Hi all,
I received my 'KatModel' kit and thought I'd add my initial observations to those already made by Andreas.
Resin parts:The quality of the moulded resin wings and fuselage halves are generally not the best.
I found some residue on the parts which needs to be washed away.
Also there was some slight warping evident, which should be able to be straightened with immersion if hot water.
The wings do have metal rods molded internally, but these are thin and will not be strong enough to retain the shape of the parts.
The rods are also very close to, if not actually through the surface of the wings.
There are no locating rods or pegs on any parts.
The wings surfaces have surface imperfections, such as small ’blow holes’ and straight lines, which need to be filled and/or sanded smooth.
Metal rod may need to be added to the wings to help locate and support the parts to the fuselage.
The parts have a lot of resin flash at their edges, which needs to be removed.
Much of the surface detail (fasteners, panels etc) seems over-scale and thick, so could be removed and replaced with either scratch made or photo-etch parts.
3D printed parts:Generally the quality if the 3D printed parts is good with very little, in any, surface print striation lines etc.
The various struts, once removed from their support trees will be very fragile and probably easily broken, so replacing these with metal tubing may be necessary.
The tailplane has some surface undulations which will need to be filled and sanded.
General:The internal detail of the fuselage and cockpits is minimal with large solid blocks to support the engine.
Therefore, if any reference material can be found, those areas could be enhanced with more detail.
The trailing edges of the wings are over thick, probably due to up-scaling from the smaller model and would require thinning to a more in-scale thickness.
The windshield is printed as a half hoop frame but will need acetate sheet cut and applied to represent the windscreen.
The landing gear assembly is printed as a one piece assembly, but does seem to be over scale.
The engine is printed as a complete assembly and is a fair representation of the Hiero 230hp engine.
No instruction/paint guide or decals are supplied with the kit.
Conclusion:This model is certainly for the more experienced modeler as surface issues and any warping of resin parts will need to be addressed.
Also additional support rods may need adding and struts replacing with more substantial metal tube.
Extra researched detail, if possible, should be added to better represent the actual aircraft.
Information for this aircraft is scarce and therefore some changes to the model will need to be based on ‘educated guesswork’.
Mike




