Pro Resin

 1/72 Folland Gnat FO-141 resin model kit     

(RAF and early Indian Air force versions)

product # R72-039

Review by Steve Bamford on June 24 2008

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This resin model kit is the Folland Gnat FO-141 British jet.  This jet dates from the mid 1950's time period and although it was developed by the British, the Hawker Hunter proved to be a more robust and universal aircraft.  India acquired the Gnat. 

 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 overwhelmed by a large number of delicate little resin parts, 4 clear vac-u-formed canopies and a decal sheet.  I was very impressed by the level of fine detail especially when I saw the instrument panel and the ejection seat with molded on seatbelts and the tiny instrument panel with it's fine detail.  For 1/72, the detail in this kit is a beautiful little kit. 

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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 below, the fuselage detail with recessed panel lines on the sides of the fuselage is well done.  The wings have excellently done panel lines and will look quite convincing on the finished kit.  The seat is amazing....and once you paint it up....it will look very good.

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 get a kick out of seeing the latest kit from Pro Resin as they produce kits of an interesting variety of aircraft .  

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 one decal option of a RAF Folland Gnat F.1, Southhampton in 1957 in grey/green camo and a Folland Gnat F.1, the first Gnat of the IAF in 1957.  The RAF aircraft uses a longer canopy and the Indian aircraft uses the shorter canopy.....both types are included in the kit and you get 2 of each type of canopy.

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 and exterior detail that will impress any modeller.

This is a great  looking little aircraft kit and is sure to be of interest to modellers with a  passion for British aircraft.  If you build British aircraft, then a Gnat should be part of your collection.  You can buy this Pro Resin kit directly from Olimp Models.

Steve

I would like to thank Olimp Models for sending me this review sample.

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Photos and text © by Steve Bamford