New Tool Eurocopter EC135

[Caution Wake Turbulence]

Well I've finally got my hands on this kit, thanks to my wife. It's been quite a long wait. My first impression is good - based on a flick through the instructions the level of detail and parts count is quite impressive and certainly streets ahead of the old kit. I found a bit of time today to get the sprues out and have a closer look and I have to say my initial excitement has been diminished a little by the quality of the moulding as well as some rather glaring errors/omissions on the fuselage - it is almost like they forgot to finish some parts of the mould, which given the lengthy gestation of this kit is a bit odd. As someone on the link I posted above spotted, the recessed quick release fasteners for the engine panels are only moulded on one panel on one side, the other 6 are missing. Also one of the recesses is not moulded correctly. I suppose these are fairly minor points, but I find it a little surprising that this sort of thing gets through their quality control. Overall the moulding gives a slightly second rate impression, the detail is a bit soft in places and some of the very small parts lack definition. It seems to me like the ambition of the kit designers, which seems commendable, was not matched by the fidelity of the mouldings which is a shame, but is perhaps where the impact of the pricing start to show, it is after all quite a lot of plastic for not that much money.

This probably comes across as a bit negative, but I was quite excited about this kit, and perhaps inevitably it has not quite lived up to (perhaps unrealistic) expectations. Don't get me wrong, it's a good kit and I'm looking forward to building it, but maybe I'm in a minority when I say I'd like to see Revell (and let's face it, who else is likely to tackle this subject) spend a little more effort and focus a bit more on quality - if that costs a little more, then so be it, I'd happily pay.

Merry Christmas/Bah Humbug as appropriate....

Andrew

[PMC]

Well I've finally got my hands on this kit, thanks to my wife. It's been quite a long wait. My first impression is good - based on a flick through the instructions the level of detail and parts count is quite impressive and certainly streets ahead of the old kit. I found a bit of time today to get the sprues out and have a closer look and I have to say my initial excitement has been diminished a little by the quality of the moulding as well as some rather glaring errors/omissions on the fuselage - it is almost like they forgot to finish some parts of the mould, which given the lengthy gestation of this kit is a bit odd. As someone on the link I posted above spotted, the recessed quick release fasteners for the engine panels are only moulded on one panel on one side, the other 6 are missing. Also one of the recesses is not moulded correctly. I suppose these are fairly minor points, but I find it a little surprising that this sort of thing gets through their quality control. Overall the moulding gives a slightly second rate impression, the detail is a bit soft in places and some of the very small parts lack definition. It seems to me like the ambition of the kit designers, which seems commendable, was not matched by the fidelity of the mouldings which is a shame, but is perhaps where the impact of the pricing start to show, it is after all quite a lot of plastic for not that much money.

This probably comes across as a bit negative, but I was quite excited about this kit, and perhaps inevitably it has not quite lived up to (perhaps unrealistic) expectations. Don't get me wrong, it's a good kit and I'm looking forward to building it, but maybe I'm in a minority when I say I'd like to see Revell (and let's face it, who else is likely to tackle this subject) spend a little more effort and focus a bit more on quality - if that costs a little more, then so be it, I'd happily pay.

Merry Christmas/Bah Humbug as appropriate....

Andrew

Oh, that's a bit of a shame. Like you say I would have thought with the amount of time in development and the wait we've all had there wouldn't be such obvious deficiencies. I agree that I would have gladly paid more for better quality. I guess I'll have to withhold judgement properly until I get home in the new year and have a proper look, taken the wind out of my sails a bit. Thanks for your review though.

Paul

[Caution Wake Turbulence]

I'm probably being a little harsh to be honest - there's nothing I've seen that can't be fixed. I suppose we can't expect Tamiya quality for Revell prices....

Andrew

[troschi]

... Overall the moulding gives a slightly second rate impression, the detail is a bit soft in places and Dome of he very small parts lack definition...

Andrew, could you be a bit more precise in that?

IMHO the rivet detail is quite and the recessed lines are appropriate. If you seek more panel or rivet lines, look at a real 135. The outer skin is mainly composite material and therefore doesn't offer much of them.

I'm probably being a little harsh to be honest - there's nothing I've seen that can't be fixed. I suppose we can't expect Tamiya quality for Revell prices....

Andrew

That's certainly true. At least you're fair enough to set both aspects into a relation.

We got a kit for 20 or less than 20£ - What do we expect then? The Dauphin in 48 from Kitty Hawk isn't any better and almost twice the price (over here in Germany).

Regarding the designer of the kit, it was one of his first projects. The delay came due to far more serious errors which all had to be corrected. The missing cowling snapper fasteners are annoying, that's true- I know but in fact easily fixed. The "incorrect" moulded hole for one fastener is the hole for the particle outlet of forthcoming versions with a CentriSep filter. As regarding the missing fasteners, I informed Revell in that already with the testshots.

It's a very good basis to start with which is far ahead of the previous mould. Let's agree im that and wait for further versions.

Edited December 27, 2013 by troschi

[Caution Wake Turbulence]

Hmmm... Maybe I let my disappointment shine through a bit too strongly. I certainly agree that it is far ahead of the old kit and I have no issue with the panel lines or the rivet detail on the fuselage. So, can I expand on my "slightly second rate impression" statement? Perhaps in the cold light of day, I would rephrase that as "slightly less than first rate impression", with the emphasis on 'slightly' and 'impression'. It's more an aggregation of lots of little things than anything major, a short shot here, sink marks there, flash and mould lines, soft and sometimes uneven detail. Maybe I should expect these for the price, and yes these can be fixed. I commend the designer for including details such as the control linkages, but some of these links appear not to be that well moulded and possibly a bit distorted (e.g. 106).

I agree that the missing fasteners are annoying, I imagine all the more so for you as you told Revell about them. Yes they can be added relatively easily. As to the particle outlet, would it not be easier to mould the correct recess for this release and then have people drill out the out let for any future releases as required? Just a thought.

So, on the whole I think it's a good kit, I'm just disappointed because I think it could have been better. I'm sure Revell know their market better than I do, and I may not be part of their core audience, but as I said before, I think a greater emphasis on quality would not go amiss. I'm not having a go at anyone in particular, certainly not you, so I'm sorry if I ruffled any feathers. I appreciate that my expectations may be very high, but I don't think I want to apologise for that, sorry.

That's enough of my ramblings. Happy New Year, Guten Rutsch and all that!

Andrew

[troschi]

Hmmm... Maybe I let my disappointment shine through a bit too strongly. I certainly agree that it is far ahead of the old kit and I have no issue with the panel lines or the rivet detail on the fuselage. So, can I expand on my "slightly second rate impression" statement? Perhaps in the cold light of day, I would rephrase that as "slightly less than first rate impression", with the emphasis on 'slightly' and 'impression'. It's more an aggregation of lots of little things than anything major, a short shot here, sink marks there, flash and mould lines, soft and sometimes uneven detail. Maybe I should expect these for the price, and yes these can be fixed. I commend the designer for including details such as the control linkages, but some of these links appear not to be that well moulded and possibly a bit distorted (e.g. 106).

I agree that the missing fasteners are annoying, I imagine all the more so for you as you told Revell about them. Yes they can be added relatively easily. As to the particle outlet, would it not be easier to mould the correct recess for this release and then have people drill out the out let for any future releases as required? Just a thought.

So, on the whole I think it's a good kit, I'm just disappointed because I think it could have been better. I'm sure Revell know their market better than I do, and I may not be part of their core audience, but as I said before, I think a greater emphasis on quality would not go amiss. I'm not having a go at anyone in particular, certainly not you, so I'm sorry if I ruffled any feathers. I appreciate that my expectations may be very high, but I don't think I want to apologise for that, sorry.

That's enough of my ramblings. Happy New Year, Guten Rutsch and all that!

Andrew

Andrew,

there are mould lines around the Inlet Barrier Filter (IBF) due to the fact that its filter panels are exchangable mould parts for forthcoming variants of the kit which do not carry these big filters. The most prominent sinkmark is in the blade roots. A product manager told me that they were unavoidable due to moilding techniques. I doubt hat personally but most certainly a different design of the mould for this part may have resulted in higher development costs.

I agree in so far that the detail on many of the new Revell kits could be slightly more crisp in general. But Revells china mouldings simply don't reach the Hasegawa or Tamiya standards (also a matter of calculation). But if I see the interior, it's well done and the instrument panels can be easily enhanced with some drybrushing despite th fact that the detail is a bit soft there. Compared with the Lynx, I'm very happy that the kit has rivet lines at all (the testshots didn't have them). The Lynx looks quite "naked" without them.

Of course it could almost everytime be better. I'm also not offended by your criticism and I'm not paid by Revell or any "father" of the kit. I just gave Revell some advice and jugdement during the development steps and built one of the very prototype testshots. When I brought this model to Revell, my first comment was also: "You want to much model for too less money". In fact that's partly true and I also said that they should invest a little bit more but sell the model for 5 Euros more in the end. In this respect, we come to an understanding. What Revell is most likely to say then, is that the rivet counters and professional modelers are not their target market. Internal analysis found out that they make only 10-15% of all sales, The rest is bought by occasional modelers, as gifts etc. mainly in department or toy stores. They argue therefore, that more than 75% of their customers wouldn't notice the errors of a kit and they are completely satisfied with that what they offer.

What I personally expirience and observe critically is the phenomenon of "online-kitbashing". It's similar to what can be observed with Italeri's new large scale starfighter. But in this case, the criticism is justified. For a price of 80 Euros (4 times of the EC-135's price) they only offer weak cockpit and seat detail, panel lines that don't match each other at the fuselage seams and shape errors. Comparing to the EC-135, there is not much more model inside the box (maybe except for the decals sheet).

I think it's a pity that we as modellers only can give the impression that we are never satisfied, especially with new releases and new items policies. We have such a product variety and availability that has never been there before and I'm personally very happy if a company takes the chance to replace older and existing toolings with new ones.

I think there are sometimes to many "misery-guts" like moods in the forums. :D

[PMC]

Ok, finally home and have had a look for myself. Got to say that compared to the old kit I'm really impressed. I do agree that there are some omissions and moulding isn't perfect in some areas but on the whole I'm impressed for the very little money that I paid for it.

Troschi, a quick question for you. Would you know if the Eduard paint masks will fit the new tool kit?

Paul

Edited January 16, 2014 by PMC

[troschi]

Troschi, a quick question for you. Would you know if the Eduard paint masks will fit the new tool kit?

Hi Paul,

purest answer is: I can't tell

Let me make an educated guess: For the side cabin windows it could be difficult due to the bulging of the clear parts, which was not there with the older tool.

Edited January 27, 2014 by troschi

[Paul @ Parkes682Decals]

Hi

Ive been drawing several new schemes for the EC-135,both T2 and P2 in various schemes both police and air ambulances.

The probelm i can see is the new "air grilles" that are mouded just in front of the exhaust pipes.

The rest of the kit is a vast improvement,but i wish they would leave the high leg sprues and the lower leg sprues in has well with so we can all build the versions we want to build.

I would love Revell to do the McDonnell Douglas MD-902 Explorer in 1:32 scale there are some lovely colour schemes out there.

Paul

Parkes682Decals

[GreenDragon]

Doubt they'll do any of the MD choppers Paul, the 1/72nd MD 520N got cancelled because MD apparently wanted a lot of money for the license. I want a 902 too, I like the Cuban one in Die Another Day.

Paul Harrison

[troschi]

Hi

Ive been drawing several new schemes for the EC-135,both T2 and P2 in various schemes both police and air ambulances.

The probelm i can see is the new "air grilles" that are mouded just in front of the exhaust pipes.

The rest of the kit is a vast improvement,but i wish they would leave the high leg sprues and the lower leg sprues in has well with so we can all build the versions we want to build.

I would love Revell to do the McDonnell Douglas MD-902 Explorer in 1:32 scale there are some lovely colour schemes out there.

Paul

Parkes682Decals

Paul,

the moulded-in Inlet Barrier Filter (IBF)-Grilles are an exchangable mould inlay. There will defenitely a variant of the kit without IBF grilles. The following variants will also include the high skid gear. Both can be ceen in a testshot built by me.

A MDX is unlikely as there were already some licensing issues with MDH

[Arachnid]

I haven't had any time for modelling over the past months due to work and DIY. All I've had time for is looking over recent additions to the stash. I've been having good look at this kit, I didn't even know it was a new release until I found this thread while looking to see if there was a build posted.

The kit cost under 20 quid delivered through eBay. A very nice surprise when I opened the box. Awesome value for money and a lot of plastic in the box. You guys that have been waiting for this are going to love it if you haven't already got it. It'll be a while before I get to start mine but I'm looking forward to it.

Even more than that I'm looking forward to watching your builds which I imagine are already planned. :-)

Link to e-bay?

[Caution Wake Turbulence]

Link to e-bay?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Revell-132-EC135-ADAC-model-kit-04659-/321268152011

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Revell-Model-Kit-EC135-ADAC-Helicopter-132-Scale-04659-New-/121263635724

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Revell-Model-Kit-EC135-ADAC-Helicopter-132-04659-FIRST-CLASS-POSTAGE-/281231535411

HTH

Andrew

[Arachnid]

thanks for the links

[thepureness]

Much need doing to the kit from box to make it up to an Irish corps aircraft. Just picked this up for £8 plus P&P off eBay,

Not too interested in the decals/version in the box.

[RocketSurgeon]

I've just ordered one of these. Going to be a challenge for me, as I don't normally build things with interior and large clear cockpit windows...

[sniperUK]

Working on one to be finished in PSNI markings, looks good on the sprues but a utter ******* to build , overly complex where it doesn't need it , major parts too thin and flexable ,if this wasnt for someone else it would be in the bin by now.