Hi All; It has been some time since I posted anything. But now I am unemployed and have all kinds of time - in between looking for another job that is.
I am currently working on Great Walls' 1/48 FW 189 kit and just have to ask others how they like it. Some aspects of it I like such as the larger fits can be really tight and precise. But some of the delicate narrow parts can be very difficult to cut away from the sprue. The sprue connections sometimes seem thicker than the part itself and the delicate parts break - even with a Xuron cutter. I am wondering if the plastic itself is not very strong. I had the delicate engine nacelle frame break just behind the propeller cowling while fitting it together. Didn't take much.
I chose this kit as a practice go at masking off canopy frames. I am not very good at it and this one is a total glutton for punishment attempt at getting better. Also, this is the first I will have tried a kit supplied masking set. 77 separate masking pieces in total!
The instructions are also rather difficult to follow. There is no real text and there is no indication of what colors various parts should be. There is a nice color 4 view profile images in two camouflage schemes that helps with the large scale coloration, but nothing really for smaller details. Fortunately, I am a bit of an eastern front Luftwaffe and Red Air Force buff and have a lot of research materials to rely upon.
There is an interesting 20 minute pre-build review of the kit on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iThoWVcJMsQ
Interesting comments, but I wonder how he ended up liking the kit after building.
Dave
High Desert, NV