The Vickers .303 machine gun is synonymous with Britain and World War I. Used in the air, on the ground, and on the water, the Vickers .303 was capable of a firing rate of about 600 rounds per minute.

This kit produces an excellent representation of this well-known weapon, and considering the ease of construction, Hasegawa deserves a “Well Done”.

The Instruction Sheet

The instruction sheet is actually a broadside, one piece of paper printed front and back. With a combination of phrases or single words coupled with some detailed line drawings, the instructions are very easy to understand. The construction process is not at all complex and presents no problem for the beginner or the more experienced model builder. The paint call-outs involve only two colors, and those are “steel” for the entire model with the exception of a wooden handle which is designated as red brown.

Scale Aircraft Conversions has produced replacement gear for the Hasegawa 1/32 Spitfire Mk II, Vb, VI kits. The gear strut attachment points will also match up with the Revell I/II kit, and perhaps some others with the same wing tooling. I have reviewed several of these sets, and have purchased a few more on my own, because in all cases, they have been superior to the kit items.

The white metal replacements are a clean drop-in for the kits plastic parts. The supplied items include two main gear struts and braces, and one tail gear assembly. Also included are white metal tires. The tires are a significant improvement in detail over the kit tires, which are devoid of any tread pattern. The SAC tires also have tread and improved rim/lug detailing.

This accessory is for the Heller Tunnan kit. The parts are replacement pitot tubes.

The Kit

You get two finely done brass parts in a plastic envelope, which is inside another plastic envelope. Good plan – lost parts of this size would be a disaster, not to mention impossible to find. I liked the instruction sheet, it was simple, to the point, and uncluttered.

Assembly

I used a Tunnan I built several years ago. It was great to have these brass pitots, as the plastic ones had been broken off soon after I did the model.

I cut off the little projections where the pitots had been earlier and drilled tiny holes in the wing leading edge.

I painted the brass parts with Testors Aluminum Metalizer.

There is a difference between the left and right pitots, and the instructions are VERY specific about which is which.

A bit of gel-type CA, and a bit of touch up, and the project was finished.