1:72 scale
Reviewed by Mathew Barron
Our thanks to Ian at Heritage Aviation for supplying the review sample www.heritageaviationmodelsltd.com
The Box
The resin pieces come still attached to their casting blocks, but everything is bagged separately the wings and fuselage halves however are not bagged (but they are big enough to look after themselves) and no problems were found with regards to breakages. You might have to straighten out some of the pewter pieces, due to the fact they are REALLY small in this scale.
The Instructions
Whilst this kit doesn’t come with the same type of instructions as you’d expect to find in a Tamiya or Hasegawa kit. It does show you reference pictures which will enable you to build the unobvious components and it leaves the rest up to the individuals’ common sense. There is also a colour picture showing the colour scheme and decal placement. It might only be four pages long, but it covers everything you’ll need.
The Kit
The kit is made up of resin and pewter parts with a vac-u-formed canopy, the resin is well cast and all the detail is there, however there were some air bubbles on some of the parts (this is not a major problem as they are easily filled). The fuselage is split in the middle and the belly of the aircraft is separate, this could cause some fit issues if care isn’t taken when lining up the parts. The wings, tailplanes and fin are also cast in resin, again with the odd air bubble, but nothing to run home crying about. The jet exhaust cans are cast in resin and are well detailed and accurate. There are a few pieces of this kit cast in both resin and pewter, this gives the modeller a choice as to which medium they prefer (things like the u/c doors and strakes). I’m not sure about the shape of the training edges of the main wing elevators, but they should be able to be sanded to the correct profile?
The remaining parts (such as the u/c legs, wheels, instrument panel, bang seat and intake) are cast out of pewter, these parts do have a lot of flash on them but it took me less than five minutes to clean them up for the photographs (again no real problems). There is more than enough detail on these parts considering the scale (the completed aircraft is tiny, compared to my usual aircraft scale). Finally the vac-u-formed canopy is of good thickness, and clarity. Whilst you have to look quite closely for the frames (*mumbles about 1:72*) they are there, and you will be able to mask them off easily.
Decals
Decals are included for a No.5 Squadron ‘grey’ aircraft. All the stencils you’ll need in this scale are there too, so a good looking sheet all in all.
Conclusion
Considering the very reasonable price of £18.50, you will get an outstanding (and most importantly, correct) model of a Frightning F.6. Whilst this is not a mainstream kit, a little knowledge of working with resin is required. Definitely not a first choice for someone starting into the hobby, but for a modeller of average skill this will be a cracking addition to your collection. MB
