Italeri 1/72 Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer (7057) Build Review

I start with lower hull construction, and it isn’t too tricky, though you do have to be careful to get the sloped sides at the right angle – checking the fit with the upper hull is a good idea. There is a small gap where the front armour plate attaches to the lower hull, but this will be filled and won’t be visible on the finished model.

I’m planning to build this by assembling and painting the running gear and lower hull and then adding the tracks before I attach and paint the upper hull, so I start by test-assembling the running gear, and that wasn’t a great deal of fun. Spindles on the suspension assemblies locate into holes in the roads wheels and spindles on the idlers and sprockets locate into holes on the hull. The problem is that all the spindles are a very tight fit in the locating holes, so much so that I was concerned that I’d snap something, so I drilled out the holes.

At that point I discovered that the sprockets, idlers and roadwheels just don’t line up – the roadwheels and idlers are closer to the hull than the sprockets. That’s going to be a major problem when trying to assemble the link-and-length tracks, so I installed plastic-card spacers to move these around 1mm further from the hull. It looks messy here, but hopefully all of this will be hidden by the roadwheels and idlers.

Then, I painted the roadwheels, idlers and sprockets and glued them in place. Normally, I leave the sprockets loose when I’m doing this type of track, but before drilling, they were too tight and now they’re a little loose, so I get everything in place, lined up and painted before I begin work on the tracks. I have decided that I want to model this as a beaten-up and well-used Hetzer finished only in dunklegelb, so no camo colours are added. There are just four fairly large roadwheels per side here, and you’d imagine that getting these, the sprockets and idlers aligned would be simple, but you’d be mistaken. The suspension units on to which the roadwheels fit aren’t perfectly straight and it takes a lot of fiddling on both sides to get running gear that looks even close to straight and aligned. Painting the roadwheel tyres is also a challenge because they are very thin and there isn’t a clearly defined lip between the wheels and tyres. That’s accurate, but it does cause some frustration while painting.

The tracks themselves are fairly standard link-and-length type, and the only issues are the tiny size of the individual links and the fact that there is no positive engagement between links or sections of track – all are simply butt-jointed to the next piece, making it challenging to get straight runs and giving a very fragile end result. I started with assembling and fixing in place the top run of three sections, then I added the nine single links to the sprocket and nine links on the idler (though the instructions say eleven).

Finally, I added the lower run comprising three sections and three individual links. A few spare individual links are provided, which is a good thing because these are fairly brittle and I lost two or three that cracked in half as I was cutting them off the sprue. By the time I had finished, I had just one spare link left over…

It takes way longer than you’d expect to get the running gear and tracks completed, and the finished result is pretty rough – the problem is getting those tiny individual links lined up and with regular spacing. Then, when it’s finally complete, it’s time to start work on the other side…

With both sets of tracks finally done apart from touching-up the paint, it’s time to move on to the rest of construction. I begin with joining the muzzle to the barrel of the main gun. At least that’s bound to be easy, after all, it just involves joining two bits of plastic. Well… The muzzle section seems to be of a slightly larger diameter than the barrel, which means it’s tricky to get it on straight and that sanding and filling is needed to smooth everything out. It was only when I looked closely at the image below that I spotted that there is still a gap on the underside at the join and that the top of the muzzle needs more sanding. I swear that if my eyes were capable of the same resolution as my camera, I’d probably just pack in model building altogether..

After more filling sanding and squinting, I get something approaching a barrel of uniform diameter and install it and the mantlet in the upper hull.

Then I join the upper and lower hull. Happily, fit is pretty good and only a tiny amount of filler is required on the join of the front and rear hull plates.

As you can see, I’m building this with hatches closed, mainly because I don’t care for the supplied crew figures. I add most of the bits and pieces to the upper and rear hull, leaving off the exhaust, machine gun, tools and spare track links which will be painted separately and added later. The side armour plates are rather thick, and this might look better with these replaced by thinner parts, but I want to see how this will look built out of the box so I leave them as they are.

It’s time to begin painting the hull. First it gets a coat of Vallejo Dark Yellow, then some dry-brushed highlights and areas of paint chipping are added.

Then I add the decals. Given that there are just three, it doesn’t take long. I have also added the spare track links, exhaust, shovel and machine gun. I also added one part that isn’t provided here – the radio antenna base. A mounting hole is provided on the right rear hull in the correct place, just above the blade of the shovel and this part is shown on the box art and on the colour scheme views, but for some reason, it isn’t included in the kit. The instructions simply suggest placing a “stripped sprue” antenna into the hole in the hull. Instead, I add an antenna base from the spares box.

Next I add a brown oil wash to dirty everything up and deepen shadows and then add a stretched sprue antenna, that’s this tiny Hetzer done.

After Action Report

This isn’t a straightforward kit to recommend. There are certainly a number of problems. The running gear and tracks are really, really fiddly to do, fit isn’t always great and there are things missing including the radio antenna base and ammunition drums for the MG 34. The side armour is too thick, the shovel handle is too fat, the decals are printed slightly out of register and getting the muzzle on to the main gun barrel without a visible join takes way more time and effort than you’d expect.

But, there’s the thing: despite these issues, this does build up into a pretty reasonable small-scale representation of the Hetzer. It captures perfectly the squat, purposeful look of the original and, if you don’t look too closely, the finished tracks look OK and probably better than rubber-band style tracks. The main surprise here is just how tiny the completed kit is. Here it is next to a 1/72 Jagdpanther and as you can see, it’s barely as tall as the engine deck on the Jagdpanther!.

If you’re willing to put in the effort and to accept the limitations of a 1974 kit, you may enjoy this a great deal and you should end up with a reasonable representation of the Hetzer in 1/72. Just make sure you adopt the correct Zen mindset before tackling those tracks!

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Airfix 1/72 Hawker Typhoon IB (A02041) Build Review

I start with the cockpit, and that’s a little different, mainly because the Typhoon cockpit didn’t have a cockpit floor. What you have here is a combination of detail inside the fuselage halves, the seat and rear armour plate section, the instrument panel, footboards, control stick and rudder pedals on the floor above the upper side of the wheel wells.

I paint everything in something resembling RAF interior green (a sort of green-grey), add a wash in dark green oil and some masking tape harness straps and the instrument panel decal. I haven’t spent a great deal of time on the cockpit because the opening in the fuselage is very small and at this scale, you will be able to see very little of the interior on the finished model.

 I next join the fuselage halves, being careful to get all the internal parts aligned. Fit is good and no filler is needed.

I then add the lower wings and drill these out to accept the rocket rails. Again, fit is fine and no filler is needed.

However, a quick dry fit of the upper wings shows that there are pronounced gaps at the wing  roots.

I add the cannon and bays (though I have decided to show these closed) and the tailplanes and rudder. There  are also gaps where the tailplanes meet the vertical stabiliser.

Then I add the upper wings and use some filler to fill the gaps at the wing roots and on the tailplanes. I also add the rocket rails at this stage.

That’s main construction of this Typhoon pretty much done, and there really aren’t any major problems – everything goes together nicely and reasonably accurately. Now it’s time to begin painting. I start with Vallejo Light Sea Grey for the underside. And I have to say that I really appreciate the use of light grey plastic here – it makes painting the light underside colour much less of a chore than it might have been if this was moulded in a darker plastic. It only takes a couple of thin coats to get a reasonable finish. You’ll also see that I have painted the wheel-wells in interior green. I’m not certain this is correct – some sources suggest that they should be aluminium, but I don’t think green would have been impossible and I like the contrast between the light grey and dark green.

Then, I mask that off and add the camo scheme of Ocean Grey and Dark Green on the upper surfaces.

Next, decals. I have decided to go for an aircraft in the markings of 245 Squadron, mainly because every other build review I have seen of this kit has used the markings for 121 Wing which include invasion stripes and I’d like to try something different. I was concerned about fitting the chequered band on the tail, which comes in four pieces, but it fits perfectly and with no problems. Almost all of the other decals, including the shark’s teeth also fit nicely and easily. All the decals are dense but not too thick. The only real problem was the four yellow strips that go on the leading edges of the wings. I found these fiendishly, horribly difficult to bend over the leading edges while keeping them lined up, despite copious use of decal softener. I did finally get them on, but it certainly wasn’t fun and the process involved a measure of cat-startling.

Then, I add the gear, gear doors, retractable pilot step and rockets.

Then, the whole thing gets a coat of matt varnish followed by a wash in dark grey oil to bring out the panel lines. This works well where you have deeply engraved panel lines like these and it’s particularly noticeable on the light grey undersides.

And finally, the canopy, windscreen, spinner and propellor are added. The windscreen fits well into the socket in the fuselage and the framing on this and the canopy are simple, so I freehand painted all the framing. On reflection, the blue that I used for the spinner and the inside of the outer gear doors is perhaps a little dark (it should be a closer match for the blue on the chequered tail band), but I’m not going to re-do it at this stage so I’ll just have to live with it.  And that’s it finished.

After Action Report

Like most new-tool Airfix kits, this was an entirely straightforward build. Fit is generally pretty good, construction was simple and filler was only needed at the wing roots and where the horizontal stabilisers join the tail. In terms of construction there is nothing here that would challenge even an inexperienced kit-builder and the finished result looks to me to be a pretty good small-scale representation of the chunky Typhoon. And for what it’s worth, I don’t feel that the panel lines look too obtrusive on the finished model.

If I was being picky, I’d mention that the main gear legs are a little flimsy and aren’t an especially good fit in the sockets in the gear bays – you’ll want to let these set completely before risking standing the model upright. And I really didn’t enjoy applying those yellow leading edge decals, but when they’re on, they look OK and they do save some awkward masking which has to be a good thing.

Given the small cockpit opening in the fuselage, you can really see very little of the interior, so I’m not certain it’s worth spending a great deal of time on adding detail there. I do appreciate having the option of showing the cannon bay doors on the upper wings open, though I chose not to do that. Overall, and apart from those irritating leading-edge decals, this was a stress-free and enjoyable build. If you want to model a 1/72 Typhoon, I feel that you could do a lot worse than this inexpensive Airix offering.

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Eduard 1/72 Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat, Weekend Edition (7457), Build Review

The build starts, as with most aircraft kits, with the cockpit. This isn’t particularly complex, comprising just eight parts, and I chose to use the flat instrument panel with decals rather than trying to paint the 3-D panel. When assembled, painted and with the decals for harness straps and instruments in place, it looks pretty good.

The fuselage halves join cleanly and with no fit issues. No filler is required, just some gentle work with wet-and-dry paper to smooth the seam.

The engine and cowl also fit together very nicely and again, no filler is needed. The engine isn’t as detailed as you’ll find on some F6F kits, but IMHO, it’s perfectly satisfactory given that it’s mostly hidden by the cowl. A quick dry-fit of the cowl shows that this also fits very nicely indeed on to the fuselage.

I’m leaving off the wings and tailplanes at this point to make painting simpler and to reduce the need for masking. Of course, you can only use this approach where you don’t need filler on the join between wings and fuselage. A quick dry-fit show that the fit of the wings and tailplanes into the sockets in the fuselage is pretty close to perfect. No filler will be needed – you’ll barely need glue here! Top marks Eduard.

However, while dry-fitting the tailplanes, I did notice a something that initially puzzled me. The tailplanes have a series of four circular panels on one side. The instructions show that these should be fitted with the circular panels facing down. But both supplied tailplanes are identical.

So, when you put them in place, they look like this.

That looks wrong and it certainly isn’t what the instructions show. I contacted Eduard support (who, incidentally, answered my questions promptly and were very polite and extremely helpful) who explained that the instructions are wrong but the kit parts are correct – they even provided a wartime image of an F6F that clearly shows those four circular plates only on the top of the left-hand tailplane. With that clarified, I go on to paint the interior of the cowl and intakes in medium grey while the engine cylinders are finished in a darker grey with gunmetal highlights.

I then add the cowl to the fuselage. Fit is very good.

One nice touch is that the exhausts are moulded as part of the fuselage, and these are visible once the cowl is fitted.

I’m now ready to begin painting the three-colour scheme. I have decided to leave off the large under-fuselage fuel tank, as many wartime images show F6F-3s without this tank, and I like the clean look without it. The first challenge is the Ensign White used on the underside of the wings, tailplanes and fuselage. This is a very light grey, virtually an off-white, and the plastic used here is quite dark, so it takes several coats to get an even finish. I’m careful to use very thin coats in order not to fill in all the lovely surface detail. Here it is after three coats…

It finally takes seven coats (seven coats!) to get to a fairly streak-free finish. Look, I like brush painting, but I can’t help but feel that this might be one kit better tackled with an airbrush!

I also paint the undersides of the tailplanes wings, and wheel-bays in Ensign White. I have seen some kits of the F6F-3 with these finished in Interior Green, but my research seems to indicate that when the three-colour camo scheme was used, the gear bays, legs, doors (inside and out) and wheel centres were generally painted in the same Ensign White as the undersides of the wings.    

Next, it’s time to add the band of Intermediate Blue on the fuselage sides, vertical stabilizer and rudder. I purchased Vallejo paint “Azul Americano/Intermediate Blue” 70.903 specifically for this kit. It looked good in colour charts, but when it arrived, it’s a fairly dark grey without even a hint of blue, which is kind of frustrating. So, I have to mix up my own version of USN Intermediate Blue. I mask the edge where this colour adjoins the Ensign White. Wartime images seem to show that this was a soft edge, probably achieved through spraying. However, brush-painting makes this very difficult to achieve, so I have to settle for a hard edge.

Then, I add Sea Blue on the top of the fuselage, wings and tailplanes. And I am cheating a little here. The USN “tri-color scheme” is actually four colours because, while the most of the wings and tailplanes should be glossy Sea Blue, the fuselage and leading edges should be matte Sea Blue. But I’m just going to give the whole thing a coat of matte varnish.

Next, I add the undercarriage and the decals (though I’m afraid I don’t bother with the tiny stencil markings). And as you can see, there’s an odd problem – the Intermediate Blue paint that I mixed up changes colour to a darker blue in patches round the all decals.

This look pretty awful, but I have no idea what caused it – was it a reaction to the Vallejo Decal Fix, the Decal Softener or to the decals themselves? Whatever, some careful touching up is required to get to this point.

That just leaves the propellor, canopy, windscreen and radio mast to add. I freehand paint the canopy and windscreen framing, and it doesn’t look too bad – certainly no worse than I get when masking.

With those parts in place, it all gets a light wash of grey oil paint to highlight the surface detail. While that’s usually effective in highlighting panel lines, here the many coats of paint have filled these in to such an extent that they don’t really show much at all. But that’s it done!

After-Action Report

The construction of this kit was an absolute pleasure. Fit is close to perfect and no filler was required at all. And the completed model captures perfectly the squat, purposeful look of the F6F. This really is a cracking little kit and I certainly didn’t feel that a lack of PE parts from the Profipack Edition made it notably worse (though I would like to try the canopy masks). The decals are sharp, in-register and nicely dense and you do have the option to add all those stencil markings if you choose.

For a number of reasons, I didn’t enjoy painting this kit at all. Painting the undersides in Ensign White took far too many coats to get a consistent finish, and every coat covered up a little more of that lovely, subtle surface detail. The Vallejo Intermediate Blue that I bought specifically for this kit turned out to look nothing like the colour I was expecting, and the problems with the decals reacting with my mix for this colour required yet more coats, covering up even more surface detail.

Given my experience here, I’d have to say that this is one kit that might benefit from painting with an airbrush rather than a hairy stick. I don’t have an airbrush so I did my best with brush painting and I’m not too unhappy with the end result, though I can’t help feel that with better painting, you could end up with a superb result from what is an outstanding kit.  Overall, I’d heartily recommend this to anyone who fancies building a small-scale F6F and, for what it’s worth, I think that this Weekend Edition is a great kit in itself for very little cash. Now, if only Eduard would start a range of 1/72 AFVs… 

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Italeri 1/72 Autoblinda AB 43 (7052) Build Review

The build here begins with the lower hull, and that turns out to be fairly complicated. The lower hull (excluding the chassis) comprises 14 main and separate parts. There are two internal rods that act as crossmembers to set the spacing between the main hull sides, but unfortunately, the rear rod seems to be the wrong length. So, to get everything together, you’ll be juggling more than ten separate parts that don’t fit or locate particularly well. If you’re anything like me, you’ll also be needing some filler to hide the most obvious gaps.

Then, it’s on to the wheels and chassis. Each of the four main wheels has two square locating points inside, and these are supposed to fit on two corresponding square lugs on the upper and lower halves of the chassis.

However, if you do a dry fit with the tyres in place, you’ll discover that using these locating pegs positions the wheels in the wrong place – the front wheels are too far to the rear and the rear wheels too far to the front. If you assemble using the pegs and holes provided, you’ll end up with the tyres fouling the wheel arches. Instead, you have to cut the pegs carefully until you get the wheels where you want them. I did this with the tyres just push-fitted onto the wheels so that I could remove them for painting separately. However, I managed to get glue on both rear tyres so they are now fixed in position while the fronts and spares have been removed for painting.

I add the last bits and pieces, and that’s hull construction complete other than for the exhaust which I’ll add once painting is done.

Next, the turret. No problems here, everything fits nicely and no filler is required. The gun barrel is a little thin for drilling, so I’m going to leave it solid.

Then it’s on to painting. And I’m going to cheat… I really did consider trying to replicate the German scheme shown in the instructions and on the box, but it looks very challenging indeed. Instead, I found a couple of images of an abandoned AB 43 in German service. These appear show an example finished in one overall colour. It looks lighter than German dunklegelb (dark yellow) and I’m guessing it’s sand or something close. It also seems to have a small stowage bin added to the rear of the turret.

That’s what I have decided to go for here. I fabricate a simple turret stowage bin out of plastic card. It was only later that I realised I didn’t need to do this. There is an unused part on the sprue (part 46) that isn’t mentioned in the instructions or shown on any of the external views but which appears to be a turret stowage bin!

Then I  give the whole thing an overall coat of a fairly light sand colour.

I then add some dry brushed highlights, the tools, exhaust and tyres. It’s worth noting that the exhaust on the original had four distinct lobes but here, due I suspect to moulding limitations, it just has two, so I scribe an extra line on the front face to suggest four lobes. I also add some simple decals from the spares box – if you read my In-Box review for this kit, you’ll know that it came without decals. Italeri did offer to supply decals, but only if I paid for the privilege of receiving what should have been there in the first place…

Finally, it gets a coat of clear varnish and a dark brown oil wash and that’s it done.

After Action Report

Other than for the assembly of the lower hull, which I found a little fiddly, this was a simple and stress-free build. And, as far as I can tell, it builds into a reasonably accurate model of this small and little-known Italian armoured car. I’m still a little irritated that I built a new turret stowage bin when one already seems to be included, but it doesn’t get a mention in the instructions and I didn’t notice it until I was finished.

As you can see, I have left off the width indicators on the mudguards, because these often weren’t fitted and the Jerrycans, which were more often seen on vehicles used in North Africa. Other than that, this is built as provided (though using my own decals, of course…).

If you fancy a bit of fun kit building, you could do a lot worse than this offering from Italeri. And if you’re feeling bold or if you have some time on your hands, you could even try the suggested colour scheme!

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Takom 1/72 Chieftain Mk 5 and FV 432 2/1 (5008) – FV 432 Build Review

Because this kit includes two separate models, I’ll be covering each in its own build review. And I’m going to start with the tiny FV 432 personnel carrier.

I begin by constructing the lower hull, and it very quickly becomes obvious that this isn’t your average 1/72 kit. The lower hull assembly has generally taken just ten minutes or so to assemble in most of the small-scale armour kits I have built. Here, this step involves the assembly of around 50 parts, many of which are very tiny. Just getting to the point shown in the image below took me a couple of hours, some swearing and a fair amount of fighting with the carpet-monster.

Take, for example, the two small stowage boxes on either side of the rear hull door. Each comprises no less than five very small separate parts and getting them assembled and straight takes a bit of time. There is nothing intrinsically wrong here – fit is generally very good and the instructions do a reasonable job of showing where everything goes, but assembly here is notably more complex and fiddly than you’ll find on most small-scale armour kits. Overall, this feels like a scaled-down 1/35 kit rather than something purpose-designed for 1/72. That said, the end result does look nicely detailed!

Then, it’s on to the upper hull and more of the same. There are in excess of 40 parts, many of them very tiny. There are over 20 of those tiny cylinders at each corner and in the centre (I don’t know what they are), and each is a separate part, just 3mm long. I leave off the pintle-mounted machine gun and shovels for the moment, to make painting simpler. 

Next, I add the front hull panel, which includes lots more tiny parts, but at least the fit of the panel to the lower hull is very good.

Then I join the upper and lower hull, and fit is again very good indeed.

Then I work on the tracks. These are cleanly moulded and the top run has appropriate sag included. I fix the single links to the sprocket and idler and join the three bottom runs together. The main issue is the tiny size of the individual links and getting these even reasonably straight is a challenge, especially where the single links fit on the sprocket. I use the jig provided, and end up with a separate upper and lower run for each side.

Finally, I add the PE mudflaps and the PE shopping basket (though I’m sure that’s not what it’s really called…) on the upper hull, though I don’t glue this in place at the moment to make painting simpler.

And that, apart from adding the exhaust, tools and tow cables, is pretty much construction of this tiny FV 432 complete. Phew! If I’m honest, nothing is too horribly difficult and fit is generally very good, but there certainly are lots more tiny pieces here than you get on most 1/72 AFV kits! Generally, construction of an AFV kit is something I get out of the way fairly quickly so I can get started on painting, but here, construction takes a fair amount of time and effort. This isn’t an easy or quick build by any means but there is more crisp detail here than I have come across previously in this scale.

Anyway, now I can finally start painting. I have decided to finish this as a vehicle of the Royal Scots during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, so I begin with a coat of Vallejo Light Sand. It’s a little light (though the colour applied to British AFVs in that operation was fairly light, and it seemed to bleach quickly in the sun), but once it’s weathered with an oil wash, it should come closer to the look of the original.

Then I paint the small details and add dry-brushed highlights and add everything but the mesh basket on the upper hull. The tracks are quite fiddly to get in position and lined-up, but they look OK once they’re done.

Then I add the decals and give it a coat of clear varnish.

Then, it gets a dark brown oil wash to bring out the shadows, tone down the base colour and make the whole thing look grubby and streaked.

The final job is to add and some dust and dirt to the lower hull, tracks and running gears using pastels. And with that, this tiny FV 432 is finally done.

After Action Report

This wasn’t a relaxing or simple build. Fit is generally very good, but there are an awful lot of very tiny parts here. The link and length tracks were a bit of a pain to build, mainly because the single links are so tiny. Getting the roadwheels even close to straight and level is also a problem because of very small, delicate mountings. This is a kit where I’d quite like to build a second example, just because I feel like through doing this first one, I have learned how to do it right the second time!

However, there are no problems in terms of overall accuracy as far as I can see and the final result looks OK. It’s certainly difficult to see how you could have a more detailed 1/72 AFV kit. All the mouldings are sharp and that leads to a finished model where the detail really pops.

This certainly isn’t a kit for a beginner, but if you’re confident of your building skills, it can end up as a really nice finished model. Overall, I’d recommend this if you are interested in modern British armour and if you’re a confident kit-builder. Next, I’ll be working on the other half of this kit – the Chieftain tank. I’m hoping that will be a little easier to build, if only because it is slightly bigger and that should make things like the tracks easier to work with. 

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Dragon 1/72 Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf. L Late production (7645) Armor Neo Pro Build Review

I begin with construction of the lower hull. The plastic parts all go together with no problems, but then I try to fit the large PE grill that goes on the underside of the rear hull, and it just doesn’t seem to fit. I trim it down until it does, but then discover that it fouls the exhausts, so I make an executive decision to leave it off. That leaves an opening under the rear hull but, on the completed model, this would only be visible from underneath, so I’m not too concerned.

Then I assemble the various parts on the track guards. Some are really tiny, but location is clear and fit is good, so that’s OK.

I then add the track guards to the lower hull. Again fit is very good, though it takes some careful positioning to get these straight.

Then I complete the upper hull by adding the PE parts. Happily, both grills fit perfectly, though the instructions are a little vague about where the upper armour plate on the upper hull front goes, so it takes some squinting at images of actual Panzer III Ausf. Ls to figure this out.

The upper and lower hull fit together very nicely indeed with no gaps and no need for filler anywhere.

Construction of the turret is straightforward, though it’s a little tricky to get the rear stowage bin straight and level and you do have to be careful to get the mantlet/armour/gun assembly to line up.

I check the fit of the turret on the hull, and everything looks fine.

Hey, it feels like I’m making good progress here. So far, the build has been OK – a bit fiddly in places, but fit is generally good. Then I start to work on the tracks and running gear and it all goes a bit pear-shaped. The first problem becomes obvious when I join the two halves of the sprockets and idlers and then offer these up to the hull (I want them temporarily in place so that I can check the fit of the upper and lower runs of the tracks). There is a pin on the rear of the hull, but no locating hole on the idler (you can see the lack of a hole in the idler in the image below). Similarly, there is a pin on the sprockets, but no corresponding hole in the hull. It isn’t a disaster – I simply drill 1mm holes in the right places and everything goes together, but the instructions don’t mention a need to do this. That does seem odd to me – is this normal on Dragon tank kits?

Then I offer up the upper and lower track runs, and it gets even odder. As you can see from the image below, both are too long. I mean much too long, with perhaps nine or ten links more than is required, top and bottom. According to the instructions, the upper run should extend from the centre of the sprocket to the centre of the idler and then you should use the individual links to create the curve where the track passes over the sprocket and idler, which is a pretty standard approach for link-and-length tracks. The ends of the lower run will be bent up outside the area of the roadwheels, so it does need to be a little longer, but not this long! I do a quick search online and find a decent image of the link-and-length tracks for the Revell 1/72 Panzer III Ausf. L, and the top run there is 32 links long. Here, it’s 42 links. I don’t get it – these are clearly 1/72 Panzer III tracks which look nicely to scale in terms of link size and spacing, but the upper and lower runs provided don’t fit and I can’t just cut them down or they won’t engage properly with the single links.

After a bit of head-scratching, I decide to adopt the simplest possible solution. Fortunately, the upper and lower track runs are thin and quite flexible, so I start by wrapping the front nine links of the upper run round the sprocket and I glue these in place. That will leave the free end of this track run extending as far as the centre of the idler at the rear.

Then, I also glue the front of the lower run to the sprocket, bend it into position to fit round the roadwheels and then bend it round the idler and glue it in place. Obviously, you do need to be patient here and to frequently check what you’re doing by placing the whole assembly on the hull to ensure that everything lines up. This is what I end up with, and I only needed to use one of the single track links to join the gap on the idler between the upper and lower runs.

Here are the tracks in position on the hull and with the roadwheels temporarily in place (and you’ll see that I have tried to include some sag on the top run). I don’t think it looks too terrible, but it takes time and a fair amount of fiddling to get there and this isn’t how the instructions say the tracks should be constructed. I have looked at a number of reviews of other small scale Dragon kits that use Neo Tracks, and I haven’t seen this issue mentioned. Has anyone else come across this? At least this does leave me with plenty of spare single track links which I can assemble into a short run and place in the front hull stowage area!

With the tracks on both sides finished, that’s construction pretty much done so I can begin painting. I start with the hull sides, running gear and tracks. I’m using Vallejo German Grey for the base colour. This seems to be a good match for Dunklegrau, though it is rather dark and in real life this paint seemed to quickly fade to a much lighter colour, so I will be lightening it and adding  even lighter dry-brushed highlights. And of course, I’ll be painting the tiny roadwheel and return roller tyres, not one of my favourite parts of building any tank kit! The tracks get a dark grey base coat, then gunmetal highlights on the treads.

These tracks were a real chore to build because of the over-long runs, but I think they look all right now they’re finished and painted. Then, it’s on to the hull and turret. Everything gets a base coat of lightened German Grey, then I add some drybrushed highlights on sharp edges and raised areas.

Then I paint the tools on the track-guards and tow cables on the rear hull, And that’s a bit of a pain because they’re so tiny.

Then I add the decals, the spare roadwheels, jack, headlights and spare tracks and give it all a coat of matt varnish. I am using a different varnish here. Previously, I have used AK Interactive Matte Varnish (AK 190) and while it’s OK, it sometimes gives more of a satin finish. This time, I’m using Vallejo Premium Airbrush varnish, and even brush painting, I notice that this gives a totally consistent, truly matt finish. Then, it all gets a wash with a dark grey oil to emphasize shadows and grubby everything up a bit and finally I add some dust with artist’s pastils and that’s it done.

After Action Report

In my In-Box review, I wondered whether Neo Tracks might be the answer to my continuing track problems? On the basis of what I found here, the answer is no! I still have no idea why the upper and lower track runs here were much too long. And that’s a problem because it means you can’t really build the tracks using the technique suggested. The result looks sort of OK, and these tracks are accurate in terms of detail, but the finished result isn’t notably better than you’ll find in other kits with link-and-length tracks.

Otherwise, this kit is pretty good. Fit is great just about everywhere and it does seem to build into a very accurate representation of the Panzer III Ausf. L. OK, it would have been good if the tools and tow cables were separate parts, and perhaps the five vent covers on the rear deck too – in reality, these didn’t sit flush with the deck, but slightly above, and this isn’t shown here. I tried to paint areas of shadow round these vents to suggest that they’re separate items, but still, actually having separate parts would have been good.

And, contrary to what I claimed in the In-Box review, the exhaust, smoke launchers and other bits and bobs are included here that will allow you to finish this as an Ausf. M if you want (though this isn’t mentioned on the box or in the instructions) . You could even use the suggested Dunklegelb finish with that version… Overall, this is a perfectly reasonable little kit. It’s not perfect and it does seem a little expensive for what you get, but it builds into a nice representation of the Panzer III Ausf. L (or M).

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SMER (Heller) 1/72 Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (0833) Build Review

I begin the build with the cockpit area, and what’s provided in the kit is pretty sparse – a floor, two seats, an instrument panel and a stick. However, All I’m going add are some harness straps to the seats. You could add more, but I’m not sure how much would actually be visible on the finished model.

I then fit the cockpit floor in place, and that isn’t as easy as you might think. It takes a bit of fiddling to get it all straight. And this isn’t the only time I’ll be saying that during this build…

Then, I do the only other bit of additional detail I’m going to add here, the inverted cylinders for the Argus engine. On the original, the front bank of two cylinders are clearly visible through the cooling vent on the front of the cowling. On this kit, all you get is the opening. So I make up something that looks a little like the cylinders and pushrod tubes out of bits of sprue and stretched sprue. It all looks a bit rough here…

But with everything temporarily joined, I think it will look OK from the front when it’s all painted.

Then, I paint the engine, the engine compartment and the interior of the cockpit. I add some harness straps to the seats – these are just drafted out in a graphics program and printed on a laser printer. They wouldn’t stand close inspection, but I hope they’ll add some visual interest to what is otherwise a rather empty cockpit.

I also attempt to dry-brush some detail on to the instrument panel. Not easy because what little detail is there is barely raised at all.

Then I join the fuselage halves and add the cowling nose. Fit is, well, just about OK but less than perfect. A little sanding and some filler will be needed to fill the worst of the gaps. 

With the fuselage and nose joins sanded and filled I add the tailplanes and struts, and that isn’t simple either. Location consists of a single, small, short round peg on the tailplanes and a corresponding hole in the tail. This doesn’t give a clear or strong fit and you’re going to need to carefully position and prop the tailplanes while the glue sets. I guess that’s just how things were back in the 1970s when this kit was first released!

The wing halves are then joined and there aren’t any problems here, though location isn’t well defined and you do have to be careful to get congruence between the upper and lower halves.

Next, I add the leading-edge slats to the wings and again, that’s tricky due to vague location. Several plastic pegs are moulded into the leading edges of the wings, but there are no corresponding locating holes in the slats into which these fit. You have to glue the slats roughly into place, then prop them while the glue dries, keeping your fingers crossed that you’ll end up with something that looks plausible and matches on both sides.

In terms of overall construction, I’m going for the Luftwaffe version, and the camo scheme on the top of the fuselage, wings and tailplanes will need masking. All the struts that support the wings and undercarriage will get in the way, so I’m going to paint the wings and fuselage first and separately, then I’ll add the canopy and finally the wings and undercarriage. Next, I work on painting the canopy framing. I begin by taking the canopy parts off the sprue and doing some basic masking. And wow, there are a great many tiny sections of masking required! I’m not complaining – one of the reasons I chose the Storch as a subject was so that I could work on my (in)ability to mask and paint canopy frames. You have to take your time, use a series of fresh blades in your craft-knife/scalpel and aim for a state of tranquil focus. Or something like that… It took over an hour to get to the stage below, where I’m ready to start slopping some paint on the canopy.

And this is the result. It’s, well, not as bad as some of other attempts at framing. Though that isn’t a high bar to exceed! Of course, I still have to join the five pieces of the canopy together, and I have a feeling that’s going to be tricky.

But for the moment, I put the canopy aside and begin painting the fuselage and wings. I start by painting the lower surfaces light blue, then masking and painting the base, lighter green on top.

Then, guess what? It’s time for even more masking to delineate the splinter camo scheme on the upper surfaces.  And when I peel off the tape, just to add to my usual masking woes, the base green paint lifts off in places. This only happens on the fuselage and tail, but quite large sections of paint are removed (as you can see below). I don’t really understand why – I’m using my usual masking tape, I didn’t burnish it down particularly hard and the Vallejo acrylic paint I’m using is the same I always use. Oh, well, some careful touching up is required.

But at least I end up with pretty much what I was aiming for.

Next I add the decals. These are pretty good – dense, but not too thick and printed nicely in-register. I do notice that in a couple of places, most obviously on the fuselage identification letters (though it isn’t noticeable in photographs), there is some silvering, though I used both Decal Fix and Decal Softener.

Next I assemble the five parts of the canopy. It’s not easy to get everything aligned and the canopy has to be both accurately and robustly assembled because the wings attach directly to tabs on the top. And I’m not going to say that this is impossible, because clearly it isn’t, but it is very, very tricky. You’ll be juggling five separate and oddly shaped parts that just don’t fit particularly well while trying to get everything to line up. I’m happy and relieved to end up with something that looks even approximately correct.

Next, I touch up the areas of green that have become chipped, give everything a coat of clear varnish and then I attempt to attach the wings and struts. And again, that’s fiddly. The fit of the wings on to the stubs on the canopy top isn’t great – there is a fair amount of play. So, the underwing struts are needed to avoid droopy wings and keep everything in place, but these don’t fit especially well either. The small struts that fit into the wings inboard of the main struts also don’t quite seem to fit – they seem too short to connect with the main struts when they’re in place. In the end, I prop everything straight and level and hope that it will be close to right when the glue sets.

When the glue on the wings and main struts is dry, I move on to the final part of construction, the fragile undercarriage. For a change, this isn’t tricky, it’s fiendishly difficult – this is turning out to be a much more challenging build than I had anticipated! On each side, there is a single vertical leg that includes the shock-absorber and wheel and these are held in place by a pair of V shaped struts that glue into the fuselage underside (though no locating holes are provided) and side and to the undercarriage leg. Or at least, that’s the theory… On the pointed end of the end of the main, lower strut, there is a small pin, but there is nothing at all to fix this into on the undercarriage leg, and the instructions don’t really give any clues of how these are meant to join. In the end, I file off the pin (which seems to serve no purpose anyway) and attach the point of the strut with a butt joint to the top of a small box on the inside of the undercarriage legs. That isn’t really very satisfactory, but I just can’t see any other way of joining the undercarriage legs and supporting strut. With that done, trying to then get the undercarriage leg to attach to the underside of the wing while simultaneously getting the struts fixed to the fuselage underside is an exercise in swear-inducing frustration.

Then, when you have finally managed to get one leg sort of attached, you still have another to go! I think that trying to get both undercarriage legs attached and reasonably congruent on this Storch  is one of the most frustrating things I have attempted since I restarted modelling, mainly because there are no clear attachment points with which to join these parts. I recently wrote in another article how kit-building can induce Zen-like feelings of relaxation. Well, trust me on this, not if you’re building this Storch! I finally get both legs approximately attached, and leave everything to set.

The last thing to do is to fit the two smaller, upper V shaped struts that also support the undercarriage legs. And while there are sockets on the fuselage sides for these, if you place the open end of the strut in the sockets, the other end doesn’t line up with the undercarriage leg. I do the best that I can and I fudge the location of these struts so that they look just about right.

The biggest surprise comes when the glue is set and I turn the model right way up to discover that, despite all the problems with assembly, everything sits pretty much straight and level. That I didn’t expect! With the last construction completed, I add an oil wash to highlight recessed detail on the wings and tail and that’s this tiny Storch finally finished!

After Action Report

The first half of construction here was fine. Fit was OK, though perhaps location is a little vague. Then came adding the leading-edge slats, building the canopy, adding the wings and struts and finally the undercarriage and associated struts. And none of that was any fun at all. Fit is horrible or non-existent, parts just don’t seem to fit in locating holes (except where those aren’t provided at all) and getting the undercarriage attached and straight was just a series of frustrations. Perhaps none of those things are really a surprise given that this is really a 1970s kit, but these problems make it very difficult to recommend this one and it certainly isn’t suitable for a newcomer to this hobby.

Which is kind of a shame, because somehow, despite all the problems and the fact that things like the struts are clearly oversize, the finished model does nicely capture the flimsy and inelegant look of the Storch. As a finished kit, this kit is sort of OK but it surely was a struggle to get there!

I have read a few other build reviews of various iterations of this kit, and while some do mention construction challenges, none prepared me for just how awkward this would be to build. This is difficult. Really difficult. And not in a good way. It’s hard to see precisely where some parts fit, the instructions provide nothing more than broad hints and a few bits seem to be the wrong length or size. If you really want a 1/72 Storch, you may be prepared to put up with all this but honestly, I’d suggest you consider spending your cash elsewhere if you want to retain your sanity.

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Revell 1/72 Spitfire Mk Vb (03897) Build Review

I start this build by addressing a couple of things I want to change. First is the spinner. I’m fairly certain that what Revell have done here is to simply copy the spinner and propellor originally provided with their new-tool Spitfire Mk IIa released in 2016. But the Vb spinner was distinctively different: longer and with the propellor mounted further forward (the Vb propellor is also heftier, but I can’t think of any simple way to address that, so I’ll be using the provided prop). The extended spinner does make the nose of the Vb look notably different – you can see what I mean on these images below of two Spitfires from the RAF Museum. These show a Spitfire Mk Ia (left) and Vb (right).

You’ll also note that the Vb spinner sits flush with the front of the fuselage while there is a distinct gap between the Mk Ia spinner and the front of the fuselage. The part that needs attention here is part 6 from sprue A, the base of the spinner. And while most of this kit has sharp detail and clean moulding, this part doesn’t. It has prominent moulding seams front and back, it isn’t entirely flat on either side and it isn’t even circular. In short, it looks as though it has been carved out of warm plasticene with a rusty spoon.

After I clean it up, I add a disk of 1mm thick plastic card to the front of this part, drilling the small piece of card to fit over the pin on which the propellor fits. Then, I add the prop and spinner. When the glue is dry, I sand the resulting extended spinner to something closer to the shape and size of the original. Above you can see a loose test-fit of the reshaped spinner within the temporarily joined fuselage halves. Certainly not perfect, but I think this does now look at least a little less wrong than what was provided in the box. With that small job done, I begin the next piece of work, seeing if I can cut out the cockpit access door so that I can show it open. That shouldn’t be too difficult, but to show that door open, I need to be able to show the canopy in the open position so the first step is checking that this is actually possible.

The canopy is provided in three separate parts: the windscreen, the sliding bubble canopy and the short glazed rear section. I thought that meant I’d be able to show the canopy open, in the fully slid-back position. I was wrong. On the original and in the fully slid-back position, the canopy sits over the rear fuselage, just ahead of the radio mast as you can see above. Out of the box, the sliding part of the canopy provided here does not fit over the fuselage, not even close. And while trying to wrestle it into place, I managed to split the sliding part of the canopy in half, which caused the inadvertent startling of my cat through a sudden stream of expletives. I don’t really understand this – what’s the point of providing a canopy in three parts if you cannot show it in the open position? Having said that the canopy doesn’t look too thick in the in-box review, I now have to revise this: it is too thick to be placed in the open position without a fair amount of work. It would probably be fine if you assemble the three parts in the closed position, but that’s not what I want to do.

I’ll continue with the build, but I’ll need to try to source a vacuuform replacement canopy. I said in the In-Box review that I appreciated the ability to be able show the canopy open (that was actually one of the reasons I chose this kit!) but don’t be fooled by the fact that the canopy here is provided in three parts: you can’t show it in the open position without risking breaking it as I did. At least cutting out the access door is simple. You can see above everything blue-tacked roughly into position. With those jobs done, I move on to construction, following the sequence in the instructions. I begin by assembling and painting the five parts that comprise the cockpit and I add the decals for the instrument panel and the Sutton harnesses.

The finished cockpit actually looks OK, though the decal harness straps look a little cartoon-like. I then assemble the fuselage halves with the cockpit inside. Fit is, well, sort of OK, but a long way short of perfect: no matter how tightly it’s clamped, the is a small but noticeable gap on the fuselage top, just behind the cockpit. The halves themselves aren’t flat and some filling, sanding and re-scribing of panel lines will be required to get rid of the most obvious joins.

Interlude: Replacement Canopy

Having messed up the kit canopy while trying to wrestle it into place in the open position, I have sourced a replacement vacuuform canopy. I haven’t used one of these before, so I thought I’d share the experience.  I have gone for a canopy from Czech company Rob Taurus, mainly because these seem to be readily available here in Spain and for less than €3. RT don’t do a canopy specifically for the Revell Vb, so I have gone for one intended for the Tamiya Mk V on the basis that one 1/72 Spitfire V canopy just can’t be too different to any other. I think…

And this is what you get…

The moulding looks sharp and the framing seems to be  nicely defined. Obviously, all parts will have to be carefully cut out of the surrounding plastic. One thing worth noting is that there are gaps comprising scrap plastic moulded between the windscreen, sliding section and rear portion of the canopy. I’m hoping that will make it easier to cut these out as three separate parts, but it means that even if you plan to show the canopy closed, you’ll still have to cut the three parts out separately and then fix them together. Before I start cutting, I pack the canopy with plasticene to stop the thin plastic from distorting while I cut.

Then, with a fresh craft knife or scalpel blade, you start scoring, very lightly and carefully, round the edges of the part. This does take some care and a steady hand, so make you have had (or not had, depending how it affects you) your daily coffee before you start.

This what I end up with. It still needs some cleaning up with emery paper, but it isn’t too bad. And a quick check suggests that it fits in place much better in the open position that the canopy provided with the kit.

I haven’t yet decided if I’ll be using the rest of the Rob Taurus canopy or the kit parts, but with that out of the way, it’s back to main construction. I do a dry-fit of the wings to check fit. The wing-root joins are very good and will barely require filler, which is great. What’s not so great is the fit of the separate wingtips. The join is very evident and the profile and leading edges of the wingtips don’t seem to quite match the profile of the wings – filling, sanding and re-scribing of panel lines will clearly be needed here.

I deal with the wingtips and add the wings, rudder and other bits and pieces to complete main construction. Overall, fit is pretty good in most places and no major sanding or filling is required.

Next, I begin painting with several light coats of Vallejo Light Sea Grey on the underside.

Then, I move on the top and begin with a couple of light coats of Humbrol Acrylic Ocean Grey. And it’s immediately apparent that it’s just much too dark. As you’ll know if you’re a regular reader, I don’t care too much about precise colour matches on my kits, but this is too far from the original even for me.

I mix up a lightened version of the same colour and repaint, which at least looks closer to the original.

Then I add the dark green camo. The grey still looks a little dark, but I can probably live with it.

Then it’s on to painting the yellow panels on the outboard sections of the wing leading edges, something I’m not looking forward to because it involves masking and that’s something I almost always have problems with. This time it isn’t too bad – not great, mind you, just not as crap as usual.

Next, I add the windscreen and the fixed rear part of the canopy. I decided to use the kit parts rather than the replacement vacuuform parts but there is a problem: I attempt to use the larger, armoured windscreen, and it just doesn’t fit. Even after lots of filing and sanding, the lower front part of the windscreen (which does look way overscale) floats above the fuselage. Finally, I give up and instead use the smaller of the two kit windscreens which does at least fit and looking at photos, this actually looks more like the windscreen on a Mk Vb Spitfire than the armoured version!

I add the sliding part of the canopy (using a dab of PA glue) and the cockpit access door. Next, it’s time to apply the decals, and there are quite a few. They’re nicely dense and printed precisely in-register, and they’re not too thick – they conform well to what’s underneath with a couple of applications of Vallejo Decal Softener. The only tricky bits are the tail ring, which comes in two pieces with a join on the top of the fuselage and the patches over the machine gun muzzles.  Getting the tail ring lined up without any gap takes a bit of fiddling and the small red patches just don’t want to bend over the wing leading edges.  

Then, I add the propellor, undercarriage, exhausts and radio mast. No problems with fit, and finally, I add some oil paint streaks and shadows and that’s this Revell Spitfire Vb done. 

After Action Report

For whatever it’s worth, I don’t feel, as I have read elsewhere, that this is a terrible kit. Though I’d have to say that it’s not completely wonderful either. The kit spinner is too small, you can’t show the canopy open and the armoured windscreen won’t fit in any way that looks credible. Set against that, the overall shape and proportions of the wings, tail and fuselage look pretty good to me (though I haven’t measured them) and while perhaps some of the surface detail isn’t 100% accurate, overall, it doesn’t look too  bad. The decals seem comprehensive and I do like the harness decals – I think they notably improve the cockpit interior.

I wanted a cheap kit on which I could practise my rusty aircraft kit building skills, and this certainly allowed me to do that. It’s as cheap as it gets for any 1/72 kit, in most places fit really isn’t too bad and there is really nothing here that would challenge the skills of even a novice kit-builder. If that’s what you’re looking for, you won’t be disappointed. If you want a totally accurate 1/72 Spitfire Vb, you may want to look elsewhere. 

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Airfix 1/72 Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero (A01005) Build Review

I’m going to build this straight out of the box, though I will be trying to add flaps.

First step is the cockpit, and I’m impressed with the level of detail. I’d be tempted to add even more items such as harnesses if the cockpit could be shown open, but as it can only be closed, I’m keeping it standard.

I paint the interior in Vallejo Olive Green, which seems a reasonable match for N5 Light Olive Green used on some Japanese aircraft. I add a wash of dark grey oil to pick out the shadows and the two instrument panel decals.

Next, I join the fuselage halves and add the upper front panel that includes the cowling machine guns. Fit is pretty good, though a little filler is needed to blend in the upper cowling panel.

Then, I join the upper and lower wings and cut off the wingtips. Fit is again very good. I also cut out the flaps, which I’ll be building out of plastic card and adding in the take-off position.

I do a dry-fit of the wings, and there is a fairly noticeable gap between the wing roots and the fuselage.

It only takes a little filler and some sanding to get a reasonable join between wings and fuselage. I also add the tailplanes and rudder, and these fit very nicely with no filler required.

I add the flaps in the extended position – these are simply fabricated with thin plastic card and some plastic strip for the framing.

Then I hand-paint the cockpit framing. And, to be honest, it isn’t great. But I’m really not confident about masking such tiny panels, and I’ll try to clean it up a little later using a sharp blade. I also use a little filler to blend in the rear part of the cockpit with the fuselage.

Now, it’s time for paint. There seem to be a great many opinions about the actual colour used on aircraft of the IJN. The latest research seems to indicate that these were painted a fairly light grey, though in some lighting conditions this is described as having a green or brown tinge. It certainly isn’t as light as used to be thought – it seems that this paint finish faded lighter as it was exposed to sunlight. Looking at photographs of aircraft from late 1941 (which this kit is supposed to be) also shows the rudder, ailerons and elevators as being slightly lighter. You can see what I mean on this image of the rear fuselage of a Zero shot down during the attack on Pearl Harbor below.

I believe that the whole aircraft was painted in a single colour, so I guess that perhaps the paint reacted differently when applied to the fabric covered control surfaces? Anyway, I have decided to use Vallejo Light Sea Grey as the base colour with lightened rudder, elevators and ailerons.

Here it is after several thinned coats. I painted the cowling black, then overpainted in dark grey, leaving recessed detail and the gun troughs in black.

Then, I add the decals. These go on without any problems, though they are quite thick – even after several applications of Vallejo Decal Softener, they don’t conform to the detail underneath.

I then give it a coat of clear varnish and a wash in dark grey oil to highlight panel lines and recessed areas, and I am surprised at how much difference this makes. It really gives the aircraft a much more 3D look. The interior of the flaps, wheel-wells, interior of the undercarriage doors and ends of the folded wing tips are painted in viridian, a blue-green intended to replicate the Aotake anti-corrosion finish used on some IJN Zeros. I’m not certain this is actually correct for an aircraft that took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor because it was only used on aircraft manufactured by Nakajima, but I like the look of it and it provides a nice contrast to the grey finish.

I then add the wingtips, and propellor. Finally, I complete the undercarriage and this is the only really fiddly part of the build. Location is imprecise and the main legs are very wobbly, so I do the best I can. I’ll probably add a stretched sprue radio antenna later but apart from that, this Zero is finished!

After Action Report

This was a fun build! Fit is generally very good, with the exception of the wobbly undercarriage legs. Detail is nicely done and the recessed panel lines work very well with an oil wash. Overall, if you want an inexpensive and straightforward introduction to aviation modelling, you could do much worse.

OK, I would have been happier if the cockpit could have been shown open and perhaps the decals are a little thick, but those are really the only issues I encountered. If this is representative of the quality of these new Airfix mouldings, I’m impressed. The only thing I would suggest is that if you’re building one of these, it would probably be worth buying a pre-cut mask for the canopy. What joy to discover that Airfix 1/72 aircraft kits can still provide kit-building pleasure. Now, if I can just find an Airfix aircraft kit with an opening cockpit canopy..

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Italeri 1/72 AH-64D (080) Build Review

One thing I noticed when I began this build (and which I missed in the In-Box Review) is that there are two sprues here, but though they are completely different, both are identified as “080 A”, moulded into a tab on the sprue. The instructions refer to them as A and B. This isn’t by any means a major problem, but it does perhaps indicate a certain carelessness in the making of the moulds for this kit.  As you follow this build, you’ll realise that this isn’t the only issue with these parts…

Anyway, I start on this kit by attempting to improve the shape of the rear of the fuselage sponsons. These are completely the wrong shape so I start by cutting off the rear of the existing sponson.

Then, I create a new rear part of the sponson using plastic card and filler. The result certainly isn’t perfect, but I believe it is closer than the kit version.

Next I work on the cockpit tub. No real problems here and I don’t spend a great deal of time on detail given that this is obviously the wrong cockpit for this model of AH-64. The seats are a problem. They include harness shoulder straps, which is nice. But they also have distinct ejector pin marks right in the centre of the rear seat cushion, right between the straps. If you sand off the pin marks, you’ll lose the strap detail…

Before I join the fuselage halves, I check the fit of the cockpit, and I’m glad I do because it’s around 2mm short.

In the image below, you can also see just how bad fit between the fuselage halves is – look at the area in front of the cockpit and the mounting hole for the upper sensor module… I use filler to build up the front edge of the cockpit in the hope that this will help to hide the gap.

Then, I join the fuselage halves. Fit, frankly, is horrible. There are locating pins, but even using these as guides, the two halves just don’t match up – this is especially noticeable on the top of the nose, ahead of the cockpit. After lots of sanding and the use of a fair amount of filler, I end up with a fairly smooth join, but of course I lose all the raised panel lines and rivet detail in the areas where I have sanded the joins.

Then I assemble the halves of the engine pods. Again, these have locating pins and again, the top and bottom halves just don’t line up. This leaves a very noticeable seam between the halves. I’m going to sand and fill to remove this, but this also means that I’ll be removing virtually all the detail from the outside of the pods. Just take a look at the image below (and yes, I have used the locating pegs and holes to line the pod halves up). I really can’t remember the last time that I dealt with this level of fit issue, though I suspect it was around 1972… 

After a great deal of filling and sanding, I end up with engine pods that look just about OK, though as you can see, they now lack surface detail on the outside. I have also added the undercarriage and the horizontal stabilator, which is tricky to fit straight.

I go on to add other bits and pieces to the fuselage, including the canopy and the underwing stores. I used filler to build up the fuselage ahead of the canopy, but more was needed at the rear of the canopy to cover a small gap. In addition, the Hellfire missiles really don’t look anything like the originals and the endcaps for the Hydra rocket pods fit badly – lots of sanding and filling is required to get smooth cylinders.

Final construction of the fuselage is completed and happily, I don’t encounter any further serious fit problems. I also construct the rotor head, blades and Longbow radar and these go together precisely and  with no problems at all – hurrah! These are temporarily fitted, but I’ll be leaving them off until painting is finished. I also Ieave off a couple of small antenna that don’t seem to appear on operational versions of the AH-64D – I guess that these were perhaps unique to the prototype? As you can guess, I haven’t enjoyed this build at all but now, finally, I’m ready to start painting.

Masking the cockpit is less of a problem than it can be simply because the canopy comprises mainly large, flat panels. I go for several thinned coats of Vallejo Russian Uniform for the base coat. The instructions suggest olive drab, but I’m going for a British Army Air Corps version and these seem to be a lighter green (and current US Army AH-64s are painted grey, not green). I add some highlights and pick out details like the sensor panels and hydra rocket heads in a light grey and add the decals.

Finally it gets a grey oil wash to pick out details and make the whole thing look well-used. Most images of operational AH-64s show them with blotchy, discoloured and chipped paint. With that done, this Italeri AH-64 is finally finished. One thing I’m particularly disappointed about on the finished kit is that the pilot’s control panel is clearly visible, and is equally clearly the wrong panel for this model of AH-64.

After Action Report

If you want to build a small scale AH-64, buy one of the Academy kits. Or anything else at all rather than this, the kit that time forgot. I have read in other reviews that fit on this kit is “indifferent.” I disagree. Fit is only indifferent in the good parts. In many places, it’s utter crap. You’ll be left with the choice of leaving very visible seams, or sanding and filling which will remove much of the raised surface detail. Some parts, such as the cockpit, just don’t fit the opening in the fuselage.

I had initially thought of adding some detail here. The M230 chain gun, for example, lacks the distinctive protective cage fitted on all Apaches and the Hellfire missiles used by the British Army have distinctive markings for which decals are not provided. But really, I couldn’t be bothered given all the other problems I encountered here. By the time I finished just building this kit, I was losing the will to live…

I had been really looking forward to building an aviation subject for the first time in a number of years before I began this build but, as a wise man once said: “This is no fun, no fun at all.*” I’m not normally a giver-upper, but I really struggled to find the enthusiasm to finish this build. I have built some old kits since I re-started kit-building a few years back, but I haven’t come across anything quite this bad. Almost every single step of the build involved dealing with deficiencies in fit and mouldings that just don’t match.

Does crap fit and a lack of accuracy make you feel nostalgic for the kits you built as a kid? If so, you might, possibly, enjoy this one. Otherwise, I can’t think of any reason why you’d waste your money on this piece of shoddy tat. Avoid at all costs!

* If you care, it was Johnny Rotten, at the Sex Pistol’s last gig in San Francisco in 1978.

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