The Little World

You may have noticed that the box art shown in the first episode refers to a T-33A aircraft – a Shooting Star. Well by the time the RCAF got their Canadian-built variants of this US trainer, it had become the CT-133 Silver Star. There were a few modifications; a different thickness of perspex in the canopy to do away with the need for a mid-cockpit canopy bow, and automatic taps in the engine bay to drain away the excess maple syrup. These were only used when the aircraft were refuelled at Bagotville.

The sprue trees for the Italeri kit are excellent. Clean plastic, polished well. and few, if any, sink marks. As an aside, I do not feel quite the same dismay at sink marks that other kit reviewers seem to – I’ve seen real aircraft with dented panels everywhere.

No weapons to worry about on this one – so no agonised choices about what was carried when and where. It does have a sectioned fuselage with internal ribbing clearly moulded – leading one to wonder if they intended it to be displayed in conjunction with an aftermarket engine. I’ll just seal it up when the time comes.

The cockpit is excellent, though they are not relying upon decals to delineate the controls. I appreciate the gesture of decals for the seatbelts, however.

I am not photographing the clear canopy in case I jinx myself again and lose it. The kit is sourced from a Japanese mould and us really almost up to Tamiya standards.

This is the vanilla-flavoured USAF trainer scheme and the various NATO variants. They are pleasant, but nothing like what I want to do. The nose panel and wing walks are useful. Italeri decals bed nicely and rarely need dissolving.