mkupka Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 I picked up a few of these kits from Squadron for the kids for $5 each. That's better than some of the deals I have found in China. I took a peek inside and looked at the overal quality and here are my first impressions looking at the FW-190D-9 kit: Boxing: Nice. The parts fit into a nice plastic blow molded tray Plastic: Good Quality and thick, not like the early Academy kits which in my opinion suffered from plastic that was too thin just seemed a to be of a lower quality. Moldings: No visible ejector or sink marks. Nice recessed panel lines with good rivet detail. Surface is a little rough in places but I imaging after a light coat of primer and light sanding they will not be noticable. The wing is a single piece solid molded wing. Same for the fuselage. Needless to say, this contributes greatly to the generaly hefty of these models Kit Fit: THis thing almost snaps together without cement. We have trial fitted a few pieces, but have not assembled it yet. Copkpit detail: Poor, well maybe better than poor, the bucket seat is moulded into the cockpit which is moulded into the fuselage. There is no joystick or instrument panel. Overall, I think they are great starter kits for kids. They look easy to assemble, with only 3-4 major steps and less than 30 parts. These might even make excellent make-and-take kits for contests Does anyone else have any thoughts on these kits? If anyone is interested, I can post some photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClareWentzel Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 I would tend to agree. They seem to be good fairly easy to assemble and seem to be accurate as well. A friend of mine feels that they offer the most accurate P-40C of all manufacturers. I have picked up a couple of F/A-18Ds from Squadron as a quick build in case some new decals come up for review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghodges Posted January 3, 2009 Report Share Posted January 3, 2009 My understanding is that these are a lot like the very cheap ($10) 1/32 kits that were in Walmart. Their design is intended for the very casual builder but they have great potential for the serious builder. I think it's a great approach from the manufacterer and marketing viewpoint. They have a shot at those who need easy items to get them interested and also some sales within our group. I just hope they decide to release some subjects that haven't already been done to death as regular kits (and in 1/48!) Cheers! GIL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carmelin Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I recently bought a couple of there 1`/72 scale MiG-15s and though the parts count is low and construction is very easy they build up very nice. They lack the details in the cockpit but they are the most accurate MiG -15 it this scale. I recently saw one built up at our annual contest built oob and it was georgious. Aries has recently released( I saw them on the Hannants site) some aftermarket cockpit interior sets for the BiS and the UTI and am waiting till they arrive to build mine. I have only fitted the parts together and the fit is very good only minimal seams to fill. As well or better then some Japanese manufactures kits. I have read that the accuracy is hit or miss on some kits but for the price I can live with a couple of duds as long as there arn't too many. Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamsof51 Posted January 5, 2009 Report Share Posted January 5, 2009 Recently finished the 1/48 Hobby Boss Mirage III kit. Highly recommended! I was very impressed by the whole package. The detail, fit and decals all made this one of the more enjoyable kits I`ve built in a while. The instrument panel decal is a bit comic but the rest was so good I could overlook it. I have not done any of the 1/72 scale kits. Also finished 1/32 20th Century Toys (Walmart)kits of the Macci 2002. Chunky detail and plastic that did not like glue. These are basically the kits you buy finished elsewhere, but they make you do the work. I filled alll the gaps and screw holes and with a paint job they look OK. The decals were really good. Theres some good quality kits coming out of China these days. Hard to beat the value for the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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