Kit: No. 72052
Scale: 1/72
Manufacturer: Pavla, available from Squadron Mail Order, 972-242-8663, www.squadron.com
Price: $29.98
Comments: Injection-molded, 53 parts (10 resin, 2 vacuum-formed), decals
Pros: Ultra-thin decals
Cons: Inconsistent wing thickness, surface blemishes, flash, fit problems

First flown in 1931, de Havilland’s Tiger Moth is the classic British biplane. It has flown in all sorts of roles, from pilot training, to crop dusting, to movie stunt plane, to collector’s private ride. Many examples are still seen at air shows around the world.

Pavla’s tiny kit depicts the Canadian-built version with the cold-weather cockpit enclosure and optional snow skis. The moldings show soft detail, flash, and surface blemishes, so I took time to clean up the parts before assembly. Two vacuum-formed canopies and resin parts for the nose, instrument panels, wheels, skis, and wing center-section fuel tank are provided.

Pavla’s 13-step instructions are easy to follow. Three Canadian aircraft are featured on the decal sheet.

Many of the tiny parts on molded onto large sprue stubs, so be careful removing them. The cockpit is basic with floor, seats, and sticks – it looks vacant under that large vacuum-formed canopy.

Fuselage assembly is straightforward, but the wings were trouble. The upper and lower wings are molded in one piece with no dihedral. The trailing edges are thick, and sanding them to proper thickness rubs out some surface detail. I used a razor saw to cut slots on the topside of each wing where it joins the center section. Bending on the cuts produced the proper dihedral (1.5 degrees upper, 4 degrees lower). Super glue applied to the closed slots held the dihedral. I also drilled holes for the struts and rigging. The struts are set parallel with the wing ribs, not with the centerline. No actuating horns for the moveable surfaces are provided.

I replaced the landing-gear struts with styrene rod as the forward ones were too short and the rear ones too fat.

I used Tamiya and Testor Model Master paints for the black-and- yellow training scheme. The decals are glossy, thin, and sharp, but they stick immediately and don’t react with Solvaset.

Final assembly was tricky. The wing struts are not the same length but should be. I cut the longer struts to match the shorter ones. Even after doing that, the cabane struts were too short, so I made new ones with .020″ styrene rod. The vacuum-formed canopy was improved with a dip in Future floor polish, but it didn’t fit well. I used silver decal strips for the framing. The tiny exhaust pipe was poorly molded.

The last job was rigging the model. The marking diagrams show rigging, but don’t show exactly where the wires should be attached. Stuart McKay’s Tiger Moth, and www.kiwiaircraftimages.com are helpful references.

Working with tiny parts combined with fit and alignment problems made building Pavla’s Tiger Moth a challenge. The finished model is tiny: only 4″ long and spanning less than 5″. I spent about 20 hours on this kit. Expert skills (not to mention a heap of dedication) will be needed to make the model look right.

– Ross Whitaker