AIR Modeller - Issue 62 (2015 10-11).pdf

MENGAIRMODELLEROCTOBER/NOVEMBER2015 OCTOBER/NOV 2015 • £6.50 UK $15.99 www.mengafvmodeller.com GENERAL’S MAINTENANCE ZVEZDA’S 1:48 62 AIR 62 cover_Layout 1 08/09/2015 11:45 Page 1

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1 Meng AIR Modeller welcomes contributions from interested parties, but cannot accept any responsibility for unsolicited material. The contents of this publication including all articles, drawings and photographs originated by AFV Modeller ltd become the publishers copyright under copyright law. Reproduction in any form requires the written consent of the publisher. Whilst every care is taken to avoid mistakes AFV Modeller ltd. cannot be liable in any way for errors or ommissions. Meng AIR Modeller is published Bimonthly by AFV Modeller ltd Old Stables East Moor Stannington Northumberland NE61 6ES Tel: 01670 823648 Fax: 01670 820274 email: david@mengafvmodeller.com Editor and Designer: David Parker Deputy Editor: Mark Neville Sales Director: Keith Smith ISSN 2059-5964 We are now on Facebook, ‘Like’ us to follow what we are doing and follow our build projects. 2 General’s Maintenance Jean-Louis Maupoint’s 1:48 Eastern Front diorama. 10 P-40 Warhawk, part 1 Daniel Zambarbide Suárez takes us step-by-step through his 1:32 project. 18 1:72 Do17z Paolo Portuesi’s build of the latest Airfix offering. 27 Viggen The long awaited 1:48 kit modelled by Anders Issacsson. 36 1:32 Bf110 C7 Franck Oudin’s big-scale Bf. 46 Air Born New releases. 52 Mig 29 Great Wall’s 1:48 kit Fulcrum C modelled by Albert Tureczek. 60 Spitfire MkIX Eduard’s acclaimed 1:48 kit gets a few tweaks from Gary Vinton. CONTENTS AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 10/09/2015 14:31 Page 1

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General’s Maintenance General Georgi Nefiodovich Zakharov’s Modelled and described by jean-Louis Maupoint 3 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 02/09/2015 16:52 Page 3

Russian kit, Russian fighter When I saw the first comments and pictures of this 2014 Zvezda release, I immediately got excited about this project ! The Yak-3 was simply the fastest and most agile Russian fighter of World War Two. Even if it was one of the smallest fighters of this period, it was commonly feared by German pilots, its climb rate being twice that of the FW 190! After the Battle of Kursk the Luftwaffe command even advised it’s pilots to avoid fighting against the Yak-3 under 15,000 feet. The Yak 3 was the result of a global aerodynamic refinement and weight saving program based on the Yak-1M airframe. For example, the oil cooler set under the nose of the Yak-1 was replaced by two more aerodynamic oil coolers set into the wing roots. The wingspan was also reduced, a new teardrop canopy installed, etc… As a result, the maximum speed was raised by 31 mph, reaching 404 mph. 4,848 Yak-3s were produced during World War Two, among a total of 36,739 Yaks of all types (1, 3, 7 and 9) the second largest aircraft production program in history. I was quite excited when I received the kit from Air Modeller mid 2014. At first sight, I was astonished by the high quality of the sprues, which hold a lot of very fine (I would even say “fragile”) parts, especially for the engine. The first look immediately gives a good feeling about how the kit will assemble. All parts and engraved detail is beautifully moulded showing that the Eastern European hobby industry has reached a high level of quality. A small decal sheet offers three different schemes, all dated 1945, two for Russian pilots, plus one French “Normandie- Niemen” squadron aircraft, flown by the very well known (in France!) Lieutenant Marcel Albert. The most impressive aspect of the sprues was the incredible details provided by Zvezda around the engine, as sprue C is totally dedicated to the VK-105 PF powerplant, while sprue A offers also a number of parts for this engine, giving us a total of 55 parts, including the armament. This promises an excellent result in this area if you plan to leave the engine panels open. Of course, as you will discover in the following pages, a bit of extra work will help enhance the model to the “next level” thanks to a bit of plasticard and Eduard photo-etched parts. In my opinion only three elements of this kit were disappointing: •Quality of the styrene, which needs a careful sanding and preparation work removing from the sprues. •Poor clear parts for the canopy which make it compulsory to mould it yourself or to replace it with a Squadron Canopy if one is available on the market for the Yak-3? •The decal sheet is not worth using ! The fuselage is broken down in the usual way, but the assembly line with the wings is close to the wing roots panel lines…Which means a careful gluing process, and from place to place, a bit of Milliput putty to fill the gaps. Both Zvezda, then Eduard with their P.E. set have forgotten the central wheel door retracting jacks which need scratchbuilding. 4 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 02/09/2015 16:52 Page 4

Airframe tweaks Zvezda offer three different configurations of display 1- all engine panels removed, 2- flying display, 3- all engine panels closed, I mixed version 1 and 3, presenting the model with half the engine panels still in place (starboard side) Unusually, assembly starts with the wings as indicated by the instruction sheet. I first cut off the moulded marker lights and replaced them with clear styrene, first glued in place with cyanoacrylate, then shaped with careful sanding. With the upper and lower wings assembled I decided to enlarge the two wing root oil coolers which are visually too small. I removed Zvezda’s central fin in the cooler with a scalpel and replaced them with a thinner strips of Plasticard. As the pilot’s “office” will be fixed over the central wing, and in order not to damage all the parts which are to be glued into the cockpit, I first detailed very carefully the wheel wells, using mainly the photo-etched parts provided by Eduard. I also added some personal details made of wire and plasticard. I installed and painted the side walls, control stick, seat, harness, control panel etc… Eduard provides a good guide throughout assembly of the very fine and detailed pre-painted P.E. parts, which are a real bonus to improve detail in this area. Prior to installing the P.E. parts, you need to erase carefully the original styrene moulded details. Just one note : dry fit tests showed a problem due to the height of the control panel when closing the halves together so this was reduced. I did not cut and adjust any of the control surfaces as most of the time, the real Yak- 3 showed a straight configuration when on the ground. Check your archive pictures to determine your model’s configurations At step 13, if you plan to show the engine off, the real work starts on the Klimov VK 105-PF. It takes until step 24, which means almost the end of the instruction sheet ! Surprisingly, Eduard doesn’t offer any P.E. parts to improve the engine, which means you will need a bit of extra work if you want to bring your “Klimov” to the next level ! Nothing too difficult, however, the most tricky aspect being the painting process of the 55 parts. I added a few cables between the two rows of cylinders, under the armament and around the “Delco” heads, each of them needing twelve cables, I stopped at six, my skill and patience reaching a limit. Anyway, one will not see much under these two “Delco” heads with the engine in place. I also enhanced the two MGs with plastic rods in order to represent the armament loading levers and detailed the flaps of the cooling box on the port side of the engine’s rear. Power-plant 5 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 02/09/2015 16:53 Page 5

While assembling this very fragile engine, make sure that It will fit into the frame halves (parts n° 21a and 21b). It would be a shame if the carefully detailed work was to sit unbalanced into the frames. I’ll finish the study of the engine assembly by pointing out three aspects : •At step 23, leave off part A27 and adjust it perfectly to the rear of the spinner, without any gap remaining. Do not glue this part 23 to the engine front circular part A26, as it’s definitely not it’s actual position. •At step 24 I had to correct the adjustment of part A17 to the frames below, as this part is not long enough after the machine- guns are installed. I glued a small strip of plasticard on each side of A17 to correct this minor problem. •Don’t forget to drill the exhaust pipes at this step too. Considering their fragility, I first marked each pipe’s centre with a needle prior to use a 0.3mm drill. The Yak-3 is almost ready now, but before beginning to start the painting I needed to install the windscreen and rear fixed canopy section. Unfortunately, it seems that clear parts are the weak point generally of Zvezda kits at the moment, as friends of mine described similar concerns while handling their transparent parts on their ME 109 F2 or LA-5 models, especially an opaqueness problem, impossible to solve even after intensive polishing. I also made cracks in the windscreen without noticing or applying particularly pressure. The sliding canopy was too narrow and needed to be re-moulded as it was showing a gap when meeting the fuselage. The sliding canopy frame was represented with plasticard strips, while the rear fixed canopy fortunately was deemed usable. I’ve not checked whether Squadron or any other manufacturer has issued a canopy set for the yak-3, but if it does exist, don’t hesitate to buy one ! I proceeded as usual, using only Gunze (Mr Color) Acrylic paints, whose main advantage is their easy handling and smooth semi-gloss aspect when dry. This helps to lay the decals on without using a gloss varnish, which would mean applying another coat with the inherent risks of dust, white stains, etc. I always spray at low pressure (around 1.5 bar), paints being mixed with at least 65- 70 % thinner (Tamiya or Gunze), which helps a very fine and precise flow with the airbrush. This allows painting smooth camo schemes with few or no masking at all. When the camo scheme needs sharp edges, masking becomes compulsory, however, this technique has it’s own limits. The Gunze-Mr Hobby references used for this three colours scheme are : •Upper surfaces : Dark Grey H331 and medium grey H53 •Lower surfaces : Blue H 418 (normally, I would have used H323, but it seemed too deep compared to my photographic references) The three paints were slightly modified however to replicate my references. There are many shades that could be used without being ‘wrong’ as always, it’s up to your personal vision of your model and how you want it to look. I discreetly pre-shaded the Yak-3 with dark grey, then, when painted, the model was enhanced with a dark oil paint wash (oil paint thinned with 90% White- Spirit) and tiny spots of blended oil colour. Ground pastel was used too to simulate mud stains, exhaust stains and so forth. On with the colour 6 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 02/09/2015 16:53 Page 6

The markings were chosen from an old Eduard decal sheet representing General Georgi Nefiodovich Zakharov’s own Yak-3. As a French modeller, everyone would have expected a “Normandie-Niemen” scheme, but as we were almost sure that 99% of the Yak-3s seen in the near future by French modellers would be “Neu- Neu” ones, I decided to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the immense role of Russia during World War Two. Born in 1908, he first fought in Spain in 1936 were he shot down six enemy aircraft plus four in cooperation. Then, he took command of a group of volunteers in China destroying three Mitsubishi 5Ms. He ended World War Two with ten more kills, after 153 missions, which give a total of 19 personal kills. General Zakharov retired in 1960 from the aircraft industry, and died in 1996 in Moscow. The emblem decoration is based on a beautiful St.Georges’ shield, known to have been doubtlessly painted by a “Neu-neu” crewman. This emblem was almost certainly light blue according to my references, but some pictures taken the same day show it darker, maybe red? However, a careful examination influenced me toward the blue one. There are also at least three versions of the spinner scheme, depending on which reference you read and which pictures you look at. With a never ending debate, and as I had to finish the model, I had to choose a credible solution! 7 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 02/09/2015 16:53 Page 7

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I always try to enhance my models through a basic presentation. Based on a 12 inch square board, this diorama depicts the hard conditions encountered in February-March 1945 during the East Prussian campaign near Koenigsberg or Tilsitt. A small historical note, the last casualty of the “Normandy-Niemen” was the French pilot Georges Henry who was killed on the ground at a front line airfield by German artillery fire at the very end of the Koenigsberg battle, April12th,1945. In my diorama, General Zakharov has just arrived by Gaz “jeep” to his Yak-3 and is giving his ground crew a hard time as he expected to take off in an emergency, but his steed is far from ready! The muddy terrain (made with coloured Prince August putty) is soaked by constant rain suggested by gloss varnish. Mechanics try to keep their feet dry by walking on wooden planks. The two birch trees are handmade, starting with two small twigs as the trunks, the foliage being created with “Zeechuim” producing a fine and detailed appearance. Finally, a small quantity of synthetic grass is mixed with the putty, the result, concluded again with an oil wash, then a slight dry- brushing of lighter tones. I hope that you appreciate the results, and capture a moment seventy years ago, somewhere in East Prussia. Setting the scene 9 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 02/09/2015 16:53 Page 9

10 Curtiss P-40N WarhawkPART ONE AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:55 Page 10

11 1:32 MODELLED BY Daniel Zamarbide Suárez The Curtiss P-40 is one of the most symbolic fighters fighting World War II with a feature that makes it unique as is the front air intake of the engine radiator which in most cases are always painted with a large shark mouth graphic. The P-40 served from the beginning to the end of the war with combat units and training mainly in several of its variants, ranging from model B to the M, N and final K. The P-40 was not a great fighter like its contemporaries the P-47 and P-51 or with respect to enemies like the Bf-109 and Zero but it is true that it was an aircraft that served with dignity in all combat theaters from Europe and North Africa to the vastness of the Pacific. It is for me, an iconic aircraft of the Second World War like the Japanese Zero or Bf-109 German also allows a variety of colourful and spectacular schemes. To model it in 1:32 scale requires delivery of the magnificent and formidable Hasegawa model of Hasegawa and, once the box is opened, we can see that it has a cutting depth that allows the Japanese manufacturer, by just changing parts like tail unit or air intakes motor switch to other models of the aircraft, such as the E, M or K. AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:55 Page 11

12 Starting As I said, the model by Hasegawa is simply stunning... with a very good price and with excellent details. As with all Hasegawa kits this one is moulded without any rivet detail which some may prefer but even so they are hard to beat for simplicity and perfection of their models. In this case, the model N of P-40 from the Japanese manufacturer is very difficult to find, it is already quite a rare model, one of those that when you see must be bought without hesitation! To begin this model, I always start around the cockpit and the kit pilot, and I have to say that the pilot figure has a level of detail that many figures in resin would like to achieve. The pilot positioning in the seat is perfect and after this step, all that remains is to add the harnesses using photoetched buckles and belts made from metal foil and adjusting them to the pilot and seat so that it looks like he is perfectly strapped into it. Using materials lik tin or copper, makes for for a good key for the paint, and I applied a coat of grey primer. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:55 Page 12

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 After drying for about two hours, I applied the colours to the figure using Vallejo acrylics having first given it a complete basecoat of cockpit green throughout the cabin and for that I used Tamiya XF-5. The pilot was then brush painted, starting with the face and working through the details in the sequence shown here (photos 1-12) The instrument panel is very good too and just needed to be painted to get the best from it. I used different shades of grey to differentiate the different parts of the panel and to add some interest. The cockpit side panels only requires some missing wiring done with lead wire. Photos 18 to 23 show the progression of the painting for the side panels. The completed cockpit components have a unified finish and will add plenty of interest to the finished model. 13 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:55 Page 13

With the cockpit finished, I started to work on the first pieces of the fuselage. The fuselage is divided into two sections, designed to allow Hasegawa to get the most out of their moulds by offering the different P-40 variants. Because of this split, before you glue the entire fuselage, follow these guidelines The airframes that are divided into four parts, two noses and two rears (tail units) My procedure is as follows: 1) The first is to take one of the front halves and glue and align the tail section to this using a flat surface to ensure that both sit properly along the centreline. 2) With the two halves glued, do the same with the opposing pieces. 3) Finally, glue the two halves (like a normal model) to close the fuselage. 14 22 23 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:55 Page 14

15 If you simply close the two halves of the front fuselage and then close the two halves of the rear fuselage, when joining front and back you run the risk of getting a step across the join, meaning much filling sanding and re-scribing panel lines which is never fun! At this point, and before closing the fuselage, I proceeded to undertake some of the most tedious tasks for me in building the aircraft and that is adding the rivets. This requires is using a detailed set of plans showing the rivets and then patiently using a pencil resting on a metal ruler to carefully mark off the position of the rivets. Once the plane is fully covered in pencil lines I used a 1:32 rivet wheel tool to add the small indents across the model. As you progress in this task the overall impression of the model improves substantially. Now, with the plane rivetted, I turned to the wheel wells which I recommend are painted first before inserting them inside the wings. Next the parts for the filter air intakes and radiator with the cockpit are installed, in order to close the fuselage and wings and wheel wells with the landing gear inside. The propeller is another mini project which is well worth spending time on to give a convincing result. In the photos 24 to 44 I show the sequence of effects 24 25 26 27 28 29 AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:55 Page 15

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17 that I used. With base colours applied I used a fine pen to add tiny chips to the propeller hub followed by metallic chips using a silver pencil. A dark was was applied and then dusty oil washes blended over these to give a convincing dirty finish. The propeller blades were base coated in silver before having the top colours applied. I used a blade to chip the leading edges and worked over these with the silver pencil too. The blades were varnished and the decals applied. small dots of oil colour were applied and then blended with an almost dry flat brush. Part Two in the next Issue looks at painting the airframe. AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:55 Page 17

18 Dornier Do-17z Airfix’s new Dornier modelled by Paolo Portuesi 1:72 A irfix are continuing to work their way through their back catalogue to revisit subjects that are long overdue an overhaul to bring them up to modern standards of moulding and design and the famous flying pencil is one such subject. We asked Paolo to tackle the new 1:72 model of the Dornier to see just how sharp the new pencil is! AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:57 Page 18

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20 Cockpit Considering the size of the model the cockpit is really well represented and detailed even for a larger scale kit. I just added the crew seat belts and a replacement coloured photoetch instrument panel from KUIVALAINEN (N.KPE 72017) but everything else is straight from the box. I painted the interior in RLM 02 (Gunze H 70) with fiat black radios and boxes. You can also see here the impressive main spar detail and detailed bomb bay, not what you would normally expect from a kit in this scale. The fit is fantastic! The junction of the two fuselage shells and then the fit of the fuselage with the wings is perfect and required no putty which is always welcome. AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:57 Page 20

21 Here you can see just how good the completed cockpit looks. The cleverly designed airframe all fits really well and the separately moulded control surfaces are another feature normally associated with larger scale kits. AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:57 Page 21

Painting Although the Dornier is probably most associated with the Battle of Britain I decided to model mine in a desert scheme as featured on the beautiful Xtradecal sheet (No 72206) dedicated to the Dornier Do17 z. I choose a scheme for an aircraft based in the Lybian western desert in 1941-2. I love this camouflage... RLM 79 on the top surfaces using Gunze H 66 with patches of RLM 80 painted with Gunze H 420 and RLM 78 (Gunze H 418) over the undersides. Below the base colours have been applied and you can see that the glazing has been 22 test fitted. The glazing was painted separately to allow the fitting of the machine guns at the end of the project. In the photo on the left you can see the shading variation across the upper surfaces and the dark oil wash applied to the panel lines. The green camouflage spots were applied next and then the exhaust stains were added with shades of brown and then grey for the areas closest to the exhaust outlets. The decals were applied without a problem and the finish of the Gunze acrylics meant that I did not need to varnish the kit before applying them, they just went straight onto the paint. AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:57 Page 22

23 All the weathering was done with different brown / black shades of oil paints to pick out the fine panel line detail. The underside blue shows the effect of the staining very clearly. The model was now ready to install the remaining details like the undercarriage. AIR 62 Oct-Nov 2015_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2015 11:57 Page 23