Author: Josef Skalický

I´m going to repeat myself in the case of Eduard´s Avia, but the kit S-199 Mezek is addictive. Immediately after I finished the Israeli Avia S-199, I started building two more. In this time CS-199 and S-199 in Czech colours.

The Zero A6M2b was the first version of the famous fighter aircraft equipped for service on aircraft carriers. This version entered service in IJN in 1941, before the attack on Pearl Harbor. It remained in frontline service until the last shots of World War II.

The most iconic fighter planes of World War II undoubtedly include the P-51 Mustang, Bf-109, S. Spitfire, H. Hurricane, and Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Like everyone else, I was captivated by its sleek lines and, above all, the many incredible stories associated with this aircraft and the pilots who flew it.

The Avia S-199 Mule was built as a temporary fighter using leftovers from the war production in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia by fitting a Jumo 211F engine and a Junkers VS-11 propeller into the fuselage of a Messerschmitt Bf-109G-10. The nickname Mule fully describes what resulted. The same can be said of Eduard’s kit. A perfect kit and not so good decals 😉

The F4F Wildcat fighter and its modifications were in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps throughout WW2. In the early years of the war in the Pacific, the F4F-3/4 versions repelled Japanese attacks on Midway and Guadalnacal, while in the final stages the FM-1/2 versions aboard escort carriers assisted in the battles of Okinawa and patrolled the Atlantic on anti-submarine patrols.

At the beginning of 1943, the Germans captured two Yaks-1b and immediately began using them for reconnaissance and diversionary actions. The Germans acquired another machine on May 11, 1943. It was White 2, the plane of the commander of the 148th IAP Cpt. Leonid Smirnov. The machine was almost immediately involved in actions against its former owners. I was so fascinated by the story of the Cpt. Smirnov’s machine, that I decided to build a scaled copy of it.

Fast and furious, these words could describe not only the result but the Macchi M.C.72 development process as well. This graceful aircraft was developed in 1931, directly for the Schneider Cup floatplane race. For a modeler interested in the Golden Age of Aviation, this is one of the essential types 😊.

For my debut on 72insight.com, I selected my latest completed kits from Arma Hobby: PZL P.7a and PZL P.11c. As for the pre-war air force, what Avia B.534 means for us, PZL fighters represent for the Poles.