Letov S.328 'Slovak National Uprising'
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Kit Review
This is a new tooling from Special Hobby.
The kit itself is made up of one clear and five medium grey-coloured sprues, there are no etched brass or resin components. Surface detail is via engraved details for panel lines and fixtures, plus raised ribs for all the fabric-covered surfaces; this latter element is not over-done for the scale. As Special Hobby intends to offer a number of variants from the base moulds there are some areas that are not required and this particular kit comes with two sets of sprues for the fuselage and wings, depending on the version you build. The engine is plastic, not resin, but does have a separate collector ring and inlet pipes; a resin alternative is available separately in the CMK range (#7331). Just like the rear aircraft the interior is made up as a tubular structure, then installed into the fuselage halves. There are glazed panels in each fuselage, so you will have to be careful you paint all the tubular interior before you assemble it, otherwise you could have unpainted regions visible through these clear panels. The windscreen and all the formation lights are clear, the latter items being a real nice touch in this scale. The guns in the rear cockpit are multi-part plastic units, and is very impressive. As with any biplane getting the wings all jigged correctly will be the key here, plus you have to decide early on in the build which option you are going for, as this will determine the fuselage and wing parts used. The undercarriage is a simple V-strut unit and the instructions have a head-on view with dimensions between the wheel centres, so that should help in the correct alignment of the kit parts.
Markings
The kit comes with four decal options
• C/No.S.328.266, B-10 of the Combined Squadron at Tri Duby AB, September 1944
• C/No.S.328.61, S-76 of the Combined Squadron at Tri Duby AB, late August 1944
• C/No.S.328.148, B-5 of the Combined Squadron at Tri Duby AB, September-October 1944
• C/No.S.328.296, S-34 of the Combined Squadron at Tri Duby AB, September-October 1944
All colours are identified in the instructions via Gunze-Sangyo Mr Aqueous Color & Mr Color ranges.
The decals are well printed with good colour and registration, the sheet only includes a set of national insignia and all the construction numbers, there are no other markings or stencils.
Conclusion
This is very much a Czech subject, however the S.328 is still an important type in the transition of biplanes to monoplanes and as such deserves to be in any 1/72nd collection covering that period. Our thanks for Special Hobby for the review sample, for more details on the entire Special Hobby range visit www.cmkkits.com. UK modellers can obtain a copy from Hannants here.
This is a new tooling from Special Hobby.
The kit itself is made up of one clear and five medium grey-coloured sprues, there are no etched brass or resin components. Surface detail is via engraved details for panel lines and fixtures, plus raised ribs for all the fabric-covered surfaces; this latter element is not over-done for the scale. As Special Hobby intends to offer a number of variants from the base moulds there are some areas that are not required and this particular kit comes with two sets of sprues for the fuselage and wings, depending on the version you build. The engine is plastic, not resin, but does have a separate collector ring and inlet pipes; a resin alternative is available separately in the CMK range (#7331). Just like the rear aircraft the interior is made up as a tubular structure, then installed into the fuselage halves. There are glazed panels in each fuselage, so you will have to be careful you paint all the tubular interior before you assemble it, otherwise you could have unpainted regions visible through these clear panels. The windscreen and all the formation lights are clear, the latter items being a real nice touch in this scale. The guns in the rear cockpit are multi-part plastic units, and is very impressive. As with any biplane getting the wings all jigged correctly will be the key here, plus you have to decide early on in the build which option you are going for, as this will determine the fuselage and wing parts used. The undercarriage is a simple V-strut unit and the instructions have a head-on view with dimensions between the wheel centres, so that should help in the correct alignment of the kit parts.
Markings
The kit comes with four decal options
• C/No.S.328.266, B-10 of the Combined Squadron at Tri Duby AB, September 1944
• C/No.S.328.61, S-76 of the Combined Squadron at Tri Duby AB, late August 1944
• C/No.S.328.148, B-5 of the Combined Squadron at Tri Duby AB, September-October 1944
• C/No.S.328.296, S-34 of the Combined Squadron at Tri Duby AB, September-October 1944
All colours are identified in the instructions via Gunze-Sangyo Mr Aqueous Color & Mr Color ranges.
The decals are well printed with good colour and registration, the sheet only includes a set of national insignia and all the construction numbers, there are no other markings or stencils.
Conclusion
This is very much a Czech subject, however the S.328 is still an important type in the transition of biplanes to monoplanes and as such deserves to be in any 1/72nd collection covering that period. Our thanks for Special Hobby for the review sample, for more details on the entire Special Hobby range visit www.cmkkits.com. UK modellers can obtain a copy from Hannants here.
