CLAUDE BOILEAU HUYNH-DINH KHUONG THOMAS A YOUNG

ENCYCLOP AEDIA

OF

MILITARY MODELS

1/72

AIRCRAFT· MISSILES, SCIENCE-FICTION

VEHICLES· ARTILLERY· FIGURES, WARSHIPS

CONTENTS

Introduction

Aircraft

MIssiles and Science Fiction Vehicles, Artillery, Figures

Warships

History and Acknowledgements How to Obtain Rare Model Kits In2 Scale Model Manufacturers List of Manufacturers

List of Models

Aircraft Missiles Science Fiction

Accessories Ships

6 7 ...... 86

................................... 92

... 94

................................ 97

......... 99

102 103 115 117

186 192 194 201

INTRODUCTION

The defirution of the word "model" In some drcuonancs reads like this "a muuaturc representation of some existmg object. such as a machine or a theatre scenery, which is accurate In lis proportion and aspect", More generally, It can be said that the expression is used to cover all three dimensional reduction of an object,

The Idea of creatmg a reduced version of reahry stems from manifold aspirauons. Archnecrura makes use of models, and so does srupbuildinq for hydrodvnarruc tests. Models are acam used ill the field of aeronautics for aerodynamic research but" apart from technical or industrial requirements, private reasons for buildinq models do exist.

A good model is rather like a work of art thai amateurs handle with care Or indeed content themselves with mspectmg It from all angles, It can be said 10 be real in Its presence and unreal msofar as lt conjures up different places or periods. Models can represent any subject, be It a histoncal event or the brainchild of fiction; technical or human feats, passions, wars or even fancy rank among those mulhple subjects that can be conjured up by models.

Modellers Will often devote a lot of time to making models of what they hke and what they may never be able to afford. That accounts for the universal and growmg appeal of modelling.

Broadly speakmg there are three ways of buildmg a model:

• Straiqht from the box. The assembly of such a model can be very quick and some of them WIll look quite sans'actory, even with simplified assembly and pamtinc,

• Using a kit as a basts, with improved or modified parts, or even conversions, to achieve greater reensm,

• ScratchbuiJdmg, uSlng the best available documents and "raw materials" rancmo from plastic card to copper wire.

These. procedures should enable a modeller to assemble all the aeroplanes of an aerobahc team In a day or, ill the case of the opposite extreme, to spend months or even years to portray Ihat prototype whose rakish lines took his fancy.

Experienced modeUers ~ll not content themselves with assembling their models properly, they wllL. try to analyse kits and to understand the "whys" and "hews" They WIll not hesitate [0 leave aside a PC;0! model and build up their own masterpiece from scratch, so as to evoke the history of the ongmal as accurately as possible.

ADER £Ole - Brifaut

The French name "Avion". meamng a heavier-than-au maclune fitted with wings and desiqncd for flight, was invented by Clement Ader m 1890 who made his childhood dream come true that year, when he built his "Avron 1", better known as Sole. That Ilymq machine was probably the first to actually leave the ground under Its own power. Witness accounts are not unequivocal but Charles Doilfus, a historian and flyer who personally knew Ader, wrote the followmg hnes tn the spnng 1974 issue of tcere magazine (No. 68) devoted entirely to Ader:

"On October 9th, 1890. Clement Ader clearly demonstrated the possibilitv of leaving a flat surface, and malone a progress of 50 yards in a straiqht hne, no more, [or lack of power and stability."

That is one of the reasons why any mention

r- AVRO Cf'-JOO MkN GaiJuck :;> aA.C LJgbmmg F-B

3- ADEREole

4' AERMACCHt MB,32ti 5 AICHlMOOSe!laIl

6· BELL X-J

7 AGUSl'A-BELL AB-205 6 sAC'ISR-2

9 ANTONOV AnE Co!1 10 AVRO Vulcan

(A\lI'Cl1I.) (Froo) (Brilal.1t) CC\marmcd.e1) (l\o:>hlml't) (Airvac) =1 (Comra.il.) (VEB) (Ra,repla.l'le)

of the Eole will raise the creates: interest among a group of rncdellers. Produced more than 20 years ago by Brifaut. the £Ole plastic kit was one of the first to bear the "Made In France" label. In spite of Its age it remams one of the best models of old aircraft In the ln2 scale series.

Pierre Brifaut aimed at several objectives when he designed his kits.

_ he wanted his boxes 10 look better than the others and had the box arts painted by Bernard Brenet, a famous pre-war arhat:

_ he wanted to improve the culture of those who purchased his models; that is the reason why he added a. mstoncsl account of the Eole and a bicoraphy of Ader.

_ he wanted hIS models as accurate as possible and the Bole must have been [he first plastic model to be supphed with a template, fabnc. nylon thread and hqurd cement for covenng and nqqmq, this new

method made assembly much more difficult. So as 10 encourage the average modeller to succeed in spue of the difficulties, Brifaut included two Eote models in each box.

Pierre Brifaut planned [0 make no less than 100 models of French aeroplanes to In2 scale. That scheme was a way for hun to convey hIS views by telling the history of aeroplanes, their manufacturers and their pilots. He hoped thus to urge modellers to go beyond their normal abiliuea Unfortunately, he died before ms schemes cou.ld

meteriahse. He was buried at Presles. a pretty villaqe in the Val d'Oise near Paris. A tribute in his memory IS a must, should you happen to go there.

AVRO CF-IOO - Aurora

This kit was eagerly sought after by

Canadian modellers, although the packaging contains a sLightly oversized model whose mouldmq quahty is not up to present-day standards, but was reasonable when it was released. Purists may prefer 10 work out a CF-JOO from the Hosey Craft model which is a more accurate kit and still avaIlable.

AERMACCHI MB. 326 - Cunarrnodel

The Gua1doni brothers mainly manufacture desk-models for Aennacchi at Cunardo, near varese, Italy. On request of local modellers they develop very unique aircraft kits to ldz and 11100 scale for them. These planes released in small batches u.nder the '

~~~e:h~-O:~~l~~ eagerly sought after

BELL XS-I - Air Vac

On October lqlh, 1941, Captain Charles E. Yeager was the very first in the world to break, the sound barrier with his Bell XS-J n~ed "Glamorous Clenms" to honour his wife. After an outstandmq service this

aircraft performed his 59th and la~t tliqht on ~ay IZt~ 1950. On that day, Charles Yeager ~w It agam In SPUIlOUS Soviet markings for ~/~o:~:~g of a short sequence of the jet

Retired Briqadier General Charles E Yea appeared recently In the film The R/ghl S~ not as himself (Sam Shepard did) b t ' Fred, the bartender at Pancho's baru~: nl ~eetl~g-place In the MOjave desert' for a~ y su~S:r~~~u~i~~~.t pilots Who were pioneering

~ee ta~i~n~~e~odn~ is now displayed in

wesmoatcn DC. pace Museum In

B

The Air Vac vacuformed kit is very cr I made and enables the buildmg of an l3p y excellent model, even If decals are nat included, However, a very line MiCtoscale decal sheet is provided WIth the X-JE mad ~Y the ~me rnanufacnirer The assembl e instrucnon sheet provides a good plan Q.~d quotes the source references used for the design of the kit, particularly the remarkable ooo~ Supersonic Flighr wnrten by Richard P Hallion. Conqratulauons to Air Vac for th . choice of this plane and their good resul~

...

ADER Eole - Didier Palix

ADER Eole - Didier Palix

The Sole is difficult to cover with fabnc. f~nowmg the procedure recommended by Pierre Brifaut, because of lis fleXible structure. Indeed, after glumg, the fabnc has a tendency to blistering. One of 1\1 'P

developed for covenng this jot cc .~, c

inserting thin sheets of plastiC cards eo

to the proper dirnenstcns berweer T

and wrap and glue the whole wit Aeto-Skm. Francois Portier, a me

friendly MKSB (Model Kit Slane

used carbon paper protecnon

replace the Aero-Skin

I' A1CHIEJJAJ]ake ~wa)

a AVRO TnpilUle MJd (Renwii..ll

3' AERO COMMANDSR jel CommandeT (A"W"OiOi)

4' BEnE BD·5 (a99 Moo!!b:)

5 BAC Qmberm PR7 (Trlan\1)

6 J3.ELL AH-JS Toll' Cobru (F'nfimi)

7' AVRO O:IMdII CF-JOO (JlJpM)

S AERO L.29 Del1J1J (KQVQZIlvooy)

9 BERlEV 8e.6 M/l'd¢e (VUol

to aarsrct, /38A fFroo)

tl I3J\C}fJlPI'ovoorMk3 (Jlli1131:)

AlCHl EJ3AJ jake - Haseqawa

Ross Abare owns one of the finest collections of models in the world. He moulded hundreds of Japanese catapults for the sheer pleasure of lrnprovino ms dlOTamas or Japanese €ll!craft. SOme of those catapults were so1d for $3 each by Unique Scale Accessories from Springfield. Massachusetts, USA Haseqawa eventually bought up the mould and now includes Ross Abare's catapult in the Aichi Jake and Kawanishi AJf kits, thereby mcreasmq their once and making a handsome profit

AERO COMMANDERje! CommanderAurora

No Aurora Jet Commander WIll ever be reIssued. As a matter of fact, RIck Waldorf, the Merketmq and Sales Manager of Monogram.

Inc., has confirmed that the mould (bought from Amora) was broken up when the train that was carrymo It. derailed.

8EDS BD-S - 299 Models

The 8D-5 IS the smallest eXlsltng In2 scale aircraft kit. 'I'lus one IS made by Terry Elmore, a dynarruc American who successrully used a press whose rruechon load limit does not exceed ¥~ oz. The bagged kit shown here is of the first release and only offers the jet-powered version, but, WIth some modifications, may also be worked out into a prep-driven version The last release of the BD-5] Includes a decal sheet.

AVRO CANADA CF-JOO- Alpha

Andre Longchamps is an orthopaedistpodoloqist in lneqe, Belgium, Fortunately, he IS also a modeller. When one of hIS models IS parncularty well-made. he moulds 11 and Installs the mould on the machine he currently uses for vacuformmg the prothesis of his patients

The result lies before your eyes one must confess that this patr of Alpha prothesis will net help you If you are suffenng from sore feet, but surely you'll Jump WIth pleasure If you love the CF-l(x),

...

AIRSPEED AS 51 Horsa - Jacques Nict

The military transport gtider HorSa was built dunng WWII, It was deslgned as a troopcarrier and a freighter. 'IWo versions were made the Harsa 1 (AS51) which accommodated from 20 to 25 troops and the Horse II (AS.58) with a hmged nose far the loadmg of vehicles and heavy equipment Roughly 3700 Horsa were bU1U

This Italaeri kit depicts the Horse I version No criticism can be formulated about this. model.

AMIOT 143 - Jacques Niot 10

AMIOT 143 - Jacques Nlot

The all-metal Amiot 143 was i;I Recon/Bcmber. Its double-deck fuselage was lis most charactensnc feature

The Heller kit 1$ to be ranked In the NTB

(not too bad ) category as the

shortcommgs can be corrected without any major difficulty

As a matter of fact. Jacques Nlot modified the vertical fin, enqme cowlings and propellers of hIS Amiot 143. Markmgs ,;are those of aircraft No, 112, 35th Bomber Wmg, 4th Fhght, of the French AlI Force.

When he assembled hIS model jacques had no vacuform machme to mould the transparencies. That IS why he used to sand those provided m the box with finer and fmer gram sandpaper and then polished them with some land of car wax .

..

ARMSTRONG-WfliTWORTH Slsk7nPaul Goujon

The A.W. SJSkw was selected by the Bnnsh An Mimstry as a day fighter m 1926. II was produced by Gloster, Blackburn, Bristol and [he parent company - ArmstronqWhitworth Over 350 aircraft of the type were delivered unnl 1931

The Matchbox kit IS well moulded easy [0 assemble and offers scope for mtncate nqqmq The checkerboard markmqs of No <13 Squadron corne from a Modeldecal sheet AltCrafi of tile RAP (Putnam} 1$ a useful indeed indispensable - reference for levers of Bnush rmhtery aircraft

•

BELL XP-77 - Claude Boileau

Compared .to its contemporarlBs, this prototype flghter was rather tiny (the P-47 was three times heavier). Its simplified construction and wooden structure would have made it possible for the USA to massproduce it with lower costs and a quicker rate of delivery than were required for conventional flghters,

Moreover, from an operational point of view, the reduced size and weiqht of the XP-77 would have bestowed upon it a higher manoeuvrabi.try and supenonty over its opponents, These hopes were unfortunatelY dashed.

'Iwc XP-77s were built (SN 43-34915 and 916). The firstlllght (915) took ptace on April 1st, 1944.916 crashed on October 2nd, 1944 followmg a spin but the pilot sllcceSSfully baled out and escaped unscathed.

The performances of the XP-77, particularly Its chmbing speeding and Its service ceilinq turned out to be lower than the Bell Company estimated and the programme was shelved in December 1944.

The Airframe model 15 generally accurate but the fuseLage section is about grnm too narrow at the bottom. The 3 view drawing

included in the kit is good though slightly over-scale. The canopy was vacuformed with a Martel machine. The landing-gear was almost entuely made from copper WU8, aLummlwn tubes and foil Paintmg was carried out with Liqu'a Plate. MicToscale decals were used. A very detai.ed account of the XP-77 with about 20 photographs and a 3 view plan can be found in AAHS journal (Winter 1981), AIr pictoriel and Le Fanarlque de J'A vietiosi nave also pubhshed short articles on the same subject with three or four photographs along with a plan, respectwely tn April 1960 and March 1971 Finally. Bob Archer descnbed the assembly of the Airframe model and added photographs of the prototype and of hIS model 10 Scale Allcratr Modeler, Summer 1975 and January 1979

II

I atLL AH·/6 Huey CbblB 2 BACl'iEM l1a 349'A NaIler

3 ANTOINETTE Manopjan 1908

4 BRlS'l'OL 170 Superumghrer Mk.:11 5' IlELLX·5

6 ALBATROS D V

1 AVRO tencesua ~ Dam Busrer • B AUSTER Anlar(;',lc

9' CANAOAIR CLr815

{Monoqram) (He~ler) (Brlfaut) (Airfix) (Dragon) (Renwal] (Revell) (Alrfut) (Heller)

NORTHROP X-4 and BELL X-S - Dragon Model Works

US prototypes of the Iilnes and sixties are fascinating, yet no plastic mjecnon kit manufacturer shows any real interest in these planes at present Dragon Model Works had the good Idea to provide us with a Northrop X~4 and a Bell X-S on the same plasuc sheet.

CANADAlR CL215 - Helle'

TIns model was widely acclaimed by modellers and aircraft modelling rnaqaztnes when it was released. Heller is to be congratulated for this handsome achievement

12

DASSAULT Mystere IV - Bernard Rudel Already at the age of 12, Bernard Rudel bad started making models carved from wood. Three years later, his collection included no less than 50 models built to 1150 scale. But. probably like many other collectors, he got wonied about the lack of space. Finally he decided to carry on making models to the less cumbersome In2 scale. _.Soon his new collection grew to 300 models but, in spite of that, Bernard Rudel could not find his favourite aeroplanes in hobby shops.

In 1968, he discovered Rareptanes vacuforms and a small machine for producing vacuum formed objects, sold as a toy by Mattei, all these at the CamouOage Air Chili, a society no longer existing today but almost every member now belongs to IPMS France. He started on a few conversions With the Martel

ARMSTRONG-WHI1'WOR1'H Whitley BELL XV·J

collectIOn P Legrand BREWSTER BI.lff;JI~ F2A aWE lJO·5IBDS-J coUoclJon D. PaiD:

S' DASSAUL'I' Mrs1ere /VA 6: DASSAUI/r MJmge F tc 1 AVRO V!l/CIIIl B,2

"'''',

(Eagles Talon)

(Aosllima) (L_S,)

(Rudel) (Hu~<lW1I.) (Ai:rflXJ

machine but the latter showed its limitations. So Bernard Rudel decided to invest his savings, amounling to some $350, in a new machine he built himself from an DId gas cooker, an electric resistor, three empty bottles of camping gas, a small vacuum pump, a pressure switch, an electric valve, some elbow grease and .. sweat. HIS first efforts produced crude models but nowadays, thanks to the expenence ,he gained by producing some twenty different kits, Rudel's vacuforma have become products that are appreciated by those modellers who WISh to get off the beaten track

Bernard Rudel is thus the father of French vacuform and, III 1984, he was still the only axponent of the technique in France.

13

BEECHCRAFT Bonanza - Eidai

The line of Eidai civillightplanes is of such high standards that It 15 an absolute must for modellers who like F'lying-Clubs. It is really a pity that manufacturers show so little interest for that category of aeroplanes

ARSENAL VG33- K.P.L.

Bernard Rudel, the French pioneer in vacuo formed kits, and Ken Lasala, the founder of K.P.L Models. have both focused their interests on the Arsenal VG.33.

The American modeL shown above is very crude and its accuracy is questionable, but at least it is easily available. The French model is better, but can only interest collectors as it has not been re-issued,

14

1 AVRO Shack/ero!! Mk3

co!lecl.ion P l>egrand :2 AERO L.39 Albmros a PdRSPEED Oxford

4' BE8CHCRAF''1' sonenee 6 BLOCH M.B.!S2

e- ARSENAL VG33

7 BRISTOL F2B

8 BEAGLE 8.206 Basser

9 BOEING P-26A Pe~hoolet

10 BO£ING 8-f?f Flying Forrress

(XQvozavodyl (Frog)

(Eidai) (Heller] (K..P,L.) (Renwa1) (Ail'fiXJ (ReveU) (Ha..sega~)

(F<og)

•

,

CAPRONI-Campilll Nl- Delta

Delta kits mean tidings of joy: they conjure up historical achievements and on top of the usual instruction and decal sheets. each box includes a well-produced colour booklet about the aircraft. Curiously enough, some mouldings of the Caproni-Campini N J are pistachio green.

CESSNA 337 Skymasrer- Aurora

Thanks to a KCf (Kit Collectors International) interview published in their Vinrage Plastic bulletin, we aU know that the mould of this Cessna Skymaster by Aurora was destroyed at the same time as that of Ihe Jet Commander.

I" CAPRONI Q!mplll) 2' CONVAIR XF"92A

3 CESSNA 0-1 Bud Dog a- CESSNA Skymasrer

5 CESSNA 112 (WJlh Flool$) 6 BOEING 8-52 SlJa/C1frutress

(Delia) (HlIwk) (Airf[l[) (Aurora) (Crip) (Monogram)

Although it was not broken when the tram derailed, it sunk into the marshes of Upstate NY, where the accident occurred.

CONVAIR XF-92A - Hawk

The box is not upside down - the aircraftis in inverted nigh1! This model of 1966 vintage includes no landmq gear, but oddly enough offers four US Navy Sparrow [ missiles. although the XF-92A was an experimental US Air Force aircraft thai carried no armament.

15

c;::] I I 001:l

CJLJ

I BLERIOT XI

2 BOEING 8-737

3· BLOHM UNO VOSS 8V }41 4 BOEING P·12E

5 BOEING B·47E Srral"tel 6 BELL XP-83

(Brifaul) (Monognm) (AirfIX) (MaIChl:x:lJo;} (Hasegawa) (K..R.)

BLOHM UND VOSS BV.141A - Ainix

This observation aircraft: featured an extraordinary asymmetrical layout that was meant 10 provide the crew with excellent visibility. It first flew in 1938 but never achieved mass production status.

Jacques Niot, who specialises in WWII German aircraft, claims that the Airfix offering is quite accurate but unfortunately marred by the poor quality of the Iransparencies.

Good references about the various versions of the BV 141 are tobe found in the July and August 1984 issues of Flying Review International

16

BLOHM UNO VOSS BV 138MS - Jacques Niot

This Supennodel moulding IS rather crud,e and the fit of the paris is inferior 10 today s standards. However, the general outline IS quite accurate

This MS version (Minensuche, ie, mine searcher), fitted with a large maqnetic 1 generator hoop, was nicknamed, liter "mouse-catcher" (Mausi FlugzeLlge)

I CONSOLlDIITED PB1Y Prweteer 2 BELL P-63 Kmgrobm

3 BLACKBURN Buccaneer S2B ~. CONVAIR tJ.58 H$tler

CC!ilec!ion B. Mllcaire BLOHM UND VOSS BY. 138 BELL 1'-59 8 AmJOl"lfflet BEECHCRAF1' J 7

BOEING Verlo/ 107

(Malchbcm) (A05hima) (fuo) (Jl..Ulora)

(Supermodel) (Rarejels) (Rarep1aneJ (rutfa)

BLOHM UND VOSS BV. 1313 MS

CONY AlR 8-58 Hustter - Aurora

Until the release of the Italaeri Convair B-Se, this Aurora Hustler was much sought after. Being the only plastic injection moulded kit close to InZ, it allowed the non-specialtsts of vacuforrns to build-up a satisfactory model of this well-known bomber.

17

GENERAL DYNAMICS F-/BXL - Monogram In spite of some minor imperfections. this Monoqrarn F-}6XL is an interesting kit. since 11 portrays the bnghtly coloured first prot~type built by General Dynamics from the [,fih F-/BA. This model is one of Ihe few (among others such as Hasegawa's Lockheed S-3A Viking, PZW Siedlce's SZD Ientsr Standard, Monogram's B-1B and F-16 Tbutxierbiras Team) to include a tin led canopy, This is not a novelty, since 20 years ago, Aurora fer instance, already supplied a green-tinted canopy for its quarter-inch scale Lockheed XFV-l.

BUGATTI 100 Racer - Projekts Model Company

Who on earth was original enough to produce a Bugarti Model 100 (a French racer that did not even fly, and was the brainchild of Louis De Monge under an Air Ministry cont.ract to try to win the 1938 Deutsch de la

18

I BOEING .8-29 Super/orfres> (Airlix)

2 BELL P-39Q MElcobra (l'Jrli.x)

3' GENERAL DYNAMICS F'-i8XL (Monogram)

4 BLOHM UND VOSS BV40 (V? CanAda.)

S' BUGA'ITI I()() &leer (Projekts)

6' DASSAULT Mlrage me (Central)

7 BLACKBURN Shark (Frog)

a BOEINO KC-910 SrratocliUSElr (RaI"eplanltl)

Meurlhe Cup)? You guessed' That was the American Matt Hargreaves. This Projekts Model Company kit was mrroducect for the first time at the IPMS Nanonal Convention m Sail Lake City, Autumn 1979. 600 lets - all of them numbered - were issued, Collectors still have a chance, if.

DASSAULT Mirage me - Central

Trying to show off a model to its best advantage with top-quality box-art is a praiseworthy practice, but depicling it with accessories that are not included in the box can be misleadmq. Thus Heller saw it fit to represent their javelm (box reference No. 346) or their Lemen (box reference No. 343) With an external fuel tank without includmq those parts In the kits,

Conversely, why did Central fall to picture the Matra RS30 missile on their box-art, since 11 is supplied With their mode]?

I' CONSOLIDATED PBY-5A CaraliJ::Ia 2 CESSNA 112

3 CURTISS BnC-J Go5h:owk .j CURTISS P-36 A

5 CESSNA Q-ZA

6 CONVAIR B-38 Pe<Jcemil'/cef

(Revell) (Eidai)

(Gunt.e SMigyo) (Monogram) (l'IiIti:r) (Monoqram)

CONSOLIDATED Cstelin« Cousseov=:

Revell

We have chosen to show the Caraiina in its Cal)1JSO packaging to honour the me~ory of Philippe Cousteau who was killed while fiying this aeroplane o:rer Portuqal for the shooting of a film dealinq with menne life No One win ever forget those wonderful

moments spent watching him and his PEY-6A on TV, Thanks to the Ccusteau team, the deltas or Costa Rica, the jungles of

Nicaraqua, and the rivers of Senegal seem go much closer to us

The Cousteau kit includes two frogmen, a fine "Zodiac" dinghy and beautiful decals picturinq the nymph Calypso

Revell moulded their Catalina in three versions: the PBY-5 flyinq boat with detachable undercarriaqe, the PEY-SA amphibian with retractable landing gear and PBY-6A amphibian with retractable landing

gear, taller fin and rudder and modified nose

At least two documents will facilitate the lasK for those rncdellers who wish to assemble a Caraifna:

- PBY catalina m Actkw published by Squadron/Signal,

- Scale Aircraft Modeler Volume 2, No. 6, Spring ]974 that includes good drawings and some black and white photographs.

19

'"

BOEING B-737 - Jean-Frederic Boullier

lfi2 scale airliners are such a rarity that Aurora's B-737 ill eagerly sought after by civil airplanes patrons

Jean-frederic Boullier told us about his method of applying lIBT's Argental powder On the metal panels, when we took this picture'

- He cleaned all surfaces thoroughly with washmg up liquid and told us it was essential to avoid touching the model with one's bare hands. If it was absolutely necessary 10 handle the model, cotton gloves (similar to those that are used by photographers to hold negatives or prints) had to be worn.

- Then he applied the powder with a cotton or paper pad and buffed it up with a

compact drill fitted with a felt pad revolving at high speed to force tbe metallic powder into the plastic.

- Then he applied more powder with a cloth and polished it with another cloth until a satisfactory finish was obtained. Jean-Frederic resorts to this technique for all his models now and considers it as second to none

The tail assembly of this Royal Air Maroc B- 737 shows off the result to perfection. The metallic glint WhLCh is SO typical of new

20

airliners can also be found all the same modeller's Air France Constellation

BREGUET XIV - Francis Nicole

Francis Nicole built this Breguet XlV from Bernard Rudel's vecuformed kit and was awarded a silver medal, an rPMS first prize and the President's pnze at a_ contest held dunng the 4th modelhng exhibition which took place in the "Palais du CNIT' at Paris-La Defense from April 2nd to lOth, 1983

The Brequet XlV was used mainly as a postal aircraft. An interpreter often flew with the pilot. This was quite useful in case of a forced landing in the desert among the Moors,

F'rancis Nicole carried out extensive research 10 build his model and consulted

the pioneers who made the first commercial nights.

He thus benefited from the knowledge and advice of Marcel More, the author of I ai veeu I'epopee de l Aeroposteie (My life with Arrmail)

Among the solutions put forward for the reproduction of the wheel spokes of these "old crates" one can use the following techniques

- stretched sprue,

- nylon or metal wires,

- transparent disks on which Ihe spokes are

engr~ved and painted,

- printed circuits (photograph etching). Francis had his own technique, which was to use his hair for exquisite d.etailing of rigging and spoke wheels

I CONSOLIDATED PB'f-5A CPo/a/AIls (Aurora) Z CONSOLIDATED PBY-5A Cilla/ma (Toho)

3· CAUDRON R.11 (Cramer)

4 CONSOLIDATED PBY-SA Cata/ma (AirlU;)

S CONSOLIDATED PBY-SA Cara/Illa (ReveU) s CONSOLIDATED PB),·S Calallmf (Revell)

CAUDRON Kl l - Cramer

Ken Cramer is one of those manufacrurers who specialise in vacuformed kits, It is only thanks to people tike him that the R J} in particular can be part of the Encyclopedia of Models.

A three-sealer biplane, the R. J J deserves to be better known, as it proved to be an excellent fighting machine. lis two engines gave it very good performances for the period. but unfortunately, it came into service late, towards the end of 1917. The model portrayed here bears the following mention: "Kil No. 2013".

81

1~~·

.~-

. ,

CONVAIR XP-SJ- K,R.

Kenneth Rymal has sworn to make up a In2 scale collection of all USAF fighters, , From the Curtiss p: IB to the very latest, not forgetting prototypes. even those that didn't even fly. Some would have balked at the fact that many aircraft do not exist in kit form, but Ken took the challenge and produced the missing links himself.

This Convair XP-SJ is one of his astonishing products. Ken's vacuforms are characterised by an extreme accuracy in shape and dimensions and bear only light engravings On their surface, exactly as the connoisseurs of vacuforms like them to be.

22

!:LiiiIiIi: HAWK P·6E

1 COI\iV AlR ,-106 Della nul 2 CURT1SS SBC-4 HeJJdlver

3 CANT Z 1007 Ale/one Bldemf8 4" CONVAIR XP-81

5 CURTISS P·6E

S CHANCE VOUGHT r4U-/ D 7 CANT Z501

(Ha:seg;wa) (Matchbox) (Supermodel) (K.R.) (Monogram) (Hasegawa) (ltalaeril

CANT ZoOJ Gabbiano - Jacques Niot This Italian Seagull belongs 10 the 1481h Squadriglia Recognizione Maritima, About 200 of the type were operational when Italy started the hostilities in 1940, The Italaeri model LS excellent and hardly needs any modificaLions at all.

..

CANADAJR CL-215 - Jean-Frederic Boullier

As the photoqraph shows, these two flying boats sport different finishes,

That is because fhe colour schemes of Protection Civile Canadair are not quite the same when the aircraft is new as when il has been overhauled.

CONSOLlDATED Privateer - Didier Palix Matchbox seldom come up with very fme kits but they offer very interestinq models from nme to time, as is the case with this Puveteer.

..

CONVAlR F-J02 - Claude Boileau

This snow-covered scene shows a Convair F} 02 Delta Dagger sporting the colours of the 573rd flS "Black Knights" based at Keflavik, Iceland.

The Hasegawa model is excellent in spite of its age and only a few improvements were made" - [he windscreen and canopy were vacuformed with a Mattei machine and the cockpit was completed with the help of drawings published In Replica in Scale Volume 1, No.2, November 1972,

- the doors and missile wells (containing 6 Falcon AIM-4G) were reworked according to the pictures published in Koku Fan No. 51 and tmerevie (March 1961),

- the m~in landmg gear was modified and landmg liqhts made from fake cnamonos were added,

- the Pitot boom was made from an aluminium rube and copper wire and a thm stripe of

black decal was wrapped around to save a troublesome paint job,

Paint was then sprayed on the model with a Badger 200 or 100 XF' airbrush and the decals came from Microscale sheet No. 72-108 and Modeldecal sheet No. I L

The diorama was buill on a 300 x 2.70 x 22mm plywood base, The snow IS made of plaster whitened wrth 9.ouache. The Jeep is from Hasegawa with Its steering wheel replaced by a finer one and its headhghts vacuforrned on a pin-head. The ground power unit was scratchbuilt, using the wheels of an Alrflx Sea King. The ground learn came [rom modified Preiser figures.

'Itns diorama has already been described In m~Ie detail in Volume I, No.5, 1977 of &a VJ/fine du Maqueiliste (VDM1S the magazine or IMPS France)

24

CURTISS C-46 Commando - Didier PaIix This Curtiss C-46 Commando - the least successful offering of the small Williams Brothers Company - is shown here in the version that was used for "flymg the hump", ie, the Himalayas, hence its well worn and weathered aspect. The technique used for this effect is the following:

- dull the paint with the application of mud thai can be brushed off when it is dry,

- overspray the structure lines with a thin dark film of paint,

- pick out the same panel lines with dark pastel drawing pencil,

- spray exhaust stains behind Ihe engines,

- sparinqly apply paint chips along the

1eading edges and the panel joint lines,

- paint mud stains behind the wheels Weathering paints available flam model shops can also be used. Whatever technique will be used, one should strive for a realistic aspect and nat overdo the weathering effects - an operational aircraft hardly looks like a wreck ready for the scrapyard.

CURT1SS P·40E Kirtyhawk- Bernard Macaire's collection

This Cruver Curtiss Kittyhawk was a recognition model made of hard rubber and delivered already assembled. The date of origin of the first models was shown by finures, while later models bore letters to indicate the month when they were produced The Kittyhewk: on this photograph was produced in September 1942.

DASSAULT Mirage FI - Philippe Legrand ThIS Mirage F I was made by Philippe Legrand from the Heller model which is more accurate than the Airfix P. L However, the nose gear and the main wheels were cannibalised from the Airfix model The

au brakes and spoilers were drilled our and

DORNIER Dc. 24 Cllalaerl) ]m:.quesNiol

the exhaust nozzle improved. All. the navigation and anti-collision lights were

made from tinted transparent plastic. Philippe also improved the section of the air intakes which are rounded on the fuselage side and do not have the sharp angles as on the Heller model. Those who want to add armament are advised by Philippe to use the Metre 530 missile from the Heller F. 8 Crusader and to borrow the Magic 550 missiles as well as the pylons from the Airfix kit

However, Hasegawa's F.l is finer and easier to assemble than Heller's; moreover, it captures (he outline of the real F.l far better.

2S

I' DASSAULT Super myssere B2

2: DE HAVILLAND DH 11910

3 CURTISS C·46 Commando

" DE HA VILLANO Comer Race;

S CURTISS SB2C He!ldlver

6' COUZINET ArC'-eIl-cJel

1 CURTISS XP-S5 Ascendel 8' DASSAULT Falcon 2011

(M.A.F.) (Entex)

(Williams BrotiJefli) (Triang) (Lindberg)

(Heller)

(Aicmodel)

(M.E.E)

DASSAUL'r Super tdyssere 82 - MA.E

This extremely rare M.A_F,-made SM-B2 kit consists of two main parts to be assembled along a fuseJage frame, thus leaving no horizontal gap (M.A_F. stands for Maquettes Aeriennes Francaises, yet another company founded by Pierre Brifaut). The construction technique described above saves some puttying and sanding operations and makes for extra-quick assembly. Unfortunately, the technique requires ·the use of very expensive multiple-drawer moulds, so very few massproduced models are designed along these lines. Indeed, before being distributed on a commercial basis, this Super Mys(ere was made to order for Marcel Dassault. These models were delivered all-assembled and chromium-plated, with the plane fixed on a sheet of green felt and presented in a clear box.

26

COUZINET Arc-en-del - Heller

Heller's Arc-en-ciel is no match for Brifaut's on the score of quality

Unfortunately only a few (est shots of the Brifaut model exist and only a dozen or so were distributed. What if Heller recovers the Brifaut moulds and put out again a good Arc-en-del?

DASSAULT Falcon 20 - M.E.E.

M.E.E. or "La Maquette d'Etude et d'Exposinon' formerly known as Etex chiefly makes deskmodels. Yet, ever since Jean-Claude Hasquenoph convinced Jean Kerjouan to sell his models to a wider public, the company has made a substantial effort and nOW offers 5 models to In2 scale, most of them original subjects. The models are made of polystyrene. rigid polyurethane foam, metacrylate (for the transparencies) and are sold "straiqht from the mould" without any landing gear 01 stand-base,

in a polyethylene bag. The prices of M_RE. ln2 models are so attractive thai the decal sheets, printed In small series, are actually more expensive than the unfinished models.

DE HAVILLAND Vampire PBS,Cla.ude Boileau

This model was assembled from the Frog kit long before the far supenor Heller model was avaneble. The Heller far outstripped Its predecessor for its ease of assembly and fine detail. The model photographed here depicts the Vampire FR. 5. flown by the Commandmg Officer of No. 112 Squadron based at Fassburq, Germany, in 1951. According 10 Richard L Ward - the manufacturer of those excellent Modeldecal transfers - that colour-scheme,

which is offered on sheet No. 14 (initially released m 1971) was used on the aircraft for about a month (in October 1951)

Later, when No. 113 Squadron was sent back 10 Britain, the red shark's-mouth emblem was replaced by a smaller black one, with the

teeth remaining while, but with a red outhne The newer No 14 Modeldecal sheet now offers the black sherk'a-mouth, probably so as not to duplicate the red one adopted by Heller.

'This Vampire model had been made for a meeting of the 'late' Camouflaqe Air Club whose proposed subject for that day was aircraft sporting shark's-rnouthsl

DEWQIT[NE 510- Didier Palix

Heller's Dewoitine 5iO is a highly satisfactory model for VaflOUS reasons. The subject IS uuerest.no in Itself. the surface detailing is fine and the proportions are correct All this makes the kit parncutarly attractive, even for the most darnandtnq mcdeller

DORNIE:R 317 N-/ (ilalaeri, jacquesNlo(

DEWOITINE SIO

21

]' DOUGLAS DC-9 (Aurora)

2 CUR1'ISS P-40E (Pol.isti.I)

3 DEHAVll"LANDDff-1JO (Frog)

4 DORNIER Dv.24 (l1a1aeri)

5 DE HA VILLANO Sea Venom. {Frog}

6 DE HAVILt.AND CANADA Beaver (Airftx)

l' DASSAULT Mysrete IV (New-Mi\quettes)

8 DE HAVILLAND Heron (AUfilC)

9 DORN1ER 00.335 (Lindberg)

10 OASSAtn..T MIJ<1ge IVA (HenerJ

DOUGLAS DC-9 - Aurora

Aurora's DC-9 must surely rank among one of the much sought-after kits of that company, in spite of the crude moulding. Many modellers who have become used to the excellent Italian and Japanese models, wrongly blame kits that include few parts and details. In fact. a good kit is above all one whose dimensions are proportional in every point to the real plane. This basic requirement fulfilled, the model can be

made of any rigid material and will. serve as a working-base for the modeller Who may be able to correct the possible errors, improve the trailmq edges, mould new

transparencies, scratchbuild landing gears, scribe in panels and, more generally, add surface details.

Connoisseurs do appreciate the quality of modern kits obtained (rom electrically-milled 30

moulds, but they also show interest in SLlC~ models as the DC-9 they hope 10 find aqam one day. Airliner buffs have always been highly enthusiastic and attached to the. DC-9, and often buy several models for possible conversion, as so many different versions and liveries of that eircreft exist.

DASSAULT Mvstere W - New-Mequettes The first modelling materials were wood and metal. Then came cardboard, hard rubber, bakelite and finally polystyrene. The latter material was originally cheap and _was easy to manufacture, II was therefore widely adopted and has made It possible [or models to appear in every home. Nowadays however, the rismg costs of toohng, the 011 cnS1S and the lack of originality shown by manufacturers throughout the world, have raised questions about the future of polystyrene.

Those are the rnam reasons why Aficionados "blow" their own kits from ABS plastic card or use polyester resins, rigid polyurethane foam or epoxy-coaled glass fibres. New methods for cutting costs and speeding up production are now being tested

Tomorrow's models will probably look the same as present ones but they will not be made from the same materials and wilt certainly cause no end of surprise 10 modellers.

French forerunne~s such as New-Maquettes offered the very first decals with their metal and wooden parts, some of which had been made with a lalhe. Oddly enough, Ihe canopy was represented by a mere metal wire, when older French models already offered rhodoid canopies. All this sounds terribly obsolete but, in those days, when everything was SO crude, these kits were quite popular.

DOUGLAS F3D Skykmght - Bernard Macaire's collection

The recoqn.tion models (or identification models) are officially provided by governments to military schools in charge of courses on aircraft identification, As an example. the first recognilion models of the US Navy were produced by the workshops of the Bureau of Aeronautics. Special

Devices Division, These models are wellsuited to their function as they are correct in shape but lack details. These details are usually unknown on enemy aircraft, and anyv.,ray are useless for their training purpose. The designers of recognition models often work from pictures of aircraft ill flIght, and sometimes refer to the head of pilots for scaling the dimensions of the enemy planes. When manufactured, recognition mode!s a,re identified by a serial tmmbel and sometimes an index containing updated information obtained on the type of aircraft. Any army of importance has its recognition models, but the largest range is deemed to be manufactured by the specialised. concerns of the X.G.E. The

model shown on the right was made by Setco.

ETRICH Taube - Francois Portier

Famous Professor Etrich's dove-like Taube is one of the first aircraft used for military purposes

An Italian Taube dropped a few light bombs on a Turkish camp in 1911, causing little or

DOUGLAS f3D Sk1kmghl ...

..

ETRICH Taube (Airframe)

FmllO;xns Po{rr~r

no damage but raising very strong protests from the Turkish government.

It has 1.0 be said that the Taube was the most common German and Austrian aircraft before WWI

In Augusl 1914, a Taube dropped a few bombs on Pans and another aircraft of the same type helped the Germans 10 win a resounding victory against the Russians at Tannenberq

When it became obsolete as a fighting machine. the Taube was used as a trainer until about 1916.

Indeed several manufacturers produced different types of that plane (e.g. Rumpler, Ieannin. Gotha and others), but Airframe chose to represent the original Etrlch Taube. Francois Portier buill this vacufarmed kit and added a scratch-built engine and undercarriage assembly, as well as all the kinqposts and numerous riggmg wires. Pins and other metal parts were used to strengthen the structure. and Krazy Glue proved necessary 10 join those different materials together, The model was finished

to represent a Teube of the Imperial German Military Aviation in 1914,

31

I' OOUG[,AS A2D- J Skysfliilrk 2 PlAT AEFUTALLA G,g,y

3 P AlRCHlLD Col isc Flyiflg &xcar 4' FAIREY f'D,2 DeJ18

S DE HA VILLANO DH.89

6' DOUGLASA-1HSkyt.:l.lder 1 FIATCRJ2

13- FlAT G.!nRJ

9 DOUGLAS C-47,skY,mm

(Rareplane) (MalchOOlI:) (AUIQJ.a) (Novo) (HeUer) (FIljimlJ (Sll.p€lrrnodel) (Airmec) (ltalaeri)

DOUGLAS XAaD-i Skyshark - Rareplanes Most frequent criticisms aqainst vaculorms concern the delicate and tedious cutling of components from the moulded sheets and often their difficult assembly as well as the lack of accuracy of small parts such as landing gears. This latter drawback has been overcome by a few manufacturers by adding a tree of injection-moulded parts, as it can

be seen from Rareplane's Skyshark

FAIREY FD2 Delta - Frog

The Fairey Dette 2 was the first jet with a drooping nose. It is best known for the part it played in the development of Concorde and for the fact that it broke the world absolute speed record in March 1956 at 1132 mph thus exceedinq the former record by 38%. No other aircraft smce has been able 10

32

improve the record of its predecessor by such an extent

This Fairey Delta, made in USSR by Novo . from a former Frog mould, 18 quite a barqain and can introduce a rnodeller to the techniques of metallic finishes such as:

- the application of silver paint in aerosol spray-can similar 10 Tester {silver paint brushing should be avoided, except in the case of very small parts),

- the spraying of an exira fine metal finish (e.q. Liqu'a Plate),

- the use of metal foil panels stuck OIl with Microscale's "Micro Metal Foil Adhesive" (as a rule, self-adhesive foils may unstick themselves and so, are not recommended), - the application of a metallised paste (e.q. Rub'n Buff],

- the polishing of light painted bases with an ABT metal powder called "Arqenral", - or finally. the application of silver

coloured Of melallised panels

Each one of these techniques has its advantages and disadvantages but the final choice rests on the way a modeller sees the various shades of metal on the actual aircraft, which are very difficult to guess from the study of mere photographs,

DOUGLAS A -1 H Skyraider - Fujimi

This is a very attractive box art but the kit mside is not to In2 scale although it is mentioned by the manufacturer

FIAT G91R - Ccma-Aerrnec

In spite of its old mouldmq. this ComaAermec Fiat G91 is the only model which makes the reproduction of the G91R as flown by the 'Treece 'I'ncolori'' aerobatic learn possible.

J DE Hi\. VILLAND DH 110 2 DOUGLAS F4D- f Skyray 3' DOUGLAS A·4E Skyha-wk

'1 DOUGLAS XB·4Z Mlxmaster 5 DEWQI'f[NE D.520

6 DOUGLAS A-2Q Invader 7 OORNIER Da2!7 KI

8 DORNIER .L.b.3.l5 A

(l'<og) (Hawk) ([sci) (Boleslav) (Heller) (Airli:x) (llalaeri) (REI\'ell)

DOUGLAS A-4£ Skyhawk - Esci

This A-4 from Esci is surely among the best In2 scale model available of this aircraft.

33

I' rOKtER Dr'

2 ENGLISH ELECTRIC P J A 3 DOUGLAS A-JE Skyra/der 4 fJl.IREY Fox Vll

5 DORNJE:R 217£-2

6 fAIHEY Barmcuda fI 1 rAIREY G'l!1nerIlS-tj B roKKER D VJl

9 fOCKE WULf 19009 10 rA1EiEY RoJodyne

(G= ... ~o) (Triang) (Mon~) (Rlldel)

(iUrfix)

(Frog)

(Ul'C)

(RenwaiJ (!talaeri) (AiriIx)

FOKKBR D VIII - Drdrer Palix

Vaqn Espensen. a London-based photographer, got jaded with Ins job. He left the capital and settled at Wiveliscombe. a pleasant vlliage near. Taunton. Somerset, along wtth his wife Pam and lus daughter Samantha. He then started producmq Veeday 34

Models, short-run injection-moulded aircraft kits. Production was hrnued 10 500 or WOO of each type

1'hLS Fokker D. VI/I produced m 1979 was Vaqn's tlurd kit. and remains a worthwhile collector's Item

FOKKER Dr 1- Cunze Sangyo

Japan, the country flam which the best plastic models oncmate. was the unlikely bmho'ace of metal kits III 1981. The relllr,!1 to an obsolete technique hardly seems jusnfled and the stamped duralurmmurn parts of Ounae Sangyo models cannot match plas rc for the faithful reproduction of the lime! dirnension The only possible advantane of metal is Its brightness, so Gunze's brrds. once assembled, can be left unpainted rather l.ke kitsch trinkets parodymq f1ymg machines, and may be used for decorative pUI poses.

FISHER P-75 Eagle - Rareplanea

Once upon a time there was a young English boy called Gordon Stevens. He liked to cut out small aeroplanes from cardboard sheets when he was at school and he used to sell them for sixpence during the breaks, When he was 15 - during the war - be cut out aeroplanes, but this tune from sheets of balsa, He traded them for preserves, chocolate bars and cigarettes with American Officers from the Bomber Command based ~t Wycombe.

AE, he tells us in an interview published in Scale Aircrett ModeJlmg- December 1978 ISSue - he found out in 1969, as he ,~s looking at a chocolate box and its divider tray, that he could produce lots from vacuforrned sheets of plastic. He gave up his Job in advertising and devoted himself 10 his new business.

L· rISHE~ p-7SA Eagle

2 fUJI FA·200 Aero SUb;Jru 3 fOCKE wucr ']'a JS2N

4 rOKKER CV-E

5 rOCKE WULf I90A8! r.3 6: PlAT G-9JRJ

7 FUJI T"JA

8 fOCKE-WULr FW:200 9 f Al REY FueUy MK. 1

10 rOKKER F 27 fIiendsllJp

(RMeplanes) (Eidai)

(Revell) (Tnu;ker'sMate) (HeUer)

(N:r-fut) (HasegElwa] (Revell)

[F<og)

(Airflx)

Now Gordon Stevens has been at the head of Rareplanes for 15 years and also of Rarejets, Rarebits, Raretenks and WarbiIds. He does everything on his own, aided only by his immediate family for aorotmsrrenve tasks. He works about 15 hours a day.

Like almast every model of the Rareplanes line, this fisher P-75A Eagle sets new standards of quality that many manufacturers

~~~~~bt~ h\f~~~:i~i~~CU:~~~ dynamism and

his professional consciousness, Gordon Stevens will surely be remembered as the greatest vacu-arnst of all time

35

GOTHA Go.229V3 Honen - BoLesLav

A. Matejka from Mlada Boleslav produces exotic vacuforms in exciting colours such as red, blue or green. This flying wing is perhaps the best model of the Gotha 229 money can buy - though the expression 'the best" is an exaggeration In a way, for there are no very precise references concerning this aircraft, so far as we know.

GENERAL DYNAMICS F-ll! - Revell Revell is current1y the only manufacturer to offer the short-nosed, long-span F-ll1 B version of the Aardvark II is possible to build the A version by combining parts from the Revell and Airfix kits. following the advice given by Jim Rotramel in Bert Kinsey's F- J J I in detail and sca.Je

Revell is unquestionably the biggest model 36

I GRANVILLE: Gee Bee

2 CRUMMAN S-JA Hawkeye 3' GOTHA 00.229V3 Horien

~ GRUMMAN HU-18B

5 GRUMMAN F9F-8 Cougar 6' GENERAL DYNAMICS F-lll 1 GRUMMAN OV-IB Mohawk 8 GLOSTER FA W9 Jav~lm

(Airframe) (Fujimi) (Boleslav) (Monogt2ll1) (Hasegawa) (ReI/ell) (Frog) (rrog)

manufacturer in the world, with five-hundred million kits sold over the years, a collection of 1000 moulds valued at over $50 million and an annual turnover estimated 10 be double thai of Monogram or Alrfix.

The founder or the company, Lewis G. Glaser had started off in 1951 with a series of car models, the first of which were the 1913 Maxwell and the Ford T, The success of the series encouraged Revell to develop new lines - aeroplanes, ships, missiles and spacecraft, military vehicles and quns, model soldiers, animals, cars and aero engmes. They even tried tapestry craft (a technique that could dispense with needles) for ladles

Lewis Glaser died in 1971 and his wife Royle G. Lasky took over the management of the group, She completely re-organised the finn Revell offered an extensive range of models, but unfortunately, most of them were m

drffennq scales adapted, of all lhinqs, 10 the standard size of Ihe boxes.

Royle G. Lasky then evinced the ideal of reissumc old moulds with attractive new features, for example, electric motors OT

even electronic devices to produce light or sound effects. Some aeroplane models were thus modified to represent machines that starred in same TV serials such as Baa Ba8 Black Sheep. These would-be "new kits" proved quite successful, unlike such "gadgets" as the WhJp and Fly series. The latter kits were supplied with putty ballast, a piece of string and a handle, for the owner of the models to fly them aerobatically around his head.

If it had not been for that basic error of adapting the scale of the models to the size of the boxes. Revell would have probably been unassailable. The firm really had valuable assets, among which were an excellent and appropriate choice of subjects, good quality and good value for money. Moreover, the distribution network was outstanding.

Nowadays, Revell boasts no less than six factories and five branches abroad, namely in West Gennany, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, Hong-Kong, the United States, Japan, Mexico, Brasil, New Zealand and Spain. Revell moulds have been produced in Venice and California since 1971 and they are conveyed to the various factories in accordance with their industria] capacity and the commercial strategy of the group.

An interestinq anecdote will round off this account. Although Revell does remain one of the "Big Box" specialists with its 1/32. scale series and its 1/48 B-] Bomber, the firm has

also pnnted its tradename on Ihe smallest aircraft models in the world. The boxes are about an inch long and contain two plasnc parts to be assembled by the Ken and Barbie dolls!

GENERAL DYNAMICS F-16 - Gerard Cabot General Dynamics had been unfortunate in its early attempts at combining various stateof-the-art fearures on a single aircraft, for the outcome was often a complex, costly and unreliable aeroplane that was already obsolescent even before it was tuned up. ~.D. learned from past experience and introduced advanced technology in their p. 16, but avoided excessive sophistication. Their choice turned out to be a winner. The YF- 16 which had been desicned as a flymg testbed has become an outstanding combat aircraft whose performance outstrips all

those of its competitors or potential adversaries. The F-J6was dubbed "Fighting Falcon" following its impact on the European market and has been continuously updated ever since. Various versions have already appeared of this highly successful fighter whose career is unlikely to end Until the early 21st century,

This F-J6 model is marketed by Hasejawa. II is amcnq the best on the market along with the Italaeri, Esci and Fujimi offerings

31

GLOSerER G40 (£28139) - Frog

HEINKEL He 178 August 24th, 1939 Germany GLOS'I'ER GAO Whittle £28139

May 15th, 1941 UK BBLL XP-59 Aiteccmet

October lst, J942 USA NAKAJIMA }8NI Klkka

August 7th, 1946 Japan SUO-OUBSer 5.0.6000 Triton

November l lth, [946 France

SAAB·2JR March iou. 1947 Sweden

l.Ae. 27 Pulqui August 9th. 1947 Argentina

This is, to our knowledge, the chronological reaistranon of the first Iliqhts of jet-propelled aircraft

Designed by George Carter's team and fitted with a Whittle WJ engine, the Gloster E28/39 "Pioneer" was the flISI Bnush jet to

38

rOUGA eM /70 MagISter GRUMMAN F'6F·S HeJlcar GRUMMAN Fl!F-} rigel GRUMMAN S-2C Hawkeye

5 GRUMMAN G2J Coose 6' GLDSrER GAO WhlllJe

7" GRUMMAN FSF"-JB Bearcal 8 GRUMMAN F'-14A Thmctlf 9 GRUMMAN TBP Avenger

lO GENERAL DYNAMICS f-16NB

(Beliet) (t.indbergJ (Hasegawa) (fujimil

(Arne A11deJssunJ (Frog)

(frog) (Haseo-awa) (Ailf\.l)

(ltalMrt)

take off. This was done almost two years afier the He 178 fllght.

Two aircraft were built of which only one survived: the firsl one, serial number W40411G (the "G" suffix to the serial denonnq that the prototype had to be guarded). 'I'lus aircralt is sill! in perfect condition today and you can admire It, hanging from the roof of the London Science Museum, located m the heart of the CJty.

The second one, serial number W40461G, crashed on July 30th, 1943 when its ailerons

j~~~:~~mark that the Caprcnl-Campini N 1 which flew for the first lime on August 27th 1940 is nat rnenucned here. In fact. Its engm cannot be considered as a turbojet

GOTtiA 0:1214 BI(liaiaeri) • jilcque::;NJDI.

~ GRUMMAN F:!F-2 Pantil.n {Has&9'aw.a] ~I/HdG.:lbol

GRUMMAN F8F-/B Bearcal- Frog

Frog's Beercm IS less crisp than Monogram's, bUI It IS much sought-after In France for the decals of the GCll21 "Artois" a unu that fought In Indo-China In 1952

39

HEINKEL He 178 - Wmgs 72

Wings 72 produces vacuforms with very good surface detailing. The models which have been released by this company are always off the beaten track, as Donald H Bratt, the f~under of Wings, is one of the most promment model. collectors and experts round the world, Don 1S also the Vice" President of ,Slevens Inc. (a film production a!1d advertisinq agency), and all 'his enables him to reach markets commonly considered as unapproachable. ~e idea is to sell topquality vacutorms depictinq models specially desiqned to capture hioh-dernandinq ma,tkels, for Instance, In arder to consolidate quickly his position in Japan, Wings has had the masters of Japanese planes produced by Czechoslovakians. The Czech modellers' teams ,are already used to resin handmoulding techniques and can produce

40

L GRUMMAN F7F-3 l'Igercar 2 KYUSHU]7WJ Shmden

3' HEINKEL He·J78

" JUNKERSju 87BIR Srui'd S' lKARUS Ik.2

6 KAWANISl-l1 NJK2-j GeQlge 7 HEINKEL He.! 12B-QI}

B HENSCHEL Hs.i25A-11B-1

9 HANOLEY PAGE Hampden 10 HEINKEL Hal77A·5 Grea

(Monogram) (Tamiya) (Wings 12:) (Airfbl) (Gua.no) (Ha:s;:gawa) (HeUer) (Italaeri) (Aidlx) (Airlix)

models in a snort lime at attractive prices. Instead of using the regulaJ commercial outlets of wholesalers or retailers, Wings markets Its vacuforms mainly through nonprofit makmg orcanisauons. or course, club mem~ers do appreciate the poss.bilitv of ordcrinq models which are otherwise difficult to obtain through other channels, but only on the condmon that these models can be bought at reasonable pnces. On the other hand, people who are not affiliated to any such societies may be sorry not to find Wings products from their usual dealer And last, let us remember thallhe Heinkel 178 was the world's first aircraft whrch took off powered solely by a turbojet

lKARUS IK-2 - Guano

VIlhan Yugoslavia entered the war in 1941. I could only muster a few warplanes among

which there were eight locally buill IK-2$, 111 spite of this, the Ikarus fighters put up a brave fight Wesley F. Moore was so impressed by Ihis episode of the war thai he declde~ to make, the_ IK-2 better known by producmg a replica in ln2 scale. He gathered Gre~ Reynolds, Terry Elmore, Malt Hargreaves, Bill Ha\,"'kins, et al, all from JPMS-Sealtle (washmoton, USA) around the scheme and together they built the first lK-~ in 1972. These models were made from resin and could only be produced at the rate of one a day, because the stuff took such a long

time to harden. .. .

Wesley decided to resort to, imecnon techniques in 1976 and to this end, bought a Quick Shooter sold by The Haygem~n Mach/lIe Company for $250, The Quick Shooter consisted of a 9 Inch-long cylinder surrounded by a resistor whose temperature could be set by a rheostat The end of the cylinder had a drilled 4 mm inject~on hole The capacuy of the machine was limited to

20 g of polystyrene. Wesley had his Quick Shooter fitted 10 the bench of his drillingmachine and used the lever of the mounhng to drive the piston by hand, The mould was held into place by a vice and the injection runner was simply aligned with the end of the cylinder. Contrary to ordinary moulds which are bored out from special steel

alloys. Wesley's moulds were cast in Furane 8067 around a copper alloy master (Furane 8067 15 an epoxy resin compounded with aluminium powder and is able to withstand heavy pressures and high temperarures).

The rust trials resulted in small, ill-smellinq molten dungs, hence the name given by Wesley to his budding company - GUal"!0 Aeroplane and Zeppelin Warks_ Production was then increased to a rate of one model an hour, but snags still had to b~ ironed QUI, e.q, the coo1ing of the mould, which had 10 be improved if production was to be stepped

up, and the mechanical resistance of the mountIng-bench and the vice. Wesley also found it extremely difficult to obtain polystyrene pellets in small quantities and sometimes had to break up small plastic spoons of different colours in order to be able to feed his machine. One should not therefore be surprised to find strangely indescent parts as one opens the Ikarus lei!. The first Projekts Model and 299 Models kits were also built thanks to Wesley's machine Since that tune, and thanks 10 Ron powney's help, Wesley has extensively modified his tools and his new machine can take up to 85 g of plastic, He will have several other machines and, so as 10 follow up his new productions, he has also obtained a decal

prinling press for an investment of $3000. Having started from his first idea - the Ikarus project - Wesley has been able to establish one of the first horne-built injection workshops producing In2 scale models. His disciples and himself have brilliantly succeeded 10 transforrmng what was originally a hobby into a small business, whose efforts are widely appreciated.

JUNKERS !IJ. 86D-1 (ltalaeri) jacquesNior.

HAWKER Tempest JJ - Bernard Macaire collection

HAWKER Tempest 11 .

The Tempest Mk 1I was powered by an aircooled IS-cylinder radial engme ~ a Centaurus V or VI - while the only version of the Tempesl to be flown before the end of the hcsnltties, the Mk V. was equipped with a liquid-cooled Napier Sabre II which was a 24 cylinder l-l-type engine. The.Mk II version had been designed fOT use agamst the Japanese but It was phased-in in November 1945 IU51100 late

This'recognition ~odel was produced by

Cruver

41

HANDLEY-PAGE VieJor K2 - Matchbox The VIctor was originally designed as a part of Bntain's deterrent force and was 10 become a flying tanker in lis K2 version.

The crescent wing of the aircraft has a most unusual aspect which the box art fails to show as the Victor is not portrayed at its best angle, The moulded parts enables one to produce the B.2 version although It has to be deplored that no thought was given 10 the Blue Steel missile and its cradle. In spite of these reservations, it has to e said that Matchbox gave a lot of satisfaction to modellers by offermg this long-overdue model at the right time.

l' Me DONNEL..L AV.fiB Hamer li (Ilakeri)

2 F'OCKE·WULf FW 189 A Uhu (Aoshima)

ooJl~rjon D Pfl/JX

HAWKER·SIDDELEY N<Jl1'1eJ T4 (He-Uer Bcbcat)

GRUMMAN F6F-5 Hellcat (Airllash)

HAWKER·SIDDELEY AV8A (Fujimi)

fAIHCHll,D A-lOA (Hasegaw.a)

1 GLOSTER Galliltlel (Pe9asus)

S' HANDLEY PAGE ViC/Of K2 (Malchbo;ll::)

McDONNELL A V-BB Harrier - ltalasri Most aircraft designers evinced interest m STOL (Short Take Off and Landinc) and VTOL (Vertical Take orr and Landino) technology. particularly In the 50s and 60s • (Convair engineer and lest-pilot C. E. Myers article in the No, I, 1958, issue of InteraVla, summanses allihe research work of the penod), Yet In spite of all the research effort. only the design developed ID the Hawker PJJ27 Kestrel project has survived. ThLlS lis Herner derivative is the only operatlonal VTOL aircraft at present. It is used In Great Britain as well as in the United States, W1K'It"' the US Marine Corps has adopted the A ~·-8S version hcensed-built by McDonnell Douglas

HAWKER-SlDDELEY Gnal T-J - Matchbox What happens when two kits of the same type of an aeroplane are on sale? How does the buyer make his choice? In fact. there IS not a single category of purchaser but, at least two: those who are more attracted by the price and the box-art, and those who are more interested in the quahty of the mouldmcs and what the box actually

contams. Thanks to their policy of selling at lowest pnces well-decorated boxes Conlaining brightly-coloured kits, Matchbox captures the favour of the young rnodeller who is [or instance more sensitive to the ~hades of his Hawker-Siddeley Gnat T-J than Its crude mould Lng.

Conversely, by offering a better quality M.esse!schmitt 1638 Kamel than their rival lI.ihtflX and adding a tractor and a cradle mto t e box, Heller has won the approval of all

I HAWKERSeaFury (Airldne5)

2 HEINKEI...He·/OOD (Lindberg)

3 JUNKERS D.l (Warbirds)

4 KAMAN YSH-2E Lamps (Fujimi)

S· HAWKER-SIDDELEY Gnar T-! (MalchOO:c) 6 KAWAN1SHJEISK2Norm(SJUn) (Aoshima)

t HAWKER TyphOon IB (Frog)

8 ILYUSHIN lL28 Beagle (Airfuc)

9 I-IA WKER-S!DDELEY P 1127 (Airfix)

10- JUNKERS }1.!..BBA-4 (\lOJI P 47)

II HAWKtR HIlITlC'ane liD (Aoshim .. )

12 KAWAN1SHI HBK2Ermly (frog)

confirmed rnccellers, in spite of the hLgher ~~~'ratulations for Matchbox and Heller's product managers who were both right. On the other hand. Airfix have proved unable to foresee the reacuons of the market m the face of competition for these two particular planes. At last the destqn of a hobby lot depends 00 the taroetec market: as the motivabons of each category or purchaser are qUlle different, any compromlse will inevitably lead to poor sales

JUNKERS Ju.88A-4

Who produced this model w~ose box i~P bears no trademark or' other indication

43

HILLER X-J8 - Comet

Helicopters are unrivalled when il comes to vertical take-off and landing but their performances are strictly umited: reduced speed. high fuel consumption along with a low ceilmg and payload, Conventional

aircraft are of a simpler construction and offer much better performances but they

lack manoeuvrability at low speed. In lhe fifties it was thought that a combination of the aeroplane and the helicopter basic concepts would allow better in-fliqht cheractenstics and performances. To achieve this, rna types of research and experimental aircraft were built compound planes and convertiplanes Compoundplanes use rotary wings for lake off and landing and one or several engines for propulsion In horizontal flight. A typical example 15 that of the Fairey Rotodyne, the Airfix model previously shown in this book

44

1 HANSA 330 Han.s..j~1 (JUnmxl.el)

2 HANDLEY PAGE Darl Herald (TrianQ)

J HEINKEL He 162..01 ~am.3!1deI (Revell)

4' HILLER X-IS (Comet)

5 GRUMMAN S2f'-J Tracker (Haseqawa)

6 HAWKER·SIDOELEY HSJ25 (Airfu)

1 HANDLEY-PAGEJetsueam (Airfix)

8 HAWKER Nun/Sf f'fi (Central)

9 GRUMMAN FBF-3 Helfcal (Matchbox)

10 HErNKEr.. He.219A lihl1 (Lin<;lberg)

Comet's Hiller X-lS, displayed above, is a convertiplane: the engmes supply the power both for hft and propulsion as the Wings can be lilted. In theory, ccnvertiplanes ate far more efficient and promising than compoundplanes. but advanced technology and higher piloting skills are required, particularly for the transitional phases of Hight

The X-IS was built as a test-bed. Accordmq to Jay Miller, the author of the very comprehensive book about the X-senes. of American aircraft prototypes, Tile X-Plane,..;;, It was made up of pans canrubalised from other eircrart in order to avoid undue expenses. The engines and propellers wer those of !he Lockheed XFV-l and the Convair XFY-), the tall assembly and the nose came [rom a Fairchild C-I23, the fuseleqe was tbat of the Chase YC-122 and

many other parts carne from existing types, among which was the Convair R3Y-2 Tradewind flying boat. The Hiller "patchwork aircraft" took off for the first lime on November 24th, 1959 as a conventional aucratt and transitions between horizontal and vertical flight were tested until 1961. The programme was terminated before the entire senes of VTOL flights could be tested.

II is more than 20 years since Comet was bold enough 10 offer this little-known aircraft, The unique kit is finely moulded and is eagerly sought-after nowadays. "When Comet was written 0[, their moulds were bought up by Aurora who also went bankrupt in 1977. Former Cornet productions then re-appeared under the Monogram and Addar

tradenames, but the X-lS moulds

dIsappeared unaccountably.

GIliaRlIMMAN Fll F-l Tiger - Ousmane gne

~usHasegawa model ,was eagerly awaited

Y Navy jet enthusiasts. The Tiger

suffered. from teething troubles, its armament ~l:OVlng panicularly troublesome. During a fir: hest, the engine ingested a shell case ilp Ih Y one of the four cannons which made Torn e errnarnent of the aircraft. The pilot,

Attridge, crash-landed the aircraft and

JUNKERS Ju. 58t3m (llmeri) jacqu.esNII)I

managed to make his getaway before it caught fire. A splendid FllF-/ TIger beanng the colours of the Blue Angels acrobatic team 15 exhibited In the Pima Air Museum, Anzona The model shown here was awarded the IPMS lsi prize in the first French national championships, in 1982. The decals oncinate from Microscale sheet No 255.

GRuMMAN FI IN "Ilge(

45

HAWKER Hart - Skybirds

Among the men who played an important part in the history of modelling, James Hay Stevens deserves our particular attention as the creator of Skybirds models.

Skybirds are universally acknowledged as the first genuine models in the world. That is so because no one knows any older models sold in kit form and desicned 10 a constant scale. AI least 120 different InZ scale kits were available and the Hawker Hart shown here is the 20th of the line. 11 dates back to August 23rd, 1935. Inside the box wings and a fuselage made of finely carved wood can be found, along with vulcanised rubber tail and fin assembly, small parts made of moulded or stamped metal, a piece of sandpaper and a small bag containinq brass wires and wheels moulded in lead. Skybirds 46

l ' HAWKER Harr (Skybil<is)

2 JUNKERS ju.52 (AirliI)

3 GENERAL AIRCRAF'T Holspur fI (Frog)

<I HAWKER Huuler (Triang)

5 HAW:KER Hurncane Mkl!C (Keil Kraft)

6" JUNKERS Ju,88 (Air Lines)

l' H(:INKEL He J J 11-1-6 lilaberi)

S' HUGHES 011·611 Cayuse (UDC)

9 JUNKERSju.86·01 (Italaerfj

were sold in paper envelopes dunng Ihe war. The first model or theirs was a Cierva C-24 Aulogyro and Ihe last a Mig 3 produced at the end of the war

James Hay Stevens was not only the forerunner of all other kit manufacturers, he also founded the "Sky birds League" 10 sssociete enthusiasts. Pour were enough 10 get assistance from the London-based Skybirds League Headquarters to create a Skybirds club. Club members would then receive badges, pamphlets qrvinq advice and lips for better modelhng and maqazines with articles deahng with aviation subjects. Obviously Skybirds products were advertised as well as hanqars and dioramas accessories, Durofix cement, paint or filler AU these acnvmes have contributed to the creation of numerous clubs and enabled madellers to establish the International

Plastic Modellers Society in 1963, But contrary to the Skybirds League, the IPMS is ruled by its members, for its members, and owes nothing whatsoever to any manufacturer. This independence has no doubt encouraqed its expansion and its perenniality.

JUNKERS Ju88A-4 - Air Lines

As. was the case with the "unknown" kit -in raet from ~ - which has already been n:entloned, this Junkers Ju88A-4 fram Air Lmes originates from a modified Frog mouJd. Mamuaclurers often market the same producl_ with or without modLficationsunder various trade names and can confuse even experts.

The Ju.88 model had been designed as a toy with moving parts and a retractable undercarnag_e, That aircraft was qwte common dunng World War II when it was ~~d as a lig~t bomber, day and night fighter use reconna~ssance aircraft, It was even

Thi d as a. flymg bomb at the end of the war. co S version Was known_ as Mlsfei and

a ~lSted of a combination of a !u.88A-4 and eu esserschmitt BlI09F. The pilot of the

of' t~F. Whose srrcran was fixed to the back rna e)u.88, controlled the compound en~h1ne which was thus propelled by three e~pt~~~:~d coulc carry up to four tons of

JUNKERSju. J88E·J jacques Mor

HUGHES 500 Cayuse - UDC

The Hughes H-500D Cayuse is a well-known type of helicopter that was built in many different versions and IS to be found practically everywhere. However, anyone W1Shmg to model this rotorcralt to In2 scale will have to resort 10 several kits of different origins as none of the kits on offer is quite accurate.

UDC, a Hong-Kong based company that specialises in metal toys certainly captured the broad outhnes of the airframe successfully but paid no proper attenuon at all to the rotor. On the contrary, Garnes from Italy faithfully reproduced the ,rotor blades and the tall but their fuselage IS inaccurate. Their H-500D is a snap-tocether kit wrongly advertised as a IJI44 scale model.

So lang as no serious manufacturer offers a proper Cayuse, modeJlers will have to content themselves with ccmbmmq vacufcrmed parts from Italy and China.

'Phose who are really In a hurry to include thai model in their collection and do not care too much for absolute jauhfulness 10 In2 scale will be able to buy Pilen's Cayuse in Spain. The model IS sold already assembled. [1 IS rather crude but costs very little.

47

LOCKHEED F-J04 Sfarlighfer - Compass Models

Most desk models are sold ready assembJed and painted. The opposite extreme can be found in the case of the Compass MOdels Lockheed F-104 Starfighler where aLl the parts have to be carved, for the box contains a piece of wood, a few sheets of balsa, a vacuformed canopy and a plan. The British manufacturer ObVIOUSly did hot burden himself with many difficulties.

HANSA-BRJ\NDENBURG tu Edison Manufacturers sometimes try to boost their sales with small gifts and sales incentives. For example. the Spanish-based Commando [ernsa Company offers a cbewing-gum with its F-7U 1 Cutlass (a model derived from the original Aurora mould) ATO offers an

48

1 HANDLEY PAGE H.afifax 2 KAWASAKI KHB LIly

3" LOCKHEED F"I04 51aTfighleT 4 LETOV £328

s- HANSA-BRAND8N8URG D'[ I) MART1NA-30fulfjmore

l' HAWKER-SIDDELEY Nimrod a LOCKf-!BEO (J-2A IBIC

(MlI.l~hbo)() (Hasegawa) (Comp.M$ Models) (KovOUlvooy) (Edison)

(frog) (Porrnaplane) (Rareplanes)

ashtray as a stand for the model: Meanwhile Edison tries 10 win customers with two fine stamps, one in colour and the other in black and white, The idea is for mcde.Jers 10 keep the coloured stamp and return the other one 10 Edison to become members of the Edison Arr Club. Club members not only receive a colour brochure on the models they bought but are also allowed to take part in raffles every fOUI months and win manv prizes Edison's plastic and die-cast models are sol assembled. painted and displayed m a transparent box. Decals are replaced by stickers. The Hansa-Brandenburq Eil. deaiqned by Heinkel, was also produced b Phenix in Austria. This aircraft suffered fror very weak lateral stability but j~ spite of II drawback, Austro-Hunqarien Air Ace 1,Lltlll~ Arigi scored 5 victories when he flew It ov the northern Italian front, all during April J May, 1917.

HA WKER-SlDDELEY Nimrod - Forrnaplane The Nimrod vecuforms were not among the best-sellers, but smce the Falklands confhct, they have sold like hot cakes

LEDUC 022 - Didier Palix

The Fabulon Leduc (release-I) IS a resin model of high quality; nevertheless It

reqrn.:[:s significant work specially for the cockplI and for the internal part of the ramjet

~~~~ ~~ec~~~~ ~ ~~~n~~:Vl~e~n~ ~r~;;IY

to locale some ballast The resin can be filed easuy, and sealing of joints is obtained with epoxy fillIng.

49

I LTV "·7A OJISaLT 11 (Hasegoawa)

z LEDUC 022 (Fabulon)

3 [1\.1 Kftr·C2 (Hasegawa)

<I HENSCHEL &l29B..1IR2 (Lindberg)

5 LOC[(H££D L·749 Cons/ella/IOn (Heller)

S KAWASAKI K~61 Thny (Hlen) (Revell)

7 HAWKER-$IDDELEY Sea Harner(Matchbox)

8 MARTIN 404 Malllhner (Ainec)

LEDUC 022 - Fabulon

Resin models mainly evoke individual ventures, but Ihey also challenqe the lack of irnaqmauon or traditional manufacturers. This Fabulon Leduc 022 is the first model released as a file, which contains 29 accurately carved resm paris. Also included in the file (release-g) are a monography of In2 plans, a cutaway view of the aircraft, a slereophoto in colour of the cockpit and detail B & Wand about 20 detail colour pictures as well as the copies of the original drawings of the Leduc at 115 scale. The desrqn of this model required hundreds of working hours. A few "pirated" copies of Fabulon Leduc have been spotted in Czechoslovakia, in the USA and In France. The copies can be recognised from the qenutne ones by their stgJiificanlly poorer quality and accuracy and t~ey have no documentation nor packaqinq

50

The Leduc 022 appeared too early in.8 world which was hot prepared to welcome It. It was designed at a time when prop-dnven fighters were still in activity, but this interstellar-shapsn prototype of an interceptor embodied a lot of advanced technical solutions: its wings were rrnlled ill 8 block of metal {first in the world); the au intake was encircled by. boundary layer bleed holes; it was 'he first lime titanium was used On an aircraft in Francs. The pilot was lying as on a lounge-chair in an all transparent escapable cockpit module; he could see ahead through a periscopic pnsm. The 022 took off with an Atar iO/D-3 turbojet. then accelerated While climbmg and crursmo powered by the ramjet. designed ~ like the frame - by Rene Leduc

Contrary to the turbojet, the ramjet does not include any moving parts. The air sucked In by Ihe air-intake of the ramjet is compressed

only under the effect of the aircraft's speed; then 11 IS brought to high temperature as the fuel bums In the combustion chamber: then

It ex-pands producmg the necessary thrust The faster the aircrert, the higher the

pressure rate 15 and the stronger the ramjet thrust The only limn for this type of aircraft seemed to be Its fuel cells capacity and the heat berner, But the fate of the Leduc 022 was to be different. it died from bureaucratic Incompetence and shcrtsiqhtedness.The Fabulon Leduc 022 resin models are produced In two short senes. 'The second Fabulon releases include a cockpit mouJded out of clear polyester resin - the aircraft has more pans and is made-up of a hollowed vacuum-moulded body in resm

..

LOCKHEED Consteltsuon - Jean-frederIc Boullier

This Consteliatlon W2S flown by Ccnifatr Aviation Inc oi Canada SpeCIa.1S[S,m cropspraymg. Two oi the type were sal ... berne used in )984 along with three Douglas DC-6

and four DougJas DC-oj . ,

This model has been built u om !;":8 ~eller hI All tovers 0: civilian prop~.ln~~ .s~l.~ul~ ~ buy Stephen Piercy's bees ~ .... -:-, tTL ..... ' which contams rnaqnificent colour ph~to~na.l)hs five or which depict "Corufair Co-tn.es

51

..

LOCKHEED Constellenon - Jean- Frederic Boullier

The ConsrellatIon shows that not aU Heller products are of equal standards. To be fair, this model had been expected fOJ such a long time that airhner buffs rushed to scrutinise eve'ry little bit. Their criticism can be summed up as follows,

- the rncdel is a blend of the L. 049 and L.749 versions, as IS Francis Berqese's box art which represents L,049 F-BAZB and not L.749 F-BAZT,

- the number of portholes is not suns ble for the L.749 and their diameter is about 28% too large, -

- the enqms naceUes should be shaped aqam with plastic card

- finally, the decals for the fuselage stripes are not correct.

The shade of light blue 15 100 pale and the stripe 1.11 the rmddle that runs across the portholes should be white Instead of blue. AU that goes to show that photographs of the angInal aircraft are Indispensable_ That is true of every model but even more so in the case of Heller's Constellation. Among the

52

reference rna enaJ that should be obtatned

b!_ a~h;O~~!;:;e~ ~~~Jaflon by Terry

Morgan

- Air Enthusiast Volume 14

- Lockheed c-Ial Constellation by Sieve

~ini~:nCYcloped,e lllustree de FA visaon N.:- 113

• For the punsts, we checked the porthole's . diameter on the L. 749 displayed m toe MR:~ ce l'Arr at Le Bourget (this L. 749 flew as the Air France F-BAZR. Ihen as the F~ZVMVof the French flight Test Center). k;, a metter 01" rae: we found 36S mm correspondmq to 5 I mm whereas 63 mm were measured on the Heller model

LOCKHEED C-60 Lodestar - Bernard Mecaire's collection

Recognition models were sometimes decorated with decals, but they never bore

T~~ \~~~~d~~py" lettenng on the nose at-

this CRUVER LOCKHEED Lodestar IS therefore apocryphal.

..

LTV Corenr II - Gerard Cabot

TIlls aggressive sunc belongs 10 the bee of US Navy VA-I 13 Squadron. The A-7Eversion of this Cms81I 11, based on the aircraft

earner USS Ranger has been assembled from the Hasegawa model, wlth Microscale decals from sheet No. 82.

LOCKHEED A -29 Hudson - Bernard Macaire's collection

This Lockheed Hudson was made In England by E.B,B. as a reccqntncn model for spotters. Wood and bakelite were used for its construction. The figure 52 written an the wmg is the number of the military order for the model and 306 IS ItS stocklisr reference number

53

KAWASAKI KJ J(X).J/GasMtlsen (A_oshima)

MACCHl C 202 Fo/gore (Superrnodel)

LOCKHEED P·38 jIL Lrghmmg (Frog)

M1TSUBIS:r1l A5M4 Claude (Nichimc)

LOCKHEED P-2V7 NepttJJJE! (Hasegawa)

LOCKHEED P-3NBlC (Haseqaw a )

LOCKHEED T'2V·/ Seasrar (Griffin)

B MILES Magister (Frog)

9" MESSERSCHM[T'I' 81109G (AirfIX)

MESSERSCHMITT Bi 109G - AirfLx Snap Packi-packi. clice-cec, snap-the, snaptogether, snap-fit, snap'n glue, .. all those names from all over the world refer to the same thing, i.e. rather crude models designed. for snap-together assembly

This AirrlX Bf. 1090 is an example of this mercantlie trend 10 persuade ycunq beginners to botch up sub-standard or shoddy articles, when it would be better to accustom them to fine workmanship gradually, thanks 10 helpful advice, clear assembly instructions and a good model, even though such leammg process will induce difficulties at the beginning. It is obviously in the manufacturer's interest to make assembly easier so as not to put ofT beginners, bUI this should not be dane at the expense of quality, the true "raison o'etra'' of a model. What is true of models is true of

54

any hobby: one cannot improve one's standards by working with poor products. The only way is to learn with the b_est tools and techniques, by trial and err()~ if. . necessary. The aI1 of fine mcdellinq lies In choosing the best available kit and usmg good methods of assembly ,and finishinq, that have nothmg in common with "snappmg together".

I_.'rv ClUSoOlder (Ha:.;,..g;awa)" Gerarri Colbof.

J LOCKHEED SR-71A BJilCkblfd (Hasegawa) 2 LDCKHEED C-I3Gb Hercules (Airfix)

3' LOCKHEED C-141A StarMer (Nova)

LOCKHEED C-141 Slarlifier - Nova

:Nova specialises in large-size vacutorms. but this Starlifler is not the larqest of this make.

The main parts of the landmg gear are made of metal. while the beautiful decal sheet IS from Micrcscale

55

HOLSTE Super-Broussard ~ Heller This box top reads "1/50 scale"

Did we make a mistake in presenting this Max Holste Super-Brousseni on that picture? Not so, in fact this is an error of the manufacturer since this model is to In5 scale,

The 1/48 (or 1/50) buffs who rely on the scale mentioned on the box will be fairly disappointed when discovering the parts' size which 1$ inconsistent with this assertion, at first sl.ght . ,

However let us notice that the 1971 Heller's catalogue mentions the right scale

56

I LOCKHEED AH·S6A Cheyenne

oouectan P. Legrand 2 I..AVOCHKIN LA-S

3 LIORE ET OLIVIER Leo 451

oj. MAX HOLSTE Supe,-iJrolJSSilrd 5 LOCKHEED F·80 Shooflng SlaT G Me Donnell r2H Bansl7ee

7 MITSUBISHI MU·Z

8 LOCKHEED YF-12 A 9 LA TEeDER.£ 298

10 MITSUBISH [ A 7M2 Sirn (Reppl1)

(Aurora) (halaeri) (Heller) (HeUer) (Allfu) (Allfu) (Olaki) IAHM) (Rudel) (Aoshiroil)

McDONNELL F3H-2 Demon - [ean-Pierre Balas

The nose and the air intakes of this arrcraf are particularly tormented In shape and have necessitated a complete modification of Airmodel's crude basis. Few reliable documents on the Demon are available, but an excellent article by Stephane Nicolaou with many colour and black and while photographs plus ~ three-view plan deser -s notice. It was published m the January and February 1983 issues of Au Fan No.5]

and 62.

Me DONNELL F3~!-~

1 MITSUBISHI MU-2S

2 LOCKHEED P·38PljIL Lightmng 3- NAMe YS-1/

<1 NORD 262 Frf:!gllte 5 MARTIN SP-SB

6 NORD 2SOi No/mias

(Hasegawa) (Ha.seg-a.W"-) (Bandai) CRed\lcta) (Haseq.aWd) (Heller)

NAMe YS-II- Imai

This Bandai box of the YS-l J also contains an aircraft tractor and splendid decals of top quality

NORD 262 Fregale - Reducta

Behind the railings of an old suburban house called "La Broussaille" (The Brushwood) at Vaucresson, west of Paris, a narrow alley leads to the fonner Etablissements Lenoel, now a dusty workshop. The rain that seeps in from the roof in some places makes large stains on the big crates piled up haphazardly on top of rusty machinery. A mouldy smell prevails but the place is fraught with magic as the very rust French models were born there soon after the war. Reducta models produced by Henri Lenoel came out in numerous varieties. The models in kit form

S8

were sold in navy blue boxes. The aircraft (10 1/60 scale) was made up with about 15 wooden parts, a.1I of which were carved and painted. '1'he smaller parts were made of copper, aluminium, clear plastic and celluloid, The roundels were made of coloured paper with glue on the back A small bag full of putty and a three-view drawing were also supplied.

Other models, used for wind tunnel tests b' Breguet, Nord-Aviation, Bloch, .. were made of hard wood, often hornbeam. Like models dating back from the period that immediately preceded ~ or follow~d - tho war, these models bear crossed stnpes on their surface. This is due to the \.ISe of layer of ditferent species of wood assembled cross-wise so as to prevent possible distortion and to facilLtate repairs

Finally, exhibition models should be

rner.ccned 'They ere sold fully asserno'cd 0:1 uer stand m bro-, » '11 wrappmq ca:rdboard '=-:~e sce'es vary barv.een 1 lO and 1 250 Ccmrery to most exrnbn.on models, Reducta :-:-:oc.e:S are oune accurate because they are built 'rom onqmal manufacturers' plans b:ys~'.r'rene. wood, ebomte. brass, alunumum end steel are used (aluminium IS moulded In -->::':1d moulds). More than 200 dmerent

models have been oroduced by Reducta but ":1:-; one 15 made of olasnc and to 1.75 scale Tlus. the Nord 262 Freoete IS oarticulerlv

: 'erestnq C_S !l !S the on1y model of 'he dl~('!art avauabie and IS quite accurate a-id -::,~::-,jlo1.!b~e v-nb Heller's Mex Holste SUper- N0ussa!d Moreover 11 is easy to convert the Reducra model mtc the Mohan-,j; 298, an

~:-n.Pro ... ed VerSlO:1 of the Nord 262 used by ::;':'-"era~ American atrhnes on domesuc thqhts

-

..

'\OR= ::~: r'!e;;;~~-: (~eO\lo;"i") j~.J:;-FI<:"C.t~':cs..\Jll.i"[

;-'lCRD ::5...1, V~~.J!.','" (He~~.) jcJ[)_i---':'N"~"'t\:':'JJ

59

McDONNELL F-15 Eagle - Airfix

Although Airfix has an unfortunate propensity to foist the "new" label on re-issued models, this McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is really new. The great advantage of Air£ix over their rivals is their efficient distribution and their ability 10 offer a wide range of reasonably good kits with a graded price range. This made It possible to distribute Airfix kits to all children of the world and many top modellers now acknowledge that they owe their proficrancy to their first attempts with one of the Series 1 models from that famous tradename.

NORTH AMERlCAlN rj-2 Pur; (RueplAnu)

MIchel Maruay. ..

60

I MACCHI MC205

2 MESSERSCHMI'IT Me. 163 Komer

3 MITSUBISHI r-i

~ MITSUBISHI A6M3 Hamp

5 Me DONNELL F3H·2 Demon

6 MESSERSCrJMITT Bf I09K-4

7* Me DONNELL F·lS.VB Eagle:

SMILES Mas!er III

9 MORANE·SAULNIER N

10 PANAVIA Tornado

(Supennodel) (Heller) (Haseqa.wa) (1'amiya.) (jruermodell) (HeUer) (AmIx) (Frog) (Revell) (Esci)

McDONNELL XP-67 Bal- Private Venture Srhcon moulds make it possible for one person only 10 produce models in limited senes (a few dozen kits) using basic tooling. N.DW small groups of enthusiasts c,an at last give Vent to their talent and creativity. This model of the McDonnell XP-El Bat has been produced by the Klub Plasukovych Modelaru of Prague m Czechoslovakia. About twenty people the world over have ISSued more

than 150 different resin-moulded kits to ln2 scale. They are mostly to be found m Eastern bloc coumnes, but the orqarusation of this ProdUctlOn, Irom plan drawing to final

product marketinq, is rather relevant to the West - or even the Par-West. The Ploneerihg make which appeared in France 1S Fabulon.

1 Me: DONNELL F'·4GIEIT 2 MACCHl Me 72 CasroldJ J' Me: DONNELL XP-67 Bar " .MARTIN XE·5J Panther

S MITSUBISHI K1.~5-I11 Dmah

6 NORTH AMeRICAN B-25C Miir:he/J .! Me DONNELL P·lS HlJ'mer

(llalaeri) (Delli)

{Pnvate ",e-nrure) [llieeufmm) (L.S.J

(Fmo)

(~)

61

McDONNELL DOUGLAS F-J5 EagleGerard Cabot

The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is currently one of the world's best

interceptors. 11 has been chosen for the air defence of the North American continent. On top of us many qualities. the Eagle is powered by engines able to provide it with

a formidable acceleration, That would have enabled It to outclimb the famous &tum V booster up to the altitude of I S,OOO m if it had been available then (the Saturn V made it possible for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon in July 1969). However the F-J5 is not merely an arr supenonty , fighte,I. It also happens to be the first sate'Iite-killinq aircraft. In order to fulfil that rrusston. the EagJe receives during its flight data provided by United States Space ' Defense Operation Command computers,

that enable I~ to follow a flight path vector m syr.chronisarion wuh the sarellite trajectory. The on-board c0!llputer then gives the best interception profile 10 the pilol and when the F- 15 has reached an altitude of 70000 feel Ih~ computer warns the pilot to fu·e the ' VOUl~ht Asat, a two-siaoe compact missile earned. under the belly of the aucraft. The Asat miSSile. which IS quided by a nv-o-laser ~ystem, then homes in on the satellite tracks It d01N!1 with opto-electrcmc sensors ~nd

62

manoeuvres with its 56 small rocket-engines to collide with its target. The speed at the moment of the impact is 12 m/s, which releases enough energy to blast the satelhte. That method of interception, i.e., the F-1S plus the Asaf missile, even makes it possible 10 shoot down satellites dunnq their ohmbmq phase and is much more efficient and flexible a method than the former techmque

which consisted of launchmg a heavy oster

from the ground. This former technique sometimes made II necessary to wait for 24 ho~s until the earth's rotation could place the Intercepting missile on the course of the satellite. The booster was then frred which placed an intercepting craft on an orbit crossing that of the target. Several revolutions were necessary before It could home In on the hostile satellite. When II W 1S within range, the mtercepnnq craft explo d and riddled the satellite wtlh shrapnel

The F-1B m the pholoqraph comes from Hasegawa kit. No Eagle is sold with the I 91 rmsstle yet.

I Me DONNEL11W-/Or C VOIXloo 2 MiTSUSISHI orM2lkuy

-3 MESSERSCHM1'ITMe252N8JA ~ M1TSUB1SHi. KI_ 109B

5- MART,IN P6M2 SeEmasler

(Frog) (t.il'ldberg-) Uo-HM'l.J (1.,5., (AiIrnodelJ

MARTIN P6M2 Seamasler - AmnodeL Franz Schadler, the founder of AirmodeL, unfortW1alely died in 1980. He left an abundant end original production, pari of which IS still sold by Richard Frank (FrankM.odellbau)_ The questionable accuracy of Ainnodel vecuformed kits has often come in [o~ criticism and it has to be said that for Airrryodel, quantity mattered more than quality However, il should also be pointed out lhat the quality of these models was unequal because they were not the bcr.cnnchlld of a single progenitor. About 40

Web models were used as "masters" for the production of Airmodel kits. This Martin

P6M2 Seamaster is nevertheless an original ~re~tiall a~nd represents one of the best ch,evements of the make, Thai aeroplane :""'h !he only jet-powered flying boat bomber o ave flown in the West

63

MI'1'SUBISHI I6·~JS Kamikaze - Mania

Mania models are unbelievably fine and all the minutest details are faithfully reproduced. 'This Japanese manufacturer pays particular attention to cockpit interiors and actually reproduces, for Instance, oxygen bottles.

It should be noted that Mania moulds are now at Hasegawa's plant

MARTIN 404 - jean-Frederic Bcullier

'I'his short and medium haul airliner was almost exclusively produced for Eastern and TWA airlines which operated a Ictal of about a hundred in all. A few Martin 404s were still flying In 1984 although they were first lmrodaced in the firties. This photograph shows that h IS not always necessary to resort to complicated techniques to

64

I NAKAJIMA CSNi 114m

2 NAKAJIMA Kl43-1/ Os=r 3 Mt'ISUBISHI A6MS Zer"

4' MITSU9ISH! KdS KamliGlze 5 KAWASAKI Type es

e: MARTIN B-268 MaICllJde!

7 MYASISHCHEV Mya.4 BISOn

(Aoshlma) (PujinU) Do-Han) (Mania)

(Gtl.Jl.M Sangyo) (AirliJl) (Conlrail)

represent Ihe transparencies of civihan aircraft. The cockpit and cabin WIndows on this solid-resin Airtec model have just been painted on and Ihe result seems quite satisfactory.

MIKOYAN-GUREVICH MIG 21 Serge P

Lunazai

Serge P Lunazzi who, as a French Army ~eserve Captam, IS 111 charge of recocmnon courses for Officers of the Reserve in the 3rd M~hlary Reg ion, has tned 10 portray all the known versions of the A1lG 21, showmq the d:~erent schemes actually adopted by the vancus countnas that fly Ihal aircraft as much as possible.

win tncdellers-spoiters be able 10 rdenbfy at 3. gl<.1nce toe version, the nauonaluy and the rneks of the models shown here'?

:.11- ?fF, .1' -! r }.;O:dVlelr'llL"l1

;.;,;, Matchbox ~ ,-,,!, Al,[IX ,- ,c'J;;.'lb,'d (.

)

u'.dor.e"ia· f.'l:ri~

:.'!, c [o:r'P\ ~'a:chlx!~

USSR !"etotJ.allc Teall\

\lll.u~hbox

",,' IndJ.1

Matchbox

;;JIL'" _'.' " F ,. Chma

Il.lrl0:

I.' .~-: ' EQy,;>l

~'\Itfl).: .!i;IIFlod,~!:

C~e(:hcslD\"lkla nHhx

l:gyp'

M.tlcl,bm; ro,,'

r "I;l.~;:" ;.!,~!d\bo,;

65

,----. ~ 2_ ~ ~ S--6-~-8

-- __ -

10 11

12

--_~

14

13

MIlOY;""" ."'fiG] ML;:OYAl"J MfGIS BiS .'c~llr M1':<0,[ AN MlGIS BIS Ft:.:)(J" MIKOYAN M1GI5 EIS F!igcJ"

:5 ML~OY_~.!II /'.~IOI5 fJTl J,:'d9.e:

6 M1KOY;._!\! MIGIJ PF F'rCSCl') D 7 MIKOY.'\)J MIGl!! SF _;""''1l!e! C B MJKOy_!t_::\ MIG!!) PAf. F~21 E 9 MIKOY At....: 1.1IGfB P,\J Fermer E; 10 MlKOYAN t!lG21 PF r::s..~ D I! UJKOY,A,N ! .. ~f '~I PF F;si>.J;e:;f D 12 MIKQ),' A~ J,~fG2J Flogge! B

13-' MIKOYAN MIG25 Fo:ilirl A

14 ~JKOY }\N M1G.2'

{CapCro!J:G'lS'Udl (AenJ'\e!;:)

CNo..,-o Expr:!"!) (Ko\"u.:.n-OOvJ (XO\·O~.;XMy) (Xo\"nz.iI\"OC!yJ (Ro.ttAvody)

urn

tceraran

(L),{C)

(NatchboX) (Allfu) (HaseQ<ll"-l) (Ha.segalva)

)':lKO~AN~GUREV!CH MIG 25 - Hasegawa

For the layman SoVIEI aeroplanes mean AHGs This IS due 1:0 the feet Ihal the aeroplanes dessqned by Mikovan and Gurevich have often hn l"je :-teadlmes and proved their worth when pined acamsr the best ::g:-llers 0: :he Wesi '.",'~enever lhf're -ves a -:,-cr or. :\iodei manufacturars have narura.Iy e',"!:'lCBC interest 1:1 .\:10s since

_953 U:1f-ornl!1ere:y hule precise rnformarion acout Ec;S~eI:1 bloc aeroplanes was available. so me flISI AUG models were entirely mace-urate as ,~er ned been desiqned eccordmo to so-cal.eo "disclo res' In fact fakes and photo-montages released by the Assoclafed Press .Agency in 1951

66

The MIG-19 produced by Aurora (l 4S~ Bachman (! 200) and Lindberg (I 48) are patently absurd because they portray [~e MIG 19 that only existed in the nunos 0: journalists. Surely the most stunrunq 0:: 3..: creet Soviet modeUing company called MCCNE the Moscow-based. National Consortium for The producnon and distribution of metal and plasuc toys, Thev faHhfull~r cop led the Lindberg mould. of rhe faked MIG J9 (however leavinp out the American HV AR rocket armamenn [hili producmq a faked AIIG 19 m rhe USSR use And the story does not end here for that MIG 19 15 tted In a box whose top

represents a MIG 15 and not a MIG 17

as some so-called speciahsts have clauned l:t to be

Fortunately, Ifl2 scale models of MlGs are somewhat more reahsnc and. in this field the case of Hasegawa IS mdeed admirable. Tlus company was still somewhat obscure as long as Its main activity consisted of subcontracunc Frog moulds. But since 1970, the company has become distmquished In three fields, i.e., modem US aircraft (many of

wfucb had never been produced in kit form before), ongmal japanese aucratt and appeahng types like the MIG 2S Foxbal.

'The MIG 25 V/S..S one of the best kepi secret aeroplanes ill the Soviet Union. It had chiefly been used for "reconnaissance" nights and had on vanous OCcaSIOns shown a clean pau of heels to the best interceptors of the penod (Phantom and MllClge) sent to intercept over Israel and Europe. On September 6th, 1976, Iaeurenant Viktor Belenkc defected to the West and landed his Foxbst at Hakodate, Japan, thus Q1vmg Hasegawa the opportumry for a resoundmg scoop. Before the officials of the base had had enough lime to cover up the aircraft, Hasegawa had it already inspected by Its 'informers' Ihat took video 5.!ms of all the details of the MIG Five

months later - quite a feat since 11 normally takes i8 months to produce a new model - rrnlhons of In2 scale models of this top secret ;:mctaJl were se mq like hot cakes, Hasegawa IS nowadays one of the most credible and oromismc man acrurcrs in the world They boast high-grade mouldmg techmcians. an admirable design department and a management with a Ilau for ccmmcrcraj opporturuues and a policy of makmg lonq-lastinq products. The only flaw

IS that Haseqa w ra models, however affordable they may be i.11 Japan, are so expensive in the West

MITSUBISHI Kt 109 - Didier Palix

ThIS photograph shows 8.'1 example of spray painted camouflage colours. It IS worth notmg thai the surface detailing !S etched in spite of the age of thrs L.S. kit. Transparent pa s such as one of the fuselage halves and the cowlmq panels are offered m [he box so as to enable the modeller to show off the mtenor which 15 unfortunately too sparsely furrushed

61

~I

I N.r...KAJIMA KI 44-11 TO)o

2 N.l\KAJllvI.A Kl 4J-11 Osca! :3 NAKAJIMA GaN1 Rl1a

.:; PIPER Cherokee J80 C 5' NIEUPORT N 17

6 MI'I'SUBISHI Kl ss-n Babs 1 NORTHROP F-5E nger Jl .s NORTH AMERICAN XB·70

(fUJLIIi) (h5.) (liil.5e<P\'\;~) (Aurora]

(PIa.ni((Ues Deml1ltt) (L.S.)

(luLI.en,

(COmrail)

NIEUPORT N. J 7 - Plastiques Dermatt Someumes models are sold as gifts or sales incermves wl!h other products. The Italian oubhsher Fratelli Fabri thus offered Revell and FJrfix remoulded kits aiong with their magazmes - Storia. DeJJ A viszione. Another example could be iound in the USA where RCA once gave Park Plastics models of the Boeing 707 to whoever bought 2 "His Master's Voice" TV set (oddly enough, the same model was sold in France in [he sixties under the Pegapan label)

:v1a.ny other models were given away to boost the sales of powdered chocolate,

too hpaste, mopeds, Camembert cheese, petrol and detergent, etc ,. Perhaps the most comical example was that of "Father Grap".

On this Nieuport l 7 kit Father Orap's partly toothless arch smile invites you to taste his 68

wine. The caption overleaf reads:

"Start a collection of Father Grap's old crates - twelve models for you to assemble. Cut out the lab on each bottle of v vine and paste it on the card. When your card has been _ completed your vintner will give you a kit a: a trail-blazing old crate".

144 litres of wme had to be drunk if one wanted to have the enure collection of twelve models! Some amateurs took to swigging plank, but [he stuff was .so . diabolical thai they soon had to glve it up that ew people have actually seen any of Father Crap's models. Yet there were sorrfoolhardy aficionados who plucked up the

~~~~a~eo;~ ~~nl;~eli~r:~o;- t~n~b~~~~h~s~~

twelve old crates. But however much they drank, the same six models always turned up.

In fact. Grap had ordered four moulds for

four aeroplanes each, only four of which were to 1172 scale. Only one of the four 'III/as a)~parently dtsmbuted by Crap. The three otners (alonq 1NlIh the one that was dtstnbuted by Grap) were finally sold under the Joy label

Collectors generally say that a model IS rare when II has been produced to a small senes. That IS often true bur not always. Millions of models produced and offered as sales .ncenuves can become unobtainable in a short ume because their life expectancy IS so ~_"IQrt Children play wrtb them and OJ lew nouts later lliey end up In the dustbin. One can S(Jy Ihat the raruv or a model depends

factors such JS us age, the number

crooucect u.e type of drstnbunon the Customers auned J! the pncmq etc lnd'vidual talents ar'e necessary' fbr ih~ eccurs.uon of a rare model, e.g., the

P01'EZ5·/o (Hellor) )lIcqr.re~·NlOt

knowledge of the channels of transactions or the abtlrty to make light of hnquisuc or geographic bamers. When a model accumulates those dtffrculues (or when the collector's abihnes are hrmted), the hope of findmq It wanes proportionately. That IS the reason why the imaqe of an armchair collector IS completely mistaken In fact, a collector's life has a smell of adventure the homebtrds '1'\'111 never knew

69

I NORTH AMER!CAN F-l08 A 2" NORTH AMERJCAN X-IS

3 NORTH AJv!E.RlCAN T·28

~ NORTH AMER!CAN F-86 E 5 NORTH AMERlCAN F'-.S8 D 6 NORTH AMERlGAN P-5i B 7 NORTH AMER!CAN F-82

8 NORTH AMERICAN P-.Si B 9 NORTH AM:ERICAN p-Si D 10 NORTH AMERlCAN RA-SC

(XX) (Miyallclti) (Heller) (PMS) (AirlU) (lindberg) (Monognm) CMQl'lograrn) (Hasegawa) (Allfu)

NORTH AMERICAN X-iS - Miyauchi

This k11 lS so rare and httle known Ihat most joumahsts who wnte for modelling rnaqazmes are unaware of its existence.

The North American X-JS has been offered by several makers 10 different scales, but the Miyauchi klt is unquestionably the finest and most accurate portrava! of the aircraft. It is finer than the Revell X-IS and better insofar as 1I IS very close to ln2 scale, Its compallb!lity with the Monogram 8-52 and the vacuformad crecns supplied by FrankModellba», make it all the more mtereslinq. Predictably ihough, the Miyauchi rrcdel IS eagerly-sought after by the keenest collectors m the world.

The X-JS was the outcome of a jorm proorarnme funded by NASA, the US Air Force and the US Navy. It was desiqned to explore the range of speeds In excess of Mach S

70

The X-iS made use of many advanced =c~~~~~r~~ame was designed to Withstand the high temperatures generated by the fnction of air and embodied elements that were made from a new, hlghly resistant alloY called InconeJ X chiefly nickel and chrorruurn.

~ The main undercarriage consisted f two skids thai retracted into the reel of U, and fuselage. They were lowered by gra

~rTg~nfl~~~~ ~off~~~lS comprised three cks

• a conventional One for Low speed t

(for approach and landing). ThIS tat

~r~v~~n~~,7~~~S:~~~ ~r~l~v~~n~~~O~ .jb-

acceleration phases of lltqhl .

• a second mini-stick, placed on II console, was destqned 10 ensure

controllabtlny when the aircraft was performmg a balhstrc flight in a rarefied atmosphere. Tlus was achieved thanks 10 several Jet controls.

- The nose boom equipped with angle of attack and side slip sensors was ultimately replaced by the so-called "hat nose", shaped like the tip of a ball-point pen. The sphere was pierced With holes for pressure measurement and was servoed to the airflow direction. It played the same role as traditional aerodynamic sensors, the latter being unusable durmq hypersonic flight

- In spite of the reluctance of the Air Force that favoured an escape module concept, Nonh American developed a rocket propelled eiecuon seal which could operate at speeds stretching from 90 kts to Ma.ch 4, - The enqine of 'he X-lS, the XLR-99, was the Erst to allow for a thrust adjustment from 40% to 100% of Ihe maximum thrust Restartmg of this engme was also possible in flight

- The X-IS generated many new technolouical developments that cannot be listed here but the reader will fmd further mforrnauon on this aircraft in the following books and magazmes:

• L'Enthousiaste No. 27 and 28 a very thorough article by Jay Miller (translated in French by J. Cuny)

• AJr Enthusiast NO.6 and Fljght (23rd December 1978): the history of the X-IS

• X1S an account of Scot! Crossfield's involvement With the X-J5 programme. Scott 1$ a former North American test pilot.

• The X-Planes: Jay Miller's description of the X-IS and its developed version. the XiSA-2; m chapters 20 and 2.1. A complete and chronological hst of all the flights is also

included. The same author's article In AerophJie Volume 1 No.2 IS also noteworthy.

North American built three X-iSs.

No. I was the first to fly. On June 8th 1959. Scott Crossfield performed a glidmg flight at Mach.79. Nine years later, on October 24th, 1968, No. I flew for the last tune and Was then exhibited In the National Air and Space Museum In washmuton.

No.2 was rebuilt after an accident and stretched by .74 m. It was then called X-ISA- 2, It was on this aircraft that the first, partially successful tests of a new ablative coatmg designed to protect the airframe [tom the heat, were performed. On October 3rd, 1961, the A-2 broke all the speed records of the period, reachmg the 6.12 Mach number

(7270 kmlh). It had been filled with unpresstve jethsonable propellant tanks (supplied wl1h the Frank-Modellbau hi). Thai proved 10 be the last night ollhe X-1SA-2. Once It was stnpped of its half-burnt ablative coating, 11 was sent 10 the US Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio.

A few weeks alter the laslflighl of the A-2. X-IS No.3 crashed when Its airframe broke up as the aircraft was re-entering the atmosphere. Control had been lost. Major Adams was killed on that occasion, on November 15th, 1967. The report of the accident has been published in AVlanon Week (August 12th and 26th. 1968).

The X-JS programme, one of the most outstanding in the history of aeronautics. had lasted for over ten years.

NORTH AMERICAN F·82 (Mol"l~) DrdJerP<'lIlx.

ilOj
",0
,nd
eJ<S
Ign-
71 NORTH AMERICAN F-1OOD Super SabreEsci

ESGi, a newcomer on the market place, are highly appreciated for their beautiful mouldings sold at very attractive pnces, Their fine decals come from Cartoqraf Collectors who are interested in the box shown on the picture are urqed to get ii, as the mention "with the French Air Force roundels" IS no Longer affixed

NORTH AMERICAN F-100 Super SabreDidier Palix

Assembling the Esci F-JOO IS a treat but the same can hardly be said for pamtmq it The mam source of trouble is the weamenno of the panels covering the afterburner section. The following pamting technique was used on the Super Sabre:

- a first coal of aluminium fimsh was applied,

- then a second coat of gold paint,

- a thud coal of thmned down ochre

followed,

- seven dark brown streaks were painted, 72

I NORTH AMERICAN B-45 C 2' NORTH AMERICAN r·JOO D 3 NORTH AMERICAN T·j9

4 NORTH AMERICAN T-6G

S NORTH AMERICAN F-BBF

6 NORTH AMERICAN QV·JOA 7 NOR'fH AMERICAN P-S1B

B NORTH AMERICAN F· ](J')C

(Aeroform) (Esci) (Airlec) (Hener) (Hener) (Revell) (AirfixJ (lMe)

_ a shade or metallised blue was added 10 the last three streaks,

- a final coat of thinned yellow ochre was sprayed on at the end.

An these operations were performed With an airbrush.

Alfred E. Harke suggests, In Scale Alrc[ail Modellmg Volume 4, No.8, to use the "egg shell" technique:

_ boil water m a pan and add three egg shells, , - let the water simmer and add the numc or alurnimum panels you need, then leave whole to bubble away.

The greater the number of egg shells. the shorter the borlmq time bur, as a rule, three shells will c.ve the aturrnruum shades simile. those on the rear of an p·/OO, after about 2C minutes, Then the foil should be applied dov on the aircraft model's surface with Micro Metal POi I Adhesive from Microscele

..

REPUBLIC f'-8·;(Alrfix) je,ln·Ap-rTc B,.,1.~!J

NURTfI "U\·ILp.rC;:".S F ICt- Super S ,h. ,.

_-

, I

-

73

NORTHROP YB·49 - Airmodel

Flymg wings have always fascinated people Already in 1914 the Dunne, a flying wing

with a swept back bIplane planIorm, caused wonder and astonishment wherever it appeared Between 1930 and 1950 J K Northrop introduced new developments. The sleek, streamlined shape of nis Oymg wings was so impressive and futuristic-looking that

a film producer included shots of the YB-49 in flight In tus Science Fiction rum War of (he Worlds. The YB-49 was the largest jet powered flYing wmg ever to have flown Flymg wings probably represent the most rational and advanced technique in the field of aeronautics as they offer the best compromise as far as structure and performances are concerned. Compared to Its contemporaries of the same dimensions, the YB-49 was the aircraft with the smallest

74

NORTHROP P-61 Black WIdow (frog)

NORTHROP T·38 Talon (Hasegawa)

NORTHROP Gamma (WilbllIT\S Brothers:)

NOORDUYN UC·64A Norseman (Matchbox)

NAKAJIMA 1(1-44 TOjo ShokJ {Tarniy a )

6 NORTHROP N·9M (Private Venture)

1· NORTHROP YB-49 (Ainnodet)

8 PIPER Il2lec (Aurora)

9 nl, P-23 A Ksms (Rl.lch)

to PP ALZ D, Xl! (Veedav)

turning radius, the hlghesl speed, the longest range and the heaviest payload. Unfortunately, flying wings proved to be highly unstable under certain. conditions and this probably caused the _accldent that occurred to the second aircraft, killino Captain Glen Edwards and his crew on June 5th, 1948. The fiymg wing has been abandoned since, but the name of Edwards was given 10 the famous Muroc sxpenrnente base in California, USA.

The introduction of the "Control Configured Vehicle" concept (CCV) has given nse to new hopes for the flying wings. The srnal! main cross section and eerodvnarnic cleanness of flying wings will prove to be valuable assets rOT designing new superscc intruders that w~11 be almost invisible to radars.

Will ilymg wmqs fmd their true place In the world of aeronautics 70 years after HS .ncepnon>

If, ill any case, you are mieresred in the YB- 49 mere is no perm m gomg around the museums for a chance 10 adrmre u 25. all the au-craft of the type were scrapped ill ]95810 the gnei of museum curators.

The occcmema on descnbmc those remarkable machines 15 very sparse but however. let us mennon the iollowiaq

- The PlYIng WlDgS of Nontnoo by Leo ] Kohn

~ orthrop f'lymg l!Vmgs by Edward T

Maloney, .

- liVJnged Wonders by E. T Wooldridge

- AIr ClassJcs Volume 3. No.5. M;;>y 19-67

~ Aeroplane MQnthJ~' Volume 2 No.2 February 1974,

~ Le FanatlQue oe l'AVlatHJn No 29, 303] Oanuary February, March 1972)

SUD A VIJ1.,. TION SE 1} 7 Vo!t1geur - Bernard Macaire collection

Tne 1 omoeur carne OU: O~ 1CP .n .3 c;'mpeu~on that pitted 11 aqamst the Dassault lJ-4S0 Sosrste - tne rmluary version of ~h:

D-:!5 CoJllJ1Junauie - towards the end t» 1938 The second prototype bmk~ up In fhqht durmq a hIgh speed test in .Ia:::uary 1959 The accident proved fatal to the crew e-o sounded I~e death-knell :or the prcjec;

~~~e~~~7~~~eJ IS built :TOm -very fine ,

wooden pans The transparencies are souc res.n but lock quire reahsnc

::5

REPUBLIC F-/OSA Ttnuuiercrnei LOCKHEED F-UMGS Sianigh,e[ PZL.P37Las

coJlecllo{1 F Por/le,

4 M.ESSERSCJ-lMI'IT M35B .5 SZD IS-/ SEP BIS coliecrlon D Pillu:

6 Me OONNELL F-4EIF Phanrom 11 7' ROCKVIELL 8-JB

[Heller Re~'ell) (Esc)

(Mtlao)

(Huma)

(PZO Sledlce)

ROCKWELL B-1 B - Monogram

A build.mg without any windows. lost ill a northern suburb of Clucaqo sports the name of Monogram on Its blank facade. followed

by . three dais. Three silos full of

polystyrene grams stand nearby, The place is 8601, Waukegan Road, Morton Grove, Illinois, USA, and once you are inside, it becomes obvious that this is the home of one of the best manufacturers In the world. About 40 models are proudly displayed In the showroom, each one having been produced to more: than one million copies, - e.g., the Mus/eng (P-51 B and D), the F4U Corsair. the P-40 Warhawk, the F-B6 Sabre, the MIG 15,

Monogram came into being In 1945 with Bob Reder, producmg the balsa flying models, then wooden kits to which plastic parts were qradually added for better details. Plasuc

76

definitely took over from March 1954 onwards for stanc models. The fust plasuc ku was the PC-} MIdget Racer, produced to be offered as a gIft to purchasers of Kelloq's breakfast cereals. Flyinq models also . included more and more plastic pans unn expanded polystyrene entirely took over from balsa In 1977.

Monogram owes It longevity to a choice at kits appearing on the market at the ngltt nrne and also to higher standards of engmeenng and mouldmg than Its Amer ;;; competitors. Moreover, the firm does T ,-' lack humour as some of their products ~:h. \\ - e.q .. the US Air "Farce" Flap jack rhos mad Funny Cars and the Shogun War .. rather G:JJdorak-hke, half-way betwee monstrous robots and spacecraft Othe examples include the Hea.d Ute, a phosphorescent skull WIth llashinq eye. snapp.nq jaws, and the MISSile Moblle

(clouds and missiles to be fixed to the ceihnq) , , , Since 1983 Monogram has become more serious, and they now concentrate on large In2 (and sometimes 114.8) scale, a field in which it has gained a good reputation

SHORT Empire - Bernard Macaire's collection

'Pnis model of the Shan Eminre 15 extremely rare. It is one of a set of 1000 delivered

ready assembled to Imperial lfuways Ltd, by Frog Penguin in 1939. That airline used 33 11~g boats of the type. The model was also available with a complete interior arrangement and a small battery DOwered ~ghting. One of the fuselage halves could be removed to display the passenger seats, the gall~ys and the carpeting as well as other equipment. Frog Penguin models were extremely accurate, thanks 10 careful design and the use of Reed-Prentice machine tools far the injection of ebonite, bakelite and

acetare, and celluloid for transparencies. Those matenals were not exempt from faults - the parts cracked too easily and the transparencies yellowed with time - however, they were a substantial improvement on wood. Frog Penguin models were pricy and COSI the equivalent of ten of today's models. The Short Empire with the inside fitted out, COSI the equivalent of three weeks' average pay, when it was ready assembled. That accounts for the fact that collectors who had to stint themselves to buy those models treasure them as they treasure their Rolls.

Frog Penguin also produced hangars, searchhghts for M defences, cannons, sound detectors, ambulances, wheeled or tracked vehicles, all to In2 scale, f'lymg models made from aluminium foil were available iII a larger scale from 1930 onwards, They "vere the oncin of the Frog tradename which stands for "Fly Right Off the Ground".

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1 SNCAS,06tJClOlOOO1'JTrloll 2 REGGlANE RE-200} Falco} 3- SUPERMARINE S:-Jill T-4

<l SEVERSKY P-35

S SZD 41 Jamar Slandard

collec!lon J C HOI-Squcnoph 6' RYAN M-I MaJ!plan€

1 RYAN Spmr of St-wUlS

.s SIKORSKY CH-54A SkyCIilM '9 SHINMEIWAPS-1ISS-2

(Rudell (SllpIOITnOOel) (Hawk} (Veeday) (PZW)

(G.een.b;rnkCaStle) [Novo) {A\l!or~) (Haseqawal

SUPERMARINE SWlIi F4 - Hawk

Hawk IS one of the earliest kit manufacturers, since us origin goes back to 1928. At that time, the company produced recognition models for the US Oovemment and these models were carved In plain wood. In 1959 Hawk released this SWIll wbich has been the only miecnon moulding of this aircraft so far

78

RY AN M.I MaJlplane - Greenbank Castle ThIS model of the well-known Ryan lv/-J Mailplane can be built In two versions, euht I with a radial or with an in-line enqme. Less than 3000 copies of It were produced m 19·[; by a gJ:OUp of madellers from Coupeville Washington, USA. Unfortunately odds were agamst the designers. smce shortly aner themodel was mark-ed by Scalecraft Model Imports, the Greenbank Castle vanished T, day, this kit has become extremely rare and difficult to find

1 REPUBLIC F'-I05D Thundercflref OIasegawa) Z REPUBLIC P·47 D Thunderoolt Oo-HalI)

3 REPUBLIC F-84G 1?llmdelJer (HeUer)

4 RE:PUBLIC XF·91 TI1UlIderceplol" (PrivOlle venrure) 5' REPUBLIC XF-!()3 (K.R.)

6 REPUBLIC rS'IF' ThundelSrreak (AirfI1:)

7' REPUBLIC P-S'IF ThtJl1dersrfeak (liawjl;)

B REPUBLIC RF-84i-" Thunderflash tnataeru

9 REPUBLIC P-47D Thuilderboll (Hasegawa)

10 REPUBLIC r·/05D Thundercluef (lMC)

REPUBLIC IT-96 Tnunderstreek - Hawk Hawk's F-84F has been superseded by newe;r and better offerings, but has aroused new mterest since the release of Monogram's B-36, Tlns IS due to the fact that the Hawk model does not really portray the F-84F, bUI Its YF-96 prototype. It IS thus POssible to represent the Picon (Fighter-

CoH nvevor) parasite fighter by canmbalismq

awk's F-B4F with K.R:s vaculormed YF-96 and mate it with the Monogram's B-36

REPUBLIC XF-JOJ - K.R,

The XF-l03. which the Dayton Daily News dubbed "the 100 MUllan Dollar Mystery [et", is one of those extraordinary projects which never came to Iruttion owing to a shortage of funds. Yet this Interceptor was opturnsed for speeds sxceedino Mach 3 and featured new techniques such as a titanium structure and a mixed propulsion system combtrunq a turbojet and a ramjet

Maybe some day a In2 replica wtll be available of the French Nord 1500 Cnikm II which was powered by a similar powerplant system and which flew, thanks to Andre Turcat, at a speed close to Mach 2.2 in October 1959

79

1~0ol C4"::J [}] ~

I~G~I

i- SAABj35

2 SAUNDERS· ROE 5 R_ 53 3 5MBJ2JA

~ 5MB J 37 VIgg2D 5 5MB J 29 'l'unnan S SoV.B 91 SaiiI

7 SAABJ3B M!lSen a: SAAB 105

9' SAVOIA MARCHETl'ISMBI

(He-DeT) (AirflX) {HeUerl (HeDer) (HeUer) (HeUer) (!ieUer)

(Arne Andersson) (SupelTl\od.e!)

SAAB MS Draken - Heller

The Republic Corporation alone has inspired at least 25 kit manufacturers in many countries (a few makes of Republic aircraft are shown on the precedmg page). Conversely, Heller moulded no less than six models from the same Swedish aircraft manufacturer SAAB in a short penod. Was [t mandatory for Heller to do so?

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SIKORSKY 5.58 Wessex Mk 3 - Scalecraft Some specialised writers seem 10 think that this Scalecraft model was built to 1/48 scale which shows that they never bothered to open the box. It IS in fact a In2 scale model.

SUPERMARINE Spirtire II - Frog

Some manufacturers contend that they have discovered a new policy for the sale of model kits, offering in the same box an easy to assemble madel along with paints and a brush In fact. Frog already made the same expenf!lent l~ years back, with its Inside Story kits. This Frog Inside Story model of the Soittire II was sold as a book and contained a rather crude model in twenty parts along with a [me colour brochure on the Spit, a historical account, a plan and a cutaway drawing. To this, Frog had added cement, paints, a paint brush, assembly

1 SIEBEL SL204D

2 SUPERMARINE SOll!ire

3' SIKORSKY 558 Wessex Mk3 4 SIKORSKY 555 Whirlwind

5 WEStLAND 558 Wessex

6' SUPERMARINE SpJ/fire JJ

7 SHORTSJ...~n

8 SAVOIA MARCHETTI 555X 9 SHORT 5w!aerfand 1lI

(Kovwavody) (HeUer) (Scalccrafl.) (AililX) (frog)

(frog) CAirnx) (Della) (AirfJJ<)

instructions with a pamt.nq guide and a set of decals, Moreover, Inside Story kits offered a sales incentive in the guise of 10 "Gold Tokens" that could be exchanged for other kits, flying models or Frog books. These efforts 10 find new customers for their production have unfortunately not saved Frog from Its fate, and the tradename

disappeared.

Now Bobcat's venture seems questionable. as their only innovations consist of water-soluble pamts and cement, One may wonder whether the real motivation of young modellers from 10 10 14 really consists of assemblmg models and taking them to pieces again several limes. Will these young modellers still opt for Bobcat when the same model is available In other makes elsewhere, but better enc.nccred. better boxed and sold al half price?

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SOPW1TI-! Camel F-I - Joy

Manufacturers of yogurt often sell their products in packs of three or S1.)(. This techmque has been adopted by model manufacturers in the gtuse of "gIft sets" Their ldea is to try and find a plausible reason for offering as many models as possible in the same box.

Par instance, Hasegawa strives 10 sell old kits in a senes devoted to the Thunderbirds aerobanc team, Airfix bundles loqether a tank. two arrcraf and a ship model in the same box to mitiate youngsters to the art of modellmq, a praiseworthy intention. Joy for their own pari make use of an historical erqument 10 sell off their "Old Crates" In sets of 12. Children are always happy 10 be presented with so many aircraft in the same box. That IS the way a collection of models sometimes gels started. Modellers will

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I SIKORSKY HH-3 JolJy Green (]Jal1l {Lindberg)

2 R.E 8 (Airfu)

3' SOPWlTH Cm1eJ P-J (JoV)

4 SUD-AVIATION Aloueue J!l (Heller)

S SUKHOI SU!i (Bole~!iI")

6 SUKHOI SU 7B Fmer A (V.f.B,)

T SIKORSKY HH·5JC SupeT fGG (AlrfIX)

8 SUPERMAItIN£ $pJlfire VB (AirrlX)

g' SUPERl-.tARINE ScJJm/8T (Frog)

always remember the day when they took their Iirst steps, but Ihey never can tell when they WIll take the last. This Joy set IS extremely Tate and httle-known. even among the specialists and WIll surely keep qift sets lavers or collectors of "Old Crates" very

busy

SUPERMARINE Scimuer - Frog

'T'he SCImitar was the last fighter produced by Supermarine and came into service in 1968 as the first supersonic shipboard fighter of The British Royal Navy. The Frog model IS still acceptable by today's standards. Only the cockpit area betrays the age of the model. The Scsmiter lS one of the most souqht-efter Frog krts and will remain an inaccessible dream to most English rnodellers for a long time to come, It is to be noted that the kits moulded in VlVId red plasuc by 'I'rianq are the most highly pnzed

'~~L3J=

~ c_: ~

r-r--r-: r-;Ql

._: c________j L______j

YOKOSUKA D4Y2judy- L.S.

Some models die and are born aoaui, only uglier. Others are improved for their second lease of hie. TIllS L.S. model of the judy staned as a 1Il5 model, bur was later lengthened and re-issued In In2 scale.

L.S. is to be congratulated for this rejuvenation

VICKERS V1SCO!!nI 700 - Airtec

New materials can offer new answers to old problems. Frbre-qlass coaled with epoxy resm is cheap and nord enough to make the production of ln2 scale airliners possible without expensive toohnq, Models of the Viscount 700 have thus been produced in Miami, florida, USA for Airtec,

i- YOKOWKA DlY"2 Judy a VOUGHT rns- J CUrlll'SS

3 VOUGHT C&U·S KlllgtisheI 4 YAKQVlEV }·ak 1 1M

S' YOKCGUKA .o-H7 Judy

5 WES'TLAND W:1,'\'em

1 WESTLi\ND L)7l~ l.H J S YOKOSUKA X5Y Wilk>"- 9 WES'I"LAND loynt

10 WRIGIIT Flr08l 190J

It' VICKERS V=W1t 700

(1.:5.) (Aurora) n,.ndberg} (Mikm) (L.s.) (fu>g) (lillfix) (L.S.) (/wfu) (Rertwal) {iw1ecl

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"

SPAoxm

WESTLAND Lysallder WSK MIELEC '[5-1 J iskra VICKE:RS WeJlesley

5 VICKERS Vll1lY

6' VOISIN·FARM. .. \N 1908 7 STINSON Tnmotor T

8 TUPOLEV TuE Bar

9 RA.f sese

10 SUPERMARINE Attacker FB 2 II TUPOt..e:V 'liL2' Baf

12 VICKERS Wellmgttm

13 SCOTTISH AVIATION 8~11dog

(R~lPw..:t) (Frog) (Ruch) (Matchbox) (Triang) (Renwal)

a &L) (Frog) (\1eeday) (Triang) (V.E:.B.) (AirtixJ (JlJrl1x)

VOISIN-FARMAN 1908 - Ranwal

Following up on the trail blazed by Brifaut models, Renwal released a hne of "Old Crates", now With a paper representation of the aircraft's fabric skin. Their process, known as Aero-SkIn, later inspired many decal manufacturers. Including France's famed and late Max Abt. The moulding of Renwal models is just as crisp as the earlier Brifaut ones but the pros and cons of paper or fabric skins have yel to be reconciled. Some other material and method will have to be found anyway, since a perfect reproduction of fabric skins is not to be discovered but still to be invented.

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VULTEE XP-S4 Swoose GoosePrivate Venture

Kits made of polymethane resm can have unexpected colours such as yellow, pink. black or pearl. This 15 due to the mineral and colounng additives they contain. Resin is heavier, harder and more brittle than polystyrene and more difficult to work WIth, However it can easily be softened by

heal mg. If a fault IS detected It can be reCtified with the help of a hair drier Cementmg IS earned QuI with epoxy glue (e.q., Araldite) or cyanoacrylates (e.q., Cyanoht), Unorthodox and rare models like nus XP-S4 Swoose Goose make resin kits anracuva and should encourage everybody to learn the construct Lon techmques.

VOUGHT rsu-/ P.lmle 'iAKOVLEII YakeJ' rlom YAKOVLEV Yak3 WESTLAND WhJrllVmd I

5 VIJLTEE Venge.lIlce MJ,.' 2

€. IfULTEE XP·54 Swoose Coose 1 TUPOLEV Ttl 22 Blinder

8 ZMC-2

(Aumode\) (Kovnaavody) (Heller) (Airfl.J[) (Frog)

(Private Venture) (Nova) (A.irnlod.el)

..

WACO CG-4A Hadllilil CJtaJaenJ jacques MOl

85

l' VOUGlr1' Real.lJus Il

2 SOvl£1' CwdcJl/le SA2

J Ri'AN f'IIeooc n BOM-J./E 4 ROCKWEL.L Sp<lce Shwlle S DOUGLAS 1'iJor·AbJe

(F;~v",U) (AuflX)

(Pnlfa~e venture) (Revell)

{Awor8)

VOUGHT Regulus JJ - Revell

The Vought SSM-N-9 Regulus II was a submanne-Iaunched Cruise missile but it could only be launched on the surface of the sea wnh Aerojet or Rocketdyne J.A T.Q. rockets of respectively 115,000 and 135,000 pounds thrust. On account of this, the Lockheed UGM-21A Patens A-J was chosen Instead as It was a much faster balhsnc rmssile and could be launched from a submerged submarine.

The Regulus If was designed to replace the subsonic Regulus I cruise missile and could reach more than twice the speed or its predecessor, thanks to lis advanced aerodynarrnc des.on and the use of the besl jet engme available then The missile Came OUI in two versions.

8S

The Revell model displayed here III its original packaging, represented the prototype version of the KD2U drone propelled by a Wright /-65 engine and remotely controlled by radio. The ordnance was replaced by a landmg gear and a drag chute so that the missile could lake oII and land like a conventional unmanned aircraft. The Revell box a rt shows a Regulus II taktnq off from Edwards AFB 10 May 1956.

The Monogram model portrays the RGM-l5A version on Its Fruehauf trailer thai allowed

for the launchmg or the craft from a naval base. an aircraft earner or a cruiser. The ROM- J SA rrussue was controlled by an merna! guidance system and earned a nuclear warhead. It was powered by a General Electric J-79-3A engine of 15,000

pounds thrust that enabled It to exceed

M~C'h 2, A total of 54 operanonal Regulus Us were produced over a penod of three months, They earned out 132 fuchts. sulTenng only twa lasses thai were not due to missile malfuncttcn

It was probably wronq to replace Regulus JJ with Polarrs missiles m 1959, for even though Po}ans-Iype weapons have kept or improved their quahnes nowadays, they WlU become more and more vulnerable because the tr6J€CIOTY of a ballistic missile can be predicted after launch The enemy will thus try to intercept them with anti-missile missiles, laser-armed satelhtes, particlebeam cannons or hyper velocity proiecufes thrown by electromagnetic pulses

On the other hand cnuse rrussiles oiler sigmficant advanteqes as long as technology progresses. They are as flexible and agile as manned aircraft and are protected by the atmosphere from space-based beam weapons Airframes and encmes have become so compact that It is now possible to

fire missiles nom submerged submarines The so-called: mosaic" term mal guidance system, which merges optical end electronic sensors, has given cruise rmssrles a hommg accuracy Improved In a magmtude of ]00 compared 10 balltsuc rmssiles These already considerable breakthroughs v/Ill be furthered WIth the introduction of 'stealth" technology damaqe-reststant airframes. hypersonic mteqrated scramjet enqmes as well as gUIdance activated by expert systems" able to automatically reprogram me the rrussue In order to take new situations or threats into account. Fault-tolerant fhqht controls Will enable the missile to complete Its mission even If half a wmg IS torn off while {all-safe and auto-adaptanve electronic counter-measures and defences will generate surorcal responses to attacks

In spire of all this, the 1985 version of the cruise rmssrle JS stlll slower than the Regulus JI and If one feels the urge to build a model of that rmssue. one should know that Revell offers II aqam In Its History Makers II senes

BOElNG AGM-86E Cruise Missite - Claude Boileau

ThIS model was buill from the Projekts Model Company bagged kit. It does represent the rust production missile as displayed in November, ]981, at the rollout ceremony which took place at the new manufactunng plan! of the Boeing Aerospace Company installed in Kent (south of Seattle), Washmgton.

AGM-86E IS typically a 8-52 and E-/ weapon. The Monoqram Rockwell B-} is provided with 17 cruise missiles but they are moulded in a stored configuration, r.e.. with their wings, fins and vertical stabilrser folded along the fuselage.

The Airfix B~ 1 1S also provided With cruise nusstles In a stored confiqurauon.

S7

I F'RITZX

2 BRISfOL Blaodhoulld 3 rlE:SELER FI- J03 (VI)

4· PHILCQ-f'ORD S/deWUlder 5 VOUGHT Regulus II

e GERMAN V2

1 GERMAN V2

.s DOUGI..AS 1110, SM-7S

(Olm\C) (AiIfu;) (rlog) (SMOC) (Monogram) (ReveU) (Crip) (;\1.I,IQr.o.)

PHILCO/FORD Sidewinder - SMDC

Ron Downey, an enqmeer workmg for McDonnell Douglas, had noticed that missiles sold with 1r72 scale model aircraft were

often inaccurate. Then It occurred to him that It rmqht be a good idea to offer a set of airto-air missiles under the SI\1DC (Scale Model Development Company) tradename Unfortunately, Ron only had a home-built iniection press and the final product looked somewhat disappointing, all the more so as the parts were so small. However, it has to be said that the original idea, when it was taken up by Hasegawa with industrial means, gave off far better results

Yet SMOC deserves to be beuer known and appreciated. Apart from hLS air-to-air and airto-ground missiles, Ron has produced an excellent lB-2 Loon (a forerunner of cruise missiles and one of the first to be fired from BB

a submarine) and a Fieseler Fi.103A-l. The latter was the unmanned version, without any ailerons whereas Heller's Fl. 103 is the Retcbenbero IV version, a manned atrcraf with a cockpit, ailerons and a different nose assembly. SIvIDC Vi IS sold With its trailer and, contrary to what has formerly been wntten about It in France, its pnee IS quite cornpeutive when matched aqainst comparable products. Frog's Vi (m fact Frog produced two slightly different moulds) is sa hard to come by these days that SMDC's choice has to be conqratulated.

It can only be hoped that Ron will have the success he deserves. 'T'hose who are Interested in small series injected models WIll be interested to know thai Ron IS the first basement producer to number the parts of his models and to use so-called 'pins" to extract his mouldings.

RESCUE AT DUNKIRK Diorama - MPC Arrangement of vanous models, figures and equipment In a scene of action, make up a diorama. Creatinq dioramas is an art which combines freedom with conventions. Modellers are free to use their own sensuiviry to Invent scenes or situations but must be careful to avoid any error that might dispel the illusion. They try to involve the spectator in the action presented by the diorama. The spectator should accept a "suspension of disbehef". He should try to understand what the modeller wanted to show and why he chose to capture the most pathetic, the most moving or simply, the most outstandmg moment, just like a painter.

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GERMAN 1EOPOLD RaIlway gun GERMAN AldOrauno' Crew (JS-4S)

US AlRCRAFT Seal Bel, & Hames:. Buckles pz. Kw.Vl Tiger lank

TOYOTA GB SIemer 7Tvck

WILLYS Llgh! Truck Wllh 37 mlm gun GERMAN 011 Drums and Accessones 'I".34 Thnk

9 RED GUARDS f)gures 10 MATILDA Mk u Tank

II FIA'f-ANSALDOM 13140 Thnk 12' RESCUE A'r DUNKIRK DIOrami3

(Hasegawa) (Pte~I) (Waldron) (pol.i$til) (Hasegawa) (HasIe901wa) (Preiser) (Polisti]) (Esd)

(Polistil) (Poiistil) (We)

F'IAT ANSALDO 75 MM (PolistillEsci) Man/age DldieJ PaJix

PANHARD AMD 178- [ean-Louis Couston This light armoured-car was built from a polyurethane resin kit produced by Alain Lalfargue.

The process - used for the first time in France - implements a technique of vacuum-moulding in silicon rubber moulds. However, in spite of its limited basementproduction capabilities, the quality is very close to the result obtained by better manufacturers of injection moulded kits. Alain Laffargue offers now some 50 vehicles (or conversions) and plans to issue his first aircraft, an improved version of the Fokker V.xX1 Frog model

In 1980, kits other than injection moulded were virtually unknown. Nowadays, they set up a new category sometimes dealing with odd subjects.

Among them we find the biggest 1172 scale kit ever produced (an. almost 5 m long model of the noclear powered aircraft-carrier USS Nimiu; and the smallest fiying object ever repwduced, that is the Canadair CL-227 "Flying Peanut", a battlefield surveillance

RPv (Remotely Piloted Vehicle).

JEEP (Ha~e9<LW<L) ngures (Pl'alser) ....

ClaLJdeBOllealJ

PANHARDAMD 178

93