Kitty Hawk Models continues their 1/32^nd scale releases of the variants of the T-28 with a T-28C which is the Navy version of the trainer with shortened propeller blades. Kitty Hawks kit comes in five gray sprues of nicely engraved plastic with a clear sprue having the canopy and lights, a photoetch sheet for the seat belts and grills and a nice set of decals with markings for five airframes:

• T-28C, US Navy, BuNo 140548 in yellow
• T-28C, VF-84, US Navy
• T-28C, VA-122, US Navy
• T-28C, VT-5 No. 001
• T-28C, US Navy Target Tug

Great schemes for colorful to working class! IPMS/USA was lucky enough to review the Kitty Hawk 1/32^nd T-28B/D and the review is located here: T-28B/D review

I will concentrate on the highlights and differences of this build as all of Mr. Christenson’s note are still pretty much applicable to this version also.

The cockpit build starts first and is straightforward. It is under a huge greenhouse canopy so take your time as it will be visible. Kitty Hawk provides decals for the front and side instrument panels. I elected to paint the side panels. I built the seats and the seat belts. The belts are a little generic and take time to build as they are many pieces. In the end, some painting and washes and they look great. I did not install the orange beacon light until later.

The front gear bay is next and consists of six parts. Part B-30 is the linkage for the gear doors and they ask you to install it now… don’t. I did and between all the handling, it was destroyed. Also, the gear can be left off for later addition.

The engine and area behind it are next. I wanted a sealed up-front end so I didn’t finish off all the oil tanks but the detail is excellent if you want an open cowling. Part E24 and its associated parts will need built and painted as they can be seen even with the closed cowling. The engine itself if very nice and looks the part and includes all the needed including the exhausts.

To close the fuselage, you will need to assemble the multi-part wheel wells (they are specific to left and right), attach the cockpit to the nose gear bay and the engine to that assembly. Sounds tricky but it not difficult at all. Don’t forget to add the included weights next to the nose bay gear- it’s not shown anywhere in the instructions. It’s also not enough weight. More on that later.

Next is where I ran into difficulty. The cowling and parts around it make up from five major parts all of which need to come together (if you are closing the cowling) to form a perfect ring at the front. I could not get it straight around all the pieces and parts. So…I first all the pieces starting at the top and work my way around. At the bottom, I used a piece of cardstock to fill the gap and sanded smooth and it looked good. I also added additional weight to the area immediately behind the engine using steel shot (which I enclosed in a sandwich bag to contain it). Once sanded and re-scribed, it worked well.

The wings were next and no issues were found and they fit quite well when mated up to the fuselage. The same with the horizontal stabilizers parts- no issues. Worst case was a small dab of putty here or there to get them perfect. The small bits (antennae, lights, glass parts, etc. were all left off).

One thing I did do was to add the pylons under the wing. Most pictures do not show the pylons in place but the holes are there and after looking, I found one in the markings I was going to use. I did choose the VT-5 plane as it had nose art, “Easy Gin” of a pin-up girl and was in the lovely white/orange trainer markings.

To start, after masking I took a bottle of gloss Tamiya white and used lacquer thinner to spray it and gradually build up a nice coat of white. Or about 7 total. If you have never thinned Tamiya acrylics with lacquer thinner, it is fantastic. They dry quick, glossy and super hard which was needed as it was masking time. The orange was next and I used Model Master Italian Red (which is orange) and is a great replica of the trainer colors. Lastly, I masked the black exhaust and anti-glare parts and then started the task of going back and touching things up multiple times. In the end, I love this scheme and it was decal time.

The decals worked great and snuggle with no issues. I added a quick flat coat and elected not to weather the plane except ever so slightly around the exhaust. Now for the fiddly bits- tail hook, antennae, and all landing gear door were added. Lastly, the propeller and lights for the top and bottom of the fuselage and wing tips.

I finished up with the canopy and windscreen. I wanted to note that these are fantastic- clear, thin and distortion free. I masked and painted them and glued in place and we are done.

Except for the engine cowling, this was a pretty trouble-free build. The T-28 was and is one of the most common planes and you can still find them flying at airshows everywhere. This is a wonderful representation of the plane and was a fun kit to build. Highly recommended

My thanks to all the excellent people at Kitty Hawk for this kit and all the fine pieces they have issued. Keep them coming!