From a company, although 10 years old but brand new to injection molded kits, comes a brand new model of the T-6 Texan II. To the best of my knowledge, this is a first-time release of a never before kitted aircraft in 1/48th scale. First, a little about the Texan II, a modified version of the Pilatus PC-6. My stepson was the lead A&P mechanic of Hawker Beechcraft that was able to obtain the USAF blessing by certifying the various modifications in San Antonio, Texas. During this time, I was able to become quite familiar with the bird, but alas, couldn’t get permission to get any “stick time,” being of civilian status. The Texan II has quite an impressive flight envelope, with the performance figures being closer to that of a P-51 Mustang than that of the original T-6. In short, “this ain’t your father’s Oldsmobile”. Oh well, enough wool gathering and on to the kit.

A little history

This Aoshima kit represents a spacecraft that was launched at 10:31 a.m., Sept 14, 2007, from the Tanegashima Space Center. The launch vehicle was an H-IIA, the subject of another Aoshima kit, (Aoshima 151-23000). The spacecraft was named “Selene” which is a representation of the descriptive phrase, “Selenological and Engineering Explorer”.

There is no doubt that the Eduard MiG-21 family of kits sets the standard for this aircraft. The SMT variant is the ground attack version of the MiG-21. While the kit cockpit is nice and quite usable, there is room for improvement. I think it is nice that the manufacturer of the kit actually designs an aftermarket replacement set. This ensures that the resin will fit perfectly.

Inside a very sleek looking cardboard box, you are greeted by the six page color instructions. The drawings are quite impressive and should present no big problem. Below the instructions you see protective foam. This will ensure that the resin pieces will not move around and get damaged.