1/48 Esci Aermacchi MB-326k Impala Mk2

Gallery Article by Neil Commerford on Dec 17 2003

 

This is my 1:48 Impala. It is in the colours and markings of the South African Air Force (SAAF). This is a very rare kit and I was fortunate enough to acquire one early this year. I immediately began researching the aircraft and its paint schemes. The model is simple to build and all of the parts are a great fit. I added detail to to interior like the flaps and landing gear levers. I also added a throttle console and canopy jettison handles. The panels are decals provided with the kit.

 

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I chose the SAAF colour scheme because I mostly build their aircraft. The painting diagrams had the scheme drawn correctly but the two main colour names were swapped around. The decals are old but still good enough to use even though I replaced the odd looking Springbok roundels that were provided with the kit with more realistic looking SAAF springboks. Some spelling mistakes were printed on the warning decals some in English and some in Afrikaans.

The green paint I used is Humbrol enamel number 30 "Dark green matt", the brown is Humbrol number 155 "Olive drab matt". The light blue underneath was mixed using a dark blue and white. I looked at lots of pictures to get the colour so hopefully it is right. After applying the decals I sprayed a final coat of Humbrol 49 "Matt Varnish".

I hope you enjoyed my first model on ARC!

Neil Commerford

      

Photos and text © by Neil Commerford