Saturday, June 2, 2007

Airfix 1/72nd Vosper MBT



Airfix has a fair to medium-bad reputation in the United States for making fairly unsatisfactory airplane kits. I happen to like them - they're inexpensive and readily available, and who cares of the engine nacelles on the Bf-110 aren't the right shape?

I couldn't tell you if the Airfix MBT is accurate compared to the genuine article, because I really don't know much about British MBTs (or much else). But as a kit, I think it's really very satisfactory and it builds up into a nice model that seems to positively brim with realistic deck clutter. It also has nice figures, which is fairly rare in boat kits - the old Revell PT-109 could take lessons from the Airfix kit in this regard in particular.

I have three complaints to make about the kit. The first is that the painting instructions are deceptive. They're accurate if you pay attention to the paint callouts, but if you naively assume that the tones of grey on the painting diagram model real life, you'll end up painting the boat as a photographic negative. The second is that when it comes time to assemble the hull, you need more hands than I seem to be equipped with. Four would be handy, three to hold the parts and one to apply the cement. And finally, the instructions are very vague on exactly how the ammunition drums fit on the forward 20mm twin Oerlikon. I eventually just glued them on and forgot about it, but I know my interpretation is incorrect.

But having said that, it must be said this is a very nice kit and a must-have for people who like largish-scale boat kits.

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