HI folks
Well I had read about Revell Germany's new 1/72nd JU-88. I had read wonderful glowing articles about it and wanted to get one. I went on e-bay found what I thought was the kit and asked the seller if this were the "new" tooled kit. He answered it was a "new" kit!!!!!( Nice play on words!! The kit was new BUT it wasn't the "NEW TOOLED" kit I asked about-bottom line buyer always beware.
I bought it and when I received it opened it up and realized it was not the new tooled kit described.
Yes I should have sent it back and I wish I had as I thought I could make a go of this kit to "bone up" on my skills. Every step along the way is an exercise in frustration !! Fit is poor but not as bad as a SMER kit, Alignment leaves a lot to be desired. I tried to make things work. But the poor engineering of the kit finally got the best of me today.
I did assemble the airplane, filled in the gaps , sanded, re-filled, sanded, rescribed lines, The engine does not fit properly in the housing, the exhaust pipes are no where near what a JU-88 looked like so I was going to install my own home made ones. It would require a lot of time. Then while looking over the clear parts, they are not crisp window panel lines, no way could one mask it. The only alternative would be to use clear light blue spray and let it go at that. At that point I thought "I am done with this kit"!!
Well I went on Amazon and ordered the new-tooled kit as well as a couple other kits to get the free shipping.
Make no mistake I take full blame for not really informing myself . The number on the box is VERY IMPORTANT.
KIT# 04130 in my opinion is to be avoided unless you pick it up at a swap meet for a couple bucks for your kid to build.
On very close exam you can tell the mould is pretty much seen better days, I packaged up the remaining pieces and placed the unfinished model on my "Works in progress" shelf. I'll probably use it to test paint scheme's and use the parts for spares.
The kit has 2 dates of 1989 and 2009 printed on the box. So Revell Germany had re-packaged a mould they leased or picked up from another company. They must have received a lot of complaints as the new one appears to be a "Quantum" leap from this one. Also Revell Germany is establishing itself as an extraordinary model company with their re leases as of late and I think this kit mould is no longer in the inventory or was sold for scrap.
Anyway time is important to me these days. With 5 kids a busy schedule all around when I have building time with my son I don't want to spend the time filling seams and sanding most of the time.
On the plus side I was able to get comfortable filling seams and sanding again, as well as using "Gizmology" skills to build and replace the exhaust pipes supplied in the kit.
Hope I helped potential buyers. Save your money go for the "right" kit, check those kit numbers and keep modeling!!