The L-29 Delfin was a jet-powered trainer airplane that was designed by Aero of Czechoslovakia. It was developed to provide the Warsaw Pact nations with a jet-powered replacement for their propeller driven trainers. The aircraft was in production from 1963 until 1974 with over 3,500 produced. In addition to the Warsaw Pact nations, the L-29 has been used by many other countries and in fact, a number are still in use in civilian hands. These can be seen in air shows around the world.

In spite of the wide usage of the L-29 and the associated interesting paint schemes, it has not been well produced as a model. Until recently, the only 1/72 scale kit of the L-29 was from KP of the Czech Republic. Recently, however, a new kit of the L-29 has been issued by AMK.

The subject of this review is a nicely molded set of wheels for the L-29 Delfin produced by the Res-Im (Resin Improvement) company of the Czech Republic. Res-Im produce detail sets for aircraft and AFV models in most scales. Their product line also includes photo-etch and masking sets as well as a couple of complete kits. This set consists of replacement main wheels and nose wheels. Two slightly different nose wheels are provided although only one is needed. Check reference material to determine which one to use.

This set is nicely molded in resin with absolutely no porosity. Detail is great with tire tread showing. The hub of the main wheels is excellent with small attachment details of the original showing. My only problem with the set is that the wheels are attached to the molding sprue by a fairly wide attachment. Cleaning this up removes some of the tread from the wheel. The other minor problem is that the centers of the wheels are only slight indents. Careful drilling is required to make the parts fit the landing gear struts.

This set is a great improvement to the wheels of the old KP kit. It can also be used on the new AMK kit although the new kit is pretty good to start with. A big thank you to Res-Im for providing the sample for review. This set can be purchased directly from Res-Im and also from Hannants. It is well recommended.