I don’t post much and I buy a lot more kits than I finish but I’d like to tell you about two new kits I bought today.
The new Eduard FW 190A-8 (8713) is everything they say it is. The kit itself is packed in several cello packets. Seperate cello packets for the resin and PE. Two sheets of decals. The instructions have full color painting illustrations. There is a seperate sheet for the stencil data. I think the kit raises the bar on every level. If you were ‘thinking’ about this kit, quit thinking and go buy it. This kit is a no-brainer.
The Mirage PZL-23A (1303), the late 1930’s Polish aircraft, is substantially more money than most, but the kit itself is very comprehensive in goodies. The large box is deceiving regarding what is actually in the box. The casting of the plastic pieces look superior to anything else on the market. The detail is top notch that rivals any Hasegawa or Tamiya kit. One drawback, I would have liked a one piece wheel. The clear sprue is packed seperately. There is a two-piece PE fret and a small packet of resin bits. The instruction booklet has a 3-D look to it and is printed in a two color view with shadows that should make building the model much easier. The painting instructions are in full color and are much larger than other illustrations. I got this kit at 20% off list and at that price, it was still pretty steep. But my penchant for off-the-radar subjects like a Polish aircraft is a natural for me.
Don’t look for a build any time soon. Most of my kits are being saved for when I retire. God willing!
Hope my little review helps some of you finally make a decision who have been looking at these kits .
I agree with your assessments. When I saw the Eduard 190, I bought 2 of them. Truly an amazing amount of detail with a full engine & detailed gun bay. The Mirage PZL-23-A isn’t quite as impressive, but still an excellent kit of an AC I’ve wanted to see in 1/48 for a long time. Still waiting for the later versions which actually saw combat.
Mirage released the P.23B as a special edition in summer this year. So far there are Polish and English language editions. They are more expensive than the standard kit as they include resin crew members and bombs as well as an extended PE set. Eduard and Part have already released PE sets for the kit. The next release looks like it will be the Rumanian version. After that should come September 1939. The Bugarian version will probably need some retooling.
The P.23B kit is available from the Warsaw Model Centre (you can have your name printed on the box)
You can change the language to English and at the Jadar Shop you can choose prices in US$ or Euros. The Jadar Shop also have authenic Polish Air Force colours available in the Agama range. Note, these are not available anywhere else.
You can see a review of the Special Edition kit here:
Everything with Mirage seems to go at a snail’s pace. I haven’t seen the special edition for the UK listed on the Hannants or Aeroclub sites yet. I got mine from the Jadar Shop months ago and their prices are usually a bit cheaper than the UK. If you live outside the EU you can knock off the 20% VAT so that would make the price of the special edition just under US$41. If you want an example used in combat then you will have to wait for the September 1939 kit. Strictly speaking all of the markings in the special edtion are pre-war with two-digit buzz codes. In 1939 they were changed to three-digits. In fact I think one of the aircraft was written off in an accident before the war broke out.
The latest release of Mirage’s PZL P23.B Karaś appeared on the Jadar Shop website today (3/12/2006 or 12/3/2006 if you live on the other side of the Atlantic). This is the September 1939 issue. From what I can see it is very similar in contents to the first kit of the P23A. There are decals for four aircraft:
44.211 ‘5’ of the 55th Independent Bomber Flight, Bomber Brigade (Tiger)
‘N-08’ ‘1’ Personal aircraft of commander 12th Battle Flight 1st Air Regiment (Fox) - This aircraft actually dates form 1938, buzz codes changed to three digits in1939 shortly before war broke out.