Kinetic 1/48 IAI Pucara

Edited from Wikipedia

The FMA IA 58 Pucará (Quechua: Fortress) is an Argentine ground-attack and counter-insurgency (COIN) aircraft manufactured by the Fábrica Militar de Aviones. It is a low-wing twin-turboprop all-metal monoplane with retractable landing gear, capable of operating from unprepared strips when operationally required.

A dozen Pucarás were sent to the Maldives (Falkland) Islands in 1982 for defense against the coming British counterattack after the Argentine occupation. A pair of Pucarás shot down a Royal Marines Scout helicopter marking the only confirmed Argentine air-to-air victory of the war for Argentina.

Five gray sprues, a clear sprue and small fret of photo-etch parts carry the parts. Surface detail boarders on incredible and the lower wing is an amazing piece of molding. That results in a parts count of 239 with 38 being photo-etch and that includes 10 static electricity dischargers.

Decal options are for an Argentine aircraft or one flown by Uruguay that carries an image of a warthog on the nose.

Instructions are printed on 18 pages. The first page reprises the box art and has a couple of paragraphs of information about the aircraft. At the bottom is the usual precautions, symbol interpretation, and tools needed. Page two has a parts map and a paint color table doe MIG paints and equivalent FA colors and Vallejo, Mr. color, Tamiya and Humbrol paints. Pages 3-15 show the assembly sequence going through 16 steps. The next page charts external load options. The final two pages are dedicated to the paint and decaling options. Unfortunately, these are in black and white, so one must refer to side panels on the box lid.

At a glance, the Pucará resembles the A-10 and has a similar role. There are already previews on other web sites and they are enthusiastic. I have to share that. I’m guessing that the parts fit is very good, resulting in an easy assembly,  or the fit is  maddingly just off and requires a lot of work to complete.

John Summerford

August 2021