1:72 Walter NZ-60 engine set for Avia BH-9/10/11 Kovozávody Prostějov /KVP

The five-cylinder engine that got interwar aviation moving

The air-cooled Walter NZ-60 went into production in Jinonice in the 1920s and became the first truly successful radial engine of Czechoslovak design. Sixty horsepower sounds modest today, but back then it was enough for a whole generation of light machines from the drawing boards of Pavel Benes and Miroslav Hajn. It powered the BH-9 high-wing monoplane nicknamed Boska, the single-seat BH-10 trainer and the two-seat BH-11, with which Czechoslovak pilots took places in European competition flights and covered considerable distances.

What the set does for the model

On an exposed radial the engine is the first thing the eye lands on, and it is exactly where kit parts tend to be weakest. The replacement unit offers separately rendered cylinders with sharp cooling fins, heads with the valve gear indicated and exhausts routed around the circumference. The difference shows at once, because on these aircraft the nose of the fuselage dominates the whole model.

• A replacement powerplant in 1:72 scale
• Fits 1:72 models of the BH-9, BH-10 and BH-11 types
• Sharp cylinder finning and heads with rendered valve gear
• Markedly improves the most exposed spot on the finished aircraft
• A set of parts for modifying a model; the aircraft itself is not included

Before building, check how much room the kit leaves behind the engine and darken the bulkhead from the inside if needed. Once the casting lugs are off, it pays to spray the engine a metallic shade, then darken it with a thin wash and lightly polish the edges of the fins so that the light catches the detail.