A trio of Gladiators

The Swedish air force bought 55 Gloster Gladiators in the 1930s and these were designated J8 (Bristol Mercury IX engine) and J8A (Mercury VIII engine) in the Swedish air force.

Up until now one the best 1/72 kit of the Gladiator was Heller one and it has been hard to find recent years. The other two is the old Airfix kit from the 1960s and Matchbox/Revell kit. But in the recent month’s two new kits has hit the hobby shop shelves, a new tool from Airfix and an “Easy Assembly” kit from HobbyBoss. I was a little curious to see how these kits would compare, and if the old Heller is still holding up.

Let´s start with the new Airfix Gladiator.

I´ve got the latest issue with skies and markings for the Swedish volunteer force in Finland (*).  At first glance the parts looks a bit crude but no worse than any other new offering from the firm and the kits usually turns out nice once painted. You get some different option like skies, weighted or non-weighted wheels and two or three bladed propellers. The parts match my scale drawings perfectly. The decal sheet is just fantastic with crisp stencils and perfect color. Apart from the Swedish markings you have the option of a RAF machine from 605 Squadron.

(*) Note the “Jolly Roger” markings were not worn in combat. On the return to Sweden the original Finnish blue swastikas had to be painted over but instead of just paint it over in black they added a cool skull and bone.

Next up is the HobbyBoss.

This kit has gotten some criticism on the forums but I don’t think it´s too bad actually. The parts are crispier than the Airfix but some of the parts look simplified. The parts matches my drawings with one exception, the front of the fuselage were it meets the engine cowling doesn’t look right. It´s minor flaw but it´s noticeable. The decal sheet is nice with two options but there are no stencils, just basic markings. As usual Hobby Boss makes a nice simple model but it doesn’t have any edge to make it worth buying over Airfix at the same price point. It will however be a perfect kit for first timers or a short weekend project.

The classic Heller kit.

This kit actually holds up rather well despite its age. The parts are finely molded with thin raised lines and the canvas covered parts are very well done, much better than both Airfix and HB in my opinion.  This kit also comes with optional skies and the same F19 marking as Airfix. The low mark of the kit is the wheels and propeller, the wheels are missing the hubs and the propellers are crudely molded.  The decal sheet gives you five options, all Swedish(*). Two planes from F8 with pre-war style crown markings (lacks the yellow ring), one from F19 with skull and bones, one from F10 with ghost marking, and finally one machine from F9. I’m actually itching to build this one and with some left over parts from the Airfix kit I’m sure it will turn out nicely.

(*)In the 1980s Heller re-boxed many of their kits for the Swedish market with Swedish decals and instructions.

Fujimi 1/72 MIG 21 Bis

Finally I have managed to build a model!

It’s the Fujimi MIG 21Bis in Finnish markings. I haven’t made any research in to the subject so it’s strait from the box; however I used the painting instruction from Eduard´s kit.

The kit went together nicely with just a touch of filler. As with most old kits, there were a couple of sink marks and I filled these with super glue and sanded smooth. (I am using the super glue filling technic more and more and it´s really speeding up the build process.) I used Gunze acrylics for airbrushing and Vallejo for detail brush painting. The decals were not of the best quality and I should have skipped the stencils as they silvered badly. Well It´s most noticeable in photographs or on close up inspection so I don’t worry too much about it. I finish the model with a dark wash and a coat of GW Purity seal.  I don’t know how well the Fujimi MIG 21 holds up to the more modern kits out there but it´s look ok to me.

Note.  The flash exaggerates the colors a bit so in reality the colors are darker.

Iwata Eclipse HP-C long-term test.

Iwata Eclipse HP-C long-term test.

I have now used my Iwata Eclipse HP-C for over two years and it has not failed me yet. I have not had to replace any parts, everything works as when I bought it. The only thing I can complain about is the uncomfortable trigger. If I can find a replacement trigger, I will never buy any other brand. Highly recommended!

1/72 Saab A32A Lansen

Heller's old Lance is still going strong and it is the only kit in 1:72. The model has fine raised panel lines and is easy to build, just make sure to clean the parts from flash and ejector pin marks. The instructions are easy to follow but the colors that are recommended are wrong! 

Let's start with the cockpit. Walls and side consoles should be a Interior green , the pilot's dashboard should be bluish-gray with black instruments. The floor, seats and the stick should be aluminum. Seat padding is satin green. The jumper to trigger the ejector seats is missing but should be red if you want to make them yourself of thin wire. In step 5, you decide if you want to build the attack (A32A) or the reconnaissance variant (S32C). Be careful fitting of the part 11/43 so you do not get an overlapping seam that is hard to fill and sand.

The landing gear are dark green and wheel hubs aluminum. Wheel wells are aluminum. The aircraft's upper surface is olive green and the underside is unpainted aluminum. Radome and fin top is black and all leading edges are unpainted aluminum. The decals are useless and should be replaced with new ones from http://www.rbdstudio.se/

Unfortunately the kit comes without belly tank, pylons and armament. 

All versions of the Lansen usually had a fixed external belly tank missing in the kit but can be purchased separately from Rebell.com

Note that the pursuit version J32B has a different gun bay and exhaust and a resin coversion set including a belly tank can be purchased from Rebell.com

Revell 1/72 Fiat Cr 42 J11

I built the 1/72 Revell Fiat Cr42 as the Swedish Air Force J-11 an aircraft bought initially for reconnaissance duty but forced in service as a stopgap fighter when the Us stopped all delivery of aircraft to Sweden in 1940. The kit probably dates from the 70s or early 80s and is rather crude by today’s standard. The thick wing struts and the lack of gun ports are the kits main downfall.  I only build it to try out my new Infinity airbrush. I wouldn’t recommend anyone buying this kit, go instead for the excellent Italeri kit.

I opend up new gun ports and painted camouflage with Gunze H47 Red Brown, Tamiya XF59 Dessert and Lifecolor UA 530 Green. The underside was painted Gunze H53. The decals were a mix of kit decals and some old spare decals. The biggest problem was fixing the upper wing to the fuselage and lower wing, it took a lot of super glue and mild force. Well it turned out ok in the end but if you look close it looks like a flying lumberyard due to the thick struts.  

   

Special Hobby Seversky P-35 / J-9 finished

Well there it is the Special Hobby J-9 Swedish defender. A very nice and much needed kit of the P-35 the aircraft that defended Swedish airspace together with the Reggiane Re.2000 (j20) during most of the war. Both types hopelessly outdated already from the start and only a desperate stopgap measure until the Swedish built FFVS j22 and Saab J21 could be delivered.  

Links to the build report and inbox review:

Build report

Inbox review

H & S Infinity Airbrush Update

Infinity update

I am really disappointed in the performance of the Infinity. The 0.15 mm needle nozzle constantly clog up and I find it impossible to get a consistent result, it´s like all or nothing. I have tried different pressures, retarders and paint mixes to no avail. The Infinity 0.15 mm set is probably not made to work optimally with acrylics like Gunze, Tamiya or Lifecolor. What’s even more disappointing is that the Infinity is simply an Evolution with some custom parts to make it look better when studying the spare parts list I found that most internal parts are the same as for the Evo!

Well with that said, when used with the 0.4 mm needle it works and feel exactly like the Evo which isn´t a bad airbrush and I will use it as a backup and for pre-shade technic which demands a comfortable trigger.  It also has to be said that working with Enamel paint like Humbrol may produce a better result due to better flow characteristics of that type of paint.

So my recommendation is:  If you want an H&S Airbrush then go for the Evolution and save a 100 Euro!