The Products

This set provides the following:

• CX414 - Die Cut Flexible Mask for Airfix Defiant Mk. I kit.
• 73525 - Self and Non-Adhesive Photo Etch Detail Set for Airfix Defiant Mk. I
• 72600 - Defiant Mk. I Landing Flaps

Flexible Masks Set (CX414)

This small yellow sheet of masking paper is die cut to provide masks for the window areas on the canopy and turret of the Airfix Defiant Mk. 1. This is worth getting on its own, as it is totally accurate and really cuts down on the tedious job of masking the clear areas on the model. Very clear instructions are given, so there’s no way of messing these up unless you really are a Neanderthal, and in that case, you should probably take up crocheting. I merely removed the little shapes with my pointy tweezers, and transferred them to their proper locations. Highly recommended.

Self and Non Adhesive Photo Etch Detail Set (73525)

This consists of two photo etch sheets, one with sticky backing and mounted of glossy paper, and the other without any backing. They provide very realistic detail, and some of the pieces are paintd, while others are not. These are packaged in very sturdy plastic envelopes, and two sets of instructions are provided, one for each sheet. With the glued parts, careful handling is required, although any of the parts could be attached with minute amounts of white or super glue. They generally can be cut off of the sheet with an xacto knife or very sharp scissors, trimmed, and then stick onto the intended location. The instrument panel is especially good, although it takes a bit of doing to get the panel in the right position. There is some sidewall detail which adds to the realism of the cockpit, but anything in the rear cockpit will be invisible once the turret is in place. Some of the parts are VERY small, so you’ll probably need some kind of magnification to work with them. Also, there is no information given as to the colors these things should be painted, so you’ll have to do some guesswork here. There are a few parts, such as access plates on the left wing root, that I used, although I don’t think they added much to the model. Again, most of these parts are very tiny, and one small glitch, and

they’ll fly off of the workbench, never to be seen again until the archeologists excavate your house 1500 years from now. They’ll think they’re digging up an insane asylum. Be sure to put any detail you use in the turret before the turret is installed on the airplane, as you can’t get to it once the unit is in place.

Landing Flaps (72600)

These look very good, but I had a problem with them. Having been around airplanes most of my life, I questioned whether these airplanes were parked for any length of time with the flaps lowered. Most checklists I’ve seen on any airplane say that when you complete your landing roll, raise the flaps so they won’t be damaged if there are any high winds, or if rocks are picked up by the propeller’s action. Flaps are pretty delicate units, and if you go out on any flight line, you’ll rarely see planes parked with their flaps down. I checked my Profile Publication Defiant book (#117), and of the 22 photos of Defiants taken on the ground, only one photo shows the flaps in the “down” position. This leads me to believe that unless you are modeling the plane on final approach to landing, in the air, the flaps should be up, not down. They do provide some added detail, but I decided to save them to use on an old Airfix Defiant kit I got out of my stash to build as a comparison.

That said, the units provide for the inner and outer flap components, requiring the removal of the existing flaps from the upper and lower wings. This is going to take some very intricate trimming, and is certainly not for modelers without extensive experience. From the drawings, these look like they will be highly realistic on the model, and most of the parts appear to bend into place without much use of adhesives. It is tedious work, however, and not for the faint of heart. I’ll write another review when I use these, but not this time.

Recommendations

This set will allow you to build a state of the art model with more tiny details than you’d ever imagine putting on a model in this scale. The PE parts are excellently done, but require extreme care, as some are VERY small and easy to lose track of. I used most of mine, but forgot a few, but I’d defy anyone to notice. The masks are really essential, and they really shorten a tedious job. The whole effect is worthwhile, and I think the set is definitely worth getting, even if it costs much more than the original model. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Eduard for the Big-ED accessory kit.