Page 48 - Model Airplane International - Issue 175 (February 2020)

Though only a small detail in
the grand scheme of things, I
KIT BUILD though that is was a detail that
I could not miss out. I am glad I
did this as I feel it really added
to those nice little details that
make a build stand out. The
wiring was all straightened
out before being manipulated
I have found that building as many
small sub-assemblies as possible and into place.
cleaning up parts well in advance to
painting them can really shorten the
overall length of the build process.

Though this may seem like an excessive amount of weight to add to the nose
section, I wanted to be sure that there would be no chance that this model could be
a tail-sitter, and even with all this weight it only just balances out.

The completely assembled cockpit
ready to be painted.

clear parts in a separate bag. clear and concise instructions make this
All the parts are well-moulded build so much more enjoyable. Canopy
with no sink marks or mis-moulds, parts are crystal clear and fl awless, with
though many of the smaller parts such as the nice sharp framework; masking will be no
landing gear legs have quite a bit of burring, problem at all. My only worry when I went
which isn’t the biggest issue in the world but through the kit was the decals, they appeared
can become a little bit tedious when you have to be very thick and very fl at and I did have
to do more clean-up than building. What was concerns about how they would settle into the
a very welcome sight is the now standard surface detail.
instruction book which is set out much more After a thorough look through the kit, I was
clearly than the instructions of time gone by; very impressed with what I had and could

Though not completely necessary to prime all the parts, I like to do it as a matter of consistency This is one of the very few times on this build when I did not use MRP paints. I had a nearly empty
and due to the fact that I would be handling this a lot. I primed all the parts using Mr. Surfacer 1500 bottle of Mr. Hobby Aqueous and I thought that I would use it up rather than buy a new bottle of
Black and Mr. Hobby Rapid Thinner. MRP. It is still a very good paint and the colour seems to be accurate, I have just found myself
enjoying lacquers more recently. I painted all the cockpit parts with an overall colour of RLM66.

48 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - February 2020