TS-11 Iskra bis DF (Arma Hobby Deluxe 1/72)

[rav_pl]

TS-11 Iskra bis DF nr 1714, 3 Lotniczy Pułk Szkolno-Bojowy (Aviation Battle Training Regiment), Bydgoszcz, October 17, 1990. On July 2, 1994 the aircraft crashed in Oleśnica. The pilot, mjr Piotr Siekański, was killed. I witnessed this tragic moment.

The kit: Arma Hobby Deluxe 1/72.

[rav_pl]

[Grandboof]

Good one nice work

Martin H

[Arne]

Very nice little Modell - and very interesting!

[pollie]

Nice spark!

[K5054NZ]

Nice work RAV, that's a very cool little build.

[Ryan Hothersall]

Nice build. What is the kit like?.

Haven't gotten around to buying it yet.

[rav_pl]

What is the kit like?

Generally it is OK but has some issues in unexpected areas.

What can be easier than fit of upper and lower part of a wing? The parts here are done in a strange way (see the instructions) - some upper surfaces are molded with lower part and vice versa. This results with need of most of sanding in the build. But on the other hand, the completed wing with air intake and fillet fits perfectly to the fuselage along quite complicated join line - you even get correct dihedral.

Another issue is trapezoidal inset in the rear part of upper wing fillet. Apparently a louvers part should be fit there, but no such part is in the kit. You are left with the hole and enjoy it or help yourself. I tried to make such louvers but I'm not satisfied with them.

The canopy could be thinner (for better view to the well detailed cockpit) and shorter to fit in closed position. OK, I know it is a bit insane to put PE part to the cockpit and then close it, but that's the way I do. If you like you can open the cockpit and airbrakes plus lower the flaps which gives much more "living" model out of the box. You can even buy a engine set for the kit, however there is no open nose option yet.

The Iskra in 1/72 is the first injection molded kit from Arma Hobby, who is known and appreciated of resin kits. Therefore some issues can be forgiven. I'm looking forward for their upcoming kits.