open or closed, it is contained
in the forward section of the
cockpit, which is designed to be
removed to enable you to change
the whole front end of the model.
The panel itself features some
nice engraved detail, to which you
add the decals for the dials. They
are well printed, but not quite up
to the level of the Airscale range
(which I will use on my next model).
Next come the firewall, engine,
and forward fuselage. The engine
block is nicely detailed and it’s
nice to see that Tamiya give you a
number of different engine serials,
plus a number jungle, to make
this detail that is often seen in
photographs. To this you attach the
turbocharger and various engine
accessories. It’s possible to attach
the exhausts at a later stage to make
painting easier, which is what I did.
At this stage you also have
to add the two magnets that
are used to hold the cowlings in
place, which make them easy to
swop over. These fit into moulded
pockets at the front and lower
surfaces of the engine mounting,and need a drop of superglue to
hold them firmly in place – they
are very powerful and will come
detached if not firmly fixed.
Next come the tail
surfaces. These click
into place and it
is impossible to
misalign these
parts. Like all of
the assemblies in
this kit, the fit is superb,
as long as you make sure
you have removed all of the
sprue attachment points: many
of these have been moulded on
the joining face of the part, which
minimises the risk of damaging
any of the detail. But, this does
mean that if your clean-up is not
perfect, you may find that thefit of parts is compromised.
The wings were next and again,
the assembly is faultless. On my
model, I decided to open up the
engraved holes on the wheel well
walls, rather than paint them
black. This only took a couple
of minutes, but to be honest,
unless your model is displayed
upside down no one will know.The wing has a number of
optional parts, so you can display
the leading edge slats open on the
flaps, and the radiators doors in
the dropped or neutral position.
You do have a number of similar-
looking parts to assemble, so it
is important to follow the
instructions closely to
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