lpMgiR'EiA CTUAtrtTEFILY
i
, NlEt.4
JAN I97E
Mirage FICG of the Hellenic Air Forc.e.'{above i and Mirage FlC of the French Air Force(below) at Le Bourget in June f977 with impressive array of the equiprnerrt iirat can be carried by the airccaft"
lnte!Fnati ona I PI asitic Modellel"si Society
South Afnica BuaFtenly
lU o.-4
Editorial Address; P.O.eox 534, Isando I.P.M.S. - S.A.
BRAI\CFIES.
Witwat ers rand . Branch
T
.
Registrar:
Aidan Owen Ken Smy.
to; P.O,Box 534, Isando, 1600.
A11 correspondance Durban Branch.
phot og raphs
Thierry de Brugada,
Chairman:
wor rd
Lowveld Branch.
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International to:
P.O.Box 534, Isando, 1600, Republic of SouthAfrica
Overseas cheques please add L2% for bank collection charges. * x J( tF )f J( J( x t( Jt tt +.,(
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CON'.IENTS.
Europe n 6.tn Europe(airrnail).... North America(airmail). . . . .USD 8.OO Australia/N .2. (airmail ). . .AusD 7.(n
)e J( )e +e
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South Af rica. . . . ...
Overseas pay,ment by Money Order payable I.P.M.S. - S.A. ,
.
Iheres a shortage of materj-at on the ship moderler aspect and AFV,s so I would wetcome anything from members interested rn those subjects.
Mi'ke Patterson,
Chairman:
.
Next month wilr see the continuation of artr-cres begun rn th:_s lssue and also the beginning of a series on the many IPMS branches throughout the
1505 Waverley, Albany Grove,
Durbanr 4Ot.
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DITORIAL
Ihanks to those who wrote in with nice things to say about the last issue and cotrments and ideas for future issues. This issue reaches you a bit later t han schedu led :-nit ia lly , f irst ly because at the last moment I received detarls of the r97d kit rereases from the manr:facturers and secondly due to frnding a cheaper source of getting the plates made for the drawings and
Arthur Cruicltshank Chairman: , Vice-Chairman: Dave Becker Arnold Church Secretaryl Magazine:
1600.
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NewsandViews... ..pagez i\ew books r etc Lg'/6 k:-t releases ..page 3 mirage Fl (part 1) .page 4 rhe'Thirty-four" (part 3 ) . . . . .p"g" 7 Figure modelring basics. . . . . . .page 6 Mar:mon-Herrl-ngton Mk. L... page 9 Kit Reviews: Airfix Aerospatiale Lynx. . . .page lO Airf rx wtJ Lee . . . . page lu Airfix SEprrClt'I Jaguar ..p"g" 11 Helfer SEPECAT Jaguar ..page t2 UUVER PHOTO:
Two seat Mirage FIB at Le tsourget Show in June 47'/. (Ken Smy)
page I
NEWS AND VIEWS
Tim Darrah,P"O"Box 6268C,East Grand Rapids,Michigan 49506, wrote a glowing review of the IPMS-SA Quarterly in the TPMS-Michi.gan magazine and is very interested in hearing from anyone with gen onSA Army AFV's, Dhotos, etc. Robert Taylo x ,7950 Mentor Av, Apt ^ 1 " 3O4, Mentor,Ohio 44060, writes to say that his chapter in West Michigan are producing a series of Stoppel decals featuring numerals and letters in black and white and will send us a sample when available. Robert is interested in the nH Mosouitorany WWll nightfighters and the F-L4/F-lJ,and would, like to hear from anyone wittr similar interests in a gen/photo exchange, OF INTEREST. Several books dealing with South African military
BOOKS
subjects have been.published recently and in case you havenft heard of them we would like to draw your attention to them: rEagles Victorious-'r, by Lt.Gen.H.J.Martin and Col.N.D"Orpen. This is Volume V1 of the official history of the South African Forces in WWll and this volume deals with the S.A.Air Force opera,tions in the Italian and Balkan campaigns from -lune L943 to the end of the war.With 494 pages and over IOO photographsrit is essential reading for anyone interested in WW 11. Published by Purnell & Sons, Cape Tdwn at R.1-2.50. "Air {or." Gy*r"sir* 1952-I ]' This book was produced on the 25th anniversary of the Air Force Gymnasium and is hard-covered of large format with 12O pagesrmostly devoted to the variuos personalities, etc of those 25 yearsrbut has a centre piece of some L6 pages in colour of current South African Air Force aircraft. Available from the Air Force GYmnasiumrVoortrekkehoogte.Pretoria at R,4.OO. "Oqf Sorth Afti."t Ar*y Tod.y" by Bernard M1lles. This is a soft covered A( size book of LL2 pages filled with photographs covering all aspects of the S.A.Army today. AFV enthusiasts will find many photos of interest as will those interested in combat uniforms. This is the first of three such books to be published, the other two will cover the s.A Navy and the Air Fort:e . Published by Purnell & Sons, Cape Town at R.4.95. SCOPE magazine also published three supplements jn the magazine on the S.A Army, Navy and the Air Force. Each was of 24 Pages and well illustrated in colour. The supplements appeared in with Scope magazines for /th Oct,llth Nov and Pth Dec L977 respectively Available from SCOPE offices at 4Oc each '?MTLTTARTA No "7/3" The latest issue of this magazine has two very interesting articles; one on the use of armour in the Oct 1-973 Yom Kippur War and another on the local product ion of Armoured Cars in WW 11 dealing mainly with the variants of the Marmon-Herrington and its use in various theatres. Published by the S.,A.Defence Force Documentation/Archival Section anci is available from the Gover-ment Printer,Private Bag XBJ,Pretoria at R"f"OO "
Military Aviation L956-L)J(tr F{ard cover i4 " 95 Sof t Portuguese Military and Ha rd c c)\/er E4 " 95 Sof t Aviation" "Spanish Military Hard cover f4 .,95 Sof t ion lplal Aviat -L977" "Belgian Military L945,L978" Aviation Hard cover 5.5 .45 Sof t "Dutch Military (2nd Ed) Aviationr' available mid-78 "French "German
e2 ,95 {-2 . 95 f,2 .95 E3 .. 45
This series of books contain about LzO-lJO pages and deal briefly with the history of the particular Air Force and more, explicitly with the various types of aircraft used and the Units that operate them. Serial numbers of the aircr:aft are Iisted as well as excellent drawings of unit badges.. In page.
2
addition each type of aircraft is illustrated with one or more photographs. Ihese books ,are available from Midland Counties Publications ,2\ lhe Ho1lgw, Earl Shilton,Leicester LEg /\A,England. . J(
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Lelq xIT_ sPLPAgPe Wd have recently receir;ed the following information from manufacturers. ATRFIX.
U48tn aircraft L/72nd
aircraft
r/zsth
AFv"
tl3zna AFV L/L44th scale: L/72nd boat s:' L/25th cars:
tl3zna figures: OO
scale:
MATCHBOX
Spit f ire ; Bf 1O9. Spit fire la ; Ju 878 ;Hurricane f ; F-5 1B Must ang ; Bo . IOJ ; Whirlwind 1;UH-d6A Sea Knight;Mirage FIC; Do 2LJJ;F-LJ EagIe;Lockheed Sl Viking. US Dodge Field ambulance; GM 2$ ton truck; Steyr R}O/OL tractor with Nebelwerfer, Sherman tank" Space shuttle ; McDonnell-Douglas DClO-3O WW 11 RAF Rescue launch. Chrysler Imperial; Stutz Bearcat. WW 11 US Infantry(Europe); Infantry; WW ll British
Mediaeval foot soldiers Waterloo Prussians; T-34; Shermanl Halftrack and gun.
.
t/3zna airc'raft L/72nd aircraft L/76th AFV:
Douglas SBD Dauntless; Westland Lysander. 8268 Marauderl Canberra B(I)8; SAAB J-29. MAO 155rnm gu'rr: Panzer LV L7O; SdKfz 232 radio car; SOt4fz half -track with Pak 40 and BMW R75 Motor-cycle; Morris Commercial CB Mk11 with L/Lb gun and Willys Jeep,
t/3zna cars: L/7ooth ships.: L//76th f igures: t/3zna figures:
MG TC
Fletcher; USS San.Diego. British Comrnandos({p f igures ) Af rika Corps troops (lJ f igures ) ;8,tfr Army troops (fS f igs USS
.
)
HELLE-R,.
t/7zna aircraft t/ 5ottr aircraft:
t/43ra cars: f/24 cars: Ll35th AFV: L/L5.l*tn ships L/2ooth ships L/I]}lth ships 1/IOOth ships: .lloPEL?g-C.-sL
SAAB J-2g;Bf IopB L/CL;r-6G Harvard;r-8{c;F-8E Crusader ; Norat las ; Ternpest V; Gladiator L/\L;Mirage FLB/FIC ;C635 Simoun; Dewoi-tine D51O; Ba 349a & Fi fO3. se36o /ZeS Dauphin; stampe sv4c lwassmer wA 80;Fournier RF6 Peugeot 6C4; Mer,cedes 45oSL; Range Rover; Volkswagen R7o; Hispano-Suiza K6;Buggatti 1'5O;Citroen lJcv; Citroen Cl. WiIlys jeepl Renault R35; Hotchkis? H35/38/39; GnomeRhone motor-cycLe;2Jmm anti-tank gun;uMC 353 truck, Le Glorieux; Amerigo Vespucci, Le St r-oui s ; La Be I Ie Pou le . HlvlS Hood; Le L\ormand i Le Bordelais: uireme; ramirI uorck Foch; Drakker'Osberg"
"
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Set i\o,43:, FhE/J Phantqn(./ASDF) Jaguar GRI (nep') F-BAF(FrAF) Flo4c(NethAF) Set No 44: Phantom GRr(RN ) usr4a Lynx(Ne.thNavy ) AD-AN (FrAF ) FIO4J(JASDF ) These two sets are exceptionaLlv oood quality and well worth getting. Can be obtained f rom Modeltoys,l,or:{t,smouth at /Op plus 2Jp postage. page
3
MIRAGE
Fr
-LP_ar.!-!
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'r'he Mirage FI is obviously destined to follow the success of the earlier Mirage LLI/5 series and no doubt we are to get quite a few kits of it in
the months to come, This year at least three kits are to be released; in L/72nd scale from rteller and Airfi.x, and in l/footh scale from Sanshoh. rn addition there are. rumours of a t/\8tn scale kit from ESCI. Ihe Heller kit is due oout in June and will be the FlC version with parts to build a two-seat FtB as an alterrlative. Decals for five different FrAF aircraft and one of the Hel-lenic Air Force will be provideC. The Airfix kit will also be the Fl-C version and will have decals for an aircraft of the FrAF and one of No.J Sqdn SAAF. Ihis is the first of a series of articles ol the Mirage Fl and we begin witfr a summary of the variants so far announced. I.-RANCE rhe Armee de lrAir has ordered IOJ Mirage FIC initially and they equip three Wings:' F,C5 at Orange, ECL? at Cambrai anC ECTT3O at Reims. Other aircraft serve with the CEV and CEAM. rhe Ejercito del Aire has taken delivery of lJ Mirage FICE _!f4IN and has an option qn f8 more. -the aircraft equip No.141 Sqdn at AlbeceterLos Llanos and are serialled C.14-1 to c.14-15. GREECE The Elliniki Aeroporia operates 40 Mirage FICG with serials tol to 14O and they equip No.336 Sqdn at Araxos and No.345 Sq at Tanagra. somg_ALRII4 According to overseas magazines, the SAAF has ordered J-b of the Mirage FICZ version and J2 of the FLAZ ground attack type. The FLCZ are with No.3 Sqdn and the FLAZ with No"l Sqdn,both units at Waterkloof. Serials for the FLCZ are from 2OO and for the FLAZ from 2L6 onwards. KUWAIT The Kuwaiti Air Force has received 18 Mirage F1CK (serials 7OT to 7f8) and two F1BK trainers (serials 77L and 772) l'he Moroccan Air Force is reported to have ordered 25 Mirage luoRocco. FICM with options on 50 more of various marks. LI-EYq rhe lipyan Air Force has ordered J8 Mirage Fl's comprising L6 FIAD, L6 F1CD and 6 FIBD trainers. 'Ihe Egyptian Air Force is also reported to have placed orders EGYPT for 20 Mirage FIC and two FIB with options on 22 more later, The Iraqi Air Force is also in the market for the Mirage Fl LBAAand reports mention 36 aircraft as an initial order with a further 36 at a later date. ECUADOR The latest order announced is for 18 trlirage Fl for the Air Force of Ecuador. The two drawings accompanying this article show the basic colour scheme for the aircraft in service with the French.Greek,spanish and South African Air Forces, The patterns for the camouflage for the Spanish and SAAF aircraft is very similar with the exception of a furthur division into a thj-rd corour for the Span:-sh r,-'lCE" these patterns are based on photographs of service aircraft and vary on some individual aircraft to a smait degree. some of the ratest SAAF't'LAZ,s have a srrghtry drfferent pattern than earlr-er alrcraft and the Spanrsh air* craft vary 1n the posrtion of the colours,. rhe ratter arso have a very rndrstrnct demarcatron rr-ne between the upper and rower surface colours. In the next article we witl deal with the actual colour specifications for the basic patterns and also cover the insignia of the many air force units uslng the Mirage I.-l 1t present. page
4
Position of National marking on underside of wings. (a11 variants )
red lines
Dark
Yellow lines witfr red stripes /
Dark Green
Tan l
ABOVE:
:
Miraqe
F1CE
Spanish Air
Matt black
ii,i,{i}lT
Matt black F)-orce
rage F lCZ South Afriean
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Deep Buff
Olive Drab
MIFIAGIE'FI BASIC CAMOUFLAGE FATTERNS
Scale: t/7Zna.
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THETTTHIRTY-FOLIRrr ( Final
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bv
R.oy__Igppiqq"
The various T.li4 models-
To the Russiansr a T.34 was a T.34 whether it had a J6r2mm ar an and the followinq system of distinguishing between various models normal system used by the British and Germans" The Americans used ilar system but this seems to stop somewhere in the middle of the Model,/date Distinsui shinq Features of intro. r "34/76A (late 39/
early
40)
Armament
Turret: Notes:
T.3l+/76Pi 1941
(
)
Armament
Turret:
"34/76P.
(L942\
r "34/76e (l-942\
model A.
Armament
Turret:
Notes:
Armament
'Iurret
:
Notes:
r "3!+/76c ( 1942\
Armament
Turret: Notes;
r.,34/260 (
1942\
Armament
Turret: Notes:
r.34/768 (
1943
)
Armament
Turret:
"34/76p' ( r943 )
Armament
Turret: Notes:
r.43" (
L942/t+3
Armament
Turre t Notes:
As for r"34/768 L94]- model. Cast turret. Similar to T.34/76s I94r moder" Main armament as for T.34/765 Aut only one /.,OZmm Dt m/c Aun.ATO-{l flame thrower fitted in place of hutl m/c gun. Cast turret. Similar to T "34/76e 1941 model" Armoured fuel tank far flame thrower on hull rear" As for r"34/768 f941 mode1. New cast turret with sinqle piece turret hatch repraced by two separate hatches for commander a'd
Ioader " fmproved version of T.34/768o Driver!s hatch has two vision blocks"Hurl m/c gun in improrred mounting" As for r"34/76s t94f model" New cast turret of hexagonal shape without rear over
hang"Modified gun mounting with prominent bulginq mantlet. Hatches as T"34/Z6C L942 modet, rrnproved version of T "34/26c. cast bogie wheers and increased fuel capacity. As for t"Z4/Z6a ry|L moder. Similar to T.34/76D model but with a Commanclerf s
c
Notes: T
Ix J6r2mm L/3Or3 model 1938 oun ptus 2x 7r62mm Dt machine guns, Rolled plate turret with main gun mounted in cast contoured cradle welded to flush external mantle. Clumsy single piece turret hatch" First production model. The first Il5 built haci an additionaL Jr62mm m/c aun in rear of turret" Some of these models were equipped with petrol engines " 1x J6 ,2mm v/4tr 5 model 1940 gun and 2x 7.,62mm t-tt machine gunso
Rolled plate turret with angular bolted cradle in non-flush mantlet with splash lips" Same turret hatch as the T.34/76ta Second production model. Basically a Commanderfs
Notes: T
85 gun i s the a simIange.
:
upol a.
GeneraIIy similar to T.34/76D" As for T.3h./768 L94t model" cast turret with distinctive untlercuts arouncl the sides. Hatches as for T"34/76D modeI, Improved transmission( J speecl gearbox ) , Onl.y IOO tanks of this model built " As for T.34/76s model, Cast turret simi lar to T "34/T6D model i:rii re-modelled Generally a modified T.34/76O with heavier hull armour Not putinto series production page
7
!
't
"34/85-t
(:-g+z/qq)
T,,34/85*2 t1^t E. tLY+/)
lx 85mm t-/JIrS model L9I+4 gun and 2x f 62mm Dt n/c gunse Larger cast turret of hexsgonal shape with cupola" Turret: NOtes: HulI generally simil-ar to the T,,34/76 models" An extra crew mernber cafried j-n the larger turtret, Armament: As for the T "34/85-A, but some tanks inad muzzLe Armament:
brakes fitted
to the main armament.
,iH:::' ::i:lii,;::l;1,:: ll"-fi;'f , ou, wi,h an improved transmission and '"lil|; improved fire control and vision devices.
)eteJ()e*.)TJ(J(+.)(.t(t+tc)F*r(J(J(J()e)ei€**)€)F)6Jei(*r()(-*J()eJ€*),.***i(Je)€iti(***.re*J6**)+*")€'*-)a)aJ+J(-F*)ei(
F]GURE MODELLING BASICS.
by' Brian McIn,tosh"
L-etrs start wittr basic assembly. First decide whether yor" are gorng tn assemble the model strrctly as it comes out of the box and whj-ch of any al-ternative parts you will use to reproduce a particular rank or coinpany
or pose Temporarily stick everything together with bits of plasticine and then finalise the kit of parts and the pose. Then examine the model carefully to determine which portions must be pre-painted before final a.ssembtry. Then dis-assemble and clean all the parts in detergentrmaking sure they are ri,nsed well in clear watero Sub-assemble the various parts with liquid cement(or epoxy cernent if you are making lead models). When dryrclean up and fill all imperfections anrl seams" {Five minute epoxy cement and talcum powder makes a good filler for lead models ) . UnderQoat all lead parts with a thin application of cellulose b:ase primer to e:cclude air and prevent futurerflead deseasetr, Spray or brush on two coats of flat white on all parts(if the model is cast in white plastrc,thrs white coat can be omrtted.. In my'case I start painting with the eyes,ri-ght one first it you are ri.ghtlranded, and tLren the left eye. I then paint in the following sequence; 1. AIl flesh parts - face, hands, etc,, 2, Hair, beards and moustaches. 3, Underclothing" 4. Vests " 5; Trousers or kilt. ) 6" Jackets" ) plus shading 7'- Buttons, badges, etc " ) 8, Belts^boots and all l-e;r';trer items. 9, Leather gLaze" 1(-l, Ecurpment.
Ti,errrwhen tLre paint is completely drVi I join the sub-assemblies anci when the adkresive has set r make good the final seams with several coats cf very tliin body putty apptied with a brush^ I then touch up the paint*work to hice the final body putty $€amSi I uge a temporary base for all final assembly and painting and onJ"y rnove the hrpdel to its final base when about 99% finished. At th:,s st6,ge I carefully examine the model for imperfeetions and nr:-ssed paint c,etails". I make a lsit of these, so that when I re-mix my coulours f,or touching-up, I am sure to catch all of the areas in neede Finally T complete the base surface with bits of stone and srsal fibre, the latter to represent grass, embedding this in a rnixture of thin patch* ing plaster mixed with LO-IYI white glueu(the glue keeps the plaster froin cr ackrng ) " I then paint this piece of scenery" Bu t use restraf nt wi.th thi"s stepr dS too rnr.ch rindergrowth looses realism and detracts frorn thefigu:le. .
page
B
Vickers .3O3 nachine oun in lanC opeiatea turr6t. J6O" tiaverse. rotec tive visor
radio aeriel
Engine: Ford V8
Eev 95hP @ 36cor
observation *indow hinged bonnet
towing book
ditchinq channels/
Chassis: 3 ton Ford (
shortened
/
4x2
)
deflect ion ang les width,. '198oil!
radiat or loui:res
tivâ&#x201A;Ź ted turret observatiol ion windows
(covered by b netal pla late
C
)
rad 10
ael ial
E n
bbdy arnou ,/
6 nn plate t
/
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cbassis c
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re,nr track 145ornn
hinged Louvres
I front track 1494or
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MaFtrlcln - Flert ingtcln lVlk
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SCALE:
l/35
KIT
REVIEWS
AIRFIX- Aeros atiale L Naval variant', L/J2nd by Arthur Cruickshank We have .jo far had the Airfix Army LynI. the lvtatchbox dual-purpose Arm;,_ cum*Navy Lynx and now for L978, the Airfix Naval of the eartier 'uersion 1 SSUe. The Navar Lynx comes in L32 pieces and is clearly, in its basics,the same as the Army version, Major differences are the wheeieci undercarriage of the newer kit in place of the skids and the associated torpedo armament rhere is a different nose moulding and one of the transparencies is different(but not so different as to prohibit the manufacturer fro* including both tvpes on the same sprue) and a plethora of little aerials and so on indicarte the different roles that the iwo moders pray in real life. Basic information for the modeller comes from two conr,renient sour.ces: an ar:ticle in 'Air Enthusiastf for June Lg72 and N6r.rember issue of ,Airfix Magazine' now on sare. The ratter article dealsthewith the Naval version about to be introduced into the British and Dutch Navies,. whereas the articl.e in 'Air Enthu-siast t is an account of the earli"t .r"r*iorr= used for development trials ' Thus there might be some divergence the ciq:tail in the photqraphs in the two articles, i= for instance ii the in number and size ctf the wind<>ws in the sliding doors antj the cabin" Therefore it behoves the modeller to be sure thathe has the right model clear in his mind before proceeding. The Airfix kit.makes up into the Naval version and conversions to any of the prototypes(with theii lovery corour schemes) or the Army vaiiant,whilst not impossible. is clearly a mat le!- of some deliberation. The parts f Lt well with the exception of the main fuserage harves which do not mate in the region of the engine housings. The surface detail =^ti-rr".ioriii'' is excel,lent and requires care if it is.r5t to be J^*"g"o when finishing perhaps off,ancl the delicacy of the tail and main rotor components wourd see* to recluire more than the normal nine-year oldrs skill i., a=="*bry, slide very neatly and the interior oetailing is of a highThe cabin doors standard-three bench seats, two crew seats, a highly detailed central console and l_nstrument panel rudder pedals and a cicfic pitch srick. rt should be noted that main undercarriage oleo legs should protrude through the spats when the the hericopter is vrr on the L rrE ground, uutr Wnen when Iin the air. 9r \''L{llLI t but the legs I dangle I rn summarising, if you want build both -your a Navar ancl an Army version af the Lynx you wi.1r havl to buv to tro j.s between the Airfix ti;; kits with their very good deiail but rack of choice as to the final ver:sion completed.i.e,.,only one set of decals p", kit choice or xo i.)rlv ihe less detailed Matchbox production with the choice o"."i; to put into the spares box' our view is that the Airfix "r- kit is ";;best=r.r,n..tr,ing value by a pitot heacl. ,( **.JC* * JeJfJâ&#x201A;Ź * * **)e*
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AIRFIX
by Arthur Cruick..shank Subject to oners opinion on seeing the comlrleted moclel , oh first sight this kit can do nothingchanging but enhance Airfi xrs recently much inpr:clve:il ]-mage. The kit represents an earrv version of the Lee as detailed in the Bellona Print series N9'r5, and has decals to finish the mocrer in anv c;f three tanks two of the l3trr Armoured Regiment
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There are r8o pieces to build the tank proper. prus another four: to make the tank commander sitting in the c"t;i" turrer -rhere is no flash on any of the component-.pi{ts tnb excerrent r.ii-ir ehevirtuarl.\, ma_jor.c':irpoirents r-s essential for- any riiiing and ;;; ="iai"g,wo.rrld clamage rhe textured ,-;rrr-L.ace and rivett oi the ti6nti,rJ'.o*p"rtment and the hurl 6uter su.r.faces As it is page
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great care will have to be taken to keep cement from the outer surfaces, Outline, dimensions and detail seem tright on the'nailf and the decals are equal1-y good" Opportunities far detailing the interior and conversions to other variants are legion, There was a recent series of articles in Airfix magazine which covered the development history of the M"J which should be ample reference material and provide aIl the information necessary in this respect ' "And of course, there is the newly published Airfix Modelliqg Guide on the Lee/Grant tanks A really enterprising conversio'n would be to build a Grant, but noting that that the kit tra"cks are labelled rlLee-Grantt, one would suspect that time mhy overtake the enterprise and that we may before long see a genuine Grant kit on the shelves. FinallynI would like to thank my son and Santa Claus for the opportunity to examj-ne this release at close quarters. "
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AISIIX-SEP_EC Jasuar GR by Aidan Owen, t "W"\@ Soon after the Jaguar made its first public appearance"Airfix were quick on the scene with a kit of the new aircraftr"nd^although very goodrii was based on the prototype of the aircraft. Now Airfix have completely revised the kit to represent a production aircraft and have *^a" good ir.ry " Job of it. The main differences hretween the earl"ier kit and the latest has been the incorporation of all the service modificationsi e.g,r release the basic fuselage contours fore and aft of the wing; the gun shape; deletion of the intake_splitter plates;the increasea height oftrough th; fin and the revised shape of t!" fuselage spine" other refinements include the ECM housing on top of the fin;ventrar fuselage fins; a laser nose andnew completeIy new undercarriage units" The kink in the taiiplane and a generous supply of underwing stores make this moder the most authentic Jaguar GR"l to date, But a lot of work to bring the kit up to competition standard, nirstry"there seemsisto required be some difference in fuseiage length and fin height when compared with scale drawings and although not 5rasticrit best to leave the kit as it is" Th9 laser nose provided is in one solidis piecer f,o provision bei-ng made for the laser windows, the only remedy bej.ng either substitute the windows for clear plastic or to mould the nose.rrrit again to in clear plastic " An excellent ejection seat is providedrbut then the cockpit area is rather spartan and could do with an instrument paner and side consoles" The intake doors have been rnourded in a slightly open position and since they are only in this position when the engine is i,rrrrrirrglj"t i= u"=t to firr them with putty or to scribe out the open doors and ieplace them with plastic card to represent closed doors. This is a tedious job but is best .lone" The fuselage gun troughs have now been mourded in their correct shape but could also do with a Iittle refinement The- fuselage spine is a bit too narrow from the ram-air intake to the base of the fin and careful application of body putty wilr remedy thisrbut will have to refer to ph'oios to get the correct shape. The a1l-flying one tailplane is well done but needs a little thinning Aown'of the edges to do it justice. The wings have been nicely mouldedlbut again..the 1eading and the trailing edges need to be thinned do*r, also..taking care not to damage the leading edge slats" unfortunatelyrnot alr the parts fit well and ouite a lot of bodv putty will be required around the fuseragli*;;;:"iitl'. The main undercarriage is somewhat dissappointingrfor the rspider-liket cant'with its dericate jacks strutsrhl- been moulded in one piece and would have better as separate"?d items.The nose leg has been well aone-["f it seems a little narrow in cross section, alr the undercarriage wheels look'undersize" The nose wheel door has and now been correctly mouldedrbut all the undercarriage doors need re-scribing and the ones that 1ower with the main undercarriage need thinning down a bit " Page
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As previously mentioned,Airfix llave provided a very impressive array of stores on excellent pylonsrbut for some reason have only included one long range tankrwhereas operational aircraft alwCys carry two of them. A good decal sheet is provided and with the combination of the Modeldecal setsran excellent model can result, )e J( )e J+
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Jaguar A/E or T"Mk "2 (I/72nQ_,sc_ate) by Aidan Owen. Having reviewed the Airfix Jaguar kj-t rone was given a fairly high standard to judge the French kit on,. This kit is of the new-style Heller range which incilrdes alternative configurations and is a welcome innovation for the modeller,, Moulded in the usual Heller grey plasticrthe kit is flash-free.,having some excellent thin edges on the wings and fin and have the edge over the Airfix kit in this respect., This kit has also all the service mods that the Airfix kit has.but falls down badly in that the complete air-brake system is only scribreC on the fuselage instaed of being a separate unit as one would prefer,, This is not really understandableras when parked the air-brakes are in the lowered position Construction of the kit is rather simple"having slightly raised line detail which is rather suspect when checking against drawingsretcrbut this can be attributed to the range of variants that HeIIer have attempted. The kit ca.n be made up into any of three versions;the French A or E model.,or the RAF T2. The single-seat A version front section is joined forward of the intakes,,and has a bucket section which forms the raer bulkhead and side consolesra rather ingenioLrs wa! of tackling the old problem of maikng the cockpit floorrconsole and bulkhead in one go, The same applies to the two seat variant"but here one must be careful as to what variant is to be built.for there are quite a few differences between the Fr:ench and the RAF versions"It is best to refer to_photos,etc.at this point,but those modelling the RAF T,Mk,2,, the main differences are the twin aerials on the spine intake,,a rbversed scoop under the nosei a fai:ring over the starboard cannon port and an rst shaped fuel dump pipe" The port gun trough has been moulded excellently and with careful dri]ling out of the nose sectj.onrit will took very rea1istic..A good pair of ejectol seats areprovided and the addition of straps and harnesses should suffice, The cockpit canopies are also gcodrbut some re-working is needed around the 2 canopy as it is not a tiue ii.t" Not all kit parts fit as one would T'.e lrke_and quite a lot of body putty is needed around the nose.,/fuserage.wing/ fuselage joints.neccesitating-the removal of a lot of the fine Oetaif, the undercarriage and if this .The only other construction problem left is:stork-liket is assembled correctltrone can achieve the appeirance in good detait. The Jaguar undercarriage is of a complex nature and He1ler have doSe it very well rmoulding all the parts as separate units that when assembled look very convincingrbut herL again one must cr:nsult photos of thrs a'râ&#x201A;Ź4 35 the kit instructions are not very clear and one could end up with the inoorrect rsit', The nose wheel leg is rather a let-down ar:cl need a lot of rework to bring it up to the standard of the rest of the kit. The wheels seem to be the correct si-ze although some shrinkage was foundrthis being remedied by the application of body putty, Decals are rather goSd,i:eing an improvement on past Heller productions, and include markings foi two French'aircraft anO'an RAF one, wrth the many stenc:1led markings included" Despite the major ommission oi the air-braice assempfy and a few minor short-comings, the kit is very good and for anyone wishing to build a really detailled model of the Jaguar,, then Heller have produced the kit to buy NB: See page I for details of the latest Modeldecal sets which includes decals for Jaguar aircraft cf No.2o sqdn and No.{l sqdn RAF. HELLER SEPECAT
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MARMON-HERR INGTON PI]OTO-PAGE
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Two views of the Marmo4-Herrington ftnt.f in the Museum of Militarrr History, Sa:lonivold, Joha:rnesburg . .