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Blackburn Firebrand TF Mk.5 - Czech Master Resin 1/72


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Fantastic looking Firebrand! Love those post war dumptrucks, including the Martin Mauler, Skyraider, Alize, and Skyshark. Big and brutish. Oh, I almost forgot, the Gannet and the Blackburn YA-7.

Love the color scheme and markings too.

Exactly, me too. I think these "transition periods" - last biplanes, last props, first jets - always produced the most interesting aircraft. And I love naval aircraft, too.

I have a Gannet and a Wyvern in my stash, and an Attacker already built, so soon I can start to call it a collection...

To All: Thanks guys for your kind words.

As for the kit, pluses and minuses in my opinion:

+ details like on a 1/48 or maybe 1/32

+ very extensive underwing options, it's like "a kit in a kit" - torpedo, 2 mines, bombs, rockets, tanks...

+ very good casting quality, almost no bubbles or warping, and only very little imperfections

+ crystal clear canopy, nice prominent framing

+ thin decals, complete stencils

+ most thorough instructions I have ever seen

- weird, impractical engineering: small fragile parts are cast together with large parts, so you are risking breaking them off all the time

- on the other hand, for example propeller is made from separate blades, and there is no jig

- some parts are so thin they break just by looking at them: main landing gear covers, engine cooling fan (I had to rebuild it paddle by paddle from evergreen)

- "suboptimal" fit of fuselage/wings joint, about 1,5 mm gaps, fortunately in places relatively easy to fill and sand

- all surface is covered with hairline scratches, like if someone cleaned the tool with wire scrubbing brush?!! easy to remedy with surfacer and polishing, but it's extra work, sanding around all that surface details is tedious.

- no matter how complete and thin the decals are, they are mostly unusable. British markings have weird, bleached colors (I used some Xtradecal and Airfix decals instead) and stencils have very bold font. I used only those "strips" (what were they for btw? formation flying?), white ring around the position light on fuselage, and flap setting stencil. Which leaves about 90% stencils on the decal sheet.

All in all it's a fascinating kit, with no real major problems. But I would advise, only build it if you really like that aircraft, you will need quite some enthusiasm to finish it.

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Exactly, me too. I think these "transition periods" - last biplanes, last props, first jets - always produced the most interesting aircraft. And I love naval aircraft, too.

I have a Gannet and a Wyvern in my stash, and an Attacker already built, so soon I can start to call it a collection...

To All: Thanks guys for your kind words.

As for the kit, pluses and minuses in my opinion:

+ details like on a 1/48 or maybe 1/32

+ very extensive underwing options, it's like "a kit in a kit" - torpedo, 2 mines, bombs, rockets, tanks...

+ very good casting quality, almost no bubbles or warping, and only very little imperfections

+ crystal clear canopy, nice prominent framing

+ thin decals, complete stencils

+ most thorough instructions I have ever seen

- weird, impractical engineering: small fragile parts are cast together with large parts, so you are risking breaking them off all the time

- on the other hand, for example propeller is made from separate blades, and there is no jig

- some parts are so thin they break just by looking at them: main landing gear covers, engine cooling fan (I had to rebuild it paddle by paddle from evergreen)

- "suboptimal" fit of fuselage/wings joint, about 1,5 mm gaps, fortunately in places relatively easy to fill and sand

- all surface is covered with hairline scratches, like if someone cleaned the tool with wire scrubbing brush?!! easy to remedy with surfacer and polishing, but it's extra work, sanding around all that surface details is tedious.

- no matter how complete and thin the decals are, they are mostly unusable. British markings have weird, bleached colors (I used some Xtradecal and Airfix decals instead) and stencils have very bold font. I used only those "strips" (what were they for btw? formation flying?), white ring around the position light on fuselage, and flap setting stencil. Which leaves about 90% stencils on the decal sheet.

All in all it's a fascinating kit, with no real major problems. But I would advise, only build it if you really like that aircraft, you will need quite some enthusiasm to finish it.

Thanks for sharing your insight on this kit. Now I can look out for some of the "pitfalls" you mentioned when I crack into mine! :D

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No Criticism; only praise.

Beautifully clean construction, excellent choice of paint scheme, and just a very interesting, if not exactly beautiful aircraft. Pretty rare subject too; wish we'd see a few more Firebrands completed.

Thanks for posting!

david

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Exactly, me too. I think these "transition periods" - last biplanes, last props, first jets - always produced the most interesting aircraft. And I love naval aircraft, too.

I have a Gannet and a Wyvern in my stash, and an Attacker already built, so soon I can start to call it a collection...

All in all it's a fascinating kit, with no real major problems. But I would advise, only build it if you really like that aircraft, you will need quite some enthusiasm to finish it.

Funny - I love the 1945 to 1979 era too - so much change and development and odd designs. I haven't got into the last generation biplanes yet (except for the 6 or 8 in the stash ???)

And thanks for sharing your experience - I like some others here have the CMR Firebrand (2013-14 moulding) in the stash for a rainy day or week or month...

Bill

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  • 4 years later...

Nicely done! I like the XDSG scheme continuing down the side of the aircraft! Wish there was a 1/48 scale kit. I did the resin kit in 1/48. Its an absolute brick. Weighs a ton.

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You don't see many Firebrands around anywhere.

Your example is absolutely stunning and the finish is flawless.

I've only got one major criticism................It's not mine!!!

Thank you for sharing it with us.

 

Chris.

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