97

AUG/SEPT 2021 • £6.95 UK $15.99

www.mengafvmodeller.com

Super
HORNET

BUILDING MENG’S NEW 1:48 FA-18E SUPER HORNET

 CONTENTS
2 Super Bug
Mark Neville builds Meng’s new 1:48 FA-18E Super Hornet

10 B-29 Superfortress Part Two

Jean Philippe Camus tackles the mighty vintage Monogram 1:48 kit

24 Sea Flanker Part 2

Mac Patterson gets paint on the new Minibase SU-33

32 Me 163B Komet
Paolo Potuesi is impressed with Gaspatch’s new 1:48 release

42 Little Patches Part Three

Andrea Vignocchi completes his spectacular 1:72 B-17G

56 PZL 11C
Marc Guerrero enjoys ICM’s latest large scale release

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1
2
In the previous issue we gave you a quick glimpse of this
impressive new release from Meng in 1:48. I’m pleased
to say my enthusiasm didn’t wain for this kit and it all
went together very nicely without any fuss, and
surprisingly very quickly.

Whether you’re a seasoned F-18 fan or just have a fancy

to build something different from your usual subjects, this
kit is hard to fault. The moulding is nothing short of
perfect and for such a complex airframe the fit is also
excellent; it’s just plain fun to build! (no pun intended). My
aim was to show what can be achieved straight from the
box by someone who knows next to nothing about the F-
18 (namely me!), even avoiding any re-engraving or filling
if possible. I’ve also used only the most basic of tools,
adhesives and finishing products; what you see is what
you get, even a novice modeller could I’m sure get great
satisfaction from this kit and the detailers have a great
basis to work on.

The instructions are very clear and simple and have you
itching to get started, no surprise that the cockpit is the
first step of assembly...let’s go...

3
 The front wheel well
attaches to the underside With only seven parts the cockpit
of the cockpit, the six parts tub and instrument are sharply
ensure some really nice detailed. A photoetched part for
detail. Note the substantial the access panel is a nice touch.
mounting holes for the Two pilot figures are included (and
landing gear which is a two ejector seats) for an obvious
tight push fit. future release of the ‘F’.

The pilot paints-up nicely but if you don’t want to

use him you’ll need to source your own seat belts.
Seat and pilot are actually the last stage of assembly; fit
the seat first, then the pilot to allow his hand to fit nicely
around the control stick. I found I had to sand a little off the
square locating peg of the seat base to allow a push-fit.

Decals are supplied for the instrument panels but a

plain/flat part option would have been preferable as the
decals wouldn’t conform to the raised detail, I chose to
pick-out the details in acrylic. The screens were flooded
with green drawing ink over the black base coat.

Remember I mentioned no filler?

The M61A1 cannon port is I did wind-up with a tiny gap where
a separate part so was left the upper fuselage and wings part
off for painting meet the front fuselage section.

Stabilisers
are plugged
onto internal
poly-caps to
allow posing
and can be
left off for
In hindsight some painting.
finishing of this joint
would have been
easily done.
All control surfaces can be
posed retracted or
extended and the fit is
superb.

Wings can be posed

folded should you wish.

Steel pins allow

interchangeable
payloads and fuel tanks

Main-gear wheel wells are a

busy affair but a simple
assembly. Main gear has a
large oval locating point.

All trailing and leading

edges are nice and thin for Landing gear shows more excellent detail.
a pleasing scale Some will prefer a ‘weighted’ tyre on the main
appearance. Panel lines gear wheels but the hub detail is sharp.
and rivet detail is nice and Detailers may want to add hydraulic lines etc
the various mesh panels but they’re a great base to work on. Parked or
throughout are beautifully launch options are given for the nose gear.
done with no need for
photoetch.

Pylons have the correct

‘toe-out’ appearance.

4
 The kit offers an excellent selection of highly
detailed ordnance; along with the fuel tanks
there’s GBU-24 and GBU-16 (two of each), AIM-
X and AIM-9M (two of each) and three AIM-
120Cs. An AN/ASQ-228 pod also features. Slide
moulding is shown at it’s best with the stores
with also offer detailed decals and clear optical
parts.

Meng’s vinyl masks are a good fit

Exhaust nozzles are decent with a full depth of
and nicely flexible, take care as the
adhesive has a strong grab. I filled detail finished off with some photoetch.
the remaining areas with Solid Moulding limitations leave a lack of definition at
Scale liquid mask. the rear edge where the inner and outer petals
touch, probably something 3D printing could
capture from the aftermarket guys. Two types of
exhaust pattern for different ‘Blocks’ are
included as are the superb ECS exhaust inserts
(between the rear vertical fins).

This was what I’d really been looking forward

to. Never having tackled the modern Navy
finishes I was keen to try and replicate a
weathered combat veteran and chose the
simplest scheme from the four offered. The
classic Dark Ghost Gray FS 36320 and the
undersides in Light Ghost Gray FS 36375.

All of the paint manufacturers do

their own versions of the Navy
greys but from the reference I’d
gathered I knew I needed to go
light as weathering would darken
things down. I decided to go with
my own mix for these low-
contrasting tones but first I
carried out some pre-shading
and mottling with Mr.Paint black
fine surface primer. This is a very
thin lacquer-based paint which
bites well into bare plastic.

The grey tones were done with Mr. Hobby

acrylic thinned with their own Levelling Thinner
400 which sprays beautifully. Gloss white (H1)
and satin RLM75 (H69) were applied by eye
and mixed in various ratios to achieve a start
to the very non-uniform finish I observed in the
reference images I’d gathered. The semi-
gloss finish is certainly a help when applying
all of those decals which was my next step.

The superb Cartograf printed decal sheet offers

four options of U.S. aircraft including VFA-87
‘Golden Warriors’ 2017 and two schemes from
the iconic VFA-31 ‘Tomcatters’ from 2009 and
2017 (U.S.S. George H.W.Bush). My chosen
markings are an aircraft from “Golden Warriors”
piloted by R.J. Prescott in 2017. Although
nothing much jumps-out from the markings (as
you’d expect with low-vis livery) the decals are
somewhat plentiful to say the least! Many are
barely noticeable but it’s certainly the most time
consuming aspect of the project. Luckily
Cartograf’s quality shines through and
everything settles down a treat with a little
setting solution (Aeroset worked well for me). 5
 All of the shading, highlighting and weathering
was done with only a few products. Having not
tackled this kind of finish before I stuck with
materials I’m comfortable with. Lamp Black,
white, Yellow Ochre and Burnt Umber oil
colours (Windsor & Newton), Humbrol enamel
thinner and a couple of pigment powders.

I tend to work in one section at a

time on a sizeable model like this.
The first step was a very dilute
overall wash of black. Not only did
this define panel and rivet detail,
but where we’d usually remove any
excess wash, I used a clean
rounded brush and piece of sponge
to gently push and dab at the tinted
thinner to add to the random
mottled effect. While this was still
damp I proceeded to add a few
stronger washes to define details
further and add shadow and depth.

Also onto the still damp surface I

added touches of thinned oil colour
which blends nicely with a clean
brush. The sheen of the Mr Hobby
paint certainly helps this process
allowing the thinner to move
around, a matt surface just ‘sucks-
up’ washes and filters.

Using a damp brush of clean thinner I was able

to wipe away back to the base grey to give I found some great images of fuel
some definition and the effect of retouched tanks being manoeuvred on-deck
areas of paint common in the reference images. which were really heavily
discoloured, again washes of oils
gave a good effect.

The cannon port panel was

airbrushed with black primer then
buffed with Lifecolor Reflective
Agent for a metallic sheen.

One of the most satisfying parts of the paint process was applying the
final flat coat. Everyone seems to have their favourite matt varnish, but if
the jury’s out for you I’d suggest Mission Models Clear Flat which dries
nicely without a ‘gritty’ finish even when dusted on from a distance.
Everything was now harmonised with a dead flat finish and I could do the
glory job of removing the mask from the canopy.

6
 The oil washes were again used on the fuel
tanks, note the speckled effect done by dabbing
a dry piece of sponge onto the damp wash.

Meng’s instructions call out an olive

green all-over for the GBU-16s but many
photos show Navy aircraft mounted
weapons with light grey bodies which
adds some interest. Scuffs and scratches
were added with a sharp soft pencil.

Straight from the box I was very pleased

with the finesse of the stores, all those
decals take time but as always in
modelling the extra effort is worth it for
A welcome feature is some
the end result.
large locating pegs for the
Matt varnish is yet to be applied hence
main gear and the nose
the glossy decals.
gear. I found the nose legs a
tight fit requiring a quick wipe
with a sanding stick.
I was also impressed with the landing gear. There’s a few fiddly
A Molotow chrome marker
smaller parts but add your own plumbing and pipe work and
picks out the finish of the
you’ll have as good a result as aftermarket parts. Nice touches
oleo piston.
are the clear landing light and the decals provided. Wheel hub
detail is superb and masks are provided for spraying the tyres.
I picked out the tyre walls by brushing some diluted Lifecolor
‘Old Rubber’ acrylic. Washes of grey, black and Burnt Umber
oils pick out the detail. Once mounted in place some Lifecolor
‘Fresh Grease’ effect was applied sparingly
around some of the joints.

Exhaust nozzles were

undercoated in black
and buffed with Colour reference images
Lifecolor Reflective are plentiful of the F-18,
Agent. Images show a this staining appears on
linear effect which was many aircraft which I’ve
added with a soft replicated with more oil
pencil. Internal paint washes and some
discolouration was ‘Russian Earth’ pigment
done with sand- powder. I found the wheels a
coloured pigment. slightly sloppy fit and
used the thicker
Tamiya white cap
cement giving them
time to set properly.

I foolishly tried to pick-

out the red edges of
the doors (presumably
a moving part warning
for maintenence
crews?) while they
were in situ, tricky to
say the least!

7
 I’ve kind-of got tired of the overused phrase ‘Ticks all the boxes’
but I’m afraid it’s really applicable to this kit. It’s well presented
and smacks of quality as soon as you open the box with the neatly
packaged sprues, photoetch, info cards, big decal sheet and
clear, methodical instructions. There’s enough parts to hit the
levels of detail experienced modellers demand, but not so many
unnecessary tiny components to scare off the more novice builder.
The moulding and fit is superb- as good as any kit I’ve built in fact
which surely is one of the most important boxes to tick; it’s a
pleasure to put together and won’t sap your time and energy.
8
Finally, the cost of the kit. You’ll find the price at the moment is
comparable with the Hasegawa offering which many F-18 fans I’m
sure will have stashed away or maybe actually might have built
one! I’d put that at very good value considering Meng’s fresh state
of the art tooling, folding wing option, decal choices and the array
of ordnance available.
I hope I’ve given you a good insight of what to expect from this kit,
I have to say I’d highly recommend it to any modeller; top marks
Meng, bring on the two seater ‘F’!
9
10
2

11
 MAIN LANDING GEAR AND WHEEL WELLS

The gear legs were prepared to receive extra
detailing. After a careful "cleaning" with files and a
fresh X-Acto blade, I drilled two holes in the upper "T"
section as well as the offset apertures of the hydraulic
lines on the axles of wheels. Note the instruction
plates as seen on reference images.
The Eduard photo-etched parts greatly
improve the realism of the strut. One can
imagine the difficulty of recreating these
symmetrical details in plastic with the same
success.
I happened to have purchased the True Detail
resin wheels many years ago. Others nice wheels
also can be found in the Flightline Engineering kit
or by Resin2detail. I reduced the exaggerated
weighted effect with some careful sanding.

This image shows that the four wheel well doors of the Resin2detail After covering the doors with Tamiya’s X18
set are preferable to those of the kit. However, I recreated the outer black satin, which has the advantage of
surfaces with thick foil for riveting purposes. Remember that these providing a good grip for foil, I apply the
gear hatches are articulated on ‘piano’ hinges in reality. “polished aluminum” of AK’s Xtreme Metal
range.
This image of a preserved aircraft
shows the rivetting and hinge
mechanism clearly.

The actuating cylinders of the main wheel well doors

provided by Monogram do not seem to correspond to
reality. As a result, only one electric motor remains on
the three moulded cylinders and the cylinders are
replaced by metal tubing. We see the three stages of
transformation in this picture.

I preferred to construct (a model in itself!) the

main wheel wells using the two Eduard frets,
the kit parts are very poor. Even if neither of the
two solutions is an exact replica of the reality,
the photoetch solution is a far better approach.
The rear curve has to fit inside the nacelle. It
takes a high degree of precision.
While fighter wheel wells are often contained
‘boxes’ such as on the P-51 or Typhoon making
replacement easy, this is a different matter with
a four-engine bomber. My priority is the strength
of these assembly parts. I reinforced the angles
with Evergreen profiles sanded to shape on the
sides for a good installation into the pods.
Left is a comparison with the kit parts.

12
NACELLES AND WINGS
The riveting of the wings is relatively simple to
carry out. Only the rear half of the nacelle will be
preserved after the grafting-on of the resin part
from the Flight Engineering kit.

Each half of the wing was scribed along the structure

lines, then the surfaces are carefully sanded before
being riveted then sanded again to reduce the
impressions of the riveting device. Remember that the
surfaces being aluminum, the rivet traces must be
delicate to avoid a too pronounced effect. All that
remains is to polish so that the surfaces are as smooth
and clean as possible. Eduard’s inspection hatches are
very thin and in scale. Attached with the CA glue, they
look perfect after painting.

I sanded the inside of the walls of the nacelles as

much as possible, without making the structure
fragile. Even though quite hard, the kit styrene is still
brittle.
I removed the bottom half of the outer engine nacelle
to install the resin part that replaces it. Visually the
resin part appeared a good match to the complex
curves, well, it wasn’t. The gaps were filled with CA
glue in layers then sanded to remove any steps.

Once this operation had been completed, I could

finish installing the many details that Eduard has
provided for this B-29.

In addition to the very small access panels, it will

take a little patience to replace the 146 1.2mm by
0.8mm hatches whose relief contours have been
previously removed from the wings. Made of wood or
composite materials in reality, these hatches allowed
easy access to the bolts of the various wing sections.

The time has come to paint an undercoat of X-18

Tamiya satin black on the wings and internals, which
will highlight the metal hues. Black is also the base
of the deicing boots in the leading edges. I
recommend having a good supply of different types
of adhesive tapes to start this last step of painting,
the surfaces being very important. I protect these
"deicing boots" with Tamiya tape before beginning to
apply the different shades of metal effects.

13
 These are the main hues that I now use for both wings and fuselage,
which allow me a wide variety of blends and shades.

Based on the WW2

photos, I start this
painting phase with
Tamiya AS-12

With the initial silver protected, I sprayed light coats

of steel and aluminum Vallejo on the front edges of
the four nacelles, which supported the engine
cooling in reality.
A chrome and aluminum mixture of the same brand
covers the large underside and upper flaps and wing
sections.

It is always useful when working with

such subtle tones to constantly refer
to photos of the Pacific B-29s to
faithfully reproduce the appearance
of the bomber.

Resin engines were already

prepared can easily be installed in
their housing after previous dry
fitting and adjusting.

The right and left wings are

ready to be fixed to the
fuselage. I keep the leading
edge masks in place for these
manipulations. One can imagine
how difficult it would have been
masking and painting these
huge wings if they had been
fixed in position beforehand.

I brushed traces of fluids

and significant exhaust
stains by estimating that
the aircraft flew a long
uninterrupted flight to
Saïpan.

14
The B-29 Super Update Kit from Flightline
Engineering dedicated to our B-29 is truly amazing.
Models within the model, it offers four Wright R-3350-
35A engines whose 72 cylinders are supplied
separately.
The main body of each engine receives the
“Engine grey FS16081” H339 from Mr
Hobby Color and oil traces are applied. The
bolts on the reducer outlet are picked-out
with aluminum. I added the four
manufacturer plates and after a delicate
separation of the ignition parts from their
moulding sprue, I paint them black and
aluminum by referring to my photos.
Turbocharger and exhaust parts are perfectly
rendered. An opening is provided by the resin set to
which I added wire to replace broken fragile resin
parts. The three painting phases are: AS-12 overlay,
a transparent oil-wash of two or three browns ("Bruno
mimetico" and "Wood brown" in this case) and, when
completely dry, a second transparent black wash.
Rust deposits were finally added with desert yellow
(Tamiya) and light brown (Mr Hobby Color).

The transparency of brown on the

aluminum gives the impression of raw
metal.
The turbo system and exhaust stains are
painted with light beige variations using
Tamiya’s XF-52 “Flat Earth”.

The comparison of the resin engine and

the kit’s leaves little choice...
The four engines constitute a superb
ensemble! Regarding the numerous
electrical connections, I only reproduce the
first row so as not to hide the beautiful
cylinders.

I refined the inner side of

the cooling flaps to attach
the control rod fasteners,
made in profile "U" n°261
from Evergreen (1.5 mm).
A coat of grey acrylic
H334 Mr Hobby Color
completes the
preparation.

The edges of the engine cowls housed the exhaust outlets.

A piece of resin extends the engine air intake: its Once this surgery was done, I Their steel alloy quickly bore the stigma of heat stress. I
installation requires relative dexterity! A slight problem inserted the engines into their applied a mixture of steel and chrome from the Vallejo
needs to be corrected at this stage of the assembly hoods without problem, taking range, then variations using Alclad’s “Pale burnt metal” ALC-
removing a one millimeter step I discovered between the care to number them after a 104. A single disk of paper was enough to protect the
engine covers and the cooling flap crowns. blank test. engines.

A final fine coat of

"Polished aluminum" from
AK is applied to some
cooling shutters and oil
traces by brush on each
hood using the Mr Hobby
Color reference "Oil" H-342. 15
 After having detached the kit rudder I smoothed
the fabric effect. Creating the rudder-supporting
hinges is a simple operation.
Note that they are not parallel to the axis of flight,
but inclined by a few degrees.
Model manufacturers tend to exaggerate the
effects of fabric parts so I reworked the elevator
flaps and rudder. One can find on the website
Prime Portal particular pictures of B-29s whose
parts are still covered with the original canvas
and are clearly smooth.

As seen in the "bomb bays" chapter, this is the

opportunity to add lightening holes in the airframe
observed in the images of the bomber. Although
The positive effect of surface riveting can be seen on these pictures: I have drawn pencil guides
not much fun, this area should have forty eight 1.1
on the fuselage, referring to both the Soviet T-4 plans and the photographs of the aircraft in the
mm holes: this means being accurate and patient
Pacific. A point of interest for rivet counters; towards the rear of the aircraft, just ahead of the
by first marking the centre of the hole to be drilled.
waist gunner stations the rivets are more numerous, this is often the section where the fuselage
tended to break up in photographs of landing accidents.

The left half fuselage is riveted and softly
sanded: it should be noted that the visibility
of these "flush" rivets is quite low in reality.
Since the kit porthole windows are a poor fit,
I decided to represent these windows on
both sides of the cockpit with acetate film.
In reality, the inner tunnel provides pressurized access to the
astrodome witch is not represented in the kit. I painted this
part of the tunnel in dark green, as it will be visible through
the glass dome.
The semi-spherical portholes of the Squadron Vacformed set
(reference n° 9641) are the ones I choose for the waist
gunner stations, thinner than those of the box.

This detail on the real bomber

was omitted by Monogram
and is not provided in the
Eduard photoetch
references : I recreated it in
plastic card. These hatches
probably covered antennae
fittings; some pictures show
The aperture of the domed window of the upper
B-29s wearing a raised blister
gunner required some work prior to installation
panel when these antennas
of it’s circular rail and collimator. I did the same
were installed.
16 for the astrodome behind the cockpit.
 Looking at the photos in the Squadron
Signal “Walk Around”, I noticed that the
upper fuselage has “round head” rivets
that I choose to reproduce using Archer
surface details decals (No.24).

I experienced the disappointment of both of my B-29

kits having damaged clear sprues. Fortunately, some of
the aftermarket guys offer alternatives. Squadron has
created a Vacformed set (reference number 9641). I
have also the fortune of an acquaintance in Portugal,
Joào Rodrigues, who was able to make a copy of the
cockpit glazing in a transparent resin. The main
interest of what he did has been to correct the first two
rows of the upper windows of the cockpit glass roof:
this part was equipped with flat windows on the real
bomber, detail that Monogram’s parts did not replicate.
I created two window handles on the pilots positions
according to my references.

Once the glass roof windows have been

masked, the green interior of the cockpit
precedes the passage of pale grey that will
feature the insulating joints on the first row
of windows.
AS-12 aluminum is sprayed over the entire
fuselage, forming both a solid undercoat
before painting and the first of many
metallic nuances observed in the photos of
the battle front.

Although well documented, the B-29 still has some ‘dark spots’. I
know that the aircraft was equipped with a ventral radar. I then asked
Laurent Boulestin, who shared his analysis: In some photos, we see
the H2X radome of B-17 and B-24 pathfinders, with another cylinder
behind it: according to some sources, the whole unit would be more
or less retractable. Some B-29s would have received H2X instead of
AN/APQ13, which must be an evolution. So I went for the radome on
the new Monogram sprue painted in Tamiya’s AS-2 “Light Gray IJN”
spray and weathered. As for the mysterious cylinder behind it, I
created it from the Evergreen 232 SB tube 9.5 mm in diameter and
coated it with the AS-12 "Aluminum" again, from Tamiya.

I used the same process

used on the wings to obtain
the many bare metal
shades. Most wartime
images are in black and
white so the finishes and
tones are open to
interpretation.

Since I could not determine whether the B-29 unit

markings in the PTO were matt or gloss, I chose to apply a
satin varnish to them after having cut them as close as
possible to the print: the carrier film would have shown on
the aluminum surface. A mixture of Kits-world and
Aéromaster decals were used accordingly.

Decals are
sensitive to
softeners and
responded well.

17
 DEFENSIVE WEAPONS AND THE FINAL PUSH

The rear gunner seat is moulded into a kind of
fictitious floor with ammunition supply chutes. I
chose to correct the seat using a P-51D seat
bucket, two fabric straps must have joined these
two articulated parts in reality.
In this image, the assemblies of the bomber
station and the two waist gunners showing their
electrical connections, one can only guess that
their supports were thinner than those of the
bomber station.
The tail machine gun collimator; the bulkhead is
simplified by Monogram but the addition of wiring and
electrical connections gives a detailed, busy
appearance.

The dorsal defensive turret ready to be When it landed on the island

The defensive turrets are equipped with the MG
barrels of the Ukrainian brand Karaya, which
may no longer exist.
installed, impressive with its four '50
Cals (.mm). Remember that each
aircraft carries 12 of these machine
guns in its current version in the Pacific!
The base of this turret was modified with
plastic card with a guide limiting it’s line
of fire to protect the tail.
of Saïpan, the B-29 I chose
to build was equipped with
two 50-mm machine guns
and a 20-mm gun in a rear
turret. The detail work to
create this was largely
guessed from the available
reference to hand.

I was desperate to fix the wings into position but allowed a minimum
of 24 hours drying time for the painted sub-assemblies. With a
wingspan of around 1 metre this would be almost impossible to
manoeuvre for painting around the workbench!

18
With the wings in place all of the sub-assemblies and details could
now be added and the big moment of removing the masks. The final
task was to add the antenna lines.

A huge project, a huge model and hugely satisfying. I hope you agree
all of the effort was worth it.

19
20
21
24
FLANKER FINAL STRETCH
As mentioned in part one of the build, the levels of finesse and
detailing achieved by Minibase are a real tour de force. Looking
again particularly at the completed cockpit, ejection seat and
undercarriage, you have to constantly remind yourself that these
are all injection parts and not aftermarket resin, the effect is
remarkable. However, its not all plain sailing for this sea going
Flanker, as we will see...

ELECTRIC BLUES
The Sea Flanker creates a large and impressive canvas for the
modeller to indulge their favourite painting and weathering
techniques on.
In a world where most frontline aircraft are dressed in functional,
effective monotone camouflage, the Russian Flankers offer a
welcome burst of colour, the disruptive design worn by SU 33’s
being particularly eye-catching.

25
 PRIMED FOR ACTION
Ahead of attempting to replicate the tricolour
camouflage, I primed the entire build and
checked if there was need for any remedial
filling or sanding. It’s a remarkable testament to
the quality of the plastic and the engineering of
the parts that I barely went near the tube of filler.
Once happy, I decided to pre-shade selected
areas and panels to give the final paint work a
degree of modulation.
CANNED HEAT
An iconic characteristic of the Flanker family is the heat
staining to the rear fuselage decking and exhaust cans. The
real aircraft display a myriad of burnished colours, offering the
modeller real artistic license to capture. I suspect everyone
will have their own particular way to achieve these effects, I
elected to have a base coat of Mission Models Aluminium to
build upon. I masked off some of the access panels using the
New Ware self adhesive paint mask set. Heat staining was
then created by airbrushing a variety of paint including Mig
Titanium and Polished Metal as well as Mission Models
Metallic Burnt Metal, Duraluminum and Cold Rolled Steel.
Checking against photographic reference, the effect is most
satisfying and was replicated on the exhaust cans- a light
dusting of Tamiya Titanium Gold completed the heat staining.
THE STORY OF THE BLUES
The comprehensive instruction book provides very informative
illustrations of the camouflage livery carried by the Sea
Flanker. These illustrations show a definite hard edge to the
camouflage pattern, this seems to be accurate for later
service SU 33’s. In initial service, the Flanker appears to wear
a softer edge camouflage, with lighter, almost faded blues.
To replicate the hard edge and richer colours, I chose from
the Mr Colour Semi Gloss range. The basecoat of Grayish
Blue was applied in a couple of light coats allowing the
preshading to show through, the smooth semi gloss finish
looking ideal.
26 DON’T FORGET YOUR MASK…
The complex nature of the Sea Flanker camouflage requires
patience to replicate, the soft curves and rounded edges
were masked, ensuring a sharp, replacement scalpel blade
was always on hand. Once all airbrushing was done and the
masks removed, the Mr Models paint provided a slick surface
for the decals without requiring a coat of varnish.
WINGING IT
At this point I still hadn’t decided if I was going to display the
Flanker with wings folded or not. The kit provides incredible
detail for the fold mechanism and was extremely tempting,
but the aesthetic of the Flanker really needs the aircraft to
spread its wings for the full effect.
It was now that I realised I should have made the decision
much earlier in the build…the interlocking teeth of the
mechanism look phenomenal, but in truth, attempting to
achieve alignment and fit was extremely trying, requiring a
little selective sanding to some of the teeth for a positive fit. I
would suggest you need to decide early in the build how you
want to display your Flanker.
MAKING YOUR MARK(INGS)
Special mention for the kit supplied decal sheet, as well as
the major aircraft markings you get two sheets of airframe
and weapons stencils. Although all aircraft options wear the
same camouflage, being from 279th Shipborne Fighter
Aviation Regiment, you do have the options of three Bort
numbers with either an attractive eagle motif or a very
appealing tiger head fin designs.
The decals perform flawlessly, bedding down perfectly with
the use of Micro Sol and Set.
WHEELS AND WEAPONS
The undercarriage parts are numerous and complex, you need to
pay very close attention to the instructions at this point, but the
end results are impressive, all augmented with copious amounts
of tiny etched parts- as mentioned earlier, they compare very
favourably to after market resin.
However… a postscript to this is that although they are accurate
and detailed they can be a little fragile…as I discover while
transporting the finished build to the photographic studio, the right
undercarriage leg having collapsed. I then removed and
strengthened all the legs with brass rod for extra security.
The selection of weapons is comprehensive and can not be
faulted, being single slide moulded. This means that detail,
particularly the fins are extremely fine- you get everything you
could possible want to hang on you Sea Flanker from R-73
Archers to the huge R-27 Alamos
FINAL APPROACH
Clear parts are exactly that, the multipart nature of the engineering
is carried on around the canopy with several plastic and etch parts
going together to give the canopy a highly realistic look. The huge
airbrake is crying out to be displayed in the open position, the final
touches being to add the numerous tiny pitots and sensors to the
airframe.
27
 THE FINAL WORD?
As discussed in part one of this build,
can you ever quantify a kit as being
‘the final word’? There has been a lot
of online speculation and hyperbole
about Minibase’s release and you
have to say its an incredibly
impressive production- stunning
moulding, tremendous detail all
thoughtfully and comprehensively
presented.
This really is a kit for the kind of
modeller who wants to dive deep into
a project, the parts count alone means
that you’ll need to a lot a significant
amount of your free time to it.

28
For me, and this is entirely personal, I felt I
was dedicating energy to the build that was
probably ‘unnecessary’ to achieve
respectable and desired results- but I can
not fault Minibase for the dedication and
thoroughness of their SU 33, I think the
engineering and mouldings would allow this
Sea Flanker to be considered ‘the final
word’…until the next one comes along…

Our thanks to www.albionhobbies.com

distributors of Minibase kits in the UK.

29
32
33
 A box jam-packed full of goodness! You get over 100 plastic parts
in medium grey and clear, an etched fret with seat belts, self
adhesive canopy mask, two resin parts, and two other parts in 3D
print. In addition, some beautiful decals with markings for six
aircraft printed by Cartograf and, last but not least, an excellent
twenty-four page colour instruction booklet. All the medium grey
plastic parts are organized on four sprues. A fifth sprue includes
all the clear parts. The plastic is very well moulded with accurate
shapes and a very restrained and sharp surface detail. Opening
the box was surprising. I would have never guessed so many parts
for such a simple and small 1:48 aircraft.
Not only is this kit rich in detail and generally ignored in this scale
so far, but some of this detail is so fine and delicate that it rivals,
or exceeds that of most aftermarket upgrade products. Extreme
care is required to remove the many very delicate parts from the
sprues. This is, maybe, the only challenge of this kit. I also really
love the instrument panel (E11). It is very 3 dimensional assuring a
great final effect when mated with the individual instrument decals
supplied. Another quite impressive quality of this kit is the
transparency of the canopy. Yes, there is a lot to love about this
kit.

According to the instructions, the building of this kit is broken

down into no less than fourteen steps. As usual, it begins with the
cockpit. This little tub is made-up of about forty parts, including
etched and clear parts, like part A3 the rear bulkhead, all very
nicely moulded. Some care is needed to bend the top of parts
PE9 and PE10 as they’re required to blend with the rear bulkhead,
but it is worth it because the final effect is extremely realistic. In
another effort to get a high level of detail and accuracy, the pretty
simple seat is divided into two parts. With gluing the headrest
directly to the bulkhead and the belts to the seat, the instruction’s
first stage comes to an end with no problems.

Smaller internal components, including levers and pipelines, come

next in the assembly sequence. Gaspatch has sorted the way that
all these tiny parts fit positively without any drama. At this point it
is time to say something about painting. For so many years , with
the exception of when I am looking for a metallic finish, I almost
exclusively use acrylic paint. The three main colours required to
bring life the cockpit are Mr Hobby Aqueous H416 RLM 66 Black
Grey, H85 Sail Color, and H17 Cocoa Brown. Actually, the tub of
this aircraft was a dark and monochromatic thing, and the Mr
Hobby H416 is a very good choice to replicate this look on all the
interior airframes. Just don’t forget to protect the two rear
windows on the top sides of the rear bulkhead with the masks that
the kit provides.
34
 Step three is about the fuselage interior
components assembly and calls again for a
mix of plastic and etched parts. Here, over ten
small parts enhance the cockpit side walls.
Their fit is good and no particular expertise is
needed to complete this stage of the build. In
the next step, Gaspatch explain how to paint
all the small detail. Mr Hobby H13 Flat Red
and H37 Wood Brown fulfil every need here,
but to simulate bronze and aluminium I
switched to Alclad ALC-110 and ALC-106.

The cockpit is complete after painting and

decaling the instrument panel, just pay
attention to the very small etched levers on
the left side of the panel; very tiny. This stage
of the build was a joy. Now all cockpit parts
were ready first for a wash and then for a
gentle dry brush. I like to mix my oil paints and
to thin them with some white spirit until I am
happy with both the colour and the
consistency of the wash. In this case, I mixed
Ivory Black and Van Dyke Brown together,
while for the dry brush I went really old-school
with the Humbrol 56 Aluminium.

All the ammunition comportment assembly,

step 6, received the same treatment, but
Alclad ALC-109 was my choice to simulate the
cannons round’s brass cases. Another area
rich of parts and of an astounding detail is the
landing skid. Gaspatch give the option to build
it extended or retracted, but given the quality
of these parts building it extended is
something almost irresistible. Next comes
mating the two fuselage sides together.

The wings
themselves are fairly
simple affairs. The
wing assemblies fit
very neatly to the
fuselage, with no
visible gap.

There is no filling and sanding to

be done on these joints.
Gaspatch supply the air-brakes as
separate parts so that they can
be positioned as you please.
Lowered they look great.

35
 Unsurprisingly, the fit is very good. Equally well detailed are
the two guns placed on the sides of the fuselage. Indeed, it is
at this stage of assembly that this kit even offers two 3D
printed parts to help in the exact positioning of the guns,
something I have never seen before. Gaspatch do offer a set
of resin upgrade MK.108 guns which I couldn’t resist. As
usual, I painted the guns with very thin layers of Tamiya XF-1
Flat Black dry brushed with Humbrol 56 Aluminium. Off
course I left the gun bay access panels open to show them
off.

Plenty of choice is given when it comes to the tail wheel. You

can assemble the tail wheel extended or retracted, with
retained fairings or with removed fairings. Given that I chose
to extend the landing skid extending the tail wheel was
mandatory. And then it is time to deal with the main gear
dolly. Actually, both kinds of wheels look as good as resin
parts. However, I think that the ‘round’ tyres look better than
the weighted ones. This aircraft is not that heavy; some little
sanding is in my opinion enough.
Going back to the cockpit, I was delighted to discover that
Gaspatch did not forget to provide the necessary mask for an
easy and precise painting of the frame all around armoured
glass. In this very visible area, thanks to a very small decal
and some photo etched and resin parts, the detail is
amazing. Gaspatch did not forget to provide the templates to
mask both the inside and the outside of the canopy. This is
also something that makes working on this kit much easier.
36
Cartograf decals for six different aircraft give plenty choice. I must
say that this time I had no doubts; I immediately decided that I
should paint my model in the colours of the "White 14" based in
February 1945 at Brandis, Germany, although this would involve
freehand painting all the green spots on the fuselage. For once, I
decided to go for a dark basing and the first thing I did was to
cover all surfaces with a layer of H17 Cocoa Brown. In this case, a
brown base would have been fine not only to give some depth to
the camouflage, but also because it would have help in the
weathering process, given that this aircraft’s wings were made of
wood. To replicate the RLM 81 and RLM 82 splinter camouflage
on the upper wings, and the spots on the
fuselage, I choose two acrylic paints from AK Real
Color, and precisely AIR RC326 and AIR RC325,
while I used the Mr Hobby Aqueous H-416 to
replicate the RLM 76.
To give some variation to the two greens, I
sprayed darker and clearer mottled layers taking
advantage of the airbrush stencils released not
long ago by Uschi Van de Rosten. Again through
these stencils I sprayed many very thin layers of Gunze H-37 Dark
Brown all over the front edge of the wing. In the end, painting the
green spots was a lot less laborious than I thought. The key here
was heavy thinning with their own thinner. The decals, including
the very small stencils, fell into place without trouble, proving to be
of good quality. The model was covered with a wash of brown oil
colour diluted in white spirit gently wiped off after few minutes. My
final touch was to simulating some weathering with a silver
Prismacolor pencil.
So, what can I say? The new Me 163 from Gaspatch is a lovely
detail-packed kit of one of the most unusual aircraft of the Second
World War. Indeed, is a quantum leap from any other Me 163
available in this scale and a pleasure to build.
Highly recommended to all,
thank you Gaspatch!
37
38
42
LITTLE
PA T C H E S
PA R T T H R E E
43
 Painting. I have finally arrived at my favourite
stage, painting. I started with a light coat of Alclad
primer, mixing white and grey to obtain a very
light shade that will serve to give contrast to the
subsequent painting phases. After smoothing the
surface to perfection, I painted the leading edges
of the wings and rudders with TS-17 Tamiya
aluminum. Let's now make a small clarification:
the B-17s had the leading edges covered with a
particular ‘anti-ice’ black paint, but this tended to
peel off quickly, so in some cases the technicians
completely removed the paint, as in the case of
Little Patches. This is an important detail that can
be seen in all the photos of the subject. The areas
to remain aluminum-coloured are protected with
Tamiya tape.
To make red, a notoriously tricky colour, I tried a new technique: after a light
coat of white as a background, I did not limit myself to the usual pre-shading,
but I painted the inside of the panels irregularly, creating spots and more
saturated areas in a random way. Note that I used pure red for this phase
and it is already sufficient because a darker tone would make it difficult to
cover the pre-shading. The B-17s flew most of the time at high altitudes,
I continued the painting with Neutral Grey; I used Mr Hobby H53 lightened
with 50% matt white, diluted with the Tamiya Lacquer Thinner and added flat
base to make the colour perfectly matt. I usually mix a generous amount of
colour, because it will also be used to make the various light and dark blends.
On the B-17 I used the black and white technique, used by AFV modellers
and lately also by aircraft modelers: basically, a more elaborate pre-shading
44
where solar radiation is very strong; this had a detrimental effect on the
paints, which faded and changed hue very quickly, in particular the red colour,
distinctive of this unit. Having discarded the idea of mixing the colour with
white, which would have created a pink effect, I tried to use yellow: the result
is excellent for me, the colour appears faded but still remains bright and will
stand out on the olive green of the B-17.
is created, creating the chiaroscuro with a darker complementary colour,
using the very light grey background. You make shades with the very diluted
base colour, taking care not to completely cover the pre-shading, then you
highlight again lights and shadows with even more diluted mixtures, working
at low pressure, alternating shades with the base colour until the result
satisfies.
Olive Drab. Few colours are as indefinable as this seemingly
simple colour. In reality it is a paint that changed a lot: from the
beginning there were various shades, based on the company that
manufactured the colour and the USAAF specifications. To all this
we add that during use the colour faded a lot, so we see B-17s in
dark olive green, light green, almost brown or sand... To this we
add again that the quality of the colour photos and movies of the
period is not the best of fidelity, therefore it is clear that it is not
easy to decide how to paint a model. For a long time I’ve wanted to
try to make a B-17 veteran of many missions, with the colour faded
by the sun and the interventions of the specialists on the ground.
The appearance of the original colour is very irregular: faded, with
halos, oil stains, peeling, dripping, in short, a great challenge. First
of all, I did some tests on the wing of another model I had available.
After several tests I decided to make a base colour similar to the
one normally seen in the profiles and in the restored B-17s; I also
liked the light brown colour that can be seen in some vintage
photos, but not being sure of their colour fidelity, I didn't want to risk
it. Well, stop modelling paranoia, here is my recipe, expressed in
drops: 200 drops H 81 Kahki, 40 drops H 58 Interior Green, 40
drops H422 RLM 82 Light Green, 40 drops H34 Cream Yellow,
added with flat base and diluted with the usual Tamiya Lacquer
Thinner; so you get a light olive green, less dark than the original Mr
Hobby Olive Drab H 52, in my opinion too dark and not very bright.
Considering the dark tone of the Olive Drab,
the pre-shading must be more pronounced,
also working around the engine nacelles,
emphasizing the aileron camber and creating
the first shadow of the characteristic tracks on
the B-17 wings, shaped by the air flow. Of
course, also in this case the result will depend
on the level of shading made by alternating
light and dark colours; it is difficult to illustrate
these steps with photos, because the light of
the lamps makes the difference between the
various steps imperceptible and the photos
risk looking all the same. I can tell you in
general that I worked with extremely diluted
colours and it took many steps to arrive at a
final result that I liked.
The engine cowlings are fixed one by one with the Blu-tack, so that they can be easily
coloured with the airbrush, creating the particular line of separation between the green and
grey of the plane's belly. The engines nacelles were marked by whitish burns due to the hot
gases coming out of the vents, alternating with dark trails of smoke and oil leaks.
The various insignia on the wings were made with an airbrush using
masks, partly commercial and partly made by me, as in the case of the
squadron identification triangle. I made the masks by copying the decal
on Tamiya tape, placing a sheet of transparent acetate on which I had
applied the tape in the middle and going over the triangle and the letter
with an ultra-fine marker, then cut out with a cutter with a new blade. It
Having obtained a satisfying green, I began to
superimpose the various weathering steps. I remind
you to be gradual and delicate because it is always
better to have to add other effects than to try to
eliminate excesses, which is impossible or very
difficult at this point; it is essential to have in mind
the result we want to achieve, that is the
appearance of the finished model. First I made the
dark traces that run along the wings, modelled by
the flows of the propellers and the air that comes
out of the radiator vents; these traces, due to
fumes and oil leaks, have a particular and
asymmetrical shape, very complex to make.
On the shadow of the pre-shading previously made,
I highlighted the traces with ultra-diluted matt
black. Working at low pressure, with the same
colour I also made some dripping around the fuel
caps. Around the blown engine I made much
darker trails to simulate the oil leaking from the tank
immediately behind the engine. Another detail
visible in the photos is the different colour tone
between the canvas ailerons and the metal wing: I
reproduced this effect with an even lighter tone of
Olive Drab.
takes a lot of work, but the result is spectacular and no decal will ever
have this finesse. Stripes were painted on the wings of the B-17s to
mark the walk areas; I coloured them with a very dark olive green,
taking care to saturate the strips in a different way to give the idea of
wear. If done with a pure black like the original decal, they would have
looked unrealistic.
Now we can colour the ‘A’ and the
border around the triangle by
mixing black and olive green. I
remind that in this small scale the
black colour is almost never used
because it would be too stark. The
biggest advantage of painting
insignia is the possibility of using
already lightened colours, shading
them uniformly with the rest of the
model, in addition, of course,
decals are thicker than paint and
will never reach this level of
realism. To make the wing stars I
used commercial masks from a
set dedicated to the B-17 and the
result is splendid!
45
 I completed the work on the wings by installing the previously painted turbocharger exhausts,
then set them aside. Now we take care of the fuselage, coloured in a similar way to the
wings. In wartime photos you can often see a retouch done with fresh Olive Drab or in dark
green around the lateral positions of the machine guns on the nose and I reproduced it with
Mr Hobby H 52.

The national insignia is positioned in the area of the hole in

the fuselage; I don't deny that I was very worried about
how to make it without damaging the detail, but using the
masks from the Montex set, really of excellent quality, it
was a breeze! The ruined appearance isn’t a worry
because there will be an empty space in those areas after
removing the masks.

At this point the paint is beautiful, full of nuances and

subtle changes of hue, but all the work would fade away
under layers of gloss and matt clear. I didn't feel like
cancelling most of the work I had done, so I decided on an
even more risky method: I did the oil washes directly on
the paint. I was able to use this method because the
colour was very smooth; using very diluted coats a very
smooth layer is created so it is possible to remove the
unwanted wash without too much difficulty. A very precise
method must be used, highlighting all the rivets and
panels one by one, using complementary colours: dark red
on red, dark grey on light grey, dark olive green on base
green. The wash must be eliminated immediately, passing In the photo above you can see the difference between the part of the wing with the wash and the
very gently a sheet of absorbent paper moistened with one without: it is a delicate effect, the panels are highlighted, but without exaggerating. The traces
diluent always in the same direction, without rubbing, of the exhaust fumes were made again with an airbrush, adding the clear traces due to burned oil
otherwise the colour will shine and goodbye all that residues, visible in the photos of real B-17s in flight.
previous work…

Let's go back to the fuselage. I Waiting for the clear coats and
airbrushed a light coat of clear gloss decals to dry perfectly, let's go
only in the areas where the few decals back to wing’s washes: I used a
I used will go: the tail codes, the nose dark olive green, applied with
art and the mission symbols, reduced precision as on the underside of
according to the period in which I the wing, and immediately
chose to reproduce the aircraft. removed it very gently. I hd to
Eliminating the gloss and making these work on small areas at a time,
areas homogeneous with the rest of because if we wait too long, the
the paint made me sweat…. wash will indelibly stain the paint
shifting the tones.

46
The burns on the engine nacelles have a very dull
appearance; I got this effect using oil pastels. When applied
dry, they are very dull and chalky, perfect for this result.
The various steps overlap one after the other: for the
scratches I opted to use a light grey acrylic, as an aluminum
colour would have stood out too much on the faded and dirty
effect I wanted to achieve. With a small brush, tiny scratches
are painted, gradually intensifying them until the desired
result is achieved, which must be harmonious with the rest of
the weathering.
The hole in the fuselage turned out very
well: once the masks were removed, the
edges around the various holes were
scratched with a light grey. The machine
gunner's window also has its glass
broken by the explosion; I obtained this
effect by drilling the central area of the
kit part with a mini drill, then with the
blade of a cutter I scratched the edges.
The final result is excellent, realistic and
in-scale.
The wings of the B-17s were incredibly dirty, to the point of making their scale reproduction
difficult and anti-aesthetic. I believe it is necessary to find the right balance in a model; I
don't like factory fresh models, but neither do I like those weathered like an armoured
vehicle after a thousand battles, as we often see recently. In my opinion, if you weather an
airplane with products designed for tanks, in the end it will look too extreme. So, it’s time
to start the fundamental phase that gives life to the model. Oil colours are essential: I used
Cassel Earth to add oil streaks to the inner parts of the dark traces on the wings and with
the same colour I made the dirt stains between the engine nacelles. In some B-17s these
are so dense this area looks practically black, but as I said before, a certain balance is
needed on a scale model, so by changing the oil dilution I made more or less intense
stains, concentrating them around the tank caps. Finally I also made some dripping,
drawing a thin line and blending it with a dry brush. Always with oil, dark halos are created
around the engine nacelle and in various other parts, always blending the colour with a
clean and dry brush; you can see how by intensifying the dark halos, even the light areas
previously created with the painting are enhanced. The final result is realistic and pleasing
to the eye without being exaggerated.
The wings leading edges have parts in aluminum colour and the grey scratches would be
out of place. Then with an acrylic aluminum colour and a sponge I scratched the leading
edges and the engine cowlings; the result is excellent and a matte layer extinguished the
excessive shine of the aluminum on the entire leading edge of the wings.
Let's move on to the fuselage, treated with the same method as the wings; in the photo
you can see the traces of exhaust fumes on the tail planes, the areas retouched with Olive
Drab and the patches on the tailplane canvas made to repair the combat damage with
new, therefore darker, canvas. Careful observation of the photos of the real Little Patches
proved essential to reproduce all these details; obviously in the few photos available you
can't see everything perfectly, but, by mixing the details that you see on other B-17s and
using the imagination, an essential modelling tool!, you can get a fairly precise idea of the
final appearance of your model.
I removed the masking from the
transparencies; this is a difficult
moment because even if I had
perfectly masked all the openings,
there is never the certainty that the
dust from the construction has not
infiltrated inside the fuselage...but this
time all is well! I then made the oil
washes, added scratches and dirt
stains, inspired by the photos of the
real aircraft.
47
 Painting a model in sub-assemblies never leaves you at ease, but
fortunately the mating between the wings and the fuselage is quite good
and just a drop of liquid putty inside the joint is enough to finish off the
area. Scratches and dirt finally complete the assembly, I’m starting to see
my B-17 in all its magnificence!

Given the weight of the finished model, crammed with details and resin parts, I
used the white metal landing gear from Scale Aircraft Conversions; they do not
bring any detail improvement, indeed there is a lot to do to remove the casting
burrs, but the tranquility of carrying the model around exhibitions without the
nightmare of the gear legs shattering is priceless. All the other remaining
details, such as propellers, flaps, wheels and various hatches carefully painted
and the final assembly can begin.

The landing gear is assembled with two-component epoxy glue: given their
complexity, I thought it was the best solution because there is more time to
make the necessary adjustments and then the metal does not glue well with
cyano. After some time and the usual dose of curses in various languages, I
managed to assemble the landing gear; Brassin resin wheels are simply
gorgeous, the hydraulic brake cables are made with wire and then I can put the
B-17 on its legs. With all the work done inside the bomb bay I didn't feel like
closing everything, so I left the doors open; in the end you will hardly see
anything and it is not very logical that they are wide open after landing, but
surely the blow in the fuselage had also damaged the hydraulic closing
system... that’s my story!

For this model I didn't want to miss

anything: for the Browning barrels I used
the turned brass ones from Master (but
how on earth do they make them so fine?).
The problem was how to paint them: it was
enough to touch them with the tweezers
during the assembly that the shiny brass
would jump out. The modelling colours do
not stick well on the metal, even if we
airbrush their specific primer. Luckily AK
has put on the market a liquid to burnish
the photo-etched parts that was right for
me; just immerse the barrels for a few
minutes and a miracle; the shiny brass
disappears! At this point it was enough to
airbrush a light coat of Alclad's Jet Exhaust
which now adheres perfectly and that's it.
To mount them I protected the tip of the
tweezers with the rubber sheath of an
electric cable and the result is exceptional.
Before the barrels I glued the flaps, the
propellers and the fin, kept aside until the
very stage last because of its fragility; I
made the antenna wires in stretched sprue
and finally the B-17 is finished. A massive
project and I have pushed my skills to the
limit. I have never been able to get level of
finish like this before and I have learned
much to carry onto other projects.

48

Finished cockpit simply slots into the fuselage. Don’t forget to paint
49
 Diorama. After the effort to build the bomber, I felt I couldn't
get away with a simple base; obviously display can only be on a
runway or grass, not much choice. Given the combat damage
done to the model, I decided to give a dramatic tone to the
diorama, with the ambulance, the Jeep, the rescue team, the
injured crew and the inevitable onlookers. This scene remains a
vintage modelling classic: the damaged B-17 was reproduced by
many modellers, starting with the legendary Shepherd Payne, and
now I've fallen for it too. The most beautiful B-17s are those with
the red tail; the scene with the damaged plane is iconic and all
modellers have created their own twist on the composition. I
needed to make a base of considerable size, 40X 40cm and many
things were needed to fill this space. At first I thought of setting
the bomber on the grass, with concrete only on the border of the
base, then I realized that the olive green plane on a green base
would be barely visible, so I reversed the proportion between
grass and concrete. This might seem useless and paranoid
reasoning, but the success of a model visually also depends on
choices like this in my experience, in fact the colour of the B-17
contrasts perfectly on the light grey of the concrete.
For a change, I tried to give a wet look to the groundwork, putting
some clear gloss inside the tyre tracks on the grassy parts and
creating patches of damp along the joints of the concrete. I also
simulated water stagnation, due to recent rain, on the tarpaulins
that cover fuel bins and crates on the outside of the scene. I can't
say if I got it right in the end, my lack of experience in making wet
surfaces probably limited the result.

The crates and bins are from Value Gear, a recent American manufacturer of resin accessories for
military vehicles in 1:72 and are really of excellent quality. There are a lot of sets on offer with various
kinds of accessories, all very beautiful and made with taste and realism; the piles of bins or crates
partially covered with waterproof sheets are very suitable for my scene.

Vehicles. The Dodge ambulance

is omnipresent in the photos of the
B-17s; Academy makes a decent
reproduction of it in 1:72, but it
takes a lot of work to bring it to a
good level of detail. I also used the
Eduard photoetched set, really
useful; I improved and thinned the
mudguards and other details,
reworked the 6 ventilation grilles
under the bonnet, replaced the
anti-slip areas with photo-etched
parts.

50
 On the ambulance I used a painting method similar to the B-17: basic
black and white, then layering with an Olive Drab which at first I had
made different from the colour of the plane, but after the shading it
came out identical to the bomber; not a big problem, in many photos
you can see together dark green ambulances and other light green
ones. The red cross insignia was airbrushed and weathered with the
rest of the vehicle; I think it turned out pretty well.

Jeep. As I said before, a 40X40cm base leaves a lot of empty

spaces; even if I don't like to fill my scenes with all kinds of things, the
empty space in front of the nose of the B-17 was excessive, so I
thought about using a Willys, my trademark by now... I used a kit from
a Chinese brand that I didn’t know, S-Model,really excellent quality;
with very little work we get a perfect Willys Jeep. I replaced the
steering wheel, gearshift levers and external grab handles for some
added finesse in this small scale.

Figures. Figures are fundamental in a

diorama, but this time I really wanted to
exaggerate: overall, I used 26 figures, really
a lot to paint, especially if you have been
working on the same model for two years
and you are starting to be really exhausted
by it! The characters play different roles: I
got the onlookers from commercial figures of
various brands such as Presier, CMK,
Millicast; even the guy with the bike is a
figure you often see in real photos, indeed I
should have put many more bikes, but
detailing just one is more than enough! The
pilots who just got off the plane, the
stretcher bearer and the pair of figures with
the injured crewman and the companion
who supports him, were made especially for
me by my friend Davide Bellucci, of TOP 72,
who has just started producing figures in this
scale. I was surprised by his skills as a
sculptor: the details of the seat belts, the
poses and accessories such as the bags
that the pilots used for their personal effects,
are reproduced with great fidelity; in short,
they are pieces of excellent quality, thanks
Davide for your support!

The figures recreate the dramatic atmosphere

of the return of the crews from the long and
dangerous missions over the skies of
Germany; when an incoming B-17 signalled
with flares that there were injuries on board to
alert the rescue, friends and mechanics
immediately ran to see what had happened
and who were the injured or the victims.
Unfortunately in reality, the rate of human
losses was very high and few B-17s were
lucky enough to be able to carry out so many
missions, like Little Patches, without being
shot down by the enemy. The pilot who makes
the typical American gesture with his thumb
raised to the driver of the Jeep, who has
arrived to take the crew back to the quarters,
gives the idea of relief at having escaped
imprisonment or death once again. After all,
the model wants to be a recognition of the
courage of those boys who were taking off
with so little chance of returning; perhaps
none of them became as famous as the great
fighter aces, but with their courage they
played a fundamental role in the Allied victory.

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 Making this model really kept me busy; I
tried new painting techniques, used
detail sets in a different way than usual,
getting the most out of every detail and
looking for maximum fidelity in interior
details and painting. Even the diorama
required a lot of study and the
collaboration of a sculptor who created
the characters that were used to give it
life; in short, a two-year work for a result
which I consider the most successful
among my models. I think I ‘grew up’ as
a modeller with this project, but maybe
my next few projects will be simple ones!

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56
After a year of lock-downs and increased time to
indulge in modelling this kit stood out to me as my
favourite of 2020 in 1:32.
The first 1:32 aircraft kit from IBG is the Polish PZL
11C fighter already released by this manufacturer
in 1:72 and an interesting study in aviation
development of the period by a Polish kit producer.

On opening the box it’s immediate that this is a

beautifully detailed production, maybe not as well
presented as some of the latest Chinese and
Japanese manufacturers but far from the old short-
run Eastern European kits. Everything is treated
with great finesse, in a very clean and flash-free
way. The rivets which cover the airframe are superb
as is the ribbed effect and sharpness of the panel
lines throughout; IBG have really demonstrated
their mastery of mould design. The instruction
manual is well done but lacks a little clarity on
some of the gluing points. Naturally, and before any
final fixing, dry tests will be essential throughout.

I couldn’t wait to get started...

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 I started the assembly with the beautiful and very detailed engine
provided by IBG, the Mercury VIS2 is easy to assemble and as
good as you’ll see in any kit. The spark plug wires are supplied in
photoetched. The front ring, which also serves as an exhaust, fits
perfectly. The Eduard set No. 33261 is used to further increase the
finesse and detail of this model and includes the instrument panel,
the riveted plates of the engine cone, the weapon chutes and the
perforated metal frames of the panels that can remain open and a
few other useful details. I strongly recommend this set, a
worthwhile addition in this large scale. The engine is enhanced
with cylinder head bolts made with my Waldron punch and die set
as if, like me, you leave the engine cowl part open details are
highly visible. The painting of the powertrain is done exclusively
with Alcald II. A first aluminum tone with Gun Metal more suited to
the cylinders, then comes the transparent Yellow, Hot sepia and
Jet exhaust colours. Then comes the time to fit the PE cone glued
with the excellent Ammo Ultra glue. The spark plugs and valve
springs find their colours by fine brush detailing (Humbrol). You'll
notice that IBG took the trouble to represent sets of parts like the
rear of the engine and the engine mount that will be invisible once
the assembly is finished. I say hats off to this very welcome
initiative which helps the modeller appreciate the design and
workings of the whole aircraft.

It's now the turn of the cockpit sub-assembly, numerous photoetched

parts are very nice additions to this assembly. The uprights supporting the
seat require a lot of care and attention, I passed the etched parts over the
flame of a lighter to anneal the metal and facilitate the bending and
installation of them. Great care also will is required for all the linkage and
articulation controls to meet their correct positions. The installation of all
the parts corresponding to those of the real aircraft are reproduced
perfectly by IBG who even include seatbelts with their photoetch. The
painting is, in the same way as the engine, done with Alcalds II. Aluminum
base gently oversprayed with Pale gold and Hot sepia in areas subject to
discolouring. Satin varnish seals the metallic shades and an application of
well diluted black washes from Ammo Oil brushers to enhances smaller
details. The gun's firing cable is added to the control stick and set with
aluminum tape. The rods are also added made from electric guitar
strings.

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The dashboard is Eduard coloured photoetch. The plastic dash is sanded with a
diamond file to remove the relief detail then the Eduard part is glued with Ultra Glue. To
represent the glass of the dials Bostik UV glue is used. Simply place a drop of glue on
each dial with a sharp toothpick and then set it with the UV lamp. It is immediate and
the transparency is absolutely clear. Once the dashboard is finished, it is decorated
with the instrument wires on the back and glued in place. Dry assembly is checked
before any glue is applied to the fuselage halves. Here again the fit is perfect and the
two half-shells are assembled without unsightly joints.

Before joining the inside of the

two half-shells are painted with
my favourite Alclad II metal
shades. Fine mists of Hot
sepia, Transparent blue finished
with a black wash do the trick.
The installation of the frames of
the open panels is done by
initial positioning from the
outside with only a dot of CA
glue then a run of glue is
applied from the inside with an
extremely fine copper wire. The
photoetched frames bring a
real plus in terms of realism.
I refined the tyre tread with a razor saw and scriber,
following the kit moulding impressions. Below is the before
and after comparison which really shows at the weathering
stage.

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 The installation of the photoetch in the gun channels requires a little
effort. First, the parts are annealed with a lighter flame. Several
sections of metal rods from my punch and die set are used to
preform the curves. It is necessary to work in slow steps with
constant dry fit checks. Once everything fits perfectly tiny drops of
CA using a thin copper wire are ran along the top and bottom
edges anting also as a gap filler. This is the most difficult part
concerning the photoetch. When everything is in order the cockpit
module is glued on the left half fuselage. The pilot's headrest is not
installed as indicated in the manual, but separately, so that it can be
adjusted more easily later. The rearmost ring of the engine
assembly is also fitted to the left fuselage half. The flexibility of the
plastic makes this trick easy.

At this stage of the assembly the engine is not glued to the rest of
the airframe. The fact that it fits perfectly in place and that it holds
without cement shows the precision of the kit. I then take the
opportunity to paint the front part of the two half-shells (in Khaki
brown and light Khaki Brown using HATAKA paint, Orange line)
This way, I would have no trouble to preserve all the engine's
paintwork without masking. The exhaust ring is also painted with
Alcad II Magnesium tint which is followed by different Transparent
Yellow, Transparent Blue very diluted and Hot Sepia tints. The
Alclad II shades have the particularity of being very easy to use
and allow infinite chromatic variations. Then comes the fuel tank of
the PZL 11C, which makes me cheat a little as it floats a touch in
its housing and protrudes a little below the fuselage. Two
Evergreen wedges were glued together after measurements,
which allows the tank to be well seated in its housing and perfectly
flush as it should be.

The radio is made and installed in it’s place, treated like the dashboard. The
instruments are decals coming from the kit’s sheet. I can then definitively close the
two half-shells of the fuselage with Revell cement (needle applicator I find good for
this task). Gluing is easy because nothing is forced on the inner walls of the
fuselage. The landing gear is delicate because they are very flexible. IBG offers the
landing gear strut stays in photoetch. For my part, there is no way to install them
as the landing gears legs splay under the weight of the model (wings in position). I
prefer to install two rods of guitar string that will ensure the strength and position of
the legs. For the purists, as long as this inaccuracy is minimal rather than having
the legs at the wrong angle which would spoil the ‘sit’ of the model. The only place
where a bit of putty is needed is the fairing of the tail joint. Guitar string is also used
to reinforce the tail skid and to redo the antenna holder at the top of the rudder.

60
The paint of the fuselage is done with HATAKA Lacquer acrylics, Orange line
considered as very accurate. The HATAKA set gives us two Khaki Brown shades,
one of which is lighter than the other (Light Khaki Brown) to achieve the patina. I
must admit that this is a really good idea. The engine hood is installed for
checking open on the top but not glued. I refined the lips of this one with a ball
cutter and created the fasteners for the plastic card and copper wire closures. It
would have been a shame to hide all the work done on the engine. The handles
aiding access to the cockpit were made of guitar string, the photoetched ones
being too flat. The wheels were painted and weathered but when attaching to the
axle of the leg I added an Evergreen section so that the wheels have more
adhesive surface for a more positive and stronger fit. The ones moulded on the
train legs are weak and don't allow the wheels to be permanently installed. I took
the initiative to completely finish the fuselage, decorating and painting it before
gluing the wings on so I was able to access all parts of the fuselage. Indeed, the
fit is perfect between the wings and the fuselage so I had no worry of any damage
to paintwork. The doors of the weapons, radio and oxygen were also fitted at this
stage. The TECHMOD decals fit perfectly and support the DACO Medium softener
without problems. They fit all reliefs and engravings perfectly. I’ll describe my
weathering method when painting the wings.

The wings are in five parts which fit well. It is possible, with a little
surgery, to leave the cannons visible, the instructions suggest this
option. Here is my method which is simple and fast to make the
necessary cuts. First of all, the interiors of the parts have engravings
indicating where to make the cuts. After verification and consistency, I
prefer to make the cuts from the top of the inside back. With an
engraving point, I mark the plastic, by points, so that the drill of the
Dremel does not slip on the plastic. Holes are made in the part to be
removed. Then, with a new scalpel blade, the remaining excess plastic
is removed. A flat diamond file is passed through to neaten the edges of
the area. Still with the file, an oblique sanding is done to give an effect of
sheet thickness. When the upper and lower back are put in position, I
notice that a big void appears in the gun compartments. Leaving them
like that would be really unrealistic. So I went on the internet where I
found some rare pictures of these areas. Evergreen is used to construct
some frames which, once painted, are much more convincing. The
underside case ejectors are solid plastic parts. At 1:32 it would not be
appropriate to leave them like this. To hollow them out, I used a 0.5 mm
drill bit and drilled five holes. Then I used a bur to remove the plastic
connecting them. With the No. 11 tip of my surgical scalpel I thinned the
material on the inner edges and after a little sanding Tamiya liquid glue
was used to smooth the whole thing and obtain a good result. The
ejectors are placed following the angle given in the manual. On the top
of the wing and at each end, the plastic lugs used to receive the
antenna are replaced by a piece of guitar string which are solid and
more realistic.

61
 Having the Master Model set at hand, it would have been
criminal not to install it. It costs about half the price of the kit,
but brings a finesse of detail that is unbeatable. The turned
metal parts are real jewels. The Venturi plug alone has four
pieces. Once mounted, the result is absolutely spectacular. It is
the same for the gun barrels and for the sights that will be
glued when the wing is finally installed on the fuselage. For the
very visible gun barrels on the model, those moulded in plastic
are relatively basic. This set is a perfect solution to this
problem. Another advantage is that all these embellished sets
can be installed when the model is finished and painted.
The painting of the wing begins with the underside. HATAKA's
Light Blue Grey is sprayed directly from the bottle. For the
weathering, I use the lighter Gunze 334 shade. These
reworkings are done with a 0.15 nozzle for a perfect precision.
Then comes the upper surfaces with the Dark Khaki Brown
shade from HATAKA. Then, the weathering and fading is made
with the Light Khaki Brown supplied in the Hataka set fighters.
Do not be afraid to go strong a little on contrasts, because
once the washes are deposited it harmonizes all the shades
and homogenizes the whole paint work. The fuselage having
been previously treated gave me this precious indication,
especially on the tail and stabilisers finishing. The decals are
applied using Ammo softener and Daco Strong. Special care is
62
taken throughout this process so that the decals take the forms
of the slightest details. The decals should be "followed" while
they soften and gently patted on with a flat brush with soft
bristles. Do not try to move the decals for a short time after
applying the softeners. Once the application and a "supervised"
drying time of a good hour, I recommend that you let it dry
overnight at least. The next day, you can gloss varnish ( Tamiya
X-32), in preparation for the application of the oil colours.
I use Ammo’s Oilbrushers neat from the container and apply in
select areas which are then blended with soft, flat brushes with
the excess regularly wiped off on a clean cloth. Earth and
Ochre tones work well on the Khaki Brown. The oil colours are
easy to manipulate and blend. Given time to dry, this stage is
protected by a further coat of gloss clear. When properly dry
washes were applied using the same thinned black as the
engine and cockpit but applied quite heavily and allowed to dry
for about twenty minutes. Then I could begin to remove any
excess wash with a soft cloth as there is minimal grip to the
gloss clear coat, as a final touch a broad soft brush was
‘dragged’ in the direction of airflow. Gull Grey was used instead
of black on the underside of the wing. The same methods were
used to weather the rest of the airframe previously completed.
All surfaces once dry were shot with satin finish clear.
The lateral guns of the fuselage and those of the wings are
painted in matt black XF-69. They are of course equipped with
Master Model parts which ensure a striking realism of the
barrels. The Uschi Van Rosten "Steel" graphite powder is
applied with a brush and gives to my taste a good rendering of
the metallic sheen of gunmetal. The installation in the wings is
easy, however, for those of the fuselage a little gymnastics with
fine tweezers is necessary. Once the weapons are glued, it's
time to fix the wings to the fuselage and add the struts. Once
again the fit is perfect and contributes to the pleasure of
building this beautiful model at this late stage. The engine
cowling is also put in place and glued. It should be noted that
the joint between the engine cowling and the front exhaust ring
has a gap on the real aircraft of about 2 centimeters. IBG did
not take this particular detail into account but it’s easily
rectified.

Final tasks included fitting the propellor blades, the windscreen

(to which I added some rivet detail) and paint the Master brass
details. The antenna, in three sections, completes the model.

63
 The assembly of this model was an absolute
pleasure and very satisfying.

Despite the small number of parts that make

up this kit, the result obtained is worthy of a
more complex and much more expensive kit
at all levels. The care taken by the
manufacturer to ensure that all the parts are
meticulously reproduced is very evident from
the start. I can only recommend this
magnificent kit which will bring you immense
modelling pleasure!

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