1:48 Scale Model
A basic kit by Italeri, molded in grey plastic with raised panel lines. There is only one decal variation and the aircraft can be built with the rear walkway open or closed. The landing gear is displayed in the down position and the interior is very basic. The interior chairs are displayed in the up position, as well as the rotors. The engines for the rotors can not be moved and are fixed. The propellers do rotate which is a nice feature.
As the kit is being assembled, there will be much needed work on the seam lines at the tail portion and the mating surfaces of the top wings to the fuselage. This is where the raised panel line detail will be lost if you choose to make them flush and look like one piece. The open area for the vents in the wings is supposed to be there and does not get filled. The placement of the front fins is basically eyeballed and one hopes it looks correct.
The decals for the prop blades are far from perfect. The should probably be painted on. This includes the two double white lines and the red and white lined decals, although the double white decals where a bit easier to apply, There are only 51 decals to apply, so for any model, that is very good. The instructions can be a bit hard to follow at times and figuring out what gets painted what colors. The windshield also had alignment issues an attaching the windshield wipers was also a guess.
All in all, with a lot of TLC, this kit will turn out very nice. I used tamiya decanted spray cans which are lacquer based and made for a smooth two tone paint scheme of greys. They do look a little blue if you use their names, but they turned out just right. With the use of some weathering kits, the engines can look really good and worn.
