As attractively easy
as this one may look, be repaired for some action. The innocent appearance of
this little bug could deceive you if you don't pay attention and make the
necessary adjustments to get a popper fit.
The first thing I noticed was the welcome absence of the oily residue
that was present in some of my other ICM models. The detail is really good, and
the engine group alone, from firewall to spinner, has sixteen parts. The wings
have gorgeous surface work and a bit awkward breakdown.
With ICM sometimes I think we are being the guinea-pigs of some
experimentation. Be it all for the glory of the hobby.
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In manipulating this size
of model and parts is when we, 1/72 suffered fans, feel the temptation of
switching to 1/32 and merrily build our models under the shower with the lights
turned off.
The interior is well represented but with no side detail. The instrument
panel, with delicately raised dials, will not be visible unless you use an
endoscope. I opened up one of the fuselage "doors", to help a little
with the view of the inners. As the cowl comes in panels, you may opt to leave
some off, in order to provide a view of the excellent engine.
Fit was mostly good, but,
in order to help with it, carefully remove the light flash and mold lines
present in some of the parts. The only serious glitch I had was at the nose,
where fuselage, firewall, engine mount, engine and cowl parts were very
reluctant to contribute to universal harmony. Reading out loud some paragraphs
from D.H. Lawrence, Mark Strand and T.S. Elliot, combined with some mantras and
the brief exhibition of a hammer did the trick.
I used acrylics from several brands to paint the model, not having a good
experience with the Tamiya's for the undersides, which left a grainy, uneven
surface. Decals, as usual with ICM, were not the best, and silvered a little,
but you can use them.
Together with the my Gee Bee and my Wobbling Goblin, they make a
remarkable trio on how to build an airplane around an engine with 10 pounds of
aluminum.
BTW: when is somebody going to re-issue Heller's 1/72 Couzinet Arc-en-Ciel,
I ask myself?
Gabriel
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