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MPM 1:48 AERO L-39ZO ALBATROS |
Reviewer:
Geoff Goldfen
(rec.models.scale)
Kit Review submitted:
23 November 2002
One of the success stories of Czech aviation manufacturing, the Aero L-39 Albatros is operated by some 25 Air Forces and has been in service for over two decades. Most of the Air Forces who operate the type would be seen as those friendly with Soviet aircraft purchasing during the years of the Cold War, and this type suits as an advanced trainer and light attack aircraft. The L-39ZO is the weapons training/light tactical strike version, operated by Libya, Syria, Iraq and what used to be East Germany. Production of the L-39ZO has now all but ceased in favour its successor the L-59.
Readers of my reviews will note that I generally don't build a lot of limited run stuff in quarter scale, opting mainly for Tamiya and Hasegawa! But having seen this kit on sale recently with its intriguing Libyan option on the boxart, well I just had to get it!
Inside the box you will find three sprues of around 70 limited run injection moulded parts in light grey, two vacform canopies and five resin pieces. Including the decal sheet, each component is bagged separately. The quality of the limited run parts is very good and features engraved panel lines and surface detail. There are some ejector pin marks which will need removal on some parts and a small amount of flash also.
These follow standard MPM booklet style with a brief history, parts map, short sequence of assembly, four view diagrams for decal placement and Humbrol numbers quoted throughout for painting instructions.
The cockpit is where it all begins, and nearly half the parts in the kit are just for this section alone. After the ejector pin marks are removed from the fuselage interiors, attention is turned to placing the cockpit tub in the right place, and the instructions are a bit vague here. The ejection seat head rests are cast in resin and the height of the seats assembled also needs to be taken into account when working out the placement of the cockpit unit, since the canopy will not fit later otherwise. The cockpits are as fully fit out as you can get in a combination of plastic and resin, with only the ejection handles, seatbelts and the like really needing to be added by the modeller. The instrument consoles all have a little raised detail on them and a small HUD sits on the dashboard in the front cockpit. A lot of trial fitting and appropriate small trimming adjustments is needed, as you would expect from a limited run kit, before you can be satisfied that everything will fit. Add some nose weight and its ready to place together the fuselage halves. You really feel by this point that half the kit has been done.
The fuselage halves will need some rubber bands clamping them while left to dry. The mid fuselage air intakes are separate and are not the best fit, with filler needed to help blend into the contour of the fuselage. The jet tail pipe can also be added at this point or left til later in the instruction and is supplied in both resin and plastic, both require a little trimming to fit.
The wings are provided as a single lower piece and two upper mouldings and as is the way I generally tackle these projects, I sanding the leading and trailing edges first, then added the lower wing piece first to the fuselage and the upper parts after. Dry fit test runs and sanding the respective mating surfaces ensured the fit was quite good, but filler was still needed at the joins and roots. For underwing stores there are four pylons but only a pair of drop tanks provided.
The tailplanes also need some thinning out to look more realistic to scale and are butt joined to the rear of the fuselage. A jig of some sort is recommended to aid the process of drying, and the instruction sheet has a small inset diagram that provides the modeller with some idea on the correct angles of the wings and tailplanes.
The undercarriage is fiddly and care is needed when removing from the sprue. MPM have moulded the gear doors closed and only left the openings to attach the landing gear into, as the doors do close when the landing gear is lowered. Once the parts are cleaned and added they certainly look quite good.
The vacform canopy is very clear and fits well to the fuselage providing the right care is taken in trimming it to the correct size. The final stages of assembly include the wing probes, antennae etc, which are supplied in a mixture of resin and plastic.
There are four versions to choose from, all of which carry camouflage but different air force schemes, being Syria, Libya, Libya/Czech delivery and the former East Germany. The decal sheet is printed by Cartograf in Italy, providing a good amount of stencilling and roundels with excellent colour register. They bed down well with the aid of setting solution although the carrier film can still be seen through an under and over gloss coat. There is also a second small decal sheet which have some markings, as an errata to the supplied kit decals.
Although limited run technology this kit is one that would rival most mainstream manufacturers for an accurate replica of the L-39ZO. It would still require the skills of at least an intermediate and above modeller to put together but is certainly highly recommended for those of you interested in portraying something a little different to your strike aircraft display shelf.
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