Pro Resin

 1/72 HAL Gnat F.1/Ajeet F.2 model kit    

product # R72-041

Review by Steve Bamford on July 15 2008

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This resin model kit is the Hal Gnat F.1/Ajeet F.2 jet.  The Gnat went into service with the Indian Air Force in 1958.  HAL went on to build 195 Gnats themselves up until 1974.  

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 was rewarded with the sight of a delicate little multi-media kit which includes mostly resin parts, a clear vac-u-formed canopy and a decal sheet.  I was very impressed by the level of fine detail especially when I saw the cockpit detail and 2 detail rich resin seats with molded on seatbelts for the Mk1 and the Mk4 aircraft.  For 1/72, the detail in this kit is very impressive.  

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 dry 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 above and below, the cockpit sidewall detail is very acceptable.  The wings have fine recessed panel lines and will look quite convincing on the finished kit.  The seats are amazing and will bring the cockpit to life.  Two canopies are included to permit you to cut them up to have an open canopy to show off the cockpit detail.

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.  Detail is very crisp on most parts and the finished products will be a treat to behold. 

I really do enjoy seeing the latest kit from Pro Resin as they produce kits of an interesting variety of aircraft with a very strong focus on classic British jets.  

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 two decal options  for either a HAL Gnat F.1 and a HAL Ajeet F.2 both of which are in baremetal finishes.

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 detail that is better than you'll find on most 1/48 kits.

This model kit includes underwing fuel tanks.  You can buy this Pro Resin kit directly from Olimp Models.

Steve

I would like to thanks Oleg at Olimp Models for sending me this review sample.

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Photos and text © by Steve Bamford