This resin model kit
is the Folland Gnat F.1 / FR.1 British jet. This jet dates from the late
'50's to the early '70's
time period.
This new resin
kit from Olimp
Models is part of their
new Pro
Resin line of resin kits.
This little 1/72 kit comes packed in a VERY sturdy little box. Upon
opening the box, I was pleasantly greeted by a large number of delicate little resin
parts brimming with very fine delicate detail, 2 clear vac-u-formed canopies and a decal
sheet featuring 2 Finnish Air Force jets from the early '70's. I was very
impressed by the level of fine detail especially when I saw the instrument panel
and the ejection seat and cockpit sidewall detail. The seat has molded on seatbelts and the tiny instrument panel
with it's fine detail. For 1/72, the detail in this kit is a beautiful
little kit.....the flying surfaces have recessed rivet detail.
Click on
images below to see larger images
Now....this is a resin kit, so it
will require the use of CA glue (Crazy Glue) to assemble it and the parts are
going to need a tiny bit of cleaning up, but this is very minimal and will not
in any way detract from the joy of building this kit. If you've ever done
any work with resin parts before you will have no problem tackling this
kit......go slow....be patient and enjoy the build. I did a test fit of the
fuselage halves and they lined up very well but you will need to clean up the
mating surfaces before assembly.....this kit should go together well if the rest
of the kit has the same very good level of fit.
As you can see from the sample of
photos of the resin parts below, the fuselage detail with recessed panel lines
on the sides of the fuselage is well done. The wings have excellently done
panel lines and rivet detail and will look quite convincing on the finished kit. The seat
is amazing....and once you paint it up....it will look very good....but it is
tiny so painting will require a steady hand....this is 1/72.
The attachment points for the
resin parts is wonderfully thin making the removal of the parts from the resin
casting blocks a quick and easy job....but go slow....resin is brittle. Detail is very crisp on most parts
and the finished products will be a treat to behold.
I really do get a kick out of
seeing the latest kit from Pro
Resin as they
produce kits of an interesting variety of aircraft, especially this latest round
of British aircraft.
The kit parts are pretty straight
forward and the 6 pages of instructions cover the assembly process in a clear
and easy to follow way. The instructions include paint codes in Humbrol,
Model Master and Revell colours.
There are one decal option of a
Folland Gnat F.1 GN-101 of HavLv 11, Finnish Air Force in 1970 in grey/green camo and a Folland Gnat
FR.1 GN-113 of HavLv 11, Finnish Air Force in 1970 in grey/green camo. The
kit includes 2 canopies to permit you to cut up the canopies and pose them open
to show off the fantastic cockpit detail.
The decals are very clearly
printed....not too thick...not too thin and of good colour coverage.
In 1/72 you are dealing with
tiny, tiny model kits but this kit goes to great lengths to provide cockpit and
exterior detail that will impress any modeller.
This is a great looking
little aircraft kit and is sure to be of interest to modellers with a
passion for British aircraft. If you build British designed aircraft or
have a passion for British aircraft in foreign markings, then this kit is a must
have for you. Once built it will be an attractive addition to any display
case. You can buy this Pro Resin kit directly
from Olimp
Models.
Steve
I would like to
thank Olimp
Models for sending me
this review sample.
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