I was thinking of getting this but I really could not find any reviews on here. Is this a good kit to build?Its going for 58.00 and I would need all the miscellany also. I would appreciate any info someone may have. I did search the site and read Merlin's review but the one he did is 2006 so is this the same kit just different box art?

Hi Kelly, I haven't got this kit but have been thinking about it and so have done some research. There are two different boxings that I am aware of - the base one by Mirage, and then the same kit reboxed by the Warsaw Model Club, which I think contains a bit of addtional resin. In terms of reviews, you can't go past Mike Grant's "Flying Carp" article in the June 2007 issue of Model Airplane International. This is a very substantial full-build article, which contains masses of in-progress pics and tips. The end result looks awesome, though the reviewer's final comment is "the model perfectly captures the ... feel of the real Karas, but it demands a fairly major commitment of time and old-fashioned modelling skills to get there".

Happy to send you the article if you can't track down the issue in question - just send me a PM and I'll pop it in the post for you.

cheers Brad

Hi Kelly!

Here are all the reviews about the PZL-23 on Aeroscale:
- PZL-23A Karaś
- PZL-23A Karaś Details set
- PZL 23B Karaś
- PZL-23 Karaś book

Jean-Luc

thanks a bunch guy's. I will try and find the article if not I will pm you. I think either way I want to build this, It has me intrigued

and I just ordered the book.

Just an update. I bought the kit from Squadron along with the extras and the book and the magazine. I think this is the first time I have gotten this serious about a kit. Now to see what happens Thanks for all the help.
Kelly

Nice one Kelly!

I'm really looking forward to seeing your progress on this one!

All the best

Rowan

There are three versions of the kit. The P.23A which was relegated to the training role, a special edition with extra resin and PE parts – subject of the Mike Grant article (it's the Warsaw Model Centre not Club and they are basically Mirage's model shop), and a Sept 1939 version. NB. The first two kits do not have genuine Sept 1939 markings. For a start the buzz codes were changed shortly before the outbreak of war from two digits to three.

The Polish magazine Mini Replika 46 has a long article on building the P.23A. Text is all Polish but there are many photographs showing the extra detailing added to the fuselage. Back numbers are available but difficult to get unless you know someone in Poland that can get it for you as the Jadar Shop have sold out. Mini Replika 53 and 54 have a two part article building the P.23B, both the special edition and Sept 1939 kits. Both the Eduard and Part PE sets are also included. All versions of the P.23 were fitted with dual control which is not incorporated in the kit although there is an extra set of rudder pedals included. Both the Mini Replika articles show how to incorporate these into the model. I think MR 53 and 54 can still be obtained from the Jadar Shop.

A few comments about the Mike Grant article.

The piece of brass described as a ‘ladder’ that fits in the gondola next to the RH 32 bomb sight. The name for it translates from Polish as ‘aiming bed for the bombardier.’ Looking at the photographs it looks like it is a bracket for some kind of aiming aid, a telescope of telescopic sight.

Landing lights. These were powerful search lights that could be used to illuminate targets. The starboard was fixed but the port could be moved by the pilot. On later versions only the starboard light was fitted. The instructions show the brass ‘spiders’ should be fitted over the lamp covers not under as MG thinks The colour callouts are canvas (J) and leather (I). They represent the straps of the protective covers that were sometimes fitted over the lights.

The exhaust collector ring was made from steel and was not the bronze colour seen on British aircraft. It quickly began to rust but judging from photographs this rusting varied quite a bit.

Mirage is the Polish agent for Vallejo and now only give mixtures from this range. Out of curiosity I obtained them to see what they produced. The colours, black, chestnut brown, yellow, and two greens, are not what I would expect to produce khaki. One of the greens is like hair dye, leaving the bristles of my paint brush green. I got what I expected, three slightly different shades of chocolate brown with a horrible dirty bottle green cast. When I put them through an airbrush the first layer paint appeared dark green turning to dark brown as the thickness of paint built up. The overspray was also a dirty bottle green. Nothing like the olive green of the illustrations on the instruction sheet which I assume is meant to represent the sort of colour you want. For a while I thought that these mixtures might have been made from a different range of paints and simply translated to the nearest Vallejo equivalents. Frankly I think you would be wasting your time and your money if you buy these paints for this purpose. (No complaints about the paint, it’s the colours that are at fault.) There are easier and cheaper ways to get the right colour.

Agama have authentic colours for pre-war Polish aircraft but you can only get them from the Jadar Shop in Warsaw.

http://jadarhobby.home.pl/index.php?cPath=21_453&sort=2a&page=10

Agama Polish Khaki is an exact match for the now extinct Humbrol H142. The nearest Humbrol colour is H155 Olive Drab. I bought some and painted some next to the Agama. Under a gloss coat you can hardly see any difference but under Matt Cote H155 became a darker, browner colour. I thought adding white would produce a too bleached effect but was surprised to find it matched the Agama colour quite well and I think many people would be happy with the result.

Late/Export Khaki. Mirage now have a pack of Vallejo paints for mixing the PZL colours

http://www.wcm.com.pl/index.php?action=show&id=12088

In it they include 70887/093 Brown Violet for Late Khaki in place of the mix they give in the instructions. This matches exactly Humbrol 155 Olive Drab. However, this still looks a little too much on the brown side, not like the Olive Green colour shown in the profiles in the instructions. Use a greener version of Olive Drab 41. White Ensign’s ACUS15 Olive Drab 41 or Agama’s A2M Olive Drab 41 are both suitable. Agama’s A15 M US Olive Drab if you prefer a slightly darker, browner colour.

Everybody is having problems with the fit of the wings and gondola. Wojciech Perkowski has some very useful advice for solving this to on Hyperscale. http://hsfeatures.com/features04/pzlp23karasiwp_1.htm

Thanks for the info. I created a file to save things to. Just a question why is the polish ensign on the right wing set inboard so much farther than to one on the left wing? upper surface anyway.
Later,
Kelly

To handicap the aim of an enemy pilot or gunner.