Scale Aviation Modeller International 2001 09

The Nakajima Hikoki Gekko series were the first Japanese aircraft specifically designed as night and poor weather fighters. The design arose from a 1938 requirement for a long range fighter able to escort bombers. It was intended that the aircraft should be able to counter single-seat fighters. However the design incorporated twin remotely controlled turrets which were troublesome and made the aircraft too heavy and difficult to handle to be successful in its intended role. The appearance of the Mitsubishi Zero fighter meant that the Nakajima design was no longer required as a bomber escort. With the turrets removed and fuel capacity reduced the lightened aircraft was pressed into service in the long range reconnaissance role as the J1N1-R. The aircraft housed three crew members. The pilot and radio operator/rear gunner were accommodated in the front cockpit while the navigator was provided with a separate cockpit behind the trailing edge of the wing.

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Scale Aviation Modeller International 2001 08

Kits of aircraft of the Royal Air Force of the Fifties era are few and far between. But thanks to the few cottage industries these gaps are being filled. Magna is one of these companies that produce such esoteric types of the RAF and has added the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer to its range. This one may well appeal to modellers and for me it is most welcome. The kit is entirely in resin and white-metal with a vac-formed cockpit canopy. The quality of the resin parts is variable with a few air bubbles noticeable in odd places. The wings are solid one-piece castings for left and right. On this review sample, the left wing had a bit of a warp that needed a considerable amount of bathing in very hot water to straighten it out! The fuselage halves are also quite chunky pieces resulting one half being close to replicating a euro cucumber ! That is, it is straight to a point at the rear end and then curling away. The tail surfaces faired better needing only the removal of the casting blocks and basic cleaning up. The remaining resin components are the sponsors, cockpit floor and seats. These are not bad as the seats have the straps moulded on. Among the metal parts are the instrument panel, controls, wing struts, wheels and props etc.

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Scale Aviation Modeller International 2001 07

Starting as ever with the cockpit area use the decals supplied for the instrument panels and side consoles, which look quite good in this scale. The ejector seats are just about acceptable and could probably be replaced with some resin ones if necessary. In general the assembly of this kit is quite easy, as all of the main parts fit together reasonably well. Some filler is required around the engine intake area to blend the angular intake into the curved fuselage sides. The large spine-mounted air brake fits well enough to leave in the closed position but the option is given to have it open as well as the in-flight refuelling probe, but curiously no option is given to have the canopy open. A choice of missiles and fuel tanks is provided as under wing stores. Unlike the single-seater, the two-seat Eurofighters are painted in a single shade of grey. Choosing not to use Revell's mix of 40% white and 60% grey I picked medium sea grey which seemed just about the right shade looking at photographs of the real thing. I used Lifecolor UA 094 Medium Sea Grey followed by Humbrol Glosscote to provide a base for the decals on my Spanish machine.

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Verlinden Modeling Magazine Vol.8 No.3

In preparation for airbrushing - the folded wings, landing gear and props were separated. The cockpit was masked over and a circular cardboard disc with a slit in it was inserted in the nacelle. A light scrubbing with a worn out Scotch Brite pad (the grey kind) roughens up and evens out any blemishes. This might sound daunting or intimidating, but don't be alarmed, the subtle detail won't disappear! This scrubbing gives the surface a good tooth for better paint adhesion and an even consistency. Base coat paint needs to be durable. Canopies were masked with BMF as was the ventral window. After surface preparation it's time to paint! A coat of light grey was the first to go on the undersides and for the uppers intermediate blue covers the rest. A light grey shade of intermediate blue mixed with white (70/30) was misted on in a "cloud pattern" to the uppermost broad surfaces to help fade the paint. After the paint had set up (48 hours), once again the airframe was scrubbed with worn out Scotch-Brite to smooth the surface for decals. Decals were applied using the Aeromaster system and went on seamlessly, another marvel to modern modeling technology. Follow the system and the results are unequaled. A heavy coat of matte varnish acts as a "force field" to protect the basecoat from the brutal weathering process.

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