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Showing results for tags 'Desert Warrior'.
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Hi guys, another year, hope you're all fighting fit and raring to go. This is a pre-production build of the new Airfix B-25C/D Mitchell that I finished in November for the January issue of Airfix Model World magazine. A great little model of a very impressive aircraft. There were a couple of issues with this example though, one possibly to do with the pre-production nature of the kit, the other more a simple fix really. On this example, the height of the right side of the rear fuselage where the tailplane sits was some 2mm higher than the left which meant that the horizontal tail sat at an odd angle. Some simple, but careful filing of the fuselage top surface was needed to bring everything into line and hopefully, this problem is only restricted to this example, but it's something to look out for. The other issue concerned the location of the main gear legs which is a tad suspect as the leg just clips into a shallow trough on the undercarriage roof which led to a decidedly wobbly assembly, especially with those big balloon tyres. The easy answer was to add a couple of brass rods to each leg to stabilise the parts. Thankfully these are hidden inside the nacelles and can't be seen from the outside. I realise this doesn't sound ideal for a new release particularly in regard to folks new to the sport but hopefully, full production kits will improve on things. The rest of the kit is good though as ever some details aren't quite correct such as the fact that Desert Warrior had a .50 cal position in the lower right position in the nose glazing meaning that I had to drill out the glazing and fit a gun from the spares box. The canopy pilots side window had a noticeable flow line so was removed and an acetate replacement added. This, in turn, meant I could have the window open adding a bit more interest. Decals are good and went on without issue and the choice of markings was definitely interesting. Optional parts are included for the two versions including engine nacelles, dropped or raised flaps, positionable flying surfaces and different windscreen framing. The bomb bay is nicely rendered as are the four 500 lb bombs complete with stencil markings. Look forward to the RAF Mitchell II later in the year... Hope you like it. Cheers Melchie