The Beechcraft T-6 Texan II, a single-engine turboprop trainer used by several countries for basic-to-intermediate pilot training, is a development of the Swiss-built Pilatus PC-9.
Ibex’s T-6 Texan II is not only the first in 1/48 scale, but the first plastic kit by the Israeli modeling company, which operates under the aegis of IsraDecal. The kit comprises 45 injection molded plastic parts, 11 resin parts, and two vacuum-formed canopies. A very nice decal sheet provides markings for eight trainers from the U.S. Air Force as well as aircraft from the Israeli air force aerobatic team. I chose the Israeli version in tribute to the Ibex company, and because I thought the red and white scheme was simply stunning!
Construction begins with the nose gear leg and bay. This all assembles easily enough, but I diverged from the instructions and installed the gear after painting.
The cockpit could be better. The instrument panels are molded plastic with nicely depicted three-dimensional details. However, most of the square multifunction displays (MFDs) looked wilted, with bowed sides and tops (at least in my kit). I painted the detail as best I could to disguise this strange affliction. A bigger disappointment is the side consoles — flat with no molded detail, save the throttle quadrant. Decals are provided for the consoles, and they look OK through a closed canopy, but they really aren’t up to snuff by today’s standards. The rest of the cockpit is adequate but needs more work if you leave the canopy open.
Joining the fuselage halves is relatively straightforward but does require substantial use of filler. Careful trimming of the elevator and the slot it fits into is required, but the fit, when done, is good. Don’t forget to install plenty of nose weight, as there is a lot of airplane hanging out behind the main wheels. I put in just enough to prevent it from being a tail sitter! The wing to fuselage joint was fine after careful dry-fitting and trimming.
Installation of the main undercarriage is simple and results in a fairly strong main support structure for a heavy model.
I think the canopy frames are a bit pronounced and should be flat, not rounded as they are depicted. I decided to mount the canopy closed, due to the dearth of cockpit detail and to see how well the canopy fit. The width matched the fuselage well, but the length was not sufficient. I installed a thin frame of sheet styrene on the rear end of the canopy to act as a dam for putty, then filled the gap between the canopy and the fuselage.
I painted with Tamiya pure white (TS-26), decanted for my airbrush, and Testors enamels for the insignia red and flat black. The metallic areas on the wings and fin are Bare-Metal Foil chrome. The shiny spinner was airbrushed with Spaz Stix metallic paint; over a base of Tamiya gloss black lacquer, it gave a very good rendition of the aircraft’s brightly polished spinner.
The Cartograf-printed decals behaved well, settling down over the fine exterior surface detail with no silvering.
I enjoyed building this Texan II; I spent 35 hours on it. Yes, there are some detail-specific areas that could be improved, but the model scales out well and looks right. It is certainly not a “shake ’n’ bake” build — it takes an experienced modeler — but extra effort and good references can yield a pleasing replica.
Note: A version of this review appeared in the October 2012 FineScale Modeler.