This must be the
first model I ever made of an aircraft which was in active service when I
started modelling it and was retired when I finished! The venerable PZL
Mielec TS-11 Iskra -'Spark' (Bis D variant) trainer was used by the Indian
Airforce as a intermediate Jet Trainer since 1975 inspite of being the losing
competitor in the Warsaw Pact competition for a jet trainer (won by the L-29
Delfin). Having successfully played it's role in training thousands of
future air warriors the Iskra was finally retired in December 2004, after nearly 30 years of faithful service .
The only firm which makes model kits
of the Iskra (in it's' various avatars) is KP Models of the Czech republic. I
luckily found this particular kit in a Hobby Shop in south Florida and that too
only for $5!! Like most KP models offerings the kit quality is still shoddy but
the quality of the plastic seems to have improved and it had a surprisingly
large (and accurate!) number of decals for a 1:72 scale model. The model
was built mostly OOB since the kit captures most of the details. The only
scratch built additions are the intake grills (a hard thing to put in a 1:72
model of a tiny aircraft as I soon discovered!!) and some wiring in the
undercarriage.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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This particular
model depicts the Iskra trainer with Serial Number W1744 which was one of the
aircraft which took part in the Phasing Out Ceremony held in December, 2005 at
the Hakimpet airfield, Andhra Pradesh where they were based.
It is perhaps
interesting to note that the serial W1744 was assigned to one of the four
original Iskras supplied by Poland in 1975 and was reassigned to a new aircraft
which was supplied in lieu of expired airframes in 1999-2000.
Raja
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