P. J. Productions

1/48 AMD/BA Dornier Alpha Jet

Kit Number: 481003

Reviewed by  Fred Wilms, IPMS# 42113

MSRP: $94.00 U.S. Currency Website: www.pjproduction.net The kit is made up of resin parts, cast metal parts and clear parts. All the parts are numbered and clearly correspond to the assembly sheets. The details all were in excellent condition - no defects, pin holes or cracked parts, and minimal or no flashing on the details and good recessed panel lines. The kit instruction sheet shows three (3) aircraft versions dating from 1985 to 2007 (French). The fourth version is an advanced trainer from Brustem, Belgium, flown in the 1980's. Construction: After washing the resin parts in detergent, the model was set aside to air dry. I proceeded to assemble the details. I started with the wheel well area. Then I proceeded to the cockpit and fuselage halves. Note: pre-painting is strongly advised. At this point, I needed to make a decision as to which country configuration to use. The vertical fin is available in two versions (French or Belgium). The differences being in the fin antenna configuration located at the top of the fin. There were no problems with the assembly of this model, and it went remarkably well. Minimal putty fill of the seams and sanding was required.

Two canopies were supplied. Both were excellent and had good lines. Both units were one-piece units. Taking one canopy, I decided to split the canopy into four pieces, showing the canopies in the open position. Splitting the canopies made it very flimsy, so I made some wire frames, carefully gluing them on the canopy. This procedure stiffened the canopy.

Painting: The instructions were very clear as to the paint scheme desired. Since I chose the Belgium version, I used a multi-paint scheme. The sheets had a paint conversion table, with Tamiya, Gunze, Humbrol , and Federal standards. I used Model Master paint and Tamiya acrylic paint with no problem. Decals: The decals supplied were made for the four versions. The decals were thin and went on with no problem. When I applied the final dull coat over the gloss coat, total disaster occurred. The finish dried milky white in various areas of the model. I cried! The gloss coat and dull coat were Testor's product. I managed to wet-sand these surfaces, which enabled me to remove most of the milky-white on the surface of the model. I proceeded to re-coat with Floquil flat finish, and most of the milky white finish disappeared. I did compromise the base coats. I am looking for help in this area so that this condition will not reoccur in other models. Please feel free to comment or offer suggestions. Final Assembly: After the finish cured, I applied Future Coating to the canopy. Note: The canopies are both in the open position.

Conclusion: I have done other resin kits and they do not match the quality and fit of this exceptional kit. On a negative note, I found there to be many tiny parts, which were easily lost, and assembly was a challenge at times. Thanks to P. J. Productions and the IPMS crew for allowing me to review and build this kit.