| KIT: | Kiwi Resin 1/48 Miles M2 Hawk |
| KIT #: | ? |
| PRICE: | NZ$ 80.00 |
| DECALS: | Two options |
| REVIEWER: | Scott Van Aken |
| NOTES: | Resin short run kit with vac windscreens |
| HISTORY |
From what little I could find on this aircraft, this was one of a family of sports aircraft that eventually evolved into the well known RAF WWII trainer, the Magister. Aside from the M2 Hawk's fixed gear and more angular fin and rudder, you can seem much of the Magister in this particular design. During WWII, a number of civilian operated M2 Hawks were impressed into service with Commonwealth air forces for training and liaison work. Though most Hawks look similar, there are a number of detail differences in the shape of the wing tips, fins and the size of the wheels that are used on the aircraft.
This kit is for ZK-AFL, which was later impressed into RNZAF service as NZ 588, for which no known photo exists.
| THE KIT |
All
of Kiwi Resins kits are hand made and while very nicely done, it does mean
that there are a few imperfections that will need to be taken care of prior to
construction. The nice tan resin has very good detailing and for the most
part, I found that the parts were very nicely done. The large parts are on a
fairly good sized pour stub which needs to be removed and the surface sanded
smooth. I did find a couple of air bubble holes and a few resin balls in a
corner or two, but nothing major and otherwise pretty well expected.
To my knowledge, this is their first
full 1/48 kit and what is different about this one is that the fuselage is in
two halves instead of a single mold. The lower wing section is also the bottom
of the interior and there is some framework detail in this section as there is
in the inside of the fuselage halves. The outer wing panels will fit onto this
center section. The resin engine is a single piece and one will either butt
fit the prop or drill it out for a metal shaft. Two seats are supplied with
many of the smaller bits on resin wafers. This includes the rear head rest
blind flying hood, instrument panels, floor compass and wing attachment
fairing. Of course, in some cases only one part is needed, but it is just as
easy to mold the set twice. You'll also note the large
wheel fairings and three different sizes of wheel sections. What is used
depends on which aircraft is being built. Kiwi Resins is releasing several
very similar kits so it is natural that there will be duplication of some
parts and other parts will not be used.
The kit also includes two vacuformed windscreens as well as sections of wire for pitot tubes and control sticks. A section of tubing is supplied for the exhaust.
Instructions are generic to all the Hawk kits aside from a different color drawing of a side section and upper wing/cockpit section. There is a page of construction tips and one that lists all the parts in the kit. There is no exploded view or detailed construction sequence with this one. There is also the box top photo to assist, though it would have been nice to have some additional info on exact placement of the pitot tube and the tail skid. I'm also not sure if the tail planes have any external bracing in terms of struts or wires. Included with this kit are decals that are printed on a single carrier. They are the RNZAF serials if doing an impressed aircraft, or the civil registration if doing the one on the box art. They are well printed and should provide no problems.
| CONCLUSIONS |
The instructions state that this would make a perfect introductory kit. I have to agree that if one is along far enough in their modeling abilities to use resin update sets, then this full kit should not provide any real problem. Some small scratch-building is required to complete the kit, however, it is quite basic and not beyond the skills of most. If your tastes are towards neat pre-WWII civil aircraft, then this is one that should be on your list.
February 2006
Thanks to Kiwi Resin Models for the review sample. Visit them at http://www.cambridgeairforce.nz.org/kiwi_resins.htm
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