Airfix 1:48 Canberra

Kit # 10102

Review by:

Jay Laverty

March 2008

For one of the grand old names in the modelling industry Airfix have certainly had their fair share of trials and tribulations, and have a reputation for only producing the odd model kit to a level that would appeal to advanced or even intermediate modellers, so when they were taken over by Hornby and re-launched last year, they certainly had their work cut out for themselves in re-establishing the Arifix label as a respectable name within the industry. If I were in charge over at Hornby I wouldn't bother re-releasing kits like the sad old 1:72nd Bf.110 considering there are several other good ones out there, and some of the stuff they pump out makes me wonder at the logic, and if it were up to me I would make sure the Buccaneer, the Lightning and the E-Boat were always available, but they have made some great moves recently. The Lifeboat released last year was certainly a success, and the recent release of the 72nd Nimrod has gone a long way to establishing a foot hold on respectability.

Expectations and anticipation were high when they announced they would be doing a series of Canberras in 48th scale, particularly since Classic Airframes had released some just a couple of years ago. After having a look in the box at the kit I can personally say that I am quite impressed with the model, although it does follow the Airfix pattern to a T (when they are at their best that is.).

The kit itself is nicely moulded and completely free from flash, which is a very nice start. When examining an Airfix kit, one should not expect to be blown away by comprehensive detail, and this kit does not boast any of that. It is adequately detailed, with just enough to satisfy your average builder straight out of the box. It does provide some nicely rendered detail, and this will provide a great basis for additional detail, with allot of scope for creating a masterpiece. When it comes to the engraved detail, this is accurately represented although the panel lines are slightly heavy and overscale, but certainly not unbearable.

There is plenty of ordinance included, bombs, rockets and missiles, with the rocket pods being a highlight of the kit as they are very nicely rendered and will look great under paint and a wash. Broken down into three parts, the ejector seats are also very nicely done for an Airfix kit, although they are still a far cry from something that could be done in resin. There are three crew figures included with the kit, and while they are all in the same pose, and all look slightly underscale for 48th, they will probably look nice when in the model.

As you can see in the accompanying images the clear parts are...well...very clear, and quite nicely done.

Another highlight of the kit are the decals which offer three very different options including a Royal New Zealand Airforce option, a South African Air Force airframe along with the obvious RAF scheme. Printed very nicely and all in perfect register the decals look to be very good. The inclusion of what looks to be complete stencil data is a nice addition and one that will greatly enhance the finished appearance of the model, although the sheer amount of stencils will push the borders of patience to the limit I reckon. Undoubtably there will be dozens of decal sheets available soon from the likes of Model Alliance and Freightdog Models, but should you wish to build use the ones in the kit you will not go wrong.

There are a few spots that can do with some additional detail and would greatly benefit from some extra attention, however overall I would rate this kit very highly. It is not state of the art, and will not go down in the annals of modelling history alongside the Tamiya 32nd Zero, or even the Airfix E.E. Lightning, but it is a very respectable model, available at a very respectable price, so I would give it a high recommendation. This model will not only have appeal to Canberra fans or RAF junkies, but I believe it has some cross-over potential simply because it is an attractive airframe, with a long and illustrious service life, and the way the mouldings are set out there will be several variants to follow.

 Hasegawa 1:48th Scale BMW 327

Kit # X4813

Review by

Jay Laverty

March 2008

This may not be the months most glamorous release, and it certainly wasn't one I was expecting or waiting with anticipation for, but after getting a look at the contents, it is certainly a very worthwhile release after all. Having previously been released as part of a special boxing of the Hasegawa FW-190A-8 it is nice to have the BMW available on it's own as it will be very useful in a variety of circumstances from an airfeild to a military diorama.

The kit itself contains a pair of white plastic sprues accompanied with a chrome and a clear sprue. THe detail throughout all of the sprues lives up to Hasegawa's usual high standards, combining a healthy amount of crisp detail with flash free and delicate moulding. A look through the clearly illustrated instruction sheet reveals whatI suspected straight away, and that is that this will be a quick and uncomplicated build, comprising all of 9 assembly steps from beginning to end.

The kit has a few highlights, the wheels are very nicely done for starters, and the interior is well detailed, although a few spots could do with some enhancement, like the interior sections of the doors. And true to form, what stylish convertable BMW would be complete without a girl to go with it?!

There are three seperate combinations of civilian markings available as part of the kit provided decal sheet, however I am sure that with some intrepid research, images or documentation of this vehicle in military service could be found.

While this particular model will not have universal appeal to all modeller,s I would certainly recomend it to the 48th scale aviation or military modeller looking for something to add some interest to a diorama.  

Hobby Boss 1:48th Scale FJ-4B Fury.

Kit # 80313.

Review by

James Ashton

March 2008

I have been watching with interest the 1/48 releases by Hobby Boss and the reviews of their kits seem very positive, however I am not generally a modern jet modeller and I have the Tamiya Wildcat, so I thought I would wait for a release that caught my eye.
I have always liked the early jets and the Fury just looked right with it's sleek 'let me at e'm!' lines and stance.
So here are my impressions on this latest release from this new Chinese model manufacturer.
Firstly you get a nice lid tray type box with a suitable image of the aircraft in flight, although I wouldn't dump it at the bottom of the stash.  it is more robust than the squishy squashy Revell type.

The first impression I got when I opened the box was the instruction sheet, paint chart and general appearance of the kit was that it wouldn't look out of place with the Trumpeter label on the box ( and this is not a bad thing).
The Instructions are very well done with a fold out sheet similar to Hasegawa and Tamiya kits. a full colour paint chart is provided (with Gunze Color call outs), which is a nice touch . You get two colorful machines on the nicely printed silk screen decal sheet, all of which is in perfect register. The only minor critisism of the decals would be the spelling on the small stencils (which can be quite humorous), again reminiscent of a Trumpeter release.


      

I have to say the molding of the kit is sheer quality with delicately engraved panel lines and subdued rivet detail on access hatches, not all over the airframe.
The airbrake detailing is excellent and the cockpit looks good with a nicely done ejector seat. There is no flash in sight and the sprue conections are crisp and thin as are the transparencies. The fuselage has a number of ejector pin marks but they will not be seen when it is put together. There are also plenty of underwing stores to play with and an option for folding the wings, however this will require minor surgery.


In conclusion; if this kit goes together half as well as it looks it will be winner. I highly recommend it and the price won't break the bank either. I look forward to future releases from this manufacturer (perhaps an  FJ-4 in 1/32?). One thing is for certain, and that is the fact that his kit won't stay long in the stash. 

 Eduard 1:48th Scale F6F-3 Hellcat

Kit # 8221

Preview by Jay Laverty

Feb 2008

Eduard maintains a high level of exciting new releases and as their catalogue expands so does the relevance of their subject matter. With companies starting to overlap with regards to subjects in their respective lines, it gives leave to reason why choose a newer more expensive version of a kit that has already been available in an acceptable form. This question is quickly and solidly answered with a quick glance inside the box.

After a look through the Detail and Scale book on the Hellcat, it is clear that several manufacturers have already produced Hellcats in 48th scale, all with varying degree’s of success, with some ranging from very basic (Monogram) through to very decent, with Hasegawa and Otaki both producing kits that would easily fall into this latter category. None have managed to capture the Hellcat perfectly, and that is one of the curses of this hobby, as any release will be examined with a microscope and any faults picked out and exposed with rigour. One continual point of contention has been the cowling and in particular the openings at the front, and while Eduard have not captured it perfectly, it can, and has been said already that Eduard have come closest. Personally I am not one to haggle over minute inaccuracies on a model, as I feel that allowing the smaller details to detract from the overall impression can spoil the hobby and correcting these faults rather than simply moaning about them is what sets some modellers apart from others.

With delicately realised detail throughout, this rendition of the ubiquitous Grumman F6F Hellcat, one of the most famous and one of the most lethal aircraft to take part in WWII is easily the best there is so far. The rivet detail that covers the surfaces is as perfectly done as it can get in any scale, and even those who are not fans of any rivet detail at all have to confess that the kits rivets are in no way overstated. The current trend in model building is to highlight details like the rivets with a wash, and by looking at the rivets here, they will not be overdone on the finished model.
With the inclusion of a small colour photo-etched fret, the cockpit will become a centrepiece on the finished model, with a massive amount of detail covered in both metal and injection moulded parts, all of which will be easily visible through the open canopy, although I suspect that due to the absolute clarity and relative thinness of the clear parts, it will remain easily visible even if it is positioned closed.

While the engine may not be the most intricately detailed when compared to something in resin, that is just it. The engine is not resin, and for a plastic kit, it is more than sufficient, and in actuality it is quite good. If there is any part of the kit that can be faulted it would be the tyres, being smooth (considering Eduard went to the effort of offering a couple of choices of tyre in their superb FW-190 series of kits, why not do the same here) and looking somewhat anorexic.

With the expanding integration of photo-etched parts throughout the model, Eduard kits are not only becoming a little more challenging than some other injection moulded kits, but also much better detailed, and this is a rather welcome development. With clearly laid out instructions there is no reason why modellers should be weary of moving into more multi-media involved models, and in particular with the intelligently planned integration in this kit, the metal work is not intimidating, although should a modeller not want to add the detail in, it would not seriously detract from the model overall.
Speaking of instructions, this is another area where Eduard continue to excel. With several colour profiles illustrating the painting and markings options not only will they provide inspiration but also reference for a feel of the weathering.
The inclusion of decals printed by one of my personal favourites Cartograph, means that not only will they be in perfect register, with excellent research, but also the decals will settle easily onto the model, while retaining their full colour opaqueness throughout.

There are several aspects that make a model exciting for me, regardless of scale, and this particular kit ticks all of the correct boxes in my opinion. The inclusion of several cowling options, immense out of the box details, and the prospect of building a subject that can be heavily weathered all combine to make this a very special release. As Eduard push the boundaries of what we as modellers can expect from an off the shelf model kit, so do our expectations rise, and so far Eduard can be guaranteed not to disappoint. As you may have already gathered, I highly rate this particular model and recommend it to any modeller contemplating it.

Detail Images

Eduard Bristol F2b “Crocodile”

Limited Edition kit # 1127

Preview by Jay Laverty

February 2008

Well Earned Reputation

Eduard are certainly establishing themselves as a name when it comes to injection moulded kits, after having established a respected reputation in the photo-etched arena, and with constant innovation are producing some of the nicest multi-media kits available in the modelling world.

After forging ahead in the market with innovations such as colour photo-etched, this Czech company are now setting the standard of what can be expected from a multi-media model kit, and the newly released Bristol F2b “Crocodile” certainly carries on this tradition admirably.

Comprising 4 sprues of flash free, and highly detailed injection moulded plastic, this kit will not present a massive assembly undertaking, although being as it is 48th scale this is not all that surprising. What is surprising is the amount of detail packed into those 4 sprues, particularly when compared to what is currently the standard in most 32nd scale WWI kits. Of particular interest was the fuselage interior detail, accurate and well defined, along with a wide array of weapons load out choices, and a variety of options with regards to exhausts and cooling blade positions just to name a couple.

Imitation is Flattery

Eduard also have over the past couple of years made standard and have had imitated, the practise of creating categories of releases that allow modellers to decide which level of investment they wish to make depending on what amount of detail they prefer to work with. In a “Weekend Edition” kit, one can expect no frills, and an uncomplicated build, while the “Limited Edition” boxings of the model contain pretty much everything anyone could want. Personally I quite like the concept and it hasn’t taken long for many other injection moulded manufacturers to pick up on the idea and reorganise their product lines accordingly.

The inclusion of a colour photo-etched fret with the harness on it (another Eduard innovation) allows for detail on the harness that would otherwise be almost impossible for all but the most patient detail painter to replicate, and thus rates very highly as a standard inclusion in a model kit. It is a shame that this doesn’t happen with more model kits. All that I would have liked to have seen included on the etched fret and weren’t, are the buckles for the rigging. Eduard has produced a superb set of wire stretchers, and elements of this would not have gone amiss on the fret for this kit.

Up for a Challenge

Perhaps the most striking and for some the most daunting aspect of this kit will be the markings. As far as nose art goes this has to be one of the greatest of all time, and the fact that the rest of the aircraft is covered in red and white chequers means that this model will make a serious impression wherever the completed model is displayed. When I refer to this as daunting for some, I mean that the chequers are provided in the form of masks which will prove to be a time consuming yet rewarding process to apply. The decal sheet is also very good, extensive and well researched. With good colour representation, all in perfect register, they look to be thick enough to ensure the colours remain solid after application, while they should be thin enough to settle neatly without any great effort.

 

As per usual the instruction sheet is very concise, while clearly illustrating the steps where optional assembly steps, something that after building a couple of 35th scale Bronco kits, I have come to appreciate immensely!

Highly Rated

Make no mistake, this is a complete kit from beginning to end, and while there is scope for additional detail, straight from the box this model will please just about every level of modeller. Owing to the plethora of etched and masking which will require some intermediate modelling skills, this kit will not be suitable for a novice model builder, but having said that, it would present a perfect stepping stone for a modeller wishing to venture into the more challenging stages of model building and provide the inspiration to venture further into model making as opposed to assembling. I was personally very impressed with the overall quality, detail and professional presentation of this model kit and on that basis would heartily recommend it to any modeller, even if they were only mildly interested in WWI subjects.