GreenStrawberry Colonial Viper Mk.II (04818-1/72 for Moebius) 1:72

[Mike]

Colonial Viper Mk.II (04818-1/72 for Moebius)

1:72 GreenStrawberry

 

 

I reviewed the GreenStrawberry set for the 1:32 Moebius Viper II a wee while back here, and now here comes one for the smaller 1:72 kit, again from Moebius.  It's a different tack for obvious reasons, but as usual with GreenStrawberry Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, it arrives in a flat resealable package, with a black-themed backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between, showing off the contents at the front.

 

 

The set concentrates heavily on the cockpit, with many of the parts devoted to bring the level of detail there up to the highest standard, and opening up the possibility of back-lighting the instrument panels, which are completely overhauled with new laminated panels (of early & late types), coaming, side consoles and even a pedal box in the footwell.  A sheet of acetate prints are supplied for the screens in the panels, and a set of crew belts finish off the revamp.  Moving outside, the exhausts are detailed with cog-like inserts and additional parts between the nozzles, including wirings for the nacelles.  A new intake grille is supplied for the nose, and small detail parts are applied to the fuselage sides and behind pilot's head, with additional canopy frame details added to the exterior of the clear part.  On the nose gear leg an additional skin and launch hook is fitted, and new set of gear bay doors are supplied all round, which have much better scale fidelity.  As a nice bonus, a number of PE rings are included that can be used in conjunction with the colour printed red "remove before flight" tags that are cut from the paper sheet and placed around the airframe for a more convincing and technical look to the space-frame. Running a red pen around the cut edges will hide the white of the paper and improve the look.

 

 

Conclusion

A really nice upgrade to a pretty small model that will bring it to the next level, and as you may have noticed from the pictures, it will suffice to detail two of these kits, so you only need one set per box, as there's two kits in each one (just in case you hadn't noticed!).

 

 

Review sample courtesy of