1:72 T33A, Spanish Air Force, Black 41-16 N0.41 Group, May 1982

1:72 T-33A of the Spanish Air Force, the year 1982

A finished collector model in 1:72 scale. It is not a kit: the model is supplied assembled, painted and with the markings applied, so nothing has to be done with it and it goes straight into the display case. The model carries the markings of a Spanish Air Force machine from 1982, that is, from the late phase of this type's service in Europe.

The real subject

The T-33A was a two-seat jet trainer on which most Western military pilots learned to fly in the 1950s and 1960s. Spain took it over under military aid and operated it for training and for auxiliary duties. Power came from a single turbojet with a centrifugal compressor, and the aircraft had a straight wing and tanks on the wingtips, which are among its identifying features.

How a collector model differs from a kit

With a kit the modeler chooses the colors, the markings and the degree of wear himself and the result is one of a kind. A finished model, by contrast, offers certainty: the exactly specified version of a particular machine, a uniform look across the whole collection and the immediate option of standing it in a display case. That is precisely why collections of finished models are built in series, where one piece complements the next.

How to keep the model

• Display it out of direct sunlight, which fades the colors over time
• Remove dust with a soft brush, not with a cloth, which abrades the markings
• Hold the model by the fuselage, not by the wings and the tail surfaces
• Leave it room in the display case so that neighboring pieces do not touch