Special Hobby 1/72 EMW A9

SPECIAL HOBBY 1:72 EMW A-9

Reviewer: Mark B (SMAKR Webmaster) (smakr1@optusnet.com.au)
Kit Built + Review Submitted: 26 November 2003

Kit Details:

Special Hobby No. SH 72009 1/72 EMW A9

Aircraft History:

The A9 was in prototype form by the end of the war and it was essentially a project where a piloted rocket was developed to strike the mainland USA being guided by submarines to the coast. It was based on the initial prospect of launching V2's against America in the stage called "America Rocket". The A-9 rocket had to be lifted to an altitude of 160km by the A-10 rocket booster and it was able to cover up to 5000km in 45 minutes, but before reaching the target the pilot had to catapult himself out. During the flight he had to be guided to his target by submarines on the surface of the Atlantic.

The Kit:

An Inbox review has been written about this kit previously. There are three sprues in one plastic bag with a decal sheet and vacform canopy. There's a little bit of flash but very minimal. The 25 parts are light grey limited run injection mold with finely engraved panel lines. The plastic is typical short run quality but looks quite good on the sprue. A few sink marks and ejector pin stubs need attention, but in the latter case it has been cleaned up quite well.

Instructions:

A single A4 sheet folded to make an A5 booklet makes up the instructions. On one side you have the colour information for the schemes in shaded format keyed to a table that provides RLM numbers and name, with appropriate selections from the Tamiya, Molak, Agama and Humbrol ranges in a table format. A sprue diagram is included as this will help identify the parts on the not-numbered sprues. A side, top and underneath/exhaust view is provided for decal placement and painting information, as well as a diagram of the launch pad. A brief history is also included in four languages (English, Czech, French & German) and all the text in the instructions is presented in all these languages. The four part assembly view makes the centre spread of the instruction sheet with RLM or generic paint information given for painting components during the construction phase. For anyone who has built short run kits before they shouldn't have any problems following this sheet.

Preamble:

At the outset I must say that this is not my normal kettle of fish to undertake as a model project. The kit was in fact supplied free with an order (NKR Models) so I certainly wasn't going to say no! I decided therefore it would look good as a rocket for a youngster and that was how this project eventuated. The kit is built completely out of the box and done without any detailing etc, hence the "short, sharp, sweet" of the review.

Construction:

Being a limited run kit the parts need very careful removal from the sprue due to the large lugs. They were inspected for things like ejector pin marks and flash to remove and then the mating surfaces were sanded. Whilst my choice of glue is generally Revell Contacta, I usually use tube glue for these types of kits (applied with a toothpick) as this tends to be conducive to excellent adhesion results.

The cockpit is very sparse, with only a seat and control column affixed to a floor which itself is connected to front and rear circular bulkheads supplied, and I painted RLM 66 as instructed. There was certainly a need to do a dry run as there are no indicators inside the fuselage where the components were supposed to go. As usual with these sorts of kits the control column was well over scale and a bit of carving was needed to fit the cockpit flush inside the fuselage. No such problem, however, for the exhaust cone as this fits perfectly and could in fact be installed after the fuselage halves are affixed together. Curiously the cockpit hole cutout does not match both halves, one is slightly larger than the other, so work is needed to make the cockpit hole in both halves symetrical!

I then affixed the fuselage halves together using rubber bands and masking tape to keep them from prizing apart. The two large fins that run the length of the fuselage are affixed next and although the mating surfaces was sanded and they were pressed flush against the fuselage, there was no avoiding small gaps at the "root" which needed plugging up. I simply ran hobby glue into the gaps and wiped away the excess.

As this kit presumably doubles up as the V2 rocket and other variants, some adjusting needs to be made. The instructions point out parts of the fin and small pins protruding from the fins need to be cut.

One vacform canopy is supplied which means no second chances if you cut it out incorrectly. I found the frame lines hard to determine so erred on the side of caution as I cut it slightly oversized and then trimmed it down. There is little information on exactly where the canopy is positioned, you can only interpret as best as possible according to the instructions and boxart. Whilst I was able to more or less get a flush fit, I found it difficult enticing the canopy to stay affixed to the surface.

The launch pad/stand takes up the final assembly step which is effectively split into two steps itself. There are a number of small parts, like launch pad stands, struts and the like to cement in place. They all need to be carefully removed from the sprue without snapping, cleaned up and test fitted (and trimmed accordingly) before affixing into place. I also used a dab of superglue in parts to strengthen the bond. The best advice I can give is to sit down and study the step closely and do a number of dry runs before proceeding. Given there are a few small parts and the limited run nature of the kit (and instructions!) the step looks very busy and slightly confusing. After studying the assembly step, walking away and thinking about it, returning and studying it again, I found I picked up details I missed first time around. Needless to say this step is also quite fiddly and takes up about three times the length of time in putting the A9 rocket itself together!

Colour Schemes:

Only one version is produced by the kit which of course is a 'speculative' example. It is finished in RLM 76 (Hellblau) and RLM 75 (Grey Violet) camouflage. I used the Humbrol numbers as quoted to achieve the finish which was H147 light grey and disruptive H140 Gull Grey camouflage respectively and H83 Sand Yellow as directed for the launchpad. Of course since it is a speculative scheme, you could produce whatever camouflage scheme you think appropriate. The only thing I would advise is to be careful where you paint the H140 as the decals are the same colour, so you want to make sure that the Luftwaffe crosses appear in sections coloured H147.

Decals:

These are printed by Propagteam - with very good register. There are swastikas but they are in 'halves' and must be put together to form the infamous symbol. The crosses as mentioned above are produced in the same H140 Gull Grey colour, and a fuselage band and a couple of circular symbols are all else provided. I must say the decals were excellent, they went on well, easy to move and bedded down perfectly on Gunze Sangyo setting solution. The only thing to be wary of are the two fuselage band "halves", they are oversized so you need to add one overlapping the sides, and vice versa afterward.

Accuracy:

Given it is a speculative design there is no real need to comment here. The measurements quoted in the instructions compared to the scale are almost spot on.

Overall Recommendation:

Given that it is a speculative design the recommendation comments are aimed at ease of build, enjoyability etc. The launchpad is quite fiddly and complex in some ways but nothing the average modeller with a few short run kits under their belt couldn't handle. The rocket was quite enjoyable and probably the simplest short run kit I have done. For anyone who is a bit hesitant about getting into a short run kit, this will give you some idea of the types of challenges and skills required to tackle them, it's just a pity that a spare vacform canopy wasn't supplied to make it even more a worthwhile starting platform. Overall, simple, and recommended for anyone who wants to build this subject.

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