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Sam

THE First Looks

• Dora Wings 1/72 Percival Vega Gull’s


• Tamiya 1/48 F-14D Tomcat
  
  
  • Eduard 1/72 Spitfire Mk.VII Profipack
  
  
  
  

see page 42

September 2018 WORLD’S BEST MODEL NEWSPAPER ‘FREE’ http://www.sampublications.com

Percival Vega Gull’s First look at Dora Wings 1/72 Percival Vega Gull’s by Tim Upson-Smith

DW72002: Percival Vega Gull (civil service)DW72004: Percival Vega Gull (military service)

57 injection moulded grey plastic parts 9 injection moulded clear parts47 photo-etched steel parts

Canopy and wheel masksFilm instruments

I aviation has been overlooked by a lot of model companies, must confess that I have been looking forward to this release, as 1930s Golden Age

which is a shame as this period produced some of the world’s most attractive aircraft. The box

art for both versions is superb; I especially like the civil box art showing Alex Henshaws Gull flying over a DH 88 Comet.

instruction booklet credits John Adams of Aeroclub with providing The introduction on the

the drawings on which the kit is based and for providing every help and assistance during the kit’s development. As Dora Wings state,

”You’re the man John!“ I found this statement about the cooperation between the established company Aeroclub, and this newer company,

Dora Wings, rather heart warming. Long may it continue! So what do we find inside the

top-opening box? Let’s take a look: we have an A5 colour-printed instruction booklet, which has a brief introduction to the type, a

sprue layout diagram, and the step-by-step construction diagrams. The marking schemes are

illustrated in colour at the back of the booklet. Strangely though, no colour names or manufacturer’s paint codes are given, so you

will need to do a bit of research for the interior colours and then match the paint to the decals

for your chosen civil option. This will be easier for the

military version, as three of the options are all-over silver dope and the fourth option in the standard

RAF dark earth and dark green over pale blue undersides. The civil options include two Gulls with red

fuselages and two with a turquoise fuselage, which looks to be almost the same colour as the cockpit of Russian MiG’s from the 60s and 70s!

provided in the civil version are:• G-AEKE, the winner of the 1936 The four colour schemes

Schlesinger Race, flown by C.W.A. Scott and Giles Guthrie. Turquoise fuselage with silver dyed flying surfaces.

• VP-KCC, flown by Beryl Markham in her September 1936 Atlantic flight. This is in the same


• G-AFBW, flown by Alex turquoise scheme as option A.Henshaw 1938 in Cypress. This aircraft has a red fuselage with
  white trim line (provided as a decal). The flying surfaces are finished in silver dope.


• G-AFBC, flown by Lady Sherborne in the 1952 Kings Cup Air Race, race number 67. The fuselage is red with silver doped cowling, fin,
  rudder, and flying surfaces.The military service boxing also has four markings options, 3 of which are overall silver dope.^
  
  
  • NZ571 42 Sqn RNZAF, Rongotai, 1944. This Gull is dark green and dark earth
  
  
  • over pale blue undersides.OO-ANC, requisitioned by the Belgium government during the
  
  
  
  

Phony War in 1939. This silver doped Gull has Belgian roundels over the

civil registration. • L7272 ex G-AFWG was delivered to the Secretary of State for

Air in 1939 and allocated to the • Air Attaché in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Overall silver dope.T-6 ex -L7272, sold to the

Argentine Government in 1946. The aircraft retained its overall silver dope finish.The plastic parts are bagged

in a resealable bag and the clear parts are bagged separately inside it. The decals, masks, and photo-

etch are also bagged separately, which is a really nice touch as it ensures the parts arrive in perfect condition. The decals are printed

in the Ukraine by Decograph and are in perfect register and look to have good colour density.

type and the kit supplies them for both the canopy and wheels. No mention is made in the instructions The masks are the grey vinyl

of how to fit them, but if you have used masks before it should be fairly self-explanatory. The

photo-etched steel fret offers lap belts, the instrument panel, and some internal and external detail, including the pitot tube.

moulded and feature raised or recessed details as appropriate. There is a bit of flash and moulded The plastic parts are well-

seam lines present that will need

to be cleaned up, but nothing major. Depending on the version you are building there are various optional parts, so it might be

worth marking the parts you need on the instructions or removing the parts you don’t

from the sprues before you start.supplied as multiple parts, with the cockpit doors being provided The transparencies are

as separate parts. The parts are not the clearest I have seen but by the time they have been

dipped in Johnson’s Klear/Future and the frame lines painted I think they should look fine.

This looks to be a really nice kit from Dora Wings, but due to CONCLUSION

the lack of colour notes I would recommend it to perhaps the more experienced modeller who doesn’t

mind doing a bit of research before they start. For me personally that is half the fun of our hobby, but I know it’s not for everybody.

of interest in British inter-war civil aircraft from kit manufacturers, There does seem to be a revival

which I for one applaud. Long may it continue, as companies like Miles and Percival designed and built some very pretty aircraft, which

I would love to see produced as mainstream injection moulded kits.My thanks to Dora Wings for

supplying us with this kit for review. Once my current project is finished this will be going on to my bench, so look for a full build soon.

F-14D TomcatFirst look at Tamiya F-14D Tomcat

Jthe F-14A was released in 2016 it was obvious that further ust as we were about to go to press we received Tamiya’s new F-14D Tomcat. When

variants would follow and two years later we have the final Tomcat variant the F-14D.Originally over 300 new build

F-14D models were ordered but this was cut back to just 37 new build aircraft and 18 upgraded

from existing airframes.features of the D are the twin pods under the nose containing The main distinguishing

an infrared track system and TV camera rather than the single pod of earlier models. The other recognition feature shared with

the F-14B is the General Electric F-110 engines with their noticeably different exhaust pipes. The new

Tamiya kit correctly captures all of these features as well as the various other smaller changes of the F-14D.Where this kit excels is in

the underwing stores, which illustrate the D Models change from out and out Interceptor

to a Multi Role Aircraft.weaponry and equipment to produce an aircraft in a number of The kit supplies enough

different roles starting with the original Fleet Defence role using a mix of Sidewinders, Sparrow

and Phoenix missiles. , For the Reconnaissance role we have a nice representation of the TARPS reconnaissance pod. This is the best

I have ever seen in any scale with a

nice representation of the internal cameras something I have never seen reproduced before. Finally we have a choice of two bomber

load outs using GBU-12 and GBU-16 laser Guided Bombs as well as the GBU-31 JDAM joint attack munition. To support the bombing role, you

also have a nice representation of the AN/AAQ-25 LANTRIN targeting pod which is mounted

under the port wing glove pylon.supplies full markings for all the of the ordinance as well as the One of the two decal sheets

airframe stencilling. If you like colourful markings this sheet will not disappoint as it supplies

marking for all four operation squadrons including three examples with very attractive

full colour markings, while even the fourth subdued example still feature a rainbow on the rudder

as well as a full colour unit crest.• F-14D, VF-2, Bounty Hunters, CAG • Bird, USS Constellation May 2003 .F-14D, VF-11, Red Rippers, CAG

• Bird, USS Carl Vinson, 1995.F-14D, VF-101, Grim Reapers, September 2004.


• F-14D, VF-213, Black Lions, USS Theodore Roosevelt. March 2006This new kit is sure to be popular
  due to its widespread distribution

and ease of construction and is a fitting tribute to the last of the proper US Navy fighters.

importer the Hobby Company for supplying the review Our thanks to Tamiya’s UK

sample which is now available from all Tamiya stockist.

42 • SEPTEMBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2018 •^43

FIRST LOOK! FIRST LOOK!

NEW ITALERI TF-104G 1/32 SCALE TRAINER

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM

What a lot we got

K

ittyhawk

seems to be

going into

overdrive with a

number of new

announcements.

We start with a

confirmation of the

colour schemes for the new

F-5F trainer in 1/32 scale.

Kittyhawk have also revealed

a small bonus in this kit in

the shape of two resin pilot

figures. These are far more

animated than we normally

see. The front pilot is seated

and is examining a checklist

or map while the back seater

is in the process of climbing

aboard the aircraft. This

will make a very animated

mini diorama straight

out of the box.

Another F-5 variant

will be the dedicated

reconnaissance

version the RF-5E

Tiger Eye. Over the

years this version

has carried some

attractive schemes,

though the only

option we know of for

sure is the company

demonstrator seen

on the box art.

Other new

announcements

for later this year

include all new 1/48

scale North American

FJ-2 and FJ-3 Fury’s

an announcement

that will please

many modellers.

While in

a surprising

move, they have also announced a new tool

1/32 Fw-190A-5 whatever next a Bf109G?

Also, though not confirmed I also hope the

rumours of a new 1/48 scale Vought Cutlass from

Kittyhawk is true. Though it was totally useless

as a naval fighter it certainly had a presence and I

would like to add one to my US Navy Collection.

A Two-Seat Star

T

he first sighting of the new Italeri

TF-104G 1/32 scale trainer came

with no surprises and the main

change from the single seat fighter is

the extended two-seat fuselage and

new canopies. An attractive selection of

schemes including USAF Bicentennial

as well as Spanish, Canadian, Italian

and German options on the decal sheet.

This means you have a nice variation

in colour schemes to choose from.

This new kit should be appearing

in hobby shops as you read this.

And there’s more

A

nother

manufacturer

announcing

an impressive range

of obscure with the

occasional mainstream

subject in diverse scales is Mikromir.

The smallest new subject will be a

1/1444 scale of the B-2 Spirit stealth

bomber. Though this model may be small,

it will not be short of detail coming with

a reasonable amount of detail in the

cockpit and Bomb bay that would not

look out of place in a 1/72-scale kit.

One of the things I like about

Mikromir is that they do pick some very

obscure and overlooked subjects like

the Supermarine S.5 Racer which they

are planning to release in the autumn

in 1/48 scale. Though overshadowed by

the later S.6B, the S.5 was an attractive,

colourful subject and is part of a revival

of interest in the between the wars

aviation of the 1920s and 30s.

Some would argue that Kaman Husky

is also a beat of a niche aircraft, but

it fulfilled its role well despite its less

than orthodox appearance with its twin

intermeshed rotors first seen on the

Flettner FL282 Kolibri (See “The German

Hummingbird” elsewhere in The News).

Used as an early SAR helicopter,

it served with USAF in Vietnam and

surprisingly an example of type can be

found in the Coventry Air Museum.

I remember building a 1/32 Husky

from the old Testor kit when I was a teen

and I look forward to doing so again

in 1/48 scale when this kit becomes

available at the end of the year.

WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2018 • 35

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