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The well-known
Revell big-scale kit of this great subject caused me a few problems, but came
out OK! I used the box decals, but enhanced the overall appearance of the kit
with Paragon's MB.10 ejector seats, and their excellent flaps and slats set.
Construction has its
fair share of large gaps, dodgy seams, and weak joints that fans of Revell's big
jets know and love. Knowing what lay ahead, I made the various changes required
to make this big bird go together and stay together:
1) Bracing the
interior spaces with sprue rods
2) Bracing the wing pivots with plastic card (metal screws would be better)
3) Strengthening the taileron connector with sprue (brass rod is better!)
4) Shortening the nosewheel oleo by 3mm
That ensured that
the plane would sit straight and flat on its legs, and not start cracking up
under the stress of the extra weight of the wings with the resin flaps and
slats.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The resin
aftermarket items I used were of excellent quality and fitted with minimum fuss.
The seats really need to be seen to be believed! In addition I added an Eduard
placard set, but all the decals came from the kit.
The kit decals are
very impressive, and cover the extensive Tiger scheme very well. The downside is
that they are very thin and brittle, so I cut them into small sections and
applied them using Klear (Future) polish as a setting agent. This seemed to work
well. If I ever made this scheme again, I think it's safe to say I would paint
the stripes!
As a finish, I was
trying very hard to get a big contrast between the dirty, used appearance of the
original paintwork, and the clean glossy finish of the stripes. I finished the
main paintwork with three coats of Testors Dullcote, and attacked it with
pastels, oil wash and Tamiya weathering pigments. The Tiger stripes were given a
few coats of Klear (Future), micromesh, then polished with plastic polishing
compound to a high shine. Panel lines were finished with Promodellers Dark Wash.
To end - despite its
problems, this a great kit. No-one else comes close in this scale. I have
another one in the stash ready to do as an RAF machine, but it will have to wait
until I develop the patience to give it another go - I also need to stock up on
putty and sandpaper!
Thanks for looking!
Alan
Click on
images below to see larger images
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