Eduard

1/72 Dual Aero L-39 Albatros (Third World)

Kit Number: 2106

Reviewed by  Jim Pearsall, IPMS# 2209

MSRP: $29.95 (2 aircraft) Review kit provided by Eduard (www.eduard.cz) The Aircraft As the combat aircraft of the world get more and more complicated to fly, and more and more expensive to buy, it becomes a necessity for air forces to buy an "intermediate" trainer, one which can give the cadet pilot a chance to gain experience in an aircraft that's not as hot as the front line planes, but also not so difficult to fly. That way there's a higher chance of the cadet surviving the transition from bug smashers to 9Gs. These intermediate aircraft DO have some zip, and can be impressive at air shows or when armed can be used in low-threat environments. The US Air Force contributions to the "lead in" trainer have been the North American T-6, the T-33, the T-37 and the T-38. How many of us can remember when the Thunderbirds traded in their F-4Es for T-38s? That's 34 years ago, so if you remember, you're no spring chicken. And the T-37 became the A-37 with the addition of a minigun. So was the Soviet Union far behind? Of course not! But it seemed that the Russian designers who could work miracles with high performance and lightweight aircraft just couldn't get it right when it came to trainers. The MiG-15UTI soldiered on long after its parent had gone away, and it was a beast to fly. That's what Yuri Gagarin was flying when he had his fatal accident. In steps the firm of Aero Vodochody of Czechoslovakia with their L-29 Delfin trainer. It became the T-33 of the Warsaw Pact. When Aero produced the even slicker, faster L-39 Albatros, it was even more popular. 28 air forces use or have used the L-39. Civilian owned Albatroses appear at air shows all over the world, and are seen in TV commercials. The kit When I opened the box, my first thought was "I'm not worthy!" It is the ultimate detailer's dream. Photoetch! Canopy masks! Details! Decals! Whew….. But the thing that really sold me on really wanting to build this kit was the markings on the decal sheet. You can build 2 model aircraft, with choices of the L-39C, L-39ZA, or L-39ZO, with markings provided for (left to right) Libya, Ghana, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Cambodia, Algeria, Iraq and Cuba. That was it! I was going to be the only one in my IPMS Chapter to ever bring a Bangladeshi aircraft to "show and tell". You get a really complete set of photoetch for the cockpit. Because of differences in the sub models of the L-39, there are 2 different instrument panels and side consoles, as well as 2 different gun sights. The instrument panels come as 2 parts, the instruments and the panel with holes to show the dials. And because it's a double kit, you get 2 of everything. Which I will show is a really good thing as we complete the project. You get the famous Eduard canopy and detail painting masks. Enough masks to do 2 complete canopies, wheels, and wingtips. The aircraft (yes, you get 2 plastic kits in there with all those accessories) are cleanly molded in light brown plastic with fine engraved panel lines. Each kit is in its own plastic bag, which reduces confusion about which parts you're using. Assembly The assembly starts with the cockpit and ejection seats. You paint the parts the base color, and the PE adds all the detail and color you need. This is a marvelous assembly. If you are really averse to PE, there are decals for the instrument panels and side consoles in the cockpit. Or in case you lose one of those teeny tiny little parts. That's a right rear console PE part there next to Lincoln's beard on the penny. There are also PE seat belts, ejection handles and other stuff on the seats. I tried using white glue for these, but it doesn't have the hold you get from a partial drop of CA superglue.

Here's the FIT WARNING. I had trouble getting the rear seat into the cockpit. I suggest trying the fit of the seat before you put those fine, delicate PE consoles in. I'm really not sure if the fit problem was the size of the seat, or if I got the consoles too far out, but I had to do some serious filing to get that seat into the cockpit. The good news is the cutting job doesn't show, and I got the console PE I accidentally removed back in place. The front seat? It went in just fine, no problem. The rest of the build is just a breeze. All the parts fit, the fuselage halves mate cleanly, the cockpits fit in there with no fuss, and the wing sections go in with only a little putty needed to make up for my failure to get a really clean fit before applying the Tenax ®. And it was just really good, with the exception of the windscreen that goes in front of the rear seat. I just couldn't figure out how it was supposed to mount in there. But a little cutting and filing got it in place, where I think it should go. The one place I had a real problem wasn't the kit's problem, it was mine. The PE gun sight mounts right there on the top of the front instrument panel. So it seemed that every time I picked up the cockpit, handled it, or put it down, I bent the gun sight. And I fixed it 8, no 10, no 15 times before I finally broke it. This is where having 2 different gun sights in the PE fret, and 2 of each of them came in SO handy. I waited to replace the gun sight just before I put the windscreen in place, thereby protecting if from my fumbling fingers. I left off the landing gear and the canopies until I finished painting. With my obvious skills, I would have destroyed those parts while handling. Painting and Decals

I used Model Master ® paints for the entire job. I did have some problems converting the colors on the chart, though. Eduard gives color callouts using Gunze Aqueous and Mr. Color, with approximate color matches for Tamiya, :Humbrol, Revell and Testors. I don't know about the Gunze colors, but, as we say in the "education business", the Testors callouts "need more research". The sand color was right on the money, but I'm still not sure about the "olive", which translated to Testors FS 34102, which is a dark green, but with very little of the brown tint I think of when I recall olive green. Once I had gotten past my "color snit", the painting was just as easy as the assembly. This is the first time I used Eduard canopy masks or wheel masks, and they are SO great. Easy to use, thin, flexible, and well cut. I had a little trouble getting the first one off the sheet, until I figured out to use a hobby knife and #11 blade. The masks are reminiscent of Tamiya tape in texture and ease of use. They stay where you put them, but will come up without leaving a residue in case you miss a little on the first try. Or the second. Or third. This is experience speaking here. I also made my own color masks for the fuselage. If you scan the color scheme from the instructions, and blow the side views up 150% and the top/bottom views up to 200%, you can print a mask master. I used a master on a light table (It's a glass top table with a table lamp under it so you can see through the paper) with a clear page protector between the master and the tape. I drew the shape of the mask on the tape, and then put the tape on the glass for cutting. Well actually the first time I tried cutting the tape while still on the page protector, and cut a hole in the protector, destroying it. I painted the lighter (sand) color overall, then applied the masks and painted the green. I removed these masks and applied a mask over the upper colors, then painted the underside. The supplied masks wouldn't work for the Bangladeshi version, but painting the wingtip tanks, the nose, the stabs and the tail red were pretty simple, as I had a 100% size master to work with. The underside of the nose has a "steel" area instead of having gear doors or a nose gear well. So be it, and that's what I painted. Looks fine. I put on Future to prep for the decals. The state of the art for Eastern European decals (and kits) has advanced a LOT since I built my KP L-39. The Eduard decals are on register, come off the backing quickly and evenly, can be moved to the correct spot, but stay where you put them once the water is wicked away with a tissue. Nothing is as easy as you'd like, but these were pretty close to that ideal. Finished! I put on a dusting of acrylic flat to knock the gloss off and blend the decals in. I added the landing gear, and the two pitots on the wing. THEN I removed the windscreen and canopy masks and installed the canopies. I put them on open, to show off that super PE interior. Overall WOW, what a kit!! I spent about 3 weeks working on this one, and about half of that time was involved with the interior. Well, that and fixing the gun sight. The actual aircraft is pretty simple, as befits a trainer, and with good fitting parts, it was just a joy to assemble. Highly Recommended. Thanks to Eduard for a good build of an unusual subject, and to IPMS/USA for the chance to build and review this kit.

Information, images, and all other items placed electronically on this site are the intellectual property of IPMS/USA ®.