Noy's Miniatures' 1/72 scale
Israeli Hardened Aircraft Shelter

by Noy Pines

Israeli Hardened Airfield Shelter

Hobby Boss' 1/32 Spitfire Mk.Vb Trop is available online from Squadron

The various international "FLAG" air exercises that took place in Israel during recent years, provided a wealth of photos depicting the inside and outside areas of the Israeli Air Force HAS (Hardened Aircraft Shelter). These photos are published on the internet for anyone to use, modelers included. Following that, Noy's Miniatures produced a 1/72 mixed-media kit (reviewed in Hyperscale on December 2019) enabling the creation of an HAS diorama.

The scope of such a build – size and details - is totally up to the modeler, and in the hands of a motivated, patient and skilled individual a result as seen in the attached photos can be achieved.

Equipped with Noy's Miniatures 1/72 HAS kit, the modeler Phil G. Agnew (Phil SMP) launched a thorough Google research resulting in ample visual info of the real thing. Then, using plastic sheets, rods, tubes and strips of various dimensions he created this very impressive, award-winning diorama. Of course the HAS will come to life only when an aircraft (preferably the F-16) is posed exiting the structure, or parked fully outside. Additional accessories – either scratch-built or off the shelf – will provide the extra touches.

Phil removed much of the molded details from the kit's large entrance wall and covered it (as well as the scratch-built additional walls) with a concrete simulation paste. After processing the hardened material he replaced the removed details with Evergreen \ Plastruct items. He also replaced the printed tarmac floor supplied in the kit by a scratch-built one of his own, following the pattern of the kit's print.

There are many other options of a larger or smaller HAS that can be materialized. One of the considerations is space, of course. However, the photos offer a glimpse of what can be done.

Before obtaining the kit, it is very important to get familiar with its contents. These are listed on the kit's box, together with the additional (not included) pipes etc. needed for creating the example on the box top and in the kit's instructions.

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Thumbnail panels:

A slightly modified  1/144 version of the kit has been recently produced. Both the 1/72 and 1/144 versions are available from Noy's Miniatures (Email: noypines@netvision.net.il).

Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2020 by Noy Pines
Page Created 30 March, 2020
Last Updated 1 April, 2020

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