Print Scale 1/72 Gloster Gladiator
By Matt Bittner
While there have been decent kit releases in the past in 1/72 of the Gloster Gladiator, all pale in comparison to the new-tool, recently-released Airfix offering. Everything in that kit just "clicks" and makes into an excellent rendition of this 'tweener biplane. While the kit comes with RAF markings, there were other countries that flew it as well and this release from Print Scale covers some of them.
- Gloster Gladiator Mk. I 2909, Nationalist Chinese Air Force, 1937, finished overall in Dark Green
- Gloster Gladiator Mk.I, 175, Latvian Air Force, 1937, finished in Dark Green over Sky Grey undersides
- Gloster Gladiator J-8 F8, Royal Swedish Air Force, 1938 (instructions incorrectly have 1983), finished overall in aluminum
- Gloster Gladiator J-8A, Flygflottilj F19, Swedish Volunteer Force, Northern Finland, Winter 1939-1940, finished in aluminum paint with irregular dark green patches over top surfaces
- Gloster Gladiator Mk.I G-704, Lithuanian Air Force 1938, finished in overall in silver with dark green top surfaces of wings and elevator and a dark green rudder
- Gloster Gladiator Mk.II, Esquadrilha de Casa Expedicionaria No.2, Portugal Island Tersejra, Azores, 1941, Dark Green uppers and Sky Grey lowers
- Gloster Gladiator Mk.I, NJ+BO, ErgGr (s) 1, Luftwaffe, 1943, finished RLM 02 overall with a dark green cowl
- Gloster Gladiator Mk.I, Soviet Union, 1940-1941, finished Dark Green on top and Sky Grey on the bottom
- Gloster Gladiator, GL-264, of 2/LeLv 16, Finnish Air Force, 1942, finished in Dark Green and Black upper surfaces and Aluminum undersides with a yellow cowl, fuselage stripe and lower wing-tips
- Gloster Gladiator Mk.II, LeLv 14 Finnish Air Forces, Helsinki, 1940-1941 over East Korelija finished in an unusal camo scheme of dark green and dark earth on the top wing and fuselage; light earth and light green for the tops of the bottom wings with a black right wing underside, a white left wing underside, and aluminum fuselage underside
|
Decals appear to be in register and are nicely printed. One of these days I'll have to use Print Scale decals to see how they react.
This is an excellent release for an excellent model.
"Thank you" to Print Scale for the review sample.