BAC Strikemaster
Detail Sets for the Airfix Kit

Pavla, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by Mark Davies

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The Strikemaster is fairly well known as a light strike & trainer development of the successful Jet Provost family. It enjoyed degree of export success, and as a Kiwi it’s pleasing to see that the RNZAF’s colour scheme is often a popular choice seen on finished models.

Whenever I think of Strikemasters I recall when I was an Army officer living on an RNZAF. I lived next door to and got on well with a Strikemaster pilot who had to eject after flying under power lines and hitting them. He had been court-martialled for this and was employed on ground duties when I knew him. Possibly my memory is also triggered by the fact his pretty wife sunbathed topless in their garden on occasion!

Released in 1974, the Airfix Strikemaster / Jet Provost T.5 is a nice kit from a period when they were turning out some good stuff for the time, albeit with delicate raised surface detail rather than recessed, as was being offered by some other companies. With such a large canopy the kit is just begging for a decent cockpit set (as does the Matchbox Strikemaster kit for that matter). I’m aware of Obscureco having produced a resin cockpit, but to the best of my knowledge this has only been available from the manufacturer, and possibly some US stockists. Pavla however has very wide distribution, so no doubt the release of their Strikemaster sets will be welcomed by many.

Pavla is well known for their extensive range of resin seats, detail and conversion sets, vac-from canopies, as well as a range multi-media aircraft kits. They have adopted a sensible and welcome approach to aircraft accessories by frequently offering different degrees of enhancement for the same kit. The Strikemaster sets reviewed here are a good example where the highly detailed cockpit and canopy form one set, yet you can still buy just the two ejector seats if a more modest level of detail is intended. And if you want to show the seats off a little more effectively than through the kit glazing you can buy the vac-from canopy as a single item too. The cockpit set comes in a blister pack with instructions, whereas the other two are bagged on a header card.

All of the resin is cast to high standards, with some very fine detail. The photos in many ways serve best to review accessory parts, but a few things are worth mentioning.

The cockpit and canopy set (C 72093), is comprehensive with good instructions indicating the areas of the kit’s cockpit decking that need to be removed from the fuselage halves. The diagrams are quite adequate to guide assembly.

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Generic colour call-outs for detail painting are also provided, which is very handy, especially for painting the seats. The seats are nicely done in my opinion, and the rest of the detail will lift the appearance of the Airfix kit enormously. The vac-from canopy is well executed as well, but is in two parts for open display. If only one canopy is being offered I prefer it closed. That way if you want it closed it’s ready to use as you want it, and to display it open just requires a simple cut. However I have yet to find a two-piece vac-form canopy that can easily be made closed in a simple and tidy fashion. The clear parts also include the nose glazing that covers the landing lights.

Obviously the seats-only pack (S 72064) and canopy-only pack (V72-79) are exactly the same as those contained in the cockpit set described above, but do not have instructions. The seats would also suit the Matchbox kit, as I suspect would the other cockpit parts with a bit of trimming.

The canopy is less likely to suit without some modification.

However, most modellers would choose the superior Airfix kit, both for reasons of quality and availability.

Putting aside my dislike of two-piece canopies, these are high quality sets enabling the modeller to choose the level of detail intended or dictated by budget. The will compliment an already nice old kit in a sensible way.

Recommended.

Thanks to Pavla Models for the review samples.

Review Text & Images Copyright © 2010 by Mark Davies
Page Created 14 December, 2010
Last updated 14 December, 2010

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