'Mezek'

Inside the box you will find two clear and six dark grey-coloured sprues plus two frets of photo-etched and a set of self-adhesive paint masks. The breakdown of parts has the cockpit floor/bulkhead/seat as one moulded component with etched belts and instrument panel detail. Separate detail for the sidewalls that comprise plastic and etched parts are included, so there is little risk of sink-marks on the outside. Two styles of tailwheel are included and you also actually get two styles of fuselage half, dependant on the colour schemes you choose. The wings have the long bulges above the wings moulded in situ with the wheel well liners and cannon barrels separate. There are two styes of upper decking behind the pilot's head, with or without the bulge that relates to the relocation of the battery in certain variants. The elevators, rudder, ailerons and flaps are all separate, the flaps being moulded with tabs to have them drooping, The wing tip lights are separate clear components, while the bulges either side of the nose and the upper cowling/gun troughs are also separate. You have optional parts depending on if you have the canopy open or closed and you have different inserts for the lower engine cowling, again dependant on the colour option/s you choose. 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 two styles of drop tank, centreline rack, Morane mast (with clear mounting panel), pitot tube and starter handle. The canopy comes in two styles, the former with separate head armour and both with etched frames. The gunsight is separate and moulded in clear plastic and the DF loop on the dorsal spine is supplied as both plastic and etched, so you can choose. Self-adhesive paint masks are included for both canopy types as well as the main wheel hubs.

Markings
The kit offers ten decal options: 
• S-199, 285, LS-7, flown by J. Jirousek, No.1 Squadron, Aviation Regiment No.8, Brno-Černovice, Czechoslovakia, 25th July 1949.
• S-199, 486, IV-8, flown by Lt F. Fort, No.1 Squadron., Air Regiment No.7, Brno-Černovice, Czechoslovakia, 1950.
• S-199, 54, KS-10, flown by Sgt. Frantšiek Novák, No.2 Squadron, Air Regiment No.4, Planá Českých Budějovic, Czechoslovakia, May 1948.
• S-199, 7, A-784, flown by Ivan Pavel, Letecká vojenská akademie (Military Air Academy), Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia, 17th March 1950.
• S-199, 210, MP-10, Aviation Regiment No.5, Dobřany (Líně) AB, Czechoslovakia, 1950.
• S-199, 310, UL-51, flown by PFC Josef Mucha, Aviation Regiment No.5, Zvolen, Sliač AB, Czechoslovakia, August 1952
• S-199, 340, B-0431, flown by Lt. František Kratochvíla, NO.3 Squadron, 51 Aviation Regiment, Mladá, Czechoslovakia, July 1952
• S-199, 531, GY-35, flown by Lt. Václav Dvorák, No.2 Squadron, Aviation Fighter Regiment 3, Brno-Černovice, Czechoslovakia, 5th April 1953
• S-199, 178, OK-BYW, Police Air Patrol, Praha-Ruzyně, Prague, Czechoslovakia, December 1948
• S-199, D-106, flown by Modi Alon, 101 Tayeset (First Fighter) Squadron, Cheyl ha-avir, Aqir, Israel, 4th June 1948
• S-199, D-117, flown by Mitchell Flint, 101 Tayeset (First Fighter) Squadron, Cheyl ha-avir, Herzilya, Israel, July-August 1948
• S-199, D-123, flown by Rudi Augarten, 101 Tayeset (First Fighter) Squadron, Cheyl ha-avir, Hatzor, Israel, October 1948
The decal sheet looks lovely and includes a full set of airframe stencils, walkways, propeller logos. The sheet contains sixteen large and twelve small Czech roundels, plus eight Israeli ones, so with a few more sprues you can make quite a few options from this sheet.

Conclusion
An excellent limited edition release, the new S-199 kit is superb, the level of detail being offered in this small scale is very impressive and it therefore takes the top spot from any previous 1/72nd S-199 kit. It is certainly worth the asking price (you get two complete ProfiPACK style kits after all) and highly recommended to all those interested in post-war aviation in either nation 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.