The Tamiya kit
By any standards this is a quality package, perhaps the best that this manufacturer has produced, along with their stunning Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX in the same scale; everything about what’s supplied impresses with only a few small niggles to prevent a clean sweep to gold.
I have included plenty of photos and so these should show you all you need to see and a picture tells a thousand words. With that in mind here are some observations in terms of the:
Highlights
- Precise tooling with fine rivet detail, engraved panel lines and surface detail
- No flash at all, anywhere
- Options: folded or spread main wings with the folded option including great wing-fold-hinge detail
- Detailed Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine – also included clear cowl option should you wish to pose your model in that way
- Undercarriage units that truly reflect the detail seen on the original mechanism
- Dropped flaps, or retracted – both available – this is a strong feature as dropped flaps are/were common on parked Corsairs
- Clear parts that fit perfectly and are blemish-free
- Inclusion of steel etched parts (see below)
- Canopy paint masks to speed up painting and reduce what can be a real chore!
- Decal quality – good with accurate colour definition, in register and colour.
Watch out for:
- Lack of machine gun barrels
- Engine magneto layout – slight question around this – check your references
- Photo-etch – the use of a white metal like the one supplied isn’t helpful – it’s far too hard and stiff to work with and even annealing in a flame doesn’t really help much. Brass like most other suppliers use would be much better – pre-painted like Eduard better still. Eduard does produce some fantastic pre-painted PE belts that you may want to push the boat out for
- Decals – a bit thick, and as you can see, Dave C used masks to spray the larger marking in his build – you can see the great results he achieved in the above photos.
- Rubber/vinyl tyres, screws etc – personally I don’t mind these tyres and we have a few HD video demos in your Techniques Bank for working with them
Instructions and reference included
You can see here that not only do you get a detailed instruction book as you always do with Tamiya, but this time a colour reference booklet also comes in your box – impressive. Put this with our own photo reference pics in your PRL and you have all you need to build a good model ☺.
To sum up
Yes, I know that about £100.00 is a lot of money, but when you get so much for your spend it can be justified – less so perhaps when we start to get beyond the £200.00 mark as has been the case with the HKM Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. You don’t need to buy anything else for this kit – it’s all in the box; whether you want to is another matter and as you will see, Dave C certainly did want to pick up one or two extras for his build.
I love this package from Tamiya and yes, I know, many of you will have wanted the later version with blown canopy, but as is so often the case these days, the less-popular option is released first as that increases sales, and why not? We have a choice – not sure about the self-discipline!
Geoff C.
SMN Quick summary Star rating out of 5
| FEATURE | STAR RATING (out of five) |
|---|---|
| Quality of moulding | ***** |
| Accuracy | **** |
| Level of detail | ***** |
| Instructions | **** |
| Decals | ***** |
| Subject choice | ***** |
| Overall | **** |