3D Blitz Model's 1/72 scale
Pilatus PC-21

by Thomas Muggli

Airfix's 1/72 scale P-51D Mustang is available online from Squadron.com for only $5.24!

3D Blitz Model, a new Swiss kit producer, chose, as its first release, the PC-21, a state of the art turboprop trainer, in service with the Swiss Air Force since 2008.

As with any limited-run kit, there are a few shortcomings, but they are not insurmountable by an average-skilled modeler.

The 1/72 scale kit is molded in dark gray plastic; and the first thing I noticed, was that the most of the parts have a rough surface. While a bit annoying, this was easily corrected by sanding the parts smooth. The second thing is the lack of details, but again it doesn’t take much skill to make improvements.

I started construction with the cockpit, which is fairly well detailed and fit very well. I used the decals provided in the kit for the instrument faces. The only item I added was a head-up display, which I made from copper wire and transparent plastic bits. The ejection seats were detailed with a few styrene bits and stretched sprue. I fashioned seatbelts from aluminum foil, and buckles from copper wire.

The rest of the construction was problem free. Most parts fit well. Only a few spots required filling and sanding. I cut spaces in the leading edges and wing tips to make room for position and landing lights. These were made from clear sprue which I sanded and polished until they were flush with the wing’s leading edge. The engine exhausts were hollowed out as much as possible to make them look more realistic. After I painted the model, I added various small antennas cut from styrene sheeting. These few improvements helped to give the model a more realistic look.

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I painted the model with Model Master acrylics, mixing Italian red and Guards red to achieve the shade I was looking for. After a coat of Future floor cleaner I applied the decals. The quality of some of the decals is good and they performed well. However, the ejection-seat warning triangles and “Rescue” arrow were not printed well, but I used them anyway. Wing walks and formation lighting strips were missing, so I used decals from my spares box for these items.

Other than the Swiss Air Force scheme, the decal sheet that comes with the kit provides options for two PC-21 prototypes. These schemes are nice, but I think that they should have instead included decals for the elegant looking schemes of the Singapore or Saudi Arabian Air Forces, this would have been great. In spite of these minor flaws, this was a very enjoyable project and I am looking forward to see more new kits from 3D Blitz.
 

Model and Text Copyright © 2014 by Thomas Muggli
Page Created 24 March, 2014
Last Updated 13 June, 2014

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