At Modellexpo 08-Open 2022 I had the pleasure of meeting Claes Wahlund, the owner and enthusiast behind Pilot Replicas. Starting with pilots and auxiliary vehicles in scale 1/48 he has since given us exquisite kits of the Saab J 21 and the Saab J 29 Tunnan. So it was with some anticipation I could ask him about his upcoming projects.

Claes Wahlund
Claes Wahlund with the test build of the Sk 60.

The first thing that caught my eye at his tables was a built version of the long rumoured Saab Sk 60. Claes told me that this was a pre-production test press that he built to find out if there need to be further improvements on the moulds. Corrections have been sent to the factory and he hoped that they could start production within a few weeks. As always things are a bit uncertain when it comes to these things. There's always new challenges. The production is done in Hong Kong and usually the products are transported by the Trans Siberian Railway but this possibility is now closed due to the war in Ukraine, so just the delivery times will be much longer. But still I got the impression that the Sk 60 is not that far away.

Box and decals to the Sk 60
Box and decals to the upcoming Sk 60.
Test run Sk 60
A test run of the Sk 60.

Another kit that's been in the makings for some time now is the de Havilland Venom (J 33 in Sweden). This is more down the line and Cleas told me that he also have a two-seater Vampire in the works and this seems to be closer as there was a 3D printed mock-up on the table. These are definitively two kits that are in the makings though.

Vampire two seater.
A mock up of the coming Vampire (J 28) two seater.

Some might, like me, have been hoping for a S 29 Tunnan (the reconnaissance version) and unfortunately this is not something that's planned from Pilot Replicas. But something that Claes has in the works is a conversion kit for his J 29. He could show me a 3D print of the parts that are in the works, These are not the finished product but just a test of the drawings. It certainly looks like we can look forward to building the S 29 out of the Pilot Replicas kit after all.

Mock-up parts för the S 26
Mock-up parts för the S 26

It was rally good to see Pilot Replicas tables at 08-open filled great kits. At the tables there was several kits built by people that helps Claes to test-build his kits. One of them, Per-Erik Hedberg, were there showing, amongst others two J 29 Tunnan that he built of Pilot Replicas kits.

Per-Erik Hedberg with to of his builds
Per-Erik Hedberg with to of his builds.

I really enjoyed the chat with Claes who, according to me, is one of the best kit manufacturers out there. Let's hope that we soon can enjoy more of his kits.

Well, Airfix has just released their news for 2022 and this time I find it a bit more interesting than last year.

- Their big new item this year is of course the Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IX in scale 1:24. It looks like a significant step up from their previous Mk. I/Mk. V mould. Also the first kit in this scale of the Mk. IX which differs some from the earlier models. Looking forward to this one!

- Another interesting kit is the new Avro Anson in scale 1:48. The only kit of this aircraft has been Classic Airframes mould (later re-boxed by Special Hobby) from 2006. This one is fun because it's not mainstream and will be a fun build, specially as Airfix new releases are quite good.

- Next one is the Blackburn Buccaneer in scale 1:48. If this is what they claim, a new mould, then it's a bit of a surprise as their last mould of this aircraft in this scale is from 1994 and was re-issued 2005. Let's see if this really is a new mould. If it's new it's welcome. Interesting to note too that Tanmodel has also announced a Blackburn Buccaneer in the same scale for 2022. It will be fun to see how they compare.

- For those who build in 1:72 there will be a new Gloster Meteor F.8.

You can read more about their news for 2022 here.

In January 2019 Airfix announced a new tool 1/48 kit of the classical de Havilland Tiger Moth. Now this made me really excited as at the time the only available kit of the Tiger Moth in that scale was a version from SMER and that left e few things to wish for. Unfortunately this kit seems to have been hit by some troubles because although first announced for a May 2019 release it has finally hit the market now in March 2020. So, let's see if it was worth the wait.

The box art is of Airfix standard, that is to say a beautiful painting depicting one of the versions you can build. Upon opening the box you will find three grey spruces in the slightly soft plastic that Airfix like to mould their models, one clear sprue, decals for two versions and the instruction leaflet.

Sprue A holds the fuselage, two different stabilisers, the tail rudder and the engine cowl. The fuselage has the engine attached so obviously you can build the kit with the engine uncovered if you like. The few panel lines are fine and not too exaggerated and the inside of the cockpit sides also have the framework moulded to it.

Sprue B holds the two main wings and two different propellers. The ailerons are moulded to the wings which came as a bit of surprise as Airfix has spoiled us with separate rudders lately. (This is also true for the stabilisers and tail rudder).

Sprue C holds most of the smaller parts. The moulding is generally good in their detailing. The wheels are made for the kit to stand on the ground which is nice. It would have been even nicer if they'd included an alternative for those that want to display it flying. (It's easier to file them flat than to mould the round.) Some parts on this sprue are really delicate and looks like they require some care when detaching.

Tiger Moth instructionsDownload

The instructions are made in the same pedagogical way as Airfix has got us used to. A few parts at a time and the next picture clearly shows in red where the last part went. Also clear pictures to show in which angles to place things when needed. It is clear that this kit is meant to be re-released in other versions later as some parts comes different versions (like two different stabilisers and three propellers). This is good for someone that wants to build a different version than the ones included in this box.

Airfix has also made it possible to build the kit with the side covers of the engine open to display the small engine inside. A nice touch for such a small plane. They also suggest that you can cut open the side hatches to the cockpit. Personally I'd preferred if they made them detached instead of having to cut them open. Something that could easily go wrong for the inexperienced.

The last two pages of the build instructions deals with all the wiring on this double decker. And there are a few! As they state in the instructions: Note: For experienced modellers. But the instructions are very clear here too. So many times have I've had to resort to reference pictures to succeed with this but not this time. Only when it comes to the bracing strut it becomes a bit unclear.

There a two marking versions in this kit and both are for planes that are still flying today, 89 years after the type was first introduced. The first represent K-2585 (G-ANKT) finished in the colours of the Royal Air Force Central Flying School Aerobatic Team in silver and red. The decals include large red and white checkers for the top of the wings. The second version represent K-4259 (G-AMMO) whish is based at Headcorn Aerodrome. It's an over all silver finish with yellow stripes which comes on the decal sheet. Now when I attack this beaut I'll do the painting before attaching the top wing and landing gear (between step 25 and 26).

Conclusion

Another fine kit from Airfix and this one will potentially make many modellers happy, not only because it's a well moulded, reasonably detailed, kit with fine and clear instructions, but because it's the first new tool release of the Tiger Moth in this scale since Auroras kit released in 1959 (which has been re-released a multitude of times from different companies). It was well over due. So yes, it was worth the wait. Let's get going!

Having done the Battle Of Midway 75 Years project I'm temporarily back to my never ending background project, building planes used by the Swedish Air Force. I have a couple projects connected to the Midway project on the shelf, sort of prequel and sequel. It's Doolittle's B-25 from the Doolitle-raid (prequel) and the planes from the Bouganville-raid where they killed Admiral Yamamoto. But I'm done with the Pacific for a while so I'll return to those later.

I've been building kits of Swedish planes since I was young but in recent years I've become more focused. I have a collection of some 25+ on built at the moment and some 10+ unbuilt in my stash. My latest are the Fiat Cr.42 (J 11 in the SAF, kit in scale 1/48 from Classic Airframes) and the Grunau Baby IIB (Se 102 in the SAF, kil in scale 1/48 from Fly).

At the workbench at the moment is Special Hobby's Heinkel He 115 which served as T 2 (T for Torpedo) in the SAF and Tarangus' Scottish Aviation Bulldog which served as Sk 62 (Sk for Skol/School) in the SAF and Fpl 61 (Fpl for Flygplan/Aeroplane) in the Swedish Army.

The Heinkel is a tough kit with a few challenges (it's not the most well done kit) so it's actually resting for a bit. The Bulldog is waiting for some after market stuff I ordered last week. But I'm also eagerly awaiting the release of Tarangus new Saab B 17 that is due in march. It's never been released in scale 1/48 so this will be great. Also Airfix announced a new tooling of the De Havilland Tiger Moth in scale 1/48 due later in 2019. It served as a school plane in the SAF.

So, plenty of things to build for the SAF. But at the same time I'm preparing to start Tamiya's Grumman F-14A Tomcat in scale 1/48. This one I'm going to spend some time on. I've ordered a shit load of after market stuff to this one and a carrier deck diorama base and tow tractor to display it with. This is going to be fun. (And, yes, the Hawker Typhoon in scale 1/24 is still there, a slow project).

Sweden was the first foreign country to buy the de Havilland Vampire, the second jet powered aircraft in the Royal Air Force, when they ordered some 70 planes in 1946. Eventually some 437 Vampires saw service in the Swedish Air Force under the code J28.

Here is two versions of Trumpeters kit in 1/48.

The first (in bare metal) is the individual 28181 as it looked like while they tested day glow markings at F8 (an air base) in 1959-1960. By then the plane had been in service since 1950. The plane was written off in an accident on the 13th September 1966 when the pilot made a miss-judgement during take off and landing practice. The pilot survived.

The second (in green/blue) is the individual 28265 who saw service between 1951-1957. It was scrapped after service. This was the most common colour scheme for the Vampires in Swedish service.

Gallery

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