The Gloster Meteor was one of the first jets to fly operational and is one of my favorites. I was very pleased to receive this kit by Cyber Models to review and was not disappointed in it at all.

Upon opening the box I was very impressed with the fine molding and details. The panel lines seemed to be truly in scale. Having built the Meteor F.3 in the white scheme, I chose to do the standard RAF scheme of light grey underneath and dark grey and green on the top surfaces.

Assembly was pretty straightforward. The cockpit is a real work of art and I painted it semi-gloss black as per my reference. To add some color, I did add seatbelts from tape.

The current rise of Chinese naval power stands in stark contrast to the period from 1900 – 1940 when China had no real Navy and lay prostrate before powerful nations which had unfettered access to its ports and inland waterways. A weak and fading dynasty and competing warlords (including the Communists) did nothing to reassure foreign interests, which led to additional intervention. Like other places in the world, the waterways of China were the highways on which goods moved in and out of the interior of the country. One river stood out in its size and importance – the Yangtze (a western interpretation of the river’s many names). Western business interests and missionaries took advantage of the Yangtze to penetrate far into the interior and the river was the principal line of communication back out to rest of the world.

Afterburner decal sheets are jammed, literally, with detail. In these sheets are all the schemes you could imagine for this jet. Also, proper, well-researched stenciling is provided for both high- and low-visibility jets. They even have the sled that was operational at my favorite perch, RAF Mildenhall, in the 1984-86 timeframe! Ah, the days of standing in the mist just after sunrise, watching and feeling the dual afterburners blasting everyone out of the rack early in the morning as the bird departed and climbed out at a ridiculous angle!

Sheet 48-078 has markings for 11 jets from the mid-1990’s to retirement. Included are NASA and operational combat birds with mission markings/tail art.
Sheet 48-079 covers 14 jets, including the YF-12 in 2 schemes and an SR-71B with the high-visibility markings for the early years. Also included on this sheet are Vietnam, record holder, and test jets.

The Parts

You will recognize the molding as it goes back, to my knowledge, to at least 1999. On several of the pieces in the box, one can find the original copyright inscription of “Revell 1999”. It has also been released under the Monogram label as well, as is the case with this review item. This is not a problem, since the kit was a good kit in 1999 and is still a good kit in 2011. That having been said, there are some signs of age on the finished parts. On several pieces a tan-colored stain appears, and upon inspection with a fingertip, this substance appears to be oil. The location of the stains indicates that it might be a mold-release agent that simply was not cleaned up properly before packaging. It is advisable, therefore, to wash all of the pieces thoroughly prior to assembly. A sign of an aging or ill-fitting mold is flash, and there is some flash that will need to be cleaned up.

This model is not a complex build, but it does have some details that are extremely small. Be forewarned: good tweezers, sprue cutters, and an extra fine razor saw blade are mandatory to release some of the over 650 parts of miniscule carpet-monster food that exist on the trees. An exploded diagram with two hull sides, 7 parts runners, one display base, a decal sheet with flags and early aircraft markings, and a PE sheet with crane structure are provided. I opted to do the kit without extra PE or rigging to show what a buyer gets for his money. In this case, a lot!

Study the instructions first; as usual, since ships hold some pitfalls if you don’t. Small parts that fit in places which are hard to get to later are the norm. Paint the splinter camo as you go along; otherwise you won’t be able to do it upon completion of the build. In this build, the hull is constructed first.