The Little World

We are accustomed to read about how precise Tamiya model kits are. This is no exaggeration – they fit pretty well perfectly as soon as you clean the sprue feed points.

We are also used to reading the groans of people who have tried to work with Mach 2, Amodel, or PM kits. They also fit, but it’s where they touch…and some of them touch at very few points.

But these are modern productions – what about 1950’s and 1960’s mouldings? Was the past ill-fitting? Is there no remedy for it?

Well, my experience of this Airfix kit is positive – with reservations. I’ve cemented the fuselage sides and the wing components separately, and then joined them once dry. I’ll be attaching the tailplanes in an hour or so. With just a smidgen of luck I won’t need any putty to seal up gaps. This speaks volumes about the precision available in a mould native from the UK.

The fit of the tailplanes is problematical – the tabs go into the slots but the stabilisers have a distinct anhedral – not a feature of the original – this is a Harvard, not a Phantom. A little easing and thinning will see it cured.

You can also feel the stiffer nature of the yellow plastic compared to current Airfix grey styrene. Of the two, I prefer the modern consistency, but there are advocates for all types.

I should welcome a similar easing of the brittleness of clear styrene parts. Perhaps this is not possible – the plasticiser that softens the solid-colour plastic might render clear somewhat cloudy. Certainly the historic canopy or window was much less refined than the modern parts. But consider that vac-form acetate canopies are flexible – perhaps there is a formula somewhere in the middle.

I would also welcome production of a cyanoacrylate cement that did not gas off and fog clear parts. I fell foul of this in the construction of a custom job – a fishing trawler – and it was only the buyer deciding that they liked the frosty appearance that saved the build. I have since been very cautious with these rapid cements around clear areas. I’m sure they also fog the solid plastic parts but we cannot see it.