PZL P.7a

PZL (Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze) P.7a Monoplane Fighter from 151st Fighter Squadron. Flown by Sqn. Cdr. Lt. Józef Brzeziński. Brześć-Adamkowo airfield, September 1939

A 1/72 scale model kit from Arma Hobby with only around 40 parts in total. The kit has a very fine panel line. Even finer corrugated surface on the wings. My example has bit of flashes which is quite surprising considering other kit from Arma Hobby. Decal is from Techmod and it’s very thin, perfect for the corrugated wing.

The junior set came with photo-etched parts for seat belts, control levers, engine cowling struts and gun sight.

Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” and “NACA”

Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1 “Glamorous Glennis”

On 14 October 1947, Bell X-1 Serial Number 46-062, Glamorous Glennis piloted by Captain Charles “Chuck” Yeager was drop launched from the bomb bay of a B-29 and reached Mach 1.06 (1,100 km/h).

A 1/72 scale model kit from Tamiya.

Bell Aircraft Corporation X-1 “NACA”

The aircraft made its first powered flight on 9 December 1946, piloted by Chalmers “Slick” Goodlin. Until October 1951 it completed 74 glide and powered flights with nine different pilots before being rebuilt as X-1E.

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-3

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-3 Group I/JG 2 “Black 13” W.Nr.2181

Flown by Oberleutnant Erich Leie. Théville, France in May 1942

A 1/72 scale model kit from Tamiya.

Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-7

Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-7 Flown by Oberleutnant Joachim Müncheberg, 7./JG 26, Gela/Sicily, March, 1941

1/72 scale model kit from Tamiya.

North American P-51D Mustang “Jumpin Jacques”

North American P-51D Mustang “Jumpin Jacques” was flown by Lt. Jacques E. Young of the 3rd FS, 3rd Air Commando Group,Operated out of the Luzon, Philippines in 1945.

1/72 Scale model kit from Hasegawa.

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt

Republic P-47D-25-RE Thunderbolt from 84FS, 78FG, 8AF USAAF. Operated out of the Duxford, England in April 1944.

1/72 Model kit from Tamiya.

Republic F-84G Thunderjet “Four Queens”

Republic F-84G Thunderjet serial number FS-454 “Four Queens” was flown by Wing commander Col. Joseph Davis Jr. of the 58th Fighter Bomber Wing, Operated out of Taegu Airbase, South Korea, August 1952

Col. Joseph Davis Jr. named his F-84G Four Queens for his wife, Ann, and his three daughters, Scott, Chris and Jan.

Four queen playing cards painted on the left side of his aircraft to represent a poker “four-of-kind” hand. On the right side of the fuselage was the tiger emblem of the 430th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 474th Fighter-Bomber Wing.

The colors on the nose, tail, and wingtips of the aircraft represent the three squadrons of the 474th FBW (428th FBS, red; 429 FBS, blue; 430 FBS, yellow).

This Really beautiful 1/72 kit is from Tamiya. Molding is very crisp. Cockpit is nicely detailed. Surface detail is superb. The fit is perfect, no putty needed. Highly recommended.

F9F-5 Panther

Grumman F9F-5 Panther. Build Number 123656 from VF-781 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany (CVA-34) off the coast of Korea.

VF-781 was assigned to Carrier Air Group 101 for a deployment to Korea from 15 September 1952 to 18 May 1953.

This 1/72 old molding rebox kit from Hasegawa, going back to 1978. Molding is still crisp with very little flashes. Cockpit and rear deck non existence. A build guide by Rato Marczak is a must for anyone working with this kit. The fit is ok, some putty needed for wing roots. Decal is a goner in my kit. Breaking up at the first sign of water and melting away when touch by decal fix.

Cierva C.30 Autogyro

Avro Cierva C.30 tail-code OK-ATS was operated by Zlin Aviation Company (Zlínská letecká společnost, a. s.

This Azur 1/72 kit is short-run kit. A short-run kit means you need to work with it. And I mean “work” because oh boy, why do I pick this one to start with. Molding miss alignment cause flashes in both plastic and resin parts. Cockpit is non existence. The instrument panel is looks to be from 1/48 scale kit. The fuselage need to be soak in warm water to fix the warping. The rotor hub is cast from resin which break as soon as you touch it. The decal is very nice however.

I would not recommended this kit to anyone with the exception that you really want 1/72 autogyro in your collection, there aren’t many choices.

Anyone who wants to build this kit, I recommended this instruction from Miniart kit in 1/35 scale instead of the kit’s instruction.

Tupolev I-4

This Tupolev I-4 kit from Zveada is a bit of mystery to me. The moulding is nice and sharp in some place but flashy in the others – in the same sprue no less. Nice rib detail on the corrugated surfaces. No interior detail so get ready to scratch build the cockpit, windshield and bulkhead. The 2 machine guns seem to shoot directly in to the exhaust stacks?

Overall, a ok kit of an interesting subject. Recommended for anyone looking for a kit of this interwar fighters.