As far as I know this monster has started to ship - has anyone seen one yet?
Someone over on Hyperscale has one I believe…he promises a review over the weekend. Being resin not only will you need a large shelf but a reenforced one as well…HEAVY.
I was interested until someone said resin.
I hope for the sake of the folks that do buy one that it is more accurate and fits somewhat better than their C-17. That is a rough kit.
I too would love to build this plane, but resin? not my favorite material. Also, I noticed after clicking on the box art, the label below the pic said 436th wing from Dover AFB; actually, it’s a 439th bird from Westover ARB. I noticed the Patriot Wing logo on the vertical stab. I wonder if the decals supplied are of that unit or the one at DAFB.
Does it come with a complete set of jacks?
I recieved mine yesterday.
I have built several Anigrand kits in the past and was somewhat used to the quality of the resion along with the occasional pinholes and short shot edges… None of that with this kit! It looks like they have used a better quality resin with this one. not the cream colored stuff as in the C-17, C-124 and KC-10 but a sort of gray clored material with excellent, evenly scribed detail throughout.
The quality of the resion is so good that if it were not for the weight, you would think that the kit is injection molded. No flash…Anywhere, to include all the smaller parts. Preliminary fitting revealed that only minimal filling will be required. Good solid fit between fuselage quarters and landing gear sponsons.
I was apprehensive when I placed a preorder for this kit as I was expecting the sort of quality of the kits offered several years ago for this much money. Well, the kit is STILL expensive, but it is light years ahead of what I was expecting and IMHO in a completely different league than AModel monsters like the AN-22 and IL-76.
Instructions are somewhat basic (As with all their kits), but the parts count isn’t that great, especially for a kit of this size and assmbly seems to be straightforward. This may be misleading though and I believe this will require time and patience during assembly due to the sheer size and weight of the fuselage and wing components.
Is it worth the asking price? That depends on the individual. For me it was. I haven’t seen the 1/144th scale version that they released, but if it is anythign like this kit, I’d say it would also be worth the price.
The decal sheet includes markings for two different Airlift Wings…The 436th as you mentioned and 512th. The research I did indicate that both of these wings are based at Dover but the decals are for only one aircraft #60025. I suspect that this aircraft was probably used by both wings at some point. Others who know more will be able to provide the skinny on this.
The box art is of a photo of #60025, with a yellow band on the vert stab with “Dover” but I can’t make out which wing is in the photo.
I can scan the decals if needed for clarification.
Are you planning starting it any time soon?
If you are, some progress updates would be VERY much appreciated.
Well as far as clarification I think I can help. While serving as a Technician at Westover we were sent to Dover as part of a manning assist. The jet was indeed flown by both as you indicated. The 436th being the active duty wing while the 512th were the reserve guys. They still have C-5’s there but have also received C-17’s as well. Glad to see this jet has finally been given a chance to be built even if it is resin. I was hoping they might have decals for a Westover bird too, but oh well…