Anigrand 1/144 C-17A Globemaster III

In 1980, the USAF found some of the C-141s had major structural problems as a result of heavy use. In response, McDonnell Douglas elected to develop a new aircraft using the YC-15 as the basis. McDonnell Douglas won the contract to build its proposed aircraft, by then designated the C-17A Globemaster III. Development problems and limited funding caused delays until the late 1980s. By the mid-1990s, most of the problems had been resolved. The first C-17 squadron was declared operational by the U.S. Air Force in January 1995. In 1997 McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing. The US DoD and Boeing are considering further follow-on orders to take total 222 aircraft by 2010. In 2000, the UK Defense Secretary announced that the RAF would lease four C-17s for giving the RAF true strategic capabilities. The first C-17 was delivered to the RAF in 2001. In RAF service the C-17 has not been given an official designation due to its leased status, but is referred to simply as the C-17.

Many will be quite pleased to see that this kit has been downscaled to 1/144. This will not only lower the price to be paid, but also provides what is for many, a more manageable model and one that will fit onto their shelves a lot better. In keeping with what has started to be a tradition for Anigrand, this kit contains three smaller 1/144 aircraft. In this case, they are early British jets; Gloster Whittle, Meteor F.1, and Vampire F.1.

As you also know, despite the pristine condition of the kit image pinched from Anigrand's web site, Anigrand kits all have some molding glitches; mostly air pockets and chunking due to pour stubs breaking off and the small amount of flash around the edges of some parts. This one is no exception. The biggest problems on my kit were two holes in the upper fuselage half of the C-17, some chunking on several parts, and a grossly deformed wing tip on the Vampire along with a blob of resin on the Meteor wing. There were the usual small holes on the tips of flight surfaces and other thin areas. Other than the Vampire wing, these can all be repaired using standard resin repair methods. Those who have built these sorts of kits will have experience doing that and it is no big deal.The Vampire will need to have the wing end cut off and replaced with plastic card.

The C-17 kit is pretty standard fare in terms of detail with nicely done engraved panel lines and a minimalist cockpit that uses generic seats. Actually, once the nicely formed clear resin cockpit housing is attached, not much will be visible. While there is room for nose weight in the C-17 (and you'll need it), there is none for the three smaller jets. As these are all nose gear types and will be tail heavy, perhaps the best thing is to build them wheels up on short display stands. These smaller kits also come with clear resin canopies, but no cockpit detail.

Instructions are a single sheet of paper with a history and two-view painting guide for all four subjects. Colors given are all generic. The other side are drawings of the four subjects, both upper and lower with all the parts already in place, but labeled. At least Anigrand got rid of those horrid 'photo realistic' things that were basically impossible to tell what went where. There are two identical decal sheets to provide markings for the four aircraft. I've had no trouble at all with Anigrand markings. They are a bit thick, but do work well with setting solutions.