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I've been after one of these for ages and my wish finally came true when I saw Ali62 offering one for sale... a few days later the kit arrived beautifully packaged and ready for operations! I do have a couple of Sanger's vacs in this stash, but this one looks a little more straightforward so I'm going to get stuck in right away. I've heard, seen and read some real horror stories about this model but having tackled numerous 'challenging' kits (some not really worthy of the title 'kit'!) I'm quietly confident that this will be beaten into submission with no more than a whimper - famous last words which are ready to come back and haunt me I'm sure... I don't plan to go too mad with detailing but from an initial glance at the kit the bomb bay will need some work if I plan to display it open, and I may well open up and detail the bomb cells in the inner wing sections, too. The undercarriage bays bear little resemblance to the real thing, but with little being visible when the massive landing gear is installed I'm probably going to leave them 'as is'. Box top: It's got a little flash and a comprehensive clean up will be needed before construction can begin, but I'm impressed with the overall quality of the mouldings with finely engraved panel detail and nice smooth plastic: The interior detailing looks quite comprehensive for what will be seen in this scale, with a mixture of both white metal and resin providing the basics - I'm sure a little Evergreen strip will be needed here and there, though. The vacform canopies are a little disappointing though, being not too clear and needing a serious soak in some Future - I've got a few sets of Sanger's transparencies which may be used instead but time will tell: The decal sheet is really lovely though, providing the famous 'Friday the 13th' (which will need wing tip modifications) as well as another RAF aircraft plus a Free French Airforce example. Instructions are basic but perfectly adequate: With my first-born due in about 6 weeks time this build may take a little longer than usual (the wife has even commandeered the spare room where I usually model for a nursery - the cheek of it!) so progress might be slow, but it's sure to be fun! I plan to make a start this week, so hopefully an update in the not-too-distant future... Tom