Unboxing

This kit is packed very nice. It has 11 sprues molded in light grey for the aircraft and armament and 1 sprue of clear for the canopy, for a total of 225 pieces. It came with 2 decal sheets. 1 is the “Tiger Stripes” for the “Luftwaffe, 1993” version, which I have been attempting to do. This kit also includes 1 sheet of photo etch parts. They are beautifully done. However, for me, these parts were too small for me to work successfully with them. The item I was most impressed with was 1 sheet of masking film, mainly for the canopy. These were extremely high quality and fit perfectly where they should go. They made painting the aircraft without messing up the canopy a dream. I have never been able to mask another canopy as well as I did this one.

The instructions were highly detailed and even in color in some steps, plus the 4 different color schemes you could do. The illustrations were just as detailed as the parts themselves.

This is the fourth volume in the Cold War Berlin series. The previous three volumes previously reviewed are here (and are worth it for the reviewers personal ties to Berlin):

Instant Glue from Green Stuff World is a single component cyanoacrylate glue that is advertised to set in 5–10 seconds. In my use, I found the glue to set almost instantaneously. The glue is best used with dissimilar materials including plastic, photoetch, rubber, metal, wood, and ceramics. When dispensed, the adhesive quickly reacts with the moisture in the air, so drying time is affected by humidity. In drier climates, the glue will take longer to set. The glue sets so quickly that I found it best to hold the parts together in the correct position and then apply the glue. Applying glue to the parts and then placing them does not allow any time for positioning. The CA glue seems strong as I did not have any problems with photoetch parts coming loose after the glue set.

Helion is a UK-based company that produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996, and since then they have published over 1,200 books, with 100 or more new titles coming out every year, for readers around the world.

Founded in 2013, Yahu Models' expertise goes back more than 20 years in producing photo etch and utilizing screen printing. Most of their current product line consists of aircraft instrument panels.

This product comes in a clear bag containing an instrument panel, a photo etch (PE) fret for the two sidewalls raised objects, and a clear sheet is provided for instrument faces. I am really impressed at how sharply the detail is represented. The instrument panel is thin brass with raised instrument features in full color and the background color (black) is not shiny and looks just as it would in an actual aircraft. On the photo etch fret, details are full color and very crisp. Instructions are just one page and give the basic information on where to locate each item. The instructions do not indicate preparation of the kit panels, but it is obvious what needs to be done.