1/32 PISTON-ENGINED FIGHTERS (1917-55)

I have always been scared of biplane - and triplane - model kits.  Trying to get the upper and lower wings to line up whilst just being supported by a few strips of tiny plastic was a recipe for gluey fingers - and an unconvincing lop-sided finished model with zero structural integrity.  I therefore decided to focus on planes with just one layer of wings!

When you look at a biplane, the most obvious feature is the rigging and - notwithstanding the basic rigging I put onto my 1/48 Tiger Moth, it is only really possible to mimic the complexity of the struts and rigging on a larger scale kit.  I was therefore tempted back to the genre by the reputation of  Wingnut Wings' series of WW1 subjects in 1/32.  I built this model in 2013 but I have now purchased another 5 WW WW1 kits in my stash.  I must get on with them.

The kit contained decals for about 5 separate planes; photo-etched parts; a comprehensive and beautifully-printed instruction book and several frets of beautifully-moulded plastic.  Even an inexperienced WW1 modeller can make an excellent replica from these kits.  I enjoyed the detailing in the cockpit as well as the comprehensive engine detail.  The clear guide for the rigging also made life easier.  

Hasegawa seem to like to reproduce models that were originally produced 30 or 40 years ago (or more) with modern boxart and modern decal sheets.  I have always loved the look of the FW190 and so when I saw this kit on Ebay some years ago, I was motivated to buy it along with a cockpit detailing set.  

It was a disappointment - particularly after the amazing Corsair and Spitfire kits recently produced by Tamiya.  Whilst it looks OK from the photos, the undercarriage is weak and not aligned properly whilst the canopy does not open measning a lot of detailing work is not really visible.  Unlike the Hasegawa jet kits, the fit was not perfect in a number of areas.  

The colour scheme was quite fun but my rather amateurish weathering (these planes got really dirty) betrays the fact that I was losing interest in this model before I finished it.  I am pleased to say that Revell have recently brought out a modern kit of the FW190 in 1/32 which I was given for my birthday in 2021.  When I build that, this kit will be consigned to landfill....

Tamiya's range of 1/32 aircraft are all beautifully engineered, complex and normally brilliantly detailed.  This was their first Spitfire in 1/32 and like their others, has removeable engine cowlings, sliding canopy and poseable wheels (up or down).  It also contains a removeable fuel "slipper" tank and a stand to show the plane in flight.

The model depicts a plane from RAF Kenley in July 1943 piloted by Wing Commander JE "Johnnie" Johnson.

The fit around the Merlin engine is not perfect although I like the way that the engine covers are secured with small magnets rather than with bulky screws or whatever.  I built this kit in 2016 but Tamiya have now issued a kit for the Mk8 and also the Mark 16 variants as well.  I have bought the latter as I would love to build another Tamiya Spitfire!

Tamiya's range of 1/32 aircraft are all beautifully engineered, complex and normally brilliantly detailed.  This kit of the mighty Corsair came out in 2013 with an amazing range of poseable options.  The flaps are massive and you can show them fully retracted, half way down or fully down - as they generally hang on parked up planes on carriers.

As with their other kits, this one has options for retracted or extended undercarriage and the engine panels are removeable and held in place by micro magnets.  

I used kit decals and went for the USS Bunker Hill option from 1943.  I tried to show oil streaks from the engine and from the main oil tank in front of the windscreen.  Having just watched the film "Devotion", I was reminded of the sheer size of these planes when put alongside a Mustang or Spitfire.  Whilst not beautiful, they are pretty impressive aircraft.

Tamiya's range of 1/32 aircraft are all beautifully engineered, complex and normally brilliantly detailed.  However this is to my knowledge, the only kit they have so produced in this scale that actually sounds like the real thing as well as looks like it.

I am a sucker for gimmicks like this but the actual kit has remained in production for the last 20 years or so and even without the sound kit, is still an amazing kit.  That they were able to produce a kit with removeable engine cowlings, sliding canopy and poseable wheels (up or down) whilst also fitting in routes for the wiring, speakers, lights and so on is just a testament to their craft.

The model depicts a plane from the 653 Fighter Group based near Tokyo (Oita Prefecture) in late 1944.  At that point Japan no longer maintained its planes so they normally had numerous areas of bare aluminium where the paint had worn away.  I used the "sugar" method to mimic this and I think the results were rather good.  (Biased of course!)  The kit sits on its own base which contains batteries to power the propellor, lights and the sound.  The power enters the plane through a small wire masked by the rear wheel.  

Built in 2008, this remains one of my favourite kits.

I saw this model advertised in 2006 from a manufacturer called MDC (Model Design Construction) and unlike most of my other kits, this one is mainly cast from resin with a small number of photoetched parts and brass undercarriage parts – together with a vacuum-formed canopy.

The cockpit aperture on the Typhoon is tiny and so there is little opportunity to see much inside anyway.  However the rest of the kit was really simply an exercise in painting and masking.

The whole project took me less than 2 weeks and is a sturdy finished model.  However it was curiously unsatisfying to build as there was so little “building” actually involved.  The engine for example is completely missing – a component I generally rather enjoy building.

Portrayed as a forward-operating aircraft in Schleswig-Holstein in early 1945, the Typhoon operated on rough strips and consequently got filthy very quickly.  I attempted to mimic this with mud on the wheels but looking at it now, I feel I could have gone a long way further.

Like the Typhoon above, this kit is essentially a one-off low volume kit that is unavailable today.  It was produced by a small Californian manufacturer called Fisher Model & Patterns.  Having seen it advertised in Tamiya Model Magazine International, I bought the kit directly from Mr Fisher himself online in 2006.  I built it the following year. 

It is a resin cast kit with a few PE parts – however it is a rather more satisfying build than the Typhoon with quite a lot of sub-assemblies that are inserted within the kit – admittedly never to be seen again. It is a heavy kit and I am grateful for the brass undercarriage which keeps it robust to this day.

Portraying the famous aircraft in which Lieut Peter “Hoagy” Carmichael shot down a MiG 15 jet over Korea in 1952,  I feel I was able to get a much more convincing finish on this model than the Typhoon.  The colour scheme was surprisingly complex but looks pretty good I think.  I weathered the aircraft subtly but reasonably convincingly to my eye.