This resin model kit
is the Hal Gnat F.1/Ajeet F.2 jet. The Gnat went into service with the
Indian Air Force in 1958. HAL went on to build 195 Gnats themselves up
until 1974.
This new resin
kit from Olimp
Models is part of their
new Pro
Resin line of resin kits.
This little 1/72 kit comes packed in a VERY sturdy little box. Upon
opening the box, I was was rewarded with the sight of a delicate little
multi-media kit which includes mostly resin parts, a clear vac-u-formed canopy
and a decal sheet. I was very impressed by the level of fine detail
especially when I saw the cockpit detail and 2 detail rich resin seats with
molded on seatbelts for the Mk1 and the Mk4 aircraft. For 1/72, the detail in this kit is
very impressive.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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 above and below, the cockpit sidewall detail is very
acceptable. The wings have fine recessed panel lines and
will look quite convincing on the finished kit. The seats are amazing and
will bring the cockpit to life. Two canopies are included to permit you to
cut them up to have an open canopy to show off the cockpit 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 products will be a treat to behold.
I really do enjoy seeing the latest kit from Pro
Resin as they
produce kits of an interesting variety of aircraft with a very strong focus on
classic British jets.
The kit parts are pretty straight
forward and the 6 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 are two decal options
for either a HAL Gnat F.1 and a HAL Ajeet F.2 both of which are in baremetal
finishes.
The decals are very clearly
printed....not too thick...not too thin and of good colour coverage.
In 1/72 you are dealing with tiny
tiny model kits but this kit goes to great lengths to provide cockpit detail
that is better than you'll find on most 1/48 kits.
This model kit includes underwing
fuel tanks. You can buy this Pro Resin kit
directly from Olimp
Models.
Steve
I would like
to thanks Oleg at Olimp
Models for
sending me this review sample.
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