Nice kit of an
attractive pre-WWII plane that also saw some service during the conflict and
after, including some small airline users.
Heller reproduced the graceful lines of the original quite well. Just for those
among you that still have the box in the stack: in my sample one wingtip was the
victim of a short shot during molding, requiring careful filling/sanding. Some
flash is present here and there. A decent interior is represented including
floor, seats, bulkheads, control column, ruder pedals and instrument panel. Fit
is fairly good in almost all parts, but the fuselage is flimsy and will probably
require some of your attention and gluing tricks. Transparencies are clear but
you will have to tweak here and there to make them fit. Nothing horrible though.
Heller devised a rigging system that involves certain steps to be taken in early
stages of the building. This will present you with some interesting challenges
during assembly and decaling -not to mention masking/unmasking the lateral
windows- becoming a "cat's cradle" of sorts. You will have to correct
the fit of the two parts that make for the horizontal tail, or the hinge line,
view from above, won't be straight. The surface of the lower wing is bumpy,
because is just one piece (no upper/lower halves) and there are some very
visible sinking marks all over that are difficult to correct (I didn't).
I made this one as another gift for Thomas (the friend who also was the
recipient of the Short Stirling) for Christmas, who also flew in this one once
upon a time.
Very notable is the fact that ALL the struts lengths were right on the spot,
without any need to play around to get them in place. I would suggest you leave
the struts that go from the engine pods to the fuselage until everything else is
dealt with.
Cans of white primer and aluminum paint were used in this one (caution there,
thin coats and wear a mask!), with traces of weathering from Tamiya smoke. The
usual Future was applied to the transparencies and before / after
decaling.
This time the photos were taken (sorry fellows) with the web cam. The usual
camera is somewhere in a box (I know is there...)
Gabriel
Click on
images below to see larger images
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