I think the cost has been kept low because the part count is very low. There is also not much resin included for a Special Hobby kit. That big spinner will hide almost all of the engine, the cockpit of early single seaters are always a bit bare, so it's great that they have managed to use that to their advantage to keep the cost to £30.
Lovely big decal sheets - with Aviattics fabric decals due out soon, you could complete this model with a minimum of painting.
You can tell it's a short run kit as the moulding is just a little bit rough around the edges, the machine gun in particular needing a bit of work. But that's really no problem at all. The wings are solid plastic with a couple of sink marks, the fuselage is very good with plenty of excellent detail. The wheels show good fabric detail over the spokes, although mine has a little scratching that needs attention - danger of sticking all the parts in a single bag.
The cockpit seems very well detailed, with decals for instrument faces.The engine takes up most of a sprue, which is a shame as you will not see it once the spinner is on, except for a small area at the bottom of the cowling which is open. Must be tempting to leave the cowling off as part of a dio?
There are PE turnbuckles and wiring points supplied, which is interesting, as well as some PE horns for the control wires on the ailerons.
The rigging diagrams are very good, instructions are clear & in colour, which is useful.
I'll certainly be doing the chequered version on the box lid, using Aviattics fabric lozenge.
