Arma Hobby 1/72 PSP Airfield WW2 Plastic Model Kit

Arma Hobby 1/72 PSP Airfield WW2 Plastic Model Kit 

A universal and impressive 1/72 scale model aircraft base accurately reproducing the airfield surface covered with PSP (‘Marston Mat’) panels. Suitable for all types of smaller American aircraft in all theatres of operations of World War II and some later conflicts, as well as most aircraft of many other Allied air forces.

Kit includes a link to a free download to the file for self-printing the accessory items on a 3D printer: fire extinguisher, wheel chocks, tool boxes, fuel barrels and British ‘flimsy’ fuel cans, wooden trestle. Once painted and optionally completed with pilot and crew figures, it makes an attractive and easy-to-make diorama.

Portable runway

The famous PSP stands for Pierced Steel Planking, also known as Marston Mat, used to reinforce the surface of airfields with perforated steel mats. They were mass-produced in the USA from the beginning of the Second World War and used in all theatres of war wherever the American air force appeared: in the Pacific, Europe, Africa and even Greenland!

They were first used during the famous Carolina Manoeuvres in 1941, on which, before Pearl Harbor, the Americans tested the readiness of their armed forces for war. The US Air Corps commander, General ‘Hap’ Arnold, described the PSP on that ocasion as “the year’s greatest achievement in aviation warfare,”. This is also where the colloquial name of the invention, Marston Mat, came from, as it was near the town of Marston that the manoeuvres were held.

Made from corrosion-resistant manganese steel, the individual mat weighed around 60 pounds. Holes allowed drainage and reduced the weight. Each piece was ringed with hooks to connect the mats into a permanent surface. A set of mats to build a complete runway could be carried within a cargo hold of one Liberty ship. Experienced builders were able to assemble it within 72 hours of unloading.

Universal model base

The plastic 1/72nd PSP Airfield base for a scale model is simple, but thanks to its accuracy and fine detail it allows even the less experienced modeller to make an impressive diorama. The crisp surface texture facilitates the use of various modelling techniques. To each base we add a link to free files for self-printing on a 3D printer with universal airfield equipment: fire extinguisher, toolboxes, fuel barrels, British ‘flimsy’ fuel cans, wheel chocks and wooden trestle. It is left to the modeller's creativity to make further additions to the small diorama, decide for yourself, will it be figures, vehicles, animals