The subject I’m representing here is the Ecuadorian Air Force FAE 932, 1995 Cenepa war veteran.

On February 12th that year, FAE 932 was providing close air support to the Ecuadorian Army defending the Tiwinza post area on the Cenepa river basin (Amazon jungle).

Suddenly a Peruvian surface to air SA16 Igla missile was launch hitting the aircraft right wing 

damaging all control surfaces. The commendable crew skills made possible to safely land the aircraft on the nearest airbase.  After that, the dragonfly was repair and, honoring the crew bravery, reenter service under the Tiwinza name.

After the war, the Ecuadorians bought a special package from Israel and modified their dragonfly’s to carry the Shafir II heat seeking air-to-air missile, chaff and flair dispensers.

The kit

Extremely well done and plenty of recessed detail for a 1:72 scale kit.  Academy is far more better kit then the Hasegawa A37. The kit contains 76 pieces injected on medium gray plastic, sharp recessed panel details. Clear parts includes open canopy, HUD and navigation lights. Fitting is tight and superb and if you feel like adding some extra detail to your project, consider using Zoom SS106 (32 accessories) from Eduard photo etch detail specifically design for the Academy kit.

Cockpit

The kit parts are good enough to built a realistic “office” but, in combination with Zoom, you may accomplish much more when detailing the it by adding seat belts, better HUD, levers, front instrument panel, rear view mirrors and more goodies.

By the way, you better have handy a magnifying glass for this section, the pasts are so small that they may go to “another dimension” when cutting, gluing and placing the parts.

Fuselage & Wings

As I mention before, all parts fit tight together reducing filling and sanding to a minimum.  Before closing the fuselage add some weight to the nose of the airplane. The wings, oh my! I totally overlook the instructions and forgot to puncture the lower part of the wings to fit the undercarriage pylons. 

Well, after that mistake fitting fuel tanks and ordinance was a long process. It happened to me, It can happen to you.

Paint

FAE’s  has two different color schemes on inventory for the A-37B. SAE for the first delivery and EURO for latter deliveries. The Tiwinza airplane wear Euro camouflage scheme, including the under surfaces. The colors are Euro dark gray, medium green and euro dark green.

Decals

Aztec FAE #2 set includes decals for this subject among others. Serial numbers, ID codes and warning codes in Spanish are provided. Also squadron insignia, Ecuadorian marks and the Tiwinza art to be placed on the front left part of the aircraft nose. Decals instructions are full color and easy to read giving you two options to work with; the 1995 war period which includes yellow triangles on the wings and tale and the post war version as shown here. Decals have a semi-gloss finish and adhere to the contours after a quick soak. Decal rating =10/10

Recommendation

When building this or any other version of the 1:72 scale A-37B make sure to use the Academy kit.