1:48 Walter NZ-60 engine set for Avia BH-9/10/11 Směr/Kovozávody Prostějov /SMR,KVP

A five-cylinder engine for the 1920s

The Walter NZ-60 was an air-cooled five-cylinder radial whose output of around sixty horsepower was more than enough for the light sport and training aircraft of the first half of the 1920s. The designers Benes and Hajn built a trio of monoplanes around it, the Avia BH-9, BH-10 and BH-11, which flew in competitions and on long-distance flights and which at the time were among the most interesting light aircraft Europe had to offer. Their successes in international races made a name for Czechoslovak aviation before any larger aircraft industry existed here.

What the package holds

The casting captures the powerplant with detailed cylinders, the finning of the heads and the propeller drive. It carries detail that is usually lost in injection-molded plastic, and it is prepared for the fuselages of the machines mentioned, according to the kits of two domestic manufacturers in 1:48 scale, which the name gives as Smer and Kovozavody Prostejov.

Working with the casting

Cut the casting block off with a fine-toothed saw rather than with nippers – resin tears when it is nipped and the break is then hard to level. Washing in a lukewarm soapy bath follows, because remains of mold release prevent the paint from adhering.

Placing and painting

On these types the engine stays uncovered, so the whole of it will be visible on the model. It pays to finish it to one side, give it a clear coat and glue it in only at the end of the build. A dark wash in the finning and a fine metallic shade on the cylinder heads will make most of the final impression.

One more note

An air-cooled powerplant tends to be noticeably dirty with oil in period photographs. A light touch of brown under the cylinders and around the exhausts moves the result from a clean model toward an aircraft that was really flown.