Mark I 1/144 Shenyang FT-6
By Matt Bittner
A while ago I wrote a First Look on the Attack 1/144 Shenyang JJ-6/MiG-19UTI "Dual Kit". Then earlier this year, I actually finished the kit as a Pakistani FT-6. Mark I has bought the Attack 1/144 aircraft line since I acquired that kit, so they have started to re-release the Attack kits and added new resin pieces and better decals, with more markings. This is definitely the case with this release of the FT-6.
I will refer you to my initial First Look for a detailed analysis of the kit, along with my Full Build to get a sense of how the kit goes together. What Mark I has added to the kit is three new pieces of resin and a decal sheet with four different schemes. Those resin pieces are new, internal external stores pylons and a nose pitot-tube (if you recall my build, I made mine out of Albion tubing). The six schemes on this decal sheet are for:
- Shenyang FT-6, Black 10828, No. 23 "Talons" Squadron, Pakistani Air Force, Samungli Air Base, 1984 (finished in three shades of gray)
- Shenyang FT-6, Black 10332, No, 25 "Trendsetters" Squadron, Bangladesh Air Force, Patenga Air Base, 1998 (finished in sand, brown and dark green on top with azure blue undersides)
- Shenyang FT-6, Black 3953, Egyptian Air Force, unknown air base, 1969 (finished overall in white)
- Shenyang FT-6, Black 9124, Tanzanian Air Force, Dar es Salaam Airport, 2009 (finished overall in white)
Decals are nicely printed and appear in register. It's a bummer that we now have Bangladesh markings for the FT-6, as that's how I initially wanted to finish my FT-6 in. Oh well, at least we have them now.
Conclusion
The Mark I FT-6 builds into an excellent representation of the Shenyang aircraft. However, one area I still feel is wrong are the wing strakes. They actually are not tall enough on the kit, when compared to photos. It shouldn't take too much to correct, except for time and patience, and finding drawings of the real strakes that can be scaled to 1/144. Other than that, it's an excellent looking kit.
My thanks to Kits-Shop for supplying the review kits. You can find all Mark I kits (amongst others) at this excellent on-line model shop.
