1/32 L159B Albatross II 

by Jaroslav Hajecek

--------------------

  Czech National Day 2006 

 

Well after a while I would like to present you with the two-seat brother of the AERO L159A ALCA. The L159B has received the name ALBATROSS II as a successor of the original world’s famous jet trainer AERO L39 ALBATROSS. The aircraft is manufactured by Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic.  As you can see it is keeping the sleek lines of the Aero trainer family. The L159B is a lead-in advanced trainer featuring large MFD´s, HOTAS and other controls found in the modern fighters of today. The weapons range can vary from air-air to ground support roles.

The model itself is from the same gentleman that sold me the “raw” material for the L159A ALCA aircraft that I have posted few years back. So it is basically is a fiberglass body with a bag full of resin accessories. The build is straight forward and presents no surprises. I would not recommend it for a beginner though. The model features engraved panel lines, even though they are a bit on the rough side, but this model is destined as a stand display model so it does not feature all the gadgets you would expect in a kit this size in today’s standards. Anyway, it builds into a true representation of the L159B and that is what matters to me.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

The most difficult part of the whole model was the painting. Since I was able to be work on the L159B project, this aircraft has grown really close to my heart. This paint scheme is the first one in which it appeared for the first time at Farnborough 2002. The first attempt to paint my model ended up in having to strip the paint job. The advantage of fiberglass is that is inert to acetone, so the stripping was quite fast, but I was feeling quite “happy” after my paint stripping session inhaling all the fumes :-))) The second attempt was much better, as I used the decals for the red stripes. This paint scheme is a real eye-catcher. Unfortunately, the L159B now has a different paint scheme (Gloss Black/GOLD) which I personally do not like. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the model, thank you for taking a look and feedback is welcome.

Jarda

Photos and text © by Jaroslav Hajecek