1/72 Arma Hobby PZL P.1/II resin kit

Gallery Article by Piotr Dmitruk on Nov 11 2015

Poland Independence Day  

 

      

The first own design of the newly created Polish State Aviation Plant was a PZL P.1 fighter, designed by engineer Zygmunt Puławski. The project was developed in 1928 on demand of Aviation Department. Builder tried to improve the performance, especially the speed of the flight as well as visibility from the cockpit. He found an ingenious solution: gull wing shape. Wing was bent downwards near the fuselage giving excellent visibility to the front and up. Another solution was an undercarriage with shock absorbers hidden in the hull, giving less aerodynamic drag. New high-power in-line Hispano-Suiza engine was used, giving a better view to the front during flight. The aircraft was of full metal construction, for the first time in Poland.

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The construction of the prototype PZL P.1 / I started in January 1929 and it was flown in late August 1929. The aircraft reached a speed of 295 km / h, which was considered a success. During the first test flight it came to deformation of the wings leading edge and the pilot landed with a big effort, saving the plane from destruction. At the end of March 1930 second, improved prototype PZL P.1 / II was flown. In June 1930. Col. J. Kossowski took part in the International Fighter Aircraft Competition in Bucharest, where he was successful against such planes as English Bristol "Bulldog", Fairey and Vickers, the French Dewoitine S-31 and Morane-Saulnier MS-222, Dutch Fokker D-XVI, Czechoslovak Smolik S-31 and the German Junkers F-47, which were the world top class fighters. PZL P.1 was the forefather of the family of Polish fighter aircraft such as the PZL P.11 and PZL P.24.

This is full resin kit from Arma Hobby in 1:72 scale. Small photoetched fret attached, contains several items for the cockpit. Kit parts a very well moulded, including corrugated skin. Only few microscopic bubbles can be found. Parts come together very well, putty is almost not needed. Only applying of decals over corrugated wing could be tricky.

It’s a very recommended kit of a rare bird.

Piotr Dmitruk

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Photos and text © by Piotr Dmitruk