Dragon brings us this fighter in 1/72 scale under their Golden Wing Series Premium Edition. Opening the box this is what you will find .................
4 sprue trees containing 92 plastic parts 45 PE parts ( Pre Painted Eduard set ) 3 Marking options Instructions / 10 assembly steps
Assembly begins in the cockpit with the pilot and gunner stations. The instrument panel needs to have detail removed for the 4 PE parts that make it up. It would be best to cut the rudder petals off and super glue them to the back of the new panel. Have these items in PE parts would have given it a more scale appearance. The seats I find to be on thick side, but a sanding stick will take care of this to thin them down. The Pre-colored PE seat belts are a real gem and bring a nice over all effect. Bulkheads have good detail, same can be said for the side walls. The detail is fair which most of the PE parts replace molded on detail such as control panels and engine controls. The floors them self aren't that bad at all , but no details are on the gunners floor. The only detail in the radar station is a seat, floor and bulkhead. There is no side wall detail on the fuselage halves in this area at all. Stabilizer fits well but does need filling at the mating surfaces.
The surface detail is most excellent with engraved panel lines, rivet detail and access hatches. However careful attention when gluing the fuselage halves together to ensure a proper fit. There are sink marks in a few spots (see pictures) so filling these will need to be done. Over all I'm really impressed with the rivet detail at the wing root.
Wings are up next and the two halves fit perfectly with thin trailing edges. Surface detail is excellent. There are some fit issues at the wing root. When mated to the fuselage there is a slight step with caps toward the inner landing flap ( see pic's ) Tail booms are the same, lots of filling and sanding is needed. Wheel wells do have nice detail, with careful painting and weathering the detail will stand out not too bad. Wheel well cover doors are nice detail, however; landing legs are very simple with etch brake lines to enhance them. The wheels them self are good with a diamond thread pattern but they come in two halves which is a drag having to sand and lose the detail. Would have been better to have the tires solid and the hubs as inserts.
Engines are very plain in detail compared to other ares in the kit. The fit in side the cowls is trouble free resting about half way in. When the props are finally installed not much will be seen of the engines.
The canopy is nice and clear but there is no option to have the hatches open. Lots of masking the frame off for no mask are provided in the kit. The fit is excellent with only a small area needed filling by the gunner station left hand side of the fuselage.
The decals are super, printed by Cardiograph three options are provided for the following ....
418th NFS , south Pacific 1944
422th NFS , France 1945
548th NFS , Iwo Jima 1945.
Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE.
SUMMARY
Highs: Nice detail through out the kit , low parts count .Excellent decals .Lows: Few fit issues and soft details compared to other ares in the kit .Verdict: I like the kit even with the small issues it has regrading the fit it will build up to a great looking model .
Our Thanks to Scale-Model-Kits.com! This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.
Terri, this is a reissue. It was a very good kit years ago, and one that should remain available, but a reissue could do well with something new besides the price.
The kit orginally came out in the early - mid 90's . I built it back then and was an enjoyable build . But it didn't come with PE part and the cost of the kit was about half the price as it is now . The price is based on what I would pay for it here in Canada at my LHS even if I did order it online there is still the exchange rate plus shipping so it would work out to be about the same if not more .
I like the kit , it's a nice little aircraft , just many fit issues need to be address .
I wouldn't like to contradict you, guys, but at least the P-61A kit come with a small fret of PE for the nose antennas. I am not sure about the -B model …. I still have my kit inside the original cellophane bags, waiting for a looooooooooong winter night to be started !!!!!! Plus a early Aires resin interior set, just to keep it company (warm........) inside the box.... At the time this set cost £ 3,45 !!!! Expensive !!!!!
Cheers from Portugal !
Armando
Terri, looks like this one just rotated back to the top of the list.
Thanks for the review. Sort of trying to decide between a free Airfix (is free good?) and shelling out for the Dragon. Would sort of prefer the A or C with the turret.
Comments