Cessna 206 Stationair

IsraDecal, 1/48 scale

Reviewed by John Miller

I’ve been fortunate to kick around a couple of small airports in my time and it’s not at all rare to see a Cessna 206 sitting on the ramp. These are nice airplanes with a respectable max payload and performance that make them very desirable for many general aviation (GA) pilots. As with many (most?) GA aircraft, the modeling industry has not served them well. That said, VFRmodels just released a 3-D printed Cessna-206 and now we have this effort from IsraDecal. The folks at IsraDecal did an amazing job on this kit, which is composed of both 3-D printed and resin parts. Thanks, Isra; keep ‘em coming!

Special thanks to Mike “The Weatherman” Millette for the loan of the review kit.

Background

The Cessna 205, 206 and 207, known primarily as the Stationair (and marketed variously as the Super Skywagon, Skywagon and Super Skylane), are a family of single-engined, general aviation aircraft with fixed landing gear, used in commercial air service as well as for personal use. The family was originally developed from the popular retractable-gear Cessna 210 and produced by the Cessna Aircraft Company.

The line's combination of a powerful engine, rugged construction and a large cabin has made these aircraft popular bush planes. Cessna describes the 206 as "the sport-utility vehicle of the air." These airplanes are also used for aerial photography, skydiving and other utility purposes. They can also be equipped with floats, amphibious floats and skis. Alternatively, they can be fitted with luxury appointments for use as a personal air transport.

From 1962 to 2006 Cessna produced 8,509 aircraft in the 205, 206 and 207 variants. The aircraft remains in production.

Text edited from Wikipedia.

The kit comes in a sturdy, white cardboard box adorned with a picture of an Israeli 206 in tri-tone camouflage. The folks at IsraDecal deserve an A+ for how they pack the models components. The parts are sealed in clear bags, which are then stored in individual spaces of a clear plastic tray; very nice. The two decal sheets and PE parts are found tucked in between the pages of the rather ample instructions.

There are no sprues as each part comes surrounded by a printing latticework or attached to a pouring stub. Of note, there is a fine powder on some of the 3-D printed pars that wiped off by hand.

The printed parts have fine, inscribed panel lines and an even finish. The surface textures are very smooth and not as porous as some 3-D parts I’ve seen.

The cockpit details provided are ample for this scale and will look very convincing when assembled. The seats are 3-D printed as is the very nice instrument panel. Add the PE belts and you’ll have a very nicely appointed pilots’ office and cabin.

The wings, horizontal stabilizers, wing struts, gear struts, and vertical stabilizer are cast from resin. Here too, the inscribed details are scale appropriate and beautifully rendered.

Of note, both the cowl used and the gear (with or without wheel pants) are scheme-specific so study the instructions carefully before committing with glue.  

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Thumbnail panels:

As with all of the kit parts, the windscreen and windows come in a plastic bag with heat-sealed, separate partitions for each part. All of the clear parts look good except the windscreen, which will require a little buffing before use.

Markings

The decals, by IsraDecal, are crisply printed with good registration and color density.

Markings are provided for multiple aircraft of the Israeli Air Force as well as markings for the Colombian Police and a civilian scheme associated with a skydiving business.

Color photographs of 206s in service with the Israeli Air Force are provided; very nice.

This is a beautiful kit. The inclusion of 3-D printed parts along with parts made of cast resin and photo-etch make this a truly multi-media kit. As such experience working with 3-D printed and resin parts would be advisable. The number of parts is surprisingly small and the instructions are very detailed so I expect this to be a pretty quick and easy build.

Highly recommended for those with a little experience. 

Keep your airbrush wet!
—John

For more on this review visit Modelpaintsolutions.com

https://modelpaintsol.com/reviews/isradecal-48th-cessna-206

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2024 by John Miller
Page Created 8 March, 2024
Last updated 8 March, 2024

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