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Kora 1/72 Armstrong Whithworth Siskin kits


Patrik

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As promised, some technical details in order to support my lament here:

 

The general consensus of the references is the length of 25 ft 4 in for the Siskin IIIA and 22 ft 6 in for the Siskin III and IIIDC (because the double seater variant was based on the earlier, i.e. Siskin III single seater). Means the length difference is rather significant and apparent on the very first sight (1.2 cm in 1/72). I used the Granger drawings for comparison, as they are usually considered very accurate and I have no reason to distrust them in this case either, especially as they show exactly the dimension quoted above. So, how do the Kora kits fit in all this?

 

Let us start with the ancestry first. What about the venerable Matchbox IIIA kit? Well not 100 % perfect, but for sure very good, the best by far.

 

DSC-0057.jpg

 

Now the Maintrack Siskin III conversion from the stone age of resin kits. Not that bad either.

 

DSC-0062.jpg

 

Next the Maintrack double seater. Really bad, but then it has been labelled as Siskin IIIA(DC), so there is still some hope it is hitherto undiscovered Siskin version, unknown by either contemporary or recent sources.😀

 

DSC-0063.jpg

 

Next the new Kora kits. As you can see it is not only the length, but also the height that is all wrong. And the wrong dimensions have other consequences. The master maker - probably in order to maintain the relative proportions measured from whatever source - shaped both the upper and ventral fins oversized in all directions.

 

DSC-0066.jpg

 

DSC-0068.jpg

 

Additionally, both Maintrack and Kora based their products on the Matchbox kit. And they made both another principal mistake. They spotted correctly that whereas the IIIA featured a kind of plump cross-section, the sides of the III and IIIDC were flat, What they missed, was the fact that the lower parts of the III and IIIDC fuselages were more or less rectangular. So by simple flattening the sides of the Matchbox master, they achieved completely wrong trapezoid-like cross-sections, by far too wide at the bottom, How much wide, it can be clearly seen by comparing the lower wing central gap with the Granger drawings.

 

DSC-0082.jpg

 

DSC-0076.jpg

 

DSC-0069.jpg

 

Conclusion? I am extremely sorry to say (because I was so much looking forward to them), in my opinion two unneeded kits. I am not a faint-hearted modeller at all, but I think it makes no sense trying to beat out convincing Siskin III or IIIDC from the Kora kits. You do not have to agree with me, but I believe the least laborious way to get Siskin III and IIIDC remains still direct conversion of the Matchbox IIIA kit with - possibly - utilizing the decals from Kora. However, unless Kora recognizes the error and corrects the kits, I am afraid the ones of mine end up in the deepest dungeons of my stash.

 

Edited by Patrik
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Great review, thank you! I really like objective reviews which help others to save their money. I also hope you will have no problems with this one, because it seems Kora doesn't have its Praetorian guards here like some other producers seem to have.

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Might be an idea to send this information to Kora so they can possibly redo the master. At the very least try and correct the grossly out of scale fuselage detail that stitching looks like it used a boat mooring rope.

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