1:48 Avia S-199

Avia S-199, replacement cockpit glazing 1:48

A clear cockpit canopy for the Czechoslovak postwar Avia S-199 fighter, which was nicknamed Mezek, meaning mule. The thin, clean part lets you show the interior and slide the hood back without having to cut into the original injection-molded assembly.

A fighter from a marriage of necessity

The S-199 came about in postwar Czechoslovakia from unfinished airframes of the German Messerschmitt Bf 109G. The original powerplant was no longer available, so the designers reached for a bomber engine with a massive propeller. The result was an aircraft with fierce torque and unfriendly behavior on takeoff, hence the mocking nickname taken from a stubborn animal. Even so the S-199 made history: in 1948 it became the first fighter type of the Israeli Air Force. The glazing remained essentially that of the Messerschmitt, and since aircraft of this family appeared both with the older heavily framed hood and with the later lightened type, compare the shape with a photograph of the particular aircraft before you start building.

Practical advice

Before cutting, mark the cut line in pencil directly on the molding. Then true the edges on sanding paper laid on glass and offer the part up dry several times. For bonding use a product that leaves no milky haze, and spray the frames in this order: interior shade, primer, top camouflage.

It suits

• those interested in postwar Czechoslovak aircraft
• modelers building the Israeli machines of 1948
• those who want the canopy slid back without cutting plastic
• a replacement for glazing that is deformed or lost

You are buying the glazing alone, not the whole Mezek kit.