After 3-1/2 weeks since the “First Look,” this reviewer is pleased to provide this final installment for the out-of-box “build of a lifetime.” Indeed, in my humble opinion, our friends at Tamiya outdid even their standard-setting Spitfire series. All said, 34 hours were invested in the build – 24 on construction, and 10 on painting, decaling, and weathering. I can’t believe fewer than 40 hours were logged…but that’s what all my records indicate -- most likely a testament to how well everything fit, and the fact that there were a couple of uninterrupted “build days” early in the build.

Integration

With the majority of subassemblies complete at the time of the previous report, integration was the next major task. Again, as e xpected, all of the “subs” fell together with very little effort. Wings and horizontal stabilizers mated to the fuselage with only a couple spots of putty on the lower forward wing root, just aft of the engine cowling.

The Flakpanzer IV “Wirbelwind” (German for whirlwind) was a self-propelled quad 2.0 cm anti-aircraft gun based on the Pz IV. It was developed in 1944 as a replacement for the Mobelwagen. The Wirbelwind was replaced by the Ostwind with a single 3.7cm FlaK 43. The number of units produced ranged from upper 80’s to approximately 105.

This is a multimedia kit comprised of 500+ styrene parts, magic tracks, one braided metal wire (which is very stiff even after annealing), one photo etched fret, decals and the set of instructions that need to be reviewed very carefully before gluing any parts together.

Most Dragon models today are a collection of old sprues and new sprues added to create a new kit variant. In this case, Dragon has done so and you will have some sprues with the same letter. Even though Dragon has not advertised this is a 2-in-1 kit, you have many options that need to be reviewed and decided on before you start this kit.

This is the first time I have had the opportunity to review a product from these folks and I must say I am quite impressed. These “tail feathers” are designed as exact kit part replacements with one notable exception…the horizontal stabs and elevators are separated and can be positioned as they should be on the real plane. After spending 55 plus years around aircraft of all types, please trust me. They are sized for the excellent Hasegawa kit

These parts are amongst the best castings I have ever encountered completely free of warpage, pinholes or flaws of any kind. They come in a cream-colored resin, and the engravings are exquisite to say the least. No doubt that they will accept paint and/or washes without problems.

Many thanks to Stephen Sendelbach and Master Details for the review sample. Most highly recommended.