Grumman Albatross Correction Set 1:48 from AlleyCat

[Shar2]

Grumman Albatross correction set

AlleyCat 1:48

The release of the 1:48 Grumman Albatross by Trumpeter was a very welcome and pleasant surprise and whilst the majority of the kit was nicely done the nose section and the distinctive chines wasn’t quite correct shape wise. To remedy this, AlleyCat have released this correction set, which consists of a completely new nose section, canopy and overhead console. Packaged in a plain sturdy cardboard box the dark grey resin parts are pretty well protected with poly chips and the clear resin canopy is in a separate zip-lock bag to prevent scratches etc. The written instructions are on one side of the A5 sheet. Because of the way Trumpeter produced the kit with a separate nose section the two resin halves will be easy to fit, with no cutting required at all, just some cleaning up and the opening up of the side windows. Inside of each nose section there is a representation of the soft insulation on the hull floor and around the nose, which is nicely done and with careful painting should look good, if it can be seen once the halves have been closed up.

There is quite a bit of flash around the parts and some moulding blocks in quite awkward places on the join line of the fuselage halves, although with a bit of care these shouldn’t prove too much of a problem to the more experienced modeller. The overhead panel just needs the casting block removed from the rear before being fitted to the inside of the canopy.

The clear resin canopy is well moulded, but again with a fair bit of flash and a large moulding block at the rear. The removal of which has been helped by the join line being thinned out so that a sharp scalpel blade is all you need. The resin itself isn’t the clearest around, but with some gentle polishing and some Aqua Gloss it should come up well.

A nice touch is the inclusion of a sheet of paint masks for the canopy, side windows and port holes.

Conclusion
The release of this set is great news for those who were disappointed with the kits nose section. The ease at which this conversion can be used is also a great help thanks mainly to the design of the host kit. I can recommend this set to all modellers conversant with the use of resin and the different adhesives required.

Review sample courtesy of