The genius of Leonardo Da Vinci goes without saying. His inventions and ideas were years ahead of his time. Many of the things we take for granted today are based on his thoughts and visions. This kit is the newest in Academy’s Da Vinci Machine Series. The Da Vinci Clock uses weights to power a horizontal pendulum. This is a snap together kit. No glue or paint is needed. Parts separate from the sprues easily and parts cleanup is quick and easy. The parts fit was spot on and once pressed together the assembly was tight and firm. Some care is needed when placing the various gears to ensure proper placement. The instructions are clear and show how it all goes together.

Many ship modelers have been puzzled as to precisely why this World War 2 era heavy cruiser has never seen plastic. Belfast currently resides in London, permanently berthed as a museum and memorial. Her status as intact leaves a few decisions Trumpeter made with this kit rather puzzling.

This kit comes packaged as many Trumpeter kits these days, with foam protecting styrene particularly vulnerable to damage. I saw no flash and injection points are all well hidden. Molding is extremely crisp, and many details will not need photo etch replacements. The hatches are WWII era British, which is a nice detail. Both her AA and pom poms are good, especially for plastic. The PE set that covers some fine details is also nice, though I wish a manufacturer would include some railings.

History

Entering RAF squadron service in 1960, the Lightning represented a quantum leap in capability and performance over the RAF’s previous interceptor jets, offering Mach 2+ performance as well as a phenomenal rate of climb. Until its retirement in the 1980s, the Lightning had few rivals for outright speed and climbing ability, however it did have some shortcomings, most notably its lack of range as well as its limited armament of just two air to air missiles. The F3 Lightning introduced an enlarged ventral tank with later versions being equipped with over wing tanks, improving the range of the lightning further. These versions deleted the nose guns of the earlier variants, thus reducing the ability of the Lightning pilots to get in close with their opponents. They also did nothing to overcome its missile deficiency, with the Lightning still having to rely on just two missiles.