regulations in

some European countries, ICM do

not supply any swastikas, so you

will have to source your own, but

there are plenty of aftermarket

sheets available to supply these.

• Option 1 is for a Bu131D of 2./JG54
  in Russia, March 1942. This option
  is in winter white camouflage over
  RLM 65 Light Blue undersides

with a yellow nose and wingtip

recognition bands. The rudder

on this aircraft features a lot

of kill markings, and the nose

sports a flying devil artwork.

• Option 2 is for a Bu131D of 2./
  JG54 in Russia, summer 1942.
  This option is RLM71 Black Green
  over RLM65 Light Blue, with the
  squadron shield on the nose.


• Option 3 is for a BU131D of Stab III/
  NJG 1 in Germany 1943. This option
  is in overall RLM02 and features
  the squadron shield on the nose.


• Option 4 is for a Bu131D, based at
  Bad Aibling, Germany in 1944. This
  last option is also overall RLM02
  and has the number 102 in red on
  the nose to add a splash of colour.
  Of the four schemes, I went for
  Option 3 as I rather liked the
  squadron shield artwork on
  the nose. Also, the simplicity
  of the overall RLM02 finish
  appealed, as this would make
  painting so much easier.
  With the choice of scheme
  made, I fired up my new airbrush

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