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REVELL
1:144 GRUMMAN E-2C HAWKEYE
REVELL 1:144 HAWKER HUNTER FGA.9
ATTACK MODELS 1:144 SUKHOI SU-7 FITTER
'TRIPLE INBOX Review'
Reviewer: Kevan Vogler (rec.models.scale)
The “Black Sheep” of modeling scales?
Mention 1/144 scale to many modelers and they may simply turn their nose up at the thought of building anything so small. Beyond its common use in airliner models, 1/144 as a scale has often been the butt of jokes and not so kind commentary by modelers for many years. True, when companies started trying to produce smaller subjects like fighters in the scale, the molding technology wasn’t in place to do the subjects justice and many weren’t worth building.
However, given the apparent resurgence of the scale on hobby shop shelves in recent years, I think its time to revisit and re-evaluate this diminutive scale.
1/144 Scale, then and now:
In early 2006, I purchased Academy’s 1/144 B-58 Hustler kit and was pleasantly surprized not only by the very good design and engineering of the kit, but that a 1/144 kit can be something more than “Airliner scale” and comparitively smaller subjects can be made to the scale these days and not look like a toy or general waste of plastic.
Before I purchased the Academy Hustler, it had been years since I touched a 1/144 scale kit of anything. This was primarily due to the fact that my first exposure to the scale was a series of kits that Revell put out under the “Squadron 144” banner in the mid 1980s. The series included some modern jets and some WWII stuff, most of which were reissues of someone else’s kits. I built the Harrier GR.1, F-15A and P-38 from that series and that was enough to make me sick of the scale for small subjects. If you see a kit in the “Squadron 144” packaging, do yourself a favour and steer well clear of it.
Fast forward to today, I’ve come a long way in my modeling skills and if the Academy Hustler is any indication, 1/144 has come a long way as a scale in modeling. I set out recently to get a sampling of what the current state of this scale is as far as smaller aircraft go and found the following three kits to be attractive in both subject matter and engineering. Additionally, I would take them and the Academy Hustler as an indictation that 1/144 as a scale is being taken seriously by some manufacturers and is in good hands.
Two or Three years ago, Revell issued this model of an aircraft that has been woefully under represented in the scale hobby. I suspect the main catalyst for the creation of this kit was the French navy’s purchase of some Hawkeyes. This was big news at the time, as it meant that France was the first European operator of the type.
One of the main reasons I chose this kit for review is that it is getting a fair degree of hype from modelers. Whether that hype was a product of the kit’s quality or the fact that Hawkeye fans have had precious little choice in models of it (The not terribly easy and long in the tooth 1/72 Fujimi kit and its various reboxes, or the big and wallet draining 1/48 Collect Aire resin kit) I wasn’t sure, but on opening the box it was quite clear that a lot of thought at been put into this little kit.
This kit’s 45 parts come on three sprues, two mid grey and one clear. There is a beautiful decal sheet printed by Cartograph that contains three marking options, two American navy and one French. The instructions are typical Revell Germany fare, easy to follow with no real lack of clarity. Like the other two kits in this review, panel lines are all engraved quite finely and there’s no flash whatsoever to be found on the moldings.
Some of the more notable features of this kit include the full wing span being made as a single piece of plastic. No upper and lower wing halves, no fiddling around trying to get the wing angle just so… Just pop it into its opening in the top of the fuselage and you’re done with it. I dry fitted the fuselage halves with the wing and they all seem to go together smooth as silk. You can dedicate the time you saved not worrying about wing angles to getting the rotodome assembly, which is well depicted, together.
Also worthy of note is that you get a decent cockpit that includes the flight deck, rear bulkhead, two control yokes and instrument decals. You’ll likely see very little of this once the canopy is on, however, it is nice to know the effort was made to fill the space. The complexities of the landing gear legs are also captured quite nicely in this kit.
The Hawkeye is a complex aircraft just to look at in real life, very few straight lines, subtle curves here and there and the engine nacelles are a very complex collection of compound curves that must have given the mold makers some headaches and sleepless nights trying to get right. Revell should be applauded for even thinking to make a Hawkeye in this scale in light of those facts. This is a kit that deserves to be noticed.
This kit came out around the same time as as the above mentioned Hawkeye kit, like the Hawkeye, it’s a very nicely engineered kit.
This kit contains three sprues, two of medium olive green styrene and one clear for a total parts count of 44. The decals have only Revell’s name on them as the printer, however, they look every bit as nice as the Cartograph ones in the Hawkeye. The decal sheet provides two options, one RAF and the other a Swiss machine. Instructions, like the Hawkeye, are typical Revell Germany.
The main things that really jumped out at me about this kit were its cockpit and landing gear details, that it had any at all was the first surprize. Usually in this scale, such things are really afterthoughts; in this kit the cockpit is four parts with separate tub, seat, control stick and instrument panel. The landing gear and gear wells are very finely detailed and both these areas scream for dry brushing or washes when painting time comes.
As with the other two kits in this review, I did some cursory dry fitting with this little gem and saw no evidence of any fit problems minor or major.
In recent years Trumpeter has released a 1/144 F-86 Sabre, Attack Models have 1/144 MiG-15s and 17s and I understand, though I’ve never seen one, Russian Project has a 1/144 MiG-19. This Hunter would look just right on your shelf with those other early jets.
I love the Hunter and I can’t wait to get this little kit underway.
Of the three kits in this review, this is the newest. It seems to have hit the hobby shop shelves in the Czech Republic around mid April 2006 and the maufacturer did not have it on their web site any earlier than that, very new indeed.
Attack Models is a small Czech company that seems to have very recently branched into aircraft from 1/72 armor and resin armor accessories. They have a small series of 1/144 kits that include the MiG-15, MiG-17, Aero L-39 Albatross and this Sukhoi SU-7.
Upon opening the box, the modeler is met with 40 parts on four sprues of crisp, consistent styrene, three light grey and one clear. A decent decal sheet with options for Czech, Egyptian, Indian, Iraqi and Soviet examples of the aircraft. The instructions are adequate to build the kit with, but have a few clarity issues in the painting and decal guides.
This kit, like the Hunter, has detail in its cockpit and wheel wells that rivals some of what I’ve seen in larger scale kits. Despite this apparent plus, this kit has a distinct limited run feel to it as there are no positive locating devices on any of the parts and the locations of some smaller parts, like weapons pylons, are marked out by very small scratches on the larger parts they attach to rather than the usual holes and pegs. Additionally, the sprue gates on this kit are larger than on the two Revell kits. Dry fittings also hinted at some potential parts fit problems.
The limited run nature of this kit should not be seen as a minus, limited run kits have come a long way since the days when you had to beat them into submission and, as I write this, this is a very new kit.
Additionally, the Su-7 was the early non variable geometry member of the “Fitter” family of fighters, better known by the later SU-22 variant of it. If you have the 1/144 Dragon or Academy SU-22 kits and you want an earlier Fitter to park beside it on your shelf, I have a feeling this kit will be your only chance to do it.
Conclusions:
I like what I see in all three of these kits, they are a real step up from the kits that made up my first 1/144 experience 20 or so years ago. They are proof that a big punch can be delivered in a small box and it is possible to get value for money in such a small scale.
Due to their small size, I can’t recommend 1/144 kits to novice modelers, they definitely are more for experienced modelers who know how to handle very small parts. However, for those who will build this scale, there is obviously some good stuff out there for you.
I doubt 1/144 will ever be more than a niche scale, but it’s a niche that’s clearly being well looked after by some manufacturers these days.
SMAKR
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