Aero L-39C Albatros

Eduard ProfiPACK Edition, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Graham Carter

The little L-39 has been produced and sold in a number of variants to a large number of customers in a lot of countries around the world and a number of the earlier versions have found a ready market in the jet-racing fraternity. There are at least two here in Australia, one of which is based at the airport in my home city and in which I helped the restoration. Almost 3000 have been produced and this fully aerobatic 800kph trainer is a very popular two-seater that is used in a number of aerobatic teams. There are also a number of operators offering joy flights for the wealthy punter.

The aircraft has been well-served in the modelling scene with kits in all the popular sales. In the ‘One True Scale’ it has been produced by South Front, Kopro,, Kopro-MasterCraft, Kopro AIRmolds, KP, AMC, Aeroteam and Eduard. The intertwining of these kits is beyond the scope of this review but I suspect that much mould-sharing has gone on! First released by Eduard in 2002, it has been re-released 12 times in various forms.  I bought my L-39ZA in 2006 and it makes an interesting comparison with this latest iteration. The earlier kit had the same two sprues, a small decal sheet and four loose A4 instruction sheets folded into A5, and a mask sheet.

In the familiar strong top-opening box decorated with a great illustration of a Slovak AF commemorative schemed L-39CM variant, one of the decal choices inside. The contents are quite a far cry from the earlier kits. As a Profipack kit it does include a lot more than the basic kit. 

Firstly there is a twenty-page A4 instruction manual, two A5 decals sheets, a masking sheet, two lovely photo-etched frets (one in full colour) and a large plastic sleeve with the two dark grey parts sprues holding fewer than 60 parts, plus a smaller sprue of clear plastic parts.

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Thumbnail panels:

The parts are identical with the earlier release and appear to have lost none of their finesse, a reflection of the care bestowed upon the moulds.

Surface detail on the parts is very fine and, while interior detail in plastic is a bit sparse, this is more than made up by the spectacular coloured photo-etch that caters for the four different decal choices.

Two canopy choices allow for either open or closed but with all that wonderful photo-etch why would you close it up?

The photo-etch also caters for a mass of aerials and static wires but, unlike an ExtraTech fret I bought for the earlier variant, does not allow for the fuselage footsteps to be opened.

No undercarriage well detail is supplied as the doors are all closed when on the ground, apart for a narrow one along the u/c leg.

A small masking sheet caters for the canopies and wheel centres

Markings

Decals are wonderful with a single A5 sheet of stencils covering the four different aircraft individually.

As always they are in perfect register and great colour density although the background is rather pale behind some of the white markings.

The six decal choices are:-

1. 915254, Slovak AF commemorative schemed L-39CM of 2 Fighter Squadron in 2022 in three different greys and a decorative tail,

2. An advanced trainer school L-39C from Pardubice in the Czech Republic in 2023 in the same scheme but with yellow wing tanks, nose and tail tips,

3. L-39C of the Russian Naval AF at Yeysk base in Russia in 2018 in a green/brown over pale grey scheme with yellow wing, tail and nose tips, 

4. 533229 ’77’ of the No 299brTA Ukrainian AF 2015, in overall dark green,

5. ’20’ of the Kazakhstan AF at Taldykorgan Air Base in 2012 in a lurid bright blue and yellow training scheme and 

6. 131904 OK-JET of the Czech Jet Team at Plzen between 2004 and 2014 in overall black.

This certainly is an eye-catching set of schemes and it might be worth picking up one of the cheaper kits from another manufacturer to share them with. 

All-in-all a great new version of this kit made all the better with the PE, decal choices and masks. It comes highly recommended if this is your area of interest.

Thanks to Eduard for the sample

Review Text Copyright © 2024 by Graham Carter
Images Copyright © 2024 by Brett Green
Page Created 19 July, 2024
Last updated 19 July, 2024

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