Mirage Hobby 1/48 R.W.D.-8 PWS
Hi, this is my 1/48 RWD-8 from Mirage Hobby. For those unfamiliar with pre-war Polish aviation this was their standard training & liaison aircraft, & was also very popular with aero-clubs as well.
The kit is the old Sponja offering dating back from the nineteen eighties, & re-boxed by Mirage Hobby a few years ago.
It's your typical eastern European limited run injection moulded kit & requires a bit of effort to get it to the finish line.
I'd also recommend getting the photo etch set by Part, since the interior detail is somewhat basic and Part's set adds at least some finesse to the kit.
Decals are by Techmod, which are very thin & don't stand up well to moving about on the surface of the kit, so you really have only one go at positioning the decals & then they start to shatter.
On the plus side they are nice & thin & over a few coats of Future blend in nicely with the paint scheme.
Markings are for the Lwowskiego Aeroklub, August 1939.
Happy to answer any comments & questions you might have, in the meantime thanks for looking.
Very nice. A not so often seen type of aircraft, well done.Great pictures too, they bring out the flawless and perfect work !
Very good, Marek!
Best regards, Vlad.
Not a type I'm familiar with, but the pitched-back parasol wing really gives it an unusual look. Great looking take on an usual subject.
Thanks guys for the very kind comments, I appreciate it.
Looks great Marek, not familiar with the plane but thanks for the info.
Well done mate.
Very unusual but nice looking plane, Marek, and you've done a good job with this limited run kit.
I'd go for a ride in that! Looks like a big hang glider. Nicely done.
Interesting aircraft Marek. You worked wonders with it.
That is a very cool a/c Marek. You are too modest I am sure in saying it took 'a bit of effort'. Those limited run Eastern European kits of that vintage are VERY basic, and your build is certainly not very basic at all! Fantastic work on an unusual subject - I really like it.
Nice build of a rarely seen kit. Great pics.
I've never seen this aircraft before, and it's very interesting. Can you tell me what the additional control surface is on the right wing inboard of the aileron? Flap, auxiliary aileron, part of the wing fold?
Excellent job Marek, very nice indeed.
Hi Rick, Thanks for the comments.
Re. that additional control surface, yes it's a funny one that, I'm assuming it is a flap, but only on one side - perhaps the torque (?) from the engine compensates on the other wing. Unfortunately there are little to no books on the subject matter available in English - or Polish for that matter, that I know of, so it's pure speculation on my part. The wing construction from what I can glean is partially skinned in plywood with doped canvas stretched over the ribs.
And yes apparently the wings do fold back, & some builds from Polish websites have shown this, though I've seen no actual photos of the real aircraft in that configuration.
The rest of the aircraft is pretty conventional: fuselage is metal frame with doped canvas skin.
Hi Marek, thanks for the information. As you say, we may never what it was for, but it is a very unique feature.
Guys, thanks again for all the positive feedback. I'm really glad people like it, since it's a pretty obscure subject!... (Well for those of us in the English speaking part of the world that is).