BarryW's 1/48 'multi-engine aircraft' Review Thread

[BarryW]

Having built, or have in my stash, almost all the 1/32 kits I want to build I decided to expand my horizons to 1/48 scale. That said, I will add to my 1/32 stash of course, subject to new kit releases and, who knows, any subjects that I particularly enjoyed and might build again.

I decided to build in 1/48.....
1/ Any subject that is not available in 1/32 that I really want to build - emphasis being on multi-engine aircraft.
2/ Any subject that may be in 1/32 that, on mature reflection, is too big for practical display, specifically I refer here to four engined bombers.
3/ Any multi-engined subject that may be available, or have built, in 1/32 that I fancy building in small scale.

To that end I have spent the last few months researching what's available and building a 1/48 stash along with aftermarket. These include kits that are now somewhat hard to get and I have been looking out for on eBay, as well as newish releases.

The stash is listed in my signature but for those on mobile devices where the signature does not appear these are the 14 kits I currently have.
HKM B17-G
HKM Avro Lancaster B1
ICM JU88 A-11
ICM He111 H-20
ICM Do17 Z-2
ICM B-26 Invader B-50 (Korean War)
Trumpeter Wellington MkIII
Trumpeter SM.79-II Sparvero
Trumpeter FW-200 Condor C-4
Airfix Bristol Blenheim Mk1
Tamiya Mitsubishi G4M1 Betty
Tamiya Bristol Beaufighter MkVI
Great Wall Hobby Northrop P61-A, Black Widow 'glass nose'
Zvezda Pe-2

ICM will be releasing a Bristol Beaufort later this year and I will add this.

In this thread, every few days, I will post an 'in-box' review of the above kits plus any additions I make. I will include what aftermarket I have secured and my initial thoughts on how I will approach the builds.

• Please note that I would welcome comments and discussion on the reviews along with any experiences/tips you might have had with these subjects.

When I build them I will do a build thread and build review.

Please note: I will not be starting the builds soon. As explained elsewhere I am purchasing a new home and will have a spare double bedroom to use as a 'man-cave' in which I will be getting a purpose built dedicated modelling area. I will update you on progress. I will not start any new projects in my current modelling area.

I will do the first review tomorrow. They won't necessarily be in the order listed above.

For good measure, here is my wish list. I am not interested in the old Monogram/Revell kits that are still around in some of these subjects. I am hoping that ICM or HKM will release some of these or, perhaps Trumpeter or even Airfix, All in 1/48 of course: Handley Page Halifax, Consolidated B24 Liberator, Short Sterling, Short Sunderland, Handley Page Hamden, Douglas Boston, Catalina, B26 Marauder, B25 Mitchell (the Academy is a possibility but I am hoping for a HKM scaled down kit)

[Guest]

Barry what about Helicopters. Some superb 1/48 in numerous numbers.

Laurie

[BarryW]

Barry what about Helicopters. Some superb 1/48 in numerous numbers.

Laurie

I don't rule them out Laurie, they might make a nice change.

[Dave Ward]

Barry,
that's what I call a long-term project! I'm afraid I'm too changeable in my subject matter to commit myself to such a schedule! I have made only one in your list, the Zvezda Petlyakov Pe-2, which is real beauty, really needs no AM parts, but possibly new decals!
Dave

[Guest]

Very nice topnotch the Seaking 1/48 with superb PE from Flightpath.

Really tests your skills & teaches you more..

Laurie

[adt70hk]

A very interesting project Barry. Hope the move goes well too.

Andrew

[Nicko]

I like to think I might be able to build a few of these Barry. Really looking forward to your opinions....

Nick

[BarryW]

In-Box Review no 1 - Hong Kong Models, Avro Lancaster B Mk1 1/48 Scale

I thought I would start with a recent release and the Lancaster needs no introduction....

HKM released their 1/32 scale Lancaster some years ago and its a decent kit, though there are flaws and it received some criticism. Well, HKM are not Kitty Hawk and actually listened to what modellers said and this kit is certainly no mere downscaling of the 1/32 kit. The errors on the 1/32 have been corrected and the part count is a lot lower than the 1/32. Some say this kit lacks interior detail but as most of it cannot be seen it does not matter, besides, to me it looks very well detailed and if you want more then I am sure some detailing sets will be released.

First here is a link to the kit in John's shop. Wherever possible I will do this on my reviews.
1/48 Avro Lancaster B Mk.I HK Models 01F005 – Scale Model Shop

First some model stats:
362 part count
Wingspan 648mm
Length 443mm

This was HKM's third 1/48 release having previously specialised in 1/32 scale. Their previous two 1/48s were both B17s a G and a F and I will be doing a review of the G next.

Here is the box showing some great artwork:


I don't intend to do a full page by page, sprue by sprue, review as these, I find, can get a bit tedious. Instead I will provide examples of what I find in the box and will focus on the highlights and lowlights so you get a good feel of what you get for your money.

The instructions...

A nice big, clear document. The painting instructions are much better than we see in Trumpeter kits for instance with reference to AKI, Gunze and Tamiya.

A pretty decent bomb load option.

The kit offer two sets of markings.



Lets take a look at the plastic.
HKM really know how to pack a kit nicely and protect the parts. Look at the transparencies. Note the protective piece of stiff card in with the clear parts that are individually wrapped.

Remove the sprue from the bag and the more vulnerable areas that would be more prone to scratching have clear film over them.

I have to say that the transparencies are beautifully clear.

The wings are in individual bags.


The surface detail is superb, very finely detailed. So fine, in fact that if you brush paint there is a risk that you could lose detail. I think it will will OK under a few coats of airbrushed paint though, specially if you use a paint with the ultra fine pigments that MRP provides. Care will be needed when sanding not to lose this brilliant detail.


At first glance it looks as if the wings are in one piece. HKM are known for exploiting the benefits of slide moulding and I clearly remember the impressive one piece wings in their 1/32 Mosquito, so it would not surprise me if the wings were in one piece. However, on close examination they are a traditional two piece engineering. It so happens that they come 'joined' in the bag and you can pull them apart. The fit of the two parts is impressive with plenty of positive location points. Based on how these two wing parts fit and if the rest of the kit is the same, I really don't think much sanding will be needed.



The fuselage halves are individually wrapped with the same impressive surface detail.


One more thing I have always liked about HKM is how they do not pack sprues closely with parts, plenty of room is allowed to make it easy to remove parts without a risk of damage. They also keep associated parts on one sprue so you are not searching multiple sprues for a sub-assembly. A couple of examples with the same fine detail.


A couple of close ups.

Note the small sprue gates, even these are finely moulded so cutting them cleanly from the sprue is easy. How often have we seen large ugly sprue gates on models. It may not seem important but when I see that a company takes pride even in moulding these 'gates' neatly it gives you that bit more confidence in the kit, or is that just me?

Above you can see some ejector pin marks, bear in mind that the close up photo exaggerates them. Overall they are out of the way and quite restrained, none of the Kitty Hawk 'pillars of plastic' on this kit. Of course they will need some sanding, no real problems here.

Going through the sprues they are consistently cleanly and crisply moulded and will not take a lot of clean up.

A nice surprise in the bottom of the box in this poster which will see pride of place in my new man-cave.


There is a small brass p.e. fret.


Decals look nicely printed by Cartograph.


But, of course a kit of this quality deserves better so I have got some Maketar Masks to paint the roundels and fin flashes.


I have also bought some Kits World decals, I quite fancy building Victorious Virgin personally...


They are limiting me to only 20 pictures so I will finish off in a separate post.

[BarryW]

Lancaster review part 2....

I have two more aftermarket items for this build.

Canopy masks, a new brand to me, they look rather nice and you really need canopy masks for this kit.


I have also bought Kits World 3D seatbelts.


As for further aftermarket additions I expect a lot to be released over coming months and I will see what comes available. I suspect though that, at most, I might get an instrument panel and, more likely, brass gun barrels.

Summary: An impressive high quality kit that I suspect will be my first 1/48 build...

Highly recommended.

[adt70hk]

That does look very good indeed Barry.

Hope the move goes well

Andrew

[Nicko]

Thanks for taking the time to do this Barry....

Nick

[BarryW]

In-box Review no2 Hong Kong Models B-17G Flying Fortress Early Production 1/48 scale

This will be a shorter review than the Lancaster for one simple reason, much of what I said about the Lancaster can be applied to this kit. It has the same 'house style' instructions, the same high quality plastic with fine surface detail, crisply moulded, slide mouldings, no flash and injection pin marks mainly in unobtrusive areas.

I will run through a series of pictures that illustrate this pointing out anything 'of note'.

Part count 254
Wingspan 658mm
Length 474mm

This is currently not in Scale Model Shop so I cannot provide a link but I am sure an enquiry with John can get it ordered.

Again HKM provide excellent box art but, sadly they don't include the poster with this one.


The instructions, page examples


The kit provides two sets of markings one for a OD/NG scheme and one bare metal.


No cardboard insert with the excellent crystal clear transparencies but they are spread over three smaller sprues so perhaps not needed.

Again the wings are in individual bags, both side together.


I read a criticism of the wing fit around the engine nacelles at the front. I cannot see a problem provided you clamp them for cementing.






The fuselage sides.


Another whinge I read was about all the little bits of plastic around the edges that need trimming off. But these are the price for not having difficult to handle ejection pins in the interior detail. Some people are never happy.




An example of a sprue

Clean, sharp, crisp - what more can you say about that!


Below - the internal detail of the roof. There are some ejection pins here but they cannot be seen and can be easily dealt with anyway.



Some ejection pins in parts below but these are in positions where they can be dealt with easily.


Cartograph decals again.


However I will use masks for the main markings from Montex and Kits World to depict Mason & Dixon. I have Eduard masks for the canopy.


20 picture limit reached so see part 2 below for conclusion.

[BarryW]

I missed out above a pic of the small etch fret provided.


I have also obtained an Eduard Interior set and seatbelt set.


All in all I am impressed with the HKM B17. Some build reviews suggest an issue with the fuselage fit, particularly when attaching the 'spine' while others say there is no problem if you keep it simple and issues only arise if you try to pack in some aftermarket. I will be keeping this simple though I will add detail from the Eduard set but I will do so bearing this comment in mind. As per the Lanc the only additional am I might get are brass gun barrels.

I thoroughly recommend this kit.

Next Review: GWH P-61A Black Widow Glass nose.

[BarryW]

In-box Review no3 GWH P61-A Black Widow Glass Nose

I have never built a GWH kit before so I opened this box with more interest than usual. These GHW P61's have had good reviews but a number of accuracy issues were highlighted, GWH however, like HKM, actually listen to criticism and they have corrected the accuracy issues with this release.

This kit is not currently available in SMS so there is no link.

There are no part count or measurements on the box.

I remember building the old Monogram P61 decades ago, back in the dark ages. I still have some parts of the kit in my spares box nicely moulded in black plastic. Something about this odd looking aircraft is rather appealing.

Here is the box:


The instructions, these are a 'fold out' design rather than booklet style.




A close up


I like the individual dial decals provided for the i.p.

The transparencies are well moulded and clear.


The glass nose is well protected in a hard plastic 'box'.


Sprues are packed no more than two per bag.




All parts are crisply moulded, finely detailed with no observed issues with ejector pin marks. Plastic looks to be a nice quality too.


I don't like seeing vulnerable parts moulded in, as you can see above. That will have to be carefully cut off and replaced, perhaps with brass rod.

There is a small etch fret.


The decals are nicely produced but I don't know how they will perform.


Markings for two aircraft.




All in all this is a very nice package but no nose weight is provided despite a 'shaped' weight being shown in the instructions.

Aftermarket.
I have some Eduard canopy masks - essential for this.


Also some seatbelts.


Kits World have some excellent nose art available.


I am not sure which I will use yet but this set includes the two aircraft with the kit.

Questions to any P61 experts out there.
Are there any significant external differences between the P61A and B?
If I decide to depict this aircraft with a camouflaged nose instead of glass will it be accurate to just paint over the glass nose?

Overall I rather like the look of this kit. Recommended.

Next Review: Tamiya G4M1 Betty - but this may not be until after the weekend.

[yak face]

In-box Review no3 GWH P61-A Black Widow Glass Nose

I have never built a GWH kit before so I opened this box with more interest than usual. These GHW P61's have had good reviews but a number of accuracy issues were highlighted, GWH however, like HKM, actually listen to criticism and they have corrected the accuracy issues with this release.

This kit is not currently available in SMS so there is no link.

There are no part count or measurements on the box.

I remember building the old Monogram P61 decades ago, back in the dark ages. I still have some parts of the kit in my spares box nicely moulded in black plastic. Something about this odd looking aircraft is rather appealing.

Here is the box:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154331[/ATTACH]

The instructions, these are a 'fold out' design rather than booklet style.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154332[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154333[/ATTACH]

A close up
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154334[/ATTACH]

I like the individual dial decals provided for the i.p.

The transparencies are well moulded and clear.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154335[/ATTACH]

The glass nose is well protected in a hard plastic 'box'.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154336[/ATTACH]

Sprues are packed no more than two per bag.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154337[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154338[/ATTACH]

All parts are crisply moulded, finely detailed with no observed issues with ejector pin marks. Plastic looks to be a nice quality too.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154339[/ATTACH]

I don't like seeing vulnerable parts moulded in, as you can see above. That will have to be carefully cut off and replaced, perhaps with brass rod.

There is a small etch fret.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154340[/ATTACH]

The decals are nicely produced but I don't know how they will perform.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154341[/ATTACH]

Markings for two aircraft.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154342[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154343[/ATTACH]

All in all this is a very nice package but no nose weight is provided despite a 'shaped' weight being shown in the instructions.

Aftermarket.
I have some Eduard canopy masks - essential for this.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154344[/ATTACH]

Also some seatbelts.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154345[/ATTACH]

Kits World have some excellent nose art available.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1154346[/ATTACH]

I am not sure which I will use yet but this set includes the two aircraft with the kit.

Questions to any P61 experts out there.
Are there any significant external differences between the P61A and B?
If I decide to depict this aircraft with a camouflaged nose instead of glass will it be accurate to just paint over the glass nose?

Overall I rather like the look of this kit. Recommended.

Next Review: Tamiya G4M1 Betty - but this may not be until after the weekend.

The nose on the p61B was about eight inches longer barry , so if the fibre glass nose in the kit is the only one supplied youre limited to p61A s. The kits world decals are excellent , i used them when i made mine , the “ little audrey “ version .