Special Hobby 1/72 Fouga CM.170 Magister 'Acrobatic Teams' # 72490

The Fouga Magister was not only a great trainer jet, it was also an excellent aerobatic machine used by many aerobatic display teams.

This release of the Magister covers the schemes of the Belgian Red Devils, French Patrouille de Ecole de l Air and the FFS A Acro Team of Germany.

All of these airframes wore quite strikng and colourful schemes indeed.

As well as serving with the French military the Magister was also an export success for Fouga which sold the type to a multitude of foreign operators and it was even built under licence in three countries.

The first licence-built Magisters entered service with the air forces of Germany and Finland in 1958 where they also joined French-built Magisters and the third licence producer of the Magister was Israel, which produced its first aircraft in 1960.

The Israeli Magisters were known locally as the Tzukit (or Thrush) and as well as basic training they were also used in the light-attack role where they proved successful during several of the Israeli-Arab conflicts.

In the ground attack role the Magister could carry a pair of machine guns fitted in the nose section and various weaponry was mounted under the wings in the form of bombs and unguided rockets.

Within Europe the Magister was flown by France, Belgium, Austria and Ireland but there were also many other operators worldwide in Africa, Asia and South America, many of whom were no doubt attracted by its lightweight design and low operating costs.

Among these far flung operators were countries such as Algeria, Bangladesh, Biafra, Brazil, El Salvador, Libya, Morocco, Togo and Uganda. Some Fougas are still flying these days, many of them in civilian hands.

The model comes on four grey styrene sprues with nicely detailed parts plus one with clear parts.