Kiwi Resins 1/48 Percival Mew Gull

The Percival Mew Gull was a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It was a small, single-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine. During its racing career it set many records and was considered a significant, efficient design, one that eventually reached a top speed of 265 mph (425 km/h) on a modest 205 hp (153 kW) in its final 1939 form. A modern-day observer has characterised the Mew Gull as "the Holy Grail of British air racing". During the second half of the 1930s, Mew Gulls were dominant in air-racing in the UK and consistently recorded the fastest times until the outbreak of war stopped all civilian flying in late 1939.In

This latest offering from Kiwi Resin is one of the more famous British racing planes. Unlike the US, there was little if any pylon racing, and so races were distance events from one place to another. Generally over rather long distances.

Kiwi Resin kits are very much garage kits, which means they are not mass produced in a pressure chamber so there will be some small voids, a few pin holes, some flash, and perhaps some resin blobs that will need to be taken care of. This one has a few of these things, but none are major and all will be able to be taken care of by anyone with resin kit experience. My sample was sent in a soft packet which resulted in the transparencies being crushed during shipping, despite being protected with bubble wrap. I was able to pop them back out, but they are creased and Kiwi Resins is sending replacements. They will also be shipping these in boxes to prevent this from occurring again.

The detail on the resin parts is actually quite good with nicely engraved panel lines, though there are not many since the Mew Gull was a wood skinned plane. The fuselage is a single piece with the tail fin/rudder molded in place. There is a hollow interior into which the seat parts, bulkhead and instrument panel bit is attached. The rudder pedals and control stick will need to be made by the builder. One will also need to build the aileron counterbalances and the tail skid.

Wings are also a single casting on each side and butt join to the fuselage, same with the tail planes and the integrated spats/wheels. The prop and spinner are all separate parts. The upper fuselage section incorporates the windscreen and canopy and is a single piece. It is recommended that one fill the area behind the bulkhead for additional rigidity when installing this part. I would think that epoxy filler would not be a bad choice as it offers a long working time and will allow one to get the transparency to fit snugly with no gaps.

Markings are provided in this kit by the famous G-AEXF when it was registered in South Africa as ZS-AHM. In this case, the trim was in gold vice green. The decals provided are inkjet printed so will benefit from a clear coat prior to use. Both gold and black markings are provided as photos are unclear as to which color was used. There is no construction drawing as it is really unnessary for such a simple kit and for its target audience. There is full placement and painting information for the decals.  

If you are a fan of racing aircraft of the 30's and can build resin airplane kits, then this is one you really need to have in your collection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percival_Mew_Gull

April 2014

Thanks to Kiwi Resins for the preview kit. To order yours, e-mail skygodnz@clear.net.nz

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