Miniwing 1/144 Fouga CM.170 Magister
By Matt Bittner
Introduction
The Fouga Magister was a French designed aircraft to replace their aging Morane-Saulnier MS.475 piston-engined trainers. The first prototype flew in 1952 with the first production order struck in 1954. It finally flew with the Armée de l'Air in 1956. It flew with the French until it was replaced by the Alpha Jet.
There were also a number of other countries that flew her and Finland built it under license until 1967.
The Kit
The Miniwing 1/144 Fouga CM.170 Magister consists of 19 pieces of cream-colored resin, one clear resin canopy, one vacuum-formed canopy and a photoetch fret of seven pieces. The resin is cast to Miniwing’s high level and there are no issues at all. There are decals for two aircraft:
- IAI Tzukit No. 560, Israeli Air Force, Israeli Air Force Aerobatic Team, 2009 (finished overall in white with a lot of red)
- Fouga Magister No. 270 (MT13), Belgian Air Force, 7th Squadron/1st Wing, 1995 (finished overall in natural metal with day-glo orange highlights)
Decals are extremely nicely printed and since Miniwing has started using JBr Decals as their provider they are tons better than the older kits’ markings.
Construction couldn’t be simpler. There are decals to add to the seats once painted (to give an impression of cushions and seat belts) as well as decals for the instrument panels. Once the decals are added then the cockpit can be finished (and it just consists of the two seats and the separate, rear instrument panel). Now the rest of assembly will go quick. The V-tail is a single piece while the wings are one-per-side. But once those three items are added then you have an airframe ready to be painted. I would also mask and add the canopy prior to painting if you’re planning on leaving it closed. You’ll need to decide if you want to use the clear resin one (quicker and easier to add) or the vacuum-formed one (a little more time consuming but will result in seeing the cockpit better).
The rest of the parts that can be added after painting include the landing gear, gear doors and photoetch antennas and tail-control arms. But that’s it.
Conclusion
This is an excellent kit to get you out of your current AMS struggles. It could easily be finished in a weekend and you’ll have an excellent example of the Magister sitting on your shelf. Note that Miniwing has also released this kit with Armée de l'Air and Irish markings as well in a separate boxing.
A big “thank you” to Miniwing for supplying the kit to review.