Special Hobby 1/72 Letov Š.328 Series
By Matt Bittner
Introduction
Unfortunately I own no references on early Czech aviation aside from the book that came with Eduard's Royal Class release of their B.534s. I do consider it a shame because it appears there was a quite vast aviation history between WWI and WWII. So I have to rely on what is released on-line and within the instructions' history section.
The Czechoslovak Aircraft Factory was better known under its Letov business name and they offered the Air Force their initial design of the S-28. That version was underpowered but when Letov started offering the type with better engines to other countries, and Finland didn't accept the S.328 that was offered (due to timing) which used the Bristol Pegasus engine. There were around 421 S.328s made in various series, seven all in total. The Czechoslovak Air Force considered the S.328 a multi-role aircraft so it was used in a number of functions including bombing and reconnaissance.
The Kit
So far Special Hobby has released two boxings of the Š.328: the first I./II. serie and the "Slovak AF in WWII" release consisting of the III., IV. and VI. series. The I./II. serie has markings for the following aircraft:
- Letov Š.328 n62, (1st production series) in heavy night fighter version, 91st heavy fighter squadron, Air Regiment no. 6, Brno, 1935
- Letov Š.328.87. (2nd prod. series), B4, Air Regiment No. 2
- Letov Š.328.??, (1st or 2nd prod. series), F7, 15th observation squadron, Air Regiment no.3, 1936-1938
- Letov Š.328.39 (1st prod. series), G5 (factory no.59), 6th squadron, Air Regiment no. 1, Prague Klecany, 1937
All aircraft are finished with khaki upper surfaces and silver undersurfaces. The third machine also had a "dirty white" tail.
The second boxing, "Slovak AF in WW II" has markings for these aircraft:
- Letov Š.328.374 (6th prod. series), A-11, 1st Squadron, Slovak Air Force, Eastern front, 1941
- Letov Š.328.?? (3rd or 4th prod. series), Slovak Air Force, Poland, 1939
- Letov Š.328.?? (3rd or 4th prod. series), C-1, 3rd Squadron, Škiviraňa airfield, Ukraine, Eastern front, Summer 1941
All three also have khaki upper surfaces and silver undersides, while the first and third machine also carry yellow bands on the fuselage and underside wing tips, and the first aircraft also has a yellow cowl.
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The kits consist of 85 pieces of injected, gray plastic and a clear injected sprue with eleven pieces. There are some parts on the sprue that are different for various versions and some pieces not yet used on either of these two releases.
It's been a number of years since I've really had a chance to look at an MPM/Special Hobby kit and they have come a long way. There used to be a lot of work to turn one of these kits into a show-stopper, but not anymore. With what is provided in the box a first-rate kit can definitely be easily created.
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In a twist of the instructions, construction starts with building the twin machine guns for the observer/rear gunner, and then the engine and cowl. There is one option with the guns: they can either be displayed in the "stowed" or "firing" position. Instruction step three finally deals with cockpit construction and it's here where the kit really shines. There is a lot of detail within the injected parts and there are plenty of parts that make up the entire assembly. There are no belts provided for the seats so you'll need to source those elsewhere. But even so, Special Hobby includes a lot of detail in the stock-cockpit. Really nice.
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Once the cockpit is assembled and painted it is added to one fuselage half and the fuselage halves glued together. The clear windows on the sides of the fuselage are added now as well so you'll need to mask those prior to painting. Once the fuselage is assembled then the tail pieces are added along with the windscreen (although I would leave that off until closer to the end).
Now the wings are added but you'll want to hold off on adding the upper wing until after painting. You'll want to add the bomb racks and other items to the underside of the lower wing prior to painting, though. I would also leave off the landing gear and propeller until the end as well.
While Special Hobby does include a partial rigging diagram I feel it's not enough. The diagram does show where the rigging adheres to the underside of the lower wing and fuselage areas, but doesn't show where the rigging attaches to the upper surface of the lower wing along with the upper surface of the horizontal tail. More research will need to be done to ensure your rigging is attached to the correct areas on those surfaces.
Conclusion
As I mentioned above I haven't reviewed an MPM/Special Hobby kit in quite a long time and they have come a long way since that time. There is a little bit of flash that will need to be cleaned up but overall this is an excellent kit and while I don't have one to compare it against, no doubt better than the old KP kit. I am looking forward to finishing one of these.
Huge thanks to Special Hobby for supplying the Š.328s to review.