Aermacchi MB 326K Impala - 1:48 Italeri

[Mike]

Aermacchi MB 326K Impala

1:48 Italeri

The MB326 was designed to fulfil a need of the Italian Air Force for a combined jet trainer/fighter that would be cheap, easy to maintain and could use the Armstrong Siddley Viper engine, which was cheap & efficient, but designed for a short service life. In reality, it was sufficiently powerful and reliable to be used in other applications, and as improvements came along in its design, the thrust output grew substantially. The aircraft was of a similar configuration to the British Jet Provost, although the nose was narrower due to the in-line tow-seat cockpit. This shape continued for the single-seat Variant, which was the first single-seat variant that went on to sell well in Africa and the Middle East.

Like the Provost's weapon-armed Strikemaster, the Impala, as it was known in South African service was a ground-attack aircraft, with the majority of their stock built in South Africa. The two-seat 326Ms were known as the Impala I, while the single-seater, the subject of this kit was known as the Impala II. They were very successful in their role, being able to cope with poor runways and carry sufficient munitions on the six hard-points to make their point, while flying fast and low to avoid anti-aircraft batteries and missiles.

The Kit

This is a re-release of an existing tooling, originally released by ESCI in the early 80s. That said, it benefits from nicely restrained panel lines and crisp details that bely its age. The box is typical top-opening Italeri fare, and the sprues are all together in one bag, with the clear parts bagged inside the main bag. There are three sprues of medium grey styrene, mainly because the long sprue that contains the main airframe components has been cut down to fit inside the smaller box. A small modular type clear parts sprue contain the two-part canopy and a few small parts, and the box contents is completed by the large instruction booklet and the rather busy decal sheet.

The build commences with the cockpit, which is a typical product of its age, and has only minimal structural detail to which decals for the instrument panel and side consoles are applied. The instrument panel has some relief detail, which is limited to the different levels of the panel itself, so the decals are a must unless you fancy scratching the instrumentation. The pilot's ejector seat is a simple affair only vaguely resembling the Martin Baker Mk.4 that should be present. One from the spares or aftermarket would make an immediate improvement here, as the head-box is massive and totally unrepresentative, giving it a top-heavy look. The rear bulkhead as a little detail moulded in, but a large box has a sink mark where the thick styrene has shrunk during cooling. This can easily be repaired with a little filler however, and as a blank canvas, any additional detail can be added by the modeller.

The wings and fuselage are both assembled in short order, with plenty of flashed over mounting holes to be drilled out for weapons and tanks if you plan on fitting them. The exhaust is provided as a stub attached to a small bulkhead and has a representation of the rear engine face moulded in, although that is probably quite a bit too far aft. The elevators fit into a pair of slots wither side of the tail, and should be level – any anhedral was removed long before the K was envisaged. The wingtip fuel tanks are built from their separate halves and install on two large pegs. The undersides of the intakes are added to the lower wing, and the trunking disappears, so best put a little darkening paint in there to fool the casual viewer. Interestingly the nose has a cut-out with a basic interior, so the cover can be posed open or closed. This is a product of a different age, and this kind of feature doesn't appeal as much as it did in the 80s, and detail is quite unrealistic. The rear cockpit is cowled over with a single part, which should be fitted carefully to minimise clean-up, and the canopy can be posed open or closed. The parts are clear and thin, but my copy had some marks on the outer surface despite being separately bagged. A quick polish and dip in Klear/Future should resolve that issue though, as they're fine and unobtrusive.

The kit is finished off by adding the wheels and gear legs to the gear bays. Here again, there are inconsistencies, as the main gear bays and air-brake bay have some very nicely moulded in detail. A little detail added to the walls and they would be good to go. The nose gear bay is completely blank however, and could do with some work to bring it up to the standard of the other bays. The air-brake can be posed open or closed by the addition of a retraction jack, and it would be a shame to close it up and hiding the detail.

The weapons fit includes a pair of cheek mounted 30mm cannons with Sabrina-like fairings around them, a pair of wing-mounted pods containing 12.7mm Brownings, a pair of rocket pods and two small cigar-shaped reconnaissance pods. Extra fuel is carried in two streamlined tanks on the wing pylons with small finlets on the rear. There are some small sink-marks on the tips of these tanks, due to the alignment socket on the inside of the nose. This will need a small application of filler to smooth out. The detail on the wing-mounted gun pods is excellent for the vintage, as are the conical noses of the rocket pods. The weapons/fuel tank pylons all have surface detail moulded in, and the decal sheet includes stencils to busy them up.

The decal sheet is a busy one, containing six choices of aircraft flown by South Africa, Brazil, Italy and Dubai. From the box you can build one of the following:

• 4th Squadron SAAF, Waterkloof AB, South Africa 1970 – green & brown over grey
  
• 85th Combat Flight School SAAF, Hoedspruit AB, South Africa, 1990 - green & brown over grey
  
• Escuadron "Pacau", 1^o/4^o GAV Forca Aerea Brasileira, Natal 2006 - green & brown over grey
  
• Reparto Sperimentale di Volo, Aeronautica Militaire Italiana, Pratica Di Mare 1990 – dark green, mid green & brown over grey
  
• Reparto Sperimentale di Volo, Aeronautica Militaire Italiana, Pratica Di Mare 1979 – dark green, mid green & brown over grey
  
• United Arab Emirates Police Air Wing, Dubai 1977 - dark green, mid green & brown over grey

Decals are of course printed by Cartograf, and are crisply printed, with good colour density and register. There is an absolutely tiny discrepancy in the register of the red, but that is only really noticeable under magnification on the UAE roundel and flag, which is an identification scheme that really tests the register of decals anyway.

Conclusion

In its day this must have been quite an impressive kit, and there are some aspects of it that impress even today. There are some lowlights too, but nothing that can't be fixed or a blind eye turned. The quality of the engraving on the external surfaces is up to modern standards, which is always a good start with any kit. There are some nice decal choices, and although the camo patterns sound very similar, the actual layout of the colours is different from country to country, so there is in fact plenty of variety.

Recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

[Julien]

Good to see this one back out

Julien

[Shalako]

Very interesting kit.

Hope those aftermarket chaps will produce various 'goodies' in order to make it into a super model.

Cheers

Sernak

[Anthony Kesterton]

Nice review - and good to see this available again.

I see a few MB4 seats available after a quick google - and I am sure there are some replacement wing tanks (? the bits at the end of the wings)

anthony

[Parabat]

Nice review - and good to see this available again.

I see a few MB4 seats available after a quick google - and I am sure there are some replacement wing tanks (? the bits at the end of the wings)

anthony

Indeed, Heritage do a nice pair http://www.heritageaviationmodelsltd.com/aermacchi-mb326-impala-tip-tanks-37-p.asp

[AndyC]

Nice looking kit - added to the "may do one day" list

[baldmanwithsnake]

Just bought this in Modelzone today, along with the Revell 1/48th Thunderbolt, both with change out a £20 note.