The Avia company today is no longer a part of aviation like it was back in the post Great War years. A huge industry in central Europe, the Avia company made some iconic aircraft – but today’s subject was never one of them . Let’s explore this lost aviation piece and the kit that KP released many moons ago.

The kit we are looking at was probably one of the first KP kits I ever saw, yet for the longest time I never owned it. It can be found at nearly every model show generally for fewer than £10, often for less than £5. So when I saw it at Boscombe Down Aviation Collection’s model show for a mere £4 I had to buy it.

It had sat in my stash for a while before one night being completely unsure of what to build and then it struck me that this kit might be a nice simple kit…and girl…let me tell you, it was easy.

I missed out the bottom of the wing in the picture above…but you can definitely see how easy this aircraft was to assemble. It reminds me of the vintage classic kits and if this kit had more international appeal I would’ve suggested KP re-release it – but I can’t see it having broad appeal.

This kit, being so old, obviously has issues with flash and not perfect marking…but that isn’t to say that this kit will look bad or have a super frustrating fit. I did have some gaps but nothing more severe than I’ve had on some modern kits. The only part I have a sort of issue with is the canopy as it’s thick and a bit cloudy. Parts of this may be due to age – both due to the manufacturing process at the time, and the the loose parts in the box, parts of it may also just be poor QC – as other KP models I’ve had haven’t been so severe.

However, that aside the kid just falls together in no time at all. As you can see from the video itself I built this in one evening, and then painted it in another – so probably only spent a couple of hours actually doing the kit itself.

Painting was also a breeze. I didn’t buy any specific, using colours I had on hand already. I used (I think) Revell Aqua Colours 88 Ocker, 361 Olivgrun, and 371 Hellgrau, and Xtracrylix XA1817 British Dark Earth . This gives you the distinctive tricolour scheme with the light grey underside.

The decals survived amazingly well and again took no time to apply. I did have some bunching on one as it dried and managed to catch one of my hairs in the varnish; the curse having long hair! However this is entirely user error so don’t count out the model due to my error!

Buy or Fly

The B-35 is a cheap kit these days which shows it’s age. Yet, somehow the beauty is entirely in the simplicity of this kit. I found it extremely relaxing after having built my Frecce Tricolori M-345 – it was nice to just enjoy the simplicity of antique kits. Where the joy was in the end product and not in overcomplicating parts. This is something I’ve found difficulty understanding in many new kits; there are parts that don’t appear to need to be separate parts but are in order to up the part count.

If you are a newer modeller looking for a consequence free first kit, or a veteran looking for a simpler easy build – this kit is perfect for you. Hell, I mean look at that tricolour scheme – it POPS OFF!

I will strongly recommend buying this kit on the caveat you understand it’s age and shortcoming – that and you get it for under £10.