RS Model 1/72 Avia BA 122

RS MODEL 1:72 AVIA BA.122
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Johan De Wolf (rec.models.scale)

Aircraft: Avia Ba.122
Scale: 1/72
Kit: RS Model #72111
Parts: 49 resin (12 not used for this kit), 2 white metal, 1 sheet of clear
plastic
Decals: one option
Surface detail: finely engraved
Accuracy: excellent
Price: around 20 euro

History
In spring 1934 the Czech army command decided Czech pilots should participate in the international Aerobatic competition called the Coupe Mondial. Avia was given the task of building an aircraft for this purpose. Within 6 weeks the B 122 was designed and built.

Pilots had only a short time to sort out the plane as the contest was in July of that year. However the design was quite successful and it took 4th and 8th place in the contest. Based on comments from the pilots an improved version, the Ba 122, was built. It had a larger rudder and a more powerful engine. This version went into production and 35 machines where built. In the 1936 Olympiade Czech pilots took 2nd, 3rd and 8th place with their Avias. Some of these machines had the 9 cylinder Walter Pollux engine instead of the 7 cylinder Castor. 1937 was again a successful year with the Avias taking 1st and 3rd place in the international aviation meeting in Zurich. These successes led to export orders from Russia and Rumania. Further development led to prototypes of the Ba 222, 322 and 422. The Czech ministry of defence ordered 45 Bs 122 trainers. Sadly the second world war put an end to further development. After the occupation of the Czechoslovak republic in 1939 some machines ended up in the Luftwaffe and others where sold to Slovakia and Bulgaria.

The kit
It comes in a sturdy full colour box. The cream coloured resin parts are crisply moulded and bubble free. Only a slight swipe with fine grade sandpaper is needed to remove a touch of flash here and there and the parts are ready for use. Surface detail is very fine and convincing. The white metal parts are also of good quality. An A4 size leaflet contains a brief history, pictures of a restored machine, detail drawings of the engine, a construction diagram and a colour scheme for one aircraft. Text is in Czech and Czenglish. The decal sheet is well printed and in register.

Accuracy
Length and span are both spot on. Surface detail is excellent. The Ba 122 had a big tail for such a small aircraft, and the kit represents this and other features very well.

Construction
The cockpit is where you'll find the only error in this kit. The part representing the frame that supports the instrument panel has the wrong shape. This is easily corrected with some stretched sprue though. The true shape is shown in the drawing and pictures. The side walls have rib detail on them. Other parts that go into the cockpit are a seat, the stick, rudder pedals and a floor to stick it all to. Next is the engine. The main part is white metal. The exhaust collector ring is white metal too. Not shown in the construction diagram is that you have to add the push rods on the front of the cylinders yourself. The pipes from the carburettor to the back of the cylinder heads are resin parts. Luckily the detail drawings are very helpful in engine construction. With 11 parts (not counting 14 pushrods) it is very fiddly to construct, but it results in a very detailed engine for a kit in this scale. Note that the two long exhaust piped should be fitted to the bottom two cylinders and not to the side as shown in the diagram. The tail and rudder can be fixed next to serve as an alignment reference for the main wings. The N struts are slightly warped in my kit. A bit of hot water and some pressure will cure that problem soon though.

The upper wing is a single piece, while the lower wing is divided in a left and a right halve. They are butt joined to the fuselage. The landing gear looks sturdy enough to support this small model. A piece of clear styrene sheet is provided to make the flat panelled windscreen from. No template is provided though. Last to be added are small details like the carburettor intake and tailskid, and the large wooden prop.

Painting and decals
For the interior the only colour indicated is light grey. The pictures suggest a darker colour for the framework, and black for the instrument panel though. Also the seat cushion and cockpit rim are a darker colour, and I suggest a dark red brown leather colour for these. The decals provide markings for an overall silverdope Luftwaffe machine based with a flying school at Neudorf/Oppeln in 1941.

Conclusion
This is a very nice kit of a successful Avia design. For those not afraid of biplanes and their rigging this should be an easy build. Recommended!

This kit is available in 9! different boxings to cater for the differences in engine, cockpit arrangement, wing layout and markings of the several prototypes and production versions.

web hosting • domain names • video sharing
free online games • photo sharing
free blog • short URLs