Avia S-199 'Bubble Canopy' ProfiPACK

Inside the box you will find one clear and three dark grey-coloured sprues plus a fret of photo-etched and a set of self-adhesive paint masks. The breakdown of parts has the cockpit floor with the rear bulkhead and seat pan separate plus etched belts and instrument panel. Separate detail for the sidewalls comprise plastic and etched parts, although in this case most of the latter are given as alternative to the moulded detail. The wings have the long bulges above the wings moulded in situ with the wheel well liners separate. The elevators, rudder, ailerons and flaps are all separate, the flaps being moulded with tabs to have them drooping and the rudder having the trim tab linkage as an etched component. The wing tip lights are separate clear components, while the bulges either side of the nose are separate and offered in two styles. The radiators have etched mesh screens inside plus the exhaust flaps can be positioned opened or closed. The main undercarriage has the tyres moulded separate from the hubs and the oleo struts have brake lines in pre-painted etched. Each oleo strut has a substantial locating tab on the end to ensure the correct angle for these, as well as giving a sturdy joint. Detail parts include a drop tank, centreline rack, radio mast and pitot tube. The canopy comes with either open or closed options via separate parts and self-adhesive paint masks are included for all the canopy panels as well as the main wheel hubs.

Markings
The kit offers five decal options: 
• S-199.389, EX-57, flown by por. Jaroslav Plecitý, 3rd Squadron, 18th Fighter Air Regiment, Pilsen-Bory, August 1952
• S-199.253, EZ-9, flown by rtn. Jiljí Horák, Air Regiment No.5, Plzeň-Bory, February 1950
• S-199.182, OK-BYE of the Police Air Patrol, flown by vrch. stržm. Josef Sobota, Praha-Ruzyně, December 1949
• S-199.183, IF-01 of the 1st Air Training Regiment, Olomouc, 1953
• S-199.334, A-781, flown by ak. Milan Pohlodek, Air Military Academy, Hradec Králové, March 1950
• S-199.235, MR-43, flown by por. Jan Šurák, 2nd Squadron, 8th Fighter Air Regiment, Klecany, May 17, 1951
The decal sheets look lovely and includes separate sheet with a full set of airframe stencils and walkways. The main sheet contains twelve large and six small Czech roundels and there are decals for the instrument panels should you not wish to use the etched.

Conclusion
It is good to have a modern tooling of the C-199 in this scale at last, so this latest edition is therefore highly recommended to all those interested in post-war aviation in Czechoslovakia or as part of the whole Bf 109 story.

Our thanks to Eduard (www.eduard.com) for the review sample, UK modellers can obtain this kit from Hannants here.