Zlín Z-142 Export (KPM0407) 1:72

Zlín Z-142 Export (KPM0407)

1:72 Kovozávody Prostějov

Zlín originally produced gliders, beginning operations in the 1930s, soon venturing into powered flight to build a few sports aircraft before the outbreak of WWII.  After the war, they continued to produce the occasional glider, but also produced light aircraft of various types, which continued throughout the 40s and 50s, until the Z-42 single-engined trainer aircraft was introduced in 1967.  Development of the type continued with several variants that led to the Z-142, which although it looks very similar to its progenitor is a larger aircraft with side-by-side seating for the two crew behind a more powerful Walter engine that benefitted from a supercharger to output 210hp from its fuel efficient inverted 6-cylinder fuel-injected motor.  The Z-142 first flew in 1978, and as well as seeing extensive use as a trainer, it is commonly employed as a personal aircraft and a glider tug, having some acrobatic capabilities too, although best not done whilst towing a glider!  Over 350 airframes were built, and development continued to improve the type further, the Z-242 having a Lycoming flat-four engine that necessitated a wider cowling to accommodate the engine’s extra width.

The Kit

This is a reboxing of the 2015 tool of this type with new decals, and it arrives in a small end-opening box with a painting of the aircraft on the front and the decal option profiles on the rear.  Inside is a resealable clear bag containing a single sprue of grey styrene, canopy in its own Ziploc bag, two decal sheets, and the instruction booklet, printed in colour on a piece of folded A4.  Detail is good, however there is a little texture apparent on the parts that could be attributed to over-application of release agent on the moulds, and there will be some ejector-pin turrets that need cutting off to allow some parts to fit together, although that’s not the most difficult task in the modelling world if you have a pair of nippers and a sanding stick.

Construction begins with the instrument panel, which is painted and has a decal applied from the smaller sheet, which also includes a decal for the earlier Z-42.  It is glued under the coaming, and set aside while two seats are painted and have their decal four-point seatbelts applied so that they can be installed on the stepped cockpit floor, adding two control columns in front of the seats, and fixing a rear bulkhead at the back of the raised portion.  The completed cockpit is trapped between the fuselage halves, painting the cockpit sidewalls before applying glue, and remembering to also place the instrument panel and coaming in the front of the cut-out.  The open fuselage front is closed by the nose cowling, and underneath a pair of raised panels are added, one of which has a hole in it to accept the nose gear leg, which is built from strut, separate mudguard and the wheel, which flex-fits between the yoke.  The main gear legs are curved struts with the wheel added to the axle at the bottom, each one fitting into a hole in the lower sides of the fuselage. 

The wings are each made from two halves that butt against the fuselage, but would benefit from pinning in position to strengthen the joint, while the elevators are a single part and slot into a groove under the moulded-in tail fin at the rear.  The port wing has a small cut-out in the lower half, into which is placed a clear lens, remembering to paint the space silver before fitting the clear part.  The single part canopy glues over the cockpit cut-out, the two-blade prop with moulded-in spinner is inserted into a hole in the nose cowling, and a pitot probe is fitted under the port wing to complete the build.

Markings

There are four decal options on the main sheet, demonstrating the “export” part of the kit’s title by having four different countries as subjects.  From the box you can build one of the following:

The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas.  This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film.  It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain.  If you’ve noticed that the Canadian flag has no white background, fret not – it’s applied to a white painted tail fin.

Conclusion

Trainers often look similar, but the similarity is softened slightly by the variety of schemes that they will be wearing in this boxing.  The texture on the styrene will be simple to remove with some light sanding, so don’t let that stop you from picking up one of these less common aircraft from Eastern Europe.

Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of