Miniwing 1/144 G.91 Gina Kit First Look

By Michael Benolkin

First Look

The Fiat/Aeritalia G.91 was a design resulting from a NATO requirement for a light strike fighter with reconnaissance capabilities. At the time, Fiat was building F-86 Sabres under license for the Italian Air Force and the design of the G.91 incorporated many features learned from their Sabre experience. In fact, the aircraft was nicknamed the 'mini-Sabre' and it was a solid performing aircraft.

The G.91R was the strike/reconnaissance version that was powered by a single engine and armed with two or four cannons, depending on its sub-variant. The G.91T was the two-seat trainer version of the Gina. Finally, the G.91Y was a follow-on version powered by TWO J85 afterburning engines.

Versions of the G.91 were operated by the Luftwaffe, Portuguese Air Force as well as the Italian Air Force. While some folks won't remember the aircraft itself, they might recognize the spectacular Tiger Meet paint scheme carried by a Portuguese Gina for many years. The aircraft was also operated by the Italian Air Force demonstration team "Frecce Tricolore".

Miniwing is a kit line produced in the Czech Republic and imported into the US by Nostalgic Plastic. This line is currently all produced in 1/144 scale and cast in resin. Some of the subjects in their current line-up include the J35A Draken, SK-35C Draken, Ju 87A Stuka, Go 242A, Go 244B, Do 18G, CF-105, OV-10D Bronco, Sea Fury, Fi 103 (V-1), Super Mystere, A-7A Corsair II, and XF-10F Jaguar.

Here we have the G.91 Gina and like the others, it is cast in tan resin and it looks to be pressure-cast as these castings are smooth and bubble-free. The detailing is scribed, though not over-done as any panel lines in this scale would be out of scale if you can see them. Nonetheless, the details presented are nice and crisp.

The fuselage is cast as one piece with a hollow cockpit and recessed wheel wells. The wing slips into the recess under the fuselage, the stabs attach to the rear fuselage and the pylons simply go under the wings. A pair of external fuel tanks is provided for the inboard pylons.

The landing gear is thick enough to be able to not only handle the weight of the model but also careful handling as well. They don't appear to be as brittle as similar 1/144 resin kits from other manufacturers.

Markings are provided for two examples:

• G.91R/1, 2 Stormo/103 Gruppo Caccia Bombardieri, Treviso AB, Italian AF, 1985
• G.91R/1, Esq 703, Boca de Tubarlio, Mozambique, Portuguese AF, 1970

This is a nice-looking kit and should be a quick build for the experienced resin modeler. At last we have a nice Gina in 1/144!

My sincere thanks to the US importer, Nostalgic Plastic for this review sample!