Instructions
These follow the usual exploded stage diagrams and are clear and straightforward. Humbrol paint references are given on the all-colour painting guides included and that’s nice to see. Colour names are also given allowing you to match your colours from whatever source you prefer.
Decals
The two schemes provided are excellent:
- A – Gloster J-8A, Flyflottilj 19 (Swedish Voluntary Air Force), Finnish Air Force, Kemi, Northern Finland, 1940
- B – Gloster Gladiator Mk.II, No.605 (County of Warwick) Squadron, Royal Air Force Tangmere, Sussex, England, August 1939
Those provided here look good quality like others we are getting now from the manufacturer – just ensure that they go onto a gloss surface and then spray (or paint) gloss varnish over the decals once dry before applying your chosen varnish/finish. I say this because I have been caught out with the slightly matt texture of the decals looking far too obvious if you apply the varnish directly onto them; just something to bear in mind! The decals are in register and colour saturation is good too.
A nice feature is full stencil data markings.
To sum up…
SMN Quick summary Star rating out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | **** |
| Accuracy | **** |
| Instructions | **** |
| Decals | **** |
| Subject choice | ***** |
| Overall | **** |