Hello everyone,
Here is the first of several kit reviews I mentioned.
This ESCI kit has been around for a long time and has been issued several times. I purchased this on ebay. I have seen them at swap meets or regional contests in the vendor’s areas. The kit comprises 64 parts molded in tan color plastic that is smooth in texture and shiny (probably needs a bath in dish soap). The parts are flash free and are reasonably detailed. The wheel wells have basic detail in them, the cockpit is sparse, decals are provided, but with a tiny single piece canopy you’re not going to see much anyway.
An Avionics hump, typical of late model Sky hawk’s is included as a separate add on but would not be used for an Argentine Aircraft of the “Falklands War” The Argentines had a small avionics “Hump” (Radio Compass) that would need to be scratch built (see the photo).
The fuselage appears to line up well, I suspect a weight needs to be put in the nose section but I did not see anything in the directions about it. The detail consists of engraved panel lines and is not to heavy handed but should survive if you need to sand the kit.
The wings are detailed but for some reason have a mix of recessed and raised panel lines. To be honest it's not that big of a deal but the raised lines could be re-scribed in no time.
The landing gear has good detail and there is a choice of in flight or gear down display. Two refueling probes are included (straight and offset) all photos of Argentine aircraft I have seen during the war had straight probes.
The ordinance composes two fuel tanks, six Mk.82 500 pound bombs and two LAU rocket pods. The model has the pylons for five positions this was seen on air force aircraft but Naval aircraft show only two inboard pylons and the fuselage center pylon (Photos of the particular version you want are helpful). Typical load for an air force bird was single British or US Mk. 83 General Purpose Bomb (1000 lbs.) and two external fuel tanks. Naval aircraft often carried four Mk.82 (Plain or Snakeyes) on a M.E.R. (multiple ejector rack) attached to the center pylon and two external fuel tanks. It’s best to review photos of the aircraft you intend model.
The decals of course are old and incorrect for this campaign anyway (Israeli and Australian) but aftermarket decals for Skyhawk’s are available and should make attractive and interesting aircraft. Even though ESCI is not making aircraft models anymore they are often found at garage sales, the Internet, modeling contests (vendors) or probably in your closet as we read! In my opinion this will be a good kit to build because it is simple, occupies little space and when finished, looks the part.
Here is the second of my reviews. The 1/72 scale, SA330 Puma, by Airfix. The Puma is an assault transport helicopter. It was used by Argentina in the Falklands War. The British also used the Puma but none were sent with the South Atlantic Invasion Fleet. From the information I have gathered so far I can confirm three Pumas were present for the war. One was used on South Georgia Island by the Argentine Army and was shot down by Royal Marines on the opening day of the invasion of South Georgia. These photos are about five years old and found at
http://www.mclaren.gs/
The other two were present on the Falklands themselves around Port Stanley operated by the Army and Argentine Coast Guard. By the end of the conflict neither aircraft survived.
The Airfix kit has been around for some time and on opening the box and pulling the trees out of the plastic bag we have around 100 pieces molded in grey and clear plastic. The molding sprues are massive compared to other kits but do not interfere with the parts. The flash is minimal. The clear parts are thick and distort whatever they are covering. That may not be bad as the interior is very sparse. However, two pilot figures and decals for the cockpit are included.
The exterior fuselage parts have numerous rivets way out of scale. I think a light sanding would improve their appearance. The exhausts for the engine are well molded and have tapered ends.
The cockpit and cabin interior lack any structural detail and if the side doors are modeled open someone may want to add extra detail.
The rotor head appears to have decent detail and the assembly to the helicopter body is simple according to the directions. The tail rotor is protected by a semi-circular sprue and I suspect it is very fragile, use extreme care in removing it from the sprue.
The decals are for French or British Helicopter, in fact I don’t know what markings are correct for Argentina because I have never located a decent picture of one. Can anybody shed some light on this?
Helicopter models are foreign to me and I don’t know much about them, but judging from actual pictures the outline of the model looks like a Puma and I think this is the only SA330 around. It’s still in production and cost is around $8.00 US. Italeri does a Super Puma and the nose and air intakes are different shaped from this kit. It’s appealing to me because of the Falklands history plus it’s uncommon to see around modeling tables.
Sincerely,
Brian
