Pro Resin

1/72 Supermarine Seagull ASR-1 resin model kit

Product # R72-051

Product Article by Steve Bamford on Mar 25 2011

 

This new resin kit from Olimp Models is part of their Pro Resin line of resin kits.  This resin model kit is the Supermarine Seagull ASR-1 which was the last Seaplane built by Supermarine.  The first aircraft was complete by 1948 and the Supermarine Seagull was supposed to be a replacement for the Supermarine Walrus and Supermarine Sea Otter, but the Supermarine Seagull was never put into production.  This kit gives you markings for one aircraft, the first prototype of the Supermarine Seagull ASR-1.

This resin 1/72 kit comes packed in a VERY sturdy little box.  This is one of the biggest 1/72 model kits offered by Pro Resin and it is a beautiful sight to behold all the delicate multi-media parts.  This kit is mostly comprised of resin parts, with 2 clear vac-u-formed canopies and a decal sheet for one aircraft.  Pro Resin has done a lovely job in the cockpit with all the frame stringers lining the cockpit on the inside of the fuselage.  There is a separate cockpit floor.

Now....this is a resin kit, so it will require the use of CA glue (Crazy Glue) to assemble it and the parts are going to need a tiny bit of cleaning up, but this is very minimal and will not in any way detract from the joy of building this kit.  If you've ever done any work with resin parts before you will have no problem tackling this kit......go slow....be patient and enjoy the build.  I did a dry fit of the fuselage halves and they lined up very well but you will need to clean up the mating surfaces before assembly.....this kit should go together well if the rest of the kit has the same very good level of fit.  

As you can see from the sample of photos of the resin parts, the fuselage detail on the inside and outside of the fuselage is well done.  The wings have delicate recessed panel lines and will look quite convincing on the finished kit.  The seats are amazing with their molded in seat belts and the cockpit will look excellent once assembled and painted.  The resin instrument panel has raised detail. 

The attachment points for the resin parts is wonderfully thin making the removal of the parts from the resin casting blocks a quick and easy job.  Detail is very crisp on most parts and the finished model will be a treat to behold.  You get 2 vac-u-formed canopies, so if you mess up on one, then you still have a second one.

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The kit parts are pretty straight forward and the 4 pages of instructions cover the assembly process in a clear and easy to follow way.  The instructions include paint codes in Humbrol, Model Master and Revell colours.

There is one decal option for the Supermarine Seagull ASR-1 prototype "PA143" from the July 1948 at Southhampton, England.  This aircraft is Dark Sea Grey on top and Matt beige green on the underside with a black prop spinner and black prop blades.  

The decals are very clearly printed....not too thick...not too thin and of good colour coverage.  You also get an instrument panel decal which is a nice addition to this decal sheet.

The landing gear is designed to be installed in the lowered position, so this model will be displayed sitting on it's landing gear, although you can always choose to raise the landing gear and display this model in a water diorama setting. 

The resin work on the single engine is beautifully cast out of one pieces of resin with excellently executed recessed panel lines.  This engine will be the first thing people notice and it is obvious Pro resin spent plenty of time getting this engine cowling to look spectacular.  The prop blades are very thin and delicate looking.  

One thing that doesn't show in the photos is the endless microscopic recessed rivet lines on the exterior of this model.

Pro Resin is famous for catering to modellers looking for something unique and this seaplane will definitely be a big hit with modellers looking for a unique seaplane to add to their display case.  You can buy this Pro Resin kit directly from Olimp Models.

I would like to thanks Oleg at Olimp Models for sending me this review sample.

Steve Bamford

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Photos and text © by Steve Bamford