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MB-6 Sky Ferret

AZ Model 1/72 MB-6 Sky Ferret by Adam Rehorn

MANUFACTURER: AZ Model

PRODUCT NUMBER: AZ 7580

SCALE: 1/72

STATUS: In production

PANEL LINES: Recessed

PARTS: 66

I

magination and creativity

are two hallmarks of

the human animal. If we

weren’t possessed of these two

characteristics, our ancient

ancestors wouldn’t have figured

out how to harness fire, speak,

or develop metallurgy. In fact,

without those twin virtues,

there would be nothing even

resembling human society as

we know it at all. As a result, it

is fair to say that most human

endeavour stems from having

the ability to imagine something,

and the creativity to figure out

how to make it come to pass.

These two traits are very

important when it comes to

aircraft design as well, and were

even more so before the advent of

computers and advanced simulation

systems. During WWII, the adage

“if it looks right, it flies right”

generally seemed to be true, and the

imaginations of the designers of

the time seem almost boundless.

It can be argued that the German

aircraft industry was almost

schizophrenic in its approach

to aircraft design; most of the

products it turned out were largely

conventional, but some of the

concepts proposed were jaw-

droppingly futuristic. As a result

of this, a lot of the prototypes and

project work undertaken by other

powers, notably Britain, are either

unknown or ignored. This is true

in both published literature and in

available injection moulded kits.

Thankfully, AZ Model has

taken some positive steps

to right this imbalance!

If it’s one thing that AZ can

be lauded for, it’s the willingness

to make kits of subjects that

others either won’t touch or

don’t even know about. AZ offers

an extensive range of kits, and

many are prototypes and “What-

If” (henceforth shortened to

“whif”) aircraft from a number of

countries. Granted, whif kits are

something of a niche market, but

AZ is working hard to make sure

it gets a big piece of the pie, and

two of its newer offerings are sure

to help with that considerably.

The aircraft in question is the

M.B.6. AZ Model currently offers

two versions of this aircraft: one is

a night fighter (the “Night Ferret”)

and the other a day fighter (the “Sky

Ferret”). But wait, you say, you don’t

know what that is. You’ve heard of

the M.B.5, a project aircraft that

was designed to yield a new fighter.

This very Mustang-like creation

never made it into service, but it was

tested thoroughly. With counter-

rotating props and wide-track

landing gear, the M.B.5 was ahead

of its contemporaries; it had a lot of

horsepower and almost everything

a successful fighter would need.

It was likened, by a test pilot, to

a combination of the Spitfire and

the P-51, possessing the power

of the American plane with the

manoeuverability of the British one.

The M.B.6, on the other hand,

was never a real, flying, aircraft.

In fact, the only references I

can find to the M.B.6 show it as

actually a project for a jet-powered

interceptor. However, this is where

the imagination and creativity of

AZ Models comes in. It’s one thing

to make a kit of a prototype. Taking

that to the next level is, of course,

making a kit of a project: a “whif”.

The next level after that, though,

gets a bit foggy. It takes a special

talent to “whif the whif”, especially

when you’re a model-making

company! However, that seems to

be something of a modus operandi

for the folks at AZ. This isn’t the first

time they’ve taken a project aircraft

and gone that one step further into

the realm of the purely imaginary,

and it likely won’t be the last.

THE BOX

Like all AZ boxes, the M.B.6 Sky

Ferret’s box (the day fighter) is

full-colour all around. On the front

is a depiction of the aircraft in one of

the three proposed colour schemes.

This shows an anti-shipping

aircraft flying over what is clearly

a Pacific Theatre landscape. The

palm trees, sandy beaches, and

verdant mountains breaking the

clear blue sky in the background

make for an idyllic, peaceful

setting. This is contrasted by the

purposefully pudgy M.B.6 powering

58 • JULY 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

KIT REVIEWS

054-61-Reviews-0718.indd 58 11/06/2018 13:58