Introduction

The Zlin Z-50 is an aerobatic aircraft developed in the Czech Republic in 1975. Designed to withstand plus 9 and minus 6 G’s and running a 300 HP engine, this aircraft is a real contender in the competitive aerobatic world and has won a couple of championships. Of course, the plane is only as good as the pilot. For a number of years now I’ve had the pleasure-as have many others-to see Rob Harrison aka “The Tumbling Bear”, perform his brand of low level high energy aerobatics in his bright yellow Zlin. My favorite part of his routine is the passes so low you can see Rob working the controls! Rob has been a stable on the Southern California airshow circuit for years. In spite of a terrible crash in Modesto CA in 2009, Rob supervised the build of his replacement Zlin from his wheelchair and returned to the air. My kids always remembered the Tumbling Bear (he’s a big guy) because he would go down the show line after the show and hand out goodies for the kids.

If you build models you are probably very familiar with Micro-Mark. Not only do they carry a wide range of modeling tools but also offer several kits in different media.

When starting a model getting the parts off the sprue cleanly helps lower the amount of clean up you need to do so finding a good sprue cutter is a great start. This product is manufactured by Fujiya out of Japan.

I tried it out on a kit I am working on for a review and it did a great job. The 25-degree angle gives good control to get up next to the part no matter the placement on the sprue. The cut was clean, but you need to make sure you are even with the part edge or you will live a bit of the connection.

The one thing all Japanese fighters in WWII had in common was a radial engine, except for one plane, the Ki-61 Hien which the allies named Tony. This was powered by a licensed built version of the Daimler-Benz DB601 and not only faced the allied fighters of the day but also had the performance to get to the B-29s altitude.

Tamiya released a new tool of the Tony in 1/48th scale back in 2016 and now has finally shrunk it down to my preferred scale of 1/72nd and a beauty of a model it is. The 45 grey and 3 clear parts are beautifully molded with fine scribed details. The low parts count leads to a quick build. A lovely cockpit is included and the wheel wells look nice. Markings are included for 3 airframes. One from the 19th Air Group in Luzon, Philippines, 1945 and two from the 244th Air Group based in Japan. More on these in a minute.