HobbyBoss: Romanian IAR-80 1/48
Romania's nifty WWII fighter IAR-80 has never received much attention. Of the 425-450 IAR-80's (fighter) and IAR-81's (fighter-bomber) produced, not one survives today so it's not on everyone's radar. However there are two full size mostly accurate IAR replicas allegedly made up of original parts that can be viewed at two museums in Hungary and Romania.
The IAR-80/81 was the product of Polish technical expertise combined with Romanian design and proved to be extremely effective. It was the only Romanian designed fighter to take part in WWII. IAR stands for “Industria Aeronautică Română” (The Romanian Aeronautical Industry). The plane was constantly upgraded and improved during its lifecycle that ended in the early 50's.
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- 1. the first production model
- 2. note gunsight and antenna base inside cockpit
The plane I have chosen to model here is the ride of Romanian Lt. Ion Micu with markings from the summer of 1941. At the time Micu was the top scoring IAR-80 pilot during the early months of the war on the Eastern Front.
The Kit:
Typical HobbyBoss. This 2016 release does a fine job of capturing the look of the IAR-80 but that's about it. It's difficult to say if this kit is an early or late version of the plane or combination of the two as a late model bomb sight is included so I'm guessing this is a bit of both.
Surprisingly the box art is quite accurate (although the early gun sight is missing) because it's copied from above photo of IAR-80 1. Now let's see what's inside. The parts are well molded - particularly the fuselage - and the fit is great with simple assembly but way too much detail is missing and that's where HB drops the ball once again. What little detail there is, seems mostly incorrect. The cockpit is completely inaccurate along with the corresponding paint callouts. The engine has the wrong push rod tube configuration that is visually obvious. The long air scoop under the cowl is wonky and should be in three pieces with a front dust filter depending on the variant.
I could go on …
The Build:
I decided to go the slacker route and not drive myself nuts making endless modifications. Just a couple. The kit cockpit is a disaster and replicated poorly. The one piece pilot's seat is all wrong and can be corrected somewhat easily but I looked the other way. The kit supplied PE fret of seat belts are the wrong size (too skinny) and that's where Quinta Studios 3D decals came to the rescue and spruced up the front office quite a bit. The adjustable cockpit vent on top of the fuselage in front of the windscreen is poorly represented so I sanded it off and made a replacement from PE scrap. I opened up the oil cooler intake vent on the right wing leading edge and stuck some gills inside, but I forgot to open up the exit vent on top of the opposite wing.
The windscreen mounted antenna mast is very wimpy so I replaced it with one slightly more stout. The mast shaft is supposed to extend down through the glass and anchored to the shelf that the instrument panel sits on (behind it). HB's mast is simply glued top of the windscreen and must be angled correctly (see photo) and held in place as the glue sets but it looks odd without the bottom half.
The main exhaust pipes are incorrect right where they exit the cowl but at least they are moulded open. I didn't care for the kit's anemic pair of leading edge wing guns so I cut them off and made my own, drilling out the barrels. (Quickboost makes a replacement two gun set but they are very fragile and seem overly thin and mine broke.) Early IARs had two wing guns and later models three.
HB molded the main wing flaps and ailerons as one continuous piece so I cut them apart. According to my research, when the IAR was parked with the engine shut down, the hydraulic pressure slowly dropped to zero and so did the flaps. This kit is not designed to do that without major modifications but I got them to droop just a bit. The tail elevators can be cut apart to replicate the rear droop but I didn't.
I added brake lines that on IARs do not follow the typical path down the gear to the wheel. I did not connect them to the hubs as that requires some extra plumbing and metal bending for total accuracy. On the rudder HB molded what looks like actuator faring on both sides but there is no reciprocating connection point on the fuselage so I sanded it off as I couldn't find any references. That may have been a mistake. The engine cylinder heads all need to be sanded down slightly to get the cowl to slide over them.
For reference and built tips I used IBG's thorough instructions and accurate color guide plus the extra online info that comes with their 1/72 IAR-80 series.
Paint Shop:
First I painted the entire plane black and rolled out “worms” to create camouflage masks. Tamiya acrylics and Vallejo Air colors were used for the large areas. Vallejo RLM 04 yellow, RLM 23 red and RLM 76 light blue. Tamiya X-4 blue, XF-81 RAF Dark Green2 and Dark Earth XF-52. I gave the fighter a light Tamiya X-22 clear gloss coat to prep for decals.
Decals:
The kit decals are the wrong shade of RLM 04 yellow on the crosses and bands. I replaced HB's Romanian crosses with those cut from Techmod's color accurate sheet intended for a 1/48 PZL.23B that happen to be the correct size for this IAR. There's enough to do two planes. Early and late. I hand painted the 3 colored stripes on the tail and the fuselage band. On my HB sheet anything printed with more than one color is out of register, particularly the cockpit gauges. Useless. After the decals were applied I gave the entire fighter a spray of Alclad II Klear Kote Flat. Because IAR's were tail draggers, they could only operate on grass runways and tended to get pretty dirty, but I went light on the weathering to preserve its good looks. And lastly, E-Z Line for the antenna.
Last Words:
If you're craving a 1/48th scale IAR-80 for your miniature air museum, HobbyBoss is the only game in town at the moment as the alternatives are old school clunky (like the older LTD kit).
I know it sounds like nothing is right about this HB kit, but I did enjoy building this little gem of a fighter despite all the aforementioned issues, it looks like an AR-80 to me and that's good enough for now.
Surprise! Polish model makers IBG are promising a new tool 1/48 IAR-80 sometime in 2025. If it's anything like their accurate and well researched 72nd IAR series, this will be the kit to get.
For reference and built tips I consulted IBG's thorough instructions and accurate color guide plus the extra online info that comes with their 1/72 IAR-80 series. A tip of the hat to IPMS Stockholm as well.
Thanks for looking and reading this far.
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- 1. brake lines both sides
- 2. re do on the gun barrels
- 3. push rod tubes are incorrect. Should be twice as many coupled like a "V".
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- 1. note the angle of the antenna mast
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- 1. no gunsight or air vent
- 2. shows mast extending all the way but not so in the kit.
- 3. the art is a modified version of the photograph of "1".
Sounds like a great build, Eric (@eb801), but I wish I could see some photos. (The photos apparently didn't load).
Thanks, Eric (@eb801). The photos have flown in. Model came out very nicely. Well done.
Thanks George@gblair. I had some issues uploading the photos. They just vanished so I had to do it all over again.
I kept checking for the photos, glad they made it.
Amazing rare bird, Eric. Looks very nice.
Thank George @georgeswork. The photos disappeared on first upload attempt
Fascinating bit of history and a lovely build of a surprisingly handsome airplane.
Thanks David @davidathomas. It is indeed a handsome airplane which is the main reason I built it.
Really nice job. Will await a later kit and watch for reviews. Thanks for the heads up
Good to hear from you George @blackadder57. Thanks. I hope we don't have to wait forever for IBG's 1/48th scale new tool. But when it comes out, I plan on getting one. I think it's worth the wait.
G’day Eric (@eb801),
You certainly made the most out of a somewhat flawed kit.
Most of those things are more than just nit picking complaints, too. I also recall hearing that the wheel wells are too close together.
Still, it looks like an IAR-80 from here.
Well done.
Liked!
Hey there Michael @michaelt. Thanks for the compliment. Yes, the wheel wells are too close together because HB made them way too large. Over at Britmodeler a gentleman built this kit when it was first released and came up with a novel technique to correct the issue but it's beyond my pay grade. He also corrected the antenna mast and managed not to shatter the windscreen piece. There are so many issues with this kit, one could spend months correcting it. The only reason I built it is because it's such a good looking plane with the markings and camo.
A convincing build of a little known aircraft, Eric.
Thanks George @chinesegeorge. The IAR-80 is almost as attractive as a Lamborghini.
A fine looking IAR-80, Eric @eb801
You clearly got the best out of this spartan kit. Really nice work on the extras.
Thanks John @johnb. Yes it is a spartan kit. Not a heck of a lot of parts but at least HB dialed in the fuselage close enough.
Excellent IAR-80 from the challenging HB kit, Eric!
Congratulations!
Thanks Spiros @fiveten. Actually this kit is not challenging at all, long as one doesn't go down the correction rabbit hole. A very enjoyable build.
Beautiful job Eric @eb801, very impressive.
I have this kit in my stash, but have always been put off by the decals. I have tried in vain to find replacements. Thanks for the tip on the forthcoming kit, I’ll keep my eyes peeled.
Ben @popeofchillitown. Thanks. The most accurate decals for their IAR-80 were made by RB Productions a few years ago but they all got snatched up and are no longer available. However the guy who produced them (initials RB) also has a terrific reference book out on the IAR-80 and is working with IBG models on their forthcoming 1/48 kit so I'm sure the decals will be great. In the meantime Techmod's decal sheet mentioned in my write up does the job. However the crosses are a bit fussy once they hit the plastic. Mine wanted to stick immediately.
Great job building up that kit Eric (@eb801) (and you rarely ever come across this type). Appreciate your insights as well, just in case I jump in with one of these (as I don't currently have one). - Cheers
Thanks. It sure looks great when finished. A real beauty of a fighter, @flypastrush.
Eric, I agree with all the responses above, and especially David Thomas’s summation. A seldom seen (hardly ever seen) subject, you did a wonderful job of working with what was provided. The article is also very nicely written, calling out the numerous challenges and your approach to resolving them. Slacker route certainly does not apply to your effort here.
Thanks for your kind remarks, Russell.
Great work on that Hobbyboss kit and interesting article. Looks like a better kit than my old LTD build. Then there's the IAR 81C from Icarus Designs - a nice kit.
Thanks Chas @chasbunch. Despite all the errors, the HB kit is a vast improvement over the LTD IAR-80.
Excellent work on a not-often-seen subject! Well done.
Thanks Greg @gkittinger. I can see you giving one of the 1/72 IBG IAR-80’s a try and mounting it with wheels up. I think it would look outstanding.
@eb801: I have a Pegasus kit in the stash - had never heard of IBG, but they look like they should be superior kits so I ordered one!
Let me know what you think of it, Greg (@gkittinger). IBG’s instructions and extra reference materials look terrific.
Really like this- Hobbyboss seems to occupy a wierd middle ground between sloppy but at the same time having some nice molding and features. As others have commented, you've really made the most out of this. Excellent work
Thanks for the compliment, David @dbutlir. I don’t know what it is about Hobby Boss but they never seem to get anything right, at least in the airplane dept.
Nicely done, Eric. Very striking looking build.
Thanks Gary (@gwskat).
Glad you stopped by. Halberd’s Piper Enforcer is next.
Beautiful as always. Your attention to detail is incredible.
hey Ken @kenk - glad you stopped by. Thanks for the good words.
Fantastic work!
Thanks Capt R @lis. I had fun with this kit despite its errors.