Upper and lower wings
These are heavy (in fact the finished model is going to need one of those ships cranes to cart it about!) and, as you can see require separating from its moulding strip. The detail is good and the look is just right. There are indentations to indicate where the wings need to be drilled for the rigging. There are details to add to the wings later, which as yet I do not clearly follow so when the time arrives I will explain how I see it.
The instructions show that the holes on the inner edges have to be drilled out to take wire strengtheners to enhance the joins. The wire is not supplied.
The engine and floats
These are solid pieces of resin. The engine is beautifully moulded and as it is fully on view it will get careful attention. The lighter grey piece in the middle is a template for positioning the engine onto the fuselage (very necessary if the wings are going to slot on easily) it fits on to the back of the cockpit when the fuselage halves are finally joined (sometime in 2016 I guess !) and the gismo on top of the template is glued into the hole on it and inserted into the hole on what will be the forward facing part of the engine. Clever!
The floats are pre-indented for drilling the uprights and the rigging. Look at that light detailing on them, excellent. Not all of the parts are shown here.
Pilot’s seat and platform
Not much to say about this as it goes with a lot of the cockpit parts that are shown later. The rather rough looking part in the middle is the platform on which sits the pilot’s seat. It is detailed on the side and will be further detailed with some wire etc towards the end.
Bombs stays and rear wheel
I imagine that the bombs carried on this aircraft made the pilot feel good rather than to frighten the opposition. They are small and are carried on the racks in the frame shown. This is made up with some of the brass as well. I think that the stays illustrated here support the engine but I have not checked this as yet.
Clear parts
Fantastic, need I say more!
Tail and ailerons
These are all chunky parts and feel solid in the hand. They are well detailed and holes are indicated where drilling has to be carried out to insert metal wire to strengthen the joins.
Struts and wheels
ZOOM - Move your mouse over image
This is going to be fun sorting out which strut goes where; it is good to see that they are all strengthened with wire – there do seem to be an awful lot of them. Fixing the upper wing is going to have to be carefully thought out. The wheels and undercarriage, although simple, are nicely moulded. That casting in between the wheels must be an anchor although I can’t, as yet, find reference to it.
The two Vickers K guns are here, the only parts that are a bit disappointing I suppose if you are a detail maniac you could always buy an SAS jeep and use theirs even though they are 1:35!
Internal framing
Assembly of this lot is well illustrated and it has to be accurately assembled if the two fuselage halves are going to slip together without a lot of expletives.
Cabin floor and internal details
ZOOM - Move your mouse over image
The cabin floor is well detailed and sadly little of it will be on view when the fuselage is buttoned up. A lot of the radios and instrument panels are either brass or enhanced with brass as are the Vickers magazines. Everything is delicate but not brittle, important when trying to fit fiddly parts. Some of the parts here are tiny so don’t separate them until you need them, and have a good container on standby for any that fall off!!
Conclusion
This is a formidable kit of fantastic quality. As I said before it is not cheap but pound per hour it has got to be good value particularly as no extras are needed. I don’t expect it to be a doddle to make and I imagine it is for experienced modellers but the instructions seem thorough and taken deliberately I would have thought that anyone who has had a resin kit before will have no problems.
The result will be a sturdy and perfect model of the real thing.
And the carpenter – me, with my saw cutting all the resin out!
SMN Quick summary Star rating out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | ***** |
| Accuracy | ***** |
| Instructions | ***** |
| Decals | ***** |
| Subject choice | ***** |
| Overall | ***** |