Miniwing 1/144 PZL TS-11 "Iskra"
By Matt Bittner
Introduction
Minwing has started to release more 1/144 models as 3D prints, the PZL TS-11 being one of the first three. According to owner Radek Skoumal the Shapeways vendor Small Scale Shop asked Radek if he could offer his work through Miniwing when Shapeways closed. Radek agreed, sharing the profits between the two individuals. I have a few 1/144 early prints from Small Scale Shop and except for the fact that "way back then", when Shapeways was basically the only player on the market, the printing and material is not like it is today; however, the designs themselves were very well done. With today's 3D technology that means the 3D printed kits coming from Miniwing will be very well done.
The Kit
The Miniwing 1/144 PZL TS-11 consists of 16 pieces of black, 3D printed resin, along with two pieces of clear 3D printed resin. The decals are for only one Iskra, "1409" that was in the typical, all-silver finish. While the kit consists of mainly a one-piece airframe, there are smaller parts for the landing gear and cockpit. These pieces are well printed; however, the surfaces of the one-piece aircraft suffer from print lines - or striations - especially the flying surfaces. Since this will be finished overall in silver, at least these surfaces should be sanded before working on the rest of the kit.
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The cockpit consists of the two ejection seats and two instrument panels; no control sticks are supplied, plus there are no seatbelts nor instrument panels on the decal sheet. But be that as it may, if you close the canopy then not much will be seen because of the small space; not because of the clear canopy pieces, because those are nicely see-through, but as typed, it's because it's such a small space.
While the decals appear nice, I can't tell if they're printed as a one-piece affair requiring cutting out of each decal as close to the design as possible.
Conclusion
Even with cleaning the print lines on the airframe, this could be a quick build, especially since it was overall - top and bottom - a single color: silver. It will look nice on your shelf once completed.
I send my "thanks" to Miniwing for supplying the review kit.