Mirage Hobby 1/48 scale PZL P.11c

Kit: No. 48-102
Scale: 1/48

Manufacturer: Mirage Hobby, available from Squadron Mail Order, 1115 Crowley Drive, Carrollton, TX 75011-5010, 972-242-8663, www.squadron.com
Price: $22.98
Comments: Multimedia, 97 parts (53 injection-molded, 5 resin, 39 photoetched), decals
Pros: Accurate shapes, excellent corrugation detail, fine resin parts, good photoetched details, well-printed decals, excellent instructions
Cons: Some fit problems, appliqué photoetched panels too thick, sticky decals

One of the biggest myths of the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 is that the Polish air force was destroyed on the ground the first day. Actually, Polish fliers fought desperately for 17 days, equipped mostly with the elegant gull-winged PZL P.11c fighter. P.11c pilots achieved 126 victories, but lost 120 fighters and 50 pilots.

The P.11c's complex shape and fine corrugated flying surfaces have challenged kit manufacturers for years. Poland's Mirage Hobby has successfully tackled the subject. Released in three versions, kit Nos. 48-101 and 48-103 are fighters; my review kit, No. 48-102, represents a bantam-weight fighter-bomber. The difference is the addition of four exquisitely molded resin 12.5kg bombs. The markings include "White 4" of 114 Eskadra and the sole surviving example in the Krakow Air Museum, "White 2" of 121 Eskadra.

The kit features finely engraved corrugated surfaces for the wings, fin, rudder, and stabilizers, along with engraved panel lines. Care must be exercised during construction in order to avoid damaging the corrugated surfaces because there is no way to repair them.

The out-of-the-box combination of plastic and photoetched parts makes a busy-looking cockpit interior.

Mirage wisely molds the upper surface of the wing in one piece; this establishes the proper gull shape and reduces the loss of the corrugation when seams are sanded. The fuselage nicely captures the complex curves of the nose and gun troughs, and the wing and gear strut locations are crisply molded. The louvers on the nose are not well defined, however.

It's always a good idea to read instructions first, but here it is imperative. They provide key information on the equipment fitted to specific aircraft. The instructions also include an in-depth history and photos of each aircraft and pilot - outstanding!

It's also a good idea to dry-fit everything. I discovered the alignment pins didn't match the holes in the fuselage halves, so I sanded them away for a good fit. The wing-fuselage joint also required work. I filled a minor sinkhole on the bottom of the nose on one fuselage half.

I left off most of the small exterior parts until all main components were assembled and the seams cleaned up. Prior to filling and sanding, I carefully cut off the tail skid to facilitate working on the tail. I removed the raised locator detail from the wings and fuselage where the photoetched parts were to go, to avoid that "stuck-on" look.

Don't fill the seams between the stabilizers and the fuselage - there was a gap on the real aircraft. The instructions also suggest adding stretched-sprue details here and there.

Mirage is the first to get the right shape of the prop and spinner. I had to fill sinkholes in the prop blades, though.

The wing and the stabilizer struts are too short, so I made up the difference with Evergreen styrene stock.

The instructions show four circular photo-etched inspection hatches (part No. PE-8), but only three are provided. I left off the one that goes on the top of the center section of the wing, since this hatch had a different shape anyway. Many of the appliqué photoetched parts were too thick.

Install the photoetched wing bomb racks after you paint and decal the model; it's impossible to apply the decals over the racks. The windscreen is thin but its clarity can be improved with a coat of Future.

The instruction sheet provides a mix formula using Humbrol paints to replicate the Polish khaki and light blue. I mixed my khaki using Testor Model Master RAL 8017 Schokoladenbraun (60%), RLM 81 Braunviolett (35%), and a few drops of insignia red and dark blue.

The Techmod decals are nicely printed in register and are thin, yet opaque. They stick pretty quickly, so float them in a pool of Micro Set and get them close to position right away.

I finished with a coat of Polly Scale clear flat and rigged the PZL with two-pound fishing line. The completed model matches the dimensions in the AJ Press Modelmania No.2 - PZL P.11c.

I spent more than 80 hours on this kit, but I'm fussy when it comes to Polish aircraft models. A typical experienced modeler should take less than 30 hours to produce a fine example of Poland's best WWII fighter.

Mike Dobrzelecki