Special Hobby Gloster E.28/39 Pioneer (Late Version) 1:48 – build review

Feature Article with Tim Haynes
Kit Ref: SH48094

Just before we get started, here’s a quick look at how it all turned out…

Background:

I can’t really say that I’ve ever liked the Gloster Pioneer, being a stubby looking little thing. However, this Late Version from Special Hobby pulled at me, and eventually ended up in the stash (as things do!). Over the past couple of years I’ve done a couple of builds representing historic aircraft (Wright Flyer, Bell X-1) and this started to appeal more and more due to it being the first British Jet powered aircraft to fly. In this case however, I prefer the look of the later version.

The Plan:

I prefer the look of this later version with the additional fillets above and below the rear wings to improve lateral stability. So went with this build option form the box, which uses the later Grey / Green camouflage colours adopted by the RAF around 1941. So this model is built to replicate the aircraft as it looked between 1942 and 1944.

References:

The usual Internet searches were the only reference sources used for this build, with some very helpful colour shots and short videos of this particular airframe in the time period I was focused on.

Extras:

This build was straight from the box, which includes a small PE fret for added detail of the front mudguard, and resin items to depict the extra rear wing fillets.

Read on…