Heller 1/72 PZL P11c Polish Fighter

 

another one of those dusty models I re-found during the lockdown

       This is hardly a review (although I understand that this kit is still in production). This model has been around since the late 70s/early 80s. It is an excellent kit and is of an aircraft that I have always liked. This is pretty much just a walk-through of the build. This would be an excellent subject for an early-war air combat game like Check Your Six.

 

box with contents, even after forty years the decals look pretty good

 

the instructions border on terrible making assembling the cockpit details a bit dodgy

but the parts fit of the fuselage and engine was very good

 

the cowling on the engine was another matter.....

 

....there was no way that the parts were going to line up

 

after a while I just gave up and accepted that there would be filler involved

 

the wings on the other hand fit beautifully

 

the surface detail was top-notch

 

much putty and even more sanding

 

at first I thought that the fuselage shape was off, but I checked photos and it is good,

 the whole design idea of this aircraft was provide the pilot with the best overall vision,

 that is why the  gull-wing was used, the pilot saw the wing edge-on

 thus obscuring less of the sky around him

 

the landing gear are accurately in-scale and terrifyingly fragile

the wing struts are equally thin but the wing is very sturdy

 so there is little to worry about there

 

the only real issue with the fuselage fit was the lower seam, it was recessed below 

the rest of the surface and needed sanding to bring it back to round

 

the landing gear struts are less than 1/32" thick!!!

 

once the glue had dried I added the wheels and gave it a try

 

the model captures the original very well

 

from checking photos I discovered that there were wire supports to the landing gear,

I will be adding them  just to ease my mind

 

all that is left is to paint it, sadly the color scheme is overall olive 

with light blue on the bottoms of the wings and control surfaces

 

a neat little model of an underrated aircraft

trying to nail down the colors was a difficult matter, 

photos are black and white and illustrations show the upper surfaces

 everything from bright green to a very brown olive.......

 

....in the end I went with the easy option; Testors spray Olive Drab

 

the underside got a coat of white to kill the olive and then a coat of Americana Sky Blue

 

it seemed a good match, after all was dry I gave the entire model a coat of Future floor wax 

to get a gloss surface for the decals

 

the decals worked fine despite being thirty-five plus years old

 

but then I put Solvaset on top of them .....

 

....and suddenly they all looked like a ninety-year-old prune!

 

edges began to curl

 

the center of one underwing decal developed these cracks

 

only constant coaxing with a damp brush kept the edges from curling right up

 

unfortunately I ended up with some silvering on the edges 

 

after almost an hour's worth of remedial care the decals almost were back to normal 

and I could shoot the model with Vallejo flat

 

it turned out OK, but I won't be using the Solvaset on any thin decals in the future

 

yes, the upper wing markings were offset to the left like that

 

I always liked this plane for its cool shape

 

I am really unhappy about the decal problems,

 fortunately I have another copy of this kit and I can try again

 

the decals slid off the backer without any hint of trouble, 

I can't account for the cracking after the Solvaset was applied