Kunkadlo

Eduard, 1/72 scale

Reviewed by John Miller

Bohuslav and Vladimir Simunek began construction of the Kunkadlo in 1924 while they were students at Prague University. The aircraft was completed in 1926 and flown for the first time by Major Skala, who would be later known as a member of a pioneering flight from Prague to Tokyo. After it’s first flight the Kukadlo’s wing was raised higher above the fuselage and moved slightly aft.

Vladimir Simunek flew the Kunkadlo in several air shows until 1930 when the aircraft was grounded after issues arose with it’s glued construction. The aircraft was restored in 1967 with the Simunek brothers acting as advisers. Following the restoration, the aircraft was hung in the Technical Museum of Prague where it is still on display today.

(Edited from the kits instructions and Wikipedia Commons)    

On one light grey sprue are 22 crisply molded parts with little-to-no flash in the manner we’ve come to expect from this manufacturer.

Once the 5-piece cockpit (not counting PE seat harness) is assembled and trapped between the fuselage halves the builder is next instructed to assemble the 2-cylinder engine. The separately molded cylinder heads along with the external photo-etch push rods and sparkplug leads will really make this little engine a focal point of the build.

The one-piece wing has well-done ribbing that will look great under paint and decals. The cleverly designed wing flying struts simultaneously fit into slots in the bottom of the fuselage and the bottom of the wing. This design should make mounting the parasol wing easy.

Photo-etch details include the cross braces between the main gear struts and between fuselage and wing. Control cables and elevator horns are also provided in PE.

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Thumbnail panels:

A very nice touch is the photo-etch, spoked wheels that will look very convincing when assembled.

Markings:

The decals, by Eduard, are crisply printed with good color density and registration.

Markings are provided for the colorful scheme of silver dope and blue worn by the aircraft.

This is an amazingly simple little model that packs a lot of detail. Time spent on the detailed 2-cylinder engine and spoked wheels will pay off with a very convincing build.

Highly Recommended.  

For more on this review visit Modelpaintsolutions.com.

Review kit provided by my retirement fund, again.

Review Text and Images Copyright © 2020 by John Miller
Page Created 29 May, 2020
Last updated 19 July, 2020

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