I’m not here to convince you that display team aircraft are the best things to make, but they are by far and away some of the most colourful aircraft you’ll see at either a model show or airshow. The Turkish Stars were a team I originally saw all the way back in 1997 as a child, and more recently at Malta International Airshow. It’s been on the backburner for years to make this…so why didn’t I?

This model is complicated – as it needs two kits. The original display scheme of the Turkish Stars featured a giant Eagle on the bottom – and that was what I was intent on building. It’s, to me, the most iconic and stirking of their schemes even if the scheme has been retired for over a decade.

If you’ve ever spoken to someone who has made a PM Models kit they’ll tell you either it’s a nice simple kit great for beginners, or it’s trash and you shouldn’t waste your money. I personally fall into the earlier camp. These kits are incredibly dated and simple, but to me that’s their charm. These are £5.00 / €6.00 / $6.80 kits that slap together in an hour and just need some paint.

The Esci kit is better though, and is more realistically proportioned. At one point I held both together and found that they are similar in size, but the PM Models kit just looked a bit cartoonish comparatively. This kit has been re-released by Italeri but was far cheaper secondhand. I think I paid about £15.00 at the time, plus £10.00 for the PM kit.

So, you’re probably wondering why I got the PM kit. The decals are pretty much the only easily accessible ones for the old scheme. Whilst the size of the kits did mean I had to cut them a little and they are slightly too short (tail side) they had to do. After all, I’m all about short cuts and fun rather than rivet counting – no shade, just personal pref.

The red that comes in Gaahleri’s range is perfect for this kit and meant that I was able to blend the decals well. Touch ups were needed as the decals tore relatively easily.

Masking this was essential and created a rather hillarious look. But once I removed that tape it was so satisfying to see the crisp edges and minimal bleed through.

I confess I did mess up a few decals, and so I did buy a second PM Models kit in order to make sure I could complete this childhood dream. In the end I think it looks nice. Grey panel lining probably would’ve helped, but I was too scared of destroying my work and I’m not fully capable with liners yet.

Buy or Fly?

Esci kit:
Yes, buy this kit. It’s a great representation of the type that is still sold by Italeri. The decals are fine, and if you’ve got a sealed or well kept version shouldn’t give you trouble. But I would budget in the cost of decals in case and see if the Italeri one is cheaper in the end.

PM Model kit:
No, only if you want to save the decals. The kit is fine but unless you want the Turkish Star model it’s quite pricey. The newer releases featuring grey Turkish models are much cheaper and I think ‘better’ value for money at the aforementioned £5.00 / €6.00 price tag. It’s about half the cost of it’s nearest competitor and canm make a cheap and dirty kit if you really want it.