This being the second Kinetic kit I’ve had the pleasure to build and review, I have found several similarities in the offerings. First, the instructions could use some tweaking, in that I found some misnumbered parts. It would be of major benefit to the builder to keep his reference material close at hand. Secondly, during construction I encountered what I felt was a major fit issue with the wing to fuselage joints. My kit required completing the attachment in 4 steps with cyano acrylic and accelerator to close gaps in the wing roots (interestingly, I have since had an opportunity to read other build reviews of this subject and their experience didn’t seem as pronounced as mine. Maybe it was something I did wrong.) In any event, these two issues are the only negatives to an otherwise exceptionally nice kit. Third and last, this kit, like the F84F from Kinetic, suffers with extremely fat trailing edges, so get out the wood rasp.

Background

It’s hard for some of us to believe it’s been nearly a half-century since Star Trek’s debut in 1964. Over the decades, the Starship U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701, has arguably become the most recognizable, esteemed, and influential vessel in intergalactic travel -- so influential that even the first NASA Space Shuttle bore her name as the result of a massive write-in campaign from Star Trek fans in the mid-1970’s.

Her incarnations have been many, starting with the original “made for TV” Constitution-Class NCC-1701 in 1964, “refitted” in 1979 for Star Trek the Motion Picture, carbon-copied as NCC-1701-A in a sequel, then finally being outright up-classed in the form of the Excelsior-Class NCC-1701-B in Star Trek - Generations in 1994. Other Starfleet vessels bearing the Enterprise moniker have followed, and proceeded, but the “Refit” version from the 1980’s movies is the subject this offering under the Polar Lights brand from Round2 Models.

Please read the in box review (published earlier) for the history and a parts break down of this interesting kit.

The kit goes together without any problems. I followed the construction sequence as recommended with the following exceptions. I left the clear glazing (windows) off until final assembly. This made painting the bridge and deck house area a lot easier and I also left the life rings off until final detail due to them being an orange color and hard to paint with them installed.

I decided to do the MAS 563 version because of the colorful paint scheme. I followed the recommended painting instructions and guide. Model Masters paint was used almost exclusively. Light Ghost was used for the majority of the hull and fittings and Gunship grey for the deck. I painted the aerial recognition stripes on the bow before adding any deck detail.

Background

The Sturmgeschutz III (Stug III) assault gun was the most produced armored vehicle by Germany in WWII. It was built on the Panzer III chassis, initially to provide infantry support but continually modified and improved growing into a very effective tank destroyer.

The Stug III F/8 was produced Sept. - Dec. 1942 with 250 being built. It introduced an improved hull similar to the Panzer III Ausf. J/L with additional armor of 30mm thickness bolted on to speed up production. It mounted the 7.5cm Stuk 40 L/48 gun that would become the standard gun carried throughout the G series.

Kit

This is one of Dragon’s “Smart Kits”. It contains over 800 light grey parts, photo etch, metal wire, and the Magic Track type individual track links. Many of the parts are slide molded and over all detail and appearance are excellent!

The Aircraft

The A6M2 Zero-sen was the best carrier-based fighter in the world from 1940 to 1942, when more powerful Allied aircraft came on the scene. Fairly fast, very maneuverable, capable of a good rate of climb, it was dominant in the Pacific at the beginning of World War II. One of the markings for the Minicraft A6M2 is from the Soryu at Pearl Harbor, the other is for the “Akutan Zero” which crash landed almost intact in the Aleutians, and was flown by the US Navy for evaluation.

The Kit

Two sprues of light gray plastic and a clear canopy. The wing and horizontal stabilizer are each one piece, with 2 fuselage halves, and a separate cowling. The landing gear is one-piece, with the wheels and gear legs molded onto the doors. A separate set of doors for “gear up” are provided, along with a bladeless prop hub. The prop is one piece, and the tail wheel assembly is all one part. There’s a one-piece fuel tank provided.