History

The Avia B.534 was developed in 1934 as an extension of the B.34 fighter. This version was produced in small numbers for the Czechoslovak Air Force with several engine/airframe modifications. The aircraft was used in various roles by the Czech in WW2 and the Germans found them formidable enough that they kept production going into 1941. But rapid advancements in aircraft design meant that the Avia B.534 was obsolete by 1942. The Bulgarians used the Avia B.534 in combat against the B24 Liberators operations against Ploesti.

Kit

The kit is produced by Eduard, a well-known model company who bring us high quality model kits and accessories. The box artwork shows an Avia B.534 in flight in a quarter view.

About the Company

AOA is a new decal company and they are purpose driven. AOA’s goal was to fill the gap of a lack of decals for Marine aircraft on the aftermarket scene and boy what a way to make an entrance by continuing to go the distance on the 1/32 Trumpeter A-6 model. For those of you looking for Marine markings in all 3 scales they should be added to your list.

What’s on the Sheet?

This particular set is extremely large and I can tell you that you will have a lot of spares for future projects. Spread over four large sheet are 16 aircraft schemes covering 4 USN/USMC aircraft from the Vietnam War covering the years of 1967-1973.

The aircraft covered are as followed:

This is a new, very nice kit from ICM. The parts have very good detail, go together will, and end up with a highly detailed model. Care must be used due to small parts, so the kit may be difficult for beginners.

The kit comes with all the parts in one plastic bag. The five vinyl tires are separately bagged, as are the clear plastic sprue parts. The bulk of the kit is on six dark yellow sprues. The parts have extremely good detail and there are many finely cast pieces. There are lots of small pieces and the kit includes 211 parts overall. The front grill is particularly well cast with openings between the individual grill slats. There is no flash apparent on the parts and mold seams are minimal. The detail on the parts is incredible and this should make for a highly detailed model. The plastic is quite soft so care will need to be taken to avoid gouging the plastic when cleaning up the parts.