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AIR Modeller - Issue 68 (2016-10-11)

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MENGAIRMODELLEROCTOBER/NOVEMBER2016 OCT/NOV 2016 • £6.50 UK $15.99 www.mengafvmodeller.com TOPCAT WE BUILD TAMIYA’S NEW 1:48 F-14A TOMCAT AIR 68 cover_Layout 1 08/09/2016 12:39 Page 1

AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 11:45 Page 222

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 Tamiya Tomcat The Editor scrambles to build a pre-release of Tamiya’s brand new kit. 12 Short Sterling Part 5 Megas Tsonos continues to scratchbuild the heavy bomber in 1:48. 22 PE-2 Didier Goujon and Marc Guerrero join forces to build the beautiful Zvezda kit. 30 Super-detailed B-25 Luis Mira Gómez shares the story of his magnificent Mitchell bomber. 46 Air Born New releases. 56 Dornier Do 215B5 Paolo Portuesi paints it black. CONTENTS AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:01 Page 1

2 TAMIYA’S NEW 1:48 F-14A TOMCAT When a plain white box arrived at the AIR Modeller office we were delighted to discover that it contained a pre-production sample of the latest addition to Tamiya’s range of 1:48 aircraft kits, the F-14a Tomcat. As an advanced sample it came with a photocopied instruction sheet with a few captions waiting to be added and a marking guide that will probably be printed in colour, but was black and white. The two decal sheets, one for the markings and one for the numerous stencils were supplied but had yet have a key-cut carrier film so each was one huge decal! The canopy masks that will be included were also just a photocopy at the moment. What was immediately evident was the high quality moulding of the plastic parts just as you would expect from Tamiya’s designers. The fuselage has been broken down into several sections with the nose, along with the cockpit, as a stand-alone assembly. The lower fuselage without the intakes is another individual part whereas the upper section is moulded in two parts split roughly along the line of the wing trailing edge. Clever splits are the essence of this kit but lets see how well they assemble! ModelledbyDavidParker AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:01 Page 2

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4 Work begins with the cockpit, normally the sort of detailed area that has the modeller reaching for an aftermarket replacement but in this case the level of detail is really very good. The various consols with the myriad of switches are all moulded individually and they locate with absolute precision onto the cockpit tub, no need whatsoever for any filler. The side wall panels are also separate and these can be painted before they are fitted as their steep overhang would make this extremely difficult when in position. The kit directs you to assemble the pilots’ seats and optional crew figures towards the end of the build so I followed their direction. I painted the cockpit using acrylics and I applied the assorted scope screens supplied on the kit decal sheet, having to trim out each one to fit from the solid decal sheet. I applied a very light wash to imply some age without much dirt as befits a carrier-based aircraft. The cockpit tub locates onto the nose wheel bay with a couple of big chunky pins. This bay is reasonably detailed within the limits of what can be moulded but obsessive detailers will probably want to add more. Before fitting the cockpit nose bay assembly the optional open or closed refuelling probe has to be fitted into the nose. The precision fit makes this a simple procedure. There are then several pegs to align the cockpit correctly within the two halves of the nose. Big pin fixings make for a simple and positive location for the assembled cockpit within the nose. Just look at the exact fit of the refuelling probe cover in the fuselage. The probe can also be modelled in the deployed position if desired. AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:01 Page 4

Assembly now moves on to the large rear section of the fuselage with its single piece lower half and two part upper half. Why the upper part is split is not clear and the joint area is extremely visible. Some adjustment was needed to obtain the invisible join that was required. Tamiya evidently has plans for other Tomcats as the modeller is required to cut away a small section of the fuselage to accommodate the engine exhausts. The pair of intakes are cleverly moulded so that is possible to assemble and paint the interior of the intakes prior to adding them to the fuselage. The precision of the design means that the intakes will then clip into position with hardly any visible gaps! Small fillets are trimmed away from top and bottom fuselage mouldings to accommodate the exhaust nozzles. The lip of the jet intake is moulded separately and fits exactly! The two parts of the upper fuselage are connected with these small tabs. I found it necessary to adjust the fit of these tabs in order to improve the overall alignment of the parts which was a surprise given the excellent fit across the rest of the kit. Once adjusted and glued some very slight sanding and engraving of the joint seam was needed to achive a fit that matched the rest of the upper fuselage. The variable sweep wing mechanism is assembled using a number of screws to fix the mechanism and you can see the wing ‘tabs’ onto which the assembled wings slide which is another clever piece of design. 5 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:01 Page 5

6 The jet intakes interiors are sprayed white before they are masked and the exterior grey FS16440 is sprayed over the front sections. The intakes fit so accurately that once clipped in position a minimal pass over the joints with Mr Cement S is all that is required! The Tomcat shows just how good a precision kit can be most especially with the intersection of the nose and fuselage. It is rare to assemble a kit where filler is not obligatory and such a pleasure! Across the kit part numbers are moulded in where it is helpful to differentiate identical parts, another thoughtful touch. It is the same story with the interconnection of the nose assembly and the rest of the fuselage. The nose has a substantial collar which slides into the fuselage, the two parts marrying up and aligning with such a satisfying precision that you will enjoy repeating it again and again and even showing your friends and family! It really is that good! A touch of Mr Cement S and drop in the remaining fuselage panels, which are again precision fits, and your fuselage is complete. A word about the wings now. All the control surfaces are moulded in place on the kit, a feature that has generated considerable angst from those who want dropped flaps come what may. Whatever your opinion about this there is no denying the satisfaction of simply gluing the two part wings together and moving on! AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:01 Page 6

7 The fit of the canopies is also very good, I primed mine with Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black. Base colours applied this shows the breakdown of the parts for the painting. The Furrball Aero-Design decals were applied directly onto the gloss finish paint where the performed beautifully. The centreline moulding seam on the canopy has to be removed and it always feels wrong to introduce an abrasive to the beautiful moulding! Fine abrasive sanding sponges restore the shine which is completed with Mr Hobby Fine polishing compound. The high visibility scheme Tomcats seem to have been relatively clean although I did find a photo showing one in flight with quite a grubby underside, something I tried to replicate. Above The precision panel lines really come into their own when an oil wash is applied to define them. The gloss finish paint is a great help in this procedure. Once the panel lines had been defined I began to add some subtle streaks and stains, again using oil paint to achieve this. The design of the kit allows for the wings elevators and tail fins to be left separate which is a big help during painting. Before fitting the windscreen I had to apply the blue tint to the centre panel. This simple procedure proved to be anything but simple and I had to spray, clean and repeat about thirty times before I obtained a good clear tint inside the glazing, much to my frustration! With the canopies masked I could move on to the paint. I used Mr Hobby H315 ‘Gray’ FS16440. This was thinned with Mr Hobby Blue label thinners and dries with a gloss finish. I really dislike gloss finishes but this dried quickly and without any tackiness. Rather than using the kit decals which would need to be individually trimmed out I ordered Furball Aero-Design decals 48-021 which provides seven different Tomcat schemes and using the VF-111 ‘Sundowners’ scheme. AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:01 Page 7

8 Once completed the wing slides onto the internal tab with the notch in the wing mating with a matching section of the tab. A dab of glue here is enough to lock them in place. The kit allows you model the wings fully open or fully swept and comes with two sets of the dark grey panels for each scenario. The sealing plates that overlap the wing (parts B23 & B24) have a block which locates them into the grey panels. I found it best to shave this off to obtain an easier fit of the sealing plates. AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:01 Page 8

The exhaust nozzles were painted in a variety of Alclad colours over a primer coat of Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black. Colour variations and details were then added using Vallejo Metal Color. The grey metal areas were also given a thin grey acrylic wash to tone down their metallic sheen creating a dull finish. Finally a dark oil wash was applied to pick out all the engraved line details. The kit supplies Sidewinder, Sparrow and Phoenix missiles with a choice of three different loading configurations. All the missiles are multi-part but assemble very cleanly as this dry fitted panel on the Phoenix demonstrates. I had to use the kit stencils to apply the markings to the missiles which was a less than happy experience simply because I had to trim out each individual marking with my scalpel. With the weathering completed I sealed the aircraft with a satin varnish which I thought was a more suitable scale finish than the high gloss. The exhaust nozzles offer a choice of open or closed down nozzles and just like the rest of the kit the fit of these into the fuselage is so good that they can be painted separately and then fitted without the need for fillers. The undercarriage looks very effective straight from the box but the tires are unweighted so I added some very slight sanded flat spots to them. The unavoidable tedium of brush painting the red edges around all the undercarriage doors passed pleasingly trouble-free and both doors and undercarriage were given an oil wash to pick out their details. In my only departure from the standard kit I modified the pose of the back seat radar intercept officer so that he is holding his favourite modelling magazine! The Pilot figures are really nicely sculpted and the Sundowners visor covers add a welcome splash of colour into the cockpit. I used the Furrball decals on the crew seats in preference to the kit ones. 9 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:01 Page 9

10 Building this kit in a rush is probably not the best way to savour all of its features but the very fact that it does assemble so smoothly was at the same time a great help in the process. Without doubt the level of surface detail is a match for the finest on the market and without the addition of resin parts it is hard to imagine that this could be improved upon. Fixed control surfaces were another aid in my frenzied build but I appreciate that many modellers would have preferred the added flexibility these would allow and no doubt time will see aftermarket conversions to permit this. That said I doubt many would deny that this builds into fine looking replica of the Tomcat. A kit that deserves to be savoured and one that will prove extremely popular. AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:01 Page 10

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SHORT STIRLING During the construction of the main undercarriage, the detailing of the wheel well and bomb cells interior was carried out. The main structure seen inside the bomb cells were the six hardpoints on which the bomb carriers were secured. Their shape was established from contemporary drawings and I deduced their dimensions by the number of stringers hidden by them and the maximum space a bomb needed (in 1:48) to be stowed plus the opening and closing of the doors of each cell. Some technical guesswork is always needed to get around small snags such as these! I made the drawings and Michael Skoularikos proceeded with the etched brass work. The hardpoints were folded and soldered then painted in black (very dark grey actually) as the rest of the compartment and installed with CA glue. At a later point in the assembly of the model and along the construction of the hardpoints in the bomb bay, the bomb carrier hooks seen in this photo were modelled and installed in position on the wing cell hardpoints. In Part Five work continues around the wheelbays with detailing the wheel well bomb cells and adding the assorted complex control lines and pipework which runs along the front of the bomb cells. With this complete the focus moves to construction of the stand alone nose section with gun turret and fully detailed interior. This was followed by work on construction of the fully detailed flight deck and cockpit. 12 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 12

MEGAS TSONOS SCRATCHBUILDS THE HEAVY BOMBER IN 1:48 part five The entire engine controls as well as fuel lines and cabin hot air supply was located behind the front spar frame. I used copper wire to simulate the engine exactor hydraulic controls, six on each side, three per engine. Finally, I stretched nylon thread immediately behind the spar frame, so as to indicate the control cables (seen within the green ovals) which run to the cowl flaps, carburetor heating, oil coolers etc. Seen in installed condition on the finished model the interior looks extremely complicated as is the case with large aircraft. Situated immediately behind the front spar frame was the cabin air heating control system. In the cutaway drawn by J.H. Clark and appeared in The Aeroplane issue of February 27, 1942, the heating system was so clearly illustrated that I only had to add the paint! I used two pieces of styrene tube which I turned to insulation blankets and painted them in a yellow colour, dirty enough as expected to be in this area. The Gallay heat exchangers are two blocks of styrene, over which a box (photo-etched spare) was folded, and left unpainted. The rest of the hoses is soldering wire detailed to show the insulation (different this time) applied over the hot air hoses which lead to the fuselage. In front of them, hydraulic and fuel lines, were simulated by lengths of metal tubing and soldering wire. 13 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 13

I made a drawing of the doors on a piece of sheet styrene, and numbered them after their specific position. Then I detailed them using thin styrene for the stiffeners and Edward photo-etched rivet strips. Using a brand new No.11 blade I removed each door from the styrene sheet and painted them in matt scale black (actually black grey). I glued the doors in place along with the visible portions of an unbelievably complicated system of chains, sprockets and rods used to operate every six of them simultaneously, via an actuator fitted on the inner sides of each wheel well. Thankfully I was fortunate enough to be able omit the chains and sprockets which were out of view. Last but not least, the inwards opening bomb cell doors. The shape of the doors was dictated by the spar frames which were not parallel and were converging towards the wingtips. Thus, all twelve doors were of slightly different dimensions and of course, handed. The Fuselage Front Section and Cockpit Once the fuselage was cut so as to enable the wings to be inserted in place as one piece, the opportunity arises for the front fuselage to be dealt with as a separate item. Having an empty shell at hand aided in determining exactly the dimensions of the floor, sidewalls, doors and steps as well as sizes of the interior details such as the navigator table, all seats, instrument panel etc. A thing one has to remember when dealing with interior spacing in large aircraft and bombers in particular is that no matter how crammed the fuselage could be with equipment installed, the crew had to move (and DID move) freely and quickly in spite of the bulky clothes aircrews wore on operations. Even by wartime standards, when a crew station was declared as “cramped”, this was always in relation to a more spacious interior in another plane. In most aeroplanes (exceptions notwithstanding) there was usually enough space for an average 20-year old crewman to work and the Stirling had ample space inside the front fuselage for a man of average size to stand upright under the cockpit canopy. With the above introduction, I stress the need for an interior to be detailed in such a way so as to look full of equipment and EMPTY at the same time. The easiest way to approach the matter is to make every interior detail a little smaller than 1:48, thus allowing for the making of correct sized door openings, bulkheads, tables and steps leading to lower or upper compartments. Having a 1:48 figure on hand is helpful for measurements inside a cockpit; using thin styrene for the bulkheads can save floor space. In this way I avoided the common trap most of us modellers usually fall in, not to mention the grossly oversized interior detail sets sometimes seen in the market which, when modelled allow just enough space for a scale monkey to move around! 14 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 14

Undercarriage Although the Nash and Thomson Type FN5 turret was common equipment on Stirling, Wellington, Manchester and Lancaster bombers, and the turret mechanism and the chassis were the same, the aerodynamic transparencies were not. Slight differences existed, the most prominent as regards the Stirling being the absence of framing on the sides of the cupola. The fuselage nose section (or section ‘A’ of the real aeroplane) was removed from the front fuselage section and another was modelled to the exact shape for the Stirling. The new nose section as we will soon see, was made of styrene around the front turret, which is the major component installed. The two options I had were to use either the Tamiya Lancaster turret or the Trumpeter Wellington one. The photo clearly illustrates how different the modelmakers approach was for a given shape ( the Nash and Thompson turret) and not an aircraft manufacturer’s design (Avro, Shorts or Vickers). I chose to work the Trumpeter transparency for one main reason. I could simply reduce it in size by sanding, whilst eliminating its grossly oversized framing, thus making it more transparent. I assembled the turret around the resin chassis base included in Pavla Models’ upgrading set for the Wellington Type FN5 nose turret. This gave the transparency the rigidity needed to withstand the sanding. Every exterior detail was sanded down and I went further on this knowing that the super thick Trumpeter transparency could be thus shaped to the correct shape of the Type FN5 cupola. I proceeded with the finer sanding using the Micromesh finishing set of fine abrasives. The procedure was finished with the application of Microgloss liquid abrasive, which brought the transparency to its former clarity. The Pavla Models chassis base was removed and I started the detailing of the turret interior. The real turret gun mechanism and its associated machinery were located immediately under the cupola. To simulate this, I started the turret detailing from scratch, putting every detail as close to the transparency as possible. I made limited use of the Pavla detail set, as it was found to be somewhat under scaled, and not large enough to be attached immediately underneath the transparency. One asset gained from the positioning of the details closest to the transparency was the limiting of the severe diffraction (caused by the bad moulding of the Trumpeter turret clear parts) to an acceptable level. The turret upper arch was fitted to the turret dome as well as the rest of details which are situated in the upper part of the turret. The turret seat, the controls and ammunition boxes were installed not on the turret but in the nose section as we shall soon see. The section ‘A’ of the model was made in the same manner as the real one, and I only adapted the assembly so as to fit the nose turret circular base and height. The turret base circle was marked with pencil and dividers; the disk marked was later removed. 15 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 15

I included a brass rod in the interior to reinforce the nose section. This was later concealed as the nose turret main transverse beam which was there in the real thing. The turret bowl was dry fit and discrepancies were corrected. The nose section of the model was detailed with stringers made from Evergreen strips. The exterior was sprayed with a coat of Hycote ‘high build’ primer filler spray putty… Two slight bulges made of Milliput were modelled immediately aft of the turret on each side; the top fairing made at the same time was blended in, to give the nose section its final shape. …whilst the interior was airbrushed with a 50/50 mix of Xtracolor X10 Matt Aircraft Interior Grey/Green and Humbrol 120. The turret was inserted and glued and the shape of the area below its base was sanded to conform. In this photo, the painted interior as well as the windows framework of the bomb aimers’ compartment can be seen. Now it was time for the details of the nose turret to be added. The ammo boxes were installed as well as… …the front gunner’s seat, and seatbelts.16 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 16

…shortly before the bomb aimer’s main window. The full complement of details can now be seen. The parachute stowage and Graviner fire extinguisher dominate the port side. …I modelled the numerous details which comprised the nose section interior i.e. flood lights, bomb selector panels, just to name a few. The jewel in the crown was the CSBS Mk.IX bombsight. Seen here unpainted, and measuring less than ½”, it was cemented in place… The transparent panels were installed and… 17 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 17

On the starboard side, the compartment heating hose and outlet as well as the bomb selector panel and the hydraulic system filter for the front turret are the major components. With only the two side frames missing, which were only painted on later, the completed nose section… … was sprayed with a last layer of Hycote, then all windows masked again A layer of Milliput was applied over the frames to make them level with the section’s skin and eliminate as many blemishes as possible. It must be noted that the first production Stirlings (as is the model I constructed) differed a lot in equipment installed in relation to later production machines. One has to be extra cautious when interpreting contemporary images as there is always a danger of detailing something entirely different internally than the mark of model actually built. 18 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 18

Seen from above, the attention-getter is the Archer Fine Transfers rivet detailing. As the cockpit floor is the bomb bay compartment ceiling at the same time, the longitudinal beams clearly dictated the number of rivet lines I should use, simply by looking at the figures of the Stirling manual (A.P.1660A&B, Vol. I, Section 7, Chapter 1, Fig. 2, ‘Fuselage Bomb Cell Doors). I turned my attention to the most intricate cockpit I ever constructed from scratch. I approached the subject with the thought that every part of the cockpit which was to be painted in interior green could be modelled in a single assembly and painted. Then it could be detailed to any extend I liked, with different components being painted separately before installation. The cockpit was made exclusively of thin sheet styrene sheet, with some photo-etched details here and there, just to stand out when drybrushing later. The rack, on which the anti-icing glycol tank was bolted, was made of a perforated photo etched brass spare part and on the flight deck, the framework which supported the seats as well as the rudder pedals were included in the assembly. 19 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 19

As in the case with the nose section, the cockpit assembly was painted with the same 50/50 mix of Xtracolor X10 aircraft interior grey-green and Humbrol 120, which is the same colour, only a shade lighter. Beneath the flight deck and below the second pilot are seen the dinghy stowage for the bomb aimer and the locations of the compressed air bottles for the wheel brakes. On the port side below the pilot, the auto pilot servo motors locations can be seen, while under the flight deck floor, the rudder pedal rods and bellcranks, as well as the control columns lower parts can be discerned. 20 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 20

The time for the small details has arrived, the flare pistol being one of the smallest! Seen from the port quarter this photo reveals the autopilot servo motors below the pilot’s seat, in place. Thin stretched sprue simulated the electrical cable bundles; sprue is also used for the cables which connected the autopilot servo motors to the flight controls (seen painted in stainless steel colour). The cabin heating hose running along the starboard sidewall was included in the assembly to leave the fuselage free for the interior green painting. In the background, the compressed air bottles can be discerned. Two spare bombs were used as the basis for their construction. The R1155 receiver was sometimes duplicated over the navigator’s table, and here was a chance for me to include it in the cockpit detailing as the radio operator’s compartment was not visible in the model. The receiver front face came from the Flightpath photo-etched upgrade set for the Tamiya Lancaster; its detailing was enhanced by the three cables which connected the set to the Type 3 DF loop, the T1154 transmitter, and the indicators on the navigator’s station. The finished receiver was painted black, installed in place and was NOT weathered as it was a very carefully handled piece of equipment. Above The finished navigator’s table complete with the obligatory plotter, the intercommunication plug and the oxygen supply hose. I weathered the flight deck outermost panels with a brown colour as they seemed to be made of wood, according to the research done on the subject. A gentle drybrushing with white artist’s oil highlighted the details all around the assembly. The same procedure was followed under the flight deck floor; small details were attended to at this point. Seen from above, the scuffing of the cockpit floor caused by the boots worn by the airmen added to the realism of the cockpit floor. The project continues in the next issue 21 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:03 Page 21

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The PE 2 was an elegant but also very effective aircraft. It was used throughout the whole Russian conflict, and it is fitting that Russian kit manufacturer Zvezda have released this superbly detailed new 1:48 scale kit model kit with 435 parts. We discovered that the model can be easily built despite the very detailed interior and high number of parts. The kit also offers the possibility of building the kit with one of the detailed Klimov engines exposed, something of a treat in this scale. The assembly begins with putting together the engine parts on their support. Then, the assembly of the wings with the engine nacelle follows. We have been really impressed by the quality of the injection moulded parts of the Klimov engine which stands comparison against a resin aftermarket example. Zvezda 1:48 M O D E L L E D B Y D I D I E R G O U J O N & M A R C G U E R R E R O PE-2 23 AIR 68 Oct/Nov 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/09/2016 12:05 Page 23