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MD-87 Erickson Aero Tanker

AMP 1/144 MD-87 Erickson Aero Tanker by Toni Hausler

SCALE: 1/144

KIT NO: 14001

PANEL LINES: Recessed

TYPE: Injection moulded plastic

PARTS: Plastic 68; clear 1

DECAL OPTIONS: 2

MANUFACTURER: AMP

E

rickson Aero Tankers first

put the slender, swift and

surprisingly sturdy MD-87

to the task of fighting wildfires in

2014. Capable of carrying 3,000
      gallons of retardant and dashing
      back to base at speed to reload, it
      may not be quite as versatile as
      “scoopers” (such as the CL-415),
      but is still an effective machine in
      its own right. So it is nice to see
      a modern fire-fighting aircraft
      in kit form without having to go
      hunting for obscure aftermarket
      decals. This one appears to be
      closely related to the Eastern
      Express kits of the MD-87 (and
      its cousins, the DC-9 and Boeing
      717 series) in various schemes.

THE KIT

Packed into a modest box are

a series of finely moulded grey

sprues, a small packet containing

parts for two different belly

tanks, a clear part for the canopy,

a comprehensive decal sheet,

and a set of masks. Detail is crisp

throughout and some parts are

impressively delicate - be careful

not to cut yourself on the trailing

edges of the wings...! There is some

flash and a bit of general cleanup

on some parts is required, but

nothing too tedious to begin with.

CONSTRUCTION

Not having built an airliner kit

of this type before, I admit I was

looking forward to not having to

deal with the cockpit for a change.

However, not only is a cockpit

included, it looks so nice that it

would be churlish not to build it.

The finished result is quite visible

through the windscreen, but an

opaque decal is also provided in case

transparencies are not your thing.

Moving on to the nosewheel

bay, I found that most of the

eleven parts are so hopelessly

delicate and/or indefinable that

I was sorely tempted to just give

up and close the gear doors. But I

persevered, and after closing this

microscopic masterpiece up inside

the fuselage, I was left with a tiny

twig-like nose leg peeking out of a

largely concealed bay, just begging

to be knocked off multiple times

throughout the rest of the build.

The main landing gear comes

later on in the build, and it is

equally intricate and fiddly. The

instructions are somewhat open

to interpretation, so looking at

photos of the real thing first helped

immensely. The final assembly

looks barely capable of supporting

itself, let alone the weight of the

finished model, but is adequate

so long as it is handled gently. I’m

not sure whether these modern

kits are aimed towards ease of

modelling so much as “hey, look

what we can do with these moulds!”

Closing up the fuselage requires

patience, care, a little trimming,

and a lot of filler to hide the slightly

imperfect seam line. Almost all

major seams on my kit required

filler to some degree, so be prepared

for a lot of sanding, including

around the canopy transparency.

Fitting the rudder to the fin

required a lot of very careful

knifework, shaving a few microns

off the hinge attachments at a

time. Fortunately, the tailplane is

hassle-free. The engines, which

are quite nicely detailed inside and

56 • SEPTEMBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

KIT REVIEWS

056-63-Reviews-0918.indd 56 16/08/2018 17:34