The Ford Motor company unleashed the Mustang SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) in 1984, continuing the marque through 1986. The goal was to produce a sporty and fast Mustang while delivering relatively good gas mileage for the era. Powered by a 2.3 Litre 4 cylinder “Lima” engine originally found under the hood of Pintos, Ford put their money where their claims were. The little Lima was given its muscle (205 HP) with the help of an intercooled turbo-charger; other interesting goodies found on the SVO were a Hurst shifted close ratio 5-speed gear box, Koni designed and supplied suspension, Recaro seats and a bi-plane rear wing unique to the little Mustang that could and did.

The Kit:

The Product

The Aires set arrived in the standard blister pack we all have come to recognize. The multimedia mix includes cast resin pieces in varying shades of gray finely cast and flawless they are beautifully done, my sample came with a couple broken pieces from the delicate control stick and was easily repaired. The photo etch instrument panel fret also includes seatbelts and other fiddly bits all renderings are very nice. Topping off the mix is the infamous Aires acetate sheet with the printed dial faces.

Bottom Line

The instructions are well thought out pointing out where modifications are required. This mainly consists of removing raised detail and thinning the plastic. This may seems old school to a lot of us modelers but remember fundamentals are what make a great model. All in all this is a great improvement over the Hobby Boss parts and is well worth the time and effort needed for a proper fit.

USS Coronado, scheduled for commissioning in October 2012, is an Independence-class littoral combat ship (LCS). Designed by Lockheed-Martin and constructed by General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works, Coronado is the second of her class, and features a high-speed trimaran hull and reconfigurable mission bays tailored to specific mission profiles.