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.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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
|